December 2011
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“Imagine that you are French. You are walking along a busy pavement in Paris and...”
– Understanding and modelling how pedestrians behave is a youngish field for researchers. Anticipating pedestrian flows makes crowd events smoother and safer, and accounting for the peculiar propensities of different nationalities is key to getting it right. (via theeconomist)
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Fact-Check Fail Leads to Poor Analysis... →
This story spread like wildfire across the internets in the last two days. The reason is simple: a documentary film about why McDonald’s didn’t succeed in Bolivia (which, btw, seems really interesting and worth watching) was just released. But someone must have failed to notice that the documentary points out that McDonald’s closed its Bolivia franchises in 2002—not “just...
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“There are as many domestic workers in London now as in Victorian times.”
– These days domestic workers are more likely to be self-employed, well-qualified and well-paid than their 19th century counterparts. Yet in some respects the industry has changed surprisingly little. (via theeconomist)
Global development quiz 2011 →
guardian:
Can you tell your Soesilos from your Sirleafs? Does Ifad come in 16 and 32 GB versions, or is it something else altogether? Test your global development knowledge in this seasonal quiz
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What Is College For? →
Absolutely!
From kohenari:
Our support for higher education makes sense only if we regard this intellectual culture as essential to our society. Otherwise, we could provide job-training and basic social and moral formation for young adults far more efficiently and cheaply, through, say, a combination of professional and trade schools, and public service programs. There would be no need to...
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WatchFrom nationalgeographicmagazine:
Inside North Korea Cross into North Korea, one of the world’s most secretive nations, for a rare glimpse of the country and its dictator Kim Jong II.
In which we learn that the US and the Roman Empire... →
brosephstalin:
Apparently a civilization known for the corruption and extravagant wealth of it’s 1% is more equal than the present day United States of America.
thenoobyorker:
In The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire, a careful paper…
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“Far from being a Confucian or Stalinist patriarchy, in other words, North Korea...”
– Kim Jong-Il is dead. What’s next for North Korea? B.R. Myers pondered Dear Leader’s death in 2008. Read more at The Atlantic (via theatlantic)
A Latin American Politics Blog: Oil in Brazil →
blogspot.com
We hear a lot about the need to engage Brazil more, which is perfectly reasonable. Beyond the diplomacy of the United States government, however, U.S. companies also need to be on board. With the case of Brazil’s fine of Chevron, this…
Vaclav Havel, Dissident Playwright Who Led... →
kohenari:
Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright who wove theater into politics to peacefully bring down communism in Czechoslovakia and become a hero of the epic struggle that ended the Cold War, has died. He was 75.
Havel was a hero to many all over the world, especially those living under autocratic regimes, and with good reason: He was a co-author, in January 1977, of the human rights...
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End-of-Semester Reading List
I’ve had a habit of making end-of-semester reading lists for some time. I think I forgot to do so last semester, but former students have emailed me asking me to make another list. So here goes:
For this one (and in large part because I was too busy this semester to read anything for pleasure), I’ve decided to recommend some old classics that some of you may have not read before (or...
“The fact that there was any debate over whether to call in experts on such a...”
– Joshua Kopstein, Dear Congress, It’s No Longer OK To Not Know How The Internet Works (via drinkyourjuice) This friends, is the most important article you’ll read today. (via shortformblog)
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Politicalprof: Mr. Sulu's Rules for Living →
Via politicalprof:
For my students as they move on with their lives. (Adapted from George Takei’s Facebook page):
1. Show up 2. On time 3. Work hard 4. Be kind
and, for comic relief:
5. Floss.
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The Political Notebook: Can we all stop acting... →
From thepoliticalnotebook:
I mean, really? Talking about the possible dangers of the political rise of the Muslim Brotherhood or the Salafists or the Ennahda Party (particularly when it comes to social freedoms) don’t have to involve saying things like “Are the sceptics who said that Arabs could not handle democracy—and would inevitably elect nasty people who would never surrender power—being...
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How Wars End
From pritheworld:
The war in Iraq has officially been declared over. But, unofficially, what does it mean for a war to end? If you missed it the first time around, I urge you to take a listen to Jeb Sharp’s award-winning radio series, How Wars End.
(Oh, and it might take a couple of seconds to be be pulled up from our archives. Apologies.)
“I don’t know what I am talking about. And, quite frankly, you should be relieved...”
– Suzanne Moore on embracing uncertainty (via guardian)
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“That the world’s most powerful country—whose scientists have made a vast...”
– In the early hours of December 11th, after three days and nights of exhausting, often ill-tempered, final negotiations, the UN’s two-week-long climate-change summit ended in Durban with an agreement. America has reason to be glad of the outcome—yet its negotiators showed little enthusiasm for almost...
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Lagarde Meets with Rousseff and Mantega as Part of... →
thoughtsfromtheandes:
The fact that Brazil is now positioned to become a lender to the IMF shows that nations growing presence in the global economy.
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On the Middle Class, Lessons From Latin America -... →
From thoughtsfromtheandes:
The Middle Class in Latin America and the Middle Class in the U.S. What and where is the difference?
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“We journalists are probably too bleary-eyed after a sleepless night to...”
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In an effort to stabilise the euro zone, France, Germany and 21 other countries have decided to draft their own treaty to impose more central control over national budgets. Britain and three others have decided to stay out. But whether the agreement does anything to stabilise the euro is moot....
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Latin America’s Pacific bloc may actually work -... →
From thoughtsfromtheandes:
There are now so many different regional groups across Latin America that it become very confusing as to who is in what group and what is the objective of that particular group.
One group that seems to know what its goals are is the Alliance of the Pacific (Mexico, Chile, Peru, Colombia). I would put the odds on this group doing more than others such as CAN, CELAC,...
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“We underestimated Japanese military power. So far as military and naval...”
– Sherman Miles, former Army chief of intelligence, reflects on Pearl Harbor in a 1948 issue of The Atlantic. Read more. (via theatlantic)
This could be read either about the danger or importance of accurate metrics.
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Latin America: Once A Risky Bet, Now EU's Hero? :... →
From thoughtsfromtheandes:
Honestly, who would have seen this coming some 10 or even 5 years ago.
Historically, Latin America has give much to Europe over the centuries. See Inca Gold, Rubber, Guano, Oil, Agricultural products. However, when compared to past “deals” for the first time Latin America is roughly in charge of setting the terms. The times they are a changing.
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Poverty in Latin America
From thoughtsfromtheandes:
The Economist, as the Economist does, takes a look at the reduction of poverty across Latin America. It has been reduced but there is still much to be done.
Reducing poverty is a bit like losing weight, the first couple of pounds comes off relatively easy but it is the last couple that is the hardest.
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A CELAC Summary
From thoughtsfromtheandes:
If you are looking for a good summary of the first CELAC Summit, the CS Monitor and blogger James Bosworth have it covered.
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claraphication asked: I've recently had my eyes opened to the Federal Reserve, the structure of world money ownership and global media. With this influence and power, which could be affecting politicians in clear view, can you tell me what in your opinion is a trusted news source and give me an example?
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In role reversal, Latin America may aid IMF... →
Via thoughtsfromtheandes:
Truly and interesting development. Usually the roles are reversed with the IMF propping up Latin American governments.
This really is interesting. I’m not sure how many Americans are just aware of how much the international financial/monetary system is changing.
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Countries at the Crossroads 2011: Bolivia →
My report on Bolivia for the 2011 Freedom House “Countries at the Crossroads” report is now up on the Freedom House website. Here’s a direct link to the 2011 Bolivia report. Here’s a link to the full 2011 Countries at the Crossroads volume, which includes reports on 35 countries.
Writing a qualitative (but empirically driven) report on the “quality of...