Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
Watch Russia’s Bizarre, Militarized International Women’s Day Tribute
On Tuesday, also known as International Women’s Day, the Russian TV channel REN TV honored the country’s women in a very bizarre way — through a video laden with military euphemisms.In the video, called “March 8,” an interviewer talks to a young blonde woman named Maria. If you don’t speak Russian, the video,...
Time to Reboot Leadership in International Affairs
If you take a glimpse at media coverage or think tank reports in past few years you will notice that unfortunately we don’t fall short of issues related human security and human rights. In fact it is a matter of discussion and debate all across the world which will never cease to end. Think about it, so far there are around 9 million...
A Surge in Psychiatric Punishment in the Former Soviet Union
Image: Stock Photo. FreeImages.com/Griszka Niewiadomski A particularly despicable way of punishing dissidents during Soviet times was committing them to insane asylums. In those institutions, perfectly sane dissidents were surrounded by real lunatics, including many prone to violence; were abused by asylum staff; and were often forced to take...
How Fracking and Dodd-Frank are Reshaping Petro-Politics Around the World
By Paul Friesen A number of authoritarian regimes around the world are heavily dependent on oil revenues and institutional corruption to remain in power. However, two seemingly unconnected U.S. trends: the rise of “fracking” and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reforms may in fact play a substantial role in creating new opportunities for...
It Is High Time for EU to Stand Up To Creeping Illiberal Democracy in Europe
The Founders Fathers of the European Union (EU) believed that economic integration was the key to political prosperity in Europe. They integrated the coal and steel industries of Germany and France to disincentivize the main Continental European rivals from starting a Third World War. Since the modest start in 1951 the EU has grown into the most...
Where Have You Gone, Harry Truman?
LONDON–Seventy years ago this week, in a quiet corner of Iran, the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union began in earnest over a missed deadline. For four years, American, British, and Soviet troops had been stationed in Iran, invited by the government there to help protect Persian oil fields from Hitler’s army. But...
Russian Fascists for Trump!
Donald Trump has collected a lovely bouquet of endorsements in his path to the presidency: Chris Christie, David Duke, Jean-Marie Le Pen, the KKK. It’s the kind of praise that would make a mother proud, if your mother happened to be Leni Riefenstahl. And now he can add Russian philosopher, TV personality, and Duck Dynasty lookalike...
Ukrainian Village Renames Street From ‘Lenin’ To ‘John Lennon’
On Wednesday, a small village in southwestern Ukraine officially changed the name of one of its streets from “Lenin Street” to “John Lennon Street.” The news that the town, Kalyny, would honor the Beatles singer from now on instead of the Russian Communist Party founder was announced by Hennadiy Moskal, the governor of the...
Workers Struggle for Their Rights in the Former Soviet Union
Image: Vladimir Lenin. Stock Photo. FreeImages.com/Paal Gladso The Soviet Union was established to create the workers’ paradise that Communist theorists envisioned. The idea was that workers would own the means of production, make the production decisions and share the production rewards. It never worked that way. In practice, the state...
Ukraine’s booming IT sector is good news despite the war
A plain Soviet-era office block squats on a residential street in the beautiful historic city of Lviv, Ukraine. The lobby is dimly lit and there is no seating, only a stern guard who points to the elevator to access local software engineering firm N-iX. The doors part and the offices are an orange and white oasis, with lofty ceilings and light...
