Oil Price Blues (Read: Dangers) for Some
Steve H. Hanke
As the price of crude oil continues its downward tumble towards $80 per barrel, I am reminded of a similar scenario from near the end of the Cold War in the 1980s. When Saudi Arabia announced in 1985 that protecting oil prices was no longer its main priority, oil production surged and prices fell off a cliff, briefly plunging below $10 per barrel, as I had correctly predicted.
Lower prices delivered a fatal blow to the Soviet economy, which ended up seeing $20 billion per year in oil revenues evaporate. The resulting fiscal shortfalls proved to be a dagger in the heart of the U.S.S.R.
On October 1st of this...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 16, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Steve H. Hanke Source Type: blogs
Iraq: No Military Redo a Decade Later
Doug Bandow
Little more than a decade ago the U.S. invaded Iraq. The promised cakewalk turned out far different than expected. Today the government—and entire state—created by Washington are in crisis. Yet the same voices again are being raised calling for military intervention. With the promise that this time everything will turn out well.
Social engineers never seem to learn. It is hard enough to redesign and remake individuals, families, and communities in America. It is far harder to do so overseas.
As I point out in my latest Freeman column: “Nation-building requires su...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 29, 2014 Category: American Health Authors: Doug Bandow Source Type: blogs
Lessons from the Aga Khan in Canada
One of the world's great leaders is not the head of a national government. He is the leader of a religious faith. The Aga Khan is the spiritual head of the Ismaili Muslims, a Shia sect reaching back to the days of the Prophet Mohamed. In this role, and through the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), he has addressed issues of the elimination of poverty, access to education, and social peace in a pluralist environment. He was recently recognized for this and other accomplishments by being invited to address the Canadian Parliament.The speech is a remarkable exposition of the potential power of pluralism...
Source: Running a hospital - March 3, 2014 Category: Health Managers Source Type: blogs
Global Diabetes: Bursting the D-Bubble in Bahrain
We're back with another edition of our Global Diabetes series, in which we're "traveling the globe" to bring you stories of people living with diabetes in various parts of the world. This month, we're hosting Khadija Alarayedh, a 21-year-old woman... (Source: Diabetes Mine)
Source: Diabetes Mine - November 8, 2013 Category: Endocrinology Authors: Amy Tenderich Source Type: blogs
The Iraq Quagmire Beckons Again
Ted Galen Carpenter
While media attention has focused on such matters as the Obama Care roll-out fiasco and the civil war in Syria, developments in Iraq are becoming increasingly ominous. Sectarian violence there has reached levels not seen since the chaotic days of 2006-2007. Some 7,000 people have perished so far in 2013, and the total for October alone was just shy of 1,000. Since Iraq’s population is a mere 25 million, a comparable death toll in the United States would be nearly 13,000 for October and nearly 90,000 for the current calendar year. As I note in a recent article in Gulan, Iraq is now in the throes of a ...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - November 4, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs
When Allies Get Angry with America: Tell 'Em to Pound Sand
Doug Bandow
Saudi Arabia is angry with Washington. In Riyadh’s view, the U.S. government isn’t doing enough to support tyranny and war in the Middle East. The Obama administration should tell America’s foreign “friends” that Washington acts in the interests of the American people, not corrupt dictators.
Repressive Riyadh long has been an embarrassment for the United States. Some Americans worry about access to oil, but as I observed in my latest article on Forbes online, the Saudis are even more dependent on Washington:
If the money stopped flowing, members of today’s pampered elite might find themselves hangi...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 30, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Doug Bandow Source Type: blogs
Obsession with Syria Obscures Other Middle East Problems and Pertinent Lessons
Ted Galen Carpenter
The Obama administration and most of the U.S. foreign policy community have become so obsessed with Syria that other important developments around the world are receiving inadequate attention. In a piece over at the National Interest Online, I describe some of the key trends in South Asia and East Asia, two regions that are more important than the Middle East to long-term U.S. security and economic interests.
Crucial events include India’s growing financial woes, the simmering tensions between China and its neighbors over territorial disputes in the South China and East China Seas, and Japan’s incr...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 12, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs
It's Time for Washington to Shut Up about Promoting Democracy
Doug Bandow
The military regime in Cairo continues to kill supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi with Washington’s financial support. The Obama administration is turning hypocrisy into an art form.
Washington labors under the delusion that it controls the world. The administration insists that it must preserve its influence by giving more money to the generals in Cairo. Yet when has the United States ever exercised influence in Egypt?
For four decades American taxpayers have subsidized dictatorial regimes. The administration tried to save former president Hosni Mubarak from revolution, b...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - August 2, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Doug Bandow Source Type: blogs
Time for Washington to Just Shut Up
Doug Bandow
The military regime in Cairo continues to kill supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi with Washington’s financial support. The Obama administration is turning hypocrisy into an art form.
Washington labors with the delusion that it controls the world. The administration insists that it must preserve its influence by giving more money to the generals in Cairo. Yet when has the United States ever exercised influence in Egypt?
For four decades American taxpayers have subsidized dictatorial regimes. The administration tried to save Mubarak from revolution, before supporting his overthrow. Washington...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 30, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Doug Bandow Source Type: blogs
Will Changing of the (Political) Guard Bring Reform to Qatar?
Doug Bandow
The U.S. is the colossus which bestrides the globe, but Qatar is the pipsqueak which dominates the Middle East. That’s a slight overstatement, but the tiny kingdom of Qatar has been destabilizing other nations. There’s a new emir who would best concentrate on freeing his own people.
Qatar is barely 40 years old. For the last 18 years it was ruled by Hamad bin Khalifi al-Thani, who ousted his father in a palace coup.
Sheikh Hamad created the television channel, Al Jazeera, and annually hosted the annual Doha Forum. I attended the internationally renowned gabfest in May, which a...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 16, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Doug Bandow Source Type: blogs
Bahrain Emerging as Washington’s Next Middle East Crisis
Ted Galen Carpenter
The Obama administration, already preoccupied with the unpleasant developments in Syria and Egypt, may soon be facing a new crisis in the small Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain. If violence in that country continues to grow, it will have a more immediate and significant impact on Washington’s role in the region. Bahrain is the home port for the U.S. fifth fleet, and is, therefore, the linchpin of the U.S. naval presence in that part of the world and a crucial component of Washington’s power-projection capabilities. It would not be easy to replace that facility—and impossible to do...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 16, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs
Immigration Does Not Decrease Economic Freedom
Alex Nowrasteh
A common criticism of immigration reform (here, here, and here) is that it will decrease economic freedom in the United States, by increasing the voting pool for the Democratic Party. Leaving aside the issue of which party supports economic liberty, if any, it’s important to see what the actual impacts of immigration are on economic freedom in the United States and the world. The political effects of immigrants after they arrive are less certain than the economic benefits. Do immigrants decrease economic freedom in their new countries? The bottom line: fears of immigrants decreasin...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 8, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Policy Life Stirs in Doha: Islamists and Democracy
Doug Bandow
Big conferences can be enervating, especially when large panels are populated with establishment political figures spouting the conventional wisdom. However, the Doha Forum, which I have been attending in Doha (surprise!), Qatar, sported a burst of spontaneity at a workshop on the role of Islamists in the Middle East.
While competing discussions of economics and technology were sparsely attended, the Islamist workshop overflowed. Islamists from Bahrain, Egypt, and Tunisia made the case that Muslim fundamentalists in those countries were dedicated to democracy and intended to be inclusive of all within their so...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - May 22, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Doug Bandow Source Type: blogs
Debating Global Affairs in Doha
Doug Bandow
Qatar is much in the news, as the small Persian Gulf sheikdom attempts to extend its influence. It promoted revolution in Libya and is doing the same in Syria. Of course, the ruling family is less enthused with Iranian revolutionaries and looks askance at Shia democracy protestors in Bahrain. (So does the U.S., of course, which is threatening to bomb the regime in Tehran and has said little about Bahrain’s Sunni monarchy as it busily represses the country’s Shia majority.)
However, Qatar also engages in more mundane activities, such as hosting the annual Doha Forum, which brings together world leaders to d...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - May 16, 2013 Category: Health Medicine and Bioethics Commentators Authors: Doug Bandow Source Type: blogs
