At midday on April 16, a crowd gathered outside the White House to catch a glimpse of Pope Benedict XVI entering the grounds for his elaborate welcoming ceremony. Supporters of the pontiff—mostly families and people from neighboring office buildings—were sandwiched between an iron fence and angry protesters. The angriest and best organized of these protesters...
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December 1, 2007June 20, 2022Cultural Revolutions
Burmese Revolutions?
On September 25, President George W. Bush spoke at the United Nations to condemn human-rights abuses by the government of Myanmar, siding with Burmese political dissidents. Throughout October, protests in Myanmar grew more aggressive, and the government backlash became more cruel. But why is President Bush endorsing regime change now? Since 1988, Burma (Myanmar) has...
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November 1, 2007June 20, 2022Correspondence
Iran, Russia, and Debt
Historians are quick to recognize struggles among national powers, but they usually neglect the power of organized international finance, which has aims above and beyond those of its host countries. In fact, during the Belle Époque, great powers such as Britain and France were simply the workhorses of the financial elite. The same can be...
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July 1, 2007June 20, 2022Correspondence
Letter From Serbia: Serbia in Our Own Image
One week before last Christmas, the U.S. State Department fast-tracked four European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) projects in Serbia, which consisted of a loan to HVB Banka Serbia; an equity investment in Syntaxis Mezzanine Fund I; an equity investment in South Eastern Energy Capital; and a loan to Danube Group Holding of Serbia,...
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July 1, 2007June 20, 2022American Proscenium
Plant and Ye Shall Find
The Bush administration says that Iran has “proliferated weapons of mass destruction.” This time, Condi will make sure they can find some. On March 28, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Henry Paulson, and Alberto Gonzales determined that Iran’s military-industrial complex, the Defense Industries Organization (DIO), has contributed to the spread of “weapons of mass destruction.”...