Eat Globally

No recipe today, but plenty of things to ponder throughout the world.

We’re getting closer to a cluster bomb ban.

Obama and the war in Afghanistan (and what every American should know about Afghanistan).

How Hillary Clinton is making her mark on American foreign policy.

For the curious: an interesting travelogue on North Korea.

Iran: Curiouser and curiouser

Should we be arming the peace corps?

Just for fun: I loved the links in this post about subway systems in the former Soviet Union and alternative public transport maps.  Mostly I recommend checking out the link on subway stations throughout the former Soviet Union.  I thought it was fascinating.

OK, I’ve been gone for a very long time.  Possibly the longest stretch yet in my year and a half of blogging.  I’m not sure moving the blog from Chi Bao Le over to Eat Globally was the best decision given all the changes going on in my life at the time.  But I thought I was tough.  I thought I could handle it.  I thought I’d stay on top of everything that needed staying on top of in my life.  HA!  Right.  Anyway, its been a hectic year and obviously this here blog has fallen to the bottom of my list of things to do.  I’m going to make a concerted effort to change that.  I do love blogging.  And I love cooking.  But at the end of the day, when I’m tired and I just want to chill, those are the two things that are the easiest to skip out on.

I have a recipe to post and a bunch more I want to try over the coming weeks.  I’ve also decided to make the blog more of a family affair.  My sisters and I are all living in different places (I’m counting West Jordan, Utah and Midvale, Utah as two different places even though they are only about 10 miles apart), so I got to thinking that having them guest post here would be a nice way for us to interact over the coming year, and would also be a fun way to play on the title of the blog.  Based on the fact that we are currently spread all over the world, we truly are “eating globally”.

Anyway, to kick start my own posting habits, I have some recent food for thought.  Chew on that while you wait for me to post a recipe (hopefully tonight).

Iraq:

Effect of the recent bombings in Baghdad on PM Maliki’s plans for the Green Zone (more info on the attacks).

More troubles ahead for Iraq?

Is Ambassador Hill the wrong man for Iraq?  Many people seem to think so.

Afghanistan:

Elections in Afghanistan (If you are interested in American involvement in Afghanistan, Stephen Walt wrote an interesting piece, that provoked this response, and then finally, Walt’s own concluding response.  All interesting reads.)

Abu Muqawama’s links to Afghanistan articles of note (yeah, I’m being lazy here… he has a one stop shop, so why should I compete by linking to each individual article?  They’re all good.  Take a look….).

And the rest of the World…

The strength of women in the world.

Cocaine and Bolivia

Could it be?  Good news from Iran on the nuclear program?

Interesting snapshot of Secretary Clinton’s recent trip to Africa.

Just for fun: the Simpsons go to Angola

Who knew camels were such a problem in Australia?

One more reason Huckabee needs to give up on national politics (and Stephen Walt’s thoughts on Huckabee’s visits to the Holy Land).

Controversial winners of the Nobel Peace Prize

A new contender for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games

I’m including this link to Thomas Rick’s recommended reading list on military intelligence more for my own benefit than anyone else’s… if I include it here, I’ll always know where to find it (and yes, I could bookmark it but that would be too easy).   However, you never know, maybe one of my readers will be forever grateful that I pointed them in this direction.

Can NGOs replace diplomats?  I personally don’t think so, but then again, I have a vested interest in that opinion.  Regardless, individuals from the NGO world are already populating the diplomatic ranks, so in some ways, yes, NGOs are replacing diplomats.

Anyone who has ever had to deal with young, overly confident interns will likely appreciate this blog.  I’ve been getting a few good laughs out of it over the past few days.

Women’s rights and Obama’s speech in Cairo.

Lebanon’s election results.

British election results and the fall of the Labour Party.

Charles Taylor’s recent conversion to Judaism.

Recent trends in U.S. unemployment.

Don’t forget that tomorrow is World Oceans Day.  Oh yeah, and the U.S. still hasn’t signed the UN Convention on Law of the Sea.

Why we should begin to care about the state of things in Guatemala.

Particularly apropos for this blog: cooking’s importance in human history.

So this is why I’m risk adverse.

Great chart for anyone who believes Sarah Palin is a fiscal conservative.

Israeli settlement growth and the Bush administration.  And this interesting quote about the Settlers movement.

A couple of good pieces about Tiananmen Square: here and here.

Nicolas Sarkozy: saving the world, one country at a time (or so he likes to claim).

The Economist’s initial take on Obama’s speech.  I read (or actually, skimmed) many reactions to the speech, but decided to link to this one because, well, I LOVE the Economist.  If you want a quick rundown of international reactions to the speech, go here.

If you don’t follow British politics, you may not have heard about the crisis facing Gordon Brown’s government.  Go here for a quick rundown on the recent developments and here for a quote from James Purnell’s speech calling on Brown to step down as Prime Minister.

So many different ways to see the world.  My favorite is the RCW interactive map of the world.  Very cool.

Once again, my faith in our elected leaders to do one of the many jobs for which they were elected waivers.

Cuba, moving on up.

Scooby-Doo as a relevant tool for understanding foreign policy.

Those Aussies, they know the importance of a tasty diet.  And on top of that, their economy is still humming along.

If only more people, on both sides of the gay marriage debate, could come to this same conclusion.

A very interesting piece on the eventual inevitability of our world going vegetarian… sure to incite strong feelings and interesting debates.

Power plays in North Korea.  And is China behind the recent nuclear test and missile launches?  I don’t totally buy her argument, but hey, its an interesting take (especially if you like to think of China as the big bad wolf of our world).  For a different take, go here.

For those with aging parents and a limited budget.

Iran’s upcoming election and the issue of uranium enrichment (I’m including this link, if for no other reason than I liked the Graham Allison quote in para 2).

Tiananmen is, unsurprisingly, being mentioned a lot this week.  I recommend watching this video if you haven’t before.

I’ve wanted, for quite a while now, to do a daily post with my favorite news stories of the day.  Things have been so crazy for the past two months that I just haven’t been able to get myself organized enough to actually do it (i.e. it helps to actually read the news if you want to post links to your favorite stories).  Anyway, I’ve decided that June is THE month to get this idea off the ground (and to get myself back in the habit of reading my favorite current event blogs).

Today’s post includes more links that I planned because I got sucked into reading some older articles and thought they were worth including.

“Can a ‘blonde parade’ pull Latvia out of recession?”: The true power of blondes.

West Bank Burning: Foreign Policy’s summary of recent developments in the super-charged issue of Israeli settlements in the West Bank is worth a read.  I’m a big fan of Marc Lynch so I also suggest checking out his latest piece on this issue.

Chart of the Day: How much of corporate America does the US government really own?

Creativity and the Expat Life: One more reason to live abroad

International Sleazestakes

Do We Really Need Ambassadors?: Follow this article up with a listing of some of  Obama’s recent Ambassador nominations

The Nuke Whisperers: Good article about North Korea and the recent nuke test.

GM is not too big to fail: Good reality check here for those who believe that it is indeed too big to fail.

Cybercrime: “A war we can fight to win.”

And finally, a somewhat disheartening piece on Pakistan