In Sri Lanka… This has to be one of the most terrifying and haunting images I’ve ever seen. It takes a tragic place right alongside the Vietnamese children who are running down the road near Trang Bang after they got hit with napalm. (credit: Telegraph)

As the economy goes cliff diving, the effects are being felt around the world. From NY Times: In its new report, prepared for a meeting next week of finance ministers from the 20 industrialized and large developing countries, the World Bank warned that the financial disruptions are all but certain to overwhelm the ability of [...]

“We are in the midst of a phase of history in which nations will be redefined and their futures fundamentally altered.” – Rupert Murdoch talks about the current state of the global economy in an internal memo Anybody willing to bet against Murdoch’s prediction? And do you think these futures will be better or worse? [...]

Following up on his campaign promise to have a surge-like push in Afghanistan to see if it could help the country. From Fox News: “This reinforcement will contribute to the security of the Afghan people and to stability in Afghanistan,” Obama said in a statement. “I recognize the extraordinary strain that this deployment places on [...]

Some pretty depressing numbers. GDP dropping by 12%+ in Japan because nobody’s buying their exports. Yikes. Question…who is doing well? Also, if this truly is a global economy and we’re all connected now, then how will we be able to pull ourselves back out of this if nobody’s buying what we’re selling either?

NBC reports… As I scan the wires I do get a sense that people all across the globe are genuinely inspired that Obama has become President. What’s your take on it?

They say that they’ve achieved their goals, but with nearly 1,200 Palestinians dead and the cease fire not actually involving Hamas, I can’t help but think that this is a tenuous peace at best. From BBC: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel had achieved its goals and Hamas – which has been firing rockets at [...]

“Terrorism is a deadly tactic, not an institution or an ideology.” – British Foreign Secretary David Miliband on the limits of the phrase “War on Terror” Here’s more… The foreign secretary wrote that since 9/11 the phrase “war on terror” had “defined the terrain” when it came to tackling terrorism and that although it had [...]

The Wall Street Journal explains why we shouldn’t put a “buy American steel provision” into the upcoming stimulus plan. 1) The domestic steel industry cannot supply all our needs (20-25% of our steel is imported). 2) American steel companies have become highly consolidated and, without international competition, would be able to raise prices and bilk [...]

I’ve written at length about my opinions of extraordinary rendition, Guantanamo Bay, etc., but the idea that people will vigorously defend policies that put a completely innocent man through 6 years of hell still leaves me completely baffled. Seriously. This is one of those issues for me where there’s absolutely zero common ground because I [...]

Privatization sounds sexy in theory, but there’s a reason Social Security is called a safety net, and all you need to do to understand why faith in markets is a recipe for disaster is look to the current situation in Italy. From Bloomberg: The global market meltdown has created losses for those who agreed to [...]

The fighting is growing more intense as Israel has started their ground offensive. And if Israel doesn’t realize that they’ve overreached here and are losing sympathy around the world, then they better wake up and realize it soon. You can’t kill this many women and children and not get a ton of backlash. From CNN: [...]

First, the US numbers… In the United States on Friday, a crucial measure of manufacturing activity fell to the lowest level in 28 years in December. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said its manufacturing index was 32.4 in December down from 36.2 in November. “Manufacturing activity continued to decline [...]

New Years is usually a time for optimism. But here at Donklephant, we’re committed to discussing both sides of everything. So, for all you pessimists out there, here’s a list for you. It’s Saxo Bank’s outrageous predictions for the coming year. I’ve added my own commentary to spice things up. 1) An Iranian revolution. Because [...]

A powerful message about women in developing worlds… Just something to think about on this day when we celebrate family, friends and abundance. More here.

Ambinder is talking to the Obama team, and they don’t think the economy is going to get better any time soon… It’s quite unsettling to talk to members of Barack Obama’s transition teams these days, especially those who are helping with the economics portfolio. Without going into details, the sense I get from them is [...]

Prorogue transitive verb: 1 : defer , postpone 2 : to terminate a session of (as a British parliament) by royal prerogative intransitive verb: to suspend or end a legislative session Canada has been in the international headlines recently as Stephen Harper’s minority conservative government faces dissolution from a coalition of opposition parties. The best [...]

Why? Because it’s still a mess… BAGHDAD – For the past two weeks I’ve been embedded with the United States Army in Baghdad, and I find myself unable to figure out what to make of this place. Baghdad, despite the remarkable success of the surge, is as mind-bogglingly run-down and dysfunctional as ever, even compared [...]

You’ll watch it, but you still won’t believe it. Hey…I wonder if this guy could help Obama balance the budget! Thank you, thank you, I’ll be here forever…don’t forget to tip your bloggers.

Amid the turkey and stuffing, I neglected to update everybody on this good news… In a vote heralded by supporters as a momentous step toward restoring Iraqi sovereignty, lawmakers here passed a crucial bill Thursday, setting out a three-year timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraqi soil. The bill passed after months of [...]