PlanetNext

Big Brother knows you are reading this story. And if you think that BB is just a figment of Orwellian imagination, think twice. Better still, stay informed about what is going on in a quiet and remote Utah valley, where some 10,000 workers and engineers of the US Army and a fistful of highly-selected contractors [...]

YANGON, May 5, 2012 (IPS) – While Aung San Suu Kyi enjoys iconic status in Myanmar (also known as Burma), women remain invisible in this country steeped in Buddhist tradition and emerging from decades of military rule. “Her (Suu Kyi’s) image suggests that there is space for women,” Ma Thida, a surgeon who is also [...]

How many followers did your last, cheeky tweet on Rihanna’s shining silver bikini attract? You may have lost track, but the legion of marketing trackers prowling the Internet and social media certainly have not. Commercial cyber scouts and analysts are in high demand these days and businesses from all over the world pay them hefty [...]

Disputes over the South China Sea must be conducted and solved peacefully. This sentence summarizes most statements released by government officials after bilateral or multilateral meetings on the issue, but also highlights the absence of a real political will and the continuing unpredictability and instability in the region. Disputes related to sovereignty about land and [...]

If you really have a green heart, move to Hong Kong or Tokyo, Manhattan, Frankfurt or the nearest metropolis. And beware of alternative technologies and good intentions: these may easily backfire, since the only way to solve the planet’s energy and climate problems is to drastically reduce consumption and advocate a radically new economic model [...]

A seemingly unassailable concept is being repeated like a mantra by most government leaders around the world, especially since the financial crisis of 2008: “economic growth” is being touted by most as the only solution to empty government coffers, high unemployment and a receding standard of living in many Western countries. But some experts are [...]

MAE SOT – Recent reforms and decisions promoted by Myanmar President Thein Sein have been greeted with enthusiasm by much of the international community. Yet, many crucial issues remain unresolved, not least among them ongoing conflicts and tenuous ceasefire agreements between the Myanmar government and ethnic paramilitary groups fighting for autonomy in their territories. Those [...]

A new world war is in the making. Governments from different countries and citizen groups are engaging in daily skirmishes and confrontations through the limitless scope of our new global civilization, personified through the Internet. And, like in more traditional, XX century conflicts, this digital, XXI century warfare also sees the USA taking center stage. [...]