U.N. Chastises Thai Male Dominance

In a report issued just days before national elections, the United Nations has urged Thailand to raise the number of women in politics and civil service, chastising the country’s “cultural and traditional prejudices of a male-dominated society.”...

Got Insurgency? Buy a U.S.-Made Brigade!

It’s not a proposition for anyone. But if you are a country suffering from insurgency, call Blackwater USA for help. The rising star in the private military industry wants to sell its services at a fraction of the cost of operating NATO or U.N. peacekeepers....

U.S. Military Returns to Lebanon, Quietly

A quarter-century after the U.S. military’s failed Lebanese Army Modernization Program, and the humiliating withdrawal in 1984, the Pentagon is quietly laying the groundwork for re-establishing close ties with the Lebanese military. The United States now has an...

Chicken Thighs Out; MP3 Players In

To compile a representative a consumer price index, Britain’s Office for National Statistics [ONS] added MP3 players, flat-screen television, music downloads, digital camcorders, and a bottle of lager at nightclubs to its “shopping basket” of more...

Most Wanted: Bird Flu Suspects

The U.S. government has launched massive surveillance efforts using not just spy satellites but also state and federal scientists to begin culling and testing key suspects for the potentially deadly avian flu virus. Federal scientists have conducted a study to analyze...