Economy

A Young Syrian’s Evolution From a Carefree Tour Guide to a Revolutionary (jdargis)

Abu Zeid and several friends took up arms after security officers shot demonstrators in Tadmur, the modern town near Palmyra. Now, alternately passionate and confused, Abu Zeid has only the dimmest idea of an endgame, swept up in a wave heading nowhere clear.

He wavers, unsure whether joining the revolt was his life’s proudest moment or its ruin — or both.

Economic Report Card: Fail (JimQ)

The long-term chart below tells the true story. The BLS classifying millions as not in the labor force is a crock. The Obama apologists and sycophants peddle a false storyline about Baby Boomers retiring as the cause for this labor force decline. The fact is people over the age of 55 have the highest participation rate in history and it continues to rise. Of the 142.4 million employed Americans, only 114 million works more than 35 hours per week, with 28.4 million working part-time. That means that 20% of those employed are part time workers with no benefits. In 2008, prior to the ascendency of Obama, there were 125 million full-time workers and 20 million part-time workers. Obama has been able to increase the percentage of part-time workers from 14% to 20% in just over 3 years. Remember this fact when Obama touts the 3 million new jobs he’s created since 2010.

Arab Uprisings Point Up Flaws in Global Court (jdargis)

The men have not been prosecuted because they have powerful allies, underlining what critics say are crucial flaws in the court’s setup. That now threatens to undermine the still-fragile international consensus that formed the basis for the court’s creation in 2002: that leaders should be held accountable for crimes against their own people.

A Bruised Iceland Heals Amid Europe’s Malaise (jdargis)

“Everything has turned around,” said Adalheidur Hedinsdottir, who owns and runs the coffee chain Kaffitar, the Starbucks of Iceland, and has plans to open a new cafe and start a bakery business. “When we told the bank we wanted to make a new company, they said, ‘Do you want to borrow money?’ ” she went on. “We haven’t been hearing that for a while.”

Largest Hydroelectric Project in the World is Completed, but at What Cost? (OPA)

However, at a cost of over $38 billion, four times the original estimate, and resulting in at least 1.3 million people being relocated from their homes due to increased risk of earthquakes and landslides in the region, has the price for this particular renewable energy source been too much?

Kenya Anchor to East African Oil Economy (OPA)

Kenya has no proven oil reserves though that may change given the pace at which Tullow expects developments to move forward. The company said it expected Kenya to overshadow the 2.5 billion barrels it imagines in nearby Uganda. With the success of its Ngamia-1 well, Tullow said there could be as much as 10 billion barrels of oil situated in its Kenyan acreage. Considering the optimism expressed over the Lake Albert region in Uganda, and given Tullow's proven track record in frontier developments, Kenya could emerge as a major player in the African energy sector.

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