http://dfn.org/ Advancing freedom worldwide through information and technology. en-us http://unix.dfn.org/DoomGloomabout_Iraqsfuture.shtml The US media is abuzz today with the news of an intelligence report that is very negative about the prospects for Iraq’s future. William Truax http://unix.dfn.org/IslamicDemocracyShowsSignsofSuccessinIndonesia.shtml Indonesia held its presidential election on September 20th, and voters chose challenger Susilo Yudhoyono in what appears to be a landslide over incumbent Megawati Sukarnoputri. Mr. Yudhoyono, nicknamed SBY, is a retired general who served under former dictator Suharto. Alicia Burns http://unix.dfn.org/ArabNationsFailtoSupportLebanon.shtml In an appalling but all too common display of despotism and indifference, Arab nations throughout the Middle East failed to condemn Syria's s suppression of Lebanese sovereignty. Luke Thomas http://unix.dfn.org/PutinsPushforPower.shtml n September 13th, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a comprehensive set of reforms intended to thwart future terrorist attacks in the country, ten days after Chechen terrorists killed over 300 people during a school siege in the North Ossetian city of Beslan. Alicia Burns http://unix.dfn.org/HongKongElectionsMarkedbyScandal.shtml Voters in Hong Kong went to the polls on September 12th to vote for its Legislative Council (LegCo) representatives. Voter turnout set a record, with 1.78 million votes cast of 3.2 million eligible voters, according to Asia News. Alicia Burns http://unix.dfn.org/ReignofTerrorContinuesinRussia.shtml The September 3rd tragedy involving the terrorist massacre of a school in the North Ossetian city of Beslan was the culmination of a summer of terrorist tragedies in Russia that have included the hijacking of two airplanes and the bombing of a Moscow subway station. Alicia Burns http://unix.dfn.org/HumanDignityandHumanRights.shtml The UDHR, and most human rights advocates, generally argue that the human rights man enjoys, both positive entitlements and negative obligations, are a product of the inherent dignity of man. Without this dignity being upheld, man is being deprived of his various rights. The espousal and maintenance of dignity, or the lack thereof, is the measurement of human rights. If this is true, there are two important questions that must be asked: First, what is the argument for rights as descendent from dignity? Luke Thomas http://unix.dfn.org/DiscardingDeadlyPolitics.shtml Bangladesh's violent political history is well known. The people here are peaceful but the politicians of the country are not. Military rule or one-party dictatorships have been replaced in favor of outright anarchy and lawlessness, perpetuated by political leaders in the name of democracy. Nizam Ahmad http://unix.dfn.org/NorthKoreaRaisesLevelofRhetoric.shtml In recent weeks, North Korea has upped its already-high levels of rhetoric and propaganda, calling United States President George Bush a “tyrant” and expressing reluctance to take part in the next round of six-way talks with the United States, Russia, China, Japan, and South Korea, scheduled for September in New York City. Alicia Burns http://unix.dfn.org/HowtobeSuccessfulinMoldova.shtml I have always loved reading the stories of the famous businesses and their founders, to find out how their idea was formed and evolved, how they guided it to success. The books describing such narratives are very popular in Eastern Europe. You wonder why? These books illustrate a world of fiction for the businessmen from this part of the world, but most importantly they are a hope for the future. Ana Porumbrica http://unix.dfn.org/EgyptsPartyofTomorrow.shtml Mona Makram-Ebeid has been a parliamentarian, is a professor of Political Science at the American University in Cairo, currently serves as head of the Association for the Advancement of Education (AAE), consults the World Bank Middle East and North Africa region, founded the Arab Organization for Human Rights and the Egyptian Council for Foreign Relations, is a former Fulbright Scholar after attending Harvard University and with luck, will become the head of Egypt's new party, "Hizb al-Ghad" (Party of Tomorrow). Luke Thomas http://unix.dfn.org/NozickRawlsandRightsintheUNDHR.shtml Do we as humans and citizens of a state have the legal right to various forms of social security? Is there such a thing as a right to food, vacation, medical care, unemployment benefits, paid holidays and an "existence worthy of human dignity"? DFN - Handbook of Freedom http://unix.dfn.org/LandGuardsWerePoliticallyNurtured.shtml There are two important traditional maxims in Ghana well amplified by the predominant Akan ethnic group as " Tumi nyinaa ne asase " and "asase ye dur" which literally translates as "all power emanates from land" and "land is mighty" respectively. Economically, land symbolizes power, life's sustainer, might, wealth, and authority. Franklin Cudjoe http://unix.dfn.org/CambodiasNewEra.shtml Notorious for its "Killing Fields" and the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia is now attempting to reform itself as an emerging democracy in Asia. Alicia Burns http://unix.dfn.org/WhatTroublesMoldova.shtml Given the favorable circumstances Moldova enjoys, many wonder why our country is so poor. The population has a 99.1% literacy rate...If we are so smart, why are we so poor? Maybe it is true that every people get the government it deserves, but I know Moldova can do better. Ana Porumbrica http://unix.dfn.org/WhyAmericansAreLucky.shtml I was 16 years old when I first visited the United States as an exchange student. I had never been to another country. I was born and lived all my life up to that point in Moldova ¯ a small country in Eastern Europe once part of the Soviet Union. Ana Porumbrica http://unix.dfn.org/TheFutilityofAgriculturalSubsidiesandTariffs.shtml The negative effects high agricultural tariffs and subsidies have on the third world are well-known, but despite the economic reality, the European Union and United States, among others, continue to impose them. Ana Porumbrica http://unix.dfn.org/VietnamsHumanRights.shtml On July 29, 2004 the Voice of Vietnam News, the Vietnamese government's official news agency published an editorial titled, "Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2004 ¯ A Wrongful Act." The piece went on to detail the unfair and oppressive actions of the United States government, which recently passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act of 2004 (HRA). Alicia Burns http://unix.dfn.org/WastingTradeOpportunities.shtml I had had difficulty in debating a colleague when I said to him in one of our arguments that trade terms need not be reciprocal and that comparative advantage, the forte of international trade is still operational regardless of tariffs imposed by either trade partner. The only unfortunate thing is that tariffs hurts consumers more than it helps producers. Tariffs actually make people poorer. Franklin Cudjoe http://unix.dfn.org/TheGazaCrisisExplained.shtml What is the reason for crisis in Gaza and what can be done to ameliorate the situation? The struggle in Gaza is essentially between Yassir Arafat, the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and those loyal to him, and young political street militants. In this case, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (interestingly, this is an armed faction of Fatah, an organization founded by Arafat himself) poses the most serious challenge to the PA. Members of this group strongly object the method of governance chosen by the PA, and have accused it of corruption and ineptitude. Luke Thomas