Obama Talks Climate Change. California Is Acting on It

Bryan Walsh* The Salton Sea area of California's Imperial Valley was once a thriving tourist destination, but it deteriorated and dried up from the effects of global warming (Brian L. Frank / Redux) It’s not the happiest time to be an environmentalist. Climate change hit home last year with brutal force: 2012’s historic drought singed much of the Midwest, turning farms to dust and withering the corn crop. Other parts of the U.S. suffered through storms like Sandy and massive wildfires. Average annual temperatures in the continental U.S. beat the previous recorded high by a full 1°F (1.8°C). And the future is uglier still: over the weekend, British economist Nicholas Stern warned that climate change could be even worse than he predicted...

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Islam and Science: The road to renewal

After centuries of stagnation, science is making a comeback in the Islamic world. The sleep has been long and deep. In 2005 Harvard University produced more scientific papers than 17 Arabic-speaking countries combined. The world’s 1.6 billion Muslims have produced only two Nobel laureates in chemistry and physics. Both moved to the West: the only living one, the chemist Ahmed Hassan Zewail, is at the California Institute of Technology. By contrast Jews, outnumbered 100 to one by Muslims, have won 79. The 57 countries in the Organisation of the Islamic Conference spend a puny 0.81% of GDP on research and development, about a third of the world average. America, which has the world’s biggest science budget, spends 2.9%; Israel lavishes 4.4%. Many...

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A Muslim's Perspective on the Inauguration, MLK and the Universal Story of Hope and Fear

Alp Aslandoğan * Billions of people around the world of all races, religions, nationalities and political persuasions were inspired by the second inauguration of President Barack Obama. It was not only President Obama's message but the message of hope that underscores everything that America can represent for the world, including peaceful affirmations of power, progress and opportunit...

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The tastes of Turkey

Rhiannon Davies I was taken aback recently when a fellow expat friend said to me, “I like Turkish food but I find it all a bit… samey.” I was quick to point out that he clearly wasn't looking hard enough. Being an expat in Turkey has allowed me to scratch beneath the surface of Turkish food. Kebabs are Turkey's most famous edible export; their popularity being such that seemingly every small town in the UK along with Germany and other countries now has at least one döner joint, and when I tell people who have never visited Turkey that one of the reasons I moved here is for the food they often raise an eyebrow, wondering how I haven't managed to tire of these yet (or managed to avoid doubling in size). The longer I live here, the more...

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The best of Anatolia’s Phrygian sites

Pat Yale Of the many peoples who have inhabited Anatolia in the pre-Greco-Roman period the best known are probably the Hittites whose ancient capital, at Hattuşa, is now one of Turkey’s world heritage sites. Not quite so well known are the Phrygians who took over power from them in much of Central Anatolia from the 12th century B.C. onwards. Indo-Europeans who probably first emerged in the Balkans, the Phrygians may have been included amongst the mysterious “Sea Peoples” who are thought to have overwhelmed the Hittites. Alternatively, they may just have stepped into the void created by the collapse of the Hittite Empire. The full story is yet to be tol...

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The Importance of Family Travel

Lisa Belkin Among my most memorable vacation moments with my kids was the phone call I made from a peak in the Grand Tetons one summer. The boys were 7 and 10, and they had not taken to the majestic scenery with quite the enthusiasm I'd hoped. I believe the word "bored" was uttered once or twice, and someone actually whined "are we there yet...

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Environment and economy on collision course

Rolf Wenkel Photo: Fars The world is confronted with mounting threats, the World Economic Forum has warned in its Global Risk Report. Among the risks are income disparity, the burden of sovereign debt and damage caused by climate change. The 2013 Global Risk Report compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF) is based on a poll of over 1,000 economists, policy makers, scientists and civil society activists. The majority of respondents singled out increasing income disparity as the risk which was most likely to manifest itself over the next ten year...

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The New United States-Turkey Partnership: A View From Washington

Richard Weitz* Recto | Verso Blog's Note: This is a summary of a 20-page document. Full analysis is available for download. After several years of tense ties between Turkey and the United States, Turkey has been deepening security cooperation with Washington, leading to the advent of a “Golden Era” in Turkish-U.S. relations. The expectation is that, with much of Europe paralyzed due to the Euro crisis and with U.S. attention drifting eastward, Turkey could become one of the most influential NATO countries as well as one of the most important U.S. allies in coming year...

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