Published: May 19, 2009; www.suite101.com

By: SAM KESSLER

World Health Officials are Fighting to Contain Swine Flu Pandemic

A new strain of influenza has a dangerous affect on both the weak and the strong, which has generated a global threat of massive proportions!

The question on the severity of the new strand of influenza (H1N1) that is commonly known as swine flu is still in question. Although health officials throughout the world are taking great measures to prevent a global outbreak with the alert level possibly being raised from phase 5 to phase 6 by the World Health Organization. According to United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon during a press conference on 27 April, “It could be mild, in its effects, or potentially be severe. We do not know which way it will go. But we are concerned that, in Mexico, most of those who died were young and healthy adults.” Since the Secretary General’s quote there has been an increase in swine flu cases in several states in the U.S. as well as an increase in reported cases by nations in Europe, Middle East, Asia and South America. CLICK TO READ MORE

Published: April 19, 2009; www.suite101.com

By: SAM KESSLER

U.S. Military Intervention May Be Needed To Protect Trade Security

Piracy is a reoccurring theme that is effecting international trade security and Somalia has become a breeding ground for it due to two decades of destructive civil war.

With the recent media buzz on the piracy that is occurring in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean, American policy makers are once again considering the possibility of enhancing the United States military and diplomatic roles in the war torn region of Somalia, a country that is located in the Horn of Africa. However, in this instance it might not require a humanitarian mandate sponsored by the United Nations in order to get the United States involved. Their renewed interest in the stability of Somalia appears to be purely economical by protecting its trade routes from outside aggression. In this case it would mean protecting their trade routes from modern day pirates who are headquartered in the lawless sections of Somalia. CLICK TO READ MORE

Published: December 15, 2008, www.helium.com

By Sam Kessler

When we think of a recession, we often tend to assume that the economy and our lifestyles will be spiraling downwards to the point where we feel we can never return to the "good old days", when stocks were soaring high, unemployment was at an all time low and bonuses to company employees were exceptionally generous. Those days may be gone for the moment but there's still some spark left in the economy to help reignite the next batch of bullish markets. CLICK TO READ MORE

Published August 12, 2008, Ireport website 

Posted by Sam Kessler                        

Ever since the end of the cold war and the demise of the former Soviet Union, foreign policy experts have long debated whether Russia is still a domineering force in the international community. After all, the 1990s did witness the severe decline in their economic, social and military infrastructures. However, in the last ten years they have been recovering and are beginning to flex their muscles once more. The days of gangster capitalism and instability are coming to an end in Russia and the traditional strong and powerful government rule concept has returned with a vengeance after a lengthy period of absence. CLICK TO READ MORE

Published September 5, 2008, CNN website

By Larry Shaughnessy, CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- When you see people at the office using such Internet sites as Facebook and MySpace, you might suspect those workers are slacking off.

But that's not the case at the CIA, the FBI and the National Security Agency, where bosses are encouraging their staff members to use a new social-networking site designed for the super-secret world of spying.

"It's every bit Facebook and YouTube for spies, but it's much, much more," said Michael Wertheimer, assistant deputy director of national intelligence for analysis.

The program is called A-Space, and it's a social-networking site for analysts within the 16 U.S. intelligence agencies. CLICK TO READ MORE......

Published: September 16, 2008, New York Times website

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS, MICHAEL J. de la MERCED and MARY WILLIAMS WALSH

WASHINGTON — Fearing a financial crisis worldwide, the Federal Reserve reversed course on Tuesday and agreed to an $85 billion bailout that would give the government control of the troubled insurance giant American International Group.

The decision, only two weeks after the Treasury took over the federally chartered mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, is the most radical intervention in private business in the central bank’s history.                 CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Published: October 7, 2008, New York Times website

By ERIC PFANNER AND JULIA WERDIGIER

REYKJAVIK, Iceland — The government of Iceland took extraordinary measures on Tuesday to stave off “national bankruptcy,” as the credit crisis tightened its grip on this remote island nation in the North Atlantic. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Published: May 22, 2005, The New York Times website

By GINA KOLATA

AS an object of modern surveillance, e-mail is both reassuring and troubling. It is a potential treasure trove for investigators monitoring suspected terrorists and other criminals, but it also creates the potential for abuse, by giving businesses and government agencies an efficient means of monitoring the attitudes and activities of employees and citizens.

Now the science of e-mail tracking and analysis has been given a unlikely boost by a bitter chapter in the history of corporate malfeasance -- the Enron scandal. CLICK TO READ MORE