Defense contracting is in the news again with the President of Afghanistan calling for replacing foreign advisors with Afghans and banning foreign security firms (UPI).This news comes on top of recent reminders of the precarious security situation in Afghanistan, two days ago Joshua Partlow of the Washington Post reported that 10 medical aid workers were murdered, they'd been travel

This evening, a Federal judge ruled that the California state constitution had violated the U.S.

The Global Security Forum, CSIS’s marquee conference, surveys a range of major security issues confronting the United States.  By bringing together senior decisionmakers, opinion leaders, and perspectives from the private sector, the Forum fosters open conversation and brings forth the best solutions to the biggest security challenges of the day. The event including all the breakout sessions will be streamed live during the conference.

On April 20,2010, Brazil's national electricity regulator awarded the Norte Energia consortium rights to build the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. Brazilian officials state the 11,000 megawatt dam is critical to development, providing relatively "cheap" energy in a renewable manner. Last week Kristen blogged about James Cameron's recent visit to the Xingu River, the new home of the Belo Monte.

Meet Wael Abbas.  He's been arrested, interrogated, beaten, threatened, and detained.  For what crime? Updating his blog.

In a country with state-run media, limited freedoms, and police brutality, "freedom of expression on human rights and politics is often safest when whispered."