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Rising inflation at 20% in Iran in Dec 2011. Cash payments by the government to soften the impact of lower subsidies on fuel and other products brings more rials into circulation, leading to higher inflation. Sanctions are also affecting the economy. The rial has declined in value from 7000 rials to the dollar in October 2011 to 15,150 rials in December 2011, according to the Fars News Agency.

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Souleymane Guengueng of Chad, a political prisoner during the dictatorship of Hissene Habre, and the ray of light Mandela's release brought to him in prison. He now lives in New York City.

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Luis Videgaray, MIT trained economist, is the closest economic advisor to Mexico's presidential candidate, Enrique Pena Nieto. Mexico's presidential elections will be held in July 2012.

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This WSJ editorial says the free Indonesian elections and win by Widodo are worth celebrating. In the win by the Jakarta governor over Subianto, a military figure from the Suharto period, by 8.5 million votes in a country of 190 million, there is one big piece of good news in the midst of the failures elsewhere including neighboring Thailand. The Constitutional Court dismissed a challenge from Subianto, and the Yudhoyono government has shown a balanced approach to carefully respect the election results. This sets the stage for Indonesia to join the other democracies in the region, especially neighboring India, Australia and Japan, and also Pakistan, Bangladesh. The Indian region and Indonesia together represent the largest population in the world. The effort to tackle the common huge problems of inadequate infrastructure, using a elected democratic government process, will require all the energy, wise policy and ingenuity of the people themselves.

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The House of Commons votes to offer recognition for the Palestinian state, following Sweden's recognition of Palestine in 2014.

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Hubbard points out that beyond the public show of confidence Saudi Arabia is a society undergoing change and the future remains uncertain. In Jan. 2015 King Salman, 79, succeeded King Abdullah when he died at the age of 90. With the drop in oil prices and the Saudi role to avoid production cuts, the Saudis have a buget deficit of $39 billion for 2015. Reserves are estimated at $750 billion by the IMF. Saudi policies under Salman will remain unchanged.

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The need for an effective opposition and an alternative to the African National Congress party in South Africa. The Democratic Alliance party which it is estimated can get about 30% of the vote, as an alternative.

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The tenacity of Democratic Party operatives such as Terry Lenzner from minorities in the U.S. marked the period of Civil Rights protests in the postwar period and the Clinton administration, leading to another generation of operatives such as Obama advisor Emmanuel from Chicago.

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Thomas Fuller of the NYT cites Thai historian Nidhi Eoseewong about the social transformation taking place in Thailand and the emergence of farmers in the northeast as part of the middle class. This change is a result of Asia's rapid economic growth and brings with it new tensions in the social and political fabric of the country. Suthep Thangsuban, a leader of the Democrat Party, is leading protests in Nov. 2013. Because the northeast Thailand voters form about one third of the vote, the older established Democratic Party- allied to the middle class in Bangkok- has failed to win elections since 1992. The established older middle class wants to see less electoral participation that diminishes its role and is pushing for a Senate with half of the members appointed by civil servants and judges. The party of Thaksin Shinawatra and his sister, the current prime minister, appeals to the northeastern voters who want greater representation. These issues are behind the protests in Bangkok and are not likely to be resolved anytime soon as it will take time to integrate the northeast....

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A survey by Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper in Feb. 2013 shows 71% support for the Abe government. The effort to reduce the overvalued yen's currency value using monetary policy of the Bank of Japan, fighting deflation by setting a 2% goal for inflation, moral suasion with business leaders to increase wages, are all part of an effort to get the Japanese economy moving again. The Nikkei Stock Average is up nearly one third to 11,000. Unlike previous prime ministers, Abe is prime minister for the second time, and is likely to have a better plan for building public supprt for his economic moves which are described in Japan as "Abenomics." Recent meeings of the EU leaders have taken Japan's currency moves as steps related to fighing deflation and not efforts to manipulate its currency. The Swiss who are major exporting nation like Japan have also taken strong steps to keep their currency at competitive levels, giving Japan a precedent from Europe. With sharply slower growth in emerging markets, in China and India, the revival of growth in Japan would be seen as an encouraging sign in the global economy in 2013-2014....

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A 60% turnout in the election in Kashmir with the National Conference Party under Omar Abdullah winning 28 seats out of 87 seats, and the People's Democratic Party winning 21 seats and the Congress Party winning 17 seats. A coalition between the Congress party and the National Conference party is expected. The turnout in Srinagar the main city was 20%, higher than the 5% in 2002, which suggests that the terrorism in Kashmir is focussed in areas like Srinagar and in the rest of the country including rural districts the people are looking for ways to improve their lives free of the violence and poverty resulting from the insurgency.

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Graham Allison of the Kennedy school of Government at Harvard and John Deutsch former head of the CIA under Clinton and now a Professor at MIT, say it would be adesirable thing that Afghanistan develop into a prosperous, poppy-free and democratic country, but it is not vital for American interests. They say lets face it, one cannot push Afghistan into modernity overnight, just because we wish it. It would be atragic mistake to do so, and take a huge and ultimately failing effort to do this, with a vast expenditure of American blood and money, to do this. One can expect for Afghanistan after we exit to revert to conditions that exist in other countries at the same level of development, like Bangladesh, Sudan, Somalia. Allison sees a vital interest at stake in Pakistan because of nuclear weapons.

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John Holmes the UN deputy secretary general and relief coordinator says after a 4 day situation that the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating. Afghanistan's food needs he says are very great considering the worsening food situation cause by world food prices surging and by the loss of about 40% of Afghanistan's wheat crop from drought that has affected food producing areas. The UN appealed 6 months earlier for $400 million in food aid to meet the needs of 4.5 million people or 14% of the people and for seeds and fertilizer to increase food production. Complicating food delivery is the worsening security situation with 432 deaths to insurgent attacks, and 62% rise in civilian deaths, displacement of 160,000 people.

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US National Intelligence report due after the November elections confirms much of the British Ambassador's cable to the French from Afghanistan. Its a situation in a downward spiral the draft report says and the deterioration is accelerated by rampant corruption and the heroin trade which is now about half of Afghanistan's economy. The government "has lost all trust" according to the British Ambassador Cowper-Coles report.

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Is Ahmadinejad or Khamanei Iran's socalled supreme leader, the leader foreign leaders should be paying attention to in the final analysis? The openings in the Clinton administration under Khatami for a reconciliation of differences, Irans legitimate interests and aspirations in the shiite and Islamic world and how they can be reconciled with the American interests as in Iraq. How rhetoric of Ahmadinejad may have poisoned these possibilities and clouded the real nature of Iran as not a totalitarian state says Akbar Ganji but more of a Sultanate in the Islamic tradition with a heterogenity of views and interests under an Islamic banner and authority, as for instance liberalism, socialism and feminism all views that exist as currents in Iranian society and vie to replace the existing Islamic ideology or to supplement or modify it in a form of modernizing element. And in the final analysis its about the hope of democracy activists in Iran and activists for modernizing element, and moderating influences in Iran's heterogenous society and in its bazaars that emphasize commercial instincts and manner over ideology, which also have popular support as they did under Khatami, to come up with a government that is more likely to work with a range of countries from China and India in Asia to Europe and the United States. And its about how the US and Europe can work towards that outcome requiring less rhetoric and more patience, firmness, and perseverence. ...

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Admiral Mullen chairma joint cheifs confirms most of what the British Ambassador in Afghanistan s saying about deteriorating prospects in the country. He understands the heroin growing issue brought up by US counter narcotics experts in the NYT recently, by saying "we've got to impact pretty significantly, pretty fast on the poppy issue". He is aware that poppy growing is abundant in the south and in Helmand province pours upwards of $100 million to finance the Taliban. General McKiernan who heads NATO forces there says that NATO forces would be authorized to attack narcotics bosses, their soldiers and infrastructure, if they are linked to movement of weapons, improvised explosives or foreign fighters in Afghanistan. Which is possibly a waiting mode till more troops are sent to Afghanistan as policing this rugged mountanous country with tribal regions and loyalties complicated by the narcotics layer and widespread corruption in the Karzai government and its loss of popular support requires many more troops than are now in the country and a sustained campaign. So far the US and European forces possibly outnumbered have resisted alienating the poppy farmers in the south through land based eradication. But with more troops Mullen's new approach and Petraeus's has to shift to something like that, at the same time as they follow Petraeus's new counterinsurgency doctrine in display in Iraq to draw down the Taliban strength to its core supporters by winning other tribal factions with no hardcore loyalties over to the American side....

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Tranlation of an oped article in French on the Lashkar -e Taiba terrorist group in Pakistan, and its links and sponsors in the Pakistan ISI agency which is itself a state within a state.