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Latest Articles: International News
Will the Arab revolutions spread?
Post Date: 2011-01-27 16:42:46 by go65
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The end of the Tunisian story hasn't yet been written. We don't yet know whether the so-called Jasmine Revolution will produce fundamental change or a return to a cosmetically-modified status quo ante, democracy or a newly configured authoritarianism. But most of the policy community has long since moved on to ask whether the Tunisian protests will spread to other Arab countries -- Egypt, of course, but also Jordan, Yemen, Algeria, Libya, and almost every place else. Most experts on each individual country can offer powerful, well-reasoned explanations as to why their country won't be next. I'm skeptical too. But I found it unsatisfying to settle for such skepticism as I ...
Egyptian Protests Intensify, As Clashes Spread Across The Middle East
Post Date: 2011-01-27 15:55:13 by Brian S
6 Comments
Security forces shot dead a Bedouin protester in Egypt's Sinai region on Thursday, bringing the death in the three days of protests to five. Police in Suez fired rubber bullets, water cannon and tear gas at hundreds of demonstrators calling for an end to the 30-year-old rule of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian president. Protesters chucked rocks and petrol bombs at police lines. In Ismailia, hundreds of protesters clashed with police, who dispersed the crowds with tear gas. Like in many other countries in the region, protesters in Egypt complain about surging prices, unemployment and the authorities' reliance on heavy-handed security to keep dissenting voices quiet. The protests are ...
Time To End Foreign Aid To Israel: ‘We Just Can’t Do It Anymore,’ Sen. Paul Warns
Post Date: 2011-01-27 12:47:06 by Brian S
8 Comments
One of the Senate's newest members has settled upon an idea to reduce American debt that's likely to come off as highly controversial in the halls of power: ending all foreign aid, including the tens of billions dedicated to Israel. Israel has been, by far, the largest recipient of US foreign aid anywhere in the world. Since the inception of Israel's close diplomatic relationship with the US all the way through 2008, Americans gave Israel over $103 billion, according to the American Educational Trust. President Barack Obama in late 2009 approved an additional $2.77 billion for Israeli foreign aid in 2010, and another $30 billion over the next decade. That's got to stop, ...
More "Cimate Change" Bullshit Debunked
Post Date: 2011-01-27 11:06:21 by no gnu taxes
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Himalayan glaciers are actually advancing rather than retreating, claims the first major study since a controversial UN report said they would be melted within quarter of a century. Researchers have discovered that contrary to popular belief half of the ice flows in the Karakoram range of the mountains are actually growing rather than shrinking. The discovery adds a new twist to the row over whether global warming is causing the world's highest mountain range to lose its ice cover. It further challenges claims made in a 2007 report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that the glaciers would be gone by 2035. Although the head of the panel Dr Rajendra Pachauri ...
China to create largest mega city in the world with 42 million people
Post Date: 2011-01-26 17:48:07 by Mad Dog
9 Comments
City planners in south China have laid out an ambitious plan to merge together the nine cities that lie around the Pearl River Delta. The "Turn The Pearl River Delta Into One" scheme will create a 16,000 sq mile urban area that is 26 times larger geographically than Greater London, or twice the size of Wales. The new mega-city will cover a large part of China's manufacturing heartland, stretching from Guangzhou to Shenzhen and including Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, Huizhou and Zhaoqing. Together, they account for nearly a tenth of the Chinese economy. Over the next six years, around 150 major infrastructure projects will mesh the transport, energy, water ...
Iran's Allies Gain Clout And Possible Softer Edges
Post Date: 2011-01-26 15:04:13 by Brian S
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — From the Afghan badlands to the Mediterranean, evidence of Iran's reach is easy to spot: a mix of friend and foe for Kabul leaders, a power broker in Iraq, deep alliances with Syria and a big brother to Lebanon's Hezbollah and Hamas in Gaza. Tehran's proxy portfolio suddenly has a bit more aura after Hezbollah's political gambit — bringing down a pro-Western government in Lebanon and moving into position to pick its successor. To those keeping score, it would appear that Iran is winning some important points around the Middle East at the expense of Washington and its allies. But such gains have potential built-in costs, ...
Russian Parliament Approves Start Nuclear Arms Treaty
Post Date: 2011-01-26 14:52:52 by Brian S
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Russia's parliament has given its backing to the Start nuclear arms disarmament treaty. The Federation Council (upper house) unanimously approved the deal signed by US President Barack Obama and Russia's Dmitry Medvedev in April 2010. Under the agreement, the number of nuclear warheads deployed by each country will be cut to 1,550. The US Senate approved the treaty by 71 votes to 26 last year, after months of wrangling. Wednesday's vote by the Federation Council comes a day after the treaty was ratified by the Duma, or lower house, and represents the final step in its passage through parliament. The New Start (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty), will replace its predecessor, ...
The failure of socialism in Sweden
Post Date: 2011-01-26 12:21:57 by no gnu taxes
5 Comments
On 26th February 2008, Mr. Fredrik Reinfeldt, Prime Minister of Sweden, gave a talk at the London School of Economics and Political Science. The subject that he presented was: "The New Swedish Model: A Reform Agenda for Growth and the Environment" The speech can be read in full from the Swedish Embassy: The New Swedish Model The passage that interested me the most was the following: At the beginning of the 1970s Sweden also had the fourth highest GDP per capita measured in purchasing power parity. Sweden was blooming. Then came Sweden's mad quarter of a century. Growth fell off. Unemployment rose. The quality of welfare declined. What, then, were the factors that made ...
'Anonymous' Calls For Attacks On Egyptian Gov't Websites
Post Date: 2011-01-26 11:13:25 by Brian S
1 Comments
The online group of hactivists known as "Anonymous" expressed their support for protesters in Egypt Wednesday by calling for cyber attacks on websites run by the Egyptian government. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets across Egypt this week, facing down a massive police presence to demand the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in protests inspired by Tunisia's popular uprising. After reports said that social media websites Twitter and Facebook had been restricted in the country, the "Anonymous" Facebook page "Operation Egypt" issued a dire warning to the Egyptian government. "To the Egyptian Govt : Anonymous challenges all those who ...
Moscow airport suicide bomber might have been a Muslim terrorist
Post Date: 2011-01-25 17:43:47 by Happy Quanzaa
6 Comments
Islamic militants suspected in Russia airport bombingAt least 35 die, 170 injured in ‘terrorist attack’ As Russian authorities sift through the wreckage of the Moscow airport attack, the world’s attention will be drawn to the Muslim separatists who experts suspect carried out the Monday bombing. Known as Imarat Kavkaz, or the Caucasus Emirate, the group was formed in 2007 with the goal of bringing Islamic law to the North Caucasus, a region of Russia that includes Chechnya, an Islamic-majority province that has been in some form of rebellion against Moscow since the 19th century. No one had claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack at Moscow’s busiest airport, ...
Egypt: President's Son And Family 'Have Fled To The UK'
Post Date: 2011-01-25 16:51:21 by Brian S
6 Comments
Cairo, 25 Jan. (AKI) - Gamal Mubarak, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son who is widely tipped as his successor, has fled to London with his family, Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab said on Tuesday. The report came as violent unrest broke out in Cairo and other Egyptian cities and hundreds of thousands of people reportedly took to the streets in a Tunisia-inspired day of revolt. Officials did not immediately confirm the report that Gamal Mubarak has fled to the British capital with his wife and daughter aboard a private jet. The jet with Mubarak, his family and 97 pieces of luggage on board left for London on Tuesday from an airport in western Cairo, according to the US-based Akhbar ...
Egypt Anti-Govt Protests Escalate
Post Date: 2011-01-25 14:24:39 by Brian S
2 Comments
The United States believes "the Egyptian government is stable," despite stunning protests calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday. Clinton's comments on Tuesday came after thousands of Egyptians, inspired by Tunisian demonstrators, gathered in Cairo and towns across the country calling for reforms and demanding an end to Mubarak's presidency, which has now lasted for nearly three decades. Thousands of demonstrators attended the anti-government protests. Some in downtown Cairo hurled rocks and climbed atop an armoured police truck. In a statement issued Tuesday ...
Incidents Down But Anti-Semitism Growing, Report Shows
Post Date: 2011-01-25 14:21:09 by Brian S
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JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Anti-Semitism around the world appears to be strengthening, despite fewer incidents in 2010, according to a new report. The Annual Report of the Coordination Forum for Countering Anti-Semitism released Sunday in Jerusalem showed fewer anti-Semitic incidents from a record-setting 2009. Still, the authors of the report -- the Jewish Agency Task Force on Anti-Semitism and the Israeli Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs -- found that organized activity aimed at the delegitimization of Israel as a Jewish state increased in 2010. The report also said that the blurring of lines between legitimate criticism of Israel and demonizing the nation has turned into the ...
Rice: US Army Presence In Iraq Protects Israel
Post Date: 2011-01-25 12:45:01 by Brian S
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Former US sec. of state tells Palestinians: Even if Israel trusts you, you're still incapable of providing security, in leaked documents. Former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice reassured Israel that the US military presence in Iraq should calm any Israeli security concerns "from the east," minutes from a 2008 trilateral meeting between Rice and the Israeli and Palestinian negotiation teams reveal. Discussing the needs of Israel regarding Palestinian security forces in a future-Palestinian state, former foreign minister Tzipi Livni expressed concern over a third-party military force protecting a Palestinian state's external borders. Secretary Rice inserted, ...
Putin: Retribution 'Inevitable' For Airport Bomb
Post Date: 2011-01-25 11:57:49 by Brian S
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Putin vowed "retribution is inevitable" for the suicide bombing that killed 35 people at Russia's busiest airport, while President Dmitry Medvedev demanded full security checks at all transport hubs today and lashed out at the airport for lax security. Putin has built much of his reputation on harsh statements, and the Russian news agencies that reported his comments today did not say whether he specified what kind of retribution or against whom. No claims of responsibility have been made for the attack yesterday at Domodedovo Airport, which also left 180 people injured. However, suspicion is likely to fall on Islamist separatist insurgents from Chechnya or elsewhere in ...
Greenland ice melt set record in 2010; Canadian arctic unusually warm
Post Date: 2011-01-24 16:58:18 by go65
18 Comments
Cold enough for you? It certainly is for some folks, who are using the frigid air and East Coast snowstorms to fire spitballs at global-warming believers. It’s true that the D.C. region has been locked into an unusually cold pattern, with temperatures in December about 5 degrees below average. But as mentioned before on this blog, that doesn’t mean everyone in the world is shivering. Here’s some more recent data on how D.C. is faring in comparison to other climates. The above map, courtesy of NOAA, depicts anomalies in mean surface temperatures from Dec. 17 to Jan. 15. The blue splotch near D.C. represents our below-average cold snap. The orange and red patches over the ...
Revolution: Protests Erupt Anew In Yemen, Algeria, Tunisia
Post Date: 2011-01-24 15:36:35 by Brian S
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Drawing inspiration from the revolt in Tunisia, thousands of Yemenis fed up with their president's 32-year rule demanded his ouster on Saturday in a noisy demonstration that appeared to be the first large-scale public challenge to the strongman. Clashes also broke out Saturday in Algeria, as opposition activists there tried to copy the tactics of their Tunisian neighbours, who forced their longtime leader to flee the country more than a week ago. In Tunisia, anti-government protesters marched through the capital, raising the pressure on Prime Minister Mohammad Ghannouchi to quit in the wake of the former president's ouster. Public assemblies of more than three people are officially ...
Turkey Slams Israeli Flotilla Report, Issues Own
Post Date: 2011-01-24 15:35:15 by Brian S
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(Reuters) - Turkey released details on Monday of its own report into the bloody seizure of a Gaza-bound Turkish aid ship, a day after Israel published contradictory findings that reignited a furious dispute between the two. Nine Turks were shot dead in the clash on May 31 last year when Israeli marines stormed a flotilla organized by a Turkish Islamist charity, which ignored orders to turn back as it tried to breach an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Turkey's report said two of the activists killed on the vessel, the Mavi Marmara, were shot from a military helicopter. "The Israeli soldiers shot from the helicopter onto the Mavi Marmara using live ammunition and killing two ...
Suicide Bomber Blows Up in Moscow Airport, @ Least 10 Dead
Post Date: 2011-01-24 09:37:47 by Happy Quanzaa
7 Comments
At least 10 dead in Moscow airport blast: report MOSCOW | Mon Jan 24, 2011 9:19am EST MOSCOW (Reuters) - At least 10 people were killed and 20 injured in a suicide bomb blast at Moscow's Domodedovo airport Monday, Interfax news agency reported. A spokeswoman for the investigative committee of the federal prosecutor's office put the number of casualties at about 20, citing preliminary information, and said the cause of the blast was unknown. Moscow suffered its worst attack in six years in March 2010 when two female suicide bombers from Russia's volatile Dagestan region set off explosives in the metro, killing 40 people. (Writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman, editing by Guy ...
WikiLeaks Has Published Just 1 Percent Of Its Massive Trove Of US Diplomatic Documents
Post Date: 2011-01-23 17:53:12 by Brian S
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LONDON (AP) — Nearly two months after WikiLeaks outraged the U.S. government by launching the release of a massive compendium of diplomatic documents, the secret-spilling website has published 2,658 U.S. State Department cables — just over 1 percent of its trove of 251,287 documents. Here's a look at what the consequences of the cables' release has been so far, and what the future could hold for WikiLeaks. ___ IT'S LIFTED THE VEIL ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS WikiLeaks has given the world's public an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes look at U.S. diplomacy. Among the most eye-catching revelations were reports that Arab countries had lobbied for an attack on Iran, ...
Chairman Obama & Hu humiliate U.S. w/ Chicom Liberace @ the W.H. People's Pow Wow Chow Down
Post Date: 2011-01-23 13:23:38 by Happy Quanzaa
1 Comments
Chinese Pianist Plays Propaganda Tune at White House US humiliated in eyes of Chinese by song used to inspire anti-Americanism Lang Lang, a Chinese pianist, plays the piano at the White House on Jan.19, 2011. The music he is playing is the theme song from an anti-Americanpropaganda movie about the Korean War. (Screenshot from Youtube) Lang Lang the pianist says he chose it. Chairman Hu Jintao recognized it as soon as he heard it. Patriotic Chinese Internet users were delighted as soon as they saw the videos online. Early morning TV viewers in China knew it would be played an hour or two beforehand. At the White House State dinner on Jan. 19, about six minutes into his set, Lang Lang ...
Palin To Be Prosecuted For Inciting Violence If She Visits Australia, Attorney Says
Post Date: 2011-01-21 19:01:44 by Brian S
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Sarah Palin better watch out. Under Australian law, inciting violence is a serious crime: an offense which could even trigger the prosecution of members of the US political class and mainstream media who called for the assassination of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, according to his attorney. Comments by Robert Stary, Assange's Melbourne-based lawyer, were carried in the US by a Friday broadcast of National Public Radio's Morning Edition. "Our main concern is really the possible extradition to the US," he said. "We've been troubled by the sort of rhetoric that has come out of various commentators and principally Republican politicians — Sarah Palin and the ...
The Anti-War Movement was a Political Proxy War that Bush Won
Post Date: 2011-01-21 15:04:16 by no gnu taxes
2 Comments
The driving force of the earlier anti-war rallies was the war in Iraq, not Afghanistan. While the Af-Pak fight has lost considerable public support, the first war had broader support, as it targeted the actual 9/11 villains and their cohorts. The protests against the wars got fueled mainly by our presence in Iraq, and peaked when Bush put the surge strategy into place. The success of that strategy and the Status of Forces Agreement that moved American troops out of the cities and into support roles has removed most of the objections to Iraq, and for good reason — why protest a war that’s all but over? Ed is right. Combat deaths in the summer of 2008 were less than 1/3 of what ...
Breakthrough After U.S. Warns China On North Korea
Post Date: 2011-01-21 14:05:08 by Brian S
1 Comments
SEOUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States warned China that it would redeploy forces in Asia if it failed to rein in North Korea, an Obama administration official said on Friday, as Pyongyang bowed to Seoul's demands for crisis talks. U.S. President Barack Obama's warning had persuaded China -- the North's main diplomatic and economic backer -- to take a harder line toward Pyongyang, and opened the door to a resumption of inter-Korean talks, possibly next month, the official said, confirming a report in The New York Times. North Korea accepted the South's conditions for talks on Thursday, marking a major breakthrough in the crisis on the peninsula. Such dialogue could ...
2011: Year of the flood
Post Date: 2011-01-21 14:03:37 by go65
4 Comments
The year 2010 was one the worst years in world history for high-impact floods. But just three weeks into the new year, 2011 has already had an entire year's worth of mega-floods. I'll recap here six remarkable floods that have already occurred this year. Brazil Brazil suffered its deadliest natural disaster in history last week, when torrential rains inundated a heavily populated, steep-sloped area about 40 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. Flash floods and mudslides from the heavy rains have claimed at least 772 lives, including 357 in Nova Friburgo and 323 in Teresópolis. The storm left 126 people missing, the Brazilian Health and Civil Defense Ministry said Thursday. ...
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