TAIWAN: US writer questions legality of China’s claim to Taiwan

Posted by Matt in December 22nd, 2006 | no comment

A commentary on the Foreign Policy in Focus Web site by US-based journalist Ian Williams says that “China’s arguments against Taiwanese self-determination are not particularly legal or ethical.”
Questioning Beijing’s arguments of China having a billion people and a huge economy, Williams said that the fact that China has more than 900 missiles pointing at Taiwan [...]

Nuclear Missile Testing Galore

Posted by Matt in December 22nd, 2006 | no comment

Published in Missiles, Nuclear

North Korea may have gotten all the attention, but all the nuclear weapon states were busy flight-testing ballistic missiles for their nuclear weapons during 2006. According to a preliminary count, eight countries launched more than 26 ballistic missiles of 23 types in 24 different events.
Link to this article.

The Kremlin’s oil grab

Posted by Matt in December 22nd, 2006 | no comment

Published in Oil, Russia

Big oil has a long history of having assets appropriated by hostile governments. Yet no one has been quite prepared for the land grab by Gazprom of a 50% stake in the Sakhalin-2 project.
This will come as a nasty blow to all overseas investors in President Putin’s Russia and emphasises the vulnerability of European energy [...]

Affect of nuclear war between Pakistan and India

Posted by Matt in December 22nd, 2006 | no comment

Published in India, Nuclear

Watch a GIF animation of smoke released by a hypothetical nuclear war between Pakistan and India. Note: An optical density of 0.1 means 90 percent of the light gets through.
Courtesy Alan Robock, Rutgers University
Link to this article.

Hamas threatens attacks on U.S.

Posted by Matt in December 22nd, 2006 | no comment

Published in Middle East, U.S.

TEL AVIV – Members of Hamas are debating whether to carry out attacks against the United States and may hit American targets if the U.S. continues to support Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ call for new elections, Hamas leaders told WND in a series of interviews.
“There is no doubt that Abu Mazen (Abbas) was encouraged [...]

South Korean President Sparks Controversy as Nuclear Talks Near an End

Posted by Matt in December 22nd, 2006 | no comment

Published in Anti-Americanism, Koreas

While negotiators from China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and the United States were struggling to produce progress in North Korean nuclear talks, South Korean President Roh was assigning blame for the talks’ delays.
In a speech to advisors Thursday, Mr. Roh suggested that the U.S. State Department and Treasury Department could be seen as having “played [...]

Syria preparing to lure Israel into war

Posted by Matt in December 22nd, 2006 | no comment

Published in Israel, Syria

Israeli media reported Friday that Syria has taken a leaf out of the Hizb’allah war manual and is laying the groundwork to draw Israel into a war of attrition.
Link to this article.