Remote, forbidding, and volatile, the Caspian Sea long tantalized the world with its vast oil reserves. But outsiders, blocked by the closed Soviet system, couldn’t get to it. Then the Soviet Union collapsed, and a wholesale rush into the region erupted. Along with oilmen, representatives of the world’s leading nations flocked to the Caspian for [...]

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November/December 2007

Presidents for Life

September/October 2007

The World’s Worst Forest Fires
The World’s Worst Airports
The World’s Healthiest Countries
Sputnik Plus 50
Five Population Trends to Watch
Europe’s Most Inflated Real Estate Markets
Wanted, Dead or Alive
The World’s Largest Hedge Funds

July/August 2007

The Iraq Turning Points That Weren’t
King for a Day or Two
The World’s Most [...]

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Serious challenges are posed by the current chaos in Pakistan. Could they spill over into Afghanistan? What about Pakistan’s nuclear program? FSM Contributing Editor Douglas Farah looks into the possibilities, and is not encouraged by what he sees.
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The inner cabinet met Wed. Nov. 7, to discuss the shortened timeline estimate for Iran to attain a nuclear weapons capacity, based on new intelligence information. IDF intelligence chief Brig. Yossi Baidatz told the Knesset foreign affairs and security committee Tuesday that Iran would have this capacity by late 2009, whereas the previous estimate was [...]

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ISRAEL has drawn up secret plans to destroy Iran’s uranium enrichment facilities with tactical nuclear weapons.
Two Israeli air force squadrons are training to blow up an Iranian facility using low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, according to several Israeli military sources.
By The Timesonline
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Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency over the weekend, precipitating a wave of arrests, the suspension of certain media operations and the intermittent disruption of communications in and out of Pakistan. As expected, protests erupted throughout Pakistan by Nov. 5, with clashes between protesting lawyers and police reported in Lahore, [...]

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The Sunlight Foundation released a map of where nearly 1,500 2008 House defense earmarks are going. The map uses Google Earth to pinpoint each earmark’s destination and includes data on its recipient and dollar value. All told, 2008 defense earmarks (money lawmakers direct to individual projects) total over $5.1 billion with the largest [...]

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Venezuela and Brazil are not competing in a regional arms race, despite suspicions voiced in Brasilia, an influential Venezuelan general said in an interview published Monday. Although both countries have announced billion-dollar increases in military spending recently, in Venezuela the reason has more to do with US sanctions than any hostility to neighboring countries, [...]

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Hizbullah exercise sends ‘message’ to Jewish state
Daily Star - Lebanon, Lebanon - 17 hours ago
He said that since the summer 2006 war with Israel, the Jewish state would have gained much tactical intelligence on Hizbullah’s structure and capabilities, …
Hizbullah turns up the heat on Beirut Jerusalem Post
Hezbollah Reports Largest-Ever Military Exercise theTrumpet.com
IAF drops flares over Lebanon after [...]

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According to the main guidelines of the long term strategy outlined by Lula, the Brazilian defense industry must again take the lead in the export of missiles, aircrafts and several different kinds of equipment. “We must convince ourselves that we can become a world power this century,” pointed out Lula.
Although no details were given about [...]

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Russia parliament votes to suspend arms treaty
Canada.com, Canada - 2 hours ago
Russian soldiers dressed in historical uniforms stand in Red Square during a military parade in Moscow, November 7, 2007. Moscow marked the anniversary of a …
Russian parliament votes for Putin’s moratorium on CFE Treaty-2 RIA Novosti
Russian parliament votes freeze on CFE treaty UPDATE Forbes
RUSSIAN DUMA APPROVES [...]

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Apart from the big nuclear deal and some vague pledges to enhance cooperation, what is really happening in terms of economic integration?
The normally “colorless” Russian PM Viktor Zubkov laid down an uncharacteristic charm offensive: “I want to state that the relations of Russia and China have come to an unprecedented level,” said, further noting that [...]

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China, Russia pledge to enhance co-op in various fields
Xinhua, China - 23 hours ago
6 (Xinhua) — China and Russia will further enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields, including economy, trade, energy, science-technology, nuclear …
Beijing, Moscow sign nuke energy pacts China Daily
China, Russia pledge to enhance co-op in various fields Xinhua
China, Russia sign joint communique, pledging to broaden [...]

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The United Kingdom has decided to continue its nuclear submarine program. The United States proposes to develop a new standard nuclear weapon and is expanding its missile shield. China is modernising its armed forces and has shot down a weather satellite of its own, demonstrating a capability for military action in space. Russia has resumed [...]

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Gates meets Hu amid concerns over China’s military buildup
Hindu, India - 23 hours ago
During the discussions, which Gates had called “candid, constructive and cooperative”, he had raised the US concern over China’s military modernization and …
What does China-US military hotline imply? People’s Daily Online
US, China for closer military ties NDTV.com
Gates reassures Hu on Taiwan Tehran Times
ABC [...]

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The question tonight though is whether a new Cold war is emerging. The most troublesome evidence is Russia’s belligerence, even when its interests and ours seem to be aligned. It’s hard to imagine that Russia wants a nuclear Iran, or a radical Islamic insurgency. So what do they hope to gain by undermining US pressure [...]

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Bahrain’s crown prince, in interviews to British newspapers published yesterday, said Iran is developing atomic weapons or the capability to do so.
This is the first time an Arab state in the Persian Gulf has openly accused Tehran of lying about its contentious nuclear plan, the Times of London said.
“While they don’t have the bomb yet, [...]

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‘Nuclear coup’ in 1990 and bin Laden meeting offer two chilling precedents
It is the most disturbing element in the mix that makes Pakistan the most dangerous country in the world: its stockpile of at least 30 and perhaps as many as 45 nuclear weapons. And it is always the element that captures the most [...]

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“We have now reached 3,000 machines,” a defiant Ahmadinejad told a rally in the northeastern city of Birjand.
Scientists say that in ideal conditions 3,000 centrifuges can make enough highly enriched uranium in a year’s time for an atom bomb.
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Iran said it passed another nuclear milestone.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY - 3 hours ago
On Tuesday, Israel’s military intelligence [...]

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Iran could have nuclear weapons in two years if its nuclear ambitions are not curbed, a senior Israeli intelligence official said yesterday.
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Iran could procure nuclear weapons by 2009, a top Israeli …
Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NY - 20 hours ago
Yossi Baidatz, chief analyst for Israel’s military intelligence, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on [...]

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Americans would do well to heed the history of the British and Roman empires.
In 1774, an English newspaper called Lloyd’s Evening Post published a futuristic fantasy. It was set in 1974 and featured two visitors from “the empire of America” touring the ruins of London. These resembled Piranesi’s prints of Roman ruins — empty, rubble-strewn [...]

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