Why kowtow to brutal, cynical Russia?

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Russia, West

We have a new Cold War and we’re losing it. The West must stand up to the Kremlin now
Sixty years ago the Berlin Airlift highlighted the menace of Stalin’s Kremlin. Forty years ago Soviet tanks crushed both the Prague Spring and any remaining illusions about the Kremlin’s grip on the captive nations. Twenty years ago [...]

Fears over Russian nuclear threat to UK

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Britain, Russia

Russia may abandon a landmark arms control treaty that helped end the Cold War, an authoritative military study has predicted.
The Military Balance 2008 gave warning of new threats to European security. John Chipman, the head of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which published the survey, said the “next target of Moscowâ€™s assertive revisionism” could [...]

North Korea Maintains Uranium Enrichment Program, U.S. Says

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Koreas, Nuclear, north_korea

North Korea maintains its uranium enrichment program and remains a nuclear proliferation risk, the top U.S. intelligence official said in his annual threat assessment to Congress.
“We remain uncertain about Kim Jong Il’s commitment to full denuclearization as he promised in the six-party agreement,” Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell told the Senate Intelligence Committee today.
Read [...]

Dubai: Clubs Bloom in the Desert

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Dubai, Middle East, Airport Hub, Aplomb, Artificial Islands, Barren Ground, Desert Landscape, Dubai, Eastern Desert, Five Star Hotels, Luxuries, Metropolis, Musical Knowledge, Night Life Scene, Oil Money, Persian Gulf, Related Articles, Shipping Port, Skyscrapers, Square Feet, Tiny City, Travel, United Arab Emirates, Yacht

SIX years ago, Dion Mavath, an Australian D.J., flew to Dubai to take up residency at an upstart local nightclub. Dubai, a fledgling metropolis, was still mostly known as an airport hub and a shipping port, and the local night-life scene, he quickly found, was nearly as sterile and undistinguished as the flat Middle Eastern [...]

U.S. sees Russia, China, OPEC financial threat

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Middle East, Russia, opec

The United States should be worried that Russia, China and OPEC oil-producing countries could use their growing financial clout to advance political goals, the top U.S. spy chief told Congress on Tuesday.
U.S. National Director of Intelligence Michael McConnell voiced the concern to Congress in an annual assessment of potential threats, in which economic matters joined [...]

Foreign Policy and the President’s Irrelevance

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in U.S., foreign_policy

We are now a year away from the inauguration of a new president, and Super Tuesday has arrived, when it seems likely that the Democratic and Republican nominees will start to become obvious. At the moment, there is a toss-up between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton among the Democrats, while John McCain appears to be [...]

The Politics of Illusions

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Israel

I have just returned from an extended trip to the Middle East, hoping that I would come back feeling recharged by the progress made in the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, especially in the wake of the Annapolis peace conference. To my dismay, not in Israel or in Jordan or in talking to Palestinian and Egyptian officials, have [...]

Japan: China dumpling poisoning may be deliberate

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Japan

Japan’s health minister on Tuesday raised the possibility that someone had deliberately contaminated with pesticide Chinese-made dumplings imported into Japan in an incident that sickened 10 Japanese and sparked a huge food scare.
Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe’s comment came as Japanese police called for close cooperation with Chinese counterparts in investigating the case, which has prompted [...]

China brokered sale of F-14 spare parts to Iran

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Iran, Military

The United States has learned that China was serving as a front for the illegal export of spare parts of the F-14 fighter-jet to Iran.
Officials said China has brokered purchases of F-14 spare parts for Iran’s military. They said most of the components were obtained from surplus offered by the U.S. Defense Department.
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U.S. [...]

China’s Forecast Remains Grim

Posted by Matt in February 5th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China

China’s winter storm crisis is now more than two weeks old, and despite a nationwide mobilization and a “war on snow havoc,” as state-run media called it, serious problems remain. In some hard-hit interior provinces, residents have now been without power for more than a week. The transportation woes that left hundreds of thousands of [...]