Ivanov GLONASS Flap Obscures Program Reality

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | no comment

In any case, the fact that GLONASSâ€™s performance is worse than GPS is not a recent development. It always has been, and in recent years Russian GNSS experts have been forthright in detailing the shortcomings. (See, for instance, the overview article on GLONASS in the first issue of Inside GNSS.
The poorer performance is the culmination [...]

Nuclear Weapons and Saudi Strategy

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Middle East, saudi_arabia

What would Saudi Arabia do if Iran acquired nuclear weapons? Many analysts in Washington and the Middle East assume that in the event of a nuclear breakout by Iran, Saudi Arabia would feel compelled to build or acquire its own nuclear arsenal. Given Saudi Arabiaâ€™s vast wealth and strategic weakness, such a decision might seem [...]

Africa, China’s new frontier

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Africa, China

Chinese entrepreneurs are invading Africa and reviving the fortunes of the worldâ€™s poorest continent. Are they just stripping it of its resources â€” or have they finally found the answer to a problem the West has been unable to solve?
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Did Europe dodge a war?

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Europe, War

On Super Sunday, Europe dodged a shooting war … but just barely.
Thank Serbia’s electorate â€” at least 50.5 percent of them â€” as Serbia’s current president, Boris Tadic, narrowly defeated “ultra-nationalist” Tomislav Nikolic. Mr. Tadic opposes renewed warfare and supports Serbia’s economic and political integration with Western and Central Europe.
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A nuke for a nuke

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | 2 comments

Published in Islam, Israel, Nuclear

Israel must deal a crushing blow to Islam. Just like the destruction of Jerusalem in 135 signaled a change of Judaism from a state-oriented into purely spiritual religion, so the nuclear destruction of Mecca and Medina with the concomitant radiological contamination will render the concept of jihad senseless.
The idea of ripping off the heart of [...]

Russian bomber cuts into Japanese airspace: official

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | 1 comment

Published in Japan, Russia

Japan scrambled two dozen military aircraft and lodged a protest, accusing a Russian strategic bomber of entering its airspace over the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo Saturday.
Russia denied the incursion, but the Japanese foreign ministry said it lodged a strong protest with the Russian embassy in Tokyo over the incident, which followed stepped up Russian [...]

Changes in store for South Korea

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Koreas, south_korea

South Korean president-elect Lee Myung-bak and his conservative Grand National Party promise economic progress for “company Korea,” a tougher stance on North Korea, and closer ties with the US.
Boosting South Korea’s military ties and cooperation with the US seems to be very close to the top of Lee’s policy agenda, at least judging by the [...]

Defense Focus: China’s weapons — Part 3

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | no comment

Published in China, Military, arms

The weapons that China wants from Russia — and that Moscow won’t sell Beijing — provide a remarkable insight into the current transitional state of the Chinese arms industry.
For although China now has arguably the broadest low-tech industrial base on Earth and a space development program that has more promise and vastly more resources devoted [...]

Gazprom threatens to halt gas supplies to Ukraine

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Energy, Europe, Russia, gazprom

Russian energy giant Gazprom warned Friday that it could halt natural gas supplies to Ukraine at 10:00 a.m. [7 a.m. GMT] on February 12 over Kiev’s outstanding debt for gas deliveries.
Spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov told RIA Novosti: “The situation must be resolved by Monday. If this does not happen, then on Tuesday we will halt supplies [...]

Russia ‘will match West in new arms race’

Posted by Matt in February 9th, 2008 | no comment

Published in Military, Russia, West, arms

Vladimir Putin accused the West of triggering a fresh arms race today and gave warning that Russia was now rich enough to respond with a new generation of high-tech weaponry.
President Putin attacked the United States and Europe for expanding Nato close to Russia’s border at a time when Moscow had closed military bases abroad. He [...]