The West stands by idly as its foundations are rent asunder.Last Friday the UN’s Human Rights Council took a direct swipe at freedom of expression. In a 32-0 vote, the council instructed its “expert on freedom of expression” to report to the council on all instances in which individuals “abuse” their freedom of speech by [...]

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As the polar icecap melts, huge deposits of gas and oil below the seabed will become accessible for the first time. But the question of who owns what in the Arctic is far from clear. With major military build-ups beginning in the area, Oliver Burkeman heads north to investigate
Take, for example, the fighter planes. The [...]

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I was recently re-watching the movie Thirteen Days, which is about the Cuban Missile Crises. The movie is intense, intelligent, and leaves you without any desire to run for political office. Afterward, I was discussing the show with the beautiful woman who was watching with me (women make everything more fun– even the Cold War) [...]

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Russia expects to sell at least three submarines to Venezuela in a deal to be inked when President Hugo Chavez visits next month, Russian news media reported Friday.
The Interfax news agency and the daily Kommersant cited unnamed military-industrial officials as saying that the subs would be diesel-electric models, of the Varshavyanka class.
“As of today, work [...]

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Most global surveys on image spotlight negative views of the U.S. But a new poll of U.S. perceptions of Britain shows a plunge. Since it’s the U.K.’s turn under this microscope, we’ll venture some reasons.
But from a BBC World Service poll of 1,000 Americans, it’s clear U.S. views of Britain have fallen sharply. The BBC [...]

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Obviously the United States and other countries objected. For the record, no less than six sovereign states lay claim to these islands. In 1996, China illegally laid claim to the entire South China Sea.
These illegal strategic moves by China, when coupled with its rapid strategic and conventional, including amphibious, force modernization plans are cause for [...]

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Russian President Vladimir Putin today warned that he sees NATO expansion up to his border as a “direct threat” but struck a friendly tone toward the West as he rejected the notion of a second Cold War.
“The appearance of a powerful military bloc along our borders would be taken in Russia as a direct threat [...]

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China’s growing wealth is good for the world, and there will come a time when the influence of the United States shrinks to the level of its share of the world population, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said on Friday.
Asked at a meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank in Miami whether he regarded China’s growing influence [...]

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Fresh ethnic violence has erupted in a Tibetan region of southwestern China, with disputed reports of eight people shot dead by the police, and the Chinese government on Friday vowed swift and severe punishment of Tibetans accused of rioting and taking part in last month’s antigovernment protests.
Police officers on Thursday evening fired on a crowd [...]

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