The Soviet Union is gradually being rebuilt as Vladimir Putin eyes a return to the Kremlin. The man who declared the collapse of the Communist state to be the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century” appears determined to forge a new empire.
Vladmir Putin forging ahead with vision of Eurasian empire – Times Online

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As Russian President Dmitri Medvedev wound up a three-day state visit to Paris on Wednesday, he had to be pleased with the results. After all, he virtually cinched an unprecedented military deal, bagged a significant gas contract and watched his French host, President Nicolas Sarkozy, dismiss American and European misgivings about his embrace of Moscow [...]

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The euro is being “severely tested” and “may not survive” the Greek deficit crisis, billionaire investor George Soros said.
The European currency’s construction is “flawed” because there is “a common central bank, but you don’t have a common treasury,” Soros said on CNN’s “Fareed Zacharia GPS” program.
Euro ‘May Not Survive’ Deficit Crisis, Soros Says (Update1) – [...]

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It’s anti-Europe season again in the United States. Once the season opens (usually in the second year of a presidential term, when the White House most needs a scapegoat), cabinet officials and analysts start taking their shots: “Europeans don’t pitch in. They don’t fight enough.”
Andrew Bacevich’s article, “Let Europe Be Europe,” is just the latest [...]

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European leaders easily accept behavior from Russia, but dislike America for the some of the same things. Why? Blame modern liberalism.
Modern liberals will side with Russia over the U.S. because of Russia’s failures and America’s successes. Russia fails because it was cheated. America succeeds because it cheats. Effectively, Russia is a victim and America is [...]

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Think Greece is bad? Look north.
Riga has had mild, rainy winters of late, and the snow caught the city by surprise. But the real reason for the wintry mess is that the city government has slashed its road maintenance budget by a third. Although the world is watching Greece, Latvia’s economy is the most imperiled [...]

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The NATO alliance faces a “crisis” as European countries have grown averse to military force and failed to invest in weapons and equipment, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Tuesday.
“Right now, the alliance faces very serious, long-term, systemic problems,” Gates said in a speech to officers and officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
AFP: [...]

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European NATO allies are to urge President Barack Obama to remove all remaining US nuclear weapons from European soil, as domestic pressure grows to rid its soil of outdated Cold War-era aerial bombs.
Allied bid for Obama to remove US European nuclear stockpile

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Sweden is a very liberal country, and that’s the problem. Liberals will almost always side with Muslims. Why?
The miserable lives of Muslims must mean one thing – oppression. This oppression comes from the West, and in particular Israel and America. No proof required.
Sweden’s reputation as a tolerant, liberal nation is being threatened by a steep [...]

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Europe’s other most troubled countries share many of Greece’s characteristics. Italy and Spain have birth rates that have slipped as low as Greece’s and shrinking labor working age populations. Yet early retirement is the norm. In Italy the average retirement age is 59, among the lowest in industrialized nations, and Spain is ranked only slightly [...]

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