Britain Is Losing the Falklands Battle – Newsweek.com

Posted by Matt in March 6th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Americas, Argentina, Britain, Argentina, British Oil, Brits, Continent, democracy, Dictatorship, Falkland Islands, Falklands, Falklands War, invasion, Malvinas, Margaret Thatcher, Military Dictator, Newsweek, Oil Rig, Popularity, Protest, Rocks, Royal Marines, Sheepherders, Wrong Side

The dispute that in 1982 led to an improbable war over the remote Falkland Islands is back, only this time it is not likely to end so well for the Brits. The Falklands War began when a faltering Argentine military dictator tried to resurrect his popularity by sending troops to seize the islands, claimed by [...]

Russian Anti-Americanism: A Priority Target for U.S. Public Diplomacy

Posted by Matt in February 25th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Anti-Americanism, Russia, Anti-Americanism, Central Europe, Cold-War, Decline, democracy, Foreign Policy, Freedom, Information Warfare, kremlin, Partial Success, Policy Goals, Priority Target, Propaganda, Public Diplomacy, Radio Broadcasting, Russia, Russian Government, Soviet Satellites, Soviet States, Traditional Tv

The Kremlin is using anti-Americanism as a strategic tool for pursuing domestic and foreign policy goals. Through media controlled or owned by the state, the Russian government is deliberately spreading poisonous anti-U.S. propaganda at home and abroad, blaming many of Russia’s problems on the West, particularly the United States. The partial success of this policy [...]

Russia reborn

Posted by Matt in February 21st, 2010 | no comment

Published in Russia, Capitalism, Community Trust, Current, democracy, Existence, Foreign Policy, Global Economic Crisis, Independence Community, International Appeal, Mechanisms, New Strategy, Open Borders, Policy Instruments, Policy Objectives, Russia

As the current global economic crisis has demonstrated, the model that Russia’s contemporary leaders have chosen – growth without development, capitalism without democracy, and great-power policies without international appeal – cannot hold forever. Not only will Russia fail to achieve its principal foreign policy objectives, it will fall further behind in a world increasingly defined [...]

Yanukovych declares victory in Ukrainian vote – Yahoo! News

Posted by Matt in February 7th, 2010 | no comment

Published in general, democracy, Exit Polls, Foe, Narrow Lead, Opponent, Opposition Leader, Orange Revolution, Presidential Runoff, Prime Minister, Protesters, Protests, Russian Opposition, Ukraine, Ukrainian News, Victory, Viktor Yanukovych, Vote, Yahoo, Yahoo News, Yulia Tymoshenko

Pro-Russian opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych declared victory in Ukraine’s presidential runoff but his opponent rejected the claim, saying the vote was too close to call.
Exit polls showed Yanukovych — the main foe of protesters in Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution — with a narrow lead in Sunday’s vote over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a key figure [...]

Democracy’s decline: Crying for freedom | The Economist

Posted by Matt in January 31st, 2010 | no comment

Published in general, America East, Countries In Africa, Decline, Declines, Democracies, democracy, Economist, Erosion, Freedom In The World, Global American, honduras, Latin-America, Leaves, Lobby Group, Madagascar, Maldives, Middle East, Mozambique, Niger, Soviet Union

In its report entitled “Freedom in the World 2010: Global Erosion of Freedom”, the American lobby group found that declines in liberty occurred last year in 40 countries (in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the ex-Soviet Union) while gains were recorded in 16. The number of electoral democracies went down by three, to [...]

Don’t Hold Your Breath for a Modern Russia | The Moscow Times

Posted by Matt in December 8th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, democracy, Innovations, Intention, kremlin, Long Time, Moscow Times, Political Modernization, Power Structure, Russia Moscow, Russian People, Russians, Time Don

In the end, Putin confirmed that everything in Russia will remain the same for a very long time. “Don’t hold your breath” should be the catchall answer to Russians expecting any kind of economic and political modernization or reform under Putin’s rule. Putin will return to the Kremlin in 2012 with the clear intention of [...]

A Modernization Lesson: Russia Is Not China | The Moscow Times

Posted by Matt in November 24th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Adherence, beijing, Citizens, Communist China, Communist Party Of China, Comrades, democracy, Democratic Rights, Economic Model, Ideologues, kremlin, Modernization, Moscow Times, Political Legitimacy, Propagandists, Rhetoric, Rights And Freedoms, Russia Moscow, Sorts, United

In October, United Russia held a two-day seminar with their comrades from the Communist Party of China — a master class of sorts to allow Moscow to glean information and know-how from Beijing’s authoritarian political and economic model. Even while Moscow continues its rhetoric about its adherence to democracy and a European course, Russia’s leaders [...]

Kremlin warns against wrecking Russia with democracy | Reuters

Posted by Matt in October 26th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Chaos, Chief Of Staff, Chief Political Strategist, democracy, Deputy Chief Of Staff, Economic Development, Flirting, kremlin, Liberal Reforms, Reuters, Russia, Surkov, Vladislav

The Kremlin’s chief political strategist warned in an article published on Monday that Russia risked collapsing into chaos if officials tried to tinker with the political system by flirting with liberal reforms.
Kremlin Deputy Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov said it was clear Russia was falling behind in many areas of economic development and that the [...]

How Turkey Was Lost to the West

Posted by Matt in October 16th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Turkey, 2002 Elections, Al Qaida, Ankara, Apotheosis, axis, democracy, Hamas, Hizbullah, Hostility, Iran, Islamist, Israel, Led, Muslim, Syria, Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey, Turkish Government, Turks, Western Alliance

Once the apotheosis of a pro-Western, dependable Muslim democracy, this week Turkey officially left the Western alliance and became a full member of the Iranian axis.
It isn’t that Ankara’s behavior changed fundamentally in recent days. There is nothing new in its massive hostility toward Israel and its effusive solicitousness toward the likes of Syria and [...]

China’s One Hundred Years of Ineptitude, by John Lee | Foreign Policy

Posted by Matt in July 16th, 2009 | no comment

Published in China, 100 Years, Blogged, China, Chinese Communist Party, democracy, Flock Browser, Foreign Policy, Ineptitude, Intellectuals, Leadership, One Hundred Years, Party Congress, Policymakers, Premier Wen Jiabao, Sharp Words, Wen Jiabao

Just before the 2007 Chinese Communist Party Congress, Premier Wen Jiabao had sharp words for those agitating for internal political reform. In a much-quoted speech, he told a gathering of policymakers and intellectuals that China would not be ready for democracy for 100 years. Events over the past week suggest Wen was right, that China [...]