Rethinking the Pacific – NYTimes.com

Posted by Matt in December 10th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Geopolitical, Contributor, Japan, Nuclear Weapons, Nytimes, Opposition, Scant Interest, South-Korea, Taiwan, United States

Can the United States afford keeping 50,000 service personnel in Japan and another 28,000 in Korea? Can South Korea not defend itself, at least against conventional attack, from an impoverished North? For how long will Japan be allowed to hide behind a U.S. nuclear shield while proclaiming its opposition to nuclear weapons? Should the United [...]

The Fall of Mexico – The Atlantic (December 2009)

Posted by Matt in November 23rd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Mexico, 000 People, Border Towns, Carnage, Chance Remark, Collateral Damage, Coup, Drug Cartels, Drugs Mexico, Martial Law, Mexican Revolution, Mirrors, Opposition, Southern Border, War On Drugs

In the almost three years since President Felipe Calderón launched a war on drug cartels, border towns in Mexico have turned into halls of mirrors where no one knows who is on which side or what chance remark could get you murdered. Some 14,000 people have been killed in that time—the worst carnage since the [...]

Korea: Uppity Women Threaten The North

Posted by Matt in October 31st, 2009 | no comment

Published in Koreas, Communist Police, Defectors, Economic Reform, Family Dynasty, Frequent Visitors, Kim Family, Kim Jung Il, Kims, Korea Women, Korean Officials, Northerners, northkorea, Opposition, Police State, Third Generation, Uppity Women, Violence, Wills, Youngest Son

Defectors from the north, and frequent visitors there, believe that opposition of a Kim family dynasty is growing. Kim Jung Ils youngest son is being groomed as the third generation of Kims to run the communist police state. But many North Korean officials agree with the Chinese that economic reform is the only thing that [...]

It’s getting chilly between Turkey and Israel

Posted by Matt in October 21st, 2009 | 1 comment

Published in Israel, Turkey, Allies, Back Seat, Balance Of Power, Coolness, Fault Line, Gaza, Invitation, Iraq Relations, Israel, Israel Relations, Middle East, NATO, Nato Exercise, Opposition, Palestinians, Participation, Ramifications, Soil, Syria, United States And Italy

As Turkey gets friendlier with Syria and Iraq, relations with Israel take a back seat.
A strategic fault line is opening up in the Middle East with balance of power ramifications for the region. It is the growing coolness between two previously close allies: Turkey and Israel.
Last week “Anatolian Eagle,” a planned NATO exercise on Turkish [...]

Iran campuses rocked by student protests | GlobalPost

Posted by Matt in September 30th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Academic Year, Allegations, Angry Demonstrations, Campuses, Iran, Opposition, Slogans, Student Protests, tehran, Torture And Rape, Torture Rape, Universities

Universities start the academic year with angry demonstrations against Ahmadinejad.
Hundreds of students shouting anti-government slogans took to the streets of Tehran and other cities Monday in another sign that Iran’s opposition is still active, despite arrests and allegations of state torture and rape.

Iran campuses rocked by student protests | GlobalPost

China outraged as Japan’s sabre rattler calls for nuclear arms – Times Online

Posted by Matt in August 23rd, 2009 | no comment

Published in China, Japan, Aggressor, Air Staff, Armed Forces, China, Democratic Party, General Election, Headache, Hero, Imperial Japan, Insight, Nuclear Arms, Opposition, Outrage, Popularity, Rattler, Sabre, Second World War, Toshio, Wing Groups, Wins

A TROUBLING insight into ultra-conservative thinking at the top of Japan’s armed forces has emerged after the dismissal of Toshio Tamogami, the chief of the air staff.
He has become a hero to right-wing groups since being sacked last year for writing an article that said imperial Japan was not an aggressor in the second world [...]

Russia’s role in piracy crisis a cover for nuclear proliferation: Opposition

Posted by Matt in August 19th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Russia, Arctic Sea, Blog, Bulkhead, Contraption, Finland, Hot Air, Moscow Times Newspaper, Nuclear Proliferation, Opposition, Peaceful Country, Piracy, Port Of Kaliningrad, Russia, Russian Port, Syria, Voyage

“The Arctic Sea was carrying something, not timber and not from Finland, that necessitated some major work on the ship,” she wrote in the Moscow Times newspaper on Wednesday.
During two weeks of repair works in the Russian port of Kaliningrad just before the voyage, the ship’s bulkhead was dismantled so something very large could be [...]

Iran Protest: Opposition Tries to Spark Power Outage – Yahoo! News

Posted by Matt in July 22nd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Basij Militia, Blogged, Central Tehran, Crowds, Dozens, Flock Browser, Government Security Forces, Haft, Iran Protest, Noses, Opposition, Pockets, Power Outage, Protesters, Revolutionary Guards, Street Demonstrations, Subway Station, Tear Gas, Uprising, Violence

Street demonstrations erupted in Iran once again on July 21 as thousands of people gathered in small pockets around central Tehran on the anniversary of an uprising in 1952 in which government security forces refused to fire on the crowds. This time, the Basij militia and members of the Élite Revolutionary Guards were less kind, [...]