Eurasia Review

Storm Over Hebron – OpEd

Uri Avnery — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:42:17 +0000

THERE SEEMS to be no limit to the troubles caused by the town of Hebron. This time, the reason is as innocent as can be: the organized visits of schoolchildren to the Cave of Machpelah, where our patriarchs are supposed to be buried. By rights, Hebron should be a symbol of brotherhood and conciliation. It [...]

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Mauritania: Clerics Debate Dissent In Islam

Magharebia — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:35:38 +0000

By Jemal Oumar A prominent Mauritanian religious scholar recently set off controversy by publicly denouncing “street revolutions” as “an absurd chaos”. “Those who trigger the revolution on the street are Kharijites who have nothing to do with Islam,” Mauritanian Association of Ulemas Secretary-General Hamden Ould Tah said at a February 2nd conference in Nouakchott. “They [...]

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Tunisia: Libya Arms Smugglers Discovered

Magharebia — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:34:21 +0000

By Monia Ghanmi Clashes between the Tunisian army and armed elements near Bir Ali, west of Sfax, last week left two suspects dead, a third in custody and five officers injured. The February 1st incident revealed the existence of a weapons smuggling network in Tunisia from the south of the country to the north. Presidential [...]

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EU Calls For Further Judicial Reform In Bulgaria, Romania

SETimes — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:32:30 +0000

By Svetla Dimitrova Bulgaria and Romania made some progress in combating corruption and organised crime, but both need to address several issues to bring their judiciaries in line with EU standards, the European Commission (EC) said on Wednesday (February 8th). Romania needs to continue steps to implement a criminal code, improve judicial accountability and make [...]

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Kosovo: Another Attempt To Abolish UN In The North? – Analysis

TransConflict — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:30:49 +0000

Should the Kosovo government end funding of the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Administration in Mitrovica (UAM), it will cut-off one of the few institutional linkages between north Mitrovica and Pristina. By Gerard M. Gallucci The Pristina press is reporting on secret meetings between the Kosovo government, the US ambassador and chief of the International [...]

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New Research May Hold Key To Indonesia’s Church-Building Controversy

CGNews — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:28:15 +0000

By Testriono In Bogor, a city in Indonesia’s West Java province, the Presbyterian congregation GKI Yasmin has been prohibited by the local administration from holding services in their church for years. Indonesia’s Supreme Court has ruled that revoking the church’s permit is illegal. However, GKI Yasmin and many churches like it have not been protected [...]

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New Version Of Eisenhower Doctrine And US Policy In Syria – OpEd

Eurasia Review — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:24:10 +0000

By Alexey Pilko The Syrian crisis remains in the focus of world media and a major issue for the international diplomacy. The UN Security Council is the scene of regular heated debate between supporters of tough action against President Bashar al-Assad led by the USA, and their opponents, particularly Russia and China. Such sharp differences [...]

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Russia: CIA Spy Sentenced For Stealing Rocket Secrets

RT — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:21:03 +0000

A former chief test engineer of Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome, who was exposed as a CIA agent, has been sentenced to 13-year prison term. He admitted selling top secret data on Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles to the US. Ex-Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Nesterets was found guilty of treason by a closed military court, the Russian Federal Security [...]

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An India-China Military Conflict? – Analysis

SAAG — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:12:37 +0000

By Bhaskar Roy There have been projections among some Indian experts and think tanks that a limited Chinese attack along the unresolved Sino-Indian border may be imminent. This view cannot be totally faulted. They are based on China’s aggressive official and semi-official postures and warning to India, especially on the sovereignty of Tawang, an important [...]

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Iran Navy Commissions 2 Light Submarines

Ria Novosti — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:07:22 +0000

The Iranian Navy has commissioned two Ghadir class diesel-electric submarines to boost Iran’s naval capability, official IRNA news agency reported. IRNA cited Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying that the submarines were built and equipped by domestic manufacturers. The 120-ton Ghadir class submarines are highly maneuverable and best suited for missions in shallow [...]

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Myanmar: The Second Round Of Ceasefire With Ethnic Groups – Analysis

SAAG — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:05:03 +0000

By C. S. Kuppuswamy Historical Background Myanmar has been ravaged by a civil war for the last six decades since independence (Jan 1948) between the Myanmar armed forces and the ethnic armed groups. Officially there are 135 national races though the seven major ethnic groups are the Arakan, Chin, Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Mon and the [...]

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Ecuador: Chevron Continues To Lose Legal Battles

Latinamerica Press — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:00:39 +0000

By Luis Ángel Saavedra US oil company Chevron is finding itself increasingly backed into a corner. After 19 years of legal proceedings, the firm is running short on options to evade the responsibility for environmental damage caused in the Ecuadoran Amazon by Texaco, which Chevron acquired in 2001. Now even a US court has turned [...]

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Psalm-Inspired Japanese Environmentalist Wins UN Award

ENI — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:58:32 +0000

The Japanese environmentalist who said a biblical psalm inspired his campaign linking forest and ocean received on 9 February one of the United Nations’ inaugural Forest Hero awards. Shigeatsu Hatakeyama, an oyster fisherman who saw his livelihood destroyed when the 11 March 2011 earthquake and tsunami hit the northeast coastal city of Kesennuma, was named [...]

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Shame ‘Keeps Abuse Victims Silent’

UCAN — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:56:28 +0000

By Alessandro Speciale Asia’s culture of collective “shame” has led victims of sexual abuse there to remain silent, Manila archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle said yesterday. The archbishop was addressing the “Towards healing and renewal” gathering — a Vatican-sponsored conference at the Gregorian University in Rome on sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. “For Asian cultures, [...]

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Egypt’s Revolution Turns One – Analysis

IDSA — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:54:06 +0000

By Princy Marin George The first anniversary of the start of mass uprisings in Egypt that toppled President Hosni Mubarak from power was marked by demonstrations in Tahrir Square, the public town square in downtown Cairo, which has been the focal point of activities during the one-year revolution. In comparison to the approximately 50,000 protesters [...]

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Greece: Four Ministers Resign Over New Austerity Plan

PanArmenian — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:51:25 +0000

Two more deputy ministers resigned from Greece’s coalition government on Friday, February 10 over new austerity measures being imposed on Greece by international lenders, M&C reported citing DPA. A total of four deputy ministers, all belonging to the small LAOS party that is supporting the coalition government, have now resigned since Thursday. Greek news reports [...]

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Spain Arrests 3 For 2003 Assassination Of Serbia’s PM

PanArmenian — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:50:03 +0000

Spanish police have arrested three men, including one who had been a fugitive for five years after being convicted for the 2003 assassination of Serbia’s prime minister, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Friday, Feb 10. According to The Associated Press, agents arrested Vladimir Milisavljevic, Luka Bojovic and Sinisa Petric as they met in [...]

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Tailor-Made Search Tools For The Internet

Eurasia Review — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:48:17 +0000

For companies, customer feedback is a matter of strategic importance. Smart apps for the semantic analysis of user opinions from the web help businesses keep an eye on feedback. Users benefit as well: With the “Eat and Drink“ app, the user can quickly learn all about the special features of restaurants, cafes and bars. Does [...]

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Anabolic Steroids Gives Dangerous Body Fat

Eurasia Review — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:44:51 +0000

A research team at Luleå University of Technology and Umea University has, in a unique study involving ten Swedish elite lifters who are actively using anabolic steroids, studied the effect of Anabolic steroids on body fat. Swedish elite lifters who use anabolic steroids have more dangerous fat distribution in the body. The research was done [...]

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Russia Stands To Lose – OpEd

Arab News — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:42:11 +0000

By Hassan Barari Russia, seconded by China, vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that calls on President Bashar Assad to concede some powers as part of a peaceful solution to the escalating crisis in Syria. Had the resolution — which was backed by the Arab League — passed, it would have expedited the defusing [...]

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Burma: Fighting Breaks Out In Shan State

Democratic Voice of Burma — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:38:54 +0000

By Nang Mya Nadi Clashes have erupted in eastern Burma only weeks after a ceasefire was signed between the government and opposition Shan State Army (SSA). The fighting broke out earlier this week after Shan troops encountered three Burmese battalions. The SSA had been attempting to cross through its own territory northwest of the town [...]

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US Marines Pose With Nazi SS Flag – OpEd

VOR — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:37:13 +0000

By Vladimir Gladkov While the US Marine Corps is still busy dealing with the scandal showing group of soldiers urinating on Taliban corpses, it now has to face another controversy. A photo of American snipers posing in front of a flag with a logo of the Nazi SS was recently leaked to the Internet starting [...]

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Race For The World Bank Post – Analysis

SAAG — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:35:14 +0000

By Kandaswami Subramanian The term of Robert Zoëllick as President of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or the World Bank is ending in June. It is somewhat intriguing that this has not led to a scramble for the post, especially among the BRICS. They were quite vocal last year when the post [...]

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Iran-US Confrontation: Strategic Losers Both – Analysis

SAAG — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:30:52 +0000

By Dr Subhash Kapila “The main Iranian threat is not nuclear. It might become so, but even without nuclear weapons, Iran remains a threat. If Iran abandoned its nuclear program tomorrow, the situation would remain as complex. Iran has the upper hand, and the United States, Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are looking at how [...]

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Maldives Mishandling By India – Analysis

B. Raman — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:26:47 +0000

The Government of India appears to have been caught napping in the Maldives on two counts. First, it failed to foresee the implications of some arbitrary actions of former President Mohammed Nasheed such as the arrest of the Chief Judge of the Criminal Court and disciplinary action against a Sandhurst-trained Colonel of the Maldives National [...]

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Bosnia Parliament Confirms New Government

Balkan Insight — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:22:52 +0000

By Elvira Jukic Bosnian lawmakers overwhelmingly confirmed the appointments of nine new ministers on February 10, having already appointed Vjekoslav Bevanda as Prime Minister a month ago. The new government was supported 26 votes, while seven MPs voted against and one abstained. All the new ministers and their deputies submitted formal statements to the State [...]

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China Posts Worst Trade Data In Two Years

KUNA — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:20:48 +0000

China’s trade marked the first year-on-year declines in over two years in January due to a week-long holiday and a moderating Chinese economy, Chinese government figures released on Friday showed. Exports shrank 0.5 percent year-on-year in January to USD 149.94 billion, while imports plunged 15.3 percent to USD 122.66 billion, marking the worst trade data [...]

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Fatah Official: Palestine Seeks Arab Support For Halt To Israel Talks

Maan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:18:52 +0000

Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul said Friday that Palestinian leaders will seek Arab support for their decision not to return to direct negotiations with Israel, after exploratory talks ended last month without agreement. PLO officials are set to brief the Arab League follow-up committee on Sunday, after Palestinian and Israeli envoys met for a [...]

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Syria: At Least 25 Dead In Aleppo Blasts

Al Bawaba News — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:17:23 +0000

Two explosions reported Friday morning in the Syrian city of Aleppo. According to press reports the blasts targeted the regime’s security forces. The Syrian news agency Sana reported that “terrorist attacks” hit a building of the military intelligence and a police brigade headquarters. Unofficial reports spoke about at least 25 dead. According to reports, among [...]

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South Sudan: Justice Needed To Stem Violence

Eurasia Review — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 16:16:12 +0000

South Sudan should urgently ensure an effective and independent investigation into the violent, ethnic-driven attacks in Jonglei state, and arrest and prosecute those identified as responsible, Human Rights Watch said today. To assist this task, it should promptly ask the United Nations and regional organizations to establish a commission of inquiry. “To stem this horrific [...]

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Links for 2010-05-07 [del.icio.us]

Sat, 08 May 2010 00:00:00 PDT

NOAA Map Of New Fishing Restriction Boundaries In Gulf Due Oil Spill
NOAA released Friday a map of the new boundaries for where fishing is closed in the Gulf of Mexico, following the decision made earlier today to modifiy and expanded the boundaries of the closed fishing area to better reflect the current location of the BP oil spill.
Eurasia Review
The Eurasia Review team publishes news and analysis on events primarily affecting Eurasia and Afro-Eurasia. Despite this area containing over 70% of the world's population news continues to be dominated by a U.S. slant, and that is where Eurasia Review - an independent news outlet - enters the picture by providing a different perspective on current events with an emphasis on Open Source Intelligence (OSINT).

Links for 2009-11-25 [del.icio.us]

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST

The Fog Of Cyberwar - Discouraging Deterrence
Current discussions of cyber warfare and security parallel those of nuclear strategy in the 1950s, making the notion of cyber deterrence attractive. But applying this nuclear formula to the cyber realm is deeply flawed and largely unworkable – with improvements in cybersecurity ultimately requiring more broadly focused and balanced strategic calculations.