75% of Air and Rain Samples Contain Monsanto’s RoundUp
http://www.globalresearch.ca/75-of-air-and-rain-samples-contain-monsantos-roundup/5434013
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Saturday, February 28, 2015
75% of Air and Rain Samples Contain Monsanto’s RoundUp
http://www.globalresearch.ca/75-of-air-and-rain-samples-contain-monsantos-roundup/5434013
Why Tim Kaine's Decision to Skip Netanyahu's Speech Could Resonate for Years
http://www.bloomberg.com/
Virginia Senator Tim Kaine has joined the Democrats
who'll skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's March speech to a
joint session of Congress. "There is no reason to schedule this speech
before Israeli voters go to the polls on March 17 and choose their own
leadership," Kaine said in a statement,
after describing how he'd worked to delay the event. "I am disappointed
that, as of now, the speech has not been postponed. For this reason, I
will not attend the speech."
Why Tim Kaine's Decision to Skip Netanyahu's Speech Could Resonate for Years
Feb 25, 2015
Israel Working With Al-Qaeda?
Published on February 28th, 2015 | http://www.lobelog.com/israel-
by Jim Lobe
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Joint Session of Congress here next week, will any of those in attendance muster the courage to ask him whether Israel is supporting al-Qaeda? None other than Bill Kristol’s Weekly Standard strongly suggests that it is.
I know: it’s a rather shocking thing to suggest. And, thus far, LobeLog has only recently alluded to such support via the contributions in the past month (here and here) of Aurelie Daher, an expert on Hezbollah. Her analyses focused on the possible emergence of a second front in the confrontation between Hezbollah (with Iran) and Israel along the occupied Golan Heights on the Syrian side of the border, which has been controlled by anti-government forces for well over a year. And those rebel forces have been increasingly dominated by Jabhat al-Nusra, as noted by Aurelie.
Now, in the March 2 edition of The Weekly Standard, Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), reminded us that al-Nusra is “an official branch of al-Qaeda and openly loyal to al-Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri.” Moreover, Joscelyn recalled that in their initial forays against the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) in Syria last September, U.S. warplanes also attacked members of the so-called “Khorasan” Group, which was allegedly planning attacks against the United States itself, as well as other western targets. This Group, Joscelyn stressed, “is not a separate entity, but instead “deeply embedded with the Nusra Front.” In other words, there seems to be no question that al-Nusra is indeed al-Qaeda, at least insofar as the FDD and The Weekly Standard are concerned. And there is also no question that al-Qaeda has been very interested in attacking the “far enemy,” including the United States and Western Europe, for quite some time.
Of course, Joscelyn’s article didn’t address the relationship between Israel and al-Nusra. As the title suggests—“Doomed Diplomacy: There’s No Way Iran Will Ever Help Fight Al Qaeda”— it focused almost entirely on recapping all past U.S. government allegations regarding Iran’s alleged “sponsorship” of al-Qaeda going back many years. (Joscelyn just published a couple of new allegations — “New Docs Reveal Osama bin Laden’s Secret Ties With Iran” — Friday on the Standard’s blog that actually suggest a much rockier relationship than “Doomed Diplomacy.”) You can judge the merits of his case yourself, although I would also encourage you to take a look at a less tendentious analysis that Matt Duss published for the U.S. Institute of Peace, as well as a shorter piece by occasional LobeLog contributor, Barbara Slavin, for Al-Monitor.
But, while Joscelyn didn’t address the tie between Israel and al-Qaeda/Nusra, another article appearing in the same Weekly Standard edition— “Friend and Foe in Syria: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Enemy’s Enemy”—by hard-line neoconservative Lee Smith quite remarkably did. The article is a compelling one: not only because it concludes that Israel is indeed colluding with al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, but also because it makes abundantly clear that, in Smith’s words, the United States and Israel have reached “strategic divergence” across the Middle East. Stated another way, U.S. and Israeli interests in Syria and elsewhere are no longer the same (if they ever were).
Israel Working With Al-Qaeda?
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the Joint Session of Congress here next week, will any of those in attendance muster the courage to ask him whether Israel is supporting al-Qaeda? None other than Bill Kristol’s Weekly Standard strongly suggests that it is.
I know: it’s a rather shocking thing to suggest. And, thus far, LobeLog has only recently alluded to such support via the contributions in the past month (here and here) of Aurelie Daher, an expert on Hezbollah. Her analyses focused on the possible emergence of a second front in the confrontation between Hezbollah (with Iran) and Israel along the occupied Golan Heights on the Syrian side of the border, which has been controlled by anti-government forces for well over a year. And those rebel forces have been increasingly dominated by Jabhat al-Nusra, as noted by Aurelie.
Now, in the March 2 edition of The Weekly Standard, Thomas Joscelyn, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), reminded us that al-Nusra is “an official branch of al-Qaeda and openly loyal to al-Qaeda emir Ayman al Zawahiri.” Moreover, Joscelyn recalled that in their initial forays against the Islamic State (ISIS or IS) in Syria last September, U.S. warplanes also attacked members of the so-called “Khorasan” Group, which was allegedly planning attacks against the United States itself, as well as other western targets. This Group, Joscelyn stressed, “is not a separate entity, but instead “deeply embedded with the Nusra Front.” In other words, there seems to be no question that al-Nusra is indeed al-Qaeda, at least insofar as the FDD and The Weekly Standard are concerned. And there is also no question that al-Qaeda has been very interested in attacking the “far enemy,” including the United States and Western Europe, for quite some time.
Of course, Joscelyn’s article didn’t address the relationship between Israel and al-Nusra. As the title suggests—“Doomed Diplomacy: There’s No Way Iran Will Ever Help Fight Al Qaeda”— it focused almost entirely on recapping all past U.S. government allegations regarding Iran’s alleged “sponsorship” of al-Qaeda going back many years. (Joscelyn just published a couple of new allegations — “New Docs Reveal Osama bin Laden’s Secret Ties With Iran” — Friday on the Standard’s blog that actually suggest a much rockier relationship than “Doomed Diplomacy.”) You can judge the merits of his case yourself, although I would also encourage you to take a look at a less tendentious analysis that Matt Duss published for the U.S. Institute of Peace, as well as a shorter piece by occasional LobeLog contributor, Barbara Slavin, for Al-Monitor.
But, while Joscelyn didn’t address the tie between Israel and al-Qaeda/Nusra, another article appearing in the same Weekly Standard edition— “Friend and Foe in Syria: The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Enemy’s Enemy”—by hard-line neoconservative Lee Smith quite remarkably did. The article is a compelling one: not only because it concludes that Israel is indeed colluding with al-Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate, but also because it makes abundantly clear that, in Smith’s words, the United States and Israel have reached “strategic divergence” across the Middle East. Stated another way, U.S. and Israeli interests in Syria and elsewhere are no longer the same (if they ever were).
Dave Barry: The Greatest (Party) Generation
Dave Barry: The Greatest (Party) Generation
Raising children wasn’t always an all-consuming job. Humorist Dave Barry on his parents’ wild parties and the grown-up escapades of the ‘Mad Men’ era
http://www.wsj.com/articles/dave-barry-the-greatest-party-generation-1424965599
Professor Lawrence Lessig interviewed Edward Snowden at the Harvard Law School on Oct. 20 2014.
Professor Lawrence Lessig interviewed Edward Snowden at the Harvard Law School on Oct. 20 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_Sr96TFQQEThe Real Subject of Netanyahu's Congressional Spectacle (It Isn't Nukes)
http://nationalinterest.org/
Benjamin Netanyahu will talk next week, as he has innumerable
times before, about how an Iranian nuclear weapon is supposedly an
extremely grave and imminent (he has been saying for years that it is
just around the corner) threat to world peace and to his nation. There
has been genuine concern in Israel about this subject, but Netanyahu's
own behavior and posture indicate this is not the concern that is
driving his conduct and in particular his diplomacy-wrecking efforts. He
is acting out of other motives, ones that—quite unlike the objective of
avoiding an Iranian nuclear weapon—are not shared with the United
States and instead directly conflict with U.S. interests.
There have been plenty of reasons to doubt all along Netanyahu's alarmist rhetoric. There has been his history of wolf-crying on the subject, against the background of an Iran that has not even decided to build a nuclear weapon. There is the further background of Israel's overwhelming military superiority in the region, at not only the conventional level but also at the level about which Netanyahu is raising such alarm [4]. And there are the repeated indications that his alarmism goes beyond what even his own security services believe [5].
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/the-real-subject-netanyahus-congressional-spectacle-it-isnt-12337?page=show
The Real Subject of Netanyahu's Congressional Spectacle (It Isn't Nukes)
There have been plenty of reasons to doubt all along Netanyahu's alarmist rhetoric. There has been his history of wolf-crying on the subject, against the background of an Iran that has not even decided to build a nuclear weapon. There is the further background of Israel's overwhelming military superiority in the region, at not only the conventional level but also at the level about which Netanyahu is raising such alarm [4]. And there are the repeated indications that his alarmism goes beyond what even his own security services believe [5].
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/paul-pillar/the-real-subject-netanyahus-congressional-spectacle-it-isnt-12337?page=show
Bush Family Ties to Terror Suspects Re-opened by the 9/11 Classified “28 Pages”
Bush Family Ties to Terror Suspects Re-opened by the 9/11 Classified “28 Pages”
People Power Just Dealt a Major Blow to Mayor 1%
People Power Just Dealt a Major Blow to Mayor 1%
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel forced into runoff by progressive challenger Chuy Garcia
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/02/25/people-power-just-dealt-major-blow-mayor-1
The Awesome Life of an American Congressman
The Awesome Life of an American Congressman
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/02/24/awesome-life-american-congressman
Panic in Ukraine Over Food, Empty Stores and Protests; Strategic Food Reserve Empty
Panic in Ukraine Over Food, Empty Stores and Protests; Strategic Food Reserve Empty
Read more at http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/02/panic-in-ukraine-over-food-empty-stores.html#jXselYUkddrzG8qq.99
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/2015/02/panic-in-ukraine-over-food-empty-stores.html?
Can Obama's Iran Deal Outlive His Presidency?
Senior Fellow John Isaacs quoted in Bloomberg View On Iran
Can Obama's Iran Deal Outlive His Presidency?
http://armscontrolcenter.org/press/hits/John_Isaacs_in_BloombergView_on_Iran/
Center Board Member Col. Klass Publishes Iran End Game Article in Roll Call
Center Board Member Col. Klass Publishes Iran End Game Article in Roll Call
http://armscontrolcenter.org/press/hits/Roll_Call_Blog_Klass_Iran_02272015/
Friday, February 27, 2015
Rehab, Jeb Bush-Style
Rehab, Jeb Bush-Style
The Republican front-runner seems to be addicted to the
warmongers and regime-changers who inspired his brother’s foreign
policy. Which should drive a sane person to drink.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/27/rehab-jeb-bush-style-iraq-disaster-cheney-2016/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=*Editors%20Picks&utm_campaign=2014_EditorsPicksRS2%2F27
WPR Articles Feb. 23, 2015 - Feb. 27, 2015
WPR Articles Feb. 23, 2015 - Feb. 27, 2015Europe Needs Strategy to Address Libya, Ukraine Crises—Not PanicBy: Richard Gowan | Column
Just how bad is Europe’s strategic
situation? Over the past week, senior European officials have piled up
dire predictions about the impact of crises in Ukraine and Libya on the
continent’s security. This all sounds rather like panic, which is rarely
the basis for good strategy.
After Years of Talk, U.S.-India Defense Ties Gain TractionBy: Saurav Jha | Briefing
U.S. President Barack Obama’s January
visit to India saw some long-awaited movement on the two countries’
Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI), touted by both sides as a
means to transform the current buyer-seller defense relationship into
one based on coproduction and co-development.
Despite Detainee Transfers, Odds Against Obama Closing GuantanamoBy: Frederick Deknatel | Trend Lines
A steady stream of detainees transferred
from Guantanamo Bay in recent months has revived hopes that the prison
could be closed, fulfilling a long-term pledge of U.S. President Barack
Obama. But what about the dozens of prisoners still designated for
indefinite military detention without charge or trial?
Next Up in Somalia’s Fragile Transition: Bridge Political DividesBy: Cleophus Tres Thomas III | Briefing
With only two years left in its mandate,
expectations are high that Somalia’s government can work with the
country’s fractious stakeholders and complete an ambitious post-conflict
transition plan. But that rests on improving cooperation on key
political challenges and closing security gaps.
Greece’s Reversal Puts China’s Mediterranean Plans Back on TrackBy: Emanuele Scimia | Briefing
While the world watches the ongoing debt
negotiations between Greece and its international creditors mainly for
their impact on the Greek and eurozone economies, the talks have already
bolstered Beijing’s plans to further integrate Europe and the
Mediterranean with the Chinese market.
MoreGreece Bailout Talks Are Syriza’s First Real Test in PowerBy: Maria Savel | Trend Lines
On Friday,
European finance ministers meeting in Brussels reached a deal to extend
Greece’s bailout by four months. But the deal remains tenuous, with the
European Commission, European Central Bank and the International Fund
waiting for a list of planned reforms from the Greeks before releasing
funds.
U.S. Recruits Europe and Latin America to Press Cuba to Open UpBy: William M. LeoGrande | Briefing
Washington hopes its new approach to Cuba
will enable it to recruit European and Latin American allies to push
Havana on human rights and democracy. But if the U.S. succeeds at
pulling together a broad coalition of countries to pressure Cuba on
political liberalization, is it likely to be effective?
As China Ponders BMD Options, U.S. Must Consider ResponsesBy: Richard Weitz | Column
China has been researching ballistic
missile defense for years, albeit on a low-key basis and with no clear
commitment to deploy a national system. Nevertheless, China’s BMD
capabilities could eventually affect strategic stability between China
and the U.S., putting the issue on policymakers’ radar.
Hide in Plain Sight: The Strategic Challenge of ‘Gray Swans’By: Michael J. Mazarr | Feature
Conventional wisdom holds that the biggest
threats to strategy come from sudden and unexpected events, or “black
swans.” But too little attention has been paid to a more common problem:
“gray swans,” risks that are anticipated but that remain fundamentally
improbable, and for that reason are disregarded.
Maduro Gets More Desperate Amid Venezuela’s DisarrayBy: Maria Savel | Trend Lines
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro
stepped up his crackdown on his political opponents with the arrest last
week of the mayor of Caracas, Antonio Ledezma, on trumped-up charges of
plotting a coup. Maduro has only grown more desperate as state coffers
empty and an economic crisis deepens.
Libya Needs More Than Unity Government to Halt IS RiseBy: Mohamed Eljarh | Briefing
Four years after the revolution began to
overthrow Moammar Gadhafi’s regime, Libya today faces a new and very
real threat: militants affiliated with the Islamic State. But the
group’s advance must be understood in the wider context of Libya’s civil
war, and Libyans cannot tackle it alone.
With Cease-Fire, Ukraine Remains Stuck Between Russia and the WestBy: Nikolas Gvosdev | Column
Even if the present cease-fire holds in
Ukraine and succeeds in halting open warfare, the effect will only be
temporary. The best that can be hoped for, it seems, is a truce that
allows Ukraine some ability to reconstruct itself, but where Kiev is
left precariously perched between Russia and the West.
One Month On, Gauging Saudi Arabia’s New KingBy: Frida Ghitis | Column
One month has passed since King Salman bin
Abdul-Aziz Al Saud ascended to the throne to the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia. He took power at a moment of turbulence and potentially lasting,
dramatic change. Understanding how he will steer his country is a
matter of great interest around the globe.
With Baltic Military Drills, Russia and NATO Test Each Other’s LimitsBy: David Klion | Trend Lines
The three Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia
and Lithuania—are faced with the possibility that Russia might subject
them to the same strategy as Ukraine. Russia has been testing NATO’s
commitment to the Baltics in recent months, and NATO in turn is stepping
up its military exercises in the region.
Making Libya a U.N. Protectorate Would Be Wise but ImpossibleBy: Steven Metz | Column
Libya is a mess and rapidly getting worse,
as the Islamic State moves in. Only one option has even a theoretical
chance of turning Libya around: a United Nations protectorate. But there
are very few nations with enough surplus military power to commit to
what could be a very long-term operation.
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The Ultimate Nightmare: Are the U.S. and China Destined for War?
The Ultimate Nightmare: Are the U.S. and China Destined for War?
http://nationalinterest.org/feature/the-ultimate-nightmare-are-the-us-china-destined-war-12331
Uri Avnery: An Expensive Speech
Uri Avnery: An Expensive Speech
http://jewishbusinessnews.com/2015/02/27/uri-avnery-an-expensive-speech/
Why Does the FBI Have to Manufacture its Own Plots if Terrorism and ISIS Are Such Grave Threats? By Glenn Greenwald
Why Does the FBI Have to Manufacture its Own Plots if Terrorism and ISIS Are Such Grave Threats?
By Glenn Greenwaldhttps://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/02/26/fbi-manufacture-plots-terrorism-isis-grave-threats/
What would happen if an 800-kiloton nuclear warhead detonated above midtown Manhattan?
Open the link above to see the four slides illustrating this analysis.
02/25/2015
What would happen if an 800-kiloton nuclear warhead detonated above midtown Manhattan?
Steven Starr, Lynn Eden, Theodore A. Postol http://thebulletin.org/what-would-happen-if-800-kiloton-nuclear-warhead-detonated-above-midtown-manhattan8023
“Ruxit” is Real: Russia’s Exit from Europe
“Ruxit” is Real: Russia’s Exit from Europe
Putin’s Russia never really wanted to be of Europe. Now, it doesn’t even want to be with Europe.
By Josef Janning, February 27, 2015 | http://www.theglobalist.com/Dating from the times of the Helsinki process, which led to the founding of the OSCE, a favored metaphor in Soviet and Russian thinking was the inclusive notion of a “common European house” from Lisbon to Vladivostok.
This space of sovereign states would include Russia as the largest among them – and the United States would be left on the margins or outside. http://www.theglobalist.com/ruxit-is-real-russias-exit-from-europe/
Long March of the Yellow Jackets: How a One-Time Terrorist Group Prevailed on Capitol Hill
Long March of the Yellow Jackets: How a One-Time Terrorist Group Prevailed on Capitol Hill
By Ali Gharib and Eli CliftonViewpoint: What the West must do in Ukraine
26 February 2015
Viewpoint: What the West must do in Ukraine
By Anatol Lieven Professor, Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in QatarIt would be folly for the West to arm Ukraine, argues Prof Anatol Lieven in this personal viewpoint piece, but it must take a tough diplomatic line.
If the latest ceasefire in eastern Ukraine breaks down, then there will be increased pressure on President Barack Obama by hawks in Washington - Democrat as well as Republican - to provide arms to Ukraine, and on European leaders to acquiesce in this.
In the view of a range of analysts and former officials on both sides of the Atlantic, this seems a singularly ill-thought out strategy. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31486886
Marco Rubio Tries To Lecture Obama On ISIS, Commits Epic Error
The Week wtih IPS 2/27
| 2015/2/27 |
Click here for the online version of this IPS newsletter
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Gazan Fishermen Dying to Survive
Mel Frykberg
The beautiful Mediterranean Sea laps gently onto the white sandy beach
near Gaza City’s port. Fishing boats dot the beach as fishermen tend to
their boats and fix their nets.
However, this scenic and peaceful setting belies a depressing reality.
Gaza’s once thriving fishing industry has been ...
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Families of ‘Desaparecidos’ Take Search into Their Own Hands
Emilio Godoy
Carlos Trujillo refuses to give up, after years of tirelessly searching
hospitals, morgues, prisons, cemeteries and clandestine graves in
Mexico, looking for his four missing brothers.
The local shopkeeper has left no stone unturned and no clue unfollowed
since his brothers Jesús, Raúl, Luís and ...
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Mobile Technology a Lever for Women’s Empowerment
A. D. McKenzie
Providing women with greater access to mobile technology could increase
literacy, advance development and open up much-needed educational and
employment opportunities, according to experts at the fourth United
Nations’ Mobile Learning Week conference here.
“Mobile technology can offer learning ...
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Indigenous Storytelling in the Limelight
Francesca Dziadek
In recent years, the Berlin International Film Festival, known as the
Berlinale, has established a European hub for indigenous voices across a
number of platforms, including its NATIVe – A Journey into Indigenous
Cinema series and Storytelling-Slams in which indigenous storytelling
artists share ...
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Falling Oil Prices Won't Derail St. Lucia's Push for Clean Energy
Kenton X. Chance
At Plas Kassav, a roadside outlet in Canaries, a rural community in
western St. Lucia, a busload of visitors from other Caribbean countries,
along with tourists from North America and Europe, sample the 12
flavours of freshly baked cassava bread on sale.
In the back of the shop, employees busily ...
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Big Trouble in the Air in India
Neeta Lal
Like many others of her age, 15-year-old Aastha Sharma, a Class 10
student at a private school in India’s capital, New Delhi, loves being
outdoors, going for walks with her friends and enjoying an occasional
ice-cream. But the young girl can't indulge in any of these activities.
Chronic ...
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Syria's "Barrel Bombs" Cause Human Devastation, Says Rights Group
Thalif Deen
The warring parties in the brutal four-year-old military conflict in
Syria, which has claimed the lives of over 200,000 civilians and
triggered “the greatest refugee crisis in modern times,” continue to
break every single pledge held out to the United Nations.
Despite Secretary-General Ban ...
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Tackling Corruption at its Root in Papua New Guinea
Catherine Wilson
Corruption, the single largest obstacle to socioeconomic development
worldwide, has had a grave impact on the southwest Pacific Island nation
of Papua New Guinea. While mineral resource wealth drove high gross
domestic product (GDP) growth of eight percent in 2012, the country is
today ranked 157th ...
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Can Nepal’s TRC Finally Bring Closure to its War Survivors?
Renu Kshetry
The picture of Muktinath Adhikari, principal of Pandini Sanskrit
Secondary School in the Lamjung district of west Nepal who was killed
during the country’s decade-long civil conflict, became an iconic
portrayal of the brutality of the bloody ‘People's War’.
The then Communist Party of Nepal ...
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Indigenous Food Systems Should Be on the Development Menu
Valentina Gasbarri
Overcoming hunger and malnutrition in the 21st century no longer means
simply increasing the quantity of available food but also the quality.
Despite numerous achievements in the world’s food systems, approximately
805 million people suffer from chronic hunger and roughly two billion
peoples ...
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The Hidden Billions Behind Economic Inequality in Africa
Jeffrey Moyo
Reports this year of illicit moneys from African countries stashed in a
Swiss bank – indicating that corruption lies behind much of the income
inequality that affects the continent – have grabbed international news
headlines.
Secret bank accounts in the HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm unearthed
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Biogas Eases Women’s Household Burden in Rural Cuba
Ivet González
On the blue flame of her biogas stove, it takes half as long for rural
doctor Arianna Toledo to heat bath water and cook dinner as it did four
years ago, when she still used electric power or firewood.
The installation of a biodigester, which uses pig manure to produce
biogas for use in cooking ...
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Threats, Deaths, Impunity - No Hope for Free Press in Pakistan
Ashfaq Yusufzai
It is no surprise that most Pakistani journalists work under tremendous
stress; caught between crime lords in its biggest cities, militant
groups across its tribal belt and rival political parties throughout the
country, censorship, intimidation and death seem almost to come with
the ...
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Thursday, February 26, 2015
How NAFTA Could Spoil a Keystone XL Rejection
How NAFTA Could Spoil a Keystone XL Rejection
TransCanada could harness trade deal's Investor-State Dispute Settlement, and U.S. taxpayers could foot the bill.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/02/26/how-nafta-could-spoil-keystone-xl-rejection
Top Intel Official: U.S. Facing ‘Unprecedented’ Array of Threats
Top Intel Official: U.S. Facing ‘Unprecedented’ Array of Threats
A senior Pentagon official warned that Washington can no longer take its technological advantages over its enemies for granted.
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/26/top-intel-official-u-s-facing-unprecedented-array-of-threats/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=*Editors%20Picks&utm_campaign=2014_EditorsPicksRS2%2F26
When Did Obama Give Up?
When Did Obama Give Up?
Reading between the lines
Six years ago, a visionary president blessed with the rare gift of speech came to Washington to change the world. What happened?
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/26/when-did-obama-give-up-speeches/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=*Editors%20Picks&utm_campaign=2014_EditorsPicksRS2%2F26
Here's what China brought to the Middle East's biggest defense expo Read more: http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/blog/Lists/Posts/Post.aspx?List=7c996cd7-cbb4-4018-baf8-8825eada7aa2&ID=1763#ixzz3StHNjSsi
Here's what China brought to the Middle East's biggest defense expo
http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-china-bought-to-the-middle-easts-biggest-defense-expo-2015-2?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Business%20Insider%20Select&utm_campaign=BI%20Select%20%28Tuesday%20Thursday%29%202015-02-26&utm_content=BISelect
It's official: NSA spying is hurting the US tech economy
It's official: NSA spying is hurting the US tech economy
Summary:China is backing away from US tech
brands for state purchases as NSA revelations continue to make headlines
in newspapers all around the world.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/another-reason-to-hate-the-nsa-china-is-backing-away-from-us-tech-brands/?tag=nl.e539&s_cid=e539&ttag=e539&ftag=TRE17cfd61
Islam and extremism Looking within
Islam and extremism
Looking within
There is a heated debate about the role of Islam in jihadism. Will it makea difference?
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21645205-there-heated-debate-about-role-islam-jihadism-will-it-make?fsrc=nlw|hig|26-02-2015|NA
Israel is galloping to the next war in Gaza
http://www.haaretz.com/
Israel is galloping to the next war in Gaza
The next war will break out in the summer. Israel will give it another childish name and it will take place in Gaza. There’s already a plan to evacuate the communities along the Gaza Strip border.
Israel knows this war will break out, it also knows why – and it’s galloping toward it blindfolded, as though it were a cyclic ritual, a periodical ceremony or a natural disaster that cannot be avoided. Here and there one even perceives enthusiasm.http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.644219
Israel is galloping to the next war in Gaza
The next war will break out in the summer. Israel will give it another childish name and it will take place in Gaza. There’s already a plan to evacuate the communities along the Gaza Strip border.
Israel knows this war will break out, it also knows why – and it’s galloping toward it blindfolded, as though it were a cyclic ritual, a periodical ceremony or a natural disaster that cannot be avoided. Here and there one even perceives enthusiasm.http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.644219
Constitutional Scholar Bruce Fein on Human Virtue, Vice and Power
Constitutional Scholar Bruce Fein on Human Virtue, Vice and Power
Hamas: Three Tough Hurdles in 2015
Hamas: Three Tough Hurdles in 2015
Al-Shabaka Policy Brief | http://www.al-shabaka.org/
26 February 2015
Overview
Hamas is re-evaluating its regional alliances, amid reports of a forthcoming visit to Iran by its Political Bureau Chief Khaled Meshaal. Meanwhile its critics say it should focus on putting the Palestinian house in order. Certainly, there is no shortage of challenges facing Hamas in 2015. Al-Shabaka policy member Belal Shobaki addresses three of the most serious: The movement's reluctance to amend its charter even though it recognizes its weaknesses and despite some moves away from it; its inability to develop an effective mobilization strategy in the occupied West Bank since the 2006 legislative elections; and the difficulty of rebuilding a network of regional relations that preserve its existence as aGet over it: There’s no better deal coming on Iran’s nuclear program
Get over it: There’s no better deal coming on Iran’s nuclear program
By Paul R. Pillar
February 25, 2015 | Reuters | http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/02/25/get-over-it-theres-no-better-deal-coming-on-irans-nuclear-program/
ISIS is proof of the failed “war on terror”
Mission unaccomplished
Patrick Cockburn
Middle East Correspondent, The Independenthttp://qz.com/347398/isis-is-proof-of-the-failed-war-on-terror/
February 24, 2015 | http://qz.com/347398/isis-is-
ISIS is proof of the failed “war on terror”
(Reuters)Patrick Cockburn
Middle East Correspondent, The Independenthttp://qz.com/347398/isis-is-proof-of-the-failed-war-on-terror/
February 24, 2015 | http://qz.com/347398/isis-is-
Then and Now: Eight Lingering Questions on U.S.-Russia-Ukraine
http://www.carnegiecouncil.
Then and Now: Eight Lingering Questions on U.S.-Russia-Ukraine
David C. Speedie | Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs | February 26, 2015http://www.carnegiecouncil.org/publications/articles_papers_reports/725Deterring an Iranian Nuclear Breakout
Deterring an Iranian Nuclear Breakout
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/opinion/deterring-an-iranian-nuclear-breakout.html?_r=0
The Embassy of Israel Atwitter about Iran
The Embassy of Israel Atwitter about Iran
https://mobile.twitter.com/IsraelinUSA/status/570970330262609920
Has China Given Up On The U.S.? Short Answer: Yes
Forbes Asia
Has China Given Up On The U.S.? Short Answer: Yes
Stephen Harner | February 18 2015 |Has China given up on the United States? Such a question seems outlandish and whimsical, if not ridiculous. But there are good reasons for posing the question, and for answering yes.http://www.forbes.com/sites/stephenharner/2015/02/18/has-china-given-up-on-the-u-s-short-answer-yes/
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