• China speeds plans to launch aircraft carrier: sources

  Reuters – Thu Dec 23, 4:08 am ET

  BEIJING (Reuters) – China may be ready to launch its first aircraft carrier in 2011, Chinese military and political sources said on Thursday, a year ahead of U.S. military analysts’ expectations. Full Story »

By Rupakjyoti Borah | Diplomacy and Strategy

India has recently seen a succession of visits by the top leaders of the permanent Security Council members. The British prime minister was in India in late July, and the American president came calling in early November. Visits by the French president and the Chinese premier followed earlier this month. In contrast to those high-profile visits, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev flew into India almost unnoticed.

• Racist Violence Threatens Russia’s World Cup Plans

  Time.com – Thu Dec 23, 3:45 am ET

  Nationalist groups targeting ethnic minorities seek to turn Russian soccer fans into their shock troops, which could wreck the country’s plans to host the world’s premier sports event in 2018 Full Story »

• Kremlin hails Senate’s approval of nuclear treaty

  AP – 2 mins ago

  AP

  MOSCOW – President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday welcomed the U.S. Senate’s decision to ratify a landmark U.S.-Russian nuclear arms control treaty, but Russian legislators said they need to study a resolution accompanying the document before following suit. Full Story »

  • Video: Senate ratifies new START treaty Reuters

Hacktivism for Cyber Democracy
Joel S. Hirschhorn – 12/21/2010
Because of the attacks on WikiLeaks and its founder there has been considerable media attention to the hacktivism practiced by supporters of WikiLeaks. That has been manifested as cyber attacks on mainstream commercial websites that acted against WikiLeaks. Hacktivism as retribution and strategy to gain political objectives is bound to become much more common. And considering how voting, especially from the perspective of younger people, has been enormously disappointing as a means of reforming government and political systems worldwide, that seems appropriate.

European Army under the eventual Russian leadership?
Lorna Thomas – 12/21/2010
NATO was founded in 1949 to counter potential aggression from the Soviet Union, seen then as the main threat to the freedom and independence of Western Europe. In November 2010 an historic NATO summit took place. Rather than being viewed as an “enemy” or “threat”, Russia was now welcomed as a “partner” including in a proposed common European missile defense system and, initially, in operations such as Afghanistan.

Dragon and Elephant: A Complicated Neighborhood
Sameer Jafri – 12/21/2010
Year 2010 marks sixty years of diplomatic relationship between India and China. Though the relations between the two go back to ancient times, the period since 1950 till present is mainly fraught with boundary dispute, which also led to a short-lived war in 1962. But in recent times, both sides have successfully attempted to normalize the bilateral relationship, mainly driven by the mounting bilateral trade. Although strengthening economic relationship has overshadowed other areas of conflict, that doesn’t provide any space for complacency, particularly on Indian side of the fence.

Russia 2010: Nationalism’s Revenge
Dr. Andreas Umland – 12/21/2010
For several days now, Russia has been haunted by nationalistic demonstrations, violent ethnic brawls, and resulting mass arrests. The series of interrelated events was triggered by the death of a Russian soccer fan in a scuffle between ethnic Russian and north Caucasian youth in Moscow, on 6 December 2010. International media has focused on the following violent clash between neo-Nazi demonstrators, on the one side, and Russian policemen, on the other, on Manezh Square, in the Moscow city center, on 11 December 2010, as well as on some subsequent clashes in the Russian capital. There were seve…

Downgrade U.S. Treasuries to Junk
Prof. Peter Morici – 12/21/2010
With the new tax cuts, rating agencies should downgrade U.S. government debt to junk. Economists, pundits and politicians had little choice but to endorse the tax deal between President Obama and Congressional Republicans, because snapping back to pre-Bush tax rates would crush the economic recovery. But Washington exhibited not even the shadow of self-restraint and cut taxes far beyond what is needed or smart.

A Confederal Solution For Palestine By Robert Skidelsky – Project …

Official Western policy still backs a two-state solution of the Israel-Palestine conflict. But such a possibility was always an illusion; there is simply enough land to satisfy the passionate possessiveness of all those with claims to …

Continue reading…

Peace process is stuck in 1949
Ted Belman – 12/21/2010
American policy regarding the Arab/Israel conflict has not changed since the Armistice Agreement in 1949. American policy sought to to achieve a holy balance in the Israeli-Arab conflict. ”This policy had its origins in the tripartite U.S.-British-French declaration in 1950, against arms sales to either side. The Soviets exploited this policy to sell arms to the Arabs, and the French looked after their own interests when they supplied weapons to Israel, but the Americans preserved an outward appearance of egalitarianism.”
THE GAYING OF AMERICA
WorldNetDaily Exclusive
Vets protest plan opening military to homosexuals 
Officer requests command relief over scheduled ‘behavior modifications’
–WND

Once Again Iran Produces Disinformation
Prof. Daniel M. Zucker – 12/21/2010
Abolghasem Bayyenat, reportedly a trade expert for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ministry of Commerce, and admittedly a former political officer in its Foreign Ministry, recently penned an article entitled “Economic Sanctions Against Iran”. In it, he claims that sanctions are counter-productive, causing pain only to the Iranian people and causing the regime further to resist efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the problem of nuclear proliferation. In his essay, Bayyenat suggests that Iran has successfully mitigated most of the effects of the sanctions, and that they are only hurting the innocent Iranian population.

A Hint On The Future of Obama ‘Peace Process’ Policy
Prof. Barry Rubin – 12/21/2010
George Mitchell, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East, has given the first hint about the Obama Administration’s future strategy. He said that he will now take six weeks to talk to Israel and the Palestinian Authority to find out what they want. One idea he will present is that the two sides carry out indirect talks through the United States–essentially what has been going on for the last two years with no progress.

• Lack of female faces in Iraq Cabinet draws protest

  AP – 45 mins ago

  AP

  BAGHDAD – Iraqi women lawmakers are protesting the lack of female representation in the new government formed earlier this week. Full Story »

  • Slideshow: Iraq

• Brazil VP undergoes unsuccessful surgery

  AP – Wed Dec 22, 9:20 pm ET

  AP

  SAO PAULO – Brazil’s long-ailing vice president has undergone another surgery to remove a tumor causing intestinal bleeding. Full Story »

• Control of Sudan’s oil a big issue in January vote

  AP – 1 hr 16 mins ago

  AP

  PALOICH, Sudan – The pipelines run through the north. Most of the oil is in the south. That may explain why Akuoc Ten Diing and five other Southern Sudanese officials were treated to a 10-day, all-expense paid tour of China’s domestic oil industry this fall. Full Story »

• NKorea threatens ‘sacred’ nuclear war if attacked

  AP – 5 mins ago

  Reuters

  POCHEON, South Korea – North and South Korea beat the drums of war Thursday, with each threatening the other with immediate retaliation if attacked. Full Story »

  • Video: S.Korea stays on guard despite N.Korea concessions AFP
  • Slideshow: South Korea

• Focus on deficits, Flaherty tells Canada provinces

  Reuters – Thu Dec 23, 1:06 am ET

  KANANASKIS, Alberta (Reuters) – Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Monday he expected almost all of the country’s provinces to eliminate their budget deficits by 2015, the same target the federal government has set for itself. Full Story »

• Rio offers 3.9 billion for Riversdale, bidding war tipped

  AFP – Thu Dec 23, 2:26 am ET

  AFP/File

  SYDNEY (AFP) – Resources giant Rio Tinto made a 3.9 billion US dollar offer for Australia’s Riversdale on Thursday, sparking speculation of a bidding war for its African steel-making coal with Indian and other rivals. Full Story »

• Suicide attacks down, Predator drone exits, and other overlooked stories in 2010

  The Christian Science Monitor – Wed Dec 22, 3:36 pm ET

  Boston – The past year has been tumultuous: The Afghanistan war ground on, the Iraq war started to wind down (amid great uncertainty about Iraq’s future), huge government debts led to austerity and anxiety across Europe. Full Story »

Obama To Host China’s Hu In State Visit On January 19 Reuters …

Hu’s visit with U.S. President Barack Obama will include a state dinner in the evening. It marks the third formal state visit Obama and his wife, Michelle, have hosted. They have also hosted the leaders of India and Mexico. …

Continue reading…

State Dinner

• After the Strike, Spain’s Air-Traffic Controllers Face a Backlash

  Time.com – Thu Dec 23, 3:45 am ET

  As the Spanish government forces striking air-traffic controllers back to work, the controllers face public rage, demands of compensation and possible jail time. But is the state’s stance just a way of diverting attention from the nation’s sorry economy? Full Story »

• Israel warns Gaza missiles could provoke new offensive against militants

  The Christian Science Monitor – Wed Dec 22, 12:49 pm ET

  Tel Aviv – On the eve of the second anniversary of Israel’s 23-day offensive against Hamas in Gaza, a period of relative calm in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been shattered by missile launches from the coastal strip and Israeli counterstrikes. Full Story »

• Blast at Swiss Embassy in Rome wounds 1

  AP – 8 mins ago

  AP

  ROME – A package exploded Thursday at the Swiss Embassy in Rome, wounding one person, police said. The Foreign Ministry called it a “deplorable act of violence” against the Swiss. Full Story »

  • Slideshow: Blast at Swiss Embassy in Rome

• Irish government to take control of a fourth bank

  AP – 27 mins ago

  AP

  LONDON – An Irish court has approved a government plan to nationalize Allied Irish Banks, the fourth bank taken over by Ireland amid a financial crisis brought on by speculative real estate lending. Full Story »

  • Slideshow: Ireland Financial Crisis

Europe and Russia

Austrian bank fraud case to see retrial

30 minutes ago

(AP) Austria’s Supreme Court has ordered the retrial of seven people convicted in a major Austrian bank fraud case linked to the 2005 collapse of New York-based commodities brokerage Refco Inc.In July 2008, Judge Claudia Bandion-Ortner, now justice minister, found nine defendants responsible for euro1.4 billion ($1.8 billion) in losses at …

AP

N.Korea makes nuclear threat in standoff with South

Reuters – 1 hr 54 mins ago

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea warned on Thursday of a “holy war” against the South using its nuclear deterrent as South Korean President Lee Myung-bak vowed a “merciless counterattack” if its territory is attacked again. Full Story »

Blast at Swiss Embassy wounds 1

30 minutes ago

(AP) A package exploded Thursday at the Swiss Embassy in Rome, wounding one person, police said. The Foreign Ministry called it a "deplorable act of violence" against the Swiss.A spokesman at the carabinieri police in Rome said the explosion occurred when the package was opened by an embassy staffer, who was …

Asia

Khmer Rouge jailer’s appeals to be heard in March

1 hour, 3 minutes ago

(AP) A U.N.-backed tribunal says the appeals over the convictions and 19-year sentence for the Khmer Rouge’s chief jailer will be heard in March.Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, was convicted in July of war crimes and crimes against humanity. He was the first major Khmer Rouge figure to face trial …

• Global Insights: China-India Strategic Relationship Marking Time
  By Richard Weitz
• The New Rules: Obstacles to a U.S.-China Partnership Made in U.S.A.?
  By Thomas P.M. Barnett
• The Realist Prism: U.S. Gambles on Pakistan’s Interests in Afghanistan
  By Nikolas Gvosd

Pakistani drone victim seeks to put US on trial

1 hour, 3 minutes ago

(AP) Sadaullah Wazir says he was relaxing in his front yard when the missile struck, hurling him against the wall and mangling his legs so badly that they had to be amputated. Three of his relatives died. Now the 17-year-old and his family want justice from America, which they say was …

Europe and Russia

French court convicts 13 Pinochet-era officials

1 hour, 33 minutes ago

(AP) Thirteen officials who served under Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet were convicted in a French court on Friday of kidnapping and torturing four French nationals. Two were sentenced to life in prison.One suspect, 77-year-old Gen. Jose Zara Holger, was acquitted. All 14 of the defendants were tried in absentia, making the …

Asia

Parents still cling to hope after 2004 tsunami

1 hour, 35 minutes ago

(AP) Six years after a powerful tsunami swept more than 200,000 to their death, Titik Yuniarti still clings to hope at least one of her children is alive.Like other desperate mothers, she has placed ads begging for information in newspapers in western Indonesia and hung fliers alongside others fluttering from lampposts.Earlier …

Mullen: Taliban hideouts can be shut down

1 hour, 36 minutes ago

(AP) The top U.S. military officer said Friday that he thinks it is possible that the Pakistani military can shut down Taliban hideouts on its soil to prevent insurgents from moving back and forth across the long, porous border with Afghanistan.A day after President Barack Obama released a review of the …

US, UK urged to stop training of Bangladeshi force

2 hours, 36 minutes ago

(AP) The United States and Britain should immediately stop supporting a Bangladeshi anti-crime force blamed for killing hundreds of suspects without trial if there is no visible effort to reform it, a rights group said Thursday.The Rapid Action Battalion, or RAB, was responsible for more than 1,000 extra-judicial slayings in the …

Jammed Beijing to cut new car registration by 2/3

4 hours, 5 minutes ago

(AP) China’s capital announced Thursday that it will sharply limit new vehicle registrations to try to ease massive traffic jams that are rapidly turning Beijing’s streets into parking lots.The city will only allow 240,000 vehicles to be registered next year, said Zhou Zhengyu, vice secretary general of the Beijing city government. …

UN concerned about China’s food safety activists

6 hours, 6 minutes ago

(AP) China has made "remarkable progress" in growing sufficient food to feed its people but its official efforts to silence people who alert the public to food safety problems are worrisome, a U.N. official said Thursday.China shifted from a food aid recipient to a international food donor in 2005, a sign …

Malaysia police: Man’s Facebook page mocked sultan

7 hours, 6 minutes ago

(AP) Malaysian police said Thursday they arrested a man and may charge him with sedition for allegedly creating a Facebook page that mocked the country’s former king.The suspect is believed to have set up the page to criticize Sultan Iskandar Ismail, a state ruler who was Malaysia’s king for five years …

Japan’s Emperor Akihito celebrates 77th birthday

9 hours, 36 minutes ago

(AP) Emperor Akihito celebrated his 77th birthday Thursday and urged Japan to pay heed to the needs of the elderly, as the number of older people in the country rapidly grows.Akihito greeted thousands of well-wishers waving Japanese flags from a balcony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Empress Michiko and other …

Latin America

Brazil VP undergoes unsuccessful surgery

10 hours, 33 minutes ago

(AP) Brazil’s long-ailing vice president has undergone another surgery to remove a tumor causing intestinal bleeding.Doctors say they were not able to remove the tumor from Jose Alencar. He is listed as in intensive care and on a breathing machine.The Sirio-Libanes Hospital said in a statement late Wednesday that he was …

Asia

3 convicted in terror plot on Australian army base

12 hours, 53 minutes ago

(AP) Three men who believed Islam was under threat from Western nations were convicted in an Australian court Thursday of plotting a suicide attack against a Sydney army base.The men _ Australian citizens of Somali or Lebanese origin _ were convicted in Victoria state Supreme Court of conspiring to plot a …

Africa

Suicide ignites clashes in tense Tunisian town

12 hours, 56 minutes ago

(AP) Police in a central Tunisian town fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters after simmering tensions linked to unemployment erupted after a demonstrator committed suicide Wednesday night.The victim was a 24-year-old jobless protester who was electrocuted after announcing he wanted to end his life and mounting a high-voltage electricity pole in …

• Newer »

Europe and Russia

Tons of nuclear waste repatriated to Russia

15 hours, 10 minutes ago

(AP) The U.N. nuclear agency says tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste from a defunct Serbian reactor have been repatriated to Russia.An official familiar with the operation says the waste included 13 kilograms (28.66 pounds) of uranium enriched at a level close to that used to make nuclear warheads.The International Atomic …

Asia

US medicines for Afghan soldiers disappear

15 hours, 13 minutes ago

(AP) U.S.-donated medicines and pharmaceutical supplies meant to keep the new Afghan army and police healthy have been disappearing before reaching Afghan military hospitals and clinics, and the government said it is removing the army’s top medical officer from his post as part of an investigation into alleged corruption.Afghan Defense Minister …

Latin America

Leaked cable: Anna Nicole wreaked havoc in Bahamas

16 hours, 51 minutes ago

(AP) Anna Nicole Smith may have been just a "B-list celebrity," but she hit the Bahamas like a hurricane, spreading scandals that toppled a string of officials and endangered the whole government, according to newly leaked U.S. diplomatic cables.The government fell two months after the last cable was written."Not since Category …

Mexico investigates report of 50 missing migrants

17 hours, 55 minutes ago

(AP) Mexican authorities said Wednesday they are investigating the possible kidnapping of 50 illegal migrants in the southern state of Oaxaca, a day after saying there was no evidence of the crime.Honduran, Guatemalan and Salvadoran migrants were being interviewed by officials at the federal Attorney General’s Office about an assault last …

Cable: Jamaica mayor turned to Coke to fight crime

20 hours, 1 minute ago

(AP) A U.S. diplomatic cable leaked Wednesday says the mayor of Jamaica’s biggest city acknowledged forging an alliance of convenience with an alleged drug baron to reduce crime in a sprawling patchwork of gritty slums.The September 2009 cable says that Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie told a U.S. Embassy officer that his …

Europe and Russia

Vandals target Pole working on Jewish remembrance

20 hours, 2 minutes ago

(AP) Vandals threw firecrackers and bricks with swastikas into the home of the Polish head of a group devoted to Jewish remembrance, the man who was target of the attack said Wednesday.Tomasz Pietrasiewicz was sleeping when the bricks and firecrackers were thrown at his house Friday night, shattering windows and causing …

Ukraine prosecutors question ex-premier Tymoshenko

20 hours, 34 minutes ago

(AP) Prosecutors are questioning former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko about allegations she misspent $280 million during her time in office.Tymoshenko stands accused of using money from the sale of carbon credits under the Kyoto protocol to pay pensions during a severe recession while serving as prime minister to the previous …

Turkish man goes on trial for plot to kill rabbis

21 hours, 37 minutes ago

(AP) A Turkish news agency says a court has released a man whom prosecutors accuse of plotting to murder Jewish rabbis and the Istanbul-based leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians.The Anatolia agency says suspect Ismet Recber was freed pending the outcome of the trial following the first hearing Wednesday.Recber, a carpenter, …

Electricity supplies cut to top Turkish hotel

21 hours, 37 minutes ago

(AP) A Turkish regional electricity company has cut supplies to one of the world’s top luxury hotels over unpaid bills, say local media.The Mardan Palace, owned by a Russian businessman and voted the leading luxury hotel by the World Travel Awards in 2010, has three weeks to pay off nearly 4 …

Albanian PM seeks probe on organ traffic claims

21 hours, 37 minutes ago

(AP) Albania has invited an international investigation into claims it was linked with the trafficking of organs from slain civilians during the war in neighboring Kosovo.Prime Minister Sali Berisha said Wednesday his government has offered full cooperation with the United Nations war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, should it wish …

Middle East

Jordanians play active role in al-Qaida

22 hours, 6 minutes ago

(AP) A prominent Jordanian-Palestinian militant recently killed in Afghanistan was a medical school dropout who joined al-Qaida after his heart was broken in a failed love affair, his friends and a Mideast counterterrorism official said Wednesday.Haitham Mohammed al-Khayat, 26, better known in extremist circles as Abu Kandahar al-Zarqawi, was an administrator …

Europe and Russia

Spy Anna Chapman joins Putin’s Russian youth group

22 hours, 8 minutes ago

(AP) Former spy Anna Chapman publicly reaffirmed her allegiance to Russia and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Wednesday by joining the youth wing of his United Russia party _ as an issue Playboy magazine with nude pictures of her hit the newsstands.Chapman was exposed in the United States along with nine …

N.Korea Threatens ‘Holy War’

• Reports: Explosion At Embassy in Rome
• Romanian PM Survives Vote, Again
• UN: Afghan Conflict Could ‘Get Worse’
• Ukraine OKs New Central Bank Chief
• Nuclear Waste In Russia From Serbia
• World Welcomes START Nuclear Treaty
• Iran: Students Chose Foreign Universities
• Iran, Central Asia Leaders In Istanbul

Asia

Pakistan army plane crashes, 2 killed

23 hours, 13 minutes ago

(AP) A Pakistani police officer says a small army training plane has crashed into mountains in the country’s southwest. He says the pilot and co-pilot died in the crash.The officer, Abdul Hakim, says the plane crashed on Wednesday close to the Afghan border in Baluchistan province.An army official said the plane …

1. Stiff Upper Lip In Moscow As London Airports Paralyzed By Snow
2. Thaci Allegations Don’t Change The Broader Perspective On Kosovo
3. Son Of Imprisoned Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Says His Father Still Sees Beauty
4. ‘Squirrel From Hell’ Takes On Russian Alcoholism
5. Russia Unveils New Monument To WWII Victims, Angering Georgia
6. Ukraine ‘Concerned’ About Postelection Violence in Belarus
7. UN Restores Sexual Orientation Reference To Violence Measure, After U.S. Push
8. Salehi Stands In As Iran’s New Foreign Minister — But For How Long?
9. Montenegro’s Prime Minister Djukanovic Steps Down
10. WikiLeaks: U.S. Diplomats Say Lukashenka’s Regime ‘Criminal, Violen

Job 1: Securing America’s borders
Former congressman’s groundbreaking plan to end illegal immigration nightmare
–WND

General: Muslim ‘moderates’ plot undoing of America Praises daring investigation exposing ‘terrorists with neckties’ in D.C. –WND

---

FROM JOSEPH FARAH’S G2 BULLETIN WorldNetDaily Exclusive Russia not about to nix nuclear arsenal  General warns not a single missile or launcher that is serviceable will be destroyed –WND

WorldNetDaily Exclusive Obama ‘snookered’ by Russia in new arms treaty  ‘They got virtually everything they wanted but gave up nothing of importance to us’ –WND

Iran recruiting nuke scientists for weapons program
‘The façade is that it’s for peaceful purposes, but they have a completely different agenda’
–London Telegraph

Europe and Russia

Heathrow boss gives up bonus amid snow chaos

23 hours, 41 minutes ago

(AP) The boss of London’s Heathrow airport says he will forego his bonus this year, after the airport came under heavy criticism for snow-related disruptions.Colin Matthews, chief executive of airport operator BAA, says Wednesday he has decided to give up his bonus and his focus is on "keeping people moving and …

Asia

Australian police seize $14M worth of crystal meth

23 hours, 44 minutes ago

(AP) A Malaysian man has appeared in court on drug charges after police found 200 pounds (90 kilograms) of crystal meth in his home, the seventh-largest "ice" haul in Australian history.Kok Loong Wong appeared in a Sydney court Wednesday charged with possessing the ice and dealing in the proceeds of crime. …

The Darker Side of Facebook: Online Jihad

by Robert E. Belgrad

Time to hold the social network to account for its terror-friendly users.