Le général Bernard Barrera, commandant de la composante terrestre de la force Serval, a annoncé hier le lancement de l’opération « Gustav ». Cette opération, l’une des plus importantes en termes d’effectifs engagés depuis le début du conflit au Mali, a pour but de déloger tous les islamistes dissimulés dans la région de Gao. Commencée depuis le dimanche matin, elle devrait se poursuivre plusieurs jours encore. Les opérations militaires franco-africaines avaient pourtant délogé assez rapidement les islamistes du MUJAO, tout du moins une grande partie, de la ville de Gao à 1 200 kilomètres de Bamako. Mais le succès était loin d’être total comme l’ont confirmé les attentats suicides qui ont été perpétrés dans cette ville en février ainsi que les nombreux et violents accrochages entre les forces franco-maliennes et les djihadistes.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Syria crisis highlights importance of Chemical Weapons Convention
From: IISS
Allegations in March by both Syria's Assad regime and its opponents that the other side had used chemical weapons (CW) in the country's increasingly bitter civil war have served to highlight the challenges surrounding their prohibition. These will be on the agenda at the 2013 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Review Conference, set to take place in The Hague on 8–19 April. The conference is intended to take stock of the implementation of the ban on chemical weapons (enshrined by the 1993 CWC), noting that the destruction of stockpiles is continuing and examining new areas of activity for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversees the implementation of the CWC. The crisis in Syria and the escalating threats emanating from North Korea, which also has CW stockpiles, have underlined the importance of such efforts. States party to the convention will examine deadlines for stockpile destruction, identify areas of priority and overcome challenges from CW-states that remain outside the convention.
Allegations in March by both Syria's Assad regime and its opponents that the other side had used chemical weapons (CW) in the country's increasingly bitter civil war have served to highlight the challenges surrounding their prohibition. These will be on the agenda at the 2013 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) Review Conference, set to take place in The Hague on 8–19 April. The conference is intended to take stock of the implementation of the ban on chemical weapons (enshrined by the 1993 CWC), noting that the destruction of stockpiles is continuing and examining new areas of activity for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which oversees the implementation of the CWC. The crisis in Syria and the escalating threats emanating from North Korea, which also has CW stockpiles, have underlined the importance of such efforts. States party to the convention will examine deadlines for stockpile destruction, identify areas of priority and overcome challenges from CW-states that remain outside the convention.
Santiago on high alert as 150 thousand Chilean students protest
From: Scotsman
The controversy which almost brought down the government of conservative President Sebastian Piñera promises to be probably the main issue of the coming presidential candidate. Thursday’s was the first joint protest this year by Confech, representing the majority of collegians, and the various organizations of high school students, with support from organized labor. A crowd estimated by organizers at around 150,000 gathered in Santiago’s Plaza Italia and marched down the Alameda, the capital’s main thoroughfare. The procession unfolded in a peaceful, even festive, atmosphere, with music and brightly colored banners, though the end of the formal demonstration was followed by isolated clashes between police and hooded militants.
Inside China: PLA strategist reflects military’s mainstream
From: WashTimes
One of China’s most influential military strategists has made headlines by saying that a new, lethal strain of bird flu is a “U.S. bio-psychological weapon” conspiracy designed to harm China. Senior Col. Dai Xu, an air force officer in the People’s Liberation Army, has written several best-sellers, mostly on U.S. military strategy toward China, and enjoys a national following. He is a prominent voice inside China on military strategy and national security. Though many in the West view him as an aberration, Col. Dai is a core member of China’s strategic community and his views are backed by a huge following in Chinese military circles.
Iran Considers “Annexing” Azerbaijan
From: Eurasianet
A group of Iranian lawmakers has begun drafting a bill on reattaching Azerbaijan to Iran by updating the terms and conditions of a 19th century treaty that ceded part of modern-day Azerbaijan and most of Armenia to Russian control. The 1828 Turkmenchay Treaty ended the last war between Russia and Persia and paved the way for St. Petersburg to establish suzerainty over the South Caucasus. (Tehran already had given up its claims on Georgia in the 1813 Treaty of Gulistan.) But the Iranians now argue that there was a critical detail in the fine print.
Encrypted broadcast system links IDF brass to intel
From: JPost
‘Castle of the Lake’ intelligence command and control system being developed to deliver military decision-makers information from every possible source. In a hypothetical yet plausible situation, a very senior IDF commander is sitting at home, when he is alerted of a developing threat over the border. As he makes his way to IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv to meet with army brass, the commander pulls out a handheld military communications device, which sends and receives highly encrypted broadcasts. Before the commander’s vehicle reaches its destination, he receives video feed of the threat, and studies the updated list of targets that need to be struck to eliminate the danger. By the time he arrives at the meeting, he is fully briefed on the development.
The reasons for the crisis on the Korean Peninsula
From: Strategic Culture
Tensions are rising on the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang has decided to close the industrial complex in Kaesong, which is a joint enterprise zone with South Korea, and has suggested that foreign embassies evacuate the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for reasons of safety. Most significant in this series of steps has been the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party, held in March 2013, regarding legal confirmation of North Korea's nuclear status and the decision of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea «On further strengthening the status of a country in possession of nuclear weapons for the purposes of self-defence».
The majority of media, while painting a vivid picture of North Korea's militancy, is not trying to understand the reasons why the conflict on Korean soil is currently escalating so dramatically. When they do try, they usually name Pyongyang as the instigator of all the troubles, stressing that it was North Korea's third nuclear test that triggered the «nightmare».
Consequently, a pressing need has arisen to examine the real, underlying causes of what is commonly referred to as «the Korean problem».
Financial Cleansing: The Cyprus Bail-in Template
From: Global Research
The recent bail-in in Cyprus has given the world a glimpse at the future of the banking landscape. Now, as Canada gets set to hardwire the bail-in process into law, analysts like Michel Chossudovsky are warning how the big banks can use this template to further consolidate their monopoly of economic control. Those who follow the markets closely know that, at base, the current financial system is founded not on the bedrock of sound economic principles but instead upon the quicksand of public perception. All it takes is one large bump in the road to upset even the largest of economic bandwagons and usher in a new financial paradigm.
China And The RMA Today
From: ISN
Western governments and the media and frequently accuse China of conducting cyber-attacks and espionage against critical infrastructures and businesses. Is it appropriate, however, to consider Beijing’s alleged cyber activities as a component of China’s Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)?
Western governments and the media and frequently accuse China of conducting cyber-attacks and espionage against critical infrastructures and businesses. Is it appropriate, however, to consider Beijing’s alleged cyber activities as a component of China’s Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)?
Manabrata Guha: The short answer is yes. The cyber domain is increasingly encompassing national (civilian) infrastructure systems like electrical grids, communications, logistics, transport and mass transit, banking/ financial sectors etc., which are either not hardened or minimally hardened, unlike military systems. Dislocating such systems can provide an attacker, under certain conditions, with significant advantages. If we take the emerging Chinese perspectives of war and combat seriously, we will also have to take seriously their assessment of future wars being waged under or within what they refer to as ‘informationalized conditions’.
Kim Jong-Un: Chinese Concerns And Caution
From: B. Raman
As Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, who completes one year as First Secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea on April 11, 2013, uses North Korea’s power of escalatory rhetoric to threaten the region with the danger of a nuclear war if its demands are not met, there is increasing nervousness not only among North Korea’s perceived adversaries such as the US, South Korea and Japan, but also in its traditional friend next door, namely, China. Does Kim realise the implications of the threats which he has been holding out against his adversaries? Does he realise that if he carries out his threats or if he loses control of the situation under the irrational force of his rhetoric, he would be seriously endangering not only the national interests and security of his own country, but also those of North Korea’s traditional friends such as China?
US raises nuclear alert to DEFCON 3. China mobilizes, masses troops on North Korean border
From: Debkafile
Friday, April 12, the US raised its nuclear alert status to DEFCON 3, Condition Yellow (out of 5 levels), stating “There are currently no imminent nuclear threats against the United States at this time, however the situation is considered fluid and can change rapidly.” Many believe that North Korea will launch their test missile on or about April 15. Japan has instructed its armed forces to shoot down any North Korean missile that heads toward its territory.
Contrary to comments from the White House Thursday, the Pentagon reported that “North Korea probably has nuclear weapons that can be mounted on ballistic missiles.” This is a very significant admission by the United States and a dangerous change to the Korean situation.
Leaked report: Nearly half of US drone strikes in Pakistan not against al-Qaeda
A trove of leaked classified reports has confirmed what many had suspected – US drone kills in Pakistan are not the precision strikes against top-level al-Qaeda terrorists they are portrayed as by the Obama administration. Instead, many of the attacks are aimed at suspected low-level tribal militants, who may pose no direct danger to the United States – and for many there appears to be little evidence to justify the assassinations. Top secret documents obtained by McClatchy newspapers in the US show the locations, identities and numbers of those attacked and killed in Pakistan in 2006-8 and 2010-11, as well as explanations for why the targets were picked.
DARPA Building Robots With ‘Real’ Brains
The next frontier for the robotics industry is to build machines that think like humans. Scientists have pursued that elusive goal for decades, and they believe they are now just inches away from the finish line.
A Pentagon-funded team of researchers has constructed a tiny machine that would allow robots to act independently. Unlike traditional artificial intelligence systems that rely on conventional computer programming, this one “looks and ‘thinks’ like a human brain,” said James K. Gimzewski, professor of chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Gimsewski is a member of the team that has been working under sponsorship of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on a program called “physical intelligence.” This technology could be the secret to making robots that are truly autonomous, Gimzewski said during a conference call hosted by Technolink, a Los Angeles-based industry group.
This project does not use standard robot hardware with integrated circuitry, he said. The device that his team constructed is capable, without being programmed like a traditional robot, of performing actions similar to humans, Gimzewski said.
Participants in this project include Malibu-based HRL (formerly Hughes Research Laborary) and the University of California at Berkeley’s Freeman Laboratory for Nonlinear Neurodynamics. The latter is named after Walter J. Freeman, who has been working for 50 years on a mathematical model of the brain that is based on electroencephalography data. EEG is the recording of electrical activity in the brain.
What sets this new device apart from any others is that it has nano-scale interconnected wires that perform billions of connections like a human brain, and is capable of remembering information, Gimzewski said. Each connection is a synthetic synapse. A synapse is what allows a neuron to pass an electric or chemical signal to another cell. Because its structure is so complex, most artificial intelligence projects so far have been unable to replicate it.
A Pentagon-funded team of researchers has constructed a tiny machine that would allow robots to act independently. Unlike traditional artificial intelligence systems that rely on conventional computer programming, this one “looks and ‘thinks’ like a human brain,” said James K. Gimzewski, professor of chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Gimsewski is a member of the team that has been working under sponsorship of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on a program called “physical intelligence.” This technology could be the secret to making robots that are truly autonomous, Gimzewski said during a conference call hosted by Technolink, a Los Angeles-based industry group.
This project does not use standard robot hardware with integrated circuitry, he said. The device that his team constructed is capable, without being programmed like a traditional robot, of performing actions similar to humans, Gimzewski said.
Participants in this project include Malibu-based HRL (formerly Hughes Research Laborary) and the University of California at Berkeley’s Freeman Laboratory for Nonlinear Neurodynamics. The latter is named after Walter J. Freeman, who has been working for 50 years on a mathematical model of the brain that is based on electroencephalography data. EEG is the recording of electrical activity in the brain.
What sets this new device apart from any others is that it has nano-scale interconnected wires that perform billions of connections like a human brain, and is capable of remembering information, Gimzewski said. Each connection is a synthetic synapse. A synapse is what allows a neuron to pass an electric or chemical signal to another cell. Because its structure is so complex, most artificial intelligence projects so far have been unable to replicate it.
Scientists calculate probability of World War IV
From: VOR
The conclusion is based on a theory of cycles mapped out by Soviet economist Nikolai Kondratiev. According to the theory, the next world war may start in the upcoming decade, believes Professor Sergei Malkov of Moscow State University. In an interview with the Voice of Russia on Thursday, he elaborated on the topic. Kondratiev waves are thought to be cycle-like phenomena in the modern world economy. Ranging from approximately forty to sixty years, the cycles consist of alternating periods, such as expansion, stagnation and recession.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Is Central Asia Ripe for Change? (II)
From: Strategic Culture
Like in the case of the Persian Gulf oligarchies, economic power and wealth in Central Asia is concentrated in the hands of members of the presidential families and their cronies. These privileged elites run monopolies, mostly through state-connected structures or front companies, involving not only key sectors of the economy like oil, natural gas, cotton, and aluminum, but also a wide variety of activities such as import and export of consumer goods, media, banking, agro-industry, transport and telecom, real estate, hotels, restaurants, and holiday resorts. The nadir was reached when the companies run by these elites virtually ventured into «war profiteering» – the highly lucrative business of providing transit rights and the practical facilitation of transporting supplies over their territory for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization forces in Afghanistan.
French spy agency forced Wikipedia volunteer to delete entry
From: Intelnews
A French intelligence agency forced a volunteer for online open-source reference site Wikipedia to delete an entry that allegedly contained classified information about French nuclear defense systems. According to the Wikimedia Foundation, which publishes Wikipedia, the entry describes a radio relay system located at Pierre-sur-Haute military radio station in south-central France. Operated by the French Air Force, the station is said to have a central role in transmitting the order to launch France’s nuclear missiles in case of a full-scale thermonuclear war. The French-language Wikipedia webpage —which has since been fully restored— mentions, among other things, that the radio masts at Pierre-sur-Haute are designed to withstand the type of shockwave experienced in a thermonuclear attack. According to the Wikimedia Foundation, it was approached in early March, 2013, by the Direction Central du Renseignement Interieur (DCRI), which is tasked with domestic security and counterintelligence.
A French intelligence agency forced a volunteer for online open-source reference site Wikipedia to delete an entry that allegedly contained classified information about French nuclear defense systems. According to the Wikimedia Foundation, which publishes Wikipedia, the entry describes a radio relay system located at Pierre-sur-Haute military radio station in south-central France. Operated by the French Air Force, the station is said to have a central role in transmitting the order to launch France’s nuclear missiles in case of a full-scale thermonuclear war. The French-language Wikipedia webpage —which has since been fully restored— mentions, among other things, that the radio masts at Pierre-sur-Haute are designed to withstand the type of shockwave experienced in a thermonuclear attack. According to the Wikimedia Foundation, it was approached in early March, 2013, by the Direction Central du Renseignement Interieur (DCRI), which is tasked with domestic security and counterintelligence.
China & North Korea: New Strains on Old Paradigms
From: Geopolitical Monitor
For those in need of a refresher, here is the Cold War paradigm underpinning China-North Korean relations up until now. Historically speaking, a shared ideology has been at the core of their relationship. The two countries fought a war together in 1950 and have stood shoulder-to-shoulder against encroaching U.S. military power in East Asia throughout the sixty years that followed. China relinquished this shared ideology in everything but name when it opened up in the eighties and nineties, leaving North Korea to languish as the last Communist bastion in an increasingly interconnected and global system; and so the ‘hermit state’ was born. Yet even in the absence of ideological solidarity, North Korea was still a useful ally for Beijing: it provided a buffer that kept U.S. military power away from the Chinese border; its stability precluded millions of refugees from flooding into China; and it afforded China prestige on the world stage, as Beijing was frequently cast as the only outside actor that could ‘get through’ to Pyongyang and temper its extreme behavior.
For those in need of a refresher, here is the Cold War paradigm underpinning China-North Korean relations up until now. Historically speaking, a shared ideology has been at the core of their relationship. The two countries fought a war together in 1950 and have stood shoulder-to-shoulder against encroaching U.S. military power in East Asia throughout the sixty years that followed. China relinquished this shared ideology in everything but name when it opened up in the eighties and nineties, leaving North Korea to languish as the last Communist bastion in an increasingly interconnected and global system; and so the ‘hermit state’ was born. Yet even in the absence of ideological solidarity, North Korea was still a useful ally for Beijing: it provided a buffer that kept U.S. military power away from the Chinese border; its stability precluded millions of refugees from flooding into China; and it afforded China prestige on the world stage, as Beijing was frequently cast as the only outside actor that could ‘get through’ to Pyongyang and temper its extreme behavior.
Cyprus facts and European Union totalitarianism and horror
From: Defence Greece
The European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the international media blame Cyprus’ banking practices as the main cause of the crisis… and made sure, that the economy of Cyprus was ruined in just a weekend!!! Manically, German and French mainly politicians, argued that Cyprus is harboring criminal money, that Cyprus is an offshore tax haven and a money laundering center! For the record, Cyprus is an EU low tax jurisdiction not an offshore financial center…
And it makes one wonder… Have all the so far EU, IMF and OECD reports and assessments on Cyprus been false?
CIA Iran Agents Allegedly Exposed by SSL CA Hack
From: RCE
A group of Iranians reported to be involved in a sophisticated operation involving a deal with Chinese intelligence and involvements of Huawei have been able to obtain information about the certificate authority infrastructure produced and operated by Equifax at first, then sold to GeoTrust, Verisign and finally Symantec.
According to a translation made by natives, the report indicates that CIA operatives were communicating with the organization using some tools based on SSL signed certificates by the Equifax-based system. The Iranians found their way in and helped themselves a lot. The report claims the Iranian security apparatus was aware of the activities and made many arrests.
Indian-Israeli Defence Cooperation: The Elusive Strategic Partnership
From: RSIS
Indian-Israeli defence cooperation is mainly based on Israeli arms sales to India, which are increasingly critical, in military and economic terms, to both countries. However much Israel might like to expand this cooperation into a larger strategic partnership, India appears content with keeping this relationship limited and tactical. Defence Cooperation has always been a low-key but essential element in relations between Israel and India. While most of this cooperation has taken place below the radar of international affairs, it has nonetheless been critical to the expansion of ties between these two countries since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1992.
Indian-Israeli defence cooperation is mainly based on Israeli arms sales to India, which are increasingly critical, in military and economic terms, to both countries. However much Israel might like to expand this cooperation into a larger strategic partnership, India appears content with keeping this relationship limited and tactical. Defence Cooperation has always been a low-key but essential element in relations between Israel and India. While most of this cooperation has taken place below the radar of international affairs, it has nonetheless been critical to the expansion of ties between these two countries since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1992.
At issue – particularly for Israel – is whether growing military ties can cement a broader “strategic partnership” between Tel Aviv and New Delhi.
Turkey-US Relations Along The Triangle Of Ankara, Washington And Damascus
From: Journal of Turkish Weekly
Scenarios implying that Syria will lose its political unity, even its territorial integrity, will render the whole southern neighborhood of Turkey destabilized and open to threats in the short and medium terms. As a matter of fact, some Western strategists’ handling of such scenarios as if they are somehow desirable arouses suspicion. Turkish-American relations have gained acceleration lately, within the context of Syria. The dynamism generated due to the inauguration of John Kerry as the Secretary of State have acquired a new dimension with Obama convincing Netanyahu to normalize relations with Turkey during his visit to Israel. Indeed, it was the realities brought forward by the increasing possibility of conflict and instability throughout the region that motivated Washington’s insistance before Tel-Aviv. The protracted conflict in Syria which is the hottest topic on Washington’s agenda regarding the region, and the situation in Iraq not evolving in accordance with what was expected before despite the US wasting trillions of dollars in addition to considerable political capital; both served to prioritizing the need to overhaul the tensions between Turkey and Israel, two regional allies which always had good bilateral relations, on Washington’s part. Grabbing a slice of diplomatic history, President Obama accomplished a favorable result by making necessary suggestions to the newly formed government in Tel-Aviv.
Scenarios implying that Syria will lose its political unity, even its territorial integrity, will render the whole southern neighborhood of Turkey destabilized and open to threats in the short and medium terms. As a matter of fact, some Western strategists’ handling of such scenarios as if they are somehow desirable arouses suspicion. Turkish-American relations have gained acceleration lately, within the context of Syria. The dynamism generated due to the inauguration of John Kerry as the Secretary of State have acquired a new dimension with Obama convincing Netanyahu to normalize relations with Turkey during his visit to Israel. Indeed, it was the realities brought forward by the increasing possibility of conflict and instability throughout the region that motivated Washington’s insistance before Tel-Aviv. The protracted conflict in Syria which is the hottest topic on Washington’s agenda regarding the region, and the situation in Iraq not evolving in accordance with what was expected before despite the US wasting trillions of dollars in addition to considerable political capital; both served to prioritizing the need to overhaul the tensions between Turkey and Israel, two regional allies which always had good bilateral relations, on Washington’s part. Grabbing a slice of diplomatic history, President Obama accomplished a favorable result by making necessary suggestions to the newly formed government in Tel-Aviv.
North Korea’s Justifiable Anger: Does Obama Want More War?
From: Counterpunch
The corporate media reduces the DPRK (North Korea) to the Kim family and prefaces their names with the terms “madman”, “evil” and “brutal”. Such vilifications of foreign leaders are used here not only to signify they are target for US overthrow. They are meant to intimidate and isolate anti-war activists as being out in left field for ever wanting to oppose a war against countries ruled by “madmen” – be they Saddam, Fidel, Hugo Chavez, Ahmadinejad, Qaddaffi. Yet to a sensible person, it is crazy that the US, with nuclear weapons thousands of miles from home, in South Korea, denies North Korea has a right to have its own nuclear weapons on its own land – particularly when the North says it is developing nuclear weapons only as a deterrent because the US won’t take its own weapons out of the Korean peninsula.
Here We Go: Cyprus To Sell €400 Million In Gold, About 75% Of Its Total Holdings, To Finance Part Of Its Bailout
From: Zero Hedge
Curious why every bank and their grandmother, and most recently Goldman today, has been lining up to push the price of gold as low as possible? Here's why:
- CYPRUS TO SELL 400 MLN EUROS WORTH OF GOLD RESERVES TO FINANCE PART OF ITS BAILOUT - TROIKA DOCUMENTS - RTRS
Or about 10 tons of gold. But... the bailout was prefunded and there was no need to provide any additional cash? What happened: was the deposit outflow discovered to have been even greater than the worst case scenario and thus Cyprus needed even more cash? As for the buyers? We will venture a guess: central banks buying at the lows.
Finally: congratulations Cypriots. You are now handing over your gold for the one time, unbeatable opportunity to remain a vassal state to the Eurozone. But at least you have your €.
The Wall Street Ticking Time Bomb That Could Blow Up Your Bank Account
From: AlterNet
Cyprus-style confiscation of depositor funds has been called the “new normal.” Bail-in policies are appearing in multiple countries directing failing TBTF banks to convert the funds of “unsecured creditors” into capital; and those creditors, it turns out, include ordinary depositors. Even “secured” creditors, including state and local governments, may be at risk. Derivatives have “super-priority” status in bankruptcy, and Dodd Frank precludes further taxpayer bailouts. In a big derivatives bust, there may be no collateral left for the creditors who are next in line.
Top Economic Advisers Forecast War and Unrest
From: Washing's Blog
Kyle Bass, Martin Armstrong, Larry Edelson, Charles Nenner, James Dines, Nouriel Roubini, Jim Rogers, Marc Faber and Jim Rickards Warn of War
We’re already at war in numerous countries all over the world.
But top economic advisers warn that economic factors could lead to a new world war.
Kyle Bass writes:
Trillions of dollars of debts will be restructured and millions of financially prudent savers will lose large percentages of their real purchasing power at exactly the wrong time in their lives. Again, the world will not end, but the social fabric of the profligate nations will be stretched and in some cases torn. Sadly, looking back through economic history, all too often war is the manifestation of simple economic entropy played to its logical conclusion. We believe that war is an inevitable consequence of the current global economic situation.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Why Nuclear Talks with Iran Will Fail: “US is on a Fool’s Errand”
From: Gerard Direct
Although a new round of talks begin on Friday in Almaty, Kazakhstan, between the six world powers and Iran, the Islamic regime has no intention of giving up its goal of achieving nuclear weapons status. Despite years of failed negotiations, the P5-plus-1 group of nations (the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France plus Germany) will once again try to solve the nuclear impasse diplomatically. It won’t work. Mashregh News, a media outlet run by the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence unit, dissected why the Obama administration’s plan will continue to fail.
North Korea Missile Threat: A Ploy to Distract the World May Be Getting Out of Hand
From: Gerard Direct
On Friday, Kim Jong-Un’s regime warned British and Russian diplomats to consider evacuating their embassies as Pyongyang moved two mid-range missiles into position to a secret location in a further move to threaten South Korean, Japanese, and American Pacific bases. The British Foreign Office released a new statement which said, “We are consulting international partners about these developments. No decisions have been taken, and we have no immediate plans to withdraw our Embassy”. The statement urged north Korea to “to work constructively with the international community”.
Colombia’s BACRIM: On the Road to Extinction?
A report written by Daniel Rico for the Woodrow Wilson Center insists that the current generation of Colombia’s organized crime syndicates, the BACRIM, is doomed to extinction -- an encouraging, if controversial, assertion. In his thought-provoking study, "The International Dimensions of Organized Crime in Colombia: the BACRIM, their Roots and Refuges" -- published as part of a series of Wilson Center papers on the spread of organized crime in the Americas and into parts of Africa -- Rico identifies some of the inherent weaknesses in Colombia's hybrid criminal organizations, known as "Bandas Criminales" ("Criminal Bands") or BACRIM.
Rico also compares the BACRIM to their powerful predecessors in the Medellin Cartel and the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). He explores the migration of the BACRIM and their leadership to Colombia's border regions and into neighboring countries, and their increasingly diverse criminal portfolios.
Is Central Asia Ripe for Regime Change?
From: Strategic Culture
The persisting speculations regarding political succession in Uzbekistan, the incipient trends of unrest in Azerbaijan in recent months as the country lurches toward a crucial presidential election, growing volatility of the situation in Afghanistan – what surges to the mind is the great Middle Eastern upheaval known as the «Arab Spring.» Are we nearing a «tipping point» in Central Asia?
The «Arab Spring» has already become a loaded expression laden with heavy political overtones. Although it is still in its early stages, in the two years since it appeared on the political landscape of the Middle East, it has ceased to be a regional movement. Different patterns of regime change have appeared. The indigenous content is also evaporating fast while external content is being injected to give new dynamics and direction to it. The «Arab Spring» is at times perilously close to being discredited as a geopolitical stunt.
Pakistani Terror Group Recruits 'Best and Brightest'
From: Intellibriefs
Imagine a terrorist group that recruits tens of thousands of young men from the same neighborhoods and social networks as the Pakistani military. A group whose well-educated recruits defy the idea that poverty and ignorance breed extremism. A group whose fighters include relatives of a politician, a senior Army officer and a director of Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission.
That is the disconcerting reality of Lashkar-e-Taiba, one of the world's most dangerous militant organizations, according to a study released today by the Combating Terrorism Center at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. The report helps explain why Pakistan has resisted international pressure to crack down on Lashkar after it killed 166 people in Mumbai — six U.S. citizens included — and came close to sparking conflict between nuclear-armed Pakistan and India.
Indian Gold Reserves. Forgotten History! New Opportunity?
From: 2ndLook
Private Gold Reserves - India (2ndlook model)
Quiet Progress
For the last 20 years, World Gold Council has shown India’s annual gold consumption fluctuating from 400 tons to 800 tons. Estimated Indian gold reserves at 25,000-30,000 tons are double of the next largest country – the USA with 14,000 tons. India has 20% of the world population and also 20% of the world’s above-the-ground gold.
Quite unlike China!
Spain’s Descent Into Banana Republicanism
From: Testosterone
It seems that nary a day goes by without some new seismic political scandal breaking in Spain. In just the first few days of April, King Juan Carlos’ daughter, La Infanta Cristina, was charged with aiding and abetting her husband, Iñaki Urgangarin, in his myriad scams to embezzle money from the public purse.
Never one to be outdone in the corruption department, Spain’s governing party, the Partido Popular (PP), was also engulfed in yet another scandal, this time revolving around the president of the Galician regional parliament Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s past ties to a known smuggler and drug trafficker.
The uproar followed El Pais’s publication of a series of photos from 1995 showing Feijóo, then deputy health secretary of the region, enjoying both a luxury yacht cruise and a mountain road trip with Marciel Dorado, a known smuggler and widely suspected capo ofthe Galician drug-smuggling mafia.
Total Fiasco: Germans Are The Poorest, Cypriots The Second Richest In The Eurozone
From: Testosterone
In March, six years after inception, the first ECB-organized Eurozone-wide household-wealth survey results were trickling out. But when the Bundesbank refused to publish the German data, insiders leaked the reason: too explosive for the current debt crisis and bailout environment because Italian households were far wealthier than German households. Shocking! And a red herring. The truth turned out to be far more shocking.
In March, six years after inception, the first ECB-organized Eurozone-wide household-wealth survey results were trickling out. But when the Bundesbank refused to publish the German data, insiders leaked the reason: too explosive for the current debt crisis and bailout environment because Italian households were far wealthier than German households. Shocking! And a red herring. The truth turned out to be far more shocking.
Now the ECB has finally published the all-country report—and it’s far worse than feared. Italian median household wealth was indeed over three times larger than Germany’s. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was Cyprus.
Is Australian Foreign Minister A “Spy?” Australian Newspaper Exposes Bob Carr As An “agent” Under US Influence
From: Murray Hunter
Just around a week ago in Beijing, Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr entered the US-Korea conflict by trying to persuade the Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi to adopt sanctions against North Koreai. Today (8th April), an investigative journalist from the respected conservative Australian newspaper “The Age” after going through 11,000 US cables from the US embassy in Canberra and consulates in Sydney and Melbourne, leaked by US Army Private Bradley Manning and published WikiLeaks found that the current Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr had been briefing the US embassy since the 1970s on both the internal decision making of the Australian Government during the Whitlam Labor Government (1972-75) and internal workings of the Australian labor Party (ALP)ii.
Peruvian Government Reinvigorates Bilateral Relations With China
From: Peter Tase
On Monday Peruvian President, Ollanta Humala Tasso, begun his official visit to China. President Humala participated in the opening ceremony of the Institute of Peruvian Studies at Hebei Normal University, where his portrait was displayed next to a number of paintings of other Latin American Leaders.
In his keynote speech, the President referred to the Tower of Babel, the Biblical image of a gathering between men, who spoke different languages and for that reason they were unable to build the road to heaven. Humala stated that “today there is a language barrier between [the two countries] countries, Peru and China, in order to strengthen the bonds of friendship and cooperation. This language barrier is slowly being reduced due to our efforts to understand both languages, not only in Peru at the Confucius Institute, but also in China with the Institute of Peruvian Studies, at the Hebei Normal University.” [1]
The Fifth BRICS Summit: Are We Moving Towards A G–Zero World?
From: Salma Yusuf
In the immediate aftermath of the fifth summit of heads of state from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) held in Durban on 26 and 27 March 2013, its impact on the future of the nations within the group itself, and the larger international community, is the topic of intense discussion in international caucuses.
The emerging narrative is dichotomous. On the one hand it is argued that the agreement to set up a new development bank is a significant achievement, while at the other end of views it is argued that there are gaps in agreement that make the agreement, in essence, much ado about nothing. Is it really then a matter of perspective or a matter of prescription?
China-India Relations: Cooperation And Conflict
From: Geopolitical Monitor
Sino-Indian relations make for a compelling case study, as their strategic complexity and future importance defy any easy explanation. Theirs is a relationship that straddles the entire breadth of geopolitical possibility, encompassing points of conflict and cooperation in the military and economic spheres, territorial and resource disputes, dissonant domestic political systems, and perhaps most importantly: the unprecedented opportunity for two of the greatest development success stories in human history to shape the world of the 21st century. Because conflict or not, both countries recognize the need to work together to lubricate the international system that has served them so well.
The Korean Crisis: Spinning Out Of Control?
From: Eurasia
The danger posed by the increasing hostile situation on the Korean peninsula cannot be understated. There is a frightening possibility that the situation could spin out of control, leading to a deadly regional conflict in one of the most densely populated parts of the world. North Korea has embarked on a near-daily onslaught of belligerent threats, some of which include its invalidation of the 1953-armistice agreement that ended the Korean War, threats to attack the United States with nuclear weapons, and threats to occupy South Korea. Military analysts say that North Korea is at least several years from building a nuclear warhead or a missile capable of reaching the US mainland.
Monday, April 8, 2013
How Mexico's Underworld Became Violent
From: Insight
Mexico's battles with drug trafficking have been a constant in the country’s modern history, but the activities and organization of the criminal groups operating in the clandestine industry have been in a state of constant flux. That flux, which continues today, lies at the heart of Mexico's violence. During the 20th century and into the 21st, Mexico’s criminal organizations have grown increasingly sophisticated, globalized, and diversified. Whereas 90 years ago they were largely family organizations shipping marijuana and bootleg liquor to the US, today they traffic any number of products to and from nations in all four corners of the globe.
Mexico's battles with drug trafficking have been a constant in the country’s modern history, but the activities and organization of the criminal groups operating in the clandestine industry have been in a state of constant flux. That flux, which continues today, lies at the heart of Mexico's violence. During the 20th century and into the 21st, Mexico’s criminal organizations have grown increasingly sophisticated, globalized, and diversified. Whereas 90 years ago they were largely family organizations shipping marijuana and bootleg liquor to the US, today they traffic any number of products to and from nations in all four corners of the globe.
The Climate Bomb: Failures to Confront the Unspeakable, and The Way Ahead
From: Global Research
The role of greenhouse gases, which absorb and hold the heat in earth’s atmosphere, and which acidify the oceans, has been simply and clearly illustrated by Dr. Eric Grimsrud in his slide-show,Short Course: The Earth’s Climate.[29]
Overwhelmingly, scientists now believe it is “likely that the world will blow past the 2 degree C warming threshold that scientists and international negotiators agree is needed to avoid catastrophic consequences.”[30]
On December 3, 2012, The Global Carbon Project, comprised of 35 climatologists from 10 countries, reported that under “business as usual,” “emissions are heading to a 4.0 to 6.1 degree C ‘likely’ increase in temperature.”[31]
How do they know this?
The Assassination of Patrice Lumumba: British Peer Reveals MI6 Role in Lumumba Killing
From: Global Research
The British intelligence services may have just had one of their best-kept secrets blown: their role in the abduction and assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo’s first democratically elected prime minister whose Pan-African nationalism and pro-Moscow leanings alarmed the West.
For more than 50 years, rumours have swirled over allegations of British involvement in Lumumba’s brutal murder in 1961, but nothing has ever been proved — leaving the CIA and its Belgian peers alone to take the rap for what a Belgian writer has described as “the most important assassination of the 20th century.” Now, in a dramatic revelation, a senior British politician has claimed that he got it from the horse’s mouth that it was MI6 that “did” it.
Russian War Games send a Strong Message against NATO Intervention in Syria?
From: Global Research
Is there a connection between events in Syria (maybe even US tension with North Korea) and Russia’s impromptu Black Sea war games that started on March 28, 2013?
While on his way from Durban in South Africa, where the BRICS — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — announced they were forming a new development bank to challenge the IMF and World Bank, Russia’s Vladimir Putin gave the go ahead for unscheduled war games in the Black Sea. By themselves the games mean little, but in a global context they mean a lot.
Restructuring China’s Maritime Law Enforcement: Impact On Regional Security
From: RSIS
China has restructured its unwieldy maritime law enforcement apparatus. It is a development that signals Beijing’s intention to push ahead with its heavy-handed approach to territorial disputes and maritime contentions with some of its neighbouring countries. China deployed a naval task force that included four warships at James Shoal, near Brunei and East Malaysia, on 26 March 2013. The crew even had a ceremony on board one of the vessels to pledge to “maintain national sovereignty”. This unusual assertiveness comes at a time when China is also reforming its civilian maritime apparatus, which for a long time has been plagued with too many players – as many as 17 agencies. Though little noticed, this restructuring of the maritime apparatus is significant given its implications for the region.
Cyprus’s Crisis: Aphrodite To The Rescue?
From: Elcano Royal Institute
The future of bankrupt Cyprus and perhaps of the EU’s vast energy needs lies in the offshore gas field named after the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite who, according to legend, was born on the tiny island nation.
The Aphrodite field, one of 12 blocks, alone could supply up to 40% of the EU’s current natural-gas consumption. The block, moreover, is close to Israel’s Leviathan gas field –the very name suggests how much energy it might contain–. According to the US Geological Survey, an estimated 122 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas lie, along with 1.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil, beneath the seabed of the Levant Basin, about as much as the world consumes in a year (see the map). Gas from Israel’s smaller offshore Tamar field began flowing into the country on 31 March.
Anonymous Launches Massive Cyber Assault On Israel
From: RT
Hacktivist group Anonymous has launched a second massive cyber attack against Israel, dubbed #OpIsrael. The collective threatens to “disrupt and erase Israel from cyberspace” in protest over its mistreatment of Palestinians. Dozens of Israeli websites were unavailable as of early Sunday. In a video message posted on YouTube, Anonymous said that on April 7, “elite cyber-squadrons from around the world have decided to unite in solidarity with the Palestinian people against Israel as one entity to disrupt and erase Israel from cyberspace.”
Bangladesh Elections 2013
From: IPCS
Bangladesh is facing elections during late 2013. With recent developments in Dhaka, it appears the process has already started, with multiple issues and expressions on the streets.
Bangladesh: A Short Political Introduction
Bangladesh has the distinction of having undergone two national movements in a short span of 25 years – first in 1947, which created Pakistan; and the second in 1971, resulting in the creation of Bangladesh.
The Rise Of Narendra Modi: Is This The New India?
From: Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay
A strong anti-minority message and a sharp rise in Hindu nationalist sentiment has brought former pariah Narendra Modi to the forefront of Indian politics. But is this a future Indians really want to consider?
Fourteen months before a scheduled parliamentary election that is widely expected to yield a regime-changing mandate, has India begun a series of manoeuvres that would result in a major departure from the political consensus since 1947 on the stance towards the religious minorities in the country?
China Nurtures Its Nuclear Nexus With Pakistan
From: IDSA
Once again, and not surprisingly, China and Pakistan have been in the news for making a mockery of the global nuclear order and also exposing its weakness. Bill Gertz, who has the reputation of breaking news on China, reported in the Free Beacon (March 22, 2013) that by cleverly using the ‘grandfather clause’ China and Pakistan have reached a formal agreement in February 2013 to construct a third nuclear reactor in Chashma. The ‘grandfather clause’ refers to the agreement to construct two nuclear reactors in Pakistan before China joined the NSG in 2004. The Free Beacon report on the 1000 MW Chashma-3 was followed by several other reports clarifying that China and Pakistan had not only signed Chashma-3 but also Chashma-4.
The Big Stall In US Economy
From: Robert Reich
Bad news on the economy. It added only 88,000 jobs in March – the slowest pace of job growth in nine months. While the jobless rate fell to 7.6 percent, much of the drop was due to the labor force shrinking by almost a half million people. If you’re not looking for work, you’re not counted as unemployed. That means the percentage of working-age Americans either with a job or looking for one dropped to 63.3 percent — its lowest level since 1979. The direction isn’t encouraging. The pace of job growth this year is slower than its pace last year. What’s going on? The simple fact is companies won’t hire if consumers aren’t buying enough to justify the new hires. And consumers don’t have enough money, or credit, or confidence to buy enough.
Military To Mercenary Trend Growing
From: Brett Daniel Shehadey
With so many focused on the threat of rising private military contractors, many are missing the importance of the rising “global citizen mercenary” that fights for a state as professional rather than a patriot. This type of warrior permeates the private and public sector, fusing the two together. This internationalist warrior ethos is effecting traditional and non-traditional institutions of arms in order to counter non-traditional threats and meet non-traditional political objectives.
Private contractors are not the only ones fighting missions for pay and thrill around the world—national missions often have nothing to do with patriotism or the protection of person and home.
Using the US national defense structure as an example for a larger international trend, below is a concise list of critical factors making possible the transition from national soldiers to global mercenaries:
Egypt, Brotherhood and US
From: Arab News
The Egyptian government and its Freedom and Justice Party, and various Brotherhood groups condemned a statement supposedly made by the American Embassy against restrictions on freedom, especially in the case of the satirist Bassem Youssef.
The Brotherhood statement suggested that the American government is against President Mursi’s government. But this is not true at all.
We don’t know yet if US President Barack Obama is satisfied with Mursi and his government or worried about them. All we know is Obama prefers to be a spectator and this may be beneficial for the Egyptian people as they can manage their own affairs. His long silence suggests to the opposition that he agrees with the actions of the Brotherhood.
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