Category: #Geopolitiks
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Why U.S. Fracking Companies Are Licking Their Lips Over Ukraine
from alternet.org: The way to beat Vladimir Putin is to flood the European market with fracked-in-the-USA natural gas, or so the industry would have us believe. As part of escalating anti-Russian hysteria, two bills have been introduced into the US Congress – one in the House of Representatives ( H.R. 6), one in the Senate…
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Brazil Skirts Organizational Disaster With Most Expensive World Cup Ever
from ibtimes.com: When it comes to soccer, Brazil is a country of superlatives. Its fabled national team, whose skills with the ball are proverbial, has won the most World Cups, appeared in more finals than anybody else, and is the only squad to have qualified for every tournament since the competition began in 1930. But,…
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Iran, India and Afghanistan to Sign Sea Trade Pact
from stratrisks.com: A pact that would connect India to Afghanistan through a southern Iranian port is set to be signed by the three countries, Afghan and Indian officials said. The draft pact centers on Chabahar Port, which would allow India and Afghanistan to conduct trade and access Central Asia’s vast energy resources, has been reviewed…
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Greystone Denies Its ‘Mercenaries’ Are In Ukraine
from abcnews.go.com: The Russian government today claimed there are more than 100 American “mercenaries” from a defense contracting company disguised as Ukrainian troops in the embattled former Soviet nation, a claim the American firm and top U.S. officials deny. The Russian Foreign Ministry made the allegation in a statement today that accused Ukrainian military forces…
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Australia defends new security deal with Japan
from channelnewsasia.com: Closer defence ties between Japan and Australia should not raise concerns in regional superpower China, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Tuesday. Canberra and Tokyo struck a major agreement Monday to enhance trade and security ties, elevating the bilateral relationship to a new level. Abbott told ABC radio Australia he was taking no sides…
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Denial of Reality As Ukraine Heats Up
from thenews.com.pk: The crisis over Ukraine has provided a fresh opportunity to President Barack Obama’s domestic detractors to assail him for ‘failing to lead’ and to deploy American power to force the Russian president to retreat. Much of this criticism shows willful ignorance of the limits of US power in a transformed international environment where no single state…
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Why Chocolate Is Bargaining Chip In Ukraine-Russia Conflict
from npr.org: In the political battle between Ukraine and Russia, one of the biggest pawns is chocolate. That’s because the current front-runner in Ukraine’s presidential race is Petro Poroshenko, known as “the Chocolate King.” His billion-dollar empire was founded on candy factories. Poroshenko’s chocolate became a bargaining chip in the confrontation with Russia last July,…
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Why Every World Map You’re Looking at Is Wrong
Africa, China, India Distorted Despite Access to Accurate Satellite Data* from dailymail.co.uk: Take a look at a map today, and you’re likely to see that North America is larger than Africa, Alaska is larger than Mexico and China is smaller than Greenland. But in reality China is four times bigger than Greenland, Africa is three…
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Bangkok Scrap Workers Cut Into Live WWII Bomb, Killing Seven
from cnn.com: Thai scrapyard workers accidentally detonated a suspected World War II-era bomb Wednesday, killing seven and injuring 19 after attempting to cut into it with a blowtorch. The device was discovered at a construction site in Bangkok, and moved to a scrapyard before workers tampered with it, in an attempt to break it down…
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New Zealand Ranks First In Environmental, Social Progress
from theguardian.com: New Zealand has come first in a global index that ranks countries by social and environmental performance rather than economic output in a drive to make social progress a priority for politicians and businesses. The Social Progress Index (SPI), published on Thursday, rates 132 countries on more than 50 indicators, including health, sanitation,…
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Russia Tightens Pressure on Ukraine With Rise in Gas Price
from nytimes.com: Even as American and Russian diplomats groped toward a settlement that would halt further Russian military intervention in Ukraine, Gazprom, the Russian energy company, stepped up the economic pressure on Tuesday by sharply raising the price it charges for natural gas. Gazprom, a state-controlled gas exporter, raised the price to $385 for 1,000…
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North Korea Sending Message to U.S. with Missile Barrage
from usatoday.com: A barrage of artillery fire between North and South Korea across disputed maritime borders on Monday marked an annual show of force by North Korea intent on sending a message to the U.S. as it conducts military exercises nearby. North Korea’s missile launches into the Yellow (West) Sea followed by a threat of…
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Interview w/ Nile Bowie on Flight 370, Crimea, China and more
As Malaysia is reluctantly thrust into the world spotlight, what better time to talk again to our friend Nile Bowie, “a Malaysia-based political analyst and columnist with Russia Today”. Is the country being unfairly maligned for their handling of the mystery of the missing Flight 370? Plus, we discuss the latest machinations going on over…
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Threats Did Not Sway Putin, Now US Tries Pain
from @afp: US President Barack Obama’s threats of “costs” did not sway Vladimir Putin’s calculations on Crimea. Now he must see if the pain he plans to escalate on Russia will be sufficiently acute to do any better. The White House’s initial strategy of seeking to defuse the crisis, offering Russia an “off-ramp” and warning…
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Crimea Set to Leave Ukraine and Join Russia After Referendum
from euronews.com: As many as 95.5 percent of the electorate in Crimea have voted to join Russia. That comes after 50 percent of votes had been counted. According to the head of the electoral commission the turnout was as high as 83 percent. Pro-Russians in the Crimean capital Simferopol gathered in Lenin Square soon after…