China will likely use its growing power to try to force its way with Japan but it is doubtful that Beijing will enter a Cold War-style confrontation with the United States, a study said. The report by the Washington-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace aims to be the most comprehensive…
Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s Amazon Wishlist
Via
Dave Weigel, here’s the
Amazon wishlist of the dead Boston bombing suspect
Tamerlan Tsarnaev. The books he wanted include tomes on
organized crime, making fake IDs, and the Chechen fight for
independence, plus Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and
Influence People. … Read More
Iran ‘has tripled’ uranium-enriching centrifuges at Natanz plant
They added that the machines – which total more than 600 – are not yet producing enriched uranium and some may only be partially installed. Two of the diplomats told AP that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts visiting the site were also uncertain about their operating ability, because they were not permitted to get a close enough look. Western countries skeptical of Iran’s nuclear intentions have already raised concern that the machines would enable Tehran to speed up atomic activity. The US and its allies have accused Iran of using its nuclear program to develop nuclear bombs. “It is clear Iran can build them. The question is how many and how good are they,” a Western envoy told Reuters. Despite claims from the US and its allies, the Islamic Republic insists it has no interest in nuclear weapons, and says it’s enriching uranium for purely peaceful purposes, such as nuclear power. Tehran also maintains it has a right to do so under international law.Iran announced last month that it would build around3,000 advanced centrifuges, refusing to bow down to Western pressure to curb its uranium enrichment.Although Tehran is still far off its target number, a diplomatic source estimated that 500-600 so-called IR-2m centrifuges and empty centrifuge casings had now been put into place at the Natanz facility.The number of centrifuges that Iran can make depends on whether it has all the necessary parts and materials, according to nuclear expert Mark Hibbs of the Carnegie Endowment think-tank.“It is possible they have accumulated an inventory of these things,” he told Reuters.Meanwhile, tensions continue to boil between the US and Iran, as Washington continues to threaten Iran with sanctions. “The United States and the international community remain committed to maintaining pressure on the Iranian regime until it fully addresses concerns about its nuclear program,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement last month.“The message to the Iranian regime from the international community is clear: take concrete actions to satisfy the concerns of the international community, or face increasing isolation and pressure,” he said.Israel has been just as aggressive with its threats, refusing to rule out the possibility of a military strike against Iran.On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his position, saying that“tough sanctions” currently imposed on Iran might not be enough to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapon capabilities.His thoughts were echoed by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who called Iran’s nuclear program“the most significant threat” to the world.“The Western states must understand that only assertive action will curb the threat. Only forcing the Iranian regime to choose between a bomb or survival will bring Iran to halt the project,” he said.Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Benny Gantz, said the country’s military was capable of attacking Iran on its own without foreign support.When asked in a public radio interview if the military could target Iran alone – without the support of countries such as the United States – Gantz replied,“Yes, absolutely.” “We have our plans and forecasts…if the time comes we’ll decide” on whether to take military action, he said.Also on Tuesday, a US senate committee passed Resolution 65, stating that the country will authorize the usage of military force to Israel in“defense of its territory, people, and existence.” The bill also states that the US is committed to lending diplomatic and economic support to Israel.Iran and a group of international negotiators known as the P5+1 held their latest round of nuclear talks in Kazakhstan earlier this month. However, the meeting failed to produce a breakthrough.Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said after the talks that Moscow is against the West’s unilateral sanctions on Iran, calling this stance … Read More
Forced Schooling: The Antidote for Genius
To counteract genius and critical thinking in schools, we serve heaping doses of the balm of forgetting. Sweet relief comes by removing all recollection of our history and replacing it with the revised Hollywood version. … Read More
South Korea asks US for nuclear support to send ‘strong message’ to China
During a trip to the United States, a powerful South Korean politician has suggested that his country needs nuclear weapons of its own – and not just to intimidate North Korea, but also to send a strong message to China.Rep. Chung Moon-joon, in a speech Monday in Washington DC, said the Chinese have overlooked what Seoul sees as North Korea’s aggressive tactics in favor of disputes in Tibet and Taiwan.“In terms of North Korea, China wants to maintain the status quo, reluctant to be active in putting pressure on it,” said. Rep. Chung, who, in his seventh term as a lawmaker, serves as the leader of South Korea’s ruling Saenuri Party.Chung is scheduled to speak again on Tuesday in the second of the two-day 2013 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference. According to Yonhap News, he will suggest that US politicians provide arms to South Korea.“Possessing nuclear weapons is the best way to counter North Korea’s nuclear threats,” he said. “It would send a strong political message not only to North Korea but also to China.”Chung, who is one of the favorites to become president of South Korea in the country’s 2017 election, also recommended that US officials reconsider giving South Korea wartime control of its own troops within the next two years.“The US should halt a scheme to move the Second Infantry Division to a base south of the Han River in Seoul,” he said. “The US will also have to push for direct talks with North Korea to put a top priority on the denuclearization issue.”It’s not the first time a South Korean lawmaker has pressured the US for nuclear support, but the idea has gained traction on the peninsula after recent provocations from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. That tension escalated again Monday with North Korea’s announcement that 51,000 workers would be recalled from a factory shared with the South, a major step toward ending economic ties.Other South Korean leaders recanted statements Monday from Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae, who previously said “there is an indication” of activity around North Korea’s nuclear test site. South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said Monday that, while there are vehicles in the area, none of the events around the test site are unusual.Despite the ongoing rhetoric Kim Sung-han, an international relations expert at Korea University in Seoul, doubted the two countries would descend into war. He told USA Today that, if North Korea does appear to be testing nuclear weapons, it’s only evidence that Kim Jong-un is desperate for power.“This problem of power consolidation is his gigantic task to accomplish in a short period of time,” Kim said, adding that the North Korean leadership is “gradually losing domestic support” with a chance of an outbreak of public discontent.”It’s always helpful to remind the people that their country is surrounded by evil and scheming enemies, and only the leader and the army can keep the country secure.” … Read More
Facebook changes made users share more private data: study
Facebook users began sharing more private data after the social network giant revamped its policies and interface, according to a study released Tuesday. The seven-year study by Carnegie Mellon University researchers said users had been moving toward greater privacy settings from 2005 to 2009, but…
‘Taliban cannot make us better Muslims than we are’
NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called on the Afghangovernment to ensure free and fair presidential elections in 2014after reports of fraud marred the 2009 poll.The credibility of the vote is seen as crucial to avoid anescalation of violence as NATO combat troops withdraw next yearleaving Afghan soldiers and police to tackle the Talibaninsurgency.The Taliban has hinted it may form a political party and contestthe presidential election. By all accounts it has a solid chance ofwinning.According to data from the Carnegie Endowment most of theregions in the country are either poised for a Taliban comeback, orhave areas already under their control.Former Afghan MP and political analyst Daoud Sultanzoy believesit is time the Taliban show their true face, and present a newagenda to the Afghan people.RT: You know the fragmented political landscape ofAfghanistan. What do you make of the Taliban’s chances?DS: It’s a very interesting situation. It’s notAfghanistan of the 1990s – a lot has changed. But at the same timethe western world plundered their chances and we did the same. Sopeople are confused. They are not fully supporting the Talibanagenda they were proposing earlier. It’s now up to the Taliban toshow their real face, not the face that is pushed by the Britishand Pakistani intelligence. […] I hope now they will show theirtrue face and their true agenda. RT: What do you think is the Taliban’s true face now?Running a country is different to running an insurgency. TheTaliban has lost many of its leaders since it last ruled. Can itstill govern do you think?DS: You know, every paramilitary group looks larger whenthey are on the battlefield fighting a guerilla war. When they cometo the political front the proof is there. These people have topresent an agenda to the people of Afghanistan and present a team.The old Taliban and the old agenda will not be acceptable to theAfghan people. RT: America and its allies have spent more than adecade trying to remove the Taliban. Could they afford now to allowthe Taliban a chance to retake power, legitimately orotherwise?DS: I think the West is confused. They are looking for avery speedy exit. I’m afraid they will do whatever is possible andconvenient to put up a very tenuous formula and a very temporaryfix and then leave. Then things will go back to where it started.That’s the problem. The region has to realize that we have to findsustainable fixes for this problem, not temporary face-savingthings for NATO to go away and leave a big problem for Afghanistanand its neighbors.RT: If the Taliban were to come back into a leadershiprole in the country, do you think they would be imposing the kindof dictatorship that was there before the US invasion or do youthink it would actually have a legitimate role to play in some kindof a democracy?DS: This is the biggest question now. When I said thetrue face that was what I meant. They have to come and spell outtheir agenda. So far it’s been the old system – they want to createan imarat in Afghanistan not the Republic of Afghanistan. So farthey haven’t changed their tone. Unless they do it the people ofAfghanistan would not be supporting the Taliban that want toreverse things back to the Stone Age. We cannot afford that.Afghanistan has to live in this world, in this neighborhood.Afghanistan is an Islamic country and the Taliban cannot make usbetter Muslims than we are. RT: Could an elected Taliban save face for the West’sbattered military?DS: This is what worries the people in Afghanistan. Maybethe West wants to come up with a quick fix, to bring a face-savingsituation when the Taliban wins the election and then they willwash their hands and leave a mess in this region and thiscountry. RT: Many Afghans are weary of their government. Howimportant might the protest vote be?DS: In that sort of situation the Taliban, had they beensmart, would have scored big at the political front. But they don’thave a political agenda that’s why they are all sort of fumbling.But I think the Taliban can take advantage of this void and fillthis vacuum, but they have to come up with a winnable strategy toconvince the people of Afghanistan that they mean business and thatthey are prepared for the new Afghanistan, not the old one. … Read More
