The fiscal cliff is dominating the news these days, but mostly it is political theatre, and as I said before, I don’t think we will be going off. All parties want a resolution, so even if the fiscal cliff isn’t resolved prior to the new year, it will be soon after, with changes retroactive to [...]
The Fiscal Cliff: Worst-Case Scenarios – OpEd
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Krugman Attacks Us – OpEd
When Paul Krugman starts attacking us, we know we’re doing something right. John Maynard Keynes’s presumptive heir, Krugman apparently doesn’t like the findings of our recent book edited by Research Fellow David Beckworth, Boom & Bust Banking: The Causes and Cures of the Great Recession, exposing the profound fallaciesof Lord Keynes’s love affair with fiscal [...]
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Is There A Soul For Israel To Lose? – OpEd
By Issa Khalaf Is it real or fantasy, the Jewish American liberal Zionist insistence that, after 1967, with the occupation, Israel lost its liberal democratic, human rights, pluralist soul? Many Western liberal Zionists and their Israeli counterparts hold steadfastly to this view, perhaps fearing the psychological shattering that reality—a grimy, violent, racist state of Israel—would [...]
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Moscow’s Expanding Role In The World – OpEd
By Alsir Sidahmed A more active Russian role in diplomacy is emerging in an area that was somewhat neglected in the past. However, it remains to be seen whether Moscow is searching for new playgrounds to score points against Washington, or is pursuing Vladimir Putin’s long cherished goal of restoring the nation’s superpower glories. Or, [...]
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Marrakech Conference: A Decisive Step In Resolving The Syrian Crisis – OpEd
The 4th Ministerial Meeting of the “Group of Friends of the Syrian people”, in Marrakech, will focus primarily on the latest developments in the Syrian crisis, the path of a crisis and how to mobilize international aid to put an end to the suffering of civilians. The Marrakech Conference, which takes place after those of [...]
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Syria: Incendiary Weapons Used In Populated Areas, Says HRW
The Syrian military has used air-delivered incendiary bombs in at least four locations across Syria since mid-November 2012, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday. The conclusion is based on interviews with four witnesses and multiple videos analyzed by Human Rights Watch. The Syrian military should cease its use of incendiary weapons immediately, Human Rights Watch said. [...]
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Defiant North Korea Launches Rocket
(RFE/RL) — North Korea says it has launched a rocket that successfully placed a satellite into orbit. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD, said U.S. systems detected that North Korea had launched an object into Earth orbit. NORAD said the first stage of the rocket fell into the Yellow Sea, and the second [...]
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UN Security Council To Hold Emergency Meeting On North Korea Rocket Launch
The UN Security Council is meeting for emergency consultations on North Korea’s launch earlier today of a carrier rocket with a satellite on board. The consultations are due on Wednesday at the UN Headquarters, according to an informed source. The Unha-3 booster with the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite on board blasted off from the Sohae launching site [...]
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Singapore A Global Hydrohub: From Water Insecurity To Niche Water Diplomacy – Analysis
Singapore’s water-related diplomatic efforts have evolved from bilateral agreements with Malaysia in the early years to international pacts offering water-related expertise to water-stressed countries. By Mely Caballero-Anthony and P K Hangzo THROUGH STRATEGIC planning and investment in research and technology, as well as strong political will and effective governance, Singapore has emerged from water insecurity [...]
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UN Tribunal Sentences Bosnian Serb General To Life In Prison
(RFE/RL) — The UN war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia has convicted Bosnian Serb General Zdravko Tolimir and sentenced him to life imprisonment for his role in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. On December 12 UN judges said Tolimir, 64, oversaw the execution of some 8,000 Muslims at Srebrenica, considered to be the worst massacre [...]
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Kosovo And Serbia Agree On Liaison Officers
By Linda Karadaku In the latest development from the EU-mediated talks, Serbia Prime Minister Ivica Dacic and Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci agreed to appoint liaison officers to represent their respective countries in Belgrade and Pristina. Some observers viewed the agreement as a positive sign in the ongoing effort to normalise relations. But others indicate [...]
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U.S. Issues Iran Nuclear Deadline Before Possible Military Action – Report
The U.S. government has given Iran a deadline of four to five months over nuclear talks before pursuing military options, Channel 10 reported on Tuesday night. According to a senior U.S. official who spoke to the TV network, President Barack Obama plans to engage Iran in direct talks without involving Israel. The move comes after [...]
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Catalonia: Divisive Policies That Merge Identities – OpEd
Catalonia is undergoing profound changes – particularly with respect to its class boundaries and defining elements of identity – which are prompting the development of a new Catalan identity. By Sonia Andolz-Rodríguez The Fall of 2012 will doubtless go down in the history books of Catalonia and Spain. In a global context of economic crisis and [...]
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US Intelligence Mulls Three Scenarios For EU In 2030
(EurActiv) — Europe will not disintegrate and will remain a great power in 2030, but the key question is whether the EU will punch its collective weight in the future, says a recent US intelligence report which draws three possible scenarios for the Union – decline, collapse or renaissance. The 160-page report published on 7 [...]
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Kyrgyzstan: News Agency Sues Government Over “Illegal” Ban
One of Central Asia’s most respected independent news outlets is taking a government agency in Kyrgyzstan to court for blocking its website. The trial is scheduled to begin in Bishkek later this week. Moscow-based Fergana News claims Kyrgyz authorities unconstitutionally banned its website – Fergananews.com, formerly known as Ferghana.ru. The ban was imposed by a [...]
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Understanding Hamas At 25: Beyond The Tired Language – OpEd
“In a moment of high theatre he dropped to his knees, placed his lips on the ground and kissed the land he has commanded by proxy”. This is how Robert Tait of the British Telegraph worded the moment Khaled Meshaal arrived in Gaza on Dec 07. Tait’s report on what many in Gaza and elsewhere [...]
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European Commission Proposes Modern Insolvency Rules
Businesses hit by the economic crisis will be thrown a lifeline under a new proposal from the European Commission today to modernise Europe’s rules on cross-border business insolvency, helping to give otherwise viable businesses a ‘second chance’. The Commission is proposing to modernise the current rules on cross border insolvency which date from 2000. Benefitting [...]
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EU Parliament Confirms Deal On 2012 And 2013 Budget Package
Six billion Euros to pay bills in 2012, priority for growth and jobs in next year’s budget and a strategy for dealing with payment shortfalls in 2013 – these are the main parts of the budget package formally adopted by Parliament on Wednesday. “Today’s endorsement is an important political signal of the European Parliament’s determination [...]
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Greece To Prosecute Frst Maritime Piracy Case With Evidence Gathered By INTERPOL
Evidence gathered by an INTERPOL Incident Response Team (IRT) following the release of the hijacked oil tanker Irene SL in April 2011 is to be used by Greece in its first maritime piracy prosecution. The announcement comes during a meeting between Chief of the Hellenic Police Lieutenant General Nikolaos Papagiannopoulos and INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald [...]
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Amsterdam’s Mayor To Ban Marijuana At Schools
Amsterdam is to become the first city in the Netherlands where students will be formally banned from smoking marijuana at school. The city’s mayor introduced the law after receiving complaints from teachers that students showed up to class stoned. Under the current ‘policy of tolerance’ towards drugs, marijuana is considered a soft drug and though [...]
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