The Arctic Sea, officially carrying a cargo of timber worth $2m, disappeared en route from Finland to Algeria on July 24. The vessel vanished into thin air after sailing through the English Channel, a curious case that engaged the attention of Finnish police, Swedish investigators, Interpol, and the Russian Navy. Before people could really jump […]
A while ago I wrote a blog on how Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, one of the world’s most prominent game theorists, applied game theory to predict that Iran will never acquire nuclear weapons. Here is a presentation he made about his findings: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ts5MKtXNpMQ” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
He didn’t go to the Gulf or any other Arab nation…. maybe. Reports surfaced yesterday of an alleged secret trip by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to an Arab country without direct ties to Israel. The reports indicated that Netanyahu attempted to forge a strategic partnership with an Arab country in order to thwart Iranian […]
The opposition government has rejected the cabinet lineup proposed by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri. Hariri presented his selections to President Suleiman, but it is probable that the president will not endorse it on the grounds that it does not have bipartisan support. The crux of the dispute (between the Hariri-led March 14 coalition and the […]
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu generally spends his time in Jerusalem running the government. He occasionally takes trips abroad to discuss the peace process or the Iranian threat with allied governments, such as the recent visit to the United States. Today, the Prime Minister’s Office’s official schedule placed on him on a tour of a […]
As school starts in the United States, American schools are faced with the dilemma of whether they should force kids to listen to Obama’s liberal elitist agenda, which encourages kids to “show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to (…) parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work […]
[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/niOHVIuZz2k” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]
Bitterlemons has a great series on the feasibility of unilateral peace, a concept where only one side attempts to forge a climate for peace regardless of the other party’s actions. Israel arguably embarked on a unilateral peace process through the Ariel Sharon-ordered disengagement from the Gaza Stip that led to the Hamas coup of the […]
As the United States, Britain, Germany and France threaten Iran with sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran can at least count support from its loyal friend, Venezuela. Al Jazeera quoted Chavez as stating, “We are certain that Iran, as it has shown, will not back down in its effort to obtain what is a sovereign […]
As tension between Iraq and Syria grows, it looks like Iran is stepping in to play the mediator role between the two neighbors. The already poor relationship between Iraq and Syria deteriorated further in the aftermath of August 19th suicide attacks in Baghdad that left 100 people dead. Iraq has accused Syria of sheltering the […]
If you’re for an Israeli freeze on settlements, there is some good and bad news for you (and if you’re opposed to a freeze, just swap the two headings). The good news: Some reports indicate that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu intends to initiate a settlement freeze in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem construction. The […]
For the first time in the 30-year history of the Islamic Republic, the Iranian cabinet will have a female minister. Marzieh Vahid Dastjerdi won the approval from the Parliament to become the health minister. She was one of 18 nominations for President Ahmadinejad’s new cabinet to be approved. Two other women were among three rejected […]
The Iranian government supplied the terrorist group Hezbollah with chemical weapons and weapons of mass destruction protective gear, according to officials quoted in a Kuwaiti daily today. Hezbollah reportedly stored the chemical weapons in a warehouse that exploded in mid July, killing eight terrorists. The terror group refused to grant Lebanese military and UN workers access to […]
The recent announcement by the Turkish government that it is preparing a serious plan to address its Kurdish problem should also serve as a reminder to the Iranian government that it needs to address the Kurdish issue as well. Iran, which contains the second largest population of Kurds, has also treated its Kurdish population egregiously. […]
High-ranking Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Jerusalem today to discuss administrative issues, such as visas to the West Bank, medical treatment for Palestinians, and other export/import issues. The meeting between Palestinian Minister of National Economy Bassem Khoury and Israeli Vice Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development Silvan Shalom marks the first direct high-level talks since […]