In this second installment we will look at the Russian reaction to increased Chinese immigration into the Russian Fareast and Siberia. We will also speculate as to the future of the Sino-Chinese relations along the border. Russian Reaction Despite the benefits to trade, the increased number of Chinese in Russia has been a catalyst for […]
Since China’s border issues are a hot topic of late, I wanted to post an article by myself, that was previously published at Brooks Review Background The Chinese government declared 2006, The “Year of Russia”; and in turn, Russia celebrated 2007 as “The Year of China.” These mutual pronouncements were part of a decade long […]
That, of course, is the title of James Baldwin’s famous two-essay collection. Baldwin took it from the old spiritual, “Oh Mary, Don’t You Weep.” “God gave Noah the rainbow sign, No more water, the fire next time!” Well, I don’t like to get all biblical, but I bet a lot of folks in Russia and […]
As expected, President Saakashvili’s United National Movement (UNM) won nation-wide in Georgia’s recent municipal elections, with Tbilisi Mayor Gigi Ugulava winning re-election with a vote of over 55% in the Tbilisi race, competing against eight other candidates. UNM got a stunning 66% of the popular vote across the country, a convincing mandate, although a little […]
Russia holds a unique place in the international economy. It isn’t the largest, fastest, strongest, or even scariest, but it is a heavyweight whose actions matter more than most. It ranked just 146 out of 180 countries on the 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index, and had the 8th largest economy in the world in 2008 according […]
Hold on to your hats. In my last post I mentioned that the US and Russia were in complete agreement over one of the core problems of the Internet. From the same Times story: During a panel discussion on computer crime, Col. Gen. Boris N. Miroshnikov, an official with the Russian Interior Ministry, and Stewart […]
Governmental cyber officials from around the world met up in Germany this week to discuss international Internet security. The US hasn’t played a significant role in this hootenanny in the past. There are some huge differences between the US and Russia on the role of the Internet. We’re concerned about online crime, espionage and hacker […]
I personally would characterize the treaty, like last December’s Copenhagen (climate) Accord, as the bare minimum acceptable.
*Member of the European Parliament and former French Justice Minister Rachida Dati talks politics, class prejudice and fashion while “being fashion,” as my little cousin is fond of saying. My little cousin doesn’t think I am fashion because “you have to be fashion, you have to feel fashion…Fashion people go out to party every single […]
Pipelines used to be just a way to get oil or gas from Point A to Point B — mostly political locally, especially for environmental reasons. Sometimes, they are locally strategic, the way they are in Nigeria — want to get the government’s or the company’s attention? Blow up a pipeline. Increasingly, they are geo-strategic, […]
With the holidays coming up and getting the 2009 Year in Review together, we have been a bit light on posting. However here are some links to a few of the human rights stories from this past week. Detained in Iran, Russia, and China Last week NPR reported on three human rights stories from Iran, […]
It’s been, indeed, a transitional year for the world. In the midst of a devastating global economic downturn, Barack Obama took the U.S. presidency January 20. In many ways, it has been the year of Obama. A strategic review of Afghan policy in March ended with sending more troops—and President Obama doubled down on a […]
1) Greece is at serious risk of total economic collapse—Prime Minister George Papandreou is proposing dramatic spending cuts, and tax hikes on banker’s bonuses, to ease the crisis. 2) Dubai has been bailed out by Abu Dhabi to the tune of $10 billion. 3) From FP: “How we invaded Afghanistan” (the Russians) 4) The New […]
Socialism and energy have a peculiar relationship to each other. In most countries, no matter who owns the surface land, the subsurface rights to the oil, gas, or (sometimes) minerals, belongs to the national government, and, in theory, the people of the country. The idea did not start with the 20th century: kings and rulers […]