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Geopolitics

NASA Fail, 60 Days To Save Africa, Google Vs. Death

Wednesday, October 29, 2014 ANTI-ISIS TROOPS JOINING FORCES IN KOBANI Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have arrived in Kobani to fight alongside Syrian Kurds in the besieged border city, more than a week after Turkey announced it would let them cross into Syria, The New York Times reports. The 150-strong group were reportedly to be joined […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Ideas

Dear USA: Might Doesn’t Make Right, And Moles Make Miserable Allies

Hard times for American foreign policy, which no longer seems to differentiate between friend and foe. European heads of state who have been spied on don’t appreciate that one bit.

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Geopolitics

Ebola Hits NYC, Japan Minister Scandal, Farting Cows

Friday, October 24, 2014 MORE ALLEGATIONS OF ISIS CHEMICAL ATTACK There is a new accusation that ISIS fighters launched a chemical attack, this time against Iraqi security forces north of Baghdad, The Washington Post reports just hours after unconfirmed details emerged of a similar attack against Kurdish fighters in Syria. U.S. officials are investigating. A […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Ideas

The Sinking Ship That Is Obama’s America

-OpEd- At the moment when the Titanic struck the iceberg, the ship’s captain was not on the bridge. Edward Smith had gone below deck to bed. Both before and after the collision, the captain proved himself to be worse than useless, issuing confused orders and failing to take control of the evacuation. He let the […]

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Geopolitics

Ebola In U.S., Falling Markets, Grisham’s Controversial Comments

Thursday, October 16, 2014 ISIS RETREATING FROM PARTS OF KOBANI ISIS fighters were retreating this morning from parts they previously occupied in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, on Turkey’s border, a Kurdish official told AFP, explaining that the terrorists now “control less than 20%.” The same official told German news agency DPA that they […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Ideas

Ingobernable! A Latin American View On The U.S. Shutdown

-Editorial- SANTIAGO — What’s happening in the United States, with the partial federal government shutdown and the threat not to raise the country’s debt limit, is perhaps the most serious political crisis the country has seen in more than 100 years. There are those who downplay these developments, because the government has been shuttered before […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Society

Bye-Bye Candy Crush, Hello Leafy Trees: When Technophiles Need Digital Detox

Since returning from Camp Grounded, Anastasia Savvina sees the world differently. “On the bus, everyone stares at their cell phones,” she says. “People don’t look each other in the eye anymore. And I, who only have an old phone without any connection, I look at them.” Camp Grounded is a retreat for those who want […]

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blog Eyes on the U.S.

Obama’s Missing Asia-Pacific Summit Might Not Matter

Washington’s government shutdown forced President Barack Obama to miss the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit. But even if this was cited as yet another harmful consequence of the sorry state of U.S. domestic politics, it may paradoxically wind up helping America exert its influence in the long run in Asia-Pacific regional affairs. At an […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Ideas

A French Plea For American Democracy To Rediscover Its Centrist Soul

-Editorial- PARIS – Once upon a time, there was a Republic that knew how to overcome ideological differences. It was largely governed from a certain middle ground, a magical place and the matrix of what political art can produce in its most intelligent and, often, noble form: reform by compromise. This Republic of yore could […]

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Society

NeuroMagic: How Masters Of Illusion Help Explain The Brain’s Mysteries

PHOENIX – Eight years ago, as brain researchers Susana Martinez-Conde and Stephen Macknik were driving down the Las Vegas Strip, the billboards they passed suddenly got them to rethink about the brain’s capacity to process visual information. Until then, the two professors at the prestigious Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona had addressed this question by […]

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Geopolitics

Kerry In Iraq, Cameron In Scotland, Tennis Tunes

Wednesday, September 10, 2014 OBAMA READY TO STRIKE ISIS IN SYRIA John Kerry arrived in Baghdad this morning where he will meet the country’s new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to discuss the fight against ISIS, The New York Times reports. Kerry’s visit is part of a Middle East trip aimed at forging a broad coalition […]

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Ideas Syria Crisis

Indecision In Syria: The West’s Public Opinion Problem

A strange thing has happened on the way to the war in Syria: U.S. public opinion, like in Turkey, has lined up this time alongside Europe’s perennial reflex against intervention.

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blog Geopolitics

Unionist Queen, Post-9/11 Torture, Jack The Ripper Unmasked

Monday, September 8, 2014 RUSSIA THREATENS RETALIATION Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev warned in an interview that further Western sanctions against Russia will see Moscow “respond asymmetrically.” According to news agency Ria Novosti, Medvedev suggested that Russia could decide to close its air space to Western companies, a move that he believes would lead some […]

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Geopolitics

Putin Meets Poroshenko, China Rainmaking, Emmy Selfie

U.S. APPROVES SYRIA SURVEILLANCE FLIGHTS President Barack Obama approved manned and unmanned surveillance flights over Syria in a bid to hit ISIS positions without reinforcing President Bashar al-Assad, The New York Times reports, describing the decision as “a precursor to potential airstrikes there.” According to officials, Washington has no intention of notifying or asking the […]

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Geopolitics

ISIS Seizes Stronghold, Napa Quake, Hemingway’s Tab

Monday, August 25, 2014 ISIS SEIZES SYRIAN ARMY BASE The terrorist group ISIS has gained control of a Syrian army air base near Raqqa, in the country’s north, after days of intense fighting during which at least 346 ISIS fighters and more than 170 Syrian troops were killed, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human […]

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Society

Economic Fears Are Fueling A New Twist To Horror Film Genre

These thrills do not come cheap…

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Society

New York Postcard: A Two-Wheel Tour Through A Suddenly Bike-Friendly Big Apple

One writer discovers that a New York once suicidal for cyclists has given way to a city of bike lanes and cheap public access to this environmentally friendly mode of transportation.

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Geopolitics

U.S. Advisers Sent To Iraq, Putin Convoys Barred, RIP Lauren Bacall

Wednesday, August 13, 2014 U.S. SENDS MORE MILITARY ADVISERS TO IRAQ Washington is sending 130 more military advisers to northern Iraq to assist in the evacuation of displaced people trapped on Mount Sinjar, The New York Times reports. The article quotes U.S. officials as saying that a ground presence is needed to secure the evacuation, […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics

The Wimp Factor: Why Obama Risks Winding Up Like Jimmy Carter

The legacy of the 44th president of the United States is in peril, as he is seen as weak-willed with an unfocused foreign policy. Is it 1979 all over again?

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Eyes on the U.S. Society

Detroit: A Cautionary Tale For Modern Civilization

“Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder,” wrote British historian Arnold Toynbee. Lessons from the downfall of the automotive industry’s once-glorious capital.

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Geopolitics

Christians Flee Iraq, Obama On Ebola, Guinness Misunderstood

Thursday, August 7, 2014 ISLAMISTS SEIZE IRAQ’S LARGEST CHRISTIAN TOWN Thousands of Iraqi Christians are fleeing Qaraqosh, the minority’s largest town in the country, after the Islamic State (IS) — the militant group previously known as ISIS — seized it early today.This follows the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from the area, the BBC reports. Qaraqosh […]

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Eyes on the U.S.

Reefer Madness – The Environmental Cost Of America’s “Green Rush”

Illegal irrigation and other practices by black-market marijuana growers are drying up California’s rivers, poisoning groundwater and killing wildlife.

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blog Economy

From Microsoft To Google: Lessons On How To Lose And Keep Your Edge

MUNICH – As a measure of Microsoft’s hold over the technology-driven economy, one American tabloid once published a “Countdown to World Domination” calendar in the lead-up to the company’s launch of its new operating system. That was nearly 12 years ago. Today, we are living in a completely different era as the number of PC […]

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Eyes on the U.S. Geopolitics

Why America Fears Djohar Tsarnaev More Than It Respects Edward Snowden

The revelations of the NSA surveillance program came on the heels of the Boston Marathon attack. America weighs the links between an alleged terrorist and self-avowed whistleblower.

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Eyes on the U.S. Future

Is Apple Still A Luxury Brand?

PARIS – So Yves Saint Laurent“s CEO has been named vice president at Apple. We don’t know much yet about what Paul Deneve’s role will be beyond the company’s mention of “special projects” and his reporting to Apple chief Tim Cook, but let’s try to analyze the move from the perspective of luxury strategy. We […]

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Geopolitics

Latin America Or Bust? Why The U.S. Is Going All Out To Block Edward Snowden

BUENOS AIRES – Washington’s blatent public pressure to keep Edward Snowden from obtaining political asylum has fed a new wave of anti-Americanism worldwide. It also represents a test for the United States’ bilateral relations with several countries, including Russia and those in its own “backyard.” What explains the willingness of Barack Obama’s government to pay […]

Categories
Geopolitics

No End In Sight In Gaza, Maliki V. Kurds, Pope World Cup

Thursday, July 10, 2014 77 PALESTINIANS DEAD IN GAZA A Gaza health ministry spokesman said that at least 77 Palestinians had been killed and more than 500 injured in the past three days, as Israel intensified strikes on targets in Gaza, The Guardian reports. Israel military said it had hit 322 targets last night, taking […]

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Society

It Ain’t Easy Being A 21st-Century Superhero

With the latest incarnation of Superman on the silver screen in “Man of Steel,” we see the most evolved form of the complicated and conflicted superhero.

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Eyes on the U.S. Ideas Migrant Lives

Strength In Numbers: A South American Take On U.S. Immigration Reform

The United States is increasingly a Latino nation, which means the time is ripe to make sweeping immigration reform a reality. A view from Bogota, Colombia.

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Geopolitics

Iran Resumes Nuclear Program, Starving South Sudan, Japanese Apology

Thursday, July 3, 2014 ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN STRIKES CONTINUE Israel’s air force and Palestinian militants exchanged fire for another night, with 15 air strikes in Gaza leaving at least 10 Palestinians injured. The New York Times reported that multiple rockets were also fired from across the border, with two Israeli houses hit in the border town of […]

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Eyes on the U.S.

Apocalypse Now? American Survivalists Ready With Gas, Guns And Protein Bars

They were shocked by 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, and they firmly believe the world is coming to an end. To cope with the imminent disaster, some of these preparation enthusiasts (or “preppers”) turn their SUVs into armored fortresses while others buy fancy bunkers. Julie Zaugg met one of those so-called “survivalists.” NEW […]

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Geopolitics

Syria Strikes ISIS, MH370 On Autopilot?, iPutin

Thursday, June 26, 2014 SYRIA STRIKES ISIS IN IRAQ Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki confirmed in an interview with the BBC previous reports that the Syrian military had carried out air strikes against ISIS near the Iraqi border town of Qaim, explaining he had not requested them but “welcomed” the strikes against the jihadist group. […]

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Eyes on the U.S.

C’est La Vie, Partner: A French Wink At Country Music

To help mark France’s annual Fete de la Musique, Le Monde looks back at an old study that asked whether country music causes suicide.

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Ideas

Selective Outrage: Glorifying Snowden, While Dictators Slide By

– Op-Ed – BERLIN – Two people recently “disappeared” into the vastness that is China. The whole world is talking about one of them: Edward Snowden whose revelations about digital spying by the National Security Agency have fueled fear and indignation. Big Brother, your name was and is USA. Nobody is talking about photographer and […]

Categories
Future

Google’s Latest Scheme To Control the Internet May Surprise You

Google+, the social network of the American web giant is, in fact, a lot more than a social network. Larry Page, the web giant’s CEO, describes it as “the social backbone” of a company whose ambition is simple, if not the least bit modest: to control the Internet. “If Google+ was just a social network, […]

Categories
Global Gourmet

How The Temperature Of A Drink Changes The Taste Of Food

GENEVA – From one culture to another, the temperature of what people drink during their meals can vary. In many Asian countries for instance, people like to drink a hot beverage while they eat. Europeans for their part tend to favor drinks at room temperature, while North Americans prefer them ice-cold – on the rocks. […]

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Eyes on the U.S.

The Plague Of America’s Fraternities – A Visiting German Professor Speaks Up

HANOVER – Students here at Dartmouth College, an Ivy League university in New Hampshire have been protesting against the rising numbers of sexual assaults on campus, as well as discrimination against homosexuals. The rallying cry of protesters is: “Dartmouth has a problem!” There have also been protests in recent weeks at other elite academic institutions, […]

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Geopolitics

Kiev Ceasefire, Nigeria Soccer Blast, 100 Years Later

Wednesday, June 18, 2014 POROSHENKO TO ISSUE CEASEFIRE Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko announced after a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that he would order shortly a “unilateral ceasefire” by government troops engaged in fights with pro-Russian groups in Eastern Ukraine, The Kyiv Post reports. According to RT’s live blog, fighters in the […]

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Eyes on the U.S.

What Watching Whistleblowers Tells Us About Ourselves

Why did he do that? And if you ever thought to do the same…?

Categories
Ideas

The Internet As America’s One-Way Mirror On The World

The National Security Agency’s spying on both its own citizens, and foreigners, has turned the idea of the “open web” on its head.

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