Geopolitical – Week of 12.01.13

India’s Stand Prevails in Bali
The Hindu | 07 December 2013
India has had its way on the Bali Package at the Ninth Ministerial of the World Trade Organisation here…

Angry Self-Insured Voters Dim Democratic Takeover Plans
Bloomberg | 05 December 2013
To appreciate why U.S. Representative Scott Peters has twice broken…

After 12 Yrs of U.S. Occupation, Afghanistan Sets Record for Growing Opium
cnsnews.com | 02 December 2013
After 12 years of occupation by U.S. military forces…

Nelson Mandela, Revered Statesman and Anti-Apartheid Leader, Dies at 95
Yahoo! Finance | 05 December 2013
Former South African President Nelson Mandela has died at age 95 of complications from a recurring lung infection…

‘Middle East Peace Failure More Dangerous Than Iran Bomb’
The Telegraph | 05 December 2013
A former head of Israel’s internal intelligence service has provoked a furore…

The Central African Republic Descending Into ‘Complete Chaos’
The Washington Post | 26 November 2013
The warnings have become more dire…

Central African Republic: CIA World Factbook
The World Factbook
Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo…

Without Anyone Paying Attention, Canada Is About To Change Its Laws To Support ACTA
TechDirt | 02 December 2013
Thought ACTA was dead?

American Isolationism Just Hit a 50-Year High. Why That Matters.
The Washington Post | 04 December 2013
Americans appear to be less interested in U.S. foreign engagement that at any other time over the last half-century…

Japan Brainstorms New Measures to Stop Radioactive Leak at Fukushima
RT | 03 December 2013
Japan’s government panel offered new measures to stop radioactive water leaking from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea…

IAEA Suggests Fukushima Consider ‘Controlled Discharge’ of Toxic Water Into Ocean
RT | 04 December 2013
The UN nuclear watchdog has advised the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to consider dumping toxic water…

Return the Treasures Britain Looted, Chinese Tell Cameron
The Express Tribune | 04 December 2013
Cameron travelled to the southwestern city of Chengdu on the third day of what embassy officials said was the largest ever British trade mission to the country…

Tibetan immolations: Desperation as World Looks Away
BBC News | 02 December 2013
Since Chinese troops asserted control over Tibet more than half a century ago, and the Dalai Lama fled into exile, the number of monasteries has fallen precipitously…

Only 1% of Snowden Files Published – Guardian Editor
BBC News | 03 December 2013
Only 1% of files leaked by former US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden…

Vatican, Oxford Put Ancient Manuscripts Online
USA Today | 03 December 2013
Access to the Gutenberg Bible and other ancient manuscripts has just gotten easier…

Russia Needs Arctic Presence to Guard Against U.S. Threat: Putin
Reuters | 03 December 2013
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday Russia had vital defense and economic interests in the Arctic, citing a potential U.S. military threat from submarine-based missiles there…

Detroit Eligible To File Chapter 9; Pension Haircuts Allowed Bankruptcy Judge Rules
Zero Hedge | 03 December 2013
As somewhat expected – though hoped against by many Detroit union workers…

Expanding Social Security
The New York Times | 21 November 2013
For many years there has been one overwhelming rule for people who wanted to be considered serious inside the Beltway…

Mexico’s Drug War is Corrupt
CNN | 2 December 2013

Why Should Thousands of Prisoners Die Behind Bars for Nonviolent Crimes?
The Nation | 13 November 2013
Tales of outsized sentencing for minor crimes may not surprise anyone familiar with the well-documented excesses of three-strikes sentencing in California…

Why Should Thousands of Prisoners Die Behind Bars for Nonviolent Crimes?
The Nation | 13 November 2013
Tales of outsized sentencing for minor crimes may not surprise anyone familiar with the well-documented excesses of three-strikes sentencing in California…

Big Data’s Role in Civilization 3.0
Datanami | 26 November 2013
If you’ve suspected that big data and mobile technologies have put us on the cusp of a revolutionary period for humanity…

Holy See Ya Later: U.S. Moving Vatican Embassy
Time | 27 November 2013
And some Catholic Americans are not happy…

Politics of Brutal Pressure
Giza Death Star | 22 November 2013
One can always count on Ukrainian governments to renege and surprise…

Astro-Bullion: Weird Noises And Subtexts In The Space-Mining Meme And Material Omissions
Giza Death Star | 28 November 2013
A regular reader here, Ms. M.W., sent this to me, and I have to admit when I read it, I was as much intrigued by the sub-text as by the text itself…