10:21 AM 12/2/2013 News Review: Times Minute: Bronx Train Crash; New York Mag Goes Biweekly; Selfie Paradise 02/12/13 08:20 from Uploads by TheNewYorkTimes | Amazon testing drones for deliveries - BBC News 02/12/13 08:27 | Is the use of unmanned military drones ethical in battle? - video debate 02/12/13 04:30 from World news: World news + Video | guardian.co.uk

Published on Dec 2, 2013

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Bronx train crash investigation; New York Magazine goes bi-weekly; and a selfie paradise.

» Times Minute: Bronx Train Crash; New York Mag Goes Biweekly; Selfie Paradise
02/12/13 08:20 from Uploads by TheNewYorkTimes
Times Minute: Bronx Train Crash; New York Mag Goes Biweekly; Selfie Paradise Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/U8Ys7n Bronx train crash investigation; New York Magazine goes bi-weekly; and a selfie paradise. NYT on Google Plus: http......

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» Amazon testing drones for deliveries - BBC News
02/12/13 08:27 from Top Stories - Google News
BBC News Amazon testing drones for deliveries BBC News Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, is testing unmanned drones to deliver goods to customers, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos says. The drones, called Octocopters, could deli...

» Amazon's Hopes For Drone Deliveries
02/12/13 04:28 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
The retailer says it is testing an aerial delivery system but major hurdles - and strict air rules - must first be overcome.

» Faster, please: Amazon testing delivery drones - Philly.com
02/12/13 04:05 from Top Stories - Google News
Washington Post Faster, please: Amazon testing delivery drones Philly.com Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc., said the world's largest e-commerce company was testing drones to deliver goods as it works to improve ...

» Is the use of unmanned military drones ethical in battle? - video debate
02/12/13 04:30 from World news: World news + Video | guardian.co.uk
Columnist Seumas Milne and Peter Lee, a military expert at Portsmouth University, discuss the moral questions raised by drones Seumas Milne Phil Maynard Ken Macfarlane

» New York passenger train derails, killing 4 and hindering Monday commutes - CNN
02/12/13 07:29 from Top Stories - Google News
Wall Street Journal New York passenger train derails, killing 4 and hindering Monday commutes CNN (CNN) -- Even though the train was careening around a curve, Amanda Swanson felt the wreck in slow motion. All seven passenger cars jumped ...

» Same-sex couples begin to tie the knot in Hawaii - USA TODAY
02/12/13 07:00 from Top Stories - Google News
Same-sex couples begin to tie the knot in Hawaii USA TODAY HONOLULU (AP) — The first couples are starting to take advantage of Hawaii's newfound aloha for gay weddings. Dozens of couples were expected to start tying the knot early Mo...

» Revealed: Australian spy agency offered to share data about ordinary citizens - The Guardian
02/12/13 06:31 from world - Google News
The Guardian Revealed: Australian spy agency offered to share data about ordinary citizens The Guardian Since Snowden leaked the NSA documents to the Guardian and the Washington Post in May, controversy has raged around the world over re...

» Afghan president suggests poll delay to avoid snow, organizers say
02/12/13 05:53 from Reuters: International
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan President Hamid Karzai has suggested delaying April elections to avoid heavy snow, organizers said, an idea that will rattle the United States and critics who fear he may be trying to drag out his second and fina...

» After Accident, the Focus Turns to a Sharp Curve and a Train's Speed - New York Times
02/12/13 05:45 from Top Stories - Google News
New York Times After Accident, the Focus Turns to a Sharp Curve and a Train's Speed New York Times To any engineer on the Metro-North Railroad's Hudson line, the stretch where a train derailed on Sunday was well known: It include...

Information Age: Information is not a commodity for sale but one of the most vital and important inalienable rights

11.21.13
Information Age
Information is not a commodity for sale but one of the most vital and important inalienable rights. To paraphrase Descartes: "I have access to information therefore I am".
The issues in need of elaboration however are:
1) The quality of information: its truthfulness (veracity), relevance, objectivity, timeliness, impact and
2) The types and hierarchies of access tailored specifically for various purposes and for various consumer groups, which does not necessarily contradict and exclude the notions of right and objectivity: the Truth might be viewed as a sum total of its component parts and aspects - "sub-truths", just like a gem is a combination of matter and light: colors, shades, facets, angles and points of view; it reveals and fascinates just as much as it hides and puzzles with its in-depth essence, ever inaccessible.
M.N. 

11.29.13 
In other words, Information is Security and Security is based upon and incorporates the high quality relevant Information; they go hand in hand, enhancing each others' strength and value in a positive feedback cycle. Hence the renewed importance and value of Information Services (of which the most types of various investigative and intelligence agencies essentially are) in our new: blessed, cursed, promising, exciting "Information Age". 
The further issues that arise are: security of Information (access, privacy, potential for misuse and abuse, etc., etc.) and contribution of various types of (high quality) information into Overall Security. That probably, it seems to me, what is a part of the NSA controversies and debates. 
Some initial international consultations on "information security" did take place but apparently "faded out" after Russian attempts to limit the Freedom of Information on the Internet.  IMHO, the latter is a non-negotiable item: without the freedom of the Internet, which is essentially a freedom of speech and expression and a source of creativity, including the commercial one, there could not be any other freedom (and progress). That was a somewhat totalitarian attempt on the Russians part and, apparently a vestige of totalitarian mentality. However the benefits of further conceptualisation and regulation of Information Security, including its international aspects, appear to be quite evident; and within the framework of the Western democratic libertarian model, I must add, namely: without any attempts at very dangerous totalitarian encroachments, whatever they might be (and from wherever they might be coming from). 

11.30.13
Those who control the various flows of various types and kinds of information will ultimately control the World, in many of its aspects and respects; which makes these flows no less important than oil pipes. To try to understand correctly, to attempt to diagnose, and if not cure, but at least to help the World's Ills - the "tall order": the task ambitious but not untimely and not insignificant by all means. This task became manageable as the result of Information Revolution and after it, in our rather somewhat strange but funny and smart "Information Age"... 

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» Police Helicopter Crashes Into Crowded Glasgow Pub - New York Times 30/11/13 13:49 from Top Stories - Google News Times of India Police Helicopter Crashes Into Crowded Glasgow Pub New York Times LONDON — Eight people were killed when a police helicopter that apparently lost power crashed through the roof of a crowded pub in Glasgow, injuring at leas...

» Police Helicopter Crashes Into Crowded Glasgow Pub - New York Times
30/11/13 13:49 from Top Stories - Google News
Times of India Police Helicopter Crashes Into Crowded Glasgow Pub New York Times LONDON — Eight people were killed when a police helicopter that apparently lost power crashed through the roof of a crowded pub in Glasgow, injuring at leas...

Around the world in 180 characters - USA TODAY | The Latest Wave of Snowden-mania: Buses In US Capitol Thank Edward Snowden For Expos...

Mike Nova: Buses In US Capitol Thank Edward Snowden For Expos...: Buses In US Capitol Thank Edward Snowden For Exposing The Truth  - 11/30/2013  - Kevin Zeese

• Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales: Edward Snowden is a hero - Belfast Telegraph - 11/29/2013 - 

M.N.: And who is behind this "mania", I wonder; and who is paying for this? 

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• Russia: Why is Putin always late? - BBC News - 11/30/2013 - 

Sometimes it bears the hallmarks of a calculated snub. In 2012, Putin was running late for gas talks with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in Crimea. But he stopped for a chat with a biker friend, and eventually arrived nearly four hours late.

Political commentator Dmitriy Abramov says Putin's "affected lateness" is "born of a desire to demonstrate that he occupies a 'tsar's place' in world politics, as in the heyday of the Russian empire".

His estranged wife Lyudmila says he regularly kept her waiting when they were dating. Putin recollects of his school days: "I did not have time to dress and flew like a bullet to school without my coat."

As Rostovskiy notes, lateness is now Putin's "calling card" and he's unlikely to change. "In all probability he will be late for his own funeral,"says opposition blogger Andrey Malgin.


Arriving for the G8 "family photo"

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» Around the world in 180 characters - USA TODAY
30/11/13 09:00 from world - Google News
Around the world in 180 characters USA TODAY Every weekend USA TODAY takes a bite-sized look in approximately 180 characters per item at the past week's top stories from around the world . Digital loss. Pity poor James Howells. The W...

Could Afghanistan collapse after next year? - Christian Science Monitor | 29/11/13 13:07 from Karzai - Google News New York Times (blog) The Public Life of Hamid Karzai New York Times (blog) | 30/11/13 01:26 from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused the United States of launching a drone strike that killed a 2-year-old child Thursday and vowed to not sign a long-term security agreement if similar attacks continue. Read full article >... | 28/11/13 09:30 from WSJ.com: World News The Afghan president's push to delay a security pact with the U.S. has undermined confidence in Afghanistan's future | US-Afghan security pact in jeopardy as Karzai makes new demands: "I am not a puppet, I am a tough bargainer!" Bring the boys back home and let him bargain with the noose in Kabul central square, just like his predecessors!

Afghan President Hamid Karzai attends the last day of the Loya Jirga, in Kabul, Nov. 24, 2013.
» Could Afghanistan collapse after next year? - Christian Science Monitor
29/11/13 20:59 from Karzai - Google News
Could Afghanistan collapse after next year? Christian Science Monitor President Hamid Karzai 's stubborn refusal to sign a pact that would keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is a high-risk gamble that Washington ...
KABULPresident Hamid Karzai's stubborn refusal to sign a pact that would keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is a high-risk gamble that Washington will give in to his demands, one that has left him isolated as the clock runs down on his presidency.Diplomats said he may have overplayed his hand, raising the risk of a complete U.S. withdrawal from a country where Western troops have fought Taliban militants for the past 12 years. It also risks a backlash at home by critics who believe Karzai is playing a dangerous game with Afghanistan's future security.If the bilateral pact is not signed, Western aid running to billions of dollars will be in serious jeopardy, and confidence in the fragile economy could collapse amid fears the country will slip back into ethnic fighting or civil war. 
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» US-Afghan security pact in jeopardy as Karzai makes new demands - Fox News
26/11/13 12:35 from Top Stories - Google News
San Francisco Chronicle US-Afghan security pact in jeopardy as Karzai makes new demands Fox News A long-term Afghanistan security pact was in jeopardy Tuesday after Afghan President Hamid Karzai made new demands, prompting the United Sta...

"I am not a puppet, I am a tough bargainer!" Bring the boys back home and let him bargain with the noose in Kabul central square, just like his predecessors! 



» Karzai Makes Stand on Shakier Ground
26/11/13 17:48 from WSJ.com: World News
In his 12 years in power, Afghan President Hamid Karzai's strategy of posturing against the U.S. seemed to pay off at every turn, but in the latest confrontation over the security pact, he has found himself increasingly isolated.

» Karzai Will Not Sign US Security Pact Until Next Year
26/11/13 16:48 from Voice of America
Afghan President Hamid Karzai says he will wait until his country's presidential elections in April before a security agreement with the United States is signed.In an interview with U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, Mr. Karzai...

» Afghan president handed ultimatum after demands on US security agreement - The Globe and Mail
26/11/13 12:11 from Top Stories - Google News
NDTV Afghan president handed ultimatum after demands on US security agreement The Globe and Mail President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Susan E. Rice, imposed an ultimatum on President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan on Mond...

Updates:

» Karzai Will Not Sign US Security Pact Until Next Year
27/11/13 01:10 from Voice of America
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that he will wait until his country's presidential elections in April before signing a security pact with the United States. In an interview with U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, Karzai ...

Interview: Karzai Says He'll Agree To Deal Once The U.S. Meets His Demands

Excerpts: 

RFE/RL: Mr. President, after meeting you on November 25, Susan Rice said in an interview the United States is worried that after failing to convince you to sign the agreement, Washington may be prompted to plan the withdrawal of all of its forces from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. You also know that America is committed to spending billions of dollars on strengthening Afghan security forces and on security in Afghanistan. Are you ready to endanger this $8 billion or $9 billion in American aid?

Karzai: It is up to the Americans whether they want to stay or go. Even if we sign a thousand agreements with them, if it doesn't suit their interests they will leave -- just as they left Afghanistan alone in 1990s during the years after jihad. I was a deputy foreign minister then and I saw how the West abandoned Afghanistan after the Soviet withdrawal. I used to go to them and ask them to leave one junior official behind in their embassy. But they closed their embassy and left. So if it is not in their interest, they will never come here. If America wants to be in Afghanistan today, it is because of their own interests --- whether it is security interests or their major economic interests. As an independent nation, we have the right to protect and promote our interests. 

RFE/RL: In your last speech to the Loya Jirga, you elaborated on one issue very clearly. You said that peace in Afghanistan is in the hands of the United States and Pakistan. Can you elaborate on that?

Karzai: Based on many reasons and I can prove this, the ongoing war in Afghanistan is being imposed on us and Afghans are being sacrificed in it for someone else's interests. We are not blocking the interests of the United States or other major powers. But we are demanding that if you consider Afghanistan the place from which to advance your interests, then you should also pay attention to Afghanistan’s interests. We are not demanding anything else.

M.N.: Is this an example of limited and narrow Kabul marketplace mentality or something deeper and more ambivalent than it? "It is in your interests to be here; I know this, therefore I can bargain for my part..." 

RFE/RL: Do you think that the Afghan security forces are able to deal with the Taliban on their own?

Karzai: This is our responsibility. We are all Afghans and we know each other well. Whether we would fight the Taliban or make peace with them -- that is our problem. Last year, during my visit to Washington, in a very important briefing a day before I met U.S. President [Barack Obama], his national security adviser Tom Donilon, and senior White House officials, generals, and intelligence officials, the national security adviser met with me. He told me: "The Taliban are not our enemies and we don't want to fight them." I told him "This is a very good thing and this is what we want. We have been urging you for years to stop bombing people and fighting people inside of Afghanistan. So if you don't consider the Taliban your enemies and don't want to fight them, then why are you raiding Afghan homes every night? If you don’t consider the Taliban your enemies, which are something I want you to do and am happy you have recognized, then why are you going into Afghan homes in the name of looking for the Taliban every night?" My question is whether this will go on after the security agreement. This is why I can never allow it to happen. The security agreement should end American operations.

M.N.: Answer: The terrorist part of "Taliban" (apparently very mixed and complex in its composition movement, just like "Al Qaeda" and other fundamentalist Islamic movements) are just plain terrorists, regardless of their self-assigned labels; and no one declared any peace with them, so far. 

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Karzai | Hamid Karzai | hamid karzai corruption | hamid karzai personality 

Hamid Karzai - News Review

1. Hamid Karzai - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamid_Karzai‎
   

   
   

   Hamid Karzai GCMG (Pashto: حامد کرزی‎, Persian: حامد کرزی‎ Hāmid Karzay; born 24 December 1957) is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking ...
   

   ‎Zeenat Karzai - ‎Burhanuddin Rabbani - ‎President of Afghanistan

» U.S. General Warns of Risks If Karzai Delays Deal
28/11/13 09:30 from WSJ.com: World News
The Afghan president's push to delay a security pact with the U.S. has undermined confidence in Afghanistan's future, testing international support at a crucial moment, the U.S.-led coalition's top commander said.

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, seen here in Kabul on June 18, 2013. Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford warned that President Hamid Karzai's failure to quickly sign the agreement could weaken the Afghan economy, embolden the country's powerful neighbors and ultimately lead to the collapse of the country's security forces.

"I don't know if he fully realizes the risks," Gen. Dunford said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal. "He certainly understands it from an Afghan perspective. I don't know if he fully appreciates what the implications are for the United States."

The lack of clarity about the security agreement, which is needed for a U.S.-led force to remain in Afghanistan after the coalition's current mandate expires in December 2014, is already exacting a toll, Gen. Dunford said.

"The uncertainty and the lack of confidence about the post-2014 environment has had an adverse effect on the people in some very real ways, whether it be the flight of young people who try to leave the country, whether it be plunging real-estate prices, the rate of the afghani" currency, Gen. Dunford said.

Over the past week, Mr. Karzai has stepped up his confrontation with Washington over the bilateral security agreement, which was approved by Afghanistan's Loya Jirga assembly on Sunday, after more than a year of difficult negotiations. In addition to providing a framework for long-term U.S. military presence here, the deal is a prerequisite for billions of dollars in critical military and civilian aid to Afghanistan.

Despite a request for prompt ratification by the Loya Jirga, Mr. Karzai in recent days raised several new preconditions before signing the agreement, asking for more time and saying the U.S. must first jump-start the peace process with the Taliban insurgents.

In response, the White House warned that a failure to sign the deal by year-end would trigger planning for the so-called "zero option"—the complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan at the end of next year. The breakdown of similar talks in Iraq led to such a full U.S. pullout from that country in 2011, with sectarian violence increasing afterward. Gen. Dunford said he remains confident Mr. Karzai will ultimately sign the deal.

While Iraq could rely on its oil wealth to fund its security forces, Afghanistan depends on international commitments made at the Chicago North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit last year. The summit pledged $4.1 billion a year to bankroll Afghanistan's 352,000-strong military and police, with only about $500 million of that coming from the Afghan government.

"Right now, I don't see Afghanistan being able to sustain the Afghan security forces without the Chicago commitments," Gen. Dunford said.

The Chicago commitments are in addition to a similar amount of civilian aid that was pledged last year at a donor conference in Tokyo. Mr. Karzai's failure to promptly sign the security agreement would "jeopardize" both pledges, the White House said this week.

Mr. Karzai's delays are causing growing impatience in Western capitals, said Gen. Dunford, who commands some 48,000 U.S. and 25,000 allied troops in Afghanistan. The U.S. and its NATO allies, he said, would be hard pressed to muster the political will to meet these promises if the security deal gets bogged down.

"All of us have to go to our parliaments, and in the case of the United States, to the Congress, and we have to go and we have to request resources for the campaign," he said. "And that takes time, you have to articulate exactly what you need those resources for. And so it's important that we have certainty about post-2014 to generate the resources for post-2014."

Western ambassadors to Kabul met this week with senior Afghan cabinet members to deliver a similar message. The money pledged by donors, they said, wouldn't be forthcoming without a security deal.

Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal acknowledged the discussions, but told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that the back-and-forth over the bilateral security agreement, or BSA, was "not a crisis."

"It is about how we manage to create the environment for signing the BSA, and that environment will be created. The position of the president is not that he rejects the BSA," Mr. Zakhilwal said. "I am optimistic about the signing of the BSA in time because the trust-building measures asked by the president are logical and good for both sides, and not as difficult as portrayed."

With the Taliban insurgents enjoying support from Pakistan and Iran, the delays in signing the BSA can also have direct consequences on the battlefield, Western officials say.

"The uncertainty about 2014 has also affected each of the regional actors around Afghanistan," said Gen. Dunford. "And if their calculus was to prepare to protect their interests in the context of a chaotic Afghanistan in 2014, I think the calculus is different if what they're seeing is a reasonable prospect for a stable, secure Afghanistan."


Write to Nathan Hodge at nathan.hodge@wsj.com and Yaroslav Trofimov at yaroslav.trofimov@wsj.com

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» Afghanistan's Karzai stands alone in high-stakes game with U.S.
28/11/13 04:13 from Reuters: International
KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai's stubborn refusal to sign a pact that would keep thousands of U.S. troops in Afghanistan after 2014 is a high-risk gamble that Washington will give in to his demands, one that has left him isolat...

» Karzai says U.S. drone strike killed child, won’t sign security deal if similar attacks continue
30/11/13 01:26 from World: World News, International News, Foreign Reporting - The Washington Post
KABUL — Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused the United States of launching a drone strike that killed a 2-year-old child Thursday and vowed to not sign a long-term security agreement if similar attacks continue. Read full article >...

» The Public Life of Hamid Karzai - New York Times (blog)
29/11/13 13:07 from Karzai - Google News
New York Times (blog) The Public Life of Hamid Karzai New York Times (blog) “Be fair,” urged Hamid Karzai at the conclusion of his long talks with William Dalrymple, which stretched over three evenings in July, during the fasting month o...

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Last Update on 11.28.13
Published on 11/26/13 3:30 PM Atlantic Standard Time

28/11/13 06:37 from Top Stories - Google News Sydney Morning Herald Greenpeace activist Colin Russell granted bail

» Greenpeace activist Colin Russell granted bail - Brisbane Times
28/11/13 06:37 from Top Stories - Google News
Sydney Morning Herald Greenpeace activist Colin Russell granted bail Brisbane Times Australian Greenpeace activist Colin Russell has been granted bail, the last of the Arctic 30 to leave detention in Russia on hooliganism charges. Mr Rus...

» CIA official outed in drone investigation
28/11/13 08:53 from CNN.com - World
A Pakistani political party official has publicly named two U.S. CIA officials in connection with a police murder investigation into a drone strike.

28/11/13 03:51 from WSJ.com: World News Silvio Berlusconi lost his seat in Italy's Senate, marking the culmination of nearly four months of furor following his conviction for tax fraud and dealing a blow to the man who has dominated Italian politics for nearly two decades.

» Italy's Berlusconi Loses Senate Seat
28/11/13 03:51 from WSJ.com: World News
Silvio Berlusconi lost his seat in Italy's Senate, marking the culmination of nearly four months of furor following his conviction for tax fraud and dealing a blow to the man who has dominated Italian politics for nearly two decades.

It's time to pack up and go!

Louis Vuitton suitcase in Moscow's Red Square - GN

Moscow Says Louis Vuitton Doesn't Go With Red Square

New York Times-2 hours ago

» Does This Trunk Come in Red?
26/11/13 13:57 from WSJ.com: World News
Vladimir Lenin's role in Russian history carries a lot of baggage, but a two-story designer suitcase has this week eclipsed his long shadow over Red Square.

» Louis Vuitton Trunk Ordered Removed
27/11/13 06:35 from WSJ.com: World News
Russia's presidential administration has ordered the removal of a giant Louis Vuitton suitcase after an outcry over its location at the historical heart of Moscow.

M.N. comments: They don't want to go yet; they need larger suitcases: there is a lot of packing to do...

Last Update: 11.28.13 

Published on
11/26/13 2:34 PM Atlantic Standard Time

See also: Reuters: 

OPINION

Russia: Where has all the money gone?

By William E. Pomeranz

Russia needs new sources of revenue, yet seems unwilling to make the hard economic and political choices to make this happen. Instead of opening up the business sector, Putin continues to put the squeeze on it.  Commentary 

Hamid Karzai - News Review

Illinois same-sex couple set to be first to wed - NTV 27/11/13 02:23 from Top Stories - Google News | Lesbians, prostitutes the target of Nigeria's Sharia vice squad 27/11/13 03:49 from Uploads by AFP

» Lesbians, prostitutes the target of Nigeria's Sharia vice squad
27/11/13 03:49 from Uploads by AFP
Lesbians, prostitutes the target of Nigeria's Sharia vice squad In Nigeria's northern city if Kano, enforcers of Sharia law patrol the streets looking for evidence of un-Islamic behaviour -- homosexuality, western haircut... From...

» Illinois same-sex couple set to be first to wed - NTV
27/11/13 02:23 from Top Stories - Google News
ABC News Illinois same-sex couple set to be first to wed NTV The Supreme Court has agreed to consider dismissing free-speech claims against two Secret Service agents for their role in a 2004 protest in Oregon against President George W. ...

Guantanamo Detainees 'Trained As CIA Agents'

» Guantanamo Detainees 'Trained As CIA Agents'
27/11/13 04:13 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
The secret programme was deemed a worthwhile risk as prisoners helped the US find and kill al Qaeda operatives, a report says.

Housing data brightens U.S. economic growth outlook - R

• » President Tackles The Economy - Fox 2 KFXV
  27/11/13 01:51 from Top Stories - Google News
  President Tackles The Economy Fox 2 KFXV Less than a week to go before the prelaunch of the Obamacare website, President Obama toured Dreamworks animation with studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg, a top campaign donor getting a firsthand loo...
• 
  
• Housing data brightens U.S. economic growth outlook - Reuters

• 
  

27/11/13 07:09 from Reuters: International TBILISI (Reuters) - Five years after it fought a war with Russia, Georgia is preparing to defy its former Soviet masters again by initialing an accord on strengthening ties with Europe

» Five years after war, Georgia defies Russia over Europe
27/11/13 07:09 from Reuters: International
TBILISI (Reuters) - Five years after it fought a war with Russia, Georgia is preparing to defy its former Soviet masters again by initialing an accord on strengthening ties with Europe. 

Despite Russia's concerns, Tbilisi will initial the accord on deepening trade and other cooperation with the EU on Friday at a summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.

It expects to sign the final agreement next year and hopes Moscow will adopt a warmer policy towards it as it tries in the long term to join NATO and the EU.

"I think that in the long run it's in Russia's interests to resolve political disputes between our countries," he said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry stepped up pressure on former Soviet republics hoping to move closer to Europe on Tuesday by warning that they would face "years of economic turmoil", including higher unemployment and lower living standards.

Moldova, another former Soviet republic, is also defying the warnings and will initial an agreement on closer ties with the EU in Vilnius.

Ukraine had been expected to sign an association agreement in Vilnius, allowing it to join a free trade area with the bloc. But after months of Russian warnings over gas supply cuts and trade restrictions, Kiev changed its mind last week and said it would rebuild economic ties with Moscow instead.

M.N. comments: Putin's policy of opposing the European integration trend for the Western part of FSSSR is irrational and short-sighted. It is another sign of neo-stalinist isolationism and "Great-Russian ("Veliko-Russkiy") nationalism, chauvinism and insecurity. If anything, Russia will eventually benefit from this trend because in due time it will be extended to herself, not formally, by the paper agreements, but effectively and factually. This trend should be hailed and encouraged, especially in regard to Ukraine and other nearby countries. 
Think about "zis", Wolodimir; and think hard: "zis" is a very serious issue. 

See also:  EDITORIAL - NYT: Vladimir Putin Clings to the Past - November 20, 2013

» Ukraine Still Without Support Deal With Russia
27/11/13 06:56 from WSJ.com: World News
Ukraine hasn't reached a final deal on potential financial support from Russia after abandoning a pact with the EU but plans to hold talks early December.