NIGHTWATCH Special Comment on Egypt
Phi Beta Iota: Below the line is a most intriguing speculative analytic comment on what role Saudi Arabia may have played, and the intersection between religion, despots, military, and the public.
Central Asia–Failed States in the Making
Central Asia: Decay and Decline International Crisis Group Report 201 3 Feb 2011 Quietly but steadily Central Asia’s basic human and physical infrastructure – the roads, power plants, hospitals and schools and the last generation of Soviet-trained specialists who have kept this all running – is disappearing. The equipment is wearing out, the personnel retiring …
NIGHTWATCH on Egypt: Five Epiphanies
Egypt: Today was the day of Epiphany. In Tahrir Square, the atmosphere changed from euphoria to fear in less than 24 hours. The anti-government demonstrators were outnumbered and surrounded by pro-Mubarak supporters, trapped. They discovered that Army tolerance of their street displays also extended to the pro-Mubarak activists. The Army showed that it was strictly …
‘Al-Qaida nuclear bomb’ + Egypt Push-Back
‘Al-Qaida on brink of using nuclear bomb’ By Heidi Blake and Christopher Hope, The Daily Telegraph February 1, 2011 Al-Qaida is on the verge of producing radioactive weapons after sourcing nuclear material and recruiting rogue scientists to build “dirty” bombs, according to leaked diplomatic documents. A leading atomic regulator has privately warned that the world …
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AFIO Selected Headlines: Google, Woolsey, Hayden
Google Comes Under Fire for ‘Secret’ Relationship with NSA. Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group largely focused in recent years on Google’s privacy practices, has called on a congressional investigation into the Internet giant’s “cozy” relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration. In a letter sent Monday, Consumer Watchdog asked Representative Darrell Issa, the new chairman …
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Monthly CrisisWatch Report N°90, 1 February 2011
CrisisWatch N°90, 1 February 2011 Historic events in the Arab world gripped the world’s attention in January. In Tunisia weeks of escalating riots and demonstrations over dire economic conditions, corruption and government repression culminated in the ouster of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali on 14 January. He was replaced by an interim government which announced …
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Highlights on the Democracy Front
Dear friends, There is need for bright news on the democracy front — and, luckily, there is some. (I’m also working to create some in the background, but I’ve got nothing to announce yet. Cross your fingers.) So I thought I’d share a bit of it the good stuff I’ve seen. The first article is …
