1117-2007f - FOREIGN PRESS REVIEW (FPR) - ‘Relevant news, views, comments and analyses for informed debate’ Compiled by Şanlı Bahadır Koç U.S. / Britain / Turkey / Magazines / Think-tanks / Blogs / Misc /Books / Quickread / Numbers / Reports - FPR Table - Subscribe to FPR

H1 Independent The dollar's decline: from symbol of hegemony to shunned currency The decline of the dollar, symbol of US global hegemony for the best part of a century, may have become so entrenched that some experts now fear it is irreversible

The dollar may recover, but the world will be different By Hamish McRae

CFR Perkovich: Pressures and Benefits Must Be Made Clearer to Iran

The Pursuit of Black Gold: Pipeline Politics on the Caspian Sea (Audio)

stratfor geopolitical diary Iranian Nuclear Questions

William Arkin War with Iran is a Matter of Words

New York Times U.N. Report Describes Risks of Inaction on Climate Change In its final and most powerful report, an international panel details mounting risks in specific and forceful language, scientists said

An Accidental War WIth Iran By: Brian Beutler | The American Prospect The question isn't whether the Bush administration will deliberately launch a war with Iran. It's whether unnecessarily heightened U.S.-Iran tensions will push some minor incident into a major conflict.

Independent Independence beckons in Kosovo poll

OpenDemocracy Kosovo’s messy endgame, Paul Hockenos

Financial Times COMMENT & ANALYSIS: The paradox of Russia's retreat from democracy The irony is that Vladimir Putin’s sky-high popularity means United Russia could almost certainly win free elections subjected to full scrutiny. This year’s polls are sliding towards the standards of authoritarian neighbours such as Belarus or Kazakhstan, writes Neil Buckley

EDM NEWSPAPER: PUTIN’S ENTOURAGE SEES NO ALTERNATIVE TO A THIRD TERM

Asia Times US dismisses nuclear report on Iran The International Atomic Energy Agency's latest scorecard for Iran's nuclear program confirms "substantial progress" and adds fresh details on long-sought data on the history of the country's enrichment technology. But US and Western media spin says it's not enough, even though the report says there's no need for a crisis mentality among those opposing Iran. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi

Washington Post Petraeus Helping Pick New Generals Army Says Innovation Will Be Rewarded

IHT Sarkozy and the unions By WILLIAM PFAFF The strike is doomed because the public is fed up and will hold the left responsible if it continues.

At the tipping point By BAN KI MOON Climate change respects no borders; solutions must be global

Strategic Studies Institute On the Uses of Cultural Knowledge
Culture has become something of a buzz word among America’s national security leaders. Faced with an brutal civil war and insurgency in Iraq , the many complex political and social issues confronted by U.S. military commanders on the ground have given rise to a new awareness that a cultural understanding of an adversary society is imperative if counterinsurgency is to succeed. by Dr. Sheila Miyoshi Jager

Boston Review Understanding the rise of Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expresses a meticulously crafted, politically astute message of pious populism... by Abbas Milani more»

The Times Climate change panel verdict: the future is bleak There may be 'abrupt and irreversible' consequences if nothing is done to curb gas emissions, says UN report

China pulls out of Iran sanction talks China has dealt a blow to Western efforts by dropping out of a meeting to discuss tougher sanctions against Tehran

Gvosdev A Test of the Global Balance of Power?

Nuke Watchdog Report No Brake on Sanctions

Guardian Heed Iran's dissidents
Martin Woollacott: An attack would fortify Tehran's nuclear hawks, and we would all suffer the consequences

Peace is possible The Palestinian philosopher Sari Nusseibeh tells Ian Black that despite widespread pessimism surrounding talks in Annapolis a change of focus could go on to yield spectacular results

From Prospect, ghosts of the caliphate: Fantasies of reviving the caliphate reveal a deep crisis of legitimacy within Sunni Islam

Musharraf Remains the U.S.'s Best Option By: M.K. Bhadrakumar | Asia Times The Pakistani regime doesn't like being treated as an occasional fling when Washington is in heat. Given the political gridlock ensuing from the breakdown of the Musharraf-Benazir Bhutto deal, a continuation of the present ruling alliance - with adjustments - is the only viable option. The all-powerful military, after all, remains staunchly behind the general.

OpenDemocracy Musharraf: the fateful moment , Shaun Gregory

Washington Times Pakistan leader to get U.S. prod Musharraf faces a stern warning from a top American diplomat today: End emergency rule or wreck landmark elections and risk undermining vital U.S. support.

WINEP

H2 pkk's Violent Struggle for Kurdish Independence Approaches 24 Years - Voice of America

Turkish court asked to ban pro-Kurdish party Authorities begin court action to ban leading pro-Kurdish political party and expel its 20 MPs from parliament

A new poll shows that 81% of Turks favor invading northern Iraq,

Security and Defense: Talking Turkey
Jerusalem Post

Poll: Most Turks back N. Iraq incursion, dislike US

İsrail: Peres-Abbas zirvesine yazık oldu

Al Awsat Turkey: Q&A with Necmettin Erbakan

Turkey Takes Steps to Ban Kurdish Party The Associated Press

Turkish authorities seek to ban Kurdish party AFP

PREPARED REMARKS OF ENERGY SECRETARY SAMUEL BODMAN TO THE TURKISH.-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL

Bryza "ABD irade gösterdi"

Bryza 'Türk müttefiklerimizin öfkelenmeye hakkı var'

Türk dış politikasının arkasındaki beyin

Kirkuk airspace returned to Iraqi control
Air Force Link

Google News KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect BBC Monitoring

Kandil'i boşalt Bölgesel Kürt Yönetimi, Türkiye'nin sınır ötesi operasyonda bombalanacak ilk hedefin Kandil Dağı olacağını belirterek PKK'lılardan bölgeyi boşaltmasını istedi

Who will resolve the Kurdish issue? by MÜMTAZ’ER TÜRKÖNE

Kuzey Irak
Cumhurbaşkanı Talabani'nin eski başdanışmanı konuşuyor

DTP'ye kapatma davası

Akın Birdal'la Söyleşi - İndirmek İçin

PKK'ya karşı yaratıcı strateji gerek Wesley Clark

Semih İDİZ Eski NATO komutanından Kuzey Irak öğütleri

Tunceli'de PKK avı

Kurd officials holding back, US says

Bağdat, Kürtlerle petrol anlaşması imzalayan şirketlere ceza verecek

DTP'li Türk: Çaresiz değiliz

Dağlıca saldırısından yaralı kurtulan asker: 60'tan fazla terörist cesedi topladık

Peres ziyaretinin değeri yok MUHAMMED NUREDDİN

Kürtlerle petrol anlaşması imzalayana ceza

Türkiye'nin istikrarının korunması bölgenin çıkarına FAYSAL EL RUFUH

İran Enerji Bakanı haftaya Ankara'da

Turkey Urges Kurd Rebels to Disarm Amid Iraq Tension

Al-Sharqiyah TV Updates Security Political Developments in Iraq 16 November

Self-government is the Right of the Kurdish Nation
Kurdish Aspect

Erdoğan’ı yere göğe sığdıramadılar

Irak PKK’ya göz yumuyor

Terörle mücadelede G3'ler, uzun menzilli olduğu için tercih ediliyor

'Tek Türkiye' gözünü zirveye dikti

PKK Şemdin Sakık'ın sitesini 'hack'ledi

Kürt diasporasından Papa XVI. Benedikt´e mektup

Türkmen lidere vize engeli

Differences among Azerbaijani MPs on Recognition of Kurdistan ...

Ambition in Ankara Now, Turkey can add "rising regional hegemon" to that list of accomplishments. The newest result of U.S. involvement in Iraq is an ambitious and assertive Turkey. It's time for Americans to get used to it.

İslam ülkeleri, her zamankinden daha fazla işbirliğine muhtaç

Sebahattin Önkibar Şimon Peres'in ziyareti ve casus uydu ihalesi?

Sözleriniz Yalan, Gittiğiniz Yol Yanlış

Atatürk'ün gizli K.Irak operasyonu

Kurd officials holding back, US says

Bush Must Choose Turkey Over PKK
The Conservative Voice

DEEP STATE, IRON TRIANGLE, AND THE KURDS
By Mizgîn

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber

RFERL Turkic-Speaking Countries To Hold Summit In Baku

ABD Ruhban okulunu yeniden gündeme getirdi

ABD, ruhban okulunu hatırlattı

Türkiye, AKKA tezimizi destekliyor

Pipelines helps Greece and Turkey forget old rivalry AFP

Turkey's rocky road to the European Union | Spero News

US seeks a role in Turkey’s nuclear strategy

“Mediterranean Union: A ruse to keep Turkey out”

Türk Dünyası Bakü'de Buluşuyor

Rehn says EU has no acquis on headscarves

Toward an Asia-Europe partnership by FRANK-WALTER STEINMEIER*

Talat’ın nüfus káğıdı temizliği

Geçmiş zamanın gelecek dersleri BAHADIR KALEAĞASI

[YORUM-Joost Lagendijk] Reformlar için, itici güçten yararlanmak

[YORUM - Nick Kochan] Kuzey Kıbrıs'ı hayata döndürmek

Yusuf KANLI Cyprus and Abkhazia

Armenian, Greek Americans Protest Pro-Turkey Resolution

Zeynep Göğüş Rüyamda AB’yi gördüm

Kosova'da halk sandık başına gidiyor

[YORUM - Mark Tran] Kosova ayrılmaya hazır

Trakya'yı sel vurdu

TRT Genel Müdürlüğü için adaylar belirlendi

Atilla Kıyat paşa askerlik anılarını yazıyor
Funda Özkan

Sel Trakya'yı vurdu, İstanbul alarmda

Ankara-Sivas arası hızlı tren ile üç saate inecek

Karadeniz'e sızan yakıtın zararı 12.4 milyar dolar

TMSF: Sabah ve atv’ye 3 talip var

NEW TURKISH INTERNET REGULATIONS SIGNAL FURTHER RESTRICTIONS ON FREEDOM OF SPEECH

City council model for Turkey
Mithat MELEN

09:30 Eroğlu, nükleer enerji tartışmalarını değerlendirdi

EDITORIAL; The Bluefin Slaughter (New York Times)

Murdoch Financial Times'ı internetten vuracak

TV'lere çıkan emekli subaylara ambargo

Süreyya Ayhan gene dopingli çıktı

H3DTP’ye Bölücülükten kapatma davası

DTP'ye kapatma davası

Ruşen Çakır Kapatma radikallerin elini güçlendirir

Iste DTP'ye kapatma davasi açtiran 141 eylem

Hasan CEMAL 6 noktalık senaryo yazısı iki...

"Yarın seçim olsa hangi partiye oy verirsiniz?"

AB taslağında 'Kürdistan' ifadesi

'Partinin adı trajikomik'

İddianamede, 'kan üzerine kurulan' DTP'nin 'demokratik toplum' adını taşıması 'trajikomik', 'siyasi parti sayılması' da 'demokrasi ayıbı' olarak ...

‘Kapatılmazsa iç çatışma çıkar’

Erdoğan için ortam değişti Murat Yetkin

Taha AKYOL Parti kapatmak yanlıştır!

Fikret BİLA Org. Başbuğ'un verdiği işaretler

Turkish soldiers hamstrung by jamming rifles With soldiers kidnapped by (PKK) terrorists during an ambush in Dağlıca saying in statements made after their release that their weapons jammed, preventing them form firing on their attackers, the issue of the rifles used by Turkish soldiers has returned to the agenda once again.

İşte PKK'nın şifreli talimatları Terör örgütü büyükşehirlerde intihar eylemleri düşünüyor.

Sadi Somuncuoğlu Kültürel hak mı, devlet talebi mi? (1)

Türklerin yüzde 81’i sınır ötesini destekliyor

'Yeni anayasa, devleti millet ile kaynaştırmalı'

Şahin Alpay Asker neden siyasete karışmamalı?

Emekli paşaların itirafları sürüyor: Özel Harekâtçıların silahlarının alınması hataydı

Kapatınca bitecek mi?

DTP iddianamesi

Kapatma davası ve çözüm planı
Haluk Şahin

Geçmiş zamanın gelecek dersleri BAHADIR KALEAĞASI

Did anyone say real-time intelligence? Burak BEKDİL

A sudden rush of awareness on Kurdish rights Semih İdiz

Cengiz Çandar

Asker-sivil çatlağı M.Ali Kışlalı

ALİ BAYRAMOĞLU Risk alarak siyaset yapma zamanı…

'Kahrolsun' demekle...
İsmet Berkan

Sıcak adım yakında

[HABER ANALİZ] Çankaya, yeniden dış politikaya damgasını vuruyor

Marksistler, PKK'yı destekleyip generalleri fişlemiş

Bilgilendirme turu

Güneri CIVAOĞLU PKK tünelleri

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası

Dış Basında Türkiye-AB İlişkileri -

Dış Basında Irak BBC Turkish 0700

VOA TSİ 06:30 Dış Basında Türkiye Turkish Press Review Google News Turkey Turquie Türkei TurcoPundit

Taha Kıvanç Ben ve kopyalarım

Fehmi Koru Umutlu bekleyiş

[HABER YORUM-Mehmet Kamış] Örgüte hayat öpücüğü

Kürtçe eğitime yeşil ışık

Can Ataklı DTP’nin kapatılmasını en çok PKK istiyor

Nuh Yılmaz Türkiye-ABD ilişkilerinde merkez Kuzey Irak

'Parti kapatmak çözüm değil'

Ertuğrul Özkök Bu da mı laf salatası

Ahmet Hakan

M Ali Birand “Karar alıcıları rahat bırakın”

Cüneyt Ülsever

Enis Berberoğlu DTP’yi kapatma haberi

Oktay Ekşi Silahları bırakmak

Başbuğ haklı ama

Basın Konseyi'nden 'Başbuğ' açıklaması

Can Dündar Karar vericileri rahat bırakabilir miyiz?

Mustafa Karaalioğlu ‘O gazete’nin yayın yönetmeni olarak...

Babacan CHP, MHP ve DSP'ye 'terör' bilgisi verdi

[YORUM-Prof.Dr.Bülent Aras] Türkiye'nin yeni dış politika vizyonu

Abdülhamit Bilici Turkey’s new policy on Middle East

İki Doğu

Sami KOHEN Çok boyutlu politika

Mahir kaynak Dönemeç

A Turan Alkan Çuval, Dağlıca vesaire...

Bilal Çetin PKK silah bırakacak mı?

İsmail Küçükkaya Terörün siyasallaşması...

MUHARREM SARIKAYA

ERDAL ŞAFAK Umumi arzu üzerine

ERGUN BABAHAN DTP'ye kapatma davası

EMRE AKÖZ Bu toplum tedaviye muhtaç

Umur Talu

Ahmet Kekeç DTP kapatılırsa sorun çözülmüş mü olacak?

Mehmet Altan Başbakan’a çalım mı?

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMAN

NAZLI ILICAK DTP'ye kapatma davası

MAHMUT ÖVÜR Terörün de ırkçı iklimin de panzehiri demokrasi!

YAVUZ DONAT Tek yol kapatmak mı?

Serdar Turgut Konuşalım derken...

Mehmet Barlas Üstler altlarını tutamazsa, onlar da aşağıya çekilirler

İlter Türkmen Protokol ve dış politika

İlnur Çevik We should thank Gul and Erdogan on Saudi policy

FİKRİ AKYÜZ

YASİN AKTAY

CHP'de Erdem bombası

Erdem: CHP sağ kuşatma altında

MELİHA OKUR
AB yerine Afrika Birliği dönemi!

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu

Volkan Akı Türkiye'de işsizlik sorunu neden çözülemiyor?

İşsizliği azaltacak ilk paket hazır

Erdal Sağlam Kaçak elektrikte huzursuzluğun bedeli

Ege Cansen Hani faizler düşünce kur yükselecekti

Finansal mimari ve dış ticaret hadleri Taner Berksoy

İşte Türkiye'nin 5 yıllık hedefleri

Güngör URAS Devletin imkânını kullanmanın bir sınırı var

Yaman TÖRÜNER Özetle Merkez Bankası

Güler'den 'petrol' uyarısı: "Kaybet kaybet'e dönebilir"

Güler: Enerjide yatırıma ihtiyaç var

İtalyan bankalar Türkiye'yi gözlüyor

Vergi ve harçlara yüzde 7,2 zam

H4 New York Times U.N. Report Describes Risks of Inaction on Climate Change In its final and most powerful report, an international panel details mounting risks in specific and forceful language, scientists said

Editorial Democrats Find Their Voice Democrats must continue to push President Bush and his Republican allies to concede their failed war policy and change course.

H5 Washington Post Petraeus Helping Pick New Generals Army Says Innovation Will Be Rewarded

Iraqis With Ties to U.S. Cross Border Into Despair Contractor Employees Wait, Hope for Visas

Power Barometer: Iran Wins with Nuke Report

Pakistan's One-Man Calamity By Nawaz Sharif

My country is in flames because of Musharraf's lust for power.

Musharraf, in Interview, Holds Firm on Crackdown

Japanese Premier Visits White House to Reinforce Strained Ties

China Warns Against Protesting at Games

Official Pledges to Punish Demonstrators

European Group Won't Monitor Russian Vote

U.N. Global Warming Report Sternly Warns Against Inaction

With Strong Debate, Clinton Quiets Talk of a Slide Spotlight Moves to Whether Rivals Can Slow Her Momentum Toward Nomination

H6 Guardian Heed Iran's dissidents Martin Woollacott: An attack would fortify Tehran's nuclear hawks, and we would all suffer the consequences

Peace is possible The Palestinian philosopher Sari Nusseibeh tells Ian Black that despite widespread pessimism surrounding talks in Annapolis a change of focus could go on to yield spectacular results

Israel and Abbas agree to peace talks

The two sides will seek a final deal within a year with Syrians and Saudis also ready to participate

When night falls, the assassins gather
In the second of two Iraq dispatches, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad chronicles life in Basra following British troop withdrawal

Soldiering on Anita Inder Singh Nov 16 07, 09:00pm: Regardless of who is in power or whether or not they were elected, the military will remain visible in Pakistani politics

British officials hold talks with Mahdi army Talks held with supporters of Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi army in the hope they would be drawn into the political process

Learn to swim Tim Watkin Nov 16 07, 10:00pm: Climate change sceptics can no longer argue with the evidence that the planet is warming. Instead they say we'll just have to adapt

New blow for PM on terror detention

Former attorney general to tell MPs he opposes new limit as No 10 considers 56-day maximum

Monitors to miss Russian poll

Observers' visas go unprocessed, meanwhile Russian police detain deputy finance minister

Bhutto freed as top US aide arrives in Pakistan US diplomat hopes to save political process by urging Musharraf to lift emergency rule and end state repression

See no evil? Amir Attaran Nov 16 07, 07:00pm: If Nato investigated the treatment of its detainees in Afghanistan, it would no doubt find a disturbing reality

Fly the unfriendly skies Andrew Thomas Nov 16 07, 08:30pm: It's still possible to smuggle a bomb aboard an airplane, despite all the post-9/11 emphasis on passenger screening

H7 From Prospect, ghosts of the caliphate: Fantasies of reviving the caliphate reveal a deep crisis of legitimacy within Sunni Islam

Musharraf Remains the U.S.'s Best Option By: M.K. Bhadrakumar | Asia Times
The Pakistani regime doesn't like being treated as an occasional fling when Washington is in heat. Bearing this in mind, visiting US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte needs to tread lightly when he meets with President General Pervez Musharraf this weekend.

Bush, Pakistan and the Bomb By: Jonathan Schell | International Herald Tribune The journey to the martial law just imposed on Pakistan by Pervez Musharraf began in Washington on Sept. 11, 2001. On that day, it so happened, Pakistan's intelligence chief, Lieutenant General Mahmood Ahmed, was in Washington.

Boston Review No Going Back Little relief in sight for millions of displaced Iraqis
Nir Rosen

Nukes First By: Stanley Kurtz | The National Review
The situation in Pakistan right now is disturbingly unstable. I won’t try to summarize events in detail, since they are continually shifting; you can follow developments easily enough by dipping into the constant stream of news stories. But what about America’s underlying interests?

Coping With Victory By: James W. Ceaser | The Weekly Standard
Will any of the Democratic candidates be able to summon the courage to concede an American victory in Iraq? No one, of course, can know the ultimate outcome of this long war. But the vaunted "facts on the ground" now at least admit a trend leading to what might reasonably be called victory.

H8 IraqSlogger Google News Iraq Iran Syria Mideastwire.com - NPR Iraq stratfor

US Senate blocks Iraq funds bill Republicans in the US Senate block a Democratic proposal to tie an Iraq war funding bill to a troop pull-out timetable

Report Strengthens Argument for More Iran Sanctions, U.S. Says

US Sees Military Gains and Political Impasse in Iraq

Jordan’s Islamists Seek Offices Their Allies Scorn By: Thanassis Cambanis | The New York Times
Political Islamists in Jordan are engaged in a delicate balancing act — one that dogs most Islamist parties in the region that choose to take part in secular political systems. That is evident on the campaign trail here as candidates try to inspire their electoral base while attacking as useless the very political system that they have joined.

Risk in the Arab world: A distorted balance between risk and reward inhibits the Arab world's economic and social development.

It's the politics, stupid: Saudi Arabia will only become a true ally to the U.S. in the war on terror through political reform

From The Claremont Review of Books, Stanley Kurtz reviews Resistance and Control in Pakistan; Islam Under Siege: Living Dangerously in a Post-Honour World; and Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization by Akbar S. Ahmed

A review of Lion of Jordan: The Life of King Hussein in War and Peace by Avi Shlaim

US officials under investigation over Iraq embassy bill
US justice department investigating $730m cost of building a huge new American embassy in Baghdad.

Saudi gang rape sentence 'unjust' A lawyer for a Saudi rape victim sentenced to 200 lashes and jail says this contravenes Islamic law

Iran calls for US nuclear apology

Iran's president says the US should apologise for the way it has treated Tehran over its nuclear programme.

UN chief in Lebanon election plea
The UN head urges Lebanese MPs to elect a president on time to avoid reaching "the brink of the abyss".

H9 Ha’aretz – Israel worried cautious IAEA report may delay Iran sanctions U.S. calls for new sanctions after IAEA report says Tehran has been truthful, but still defies int'l demands

Vatican envoy: Ties with Israel are deteriorating Ex-envoy to Jerusalem says Israel has broken promises, relations were better before formal ties established

AIPAC case: silent witnesses and bias (WTR)

Daily Alert.org – Middle East Progress - EJC Israeli Press Review – Google News Israel - Palestine

Hamas Losing Hearts and Minds By: Frida Ghitis | Miami Herald
Palestinian men, women and children poured into the streets of Gaza City on Monday, determined to make a statement on the third anniversary of Yasser Arafat's death. Precisely what statement they wished to make remains a matter of some debate. Was it love for the late Arafat, founder of Hamas' rival Fatah, or a yearning for a return to the pre-Hamas days

A History of Nonviolence By: Matthew Duss | The American Prospect
Palestinian leader Naim Ateek has long advocated nonviolence as the only way to secure peace between Israel and Palestine. So why is he so despised by hard-line Israel supporters?

The prospects for a two-state solution have never seemed dimmer. So why does veteran peacenik Uri Avnery remain so hopeful?

From Jewcy, an article on the five strangest solutions to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Jerusalem Post The 'Jewish Israel' genie

[ DAVID HOROVITZ

Fantasists vs. realists

[ CAROLINE GLICK ,

Olmert's Kadima Poised To Collapse

Yedioth Iranian trickery worked

Despite Iran's countless nuke violations, IAEA's report mostly conciliatory, says Ronen Bergman

Abbas pessimistic about talks
Palestinian diplomat says Abbas disappointed by Israel's lack of helpful overtures ahead of Annapolis conference. Meanwhile in Israel hopes are still running high as government plans release of 500 Palestinian prisoners

H10 Christian Science Monitor

ASIA

Rebuilding the Legendary Silk Road By: John Berthelsen | Asia Sentinel Led by the Asian Development Bank, a flock of agencies and countries will pour as much as US$18.7 billion into the moldering infrastructure of the Stans — the landlocked countries of Central Asia that were formerly under the yoke of the Soviet Union — building a network of roads, airports, rail lines and seaports.

There is only one right way to see historical truth, says an official at a Chinese think tank. “There is a pool of clear water and there’s no need to stir up this water”... more»

Testing the Limits of Japan's Friendship By: Michael Zielenziger | Los Angeles Times
Today's meeting in Washington between President Bush and yet another new Japanese prime minister -- the third in five years, if you're counting -- is certain to underscore the peculiar tensions now burdening an alliance that once seemed so essential to long-term U.S. strategy in Asia.

Rising Food Prices Test Chinese Consumers By: Peter Ford | The Christian Science Monitor
Food prices, 17.6 percent higher than a year ago, have pushed China's consumer price index up faster than it has risen for a decade, official figures released this week showed

Mineral wealth seen as big plus A three-year study has found vast mineral resources in Afghanistan, boosting hopes for an early economic recovery in the insurgency-troubled country, a survey says.

1,100 feared dead after cyclone
Cyclone Sidr cuts trail of destruction through Bangladesh

H11 IHT Sarkozy and the unions By WILLIAM PFAFF The strike is doomed because the public is fed up and will hold the left responsible if it continues.

At the tipping point

By BAN KI MOON Climate change respects no borders; solutions must be global

Russia blocks election monitors, OSCE asserts Western election observers pulled out of a mission to monitor Russia's parliamentary elections on Dec. 2, citing restrictions imposed by the Kremlin on their work.

Realigning the yuan: Resistance from G-20 The U.S. and the EU face an uphill struggle for support on raising the value of China's currency at a meeting in South Africa.

China's billionaire bubble

By PETER KWONG Most social safety nets have been stripped away, and the middle class is putting its savings in a soaring, unsteady stock market

Memories of war, East and West By JOYCE HOR-CHUNG LAU

The East could learn something about reconciliation by looking West.

EUROPE European press review

Rehn Juggles Balkan Marbles New Europe
Deep-rooted corruption, weak democratic institutions and wide-ranging ethnic tensions are major blocks to reform process in the Western Balkans but “the pull of the EU is contributing to stability and encouraging important political and economic reforms” said enlargement commissioner.

BBC Kosovo set to vote in local polls Voters in Kosovo are to take part in local elections, amid continuing uncertainty over the status of the province.

Q&A: Kosovo's future

To the Barricades By: Jon Henley | The Guardian France may have a long and proud history of industrial action, but surprising numbers support Sarkozy's tough reforms.

EU Must Improve Military Capabilities, UK Says By: Elitsa Vucheva | EU Observer
UK foreign secretary David Miliband called for a strengthening of the EU's military capacities during his first major speech on EU policy on Thursday (15 November) - an idea that has also been recently raised by France.

Prodi ploughs on

John Hooper Nov 16 07, 06:00pm: The Italian prime minister is steadfastly holding onto power and looking more and more like the Duracell bunny

From New Left Review, does Sarkozy’s victory mean the electorate is finally in tune? A review of Les Nouveaux chiens de garde by Serge Halimi.

A review of Peasant Europe by H. Hessell Tiltman

Work Stoppages Hit Hundreds of Thousands of Passengers Der Spiegel
German train drivers expanded their national strike on Thursday, leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded and cargo piling up at the country's major ports. Meanwhile in France, transport strikes continue to cause chaos as the railway unions show no signs of relenting.

Entente cordiale?
Franco-British tensions come to the surface at Diana's inquest

H12 RFE/RL The Hand Of Moscow

From separatist conflicts to economic sanctions, Russian pressure on Georgia is hard to deny. President Mikheil Saakashvili says his violent crackdown on opposition protesters was in response to Kremlin meddling. But is Tbilisi overplaying the Russia card?

The Evolution of the Post-Soviet Identity: In Search of the Russian Soul

Der Spiegel The Russian Vote: Election Observers Unwelcome

Google News Azerbaijan

Thousands Rally For Armenian Presidential Hopeful

Georgia: State of Emergency Dents Tbilisi’s NATO Hopes
BY JOSHUA KUCERA
The Georgian government’s actions over the past 10 days, specifically the introduction of a state of emergency, have damaged the Caucasus country’s hopes for gaining entry into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Even so, the United States remains cautiously supportive of Georgia’s goal of reaching the next step of NATO accession by next spring, American and Georgian officials say.

Georgia Gets New Prime Minister
BY MOLLY CORSO
In an apparent bid to reduce potential support for opposition candidates in Georgia’s upcoming special presidential election, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is reshuffling his government. On November 16, the president named a new prime minister and charged him with putting greater emphasis on job growth, a key complaint of many opposition supporters.

EDM NEWSPAPER: PUTIN’S ENTOURAGE SEES NO ALTERNATIVE TO A THIRD TERM

- RUSSIA-LED BLOC EMERGES IN OSCE

- OSCE STUMBLING OVER UNRESOLVED CONFLICTS AHEAD OF YEAR-END MEETING

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H13 The Times Climate change panel verdict: the future is bleak There may be 'abrupt and irreversible' consequences if nothing is done to curb gas emissions, says UN report

China pulls out of Iran sanction talks China has dealt a blow to Western efforts by dropping out of a meeting to discuss tougher sanctions against Tehran

Climate change: Ten ways to save the world

Opec mulls $3bn climate change fund

Shadow over election as observers withdraw Credibility of Russian elections plunged into doubt as the main democratic watchdog cancelled its observer mission

Democracy for all! Well, not quite

Is there an underlying principle in our foreign policy or do we take it country by country?

George Walden

Wall Street Journal Diplomacy in the Post-9/11 Era
"European governments are not able any more to ask their people for great sacrifices."
By DAVID B. RIVKIN JR.

Pyongyang Fallout
Bush's North Korea tilt hurts the U.S.-Japan alliance.

Good Mullah Behavior
Iran has done little more than tell the IAEA what it already knew.

H14 Financial Times COMMENT & ANALYSIS: The paradox of Russia's retreat from democracy The irony is that Vladimir Putin’s sky-high popularity means United Russia could almost certainly win free elections subjected to full scrutiny. This year’s polls are sliding towards the standards of authoritarian neighbours such as Belarus or Kazakhstan, writes Neil Buckley

Watchdog cancels Russian poll review Europe’s main election monitoring group said it was scrapping plans to deploy observers to Russia’s forthcoming parliamentary elections

Iran could reach nuclear goal ‘in a year’

Several distinguished physicists and nuclear weapons experts say Iran is spe eding up its nuclear programme

China pulls out of Iran sanctions meetingChina has pulled out of a meeting to discuss new sanctions on Iran, European diplomats said

Fed and markets set to clash on rates The risk of collision between the Federal Reserve and the markets grew after the Fed governor said there was no plan to cut interest rates at the next policy meeting

Sarkozy squares up to France’s unions If the president is to succeed where others have failed, he cannot let unions pick and choose à la carte. That would undermine his credibility

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: Come on US, invade Canada - before others get the idea

WORLD NEWS: Opec nations clash over impact of dollar

Woman in the News - Daughter of the dynasty Bena­zir Bhutto, Pakistan’s former prime minister, is moving swiftly to adopt a more confrontational pose towards the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf

Saudi oil protection force deployed The first trained members of a security force dedicated to the protection of Saudi oil installations has started deploying

Baghdad and beyond From staying the course to sectarianism, David B. Rivkin Jr. and Brian Katulis debate future policy on Iraq.

Editorial In poor international company Editorial: A U.N. bid for a moratorium on the death penalty again finds the U.S. among countries stuck in the past.

Testing the limits of Japan's friendship By Michael Zielenziger

Why the seemingly bulletproof Pacific alliance has frayed under the Bush administration.

H16 American Politics Obama as the red-blue uniter

Ronald Brownstein

Weekly Standard Not-So-Great Generation
The boomers will be best remembered for their self-glorification.
by William Kristol

realclearpolitics – ABC’s The Note – US News Political Bulletin

Early Bird GovExec Swamp Gas The Swamp

Democratic Party's Image More Positive Than GOP's

Clinton's Winning Fight Night

In Vegas, Hillary looks like a front-runner again. John Dickerson

More on The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America by Ronald Brownstein.

H17 Daily Telegraph US bolsters platforms to defend Iraq's oil

Security base on Gulf pumping platform will take over from Royal Navy frigates as hub of the watch on Iran's Revolutionary Guard, reports Damien McElroy.

Ideology big threat to 'improved security'

A free society can function properly only if it works out what is a threat and what isn't. If it ignores threat, it will be attacked. If it treats everyone as a threat, it will grind to a halt, says Charles Moore.

Russia 'shut out' election watchdog

Russia's last pretensions to democratic credibility are hanging in the balance after Western observers abandoned plans to monitor a parliamentary election that critics have already dismissed as a sham.

Musharraf eases grip as US envoy arrives

President Pervez Musharraf made token concessions to appease international critics of his state of emergency yesterday before a crucial meeting with the American deputy secretary of state

H18 Independent The dollar's decline: from symbol of hegemony to shunned currency The decline of the dollar, symbol of US global hegemony for the best part of a century, may have become so entrenched that some experts now fear it is irreversible

The dollar may recover, but the world will be different By Hamish McRae

Independence beckons in Kosovo poll

Musharraf defends democratic aims ahead of US talks

Leading Article: The Government is caught in a terrible trap of its own making

Rupert Cornwell: We wait in vain for a Kennedy moment

H19Military Intelligence Terrorism

Strategic Studies Institute On the Uses of Cultural Knowledge
Culture has become something of a buzz word among America’s national security leaders. Faced with an brutal civil war and insurgency in Iraq , the many complex political and social issues confronted by U.S. military commanders on the ground have given rise to a new awareness that a cultural understanding of an adversary society is imperative if counterinsurgency is to succeed. by Dr. Sheila Miyoshi Jager

Tim Weiner has won a National Book Award for his history of the CIA... more» Legacy of Ashes is also reviewed at the CIA website... more»

Blackwater Brothers By: Jeremy Scahill | The Nation
A deepening scandal envelops a State Department official overseeing Blackwater contracts and his brother, who has long been cozy with the firm

USIP Event: The Future of Peacekeeping: What Role for the UN?

H20 Slate Yes, Google Is Trying To Take Over the World

Spain's divorce rate soars after rules relaxed
Conservative groups are angry at sharp rise in divorces following new law introduced by Socialist government in 2005

Boston Review How Can International Courts Serve Justice? Within Reach of the State Owen Fiss

H21

Why are some countries so rich and others so poor? Marx wondered why, as did Max Weber. But to this day... more»

Jeffrey Ressner / The Politico:
Plame on spy movies and going Hollywood

An interview with Quentin Skinner on Hobbes on the state

A review of The Most Dangerous Animal: Human Nature and the Origins of War by David Livingstone Smith.

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