122408f - 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 - Subscribe to FPR FPR Table - H4 NYT WP GU H7 ME Isr H10 CSM IHT Eur FSU Asia H13 Times WSJ FT LAT H16 USP DT Ind H19 Mil Int Ter Wonk H21 Misc

H1

Who Has Obama's Ear on the Mideast? - Scott MacLeod, Time

We Must Talk Iran out of the Bomb - Richard Haass, Globe & Mail

Top 10 Reasons Obama Should Resist Military Plans for Bases in Iraq by Juan Cole

Washington Post A New Partner In Syria? By David Ignatius, Bashar al-Assad seems to be looking for a new start with a new American president.

Moscow, Kiev Head Toward Gas Impasse Russia Threatens to Halt Sales to Ukraine Over Debt, Jeopardizing Flow to Europe

Iraqi Parliament Backs Security Accord Covering British, Other Non-U.S. Troops Divisive Parliament Speaker Quits Post

India's Prime Minister Plays Down Possibility of War With Pakistan Singh Plays Down That Possibility as Domestic Pressure Mounts and Pakistan Scrambles Jets

The Best Minds of Kissinger's Generation, Starving Hysterical Naked Loop Fan alert! Some of the following material may be shocking. We'll warn you at the appropriate point.

 Conflicting Reports on Iran-Russia Missile Deal BY: Borzou Daragahi and Ramin Mostaghim | Los Angeles Times”Russian officials publicly say the country will not sell long-range defense weapons to Iran, but a 'military diplomatic' source says the sale already has taken place.

The Russian-Iranian Tradeoff - Mark Katz, Middle East Times

The Neocons are not dead yet... more» Having wrecked the Right, will neoconservatives revert to their left-wing origins or double down on the GOP? By Jacob Heilbrunn

Financial Times Person of the Year: Barack Obama The smart president-elect has revived confidence in American democracy, but the challenges he faces mean he will have to endure being disliked

Keynes offers us the best way to think about the financial crisis

Martin Wolf on lessons to be learnt from the father of macroeconomics

Terrorism Shouldn’t be Confused with Insurgency

Arab World Besieged by Modernity - Adam LeBor (Sunday Times-UK)

Pipeline Politics: Putin Hails End of 'Cheap Gas' Era

Ha’aretz – ANALYSIS / Hamas is playing the brinkmanship game in Gaza Hamas gives the impression it is not interested in deterioration, but still has to seem ready to go all out

U.S. tells Israel: Don't forsake Lebanon for peace with Syria U.S. objects to comments by Israeli officials reportedly calling to renew Syrian control over Lebanon

ANALYSIS / The sanctions on Iran are not working Only point of light on Iran issue is drop in oil prices and global financial crisis, say Israeli officials

Paving the way Olmert's efforts to advance peace talks with Syria are praiseworthy - even if they are unlikely to lead to a diplomatic agreement

Benn Arbitration now When reports of the current Israel-Syria talks are emptied of spin, nudges and Janus-faced pronouncements, what emerges is a dead-end.

Arab League chief urges member states to talk to Iran Tehran and foreign powers mustn't set Mideast fate' says Amr Moussa, first Arab leader to urge talks

Wall Street Journal Martin Feldstein: Defense Spending Would Be Great Stimulus

Holman W. Jenkins Jr.: Get Ready for a Lost Decade

Guardian Bush and cronies must face reckoning Jonathan Freedland: If this US administration isn't held to account, what does that say about us?

 Russia to raise nuclear missile output fourfold Senior government official in Moscow says military will commission 70 strategic missiles over next three years Russia to raise nuclear missile output fourfold; More tanks, ships and planes...

Obama Transition Names More National Security Staff

Bill Gertz / Washington Times:

EXCLUSIVE: Obama wants Bush war team to stay — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is asking many of the Bush administration's 250 Pentagon political appointees to remain on the job until the incoming Obama administration finds replacements — a move designed to prevent a leadership vacuum

Jerusalem PostExperts: Assad signaling desire to talk

Syrian leader sending message that he's game for negotiations after elections, Syrian specialist says

Strategic Studies Institute HAMAS and Israel: Conflicting Strategies of Group-Based Politics The example of HAMAS challenges much of the current wisdom on “insurgencies” and their containment. Efforts have been made to separate HAMAS from its popular support and network of social and charitable organizations. by Dr. Sherifa D. Zuhur

McClatchy Fraud, violence threaten planned Afghan elections Evidence of fraud and poor security conditions are raising concerns that Afghanistan's presidential elections next fall could be compromised. The country's Independent Elections Commission (IEC) is in the midst of a massive voter registration drive that will continue until early February

What are 'combat troops'? Iraq withdrawal depends on answer

New York Times THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Time to Reboot America We don’t just need a bailout in this country, we need a national makeover. That is why the next few months are among the most important in U.S. history.

Editorial Shifting Troop Targets Barack Obama should stick to his campaign pledge to pull combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months.

U.S. and Afghans Plan to Recruit Local Militias American commanders and Afghan leaders hope to imitate Iraq’s successful experiment, but there are fears it could push the country into a deeper bloodletting.

Jordanian Students Rebel, Embracing Conservative Islam Across the Middle East, young people are using religion to defy the status quo and challenge their governments

Agencies Prep Obama for 'Tourniquet' on Afghanistan - Julian Barnes, Los Angeles Times

Slate We Finally Have a Strategy for Afghanistan Unfortunately, that may not be enough. Fred Kaplan

Obama's White House, Clinton's Team An interactive chart of administration loyalties, now with the full roster of major appointees. Chris Wilson

Oil below $38 per barrel on weak economic reports...

Ahmadinejad's Reelection Rival Ahmadinejad faces a tough reelection campaign. Presidential rivals are already emerging, with Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf a top contender. Ghalibaf has fashioned himself the “candidate of gradual change” and favors closer ties with the West. A weak economy is providing an opening to attack Ahmadinejad, and Ghalibaf is considered a potential consensus candidate that conservatives and reformers can both support Boston Globe

IHT The allies lay down a marker Georgia and Ukraine cannot gain entry into NATO until Germany and the other European allies are sure their relations with Russia will not suffer.

Russian opposition loses its voice under Putin's umbrella Tired of being vilified in the state-controlled news media, of being hounded by the state security forces, of being arrested at demonstrations, one opposition leader took a Kremlin job.

FT Goodbye and good riddance to all that When even the highest in the financial land had to seek assistance from the great mass of ordinary taxpayers, a humbler approach from all of us must be in order

Gopec Exporters meet to create ‘gas Opec’ Energy ministers from 12 of the world’s leading exporters of natural gas met in Moscow to create a group consumers fear could develop into an Opec-style cartel

Los Angeles Times India signals it will not act alone against Pakistani extremists Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says he will instead rely on international pressure to achieve action against the group believed to have carried out the terrorist attacks in Mumbai

In Iraq, transfer-of-power committees have yet to take shape Most of the panels charged with overseeing the transition of security from U.S. to Iraqi control still need to appoint members, U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno says

Follow the money By Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson The Obama administration should continue to track how terrorists get their money.

The 'ought' decade

Jonah Goldberg What did it all mean, if anything?

Time The Mideast's 'Two-State Solution' Is Now a Three-Way Stalemate

Oil below $38 per barrel on weak economic reports...

Al Awsat Will Syria Do it? : Tariq Alhomayed

Blood and Oil Michael Klare

Daily StarThe Status of Forces Agreement happens to be good for Iraq By Mohammad K. Shiyyab

Arabs are looking for deeds, not words By Rami G. Khouri

Our Mideastern future: a pair of shoes and a gun By Michael Young

Ahmadinejad's Reelection Rival

H2

TESEV Kürt Sorununun Çözümüne Dair bir Yol Haritası: Bölgeden Hükümete Öneriler Raporu okumak için tıklayınız.

Talabani ABD, Irak’ı Israil ve petrol geliri için işgal etti-2

A Journey to Qandil among PKK and PIJAK Hawler Tribune

Kurds: Constitutional reform, general amnesty can solve Kurdish problem

Kürtlere göre anadilde yayın ve eğitim hakkı çözümde önemli

Devlet Kürtlere bir özür borçlu

Kürtlerin gözüyle Kürt sorunu ve çözümleri...

Turkey near accord on extent of IMF deal-min/agency

Roubini: Türkiye’yi krizin eşiğinde

Jerusalem Post'Turks want 'framework' for direct Israeli-Syrian talks'

Turkish president indicates Iraq visit in January

Sadi Somuncuoğlu Dış siyasetimiz karmakarışık vaziyette

Turkey: Secular Turks Face Growing Discrimination -- Report

The Armenian tragedy Tulin Daloglu
Washington Times

Güngör Uras BM Güvenlik Konseyi’ndeyiz ama bir büyükelçimiz bile yok

'Jest' 3 ay sürdü, Ağrı Dağı yeniden amblemde

The dark road of Afghan drug trafficking reaches to Turkey

İç Basında Türk Dış Politikası Dış Basında Türkiye – BBC Türkçe 0700 1800 – VOA Türkçe 0630 1345 2130 Turkish Press Review Google News Turkey TurcoPundit ASAM

Google News Fırat News Agency KurdishMedia Kurdish Kurdish Aspect Dış Basında Irak BBC Monitoring Inter-national

Yavuz Baydar Disarming the PKK

Guardian  Activists celebrate as insurers pull plug on £1.1bn Turkish dam Consortium orders halt to Ilisu dam project after concluding it failed to meet standards set by World Bank

Atılgan Bayar
Talabani’yi harekete geçiren gizli gerçek nedir?

Mehmet Altan PKK silah bırakmaya hazır mı?

Mümtazer Türköne [Yorum - Mümtaz'er Türköne] Kürt milliyetçiliğinin ateşi

Cephanelik dağ yolunda ele geçti

Okay Gönensin Dağdan indirme şartları

İngiltere’den PKK’ya bir darbe daha

Disputed Kirkuk inches closer to reconciliation

PKK silahı mağarada duracak

PKK'ya ağır İngiliz darbesi

Cevdet Aşkın

Talabani, AKP ve PKK’nın arabulucusu

FT Berlin suspends support for dam

The ninth general meeting of the Kurdistan National Congress

HAKAN ALBAYRAK

İsrail Vatandaşlık Hakları Derneği'nin raporu

Google News Greece Cyprus Turkish Cypriot Press ABHaber Dış Basında Türkiye-AB İlişkileri Günlük Haftalık

Dört yıl aradan sonra Brüksel yolcusu

Rauf Denktaş Değişen bir şey yok (1)

Beril Dedeoğlu The European Union, Turkey and France

‘Türkiye’de ilk kez bir Rum vatandaşın adı sokağa veriliyor’

Armenia: Government Gears Up for Possible Deal with Azerbaijan on Karabakh With international efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict gaining fresh momentum, Armenia�s leadership appears to be preparing ground for a possible breakthrough in its long-running negotiations with Azerbaijan. It has pushed through parliament an amendment paving the way for a nationwide referendum on the issue reportedly promised by President Serzh Sargsyan

AİHM Başkanı Costa NTV'ye konuştu

Karşı bildiriye imza koyan elçi sayısı 134

Metin MünirIlısu’da yeni saat ayarı

Mensur Akgün 2009 zor bir yıl mı olacak

Georgian prime minister discusses Caucasus, ties

Mehmet Kamış Ortak acı!

Çeklerden Türkiye’ye destek

Kosova'da Türkler Türkçe kimlik istiyor

Turkish-American TV: Content / Video / Turkish-American Hour ...

Hedo Okur Tuncay Nihat Altintop

How the command economy killed the Ottomans

Mehmetçik siperden vuracak

H3

Meral yok, Garih'i öldürdüm diyeceksin

KABA İNŞAATTA 211 SEÇMEN

CHP ve MHP Danıştay’a gidecek

Devlet adına Alevilerden özür

İşimize geleni över gelmeyeni döveriz

Araştırmaya tepkiler dinmiyor

Taktik Kanadoğlu'ndan gol Baykal'dan !

Dava açın iptal edilsin

Son iddia: Savcılar Güney’le görüşüyor

CHP'den Eryılmaz'a dava

Yamyamlar Eryılmaz'ı yedi

Tuncay Güney'in 10 ismi

Yenerer'in avukatı: Tuncay Güney'le her gün konuşuyorum

Orgeneral Başbuğ'dan deprem uyarısı

Son Dakika Milliyet Hürriyet Zaman GH Türkiye

Birinci Sayfalar Akşam Birgün Bugün Cumhuriyet Dünya Hürriyet Milli Gazete Milliyet Posta Radikal Referans Sabah Star Taraf Tercüman Türkiye Vakit Vatan Yeni Şafak Zaman Arşiv

Video NTV CNNTürk Milliyet

Cengiz ÇandarAKP, Ermeni konusunda kendine ters düştü…

Ahmet TaşgetirenPaşalar arası mahalle baskısı

Ruşen - Çakır

Taha Akyol İki tarafı da anlamalıyız

Fikret Bila PKK silah bırakır mı?

Hasan Cemal

Murat YetkinKürt meselesinde sıcak gelişmeler

İsmet BerkanMahalle baskısını yeniden hatırlayalım

Fehmi KoruRaporun söylemediği

Taha KıvançHangi kan daha değerli?

Şamil Tayyar Antepli Ermeni’nin gözyaşı

Ali BayramoğluZihniyet, devlet ve karanlık…

Yasemin Çongar

Ertuğrul Özkök Orhan Pamuk niye imzalamadı

İsmail Küçükkaya
SAKİN GÜÇ

Mustafa Akyol ‘Şehirli’ Türklerin ‘köylü’ zihniyeti

Burak Bekdil How Turkish are the Turks?

Hasan Ünal Cumhurbaşkanı Gül yanılıyor

Ahmet HakanGözünüz doysun

M Ali BirandAKP, Ermeni konusunda kendine ters düştü…

Cüneyt Ülseverİşine gelmeyen araştırmaya tükürenler ülkesi

Enis Berberoğlu

Oktay Ekşi

Ece Temelkuran ‘Cemaat’ ile patron el ele, sendikalı işçiler ölüme!

Yalçın Bayer CHP, ’değişim’ini hangi kadrolarla yapacak

Özdemir İnce Hey gidi TRT

Yalçın Doğan Kutuplaşma parayı da vurdu

Mehmet Y Yılmaz

MUHARREM SARIKAYAYSK'nın kararı...

ERDAL ŞAFAK

ENGİN ARDIÇ

ERGUN BABAHANKürt raporu

EMRE AKÖZObama 1915'i tanırsa devlet nasıl direnecek?

Umur Talu

Mustafa Ünal CHP, Arıtman'ı susturmalı

Ali Bulaç Özür dilemek!

Komutan seçmek

MEHMET ALİ KIŞLALI

Özür dileme meselesi

AVNİ ÖZGÜREL

HASAN BÜLENT KAHRAMANSiyasetin yoksulluk damgası

NAZLI ILICAKAdnan Menderes mi?

MEHMET BARLAS "Demokratik Sosyalist" değil "Nasyonal Sosyalist" olmak tercihi...

MAHMUT ÖVÜR

YAVUZ DONATBir hadise var

Serdar Akinan
“Kara”ya “Ak” demek

Ekonomi

Ege Cansen Kriz, krizin kurdudur

ABDURRAHMAN YILDIRIM

Ercan Kumcu

Erdal Sağlam

İBRAHİM KAHVECİ

Piyasaları 2009'da neler bekliyor?

Hurşit Güneş Ne ekimmiş!

Eser Karakaş Cari açığı çok özleyeceğiz

Şener: Kalkınma Ajansı’nın ruhu bu değil

Deniz Gökçe
Merkez’i anlayın lütfen!

Bunalım dersleri

MUSTAFA AYSAN

Krizde esnek istihdam politikaları

METİN ERCAN

Canlılık için karine aranıyor!

UĞUR GÜRSES

Foreign direct investment declines

H4 New York Times THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Time to Reboot America We don’t just need a bailout in this country, we need a national makeover. That is why the next few months are among the most important in U.S. history.

Editorial Shifting Troop Targets Barack Obama should stick to his campaign pledge to pull combat troops out of Iraq in 16 months.

U.S. and Afghans Plan to Recruit Local Militias American commanders and Afghan leaders hope to imitate Iraq’s successful experiment, but there are fears it could push the country into a deeper bloodletting.

Jordanian Students Rebel, Embracing Conservative Islam Across the Middle East, young people are using religion to defy the status quo and challenge their governments

China Signals More Interest in Building Aircraft Carrier

Iraqi Parliament Speaker Resigns

Pakistan Says Banned Group Helped Plan Attack on Hotel

In West Bank, Glimmers of an Economic Revival

Kremlin Rules: Russia’s Liberal Opposition Loses Its Voice

3 Bomb Suspects in Kashmir Are Pakistanis, Police Say

Indexed Trove of Kissinger Phone Transcripts Is Completed

In Madoff Scandal, Jews Feel an Acute Betrayal

Obama Report Outlines Talks on Senate Seat

How to Get the Money Moving

By BRUCE BARTLETT

To restore the economy to health will require new policies that increase aggregate spending.

H5 Washington Post A New Partner In Syria? By David Ignatius, Bashar al-Assad seems to be looking for a new start with a new American president.

Moscow, Kiev Head Toward Gas Impasse Russia Threatens to Halt Sales to Ukraine Over Debt, Jeopardizing Flow to Europe

Iraqi Parliament Backs Security Accord Covering British, Other Non-U.S. Troops

Divisive Parliament Speaker Quits Post

India's Prime Minister Plays Down Possibility of War With Pakistan

Singh Plays Down That Possibility as Domestic Pressure Mounts and Pakistan Scrambles Jets

The Best Minds of Kissinger's Generation, Starving Hysterical Naked

Loop Fan alert! Some of the following material may be shocking. We'll warn you at the appropriate point.

For Stimulus Plan, Obama Team Weighing 'Green' Jobs vs. Traditional Projects

A Bold Stimulus Package -- $1 Trillion Bold -- Is Needed By Jon S. Corzine,

America needs to tap its abundant resources and ambitious spirit.

U.S. Public Diplomacy With Twitter

By Colleen P. Graffy, The State Department endeavors to become fluent in Twitter

Russia Seeks to Thwart United Nations Panel That Investigated Corruption

Obama Report Finds Nothing Improper in Staff's Contact With Blagojevich

Editorial Editorial -- Lawyer Finds No Impropriety in Obama's dealings with Blagojevich

Living Small in a Howling Recession

By David Holahan, Page A11

When frugality came roaring back into style this year, I was ready.

Jewish Charities Scramble to Cover Losses to Trader

H6 Guardian Bush and cronies must face reckoning Jonathan Freedland: If this US administration isn't held to account, what does that say about us?

 Russia to raise nuclear missile output fourfold Senior government official in Moscow says military will commission 70 strategic missiles over next three years

Obama staff 'had no corrupt contact'

Report unlikely to lay to rest Rod Blagojevich scandal that has overshadowed presidential transition

Pope sparks row with speech seen as attack on homosexuality

Preservation of man is no less important than tropical rainforests, says pontiff

H7 Oil below $38 per barrel on weak economic reports...

Al Awsat Will Syria Do it? : Tariq Alhomayed

Blood and Oil

Daily StarThe Status of Forces Agreement happens to be good for Iraq By Mohammad K. Shiyyab

Arabs are looking for deeds, not words By Rami G. Khouri

Our Mideastern future: a pair of shoes and a gun By Michael Young

Ahmadinejad's Reelection Rival Ahmadinejad faces a tough reelection campaign. Presidential rivals are already emerging, with Tehran mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf a top contender. Ghalibaf has fashioned himself the “candidate of gradual change” and favors closer ties with the West. A weak economy is providing an opening to attack Ahmadinejad, and Ghalibaf is considered a potential consensus candidate that conservatives and reformers can both support

Slowly does it with Iraq withdrawal
The security pact between Washington and Baghdad allowing the United States to maintain a military presence in Iraq for another three years looks good on paper. The reality is that it could be 10 years before the troops are finally out.

Jordan: Al-Qaeda clouds a precarious future
With the anti-jihadi bulwark of Saddam Hussein's Iraq removed, Jordan has become a stopover for would-be mujahideen unable to get into Iraq, and for veteran fighters angry that they had to leave. The government's heavy hand with hundreds of thousands of refugees has reinforced negative assessments of Jordan as "the West's favorite ally". Osama bin Laden surely sees Jordan as a target for destabilization. - Michael Scheuer

The Arab Sole - Tunku Varadarajan
A vast swath of people, from Morocco to Iraq, have found cultural and tribal, even civilizational, catharsis in a 20-second display of theater comprising the hurling of shoes at George W. Bush at a press conference in Baghdad. Yet only a people who live under the boots of their rulers celebrate the throwing of a shoe at a guest.

Dennis Ross Whither the Middle East?

Somalia: To Move Beyond the Failed State International Crisis Group

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

Iraqi MPs back foreign troop deal

Iraqi MPs authorise the government to sign agreements allowing British and other non-US troops to stay on after 2008.

Experts Advise Obama on Iraq Strategy - United Press International

Iranian Resistance Group Criticizes Iraq’s Efforts to Expel It

Iranian reform groups urge action in Iraq

Iraq Reverses Position on Fate of Iranian Rebel Group, Vows Humane Treatment

Baghdad's Silent Movie Theaters Reflect Cultural Darkness in Iraq

H9 Ha’aretz – ANALYSIS / Hamas is playing the brinkmanship game in Gaza Hamas gives the impression it is not interested in deterioration, but still has to seem ready to go all out

U.S. tells Israel: Don't forsake Lebanon for peace with Syria U.S. objects to comments by Israeli officials reportedly calling to renew Syrian control over Lebanon

Paving the way Olmert's efforts to advance peace talks with Syria are praiseworthy - even if they are unlikely to lead to a diplomatic agreement

ANALYSIS / The sanctions on Iran are not working Only point of light on Iran issue is drop in oil prices and global financial crisis, say Israeli officials

Arab League chief urges member states to talk to Iran Tehran and foreign powers mustn't set Mideast fate' says Amr Moussa, first Arab leader to urge talks

Mubarak extends rare invite to Livni for talks on Gaza violence

The right of return mythThere are those who are saying that the Beirut Declaration adopts the Palestinian reading of Resolution 194. This claim is untenable

Jerusalem PostExperts: Assad signaling desire to talk

Syrian leader sending message that he's game for negotiations after elections, Syrian specialist says

No strategy, no change

Israel's blockade has inflicted suffering without any political benefit.

Yedioth Ahronoth

Daily Alert.org – Hebrew Press Editorials (2008) - Middle East Progress - EJC Israeli Press Review – Google News Israel - Palestine

Daily Star Palestine's own 'leaders' aren't doing its people any good

Strategic Studies Institute HAMAS and Israel: Conflicting Strategies of Group-Based Politics The example of HAMAS challenges much of the current wisdom on “insurgencies” and their containment. Efforts have been made to separate HAMAS from its popular support and network of social and charitable organizations. by Dr. Sherifa D. Zuhur

Hamas Tells Fighters to Hold Fire for 24 Hours

The Gaza Time Bomb BY: Patrick Seale | The Middle East Times

 Ignoring the Plight in Gaza BY: Yousef Munayyer | The Boston Globe The lights are out in Gaza again and few are paying attention. The 1.5 million Palestinians living in the densely populated strip are being collectively punished once more, while Israel attempts to strangle the Hamas government.

The Rebel Prince Who Hijacked Likud - Gershom Gorenberg, TAP

Gaza Must Be Part of Middle East Peace - Oliver Miles, The Independent

Bernard Madoff, bad for the Jews Richard Silverstein: Jewish charities may have felt a special bond with Bernard Madoff. Now they are some of his hardest hit victims

H10 Christian Science Monitor Afghan voter registration marred

Insecurity and charges of fraud could hamper election officials' ability to ensure popular acceptance of next year's presidential poll results.

How we're tying up terrorists' cash Almost all illegal activity relies on access to the financial system. By blocking that, we block them.

Can US spend its way to economic recovery? Conservatives, resisting big government outlays on principle, begin to build the case for other options.

In South Lebanon, UN peacekeepers hunt for goodwill

In addition to monitoring the volatile border region between Israel and Lebanon, the peacekeepers build roads and teach foreign languages to local

India's media blasted for sensational Mumbai coverage

With tensions running high between India and Pakistan, the press is being urged to quit fanning the flames.

ASIA

Tight security as Kashmir votes

The seventh and final round of voting in state elections in Indian-administered Kashmir begins amidst tight security

Troubles Ahead in the Year of the Ox - The Economist

 Agencies Prep Obama for 'Tourniquet' on Afghanistan The Pentagon and U.S. national security officials are transmitting a battery of new information about the Afghanistan war to President-elect Barack Obama's transition team in hopes that the incoming administration will act quickly to prevent U.S. fortunes there from eroding further.

Nail a North Korea Deal By Going to the Top BY: Tom Plate | The Japan Times

The North Koreans will denuclearize if a former or current U.S. president takes the trouble to travel to Pyongyang to nail down a deal with whoever the North Korean leader is.

Why Pakistan's Military Is Gun Shy - Syed Saleem Shahzad, Asia Times

China's inflation-free route from crisis
China must move away from export dependence to a high-wage, full-employment economy. Credit creation outside of the government's fiscal budget, with the use of work-creation certificates, poses no threat of inflation and offers a route to early achievement of this goal. - Henry C K Liu

Divergence Grows Between China and the West – Part II

Weakest link in US-China ties endures
Although relations between China and the United States have improved dramatically, with the two sides regularly meeting to discuss political and economic issues, a glaring weak spot remains - military ties. Distrust and suspicion run deep, and from China's perspective, continuing US weapons sales to Taiwan remain the biggest obstacle in bilateral relations. - Zhiqun Zhu

The Return of 'China Heavy' - Jack Perkowski, Far Eastern Economic Review

Why Pakistan's military is gun shy
The Pakistan military has been outmaneuvered by the government over having a group linked to the attack on Mumbai declared a front for a terror organization. But the military remains bitterly opposed to a realistic crackdown on militants, and it has compelling reasons for this that go to the core of the country's survival. - Syed Saleem Shahzad

The Prospect of Democratisation in Afghanistan

Economic and Social Rights Report in Afghanistan-III Direct to Full Text Report (70 pages; PDF)

 Losing Lhasa BY: Joshua Kurlantzick | The New Republic In reality, Tibet is threatened not as much by Chinese repression--though that surely exists -- but by a more insidious danger: Chinese co-option.

H11 IHT The allies lay down a marker Georgia and Ukraine cannot gain entry into NATO until Germany and the other European allies are sure their relations with Russia will not suffer.

Russian opposition loses its voice under Putin's umbrella Tired of being vilified in the state-controlled news media, of being hounded by the state security forces, of being arrested at demonstrations, one opposition leader took a Kremlin job.

EUROPE European press review

Jean-Pierre Jouyet on The European Union and the United States

Brazil and France sign arms deal

Brazil signs a $12bn deal with France to buy 50 helicopters and five submarines, in a move aimed at helping Brazil's arms industry

Albania's 'Patriotic Highway' Scandal

H12 RFE/RL Russian Probe Accuses Georgia of Genocide in Conflict

Russia to raise nuclear missile output fourfold; More tanks, ships and planes...

Putin says 'cheap gas era' ending

Russia's Vladimir Putin warns that the era of inexpensive natural gas is coming to an end, in a keynote speech to gas-exporting nations.

Russia: A Second-Strike Capability Failure Russia's Bulava (SS-NX-30) submarine-launched ballistic missile failed in a test launch Dec. 23 -- the fifth such failure in eight trial launches from submerged submarines

Conflicting Reports on Iran-Russia Missile Deal

Central Asia's Energy Chessboard BY: John Daly | World Politics Review In the new geostrategic "Great Game" between Russia and the West over the future of Caspian and Central Asian energy resources, the prize resembles a set of traditional matreshka Russian dolls

Google News Azerbaijan

Provoke the Bear at Your Own Peril - Muammar Gaddafi, Washington Times

Putin's Biggest New Years Wish - Vladimir Ryzhkov, Moscow Times

H13 The Times A Wealth of Goodness The downturn has laid bare the excesses of materialism, but poverty, not prosperity, is the true enemy of tolerance

Baghdad agrees to extend non-US troop presence Parliamentary vote will come as relief to UK commanders, who may have been forced to pull troops out early

Pakistan says al-Qaeda group behind Marriot bombing Part played by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in attack on Marriot hotel in September shows terrorists 'acting with impunity' in the country

Capitalism's crunch time? I think not The Left sees itself as vindicated by the crisis. But it was caused by too much government, not too little Daniel Finkelstein

Faith, Science and Nature The Pope is right to note sexual difference, but wrong to condemn homosexuality

Wall Street Journal Martin Feldstein: Defense Spending Would Be Great Stimulus

Holman W. Jenkins Jr.: Get Ready for a Lost Decade

 How Bush Can Transcend the Shoe Thrower

By Mark Bowden
A small outrage requires a grand gesture.

 In Hoc Anno Domini

When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage.

Madoff Scheme
Takes New Toll

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A sharper picture is emerging about the investigation into the alleged fraud by Madoff, how it evolved to ensnare bigger clients and how long it went on.

Nouriel Roubini's Profile in the Latest Newsweek

Today in The Nation: Redoing Globalization

From Big Think, Paul Krugman on the return of depression economics (and a review).

H14 Financial Times Person of the Year: Barack Obama The smart president-elect has revived confidence in American democracy, but the challenges he faces mean he will have to endure being disliked

Keynes offers us the best way to think about the financial crisis

Martin Wolf on lessons to be learnt from the father of macroeconomics

Goodbye and good riddance to all that When even the highest in the financial land had to seek assistance from the great mass of ordinary taxpayers, a humbler approach from all of us must be in order

Gopec Exporters meet to create ‘gas Opec’ Energy ministers from 12 of the world’s leading exporters of natural gas met in Moscow to create a group consumers fear could develop into an Opec-style cartel

Fears of gas cartel rise after exporters meet

Opec calls for Russia output cut as oil dips The cartel has demanded Russia, the world’s largest oil producer outside Opec, deliver on its promise to reduce output to support the energy market as prices dropped further below $40 a barrel

Iraqi MPs approve troop stay deal

Parliament in Baghdad has backed a security agreement that would allow thousands of British troops and a few hundred soldiers from a handful of other countries to stay in Iraq until next summer

Report reaffirms Obama’s office in the clear

5,000 march in Kiev against job cuts

Ukraine unemployment expected to reach 1 million

Obama could consider a rise in petrol and carbon taxes

French investor in Madoff found dead Money manager had placed $1.4bn

H15 Los Angeles Times India signals it will not act alone against Pakistani extremists Prime Minister Manmohan Singh says he will instead rely on international pressure to achieve action against the group believed to have carried out the terrorist attacks in Mumbai

In Iraq, transfer-of-power committees have yet to take shape Most of the panels charged with overseeing the transition of security from U.S. to Iraqi control still need to appoint members, U.S. Army Gen. Ray Odierno says

Follow the money By Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson The Obama administration should continue to track how terrorists get their money.

The 'ought' decade

Jonah Goldberg What did it all mean, if anything?

Iraq OKs security deal allowing British troops to stay The move comes after parliament speaker Mahmoud Mashadani resigns under pressure. The pact calls for British troops to withdraw by July 31, which fits with plans announced by Prime Minister Brown

Saudi Arabia to invest billions in public works

By Borzou Daragahi and Raed Rafei

Falling oil prices and the global economic downturn have the country facing a budget deficit. Like Obama, the government plans to sharply increase spending on infrastructure projects

No improper talks with Blagojevich, Obama internal report finds The review concludes that Rahm Emanuel had multiple conversations with the Illinois governor but that no deals were exchanged. • Complete report (PDF)

Russians protest plan to raise taxes on imported cars

By Megan K. Stack

The tax hike pits the nation's ailing auto industry against working people, many of whom depend on the import of foreign cars for transportation and jobs

Editorial

H16 American Politics

Obama, Two Aides
Questioned in Probe

Exclusive: Cheney's admissions to the CIA leak prosecutor and FBI

So Far, Obama Elusive Target for GOP - Adam Nagourney, New York Times

PRESIDENT-ELECT INTERVIEWED BY PROSECUTORS

realclearpolitics memeorandum

Daily Beast Cheat Sheet

Politico ABC’s The Note – MSNBC FirstRead – Time ThePage Politico Playbook

PoliticsHome fivethirtyeight US News Political Bulletin

Obama Team Releases Report on Contacts with Blagojevich

Complete Report: Obama Transition Staff Contacts with Illinois Governor Blagojevich Direct to Full Text, Complete Memo (5 pages; PDF)

John O'Sullivan / Wall Street Journal: Conservative Snobs Are Wrong About Palin

MSNBC's Chris Matthews Wins 'Quote of the Year'...

2009: A look at what's ahead

Many news organizations close the year by reviewing major events, but other than Obama's victory most news in '08 was too depressing to recap. Here, instead, is a precap of 2009. (By Peter Funt, Boston Globe)

H17 Daily Telegraph 'Era of cheap gas is ending' Vladimir Putin warns consumers at a meeting of gas exporting countries.

Telegraph View: Barack Obama's challenge Foreign policy might attract attention here but it will be Obama's handling of the economy that will define his presidency.

Worst for the economy is yet to come

It seems likely that this recession could continue all the way into 2010, says Edmund Conway.

Britain is well placed - if sense prevails Irwin Stelzer outlines the policies that can right the ship of state when the storm abates.

H18 Independent Hamish McRae: Recession at least clarifies choices

H19 Military Intelligence Terrorism

Terrorism Shouldn’t be Confused with Insurgency

Counterterrorism -The British Approach

The Military We Need - Weekly Standard opinion

Martin Feldstein: Defense Spending Would Be Great Stimulus

Bill Gertz / Washington Times:

EXCLUSIVE: Obama wants Bush war team to stay — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is asking many of the Bush administration's 250 Pentagon political appointees to remain on the job until the incoming Obama administration finds replacements — a move designed to prevent a leadership vacuum

How Big an Army Does America Need? - Michael Cohen, Democracy Arsenal

 Follow the Money BY: Matthew Levitt and Michael Jacobson | Los Angeles Times Although mounting a terrorist attack is relatively inexpensive, the cost of maintaining a terrorist infrastructure is high. Terrorist networks need cash to train, equip and pay operatives and their families and to promote their causes.

 Rebuilding Civilian Capacity: It's All About the Hill BY: Vikram Singh and Lindsey Ford | World Politics Review

When Hillary Clinton arrives at Foggy Bottom, she will inherit a State Department that has been slowly dismantled, disenfranchised, and demoralized for two decades.

The COIN Graduate Seminar (Full PDF Article)

Mexico's Narco-Insurgency BY: Hal Brands | World Politics Review

Analysis: U.S. needs for language critical (UPI) -- Unless America pumps up foreign language education, both the nation's global competitiveness and national security could be at risk. Part 1of 2.

H20 Slate We Finally Have a Strategy for Afghanistan Unfortunately, that may not be enough. Fred Kaplan

Obama's White House, Clinton's Team An interactive chart of administration loyalties, now with the full roster of major appointees. Chris Wilson

Prices - International Comparisons: Economic indicators page (1 page; PDF)

H21 Abd al-Rahman’s Muslim Iberia was much advanced over Western Christendom in 800. If Charles Martel had lost at Poitiers, the world would be better off... more»

Download & Save Google Book as PDF with Google Book Downloader

Europeana, EU’s answer to Google Book Search is back online ...

The Decline and Fall of the Newspaper

This blog as you know it will cease to exist on January the 5th

Joshua Cohen & Daniel Drezner: Special 100% Original Edition

The economic downturn has been hard for many people, but hard for economists in a special way. There are the smart guys who were supposed to know... more»

“I have great admiration for the American people,” says Chinese banker Gao Xiqing. “But you need someone to tell you the truth”... more»

After Slow Start, E-Books Turn Page and Find Fans Thanks in part to the popularity of Amazon.com’s wireless Kindle device, the e-book has started to take hold.

Literary prize-fighting. The sniping, the joke awards, the populist panels: Tom Chatfield looks at the tired landscape of literary prizes... more»

Giordano Bruno was a martyr, but to what? He was both too late and too early to paint a universe in which man was not the center of a cozy domain... more»

Awful modernist art can be easily ignored. But disagreeable architecture – concrete façades on a human-repelling scale – is much harder to avoid... more»

Google versus the news

Is Plato’s cave allegory about ascent of the soul? The true perception of the forms? Proper education? Maybe it’s about travel... more»

Lord Keynes was an Aristotelian, who believed that vices are virtues carried to excess. This is a good economic philosophy for us today, says Robert Skidelsky... more»

Cheap hotels await China's new sightseers, budget travelers

Low-cost lodging is spreading - despite the bad economy - as China's new middle class embraces the open road and business travelers look for bargains.

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