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Military, Territorial Dispute June 19, 2013

Philippines deploys marines to disputed shoal in strategic sea

The new contingent of Filipino marines replaced troops at the Second Thomas Shoal, where the arrival last month of Chinese ships sparked diplomatic protests from the Philippines.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said that the shoal lies within the Philippines’ internationally recognized 200-nautical mile (370-kilometer) exclusive economic zone. China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its own and last year took control of another shoal in the Philippines’ economic zone, prompting Manila to seek U.N. arbitration.

Analysis, GeoPolitics, Resources June 19, 2013

The oil chief’s new clothes: Behind the grand strategy

The brains of oil company bosses appear to work in different ways to the mere mortals that stalk the Palace of Westminster. These titans of grand strategy, outlining their plans at the World National Oil Companies Congress in central London, look like they have one thing in common: they take the long view. They do not operate on the five-year electoral cycles of ministers and MPs. It takes a whole decade for a new oil or gas field to become operational. Even civil wars or regime change are no obstacles to success.

Conflict, Crisis, Paramilitary June 19, 2013

Spectre of a Hezbollah coup hangs over Lebanon

As Lebanese Army officers gather the intelligence that may anticipate a Hezbollah coup attempt, ostensibly to protect “the resistance and its weapons inside Lebanon,” the possibility that an army coup d’état cannot be ruled out, even if the likelihood of such a development was remote. There were two reasons for such reservations: First, because Hezbollah is now mired in Syria and unlikely to open a second front. And second, because army officers believed in and accepted the separation of powers.

Economy, Risks June 19, 2013

In Poland, An Urban Survival Course For Living Without A Penny

The St. Brother Albert Homeless Shelter in this city in central Poland needs 60,000 zloty ($20,000) for renovation. To raise the funds, the shelter’s residents are offering “urban survival” workshops to teach people how to survive in the city without a penny.

Jerzy Czapla, the director of the homeless shelter, says he hopes managers and businessmen will sign up for the workshop. The price of the workshop is: “Pay what you want.”

Conflict, Sectarian Violence June 19, 2013

Islam at war – with itself

From Aleppo in Syria to Quetta in Balochistan, Muslims are engaged in the slaughter of other Muslims. The numbers are enormous: over 93,000 killed in the Syrian civil war and over 48,000 dead in Pakistan. Millions have perished in similar intra-Muslim conflicts in the past four decades. Many wonder if the belief in Islam was sufficient to bind Muslims in peace with each other. As the violence amongst Muslims increases, most Muslims prefer denial or look for scapegoats.

Bioethics, Public Relations June 18, 2013

Pest Control: Syngenta’s Secret Campaign to Discredit Atrazine’s Critics

To protect profits threatened by a lawsuit over its controversial herbicide atrazine, Syngenta Crop Protection launched an aggressive multi-million dollar campaign that included hiring a detective agency to investigate scientists on a federal advisory panel, looking into the personal life of a judge and commissioning a psychological profile of a leading scientist critical of atrazine.Recently unsealed court documents reveal a corporate strategy to discredit critics and to strip plaintiffs from the class-action case.

Paramilitary, Resources June 18, 2013

Russia’s corporate armies may be on the way back

Russia’s lower house, the State Duma, has passed in the first reading a bill that allows state energy corporations Gazprom and Transneft to maintain extensive armed security forces. This reflects a steady rollback of previous efforts to cut down on the proliferation of private security forces in Russia but may also reflect an interest in moving into the global private military services industry. The energy sector, it should be noted, has traditionally had greater leeway, reflecting both its power within the political system and also its need to secure facilities and pipelines which are often remote and sometimes in volatile regions.

Crisis, Protest June 18, 2013

Huge crowds flood Brazil streets in protests venting anger over poor government services

Some of the biggest demonstrations since the end of Brazil’s 1964-85 dictatorship broke out across this continent-sized country, with more expected Tuesday, protests uniting multitudes frustrated by poor transportation, health services, education and security despite a heavy tax burden. Mostly peaceful protests in at least eight big cities drew large crowds, and local news media estimated that at least 240,000 people took part in the demonstrations nationwide.

Analysis, Economy, GeoPolitics June 18, 2013

Asia-GCC relations: Growing interdependence

The emergence of China and India as global powers may become inevitable and may have significant implications for the Gulf region and beyond. The U.S. National Intelligence Council in its latest report ‘Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds,’ describes a world that will be radically transformed from what we know today. In a tectonic shift, by 2030, the reports says ‘Asia will have surpassed North America and Europe combined in terms of global power, based upon GDP, population size, military spending, and technological investment.’

GeoPolitics, Resources June 18, 2013

Mongolia Taps North Korea Oil Potential to Ease Russian/China Grip

A Mongolian company has tapped one of the world’s most closed markets by taking a stake in a North Korean oil refinery, to help Asia’s fastest growing economy ease its energy reliance on Russia and China.

HBOil JSC, an oil trading and refining company based in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, said it acquired 20 percent of the state-run entity operating North Korea’s Sungri refinery, according to an e-mailed statement yesterday. It intends to supply crude to Sungri, which won’t be fully operational for up to a year, and export the refined products to Mongolia.

Bioethics, Sci/Tech June 18, 2013

The Singularity Is Near: Mind Uploading by 2045?

By 2045, humans will achieve digital immortality by uploading their minds to computers — or at least that’s what some futurists believe. This notion formed the basis for the Global Futures 2045 International Congress, a futuristic conference held here June 14-15.

The conference, which is the brainchild of Russian multimillionaire Dmitry Itskov, fell somewhere between hardcore science and science fiction. It featured a diverse cast of speakers, from scientific luminaries like Ray Kurzweil, Peter Diamandis and Marvin Minsky, to Swamis and other spiritual leaders.

Military, Sci/Tech June 18, 2013

Call of Duty: DARPA developing digital airstrikes

The popular image of modern warfare is the digital battlefield where cyber soldiers have Terminator-like video displays and can call in an airstrike with the shine of a laser beam. While information technologies are revolutionizing the military, when it comes to calling in Close Air Support (CAS), it’s still World War One – where a misread or misheard grid reference can end up with soldiers being hit by their own artillery. DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) program hopes to improve this.

Analysis, GeoPolitics, Military Buildup, Think Tanks June 17, 2013

Persian Gulf states ‘unable to protect themselves’ despite military buildups

Despite massive spending on Western weapons, the Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf are “unable to secure themselves from any external threat” — meaning Iran — and are running up huge public and foreign debt, a Gulf think tank says.

The GCC states — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman — have spent hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons and military equipment from the United States and Europe over the last three decades.

Bioethics, HumInt, Sci/Tech June 17, 2013

App Will Let Health Insurer Track Customer Behavior

A smartphone app that launches this week gives the health insurance company Aetna access to detailed user health-tracking data. As costs spiral upward, health-care companies could turn to such apps as a way to monitor customers and encourage healthy behavior.

At MIT Technology Review’s Mobile Summit in San Francisco last week, Martha Wofford, consumer platform vice president at Aetna, said the company would launch an app called CarePass to serve as a portal for an individual’s health-related activity and, if he allows it, his medical records, too.

Land Grab, Military, News June 17, 2013

Indian defence ministry grabbing 400 acres of land in Kashmir

In occupied Kashmir, in a bid to consolidate New Delhi’s military occupation over occupied Kashmir, Indian Defence Ministry is acquiring 3800 Kanals land in Budgam district permanently to extend its airbase near Srinagar Airport.

The land had already been in use by the Indian Air Force for its airbase and Srinagar Airport in district Budgam. “Some portion of land is also used by Army,” the report said.

GeoPolitics, Integration, Military June 17, 2013

Eurogendfor: the new EU police force of limitless power

Among the many projects of international cooperation which Italy is currently involved seems it is appropriate to dwell on what Eurogendfor, or the European Gendarmerie Force. The main feature of this armed force is definitely its large flexible so that it can intervene quickly in any high intensity conflict is under any military command is under the control of civilians, acting jointly with other divisions or in a totally autonomous. It may also intervene at any time of the conflict in the initial phase it will have the task to stabilize or restore the order.

Crisis, Economy June 16, 2013

Fitch says China credit bubble unprecedented in modern world history

The agency said the scale of credit was so extreme that the country would find it very hard to grow its way out of the excesses as in past episodes, implying tougher times ahead.

“The credit-driven growth model is clearly falling apart. This could feed into a massive over-capacity problem, and potentially into a Japanese-style deflation,” said Charlene Chu, the agency’s senior director in Beijing. “There is no transparency in the shadow banking system, and systemic risk is rising.

GeoPolitics, Human Rights, Systemic Abuse June 16, 2013

In China, When Police Brutality Is So Common An Off-Duty Officer Gets A Taste

It would seem that police brutality is not just for ordinary – powerless – citizens in China. A policewoman from central China’s Henan Province was recently arrested when visiting her daughter in the provincial capital Zhengzhou. Mistakenly accused of being sex workers, the woman and her daughter were beaten, tortured and detained for hours by local police. After media reports led to public outcry, the policemen who were responsible for arrest were suspended from active duty.

GeoPolitics, Intelligentsia, Paranoia, Policy June 16, 2013

Canada’s Cloak of Eternal Secrecy: gov’t wants secrets kept under wraps forever!

The Harper government wants to pull the cloak of eternal secrecy over past and present employees of nine federal agencies and those who used to toil at two now-defunct branches. They would join the more than 12,000 current and former federal intelligence officials already covered by Security of Information Act provisions forcing them to take the secrets of their most closely held work to the grave. A group that advocates a more open and accountable federal government called the blanket proposal “dangerously undemocratic.”

Military, News June 16, 2013

N.Korea Brings Out Submersible Attack Boats

The semi-submersibles are often seen docking at a forward base in waters near the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea, a government source in Seoul said. South Korea and the U.S. are keeping close track of their movements.

The semi-submersibles are normally deployed at a submarine base dozens of kilometers from the NLL. They are about 10 m long and used to carry commandos into enemy territory and can run above the surface of the water at a speed of 70 km/h but submerge 10 to 20 m if necessary. They can slip under the radar even if they run above the water and are equipped with light torpedoes.

Conflict, Development, GeoPolitics June 16, 2013

Morsi cuts Egypt’s Syria ties, backs no-fly zone

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi said he had cut all diplomatic ties with Damascus on Saturday and called for a no-fly zone over Syria, pitching the most populous Arab state firmly against President Bashar al-Assad.

Addressing a rally called by Sunni Muslim clerics in Cairo, the Sunni Islamist head of state said: “We decided today to entirely break off relations with Syria and with the current Syrian regime.” He also warned Assad’s allies in the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shi’ite militia Hezbollah to pull back from fighting in Syria.

GeoPolitics, Military June 15, 2013

China Set To Grab UAV Market While US Restricts Sales

Psst. Hey mister. Wanna buy a UAV? China’s got drones for shooting, drones for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and drones for target practice. Cheap prices and no arms export restrictions.“Surging domestic and international market demand for UAVs, from both military and civilian customers, will continue to buoy growth of the Chinese industry. Chinese defense firms do not face the same export restrictions as top UAV-exporting countries, such as the United States and Israel. As a result, China could become a key UAV proliferator, particularly to developing countries.”

Crisis, GeoPolitics, Protest June 15, 2013

Egyptian military to secure streets, vital installations ahead of protests: state paper

Egypt’s military will not allow violence during protests against President Mohamed Mursi that his opponents have planned for June 30, the first anniversary of the leader’s election, a state newspaper said yesterday.

“Security forces from the armed forces and the military police will deploy on all main roads” on June 28 “to secure vital installations and public facilities”, Al Gomhuria said, quoting a military source. “The armed forces will not allow any confrontations that could lead to violence or drive the country into a spiral of blood during the June 30 protests,” it said.

News, Paramilitary June 15, 2013

Iranian Dissident Camp Comes Under Mortar Fire In Iraq

A mortar attack on an Iranian dissident camp killed three people in Baghdad on Saturday, police sources said, and the Mujahidin-e-Khalq (MEK) group said Iran was probably to blame, with Iraqi complicity.

MEK said two of the camp’s residents were killed and 40 wounded in the attack. An Iraqi died when a stray mortar round hit a residential complex for Baghdad airport employees nearby. A similar attack on the camp in February killed at least five members of the MEK, which was removed from the U.S. State Department’s list of terrorist organisations last year.

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"Praemonitus Praemunitus"