What's at stake in Copenhagen?

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Friendly fire 07/12/09

- The risks of citizen and amateur journalists in war areas.- Airbus A400M to take off. Finally.- India concerned over China, Pakistan military "nexus".- Israel's pro-settlement soldiers worry leaders.- So, where the hell is bin Laden?Did you like it? Share it...

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Ahead of Copenhagen summit...

Some really useful data and graphics on carbon emissions by country since the 80's. Data published by the Guardian Data Blog.Did you like it? Share it...

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Copenhagen challenges

The Danish capital will host from today and for two weeks a UN summit to tackle some action on carbon emissions. A total of 192 countries will attend a meeting that rises as much hope and expectations as doubts and questions.With Kyoto protocol formally dead for everyone -some because consider it too few; some because never even started working on it- Copenhagen looks like the perfect opportunity to encourage a new green deal worldwide. But the meeting comes just after a conference in Barcelona that didn’t resolve anything. To that we need to add the questions rose following the leak of several email correspondence between some investigators...

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Iraqi shoe-thrower finds his match

I assume you remember the Iraqi journalist that threw a pair of shoes at George W. Bush last year, starting a new way of protest (old for the Arab world) worldwide. Well, he had a taste of his own medicine last Tuesday when he nearly got beaned by a shoe thrower at a news conference in Paris.The identity of the new shoe-thrower -and his motivation- weren't immediately clear, but he appeared to be an Iraqi. It was not known if the intruder was a journalist or just pretended to be one to attend the news conference at a center for foreign reporters.What it's for sure is that Muntadhar al-Zeidi has as good reflexes as Bush, because he too ducked...

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Say "cheeeese"!

This past September, when nearly all the world’s leaders were in New York for a meeting of the United Nations, Platon, a staff photographer for the New Yorker, set up a tiny studio off the floor of the General Assembly, and tried to hustle as many of them in front of his lens as possible. The project involved months of work. While immersed on it, some as Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fell on the main rule that rulers have asked their photographers and painters for centuries: “Make me look good”.Results finally are here. I don’t know if Mr. Netanyahu will be pleased with his picture, but there are indeed a few interesting points in...

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Outcasts' land

Three Somalian ministers died and two were severely injured today in an explosion in a hotel in Mogadishu while attending a graduation ceremony. There is no better way to illustrate the degradation of the stability of the UN backed government than that. A government that is only capable of controlling a few packs of the capital, and thanks to the blue berets from the African Union. A few months ago, when David Axe was reporting from Somalia, he saw a huge tank in the gate of one of the Government compounds. Intrigued, Axe asked one of the commanders of the African peacekeepers, captain Paddy Ankunda, what was the T-55 for. “Not for being used”,...

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Better?

A few months ago I talked in this blog about the new impulse for the Palestinian economy in the West Bank, simbolized by Nablus rebirth. I'm not the only one seeing this, but, then, why not more publicity about it?Did you like it? Share it...

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More troops, but still no defined strategy

President Obama announced yesterday he’s determined to “finish the job” in Afghanistan. Cool. Now, just define what means “job” and “finish” and then all that will worth something. Until then, it’s all words but strategy in Afghanistan is, so far, sinking fast. And in the lack of ideas, the White House is going back to the traditional solution: more force.Next Tuesday Obama is expected to unveil -for the first time in prime time- a new boost to the troops on the ground in Afghanistan. The place to announce it will be perfect: West Point military academy. In fact, hours and hours of study and discussions are behind Obama’s decision. The options...

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Definition of "scary"

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Friendly fire 19/10/09

Going green to be greener. Iran to Russia: where are our missiles? NK boosts its special forces.In honor to Jordan: no more 23s. Sarah Palin still on the frontpages. Literally. Did you like it? Share it...

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1983

 Thanks to the blog Checkpoint Jerusalem, this week I discovered the short movie “1983”. The plot goes around what would happen if before getting into a movie you should pass a security check as those from Ben Gurion international airport. When the reporter Dion Nissenbaum asked the director why the title was “1983”, he answered: “What comes after 1983?” The short movie’s action itself, I’m sure it will be familiar to anyone who has gone through one of these random checkpoints.Because, let’s face it, Ben Gurion controls are desperating. I remember the case of an old Russian Jew who left Israel swearing to me he will never come back again via...

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The decade in 7 minutes

From now on, we will start to see lots of videos like this one. A summary of the decade; the ten first years of the 21st century... All will be more or less the same. Here is the first one, made by Newsweek:Did you like it? Share it...

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Report: Situation in Lebanon getting worse

Hezbollah could be rearming for a future conflict with Israel, according to The Observer and Haaretz. The news came in just after Israel seized a cargo ship loaded with rockets and missiles, supposedly for the Shiite Lebanese militia.“Of course we are rearming”, said in condition of anonymity a Hezbollah official to the Londoner newspaper. “We have more rockets and missiles than [we had] in 2006”, he adds. According to this same source, the Lebanese guerrilla would be expecting an attack from the south soon, if not this winter in the spring, when the ground would be hard enough to maintain the weight of the Israeli tanks. And facts are that indeed,...

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Extra: IAEA documents on Iran

You can find here the documents the IAEA will release soon on Iranian new Qom nuclear site.Did you like it? Share it...

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Down with the wall!

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall in Berlin. The end of the “Mauer” was also the end of an era and reshaped not only Berlin and Germany but all Europe. Today as well in Palestine, around 300 demonstrators gathered in the town of Ni’lin to protest against a present wall, the one built in the West Bank by Israel allegedly to protect themselves against terrorist attacks. The demonstrators managed to topple one of the eight meters high concrete portions of the wall. Here is the video.Did you like it? Share it...

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Friendly fire 05/10/09

- Iraq combat deaths near record low.- After a deadly month in Pakistan, Islamabad offers Taliban bounties.- Tehran set to lose status as Iran capital.- An excellent data collection about the piracy around the world: all the attacks by pirates in 2009 (raw data)- Inside the Army’s Far-Out Acid Tests. Dude, that's awesome...Did you like it? Share it...

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And here it goes again...

Once again, a ship loaded of guns seized by Israel is on the frontpage. But this time the Jewish country is not accusing Iran of being the end of the trail, but the beginning. Israeli commandos seized yesterday a freighter off the coast of Ciprus, in international waters. The cargo ship was loaded with small guns and rockets that Israeli authorities say were destined to Hezbollah. Of course, immediately the domino effect invaded the Middle East.Israel accused Hezbollah of being the final destination of the cargo. Hezbollah denied it. Israel accuses Iran of being the ones who sent it -and just in case, accuses too Syria of being the receptors....

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Remember, remember...

...the fifth of November.Never better than today, fifth of November, to comment the polemic surrounding the BNP in the UK right now. The British National Party (BNP), a far-right party whose baselines are many “anti-“ policies (anti-Islamist, anti-homosexual, anti-immigration) had last week its fifteen minutes of glory and a few more in the British public television. The program was watched by over 8 million viewers and critics poured over the BBC soon after the broadcasting.It all started way before the interview to BNP’s leader, Nick Griffin, was aired. Several anti-fascist protesters even breached the security of the BBC trying to cancel the...

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Spain boosts their soldiers’ safety in A’stan

The Spanish MP of Defense, Carme Chacón, presented today the new RG-31 Nyala that will equip Spanish soldiers in Afghanistan. The armored truck arrives late but at least arrives. It’s more than what British soldiers can say. The handling of the first vehicles was delayed for several months while a huge internal debate grew up in the public opinion surrounding the security of the troops the country has deployed in Central Asia.In fact, the RG-31 is an old demand from Spanish officials. The BMR used until now, although heavily modernized, have three decades behind are all but inefficient against the IEDs used by the Taliban. The Nyala (gazelle...

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Obama an the secret warehouse

So this is warehouse shown in Indiana Jones IV where the US keeps the Arc and all those treasures. I guess.Via the White House flickr account.Did you like it? Share it...

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Friendly fire 30/10/09

- Iraq wants to get into the nuclear club. Yeah, that’s right. Not Iran this time, Iraq. - Micheletti and Zelaya achieve an agreement for an exit to Honduras coup.- The EU gets an only strong voice against climate change. Well, sorta.- Israeli envoy to the UN says that the Human Rights council has give its back to the same values it defends. I think it’s something about Goldstone report, but not in the same way as everyone else aknowledges it.- Medvedev opposes to the rehabilitation of uncle Joe. Traitor! He should be executed…Did you like it? Share it...

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The blockade strategy

When the other day the IDF uploaded in its twitter account this unusual tweet it surprised me. The entrance of more than a hundred trucks in a day PLUS fuel is not that common. Then, the office of Lieberman posted it again. In total, three similar posts in less than two days.Taking into account the usual cheapness of the Israelis when letting trucks crossing Erez, sending 300 in less than two days -more than double the usual- awoke something in me. There had to be something going on. That led me into the BBC, who was informing about the permission from Israeli authorities to get 130,000 tones of cement into Gaza. That was even weirdest. Was the...

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Halloween special

Vampires. Those little suckers.See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.Did you like it? Share it...

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Non stop

Last 48 hours chaos reigned again in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the north, an attack on a UN guest house in the centric Sherpur neighbourhood of Kabul ended up with at least 13 casualties, six of them workers of the organization.The incident affected too several near embassies, among them the Spanish embassy, where some bullets got into the staff rooms. This is just another brick on the wall that makes more nervous American allies. Public opinions at home are more and more difficult to please. In the last NATO meeting, European members pledged to hang on there, but any increase of troops was took out of the table. “Guarantees of stability”,...

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Second act in Afghanistan.

In the end, there will be a second round in Afghanistan. First one has been the slowest counting in the world. Two months, to be precise, since last 20th of August the Afghans voted. And yet, we don’t know for sure what will happen next.All the actors playing on the stage performed as it was expected from them in the big day. The UN even was standing besides Hamid Karzai until almost the very end, when they couldn’t cover anymore the fraud. Because it was huge. Almost a quarter of Karzai’s votes were finally declared null, and it looks like if they were still just a few of the total. In the end, this is all makeup. No one wanted a second round....

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21st century air travel

What happens when the Kenya Airways computers go down for several consecutive hours at Entebbe airport in Uganda?You board your flight with this rather ridiculous-looking piece of paper:Via Somewhere in Africa.Did you like it? Share it...

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Really sorry

For the last few days I’ve been unable to update my blog. I am really sorry for that. A badass cold and work at the office –the one who actually pays the bills- kept me busy enough to do anything else. But here I am again.Thanks for stayi...

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Friendly fire 12/10/09

- NK tests five short range missiles and requests everybody to stay outta their Eastern territorial waters until the 20th. - SK presses the gas for the purchase of new jets.- The hardest decision for this year (after Obama's Nobel): Economics Nobel. And the one who messed the less was...- There is no small foe. - About to getting divorced? How sounds a trip to Malaysia?Did you like it? Share it...

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Another weekend in hell

This weekend has been tough for Pakistan. Tougher than usual, I mean. Several attacks resulted in the death of dozens of civilians. Probably the worst one was the suicide car bomber who targeted a market in Alpuri, near the Swat valley. At least 40 people died. The attack reminds us that the Swat valley is far from recovered. In fact, the TTP is still able to hit hard and spread quickly. That’s why some analysts are suggesting that however tempting might sound to overhand the control from American contractors to local ones, it is not a wise move for now.However, as tragic as 40 bodies can be, it’s even more worrying the sensation of insecurity...

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After clash season...

A few months after the clashes in Tehran and Urumqi, first sentences to those detained then are now arisen. And they aren’t good news. In fact, nine people have been sentenced to death in the two countries. The motivation for both clashes was different, but the repression and the punishment don’t vary at all.In the country of the Ayatollahs, at least three people have been sentenced to death. High concerns surround these sentences, especially because is unsure how the testimonies that conducted to them were obtained. Amnesty International and other groups have asked for more transparency in the whole process -with little or no response from Tehran.The...

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Spy Games in Iran

Nothing is easy when Iran gets in the middle of it. If last week we were told that Ahmadinejad was in fact a Jew, now Iran accuses the US and Saudi Arabia of kidnapping one of his most important scientists in his nuclear program. Let me express my doubts about the first -Ahmadinejad a Jew? Sure, like Hitler a gay- and my curiosity for the second issue…Here a video from Al Jazeera on it:Did you like it? Share it...

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Obama superstar

Like if anything else was necessary to elevate Obama to the heavens, now he has been awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. The coronation of his Highness Obama has had more to do with the canonization of a (laic) saint than with the recognition to his achievements. That’s why everybody is asking why. And why now.Because let’s face it. Obama may have promised a new world, but little of that has been unveiled for now. The White House has done small gestures to break with their precedent. It has been, for example, the first time the US has condemned a coup de état made by the right and the army in Latin America. Also, tortures and Guantanamo issues...

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Red rules

A compilation of newspapers' frontpages of the day after the big day in China. Red rules. Via GuerraEterna, via Danwei.Did you like it? Share it...

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