Police Work, Politics and World Affairs, Football and the ongoing search for great Scotch Whiskey!

Thursday, January 30, 2014

What's going on in the World Today 140129

President Merkin Muffley: Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room.

Major T. J. "King" Kong: Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff.

General "Buck" Turgidson: Mr. President, we must not allow a mineshaft gap!

Dr. Strangelove: Sir! I have a plan!
[standing up from his wheelchair]
Dr. Strangelove: Mein Führer! I can walk!

General "Buck" Turgidson: Doctor, you mentioned the ratio of ten women to each man. Now, wouldn't that necessitate the abandonment of the so-called monogamous sexual relationship, I mean, as far as men were concerned?
Dr. Strangelove: Regrettably, yes. But it is, you know, a sacrifice required for the future of the human race. I hasten to add that since each man will be required to do prodigious... service along these lines, the women will have to be selected for their sexual characteristics which will have to be of a highly stimulating nature.
Ambassador de Sadesky: I must confess, you have an astonishingly good idea there, Doctor.

General Jack D. Ripper: Fluoridation is the most monstrously conceived and dangerous communist plot we have ever had to face.

President Merkin Muffley: You mean people could actually stay down there for a hundred years?
Dr. Strangelove: It would not be difficult, Mein Führer. Nuclear reactors could - heh, I'm sorry, Mr. President - nuclear reactors could provide power almost indefinitely.

Can't believe this movie is 50! :<)

HYPERLINKS MAY REQUIRE AN EMAIL:

USA

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

AFRICA

Elections and Investments in Africa in 2014

Cameroon Tries to Stop Spillover Violence

Security Threats on Cameroon's Borders

Egypt: The Military Moves Toward the Presidency

http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com/forecast-2014-africa-4911/

Forecast 2014: Africa

Geopoliticalmonitor.com

Africa is discovering a new spirit of optimism, reminiscent of the first decade of its post-colonial era. Despite inadequate infrastructure and at times even poorer governance, the continent has been attracting more and more interest from American and European investors, as well as Chinese, targeting such countries as Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Tanzania, and Rwanda to name a few. Today, half of the world’s 30 fastest-growing countries are in Africa, which is quickly losing its image of hopelessness and despair. Unfortunately, economic growth, while significant, rarely benefits the impoverished majority, even amid scenes of bustling business taking place from Dakar to Nairobi, and statistics indicating an emerging African middle class of some 150 million – which could quickly rise to 300 million by 2015, barring any ‘black swan’ events. Politically, there is optimism as almost all 55 African countries have some kind of constitution with an active civil society that is contributing to more democratic or pluralistic political engagement. The continent’s two longest lasting internal conflicts (Somalia and Congo) persist; even if at a lower intensity, while two newer ones (Mali, Central African Republic) continue unabated. However, considering that from 1998-2003, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbors left some three million dead, the 2,000 registered ‘military’ deaths recorded in 2013 suggests that 2014 could be one of Africa’s most peaceful in recent history....

ASIA

Migration to Kazakhstan

The Significance of Ukraine's Violent Protests

What Thailand Means for Southeast Asia

Conversation: The Latest on Thailand's Political Crisis

Vietnam: A Delay in Nuclear Power Raises Energy Security Concerns/////

Ukraine's Escalating Violence Creates Difficult Decisions for Its President

Ukraine: Parliament Agrees to Amnesty Bill January 29, 2014

The Ukrainian government passed a bill granting amnesty to all those involved in recent protests, RT reported Jan. 29. The amnesty excludes people suspected of serious crimes such as murder and kidnapping and is conditional upon the opposition removing barricades, vacating occupied buildings and disbanding crowds. Opposition leaders responded by saying that they will not accept an amnesty that requires them to stop demonstrating.

NIGHTWATCH 140127

North Korea: A South Korean news service reported over the weekend that their sources said that all relatives of Chang Sung-taek, the executed uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, have been executed.

"Extensive executions have been carried out for relatives of Jang Song-thaek," one source said. "All relatives of Jang have been put to death, even children."

The executed relatives include Jang's sister Jang Kye-sun, her husband and Ambassador to Cuba Jon Yong-jin, and Ambassador to Malaysia Jang Yong-chol, who is a nephew of Jang, as well as his two sons, the sources said.

All of them were recalled to Pyongyang in early December and executed. The sons, daughters and even grandchildren of Jang's two brothers were all executed, they said. "Some relatives were shot to death by pistol in front of other people if they resisted while being dragged out of their apartment homes," another source said.

Some relatives by marriage, including the wife of the Ambassador to Malaysia, reportedly were spared execution and sent to remote villages along with their maiden families, according to the sources.

"The executions of Jang's relatives mean that no traces of him should be left," a source said. "The purge of the Jang Song-thaek people is under way on an extensive scale from relatives and low-level officials."

Comment: While there is no separate confirmation of these accounts, extermination of the entire family line of an enemy is practiced by oriental despots. (See Wittfogel, Oriental Despotism) The executions apparently began after 12 December, the date Chang was executed. The number of those executed is not known.

These reports contrast with the unctuous reconciliation policy the North has implemented. One effect of the reconciliation policy is to divert international attention from the continuing purge in the North

EUROPE

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

MEXICO/LATIN AMERICA

Venezuela&#039;s President Turns to Chavez;s Old Allies for Support

Mexico: Deal Reached With Vigilante Groups January 28, 2014

The Mexican government on Jan. 28 said it has reached an agreement with the leaders of Michoacan state's self-defense groups, AP reported. Mexico said the armed groups will be incorporated into obscure security units called the Rural Defense Corps. The professed goal of the self-defense militias is to combat the Knights Templar, the state's dominant criminal group. While taking charge of security in each town they enter, the vigilantes sometimes disarm police

El Salvador's Durable Gang Truce

AFGHANISTAN

Taliban Attack Complicates U.S. Withdrawal From Afghanistan

CHINA

China: Protecting Food Security Amid Land Reform

Rising Financial Risks in China's Coal Sector

China: Plans To Start Patrols In South China Se January 22, 2014

Beijing has announced plans to start regular civilian patrols in the disputed South China Sea, Voice of America reported Jan. 22. A vessel based in the Paracel Islands will begin patrolling the waters of the South China Sea, site of territorial disputes between China and four members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations including Vietnam

NIGHTWATCH 140127

China: On 26 January, three Chinese ships patrolled the James Shoal in the South China Sea, an area also claimed by Malaysia. The Chinese task group comprised the amphibious landing craft, Changbaishan, and two destroyers, state news agency Xinhua reported.

."During the ceremony held in the Zengmu Reef area, soldiers and officers aboard swore an oath of determination to safeguard the country's sovereignty and maritime interests," Xinhua said. Zengmu Reef is the Chinese name for James Shoal.

Xinhua said South Sea Fleet commander Vice Admiral Jiang Weilie "urged soldiers and officers to always be prepared to fight, improve combat capabilities and lead the forces to help build the country into a maritime power".

According to news reports, last March, Malaysia protested the incursion of four Chinese ships in James Shoal, about 80 km (50 miles) off the Malaysian state of Sarawak on western Borneo Island. Chinese sailors fired guns in the air during the visit to the shoal. In April 2013, a Chinese maritime surveillance ship returned to James Shoal and left behind markers of China's claim.

Comment: This is the same task group that left the Paracel Islands on 22 January to begin a long range patrol of Chinese claimed waters and islands. James Shoal is just off Borneo at the southern end of the South China Sea.

The missions of this task group are demonstration and intimidation, not just patrol. Changbaishan is a large, modern landing ship with two destroyers as escorts. The Chinese navy is showing the flag and gratuitously inviting a fight.

IRAN

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

IRAQ

Iraq: Plans Being Formed To Triple Crude Production January 29, 2014

Iraq plans to triple its capacity to pump crude oil by 2020 and is forming a joint strategy with Iran to challenge Saudi Arabia's grip on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Telegraph reported Jan. 29, citing Hussain al-Shahristani, Iraq's deputy prime minister for energy. British Petroleum and Royal Dutch Shell manage two large oil fields in southern Iraq that would be key to achieving Baghdad's goal.
ISRAEL

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

RUSSIA

How Russia and the U.S. Continue to Use the Snowden Leaks

Russia Weighs its Options for Managing Regional Debts

SYRIA

Jihadist-Rebel Clashes in Syria

MIDDLE EAST GENERAL

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT

MISC

NOTHING SIGNIFICANT TO REPORT



Except where noted courtesy STRATFOR.COM

No comments:

Post a Comment