By Kaveh L Afrasiabi Days after announcing that Iran was willing to send its low-enriched uranium for further processing abroad, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad told the country’s Atomic Energy Agency to begin the enrichment process in the country. However, Ahmadinejad emphasized that Iran was still open to a “fuel-for-fuel” option. The US and its allies now face a dilemma: they can go ahead with the fuel swap, or allow Iran to come near to the threshold of “weapons-capable” uranium enrichment – 20%. On October 1, the International Atomic Energy Agency proposed a plan under which Iran would send the bulk of … Continue reading Dangerous steps in Iran’s nuclear dance

By Sami Moubayed DAMASCUS – The Middle East seemed to snowball into crisis last week, as war threats were fired back and forth between Syria and Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman triggered the conflict on Thursday by saying that if war were to break out, the Syrians would lose, prompting Foreign Minister Walid al-Mouallem to respond that Israeli cities would not be spared by Syria. He described the Israelis as “thugs” and said that a new regional war would kill whatever chances there were of returning to the peace process. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otari made similar statements, … Continue reading Israeli case for war with Syria – and Lebanon

By Willy Lam While the furor over cyber-attacks against Google has lapsed somewhat, the Sino-American confrontation over the larger issue of Internet security and global digital warfare is expected to intensify in the near future. This is particularly in light of the deterioration of bilateral ties due to issues ranging from the value of the renminbi to US arms sales to Taiwan. Even more significant is the fact that despite Washington’s criticism of Beijing’s censorship of the Internet – as well as China-originated sorties against the networks of American government agencies and multinationals – the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership … Continue reading Beijing beefs up cyber-warfare capacity

By Nikola Krastev The seminal coming-of-age novel, The Catcher in the Rye, came out in 1951 during a time of anxious, Cold War conformity. The book by J D Salinger, the reclusive American author who died last week at the age of 91, featured its immortal teenage protagonist – the anguished, rebellious Holden Caulfield. The book struck a chord with American teenagers who identified with the novel’s themes of alienation, innocence and rebellion. But when the novel was translated into Russian during the “Khrushchev thaw”, its anti-hero’s tormented soul-searching also reverberated among admirers throughout the Soviet bloc. Nad propastyu vo rzhi … Continue reading If you really want to hear about it …

By Syed Fazl-e-Haider KARACHI, Pakistan – Business in Karachi, Pakistan’s commercial capital, ground to a halt at the weekend after at least 33 people were killed and over 100 injured in two explosions on Friday. The city of 18 million people houses the main stock exchange, central bank and offices of multinational corporations. Businessmen warn that Karachi, which contributes about 70% of the country’s tax revenue, is fast becoming a “no-business and no-trade city”, as there is no protection to life and property. Suicide bombings have surged across Pakistan since the army in October launched an offensive against Taliban insurgents … Continue reading Karachi grinds to a halt after fatal blasts

A recent Royal Society meeting in London was titled “The detection of extra-terrestrial life and the consequences for science and society.” It presented a number of interesting topics. The ones that brought the most media attention focused on the risk involved in contact with an extraterrestrial civilization. Researcher Marek Kukula suggests that governments need to become involved in any SETI based discovery and to do so as soon as possible, because of the risks posed by extraterrestrial life. This is a problem amplified greatly in a direct alien First Contact event. So, why would I still suggest that extraterrestrial First Contact … Continue reading Risky ‘Big Hello’ by ET!