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POPSAfter Russia's Invasion Of Georgia, What's Next? – and in precarious regions such as the Middle East – will remain. Obviously, not all former Soviet states are as critical to Nato as Ukraine, because of its size and strategic location, or Georgia, because of its importance to our access to the Caspian Basin’s oil and natural gas reserves. By its actions in Georgia, Russia has made clear that its long-range objective is to fill that “gap” if we do not. Accordingly, we should have a foreign-minister-level meeting of Nato to reverse the spring capitulation at Bucharest, and to decide that Georgia and Ukraine will be Nato’s next members. Second, the United States needs some straight talk with our friends in Europe, which ideally should have taken place long before the assault on Georgia. To be sure, American inaction gave French President Sarkozy and the EU the chance to seize the diplomatic initiative. However, Russia did not invade Georgia with diplomats or roubles, but with tanks.
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POPSIsrael Backs Georgia in Caspian Oil Pipeline Battle with Russia until a "durable peace" is reached. "As soon as a durable peace takes hold we need to move forward with dialogue and peaceful negotiations." DEBKAfile’s geopolitical experts note that on the surface level, the Russians are backing the separatists of S. Ossetia and neighboring Abkhazia as payback for the strengthening of American influence in tiny Georgia and its 4.5 million inhabitants. However, more immediately, the conflict has been sparked by the race for control over the pipelines carrying oil and gas out of the Caspian region. The Russians may just bear with the pro-US Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili’s ambition to bring his country into NATO. But they draw a heavy line against his plans and those of Western oil companies, including Israeli firms, to route the oil routes from Azerbaijan and the gas lines from Turkmenistan, which transit Georgia, through Turkey instead of hooking them up to Russian pipelines.
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POPSGeorgia/Russia - The story behind the story
"No sooner was BTC completed, however, than Western officials began exploring the possibility of other pipelines that could reach beyond Georgia and Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan, which was thought to have some of the world's largest gas reserves. Their interest was not only in "energy security" and the prospect of oil riches for Western energy companies, but also in promoting Western-style democracy and free-market capitalism in the former Soviet republics. " "Putin understands better than anyone that oil and gas are the source of Russia's resurgence as a military and economic power and his own control over the Russian government and key sectors of its economy. It is oil and gas that provide the money to maintain Russia's powerful military, along with a vast internal security apparatus and network of government-controlled enterprises that allow the president-turned-premier to maintain his iron grip on the levers of political and economic power. "
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POPSThe Energy War Begins: From Russia With Bombs
The U.S. and E.U. are also backing an associated project for a natural gas pipeline that would, again, traverse Georgia and Turkey and bypass Russia, thereby lessening Europe’s dependency on gas either sourced from Russia or sourced from Central Asia but controlled by Russia. Tale of Two Pipelines: Europe Seeks to Lower Dependency on Russian Gas Friday, March 07, 2008 By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor (CNSNews.com) - Russia's latest standoff with Ukraine over natural gas supplies has been resolved for now, but the dispute has reinforced the view in Europe that alternatives to Russian energy are sorely needed. Russia's state-owned Gazprom monopoly early this week cut supplies of gas to Ukraine by 50 percent over a longstanding financial dispute. Gazprom says Ukraine owes it $600 million. But after high-level negotiations the company said the restrictions had been lifted. http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=18989
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POPSRussia Conducts Cyber-Attack On Georgian Government Websites Last April the computer systems of the Estonian Government came under attack in a co-ordinated three-week assault widely credited to state-sponsored Russian hackers. The wave of attacks came after a row erupted over the removal of the Bronze Soldier Soviet war memorial in Tallinn, the Estonian capital. The websites of government departments, political parties, banks and newspapers were all targeted. Analysts have immediately accused the Russian Business Network (RBN), a network of criminal hackers with close links to the Russian mafia and government, of the Georgian attacks. Jart Armin, a researcher who runs a website tracking the activity of the RBN, has released data claiming to show that visits to Georgian sites had been re-routed through servers in Russia and Turkey, where the traffic was blocked. Armin said the servers "are well known to be under the control of RBN and influenced by the Russian Government."
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POPSHow Karadzic stirred global Islamic terror
After the Dayton Accords, which in 1995 brought an end to the fighting - and to Karadzic's career - foreign mujahideen were meant to leave. But having obtained Bosnian citizenship, most eluded the requirement. Under US pressure, some of the most suspect were later removed, but many have stayed. Islamist hopes of a quick conversion of Bosnia's Muslims to extremism have so far been frustrated. But the conditions exist for it. Huge sums of Saudi money have financed the building of new mosques, many of whose future imams are receiving training abroad, subject to radicalising Wahhabist influences. Within Bosnia, a network of foreign-based Islamic relief and educational foundations, charities and NGOs operates in the social space left by ineffective, corrupt government. Elsewhere, these have proved conducive for Islamist extremism and al-Qaeda. In any case, it is not necessary for most Bosnian Muslims to radicalise in order for Bosnia to become a base or gateway for terrorists.
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POPSGordon Moore's Next Act The man behind Moore's Law is tackling biodiversity, the future of engineering education, and the secrets of the galaxies
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POPSTurkey is Centre of the World Despite the fragile situation, if Turkey were to organise autonomy for Kurds in its own borders, northern Iraq, Syria and Iran it would be a heroic act of enormous historical import.
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POPSIslamic world should learn from Turkey court ruling its relations with the United States have frayed over the past few years. CNN: Why is that? Zakaria: Mostly because of the Bush administration. The Pentagon never forgave Turkey for not allowing a second front (through Turkey) for the invasion of Iraq.
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POPS Seven Wonders Of The World The list of manmade wonders was first compiled by a Hellenistic traveler in the second century B.C Of these, only the pyramids at El Gizeh remain. In ancient times, the pyramids of Egypt; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; Phidias's statue of Zeus at Olympia; the temple of Artemis at Ephesus; the tomb, or mausoleum, of King Mausolus at Halicarnassus; the Colossus of Rhodes; and either the Pharos, or lighthouse, at Alexandria or the walls of Babylon. http://www.answers.com/topic/seven-wonders-of-the-world
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