Gaza y Cataluña: el renacimiento del Nacionalismo romántico.

Gaza, Catalonia and Romantic Nationalism

       

 

 

By George Friedman - November 27, 2012 | 1000 GMT     
Last week was spent obsessed with Gaza. In the end, nothing changed. A war was fought without an Israeli ground assault but with massive air and rocket attacks on both sides. Israel did not have the appetite and perhaps the power to crush Hamas. Hamas did not have the power to compel Israel to change its policies but wanted to achieve a symbolic victory against Israel. Both decided that continued fighting made little sense and allowed the Americans and Egyptians to bless a settlement. Everyone from Iran to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood played a role, and then the curtain on this act went down. It will come up again. It was not trivial for those who lived through the conflict, but in the end it changed little.
In this context, focusing on Catalonian elections would seem frivolous, but it is the nature of geopolitics that the quiet and odd may have more significance in the long run than the events that carry noisy headlines.

Israel domina el Medio Oriente.

Israel dominates the new Middle East

by Fareed Zacaria

As missiles and rockets exploded in Israel and Gaza, television news was dominated by the tragic violence, and we were warned that the battle between Israel and the Palestinians might spread because we are in a new and much more dangerous Middle East. Islamists are in power, democracies will listen to their people. In fact, as the relatively quick cease-fire between the parties shows, there is a very low likelihood of a broader regional conflict. It’s true that we’re in a new Middle East, but it’s one in which Israel has become the region’s superpower.

La rebelión de los jóvenes.

Youth Bulges and the Social Conditions of Rebellion

 

By Jack A. Goldstone, on 20 Nov 2012                  

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Commentary on generational conflict and the radicalism of youth goes back at least as far as the ancient Greeks -- from the tragedies of Oedipus to the comedies of Aristophanes, we find the younger generation contesting the power and morals of their elders. Such conflict is probably always present to some degree in every family and every generation. Yet the coalescence of individual youthful impatience with the ways of the older generation into social movements of rebellion or revolution is something that happens more rarely and only when certain economic, political and social conditions prevail.

La seguridad informática y de telecomunicaciones de un Estado.

HIC SVNT LEONES.[1]

 

La seguridad informática y de telecomunica_ ciones de un Estado.

Por el Grl Div (R) Evergisto de Vergara[2]

"Me dan diez piratas informáticos cuidadosamente escogidos,

y en los próximos 90 días, sería capaz que esta nación deponga sus armas y se rinda." (J. Saiteerdou, Delitos Informáticos del FBI[3])

 

                                                                      

           Tradicionalmente, los ámbitos o dominios donde se desempeñaba el componente militar del poder del Estado eran tres: aire, mar y tierra. A mediados del siglo pasado, con la aparición de los satélites y su uso militar, se agregó un ámbito más: el del espacio. A fines del siglo pasado, con la aparición de nuevas tecnologías de información, surgió el espacio cibernético. Ninguno de los dos últimos ámbitos reconoce fronteras geográficas ni políticas.

¿Qué es Hamas?

 

Hamas in the New Middle East

By Giorgio Cafiero, November 15, 2012

“I salute all people of the Arab Spring, or Islamic winter,
and I salute the Syrian people who seek freedom, democracy
and reform.”  Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya issued
this declaration before a crowd at the Al Azhar Mosque
in Cairo on February 24, 2012.
 

In 2011, Hamas withdrew its political headquarters from Syria and declined Bashar Al-Assad’s request to stage rallies in support of the Syrian regime at Palestinian refugee camps in Syria. Haniya's statement simply confirmed that Hamas had officially broken ties with its longtime state sponsor in Damascus. The Arab Awakening ended the alliance that Hamas had formed with the Assad regime in the aftermath of the Palestinian group’s expulsion from Jordan in 1999.

Los generales y las faldas.

Por Mario Vargas Llosa | Para LA NACION

 

 

MADRID.- La CIA, el FBI y los más altos jerarcas militares de los Estados Unidos están descubriendo sólo ahora lo que cualquier lector de literatura ha sabido desde siempre: que una amante celosa es de temer y puede provocar grandes catástrofes.

Éstos son, hasta ahora, los hechos conocidos del extraordinario culebrón que remece al país más poderoso de la Tierra. La señora Jill Kelley, una vistosa morena, esposa de un respetado cardiólogo de Tampa (Florida), empezó a recibir hace algunos meses unos e-mails anónimos amenazantes, acusándola de coquetear con el general David H. Petraeus, jefe de la Agencia Central de Inteligencia y el militar más condecorado, distinguido y admirado del país. Uno de los e-mails responsabilizaba a la señora Kelley de haber "tocado" al general por debajo de la mesa. Alarmada con este hostigamiento, la señora Kelley alertó a un agente del FBI, que era su amigo y que, sea dicho de paso, acostumbraba enviarle fotos cibernéticas con el pecho desnudo y luciendo sus bíceps. El agente informó a sus jefes y el FBI inició una investigación a resultas de la cual descubrió que la anónima fuente de los e-mails era la señora Paula Broadwell, también esposa de médico, madre de dos hijos, antigua reina de belleza, campeona deportiva en la Academia Militar de West Point, con una maestría en Harvard y autora de una ditirámbica biografía del general Petraeus.

La Fisiología de las Revoluciones.

Por Carlos Pissolito


“Las revoluciones se producen en los callejones sin salida."

Bertolt Brecht

El objeto de estudio
Revolución, del latín revolutio, cambio; es una mudanza fundamental en la estructura de poder de una organización que ocurre en un lapso más o menos breve. Para Aristóteles es un cambio profundo en la constitución de un Estado.[1] Ellas han ocurrido a lo largo de la historia humana adoptando una variada forma, han sido ejecutadas por distintos métodos, han tenido una duración variable y han sido encaradas por distintas motivaciones. Por ello, en un sentido amplio, se habla de revoluciones culturales, económicas, sociales, políticas.

Actualización del conflicto Israelí/Gaza.

Update on the Israel-Gaza Conflict

November 17, 2012 | 1825 GMT

 

Uriel Sinai/Getty Images

An Israeli rocket fired from the Iron Dome in Tel Aviv on Nov. 17

New intelligence indicates forces in Gaza may be manufacturing long-range rockets locally. If this is the case, a significant ground force offers the Israelis the best chance of finding and neutralizing the factories making these weapons. Meanwhile, Israel continues its airstrikes on Gaza, and Gaza continues its long-range rocket attacks on major Israeli population centers, though Israel claims its Iron Dome defense system has intercepted most of the rockets.

Israel considera un asalto terrestre a Gaza.

 

Considering an Israeli Ground Assault in Gaza

November 15, 2012 | 2052 GMT

 

Israeli soldiers on the Israel-Gaza border on Nov. 15

Summary

The Israeli air force continues to bombard targets within the Gaza Strip, but thus far ground forces have not yet begun an incursion into the territory. Whether the current air campaign escalates to a ground assault will largely depend on the mission that the Israeli military is trying to accomplish.
Israel Defense Forces' official statements have emphasized that the goal is the severe degradation of Gaza militants' ability to launch rocket strikes, particularly the new Fajr-5 rockets that are purportedly capable of striking Tel Aviv. Halting rocket attacks was also the mission during Operation Cast Lead, Israel's most recent large-scale military operation involving Gaza, which took place in late 2008 and early 2009 and consisted of an air campaign similar to the current one followed by a ground invasion. Examining how Operation Cast Lead developed could provide useful context for how an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza could unfold.

Acciones internacionales contra el tráfico de medicamentos..

International Action Needed to Fight Fake Drugs

By Catherine Cheney, on 14 Nov 2012, Trend Lines

 

Ahead of a World Health Organization summit bringing 100 countries together for the first meeting of member states on falsely labeled medical products, a group of public health experts is calling for an international treaty on substandard and counterfeit medicines.

Some countries have laws prohibiting the sale of fake medicines, but, as the BBC reports, the lack of an international treaty allows organized criminal networks to sell fake drugs out of countries with weak laws. There have been multiple instances of mass deaths due to fake drugs, including in 2008, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration documented 81 deaths and 600 allergic reactions (.pdf) to counterfeit heparin, a drug that prevents blood clotting .

Las guerras informáticas.

 

US moves above battleship warfare

By Alfred W McCoy

It's 2025 and an American "triple canopy" of advanced surveillance and armed drones fills the heavens from the lower- to the exo-atmosphere. A wonder of the modern age, it can deliver its weaponry anywhere on the planet with staggering speed, knock out an enemy's satellite communications system, or follow individuals biometrically for great distances.

Along with the country's advanced cyberwar capacity, it's also the most sophisticated militarized information system ever created and an insurance policy for US global dominion deep into the 21st century. It's the future as the Pentagon imagines it; it is under development; and Americans know nothing about it.

They are still operating in another age. "Our navy is smaller now than at any time since 1917," complained Republican candidate Mitt Romney during the last presidential debate. With words of withering mockery, President Barack Obama shot back: "Well, governor, we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military's changed ... the question is not a game of Battleship, where we're counting ships. It's what are our capabilities."

La Fragata Libertad resiste un abordaje.

 

Con armas, la tripulación de la Fragata Libertad resistió el traslado

Autoridades del puerto de Tema se acercaron con una orden judicial para mover la embarcación, pero los marineros lo impidieron, según publicaron los medios del país africano y pudo confirmar Infobae. La orden del Gobierno es no moverse del lugar

Fracasa la reforma militar rusa.

 

Serdyukov's Fall Puts Russia's Military Reform Under Threat

By Richard Weitz, on 08 Nov 2012, Briefing

Sergei Shoigu officially took over as Russia's new defense minister yesterday, but the reasons for the sudden dismissal of his predecessor, Anatoliy Serdyukov, remain uncertain.

Russian President Vladimir Putin insists that he dismissed Serdyukov to allow authorities to investigate allegations of widespread corruption in the Defense Ministry. Serdyukov, who has cracked down on corruption within the armed forces, is accused of allowing his key subordinates and family members to enrich themselves in more sophisticated ways, such as by selling off valuable Defense Ministry properties at below market prices to friendly buyers in return for kickbacks.

Triunfo de Obama: ¿qué cambia?

The Elections, Gridlock and Foreign Policy

            

By George Friedman - November 7, 2012 | 1000 GMT

The United States held elections last night, and nothing changed. Barack Obama remains president. The Democrats remain in control of the Senate with a non-filibuster-proof majority. The Republicans remain in control of the House of Representatives.
The national political dynamic has resulted in an extended immobilization of the government. With the House -- a body where party discipline is the norm -- under Republican control, passing legislation will be difficult and require compromise. Since the Senate is in Democratic hands, the probability of it overriding any unilateral administrative actions is small. Nevertheless, Obama does not have enough congressional support for dramatic new initiatives, and getting appointments through the Senate that Republicans oppose will be difficult.

Cómo funciona un Narco-Estado.

Narco-States Grope for New Strategy*

By Emilio Godoy

Una típica plantación de coca.

 

MEXICO CITY, Nov 5 2012 (IPS) - Mexico, Colombia and Guatemala face the need to modify their approach to the fight against drug trafficking and are urging the world to do the same. But Mexico and Colombia’s willingness to make the necessary changes is unclear.
The three countries are connected by a powerful circuit of trafficking of drugs – whose main market is the United States – weapons and money from illegal activities. But the extent of the problem and the way drug organisations operate in each one of these countries vary.

La Estrategia y la predicción del futuro.

Metafísicamente el futuro no existe aún; por lo tanto no puede ser conocido ni estudiado. Sin embargo, no hay cálculo estratégico que no se base en cierta premonición de lo que puede pasar. Aunque lo que aquí cabe es la conjetura y no la certeza.

 

¿El Ejército desembarca en São Pablo?

 

Urgente24 lo viene anticipando desde hace varias semanas: resulta incontrolable, aparentemente, la violencia en Sao Paulo, la mayor ciudad brasileña. La noche del viernes 02/11 fue otra jornada violenta, en la que por lo menos 10 personas fueron asesinadas, entre ellos 1 agente de la Policía Civil.

CIUDAD DE BUENOS AIRES (Urgente24). En la región metropolitana de Sao Paulo se registraron 10 muertes entre la noche del jueves 01/11 y la madrugada del viernes 02/11, según el informe de la Policía Militar.

El número de asesinatos se elevó a 83 en los últimos 11 días y el de agentes policiales acribillados aumentó a 89 en lo que va del año.

Somos todos venecianos.

We Are All Venetians Now

Are the world's major cities ready for the rising waters and freak storms of tomorrow?

BY FRANK JACOBS |OCTOBER 31, 2012

We are a coast-hugging species. About 44 percent of the world's population live beside the seaside, and that number is set to rise. Why? Maritime commerceand easy access to all that lovely seafood spring to mind. But maybe there's a more fundamental reason, a human instinct touched upon by the sailor Ishmael, explaining his aquatic affection on the very first page of Moby Dick: "If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me."

¿Quién es el Chapo?

 

The Real 'El Chapo'

     

By Scott Stewart - November 1, 2012 | 0902 GMT

A widely propagated myth would have us believe that Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera and his Sinaloa Federation are less violent than many of their competitors. Statements from journalists and analysts allege that Sinaloa is more businesslike than Los Zetas, whose reputation for brutality is well-documented, and that this business savvy somehow renders the group relatively benign. In turn, this has led many to believe that the Mexican government could broker a deal with the leader of one of Mexico's largest criminal organizations.
However, a close examination of Sinaloa's evolution demonstrates the group is hardly the hallmark of civility. In fact, the history of Mexico's cartel wars over the past decade reveals that Guzman, his Sinaloa Federation and the various cartels with which they partner have been more territorially aggressive than any other Mexican cartel.