How cryptocurrencies could boost the BRICS
Talking about the rise and rise of Bitcoin in China to the WEF, Eric Mu a local entrepreneur and Bitcoin miner listed the factors contributing to its popularity there: “…a large internet-savvy population, cheap and abundant hydropower, mature electrical manufacturing, capital control and a depreciating currency.” In fact, Mu could have been...
In Sweden, an Ethical Dilemma of Nuclear Proportions
By Allison Fedirka It’s not every day that a country finds itself in a position where one decision can shape the security framework of an entire region. At the moment, Sweden is in just such a position: It must decide whether to sign a new U.N. nuclear weapons ban. On its face it sounds fairly harmless – Sweden doesn’t have its own...
Watch List: Sept. 6, 2017
The items listed below represent potential emerging issues that our analysts are tracking. These can be long term or short term, but will be updated daily. If an item on our Watch List becomes critical, we will email you a full analysis explaining its significance. Each Saturday, we will follow up our daily Watch List for each week with our...
Fears for the life of young Ukrainian abducted by Donbas militants
There is still no information about the whereabouts of 22-year-old Mykola Petukhov who was seized by armed militants of the so-called ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ in the early morning of August 31. The abduction is of immense concern since Mykola’s mother reports that a young man, identified only as Oleksiy, was seized just a...
Russia under Putin: Small child solemnly swears to prosecute her mother if required
At a ceremony in St Petersburg on September 1 marking the beginning of the academic year for future ‘investigators’, a little girl solemnly promised Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee that she would shop her mother if that were required by her work …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Kleptocracy Daily: September 1, 2017
A Florida lobbying firm has been hired by a Turkish government-controlled bank implicated in a major Iranian money laundering scheme by the U.S. Justice Department. (Daily Caller) Gerhard Schröder is pressing on with plans to join the board of Rosneft, despite mounting criticism. (AP) China is rolling back Western global influence through a...
American Jackboot Diplomacy
The latest extraordinary roughshod violation of Russian diplomatic rights by the American authorities shows that the US doesn’t want to restore normal bilateral relations. Indeed, it has now resorted publicly to jackboot diplomacy.The rapid ordering of Russia to vacate three of its diplomatic properties – in a matter of hours – amid...
How to Finish the Revolution in Ukraine
More than three years after the Euromaidan, Ukraine still hasn’t successfully prosecuted any high-level crooks, and we’ve got plenty here. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
The Deep Roots of Russia’s Young Protestors
Politics This year’s anti-corruption protests first flared up over four months ago. But social media and traditional news media are still abuzz. What’s keeping the conversation alive? Largely, a fascination with how young the protestors were. After the first photographs from the protests were published, the media were flooded with...
Doing Business Across Euasia Could Be Easier
Can a single economic space spanning from Lisbon to Vladivostok exist? Is a closer collaboration between the European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) possible? The time will show but the idea has already been developed and has been included in the Berlin Memorandum. “This initiative is the result of practical needs of enterprises...
