models to study the environment and
steal virtual objects such as financial
documents.
MIDDLE EAST WATCH
UN Approves Palestinian Upgrade
Status
The United Nations General Assembly
has endorsed an upgraded UN status
for the Palestinian Authority, despite
opposition from the United States and
Israel. The resolution elevates their
status from “non-member observer
entity” to “non-member observer
state,” the same category as the
Vatican. Palestinians are hopeful the
upgrade will provide new leverage in
their dealings with Israel. The vote was
138 delegates in favor of the measure,
9 against and 41 abstentions.
Ehud Barak to Step Down
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak
announced that he will retire from
politics after the next election. Barak,
a former prime minister of Israel,
enjoyed a surge in popularity following
Operation Pillar of Defense, but opinion polls show that his Independence
Party is unlikely to win more than
three seats in Israel’s upcoming parliamentary elections. He has pledged
to serve the country as an advisor and
private citizen next year.
Israel Forced to Change Tactics
Israeli military experts have concluded
that a conventional strike on Iran’s
nuclear facilities may fail. Western
defense experts discovered that Iran’s
Fordow nuclear site is hidden deeper
underground than previously thought
and would be safe from conventional
air strikes. Defense experts claim Israel
has two options, either deploy special
forces on the ground, or use ballistic
missiles with tactical nuclear warheads.
Iran: We’re Key to Middle East Peace
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar
Salehi, the man who used to run Iran’s
nuclear program prior to becoming
foreign minister, says there is too much
Iranophobia in too many countries.
Salehi claims that Iran is a threat to
“nobody” and that Iran is part of the
solution to all of the region’s crises. He
claims that Israel is the true main threat
to future regional peace and stability.
WORLD GOVERNMENT
Global Gun Ban Flip-Flop
The First Committee of the United
Nations General Assembly voted
157-0 (with 18 abstentions) in favor
of Resolution L.11 which will finalize
the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) early in
2013. Critics say the treaty takes direct
aim at Second Amendment freedoms
here in the United States. The US had
been the only obstacle preventing the
global arms control regulations from
being imposed on the world. But the
day after President Obama was reelected he placed a late night call to the
US United Nations delegation ordering
them to vote in favor of the passage of
L.11. A new round of negotiations on
the treaty has now been scheduled for
March 18-28 at the UN headquarters
in New York City.
Global Warming Stopped 16
Years Ago
According to newly released data, the
world stopped getting warmer almost
16 years ago. From the beginning of
1997 until August 2012, there was
no discernible rise in aggregate global
temperatures. This means that the
‘plateau’ or ‘pause’ in global warming
lasted for about the same time as the
previous period when temperatures
rose in 1980 to 1996. Some climate
scientists are dismissing the significance of the plateau while others contend that it is clear that the computer
models used to predict future warming
were ‘deeply flawed’.
US Government’s Data on Americans
Wall Street Journal reporter Julia
Angwin, who’s been covering the
surveillance state in the US, says the
US surveillance regime has more data
on the average American than the Stasi
ever did on East Germans. Much of
that data seems to be collected illegally
with little oversight and no security
benefit. Such data is wide open to
abuse, which inevitably happens.
WORLD RELIGION
Interfaith Dialogue: Key to
World Peace
According to UN chief Ban Ki-moon,
dialogue between religions is as
necessary as ever in light of ɕ