Niccolo Machiavelli - Page 2

Europe appears to be in paralysis when it comes to dealing with heavy debt. In addition to the turmoil in Greece, now Italy is on the brink, and as Germany’s Der Spiegel puts it, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi “refuses to

How do you say ‘Arrgh! You scurvy dog!’ in German? It’s no doubt a sign of the times in Europe: on Sunday, a big winner in Berlin, Germany’s local state elections was something called “The Pirate Party.” They managed to

China appears to be largely uninterested in bailing out the debt-ridden countries of Europe. Despite concerns that Beijing might buy debt and use it as leverage, the calculation by Beijing appears to be that this would be a bad bet,

Senator Jim Webb of Virginia started the discussion a few months back when he pointed out that our military is increasingly “top heavy”: we have lots of admirals and generals. They call is “star creep”–the fact that we have an

In the presidential debate last night, Ron Paul parroted the Al Qaeda line about why they are at war with us. The “real motivation” for their attacks was the American “occupation” of the Middle East, explained the Texas Congressman. In

German EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger thinks its time to get tough with the Greeks. Apparently incapable of dealing with their deficit problems on their own, Oettinger is suggesting that the European Union should take over tax collection in Greece.

The march of military technology continues with a new high-tech version of camo that could dramatically change the ability of insurgents with heat-seeking missiles to attack US weapons systems. Military scientists have designed a new invisibility cloak which could protect

The Navys SEALs are looking to buy cameras and transmitters that can be placed on dogs. Here’s the solicitation on a federal website: Solicitation Number:H92244-11-T-0262Notice Type:Modification/AmendmentSynopsis:Added: Aug 25, 2011 12:11 pm Modified: Aug 26, 2011 12:42 pm Track ChangesThis is

Europe’s economic woes? It’s not a result of the welfare state, too much debt (or both.) No, it’s America’s fault. That’s the word from Laurence Parisot, the head of a very influential French organization, MEDEF, whose membership includes French captains

This is a very embarrassing event for the Chinese government: admission by a Chinese General that there are high-ranking spies in their government, and that they have been successful is sharing secrets with Taiwan and others in the West. There

Dick Cheney’s book is coming out and the former Veep has said it will have “heads exploding in Washington.” Colin Powell doesn’t think so. “My head isn’t exploding and I haven’t noticed any other heads exploding in Washington DC. It’s

It’s curious to me that no musical genius or industrialist was even near the top of the list. Politicians and philosophers dominate the choices. Of those listed here, how can you not pick Einstein first? From thelocal.de: Goethe the best?

There is a mad rush by Europeans to see who can line up lucrative contracts in Libya now that Gaddafi has effectively lost power. Two weeks ago a group of German executives boarded a military plane and flew to Libya

Conservatives in Germany are furious as Chancellor Angela Merkel commits the country to bailing out other countries in Europe who have been running up debts and living on borrowed money for years. Is this the beginning of Germany’s Tea….errr…Beer Party

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There are all sorts of opinions on that matter. And regardless of who makes up the Libyan opposition, the most organized groups are most likely to seize power. But here is some of what we know: –the rebel’s council (National

Are we ever going to see drug cartels operating in this country the way they do in Mexico? Insight Crime analyzes organized crime in Latin America and offers this interesting analysis of what lies ahead. (Note: Insight Crime is based

The shootdown of a Chinook helicopter by the Taliban, which killed 30 U.S. troops including 22 Navy SEALs is leading the U.S. Army Special Operations Command to push for faster helicopters. Army Rangers will get a better ride soon “One

Apparently their are “trust and confidence” issues when it comes to allowing robots to be used freely and frequently in the armed services. Some now want to fix that by giving robots a base of their own, so they can

This is not your typical exchange program. Members of the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command will soon be embedded with operators from other branches Marine special operators are going to begin spending three-year tours with the Navy SEALs, Green

The Christini dirt bike: not your typical motocross… According to the Kit Up! blog over at military.com, this dirt bike is getting high praise from special operators in Afghanistan. Apparently its blazing fast, rugged, and easy to repair in difficult

“With no end to the Second World War in sight, British spies came up with a plan to lace Adolf Hitler’s food with female sex hormones to curb his aggressive impulses. Agents planned to smuggle doses of oestrogen into his

Adam Lowther, a research professor at the Air Force Research Institute, thinks he knows how we can get the federal budget under control and dramatically cut defense spending–without compromising our security. His solution? Look to the past, namely President Eisenhower’s

A millionaire’s daughter, an organic chef, a law student, are profiles of just some of those arrested. So what do all those arrested have in common? No sense of right or wrong explains it better than the psychobabble about poverty,

Germany’s reliably left-leaning Der Spiegel ran a rather stunning article back in 1961, describing the sense of betrayal that Berliners felt because the West did nothing as the Berlin Wall was being constructed. It’s a reminder of what appeasement looks

Not too many of us… The answer, in short, is not very often. As Foreign Policy points out today, as of 2009 only 6,868 cops in all of England and Wales are even authorized to carry guns. Within London’s Metropolitan

The conservative newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung offers solid advice: Time to get tough? “Certainly talk will once again turn to the high unemployment rate among young people, their social exclusion and lack of opportunity. These are the catch phrases always

There’s an interesting theory circulating out there: the riots in the UK are actually the result of a shortage of illegal drugs. The British police have been so successful at clamping down on the drug trade that drug gangs and

The foreign media (particularly in Europe) has always been supportive of Obama. Along with overheated rhetoric about how he was going to unite America, there was always the underlying tone that by replacing George W. Bush, the adults were now

Now here’s an interesting take on what is really going on with China’s scolding of America over debt. Clyde Prestowitz argues that the Chinese are not only being deceptive in their criticism of us, they need us to be in

In an interview with Germany’s Der Spiegel, Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff implies that had Obama not “given in” to the Tea Party “terrorists” there would not be the current unrest in international financial markets. Huh? Where has this guy been

A well connected publication that covers Asia, The Diplomat, has an interesting bit of analysis about the American credit downgrade and how the Chinese lead the charge. They are not suggesting that America’s credit problems are manufactured: they are real.

Defense Tech is reporting that the U.S. Army is sending four of Lockheed’s Squad Mission Support System (SMSS) robot jeeps to haul supplies for the troops. It’s a test to see how effective these 11-ft. long trucks will be in