China Blasts U.S. over Torture Report
December 12, 2014 3 min. read

On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee released its findings of a 6,200 page report detailing a secret CIA program of detention and torture implemented under President George W. Bush.

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Cultural Cleansing with Chinese Characteristics?
September 12, 2014 5 min. read

In the remote northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang, China authorities are certainly being exhaustive in their attempts to stem a spike in the long-running activity of Islamic militants. Recent attempts have involved the use of drones employed to locate, capture and kill suspected Islamic militants in the region, as well as restrictions being placed on the practice of Islam and the wearing of beards and veils in public.

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Chinese Autonomous Province May Seek to Limit Uighur Births
September 8, 2014 5 min. read

Authorities in the violence-prone Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China are sparing no measure in their crackdown on existing terrorists, and through a recently proposed policy, may even be trying to stem the birth of future terrorists. After a series of anti-terrorism efforts have repeatedly failed to stem the ongoing violence, a recent article in the party political theory journal Qiushi suggests Xinjiang may soon adopt limits on the ability of ethnic groups to bear children.

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Moscow Takes Ukraine, Beijing Takes Mongolia?
April 25, 2014 5 min. read

map: ChinaSmack Tensions escalated in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, as Ukrainian forces killed up to five pro-Moscow separatist rebels, and Russia launched army drills near the border in response, raising fears its troops would invade. The Ukrainian action took place to recapture territory from the rebels, who have seized swaths of eastern Ukraine since April […]

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In Case You Missed It: A State Department Program for Leaders in New Democracies
July 12, 2012 2 min. read

This week, the State Department held a “virtual ribbon cutting” for a new initiative, Leaders Engaged in New Democracies (LEND). LEND will help leaders in fledgling democracies connect with leaders who have experienced democratic transition in their own countries. As Voice of America reports, the initiative will facilitate conversations between leaders “by leveraging voice, video and […]

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Does Size Matter: Mongolia
February 21, 2010 4 min. read
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Last month, I talked to a man who works indirectly with one of the Native Corporations of Alaska. “The North Slope is going to be running out of oil in the not too distant future,” I said. “What will you do then?” He paused both considering the question and yet not understanding why I asked. […]

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Mongolia signs civilian nuclear pact with India
September 15, 2009 2 min. read

India and Mongolia signed a civilian nuclear agreement on Monday during Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj’s four day visit to India. The memorandum of understanding between the two countries pertains to development in the field of “peaceful uses of radioactive minerals and nuclear energy” and would allow India to look for uranium in the central Asian […]

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Reality Check
September 10, 2009 5 min. read

I like it when things line up. Syzygy, they call it. What do Mongolia, Iraq, and Venezuela have in common? (Hint: it’s not oil.) It’s that they have all recently bumped into the sharp edge of resource reality. There is something about the discovery of  valuable resources that make people and countries take leave of […]

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