The environmental group Food & Water Europe has accused the Polish author of a European Parliament report on shale gas extraction of resorting to “Cold War” rhetoric against Russia to support the industry’s development. In a statement released on Monday, Food & Water Europe blasted the draft report by MEP Bogusław Sonik (European People’s Party) on the environmental impacts of shale gas and shale oil extraction activities. Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Europe, also accuses the report’s author of anti-Russian bias.—EurActiv, 18 April 2012 READ MORE

One of the more pernicious obstacles to rational policy-making is the "ratchet effect": the tendency for policies, once adopted, to acquire a life of their own and to become resistant to change, even when they have ceased to be useful. For example, you can be confident that we will all be wasting time in airport security lines decades from now, long after Osama bin Laden's death. Existing security measures may not pass a simple cost-benefit test, but what political leader would dare relax them? READ MORE

In his last major address as Russia's prime minister before retaking the presidency, Vladimir Putin outlined "five priorities" for his third presidential term. His fifth task is to boost cooperation across the Eurasian space, enhancing Russia's global position by having it lead a new effort towards integrating the states of the former Soviet Union. Speaking before the Duma last Wednesday, Putin said, "Creation of a common economic space is the most important event in post-Soviet space since the collapse of the Soviet Union." READ MORE

For centuries, the dilemma facing Iran (and before it, Persia) has been guaranteeing national survival and autonomy in the face of stronger regional powers like Ottoman Turkey and the Russian Empire. Though always weaker than these larger empires, Iran survived for three reasons: geography, resources and diplomacy. Iran's size and mountainous terrain made military forays into the country difficult and dangerous. Iran also was able to field sufficient force to deter attacks while permitting occasional assertions of power. At the same time, Tehran engaged in clever diplomatic efforts, playing threatening powers off each other. READ MORE

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on 12 April expressed the Alliance’s continued strong commitment to Afghanistan after talks with President Hamid Karzai in Kabul. READ MORE

Despite the fact that relating to the accident at the Japanese Fukushima nuclear power plant seriously undermined people's confidence in nuclear power up to the point of abandoning functioning nuclear projects, some countries on the contrary, want to build their own nuclear power plants. READ MORE

Ukrainian Defense Minister Dmytro Salamatin said April 10 that Ukraine intends to intensify security cooperation with Belarus, specifically by "holding joint exercises, exchange visits by military delegations and sharing experience in military and technical areas." The previous day, Ukraine's Cabinet advised the Defense Ministry to participate in the battle group being formed by the Visegrad Four, which consists of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. READ MORE

God bless the American soldiers in Afghanistan. READ MORE

Editor's Note^ This detailed report by our Contributor Washington Blog must be read very carefully. READ MORE

The West needs to look beyond the stereotypes if relations with Russia are to improve READ MORE