Topics - International Studies of Strategic and Geopolitics

Geopolitical risk: raw materials and technological dependence

16Mar

By ISSGNo Comments

Future Technology, Technology and Innovation

Geopolitical risk: raw materials and technological dependence

By *Raquel Jorge Ricart Raw materials are the great overlooked in the global technological competition. In 1992 the father of China’s economic revolution, Deng Xiaoping, said that ‘the Middle East has the oil, but China has the rare earths’. Rare earths, and critical raw materials in general, have been the great forgotten commodities in the geopolitical competition of recent years, which has largely focused on which country dominates certain technologies –artificial intelligence, semiconductors and so many others– and not so much on what means were necessary to achieve dominance. China controls 36.7% of global rare earth reserves. Brazil and Vietnam, the next countries on the list, together stockpile as much as China does alone (18.3% each). They are followed by Russia, with 10% of ...

Russian Warplane Hits American Drone Over Black Sea, U.S. Says

15Mar

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Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy, Military Technology

Russian Warplane Hits American Drone Over Black Sea, U.S. Says

The incident was the first known physical contact between the two militaries since the war in Ukraine began last year. WASHINGTON — A Russian warplane struck a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, hitting the drone’s propeller and causing its American operators to bring it down in international waters, according to the Pentagon, in the first known physical contact between the Russian and American militaries since the war in Ukraine started last February. The downing of the MQ-9 Reaper, a workhorse of the American military’s airborne reconnaissance fleet, immediately escalated tensions between the White House and the Kremlin as U.S. officials accused the Russian forces involved in the incident of behaving dangerously. American military officials said the unarmed Reape...

Think Like a Spy: How Open Source Intelligence Can Give You a Competitive Advantage

15Mar

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Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy

Think Like a Spy: How Open Source Intelligence Can Give You a Competitive Advantage

The realm of Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) is a labyrinth of information and insights that organizations can delve into to fortify their digital frontiers while keeping a close eye on the activities of their competitors. This is achieved by harvesting a cornucopia of publicly accessible data from the World Wide Web, social media platforms and other publicly accessible records. By synergizing these various sources of information, organizations can gain an unprecedented perspective of the trends, patterns and perils in the digital domain. OSINT is not just a tool for information gathering but is a tool that provides organizations with a powerful vantage point to identify potential risks, track the movements of competitors and even uncover illicit activities. It also affords organizatio...

Nigeria’s cities are growing fast: family planning must be part of urban development plans

15Mar

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Africa, Family Planning, Maternal and Child Health, and Immunizations

Nigeria’s cities are growing fast: family planning must be part of urban development plans

Nigeria is rapidly urbanising, with more people living in urban areas than in rural communities. A recent World Bank estimate shows that 53% of the 213 million Nigerians live in urban areas. That’s projected to rise above 70% by 2050. Lagos, Nigeria’s biggest city, already has over 15.9 million people. The country’s urban growth rate is 6% and the general population growth rate is about 2.4%. Although urban areas are hubs for socioeconomic development, many large cities are unsafe and unhealthy. Unfortunately, infrastructure development and service delivery aren’t keeping pace with urban population growth in Nigeria. Millions of urban residents face enormous challenges like housing deficits, overcrowding and limited economic opportunities. Poverty, air and noise pollution, insecurity, h...

HAARP: Weather Control Is the HAARP Project a Weather Control Weapon?

25Feb

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Conspiracy theories, Military Technology, Topics

HAARP: Weather Control Is the HAARP Project a Weather Control Weapon?

"It isn't just conspiracy theorists who are concerned about HAARP. The European Union called the project a global concern and passed a resolution calling for more information on its health and environmental risks. Despite those concerns, officials at HAARP insist the project is nothing more sinister than a radio science research facility." -- From documentary on HAARP weather control capabilities by Canada's CBC HAARP: What is it? HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) was a little-known, yet critically important U.S. military defense project which generated quite a bit of controversy over its alleged weather control capabilities and much more. The project was shuttered by the military in 2013 after attracting large amounts of negative publicity, though HAARP-like r...

Erdoğan’s Paramilitary Unit SADAT Peddles Conspiracies Amid Quake, NATO Expansion

24Feb

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Conspiracy theories

Erdoğan’s Paramilitary Unit SADAT Peddles Conspiracies Amid Quake, NATO Expansion

by Abdullah Bozkurt Nordic Monitor Private Turkish military contractor SADAT, a paramilitary unit loyal to the president of Turkey, has been peddling conspiracy theories claiming that the US might be behind deadly earthquakes that struck Turkey earlier this month and that a Western anti-Islam/anti-Turkish campaign aims to overthrow Turkey's Islamist leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Several articles written0 by Ali Coşar, a retired colonel and board member of SADAT and published by the paramilitary group's propaganda arm, ASSAM (Association of Justice Defenders Strategic Studies Center), claimed the US has been threatening Turkey for some time and that it wasn't a coincidence that the quakes occurred right after the visit of a US warship to Istanbul. Coşar also maintained that the West...

How social networks became a ‘subsidiary’ of the FBI and CIA

21Feb

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Intelligence, Surveillance, and Privacy

How social networks became a ‘subsidiary’ of the FBI and CIA

By Jonathan Cook The Twitter Files have lifted the lid on a secret alliance between Silicon Valley, intelligence agencies and the political establishment. he US Congress last tried to grapple with what the country’s ballooning security services were up to nearly half a century ago. In 1975, the Church Committee managed to take a fleeting, if far from complete, snapshot of the netherworld in which agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and National Security Agency (NSA) operate. In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, the congressional committee and other related investigations found that the country’s intelligence services had sweeping surveillance powers and were involved in a raft of illegal or unconstitutional acts. They ...

U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy: What we can expect this time around, and what else should be considered

10Feb

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Cybersecurity, Cybersecurity & Technology

U.S. National Cybersecurity Strategy: What we can expect this time around, and what else should be considered

By Todd Moore * It’s often said that the wheels of government move slowly, but the persistent rise in cyberattacks have greased the gears of government to finally move forward with some urgency to address this critical issue. With a National Cybersecurity Strategy anticipated to roll out in the coming weeks, the public and private sectors are eagerly awaiting the outcome. The White House Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity in May 2021 was the first notable progress marker, outlining steps for the federal government to take towards modernizing the nation’s cybersecurity. This has been furthered by the funding Congress provided to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, significantly over the requested budget, and Biden’s recent signing of the Quantum ...

U.S. Cites Russian Noncompliance with New START Inspections

9Feb

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Missile Defense, Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation

U.S. Cites Russian Noncompliance with New START Inspections

Authored by Shannon Bugos on February 9, 2023 Russia has failed to fully comply with the 2010 New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) because of its refusal to allow on-site inspections and to reschedule a meeting to discuss treaty concerns, according to a U.S. assessment released in January. Senior Russian officials have accused the United States of “politicizing nuclear arms control,” saying that Washington “would have to adjust its policy towards Russia to move to a constructive arms control agenda.” In August, Moscow prohibited U.S. on-site inspections of its nuclear weapons-related facilities subject to the treaty over complaints about reciprocal access. Russia called off a planned meeting of the treaty’s Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) in Egypt in Novembe...

Barcelona cuts ties with twin city Tel Aviv citing Israeli ‘apartheid’

9Feb

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Europe, Civil Society

Barcelona cuts ties with twin city Tel Aviv citing Israeli ‘apartheid’

The move from the city's mayor follows pressure from pro-Palestinian, feminist, immigrant and LGBT+ organisations. Barcelona has severed ties with twin city Tel Aviv on the grounds that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians amounts to “apartheid”. Speaking at a press conference, Ada Colau, the city’s left-wing mayor, said: “More than 100 organisations and over 4,000 citizens have demanded that we defend the human rights of Palestinians and for this reason, as mayor, I have written to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to inform him that I have suspended temporarily the institutional relationship between Barcelona and Tel Aviv”. Spain's Jewish federation said in a statement in response to the move: "It is worrying to note that the actions and legitimacy of only one city and one cou...