Recently Standard & Poor downgraded Russia’s debt to below investment grade, which increases the cost of servicing existing debt. Russia’s government, banks and companies owe $600bn externally, equating to 50% of GDP thanks to the plummeting rouble, although the economic result of the downgrade isn’t as important as its symbolic and political impact. Vladimir Putin …
Much is being made of poor Greece being bullied by the EU (or Germany as it is known). The historic fact is that Greece, until the time of the romantic Lord Byron, was a dusty Turkish province where nothing happened without a bribe, and refusal to pay tax was a sign of manhood. (Thanks for …
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Outgoing Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, says he’s concerned about retaining qualified U.S. military service members amid the “stress and strain” of more than 13 years of continuous warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq. In one of his last interviews in the job he’s held since February 2013, Hagel refers to the “hidden consequences” of “nonstop …
Steve Emerson, a so-called “terrorism expert” talking-head on Fox News, asserted that the city of Birmingham, England, is totally Muslim and that it is a place where non-Muslims don’t go”. Fox News later had to apologise. Census data from 2011 indicated 22% of the population of Birmingham identified themselves as Muslim. The Prime Minister called …
The British Ministry of Defence has published a “cut out and keep” guide to the hierarchy of military rank after senior officers complained that they were no longer being properly saluted by their juniors. The problem was said to be particularly acute during joint operations, when the Army, Navy and RAF work together. But lax …
