Group items tagged

Cuban Fidel Castro made a suggestion for American people: vote for a robot this November. Former Cuban President, in his latest op-ed, stated that "90 percent of voting Americans, especially Hispanics, blacks and the growing number of the impoverished middle class, would vote for the robot." While the current US political scene stands divided between Obama and yet unknown definite Republican candidate, a robot would certainly be a novelty. Now, if we are to consider HAL9000 (Artificial Intelligence from 2001:A Space Odyssey) as a serious candidate, we should compare him to the current White House incumbent in a imagined debate.

GOTV (Get Out the Vote) robocalls are a valuable campaign tool for candidates who are looking for a targeted and inexpensive method to remind voters about election information. Candidates or their spokespeople can send out pre-recorded messages via phone to thousands of voters simultaneously for a fraction of what it would cost to send campaign literature through the mail. Fact is, people do really forget to vote and the United States has one of the lowest voting rates in the free world hovering around 50% at a time when many European countries average well over 80% turnouts.

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, facing massive anti-government protests in Kiev and regional capitals, has agreed to re-shuffle his government and amend controversial new anti-protest laws. The Voice of Russia talked to Fyodor Lukyanov Editor-in-Chief of the "Russia in Global Affairs" journal.

Barack Obama praised France's unpopular President Francois Hollande as a leader of courage Tuesday, and wined and dined his solo guest at a lavish state dinner.

US authorities are investigating the French banks Societe Generale, BNP Paribas and Credit Agricole for embezzlement and violating American sanctions against other countries, a source close to the matter said Friday.

Ukraine warned Sunday it was on the brink of disaster and called up all military reservists after Russia's threat to invade its neighbour drew sharp rebukes from the United States and its Western allies.

Fifteen years have passed since the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland joined the NATO military alliance, a decision the ex-Soviet satellites now see as fortuitous given today's Ukraine standoff between Russia and the West.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the United Nations Security Council have both strongly condemned the terrorist attacks near the Iranian embassy in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, Tuesday which killed at least 23 civilians and injured over 100 others.

Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday condemned two blasts near Iranian Embassy in Beirut and stressed that Washington and Tel Aviv have benefited most from such terrorist operations.

Kurdish regional administration PM Nechirvan Barzani said the energy deals they signed with Turkey are the start of a new Iraq and there is no need for fear.

Not even one in five people living with HIV in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and in need of treatment is actually receiving it. The number of people living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in the Region has increased over the past five years. However, the number of new infections is increasing at a faster pace.

Senior Iranian and Russian officials emphasized the need to finalize the agreements previously reached between Tehran and Moscow in the energy sector.

Japan dispatched fighter jets more often over the past 12 months than at any time since the Cold War ended, according to government figures, with the sorties mostly aimed at chasing away Chinese and Russian aircraft.

Tehran, YJC. -- Iran's Ambassador to Baku Mohsen Pakaein called three fields of trade, energy and transit as the important fields for cooperation between Iran and Azerbaijan Republic.

Clearly there are double standards between the official Iranian stance and the Iranian stance echoed in the Media towards the Ukrainian Crisis. PhD student in Poltical Sciences at University of Saint Joseph

Some realities made Iranians would not believe that Washington had only humanitarian motives for its action to admit the ailing and deposed Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi into the United States, John Limbert former US embassy staff to Tehran wrote in an article.

Key ministers from Japan and Australia will meet Wednesday to beef up their defence relations, including a possible future submarine deal, as a rising China stirs tension in the Asia-Pacific region.

Tehran, YJC. -- Iran and the Latin American nations have common characteristics as both have defied the hegemony of the world powers and maintain pro-independence morale, a prominent Iranian diplomat said.

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are locked into a propaganda war with public relations agencies and front organizations as proxies that is backfiring on both Gulf states.