Section: The Huffington Post (USA)
Putin Threatens To Reduce European Gas Supply
BELGRADE, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Russia will reduce gas supplies to Europe if Ukraine steals from the transit pipeline to cover its own needs, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday, stressing he was “hopeful” it would not come to that. Russia cut off supply to Ukraine on June 16 over what gas exporter Gazprom said were...
Obama Cancels Campaign Trips Amid Ebola Crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama’s best-laid plans to go all out for Democrats in the final weeks of the midterms are running smack into a widening Ebola crisis, as Americans anxiously turn to the government and their president for answers. Hours after unveiling an ambitious itinerary to boost Democratic candidates for governor,...
Ukrainians Dump Politicians In Trash Cans Amid Mounting Anger
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — In Ukraine, trashing a politician isn’t a metaphor. It’s literal: Find a suspected shady official, grab him and throw him into a dumpster. Online videos of several public figures receiving the treatment from gangs of rowdy activists have provoked both glee and revulsion. The fad is part of a broader coarsening of...
Dispatch From Ghana: The Promise of Dignity
Dear Acumen Friend,I am writing on a return flight from Ghana. The country has not seen a single case of Ebola, yet the impact of fear is profound. As travelers enter the country, attendants screen for high temperatures. Hand sanitizer dispensers are omnipresent. Hotels and conferences have seen massive cancellations. Everywhere are constant...
Darth Vader Running For Ukrainian Parliament Under Aegis Of Internet Party
The Ukrainian Internet Party is backing a dark horse candidate for parliament in the October elections. It’s a guy dressed like Darth Vader. In a series of campaign ads, the Sith lord strums the Imperial March on a traditional Ukrianian instrument, sticks his light saber in the dirt, and makes vaguely nationalistic statements in a breathy...
Russian Hackers Reportedly Exploited Microsoft Windows Bug To Spy On NATO, Ukraine
BOSTON (Reuters) – Russian hackers exploited a bug in Microsoft Windows and other software to spy on computers used by NATO, the European Union, Ukraine and companies in the energy and telecommunications sectors, according to cyber intelligence firm iSight Partners. ISight said it did not know what data had been found by the hackers, though...
Hillsong’s Brian Houston Denies Covering Up Dad’s Alleged Sex Abuse of Children
NEW YORK (RNS) Days ahead of an annual conference in New York’s Madison Square Garden, the founder of the Hillsong music and church empire is facing strict scrutiny for what he knew about sex abuse allegations lodged against his father. Hillsong is an Australian megachurch that has exported its influence to major global cities and into...
A Marshall Plan for Ukraine
The scene: A major symposium in Vienna on the reconstruction of Ukraine. The big names of German industry were there. Plus plenty of British peers and members of Parliament, up in arms against Putin. Ukrainians, too, of course, beginning with the gas king, Dmytro Firtash, who, together with Ukrainian Business Future, organized the event. And me...
Polish Nobel Peace Laureate: We Need Missiles to Aim at Russia
GDANSK — Lech Walesa likes provocations. If you ask him, for example, what politics in the 21st century needs, he’ll smile beneath his famous mustache and tell you all that is needed is “a microchip.” A microchip? “Absolutely. Everyone in politics must agree to be implanted with a microchip that records everything...
Does America Have a Foreign Policy?
Sadly, the answer is ‘no.’ We have not had one since Barack Obama entered the Oval Office six years ago. That does not mean that his actions have been worse than his Bush predecessor’s or that he has made more mistakes. That depends in good part on one’s preferences and angle of vision. What it does mean is that the United...
