Different Castro, same CubaA new report by Human Rights Watch says Cuba’s government is as repressive under Raúl Castro as it was under his brother Fidel, with dissidents beaten, publicly humiliated and fired from their jobs.
Politics / The World
Giuliani for 2012?
Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is preparing to run for the US Senate and, if successful, may have a tilt at the White House in 2012, according to Republican Party inside sources.
leaked 
UK plans to create Internet Piracy General with power to appoint militias, create laws
A UK government source claims a new Bill will give the Secretary of State unprecedented powers to pass laws on online piracy without debate and confer investigative and enforcement powers to record labels and movie studios, giving them access to personal information and files.
A quarter of Americans think Obama stole the election
26% of Americans believe Barack Obama “stole” the 2008 Presidential election, via voter fraud from community organiser ACORN — by comparison, only 18% of Americans thought Bush stole the 2000 election.
revealed 
Inside a secret CIA “torture” prison
ABC News has uncovered the site of one of the CIA’s secret European prisons: inside a fancy-pants horse riding school in Vilnius, Lithuania.
EU Presidency: a bogus, pompous, ludicrous, overpriced job
The European Union doesn’t need a President, says George Walden: the EU is not a country, and pretending it is is a dangerous farce that will impede the body’s ability to work effectively.
VIDEO: Obama does Fox News
After a nasty and public war of words between the White House and Fox News, Barack Obama has finally appeared on the network, receiving a “lighting round” grilling from Fox’s White House correspondent Major Garrett.
Europe’s first President: Herman Van Rompuy
Belgian Prime Minister Herman Van Rompuy has been named the first President of the European Union. Former British PM Tony Blair reportedly snared the job first, but bowed out to appease Europe’s centre-right majority.
UN sends Nicolas Cage to fight Somali pirates
Clearly the most qualified candidate for the roll, actor Nicolas has gone to Africa to meet with jailed Somali pirates in his capacity as a “Goodwill Ambassador on Drugs and Crime” for the UN.
Turkey debates a deal with terrorists
Turkey’s government is showing that an “Islamist” party can become a force for democracy and progress, challenging so many of our usual assumptions about Muslims, terrorism and the Middle East.
How Obama’s China trip killed Copenhagen
Despite all the fanfare around Obama’s trip to China, he failed to make any headway with the country in securing support for serious emissions targets, says Steve Clemons. As a result, Copenhagen is now dead.
Nate Silver: Why Palin could still be the Republicans’ next presidential candidate
Despite many believing Sarah Palin’s days as a politician are over, Nate Silver reckons she’s still in with a chance to be nominated as the Republicans’ 2012 Presidential candidate. He gives 10 good reasons why.
The new EU President: meet the contenders
The European Union will announce its new President this week, following a rather sketchy closed-door process. HuffPo introduces the candidates and the bookies’ odds on their chances.
The world’s most corrupt governments
Watchdog Transparency International has released its annual list ranking the world’s most — and least — corrupt countries. Heading the list is Somalia, while Australia is the eighth least corrupt.
The Velvet Revolution: 20 years on
On the 20th anniversary of Czechoslovakia’s “Velvet Revolution”, Timothy Garton Ash looks at the other nonviolent uprisings it helped inspire over the proceeding two decades.
How the Nazis stole Christmas
A new exhibition of Nazi paraphernalia in Cologne shows how the Nazi Party tried to take Christ out of Christmas with swastika cookies and hand grenade tree decorations. Many of their “paganised” Christmas carols are still unwittingly sung today.
The case for a nuclear Iran
Gasp! Iran could be building “The Bomb”. Yep: just like Pakistan has bombs, Israel has bombs and North Korea has bombs. Does another one really matter? asks Aetius Romulous
Meet the Repulicans’ Next Big Thing
Meet the Republican Party’s great hope for 2012: South Dakota Senator John Thune — a fundraising heavyweight with a crack team of advisers who many are predicting could reinvigorate the embattled party.
49 million Americans go hungry
A new report from the US Department of Agriculture has found that one in six Americans went hungry last year — the highest number on record — as the country’s recession took its toll.
Sarah Palin’s Going Rogue: the reviews are in…
The most highly-anticipated book of the year, Going Rogue by former Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin is about to hit shelves, and the critics have weighed in. Is it scandalous? Insightful? Coherent? The WSJ wraps the coverage.
revealed UN secretly negotiating with Iran to lift nuclear sanctions
Documents leaked to the Times reveal the United Nations has been negotiating with Iranian officials to lift the country’s nuclear sanctions, allowing it to retain most of its nuclear program, in return for co-operation with UN inspectors.
What if we fail in Afghanistan?
It’s time to start asking: what happens if the US and its allies can’t prevent the Afghani Taliban from taking control of the country and restoring a second Islamic Emirate? Steve Coll explores some hypothetical outcomes (spoiler: none of them are good).
Honduras — sleight-of-hand, smoke and mirrors
The US State Department’s statement last weekend that the Honduran elections would be recognised whether or not President Manuel Zelaya was reinstated is a gross betrayal of the aspirations of many honest people, writes Warwick Fry.
The nine nations of China
We tend to think of China as one big monolithic empire, but in fact, it is more like nine very distinct and different regions, each with its own character and history. Patrick Chovanec redraws and rethinks the traditional map of China.
