Following are some of the headlines appearing now at our sister-site Daily Estimate. Please be sure to check out the site and spread the word ...



Rafsanjani victory changes power balance
Iran's powerful hard-line axis is running into serious obstacles - not the least of which may be the election of moderate conservative Hashemi Rafsanjani to head Iran's most venerated political body, the Assembly of Experts.
by Kamal Nazir Yasin


Myanmar: Crushing dissent
The Myanmar military appears to have ridden out the most serious waves of public dissent in recent years, re-imposing authority ahead of proposed democratization moves castigated as a sham.
by ISA

Russia: Presidential succession looms
December's Duma elections will be merely the opening act for the main bit of political theater looming in the spring.
by Robert Coalson


Israel's Syria sortie ill-advised
While Israel could hope for limited intelligence gains from an apparent over-flight of Syrian territory, the sortie's overall impact is harmful to the frozen peace process.
by Dr Dominic Moran



India at 60: More growing pains
After six decades of independence, India is still experiencing growing pains as it strives to put internal strife in check.
by Animesh Roul

Opening address at OPEC meeting
Indeed, we shall carefully review the market outlook at today’s meeting, especially for the coming months, as the Northern Hemisphere winter approaches.
by HE Mohamed Bin Dhaen Al Hamli

Keeping an eye on everything
From OPEC’s viewpoint, the Organization’s commitment to ensuring order and stability in the international oil market, with secure supply, reasonable prices and fair returns to investors, is unequivocal
by OPEC

Swiss elections and the 'foreign' concept
With October elections around the corner, Switzerland cannot escape the "foreign" element despite its isolationist tendencies and neutrality policy, as parties use foreign issues to win political capital.
by Joseph de Weck

EU neighborhood policy: Economics, not membership
The message from Brussels at a meeting with the members of its European Neighborhood Policy is clear: economic cooperation - yes; membership - no.
by Ahto Lobjakas

Headscarves provoke controversy in Azerbaijan
Religious young women risk problems if they choose to wear Islamic clothing.
by Nigar Musayeva

Supercomputing in China
IBM-made supercomputer bought by China for weather forecasting at the 2008 Olympics unlikely to be used for military purposes after games.
by Luke K Handley

Morocco: Democracy, islam, monarchy
Democracy's role in ensuring freedoms in Morocco is limited as power still rests with the monarchy, and the rise of Islam and low voter turnout for Friday's polls shows increasing disillusionment.
by Adam Wolfe

Iran shake-up may reveal inner workings
Iranian president Mahmood Ahmdinejad sacked the ministers of Oil and Industry; seven ministers replaced during his term. The identity of their replacements will say volumes about the internal mechanism of the Iranian Revolution.
by ISN Security Watch

Fred Thompson's rope-a-dope
The president of the United States cannot be and should not be our mother
by Star Parker

Is the Legion of Christ repealing 'secret' vows?
A reader sent me the following (translated) essay that appears on the Spanish Web site redescristianas.net.
by Matt C. Abbott

I've got to tell you all about two new Spero Group websites that I think are pretty interesting.

The first site is The Daily Estimate http://www.dailyestimate.com. This site is dedicated to analysis and commentary. In other words, a deeper look at what's behind the news headlines.

The second site is Intel Beat http://www.intelbeat.com/, which is a news aggregator that draws on blogs and alternative news sites.

Here are just a few examples of what you will find right now on The Daily Estimate

Polar expedition 'little' territorial claim effect
Russian explorers have successfully dived to the bottom of the Arctic Ocean and planted a Russian flag directly under the North Pole.

Israel mulls open nuke program
Israeli officials leak information on high-level government discussions on the establishment of a nuclear energy program, and Security Watch sounds out Israeli analysts on the implications.
by Dr Dominic Moran

Terminator technologies
Experts study how to encode ethics for a new breed of robot warriors with a 'conscience.'
by ISA

Weapons of mass consequence
The huge US military deal with Arab states and Israel will benefit domestic friends and overseas adversaries.
by Paul Rogers

US: Black Muslims' bakery raided, reporter killed
An article written on the Nation of Islam receives a bizarre response and which can give readers a measure of the mindset of some of those associated with the 'Black Muslims'.
by Adrian Morgan

The new Sanctuary Movement
Echoing the 80s sanctuary movement, the new movement blends leftist politics with concern for new immigrants. Christians from Sojourners, Faith in Public Life, and Mexican American Cultural Center are involved.
by Stephanie Block

Kazakhstan officials adopt low-key language policy
It has been 10 years since Kazakhstan adopted a law that enshrined Kazakh as the state language, and required all citizens to learn it.
by Joanna Lillis

The Venezuelan powder keg
Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez is sending confused signals as to his intent, as he moves to cement his control over the military through large-scale military deals and the arming of a people's militia.
by ISA

Turkey ready for Kurdish tug-of-war
As the new Turkish parliament gets ready to convene on Saturday, rising tensions about Kurdish activities in northern Iraq will be high on the agenda as 22 members of the pro-Kurdish DTP sit around the table
by Yigal Schleifer

Will 'Europe' survive the 21st Century?
European integration fulfilled a very old dream. The Holy Roman Emperors, as putative leaders of Western Christendom in the medieval centuries, dreamed of restoring a unity unknown since the fall of ancient Rome.
by Walter A. McDougall

US: Vulnerability and redemption
As the US prepares for 2008 elections, the public must ask itself if any of the candidates are capable of fostering comity and a coherent foreign policy
by ISA

Indo-Israeli military ties enter next stage
A US$2.5 billion Indo-Israeli defense project marks a new phase in the two countries' relations.
by P R Kumaraswamy

Arms sales to Taiwan: A means to what end?
On 15 June 2007, Taiwan's legislature finally allocated funds to purchase part of a US arms package.
by Sam Black

Can traditional rituals bring justice to N Uganda?
Local justice offers an alternative to formal trials, but applying unwritten tribal codes may not be enough to bring closure to Uganda's brutal conflict.
by Julius Ocen

Chile seeks energy independence
As Chile seeks energy independence, an isolationist foreign policy may follow.
by ISA

Sri Lanka: Bloody mindsets
The decades-old civil war moves to the north and peace seems out of the question.
by ISA

Israel land bill racist?
With racial tensions building, the passage of a controversial land bill through Israel's Knesset is raising serious concerns for the future of inter-communal relations and the real crisis of Israeli democracy.
by ISA

Pakistan: Islamism - In the line of fire
This year has been one of tumult and challenge for the administration of President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan.
by Adrian Morgan

Ingushetia: Violence, leadership cracks
Since a career FSB general took over as president, he has appointed his relatives and allies to prominent positions as the economy nosedives and corruption sky-rockets.

And don't forget to check out Intel Beat!

Robert Duncan is a journalist and ombudsman for foreign press in Spain. He is an Executive Board Member and Vice-President for the Organización de Periodismo y Comunicación Ibero-Americana, and Vice-President of the energy and telecommunications association, APCSE.

He is News Editor for Spero News, and Editor-In-Chief of EnerPub, as well as for the Daily Estimate.

Robert was the bureau chief for an international news agency in Madrid for many years, and was published regularly in Dow Jones Newswires, with articles appearing in The Wall Street Journal and other financial publications.

He is also published in World Catholic News, National Catholic Register, Renew America, Lifesite.net, as well as Capital Hill Coffee House, Common Conservative, The Conservative Voice, Enter Stage Right, News By Us, Conservative Crusader, World Net Daily, Mens News Daily and others.

Robert is a member of the Navy League and the US Press Association, as well as the Spanish association for Directors of Communication, DirCom.

For more of his writings, spanning more than 20 years as a foreign correspondent, please click here.