Free Republic

Russian President Putin vowed to 'knock the teeth out' of nations who grab pieces of the state's vast territory Secretary of State Blinken warned Moscow the North Pole must remain 'free of conflict' at Thursday's summit His Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov hit back, saying the Kremlim saw 'no grounds' for conflict in the Arctic, but warned the West about militarising on Russia's doorstep and said the country would defend itself Comes as Russia revealed a massive polar military airbase, Nagurskoye, in the Franz Josef Land archipelago It has been heavily militarised with missiles, a radar system and a runway handling...

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. (AP) - Crews are working to clear a path through ice on eastern Lake Superior that's left freighters unable to move, including one that had a hole punched in its hull.......The cargo shipping season started last month on the upper Great Lakes.

The Secret Anti-China Message Behind Obama's Mission To Yemen Joe Weisenthal Jan. 9, 2010, 11:13 AM The war on terror is back, though the story has moved from Afghanistan (which is ostensibly now in nation-building mode) to Yemen, which up until recently, many Americans probably had never heard of. Asia Times has an excellent overview of the situation written by former Indian ambassador M K Bhadrakumar. What's most interesting is his analysis of Yemen through the lens of the broader tension between the US and China. Most important, however, for US global strategies will be the massive gain of control...

NAIROBI, Kenya - Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked a cargo ship with 21 American crew members aboard, a diplomat and U.S. Navy officials said. The Kenya-based diplomat identified the vessel as the 17,000-ton Maersk Alabama. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet confirmed that a Danish-owned, U.S.-operated container ship carrying 21 Americans "came under attack" about 240 nautical miles southeast of Eyl, a town in the northern Puntland region of Somalia. Maersk Line is one of the U.S. Department of Defense's primary shipping...