ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The dark net has continued to make headlines over the last decade as a mysterious part of the internet where criminals lurk and engage in illegal activities, all from the privacy of home computers. Stories of the infamous Silk Road drug market, where users can order illicit drugs online, may come to mind . Or perhaps you have heard about the anonymous digital currency, Bitcoin . But for all that is written about the dark net, most people would be hard-pressed to explain it. Here is a simple, user-friendly explainer of what it is, how it is used, and the questions it raises as we drift deeper into the digital age. What is the dark net? The dark net generally means using the internet in a manner that is difficult for authorities or non-state actors to monitor. This is usually achieved through encryption or by layering networks. It might sound complicated, but for the majority of dark net users this is done simply with software that is downloaded for free and opened, just like ordinary, e...

By Matt Novak The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced today that the Doomsday Clock, which represents our proximity to an apocalyptic event, will remain at three minutes to midnight. But that’s still terrifying. “That decision is not good news but an expression of dismay that world leaders continue to fail to focus their efforts and the world’s attention on reducing the extreme danger posed by nuclear weapons and climate change,” the group said in a statement. In a world that hasn’t seen nuclear warfare in over 70 years, the so-called Doomsday Clock sounds like a joke. But when you look at the number of near-misses we’ve had throughout our nuclear history, one thing becomes abundantly clear: The Doomsday Clock is no fucking joke. Yes, the Doomsday Clock is admittedly a gimmick that’s been used by the anti-nuclear proliferation group and its journal, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, since 1947. But unlike other media-bait events, like “National Popcorn Day” or “Vale...

By F. William Engdahl If there is any single price of any commodity that determines the growth or slowdown of our economy, it is the price of crude oil. Too many things don’t calculate today in regard to the dramatic fall in the world oil price. In June 2014 major oil traded at $103 a barrel. With some experience following the geopolitics of oil and oil markets, I smell a big skunk. Let me share some things that for me don’t add up. On January 15 the US benchmark oil price, WTI (West Texas Intermediate), closed trading at $29, the lowest since 2004. True, there’s a glut of at least some 1 million barrels a day overproduction in the world and that’s been the case for over a year. True, the lifting of Iran sanctions will bring new oil on to a glutted market, adding to the downward price pressure of the present market. However, days before US and EU sanctions were lifted on Iran on January 17, Seyyid Mohsen Ghamsari, the head of international affairs at National Iranian Oil Company stated...