ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Image by Flickr user “Caveman Chuck” Coker Maps give us a graphic understanding of the world around us – whether it be global geography or the tricky intersection just around the corner. They help us to grasp concepts of size and distance… but what about IQ scores and vegetation? Or flags? This creative and varied collection of world maps will open your mind, no matter where you live or how much coffee you've had today. 1. NATIONAL IQ SCORES This first map shows average national IQ scores – a score derived from standardized tests to assess intelligence. The jury's still out as to why IQ scores vary so much around the world, with theories ranging from environmental factors to genetic influence. DID YOU KNOW? Singapore boasts the highest national IQ score, with an average of 108. Image: Target Map 2. FLAGS OF THE WORLD This creative map needs little explanation – just check it out and enjoy! DID YOU KNOW? Switzerland and the Vatican are the only two countries with square-shaped f

LIZZIE DEARDEN     Australia has dropped out of the top 10 least corrupt countries in the world as it slips down the rankings for the second year in a row, according to a survey. Transparency International found that scandals over note printing and the country’s own corruption probes had worsened perceptions and pushed it down to number 11 out of 175 countries – four positions lower than 2012. But that is still three places above Britain, languishing at number 14 with a score of 78, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 very clean. A spokesperson for Transparency International said the organisation recognised the UK’s “gradual progress” in recent years, particularly the Bribery Act, by raising its score by two points. “But there is more to do, the UK should be in the top 10,” he added. “The result next year may depend on the government’s upcoming anti-corruption action plan and whether the new government, post-May, sticks to commitments made within it.” Denmark came top of the 2014 C

By Patrick Cockburn The Iraqi army includes 50,000 “ghost soldiers” who do not exist, but their officers receive their salaries fraudulently according to the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. “The Prime Minister revealed the existence of 50,000 fictitious names,” said a statement after a thorough headcount during the latest salary payments. The Iraqi army has long been notorious for being wholly corrupt with officers invariably paying for their jobs in order to make money either through drawing the salaries of non-existent soldiers or through various other scams. One Iraqi politician told The Independent a year ago that Iraqi officers “are not soldiers, they are investors”. In the years before the defeat of the army in Mosul in June by a much smaller force from Isis, Iraqi units never conducted training exercises. At the time of Isis’s Mosul offensive, government forces in Mosul were meant to total 60,000 soldiers and federal police but the real figure was probably closer to 20,0

Russia's Kalashnikov Concern has identified 50 countries as potential priority buyers of its weapons by 2020. The company hopes that the present rebranding will boost its competitiveness in global arms industry. © Sputnik. Grigoriy Sisoev Kalashnikov Concern Nearly Closes Sales Gap Due to Sanctions: Rostec CEO MOSCOW, December 2 (Sputnik) — Russia's largest small arms manufacturer, Kalashnikov Concern, has rolled out its new development strategy for between now and 2020 that includes looking for potential buyers in 50 different countries, the company's CEO Alexei Krivoruchko said Tuesday. "Speaking about military products, we have identified 50 priority countries," Krivoruchko said at a historic conference that was hosted by the Russian state technologies corporation Rostec. The event, held in the Russian capital, announced the company's rebranding to increase "a feeling of unity" between its separate production lines. Kalashnikov representatives poi

Occupy Central deliberately ignores overwhelming public demands to end protests, resorts to clashes with police, violence. (Tony Cartalucci - LD) - Fully qualifying claims that the so-called "Occupy Central" or "Occupy Hong Kong" movement is little more than US-backed political subversion dressed as "pro-democracy," mobs remained in the streets, creating chaos as police worked to reopen streets and return order to downtown Hong Kong. A recent poll carried out by one of the movement's own collaborators - the Public Opinion Programme (HKU POP) of the University of Hong Kong - revealed over 80% wanted the protests brought to an end with over 60% advocating police action to clear the streets if necessary. In direct defiance not of the government in Beijing, but the will of Hong Kong's people themselves the "Occupy" movement claims to represent, protesters have vowed to continue disrupting order and remain in the streets as long as possi

Grad rockets fired indiscriminately into populated areas by Kiev regime - a war crime NATO has condemned before, but only when politically convenient. ( Tony Cartalucci - NEO ) - "The Grad rocket cannot be targeted, so shooting it into a town full of civilians, with no specific military objective, violates the laws of war." These words were found in a 2011 Human Rights Watch (HRW) document titled, " Libya: Rocket Attacks on Western Mountain Towns - Grads Striking Civilian Areas ," one of many reports ceaselessly cited by the United Nations and in turn, NATO as part of justifying a military intervention in the North African nation. At the time, accusations of indiscriminate bombardment of populated areas by air and artillery, and the use of punitive squads to detain, beat, torture, and/or arbitrary arrest citizens served as the rhetorical and legal foundation of NATO's "humanitarian war." In fact, the text of UN Security Council resolutions 1970 and 19

(Tony Cartalucci -LD) Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) published a video report of immense implications - possibly the first national broadcaster in the West to admit that the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS) is supplied not by "black market oil" or "hostage ransoms" but billions of dollars worth of supplies carried into Syria across NATO member Turkey's borders via hundreds of trucks a day. The report titled, " 'IS' supply channels through Turkey ," confirms what has been reported by geopolitical analysts since at least as early as 2011 - that NATO member Turkey has allowed a torrent in supplies, fighters, and weapons to cross its borders unopposed to resupply ISIS positions inside of Syria. In one surreal scene from the DW report, anti-Syria terrorists are seen walking across the border and literally shot dead just on the other side by Kurdish fighters. Local residents and merchants interviewed by Germany&

When Rodney Watson was called up by the U.S. army for a second deployment to Iraq in 2006, he made the decision to desert. He now lives in a small room in a church in Vancouver, which immigration officials refrain from entering due to a tradition of sanctuary that dates back to medieval times. Yolande Cole VANCOUVER, British Columbia — For more than five years, former U.S. soldier Rodney Watson has lived as a prisoner, confined to a church that serves a poor neighborhood here. Wanted on charges of desertion in the United States and marked for deportation from Canada, he’s invoked the protection of sanctuary. Following a tradition established in medieval times, the Canada Border Services Agency officers have refrained from entering the church. Watson is safe from arrest as long as he stays within its walls. There are as many as two dozen men and women like Watson living in Canada today. Self-described conscientious objectors or resisters to the 2003 Iraq war, they have applied to Cana