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Players unite and face off so fast Eurasian integration’s chessboard feels like musical chairs prestissimo by Pepe Escobar for the Saker Blog and cross-posted with Asia Times The Eurasian chessboard is in non-stop motion at dizzying speed. After the Afghanistan shock, we’re all aware of the progressive interconnection of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and of the preeminent roles
Following the furore created by my post yesterday, I want to point out something which is hilarious, scary and quite amazing, all at the same time. In the late Soviet Union one way to deal with dissidents/opponents of the Communist rule was to declare them insane, usually with what they called “slowly evolving/latent schizophrenia” (вялотекущая шизофрения). Now, truth be told, quite a few of those dissidents did have weird personalities
Original link: http://middleeastobserver.net/video-saudi-lebanese-guests-clash-over-diplomatic-crisis/ Link to subtitled video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ga1OAOuoBQ Description: In a recent talk show program on RT Arabic, Saudi Major General Abdullah Ghanem al-Qahtani and Lebanese journalist Khalil Nasrallah engaged in tense, back-and-forth exchanges over the roots of the current diplomatic crisis between their two countries. Source: RT Arabic (YouTube) Date: November 5, 2021 Please help MEO keep producing independent translations for you by contributing a sustainable monthly amount https://www.patreon.com/MiddleEastObserver?fan_landing=true A recent note by MEO on why
Propaganda is easy to unpack once you get down a few basic rules. One of them is this: “the louder the slogan, the bigger the lie“. That is also the case with Veteran’s Day in which US Americans thank their veterans for their “service”. Now even setting aside the true reasons why US Americans sign up, there is a much more important fact which the US propaganda machine is trying
US trained and armed Afghan security forces are joining ISIS-K, which makes the US ‘withdrawal’ from Afghanistan look more like an American ‘repositioning’ to keep chaos humming By Pepe Escobar with permission and cross-posted with The Cradle Something quite extraordinary happened in early November in Kabul. Taliban interim-Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov got together to discuss a range of political and economic issues. Most
By Walt Garlington for the Saker Blog The existential questions regarding the future of the present American union continue to grow more complex and more dire: What comes after liberalism? Can nationalism restore unity and purpose? At the heart of these questions and others like them is a problem that has plagued the States since their independence in 1776: the belief that a political ideology is enough to create a
by Chris Faure for the Saker Blog Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista alliance won the election with over 70% of the votes. This is the 4th time that the Nicaraguans declare themselves satisfied with their government and with Ortega. Prior to the election, Facebook cancelled most of the younger Sandinista voices, claiming they were bots. They went onto Twitter and posted photos of themselves and made short speeches to show
Foreword: almost exactly two years ago I wrote a column entitled “Deconstructing Islamophobia“. Yesterday, I posted an article about immigration which, alas, generated a few truly idiotic comments about “The Muslims they… bla bla bla” which I initially planned to reply to, but which I simply deleted in utter disgust. Here I need to clarify, I was not disgusted by anybody’s dislike (or even hatred) for Islam or Muslims, not
Foreword: Today I am starting what might well turn out into a series of articles about the interaction between immigration, ethnicity and religion. I happen to believe that this is a topic I know pretty well for the following reasons: I myself was born in a family of immigrants who went from Russia, to Serbia, to Germany, to Argentina, to Holland and then to Switzerland were I was born. I
Dear friends, Here is a quick update on the topic of moderation. Having spoken with our head of moderation cum webmaster we are thinking along the following lines: All in all, our moderation system works and it does not need radical changes. We will therefore make no major changes. We are probably going to ban anonymous comments. Those concerned about privacy can post under any assumed handle. We are thinking
by Quantum Bird* for the Saker Blog After addressing a number of challenging and current issues, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladmir Putin, in his extensive and detailed speech at the XVIII Valdai Discussion Club Meeting in Sochi, explained that: “I have already mentioned that, in shaping our approaches, we will be guided by a healthy conservatism. That was a few years ago, when passions on the international arena
By Amarynth for the Saker Blog Taiwan. In this article, Taiwan crossing the Red Line when the leader of the Taiwan region, Tsai Ing-wen, admitted to the presence of US military trainers on the island for the first time, was discussed. This was an open secret but the admission in public made it necessary for China to respond. Now it is clear what form the response is taking. At the
By Thorsten J. Pattberg for the Saker Blog Part I. The Arrest. They detained me upon my arrival on a Tuesday morning, October 20th, at 6:15 A.M. at Schiphol International Airport in the Netherlands. I was fastlaned past immigration and escorted by security for questioning by two officers from Interpol and one agent from German Kriminalpolizei. They spoke in neuEnglish. I felt an apparent skin rash on my infraorbitals and intense stress that
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s interview with Rossiya 24, Moscow, November 1, 2021 Question: Not so long ago, you said that Russia would not use ideology-based rules in its international diplomatic practices. What examples can you give to explain this to a layman in matters of politics? Sergey Lavrov: It’s simple. Ideally, any society should obey generally accepted rules that have proved their efficacy and sensibility. Speaking about international life, the United Nations
http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67066 November 4, 2021 Sevastopol Documents signed during the meeting included the Decree of the Supreme State Council of the Union State that sets forth the Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty Establishing the Union State in 2021–2023. Also, following the meeting, the sides signed resolutions of the Supreme State Council of the Union State On the Results of Russian-Belarusian Trade and Economic Cooperation Throughout 2020 and in January-June 2021, On the Union State’s Military Doctrine, On Awarding the 2021 Union State Prize in Science and Technology, as well as the Resolution of the Supreme State Council of the Union State On Implementing the Decisions of the Supreme State Council
http://middleeastobserver.net/why-is-lebanon-not-accepting-chinas-offers-to-develop-its-failing-infrastructure-tv-report/ Video link: https://twitter.com/MEO_Translation/status/1456536360878153728 (It’s a Twitter link, because YouTube censored this video under the pretext that it violated their “policy on violent and graphic content”!) Description: A recent news report asks why the Lebanese government is not accepting various Chinese offers to develop its debilitated infrastructure, this as the small Mediterranean country goes through an unprecedented economic and social crisis. Source: Al-Manar TV (Website) Date: November 3, 2021 (Please help MEO keep
Let’s begin with a few headlines: Pentagon says world will have three ‘great powers’ – and US will be ‘challenged’ Biden ready to change US nuclear weapons policy – reports The US imposes sanctions on Nicaragua IRGC releases footage of blocking US oil seizure The first two seem to point to a US realization that war against China and Russia is unwinnable and that the USA simply does not have
by Ramin Mazaheri posted with permission and both parts cross-posted with PressTV As a numerical minority – of course Shia are the Muslim group most interested in Muslim unity: It means survival. It has meant this since the very death of Prophet Mohammad, and both “Muslim unity” and “the survival of Shi’ism” have been inseparable ever since. The logic of that concept – that “Muslim unity” is the best protector
Dear friends, I woke up this morning to see 107 comments!! So, first and foremost, THANK YOU ALL!! Second, I will have to sit down and read each comment carefully, making notes. But I want you to know that I did already read a lot of them and that this is already very helpful, at least for me. So, again, thank you! Third, and I should have mentioned that yesterday,
