Posts From The Saker
I just wanted to update everybody on a few interesting aspects on the current crisis in the Ukraine.The opposition: Vladimir Klichko, Arsenii Iatseniuk, Oleg Tsiagnibok Yulia Timoshenko The opposition is currently headed by four people: Vladimir Klichko, Arsenii Iatseniuk, Oleg Tsiagnibok and, of course, Yulia Timoshenko (in jail, of all things, for signing a gas deal with Putin). There are a number of smaller parties also participating on the
written specially for the Asia Times Following the ratification by all parties of the recent Joint Plan of Action between Iran and the P5+1 countries, it is worth looking again at the official narrative explaining this “sudden breakthrough”. It goes something like that:“Iran was ruled by President Ahmadinejad, a notorious anti-Semite and Holocaust denier, who did everything in his power to deny the international community the monitoring rights it demanded
Yet another excellent CrossTalk show:
According to the BBC, the UN bureaucrats are now trying to implicate Syrian President Assad in war crimes. According to UN Commissioner Navi Pillay “the scale of viciousness of the abuses being perpetrated by elements on both sides almost defies belief” and evidence indicated responsibility “at the highest level of government, including the head of state“. Notice the nuance? Both sides have perpetrated atrocities, but the evidence only “points to
written specially for the Asia Times Just as I have predicted in my last piece about the developments in the Ukraine, European politicians and Ukrainian opposition parties have gone into overdrive to attempt yet another color-coded revolution in Kiev. The normally demure and low-key Eurobureaucrats have suddenly found it themselves to castigate Russia with irate statements about “unacceptable Russian interference” while their own diplomats actually went on stage to encourage
As always, an excellent show again:
written specially for the Asia Times Do you remember President Clinton ordered two US aircraft carrier battle groups into the Strait of Taiwan in 1996 to “send a message” to China? Well, it appears that Barak Obama, the lame duck spineless multi-humiliated and multi-defeated President of the US of A just had a surge of testosterone and decided to provoke China yet again by mocking its decision to extend its
The latest decision by the Yanukovich government to delay any decision about the possible signing of an association agreement with the European Union has been greeted by a mix of shock and outrage by the Western corporate press. Unanimously, it was decreed that this apparent reversal by Yanukovich himself was the result of Russian blackmail, ruthless power politics and even not-so-veiled threats. Finally, the media presented this latest development as
(Speech and subtitles begin at 3:05; press “cc” to turn on captions) Note from the translator of this speech: Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivers a very strong political message during the 9th night of Muharram. He touches on the point of espionage within Lebanon and the region Arab states being allied to Israel “under the table” Lebanese internal affairs and the delay of a government Hezbollah’s telecommunication network The situation in Syria
(Speech and subtitles begin at 3:14; press “cc” to turn on captions) UPDATE: I have just received the transcript of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s speeches on November 12th, 13th and 14th. You can download them at these links: http://www.mediafire.com/download/aa188pvhghw8xcy/S_H_tr_12_11_2013.doc http://www.mediafire.com/download/zbj2u11hi2c9kbf/S_H_tr_13_-_11_-_2013.doc http://www.mediafire.com/download/6bk622bstw2l276/S_H_tr_14_11_2013.doc Enjoy!The Saker
Dear friends,A little less than one month ago, I published a small announcement here entitled “This has been a really amazing week for me – many thanks to you all!!” in which I mentioned that my article about Russia and the USA had been picked up and even translated by several websites and that I would now write an occasional column for the Asia Times. To my absolute amazement the
Last month I wrote an article about the real reasons behind the Greenpeace action in the Russian Arctic in which I mentioned several examples of the surge in Arctic related activities initiated under Vladimir Putin: A few years ago, a Russian submarine placed a Russian flag on the North Pole as a clear sign that Russia was claiming its share of the polar resources. Needless to say, the US, Canada
Today I am beginning a series of articles about what I believe is the extremely deep crisis taking place in Europe and about the potential of this crisis to result in some cataclysmic events. I will begin by taking a look at what has been going on in France, probably the country in Europe I know best, and also one which I think has be biggest potential to generate an
These are bad times for Barak Obama, and humiliations seems to fall upon him every day. Yesterday it what a double-whammy: first NBC and the WSJ announced that Obama’s approval rating were at a historical low and then Forbes announced that Obama’s most hated adversary, Vladimir Putin, had displaced him in the Forbes world’s most powerful person list and was now the most powerful person on the planet, followed by
I take refuge in Allah from the stoned devil. In the Name of Allah, The Compassionate, The Most Merciful. Peace be on the Seal of prophets, our Master and Prophet, Abi Al Qassem Mohammad and on his chaste and pure Household and on his chosen companions and on all messengers and prophets. Peace be upon you and Allah’s mercy and blessings. First, I welcome you all and thank this dear
(Originally written for the Asia Times) All signs are showing that the otherwise secretive Saudi regime is angry. Very, very angry. Not only did the KSA refuse to take a seat at the UNSC, but now the Saudi spy chief, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, appears to be threatening the USA with a “major shift” in “relations with the United States in protest at its perceived inaction over the Syria war and
Wow! This has been quite a week for me. It all began soon after I published my rather long analysis “1993-2013: is the twenty years long “pas de deux” of Russia and the USA coming to an end?” which I wrote last Friday and published on Saturday morning. The funny thing is that I had originally only intended to deal with the issue of “Putin and public opinion at home
The latest tensions between the EU and Russia over Greenpeace’s stunt in the Arctic only confirmed a fact which nobody really bothers denying anymore: Western political and financial elites absolutely hate Vladimir Putin and they are appalled at Russia’s behavior, both inside Russia and on the international scene. This tension was quite visible on the faces of Obama and Putin at the G8 summit in Lough Erne where both leaders
I am going to be gone for the next day (diving in some nice coral reefs!), but since at least one dimwit managed to accuse me of wanting to “destroy the planet with pollution” because of my post about the latest Greenpeace stunt I have decided to post this little reminder by Roger Waters, my absolute favorite composer and singer, about the world we live in: See you all on
In Europe the Russia-bashing campaigns come and go with the regularity reminiscent of times. Let’s try to recall some of them (in not particular order): Berezovsky as a “persecuted” businessman, Politkovskaya “murdered by KGB goons”, Khodorkovsky jailed for his love of liberty, the “Pussy Riot” “prisoners of conscience”, Litvinenko “murdered by Putin”, the homo-lobby’s call to boycott Russian vodka, the homo-lobby’s call to boycott the Sotchi Olympics, Magnitsky and the
