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Guest Analyses

Russians are much admired and Putin is loved by the Chinese, for good reasons

by Jeff J. Brown for The Saker Blog Crosslinked with: http://chinarising.puntopress.com/2018/06/17/russians-are-much-admired-and-putin-is-loved-by-the-chinese-for-good-reasons-china-rising-radio-sinoland-180618/ https://youtu.be/txVSSlfUD6o https://soundcloud.com/44-days/russians-are-much-admired-and-putin-is-loved-by-the-chinese-for-good-reasons-c-rising-r-sinoland Looking back at the rocky, mutually suspecting and disrespecting relations between Russia’s and China’s leaders, 1917-2000, this photo speaks volumes about the depth of Putin’s and Xi’s mutual friendship and the importance of Sino-Russian cooperation on the world stage, highlighted at last week’s SCO summit in Qingdao. They are brothers, amigos, and trusted partners on the world

The WSWS, Iran’s economy, the Basij & Revolutionary Shi’ism: an 11-part series

by Ramn Mazaheri for The Saker Blog In February the WSWS published a three-part series in response to my criticism of their inflammatory coverage of the protests last winter in Iran, and also to try and rebut the entire concept of “Iranian Islamic Socialism”. I have waited a few months to read it and respond, but I present this 11-part series in order to: explain the undeniably socialist nature of

Post Scriptum on Scripal

by Jimme Moglia for The Saker Blog The dust of time is settling on the Scripal affair, after the eruption of British anti-Russian bile, bursting out from the deep state, and scattered to the four winds by the deep-state’s minions. Bile converted into imaginative insults and tokens of contempt for which sometimes it is not easy to find a name – for they are real but escape an attempt to

The key word in the Trump-Kim show

by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) By reaffirming the Panmunjom Declaration, the US President has committed to bringing its military back from South Korea and thus a complete denuclearization of the South as well as the North The Trump-Kim geopolitical reality-TV show – surreal for some – offered unparalleled entries to the annals of international diplomacy. It will be tough to upstage

Putin and Xi top the G6+1

by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) East vs. West: the contrast between the “dueling summits” this weekend was something for the history books. All hell broke loose at the G6+1, otherwise known as G7, in La Malbaie, Canada, while all focused on divine Eurasian integration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in China’s Qingdao in Shandong, the home province of Confucius. US

How Singapore, Astana and St Petersburg preview a new world order

by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) Key economic forums in cities across Eurasia point the way to new power structures rising to challenge Western dominance Ahead of the crucial Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Qingdao this coming weekend, three other recent events have offered clues on how the new world order is coming about. The Astana Economic Forum in Kazakhstan centered

Religion saves ‘The Americans’ – the superb (semi) pro-socialist TV show

by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker blog (NOTE: This review contains spoilers for the TV show “The Americans”) The US television show “The Americans” has been considered the best TV show for the past few years, and it aired its finale on May 30, and to rave reviews. What has gone unappreciated, and of course rarely commented-upon among the fake-leftist cultural gurus of the US, is that “The Americans”was the

Concerning the persecution and censorship against Santiago Cúneo: DAIA-AMIA as devices of the Anglo-Zionist invasion of Argentina

by  Leo del Grosso for the Latin American Saker blog translated from the original Spanish by Ana for the Saker blog On May 5, the following statement was distributed to the public opinion in Buenos Aires, Argentina: “The DAIA, Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations, reports that its Board of Directors has requested the resignation of its president, Ariel Cohen Sabban, due to facts of public knowledge. The 1st Vice-president, Dr.

The Syria connection to Iran, Afghanistan and China

by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) Iranian academic spells out Iran’s position in the Middle East and questions US policy toward the region; amid reports that the Qods force is unlikely to disband, and that Daesh (ISIS) is being moved the Afghanistan-Pakistan border A crucial question has been consuming policymakers in Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon: Does the Trump administration have a

Why The American Conservative Purged Its Own Publisher

Note by the Saker: today, with his kind permission, I am posting an article by Ron Unz originally posted here.  While this article deals with something specific which has happened at The American Conservative, I am sure that there are many amongst you who will immediately see the parallels with some, lets call them, recent “changes of course” we have recently observed in the Russia-oriented blogosphere.  Simply put – to

Will Putin’s Policy of Concession Succeed?

Note by the Saker: I am posting this article today by the special permission of Paul Craig Roberts.  It was initially posted here. Will Putin’s Policy of Concession Succeed? by Paul Craig Roberts Russian president Vladimir Putin’s speech at the St. Petersburg International Economic Conference last weekend shows the Russian government’s ensnarement by neoliberal economic policy. Putin defended globalism and free trade, and he warned that crisis will result from

Iran diary: bracing for all-out economic war

by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) While the dogs of war bark, the Ancient – and New – Silk Road goes on forever and a civilization with a long and proud history gets on with life The minute you set foot in the streets of Mashhad, the air smelling of saffron, a fine breeze oozing from the mountains, it hits you; you’re

Who Are the People in the Quiz?

Note by the Saker: I learned the hard way and have come to terms with the following sad facts: a) there will always be people who will deliberately accuse others of things they neither said nor meant and b) some people are simply to stupid to understand an argument.  The following article by Jimmie Moglia will be an ideal target for both of these categories. The only way for me

The Lebanese style of democracy of no winners or losers

by Ghasssan Kadi for the Saker Blog On the 6th of May 2018, Lebanese voters went to their polling booths to vote for members of Parliament. This was the first Parliamentary election since 2009, nearly a decade ago, even though the regular parliamentary term is only four years. And for the first time in Lebanon’s history, the Lebanese diaspora were able to vote in their representative embassies. So why did

American Empire’s Unipolar Moment is Unraveling: Some Nitty-Gritty Details

By David Franke for The Saker Blog A number of articles in the alternative media have put forth generalized arguments that the unipolar moment of the American Empire is unraveling, to be supplanted by a multipolar world. Here are two current articles, and a third that’s a few months old—all from mainstream media—that provide some of the details supporting that thesis. It doesn’t matter if you approve or disapprove—this is

Trump and Kim: opposite goals for a peace summit

by R.Lesnoix for The Saker Blog Peace between North Korea and the United States would be a welcome development. Both have nuclear weapons and have been threatening each other with the use of these until recently. With the proximity of China, Russia and Japan, each with their own interests, renewed fighting in and around the Korean peninsula could rapidly escalate. Such an escalation would spell trouble for the entire world,

Will the Russian-Iranian-Syrian alliance hold as the Syrian war draws close to an end?

By Aram Mirzaei for The Saker Blog These past weeks have witnessed a lot of tensions running high, with Israel and Iran reportedly facing off near the Golan Heights. Israel has launched several airstrikes on “Iranian bases” across Syria, while Damascus (IRGC allegedly) responded with missile fire against IDF positions. In the aftermath of these hit and run attacks, Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad travelled once more to Russia to meet

One Year On – The Truth About The Manchester Bombing Scorpion

by Nick for The Saker Blog “Terrorism is like a scorpion; it can unexpectedly sting you at any time”. Among the Western nations to discover the bitter truth of Bashar al Assad’s 2013 warning was Britain, when a Libyan suicide bomber killed 22 people attending a pop concert in Manchester. But while the UK media covered the May 22nd first anniversary of the massacre, not a single mainstream outlet so

Tehran eyes path ahead after US withdrawal from nuclear pact

by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) Iran is considering conducting all trade in euro and yuan amid uncertainty over whether Brussels can challenge the dominance of US law and prevent possible sanctions The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has monopolized the highest levels of government in Tehran around the clock

SITREP Germany: They Just Don’t Buy Into the Propaganda

by Sergio Weigel for The Saker Blog Despite “poison gas”, “barrel bombs” and “annexation” – a large part of propaganda is going nowhere in Germany. Recent surveys show a pronounced media literacy among many citizens and a great yearning for German-Russian rapprochement. The first survey of interest might be the one Forsa Institute did on behalf of RTL (private media TV) about the trust of Germans in their öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunk, the

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