The West is complaining about Russian ‘aggression’ but the incident looks more like a cheap ploy by a desperate Ukrainian president and US conservatives keen to undermine Trump’s next pow-wow with Putin by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with The Asia Times by special agreement with the author) When the Ukrainian navy sent a tugboat and two small gunboats on Sunday to force their way through the Kerch Strait into the Sea
by Peter Koenig for The Saker Blog What do Argentinian protesters have in common with French protesters? – They both strongly dislike their governments, and their leaders (sic). The protests in Argentina against the upcoming G20 meeting and around the IMF are just a pretext for an overall malaise – which is an understatement – vis-à-vis President Mauricio Macri and his debt-driven austerity program, that has left hundreds of thousands
by Andrey Burachev for The Saker Blog Another year of the political season in Moldova is coming to the end. On the threshold of 2019 is the tenth anniversary of the April 2009 events. Recall, that in April 2009, Moldova has made the European choice. Under the smoke of the burning Parliament building and the destroyed administration of the presidency, the regime of Communist Voronin fell. In 2009, a pro–European
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog The most important thing to understand about Salafism is that it exists in every country, Islamic or not. Some will immediately close their minds to such an idea because they have been socially conditioned to believe that their culture should not have anything in common with Muslim culture. However, those who go along with me will find that this discussion should clarify much
by Gary Littlejohn for The Saker Blog Introduction Western political commentaries about the condition of the Russian economy are becoming increasingly illusory, as additional economic sanctions are imposed for a series of increasingly implausible reasons, the most recent ones including those being for alleged Russian complicity in chemical weapons attacks in Syria, those supposedly for the alleged attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and some more regarding Crimea. It might
Zionism, Judaism and the Jewish State of Israel: Separateness, ontological uniqueness and Jewish morality are its characteristics by Lynda Burstein Brayer for The Saker Blog Western thinking and intellectual endeavor is very much epitomized by formality, rationality and clear boundaries or limits. These qualities no doubt derive from the Aristotelian philosophical and analytical basis of Western Christendom, in which the Excluded Middle of Aristotelian logic reigns supreme when it comes
by Eric Zuesse for The Saker Blog THE FIRST ACCUSATION, which is the source of the Magnitsky Act sanctions against Russia, was in 2012 under U.S. President Barack Obama, and it alleged that Sergei Magnitsky had been a whistleblower in Russia who was a lawyer who uncovered corruption in Russia’s Government and was imprisoned for that and beaten to death there for that. Magnitsky was, in fact, no whistleblower, and
The House of Saud’s ties to the Khashoggi slaying are being milked by the Turkish President for maximum benefit amid debate on leadership of the Islamic world and how the crisis may affect US and Saudi strategy in the Middle East by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with The Asia Times by special agreement with the author) It was packaged as a stark, graphic message, echoing across Eurasia: Presidents Erdogan and Putin,
by Jimmie Moglia for The Saker Blog Reading Hegel requires a reader in perfect health. The alternative is to attempt but a little at a time, which, after all, is the secret of all learning. In the instance, Hegel says that history is but the realization of the idea of Reason – a proposition that, without further elucidation, may prompt many to wonder if Hegel said so while drunk. For
by Norman Ball for The Saker Blog “First, after days and days of intensive negotiations, Secretary Kerry and Foreign Minister Lavrov finally reached a deal on a cease-fire in Syria which had the potential to at least “freeze” the situation on the ground…Then the USAF, along with a few others, bombed a Syrian Army unit…Needless to say, following such a brazen provocation the cease-fire was dead. The Russians expressed their
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog I wouldn’t want readers to think that I egotistically view Jamal Khashoggi’s anti-Iran stance as his most important flaw…. Part two in this 4-part series only focuses on Iran because they provide a distinct counterpart to “Khashoggi Thought”: By laying out the differences between these two we can see how Khashoggi relates to the Middle Eastern world; then in Part 3 we can
Inside the LNR Elections- A Look through the Lens of the Russian Federation and the LNR Foreign Ministry by GH Eliason for The Saker Blog On November 11, 2018, along with people from twenty two countries, I was in Lugansk People’s Republic as an election observer for the national election. The elections in Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics was necessary because of the assassination of DNR Head of the Administration
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog (SPOILER ALERT! This article is not very good.) If House of Cards only had a first season and a final season it could have been remembered as almost genuinely dissident television. Season 1 did something never seen on American screens: It accurately showed that modern American Liberal Democracy is designed to be won by politicians who are amoral, individualistic and disgusting sociopaths. Season
Sitting alongside French President Macron during the 100th anniversary to commemorate the end of World War I, Putin and Trump stole the show in Paris by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with The Asia Times by special agreement with the author) The Elysee Palace protocol was implacable. Nobody in Paris would be allowed to steal the spotlight away from the host, President Emmanuel Macron, during the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day marking the
by Peter Koenig for The Saker Blog This sounds like a bad joke. It ain’t. Its real. One fascist government helps another fascist government. Yes, I have written about fascism invading the west before – warning that the European Union (non-union) is being gradually, but ever faster turned into a fascist dictatorship under the guise of democratic protection of ‘Democracy’; and this by her unelected European Commission (EC) leaders (sic).
by Eric Zuesse for The Saker Blog Right now, we live in a monopolar world. Here is how U.S. President Barack Obama proudly, even imperially, described it when delivering the Commencement address to America’s future generals, at West Point Military Academy, on 28 May 2014: The United States is and remains the one indispensable nation. [Every other nation is therefore ‘dispensable’; we therefore now have “Amerika, Amerika über alles, über
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog In October of 1965, 2014 and 2018 three journalists were prominently assassinated: Mehdi Ben Barka, Serena Shim and Jamal Khashoggi. Most readers likely don’t know the first two, while the entire world seems to know about the last one. This is a 4-part series which explains what Jamal Khashoggi represented ideologically, the relevance of his ideology in the modern Islamic World, the perhaps-unexpected
by Pepe Escobar, in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, special for The Saker Blog I’m up and down the Karakoram highway in Gilgit-Baltistan, juggling between the Great Game – the original, pitting imperial Britain and Russia – and the New Great Game pitting the Exceptionalists against Eurasia integration. But then, trespassing the mighty peaks caressed by the sun, The Saker sends a thunderbolt in the form of a RT report on some lowly
by Ghassan Kadi for The Saker Blog BRICS is the acronym of the “alliance” that includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In reality, and with all due respect to Brazil and South Africa, BRICS is about RIC. With Russia, India and China, in any order, there lies the future of Eurasia; the virtually unchartered quarter that houses over one third of the entire world population; a huge chunk
As US sanctions on Iran come into force, the government of Imran Khan is carefully negotiating its position with neighbors and regional powers, each with their favored pipeline plans by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with The Asia Times by special agreement with the author) A tweet roared like announcing a blockbuster premiere and sanctions did engulf Iran on time – despite opposition from Russia, China and the EU-3 (France, Germany and
