by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog On September 22nd there was a terrible terrorist attack in the Iranian city of Ahvaz which killed 25 innocent people and wounded 70 other people. This was universally reported in the West as having occurred at a “military parade”, when it was actually a parade to commemorate the 1980 start of the Western-backed, Western-funded, Western-armed invasion which used Iraq to try to destroy
IMF – WB – WTO – Scaremongering Threats on De-Globalization and Tariffs – The Return to Sovereign Nations by Peter Koenig for The Saker Blog As key representatives of the three chief villains of international finance, the IMF, World Bank (WB) and World Trade Organization (WTO) met on the lush resort island of Bali, Indonesia, they warned the world of dire consequences in terms of reduced international investments and decline
by Norman Ball for the Saker Blog “Potentially the most dangerous scenario would be a grand coalition of China, Russia and perhaps Iran, an ‘anti-hegemonic’ coalition, united not by ideology but by complementary grievances” —Zbigniew Brzezinski Are we reaching the penultimate and petulant back-end of the American Empire’s Unipolar Moment, a denouement hastened by a raft of sanctions regimes as imperiously doled out as they are laden with unconsidered paradox?
by Denis A. Conroy for the Saker blog Once upon a time, folk thinking…or folk thinkers…pioneered human development. Once upon a time it was the philosopher, poet, scientist, dramatist and musician who did the heavy lifting. Once upon a time, before institutions co-opted human imagination, it was the ingenuity of individuals that led to the creation of perspectives complimentary to the interests of the ‘folk’ and societal development. One such
by Jimmie Moglia for The Saker Blog Sooner or later it was inevitable that the capitulation of the Vatican to the demands of a decadent culture and of powerful enemies would awaken the trumpet of sedition inside the Catholic Church. As readers may already know, Cardinal Viganò recently wrote an open letter to Pope Francis asking him to resign. I will attempt to show the link connecting that letter to
Freedom and Other Illusions – Excursions into what used to be called “high versus low culture” (or, illusions concerning American art) With a view of art as revolt / counter-revolt / et cetera by David A. Powell for The Saker Blog Part 2 of 3 parts “The counter concept to popular culture is art. Today artistic products are losing the character of spontaneity more and more and are being replaced
by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with Consortium News by special agreement with the author) Stripped to its essence, the Brazilian presidential elections represent a direct clash between democracy and an early 21st Century neofascism, indeed between civilization and barbarism, writes Pepe Escobar. Nothing less than the future of politics across the West – and across the Global South – is being played out in Brazil. Stripped to its essence, the Brazilian
by David A. Powell for The Saker Blog Part 1 of 3 parts As I began writing this essay, my first thoughts went something like this: I could attempt to write something on the illusion of freedom; on the reasons that this illusion is far worse than an actual absence of freedom. But who would understand me? Who knows today the state which is furthest away from an absence of
by Ghassan Kadi for The Saker Blog As the observers and analysts of events in the Middle East were busy looking at the aftermath of the downing of the IL-20 and the deployment of the S-300 in Syria, a great new danger is now looming. President Assad issued a legislative decree (Decree No 16) and which is intended to reform the ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments). The “Awqaf” is a
By Nat South for The Saker Blog This is the second part in a series that looks behind the scenes, at particular aspects of trade, shipping and transport involving Russia. This analysis was partially written back in spring 2018, before taking academia seriously for a while. Historically & to this day the US depends on the Mahan theory of sea route control and control of significant maritime chokepoints for power
By Ollie Richardson for The Saker Blog The person reading this article has most likely seen some form of re-enactment of a Roman trireme navigating some waters and being surrounded by fog, not being able to see further than 1km around them and thus possessing limited knowledge about what lies beyond the “draw distance” provided by their cerebrum. It is this fear (and handicap when it comes to survival) that
by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) Belt and Road Initiative is a strategic axis embodying the organizing Chinese foreign policy concept for the next three decades The New Silk Roads symbolize way more than high-speed rail lines crisscrossing Eurasia, or a maze of highways, pipelines and port connectivity. They represent a Chinese alliance with at least 65 participating nations, responsible for 62%
by Dr. Naresh Jotwani for The Saker Blog The English word ‘gut’ is rich in its range of meanings. In Biology, ‘gut’ means ‘intestine’ – as in ‘gut bacteria’ or ‘gutting a fish’; this meaning extends to the racquet strings used in sports such as tennis and badminton. In common usage, ‘guts’ refers to ‘courage’, as in ‘having the guts to take on the huge challenge of _______’ (fill in
by GH Eliason for the Saker Blog On September 28th, Lugansk Peoples Republic (LNR)Deputy Foreign Minister Anna Soroka and Andrey Chernov gave a presentation unveiling a photo album entitled Unanounced war. This collection of 150 images details the war crimes by the Ukrainian government during the war from 2014-2018. Over the last 4 years, many journalists including myself reported on the war crimes committed by Ukrainian punisher battalions and sometimes
On the topic of the Russia-Israel-Syria affair, which has culminated in the downing of a Russian Il-20 on September 17th just off the coast of Latakia… by Ollie Richardson for The Saker Blog I will first start this article by saying that I have read, both intentionally and unintentionally (stumbled upon), lots and lots of opinions about this specific topic. The main bulk of these opinions recycle the usual blaming of
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog I had a summer vacation this year, and I got so incredibly bored I started to dabble in masochism. By that I mean that I decided to tune into The Rachel Maddow Show, broadcast by MSNBC from the US. I haven’t watched her for years (or ever, really) but since the election of Donald Trump Rachel Maddow has become the figurehead of a
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog One would think that if economic austerity had ended, it would be trumpeted loudly? After all, it has been going on for so long, is so hugely despised, is such an economic failure, and has been the source of so many protests, arrests, tear-gassings, water cannoning, police violence and – certainly – deaths due to the lack of adequate health care, suicides due
by Anon for The Saker Blog Yes, we are talking about South Africa and the current and planned policy of land dispossession/confiscation without compensation, as it relates to suppression, oppression and annihilation of peoples in our world. Acknowledging the real and current danger that the 4.5 million white South Africans find themselves in, the situation is analogous to a canary in the coal mine where the canary has already expired.
by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) Trade tensions between the US and China could drag on for decades but China’s focus on its Belt and Road Initiative could provide relief Alibaba’s Jack Ma has warned that the ongoing US-China trade war could last at least 20 years. As we’ll see, it’s actually more like 30 – up to 2049, the 100th anniversary
by Mister Unknown for The Saker Blog When writing about Sino-Russian relations, western journalists & academics often write as if the Sino-Russian rivalry of the past is an eternal and unchanging constant in international relations. The common refrain often goes something like “despite continuing differences… Russia & China are working together…”, “Although the two parties appear aligned against the US, historical rivalries will ensure that this remains a ‘marriage of
