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Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich on Iran’s political course after elections

  Comment: As always, Soraya brings up an important point – the consistently nefarious role of Saudi Arabia which, on one hand, acts like the US and Israeli “poodle” when it closes its airspace to a President whose trips it does not approve of, but which on the other hand strives to impersonate some kind of regional power.  Therein lies the key contradiction: you cannot be somebody’s vassal state *and*

Dimitri Medvedev gives a rather interesting interview to RT TV

I find this interview not so interesting from the point of view of Medvedev’s personal recollection of the 08.08.08 – there is a lot that he is not saying or, even, admitting to – but from the point of his views on wars in general because here he expresses what I would call the “Russian social consensus on war” and that consensus is a key element in the shaping of

Russian and Chinese ground forces practice interoperability in the “Peaceful Mission 2013” joint military exercise

I have recently written about the large scale military exercises conducted by Russia in the Far East and I remember that some clueless commentator (from the BBC I think) wrote that while the maritime component was directed at Japan, the land component was directed at China.  At the time I did not think that it was worth spending any time debunking this silly notion, but today I will mention that

“Barbie Breakout” takes a stand on the rights of Russian homosexuals

This is great stuff!  First, check this out:And then, if you wonder how “Barbie Breakout” got “its” looks, here is “Barbie” “itself” showing you “its” tricks (German audio only, but who cares?) Amazing, no? I really wonder if creatures like “Barbie Breakout” have any idea what kind of effects “its” videos have on the Russian public opinion.Probably not.  LOL!The Saker

What basic logic suggests to me about the situation in Egypt

I was just listening to the latest news out of Egypt about the hundred or so people killed today and I kept wondering what kind of convoluted logic would be used to blame it on the Muslim Brotherhood (MB).  And, sure enough, I heard one pundit saying that the demonstrators were responsible because they were not peaceful but armed.  Another commentator then admitted that holding the democratically elected president in

Speech of Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the annual Iftar dinner of the Women Committee of the “Islamic Resistance Support Organization”

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 would like to welcome you all. I

Speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah during the annual Iftar dinner of the “Islamic Resistance Support Organization”

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 would like to welcome you all in

EU politicians reach a new landmark in mindless subservience to Israel

Recently, we had the EU politicians committing an act of “air piracy” on behalf of the USA, now we have the same folks committing an act of abject subservience to Israel: they have declared that the military wing of Hezbollah is a terrorist organization.  Of course, this statement has nothing to do with terrorism, it is an attempt at punishing Hezbollah for its successful intervention in the Syrian conflict.  The

FSA statement about an al-Qaeda state in northern Syria – fact, rumor or fabrication?

Yesterday, I posted an article and a video about the statement made by FSA officials that al-Qaeda had decided to create an Islamic state in northern Syria.  As posted it “as is” since I did not have the time to comment about it, which is what I want to do today.The first thing which came to my mind yesterday is that this was probably not true, and that the FSA

FSA says Al-Qaeda to announce Islamic state in Syria

Iranian.com reports:FSA says Al-Qaeda to announce Islamic state in Syria. Europeans now believed unlikely to arm Syrian opposition. Beirut, Asharq Al-Awsat—A senior figure in the Free Syrian Army (FSA) has told Asharq Al-Awsat that Al-Qaeda was about to announce an Islamic state in northern Syria. The source, who preferred to remain anonymous, said the time for the announcement was confirmed to be the first day of Eid, at the end

Why the military coup is a disaster for the Egyptian Christian community

The Lebanese newspaper Daily Star published the following article: Wave of attacks on Egypt Copts, state failing to act: NGO CAIRO: Egypt’s Christians have been targeted in a wave of attacks since the ouster of Islamist president Mohammed Mursi, and the state is failing to protect them, an NGO said Monday. Sectarian violence since the latest political upheaval in Egypt began has killed four Coptic Christians in Luxor governorate, with

Russia breaks into top 5 world economies, displacing Germany

RT reports: Russia has overtaken Germany as the fifth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity, according to the latest World Bank ranking that measures 214 economies based on their 2012 GDP performance. Russia’s oil and export driven economy, ranked fifth amongst the top ten economies in the world with $3.4 trillion in GDP. In 2011, Germany surpassed Russia in GDP with $3.227 trillion compared to Russia’s $3.203 trillion.

Russian armed forces are conducting large scale military exercise in the Far East and Pacific Ocean

Since Putin sacked Serduikov and replaced him with Shoigu, the Russian military has been regularly tested in surprise large-scale military exercises involving a sudden order to prepare for battle typically followed by a long distance move to an unknown location.  This time it is the the Eastern Military District which has undergone such a readiness test, but on a scale previously unknown.  It involved an emergency relocation from the city

Latin American states to recall ambassadors from Europe over Bolivian plane incident and Snoden asks for political asylum in Russia

Plenty more good news this Friday. First, all the members of the MERCOSUR trading alliance have decided to recall their ambassadors from the European countries involved in the grounding of the Bolivian president’s plane. I am particularly happy to see that Brazilian President Dilma Rouseff supported the decision and did not cave in to Anglo pressures. Of course, a similar decision by UNASUR would have been even better, but with

Al-Qaeda militants killed Syrian rebel commander – FSA spokesman

RT reports: A senior figure of the rebel Free Syrian Army has been executed by Al-Qaeda-linked militants during negotiations. Multiplying conflicts between moderate and extremist rebels confronting President Assad might lead to an opposition split-up.  Supreme Military Council member Kamal Hamami, also known for his call-sign Abu Bassel al-Ladkani, was meeting with members of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in the Syrian port city of Latakia when

The collapse of legitimacy: How Egypt’s secular intelligentsia betrayed the revolution

by Khaled Abou El Fadl for ABC Religion and Ethics Legitimacy (shar’iyya) is a key word in the Arab world these days. In Egypt, it is the most contested word in the political language of the day. Morsi’s supporters are willing to die in the name of shar’iyya, and his opponents claim that the true source of shar’iyya are the masses of Tahrir Square. The Egyptian intelligentsia do not seem

For Egypt’s Islamists, War Is Now a Legitimate Option

By Michael Scheuer for Information Clearing House Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood were elected a year ago in what the so-called “International Community” judged a free and fair election. They and Egypt’s Salafist movement garnered nearly 65-percent of the vote. On Friday, Egypt’s military intervened in the political arena and overthrew and detained Morsi. Why? Because those who deservedly and miserably lost to the Islamists in 2012 did

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