By Aram Mirzaei for The Saker Blog After weeks of belligerent rhetoric and preparations, Turkey finally invaded Afrin last week. It came as no surprise that Turkey would go for this vulnerable Kurdish-held region in north-western Syria first. So how does this affect the war? Previous Turkish incursions have been limited and aimed at stopping what Ankara deemed to be Kurdish expansionism right at Turkey’s border. Turkish President Erdogan has
by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker blog The French don’t want to think of themselves as miniature capitalists: they want to think of themselves as artists. Or at least artisans. And many of them are, but the calculating technocratic mindset cannot even conceive of what it means to truly be an “artisan” at anything. The calculating capitalist mindset might be capable of thinking of what art he or she could
Paul Joseph Watson clearly knows as much about Communism as he knows about Islam: nothing. But in his observations of what is going on in the US society, he is spot on. Having lived in the USA for over 20 years total (5+16) I can confirm that he is not exaggerating at all and that there is this “war on men” going on. Sadly, the typical alternative to what PJW
by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) For billions of people, the Groucho Marx rule applies when talking about Davos. This is the exclusive club, which meets in the luxury Swiss resort each year to discuss the global business environment. Groucho, of course, has been immortalized along with the rest of the Marx Brothers in the zany Hollywood movies of the 1930s, such
This fantastic cartoon was sent to me by a friend who saw it on Moon of Alabama. I did some looking around and the original might well be from here, I am not sure. Whatever may be the case, it gave me such a laugh (I love the little turd at the bottom) that I had to share it with you. Cheers! The Saker
Dear friends, Today I am posting the full translation of an amazingly interesting text – Christianity and Judaism – on the issue of the historical role of the Jewish people written by a, now reposed, Archbishop of the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, Archbishop Nathanel (Lvov) [“Lvov” is his last name, no reference to the city in the Ukraine]. This has been made possible by the superb translation of this very
Today I am sharing a song by one of my favorite Brazilian singers, Ney Matogrosso. I love this song, a kind of lullaby when sung by Matogrosso, because it achieves its haunting effect by using a very simple melody and just a few very basic chords. If you listen carefully to the minimalist guitar accompaniment (here played by what might be the most talented Brazilian guitarist ever, Raphael Rabello) you
2018/01/23 10:30:01Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of the issues of the day. The ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’ will have two new open threads each week. The Saker stated moderation policy will apply eg ‘no caps’, no obscenity … etc to all post. The Cafe is now open for
by Auslander Well, we’ve got four years of fun under out belts now and to say it’s been interesting is like calling a 200 kilo rabbit mildly horizontally challenged. The biggest news is by the end of this year the Kerch Bridge should be in operation for vehicular traffic. As it is now, the work vehicles can drive from Kaman to Kerch across the bridge. I do not know if
https://southfront.org/syrian-war-report-january-22-2018-abu-al-duhur-liberation-operation-olive-branch/ On January 20, the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) officially launched a military operation in the area of Afrin and started conducting massive artillery and airstrikes on positions of Kurdish militias there. “‘Operation Olive Branch’ has been started on Jan. 20, 2018 at 5 p.m., in Syria’s northwestern Afrin region to establish security and stability on our borders and region, to eliminate terrorists of PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG and Daesh [ISIS], and to
by Pepe Escobar (cross-posted with the Asia Times by special agreement with the author) Under the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing aims to connect western China to the eastern Mediterranean China’s “Go West” strategy was brought into sharp focus at a forum in Shanghai last weekend. Billed as the Belt and Road Initiative: Towards Greater Cooperation between China and the Middle East, it highlighted key aspects of Beijing’s wider plan.
by Peter Koenig for the Saker blog Why this title? – Because Greece doesn’t have to continue playing the card of the victim, nor being masochist. Greece seems to suffer under the Stockholm Syndrome – she is in love with her hangman. Greece could change this. Exit the prison, exit the EU and exit the euro. Greece could return to her sovereign national currency, her own sovereign central bank, make
2018/01/19 23:00:02Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of the issues of the day. The ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’ will have two new open threads each week. The Saker stated moderation policy will apply eg ‘no caps’, no obscenity … etc to all post. The Cafe is now open for
This is the latest video from the Russian political analyst Ruslan Ostashko, this time in a somewhat different format from the familiar “Five minutes of Common Sense”. Donald Tusk has revealed the secret of Polichinelle. Poland, apparently, is in the EU only because Brussels is paying Poland billions of Euro every year. But when the funds stop (soon, it seems), then the Poles might be ready to conduct a referendum
https://southfront.org/syrian-war-report-january-19-2018-syrian-troops-almost-closed-eastern-idlib-pocket/ On January 18, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Iranian-backed militias liberated the village of Qaytal fom Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) in southern Aleppo and almost closed the eastern Idlib pocket. Late on the same day, ISIS reportedly captured thirty villages, including Rasm al-Dhaba, al-Muwaylah, abu Ajwa, Muakar Shamali, Huma, Najm Al-Zuhur, Umm Qurun and Rasm Arira, in northeastern Hama and southwestern Aleppo from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham
[This article has been written for the Unz Review] Informationclearinghouse recently posted an article by Darius Shahtahmasebi entitled “Israel Keeps Bombing Syria and Nobody Is Doing Anything About It”. Following this publication I received an email from a reader asking me the following question: “Putin permitting Israel to bomb Syria – why? I am confused by Putins actions – does Putin support the Zionist entity, on the quiet like. I
by Ghassan Kadi for the Saker blog The security zone America intends to establish in Syria is doomed to fail sooner or later. How can this assertion be made and what can it be based on? Well, two main things really; history and facts on the ground. America’s seven-decade long post WWII intensive and consecutive military gambles have all failed, and without a single exception. And even though America has
by Scott Humor After my research Grid Dynamics connects wars in Ukraine and Syria with Soros’ Open Russia, Sobchak and snipers in Saratov was published, I received a reply from one of the company’s employees. We are withholding the name and occupation of the commentator. I can only say that it’s an employee, who has worked for the company for several years. ————————————————————————————————– I’m working at GD in Saratov and
by GH Eliason for the Saker blog Can you believe it? 2018 is the year of the NAZI snowflake! They whine, cry, and they still kill innocent people. They also donate a lot of money to Congressional Reps who support their goals. When congressional leaders openly believe that it is your duty as patriotic Americans to support and ultimately die for the families of the lever pullers and torturers at
