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Pepe Escobar is an independent geopolitical analyst. He writes for RT, Sputnik and TomDispatch, and is a frequent contributor to websites and radio and TV shows ranging from the US to East Asia. He is the former roving correspondent for Asia Times Online. Born in Brazil, he's been a foreign correspondent since 1985, and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Even before 9/11 he specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central and East Asia, with an emphasis on Big Power geopolitics and energy wars. He is the author of "Globalistan" (2007), "Red Zone Blues" (2007), "Obama does Globalistan" (2009) and "Empire of Chaos" (2014), all published by Nimble Books. His latest book is "2030", also by Nimble Books, out in December 2015.
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Monday, March 20, 2023
Sergey Glazyev: "The Road To Financial Multipolarity Will Be Long & Rocky" Russia's top macroeconomics strategist criticizes Moscow's slow pace of financial reform and warns there will be no new global currency without Beijing...
Monday, March 20, 2023Sergey Glazyev: "The Road To Financial Multipolarity Will Be Long & Rocky" Russia's top macroeconomics strategist criticizes Moscow's slow pace of financial reform and warns there will be no new global currency without Beijing...
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Sunday, November 13, 2022
Sun Tzu Walks Into A Kherson Bar... The announcement of the Kherson Retreat may have signaled one of the gloomiest days of the Russian Federation since 1991.
Sunday, November 13, 2022Sun Tzu Walks Into A Kherson Bar... The announcement of the Kherson Retreat may have signaled one of the gloomiest days of the Russian Federation since 1991.
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Friday, October 7, 2022
Nord Stream 2 Offers Germany a Date with Destiny Whatever the modus operandi of Pipeline Terror, incompetence was part of the package. No explosive charges were placed or detonated on Line B of NS2.
Friday, October 7, 2022Nord Stream 2 Offers Germany a Date with Destiny Whatever the modus operandi of Pipeline Terror, incompetence was part of the package. No explosive charges were placed or detonated on Line B of NS2.
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Friday, August 5, 2022
How a Missile in Kabul Connects to a Speaker in Taipei The Speaker's escapade was concomitant to the definitive burial of the "war on terror" cycle and its metastasis into the "war on Eurasia" era. It may have unwittingly provided the last missing cog to turbo-charge the complex machinery of the Russia-China strategic partnership.
Friday, August 5, 2022How a Missile in Kabul Connects to a Speaker in Taipei The Speaker's escapade was concomitant to the definitive burial of the "war on terror" cycle and its metastasis into the "war on Eurasia" era. It may have unwittingly provided the last missing cog to turbo-charge the complex machinery of the Russia-China strategic partnership.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2022
Behind the Tin Curtain - BRICS+ vs NATO/G7 It would be misguided to expect those G7 luminaries gathered in Bavaria to understand the absurdity of imposing a price cap on Russian oil and gas exports for instance. Were that to really happen Moscow will have no problems fully cutting energy supply to the G7 and if other nations are excluded the price of the oil and gas they import would drastically increase.
Wednesday, June 29, 2022Behind the Tin Curtain - BRICS+ vs NATO/G7 It would be misguided to expect those G7 luminaries gathered in Bavaria to understand the absurdity of imposing a price cap on Russian oil and gas exports for instance. Were that to really happen Moscow will have no problems fully cutting energy supply to the G7 and if other nations are excluded the price of the oil and gas they import would drastically increase.
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Thursday, June 23, 2022
Exile on Main Street - The Sound of the Unipolar World Fading Away The future world order already in progress will be formed by strong sovereign states. The ship has sailed. There's no turning back.
Thursday, June 23, 2022Exile on Main Street - The Sound of the Unipolar World Fading Away The future world order already in progress will be formed by strong sovereign states. The ship has sailed. There's no turning back.
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Monday, June 20, 2022
St. Petersburg Sets the Stage for the War of Economic Corridors The contrast between the St. Petersburg debates on a possible re-wiring of our world and the Three Stooges Taking a Train to Nowhere to tell a mediocre Ukrainian comedian to calm down and negotiate his surrender as confirmed by German intelligence could not be starker.
Monday, June 20, 2022St. Petersburg Sets the Stage for the War of Economic Corridors The contrast between the St. Petersburg debates on a possible re-wiring of our world and the Three Stooges Taking a Train to Nowhere to tell a mediocre Ukrainian comedian to calm down and negotiate his surrender as confirmed by German intelligence could not be starker.
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Thursday, June 16, 2022
The 'New G8' Meets China's 'Three Rings' The coming of the new G8 points to the inevitable advent of BRICS +, one of the key themes to be discussed in the upcoming BRICS summit in China.
Thursday, June 16, 2022The 'New G8' Meets China's 'Three Rings' The coming of the new G8 points to the inevitable advent of BRICS +, one of the key themes to be discussed in the upcoming BRICS summit in China.
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Tuesday, May 31, 2022
The Sanctioned Ones - How Iran-Russia Are Setting New Rules It is clear that Washington decision makers want no negotiation but an endless war to the last Ukrainian.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022The Sanctioned Ones - How Iran-Russia Are Setting New Rules It is clear that Washington decision makers want no negotiation but an endless war to the last Ukrainian.
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Sunday, May 29, 2022
The Eurasian Economic Union Steps Up The Eurasian Economic Forum has shown once again that this high-speed - economic integration - train has already left the station.
Sunday, May 29, 2022The Eurasian Economic Union Steps Up The Eurasian Economic Forum has shown once again that this high-speed - economic integration - train has already left the station.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2022
NATO vs Russia - What Happens Next Three months after the start of Russia's Operation Z in Ukraine, the battle of The West (12 percent) against The Rest (88 percent) keeps metastasizing yet the narrative oddly remains the same.
Wednesday, May 25, 2022NATO vs Russia - What Happens Next Three months after the start of Russia's Operation Z in Ukraine, the battle of The West (12 percent) against The Rest (88 percent) keeps metastasizing yet the narrative oddly remains the same.
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Friday, May 20, 2022
Russia Rewrites The Art of Hybrid War Hybrid War is being fought predominantly in the economic/financial battleground and the pain dial for the collective West will only go up.
Friday, May 20, 2022Russia Rewrites The Art of Hybrid War Hybrid War is being fought predominantly in the economic/financial battleground and the pain dial for the collective West will only go up.
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Monday, May 16, 2022
Death by a Thousand Cuts - Where Is the West's Ukraine Strategy? Moscow is spending way less than the NATO contingent in the Ukrainian theater. NATO has already wasted $50 billion - and counting - while the Russians spent $4 billion, give or take.
Monday, May 16, 2022Death by a Thousand Cuts - Where Is the West's Ukraine Strategy? Moscow is spending way less than the NATO contingent in the Ukrainian theater. NATO has already wasted $50 billion - and counting - while the Russians spent $4 billion, give or take.
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Sunday, May 15, 2022
Empire of Bioweapon Lies - Strategic Culture An ongoing U.S. bioweapons program in Ukraine was one of the Top Three reasons that led to the launch of Operation Z,
Sunday, May 15, 2022Empire of Bioweapon Lies - Strategic Culture An ongoing U.S. bioweapons program in Ukraine was one of the Top Three reasons that led to the launch of Operation Z,
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Friday, May 13, 2022
Empire of Bioweapon Lies An ongoing U.S. bioweapons program in Ukraine was one of the Top Three reasons that led to the launch of Operation Z side by side with preventing an imminent NATO managed blitzkrieg against Donbass and Kiev's desire to restart a nuclear weapons program.
Friday, May 13, 2022Empire of Bioweapon Lies An ongoing U.S. bioweapons program in Ukraine was one of the Top Three reasons that led to the launch of Operation Z side by side with preventing an imminent NATO managed blitzkrieg against Donbass and Kiev's desire to restart a nuclear weapons program.
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Sunday, May 8, 2022
Megalopolis x Russia: Total War After careful evaluation, the Kremlin is rearranging the geopolitical chessboard to end the unipolar hegemony of the "indispensable nation". History may eventually register, 77 years after the end of WWII, that neocon/neoliberalcon psychos in Washington silos instigating an inter-Slavic war by ordering Kiev to launch a blitzkrieg against Donbass was the spark that led to the Fall of the U.S. Empire.
Sunday, May 8, 2022Megalopolis x Russia: Total War After careful evaluation, the Kremlin is rearranging the geopolitical chessboard to end the unipolar hegemony of the "indispensable nation". History may eventually register, 77 years after the end of WWII, that neocon/neoliberalcon psychos in Washington silos instigating an inter-Slavic war by ordering Kiev to launch a blitzkrieg against Donbass was the spark that led to the Fall of the U.S. Empire.
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Sunday, April 10, 2022
The Total War to Cancel Russia Vast swathes of NATOstan have been corralled into behaving like a Russophobic lynch mob. No dissent is tolerated.
Sunday, April 10, 2022The Total War to Cancel Russia Vast swathes of NATOstan have been corralled into behaving like a Russophobic lynch mob. No dissent is tolerated.
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Monday, April 4, 2022
'Rublegas' - The World's New Resource-Based Reserve Currency This gas-for-rubles mechanism - call it Rublegas - is just the first concrete building block in the construction of an alternative financial/monetary system in tandem with many other mechanisms.
Monday, April 4, 2022'Rublegas' - The World's New Resource-Based Reserve Currency This gas-for-rubles mechanism - call it Rublegas - is just the first concrete building block in the construction of an alternative financial/monetary system in tandem with many other mechanisms.
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Saturday, April 2, 2022
Meet the New Resource-Based Global Reserve Currency A new reality is being formed - the unipolar world is irrevocably becoming a thing of the past, a multipolar one is taking shape.
Saturday, April 2, 2022Meet the New Resource-Based Global Reserve Currency A new reality is being formed - the unipolar world is irrevocably becoming a thing of the past, a multipolar one is taking shape.
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Tuesday, March 29, 2022
How Mariupol Will Become a Key Hub of Eurasia Integration Mariupol should expect to become one of the key hubs of a boom in north-south routes - INSTC across Russia and linking with the 'stans' - as well as major BRI upgrades east-west as well as sub-BRI corridors.
Tuesday, March 29, 2022How Mariupol Will Become a Key Hub of Eurasia Integration Mariupol should expect to become one of the key hubs of a boom in north-south routes - INSTC across Russia and linking with the 'stans' - as well as major BRI upgrades east-west as well as sub-BRI corridors.
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Friday, March 25, 2022
Make Nazism Great Again Azov was sent a last ultimatum: surrender until midnight - or else, as in a take no prisoners highway to hell. That implies a major game-changer in the Ukrainian battlefield; Mariupol is finally about to be thoroughly denazified - as the Azov contingent long entrenched in the city and using civilians as human shields were their most hardened fighting force.
Friday, March 25, 2022Make Nazism Great Again Azov was sent a last ultimatum: surrender until midnight - or else, as in a take no prisoners highway to hell. That implies a major game-changer in the Ukrainian battlefield; Mariupol is finally about to be thoroughly denazified - as the Azov contingent long entrenched in the city and using civilians as human shields were their most hardened fighting force.
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Friday, March 18, 2022
All That Glitters Is Not Necessarily Russian Gold The "rules-based international order" - as in "our way or the highway" - is unraveling much faster than anyone could have predicted.
Friday, March 18, 2022All That Glitters Is Not Necessarily Russian Gold The "rules-based international order" - as in "our way or the highway" - is unraveling much faster than anyone could have predicted.
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Friday, March 11, 2022
Cutting through the fog masking 'a new page in the art of war' Neo-Nazis are doing exactly what ISIS/Daesh did in Syria - hiding behind civilians taken as hostages.
Friday, March 11, 2022Cutting through the fog masking 'a new page in the art of war' Neo-Nazis are doing exactly what ISIS/Daesh did in Syria - hiding behind civilians taken as hostages.
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Saturday, March 5, 2022
How Russia Will Counterpunch the U.S./EU Declaration of War Only self-sufficiency affords total independence. And the Big Picture has also been keenly understood by the Global South.
Saturday, March 5, 2022How Russia Will Counterpunch the U.S./EU Declaration of War Only self-sufficiency affords total independence. And the Big Picture has also been keenly understood by the Global South.
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Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Follow the Money - How Russia Will Bypass Western Economic Warfare A number of Russian banks are already connected to China's CIPS system. For instance if someone wants to buy Russian oil and gas with CIPS payment must be in the Chinese yuan currency. CIPS is independent of SWIFT.
Tuesday, March 1, 2022Follow the Money - How Russia Will Bypass Western Economic Warfare A number of Russian banks are already connected to China's CIPS system. For instance if someone wants to buy Russian oil and gas with CIPS payment must be in the Chinese yuan currency. CIPS is independent of SWIFT.
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Friday, February 25, 2022
From the Black Sea to the East Med, do not poke The Russian Bear This is what happens when a bunch of ragged hyenas, jackals and tiny rodents poke The Bear: a new geopolitical order is born in breathtaking speed.
Friday, February 25, 2022From the Black Sea to the East Med, do not poke The Russian Bear This is what happens when a bunch of ragged hyenas, jackals and tiny rodents poke The Bear: a new geopolitical order is born in breathtaking speed.
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Thursday, February 24, 2022
The birth of the baby twins: Russia's strategic swing drives NATOstan nuts (Written this morning in Istanbul, BEFORE Putin buried the Minsk agreements. Everything else - and beyond - stands.) History will register that the birth of the baby twins - Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - only a few hours before 2/22/22, was simultaneous to the birth of the real, 21st century multipolar world.
Thursday, February 24, 2022The birth of the baby twins: Russia's strategic swing drives NATOstan nuts (Written this morning in Istanbul, BEFORE Putin buried the Minsk agreements. Everything else - and beyond - stands.) History will register that the birth of the baby twins - Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - only a few hours before 2/22/22, was simultaneous to the birth of the real, 21st century multipolar world.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2022
The Birth of the Baby Twins - Russia's Strategic Swing Drives NATOstan Nuts "You don't believe in the principle of indivisible security? Fine. Now we dictate the security rhythm".
Tuesday, February 22, 2022The Birth of the Baby Twins - Russia's Strategic Swing Drives NATOstan Nuts "You don't believe in the principle of indivisible security? Fine. Now we dictate the security rhythm".
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Friday, January 14, 2022
This Is How the U.S. Does 'Dialogue' Washington will not consider Russian proposals on no expansion of NATO and has no intention of even discussing the idea. So much for "dialogue".
Friday, January 14, 2022This Is How the U.S. Does 'Dialogue' Washington will not consider Russian proposals on no expansion of NATO and has no intention of even discussing the idea. So much for "dialogue".
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Sunday, January 2, 2022
What Putin Really Told Biden The root cause of all this drama, absent from any NATO narrative, is straightforward - Kiev simply refuses to respect the February 2015 Minsk Agreement.
Sunday, January 2, 2022What Putin Really Told Biden The root cause of all this drama, absent from any NATO narrative, is straightforward - Kiev simply refuses to respect the February 2015 Minsk Agreement.
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Friday, August 27, 2021
Pepe Escobar: Afghanistan? Follow the Money With the fall of Kabul, Pepe Escobar says it's becoming clear that financial soft power tactics may be even more deadly than a NATO occupation.
Friday, August 27, 2021Pepe Escobar: Afghanistan? Follow the Money With the fall of Kabul, Pepe Escobar says it's becoming clear that financial soft power tactics may be even more deadly than a NATO occupation.
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Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Iran embraces its Eurasian future Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi was sworn in as the eightth president of Iran this Thursday at the Majlis (Parliament), two days after being formally endorsed by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei.
Tuesday, August 10, 2021Iran embraces its Eurasian future Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi was sworn in as the eightth president of Iran this Thursday at the Majlis (Parliament), two days after being formally endorsed by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei.
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Friday, May 14, 2021
The Tragedy of the U.S. Deep State At a recent forum in Arizona, referring to the festering, larger than life Sino-American clash, Henry the K. said, "It's the biggest problem for America; it's the biggest problem for the world. Because if we can't solve that, then the risk is that all over the world a kind of cold war will develop between China and the United States."
Friday, May 14, 2021The Tragedy of the U.S. Deep State At a recent forum in Arizona, referring to the festering, larger than life Sino-American clash, Henry the K. said, "It's the biggest problem for America; it's the biggest problem for the world. Because if we can't solve that, then the risk is that all over the world a kind of cold war will develop between China and the United States."
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Tuesday, March 16, 2021
PEPE ESCOBAR: The Raging Twenties: A New Map of Dystopia Pepe Escobar's new book "Raging Twenties: Great Power Politics Meets Techno-Feudalism" tells the story of a new phase of the U.S. empire.
Tuesday, March 16, 2021PEPE ESCOBAR: The Raging Twenties: A New Map of Dystopia Pepe Escobar's new book "Raging Twenties: Great Power Politics Meets Techno-Feudalism" tells the story of a new phase of the U.S. empire.
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Monday, March 8, 2021
The Shape of Things to Come in China On foreign policy, Li could not draw a sharper contrast with the Hegemon: "China will pursue an independent foreign policy of peace" and will "promote the building of a new type of international relations."
Monday, March 8, 2021The Shape of Things to Come in China On foreign policy, Li could not draw a sharper contrast with the Hegemon: "China will pursue an independent foreign policy of peace" and will "promote the building of a new type of international relations."
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Friday, January 15, 2021
9/11 Was the Prelude. 1/6 Is the Holy Grail 9/11 opened the gates to the Patriot Act, whose core had already been written way back in 1994. 1/6 opens the gate to the War on Domestic Terror and the Patriot Act from Hell, 2.0, on steroids.
Friday, January 15, 20219/11 Was the Prelude. 1/6 Is the Holy Grail 9/11 opened the gates to the Patriot Act, whose core had already been written way back in 1994. 1/6 opens the gate to the War on Domestic Terror and the Patriot Act from Hell, 2.0, on steroids.
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Sunday, December 13, 2020
US Hits "Search and Destroy" Against China's New Silk Roads Seven years after being launched by President Xi Jinping, first in Astana and then in Jakarta, the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increasingly drive the American plutocratic oligarchy completely nuts.
Sunday, December 13, 2020US Hits "Search and Destroy" Against China's New Silk Roads Seven years after being launched by President Xi Jinping, first in Astana and then in Jakarta, the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) increasingly drive the American plutocratic oligarchy completely nuts.
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Saturday, December 5, 2020
No escape from our techno-feudal world The Digital Age was crucially associated with right-wing ideology from the very start. To break down Control, we must be able to hack into and disrupt its core programs.
Saturday, December 5, 2020No escape from our techno-feudal world The Digital Age was crucially associated with right-wing ideology from the very start. To break down Control, we must be able to hack into and disrupt its core programs.
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Sunday, November 1, 2020
Can You Smell What the Chinese Are Cooking? Less than a week before the game-changing U.S. presidential election, the real heart of the geopolitical and geoeconomic action is virtually invisible to the outside world. We're talking about the fifth plenum of the 19th Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Central Committee, which started this past Monday in Beijing.
Sunday, November 1, 2020Can You Smell What the Chinese Are Cooking? Less than a week before the game-changing U.S. presidential election, the real heart of the geopolitical and geoeconomic action is virtually invisible to the outside world. We're talking about the fifth plenum of the 19th Chinese Communist Party (CPC) Central Committee, which started this past Monday in Beijing.
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Saturday, October 24, 2020
Make America Jeffersonian Again The whole planet has every reason to be terminally puzzled at how all those lofty Enlightenment ideals Thomas Jefferson embedded in the 1776 Declaration of Independence ended up with...Trump vs. Biden.
Saturday, October 24, 2020Make America Jeffersonian Again The whole planet has every reason to be terminally puzzled at how all those lofty Enlightenment ideals Thomas Jefferson embedded in the 1776 Declaration of Independence ended up with...Trump vs. Biden.
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Monday, October 12, 2020
Will Confucius marry Marx? Shedding light on the limits of Chinese power II China is widely accused by the West of lack of democratic legitimacy exactly as it enjoys a four-decade, sustainable, history-making economic boom.
Monday, October 12, 2020Will Confucius marry Marx? Shedding light on the limits of Chinese power II China is widely accused by the West of lack of democratic legitimacy exactly as it enjoys a four-decade, sustainable, history-making economic boom.
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Saturday, September 19, 2020
Empire's mask slips at Julian Assange trial Julian Assange is being condemned for revealing imperial war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Saturday, September 19, 2020Empire's mask slips at Julian Assange trial Julian Assange is being condemned for revealing imperial war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Sunday, August 30, 2020
Definitive Eurasian alliance is closer than you think China is meticulously planning all its crucial geopolitical and geoeconomic moves all the way to 2030 and beyond.
Sunday, August 30, 2020Definitive Eurasian alliance is closer than you think China is meticulously planning all its crucial geopolitical and geoeconomic moves all the way to 2030 and beyond.
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Thursday, August 27, 2020
Everything going according to plan in China The contours of China's long-term strategy for the new Cold War are quickly coming into view.
Thursday, August 27, 2020Everything going according to plan in China The contours of China's long-term strategy for the new Cold War are quickly coming into view.
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Sunday, August 9, 2020
Who profits from the Beirut blast? Making the case that the explosion resulted from an attack.
Sunday, August 9, 2020Who profits from the Beirut blast? Making the case that the explosion resulted from an attack.
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Monday, July 13, 2020
Iran and China Turbo-Charge the New Silk Roads Two of the US's top "strategic threats" are getting closer and closer within the scope of the New Silk Roads -- the leading 21st century project of economic integration across Eurasia. The Deep State will not be amused.
Monday, July 13, 2020Iran and China Turbo-Charge the New Silk Roads Two of the US's top "strategic threats" are getting closer and closer within the scope of the New Silk Roads -- the leading 21st century project of economic integration across Eurasia. The Deep State will not be amused.
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Wednesday, July 8, 2020
Barbarism Begins at Home Greeks thought it was morally uplifting to help friends and repel enemies, and in the latter case Greeks had to enslave them. So Greeks should by definition rule barbarians.
Wednesday, July 8, 2020Barbarism Begins at Home Greeks thought it was morally uplifting to help friends and repel enemies, and in the latter case Greeks had to enslave them. So Greeks should by definition rule barbarians.
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Saturday, June 27, 2020
PEPE ESCOBAR: The India-China, Himalayan Puzzle The Indo-China border is a strategic chessboard and it's gotten way more complex.
Saturday, June 27, 2020PEPE ESCOBAR: The India-China, Himalayan Puzzle The Indo-China border is a strategic chessboard and it's gotten way more complex.
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Saturday, June 20, 2020
Nixon-Trump vs. the Strategy of Tension What we have is a do-or-die clash of models: MAGA against an exclusivist Fed/Wall Street/Silicon Valley-controlled system. Teflon Trump should never be underestimated. The Deep State may even realize he's more useful than they think.
Saturday, June 20, 2020Nixon-Trump vs. the Strategy of Tension What we have is a do-or-die clash of models: MAGA against an exclusivist Fed/Wall Street/Silicon Valley-controlled system. Teflon Trump should never be underestimated. The Deep State may even realize he's more useful than they think.
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Saturday, June 13, 2020
Syria in Seattle: Commune Defies the U.S. Regime When will "regime forces" strike -- in this case without Russian air cover? After all, as dictated by Secretary Esper, it's up to the Pentagon to "dominate the battlefield."
Saturday, June 13, 2020Syria in Seattle: Commune Defies the U.S. Regime When will "regime forces" strike -- in this case without Russian air cover? After all, as dictated by Secretary Esper, it's up to the Pentagon to "dominate the battlefield."
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Thursday, May 21, 2020
China updates its "Art of (Hybrid) War" A toxic racism-meets-anti-communism matrix is responsible for the predominant anti-Chinese sentiment across the US, encompassing at least 66% of the whole population. Trump instinctively seized it - and repackaged it as his re-election campaign theme, fully approved by Steve Bannon.
Thursday, May 21, 2020China updates its "Art of (Hybrid) War" A toxic racism-meets-anti-communism matrix is responsible for the predominant anti-Chinese sentiment across the US, encompassing at least 66% of the whole population. Trump instinctively seized it - and repackaged it as his re-election campaign theme, fully approved by Steve Bannon.
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Tuesday, May 5, 2020
The deeper roots of Chinese demonization The US hybrid war against China is bound to go on frenetic overdrive, as economic reports are already identifying Covid-19 as the tipping point when the Asian -- actually Eurasian -- century truly began.
Tuesday, May 5, 2020The deeper roots of Chinese demonization The US hybrid war against China is bound to go on frenetic overdrive, as economic reports are already identifying Covid-19 as the tipping point when the Asian -- actually Eurasian -- century truly began.
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Friday, April 24, 2020
What Did U.S. Intel Really Know About the 'Chinese' Virus? - Strategic Culture The burning question is inevitable: how could the NCMI possibly know all about a viral pandemic, still in November, when Chinese doctors positively identified the first cases of a new type of pneumonia only on December 26? U.S. Senators dumping stocks after a CDC briefing; more than 1,300 CEOs abandoning their cushy perches in 2019, "forecasting" total market collapse; the Fed pouring helicopter money already in Sept.
Friday, April 24, 2020What Did U.S. Intel Really Know About the 'Chinese' Virus? - Strategic Culture The burning question is inevitable: how could the NCMI possibly know all about a viral pandemic, still in November, when Chinese doctors positively identified the first cases of a new type of pneumonia only on December 26? U.S. Senators dumping stocks after a CDC briefing; more than 1,300 CEOs abandoning their cushy perches in 2019, "forecasting" total market collapse; the Fed pouring helicopter money already in Sept.
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Friday, April 17, 2020
COVID-19: Confucius is Winning the Coronavirus War Compare hundreds of millions of Asians' serene response to the coronavirus crisis with the West's fear, panic and hysteria, writes Pepe Escobar.
Friday, April 17, 2020COVID-19: Confucius is Winning the Coronavirus War Compare hundreds of millions of Asians' serene response to the coronavirus crisis with the West's fear, panic and hysteria, writes Pepe Escobar.
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Friday, April 3, 2020
China rolls out the Health Silk Road In the Belt and Road framework, China is supplying much of the world -- including virus-hit Europe --with medicine and healthcare items
Friday, April 3, 2020China rolls out the Health Silk Road In the Belt and Road framework, China is supplying much of the world -- including virus-hit Europe --with medicine and healthcare items
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Thursday, April 2, 2020
Ground Control to Planet Lockdown: This Is Only a Test - Strategic Culture Ground Control to Planet Lockdown: This Is Only a Test - Escobar lists some of the agendas that are being floated in preparation for future clampdowns.
Thursday, April 2, 2020Ground Control to Planet Lockdown: This Is Only a Test - Strategic Culture Ground Control to Planet Lockdown: This Is Only a Test - Escobar lists some of the agendas that are being floated in preparation for future clampdowns.
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Saturday, March 28, 2020
Why France is hiding a cheap and tested virus cure What's going on in the fifth largest economy in the world arguably points to a major collusion scandal in which the French government is helping Big Pharma to profit from the expansion of Covid-19. Informed French citizens are absolutely furious about it.
Saturday, March 28, 2020Why France is hiding a cheap and tested virus cure What's going on in the fifth largest economy in the world arguably points to a major collusion scandal in which the French government is helping Big Pharma to profit from the expansion of Covid-19. Informed French citizens are absolutely furious about it.
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Wednesday, March 18, 2020
China locked in hybrid war with US For the first time since the start of Deng Xiaoping's reforms in 1978, Beijing openly regards the US as a threat, as stated a month ago by Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference during the peak of the fight against coronavirus.
Wednesday, March 18, 2020China locked in hybrid war with US For the first time since the start of Deng Xiaoping's reforms in 1978, Beijing openly regards the US as a threat, as stated a month ago by Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference during the peak of the fight against coronavirus.
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Sunday, March 15, 2020
How black swans are shaping planet panic China has gone full Nietzsche about to prove that whatever does not kill you makes you stronger when it comes to a "people's war" against Covid-19. On the US front, there's scant hope that the gleaming Black "helicopter money" Hawk will crash down for good.
Sunday, March 15, 2020How black swans are shaping planet panic China has gone full Nietzsche about to prove that whatever does not kill you makes you stronger when it comes to a "people's war" against Covid-19. On the US front, there's scant hope that the gleaming Black "helicopter money" Hawk will crash down for good.
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Saturday, March 7, 2020
Putin saves Erdogan from himself A predictable feature of the new ceasefire is that both Moscow and Ankara part of the Astana peace process, alongside Tehran remain committed to maintaining the "territorial integrity and sovereignty" of Syria. Once again, there's no guarantee that Erdogan will abide.
Saturday, March 7, 2020Putin saves Erdogan from himself A predictable feature of the new ceasefire is that both Moscow and Ankara part of the Astana peace process, alongside Tehran remain committed to maintaining the "territorial integrity and sovereignty" of Syria. Once again, there's no guarantee that Erdogan will abide.
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Wednesday, February 26, 2020
The Afghanistan "peace deal" riddle As far as Afghanistan is concerned, with or without a deal, the US military have no intention to go anywhere. They want to stay whatever it takes. Afghanistan is a priceless Greater Middle East base to deploy hybrid war techniques.
Wednesday, February 26, 2020The Afghanistan "peace deal" riddle As far as Afghanistan is concerned, with or without a deal, the US military have no intention to go anywhere. They want to stay whatever it takes. Afghanistan is a priceless Greater Middle East base to deploy hybrid war techniques.
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Saturday, February 22, 2020
No Weapon Left Behind: The American Hybrid War on China Inexorably, year after year since the start of the millennium, the U.S. share of the global economy shrinks while China's increases. China is already the key hub of the global economy and the leading trade partner of nearly 130 nations.
Saturday, February 22, 2020No Weapon Left Behind: The American Hybrid War on China Inexorably, year after year since the start of the millennium, the U.S. share of the global economy shrinks while China's increases. China is already the key hub of the global economy and the leading trade partner of nearly 130 nations.
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Tuesday, January 21, 2020
The Roots of American Demonization of Shi'a Islam The role of the politician in democracies seems not to be to try to understand anything but simply carry out the agenda of the elites who own them." Calling all informed souls: the debate is on.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020The Roots of American Demonization of Shi'a Islam The role of the politician in democracies seems not to be to try to understand anything but simply carry out the agenda of the elites who own them." Calling all informed souls: the debate is on.
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Thursday, January 16, 2020
Battle of the Ages to Stop Eurasian Integration Everyone needs and wants Iran connectivity. For obvious reasons, since the Persian empire, this is the privileged hub for all Central Asian trade routes.
Thursday, January 16, 2020Battle of the Ages to Stop Eurasian Integration Everyone needs and wants Iran connectivity. For obvious reasons, since the Persian empire, this is the privileged hub for all Central Asian trade routes.
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Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Intel Sources Predict Trump will De-Escalate Iran Confrontation Iran responded to Trump's assassination of their general with a precision bombing of an American base in Iraq. The response at once demonstrates Iran's technical capability and resolve to retaliate, but also demonstrates restraint. No one was killed. A "top US intel source" says that Trump is looking for ways to de-escalate the confrontation.
Wednesday, January 8, 2020Intel Sources Predict Trump will De-Escalate Iran Confrontation Iran responded to Trump's assassination of their general with a precision bombing of an American base in Iraq. The response at once demonstrates Iran's technical capability and resolve to retaliate, but also demonstrates restraint. No one was killed. A "top US intel source" says that Trump is looking for ways to de-escalate the confrontation.
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Sunday, January 5, 2020
US Kick-Starts Raging '20s Declaring War on Iran Iraq is the preferred battleground of a proxy war against Iran that may now metastasize into hot war, with devastating consequences.
Sunday, January 5, 2020US Kick-Starts Raging '20s Declaring War on Iran Iraq is the preferred battleground of a proxy war against Iran that may now metastasize into hot war, with devastating consequences.
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Friday, January 3, 2020
In the Footsteps of Xuanzang in Kyrgyzstan This journey into the past also reaches the heart of 21st century China's New Silk Roads strategy, says Pepe Escobar in this photo and text reportage from Central Asia.
Friday, January 3, 2020In the Footsteps of Xuanzang in Kyrgyzstan This journey into the past also reaches the heart of 21st century China's New Silk Roads strategy, says Pepe Escobar in this photo and text reportage from Central Asia.
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Thursday, December 5, 2019
Trials & Tribulations of Central Asia Pepe Escobar reports on the pros and cons of being the "Heartland" in the 21st century.
Thursday, December 5, 2019Trials & Tribulations of Central Asia Pepe Escobar reports on the pros and cons of being the "Heartland" in the 21st century.
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Wednesday, November 27, 2019
Iran's "Only Crime Is We Decided Not to Fold" Pepe Escobar reports on a searing account by Iran's foreign minister of his country's relations with the U.S.
Wednesday, November 27, 2019Iran's "Only Crime Is We Decided Not to Fold" Pepe Escobar reports on a searing account by Iran's foreign minister of his country's relations with the U.S.
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Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Released Lula in Greatest Fight of His Life The predicament of the former Brazilian president shows how incendiary Brazil is at the moment, writes Pepe Escobar. And the Western mainstream media will make no effort whatsoever to explain the nasty, convoluted plot for a global audience.
Tuesday, November 12, 2019Released Lula in Greatest Fight of His Life The predicament of the former Brazilian president shows how incendiary Brazil is at the moment, writes Pepe Escobar. And the Western mainstream media will make no effort whatsoever to explain the nasty, convoluted plot for a global audience.
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Thursday, November 7, 2019
Asia's Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): The RCEP Train Left the Station, and India, Behind Summits come and go. But what just happened in Thailand will remain as another graphic illustration of myriad, concerted moves leading towards progressive, irreversible Asia and Eurasia integration. It's up to Modi to decide when and if to hop on the train.
Thursday, November 7, 2019Asia's Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP): The RCEP Train Left the Station, and India, Behind Summits come and go. But what just happened in Thailand will remain as another graphic illustration of myriad, concerted moves leading towards progressive, irreversible Asia and Eurasia integration. It's up to Modi to decide when and if to hop on the train.
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Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Caliph Closure: "He Died Like a Dog" Trump's victory-lap movie version buries the embarrassing story of deploying tanks to "protect" Syrian oilfields, writes Pepe Escobar.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019Caliph Closure: "He Died Like a Dog" Trump's victory-lap movie version buries the embarrassing story of deploying tanks to "protect" Syrian oilfields, writes Pepe Escobar.
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Thursday, October 10, 2019
Tracking foreign interference in Hong Kong Amid so much gloom, there may be a silver lining. And that concerns the Greater Bay Area project. My interlocutors tend to believe that after the storm ends and after carefully studying the situation for some months, Beijing will soon come up with a new plan to tighten Hong Kong's integration to the mainland's economy even more.
Thursday, October 10, 2019Tracking foreign interference in Hong Kong Amid so much gloom, there may be a silver lining. And that concerns the Greater Bay Area project. My interlocutors tend to believe that after the storm ends and after carefully studying the situation for some months, Beijing will soon come up with a new plan to tighten Hong Kong's integration to the mainland's economy even more.
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Friday, October 4, 2019
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) Must Shelve His Vicious War in Yemen After Abqaiq and Operation Nasrallah, to say that MBS is wallowing in a vicious blowback swamp is an understatement. The relentless bombing of Yemen for over four years during his term as minister of defense is his Frankenstein baby.
Friday, October 4, 2019Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) Must Shelve His Vicious War in Yemen After Abqaiq and Operation Nasrallah, to say that MBS is wallowing in a vicious blowback swamp is an understatement. The relentless bombing of Yemen for over four years during his term as minister of defense is his Frankenstein baby.
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Monday, September 9, 2019
On the Road to Interview Lula, Into a Brazilian Black Hole From Cambodia to Brazil and Argentina and back to Bangkok gave Pepe Escobar insights into the disastrous course his native land is taking.
Monday, September 9, 2019On the Road to Interview Lula, Into a Brazilian Black Hole From Cambodia to Brazil and Argentina and back to Bangkok gave Pepe Escobar insights into the disastrous course his native land is taking.
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Monday, September 2, 2019
Amazon Burns Amid Brazil's Incendiary Politics Fires rage in the Amazon as Brazilian President Bolsonaro becomes a target of global indignation, writes Pepe Escobar.
Monday, September 2, 2019Amazon Burns Amid Brazil's Incendiary Politics Fires rage in the Amazon as Brazilian President Bolsonaro becomes a target of global indignation, writes Pepe Escobar.
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Thursday, August 15, 2019
How Tehran Fits into Russia-China Strategy What the past few months have made crystal clear is how Russia-China's magnetic pull is attracting key Eurasia players Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. And make no mistake: As much as Tehran may be extremely proud of its political independence, it is reassuring to know that Iran is, and will continue to be, a definitive red line for Russia-China.
Thursday, August 15, 2019How Tehran Fits into Russia-China Strategy What the past few months have made crystal clear is how Russia-China's magnetic pull is attracting key Eurasia players Iran, Turkey and Pakistan. And make no mistake: As much as Tehran may be extremely proud of its political independence, it is reassuring to know that Iran is, and will continue to be, a definitive red line for Russia-China.
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Wednesday, August 7, 2019
Attack on Iran would be an attack on Russia The inevitable conclusion is that major SCO stakeholders Russia, China, India, Pakistan and, in the near future, Iran and Turkey will be major influencers on regional stability. The Pentagon will not be amused.
Wednesday, August 7, 2019Attack on Iran would be an attack on Russia The inevitable conclusion is that major SCO stakeholders Russia, China, India, Pakistan and, in the near future, Iran and Turkey will be major influencers on regional stability. The Pentagon will not be amused.
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Friday, July 26, 2019
US and Iran Stuck on Negotiation Ground Zero Donald Trump says he's "okay either way," whether there's war with Iran and Tehran seems to be okay with that too, warns Pepe Escobar.
Friday, July 26, 2019US and Iran Stuck on Negotiation Ground Zero Donald Trump says he's "okay either way," whether there's war with Iran and Tehran seems to be okay with that too, warns Pepe Escobar.
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Friday, July 5, 2019
The un-submersible US-Iran stalemate Iran continues to export crude, by all means available, especially to Asia, with the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) predictably shutting off satellite tracking on its fleet. But, ominously, the deadline set by Tehran for the EU-3 to actively support the sale of Iranian crude expires this coming Sunday. That's a major cliffhanger. After that, the stalemate won't be submersible anymore.
Friday, July 5, 2019The un-submersible US-Iran stalemate Iran continues to export crude, by all means available, especially to Asia, with the National Iranian Oil Co (NIOC) predictably shutting off satellite tracking on its fleet. But, ominously, the deadline set by Tehran for the EU-3 to actively support the sale of Iranian crude expires this coming Sunday. That's a major cliffhanger. After that, the stalemate won't be submersible anymore.
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Saturday, June 29, 2019
Russia-India-China will be the big G20 hit Putin has excelled as a go-between. He invited Modi to be the guest of honor at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in early September. The thrust of the relationship is to show to Modi the benefits for India to actively join the larger Eurasia integration process instead of playing a supporting role in a Made in USA production.
Saturday, June 29, 2019Russia-India-China will be the big G20 hit Putin has excelled as a go-between. He invited Modi to be the guest of honor at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok in early September. The thrust of the relationship is to show to Modi the benefits for India to actively join the larger Eurasia integration process instead of playing a supporting role in a Made in USA production.
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Friday, June 21, 2019
Brazil-gate is Turning into Russia-gate 2.0 WikiLeaks had already revealed it from the start, when the NSA started spying on energy giant Petrobras and even Rousseff's smart phone. In parallel, countless nations and individuals have learned how the DOJ's self-attributed extra-territoriality allows it to go after anyone, anyhow, anywhere. It has never been about anti-corruption. This is American "justice" interfering in the full geopolitical and geo-economic spheres.
Friday, June 21, 2019Brazil-gate is Turning into Russia-gate 2.0 WikiLeaks had already revealed it from the start, when the NSA started spying on energy giant Petrobras and even Rousseff's smart phone. In parallel, countless nations and individuals have learned how the DOJ's self-attributed extra-territoriality allows it to go after anyone, anyhow, anywhere. It has never been about anti-corruption. This is American "justice" interfering in the full geopolitical and geo-economic spheres.
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Saturday, June 8, 2019
Why Trump Now Wants Talks With Iran The great Bilderberg secret of 2019 had to do with why, suddenly, the Trump administration has decided that it wants to talk to Iran "with no preconditions." In the case of the Strait of Hormuz being shut down, whatever the reason, Iran has the power to hammer the world financial system, by causing global trade in derivatives to be blown apart.
Saturday, June 8, 2019Why Trump Now Wants Talks With Iran The great Bilderberg secret of 2019 had to do with why, suddenly, the Trump administration has decided that it wants to talk to Iran "with no preconditions." In the case of the Strait of Hormuz being shut down, whatever the reason, Iran has the power to hammer the world financial system, by causing global trade in derivatives to be blown apart.
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Tuesday, May 21, 2019
"Clash of civilizations" or crisis of civilization? What we're living now is not a clash of civilizations; it's a crisis of civilization. If the paradigm under which most of humanity barely survives is not changed -- and there's precious little evidence it will -- there won't be any civilizations left to clash.
Tuesday, May 21, 2019"Clash of civilizations" or crisis of civilization? What we're living now is not a clash of civilizations; it's a crisis of civilization. If the paradigm under which most of humanity barely survives is not changed -- and there's precious little evidence it will -- there won't be any civilizations left to clash.
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Tuesday, May 14, 2019
US-China: the hardcore is yet to come The current hysteria over tariffs, the trade offensive, the demonization of BRI, Made in China 2025 and Huawei's 5G dominance, and all manner of disruptive Hybrid War tactics such as repeatedly claiming "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea to progressive weaponizing of Taiwan.
Tuesday, May 14, 2019US-China: the hardcore is yet to come The current hysteria over tariffs, the trade offensive, the demonization of BRI, Made in China 2025 and Huawei's 5G dominance, and all manner of disruptive Hybrid War tactics such as repeatedly claiming "freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea to progressive weaponizing of Taiwan.
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Tuesday, May 7, 2019
The Eagle, the Bear and the Dragon The eagle has conveniently forgotten that the original, Ancient Silk Road linked the dragon with the Roman empire for centuries -- with no interlopers outside of Eurasia, muses Pepe Escobar.
Tuesday, May 7, 2019The Eagle, the Bear and the Dragon The eagle has conveniently forgotten that the original, Ancient Silk Road linked the dragon with the Roman empire for centuries -- with no interlopers outside of Eurasia, muses Pepe Escobar.
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Monday, April 29, 2019
The New Silk Roads reach the next level The Belt and Road Forum in Beijing was a graphic demonstration of how tactical adjustments are essential to enhance the appeal of a complex overall strategy. Talk about a turbo-charged 4.0 version of the legendary Deng Xiaoping maxim "crossing the river while feeling the stones."
Monday, April 29, 2019The New Silk Roads reach the next level The Belt and Road Forum in Beijing was a graphic demonstration of how tactical adjustments are essential to enhance the appeal of a complex overall strategy. Talk about a turbo-charged 4.0 version of the legendary Deng Xiaoping maxim "crossing the river while feeling the stones."
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Thursday, April 25, 2019
War on Iran And Calling America's Bluff Vast swathes of the West seem not to realize that if the Strait of Hormuz is shut down a global depression will follow, writes Pepe Escobar.
Thursday, April 25, 2019War on Iran And Calling America's Bluff Vast swathes of the West seem not to realize that if the Strait of Hormuz is shut down a global depression will follow, writes Pepe Escobar.
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Wednesday, April 24, 2019
The Deep State vs. WikiLeaks If Julian Assange is ever to be extradited to the US, twothings for the moment are already crystal clear. The USG is obsessed to shut down WikiLeaks once and for all. And because of that, Julian Assange will never get a fair trial in the "so-called 'Espionage Court'" of the Eastern District of Virginia, as detailed by former CIA counter-terrorism officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou.
Wednesday, April 24, 2019The Deep State vs. WikiLeaks If Julian Assange is ever to be extradited to the US, twothings for the moment are already crystal clear. The USG is obsessed to shut down WikiLeaks once and for all. And because of that, Julian Assange will never get a fair trial in the "so-called 'Espionage Court'" of the Eastern District of Virginia, as detailed by former CIA counter-terrorism officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou.
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Sunday, April 21, 2019
China's road to a win-win ahead of BRI forum Beijing clinched a proverbial showering of BRI deals with 17 Arab nations, including Egypt, Lebanon and Oman. Not by accident, the forum this year was called Build the Belt and Road, Share Development and Prosperity. Up to 2018, 21 Arab nations had signed BRI memoranda of understanding. The US is the cracked outer shell.
Sunday, April 21, 2019China's road to a win-win ahead of BRI forum Beijing clinched a proverbial showering of BRI deals with 17 Arab nations, including Egypt, Lebanon and Oman. Not by accident, the forum this year was called Build the Belt and Road, Share Development and Prosperity. Up to 2018, 21 Arab nations had signed BRI memoranda of understanding. The US is the cracked outer shell.
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Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Bamiyan, Babylon, Palmyra, Notre-Dame Notre-Dame basically survives on donations which pay the salaries of only 70 employees who need not only to supervise the masses of tourists but also to organize eight masses a day. The French state's proposal to minimize the ordeal; organize a beneficent lottery. That is; privatize what is a state commitment and obligation.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019Bamiyan, Babylon, Palmyra, Notre-Dame Notre-Dame basically survives on donations which pay the salaries of only 70 employees who need not only to supervise the masses of tourists but also to organize eight masses a day. The French state's proposal to minimize the ordeal; organize a beneficent lottery. That is; privatize what is a state commitment and obligation.
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Saturday, April 13, 2019
You have the right to always remain silent Julian Assange is not a US citizen, he's an Australian. WikiLeaks is not a US-based media organization. If the US government gets Assange extradited, prosecuted and incarcerated, it will legitimize its right to go after anyone, anyhow, anywhere, anytime. Call it The Killing of Journalism.
Saturday, April 13, 2019You have the right to always remain silent Julian Assange is not a US citizen, he's an Australian. WikiLeaks is not a US-based media organization. If the US government gets Assange extradited, prosecuted and incarcerated, it will legitimize its right to go after anyone, anyhow, anywhere, anytime. Call it The Killing of Journalism.
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Friday, March 29, 2019
The EU bows to "systemic rival" China Political Eurocrats are starting to realize that Europe cannot afford to become a battlefield in Cold War 2.0 between the US and Russia, cannot afford to become a hostage of Washington tearing up international law see, for instance, the destruction of the Iran nuclear deal and recognizing the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel and cannot afford to become a victim of Washington's trade whims.
Friday, March 29, 2019The EU bows to "systemic rival" China Political Eurocrats are starting to realize that Europe cannot afford to become a battlefield in Cold War 2.0 between the US and Russia, cannot afford to become a hostage of Washington tearing up international law see, for instance, the destruction of the Iran nuclear deal and recognizing the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel and cannot afford to become a victim of Washington's trade whims.
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Monday, March 25, 2019
Empire of Chaos in Hybrid War Overdrive The Trump administration's foreign policy may be easily deconstructed as a crossover between The Sopranos and late-night comedy, writes Pepe Escobar.
Monday, March 25, 2019Empire of Chaos in Hybrid War Overdrive The Trump administration's foreign policy may be easily deconstructed as a crossover between The Sopranos and late-night comedy, writes Pepe Escobar.
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Saturday, March 23, 2019
Why Nazarbayev's Legacy Will Remain Intact At first, it sounded like a geopolitical bombshell: Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, 78, in power since 1991, dramatically announced his resignation. The whole drama in fact walks and talks like a Central Asian remix of Giuseppe di Lampedusa's notorious motto in the film The Leopard: "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."
Saturday, March 23, 2019Why Nazarbayev's Legacy Will Remain Intact At first, it sounded like a geopolitical bombshell: Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, 78, in power since 1991, dramatically announced his resignation. The whole drama in fact walks and talks like a Central Asian remix of Giuseppe di Lampedusa's notorious motto in the film The Leopard: "If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change."
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Tuesday, March 19, 2019
EU dilemma: how to deal with China Beijing is praised for its support for the Iran nuclear deal, its role in the denuclearization of North Korea, its upcoming role in the peace process in Afghanistan and tackling the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. The real problem, predictably, is China's maritime claims in the South China Sea.
Tuesday, March 19, 2019EU dilemma: how to deal with China Beijing is praised for its support for the Iran nuclear deal, its role in the denuclearization of North Korea, its upcoming role in the peace process in Afghanistan and tackling the Rohingya crisis in Myanmar. The real problem, predictably, is China's maritime claims in the South China Sea.
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Thursday, March 7, 2019
Eric Hobsbawm, the Joy of History and All That Jazz Hobsbawm's "Age of Extremes" turned him into a global superstar. But there are flaws. Essentially, the point of view is centered on Vienna, Berlin and London. There is no comprehensive analysis of the ascension of the American bourgeoisie, or the turbulence across East Asia. The book actually revolves around the history of the decline of a Western civilization that totally betrayed the 19th-century promise.
Thursday, March 7, 2019Eric Hobsbawm, the Joy of History and All That Jazz Hobsbawm's "Age of Extremes" turned him into a global superstar. But there are flaws. Essentially, the point of view is centered on Vienna, Berlin and London. There is no comprehensive analysis of the ascension of the American bourgeoisie, or the turbulence across East Asia. The book actually revolves around the history of the decline of a Western civilization that totally betrayed the 19th-century promise.
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Sunday, January 13, 2019
All under Heaven, China's challenge to the Westphalian system The Chinese challenge is unprecedented and no wonder Washington, in tandem with other Western elites, is stunned. In the end, it's a matter of positioning Tianxia as a superior promoter of "dynamic equilibrium" in international relations in comparison with the Westphalian system.
Sunday, January 13, 2019All under Heaven, China's challenge to the Westphalian system The Chinese challenge is unprecedented and no wonder Washington, in tandem with other Western elites, is stunned. In the end, it's a matter of positioning Tianxia as a superior promoter of "dynamic equilibrium" in international relations in comparison with the Westphalian system.
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Monday, January 7, 2019
Chinese scholar offers insight into Beijing's strategic mindset The top story of 2019 and the years ahead will continue to revolve around the myriad, dangerous permutations of the economic ascent of China, the resurgence of nuclear superpower Russia and the decline of the US's global hegemony.
Monday, January 7, 2019Chinese scholar offers insight into Beijing's strategic mindset The top story of 2019 and the years ahead will continue to revolve around the myriad, dangerous permutations of the economic ascent of China, the resurgence of nuclear superpower Russia and the decline of the US's global hegemony.
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Thursday, December 20, 2018
The new Great Game on the Roof of the World We are at the heart of Gilgit-Baltistan, in Pakistan's Northern Areas, or -- as legend rules, the Roof of the World. This is an area about 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles) crammed with spectacular mountain ranges and amidst them, secluded pristine valleys and the largest glaciers outside of the Polar region.
Thursday, December 20, 2018The new Great Game on the Roof of the World We are at the heart of Gilgit-Baltistan, in Pakistan's Northern Areas, or -- as legend rules, the Roof of the World. This is an area about 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles) crammed with spectacular mountain ranges and amidst them, secluded pristine valleys and the largest glaciers outside of the Polar region.
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Friday, December 14, 2018
How the New Silk Roads are merging into Greater Eurasia The concept of Greater Eurasia has been discussed at the highest levels of Russian academia and policy-making for some time. This week the policy was presented at the Council of Ministers and looks set to be enshrined, without fanfare, as the main guideline of Russian foreign policy for the foreseeable future.
Friday, December 14, 2018How the New Silk Roads are merging into Greater Eurasia The concept of Greater Eurasia has been discussed at the highest levels of Russian academia and policy-making for some time. This week the policy was presented at the Council of Ministers and looks set to be enshrined, without fanfare, as the main guideline of Russian foreign policy for the foreseeable future.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2018
On The Road to a Post-G20 World The ascendence of China and multilateral trading blocks could eventually spell the doom of the G20 and U.S. global dominance, as Pepe Escobar explains.
Tuesday, December 4, 2018On The Road to a Post-G20 World The ascendence of China and multilateral trading blocks could eventually spell the doom of the G20 and U.S. global dominance, as Pepe Escobar explains.
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Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Drama in the Kerch Strait: teasing the Russian bear Kiev announced this past summer it would build a naval base in the Sea of Azov by the end of 2018. That's an absolute red line for Moscow. Kiev may have to trade access to Mariupol, which, incidentally, also trades closely with the People's Republic of Donetsk. But forget about military access.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018Drama in the Kerch Strait: teasing the Russian bear Kiev announced this past summer it would build a naval base in the Sea of Azov by the end of 2018. That's an absolute red line for Moscow. Kiev may have to trade access to Mariupol, which, incidentally, also trades closely with the People's Republic of Donetsk. But forget about military access.
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Thursday, November 22, 2018
Erdogan, MBS, Islamic leadership and the price of silence 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
Thursday, November 22, 2018Erdogan, MBS, Islamic leadership and the price of silence 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
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Saturday, November 17, 2018
Afghanistan takes center stage in the New Great Game Lavrov is quite concerned by the expansion of Daesh, known regionally as ISIS-Khorasan. He warned, correctly, that "foreign sponsors" are allowing ISIS-K to "turn Afghanistan into a springboard for its expansion in Central Asia." Beijing agrees.
Saturday, November 17, 2018Afghanistan takes center stage in the New Great Game Lavrov is quite concerned by the expansion of Daesh, known regionally as ISIS-Khorasan. He warned, correctly, that "foreign sponsors" are allowing ISIS-K to "turn Afghanistan into a springboard for its expansion in Central Asia." Beijing agrees.
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Wednesday, November 14, 2018
Decoding the hyper-sonic Putin on a day of remembrance Assuming the dialogue continues at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires at the end of November, Putin might be able to impress on Trump that just as Serbia catalyzed a chain of events that led great powers to sleepwalk into World War I, the same could happen with Iran leading to the terrifying prospect of World War III.
Wednesday, November 14, 2018Decoding the hyper-sonic Putin on a day of remembrance Assuming the dialogue continues at the Group of 20 summit in Buenos Aires at the end of November, Putin might be able to impress on Trump that just as Serbia catalyzed a chain of events that led great powers to sleepwalk into World War I, the same could happen with Iran leading to the terrifying prospect of World War III.
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Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Pakistan in the middle of Saudi, Iran and rival pipeline plans The Iran-Pakistan pipeline could finally be sorted out, much to the benefit of energy-starved Pakistan. The Iranian stretch was finished long ago while the Pakistani sector has been derailed by relentless pressure from Washington.
Wednesday, November 7, 2018Pakistan in the middle of Saudi, Iran and rival pipeline plans The Iran-Pakistan pipeline could finally be sorted out, much to the benefit of energy-starved Pakistan. The Iranian stretch was finished long ago while the Pakistani sector has been derailed by relentless pressure from Washington.
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Monday, October 29, 2018
Welcome to the Jungle A troubling new era has begun in Brazil with the election on Sunday of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro as president, writes Pepe Escobar.
Monday, October 29, 2018Welcome to the Jungle A troubling new era has begun in Brazil with the election on Sunday of the far-right Jair Bolsonaro as president, writes Pepe Escobar.
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Thursday, October 25, 2018
Who profits from the end of the mid-range nuclear treaty? US president Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, secretary-general of the USSR, signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987. Three decades later, the Trump administration wants to unilaterally pull out of the INF Treaty. Earlier this week President Trump sent his national security adviser John Bolton to officially break the news to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Thursday, October 25, 2018Who profits from the end of the mid-range nuclear treaty? US president Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, secretary-general of the USSR, signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) in 1987. Three decades later, the Trump administration wants to unilaterally pull out of the INF Treaty. Earlier this week President Trump sent his national security adviser John Bolton to officially break the news to Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
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Friday, October 19, 2018
What sanctions on Russia and China really mean A crucial Pentagon report on the US defense industrial base and "supply chain resiliency" bluntly accuses China of "military expansion" and "a strategy of economic aggression," mostly because Beijing is the only source for "a number of chemical products used in munitions and missiles."
Friday, October 19, 2018What sanctions on Russia and China really mean A crucial Pentagon report on the US defense industrial base and "supply chain resiliency" bluntly accuses China of "military expansion" and "a strategy of economic aggression," mostly because Beijing is the only source for "a number of chemical products used in munitions and missiles."
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Sunday, July 29, 2018
How BRICS Plus clashes with the US economic war on Iran In a not too veiled allusion to the Trump administration's unilateral pullout from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), Xi called all parties to "abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations and to settle disputes through dialogue and differences through consultation," adding that the BRICS are inevitably working for "a new type of international relations."
Sunday, July 29, 2018How BRICS Plus clashes with the US economic war on Iran In a not too veiled allusion to the Trump administration's unilateral pullout from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), Xi called all parties to "abide by international law and basic norms governing international relations and to settle disputes through dialogue and differences through consultation," adding that the BRICS are inevitably working for "a new type of international relations."
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Tuesday, July 24, 2018
"Tweet of Mass Destruction" ratchets up tension on Iran The Trump administration ditched a UN-sponsored multilateral treaty and has now launched serious covert ops with the ultimate goal of regime change in Iran. Trump's explosion of rage, coupled with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's touting of the interests of "the long-ignored voice of the Iranian people" has been met with derision and scorn all across Iran.
Tuesday, July 24, 2018"Tweet of Mass Destruction" ratchets up tension on Iran The Trump administration ditched a UN-sponsored multilateral treaty and has now launched serious covert ops with the ultimate goal of regime change in Iran. Trump's explosion of rage, coupled with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's touting of the interests of "the long-ignored voice of the Iranian people" has been met with derision and scorn all across Iran.
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Monday, July 23, 2018
Here's the real reason the US must talk to Russia The United States' industrial-military-intel-security complex profits from a compounded annual budget of roughly US$1 trillion. The only justification for such whopping expenditure is to manufacture a lethal external threat: Russia. That's the key reason the complex will not allow US President Donald Trump even to try to normalize relations with Russia.
Monday, July 23, 2018Here's the real reason the US must talk to Russia The United States' industrial-military-intel-security complex profits from a compounded annual budget of roughly US$1 trillion. The only justification for such whopping expenditure is to manufacture a lethal external threat: Russia. That's the key reason the complex will not allow US President Donald Trump even to try to normalize relations with Russia.
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Thursday, July 19, 2018
A walk on the wild side as Trump meets Putin at Finland station Trump treats the EU with undisguised disdain. He would love nothing better than for the EU to dissolve. His Arab "partners" can be easily controlled by fear. He has all but declared economic war on China and is on tariff overdrive -- even as the IMF warns that the global economy runs the risk of losing around $500 billion in the process.
Thursday, July 19, 2018A walk on the wild side as Trump meets Putin at Finland station Trump treats the EU with undisguised disdain. He would love nothing better than for the EU to dissolve. His Arab "partners" can be easily controlled by fear. He has all but declared economic war on China and is on tariff overdrive -- even as the IMF warns that the global economy runs the risk of losing around $500 billion in the process.
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Monday, July 16, 2018
Trump, NATO and "Russian aggression" The key factor remains that Trump's Brussels blitzkrieg did make his case. Russia cannot be a "threat" and a reliable energy partner at the same time. As much as NATO poodles may be terrified of "Russian aggression," the facts spell out they won't put their money where their rhetorical hysteria is.
Monday, July 16, 2018Trump, NATO and "Russian aggression" The key factor remains that Trump's Brussels blitzkrieg did make his case. Russia cannot be a "threat" and a reliable energy partner at the same time. As much as NATO poodles may be terrified of "Russian aggression," the facts spell out they won't put their money where their rhetorical hysteria is.
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Wednesday, July 11, 2018
China's silky charming of Arabia The eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), established in 2004, sailed on in Beijing, hosted by President Xi Jinping. China committed to invest right across the Arab world in transportation infrastructure, oil and gas, finance, digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI).
Wednesday, July 11, 2018China's silky charming of Arabia The eighth ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF), established in 2004, sailed on in Beijing, hosted by President Xi Jinping. China committed to invest right across the Arab world in transportation infrastructure, oil and gas, finance, digital economy and artificial intelligence (AI).
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Friday, July 6, 2018
Tariffs "kick off 50-year trade war" with China Implicit in the curtain-raiser is that the Chinese leadership seem to interpret this first midnight salvo as the revving up of what's described in the US National Security Strategy. The conclusion, for Beijing, is inescapable; the US is now threatening the Chinese dream. No wonder the stage is set for major, inevitable turbulence.
Friday, July 6, 2018Tariffs "kick off 50-year trade war" with China Implicit in the curtain-raiser is that the Chinese leadership seem to interpret this first midnight salvo as the revving up of what's described in the US National Security Strategy. The conclusion, for Beijing, is inescapable; the US is now threatening the Chinese dream. No wonder the stage is set for major, inevitable turbulence.
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Thursday, July 5, 2018
Eagle-meets-Bear and the Syria tug-of-war The US does not "have" southern Syria. What the US does have is roughly 2,000 Special Forces embedded with the Kurdish YPG in the landlocked northeast and eastern Syria near the Turkish and Iraqi borders. Absolutely no one wants them there, except the YPG.
Thursday, July 5, 2018Eagle-meets-Bear and the Syria tug-of-war The US does not "have" southern Syria. What the US does have is roughly 2,000 Special Forces embedded with the Kurdish YPG in the landlocked northeast and eastern Syria near the Turkish and Iraqi borders. Absolutely no one wants them there, except the YPG.
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Sunday, July 1, 2018
How the Iran sanctions drama intersects with OPEC-plus Iran -- and Russia -- may sit on an astonishing $45 trillion worth in oil and gas reserves. US fracking is largely a myth. Saudi Arabia may have at best 20 years of oil supply left. It's all about energy -- all the time. Only one thing is certain; the future spells out brutal, covert resource wars.
Sunday, July 1, 2018How the Iran sanctions drama intersects with OPEC-plus Iran -- and Russia -- may sit on an astonishing $45 trillion worth in oil and gas reserves. US fracking is largely a myth. Saudi Arabia may have at best 20 years of oil supply left. It's all about energy -- all the time. Only one thing is certain; the future spells out brutal, covert resource wars.
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Wednesday, June 27, 2018
Turkey's European dream may be over -- is the Sultan ready for Eurasia? So, "illiberal" or otherwise, the fact is a majority of Turkish voters prefer Erdogan. The European dream may be over -- for good. Relations with NATO are fractious. Neo-Ottomanism is a minefield. So Eurasian integration seems the sensible way to go.
Wednesday, June 27, 2018Turkey's European dream may be over -- is the Sultan ready for Eurasia? So, "illiberal" or otherwise, the fact is a majority of Turkish voters prefer Erdogan. The European dream may be over -- for good. Relations with NATO are fractious. Neo-Ottomanism is a minefield. So Eurasian integration seems the sensible way to go.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2018
Sexy metal: the missing element in the Korean puzzle Since key discussions at the Far East Summit in Vladivostok in September 2017, the roadmap is set for South Korea, China and Russia to attach the DPRK to Eurasia integration, developing its agriculture, hydropower and -- crucially -- mineral wealth.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018Sexy metal: the missing element in the Korean puzzle Since key discussions at the Far East Summit in Vladivostok in September 2017, the roadmap is set for South Korea, China and Russia to attach the DPRK to Eurasia integration, developing its agriculture, hydropower and -- crucially -- mineral wealth.
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Friday, June 15, 2018
From Russia with love, as Putin kicks off soft power Games Much to the distress of the usual suspects, the fact is "Russian elites" are already winning the soft power war embedded in the World Cup. And Russia may even win the love war as well. So feel the love, and let the Putin Games roll. But, just in case, keep an eye out for another "chemical attack" in Syria, Ukraine trying to invade Donetsk and Lugansk, the odd false flag; and -- last but not least -- more sanctions.
Friday, June 15, 2018From Russia with love, as Putin kicks off soft power Games Much to the distress of the usual suspects, the fact is "Russian elites" are already winning the soft power war embedded in the World Cup. And Russia may even win the love war as well. So feel the love, and let the Putin Games roll. But, just in case, keep an eye out for another "chemical attack" in Syria, Ukraine trying to invade Donetsk and Lugansk, the odd false flag; and -- last but not least -- more sanctions.
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Wednesday, June 13, 2018
The key word in the Trump-Kim show South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." That's the commitment. "International community," as everyone knows, is code for the US as The Great Decider. If Washington does not bring back its military from South Korea, there will be no denuclearization.
Wednesday, June 13, 2018The key word in the Trump-Kim show South and North Korea agreed to actively seek the support and cooperation of the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." That's the commitment. "International community," as everyone knows, is code for the US as The Great Decider. If Washington does not bring back its military from South Korea, there will be no denuclearization.
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Sunday, June 10, 2018
Putin and Xi top the G6+1 President Trump was the predictable star of the show in Canada. He came late. He left early. He skipped a working breakfast. He disagreed with everybody. He issued a "free trade proclamation," as in no barriers and tariffs whatsoever, everywhere, after imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on Europe and Canada. He signed the final communique and then he didn't.
Sunday, June 10, 2018Putin and Xi top the G6+1 President Trump was the predictable star of the show in Canada. He came late. He left early. He skipped a working breakfast. He disagreed with everybody. He issued a "free trade proclamation," as in no barriers and tariffs whatsoever, everywhere, after imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on Europe and Canada. He signed the final communique and then he didn't.
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Monday, June 4, 2018
Why India is ignoring US sanctions and sticking with Iran The Holy Grail for India is Iran-related: the so far $500 million investment in Chabahar port in the Indian Ocean, as well as completing the Chabahar-Zahedan railway. Chabahar is the starting point of the Indian version of the New Silk Roads, linking India to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan.
Monday, June 4, 2018Why India is ignoring US sanctions and sticking with Iran The Holy Grail for India is Iran-related: the so far $500 million investment in Chabahar port in the Indian Ocean, as well as completing the Chabahar-Zahedan railway. Chabahar is the starting point of the Indian version of the New Silk Roads, linking India to Afghanistan and Central Asia, bypassing Pakistan.
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Saturday, June 2, 2018
Oil and gas geopolitics: no shelter from the storm What the potential loss of over 20% of the world's oil supply would mean is terrifying; the implosion, with unforeseen consequences, of the quadrillion derivatives pyramid, and consequentially of the entire Western financial casino superstructure. Compared to that, the 2008 financial crisis would be little more than a walk in an ecologically friendly park.
Saturday, June 2, 2018Oil and gas geopolitics: no shelter from the storm What the potential loss of over 20% of the world's oil supply would mean is terrifying; the implosion, with unforeseen consequences, of the quadrillion derivatives pyramid, and consequentially of the entire Western financial casino superstructure. Compared to that, the 2008 financial crisis would be little more than a walk in an ecologically friendly park.
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Tuesday, May 29, 2018
The Syria connection to Iran, Afghanistan and China The 18th SCO summit will be held in Qingdao on June 9. Russian President Vladimir Putin will be there. India and Pakistan will be there. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani will be there, representing Iran as an observer, and will meet face to face with Putin and Xi. That's where all Syria-Afghanistan connections will converge.
Tuesday, May 29, 2018The Syria connection to Iran, Afghanistan and China The 18th SCO summit will be held in Qingdao on June 9. Russian President Vladimir Putin will be there. India and Pakistan will be there. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani will be there, representing Iran as an observer, and will meet face to face with Putin and Xi. That's where all Syria-Afghanistan connections will converge.
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Monday, May 28, 2018
Iran diary: bracing for all-out economic war A group of us -- including American friends, whose visas were approved at the highest levels of the Iranian government -- have gathered in Mashhad for the New Horizon Conference of independent thinkers.
Monday, May 28, 2018Iran diary: bracing for all-out economic war A group of us -- including American friends, whose visas were approved at the highest levels of the Iranian government -- have gathered in Mashhad for the New Horizon Conference of independent thinkers.
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Thursday, May 24, 2018
Tehran eyes path ahead after US withdrawal from nuclear pact 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 since the decision was announced on May 9. The JCPOA joint commission meets in Vienna this coming Friday to analyze all options ahead.
Thursday, May 24, 2018Tehran eyes path ahead after US withdrawal from nuclear pact 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 since the decision was announced on May 9. The JCPOA joint commission meets in Vienna this coming Friday to analyze all options ahead.
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Sunday, May 20, 2018
Letter from Iran: Mr. Trump, you have been served The letter signatories make a direct connection about Israeli actions that may trigger "and escalate American military actions against Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Russia since these nations are opposed to the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem; and rising tensions already exacerbated by the US withdrawal from the JCPOA."
Sunday, May 20, 2018Letter from Iran: Mr. Trump, you have been served The letter signatories make a direct connection about Israeli actions that may trigger "and escalate American military actions against Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Iran and Russia since these nations are opposed to the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem; and rising tensions already exacerbated by the US withdrawal from the JCPOA."
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Friday, May 18, 2018
The other art of the deal, Tehran-style Every time I'm back in Tehran I'm impressed with the open avenues for serious intellectual discussion. Once again Tehran proved to be unrivaled all across Asia as a theater to debate all crosscurrents involving post or counter-Enlightenment, or both.
Friday, May 18, 2018The other art of the deal, Tehran-style Every time I'm back in Tehran I'm impressed with the open avenues for serious intellectual discussion. Once again Tehran proved to be unrivaled all across Asia as a theater to debate all crosscurrents involving post or counter-Enlightenment, or both.
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Monday, May 14, 2018
How May 1968 shaped our world Across the West, changing the system could spring up not from elite universities, but from young masses of immigrant sons and daughters left to rot in dystopian peripheries. What they need is political leadership and a roadmap -- as it's always possible to let the chaos raging inside oneself bloom and generate one, two, a million dancing stars.
Monday, May 14, 2018How May 1968 shaped our world Across the West, changing the system could spring up not from elite universities, but from young masses of immigrant sons and daughters left to rot in dystopian peripheries. What they need is political leadership and a roadmap -- as it's always possible to let the chaos raging inside oneself bloom and generate one, two, a million dancing stars.
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Saturday, May 5, 2018
Popular Putin Prepares for Cold War 2.0 Back in February 1945, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Josef Stalin met in Yalta to design the post-World War II world -- which ended up being framed by the Cold War. Now, in a Cold War 2.0 environment, Russia is repositioning Crimea as a debate hub on global cooperation -- complete with a brand-new, billion-dollar international airport and the Crimean Bridge.
Saturday, May 5, 2018Popular Putin Prepares for Cold War 2.0 Back in February 1945, Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt and Josef Stalin met in Yalta to design the post-World War II world -- which ended up being framed by the Cold War. Now, in a Cold War 2.0 environment, Russia is repositioning Crimea as a debate hub on global cooperation -- complete with a brand-new, billion-dollar international airport and the Crimean Bridge.
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Sunday, April 29, 2018
It's BRI against Indo-Pacific all over again China, Russia and India have clearly identified how Iran relinquished practically 90% of its nuclear program and in the end was "rewarded" by increased US sanctions. As for Iran's ballistic missile program -- which was never part of the JCPOA -- that's much less advanced compared to Russia, India or Pakistan.
Sunday, April 29, 2018It's BRI against Indo-Pacific all over again China, Russia and India have clearly identified how Iran relinquished practically 90% of its nuclear program and in the end was "rewarded" by increased US sanctions. As for Iran's ballistic missile program -- which was never part of the JCPOA -- that's much less advanced compared to Russia, India or Pakistan.
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Thursday, April 26, 2018
Why Europe is afraid of the New Silk Roads Macron has been very vocal in prodding the European Commission bureaucracy to toughen anti-dumping rules against Chinese steel imports and forcing EU-wide screening of takeovers in strategic sectors, especially from China. In parallel, virtually every EU nation -- not only France -- wants more access to the Chinese market.
Thursday, April 26, 2018Why Europe is afraid of the New Silk Roads Macron has been very vocal in prodding the European Commission bureaucracy to toughen anti-dumping rules against Chinese steel imports and forcing EU-wide screening of takeovers in strategic sectors, especially from China. In parallel, virtually every EU nation -- not only France -- wants more access to the Chinese market.
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Saturday, April 21, 2018
Caspian games: Central Asian "stans" vie for connectivity market Much has to do with the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, facilitated by the late Zbigniew "Grand Chessboard" Brzezinski during the first Bill Clinton administration to bypass Iran. Baku is harboring great hopes for its new port at the desert wasteland of Alat ("Your hub in Eurasia!"), simultaneously connected to the West (Turkey and the European Union), the South (Iran and India) and the North (Russia).
Saturday, April 21, 2018Caspian games: Central Asian "stans" vie for connectivity market Much has to do with the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, facilitated by the late Zbigniew "Grand Chessboard" Brzezinski during the first Bill Clinton administration to bypass Iran. Baku is harboring great hopes for its new port at the desert wasteland of Alat ("Your hub in Eurasia!"), simultaneously connected to the West (Turkey and the European Union), the South (Iran and India) and the North (Russia).
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Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Syria, Iran and "chaos in international relations" Moscow, Damascus, Tehran and Baghdad are showing a united front even as the alleged chemical attack in Douma -- the reason for the strikes -- is being forcefully debunked. Additionally, pesky questions remain unanswered on why more than 100 missiles were necessary to destroy only three largely empty state-run scientific centers in Damascus and Homs.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018Syria, Iran and "chaos in international relations" Moscow, Damascus, Tehran and Baghdad are showing a united front even as the alleged chemical attack in Douma -- the reason for the strikes -- is being forcefully debunked. Additionally, pesky questions remain unanswered on why more than 100 missiles were necessary to destroy only three largely empty state-run scientific centers in Damascus and Homs.
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Sunday, April 15, 2018
Draining the data swamp: who owns the "virtual you"? Zuckerberg dodged extremely serious questions. Who owns "the virtual you?" Zuckerberg's response was that you own all the "content" you upload, and can delete that content any time you want. Yet the heart of the matter is the advertising profile Facebook builds on each user. That simply cannot be deleted. And the user cannot alter it in any way.
Sunday, April 15, 2018Draining the data swamp: who owns the "virtual you"? Zuckerberg dodged extremely serious questions. Who owns "the virtual you?" Zuckerberg's response was that you own all the "content" you upload, and can delete that content any time you want. Yet the heart of the matter is the advertising profile Facebook builds on each user. That simply cannot be deleted. And the user cannot alter it in any way.
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Friday, April 6, 2018
From Ankara to Moscow, Eurasia integration is on the move With the prospect of Syrian reconstruction finally at hand, Beijing will turbo-charge its plans to turn Syria into a key Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) node. On the Russian front, Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has confirmed that energy giants Lukoil and Gazprom Neft are already focused on rebuilding -- and developing -- Syria's badly damaged energy infrastructure, following a cooperation roadmap signed last February.
Friday, April 6, 2018From Ankara to Moscow, Eurasia integration is on the move With the prospect of Syrian reconstruction finally at hand, Beijing will turbo-charge its plans to turn Syria into a key Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) node. On the Russian front, Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak has confirmed that energy giants Lukoil and Gazprom Neft are already focused on rebuilding -- and developing -- Syria's badly damaged energy infrastructure, following a cooperation roadmap signed last February.
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Friday, March 30, 2018
MBS feted in the US despite war atrocities in Yemen MBS is racing against the clock. For the moment, he wins his PR war in the US even as he miserably loses his war on Yemen. But all bets are off on how he handles Wahhabi intolerance, Riyadh's dependence on oil and, most of all, Moscow and Beijing.
Friday, March 30, 2018MBS feted in the US despite war atrocities in Yemen MBS is racing against the clock. For the moment, he wins his PR war in the US even as he miserably loses his war on Yemen. But all bets are off on how he handles Wahhabi intolerance, Riyadh's dependence on oil and, most of all, Moscow and Beijing.
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Sunday, March 25, 2018
Will the Putin-Xi era supersede the Western liberal (dis)order? The Chinese constitutional amendment allowing Xi Jinping the possibility of further presidential terms -- staying in power long enough to bring "national rejuvenation" combined with the Russian election re-confirming Vladimir Putin in the presidency have assured consistency and continuity for the Russia-China strategic partnership way into the next decade.
Sunday, March 25, 2018Will the Putin-Xi era supersede the Western liberal (dis)order? The Chinese constitutional amendment allowing Xi Jinping the possibility of further presidential terms -- staying in power long enough to bring "national rejuvenation" combined with the Russian election re-confirming Vladimir Putin in the presidency have assured consistency and continuity for the Russia-China strategic partnership way into the next decade.
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Thursday, March 22, 2018
Gaddafi's ghost haunts walking-dead King Sarko The evidence, in this case, does exist. Among other explosive pieces, an official Libyan document, obtained through an investigation conducted by the French website Mediapart, proves Gaddafi handed over no less than 50 million euros to Sarkozy's campaign.
Thursday, March 22, 2018Gaddafi's ghost haunts walking-dead King Sarko The evidence, in this case, does exist. Among other explosive pieces, an official Libyan document, obtained through an investigation conducted by the French website Mediapart, proves Gaddafi handed over no less than 50 million euros to Sarkozy's campaign.
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Friday, March 16, 2018
It's all Putin's fault... but still he wins Putin detailed how MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) is now back with a vengeance -- implying that the whole US missile defense apparatus may be, by now, useless. And this had absolutely nothing to do with "Russian aggression," as the usual suspects spin it. This was Moscow's response to over two decades of NATO encroaching on Russia's borders.
Friday, March 16, 2018It's all Putin's fault... but still he wins Putin detailed how MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) is now back with a vengeance -- implying that the whole US missile defense apparatus may be, by now, useless. And this had absolutely nothing to do with "Russian aggression," as the usual suspects spin it. This was Moscow's response to over two decades of NATO encroaching on Russia's borders.
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Thursday, March 15, 2018
The myth of a neo-imperial China During the Tang Dynasty in the 8th and 9th centuries, China also had projected influence across Central Asia all the way to northeastern Iran. And that explains why Iran, now, is such a key node of the BRI and why the leadership in Tehran wants the New Silk Roads solidified. A China-Russia-Iran alliance of -- Eurasia integration -- interests that cannot but rattle Washington.
Thursday, March 15, 2018The myth of a neo-imperial China During the Tang Dynasty in the 8th and 9th centuries, China also had projected influence across Central Asia all the way to northeastern Iran. And that explains why Iran, now, is such a key node of the BRI and why the leadership in Tehran wants the New Silk Roads solidified. A China-Russia-Iran alliance of -- Eurasia integration -- interests that cannot but rattle Washington.
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Monday, March 12, 2018
Marco Polo in reverse: how Italy fits in the New Silk Roads The fact is 85% of trade between Europe and Asia is maritime trade. And as far as Beijing is concerned, the Maritime Silk Road, via the Suez Canal, keeps a special focus on the ports of Piraeus and Venice. No wonder the smart money on the peninsula has already mapped how BRI offers Italy a unique position in the complex web of Chinese global supply routes.
Monday, March 12, 2018Marco Polo in reverse: how Italy fits in the New Silk Roads The fact is 85% of trade between Europe and Asia is maritime trade. And as far as Beijing is concerned, the Maritime Silk Road, via the Suez Canal, keeps a special focus on the ports of Piraeus and Venice. No wonder the smart money on the peninsula has already mapped how BRI offers Italy a unique position in the complex web of Chinese global supply routes.
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Tuesday, March 6, 2018
The Italian Job: "unlikely" alliance could become reality Italy's latest elections were a roller coaster featuring plenty of thrills. Yet the top political nugget is unmistakable: Only one coalition may aspire to an absolute majority, an -- unlikely -- alliance between the populist Five Star Movement and the extreme-right League, led by Matteo Salvini.
Tuesday, March 6, 2018The Italian Job: "unlikely" alliance could become reality Italy's latest elections were a roller coaster featuring plenty of thrills. Yet the top political nugget is unmistakable: Only one coalition may aspire to an absolute majority, an -- unlikely -- alliance between the populist Five Star Movement and the extreme-right League, led by Matteo Salvini.
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Friday, March 2, 2018
The Xi Silk Road is here to stay Xi has all but announced his major moves. The Chinese Dream -- or China as a stable, middle-income nation. BRI as a connectivity vector integrating not only Eurasia but also Africa and Latin America. Securing the South China Sea as well as increasing a presence not only across the Indian Ocean but all the way to the Third Island -- a matter of protecting China's connectivity/supply lines.
Friday, March 2, 2018The Xi Silk Road is here to stay Xi has all but announced his major moves. The Chinese Dream -- or China as a stable, middle-income nation. BRI as a connectivity vector integrating not only Eurasia but also Africa and Latin America. Securing the South China Sea as well as increasing a presence not only across the Indian Ocean but all the way to the Third Island -- a matter of protecting China's connectivity/supply lines.
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Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Afghanistan ready to play connector role in Eurasian integration The key piece of the puzzle is public recognition that Afghanistan, slowly but surely, may now be positioning itself -- finally -- as a connector between Central Asia and South Asia. The next piece will come from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- with Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Iran making sure the war in Afghanistan is over for good.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018Afghanistan ready to play connector role in Eurasian integration The key piece of the puzzle is public recognition that Afghanistan, slowly but surely, may now be positioning itself -- finally -- as a connector between Central Asia and South Asia. The next piece will come from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- with Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Iran making sure the war in Afghanistan is over for good.
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Sunday, February 25, 2018
"Quad" version of Belt and Road feels like a South China Sea Watch What we have here is essentially Tokyo -- and the ADB -- competing head-on against Beijing and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to extend loans around the world, including to an array of African nations (already Beijing's clients) and even to Russia.
Sunday, February 25, 2018"Quad" version of Belt and Road feels like a South China Sea Watch What we have here is essentially Tokyo -- and the ADB -- competing head-on against Beijing and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), to extend loans around the world, including to an array of African nations (already Beijing's clients) and even to Russia.
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Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Munich did nothing to appease Cold War 2.0 fears Munich did absolutely nothing to center the discussion on the frightening prospect of the latest Israel versus Iran crescendo degenerating almost by inertia into a Hot War. Voltaire, the 18th-century French philosopher and writer, liked to quip that those who make you believe absurdities make you commit atrocities.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018Munich did nothing to appease Cold War 2.0 fears Munich did absolutely nothing to center the discussion on the frightening prospect of the latest Israel versus Iran crescendo degenerating almost by inertia into a Hot War. Voltaire, the 18th-century French philosopher and writer, liked to quip that those who make you believe absurdities make you commit atrocities.
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Thursday, February 15, 2018
China's "New Silk Roads" reach Latin America Washington will need to invest in a much more sophisticated game if it is to compete economically against China. That would turn out to be the ideal trade and investment scenario which would profit Latin America the most. Public opinion seems to have made up its mind. Across Latin America, approval of US foreign policy has dropped from 49% in 2016 to 24% last year. Approval of President Trump stands at a dismal 16%.
Thursday, February 15, 2018China's "New Silk Roads" reach Latin America Washington will need to invest in a much more sophisticated game if it is to compete economically against China. That would turn out to be the ideal trade and investment scenario which would profit Latin America the most. Public opinion seems to have made up its mind. Across Latin America, approval of US foreign policy has dropped from 49% in 2016 to 24% last year. Approval of President Trump stands at a dismal 16%.
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Monday, February 12, 2018
China will not fall into the "Thucydides Trap" with India Geopolitically, in Beijing, China-India relations are regarded very seriously, second only in importance to China's relations with the US. Lately, China-Russia relations have been in the ascendant -- mutually exhorted as a "strategic partnership." But, don't count on India and the Quad to play along.
Monday, February 12, 2018China will not fall into the "Thucydides Trap" with India Geopolitically, in Beijing, China-India relations are regarded very seriously, second only in importance to China's relations with the US. Lately, China-Russia relations have been in the ascendant -- mutually exhorted as a "strategic partnership." But, don't count on India and the Quad to play along.
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Friday, February 9, 2018
China's latest move in the graveyard of empires Beijing's strategic priority is to prevent Uyghur fighters of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), who have been exiled in Afghanistan, crossing the Wakhan Corridor to carry out operations across Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in northwest China. There is also the fear that ISIS or Daesh jihadis from Syria and Iraq may also use Afghanistan as a springboard to reach the country.
Friday, February 9, 2018China's latest move in the graveyard of empires Beijing's strategic priority is to prevent Uyghur fighters of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), who have been exiled in Afghanistan, crossing the Wakhan Corridor to carry out operations across Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in northwest China. There is also the fear that ISIS or Daesh jihadis from Syria and Iraq may also use Afghanistan as a springboard to reach the country.
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Wednesday, January 31, 2018
The long profitable march of digital China A concerted Washington attack on Chinese trade policies may be all but inevitable. Complex global supply chains will suffer, while prices inflate. Naturally, Beijing will move key pieces in its global asset chessboard, which could affect US bonds and equities.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018The long profitable march of digital China A concerted Washington attack on Chinese trade policies may be all but inevitable. Complex global supply chains will suffer, while prices inflate. Naturally, Beijing will move key pieces in its global asset chessboard, which could affect US bonds and equities.
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Saturday, January 27, 2018
Turkey plays its latest card in the New Great Game President Tayyip Erdogan's "Olive Branch" operation appears to have support at home and in Moscow, but failure would spell problems. Internally, Operation Olive Branch is a shrewd move for Erdogan. Turkish nationalism is at fever pitch, so public opinion is largely behind the operation. For the Turkish president, this is an electoral bonanza.
Saturday, January 27, 2018Turkey plays its latest card in the New Great Game President Tayyip Erdogan's "Olive Branch" operation appears to have support at home and in Moscow, but failure would spell problems. Internally, Operation Olive Branch is a shrewd move for Erdogan. Turkish nationalism is at fever pitch, so public opinion is largely behind the operation. For the Turkish president, this is an electoral bonanza.
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Thursday, January 25, 2018
Davos: Inequality Rocks the Magic Mountain As inequality reigns supreme, Davos 2018 preaches the necessity of striving towards a common future in a fractured world; a poor euphemism for the stark fact of a wealthy happy few getting much wealthier while untold masses of poor veer toward dirt poor.
Thursday, January 25, 2018Davos: Inequality Rocks the Magic Mountain As inequality reigns supreme, Davos 2018 preaches the necessity of striving towards a common future in a fractured world; a poor euphemism for the stark fact of a wealthy happy few getting much wealthier while untold masses of poor veer toward dirt poor.
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Saturday, January 20, 2018
Rome: A Eulogy Italy's debt is at 130 percent of GDP -- the second highest in the eurozone after Greece. Non-performing bank loans are the stuff of legend. The economy will grow by only 1.3 percent in 2018 -- nearly half of the EU average (2.1 percent). Polls show voters are so angry there's a strong possibility of an anti-euro coalition taking power.
Saturday, January 20, 2018Rome: A Eulogy Italy's debt is at 130 percent of GDP -- the second highest in the eurozone after Greece. Non-performing bank loans are the stuff of legend. The economy will grow by only 1.3 percent in 2018 -- nearly half of the EU average (2.1 percent). Polls show voters are so angry there's a strong possibility of an anti-euro coalition taking power.
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Thursday, January 18, 2018
"Make Trade, Not War" is China's daring plan in the Middle East Beijing's strategy is to avoid a geopolitical collision in the Middle East. Its aim is to: Make Trade, Not War. From the United States' point of view, the National Security Strategy document highlighted how China and Russia are trying to shape a new geopolitical environment in the region, which contrasts sharply from Washington's aims and interests.
Thursday, January 18, 2018"Make Trade, Not War" is China's daring plan in the Middle East Beijing's strategy is to avoid a geopolitical collision in the Middle East. Its aim is to: Make Trade, Not War. From the United States' point of view, the National Security Strategy document highlighted how China and Russia are trying to shape a new geopolitical environment in the region, which contrasts sharply from Washington's aims and interests.
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Saturday, January 13, 2018
Don't expect Trump to send in the cavalry if MBS has to circle wagons MBS will simply be unable to deliver on the promise of an Israel-Palestine-Arab world Grand Deal, which looks certain to have been discussed in Washington and Riyadh. That is virtually impossible after the president's formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Saturday, January 13, 2018Don't expect Trump to send in the cavalry if MBS has to circle wagons MBS will simply be unable to deliver on the promise of an Israel-Palestine-Arab world Grand Deal, which looks certain to have been discussed in Washington and Riyadh. That is virtually impossible after the president's formal recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
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Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Finding the answer to a riddle shrouded in a mystery Beijing's position is in favor of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. This would start with a "double freeze" mechanism, allowing for dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. Beijing is acutely aware that containing the North's nuclear program will have a direct effect on the military upgrading of Japan and South Korea. China is also keen to improve relations with Seoul.
Tuesday, January 9, 2018Finding the answer to a riddle shrouded in a mystery Beijing's position is in favor of the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. This would start with a "double freeze" mechanism, allowing for dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang. Beijing is acutely aware that containing the North's nuclear program will have a direct effect on the military upgrading of Japan and South Korea. China is also keen to improve relations with Seoul.
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Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Why there won't be a revolution in Iran What is happening now in Iran is that legitimate protests related to economic hardships have been hijacked by the usual suspects in a move to influence the minority. After all, Rouhani's administration is comparatively liberal compared to the populist Ahmadinejad government.
Wednesday, January 3, 2018Why there won't be a revolution in Iran What is happening now in Iran is that legitimate protests related to economic hardships have been hijacked by the usual suspects in a move to influence the minority. After all, Rouhani's administration is comparatively liberal compared to the populist Ahmadinejad government.
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Tuesday, December 26, 2017
In an age of Hollow Men and existential angst, re-read Sartre Jean-Paul Sartre was one of the last towering giants of a Renaissance pantheon concerned with the whole spectrum of human existence. Sharp, independent minds have always enjoyed the Sartrean glow that permeates Western culture (or at least those particles of it not fossilized by academia).
Tuesday, December 26, 2017In an age of Hollow Men and existential angst, re-read Sartre Jean-Paul Sartre was one of the last towering giants of a Renaissance pantheon concerned with the whole spectrum of human existence. Sharp, independent minds have always enjoyed the Sartrean glow that permeates Western culture (or at least those particles of it not fossilized by academia).
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Thursday, December 21, 2017
China plans to break petrodollar stranglehold China is making a move to break the United States petrodollar stranglehold. The plan is to set up oil-futures trading in the yuan, which will be fully convertible into gold on the Shanghai and Hong Kong foreign exchange markets.
Thursday, December 21, 2017China plans to break petrodollar stranglehold China is making a move to break the United States petrodollar stranglehold. The plan is to set up oil-futures trading in the yuan, which will be fully convertible into gold on the Shanghai and Hong Kong foreign exchange markets.
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Wednesday, December 20, 2017
China shows its green roots on road to contradictions Beijing is targeting an upgrade of the real estate market and the environment. Then there are projections that by 2027, China could be the global leader on research and development when it comes to eco-friendly vehicles. This will boost the manufacture of de-carbonized vehicles, which is part of the Made in China 2025 initiative. For five years now, state subsidies have helped fund extensive battery charging networks.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017China shows its green roots on road to contradictions Beijing is targeting an upgrade of the real estate market and the environment. Then there are projections that by 2027, China could be the global leader on research and development when it comes to eco-friendly vehicles. This will boost the manufacture of de-carbonized vehicles, which is part of the Made in China 2025 initiative. For five years now, state subsidies have helped fund extensive battery charging networks.
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Sunday, December 17, 2017
Vladimir Putin takes spotlight as Eurasia connector At his trademark annual year-end press conference in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again let drop selected foreign-policy nuggets essential to understanding what lies ahead on the turbulent Eurasian geopolitical chessboard.
Sunday, December 17, 2017Vladimir Putin takes spotlight as Eurasia connector At his trademark annual year-end press conference in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again let drop selected foreign-policy nuggets essential to understanding what lies ahead on the turbulent Eurasian geopolitical chessboard.
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Thursday, December 14, 2017
Silk Road fever grips the Russian Far East and boosts economy This is just the latest example of Russian and Chinese cooperation geared around the New Silk Roads or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing is the world's largest importer of copper and iron ore, and virtually the entire output from Bystrinsky will go to the world's second largest economy.
Thursday, December 14, 2017Silk Road fever grips the Russian Far East and boosts economy This is just the latest example of Russian and Chinese cooperation geared around the New Silk Roads or the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing is the world's largest importer of copper and iron ore, and virtually the entire output from Bystrinsky will go to the world's second largest economy.
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Wednesday, December 13, 2017
China and India sail into choppy waters in New Great Game This is a heady vortex churning with power projections, spheres of influence, security and commerce. In the end, the only certainty is this shadow play involving China, India, Iran and Pakistan, with the US as an active third party, is at the heart of the New Great Game in Eurasia.
Wednesday, December 13, 2017China and India sail into choppy waters in New Great Game This is a heady vortex churning with power projections, spheres of influence, security and commerce. In the end, the only certainty is this shadow play involving China, India, Iran and Pakistan, with the US as an active third party, is at the heart of the New Great Game in Eurasia.
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Thursday, December 7, 2017
The New Great Game moves from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific Indo-Pacific includes South Asia and the Indian Ocean. So, from an American point of view, that does imply elevating India to the status of a rising global superpower able to "contain" China.
Thursday, December 7, 2017The New Great Game moves from Asia-Pacific to Indo-Pacific Indo-Pacific includes South Asia and the Indian Ocean. So, from an American point of view, that does imply elevating India to the status of a rising global superpower able to "contain" China.
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Friday, December 1, 2017
From the Caucasus to the Balkans, China's Silk Roads are rising Chen Gang's analysis touches on what, by now, is obvious: "The international game around BRI has just begun." And it goes almost without saying that Beijing's BRI-driven foreign policy strategy, by turbo-charging China's cooperation with the "Global South," is leaving the US, at best, marginalized.
Friday, December 1, 2017From the Caucasus to the Balkans, China's Silk Roads are rising Chen Gang's analysis touches on what, by now, is obvious: "The international game around BRI has just begun." And it goes almost without saying that Beijing's BRI-driven foreign policy strategy, by turbo-charging China's cooperation with the "Global South," is leaving the US, at best, marginalized.
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Friday, November 24, 2017
Syria war, Sochi peace Russian, Iranian and Turkish foreign ministries and defense departments are tasked to "gather delegates from various political parties, internal and external opposition, ethnic and confessional groups at the negotiating table."
Friday, November 24, 2017Syria war, Sochi peace Russian, Iranian and Turkish foreign ministries and defense departments are tasked to "gather delegates from various political parties, internal and external opposition, ethnic and confessional groups at the negotiating table."
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Tuesday, November 21, 2017
How Turkey, Iran, Russia and India are playing the New Silk Roads Away from intractable war and peace issues, it's even more enlightening to observe how Turkey, Iran and Russia are playing their overlapping versions of Eurasia economic integration and/or BRI-related business.
Tuesday, November 21, 2017How Turkey, Iran, Russia and India are playing the New Silk Roads Away from intractable war and peace issues, it's even more enlightening to observe how Turkey, Iran and Russia are playing their overlapping versions of Eurasia economic integration and/or BRI-related business.
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Tuesday, November 14, 2017
Tikrit and Najaf: Agony and Ecstasy in Iraq Millions of souls -- Iraqis, Iranians, Afghans, Pakistanis, northern Africans, Central Asians, Persian Gulf nationals -- are being soothed via the massive, cathartic walk from Najaf to Karbala. A pilgrim captured the spell -- spiritual redemption merging with political statement -- as he told me, with the flicker of a smile, the walk is also "a protest against terrorism."
Tuesday, November 14, 2017Tikrit and Najaf: Agony and Ecstasy in Iraq Millions of souls -- Iraqis, Iranians, Afghans, Pakistanis, northern Africans, Central Asians, Persian Gulf nationals -- are being soothed via the massive, cathartic walk from Najaf to Karbala. A pilgrim captured the spell -- spiritual redemption merging with political statement -- as he told me, with the flicker of a smile, the walk is also "a protest against terrorism."
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Friday, November 10, 2017
Saudi Crown Prince poised to take over as King: sources The Saudi "anti-corruption" crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, initially netted 11 princes and a few dozen ministers and former ministers, has caught up with hundreds of businessmen, who are being detained in the luxurious Ritz Carlton and other hotels in Riyadh. The Wall Street Journal reports the Crown Prince is targeting an astonishing $800 BILLION in assets believed to be held in 1,700 frozen bank accounts.
Friday, November 10, 2017Saudi Crown Prince poised to take over as King: sources The Saudi "anti-corruption" crackdown led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, initially netted 11 princes and a few dozen ministers and former ministers, has caught up with hundreds of businessmen, who are being detained in the luxurious Ritz Carlton and other hotels in Riyadh. The Wall Street Journal reports the Crown Prince is targeting an astonishing $800 BILLION in assets believed to be held in 1,700 frozen bank accounts.
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Tuesday, November 7, 2017
How the DPRK Riddle is Freaking out the US Establishment Asia-Pacific is where the real action is -- geopolitically and geo-economically. And once again, the number one issue in the intractability stakes will be the DPRK. At a recent meeting with top US military and intelligence chiefs Trump, referring to the DPRK, asked to be provided "with a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace."
Tuesday, November 7, 2017How the DPRK Riddle is Freaking out the US Establishment Asia-Pacific is where the real action is -- geopolitically and geo-economically. And once again, the number one issue in the intractability stakes will be the DPRK. At a recent meeting with top US military and intelligence chiefs Trump, referring to the DPRK, asked to be provided "with a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace."
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Monday, November 6, 2017
The inside story of the Saudi night of long knives The House of Saud's King Salman devises an high-powered "anti-corruption" commission and appoints his son, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, a.k.a. MBS, as chairman. Rumors have been swirling for months about a coup against MBS in the making. Instead, what just happened is yet another MBS pre-emptive coup.
Monday, November 6, 2017The inside story of the Saudi night of long knives The House of Saud's King Salman devises an high-powered "anti-corruption" commission and appoints his son, Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, a.k.a. MBS, as chairman. Rumors have been swirling for months about a coup against MBS in the making. Instead, what just happened is yet another MBS pre-emptive coup.
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Sunday, October 22, 2017
Xi's road map to the Chinese Dream Xi has clearly understood that global leadership implies being a top provider, mostly to the global South, of connectivity, infrastructure financing, comprehensive technical assistance, construction hardware and myriad other trappings of "modernization." It does not hurt that this trade/commerce/investment onslaught helps to internationalize the yuan.
Sunday, October 22, 2017Xi's road map to the Chinese Dream Xi has clearly understood that global leadership implies being a top provider, mostly to the global South, of connectivity, infrastructure financing, comprehensive technical assistance, construction hardware and myriad other trappings of "modernization." It does not hurt that this trade/commerce/investment onslaught helps to internationalize the yuan.
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Thursday, October 19, 2017
Why Trump Has Gone Nuclear on Iran Iran will continue to do solid business with the rest of Asia -- especially Japan and South Korea. Iran and Qatar may eventually become natural gas providers to Europe in the next decade. And Iran will continue to be -- alongside Russia and China -- at the forefront of bypassing the US dollar in energy trade.
Thursday, October 19, 2017Why Trump Has Gone Nuclear on Iran Iran will continue to do solid business with the rest of Asia -- especially Japan and South Korea. Iran and Qatar may eventually become natural gas providers to Europe in the next decade. And Iran will continue to be -- alongside Russia and China -- at the forefront of bypassing the US dollar in energy trade.
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Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Kirkuk redux was a bloodless offensive. Here's why What we have just witnessed is the near breakout of warfare between two alleged US "clients" in Southwest Asia. And yet civil war -- along with the balkanization of Iraq -- was prevented. The facts on the ground speak for themselves.
Wednesday, October 18, 2017Kirkuk redux was a bloodless offensive. Here's why What we have just witnessed is the near breakout of warfare between two alleged US "clients" in Southwest Asia. And yet civil war -- along with the balkanization of Iraq -- was prevented. The facts on the ground speak for themselves.
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Saturday, October 7, 2017
Iraqi Kurdistan the fly to regional spiders Turkey, Iraq, Iran It's easy to forget that even when Ankara was denouncing Tehran as a "state sponsor of terrorism," at the height of the war in Syria, the two countries kept diplomatic relations. Moreover, the liberation of Aleppo by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) only happened with the relative speed that it did because Ankara ordered its proxies to back off.
Saturday, October 7, 2017Iraqi Kurdistan the fly to regional spiders Turkey, Iraq, Iran It's easy to forget that even when Ankara was denouncing Tehran as a "state sponsor of terrorism," at the height of the war in Syria, the two countries kept diplomatic relations. Moreover, the liberation of Aleppo by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) only happened with the relative speed that it did because Ankara ordered its proxies to back off.
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Tuesday, October 3, 2017
The future of the EU at stake in Catalonia Crimea was part of a legitimate reunification drive to rectify Nikita Khrushchev's idiocy of separating it from Russia. London did not send goons to prevent the referendum in Scotland; an amicable negotiation is in effect. No set rules apply. Neocons screamed in vain when Crimea was reunited with Russia after shedding tears of joy when Kosovo was carved out of Serbia.
Tuesday, October 3, 2017The future of the EU at stake in Catalonia Crimea was part of a legitimate reunification drive to rectify Nikita Khrushchev's idiocy of separating it from Russia. London did not send goons to prevent the referendum in Scotland; an amicable negotiation is in effect. No set rules apply. Neocons screamed in vain when Crimea was reunited with Russia after shedding tears of joy when Kosovo was carved out of Serbia.
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Friday, September 29, 2017
Wheels and deals: trouble brewing in the House of Saud The Islamic State project was conceived as the ideal tool to force Iraq to implode. It's now public domain that the organization's funding came mostly from Saudi Arabia. Even the former imam of Mecca has publicly admitted ISIS' leadership "draw their ideas from what is written in our own books, our own principles."
Friday, September 29, 2017Wheels and deals: trouble brewing in the House of Saud The Islamic State project was conceived as the ideal tool to force Iraq to implode. It's now public domain that the organization's funding came mostly from Saudi Arabia. Even the former imam of Mecca has publicly admitted ISIS' leadership "draw their ideas from what is written in our own books, our own principles."
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Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Unravelling the riddle of the Kurds' Iraqi pipedream Baghdad is actually getting stronger -- as part of the "4+1" (Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq plus Hezbollah) that for all practical purposes has won the war in Syria. None of these actors -- or Turkey, which is involved in the Astana negotiations -- wants partition of either Syria or Iraq. Moreover, Russia is also back as Iraq's partner on the military front, selling it a "large batch" of T-90 tanks for US$1 billion.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017Unravelling the riddle of the Kurds' Iraqi pipedream Baghdad is actually getting stronger -- as part of the "4+1" (Russia, Syria, Iran, Iraq plus Hezbollah) that for all practical purposes has won the war in Syria. None of these actors -- or Turkey, which is involved in the Astana negotiations -- wants partition of either Syria or Iraq. Moreover, Russia is also back as Iraq's partner on the military front, selling it a "large batch" of T-90 tanks for US$1 billion.
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Friday, September 22, 2017
Brute isolation: Trump and the art of unraveling the Iran deal Trump's fateful decision in fact conditions and frames how he will deal with North Korea. Pulling out of the JCPOA will send an unmistakable message to Pyongyang and also complicate the efforts of "RC" to defuse the situation. The DPRK will never bother to even consider negotiating with a "compassionate nation" that refuses to live up to multilateral commitments.
Friday, September 22, 2017Brute isolation: Trump and the art of unraveling the Iran deal Trump's fateful decision in fact conditions and frames how he will deal with North Korea. Pulling out of the JCPOA will send an unmistakable message to Pyongyang and also complicate the efforts of "RC" to defuse the situation. The DPRK will never bother to even consider negotiating with a "compassionate nation" that refuses to live up to multilateral commitments.
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Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Unmasked: Trump Doctrine vows carnage for new axis of evil This script runs as follows: Iran must be isolated (by the West, only now that won't fly with the Europeans); Iran is "destabilizing" the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, the ideological foundry of all strands of Salafi-jihadism, gets a free pass); and Iran, because it's developing ballistic that could -- allegedly -- carry nuclear warheads, is the new North Korea.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017Unmasked: Trump Doctrine vows carnage for new axis of evil This script runs as follows: Iran must be isolated (by the West, only now that won't fly with the Europeans); Iran is "destabilizing" the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, the ideological foundry of all strands of Salafi-jihadism, gets a free pass); and Iran, because it's developing ballistic that could -- allegedly -- carry nuclear warheads, is the new North Korea.
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Saturday, September 16, 2017
Mr Trump, tear down this (Korean) wall In the larger geopolitical chessboard, those US "nuclear capabilities" threats voiced by Trump and his generals are not just aimed at Pyongyang. The real, long-term, ultimate target is "RC" (Russia-/China). THAAD missile radars are able -- at least in theory -- to "see" up to 3,000km into "RC" territory. For "RC," this is an absolute no-no.
Saturday, September 16, 2017Mr Trump, tear down this (Korean) wall In the larger geopolitical chessboard, those US "nuclear capabilities" threats voiced by Trump and his generals are not just aimed at Pyongyang. The real, long-term, ultimate target is "RC" (Russia-/China). THAAD missile radars are able -- at least in theory -- to "see" up to 3,000km into "RC" territory. For "RC," this is an absolute no-no.
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Thursday, September 14, 2017
The Russia-China plan for North Korea: stability, connectivity The crucial point is that both Seoul and Pyongyang went to Vladivostok, and talked to Moscow. Arguably the key question -- the armistice that did not end the Korean War -- has to be broached by Putin and the Koreans, without the Americans. The larger strategy of "RC" is clear -- a drive aimed at Eurasian connectivity. The question is how to convince the DPRK to play along.
Thursday, September 14, 2017The Russia-China plan for North Korea: stability, connectivity The crucial point is that both Seoul and Pyongyang went to Vladivostok, and talked to Moscow. Arguably the key question -- the armistice that did not end the Korean War -- has to be broached by Putin and the Koreans, without the Americans. The larger strategy of "RC" is clear -- a drive aimed at Eurasian connectivity. The question is how to convince the DPRK to play along.
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Thursday, September 7, 2017
The real BRICS bombshell "To overcome the excessive domination of the limited number of reserve currencies" is the politest way of stating what the BRICS have been discussing for years now; how to bypass the US dollar, as well as the petrodollar. Russia -- as well as Iran, the other key node of Eurasia integration -- may bypass US sanctions by trading energy in their own currencies, or in yuan.
Thursday, September 7, 2017The real BRICS bombshell "To overcome the excessive domination of the limited number of reserve currencies" is the politest way of stating what the BRICS have been discussing for years now; how to bypass the US dollar, as well as the petrodollar. Russia -- as well as Iran, the other key node of Eurasia integration -- may bypass US sanctions by trading energy in their own currencies, or in yuan.
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Sunday, August 27, 2017
Afghanistan and the CIA Heroin Ratline The Russian Foreign Ministry is tracking how tons of chemicals are being illegally imported into Afghanistan from, among others, "Italy, France and the Netherlands," and how the US and NATO are doing absolutely nothing to contain the heroin ratline.
Sunday, August 27, 2017Afghanistan and the CIA Heroin Ratline The Russian Foreign Ministry is tracking how tons of chemicals are being illegally imported into Afghanistan from, among others, "Italy, France and the Netherlands," and how the US and NATO are doing absolutely nothing to contain the heroin ratline.
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Thursday, August 24, 2017
Korea, Afghanistan and the Never Ending War trap That "plan for an enveloping fire" around Guam remains on Kim Jong-un's table. It is essential to remember the plan was North Korea's response to Trump's "fire and fury" volley. Kim has stated that for diplomacy to work again, "it is necessary for the US to make a proper option first."
Thursday, August 24, 2017Korea, Afghanistan and the Never Ending War trap That "plan for an enveloping fire" around Guam remains on Kim Jong-un's table. It is essential to remember the plan was North Korea's response to Trump's "fire and fury" volley. Kim has stated that for diplomacy to work again, "it is necessary for the US to make a proper option first."
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Sunday, August 20, 2017
Bannon The Barbarian Goes "Thermonuclear" The narrative that the US deep state -- which now de facto controls the Trump presidency -- banished Bannon forever to the "deplorables" badlands tells only part of the story. The Swamp may decide on policy -- but the Breitbart guerrilla surge will take no prisoners.
Sunday, August 20, 2017Bannon The Barbarian Goes "Thermonuclear" The narrative that the US deep state -- which now de facto controls the Trump presidency -- banished Bannon forever to the "deplorables" badlands tells only part of the story. The Swamp may decide on policy -- but the Breitbart guerrilla surge will take no prisoners.
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Thursday, August 10, 2017
North Korea: fire, fury and fear Western corporate media would hardly refrain from metastasizing pure speculation into a "North Korea has miniaturized nuclear weapons" frenzy consuming the cable news cycle/ newspaper headlines. Talk about hearts and minds comfortably numbed by the fear factor.
Thursday, August 10, 2017North Korea: fire, fury and fear Western corporate media would hardly refrain from metastasizing pure speculation into a "North Korea has miniaturized nuclear weapons" frenzy consuming the cable news cycle/ newspaper headlines. Talk about hearts and minds comfortably numbed by the fear factor.
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Friday, August 4, 2017
Against all odds, BRICS nations get their act together What the proverbial Cassandras don't understand is that the BRICS group aims to work with a different template, as an "aggregating platform," something that is being discussed at the highest levels, especially in the framework of the Russia-China strategic partnership.
Friday, August 4, 2017Against all odds, BRICS nations get their act together What the proverbial Cassandras don't understand is that the BRICS group aims to work with a different template, as an "aggregating platform," something that is being discussed at the highest levels, especially in the framework of the Russia-China strategic partnership.
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Friday, July 28, 2017
When in doubt, nuke China What Admiral Swift actually said, in code, is, if a civilian order comes, the US military will start WWIII (or WWIV, if one counts the Cold War), duly applying the Pentagon's first-strike doctrine. What Swift did not say is that President Trump also has the power to pull a Truman and fire any run-amok, aspiring MacArthur clone.
Friday, July 28, 2017When in doubt, nuke China What Admiral Swift actually said, in code, is, if a civilian order comes, the US military will start WWIII (or WWIV, if one counts the Cold War), duly applying the Pentagon's first-strike doctrine. What Swift did not say is that President Trump also has the power to pull a Truman and fire any run-amok, aspiring MacArthur clone.
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Wednesday, July 26, 2017
China and India torn between silk roads and cocked guns The current stand-off at Doklam, or Donglang, is little more than a sideshow in the bigger picture as South Asia's tectonic plates shift in a direction that makes New Delhi's resistance to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) look increasingly futile.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017China and India torn between silk roads and cocked guns The current stand-off at Doklam, or Donglang, is little more than a sideshow in the bigger picture as South Asia's tectonic plates shift in a direction that makes New Delhi's resistance to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) look increasingly futile.
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Sunday, July 23, 2017
Empire of Whiners It gets curiouser and curiouser when it comes to Iran and North Korea -- both also demonized non-stop by media and US Think Tankland. The problem is not that they pose a nuclear threat; the problem is they are obstacles to the smooth expansion of the "US-led order."
Sunday, July 23, 2017Empire of Whiners It gets curiouser and curiouser when it comes to Iran and North Korea -- both also demonized non-stop by media and US Think Tankland. The problem is not that they pose a nuclear threat; the problem is they are obstacles to the smooth expansion of the "US-led order."
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Thursday, July 20, 2017
A coup in the House of Saud? What has been an open secret across the Arab world is not a secret anymore even in the US: What happened last month in the deep recesses of the House of Saud with the ascension of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, aka MBS, was in fact a white coup.
Thursday, July 20, 2017A coup in the House of Saud? What has been an open secret across the Arab world is not a secret anymore even in the US: What happened last month in the deep recesses of the House of Saud with the ascension of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, aka MBS, was in fact a white coup.
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Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The Korean Matrix A minimally competent US "attack" would requires a lot of infiltrated US Special Forces, as in boots on the ground, with no guarantee of success. In a nutshell; Washington, realistically, is incapable of eliminating North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017The Korean Matrix A minimally competent US "attack" would requires a lot of infiltrated US Special Forces, as in boots on the ground, with no guarantee of success. In a nutshell; Washington, realistically, is incapable of eliminating North Korea's nuclear and missile programs.
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Monday, July 17, 2017
The Sun King and The American Friend It's unclear whether Macron has imprinted on the mind of The American Friend that having Syria jihadi-free, together, makes total business sense -- and opens the way to further business deals, on all fronts. Of course, assuming the current and future ceasefires hold, and rogue deep-state elements do not disrupt the scenario.
Monday, July 17, 2017The Sun King and The American Friend It's unclear whether Macron has imprinted on the mind of The American Friend that having Syria jihadi-free, together, makes total business sense -- and opens the way to further business deals, on all fronts. Of course, assuming the current and future ceasefires hold, and rogue deep-state elements do not disrupt the scenario.
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Thursday, July 13, 2017
The New Silk Road will go through Syria The key question from now on seems to be whether Washington will follow the deep state "Syraq" policy -- as in "Assad must go" mixed with support or weaponizing of non-existent "moderate rebels"; or whether Trump's priority -- to eliminate Daesh/ISIS for good -- will prevail.
Thursday, July 13, 2017The New Silk Road will go through Syria The key question from now on seems to be whether Washington will follow the deep state "Syraq" policy -- as in "Assad must go" mixed with support or weaponizing of non-existent "moderate rebels"; or whether Trump's priority -- to eliminate Daesh/ISIS for good -- will prevail.
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Saturday, July 8, 2017
Putin and Trump stage-manage a win-win meeting Trump did not make any substantial concessions in Hamburg, at least according to what both Tillerson and Lavrov volunteered to disclose. The Beltway is barking that Trump gave Putin a win. As usual, they're wrong; Putin and Trump stage-managed a win-win.
Saturday, July 8, 2017Putin and Trump stage-manage a win-win meeting Trump did not make any substantial concessions in Hamburg, at least according to what both Tillerson and Lavrov volunteered to disclose. The Beltway is barking that Trump gave Putin a win. As usual, they're wrong; Putin and Trump stage-managed a win-win.
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Wednesday, July 5, 2017
Washington and Berlin on a Collision Course Trump and Chancellor Angela Merkel will definitely be on a collision course at the G-20, with Merkel emphasizing discussions on climate change, refugees and no trade protectionism, much to Trump's disgust. The Russia sanctions bill just adds to the unholy mess. Expect a lot of fireworks "celebrating" those bilaterals in Hamburg.
Wednesday, July 5, 2017Washington and Berlin on a Collision Course Trump and Chancellor Angela Merkel will definitely be on a collision course at the G-20, with Merkel emphasizing discussions on climate change, refugees and no trade protectionism, much to Trump's disgust. The Russia sanctions bill just adds to the unholy mess. Expect a lot of fireworks "celebrating" those bilaterals in Hamburg.
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Monday, July 3, 2017
HK's role for next 20 years? Silk Road "super-connector" At the 12th G-20, Xi will once again stress globalization 2.0, the ongoing revolution in intelligent industries and sustainable development. This is all music to the ears of German industrialists, who want solid, expanding trade relations all across Eurasia.
Monday, July 3, 2017HK's role for next 20 years? Silk Road "super-connector" At the 12th G-20, Xi will once again stress globalization 2.0, the ongoing revolution in intelligent industries and sustainable development. This is all music to the ears of German industrialists, who want solid, expanding trade relations all across Eurasia.
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Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Fear and loathing on the Afghan Silk Road ISIS is already shipping out jihadis in retreat in both Iraq and Syria to the Hindu Kush. At the same time, it is actively enrolling scores of Pashtuns with lots of cash and weapons -- a workforce including tens of thousands of potential suicide bombers.
Wednesday, June 21, 2017Fear and loathing on the Afghan Silk Road ISIS is already shipping out jihadis in retreat in both Iraq and Syria to the Hindu Kush. At the same time, it is actively enrolling scores of Pashtuns with lots of cash and weapons -- a workforce including tens of thousands of potential suicide bombers.
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Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Blood on the tracks of the New Silk Roads China and Iran have been doing serious business. For over a year now, direct China-Iran cargo trains have been crossing Central Asia in only 12 days. That's just the appetizer for high-speed rail connectivity spanning the arc from China to Turkey via Iran in the early 2020s.
Wednesday, June 14, 2017Blood on the tracks of the New Silk Roads China and Iran have been doing serious business. For over a year now, direct China-Iran cargo trains have been crossing Central Asia in only 12 days. That's just the appetizer for high-speed rail connectivity spanning the arc from China to Turkey via Iran in the early 2020s.
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Wednesday, June 7, 2017
Eurasian integration meets America First Crucial developments in Washington, Brussels, Virginia and St. Petersburg these last few days may offer us serious clues on where we are now heading -- geopolitically and geoeconomically.
Wednesday, June 7, 2017Eurasian integration meets America First Crucial developments in Washington, Brussels, Virginia and St. Petersburg these last few days may offer us serious clues on where we are now heading -- geopolitically and geoeconomically.
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Thursday, June 1, 2017
Putin, Trump and 'my guy' Macron The three-hour face-off between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron in Versailles offered some fascinating geopolitical shadow play.
Thursday, June 1, 2017Putin, Trump and 'my guy' Macron The three-hour face-off between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron in Versailles offered some fascinating geopolitical shadow play.
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Monday, March 27, 2017
Daesh, Creature of the West It's easy to dismiss Daesh as the apex of barbarian cultural idiosyncrasies. Even wallowing in gruesomeness, Daesh has been able to project a universalist dimension beyond its Sunni Arab Middle Eastern base. It's like the clash of civilizations playing in a wilderness of mirrors.
Monday, March 27, 2017Daesh, Creature of the West It's easy to dismiss Daesh as the apex of barbarian cultural idiosyncrasies. Even wallowing in gruesomeness, Daesh has been able to project a universalist dimension beyond its Sunni Arab Middle Eastern base. It's like the clash of civilizations playing in a wilderness of mirrors.
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Friday, March 24, 2017
North Korea: The really serious options on the table Team Trump -- just like the previous US administration of Barack Obama -- assumes that Pyongyang, under pressure, must relinquish its nuclear-weapons program before the negotiations start. Wishful thinking, as anyone who has been to North Korea knows. North Korea is for all practical purposes a nuclear power.
Friday, March 24, 2017North Korea: The really serious options on the table Team Trump -- just like the previous US administration of Barack Obama -- assumes that Pyongyang, under pressure, must relinquish its nuclear-weapons program before the negotiations start. Wishful thinking, as anyone who has been to North Korea knows. North Korea is for all practical purposes a nuclear power.
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Sunday, March 19, 2017
The "Birth Pangs" of a New Middle East, Remixed Team Trump members might entertain the wishful thinking notion that Moscow will ditch Tehran -- not only in Syria but in terms of Eurasia integration. Not a chance. Yet tell that to the House of Saud. Moscow might be able, with time, to instill some geopolitical sense into Riyadh. Once again, not a chance. Because the House of Saud is now convinced their best ally is President Trump.
Sunday, March 19, 2017The "Birth Pangs" of a New Middle East, Remixed Team Trump members might entertain the wishful thinking notion that Moscow will ditch Tehran -- not only in Syria but in terms of Eurasia integration. Not a chance. Yet tell that to the House of Saud. Moscow might be able, with time, to instill some geopolitical sense into Riyadh. Once again, not a chance. Because the House of Saud is now convinced their best ally is President Trump.
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Thursday, March 16, 2017
Could Great Wall of Iron become New Silk Roadblock? All bets are off on how Xi's Great Wall of Iron will smash separatism and/or jihadism combined with the "grid" implemented on the ground by Chen Quanguo. Beijing does not have much time to strike a fine, right balance; too much iron applied against the Uyghurs might just as well mortally wound the biggest infrastructure project of the 21st century.
Thursday, March 16, 2017Could Great Wall of Iron become New Silk Roadblock? All bets are off on how Xi's Great Wall of Iron will smash separatism and/or jihadism combined with the "grid" implemented on the ground by Chen Quanguo. Beijing does not have much time to strike a fine, right balance; too much iron applied against the Uyghurs might just as well mortally wound the biggest infrastructure project of the 21st century.
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Saturday, March 11, 2017
Oh, that traitorous WikiTrump Vast corporate media sectors embedded with the neocon/neoliberal galaxy are spinning that Vault 7 benefits Trump by changing the subject from alleged Russian hacking interference in the US elections and possible Obama administration-ordered hacks of Team Trump's communications. So, if anyone hasn't got the message, the song remains the same. WikiLeaks + Snowden + Russia + Trump = the bad guys.
Saturday, March 11, 2017Oh, that traitorous WikiTrump Vast corporate media sectors embedded with the neocon/neoliberal galaxy are spinning that Vault 7 benefits Trump by changing the subject from alleged Russian hacking interference in the US elections and possible Obama administration-ordered hacks of Team Trump's communications. So, if anyone hasn't got the message, the song remains the same. WikiLeaks + Snowden + Russia + Trump = the bad guys.
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Thursday, March 9, 2017
"The time to invest in Iran is now" The real secret in reference to incipient trade is that Russia and Iran do not have much to exchange at globally competitive rates. Russia exports mainly metals, wood, electrical machines, paper, grain, floating structures, mechanically engineered products and weapons. Iran exports agricultural and seafood products.
Thursday, March 9, 2017"The time to invest in Iran is now" The real secret in reference to incipient trade is that Russia and Iran do not have much to exchange at globally competitive rates. Russia exports mainly metals, wood, electrical machines, paper, grain, floating structures, mechanically engineered products and weapons. Iran exports agricultural and seafood products.
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Thursday, March 2, 2017
Letter from Tehran: Trump "the bazaari" As with most conferences, what matters are the sidelines. Leonid Savin, a Russian geopolitical analyst, claimed that Russian airspace is now all but sealed with multiple deployments of the S-500 missile defense system against anything the US might unleash.
Thursday, March 2, 2017Letter from Tehran: Trump "the bazaari" As with most conferences, what matters are the sidelines. Leonid Savin, a Russian geopolitical analyst, claimed that Russian airspace is now all but sealed with multiple deployments of the S-500 missile defense system against anything the US might unleash.
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Sunday, February 26, 2017
Eurasia Integration: A Three-Speed Affair The US angle in Kazakhstan may turn out to be key during the Trump administration. Exxon has been doing business in Kazakhstan for over 20 years now. US Secretary of State T. Rex Tillerson has a previous history of trying to stall selling Exxon's stake in state oil company KazMunayGas below the price he wanted. In the end he gave in. But should oil prices rise, Exxon will inevitably be back in Kashagan in a flash.
Sunday, February 26, 2017Eurasia Integration: A Three-Speed Affair The US angle in Kazakhstan may turn out to be key during the Trump administration. Exxon has been doing business in Kazakhstan for over 20 years now. US Secretary of State T. Rex Tillerson has a previous history of trying to stall selling Exxon's stake in state oil company KazMunayGas below the price he wanted. In the end he gave in. But should oil prices rise, Exxon will inevitably be back in Kashagan in a flash.
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Go post-West, young man The best Western political elites could come up with at their huddle that ended February 19 is this pearl of self-pity: "Donald Trump's comments about NATO being 'obsolete' have caused great uncertainty among America's allies, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.
Tuesday, February 21, 2017Go post-West, young man The best Western political elites could come up with at their huddle that ended February 19 is this pearl of self-pity: "Donald Trump's comments about NATO being 'obsolete' have caused great uncertainty among America's allies, especially in Central and Eastern Europe.
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Thursday, February 16, 2017
The Swamp Strikes Back the fratricide war between the Trump administration and the most powerful Deep State factions will be beyond vicious. Team Trump only stands a chance if they are able to weaponize allies from within the Deep State. Iran is momentarily relieved; Russia harbors no illusions; and China knows for sure that the China-Russia strategic partnership will become even stronger. Advantage swamp.
Thursday, February 16, 2017The Swamp Strikes Back the fratricide war between the Trump administration and the most powerful Deep State factions will be beyond vicious. Team Trump only stands a chance if they are able to weaponize allies from within the Deep State. Iran is momentarily relieved; Russia harbors no illusions; and China knows for sure that the China-Russia strategic partnership will become even stronger. Advantage swamp.
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Saturday, February 11, 2017
The pivot to China Trump may have already understood that a trade war is a lose-lose proposition. In the absence of an Asian economic version of NATO (the dead-in-the water Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal), the emphasis will be on "vigilant" allies/semi-disguised vassals such as Japan, South Korea and Australia.
Saturday, February 11, 2017The pivot to China Trump may have already understood that a trade war is a lose-lose proposition. In the absence of an Asian economic version of NATO (the dead-in-the water Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal), the emphasis will be on "vigilant" allies/semi-disguised vassals such as Japan, South Korea and Australia.
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Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Lots of shouting, tiny stick Everyone who's been to Iran -- neocons haven't -- knows Tehran won't be subdued with angry threats. Iran has been under US sanctions for no fewer than 38 years. Absolutely nothing across Southwest Asia can be accomplished, geopolitically, without Iranian participation.
Wednesday, February 8, 2017Lots of shouting, tiny stick Everyone who's been to Iran -- neocons haven't -- knows Tehran won't be subdued with angry threats. Iran has been under US sanctions for no fewer than 38 years. Absolutely nothing across Southwest Asia can be accomplished, geopolitically, without Iranian participation.
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Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Age of Anger It's impossible to summarize all the intellectual crossfire deployed by Age of Anger. What's clear is that to understand the current global civil war, archeological reinterpretation of the West's hegemonic narrative of the past 250 years is essential. Otherwise we will be condemned, like puny Sisyphean specks, to endure not only the recurrent nightmare of history but also its recurrent blowback.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017Age of Anger It's impossible to summarize all the intellectual crossfire deployed by Age of Anger. What's clear is that to understand the current global civil war, archeological reinterpretation of the West's hegemonic narrative of the past 250 years is essential. Otherwise we will be condemned, like puny Sisyphean specks, to endure not only the recurrent nightmare of history but also its recurrent blowback.
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Thursday, February 2, 2017
Game-changers ahead on the (long) Maritime Silk Road the proverbial "concern" with this Chinese win-win was registered in both Delhi and Washington. The possibility that China will eventually acquire a permanent naval military base in the Indian Ocean is a full-time obsession of US Think Tankland. Colombo, though, has always been adamant: Chinese-financed infrastructure does not imply basing rights for the Chinese Navy.
Thursday, February 2, 2017Game-changers ahead on the (long) Maritime Silk Road the proverbial "concern" with this Chinese win-win was registered in both Delhi and Washington. The possibility that China will eventually acquire a permanent naval military base in the Indian Ocean is a full-time obsession of US Think Tankland. Colombo, though, has always been adamant: Chinese-financed infrastructure does not imply basing rights for the Chinese Navy.
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Saturday, January 28, 2017
Who's top rooster in the South China Sea? The recent diplomatic charm offensive by China spells out the absurdity of any military offensive against an ASEAN member: it's bad for business. The environment after The Hague's ruling -- as the Laos summit proved -- points toward long-term diplomatic solutions for all South China Sea disputes.
Saturday, January 28, 2017Who's top rooster in the South China Sea? The recent diplomatic charm offensive by China spells out the absurdity of any military offensive against an ASEAN member: it's bad for business. The environment after The Hague's ruling -- as the Laos summit proved -- points toward long-term diplomatic solutions for all South China Sea disputes.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Will Trump hop on an American Silk Road? Absent a trade war, the new US trade strategy will be perfect for Beijing, as China will accelerate the expansion of its New Silk Roads/One Belt, One Road project, especially across the Southeast Asian mainland, as in high-speed rail lines linking Yunnan province to Singapore via Laos, Thailand and Malaysia.
Tuesday, January 24, 2017Will Trump hop on an American Silk Road? Absent a trade war, the new US trade strategy will be perfect for Beijing, as China will accelerate the expansion of its New Silk Roads/One Belt, One Road project, especially across the Southeast Asian mainland, as in high-speed rail lines linking Yunnan province to Singapore via Laos, Thailand and Malaysia.
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Friday, January 20, 2017
Here's How the Trump Presidency Will Play Out Russia has always wanted peace. But they are not going to play a game with the Masters of the Universe that has Trump as the good guy and the Congress, CIA, etc., as the bad guy as a negotiating ploy. That is how they see it. They do not regard this circus as real.
Friday, January 20, 2017Here's How the Trump Presidency Will Play Out Russia has always wanted peace. But they are not going to play a game with the Masters of the Universe that has Trump as the good guy and the Congress, CIA, etc., as the bad guy as a negotiating ploy. That is how they see it. They do not regard this circus as real.
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Wednesday, January 18, 2017
Global helmsman Xi Jinping steps up with charm offensive In a wide-ranging speech that went from global angst to China's new normal, Chinese President Xi Jinping sounded all the right notes that global capital needed to hear; protectionism is like "locking oneself in a dark room," and "no one is a winner in a trade war." He delved into the necessity of peace in Syria, and the perverse effects of the absence of financial regulation.
Wednesday, January 18, 2017Global helmsman Xi Jinping steps up with charm offensive In a wide-ranging speech that went from global angst to China's new normal, Chinese President Xi Jinping sounded all the right notes that global capital needed to hear; protectionism is like "locking oneself in a dark room," and "no one is a winner in a trade war." He delved into the necessity of peace in Syria, and the perverse effects of the absence of financial regulation.
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Sunday, January 15, 2017
Trump, Kissinger and Ma playing on a crowded chessboard Trump will do business and clinch deals with China, while his deep state-tinged cabinet barks the usually explosive national security rhetoric, dalang Kissinger plots a Russia-China split, and Moscow-Beijing secretly concoct concerted moves. Place your bets on who will be the major partner in the Trump, Kissinger and Ma law firm.
Sunday, January 15, 2017Trump, Kissinger and Ma playing on a crowded chessboard Trump will do business and clinch deals with China, while his deep state-tinged cabinet barks the usually explosive national security rhetoric, dalang Kissinger plots a Russia-China split, and Moscow-Beijing secretly concoct concerted moves. Place your bets on who will be the major partner in the Trump, Kissinger and Ma law firm.
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Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Shadow play: the New Great Game in Eurasia The "urbane," "cerebral," "legendary" Kissinger is now advising Trump. The long-term strategy might be characterized as classic Divide and Rule, but slightly remixed: in this case an attempt to break the Russia-China strategic partnership by allying with the -- theoretically -- weaker node, Russia, to better contain the stronger node, China.
Wednesday, January 11, 2017Shadow play: the New Great Game in Eurasia The "urbane," "cerebral," "legendary" Kissinger is now advising Trump. The long-term strategy might be characterized as classic Divide and Rule, but slightly remixed: in this case an attempt to break the Russia-China strategic partnership by allying with the -- theoretically -- weaker node, Russia, to better contain the stronger node, China.
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Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Back to the Future: From the USSR to the Eurasian Century As we wait for the dawn of the Trump era -- an almost intergalactic geopolitical question mark -- what's certain is that the War Party US deep state won't admit defeat. And the key geopolitical riddle to be answered is how strident internal American tensions will deal with the hub of progressive Eurasia integration: Russia, China and Iran.
Tuesday, December 27, 2016Back to the Future: From the USSR to the Eurasian Century As we wait for the dawn of the Trump era -- an almost intergalactic geopolitical question mark -- what's certain is that the War Party US deep state won't admit defeat. And the key geopolitical riddle to be answered is how strident internal American tensions will deal with the hub of progressive Eurasia integration: Russia, China and Iran.
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Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Who profits from Turkey's "Sarajevo moment"? Timing is crucial. The hit happened only one day before the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran were scheduled to meet in Moscow for a key Syria strategic discussion. They were already closely in touch for the past few weeks on how to strike a comprehensive deal on Aleppo -- and beyond.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016Who profits from Turkey's "Sarajevo moment"? Timing is crucial. The hit happened only one day before the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran were scheduled to meet in Moscow for a key Syria strategic discussion. They were already closely in touch for the past few weeks on how to strike a comprehensive deal on Aleppo -- and beyond.
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Sunday, December 18, 2016
Trump does Taiwan China accounts for only 16 percent of the US deficit, slightly ahead of Japan and Germany. So a Trump trade war on China "would be a war against all participants in the global supply chain, including US companies." Trump may throw Taiwan at the table, but Beijing is already playing another game entirely.
Sunday, December 18, 2016Trump does Taiwan China accounts for only 16 percent of the US deficit, slightly ahead of Japan and Germany. So a Trump trade war on China "would be a war against all participants in the global supply chain, including US companies." Trump may throw Taiwan at the table, but Beijing is already playing another game entirely.
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Monday, December 12, 2016
Obama Out Not With a Bang, But a Whimper The whimpering Obama administration is not over yet. Expect more sensational CIA exploits; more demonization of Russia; more weaponizing of "moderate" Syrian "rebels"; and even the odd false flag.
Monday, December 12, 2016Obama Out Not With a Bang, But a Whimper The whimpering Obama administration is not over yet. Expect more sensational CIA exploits; more demonization of Russia; more weaponizing of "moderate" Syrian "rebels"; and even the odd false flag.
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Tuesday, December 6, 2016
No, Italy is not about to leave the euro Italy is now firmly concentrated on trying to get a new -- functional -- government, not abandon the euro. But that still entails a fascinating sub-plot; none other than Angela Merkel will have to step up and lend a hand to "save" the EU by saving the future of Renzi's Democratic Party. Now that's what an opera buffa is all about.
Tuesday, December 6, 2016No, Italy is not about to leave the euro Italy is now firmly concentrated on trying to get a new -- functional -- government, not abandon the euro. But that still entails a fascinating sub-plot; none other than Angela Merkel will have to step up and lend a hand to "save" the EU by saving the future of Renzi's Democratic Party. Now that's what an opera buffa is all about.
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Monday, December 5, 2016
The Rules of the (Trump) Game Mad Dog James Mattis may indeed be seen by the real world as, well, a mad dog; he was on the front line of the 2001 assault on Afghanistan; led the Marine assault on Baghdad during Shock and Awe in 2003; and masterminded the horrendous American destruction of Fallujah in late 2004. Widely hailed as a fine strategist, he retired as chief of CENTCOM in 2013.
Monday, December 5, 2016The Rules of the (Trump) Game Mad Dog James Mattis may indeed be seen by the real world as, well, a mad dog; he was on the front line of the 2001 assault on Afghanistan; led the Marine assault on Baghdad during Shock and Awe in 2003; and masterminded the horrendous American destruction of Fallujah in late 2004. Widely hailed as a fine strategist, he retired as chief of CENTCOM in 2013.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Lenin Comes to the White House? "America First" -- but for whom? The key question is who will end up defining America's real national interest; true nationalists embedded in Team Trump, plus the proletariat "elite," or the usual -- globalist -- suspects able to infect and corrupt any notion of nationalism? Politics is war -- what else? And "revolution" is still the biggest show in town.
Wednesday, November 30, 2016Lenin Comes to the White House? "America First" -- but for whom? The key question is who will end up defining America's real national interest; true nationalists embedded in Team Trump, plus the proletariat "elite," or the usual -- globalist -- suspects able to infect and corrupt any notion of nationalism? Politics is war -- what else? And "revolution" is still the biggest show in town.
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Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Welcome to the Fillon-Le Pen cage match As it stands, everything points to a Fillon-Marine cage match next spring. President Francois Hollande would be barely able to beat a frog (literally) if he runs for a second term. Even lackluster current Prime Minister Manuel Valls would be more popular.
Tuesday, November 29, 2016Welcome to the Fillon-Le Pen cage match As it stands, everything points to a Fillon-Marine cage match next spring. President Francois Hollande would be barely able to beat a frog (literally) if he runs for a second term. Even lackluster current Prime Minister Manuel Valls would be more popular.
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Sunday, November 20, 2016
Will Trumpolitics Erase Clintonism? As much as 47% of Americans eligible to vote did not bother to on November 8. Trump had roughly 25.5% of the eligible electorate vote, in fact less than Hillary Clinton's 25.6%. That translates into a de facto mandate of roughly one-fourth of Americans. Overwhelmingly popular it is not. The key question is whether Trumponomics will be able to stare down and at least subdue the most savage aspects of unbridled neoliberalism.
Sunday, November 20, 2016Will Trumpolitics Erase Clintonism? As much as 47% of Americans eligible to vote did not bother to on November 8. Trump had roughly 25.5% of the eligible electorate vote, in fact less than Hillary Clinton's 25.6%. That translates into a de facto mandate of roughly one-fourth of Americans. Overwhelmingly popular it is not. The key question is whether Trumponomics will be able to stare down and at least subdue the most savage aspects of unbridled neoliberalism.
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Saturday, November 19, 2016
China "Marco Polo" Xi Jinping starts jockeying in post-Obama world An eventual US-Russia deal in Syria would ultimately benefit -- who else -- China. Mirroring the original Silk Road, China sees Syria as a crucial node of the New Silk Roads, currently cut off. Picture the day in a not too distant future when Xi will be stopping in Damascus to do trade deals. And to call for a stimulus package of Chinese tourists to visit a restored Palmyra.
Saturday, November 19, 2016China "Marco Polo" Xi Jinping starts jockeying in post-Obama world An eventual US-Russia deal in Syria would ultimately benefit -- who else -- China. Mirroring the original Silk Road, China sees Syria as a crucial node of the New Silk Roads, currently cut off. Picture the day in a not too distant future when Xi will be stopping in Damascus to do trade deals. And to call for a stimulus package of Chinese tourists to visit a restored Palmyra.
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Friday, November 18, 2016
Welcome to the Brave New (Trumpolitical/Trumponomic) World We will be living among the myriad debris originated by the Trumpolitics IED. America invented the politically correct. Trump bombed politically correct. America is proud of corporate media. Trump bombed corporate media. These are already two important victories.
Friday, November 18, 2016Welcome to the Brave New (Trumpolitical/Trumponomic) World We will be living among the myriad debris originated by the Trumpolitics IED. America invented the politically correct. Trump bombed politically correct. America is proud of corporate media. Trump bombed corporate media. These are already two important victories.
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Tuesday, November 8, 2016
It's All a Russia/Al-Qaeda/WikiLeaks/"Rogue" FBI Plot A case could be made that the first Comey letter to Congress was a response to an FBI internal revolt. Agents that were part of the insurgency are not likely to quit the long game -- even after the election. They have made sure that the real deal is with the Clinton Foundation, not Hillary's emails.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016It's All a Russia/Al-Qaeda/WikiLeaks/"Rogue" FBI Plot A case could be made that the first Comey letter to Congress was a response to an FBI internal revolt. Agents that were part of the insurgency are not likely to quit the long game -- even after the election. They have made sure that the real deal is with the Clinton Foundation, not Hillary's emails.
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Friday, November 4, 2016
What Does it Take to Bring Hillary Clinton to Justice? Virtually the whole planet holds its collective breath at the prospect of Hillary Clinton possibly becoming the next President of the United States. The FBI has been on the Clinton Foundation for over a year. Now, arguably, they are loaded with evidence -- and they won't quit. Winning the presidency now seems to be the least of Hillary Clinton's Bonfire of Scandals' problems.
Friday, November 4, 2016What Does it Take to Bring Hillary Clinton to Justice? Virtually the whole planet holds its collective breath at the prospect of Hillary Clinton possibly becoming the next President of the United States. The FBI has been on the Clinton Foundation for over a year. Now, arguably, they are loaded with evidence -- and they won't quit. Winning the presidency now seems to be the least of Hillary Clinton's Bonfire of Scandals' problems.
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Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Hillary Clinton, The FBI and November Surprise It's possible Comey had to do it because the rot goes way beyond the Clinton "pay to play" racket and involves virtually the whole system, from the deep recesses of the Obama administration to the War Party scam, the Department of Justice, the CIA and the FBI itself. What next? Brace for impact; it may well be the ultimate November Surprise.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016Hillary Clinton, The FBI and November Surprise It's possible Comey had to do it because the rot goes way beyond the Clinton "pay to play" racket and involves virtually the whole system, from the deep recesses of the Obama administration to the War Party scam, the Department of Justice, the CIA and the FBI itself. What next? Brace for impact; it may well be the ultimate November Surprise.
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Sunday, October 30, 2016
American Dream, Revisited We keep slouching towards a single future language -- the language of algorithms, as designed across the Wall Street/Silicon Valley axis -- that would represent a real anthropological catastrophe, just like the globalist/New World Order dream of One Thought and One Culture. That's where the American dream seems to be heading. It's time to take the next exit ramp.
Sunday, October 30, 2016American Dream, Revisited We keep slouching towards a single future language -- the language of algorithms, as designed across the Wall Street/Silicon Valley axis -- that would represent a real anthropological catastrophe, just like the globalist/New World Order dream of One Thought and One Culture. That's where the American dream seems to be heading. It's time to take the next exit ramp.
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Saturday, October 29, 2016
Why Hillary won't unleash WWIII Russia has all the natural resources it needs; unlike the US government, which believes it needs an empire of bases overseas and 10 aircraft carrier task forces to secure the resources it lacks. Hot war? Hillary Clinton may have pulled a Julius Caesar over Gaddafi. But she's realist enough to not pull a (nuclear) Hitler over Moscow. Or is she?
Saturday, October 29, 2016Why Hillary won't unleash WWIII Russia has all the natural resources it needs; unlike the US government, which believes it needs an empire of bases overseas and 10 aircraft carrier task forces to secure the resources it lacks. Hot war? Hillary Clinton may have pulled a Julius Caesar over Gaddafi. But she's realist enough to not pull a (nuclear) Hitler over Moscow. Or is she?
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Friday, October 28, 2016
Russia Calls the War Party's Bluff Well-informed Western analysts know that Moscow never brags about military buildups -- and has mastered to a fault the element of surprise. Much more than calling a bluff, it's Moscow's Sun Tzu tactics that are really rattling loudmouth Washington.
Friday, October 28, 2016Russia Calls the War Party's Bluff Well-informed Western analysts know that Moscow never brags about military buildups -- and has mastered to a fault the element of surprise. Much more than calling a bluff, it's Moscow's Sun Tzu tactics that are really rattling loudmouth Washington.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2016
"America Has Lost" in the Philippines The neocon/neoliberalcon industrial-military complex fury against unhinged Duterte's game-changer is that containing China and ruling over the First Island Chain has been at the core of US naval strategy since the beginning of the Cold War.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016"America Has Lost" in the Philippines The neocon/neoliberalcon industrial-military complex fury against unhinged Duterte's game-changer is that containing China and ruling over the First Island Chain has been at the core of US naval strategy since the beginning of the Cold War.
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Saturday, October 22, 2016
So Russia Won't Elect the Next POTUS What about the (silent) Big Red Dragon in the midst of this appalling circus? The final cage match in Vegas yielded no further demonization of China. Beijing anyway is ready -- confident that no Pivoting Darth Vader in a White Pantsuit will be able to derail the Eurasian Century.
Saturday, October 22, 2016So Russia Won't Elect the Next POTUS What about the (silent) Big Red Dragon in the midst of this appalling circus? The final cage match in Vegas yielded no further demonization of China. Beijing anyway is ready -- confident that no Pivoting Darth Vader in a White Pantsuit will be able to derail the Eurasian Century.
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Thursday, October 20, 2016
BRICS continues its advance, one step at a time The annual BRICS meeting held this past weekend in India. Apparently there's not much that meets the eye. Yet President Putin once again stressed the context; this is a long-term project, a "key element" in the embryonic multipolar world, driven by nations that don't accept "power pressure" and attempted "targeting of sovereignty" by the usual suspects.
Thursday, October 20, 2016BRICS continues its advance, one step at a time The annual BRICS meeting held this past weekend in India. Apparently there's not much that meets the eye. Yet President Putin once again stressed the context; this is a long-term project, a "key element" in the embryonic multipolar world, driven by nations that don't accept "power pressure" and attempted "targeting of sovereignty" by the usual suspects.
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Thursday, October 13, 2016
Is Trump ready to go nuclear? for all the 24/7 scandal time of non-stop groping and kissing and lewd locker room misbehaving, Trump seems to be ready to limp toward the finish line just as he began; an all-out populist/nativist/nationalist fighting open borders (a Clinton mantra, as revealed by the latest WikiLeaks Podesta email dump); "free" trade; neoliberal globalization; and regime change/bomb them into democracy/"humanitarian" imperialism.
Thursday, October 13, 2016Is Trump ready to go nuclear? for all the 24/7 scandal time of non-stop groping and kissing and lewd locker room misbehaving, Trump seems to be ready to limp toward the finish line just as he began; an all-out populist/nativist/nationalist fighting open borders (a Clinton mantra, as revealed by the latest WikiLeaks Podesta email dump); "free" trade; neoliberal globalization; and regime change/bomb them into democracy/"humanitarian" imperialism.
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Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Hillary Clinton's Axis of Evil The deafening talk about Washington now advancing a Plan C in Syria is nonsense. There has never been a Plan C; only Plan A, which was to draw Russia into another Afghanistan. It did not work with the controlled demolition of Ukraine. And it will not work in Syria, as Moscow is willing to supply plenty of air and missile power but no boots on the ground of any consequence.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016Hillary Clinton's Axis of Evil The deafening talk about Washington now advancing a Plan C in Syria is nonsense. There has never been a Plan C; only Plan A, which was to draw Russia into another Afghanistan. It did not work with the controlled demolition of Ukraine. And it will not work in Syria, as Moscow is willing to supply plenty of air and missile power but no boots on the ground of any consequence.
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Saturday, October 8, 2016
Why the New Silk Roads terrify Washington Beijing is betting that the overwhelming majority of nations across Eurasia would rather invest in, and profit from, a "win-win" economic development project than be bogged down in a lose-lose strategic game between the US and China. And that, for the Empire of Chaos, is absolute anathema. How to possibly accept that China is winning the 21st century/New Great Game in Eurasia by building the New Silk Roads?
Saturday, October 8, 2016Why the New Silk Roads terrify Washington Beijing is betting that the overwhelming majority of nations across Eurasia would rather invest in, and profit from, a "win-win" economic development project than be bogged down in a lose-lose strategic game between the US and China. And that, for the Empire of Chaos, is absolute anathema. How to possibly accept that China is winning the 21st century/New Great Game in Eurasia by building the New Silk Roads?
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Sunday, October 2, 2016
Afghanistan; It's the Heroin, Stupid Deep in the shades, contractors keep moving the CIA heroin to the West. The US-NATO combo has just pledged to help fund Afghan security forces to the tune of around $1 billion annually over the next three years. Few will be aware that offers splendorous extra incentive to CIA-run heroin traders plying their wares across the EU.
Sunday, October 2, 2016Afghanistan; It's the Heroin, Stupid Deep in the shades, contractors keep moving the CIA heroin to the West. The US-NATO combo has just pledged to help fund Afghan security forces to the tune of around $1 billion annually over the next three years. Few will be aware that offers splendorous extra incentive to CIA-run heroin traders plying their wares across the EU.
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Thursday, September 29, 2016
Wall Street: The Trump-China missing link To recover US manufacturing jobs -- as Trump has been forcefully promising -- he will have to stare down the whole Wall Street finance oligarchy. So no wonder these oligarchs -- responsible for shipping all those US manufacturing jobs to Asia and lavishly profiting from bailouts to the "Too Big To Fail" racket -- hate him with all their golden-plated guts.
Thursday, September 29, 2016Wall Street: The Trump-China missing link To recover US manufacturing jobs -- as Trump has been forcefully promising -- he will have to stare down the whole Wall Street finance oligarchy. So no wonder these oligarchs -- responsible for shipping all those US manufacturing jobs to Asia and lavishly profiting from bailouts to the "Too Big To Fail" racket -- hate him with all their golden-plated guts.
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Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Mother Superior VS Ranting Schoolboy The temptation is irresistible to conceptualize the Clinton Machine's strategy going into the first US presidential debate; let Donald Trump metastasize into a pretzel. Mission not impossible; in fact, accomplished. While Secretary Clinton controlled the debate, Donald could not even control his temper; but this being The Donald, it did not prevent him from launching an out of left field self-elegy to his "temperament."
Wednesday, September 28, 2016Mother Superior VS Ranting Schoolboy The temptation is irresistible to conceptualize the Clinton Machine's strategy going into the first US presidential debate; let Donald Trump metastasize into a pretzel. Mission not impossible; in fact, accomplished. While Secretary Clinton controlled the debate, Donald could not even control his temper; but this being The Donald, it did not prevent him from launching an out of left field self-elegy to his "temperament."
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Saturday, September 24, 2016
Les Deplorables Trump will push to organize an immediate rapprochement with Russia in case he's elected, so the US industrial-military-surveillance complex can catch up and at least try to remedy the danger of losing the next war Hillary and her own neocon bag of deplorables are so bullish on.
Saturday, September 24, 2016Les Deplorables Trump will push to organize an immediate rapprochement with Russia in case he's elected, so the US industrial-military-surveillance complex can catch up and at least try to remedy the danger of losing the next war Hillary and her own neocon bag of deplorables are so bullish on.
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Friday, September 23, 2016
Non-Aligned to... Nowhere? It will be a long and winding road. NAM may not have much except a Jakarta-based Center for South-South Technical Cooperation, and a number of joint committees with the Group of 77 developing nations. But they do hold the moral high ground in the fight for a more equal, balanced and decent world.
Friday, September 23, 2016Non-Aligned to... Nowhere? It will be a long and winding road. NAM may not have much except a Jakarta-based Center for South-South Technical Cooperation, and a number of joint committees with the Group of 77 developing nations. But they do hold the moral high ground in the fight for a more equal, balanced and decent world.
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Thursday, September 22, 2016
The US road map to balkanize Syria This continues to be about the Qatar to Turkey -- via Syria -- natural gas pipeline versus the proposed $10 billion Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline, for which there is already a memorandum of understanding. Lavrov is too much of a stellar diplomat to leak it -- but after Deir Ezzor, Moscow has definitive proof any possible ceasefire bargained with Washington will be smashed.
Thursday, September 22, 2016The US road map to balkanize Syria This continues to be about the Qatar to Turkey -- via Syria -- natural gas pipeline versus the proposed $10 billion Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline, for which there is already a memorandum of understanding. Lavrov is too much of a stellar diplomat to leak it -- but after Deir Ezzor, Moscow has definitive proof any possible ceasefire bargained with Washington will be smashed.
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Tuesday, September 20, 2016
Playing Algorithm'n Blues Facebook actually determines, according to its own interests, what everyone sees -- and learns -- in the social network. No less than two-thirds of American adults have a Facebook profile. Nearly half, according to a Pew Research Center report, rely on Facebook for at least some of their news.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016Playing Algorithm'n Blues Facebook actually determines, according to its own interests, what everyone sees -- and learns -- in the social network. No less than two-thirds of American adults have a Facebook profile. Nearly half, according to a Pew Research Center report, rely on Facebook for at least some of their news.
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Friday, September 16, 2016
What is BRICS member India really up to? Modi's priority is to solidify India as the top South Asian power. So he cannot afford to antagonize Washington. Naturally, US corporations -- heavy supporters of TPP -- are salivating at the lucrative prospects. The drive is similar to what China did decades ago, but now with emphasis on "protection of intellectual property" to attract the TPP-obsessed crowd.
Friday, September 16, 2016What is BRICS member India really up to? Modi's priority is to solidify India as the top South Asian power. So he cannot afford to antagonize Washington. Naturally, US corporations -- heavy supporters of TPP -- are salivating at the lucrative prospects. The drive is similar to what China did decades ago, but now with emphasis on "protection of intellectual property" to attract the TPP-obsessed crowd.
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Wednesday, September 14, 2016
China Ups the Game in the South China Sea Washington must factor the delicate political equation before the extremely complex royal succession, with the power of the Thai army solidified by a new constitution as it expands trade and political relations with both Russia and China. The only discourse emanating from Washington boils down to Pentagon obsession with confrontation in the South China Sea and White House obsession with TPP, the trade arm of the pivot.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016China Ups the Game in the South China Sea Washington must factor the delicate political equation before the extremely complex royal succession, with the power of the Thai army solidified by a new constitution as it expands trade and political relations with both Russia and China. The only discourse emanating from Washington boils down to Pentagon obsession with confrontation in the South China Sea and White House obsession with TPP, the trade arm of the pivot.
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Monday, September 5, 2016
Made in China G20 and its geoeconomic significance The G20 in Hangzhou showed China is ready to show off its economic clout and to exercise a much more active role in geoeconomics. It's clear that Beijing prefers to play the game in a multilateral trade system based around the WTO. Washington, instead, has been trying to rig the game with new "rules"; TPP and TTIP.
Monday, September 5, 2016Made in China G20 and its geoeconomic significance The G20 in Hangzhou showed China is ready to show off its economic clout and to exercise a much more active role in geoeconomics. It's clear that Beijing prefers to play the game in a multilateral trade system based around the WTO. Washington, instead, has been trying to rig the game with new "rules"; TPP and TTIP.
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Friday, September 2, 2016
The Ultimate 21st Century Choice; OBOR or War At the G20 China once again is announcing it is taking the lead. And not only taking the lead -- but also planning to overstretch its abilities to make the hyper-ambitious OBOR Eurasia integration masterplan work. Call it a monster PR exercise or a soft power win-win; the fact that humanitarian imperialism as embodied by the Pentagon considers China a major "threat" is all the Global South--and the G20--need to know.
Friday, September 2, 2016The Ultimate 21st Century Choice; OBOR or War At the G20 China once again is announcing it is taking the lead. And not only taking the lead -- but also planning to overstretch its abilities to make the hyper-ambitious OBOR Eurasia integration masterplan work. Call it a monster PR exercise or a soft power win-win; the fact that humanitarian imperialism as embodied by the Pentagon considers China a major "threat" is all the Global South--and the G20--need to know.
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Tuesday, August 30, 2016
Brazil's Dilma Rousseff, a woman of honor, confronts Senate of scoundrels Rousseff is on the way to be stripped from the presidency of the world's 8th largest economy by a bunch of scoundrel-cum-coward politicos. Her impeachment means in practice that democratic voting in one of the world's largest democracies will be cancelled by a parliamentary coup remote-controlled by oligarchic interests. This is not, and never was, about justice; it's about dirty, nasty politics.
Tuesday, August 30, 2016Brazil's Dilma Rousseff, a woman of honor, confronts Senate of scoundrels Rousseff is on the way to be stripped from the presidency of the world's 8th largest economy by a bunch of scoundrel-cum-coward politicos. Her impeachment means in practice that democratic voting in one of the world's largest democracies will be cancelled by a parliamentary coup remote-controlled by oligarchic interests. This is not, and never was, about justice; it's about dirty, nasty politics.
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Monday, August 29, 2016
The Whole Game is About Containing Russia-China Compared to Russia's superior high-tech weaponry, NATO is a kindergarten mess; not to mention that soon Russian territory will be inviolable to any Star Wars-derived scheme. China will soon have all the submarines and "carrier-killer" missiles necessary to make life for the US Navy hell in case the Pentagon harbors funny ideas.
Monday, August 29, 2016The Whole Game is About Containing Russia-China Compared to Russia's superior high-tech weaponry, NATO is a kindergarten mess; not to mention that soon Russian territory will be inviolable to any Star Wars-derived scheme. China will soon have all the submarines and "carrier-killer" missiles necessary to make life for the US Navy hell in case the Pentagon harbors funny ideas.
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Saturday, August 27, 2016
Brazil's Banana Scoundrels Will Now Win Their Olympics The multi-layered coup, with modified Hybrid War elements, comes with a prearranged finale. It does not matter that even Brazilian Public Ministry experts have repeatedly admitted there's no juridical basis for Rousseff's impeachment. Even the federal prosecutor on the case concluded a few weeks ago that she did not commit a crime -- responsibility or otherwise.
Saturday, August 27, 2016Brazil's Banana Scoundrels Will Now Win Their Olympics The multi-layered coup, with modified Hybrid War elements, comes with a prearranged finale. It does not matter that even Brazilian Public Ministry experts have repeatedly admitted there's no juridical basis for Rousseff's impeachment. Even the federal prosecutor on the case concluded a few weeks ago that she did not commit a crime -- responsibility or otherwise.
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Friday, August 19, 2016
While Beijing and Manila talk, Washington spoiling for a fight The RAND report is just one more piece of evidence adding to what the Beijing leadership already takes for granted -- even before the Clinton-announced pivoting to Asia; the Empire of Chaos, in despair, will revert to war no matter what.
Friday, August 19, 2016While Beijing and Manila talk, Washington spoiling for a fight The RAND report is just one more piece of evidence adding to what the Beijing leadership already takes for granted -- even before the Clinton-announced pivoting to Asia; the Empire of Chaos, in despair, will revert to war no matter what.
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Thursday, August 18, 2016
Could Trump Pull Off a Post-Party Coalition? There's no evidence Trump's ambitious -- and contentious -- agenda can be sold to movers and shakers from JP Morgan to the Koch brothers. Trump creating a cross-party, trans-party or even post-party movement will only succeed if substantial players in the Power Elite are behind it, and there are no signs of this happening.
Thursday, August 18, 2016Could Trump Pull Off a Post-Party Coalition? There's no evidence Trump's ambitious -- and contentious -- agenda can be sold to movers and shakers from JP Morgan to the Koch brothers. Trump creating a cross-party, trans-party or even post-party movement will only succeed if substantial players in the Power Elite are behind it, and there are no signs of this happening.
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Friday, August 5, 2016
Hillary, Queen of War: The Road Map Ahead Tehran has myriad reasons to be on red alert if the Full Spectrum Dominatrix gets her hands on the nuclear codes (how's that not scarier than Trump?) She will act as a surefire faithful servant of the Saudi/Israeli alliance. The road map is ready. And neocons and neoliberalcons alike can hardly contain their excitement at seeing in action "a force that can flex across several different mission sets and prevail."
Friday, August 5, 2016Hillary, Queen of War: The Road Map Ahead Tehran has myriad reasons to be on red alert if the Full Spectrum Dominatrix gets her hands on the nuclear codes (how's that not scarier than Trump?) She will act as a surefire faithful servant of the Saudi/Israeli alliance. The road map is ready. And neocons and neoliberalcons alike can hardly contain their excitement at seeing in action "a force that can flex across several different mission sets and prevail."
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Thursday, August 4, 2016
Say hello to Southeast Asia's New Silk Roads China will not desist from building a first-class blue water navy with global reach. That's the rationale for the sophisticated submarine base in Hainan Island and those ultra-controversial land reclamations in the Spratly Islands. Beijing's overall strategy is to fully control security in the South China Sea -- considering whatever the hegemon may come up with.
Thursday, August 4, 2016Say hello to Southeast Asia's New Silk Roads China will not desist from building a first-class blue water navy with global reach. That's the rationale for the sophisticated submarine base in Hainan Island and those ultra-controversial land reclamations in the Spratly Islands. Beijing's overall strategy is to fully control security in the South China Sea -- considering whatever the hegemon may come up with.
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Sunday, July 31, 2016
Full Spectrum Dominatrix vs. Off Spectrum Narcissus The CIA did not take down WikiLeaks. Hillary Clinton will make sure someone does. She will make sure "Russian aggression" is enshrined as some sort of national motto. When Hillary Clinton went for a "reset" in US-Russia relations, in both English and Russian, it was translated as "overload" -- a Freudian slip that elicited a smile from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov but a thousand jokes all across Russia.
Sunday, July 31, 2016Full Spectrum Dominatrix vs. Off Spectrum Narcissus The CIA did not take down WikiLeaks. Hillary Clinton will make sure someone does. She will make sure "Russian aggression" is enshrined as some sort of national motto. When Hillary Clinton went for a "reset" in US-Russia relations, in both English and Russian, it was translated as "overload" -- a Freudian slip that elicited a smile from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov but a thousand jokes all across Russia.
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Thursday, July 28, 2016
Is war inevitable in the South China Sea? The environment after The Hague's ruling -- as the Laos summit proved -- points toward long-term diplomatic solutions. But make no mistake; at some point in the future, there will be a serious confrontation between the US and China over "access" to the South China Sea.
Thursday, July 28, 2016Is war inevitable in the South China Sea? The environment after The Hague's ruling -- as the Laos summit proved -- points toward long-term diplomatic solutions. But make no mistake; at some point in the future, there will be a serious confrontation between the US and China over "access" to the South China Sea.
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Tuesday, July 26, 2016
The Real Secret of the South China Sea The US, for its part, is all about Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny. As it stands, more than Russia's western borderlands, the Baltics or "Syraq," this is where the hegemon "rules" are really being contested. And the stakes couldn't be higher. That'll be the day when the US Navy is "denied" from the South China Sea; and that'll be the end of its imperial hegemony.
Tuesday, July 26, 2016The Real Secret of the South China Sea The US, for its part, is all about Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny. As it stands, more than Russia's western borderlands, the Baltics or "Syraq," this is where the hegemon "rules" are really being contested. And the stakes couldn't be higher. That'll be the day when the US Navy is "denied" from the South China Sea; and that'll be the end of its imperial hegemony.
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Sunday, July 24, 2016
The Sultan of (Emergency) Swing As much as Erdogan is an absolutely unreliable player and a loose geopolitical cannon, an invitation from Moscow-Beijing in a not too distant future may be forthcoming. Putin and Erdogan will have an absolutely crucial meeting in early August. Erdogan has been on the phone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Sunday, July 24, 2016The Sultan of (Emergency) Swing As much as Erdogan is an absolutely unreliable player and a loose geopolitical cannon, an invitation from Moscow-Beijing in a not too distant future may be forthcoming. Putin and Erdogan will have an absolutely crucial meeting in early August. Erdogan has been on the phone with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
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Monday, July 18, 2016
How Donald Trump will follow the money Here's how the playing field is shaping up: the neocon/neoliberal/Wall Street candidate, Hillary Clinton, featuring The Three Harpies itching for a war, against the wall-to-wall multibillionaire Four Amigos -- Trump, Charles and David Koch, and Adelson. This, in the US, is what passes for "democracy." Those who are about to die of despair -- we salute you.
Monday, July 18, 2016How Donald Trump will follow the money Here's how the playing field is shaping up: the neocon/neoliberal/Wall Street candidate, Hillary Clinton, featuring The Three Harpies itching for a war, against the wall-to-wall multibillionaire Four Amigos -- Trump, Charles and David Koch, and Adelson. This, in the US, is what passes for "democracy." Those who are about to die of despair -- we salute you.
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Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Between a Rock and a Hard (South China) Place once again the South China Sea is all about energy -- much more than the roughly $4.5 trillion of shipping trade that traverses it every year; "freedom of navigation" has always been more than assured for all. For Beijing, the South China Sea is an all-out energy must have, as it would constitute, in the long run, another key factor in the "escape from Malacca" plan of diversifying energy sources away from a bottleneck.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016Between a Rock and a Hard (South China) Place once again the South China Sea is all about energy -- much more than the roughly $4.5 trillion of shipping trade that traverses it every year; "freedom of navigation" has always been more than assured for all. For Beijing, the South China Sea is an all-out energy must have, as it would constitute, in the long run, another key factor in the "escape from Malacca" plan of diversifying energy sources away from a bottleneck.
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Tuesday, July 12, 2016
NATO Paranoia Versus Eurasia Integration In the end it all comes down -- predictably -- to a Dr. Strangelove scenario. NATO's new "projecting stability" normal, as stated in Warsaw, is just one more pointless P.R. exercise masking the real agenda; the Pentagon bent on planning for the dire possibility of a hot war with Russia.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016NATO Paranoia Versus Eurasia Integration In the end it all comes down -- predictably -- to a Dr. Strangelove scenario. NATO's new "projecting stability" normal, as stated in Warsaw, is just one more pointless P.R. exercise masking the real agenda; the Pentagon bent on planning for the dire possibility of a hot war with Russia.
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Friday, July 1, 2016
Dead Brexit Walking as UK banks and financial services contemplate moving to the EU post-Brexit (HSBC, for instance, already announced that 1,000 jobs are moving to Paris), the real story is that China can start contemplating further "win-win" scenarios also with Paris, Frankfurt and Milan. As a backup, there'll always be that Dead Brexit Walking.
Friday, July 1, 2016Dead Brexit Walking as UK banks and financial services contemplate moving to the EU post-Brexit (HSBC, for instance, already announced that 1,000 jobs are moving to Paris), the real story is that China can start contemplating further "win-win" scenarios also with Paris, Frankfurt and Milan. As a backup, there'll always be that Dead Brexit Walking.
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Thursday, June 30, 2016
The Three Harpies are Back! On Orlando, Hillary Clinton was keen to note, "this is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States and it reminds us once more that weapons of war have no place on our streets." Of course there's no problem if those "weapons of war," manned or "advised" by US personnel, kill innocent civilians across what the Pentagon calls MENA (Middle East, Northern Africa).
Thursday, June 30, 2016The Three Harpies are Back! On Orlando, Hillary Clinton was keen to note, "this is the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States and it reminds us once more that weapons of war have no place on our streets." Of course there's no problem if those "weapons of war," manned or "advised" by US personnel, kill innocent civilians across what the Pentagon calls MENA (Middle East, Northern Africa).
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Wednesday, June 29, 2016
The Pearl River Delta showcases the Chinese Dream the Pearl River Delta -- China's number one hub of labor-intensive manufacturing -- is in the process of replacing workers with robots on a large scale, a further sign that China is about to take off technologically, big time. And that's all part of a "Made in China 2025" strategy announced only two months ago by Beijing, centered on relentless innovation -- and commercialization.
Wednesday, June 29, 2016The Pearl River Delta showcases the Chinese Dream the Pearl River Delta -- China's number one hub of labor-intensive manufacturing -- is in the process of replacing workers with robots on a large scale, a further sign that China is about to take off technologically, big time. And that's all part of a "Made in China 2025" strategy announced only two months ago by Beijing, centered on relentless innovation -- and commercialization.
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Sunday, June 26, 2016
Hot off Brexit, Vladimir Putin goes to China Beijing has as much as a $4 trillion pile of cash to be used at the discretion of Xi and the collective leadership. This is the reality--not the usual US "Think Tankland" blabbering about China's imminent implosion. Compare it with the Fed printing many new US dollars, about $60 billion a month, as the US would have a really hard time committing to any possible financial investment (apart from war) in the $100 billion range.
Sunday, June 26, 2016Hot off Brexit, Vladimir Putin goes to China Beijing has as much as a $4 trillion pile of cash to be used at the discretion of Xi and the collective leadership. This is the reality--not the usual US "Think Tankland" blabbering about China's imminent implosion. Compare it with the Fed printing many new US dollars, about $60 billion a month, as the US would have a really hard time committing to any possible financial investment (apart from war) in the $100 billion range.
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Friday, June 24, 2016
Why the UK Said Bye Bye to the EU What started as a gamble by David Cameron on an outlet for domestic British discontent, to be used as a lever to bargain with Brussels for a few more favors, has metastasized into an astonishing political earthquake about the dis-integration of the European Union. Brexit proved that it's immigration, stupid. And once again, it's the economy, stupid.
Friday, June 24, 2016Why the UK Said Bye Bye to the EU What started as a gamble by David Cameron on an outlet for domestic British discontent, to be used as a lever to bargain with Brussels for a few more favors, has metastasized into an astonishing political earthquake about the dis-integration of the European Union. Brexit proved that it's immigration, stupid. And once again, it's the economy, stupid.
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Tuesday, June 21, 2016
US Think Tanks Dream Up Russian Collapse, Aggression Despite the Facts A solid case can be made that Moscow does not need mountains of Western investment; credit can be created in Russia. Most of all, there is rather less productive investment money in the West than wild speculative funds; it's largely a matter of fiat money and credit, and Moscow does not need to go to the West for that.
Tuesday, June 21, 2016US Think Tanks Dream Up Russian Collapse, Aggression Despite the Facts A solid case can be made that Moscow does not need mountains of Western investment; credit can be created in Russia. Most of all, there is rather less productive investment money in the West than wild speculative funds; it's largely a matter of fiat money and credit, and Moscow does not need to go to the West for that.
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Friday, June 17, 2016
Beijing goes mobile in the South China Sea The Pentagon has never been accused of being geopolitically savvy. Their planners after all fail -- or prefer to fail -- to see that China's island building, in the long run, is all about finding enough oil and gas to perform an "escape from Malacca," a central plank of Beijing's energy strategy. Count on the Pentagon to continue its meddling.
Friday, June 17, 2016Beijing goes mobile in the South China Sea The Pentagon has never been accused of being geopolitically savvy. Their planners after all fail -- or prefer to fail -- to see that China's island building, in the long run, is all about finding enough oil and gas to perform an "escape from Malacca," a central plank of Beijing's energy strategy. Count on the Pentagon to continue its meddling.
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Saturday, June 11, 2016
Kill List: Smashing the "B" in BRICS Exceptionalistan's project for Brazil is no less than the imposition of a remixed Monroe doctrine. The main target of a planned neoliberal restoration is to cut off South America from the BRICS -- as in, essentially, the Russia-China strategic partnership. Getting rid of Dilma, Lula, the Workers' Party, by all means available, is only the start.
Saturday, June 11, 2016Kill List: Smashing the "B" in BRICS Exceptionalistan's project for Brazil is no less than the imposition of a remixed Monroe doctrine. The main target of a planned neoliberal restoration is to cut off South America from the BRICS -- as in, essentially, the Russia-China strategic partnership. Getting rid of Dilma, Lula, the Workers' Party, by all means available, is only the start.
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Friday, June 10, 2016
All Hail the Queen of Exceptionalistan Hillary Clinton's record shows that she fully supported Bubba's military adventures in the Balkans, Dubya's disastrous wars on Afghanistan and Iraq and Obama's Afghan surge. But her masterpiece as Secretary of State was of course the destruction of Libya -- followed by her enthusiastic support for weaponizing "moderate rebels," a.k.a hardcore jihadis, in Syria.
Friday, June 10, 2016All Hail the Queen of Exceptionalistan Hillary Clinton's record shows that she fully supported Bubba's military adventures in the Balkans, Dubya's disastrous wars on Afghanistan and Iraq and Obama's Afghan surge. But her masterpiece as Secretary of State was of course the destruction of Libya -- followed by her enthusiastic support for weaponizing "moderate rebels," a.k.a hardcore jihadis, in Syria.
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Tuesday, June 7, 2016
The Pentagon's Great Wall of Impotence The Chinese could not give a damn to the New World Order (NWO) dreamed up by selected "Masters of the Universe." Beijing is engaged in building a new, multipolar order. No wonder -- alongside with strategic partner Russia -- they are and will continue to be the Pentagon's top twin threat.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016The Pentagon's Great Wall of Impotence The Chinese could not give a damn to the New World Order (NWO) dreamed up by selected "Masters of the Universe." Beijing is engaged in building a new, multipolar order. No wonder -- alongside with strategic partner Russia -- they are and will continue to be the Pentagon's top twin threat.
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Thursday, June 2, 2016
A Hellfire from Heaven won't Smash the Taliban The new Taliban supremo will now have a handy window of opportunity to consolidate power. By early 2017 there will be a new US president, a new Pakistani army chief but the same Afghan so-called National Unity Government still disunited. It will fall eventually to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- as in Russia-China joint leadership -- to solve the Taliban riddle.
Thursday, June 2, 2016A Hellfire from Heaven won't Smash the Taliban The new Taliban supremo will now have a handy window of opportunity to consolidate power. By early 2017 there will be a new US president, a new Pakistani army chief but the same Afghan so-called National Unity Government still disunited. It will fall eventually to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- as in Russia-China joint leadership -- to solve the Taliban riddle.
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Wednesday, June 1, 2016
On the Road to Raqqa Assuming an -- unlikely -- scenario of Syrian Kurds managing somehow to conquer Raqqa, it's not hard to forecast the follow-up, whoever wins in November. Washington will make Raqqa its own satrapy and invest -- once again -- in Divide and Rule; creating a joint Kurd/Sunni Arab vassal state within Syria, along the Euphrates.
Wednesday, June 1, 2016On the Road to Raqqa Assuming an -- unlikely -- scenario of Syrian Kurds managing somehow to conquer Raqqa, it's not hard to forecast the follow-up, whoever wins in November. Washington will make Raqqa its own satrapy and invest -- once again -- in Divide and Rule; creating a joint Kurd/Sunni Arab vassal state within Syria, along the Euphrates.
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Monday, May 30, 2016
Target Russia. Target China. Target Iran It's all hands on deck all over Exceptionalistan to counter Russia, China and prevent any real normalization with Iran. These localized offensives -- practical and rhetorical -- on all fronts always mean one thing, and one thing only; splitting and fracturing, by all means necessary, the OBOR Eurasian integration. Bets can be made that Moscow, Beijing and Tehran simply won't be fooled.
Monday, May 30, 2016Target Russia. Target China. Target Iran It's all hands on deck all over Exceptionalistan to counter Russia, China and prevent any real normalization with Iran. These localized offensives -- practical and rhetorical -- on all fronts always mean one thing, and one thing only; splitting and fracturing, by all means necessary, the OBOR Eurasian integration. Bets can be made that Moscow, Beijing and Tehran simply won't be fooled.
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Friday, May 27, 2016
Hillary Clinton: A Major Gold-Digging Liability Following the money reveals an endless run of profitable deals. Since 1997, when the original William J. Clinton Foundation came to light, the family business raised a whopping $2 billion, with an annual budget of $223 million and some 2,000 global staffers receiving significant salaries and benefits. A President Hillary would convert the whole U.S.A. into a giant Wal-Mart.
Friday, May 27, 2016Hillary Clinton: A Major Gold-Digging Liability Following the money reveals an endless run of profitable deals. Since 1997, when the original William J. Clinton Foundation came to light, the family business raised a whopping $2 billion, with an annual budget of $223 million and some 2,000 global staffers receiving significant salaries and benefits. A President Hillary would convert the whole U.S.A. into a giant Wal-Mart.
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Friday, May 27, 2016
France paralyzed by the "War of the Lefts" France is semi-paralyzed -- the cataclysmically unpopular, nominally "socialist" Hollande administration has introduced a draft law that drastically modifies the French labor code and essentially adopts Anglo-Saxon neoliberal "hire and fire" in a deeply regulated, regimented nation where workers' rights and protections are taken extremely seriously.
Friday, May 27, 2016France paralyzed by the "War of the Lefts" France is semi-paralyzed -- the cataclysmically unpopular, nominally "socialist" Hollande administration has introduced a draft law that drastically modifies the French labor code and essentially adopts Anglo-Saxon neoliberal "hire and fire" in a deeply regulated, regimented nation where workers' rights and protections are taken extremely seriously.
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Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Brazil: The Provisional Banana Scoundrel Republic As much as the Car Wash investigation was revealed to be a totally politicized drive -- where fighting corruption was just a convenient cover -- the PBSR gang and their allies will do everything to get rid of the 2018 direct presidential elections. So here's the sorry Brazilian road map up to 2018; total political, economic, social and juridical chaos.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016Brazil: The Provisional Banana Scoundrel Republic As much as the Car Wash investigation was revealed to be a totally politicized drive -- where fighting corruption was just a convenient cover -- the PBSR gang and their allies will do everything to get rid of the 2018 direct presidential elections. So here's the sorry Brazilian road map up to 2018; total political, economic, social and juridical chaos.
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Sunday, May 22, 2016
Beware what you wish for: Russia is ready for war The basic thrust behind the Pentagon's moves under neocon Ash Carter continues to be to draw Russia ever further into Syria and Ukraine (as if Moscow actually was involved in, or wanted, a Ukrainian quagmire); trap Russia in proxy wars; and economically bleed Russia to death while crippling the bulk of oil and natural gas income to the Russian state.
Sunday, May 22, 2016Beware what you wish for: Russia is ready for war The basic thrust behind the Pentagon's moves under neocon Ash Carter continues to be to draw Russia ever further into Syria and Ukraine (as if Moscow actually was involved in, or wanted, a Ukrainian quagmire); trap Russia in proxy wars; and economically bleed Russia to death while crippling the bulk of oil and natural gas income to the Russian state.
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Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Is China a House of Cards? The word in Beijing is that an assembly line of editors is now compiling a book of Xi thought (sixiang) that would make him as crucial as Mao as a contributor to Sino-Marxist theory. So what? Xi is a man in a rush, on a roll and with a mission -- and 2021 is just around the corner. House of Cards? No; this looks more like a case of Xi landing a Full House on the table.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016Is China a House of Cards? The word in Beijing is that an assembly line of editors is now compiling a book of Xi thought (sixiang) that would make him as crucial as Mao as a contributor to Sino-Marxist theory. So what? Xi is a man in a rush, on a roll and with a mission -- and 2021 is just around the corner. House of Cards? No; this looks more like a case of Xi landing a Full House on the table.
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Friday, May 13, 2016
Dilma out: Brazilian plutocracy sets 54mn votes on fire Rousseff may be accused of serious economic mismanagement, and of being incapable of political articulation among the shark pool that is Brazilian politics. But she is not corrupt. She made a serious mistake in fighting inflation, allowing interest rates to rise to an unsustainable level; so demand in Brazil dramatically dropped, and recession became the norm. She is the (convenient) scapegoat for Brazil's recession.
Friday, May 13, 2016Dilma out: Brazilian plutocracy sets 54mn votes on fire Rousseff may be accused of serious economic mismanagement, and of being incapable of political articulation among the shark pool that is Brazilian politics. But she is not corrupt. She made a serious mistake in fighting inflation, allowing interest rates to rise to an unsustainable level; so demand in Brazil dramatically dropped, and recession became the norm. She is the (convenient) scapegoat for Brazil's recession.
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Thursday, May 12, 2016
Hillary Clinton, the Conveniently Negligent Queen So here we're right into gross negligence territory -- which is a minefield compare to mere convenience. The vast, powerful Clintonista army has gone full convenience mode. So it will be up to the FBI -- and the Department of Justice -- to prove intent and motive, as in establishing, without a shadow of a doubt, that the subterranean server enabled substantial political dividends/profiteering.
Thursday, May 12, 2016Hillary Clinton, the Conveniently Negligent Queen So here we're right into gross negligence territory -- which is a minefield compare to mere convenience. The vast, powerful Clintonista army has gone full convenience mode. So it will be up to the FBI -- and the Department of Justice -- to prove intent and motive, as in establishing, without a shadow of a doubt, that the subterranean server enabled substantial political dividends/profiteering.
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Wednesday, May 11, 2016
The Real Target of the Panama Papers The heart of the matter is that the Panama Papers disclosure didn't disturb the global financial casino one bit, because the (transnational) system badly needs fiscal paradises to evade national laws. What the Panama Papers may succeed in is to eliminate competition. From now on, your fiscal paradise of choice must be in U.S., U.K. and Dutch jurisdictions. We control every global financial flow--legal or otherwise.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016The Real Target of the Panama Papers The heart of the matter is that the Panama Papers disclosure didn't disturb the global financial casino one bit, because the (transnational) system badly needs fiscal paradises to evade national laws. What the Panama Papers may succeed in is to eliminate competition. From now on, your fiscal paradise of choice must be in U.S., U.K. and Dutch jurisdictions. We control every global financial flow--legal or otherwise.
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Saturday, May 7, 2016
The New Normal: Cold War 2.0 Relentless rhetorical hysteria masks the real high-stakes game in play. And that's where US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton fits in. Throughout her campaign, Clinton has extolled "a major strategic objective of our transatlantic alliance." The major "strategic objective" is none other than the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
Saturday, May 7, 2016The New Normal: Cold War 2.0 Relentless rhetorical hysteria masks the real high-stakes game in play. And that's where US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton fits in. Throughout her campaign, Clinton has extolled "a major strategic objective of our transatlantic alliance." The major "strategic objective" is none other than the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).
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Wednesday, May 4, 2016
NATO on trade, in Europe and Asia, is doomed This is a sophisticated, toxic US-led corporate racket, a concerted assault across the spectrum, from the environment and animal welfare to labor rights and internet privacy. In a nutshell; it's all about the US corporate galaxy pushing the EU to lower -- or abase -- a range of consumer protections.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016NATO on trade, in Europe and Asia, is doomed This is a sophisticated, toxic US-led corporate racket, a concerted assault across the spectrum, from the environment and animal welfare to labor rights and internet privacy. In a nutshell; it's all about the US corporate galaxy pushing the EU to lower -- or abase -- a range of consumer protections.
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Friday, April 29, 2016
The Calm Before the Coming Global Storm Beijing is advancing on all fronts; spreading influence/commercial deals all across Eurasia, which the New Silk Roads will shape into a mass emporium; modernizing its military; buying strategic foreign assets; building up global trust in the yuan as a stable reserve currency; allowing Chinese elites to diversify their enormous wealth by buying foreign assets. There's serious blood on the tracks ahead.
Friday, April 29, 2016The Calm Before the Coming Global Storm Beijing is advancing on all fronts; spreading influence/commercial deals all across Eurasia, which the New Silk Roads will shape into a mass emporium; modernizing its military; buying strategic foreign assets; building up global trust in the yuan as a stable reserve currency; allowing Chinese elites to diversify their enormous wealth by buying foreign assets. There's serious blood on the tracks ahead.
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Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Hillary: Wall Street's Golden Girl In the spring of 2014, top Clinton Foundation donors discussed a bright future together inside Goldman Sachs' corporate HQ. Gary Gensler, formerly from Goldman Sachs and also former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is the Hillary Clinton campaign's chief financial officer. The record shows that for the Clinton system, Goldman Sachs is a sacred cow.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016Hillary: Wall Street's Golden Girl In the spring of 2014, top Clinton Foundation donors discussed a bright future together inside Goldman Sachs' corporate HQ. Gary Gensler, formerly from Goldman Sachs and also former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is the Hillary Clinton campaign's chief financial officer. The record shows that for the Clinton system, Goldman Sachs is a sacred cow.
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Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Sit back, relax, and enjoy the oil thriller In the end, our oil thriller will be all about China; Beijing will need to buy all the energy it needs to pursue the completion of the New Silk Roads. Meanwhile, the House of Saud faces a stark choice. Its "post-oil economy" plan will fail, as others before failed. The Warrior Prince must decide which of the superpowers to ally with.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016Sit back, relax, and enjoy the oil thriller In the end, our oil thriller will be all about China; Beijing will need to buy all the energy it needs to pursue the completion of the New Silk Roads. Meanwhile, the House of Saud faces a stark choice. Its "post-oil economy" plan will fail, as others before failed. The Warrior Prince must decide which of the superpowers to ally with.
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Tuesday, April 26, 2016
The Empire of Chaos Strikes Back The CIA is also keen on Saudi Arabia destroying the Russian economy through an oil price war -- and they do not want that to stop; thus holding over the Saudis those famous 28 pages on 9/11 to keep the oil price war going. The CIA has also been trying like mad to lure Moscow into a Syrian trap as in 1980s Afghanistan. The problem is that the Kremlin did not bite the poisoned apple.
Tuesday, April 26, 2016The Empire of Chaos Strikes Back The CIA is also keen on Saudi Arabia destroying the Russian economy through an oil price war -- and they do not want that to stop; thus holding over the Saudis those famous 28 pages on 9/11 to keep the oil price war going. The CIA has also been trying like mad to lure Moscow into a Syrian trap as in 1980s Afghanistan. The problem is that the Kremlin did not bite the poisoned apple.
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Thursday, April 21, 2016
Fear and Loathing in the Arabian Nights the 28 pages were being paraded around in Western corporate media before the OPEC meeting to keep the Saudis in line on the oil war against Russia. That may have been yet another Mafia-style "offer you can't refuse"; if the House of Saud cuts oil production, then it will be destroyed by the release of the 28 pages.
Thursday, April 21, 2016Fear and Loathing in the Arabian Nights the 28 pages were being paraded around in Western corporate media before the OPEC meeting to keep the Saudis in line on the oil war against Russia. That may have been yet another Mafia-style "offer you can't refuse"; if the House of Saud cuts oil production, then it will be destroyed by the release of the 28 pages.
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Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Hybrid war hyenas tearing Brazil apart So Wall Street, US Big Oil and the proverbial "American interests" win this round at the circus -- thanks to the, once again proverbial, vassal/comprador elites. Chevron execs are already salivating with the prospect of laying their hands on the pre-salt oil deposits; that was already promised by a trusted vassal in the Brazilian opposition.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016Hybrid war hyenas tearing Brazil apart So Wall Street, US Big Oil and the proverbial "American interests" win this round at the circus -- thanks to the, once again proverbial, vassal/comprador elites. Chevron execs are already salivating with the prospect of laying their hands on the pre-salt oil deposits; that was already promised by a trusted vassal in the Brazilian opposition.
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Friday, April 15, 2016
Why the Coup in Brazil Should Fail The nation remains deeply polarized -- even with Rousseff not charged with any wrongdoing, unlike the lot in Congress who wants to bring down her government. Of the 65 members of the sham congressional committee who voted on impeachment, 35 of the 38 who voted in favor are being investigated for corruption.
Friday, April 15, 2016Why the Coup in Brazil Should Fail The nation remains deeply polarized -- even with Rousseff not charged with any wrongdoing, unlike the lot in Congress who wants to bring down her government. Of the 65 members of the sham congressional committee who voted on impeachment, 35 of the 38 who voted in favor are being investigated for corruption.
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Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Hillary's "I'm Not a Crook" Moment There will be, essentially, two answers to the key question. Either Hillary Clinton ignored the rules of the secrecy game. Or she willfully breached the rules. The undisputed top reason for the existence of the subterranean private server was for Hillary Clinton to keep her emails, well, secret, and thus not subjected to freedom of information laws.
Wednesday, April 13, 2016Hillary's "I'm Not a Crook" Moment There will be, essentially, two answers to the key question. Either Hillary Clinton ignored the rules of the secrecy game. Or she willfully breached the rules. The undisputed top reason for the existence of the subterranean private server was for Hillary Clinton to keep her emails, well, secret, and thus not subjected to freedom of information laws.
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Saturday, April 9, 2016
Hybrid War, From Palmyra to Panama Forget about British "responsible journalism" gatekeepers getting into the heart of it. It's much more popular to blame Putin as guilty by association than to examine how David Cameron's father, Ian, chose to keep the family money (and the future Prime Minister's inheritance) away from the tax man.
Saturday, April 9, 2016Hybrid War, From Palmyra to Panama Forget about British "responsible journalism" gatekeepers getting into the heart of it. It's much more popular to blame Putin as guilty by association than to examine how David Cameron's father, Ian, chose to keep the family money (and the future Prime Minister's inheritance) away from the tax man.
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Tuesday, April 5, 2016
Dance to the Panama Papers "Limited Hangout" Leak And that leads us to the cherry in the corruption cake; how come there are no Americans in this limited hangout leak? Of course there are none. Panama is for suckers. Too obvious. Too rakish. Too crude. Ergo, forget about The Cayman Papers. Make America great again? It already is -- as the top tax shelter for hardcore dodgy money had to be...a monster Panama.
Tuesday, April 5, 2016Dance to the Panama Papers "Limited Hangout" Leak And that leads us to the cherry in the corruption cake; how come there are no Americans in this limited hangout leak? Of course there are none. Panama is for suckers. Too obvious. Too rakish. Too crude. Ergo, forget about The Cayman Papers. Make America great again? It already is -- as the top tax shelter for hardcore dodgy money had to be...a monster Panama.
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Friday, April 1, 2016
All Quiet in the Eurasian Front What's left for the Empire of Chaos in the Eurasian front is the wishful thinking of attempting to encircle both Russia and China, while both keep actually expanding all across the Eurasian Heartland, shedding US dollars and buying gold, signing a flurry of contracts in yuan and selling oil and gas to all and sundry.
Friday, April 1, 2016All Quiet in the Eurasian Front What's left for the Empire of Chaos in the Eurasian front is the wishful thinking of attempting to encircle both Russia and China, while both keep actually expanding all across the Eurasian Heartland, shedding US dollars and buying gold, signing a flurry of contracts in yuan and selling oil and gas to all and sundry.
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Thursday, March 31, 2016
China Is Already Living in 2020 China's anti-access/area denial strategy is a go. And Xi is right behind it -- now widely regarded even at the provincial level as the nucleus (hexin) of all these reforms. Talk about a lightning-fast consolidation of power. And talk about a lot to talk about when China hosts the next G20 summit, in Hangzhou, in September. The 13th Five-Year-Plan has been approved, but China is already thinking, and mentally living, in 2020.
Thursday, March 31, 2016China Is Already Living in 2020 China's anti-access/area denial strategy is a go. And Xi is right behind it -- now widely regarded even at the provincial level as the nucleus (hexin) of all these reforms. Talk about a lightning-fast consolidation of power. And talk about a lot to talk about when China hosts the next G20 summit, in Hangzhou, in September. The 13th Five-Year-Plan has been approved, but China is already thinking, and mentally living, in 2020.
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Wednesday, March 30, 2016
The Whole World Is Watching Brazil's Hollow Men The alleged case against Rousseff totally collapses when one learns that in fiscal year 2015 -- the only one that could be taken into account in an impeachment drive -- the administration actually provided for a contingency fund of almost US$19 billion; that's more like foresight than playing with public finances.
Wednesday, March 30, 2016The Whole World Is Watching Brazil's Hollow Men The alleged case against Rousseff totally collapses when one learns that in fiscal year 2015 -- the only one that could be taken into account in an impeachment drive -- the administration actually provided for a contingency fund of almost US$19 billion; that's more like foresight than playing with public finances.
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Monday, March 28, 2016
Brazil, like Russia, under attack by Hybrid War Color revolutions would never be enough; Exceptionalistan is always on the lookout for major strategic upgrades capable of ensuring perpetual Empire of Chaos hegemony. The ideological matrix and the modus operandi of color revolutions by now are a matter of public domain. Not so much the concept of Unconventional War (UW). UW was spelled out by the 2010 Special Forces Unconventional Warfare manual.
Monday, March 28, 2016Brazil, like Russia, under attack by Hybrid War Color revolutions would never be enough; Exceptionalistan is always on the lookout for major strategic upgrades capable of ensuring perpetual Empire of Chaos hegemony. The ideological matrix and the modus operandi of color revolutions by now are a matter of public domain. Not so much the concept of Unconventional War (UW). UW was spelled out by the 2010 Special Forces Unconventional Warfare manual.
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Sunday, March 27, 2016
The European Jihadi Union The fact that ISIS/ISIL/Daesh is blowing up citizens from the EU and many other nationalities right under NATO's noses cannot but raise eyebrows. Especially when we know that for NATO and its sorry gallery of Strangeloves, Breedloves and Breedhates, the "enemy" is not Salafi-jihadism, but "evil" Russia.
Sunday, March 27, 2016The European Jihadi Union The fact that ISIS/ISIL/Daesh is blowing up citizens from the EU and many other nationalities right under NATO's noses cannot but raise eyebrows. Especially when we know that for NATO and its sorry gallery of Strangeloves, Breedloves and Breedhates, the "enemy" is not Salafi-jihadism, but "evil" Russia.
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Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Brazil's revolution starting to reveal its true colors Call it white coup. Call it regime change. Call it the Brazilian color revolution. Without NATO. Without "humanitarian" imperialism. Without blood and zillions of US dollars lost, like in Iraq, Libya or Syria. So "clean." So "lawful." How come Empire of Chaos's theoreticians never thought about this before? And forget about reading any of this on Western corporate media.
Wednesday, March 23, 2016Brazil's revolution starting to reveal its true colors Call it white coup. Call it regime change. Call it the Brazilian color revolution. Without NATO. Without "humanitarian" imperialism. Without blood and zillions of US dollars lost, like in Iraq, Libya or Syria. So "clean." So "lawful." How come Empire of Chaos's theoreticians never thought about this before? And forget about reading any of this on Western corporate media.
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Saturday, March 19, 2016
Is There a US-Russia Grand Bargain in Syria? In Syria, Moscow accomplished the outstanding feat of making Team Obama see the light beyond the fog of neo-con-instilled war, leading to a solution involving Syria's chemical arsenal after Obama ensnared himself in his own red line. Obama owes it to Putin and Lavrov, who literally saved him not only from tremendous embarrassment but from yet another massive Middle East quagmire.
Saturday, March 19, 2016Is There a US-Russia Grand Bargain in Syria? In Syria, Moscow accomplished the outstanding feat of making Team Obama see the light beyond the fog of neo-con-instilled war, leading to a solution involving Syria's chemical arsenal after Obama ensnared himself in his own red line. Obama owes it to Putin and Lavrov, who literally saved him not only from tremendous embarrassment but from yet another massive Middle East quagmire.
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Friday, March 18, 2016
The Russian ultimate lethal weapon Russia is further moving east while simultaneously moving to extricate itself from most of the West's institutional architecture. The merger of the China-driven New Silk Roads, a.k.a. One Belt, One Road and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, although slow and full of pitfalls, is irreversible. It's in their mutual interest to invest and develop a pan-Eurasian emporium.
Friday, March 18, 2016The Russian ultimate lethal weapon Russia is further moving east while simultaneously moving to extricate itself from most of the West's institutional architecture. The merger of the China-driven New Silk Roads, a.k.a. One Belt, One Road and the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, although slow and full of pitfalls, is irreversible. It's in their mutual interest to invest and develop a pan-Eurasian emporium.
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Wednesday, March 16, 2016
"Prime Minister" Lula: The Brazilian game-changer Judge Moro, Car Wash's Elliot Ness, allied with the Globo media empire, will go no holds barred to prevent any possibility of a political agreement in Brasilia brokered by Lula. Because this would mean Lula not only as Prime Minister, but as President -- again -- in 2018. Total war starts now.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016"Prime Minister" Lula: The Brazilian game-changer Judge Moro, Car Wash's Elliot Ness, allied with the Globo media empire, will go no holds barred to prevent any possibility of a political agreement in Brasilia brokered by Lula. Because this would mean Lula not only as Prime Minister, but as President -- again -- in 2018. Total war starts now.
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Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Lula and the BRICS in a fight to the death "BRICS" is the dirtiest of acronyms in the Beltway/Wall Street axis, and for a solid reason: the consolidation of the BRICS is the only organic, global-reach project with the potential to derail Exceptionalistan's grip over the so-called "international community." Hell hath no fury like Exceptionalistan scorned. Like the Mob, it never forgives; Lula one day would have to pay.
Tuesday, March 8, 2016Lula and the BRICS in a fight to the death "BRICS" is the dirtiest of acronyms in the Beltway/Wall Street axis, and for a solid reason: the consolidation of the BRICS is the only organic, global-reach project with the potential to derail Exceptionalistan's grip over the so-called "international community." Hell hath no fury like Exceptionalistan scorned. Like the Mob, it never forgives; Lula one day would have to pay.
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Sunday, March 6, 2016
The Brazilian Earthquake A top priority of the Empire of Chaos is to prevent the emergence of regional powers fueled by abundant natural resources, from oil to strategic minerals. Brazil amply fits the bill. Washington of course feels entitled to "defend" these resources. Thus the need to quash not only regional integration associations such as Mercosur and Unasur but most of all the global reach of the BRICS.
Sunday, March 6, 2016The Brazilian Earthquake A top priority of the Empire of Chaos is to prevent the emergence of regional powers fueled by abundant natural resources, from oil to strategic minerals. Brazil amply fits the bill. Washington of course feels entitled to "defend" these resources. Thus the need to quash not only regional integration associations such as Mercosur and Unasur but most of all the global reach of the BRICS.
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Thursday, March 3, 2016
Europe's Slow Motion Debacle The refugee flood was not a spontaneous creation, as Syrians, Iraqis and/or Afghans suddenly decided to flee to the EU; it was directly instigated by Ankara. And Erdogan from the start was already contemplating the Big Prize; to bribe the EU, especially Merkel, to pay -- at least 3 billion euros -- so most refuges remain not on Turkish soil, but on one of his own neo-Ottoman sub-plots.
Thursday, March 3, 2016Europe's Slow Motion Debacle The refugee flood was not a spontaneous creation, as Syrians, Iraqis and/or Afghans suddenly decided to flee to the EU; it was directly instigated by Ankara. And Erdogan from the start was already contemplating the Big Prize; to bribe the EU, especially Merkel, to pay -- at least 3 billion euros -- so most refuges remain not on Turkish soil, but on one of his own neo-Ottoman sub-plots.
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Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Why the Iranian elections were a huge success All seems to be on track for Iran to get all the foreign investment it needs; to reemerge as the top geopolitical power in Southwest Asia; to progressively advance on Eurasian integration, alongside Russia, China and Central Asia; and to fulfill what Iranians across the spectrum want: a better quality of life, and peace with their neighbors.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016Why the Iranian elections were a huge success All seems to be on track for Iran to get all the foreign investment it needs; to reemerge as the top geopolitical power in Southwest Asia; to progressively advance on Eurasian integration, alongside Russia, China and Central Asia; and to fulfill what Iranians across the spectrum want: a better quality of life, and peace with their neighbors.
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Saturday, February 27, 2016
Midnight in Damascus The vague terms of the "cessation of hostilities" do not explicitly specify that Washington, London and other members of the US-led-from-behind "coalition" should stop bombing Syrian territory. And there's nothing about suicide bombs and chemical weapons routinely used by any outfit, from ISIS/ISIL/Daesh to "moderate rebels," against the civilian Syrian population.
Saturday, February 27, 2016Midnight in Damascus The vague terms of the "cessation of hostilities" do not explicitly specify that Washington, London and other members of the US-led-from-behind "coalition" should stop bombing Syrian territory. And there's nothing about suicide bombs and chemical weapons routinely used by any outfit, from ISIS/ISIL/Daesh to "moderate rebels," against the civilian Syrian population.
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Monday, February 22, 2016
Umberto Eco: the Professor Who Knew Everything Eco caused a media storm by deriding social networks, saying they "give the right of expression to legions of imbeciles which beforehand only talked in the bar after a glass of wine, without disturbing their social environment. Now they have the same right of expression of a Nobel Prize. It's the invasion of the imbeciles."
Monday, February 22, 2016Umberto Eco: the Professor Who Knew Everything Eco caused a media storm by deriding social networks, saying they "give the right of expression to legions of imbeciles which beforehand only talked in the bar after a glass of wine, without disturbing their social environment. Now they have the same right of expression of a Nobel Prize. It's the invasion of the imbeciles."
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Saturday, February 20, 2016
A dose of Dadaism to call the Sultan/Saudi bluff In a flash, we might even glimpse the possibility of the big powers, Russia and the US, reaching an ersatz of symbiosis in Syria, which may eventually translate into that "peace process" Kerry and Lavrov are so fond of. Who wants WWIII if not the mentally disabled?
Saturday, February 20, 2016A dose of Dadaism to call the Sultan/Saudi bluff In a flash, we might even glimpse the possibility of the big powers, Russia and the US, reaching an ersatz of symbiosis in Syria, which may eventually translate into that "peace process" Kerry and Lavrov are so fond of. Who wants WWIII if not the mentally disabled?
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Saturday, February 13, 2016
It takes a Greek to save Europa Varoufakis could not but be attracted to a remix of the Minotaur metaphor; a periodic one-sided tribute -- in US dollars -- from the whole planet enabling the hegemonic "Exceptionalists" to project power across the seas. This Minotaur is now dying, the world is still encumbered with its rotting carcass, and no one knows what beast is to rise next.
Saturday, February 13, 2016It takes a Greek to save Europa Varoufakis could not but be attracted to a remix of the Minotaur metaphor; a periodic one-sided tribute -- in US dollars -- from the whole planet enabling the hegemonic "Exceptionalists" to project power across the seas. This Minotaur is now dying, the world is still encumbered with its rotting carcass, and no one knows what beast is to rise next.
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Friday, February 12, 2016
The Syrian Sea of Hostility The Syrian charade now proceeds under a vague "cessation of hostilities" -- which is not a ceasefire -- to be implemented within a week. Further on down the road, as this is the real world, "hostilities" will inevitably resume. So keep an eye on this "cessation of hostilities." Because the real hostilities may be just about to begin.
Friday, February 12, 2016The Syrian Sea of Hostility The Syrian charade now proceeds under a vague "cessation of hostilities" -- which is not a ceasefire -- to be implemented within a week. Further on down the road, as this is the real world, "hostilities" will inevitably resume. So keep an eye on this "cessation of hostilities." Because the real hostilities may be just about to begin.
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Saturday, February 6, 2016
Why the "Sultan of Chaos" is freaking out The bulk of the Syrian "opposition" used to be armchair warriors co-opted by the CIA for years, as well as CIA Muslim Brotherhood patsies/vassals. Now the "opposition" is basically warlords answering to the House of Saud even for bottles of water -- regardless of the suit-and-tie former Ba'ath Party ministers handpicked to be the face of the opposition for the gullible Western corporate media.
Saturday, February 6, 2016Why the "Sultan of Chaos" is freaking out The bulk of the Syrian "opposition" used to be armchair warriors co-opted by the CIA for years, as well as CIA Muslim Brotherhood patsies/vassals. Now the "opposition" is basically warlords answering to the House of Saud even for bottles of water -- regardless of the suit-and-tie former Ba'ath Party ministers handpicked to be the face of the opposition for the gullible Western corporate media.
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Sunday, January 31, 2016
Iran: The New China? The most probable scenario spells out an Islamic Republic of Iran engaged in a Chinese-style economic development program. Sort of a Persian "get rich is glorious" remix, under strict political control. This begs the question: are we ready for the new Supreme Leader role as the Iranian Deng Xiaoping?
Sunday, January 31, 2016Iran: The New China? The most probable scenario spells out an Islamic Republic of Iran engaged in a Chinese-style economic development program. Sort of a Persian "get rich is glorious" remix, under strict political control. This begs the question: are we ready for the new Supreme Leader role as the Iranian Deng Xiaoping?
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Saturday, January 30, 2016
You have now landed in Geneva, Syria A desperate Erdogan may be foolish enough to confront the Russian Air Force during his purported "invasion." Putin is on the record saying response to any provocation will be immediate, and lethal. To top it off, the Russians and Americans are actually coordinating airspace action in northern Syria. Geneva? That's for tourists; the capital of the Syrian horror show is now Jarabulus.
Saturday, January 30, 2016You have now landed in Geneva, Syria A desperate Erdogan may be foolish enough to confront the Russian Air Force during his purported "invasion." Putin is on the record saying response to any provocation will be immediate, and lethal. To top it off, the Russians and Americans are actually coordinating airspace action in northern Syria. Geneva? That's for tourists; the capital of the Syrian horror show is now Jarabulus.
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Thursday, January 28, 2016
Silk Dragon Takes Persian Road There is no fulfillment of the New Silk Road vision without a comprehensive Iran-China strategic partnership. Xi and the Beijing leadership not only solidified it; in a sweeping move, they sort of upgraded what some Iranian analysts define as Khamenei's defensive realism theory of international relations to a de facto protection ring of China's geostrategic interests.
Thursday, January 28, 2016Silk Dragon Takes Persian Road There is no fulfillment of the New Silk Road vision without a comprehensive Iran-China strategic partnership. Xi and the Beijing leadership not only solidified it; in a sweeping move, they sort of upgraded what some Iranian analysts define as Khamenei's defensive realism theory of international relations to a de facto protection ring of China's geostrategic interests.
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Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Rumble in the ruble, fire in the markets The Russian Central Bank did not intervene to prop up the ruble. And they should not. The best course of action would be to let the ruble go, ending almost all imports, thus forcing self-sufficiency. Or introduce capital controls, with only approved transactions involving foreign currencies. It did work for Malaysia, for instance, after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
Tuesday, January 26, 2016Rumble in the ruble, fire in the markets The Russian Central Bank did not intervene to prop up the ruble. And they should not. The best course of action would be to let the ruble go, ending almost all imports, thus forcing self-sufficiency. Or introduce capital controls, with only approved transactions involving foreign currencies. It did work for Malaysia, for instance, after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
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Saturday, January 23, 2016
The Secret Behind the Next Global Crash In the current, extremely volatile situation oil is down, stocks are down and oil stocks are down. Still the House of Saud has not understood that the Masters of the Universe are getting them to destroy themselves many times over, including flooding the oil market with their shut-in capacity. And all that to fatally wound Russia, Iran and... Saudi Arabia itself.
Saturday, January 23, 2016The Secret Behind the Next Global Crash In the current, extremely volatile situation oil is down, stocks are down and oil stocks are down. Still the House of Saud has not understood that the Masters of the Universe are getting them to destroy themselves many times over, including flooding the oil market with their shut-in capacity. And all that to fatally wound Russia, Iran and... Saudi Arabia itself.
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Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Planet of Fear All across the spectrum, driven by fear, the toxic mix of political and economic instability continues to spread, leading quite a few insiders to wonder whether both the Fed and the Politburo Standing Committee in Beijing don't really know what's happening.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016Planet of Fear All across the spectrum, driven by fear, the toxic mix of political and economic instability continues to spread, leading quite a few insiders to wonder whether both the Fed and the Politburo Standing Committee in Beijing don't really know what's happening.
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Thursday, January 14, 2016
Does China hold key to the Afghan puzzle? The Taliban wants the UN -- not to mention the US -- to remove the Taliban from its "most wanted" list. They want all Taliban prisoners released from Afghan jails. Will that happen? Of course not. So now it's up to Beijing to come up with a win-win scenario.
Thursday, January 14, 2016Does China hold key to the Afghan puzzle? The Taliban wants the UN -- not to mention the US -- to remove the Taliban from its "most wanted" list. They want all Taliban prisoners released from Afghan jails. Will that happen? Of course not. So now it's up to Beijing to come up with a win-win scenario.
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Saturday, January 9, 2016
Fear And Loathing in the House of Saud Team Rouhani perfectly understands the developing Southwest Asia chapter of the New Great Game, featuring the re-emergence of Iran as a regional superpower; all of the House of Saud's moves, from hopelessly inept to major strategic blunder, betray utter desperation with the end of the old order. Will the House of Saud be left to its own -- puny -- devices among the shark-infested waters of hardcore geopolitics?
Saturday, January 9, 2016Fear And Loathing in the House of Saud Team Rouhani perfectly understands the developing Southwest Asia chapter of the New Great Game, featuring the re-emergence of Iran as a regional superpower; all of the House of Saud's moves, from hopelessly inept to major strategic blunder, betray utter desperation with the end of the old order. Will the House of Saud be left to its own -- puny -- devices among the shark-infested waters of hardcore geopolitics?
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Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Saudi-Iranian spat: Another skirmish in the oil war The US government strategy has metastasized into trying to destroy the Russian economy before the oil price inevitably recovers. How this could have been pulled off so far is a testament, once again, to the irresistible force of Wall Street manipulators using cash settlement; they are able to create a crash where there is hardly any surplus oil at all.
Wednesday, January 6, 2016Saudi-Iranian spat: Another skirmish in the oil war The US government strategy has metastasized into trying to destroy the Russian economy before the oil price inevitably recovers. How this could have been pulled off so far is a testament, once again, to the irresistible force of Wall Street manipulators using cash settlement; they are able to create a crash where there is hardly any surplus oil at all.
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Friday, January 1, 2016
Vladimir Putin Fights the War Party on All Fronts The bottom line is that in 2016 the option will continue to be stark; it's either the hegemony of the War Party -- with the subtext of a Washington "willfully" condoned Salafi-jihadi "offer" to young, disaffected Muslims; or the vision of a full, prosperous trade/commerce/communication network for the whole of Eurasia.
Friday, January 1, 2016Vladimir Putin Fights the War Party on All Fronts The bottom line is that in 2016 the option will continue to be stark; it's either the hegemony of the War Party -- with the subtext of a Washington "willfully" condoned Salafi-jihadi "offer" to young, disaffected Muslims; or the vision of a full, prosperous trade/commerce/communication network for the whole of Eurasia.
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Friday, December 25, 2015
Empire of Chaos preparing for more fireworks in 2016 Imperial despair over the irreversible Chinese ascent won't abate. As the New Great Game picks up speed, and Russia supplies Eurasian powers Iran, China and India with missile defense systems beyond anything the West has, get used to the new normal; Cold War 2.0 between Washington and Beijing-Moscow.
Friday, December 25, 2015Empire of Chaos preparing for more fireworks in 2016 Imperial despair over the irreversible Chinese ascent won't abate. As the New Great Game picks up speed, and Russia supplies Eurasian powers Iran, China and India with missile defense systems beyond anything the West has, get used to the new normal; Cold War 2.0 between Washington and Beijing-Moscow.
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Thursday, December 24, 2015
Meet the Sultan of Civil War This new civil war chapter offers a window of opportunity for a really serious power player -- as Erdogan, foolishly, now fights on two fronts, internal (Kurds) and external (Moscow). Sooner or later Moscow's support for the YPG Syrian Kurds may translate into decisive support for the PKK inside Turkey. Erdogan's civil war strategy leads to a dead end.
Thursday, December 24, 2015Meet the Sultan of Civil War This new civil war chapter offers a window of opportunity for a really serious power player -- as Erdogan, foolishly, now fights on two fronts, internal (Kurds) and external (Moscow). Sooner or later Moscow's support for the YPG Syrian Kurds may translate into decisive support for the PKK inside Turkey. Erdogan's civil war strategy leads to a dead end.
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Sunday, December 20, 2015
Syria: The break for the border The Sultan will go no holds barred to prevent it. ISIS was never an "existential threat" to Ankara. On the contrary; it was always a very useful indirect "ally." Ankara will continue to plug the myth that the road to Daesh's defeat goes through Assad regime change.
Sunday, December 20, 2015Syria: The break for the border The Sultan will go no holds barred to prevent it. ISIS was never an "existential threat" to Ankara. On the contrary; it was always a very useful indirect "ally." Ankara will continue to plug the myth that the road to Daesh's defeat goes through Assad regime change.
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Thursday, December 17, 2015
Syria Shatters Pentagon Dream Amidst all the current shadow play, the true test of the Obama administration's intentions is whether the US coalition will really fight Daesh, al-Nusra and Ahrar ash-Sham (which harbors a lot of jihadists from Chechnya, Dagestan and Uzbekistan), with no reservations.
Thursday, December 17, 2015Syria Shatters Pentagon Dream Amidst all the current shadow play, the true test of the Obama administration's intentions is whether the US coalition will really fight Daesh, al-Nusra and Ahrar ash-Sham (which harbors a lot of jihadists from Chechnya, Dagestan and Uzbekistan), with no reservations.
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Wednesday, December 16, 2015
You Want War? Russia is Ready for War Russia has placed ships and submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles in case Turkey under the cover of NATO decides to strike out against the Russian position. President Putin has been clear; Russia will use nuclear weapons if necessary if conventional forces are threatened. And that's why Erdogan's erratic behavior actually terrifies quite a few real players from Washington to Brussels.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015You Want War? Russia is Ready for War Russia has placed ships and submarines capable of launching nuclear missiles in case Turkey under the cover of NATO decides to strike out against the Russian position. President Putin has been clear; Russia will use nuclear weapons if necessary if conventional forces are threatened. And that's why Erdogan's erratic behavior actually terrifies quite a few real players from Washington to Brussels.
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Tuesday, December 15, 2015
NATO's got a brand new (Syrian) bag The NATO master plan for northern Syria in the next few weeks and months essentially features US, UK and Turkey fighter jets, with the French still in the balance (are we de facto collaborating with the Russians, or is it just posture?) This is being sold to global public opinion as a "coalition" effort -- with Russia barely mentioned.
Tuesday, December 15, 2015NATO's got a brand new (Syrian) bag The NATO master plan for northern Syria in the next few weeks and months essentially features US, UK and Turkey fighter jets, with the French still in the balance (are we de facto collaborating with the Russians, or is it just posture?) This is being sold to global public opinion as a "coalition" effort -- with Russia barely mentioned.
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Saturday, December 12, 2015
Crippled in Syria, Turkey goes for a "Sunnistan" in Iraq What we have here is the Pentagon fully protected by plausible deniability. And Islamic State duly weaponized as a proxy/regime change army in Syria. A perfect chaos-provoking tool aligned with the strategic objective of the "Empire of Chaos" in Syria. Oh, but the Pentagon would never engage in such practices, would they?
Saturday, December 12, 2015Crippled in Syria, Turkey goes for a "Sunnistan" in Iraq What we have here is the Pentagon fully protected by plausible deniability. And Islamic State duly weaponized as a proxy/regime change army in Syria. A perfect chaos-provoking tool aligned with the strategic objective of the "Empire of Chaos" in Syria. Oh, but the Pentagon would never engage in such practices, would they?
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Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Syria: Ultimate Pipelineistan War Washington's strategy so far is injecting the proverbial Empire of Chaos logic into Syria; feeding the flames of internal chaos, a pre-planned op by the CIA, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with the endgame being regime change in Damascus. An Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline is unacceptable in the Beltway not only because US vassals lose, but most of all because in currency war terms it would bypass the petrodollar.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015Syria: Ultimate Pipelineistan War Washington's strategy so far is injecting the proverbial Empire of Chaos logic into Syria; feeding the flames of internal chaos, a pre-planned op by the CIA, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with the endgame being regime change in Damascus. An Iran-Iraq-Syria pipeline is unacceptable in the Beltway not only because US vassals lose, but most of all because in currency war terms it would bypass the petrodollar.
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Monday, December 7, 2015
What is Erdogan's Game in Syria and Iraq? With his back against the wall in Syria, Erdogan -- what else -- changed the subject and made a play in Iraq, via the now famous "incursion" of alleged 150 Turkish troops along with 20-25 tanks. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu swears Ankara had been "invited" in by the Nineveh provincial government, with Baghdad's approval (a bald-faced lie).
Monday, December 7, 2015What is Erdogan's Game in Syria and Iraq? With his back against the wall in Syria, Erdogan -- what else -- changed the subject and made a play in Iraq, via the now famous "incursion" of alleged 150 Turkish troops along with 20-25 tanks. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu swears Ankara had been "invited" in by the Nineveh provincial government, with Baghdad's approval (a bald-faced lie).
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Thursday, December 3, 2015
How Russia is Smashing the Turkish Game in Syria Make no mistake that Moscow will inflict as much pain on Sultan Erdogan as possible. No matter which way we look, Turkey and Russia are on a serious collision course in Syria. Moscow will support Syrian Kurds no holds barred as they push to link the three major Kurdish cantons in northern Syria into a unified Rojava.
Thursday, December 3, 2015How Russia is Smashing the Turkish Game in Syria Make no mistake that Moscow will inflict as much pain on Sultan Erdogan as possible. No matter which way we look, Turkey and Russia are on a serious collision course in Syria. Moscow will support Syrian Kurds no holds barred as they push to link the three major Kurdish cantons in northern Syria into a unified Rojava.
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Saturday, November 28, 2015
Putin and Hollande go after Erdogan's racket The main priority -- as reiterated by the declaration of war inbuilt in UNSC resolution 2249 -- is to smash ISIS/ISIL/Daesh. And then the clincher, as Putin and Hollande reached a consensus: there will be a barrage of air strikes against the fuel tanker truck convoys transporting stolen Syrian oil across Daesh-controlled territory on the way to Turkey.
Saturday, November 28, 2015Putin and Hollande go after Erdogan's racket The main priority -- as reiterated by the declaration of war inbuilt in UNSC resolution 2249 -- is to smash ISIS/ISIL/Daesh. And then the clincher, as Putin and Hollande reached a consensus: there will be a barrage of air strikes against the fuel tanker truck convoys transporting stolen Syrian oil across Daesh-controlled territory on the way to Turkey.
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Friday, November 27, 2015
Why Turkey Stabbed Russia in the Back The stakes for Russia couldn't be heavier because by using Turkmen tribals, Turkey is already planted deep inside northern Syria. Expect Russia to substantially increase bombing of Turkmen areas -- way beyond just a reprisal for the killing of the Russian pilot. The bottom line is Turkey and Russia simply cannot be part of the same coalition fighting the Islamic State group because their objectives are diametrically opposed.
Friday, November 27, 2015Why Turkey Stabbed Russia in the Back The stakes for Russia couldn't be heavier because by using Turkmen tribals, Turkey is already planted deep inside northern Syria. Expect Russia to substantially increase bombing of Turkmen areas -- way beyond just a reprisal for the killing of the Russian pilot. The bottom line is Turkey and Russia simply cannot be part of the same coalition fighting the Islamic State group because their objectives are diametrically opposed.
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Thursday, November 26, 2015
Sultan Erdogan's War on...Russia Erdogan's desperate gambit reveals that the last thing Ankara wants is a Vienna-conducted peace process in Syria. "Assad must go" is non-negotiable -- for an array of geopolitical reasons. Erdogan is on a mission from Allah -- at least his version of Allah. The downing of the Su-24 is just the preamble. Get ready, because 2016 promises an even bigger bang.
Thursday, November 26, 2015Sultan Erdogan's War on...Russia Erdogan's desperate gambit reveals that the last thing Ankara wants is a Vienna-conducted peace process in Syria. "Assad must go" is non-negotiable -- for an array of geopolitical reasons. Erdogan is on a mission from Allah -- at least his version of Allah. The downing of the Su-24 is just the preamble. Get ready, because 2016 promises an even bigger bang.
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Monday, November 23, 2015
Will Chess, Not "Battleship," Be the Game of the Future in Eurasia? A case can be made -- and Xi's ready to make it -- that Washington, which, from Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya to Syria, has gained something of a reputation for "strategic miscalculation" in the twenty-first century, might be doing it again. After all, U.S. military strategy documents and top Pentagon figures have quite publicly started to label China (like Russia) as an official "threat."
Monday, November 23, 2015Will Chess, Not "Battleship," Be the Game of the Future in Eurasia? A case can be made -- and Xi's ready to make it -- that Washington, which, from Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya to Syria, has gained something of a reputation for "strategic miscalculation" in the twenty-first century, might be doing it again. After all, U.S. military strategy documents and top Pentagon figures have quite publicly started to label China (like Russia) as an official "threat."
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Friday, November 20, 2015
In the fight against ISIS, Russia ain't taking no prisoners The so-called Islamic State should have learned by now: they've picked a fight against the wrong guys. We have entered "take no prisoners" territory. For Russia, now all the gloves are off. Paris 2015 -- as well as Sinai 2015 -- essentially is a side effect of Baghdad 2003. Putin knows it. For now, the task is to smash those mongrel imperial offspring once and for all.
Friday, November 20, 2015In the fight against ISIS, Russia ain't taking no prisoners The so-called Islamic State should have learned by now: they've picked a fight against the wrong guys. We have entered "take no prisoners" territory. For Russia, now all the gloves are off. Paris 2015 -- as well as Sinai 2015 -- essentially is a side effect of Baghdad 2003. Putin knows it. For now, the task is to smash those mongrel imperial offspring once and for all.
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Friday, November 20, 2015
La Guerre en Rose The Paris carnage did change everything. At the G-20 in Antalya, during a by now iconic 35 minutes face-to-face with President Putin, President Obama finally seemed to have gotten the message; yes, there will be war. But the enemy is not "Russian aggression"; it's Daesh.
Friday, November 20, 2015La Guerre en Rose The Paris carnage did change everything. At the G-20 in Antalya, during a by now iconic 35 minutes face-to-face with President Putin, President Obama finally seemed to have gotten the message; yes, there will be war. But the enemy is not "Russian aggression"; it's Daesh.
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Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Paris terror attacks -- who profits? The fake "Caliphate" goons warned this is just the "beginning of a storm." To be the riders on the storm against this very small, extremely mobile and "invisible" army, one would need another concept of federal Europe, with a radically different common defense and foreign policy. Not gonna happen, anytime soon. Let's see how long it takes for NATO boots on the ground. THIS is what Daesh is aiming at.
Tuesday, November 17, 2015Paris terror attacks -- who profits? The fake "Caliphate" goons warned this is just the "beginning of a storm." To be the riders on the storm against this very small, extremely mobile and "invisible" army, one would need another concept of federal Europe, with a radically different common defense and foreign policy. Not gonna happen, anytime soon. Let's see how long it takes for NATO boots on the ground. THIS is what Daesh is aiming at.
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Saturday, November 14, 2015
And here's the top 10 terrorist list Selected sound minds in the Pentagon -- they do exist -- must have been forced to admit that facing the recent advances of "4+1," Erdogan's dream is now a no-go. Or not. Take this hallucinatory, straight from the Cheney regime-era spin that the US needs boots on the ground to "occupy" and even "govern" parts of Syria.
Saturday, November 14, 2015And here's the top 10 terrorist list Selected sound minds in the Pentagon -- they do exist -- must have been forced to admit that facing the recent advances of "4+1," Erdogan's dream is now a no-go. Or not. Take this hallucinatory, straight from the Cheney regime-era spin that the US needs boots on the ground to "occupy" and even "govern" parts of Syria.
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Friday, November 13, 2015
Asia fast forward, Pentagon back to the future The relentless droning in US corporate media which for the moment totally ignores every "4+1" success on the ground; dismisses them as irrelevant; or bets on their absolute failure. So the outcome of the extremely high-stakes game in Syria is of unprecedented strategic importance for the Global South.
Friday, November 13, 2015Asia fast forward, Pentagon back to the future The relentless droning in US corporate media which for the moment totally ignores every "4+1" success on the ground; dismisses them as irrelevant; or bets on their absolute failure. So the outcome of the extremely high-stakes game in Syria is of unprecedented strategic importance for the Global South.
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Monday, November 9, 2015
The Pentagon's Empire of Whining After eight days traveling in Asia, Ash hit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California sounding like a stray ballistic whining missile. And he hit where it hurts: the Russia-China strategic partnership. How dare they? Don't you step on my blue Pentagon shoes. Gotta keep the global war on terror (GWOT) as much an endless war (remember Rumsfeld?) as possible.
Monday, November 9, 2015The Pentagon's Empire of Whining After eight days traveling in Asia, Ash hit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California sounding like a stray ballistic whining missile. And he hit where it hurts: the Russia-China strategic partnership. How dare they? Don't you step on my blue Pentagon shoes. Gotta keep the global war on terror (GWOT) as much an endless war (remember Rumsfeld?) as possible.
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Sunday, November 8, 2015
NATO Invades Spain Adding to Pentagon freak out, Russia has sent missile systems to Syria, on top of fighter jets, bombers and helicopters. The Pentagon assumes they are the deadly accurate S-300 surface-to-air missile systems. Better scrap that Pentagon no-fly zone. It's easy to see why the Pentagon and NATO are so dejected. It's safer to keep looking for those elusive tapas of mass destruction (TMDs). And then go for a deterrence siesta.
Sunday, November 8, 2015NATO Invades Spain Adding to Pentagon freak out, Russia has sent missile systems to Syria, on top of fighter jets, bombers and helicopters. The Pentagon assumes they are the deadly accurate S-300 surface-to-air missile systems. Better scrap that Pentagon no-fly zone. It's easy to see why the Pentagon and NATO are so dejected. It's safer to keep looking for those elusive tapas of mass destruction (TMDs). And then go for a deterrence siesta.
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Thursday, November 5, 2015
What's the big deal between Russia and the Saudis? The Saudis can't intellectually understand the see-saw of incoherent Beltway policies due to the power struggle between Zionist neocons and the old establishment. No wonder they might be tempted to move to the Russian side of the fence. But for that to happen there will be many a price to pay. There's much more pointing to a possible Russia-Saudi deal than meets the eye.
Thursday, November 5, 2015What's the big deal between Russia and the Saudis? The Saudis can't intellectually understand the see-saw of incoherent Beltway policies due to the power struggle between Zionist neocons and the old establishment. No wonder they might be tempted to move to the Russian side of the fence. But for that to happen there will be many a price to pay. There's much more pointing to a possible Russia-Saudi deal than meets the eye.
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Saturday, October 31, 2015
China's 2020 vision A five-year plan may be seen as a relic from China's Soviet-style economy. The first five-year plan was indeed penned in 1953, a straight copy from the USSR. Yet CCP conservatives insist strong state control is a must, given notorious Western market disasters such as the 2008 sub-prime mortgage-induced financial crisis. The CCP is terrified of unemployment and social instability.
Saturday, October 31, 2015China's 2020 vision A five-year plan may be seen as a relic from China's Soviet-style economy. The first five-year plan was indeed penned in 1953, a straight copy from the USSR. Yet CCP conservatives insist strong state control is a must, given notorious Western market disasters such as the 2008 sub-prime mortgage-induced financial crisis. The CCP is terrified of unemployment and social instability.
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Friday, October 30, 2015
The Caliph at the gates of Vienna The Obama administration is essentially fighting -- sort of -- ISIS/ISIL/Daesh in Iraq, where Washington lost a multi-trillion dollar war. Team Obama never bothered to fight the fake "Caliphate" in Syria--because they were contributing to the "Assad must go" agenda. This is what passes for Obama's policy in Syria, as the Caliph's roaring laughter can be heard all the way to Vienna.
Friday, October 30, 2015The Caliph at the gates of Vienna The Obama administration is essentially fighting -- sort of -- ISIS/ISIL/Daesh in Iraq, where Washington lost a multi-trillion dollar war. Team Obama never bothered to fight the fake "Caliphate" in Syria--because they were contributing to the "Assad must go" agenda. This is what passes for Obama's policy in Syria, as the Caliph's roaring laughter can be heard all the way to Vienna.
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Monday, October 26, 2015
Battle of Aleppo is a must-win for Russia What is shaping up is a kind of southern offensive. These forces will all be converging not only towards Aleppo but, in a second stage, will have to clear the terrain all the way to the Turkish-Syrian border, which is now a de facto Russian-controlled no-fly zone. For all practical purposes the whole Syria campaign is now under Russian operational, tactical and strategic management--of course with key Iranian strategic input.
Monday, October 26, 2015Battle of Aleppo is a must-win for Russia What is shaping up is a kind of southern offensive. These forces will all be converging not only towards Aleppo but, in a second stage, will have to clear the terrain all the way to the Turkish-Syrian border, which is now a de facto Russian-controlled no-fly zone. For all practical purposes the whole Syria campaign is now under Russian operational, tactical and strategic management--of course with key Iranian strategic input.
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Sunday, October 25, 2015
War and Peace -- revisited Even John Kerry has been uncharacteristically reasonable, stressing all countries with an interest in Syria, including Russia and Iran, agree on the need for a unified, secular and pluralistic Syria governed with the consent of its people. This is where war and peace stand at the moment. But this is a mad, mad world where peace is war.
Sunday, October 25, 2015War and Peace -- revisited Even John Kerry has been uncharacteristically reasonable, stressing all countries with an interest in Syria, including Russia and Iran, agree on the need for a unified, secular and pluralistic Syria governed with the consent of its people. This is where war and peace stand at the moment. But this is a mad, mad world where peace is war.
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Friday, October 23, 2015
The Empire of Chaos is in a Jam the USS Think Tankland is advising the creation of a NATO-enforced no-fly zone along the Turkish-Syria border, supported by American, Turkish, British and French troops. Beltway, now we do have a problem. This no-fly zone is already in effect. And it's run by Russia. And you won't be able to jam it.
Friday, October 23, 2015The Empire of Chaos is in a Jam the USS Think Tankland is advising the creation of a NATO-enforced no-fly zone along the Turkish-Syria border, supported by American, Turkish, British and French troops. Beltway, now we do have a problem. This no-fly zone is already in effect. And it's run by Russia. And you won't be able to jam it.
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Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Dr. Strangelove is naked Next week comes the crucial announcement of the next Chinese five-year plan. No, China is not crashing, as much as the China-Russia strategic partnership keeps expanding. Expect many a naked lunch between Dr. Strangelove and his masters in the Beltway.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015Dr. Strangelove is naked Next week comes the crucial announcement of the next Chinese five-year plan. No, China is not crashing, as much as the China-Russia strategic partnership keeps expanding. Expect many a naked lunch between Dr. Strangelove and his masters in the Beltway.
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Tuesday, October 13, 2015
Say hello to my cruise missiles Pentagon supremo Ash Carter swore Washington would not cooperate with Moscow in Syria because the Kremlin's strategy is "tragically flawed." We should read "flawed" as Russia in a few days killing more assorted Salafi-jihadi goons than the US-led Coalition of the Dodgy Opportunists (CDO) in over a year.
Tuesday, October 13, 2015Say hello to my cruise missiles Pentagon supremo Ash Carter swore Washington would not cooperate with Moscow in Syria because the Kremlin's strategy is "tragically flawed." We should read "flawed" as Russia in a few days killing more assorted Salafi-jihadi goons than the US-led Coalition of the Dodgy Opportunists (CDO) in over a year.
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Wednesday, October 7, 2015
The NATO-Russia face off in Syria So, the hysterical/apoplectic/paroxystic rage enveloping the "Empire of Chaos" betrays the utter failure, once again, of the same old "policy" (remember Afghanistan) of using jihadis as geopolitical tools. Fake "Caliphate" or "rebels," they are all NATO-GCC's bitches.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015The NATO-Russia face off in Syria So, the hysterical/apoplectic/paroxystic rage enveloping the "Empire of Chaos" betrays the utter failure, once again, of the same old "policy" (remember Afghanistan) of using jihadis as geopolitical tools. Fake "Caliphate" or "rebels," they are all NATO-GCC's bitches.
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Friday, October 2, 2015
A Syria/Berliner ensemble Imagine the EU eventually supporting Russia in Syria -- if there is clear, substantial progress on the ground -- and on top of it relaxing or ending those painfully counter-productive Ukraine-related sanctions; cue to inter-galactic fear and loathing trespassing the neocon, neoliberal, "humanitarian" imperialist combo.
Friday, October 2, 2015A Syria/Berliner ensemble Imagine the EU eventually supporting Russia in Syria -- if there is clear, substantial progress on the ground -- and on top of it relaxing or ending those painfully counter-productive Ukraine-related sanctions; cue to inter-galactic fear and loathing trespassing the neocon, neoliberal, "humanitarian" imperialist combo.
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Thursday, October 1, 2015
Are you ready for the two-headed coalition? Even while getting no satisfaction on stage Obama was forced to practice realpolitik; Washington is "prepared to work with any nation -- including Russia and Iran" -- on Syria. One wonders how prepared it is to work with the House of Saud/"Sultan Erdogan" regime change freaks.
Thursday, October 1, 2015Are you ready for the two-headed coalition? Even while getting no satisfaction on stage Obama was forced to practice realpolitik; Washington is "prepared to work with any nation -- including Russia and Iran" -- on Syria. One wonders how prepared it is to work with the House of Saud/"Sultan Erdogan" regime change freaks.
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Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Checkmate Washington never joins a coalition that it cannot control at will. Thus a possible road map of what may lie ahead -- as debated by Obama and Putin, face to face, for 90 minutes in New York; a two-headed coalition, one led by the US, the other led by Russia, but "coordinating" on the ground.
Tuesday, September 29, 2015Checkmate Washington never joins a coalition that it cannot control at will. Thus a possible road map of what may lie ahead -- as debated by Obama and Putin, face to face, for 90 minutes in New York; a two-headed coalition, one led by the US, the other led by Russia, but "coordinating" on the ground.
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Saturday, September 26, 2015
Putin and Xi rock da house Putin's speech on Monday at the UN General Assembly will be about "the joint struggle against terrorism" (as branded by TASS). One should expect abundant apoplexy, much more than perplexity, all across the Washington/New York axis.
Saturday, September 26, 2015Putin and Xi rock da house Putin's speech on Monday at the UN General Assembly will be about "the joint struggle against terrorism" (as branded by TASS). One should expect abundant apoplexy, much more than perplexity, all across the Washington/New York axis.
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Thursday, September 24, 2015
Live from New York, it's "Putin the Great" Putin is bound to deliver a showstopper at the UN. Spare a thought for the Obama administration's foreign policy "muppets," including the neocon cell at the State Department. Putin, under the glare of global public opinion, will frame the absolute defeat of ISIS/ISIL/Daesh as the key geopolitical issue of these times; he will commit Russia to it; and he will propose for the "West" to join in.
Thursday, September 24, 2015Live from New York, it's "Putin the Great" Putin is bound to deliver a showstopper at the UN. Spare a thought for the Obama administration's foreign policy "muppets," including the neocon cell at the State Department. Putin, under the glare of global public opinion, will frame the absolute defeat of ISIS/ISIL/Daesh as the key geopolitical issue of these times; he will commit Russia to it; and he will propose for the "West" to join in.
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Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Who Wants a Third World War? Those days of the Cultural Revolution are long gone. China is slowly but surely shifting towards a spectacular new paradigm of integrating the whole of Eurasia into a booming industrial renaissance. Every change in China points towards this transition. Does this feel like a state/civilization that craves a Third World War?
Wednesday, September 23, 2015Who Wants a Third World War? Those days of the Cultural Revolution are long gone. China is slowly but surely shifting towards a spectacular new paradigm of integrating the whole of Eurasia into a booming industrial renaissance. Every change in China points towards this transition. Does this feel like a state/civilization that craves a Third World War?
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Friday, September 18, 2015
Peace in Syria? It's Putin's fault Moscow's is the only diplomatic game in town because Washington's Plan A continues to be regime change, and there's no coherent "Western" road map which simultaneously guarantees smashing ISIS/ISIL/Daesh while preventing the catastrophic dismemberment of the Syrian state.
Friday, September 18, 2015Peace in Syria? It's Putin's fault Moscow's is the only diplomatic game in town because Washington's Plan A continues to be regime change, and there's no coherent "Western" road map which simultaneously guarantees smashing ISIS/ISIL/Daesh while preventing the catastrophic dismemberment of the Syrian state.
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Thursday, September 17, 2015
Russia's ultimate lethal weapon Currently the only products that the West needs from Russia are oil and natural gas. A possible Russian default on its debt would have no effect on that demand in the short-term; and most probably in the long-term as well, unless it would contribute to a new financial crisis in the West, something that nearly happened in 1998.
Thursday, September 17, 2015Russia's ultimate lethal weapon Currently the only products that the West needs from Russia are oil and natural gas. A possible Russian default on its debt would have no effect on that demand in the short-term; and most probably in the long-term as well, unless it would contribute to a new financial crisis in the West, something that nearly happened in 1998.
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Friday, September 11, 2015
Migrants, Refugees, Clandestines and ... Jihadis The Obama administration and dodgy allies such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and in-the-shade Israel have invested heavily in a proxy war in Syria. The proxy war is against Iran and Russia -- but it's Syria that's being destroyed.
Friday, September 11, 2015Migrants, Refugees, Clandestines and ... Jihadis The Obama administration and dodgy allies such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and in-the-shade Israel have invested heavily in a proxy war in Syria. The proxy war is against Iran and Russia -- but it's Syria that's being destroyed.
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Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Make bombs, not refugees the current US-led-from-behind bombing campaign is a worthless videogame -- with futility reaching Walhalla dimensions with Britain and France now merrily joining the bombing. The only realistic way this beheading-demented motley crew of Salafi-jihadi takfiris may be soundly defeated, on the ground, is by an alliance of Syrian, Hezbollah, Iran and Iraq forces coordinating with precision bombing.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015Make bombs, not refugees the current US-led-from-behind bombing campaign is a worthless videogame -- with futility reaching Walhalla dimensions with Britain and France now merrily joining the bombing. The only realistic way this beheading-demented motley crew of Salafi-jihadi takfiris may be soundly defeated, on the ground, is by an alliance of Syrian, Hezbollah, Iran and Iraq forces coordinating with precision bombing.
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Saturday, September 5, 2015
Blowback on a NATO beach The Pentagon/NATO "liberation by bombing" campaign all across the "arc of instability" shows no sign of losing steam, helped by wealthy Wahhabis and dodgy players such as the government in Ankara. We've had it coming from the beginning. There will be more blowback. An immensely sad, solitary form of blowback -- washing ashore, in silence, on a NATO beach.
Saturday, September 5, 2015Blowback on a NATO beach The Pentagon/NATO "liberation by bombing" campaign all across the "arc of instability" shows no sign of losing steam, helped by wealthy Wahhabis and dodgy players such as the government in Ankara. We've had it coming from the beginning. There will be more blowback. An immensely sad, solitary form of blowback -- washing ashore, in silence, on a NATO beach.
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Thursday, September 3, 2015
Say hello to China's new toys China's V-Day parade specifically celebrated "the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression." None of Japan's TV networks -- NHK included -- showed the parade live. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, officially invited, snubbed it -- in line with the White House and what the State Department ordered the European minions.
Thursday, September 3, 2015Say hello to China's new toys China's V-Day parade specifically celebrated "the 70th anniversary of China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression." None of Japan's TV networks -- NHK included -- showed the parade live. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, officially invited, snubbed it -- in line with the White House and what the State Department ordered the European minions.
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Monday, August 31, 2015
Dogs of Western resentment bark as Chinese WWII parade passes Once again, the West--displaying trademark cultural/historical insensitivity--has blown it. Beijing is carefully scrutinizing the diplomatic ramifications of shows and no-shows. Symbolically, absences speak volumes. President Vladimir Putin will be in Beijing, as well as leaders of the four Central Asian "stans" that are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Monday, August 31, 2015Dogs of Western resentment bark as Chinese WWII parade passes Once again, the West--displaying trademark cultural/historical insensitivity--has blown it. Beijing is carefully scrutinizing the diplomatic ramifications of shows and no-shows. Symbolically, absences speak volumes. President Vladimir Putin will be in Beijing, as well as leaders of the four Central Asian "stans" that are part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
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Sunday, August 30, 2015
Welcome to the trade deal wars It's still a very open game. It's about connectivity. It's about global production chains. It's about harmonized rules of trade. But most of all it's a tremendously high-stakes power play; who -- the US or China -- will eventually set the global rules on trade and investment.
Sunday, August 30, 2015Welcome to the trade deal wars It's still a very open game. It's about connectivity. It's about global production chains. It's about harmonized rules of trade. But most of all it's a tremendously high-stakes power play; who -- the US or China -- will eventually set the global rules on trade and investment.
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Thursday, August 27, 2015
The Myth of a Russian "Threat" Not a week goes by without the Pentagon carping about an ominous Russian "threat." The connection's wet dreams -- shared, incidentally, by the neo-cons -- would be a glorious return to the looting phase of Russia in the 1990s, when the Russian industrial-military complex had collapsed and the West was plundering natural resources to Kingdom Come.
Thursday, August 27, 2015The Myth of a Russian "Threat" Not a week goes by without the Pentagon carping about an ominous Russian "threat." The connection's wet dreams -- shared, incidentally, by the neo-cons -- would be a glorious return to the looting phase of Russia in the 1990s, when the Russian industrial-military complex had collapsed and the West was plundering natural resources to Kingdom Come.
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Friday, August 21, 2015
Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran with lies, lies, lies AP, an American news agency whose dispatches are reproduced in full by countless newspapers and magazines all across the world, once again is being used as a crude propaganda vehicle -- just like US corporate media as a whole was used as a crude propaganda vehicle in the run-up towards the invasion, occupation and destruction of Iraq.
Friday, August 21, 2015Bomb, bomb, bomb Iran with lies, lies, lies AP, an American news agency whose dispatches are reproduced in full by countless newspapers and magazines all across the world, once again is being used as a crude propaganda vehicle -- just like US corporate media as a whole was used as a crude propaganda vehicle in the run-up towards the invasion, occupation and destruction of Iraq.
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Thursday, August 20, 2015
Bangkok bombing -- beyond the usual suspects Thai investigators have concluded Chinese tourists were not the prime targets of the Bangkok Bomber -- even though they make up the largest demographic holidaying in Thailand. After all several other foreign tourists -- mostly Asians -- were at the Erawan shrine as the bomb went off, not to mention Thais.
Thursday, August 20, 2015Bangkok bombing -- beyond the usual suspects Thai investigators have concluded Chinese tourists were not the prime targets of the Bangkok Bomber -- even though they make up the largest demographic holidaying in Thailand. After all several other foreign tourists -- mostly Asians -- were at the Erawan shrine as the bomb went off, not to mention Thais.
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Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Who profits from the Bangkok bombing? We don't know who employed The Guy in the Yellow T-shirt. Is he a red shirt? Is he a jihadi-to-be indoctrinated and trained by the usual suspects? Is he -- oh, the sweet smell of conspiracy! -- a CIA black ops in cahoots with the new US ambassador in Thailand, Glyn Davies, a specialist in "non-military force" to advance regime change options.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015Who profits from the Bangkok bombing? We don't know who employed The Guy in the Yellow T-shirt. Is he a red shirt? Is he a jihadi-to-be indoctrinated and trained by the usual suspects? Is he -- oh, the sweet smell of conspiracy! -- a CIA black ops in cahoots with the new US ambassador in Thailand, Glyn Davies, a specialist in "non-military force" to advance regime change options.
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Saturday, August 15, 2015
Pipelineistan -- the Iran-Pak-China connection Even after sanctions are lifted, Iran will need to find an ocean of investment--at least $180 billion--to upgrade its energy infrastructure and be able to start exporting natural gas to Europe, in competition with Gazprom. So Iran's privileged Pipelineistan play for the near future will be Asia--with China ready to instantly capitalize on every surge of Iran's natural gas production.
Saturday, August 15, 2015Pipelineistan -- the Iran-Pak-China connection Even after sanctions are lifted, Iran will need to find an ocean of investment--at least $180 billion--to upgrade its energy infrastructure and be able to start exporting natural gas to Europe, in competition with Gazprom. So Iran's privileged Pipelineistan play for the near future will be Asia--with China ready to instantly capitalize on every surge of Iran's natural gas production.
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Friday, August 14, 2015
What the Latest Currency "War" is All About When the US embarks on perennial quantitative easing, that's OK. When the EU does QE as well, that's OK. But when the Bank of China decides it's in the best interest of the nation to let the yuan go down a bit instead of infinitely up, that's Armageddon.
Friday, August 14, 2015What the Latest Currency "War" is All About When the US embarks on perennial quantitative easing, that's OK. When the EU does QE as well, that's OK. But when the Bank of China decides it's in the best interest of the nation to let the yuan go down a bit instead of infinitely up, that's Armageddon.
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Saturday, August 8, 2015
Trump trumps them all in Republican debates this was a reality TV spectacular generating huge ratings -- and not a real "debate" -- it was micromanaged to the millimeter by Fox News. Some of the questions unveiled Fox's real agenda; dress down Trump a notch and give a chance to the other Muppets to say something, anything, mildly respectable.
Saturday, August 8, 2015Trump trumps them all in Republican debates this was a reality TV spectacular generating huge ratings -- and not a real "debate" -- it was micromanaged to the millimeter by Fox News. Some of the questions unveiled Fox's real agenda; dress down Trump a notch and give a chance to the other Muppets to say something, anything, mildly respectable.
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Monday, August 3, 2015
Reshuffling Eurasia's energy deck -- Iran, China and Pipelineistan China is as much interested in buying more gas from Turkmenistan -- the Pipelineistan way -- as from Iran. Pipelineistan fits right into China's privileged "escape from Malacca" strategy; to buy a maximum of energy as far away from the U.S. Navy as possible.
Monday, August 3, 2015Reshuffling Eurasia's energy deck -- Iran, China and Pipelineistan China is as much interested in buying more gas from Turkmenistan -- the Pipelineistan way -- as from Iran. Pipelineistan fits right into China's privileged "escape from Malacca" strategy; to buy a maximum of energy as far away from the U.S. Navy as possible.
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Thursday, July 30, 2015
"Bomb Iran" plan simply won't go away The US/Iran Wall of Mistrust seems destined to remain in place -- far beyond the nuclear agreement. Multiple Washington factions, not to mention the Pentagon, continue to regard Iran as a "threat," a rogue nation, or evil incarnate, while Tehran sees Washington as "the heart of global arrogance."
Thursday, July 30, 2015"Bomb Iran" plan simply won't go away The US/Iran Wall of Mistrust seems destined to remain in place -- far beyond the nuclear agreement. Multiple Washington factions, not to mention the Pentagon, continue to regard Iran as a "threat," a rogue nation, or evil incarnate, while Tehran sees Washington as "the heart of global arrogance."
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Friday, July 24, 2015
The Imperial Designs on Iran Washington will do whatever it takes to sabotage Turk Stream and prevent austerity-devastated Greece from linking to the pipeline. Astonishing as it may seem, Iran is now back in Washington's favor as the only possible, future Pipelineistan star.
Friday, July 24, 2015The Imperial Designs on Iran Washington will do whatever it takes to sabotage Turk Stream and prevent austerity-devastated Greece from linking to the pipeline. Astonishing as it may seem, Iran is now back in Washington's favor as the only possible, future Pipelineistan star.
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Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Historic Iran nuke deal resets Eurasia's "Great Game" What's certain is that Iran will become a magnet for foreign investment. Major western and Asian multinationals are already positioned to start cracking this practically virgin market with over 70 million people, including a very well educated middle class. There will be a boom in sectors such as consumer electronics, the auto industry and hospitality and leisure.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015Historic Iran nuke deal resets Eurasia's "Great Game" What's certain is that Iran will become a magnet for foreign investment. Major western and Asian multinationals are already positioned to start cracking this practically virgin market with over 70 million people, including a very well educated middle class. There will be a boom in sectors such as consumer electronics, the auto industry and hospitality and leisure.
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Monday, July 13, 2015
Germany "Saves" the Euro by Humiliating Greece In the end it was up to France (President Hollande) vs. Germany (Chancellor Merkel) -- two minions history placed at this fateful juncture -- to decide the future of the EU deep into the night. Germany won -- with France hardly sweetening the bitter pill for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
Monday, July 13, 2015Germany "Saves" the Euro by Humiliating Greece In the end it was up to France (President Hollande) vs. Germany (Chancellor Merkel) -- two minions history placed at this fateful juncture -- to decide the future of the EU deep into the night. Germany won -- with France hardly sweetening the bitter pill for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
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Saturday, July 11, 2015
The Iran nuke stalemate in one tweet Every analyst not blinded by ideology knows that Iran's nuclear program was never the problem for Washington. Only neo-con nut jobs believe in their own fantasy that Iran's nuclear enrichment at 5% for its nuclear program masks a 95+% nuclear weapons program.
Saturday, July 11, 2015The Iran nuke stalemate in one tweet Every analyst not blinded by ideology knows that Iran's nuclear program was never the problem for Washington. Only neo-con nut jobs believe in their own fantasy that Iran's nuclear enrichment at 5% for its nuclear program masks a 95+% nuclear weapons program.
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Tuesday, July 7, 2015
Why there is still no Iran nuke deal in Vienna Although always careful to point out they were not pressed for time, a measure of frustration regarding the real intentions of their American counterparts started to seep in among Iranian diplomats; "If they cannot translate political intention into political decisions we will have to close down these negotiations."
Tuesday, July 7, 2015Why there is still no Iran nuke deal in Vienna Although always careful to point out they were not pressed for time, a measure of frustration regarding the real intentions of their American counterparts started to seep in among Iranian diplomats; "If they cannot translate political intention into political decisions we will have to close down these negotiations."
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Monday, July 6, 2015
A Trojan Horse in the Home of Austerity Grexit will be just the start of a whole new Sophocles-inspired tragedy. Once one nation breaks with the single currency, the monetary union itself is totally exposed. The (Neoliberal) Goddess of the Market will be eagerly looking for the next victim -- Spain, Italy, Ireland. The democracy Trojan horse now lies, in silence, in the home of austerity. The battle is about to begin.
Monday, July 6, 2015A Trojan Horse in the Home of Austerity Grexit will be just the start of a whole new Sophocles-inspired tragedy. Once one nation breaks with the single currency, the monetary union itself is totally exposed. The (Neoliberal) Goddess of the Market will be eagerly looking for the next victim -- Spain, Italy, Ireland. The democracy Trojan horse now lies, in silence, in the home of austerity. The battle is about to begin.
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Friday, July 3, 2015
Iran nuke deal -- What's cookin' at the Vienna table On the key access issue, even though the 24-day period for resolving an access to a particular site inside Iran was already agreed at by the Lausanne framework, French Foreign Minister Fabius has spun it as "Iran wants 24 days" -- making it look like this was a new demand by Iran to change the framework agreement.
Friday, July 3, 2015Iran nuke deal -- What's cookin' at the Vienna table On the key access issue, even though the 24-day period for resolving an access to a particular site inside Iran was already agreed at by the Lausanne framework, French Foreign Minister Fabius has spun it as "Iran wants 24 days" -- making it look like this was a new demand by Iran to change the framework agreement.
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Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Nuke deal inches ahead as US-Iran play information war What if there's no deal? Zarif said, on the record, it won't be the end of the world. That's because Iran -- and Iranians -- worked steadily on building a "resistance economy." The U.S. knows that sanctions did not affect Iran. So we're back to the media centrifuges madly spinning.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015Nuke deal inches ahead as US-Iran play information war What if there's no deal? Zarif said, on the record, it won't be the end of the world. That's because Iran -- and Iranians -- worked steadily on building a "resistance economy." The U.S. knows that sanctions did not affect Iran. So we're back to the media centrifuges madly spinning.
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Monday, June 29, 2015
Iran nuclear deadline: Showdown in Vienna Iran will increase production from 800 million to 1.2 billion cubic meters a day up to 2020. But for that to happen, it needs at least $100 billion in investment from European energy majors. It's all there, tantalizingly, on the horizon, a Chinese-style "win-win" for both Iran and Europe. But first, the showdown in Vienna.
Monday, June 29, 2015Iran nuclear deadline: Showdown in Vienna Iran will increase production from 800 million to 1.2 billion cubic meters a day up to 2020. But for that to happen, it needs at least $100 billion in investment from European energy majors. It's all there, tantalizingly, on the horizon, a Chinese-style "win-win" for both Iran and Europe. But first, the showdown in Vienna.
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Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Putin and the Saudi Caravan Putin and King Salman -- very discreetly -- had been in touch over the phone for weeks. The King's son invited Putin to Riyadh. Accepted. Putin invited the King to Moscow. Accepted. No question, the suspense is already killing everybody. But is this real life? Or smoke and mirrors?
Tuesday, June 23, 2015Putin and the Saudi Caravan Putin and King Salman -- very discreetly -- had been in touch over the phone for weeks. The King's son invited Putin to Riyadh. Accepted. Putin invited the King to Moscow. Accepted. No question, the suspense is already killing everybody. But is this real life? Or smoke and mirrors?
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Sunday, June 21, 2015
SPIEF -- St. Petersburg in the heart of the action No caravanserai could possibly compete with the 19th edition of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Thousands of global business leaders -- including Europeans, but not Americans; after all, President Putin is "the new Hitler" -- representing over 1,000 international companies/corporations, including the CEOs of BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total, hit town in style.
Sunday, June 21, 2015SPIEF -- St. Petersburg in the heart of the action No caravanserai could possibly compete with the 19th edition of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Thousands of global business leaders -- including Europeans, but not Americans; after all, President Putin is "the new Hitler" -- representing over 1,000 international companies/corporations, including the CEOs of BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total, hit town in style.
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Wednesday, June 17, 2015
The Myth of Global "Free" Trade TTIP, TTP and TiSA are in fact a Hydra-like head; they follow the same geostrategic logic of NATO on trade -- transatlantic and trans-Pacific; the "West against the Rest." Not accidentally, the BRICS are excluded. And no wonder the negotiations are secret; global corporate "governance" is not exactly a pop hit in any latitude.
Wednesday, June 17, 2015The Myth of Global "Free" Trade TTIP, TTP and TiSA are in fact a Hydra-like head; they follow the same geostrategic logic of NATO on trade -- transatlantic and trans-Pacific; the "West against the Rest." Not accidentally, the BRICS are excluded. And no wonder the negotiations are secret; global corporate "governance" is not exactly a pop hit in any latitude.
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Saturday, June 13, 2015
China? Have Grandmaster, will travel China has a culture 4,000 years old with 1.3 billion people, many of great talent -- a huge and very talented pool to draw from. How could they not aspire to be number 1 in Asia, and in time the world? The reawakened sense of destiny is an overpowering force.
Saturday, June 13, 2015China? Have Grandmaster, will travel China has a culture 4,000 years old with 1.3 billion people, many of great talent -- a huge and very talented pool to draw from. How could they not aspire to be number 1 in Asia, and in time the world? The reawakened sense of destiny is an overpowering force.
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Friday, June 12, 2015
American dreaming, from G1 to Bilderberg Neocons -- with Obama in tow - knock themselves out dreaming that Russia has become "isolated" from the rest of the world because of their sanctions. Since then Moscow has signed major economic/strategic contracts with at least 20 nations. Next month, Russia will host the BRICS summit -- 45 percent of the world's population.
Friday, June 12, 2015American dreaming, from G1 to Bilderberg Neocons -- with Obama in tow - knock themselves out dreaming that Russia has become "isolated" from the rest of the world because of their sanctions. Since then Moscow has signed major economic/strategic contracts with at least 20 nations. Next month, Russia will host the BRICS summit -- 45 percent of the world's population.
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Sunday, June 7, 2015
And the winner of the Jihad World Cup is... The fiction remains that the coalition is supporting remaining "moderate rebels" of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). There are no "moderate" rebels left; they all migrated to al-Nusra or ISIS/ISIL/Daesh because that's where the action is -- from tons of weapons to actual military prowess on the ground.
Sunday, June 7, 2015And the winner of the Jihad World Cup is... The fiction remains that the coalition is supporting remaining "moderate rebels" of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). There are no "moderate" rebels left; they all migrated to al-Nusra or ISIS/ISIL/Daesh because that's where the action is -- from tons of weapons to actual military prowess on the ground.
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Wednesday, June 3, 2015
The South China Sea word war There's no mistake Washington is allowing the remilitarization of Japan. So it's time to launch a South China/East China Sea Watch. As in monitoring them for any dangerous pretext for a casus belli between the declining hegemon and the no longer "keep a low profile" re-emerging power.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015The South China Sea word war There's no mistake Washington is allowing the remilitarization of Japan. So it's time to launch a South China/East China Sea Watch. As in monitoring them for any dangerous pretext for a casus belli between the declining hegemon and the no longer "keep a low profile" re-emerging power.
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Saturday, May 30, 2015
Patrolling the hood from (China) sea to shining sea As the Pentagon huffs and puffs, Beijing releases its no-nonsense military doctrine; the Russians and Chinese finesse their strategic partnership; and they get their act together for the crucial, upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Urfa this summer.
Saturday, May 30, 2015Patrolling the hood from (China) sea to shining sea As the Pentagon huffs and puffs, Beijing releases its no-nonsense military doctrine; the Russians and Chinese finesse their strategic partnership; and they get their act together for the crucial, upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Urfa this summer.
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Saturday, May 23, 2015
BRICS trample US in South America The long-term Big Picture remains inexorable; BRICS and South American nations -- which converge in the Unasur (The Union of South American Nations) -- are betting on a multipolar world order, and a continental process of independence. It's easy to see how that is oceans away from a Monroe doctrine.
Saturday, May 23, 2015BRICS trample US in South America The long-term Big Picture remains inexorable; BRICS and South American nations -- which converge in the Unasur (The Union of South American Nations) -- are betting on a multipolar world order, and a continental process of independence. It's easy to see how that is oceans away from a Monroe doctrine.
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Friday, May 22, 2015
Wahhabis go nuclear -- literally The proverbial "former Pentagon official" has leaked to a Rupert Murdoch paper that the House of Saud is bound to buy a ready-made nuclear bomb from Pakistan. The choice of media already offers a clue; Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is one of News Corporation's leading shareholders.
Friday, May 22, 2015Wahhabis go nuclear -- literally The proverbial "former Pentagon official" has leaked to a Rupert Murdoch paper that the House of Saud is bound to buy a ready-made nuclear bomb from Pakistan. The choice of media already offers a clue; Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is one of News Corporation's leading shareholders.
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Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Why the US is Finally Talking to Russia The US still retains PGS (Prompt Global Strike) capability. Ukraine is just a detail. The real game-changer will happen when Russia is able to seal its whole territory, via the S-500s, against PGS. That will happen sooner than anyone thinks. And that's why the real Masters of the Universe -- via their emissaries -- feel compelled to talk.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015Why the US is Finally Talking to Russia The US still retains PGS (Prompt Global Strike) capability. Ukraine is just a detail. The real game-changer will happen when Russia is able to seal its whole territory, via the S-500s, against PGS. That will happen sooner than anyone thinks. And that's why the real Masters of the Universe -- via their emissaries -- feel compelled to talk.
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Sunday, May 17, 2015
Obama & Gulf States summit: Party time with Wahhabi Atlanticists Absurdity is added by Qatar and Saudi Arabia supporting their own, not necessarily conflicting, networks of Salafi-jihadis in Syria. The House of Saud also unleashed the Pentagon-style "Decisive Storm," an illegal war/bombing/ "kinetic operation" on Yemen -- which Beltway myth, in pure Orwellian fashion, rules is an "effort" Washington merely "assists."
Sunday, May 17, 2015Obama & Gulf States summit: Party time with Wahhabi Atlanticists Absurdity is added by Qatar and Saudi Arabia supporting their own, not necessarily conflicting, networks of Salafi-jihadis in Syria. The House of Saud also unleashed the Pentagon-style "Decisive Storm," an illegal war/bombing/ "kinetic operation" on Yemen -- which Beltway myth, in pure Orwellian fashion, rules is an "effort" Washington merely "assists."
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Friday, May 15, 2015
U.S. wakes up to New (Silk) World Order Once again, the real Masters of the Universe seem to have done the math. Can't reduce Russia to ashes. Can't win in the New (Silk) World Order. Might as well sit down and talk. But hold your (geopolitical) horses; they might still change their mind.
Friday, May 15, 2015U.S. wakes up to New (Silk) World Order Once again, the real Masters of the Universe seem to have done the math. Can't reduce Russia to ashes. Can't win in the New (Silk) World Order. Might as well sit down and talk. But hold your (geopolitical) horses; they might still change their mind.
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Friday, May 8, 2015
Rejoice with the "new" House of Saud Whatever the scope of the shake-up, the "new" House of Saud -- with the Obama administration "leading from behind" -- will keep selling the fiction that it's freeing Yemen from a bunch of terrorists, when it's actually empowering al-Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula (AQAP). It's AQAP's fierce enemies -- the Houthis -- which have been bombed under the orders of the Royal Youthful.
Friday, May 8, 2015Rejoice with the "new" House of Saud Whatever the scope of the shake-up, the "new" House of Saud -- with the Obama administration "leading from behind" -- will keep selling the fiction that it's freeing Yemen from a bunch of terrorists, when it's actually empowering al-Qaeda in the Arabic Peninsula (AQAP). It's AQAP's fierce enemies -- the Houthis -- which have been bombed under the orders of the Royal Youthful.
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Friday, May 1, 2015
Why NATO is terrified of Russia While the Pentagon was mired in the Afghanistan and Iraq quagmires, they completely missed Russia's technological jump ahead. The same applies to China's ability to hit US satellites and thus pulverize American ICBM satellite guidance systems. The current privileged scenario is Russia playing for time until it has totally sealed Russia's air space to American ICBMs, stealth aircraft and cruise missiles via the S-500 system.
Friday, May 1, 2015Why NATO is terrified of Russia While the Pentagon was mired in the Afghanistan and Iraq quagmires, they completely missed Russia's technological jump ahead. The same applies to China's ability to hit US satellites and thus pulverize American ICBM satellite guidance systems. The current privileged scenario is Russia playing for time until it has totally sealed Russia's air space to American ICBMs, stealth aircraft and cruise missiles via the S-500 system.
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Thursday, April 30, 2015
The Pentagon's "Long War" Pits NATO Against China, Russia and Iran Washington's Maidan adventure has yielded not only a crystallization of a new Iron Curtain deployed from the Baltics to the Black Sea. This is NATO's visible game. What's not so visible is that the target is not only Russia, but also Iran and China. The battlefield is now clearly drawn between NATO and Russia/China/Iran. So no wonder they are getting closer.
Thursday, April 30, 2015The Pentagon's "Long War" Pits NATO Against China, Russia and Iran Washington's Maidan adventure has yielded not only a crystallization of a new Iron Curtain deployed from the Baltics to the Black Sea. This is NATO's visible game. What's not so visible is that the target is not only Russia, but also Iran and China. The battlefield is now clearly drawn between NATO and Russia/China/Iran. So no wonder they are getting closer.
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Saturday, April 25, 2015
Pakistan enters the New Silk Road It will be absolutely fascinating to watch how China and Pakistan, simultaneously, may be able to keep the peace in both Xinjiang and Balochistan to assure booming trade along the corridor. Shanghai is twice more distant from Urumqi than Karachi. So no wonder Beijing thinks of Pakistan as a sort of Hong Kong West.
Saturday, April 25, 2015Pakistan enters the New Silk Road It will be absolutely fascinating to watch how China and Pakistan, simultaneously, may be able to keep the peace in both Xinjiang and Balochistan to assure booming trade along the corridor. Shanghai is twice more distant from Urumqi than Karachi. So no wonder Beijing thinks of Pakistan as a sort of Hong Kong West.
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Thursday, April 23, 2015
How NATO Kills Africans in the Club Med Humanitarian imperialism as applied to what the Pentagon loves to define as MENA (Middle East-Northern Africa) has led, according to Amnesty International, "to the largest refugee disaster since the Second World War." Amnesty estimates that no less than 57 million people have been turned into refugees by 2014.
Thursday, April 23, 2015How NATO Kills Africans in the Club Med Humanitarian imperialism as applied to what the Pentagon loves to define as MENA (Middle East-Northern Africa) has led, according to Amnesty International, "to the largest refugee disaster since the Second World War." Amnesty estimates that no less than 57 million people have been turned into refugees by 2014.
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Wednesday, April 22, 2015
The EU-Gazprom war The argument that Gazprom is "dominant" and prevents competition is bogus; there's no competition because there are no other viable energy sources for the European market. The Europeans should blame the US instead, for keeping a nasty package of sanctions on Iran for so long. But of course EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager would never do that.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015The EU-Gazprom war The argument that Gazprom is "dominant" and prevents competition is bogus; there's no competition because there are no other viable energy sources for the European market. The Europeans should blame the US instead, for keeping a nasty package of sanctions on Iran for so long. But of course EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager would never do that.
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Saturday, April 18, 2015
Eurasia as we (and the U.S.) knew it is dead It will be fascinating to watch. How will Moscow and Beijing stare down the West -- politically, commercially and ideologically -- without risking a war? How will they cope with so much pressure? How will they sell their strategy to great swathes of the Global South, across multiple Asian latitudes?
Saturday, April 18, 2015Eurasia as we (and the U.S.) knew it is dead It will be fascinating to watch. How will Moscow and Beijing stare down the West -- politically, commercially and ideologically -- without risking a war? How will they cope with so much pressure? How will they sell their strategy to great swathes of the Global South, across multiple Asian latitudes?
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Tuesday, April 14, 2015
New Silk Road Meets Eurasian Union The always-evolving Russia-China strategic partnership is not only about energy -- including the possibility of Chinese-controlled stakes in crucial Russian oil and gas projects -- as well as the defense industry; it's increasingly about investment, banking, finance and high technology.
Tuesday, April 14, 2015New Silk Road Meets Eurasian Union The always-evolving Russia-China strategic partnership is not only about energy -- including the possibility of Chinese-controlled stakes in crucial Russian oil and gas projects -- as well as the defense industry; it's increasingly about investment, banking, finance and high technology.
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Friday, April 10, 2015
Civil war up, humanism down In our current pitiful condition the least we could do is to heed the lessons of Spinoza -- for whom reason was sovereign; not "a cold, glacial reason, but a profoundly compassionate reason." Spinoza was a spirit as independent as Montaigne -- another one of our inspiring models.
Friday, April 10, 2015Civil war up, humanism down In our current pitiful condition the least we could do is to heed the lessons of Spinoza -- for whom reason was sovereign; not "a cold, glacial reason, but a profoundly compassionate reason." Spinoza was a spirit as independent as Montaigne -- another one of our inspiring models.
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Bomb Iran? Not now: bomb Yemen Royally paid Saudi lobby hagiographers are once again frantically spinning the Sunni versus Shi'ite sectarian narrative -- which totally ignores the mind-boggling tribal/class complexity of Yemeni society. In a nutshell, this laughable Saudi defense of democracy is paving the way for a ground war; a long, bloody and horribly expensive ground war.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015Bomb Iran? Not now: bomb Yemen Royally paid Saudi lobby hagiographers are once again frantically spinning the Sunni versus Shi'ite sectarian narrative -- which totally ignores the mind-boggling tribal/class complexity of Yemeni society. In a nutshell, this laughable Saudi defense of democracy is paving the way for a ground war; a long, bloody and horribly expensive ground war.
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Monday, April 6, 2015
Eurasian emporium or nuclear war? We're back to the EU, Russia and China, and everyone in between, all joining the greatest trade emporium in history across the whole of Eurasia. That's what Putin proposed in Germany a few years ago, and that's what the Chinese are already doing. And what do the neo-cons propose? A nuclear war on European soil.
Monday, April 6, 2015Eurasian emporium or nuclear war? We're back to the EU, Russia and China, and everyone in between, all joining the greatest trade emporium in history across the whole of Eurasia. That's what Putin proposed in Germany a few years ago, and that's what the Chinese are already doing. And what do the neo-cons propose? A nuclear war on European soil.
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Wednesday, April 1, 2015
Pepe Escobar in eastern Ukraine: Howling in Donetsk I've just been to the struggling Donetsk People's Republic. Now I'm back in the splendid arrogance and insolence of NATOstan. After all, they are Western "civilization"-enabled cowards who would never dare to show their manicured faces to the people of Donbass. So this is my gift to them. Just a howl of anger and unbounded contempt.
Wednesday, April 1, 2015Pepe Escobar in eastern Ukraine: Howling in Donetsk I've just been to the struggling Donetsk People's Republic. Now I'm back in the splendid arrogance and insolence of NATOstan. After all, they are Western "civilization"-enabled cowards who would never dare to show their manicured faces to the people of Donbass. So this is my gift to them. Just a howl of anger and unbounded contempt.
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Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Donbass: "The war has not started yet" Neither side -- Kiev or the Donbass armies -- is about to launch a full offensive anytime soon. Meanwhile, the People's Republic of Donetsk is turbo-charging the political front. Foreign Minister Alexander Kofman -- who confirms he's having political discussions with members of some EU countries -- says there are plans for a wide-ranging meeting in May.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015Donbass: "The war has not started yet" Neither side -- Kiev or the Donbass armies -- is about to launch a full offensive anytime soon. Meanwhile, the People's Republic of Donetsk is turbo-charging the political front. Foreign Minister Alexander Kofman -- who confirms he's having political discussions with members of some EU countries -- says there are plans for a wide-ranging meeting in May.
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Monday, March 23, 2015
Westward ho on China's Eurasia BRIC road China's new drive may be interpreted as the stirrings of a new tributary system, ordered and centered in Beijing. At the same time, many in the U.S. are uncomfortable that the New Silk Road may be a geopolitical, "peaceful development," "win-win" answer to the Obama administration's Pentagon-driven pivoting to Asia.
Monday, March 23, 2015Westward ho on China's Eurasia BRIC road China's new drive may be interpreted as the stirrings of a new tributary system, ordered and centered in Beijing. At the same time, many in the U.S. are uncomfortable that the New Silk Road may be a geopolitical, "peaceful development," "win-win" answer to the Obama administration's Pentagon-driven pivoting to Asia.
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Wednesday, March 18, 2015
The Middle East oil/nuclear puzzle The oil price war essentially unleashed by Saudi Arabia has hit Iran with a bang. The country may be down, but not out. The bottom line: the House of Saud does not trust the American nuclear umbrella anymore. They are making their own nuclear power play with the help of nuclear power Pakistan. The connection does exist, but remains extremely mysterious.
Wednesday, March 18, 2015The Middle East oil/nuclear puzzle The oil price war essentially unleashed by Saudi Arabia has hit Iran with a bang. The country may be down, but not out. The bottom line: the House of Saud does not trust the American nuclear umbrella anymore. They are making their own nuclear power play with the help of nuclear power Pakistan. The connection does exist, but remains extremely mysterious.
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Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Power Play Behind Regime Change in Russia The Empire of Chaos dream of regime change in Russia has always hinged on controlling large swathes of Eurasia. A puppet in Moscow -- a carbon copy of the drunken stooge Yeltsin -- would free up Russia's immense natural resources for the West, with those from the contiguous Central Asian "stans" as a bonus.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015Power Play Behind Regime Change in Russia The Empire of Chaos dream of regime change in Russia has always hinged on controlling large swathes of Eurasia. A puppet in Moscow -- a carbon copy of the drunken stooge Yeltsin -- would free up Russia's immense natural resources for the West, with those from the contiguous Central Asian "stans" as a bonus.
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Thursday, March 12, 2015
How Iran and the US intersect in "Syraq" "Assad must go" will never completely vanish from the road map. A real detente with Iran depends on whether a nuclear deal is arrived at this summer -- and Obama has been ratcheting up the pressure with demand after demand. The demonization of Russia is bound only to get more vociferous.
Thursday, March 12, 2015How Iran and the US intersect in "Syraq" "Assad must go" will never completely vanish from the road map. A real detente with Iran depends on whether a nuclear deal is arrived at this summer -- and Obama has been ratcheting up the pressure with demand after demand. The demonization of Russia is bound only to get more vociferous.
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Wednesday, March 4, 2015
The Real Story on Iran, US, Russia and China What's at stake at the highest level has been known to all major players for ages. Tehran won't settle for anything less than a swift end to the current nasty, illegal package of sanctions. Yet Washington, under the cloud of the self-described "Don't Do Stupid Stuff" Obama administration, keeps changing the goal posts as negotiations advance.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015The Real Story on Iran, US, Russia and China What's at stake at the highest level has been known to all major players for ages. Tehran won't settle for anything less than a swift end to the current nasty, illegal package of sanctions. Yet Washington, under the cloud of the self-described "Don't Do Stupid Stuff" Obama administration, keeps changing the goal posts as negotiations advance.
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Sunday, March 1, 2015
What the BRICS plus Germany are really up to? The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) -- a key alternative to the IMF enabling developing nations to get rid of the US dollar as a reserve currency -- will be operative by the end of this year. The NDB will finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects not only in the BRICS nations but other developing nations.
Sunday, March 1, 2015What the BRICS plus Germany are really up to? The BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) -- a key alternative to the IMF enabling developing nations to get rid of the US dollar as a reserve currency -- will be operative by the end of this year. The NDB will finance infrastructure and sustainable development projects not only in the BRICS nations but other developing nations.
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Friday, February 27, 2015
American Sniper vs. Baghdad Sniper The Baghdad sniper may survive only as the ghost of a faded urban legend. Baghdad itself changed its status from mostly Sunni to mostly Shi'ite -- and its new fears center on the fake ISIS/ISIL/Daesh Caliphate. American Sniper, on the other hand, is touring the planet as a digital celebrity hero, even as US right-wingers loudly complained neither Clint Eastwood's movie nor Bradley Cooper got any Oscars.
Friday, February 27, 2015American Sniper vs. Baghdad Sniper The Baghdad sniper may survive only as the ghost of a faded urban legend. Baghdad itself changed its status from mostly Sunni to mostly Shi'ite -- and its new fears center on the fake ISIS/ISIL/Daesh Caliphate. American Sniper, on the other hand, is touring the planet as a digital celebrity hero, even as US right-wingers loudly complained neither Clint Eastwood's movie nor Bradley Cooper got any Oscars.
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Friday, February 20, 2015
China pivots everywhere There's plenty to be excited about as the Year of the Sheep (or Goat) starts. What's certain is that the Chinese caravan, much in contrast with the dogs of war -- and austerity -- pivoting across the West, has already pivoted towards "win-win" pan-Eurasia integration.
Friday, February 20, 2015China pivots everywhere There's plenty to be excited about as the Year of the Sheep (or Goat) starts. What's certain is that the Chinese caravan, much in contrast with the dogs of war -- and austerity -- pivoting across the West, has already pivoted towards "win-win" pan-Eurasia integration.
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Thursday, February 19, 2015
EU Reeling Between US and Russia The Empire of Chaos does not want a lasting agreement on Ukraine -- and will do everything to torpedo Minsk 2.0. NATO's strategic imperative remains clear; force Moscow into a war in Ukraine to exhaust it economically, prevent a EU-Russia economic/trade partnership, and eliminate Russia as a global competitor to the US.
Thursday, February 19, 2015EU Reeling Between US and Russia The Empire of Chaos does not want a lasting agreement on Ukraine -- and will do everything to torpedo Minsk 2.0. NATO's strategic imperative remains clear; force Moscow into a war in Ukraine to exhaust it economically, prevent a EU-Russia economic/trade partnership, and eliminate Russia as a global competitor to the US.
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Friday, February 13, 2015
From Minsk to Brussels, it's all about Germany It's up to Germany to clean up its act on Greece. The choice is stark. The EU may embark on a quadruple-dip recession as the ECB further destroys what is left of the European middle class. Or Germany, reflecting the thinking among its captains of industry, may tell the EU -- Troika included -- that the way to go is to shift the strategic, trade and political focus from West to the East.
Friday, February 13, 2015From Minsk to Brussels, it's all about Germany It's up to Germany to clean up its act on Greece. The choice is stark. The EU may embark on a quadruple-dip recession as the ECB further destroys what is left of the European middle class. Or Germany, reflecting the thinking among its captains of industry, may tell the EU -- Troika included -- that the way to go is to shift the strategic, trade and political focus from West to the East.
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Sunday, February 8, 2015
The Dirtiest Secret of the War on Terror There is no evidence the "Don't Do Stupid Stuff" (Obama's own words) administration has the capability to seriously review US-Saudi relations. What is certain is that the dirtiest secret of the war on terror will remain off-limits. All the "terror" we face, real or manufactured, springs out from just one source; not "Islam," but intolerant, demented Wahhabism.
Sunday, February 8, 2015The Dirtiest Secret of the War on Terror There is no evidence the "Don't Do Stupid Stuff" (Obama's own words) administration has the capability to seriously review US-Saudi relations. What is certain is that the dirtiest secret of the war on terror will remain off-limits. All the "terror" we face, real or manufactured, springs out from just one source; not "Islam," but intolerant, demented Wahhabism.
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Saturday, February 7, 2015
That Didn't Take Long: The First Lie about Moscow Meeting Predictably, Western corporate media is spinning this whole debacle is now due to FEAR OF THE DEVIL -- as in Vlad. The fears apparently rampant in Brussels and assorted European capitals (among pol clowns, for sure; NOT in the streets). The rhetoric is beyond ominous.
Saturday, February 7, 2015That Didn't Take Long: The First Lie about Moscow Meeting Predictably, Western corporate media is spinning this whole debacle is now due to FEAR OF THE DEVIL -- as in Vlad. The fears apparently rampant in Brussels and assorted European capitals (among pol clowns, for sure; NOT in the streets). The rhetoric is beyond ominous.
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Friday, February 6, 2015
Troika Trojan horse: Will Syriza capitulate in Greece? There is no evidence as it stands that a complex negotiation of at least a few months will ensue, as Athens tries to restructure how to deal with the troika. The ECB is now tacitly playing the game that Greece is essentially doomed. Ergo, the ECB is voting down Syriza, and actually supporting fascist Golden Dawn. That's central bank "democracy" for you.
Friday, February 6, 2015Troika Trojan horse: Will Syriza capitulate in Greece? There is no evidence as it stands that a complex negotiation of at least a few months will ensue, as Athens tries to restructure how to deal with the troika. The ECB is now tacitly playing the game that Greece is essentially doomed. Ergo, the ECB is voting down Syriza, and actually supporting fascist Golden Dawn. That's central bank "democracy" for you.
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Monday, February 2, 2015
Crossing the Bridge From Eurasia to NATOstan Turk Stream has graphically demonstrated how Turkey is well on its way to become the ultimate crossroads between Eurasia and NATOstan -- on its own terms. And the City of Cities is bound to remain -- what else -- the jewel in the neo-Ottoman crown.
Monday, February 2, 2015Crossing the Bridge From Eurasia to NATOstan Turk Stream has graphically demonstrated how Turkey is well on its way to become the ultimate crossroads between Eurasia and NATOstan -- on its own terms. And the City of Cities is bound to remain -- what else -- the jewel in the neo-Ottoman crown.
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Saturday, January 31, 2015
Europe slouching towards anxiety and war We all know, this current non-elected Eurocrat-ravaged EU -- which despises Greece, antagonizes Russia, wallows in the mire of Empire of Chaos vassalage, and treats most of its citizens as heavily-taxed garbage -- could hardly be described as "superb."
Saturday, January 31, 2015Europe slouching towards anxiety and war We all know, this current non-elected Eurocrat-ravaged EU -- which despises Greece, antagonizes Russia, wallows in the mire of Empire of Chaos vassalage, and treats most of its citizens as heavily-taxed garbage -- could hardly be described as "superb."
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Tuesday, January 27, 2015
"Empire of Chaos" in the House Russia is not Iran -- with all due respect to Iran. If the House of Saud really believes they are talking to the head of a superpower rather than a ventriloquist's puppet -- which is Obama's role -- they are effectively doomed. Nothing Obama says means a thing. The Saudi-launched oil price war is bound to destroy the US oil industry -- against US national interests.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015"Empire of Chaos" in the House Russia is not Iran -- with all due respect to Iran. If the House of Saud really believes they are talking to the head of a superpower rather than a ventriloquist's puppet -- which is Obama's role -- they are effectively doomed. Nothing Obama says means a thing. The Saudi-launched oil price war is bound to destroy the US oil industry -- against US national interests.
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Sunday, January 18, 2015
What game is the House of Saud playing? What is troubling is that the current bunch in Washington does not seem to be defending US national and industrial interests. If humongous trade deficits based on currency rigging were not enough, now virtually the entire US oil industry runs the risk of being destroyed by an oil price racket. Any sane analyst would interpret it as contrary to US national interests.
Sunday, January 18, 2015What game is the House of Saud playing? What is troubling is that the current bunch in Washington does not seem to be defending US national and industrial interests. If humongous trade deficits based on currency rigging were not enough, now virtually the entire US oil industry runs the risk of being destroyed by an oil price racket. Any sane analyst would interpret it as contrary to US national interests.
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Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Hypocrites Shine on Paris Catwalk In the counter-terrorism front, the post-Charlie circus will be a gift that will keep on giving -- in full "war on terra" mode. All the alleged perpetrators are conveniently dead -- so there are zero chances of piecing together the real story. Up next: a Guantanamo made in France sponsored by Dior. Thank the Lord we have so many bright politicians to protect us.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015Hypocrites Shine on Paris Catwalk In the counter-terrorism front, the post-Charlie circus will be a gift that will keep on giving -- in full "war on terra" mode. All the alleged perpetrators are conveniently dead -- so there are zero chances of piecing together the real story. Up next: a Guantanamo made in France sponsored by Dior. Thank the Lord we have so many bright politicians to protect us.
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Thursday, January 8, 2015
Who profits from killing Charlie? French intel at least has concluded that this is no underwear bomber stunt. This is a pro job. That happens to take place just a few days after France recognizes Palestinian statehood. And just a few days after General Hollande demanded the lifting of sanctions against the Russian "threat."
Thursday, January 8, 2015Who profits from killing Charlie? French intel at least has concluded that this is no underwear bomber stunt. This is a pro job. That happens to take place just a few days after France recognizes Palestinian statehood. And just a few days after General Hollande demanded the lifting of sanctions against the Russian "threat."
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Friday, January 2, 2015
2015 Will Be All About Iran, China and Russia The upcoming 2015 year will be all about further moves towards the integration of Eurasia as the US is progressively squeezed out of Eurasia. We will see a complex geostrategic interplay progressively undermining the hegemony of the US dollar as a reserve currency and, most of all, the petrodollar.
Friday, January 2, 20152015 Will Be All About Iran, China and Russia The upcoming 2015 year will be all about further moves towards the integration of Eurasia as the US is progressively squeezed out of Eurasia. We will see a complex geostrategic interplay progressively undermining the hegemony of the US dollar as a reserve currency and, most of all, the petrodollar.
