Tuesday, January 31, 2017

The Conservative Revolution: the “Left” Dilemma

by Iman Safi

Part II; The “Left” Dilemma:

(for part I, please see here)

To understand where the global “left”-“right” divides stands now, we must take a quick look at some key developments and join them together within the particular context sought; because the roots of this divide go back to the times during which the Western mind was in the process of choosing between such issues as succumbing to the Church versus liberation, monarchies versus progressive and democratic governments and science versus fiction.

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Global helmsman Xi Jinping steps up with charm offensive

by Pepe Escobar for the Asia Times
He did it, his way; Chinese President Xi Jinping descended on the Swiss Alps; profited from a geopolitical vacuum only three days before Donald Trump’s inauguration with the Atlanticist West mired in stagnation and/or protectionism; unleashed a charm offensive; and deftly positioned China in the lead of “inclusive” globalization.

India – Crime of the Century – Financial Genocide

by Peter Koenig

A Financial genocide, if there was ever one. Death by demonetization, probably killing hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, through famine, disease, even desperation and suicide – because most of India’s money was declared invalid. The official weak reason for this purposefully manufactured human disaster is fighting counterfeiting. What a flagrant lie! The real cause is of course – you guessed it – an order from Washington.

Here’s how the Trump presidency will play out

by Pepe Escobar
The Trump era starts now – with geopolitics and geoeconomics set for a series of imminent, unpredictable cliffhangers.
I have argued that Trump’s foreign policy guru Henry Kissinger’s strategy to deal with the formidable Eurasia integration trio – Russia, China and Iran – is a remixed Divide and Rule; seduce Russia away from its strategic partnership with China, while keep harassing the weakest link, Iran.

Trip Report: China

Period: December, 2016.
By: Anil Chelampath (a pseudonym)
I just got back to Canada from a 30 day trip through China, and wrote a trip report for my friends here in the Toronto area. Since I am a friend of the Saker, I thought I would polish it up, and submit it to the Saker to see if he might consider it for his blog.

Syria’s Future

by Igor Pejic

The Syrian crisis is slowly reaching its seventh year. Violence, radicalization, civil displacement, fragmentation and deterioration of the Syrian society are reaching unprecedented levels. International and regional actors, thus far, have largely failed in their attempts to reach a compromise or a sustainable solution in order to control the crisis and quell the radical groups which are running rampant across the region. Despite Russian, Turkey’s and Iranian latest effort to reach some-kind of peaceful agreement, the situation on the ground still remains very turbulent. Assassination of the Russian ambassador in Turkey, renewed IS advance in the east of the country and the constant refusal by the insurgent groups for any kind of deal with the government are showing a rather grim picture of the future.

Trump’s inaugural speech – promises, hopes and opportunities

Just hours ago Donald Trump was finally sworn in as the President of the United States. Considering all the threats hanging over this event, this is good news because at least for the time being, the Neocons have lost their control over the Executive Branch and Trump is now finally in a position to take action. The other good news is Trump’s inauguration speechwhich included this historical promise “We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example for everyone to follow”. Could that really mean that the USA has given up its role of World Hegemon? The mere fact of asking the question is already an immensely positive development as nobody would have asked it had Hillary Clinton been elected.

French Socialist primary – hiding 5 years of betrayal

by Ramin Mazaheri

The French Socialist Party has the first round of their political primary on January 22nd, and as a longtime news correspondent in Paris I thought it incumbent on me to make a fun prediction.

The fun, if you couldn’t tell, has already started: the incumbent, Francois Hollande, is not even running for re-election.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Russia, EU and NATO SITREP January 11th, 2017 by Scott Humor

In the first ten days of the new year we see the conflicts from 2016 getting worse.
Russian bloggers wish the Westerners a Happy New Year and… a happy Russophobia in 2017:
An interesting essay by Sergey Vasiliev reflects the general mood. The following is a boiled-down version.
An offer “Die!” is the only consistent offer that “civilized” Europe has ever formulated for its Eastern neighbor.
It was formed in the period of the Ecumenical councils of the Church and was consecrated by all the bishops of the Vatican, and then by their followers including Luther, Marx,  Engels, Goebbels and Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis .

Shadow play: the New Great Game in Eurasia

by Pepe Escobar for the Asia Times

So right in the heart of Bali, spellbound after a serious conversation with a dukun – a spiritual master – it struck me: this should be the new Yalta, the perfect setting for a Trump-Xi-Putin summit setting the parameters ahead in the ever-evolving New Great Game in Eurasia.

Balinese culture makes no distinction between the secular and the supernatural – sekala and niskala. Sekala is what our senses may discern. Niskala is what cannot be sensed directly and can only be “suggested”. Massive geopolitical shifts ahead could not be more shrouded by niskala.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Russian ‘Cyberattacking’ – When the Most Flagrant Lie Becomes the Truth

by Peter Koenig
Russian ‘Hacking’ and tilting the American elections in favor of Donald Trump’s is one of the most flagrant lies the White House has thrown around the world. Yet, Mr. Obama is desperate to make the American people and the word believe it did actually happen. As Goebbels, Hitler’s Propaganda Minister, said some 70 years ago, and many before and after him, “If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth”.

The real significance of the ODNI report on “Russia’s election election interfering”

I have to confess that my first reaction was to simply ignore this report as an irrelevant load of nonsense.  Then I listed to a Ukrainian blogger, Anatoli Sharii, making fun of this report for over 10 minutes.  Listening to him my first reaction was “can’t be – Sharii is in overkill mode”.  But then Sharii began quoting the report at length and I simply could not believe my eyes (I reading the original English text which Sharii had translated into Russian): every word Sharii said was true.  That’s when I decided to download this document and read it.  Here it is embedded for you to read.  Please do read the full text.  It is absolutely amazing:
Before we go into the details, I also recommend that you go through the following two examples of how the US corporate media “helpfully” provided their readers with a “guide” to better understand/interpret this report:

Brief on International Diplomacy January 2017, by Scott Humor



Russia
In the first week of January the US Embassy in Russia began refusing to continue issuing visas citing some unidentified problems with plumbing. Moscow water authorities claim that they didn’t receive any complaints from the Embassy.

Lagos Trader Tortures Nine-year-old Boy For Stealing (photos)

The police have arrested a woman, identified only as Bassey, for allegedly inserting a stick of broom dipped in pepper into the private parts of a nine-year-old boy, identified as Promise, in the Ebute-Meta area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Bassey had accused the victim, who was her nephew, of stealing N2,000.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Awujale: Obasanjo Fought Adenuga Because Of Atiku - The Nation

Excerpt from Awujale: The Autobiography of Alaiyeluwa Oba S.K Adetona, Ogbagba II, Mosuro Publishers, 2010, pp. 187-195

The EFCC in Lagos had come calling brusquely on Mike Adenuga (Jnr), Chairman Globacom on 9 July 2006. They broke his gate, swarmed into his house and kept him under ‘arrest’. When I heard about the arrest, I called the legal firms, of Ayanlaja SAN & Adesanya SAN as well as Professor Biodun Adesanya SAN to take up the matter and secure Mike’s release. They swung into action and gave indication that they would take the matter to court.