GHASSAN KADI—For readers interested in my take and analysis on Lebanon’s recent history in a more detailed but concise narrative, they can go to this reference. In brief, Grand Liban (Greater Lebanon) was created by the French under the demand of the then Maronite Patriarch Howayyek in 1920. It was meant to give Lebanese Christians a sense of security, and to be a neutral country in the Middle East; with a Western outlook. This article will not discuss the geopolitical changes that have happened since. They are in the link above. That said, with the many changes over the last century, the situation in Lebanon has become untenable.
Default Editor Patrice de Bergeracpas
-
-
Iran and China terrify the Empire, but why?
18 minutes readA bipolar balance in the region would deter Washington further from regime change attempts. The only reason for Washington’s audacity to start the Syrian and Iraqi wars were because of the power vacuum left after the dissolution of the Soviet Union – without a counter-weight against it, Washington has been free to do as it pleases in the region for the past 3 decades.
-
Australia & the Working of the American Imperial Hand
19 minutes readTONY KEVIN–At the political level, Morrison and his ministers are daily digging deeper the hole they are in, too proud to apologize to China for their aggressive clumsiness. It is a dangerous moment in a hitherto tranquil enough Australia -China relationship based on mutual economic interest.
Pompeo’s personal attack on an Australian state premier — however excessive and misplaced it was — might have been seen by him and Morrison as a useful distraction from this larger crisis. The U.S. ambassador in Canberra — a Trump appointee — hastily backtracked, trying to cover for Pompeo’s crude bullying language, which was evoking resentful Australian public responses.
-
THE SAKER—The Belarussian authorities have declared that “hundreds” of men (supposedly Russians) have been sent to Belarus with nefarious intentions. Lukashenko has since officially confirmed that he got this info from the Ukrainian SBU. The men themselves were described as terrorists, insurgents, members of the “Wagner” PMC, subversives, etc. and their goals were described as killing Lukashenko, triggering a new “maidan” in Belarus, create chaos, etc. Frankly, the Belarusian authorities never got their story straight and, frankly again, this really makes no difference at all.
-
CALEB MAUPIN—Caleb’s chats are the ideal tool for those who wish to acquire a solid understanding of contemporary history in an easy, accessible manner. In this episode Caleb talks about imperialism—global monopoly capitalism—and how it has destroyed and is now aggressively destroying even America’s infrastructure, not to mention the population’s economic security. We see that in a tidal wave of artificially produced problems, intractable problems that only arise when we live under capitalism, not due to lack of resources or human capabilities. In America today, the world’s citadel of imperialism, many citizens have no access to clean running water. Many are homeless. Many are unemployed and under employed, living in the “gig economy”, whose wages are pitiful and benefits non-existent. Almost 30% lack fast internet access. The healthcare system has long been a disgrace and a scandal—yet nothing is really done, except apply glorified bandaids, like Obamacare.