RICHARD MEDHURST—British journalist Richard Medhurst reports on the Iranian response to Israel’s bombing of the Iranian embassy in Damascus on April 1. This violation of the Vienna Convention (1961 and 1963) went unanswered until today on April 14 The world has watched anxiously in anticipation of Iran’s response. Now Iran fires a volley of drones and missiles at Israel, accompanied by an orchestra of similar calibres out of Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Whether the alliance was holding more serious weapons for later is not known at this point.
CRIMINAL FOREIGN POLICY
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EDITOR—Failing to get concessions from China on what Janet Yellen called “China’s overcapacity” (curiously deemed unfair by Washington), Yellen threatened the introduction of protectionist policies. Needless to say, this is a complete reversal of Washington’s usual extremist free market posture. Yellen also had the gall to complain about China helping Russia in its Ukraine contest with the West, apparently assuming Beijing is incapable of figuring that America wants a free hand to subdue and neutralise Russia to then proceed to do the same to China. This and much much more.
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LARRY JOHNSON—Larry examines Iran’s thoughtful and measured strategy. to serve notice to Israel for it many criminal provocations without igniting a world conflagration.
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Texac is Missing. Russell Bentley’s whereabouts unknown after 5 days of fruitless searches
10 minutes readPATRICE GREANVILLE—Russell Bentley, quickly nicknamed “Texac” after he first touched Slavonic ground, has always. been a highly improbable character. A native son of Texas and a Communist, gifted with more than his share of valor and audacity, but above all a man of action, he didn’t have to meditate too long to figure what he needed to do when he heard about the US coup in Kiev in 2014, and the ensuing war by the new neo-Nazi regime on the rebel republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Echoing the International Brigades, he simply packed his things and made his way at his own expense to the Donbas, via Russia. Once there, to the surprise of many (he was certainly not exactly in his prime), he offered his services as a frontline soldier and soon enough was involved in several (by now) almost legendary battles in the first war between the young but tough little republics and the much larger but apparently tactically deficient (though still vicious) Ukrop army.
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JIMMY DORE SHOW—Less than two weeks after an Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy in Damascus that killed a top Iranian military leader, a possible response came in the form of Hezbollah rockets fired from Lebanon into northern Israel. The Iron Dome defence system appeared to intercept the incoming rocket fire, but even with minimal damage this airborne assault represents another escalation in the Mideast conflict. Jimmy is joined by Due Dissidence’s Russell Dobular to discuss how there’s typically not a single great event but rather a series of small escalations that tend to lead to global conflicts.