On December 17, 2010, Tunisian fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after the authorities confiscated his products and beat him. This gave the beginning to what later became the "Arab Spring" and all its subsequent turmoil. From the US vantage point, the event gave birth to the current set of conflicts in Syria that as a result produced a myriad of Al-Qaeda affiliated organizations [...]

“Having a child right now feels like a big luxury.” Facing an out-of-control disease, a grim economic climate and with some states banning abortions as non-essential, many women are rushing to terminate their pregnancies. “Having a child right now feels like a big luxury.” Facing an out-of-control disease, a grim economic climate and with some states banning abortions as non-essential, man [...]

Three months ago, on September 30, at the request of Syrian leader Bashar Assad Russia launched a military operation against terrorists of Daesh (Islamic State). The very next day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the first results of the offensive. [...]

The United States has the highest number of coronavirus cases globally, the only country reporting seven-digit numbers of infections. Brazil is also one of the 10 most infected nations according to the WHO. Its President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly dismissed the virus as just a "flu". The United States and Brazil failed to take warnings issued by the World Health Organisation seriousl [...]

Why assumptions are the the mother of all fuckups! Leadership quicksand looks like solid ground that can confidently and competently be stomped on, but it’s not. In fact, it’s not like it seems at all.  When leaders walk head held high, chest puffed out, all knowing with ego leading the way, that’s the surest way to sink in deep. Leaders often make assumptions in four areas that have [...]

Since the 1990s, politicians have cited the threat of North Korea to demand funding for missile defense programs that became examples of government waste. Republican politicians responded almost reflexively to the North Korean nuclear test on Tuesday by demanding more spending on missile defense programs that have historically proved ineffective at preventing an enemy strike — but are built by [...]

How Much Is Really a ‘Living Wage’ in Every State? Can you afford to live where you are? The answer depends on two factors — your earnings and the cost of living in your area. The federal minimum wage in the United States is $7.25 per hour. Some states and a few cities set their minimum wages higher. The cost of living varies a great deal across the country. Even in lower-cost areas, a minim [...]

Why the Gulf States, the Kurds, the Turks, the Sunnis, and the Shia Won’t Fight America’s War In the many strategies proposed to defeat the Islamic State (IS) by presidential candidates, policymakers, and media pundits alike across the American political spectrum, one common element stands out: someone else should really do it. [...]

The editor-in-chief of a major Chinese tabloid slammed Mike Pompeo for comparing his country to Nazi Germany, likening his words to those of Hitler’s propaganda chief and reminding the secretary of state of America’s endless wars. Hu Xijin took to Twitter on Sunday venting his anger about Mike Pompeo’s remarks. “You are inciting radical hostility and ripping the world apart. You aren't [...]

After the shock of the New Year’s Eve assaults, and the subsequent backlash, some migrants are trying to teach refugees about the challenges of life in Germany and about mutual tolerance. Skinny-dipping, gay relationships and parenting all form part of Magdi Gohary’s crash-course introduction to a strange new home [...]

The papers leaked online suggest a grave situation may occur at any time "with regard to flying saucers" as those allegedly multidimensional structures would level any human-built craft. The FBI has declassified documents mentioning flying saucers and "multidimensional beings", it follows from an almost 70-page report penned by an unnamed professor and recently leaked online, reportedly on the FBI [...]

When the French Prime Minister starts talking of the "end of Europe" and Germany announces indefinite border controls amid the growing refugee crisis - it is time to get concerned. The crisis is not new, so why the sudden panic? The answer lies in the fact that next year – 2017 – the French will go to the polls to elect its president and Germany votes-in a new Bundestag. [...]

I used to be a Republican. I know. Republicans don’t stand for anything now. I used to be one. Like a lot of millennials, I grew up in a neoliberal household that filled our heads with stories about welfare queens and illegal immigrants. Our parents listened to Rush Limbaugh. They complained about taxes and crime during dinner. They schooled us in trickle down economics and deregulation. They [...]

Moscow has denied Turkey’s accusation that a Russian Su-34 bomber violated its airspace on Friday. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that Ankara couldn’t have determined which country the jet belonged to under the circumstances they described. He stressed that the airspace controlling radar stations that Turkey has can only determine the altitude, flight line, and speed of an aerial vehi [...]

Here is an excerpt from the Guardian... The local television station London Live is facing sanctions after the media regulator, Ofcom, found it had posed a threat to the public’s health by showing a lengthy interview with David Icke about the coronavirus pandemic. The little-watched channel, owned by Evening Standard boss Evgeny Lebedev, broadcast an 80-minute interview with the former f [...]

Dwight D. Eisenhower was a five-star general in charge of the Normandy Invasion and a popular two-term President of the United States. Today he would be called a “conspiracy theorist.” “This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. [...]

The repercussions of the new RCEP free-trade agreement between China and 14 other countries are huge. It creates a massive trading bloc in Asia that America, though its insular policies, will play no part in. This weekend, 15 Asia-Pacific nations came together to sign the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mammoth free-trade agreement that has been described as one of the  [...]

There has been a lot of talk in recent weeks about the speaking fees paid to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and an analysis published Saturday sheds some light on exactly how much Wall Street and other major corporate powers ponied up for the former Secretary of State and her husband, President Bill Clinton. [...]

Stephen Vizinczey says all a great power has to do to destroy itself is persist in doing the impossible... Like bankruptcy, societies and complex systems collapse slowly then all at once. The cycles that civilisations go through are well documented and whilst in hindsight it’s glaringly obvious to understand what drove the breakdown, in real time we are often too close and too invested trying t [...]

The European Commission says going back to internal border controls on a long-term basis is likely to cost €18 billion. This is just the direct cost and excludes possible secondary effects. “If a process is set in motion putting at risk the depth of economic integration, including the proper functioning of economic and monetary union, the medium-term indirect costs may be dramatically highe [...]

BERLIN (Sputnik) - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Thursday piled blame on US President Donald Trump for inciting his supporters to storm the seat of the American parliament, which left four people dead and a dozen injured. "Who, like Trump, spends years on incendiary rhetoric and constantly incites their supporters bears responsibility for this attack at the heart of the American d [...]

Former European Union and US Agency for International Development (USAID) advisor Paolo von Schirach said that the agreement between the United States and Russia to effect cessation of hostilities in Syria confirms that Moscow has emerged as the real power there. [...]