Its clear Russia throw Iran/Syria/Hezbollah under the bus by working with Israel like this, again, pathtic “friend”…
Russian ambassador confirms ‘agreement’ between Russia, Israel on Syria

Posted by: Zanon | Jun 3 2018 16:59 utc | 3

@4, Mike, the Washington Post a few months ago tried to blame AMLO on Russia, because a supporter of his, John Ackerman, a professor at UNAM, has a show on RT, and Ackerman’s wife has been promised a post on AMLO’s cabinet should he win. Clearly, he is a Russian spy! Facebook has also promised to fight “fake news” concerning the Mexican election: Mexicans of course can’t think for themselves and therefore must be protected from fake news.
It is interesting because AMLO is a very moderate, modest center-left reformer, but even this is too much for the US-led hegemonic order, and therefore AMLO is being and scare-mongered as an evil Chávez-like figure (of course, I would see another Chávez-like figure as a good thing!).
Hopefully AMLO maintains his wide margin enough that fraud is not an option, interesting times ahead for Latin America…

Posted by: George Lane | Jun 3 2018 17:50 utc | 5

Posted by: Zanon | Jun 3, 2018 12:59:50 PM | 3
(It’s clear Russia throw Iran/Syria/Hezbollah under the blah blah blah)
Cheer up Z. Take a break from doom & gloom and scan SST’s latest Russian Federation Sitrep May 31, 2018…
http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2018/05/russian-federation-sitrep-31-may-2018-by-patrick-armstrong.html
Putin is clearly doing a helluva lot more things right than the Christian Colonial Clowns (and their “Israeli” bosses).

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jun 3 2018 18:40 utc | 7

Posted by: Zanon | Jun 3, 2018 2:55:51 PM | 9
Don’t you think that preventing a war is in Hezbollah/Iran’s interest, too?

Posted by: somebody | Jun 3 2018 19:28 utc | 9

Interesting article by William Engdahl on the USA debt trap. Donald Chump and the GOP controlled congress are accelerating the fiscal collapse of the empire but deplorables would have us believe he’s a stable genius playing multi-dimensional chess. The neo-cohens surrounding Trump are experts in pump and dump bankruptcy operations. I wonder who deplorables will blame when the next crisis hits ? http://www.williamengdahl.com/englishNEO1Jun2018.php

Posted by: Augustin L | Jun 3 2018 19:57 utc | 11

somebody
“Don’t you think that preventing a war is in Hezbollah/Iran’s interest, too?”
Thats straight from zionist propaganda.
Israel is occupying Syrian territory, thats an act of war, Syria, Iran Hezbollah trying to take Syrian land back,
Apparently defending your nation is an act of war according to yourself and other zionists.

Posted by: Zanon | Jun 3 2018 20:42 utc | 13

Posted by: Zanon | Jun 3, 2018 4:42:10 PM | 13
I suppose when you are dead you won’t care. Real estate is not worth any life – emphasis on any life. Or do you believe god cares which nation wins a war?
Israel seems to have stopped to think it will be other people’s life only that will be lost. Or do you think they would negotiate if things looked good for them?

Posted by: somebody | Jun 3 2018 20:52 utc | 15

14 It needs to be discussed.
Israel has become strangely restrained recently, by the way.
This is ynet news.

Analysis: Seeking to turn the strip into Islamic State’s ‘Sinai district,’ radical Muslim organizations fired rockets at the Gaza vicinity communities Saturday night in a bid to get the Israeli army to enter the strip for another round of fighting. Meanwhile, the only reasonable solution as far as Israel is concerned is a long-term arrangement with Hamas.
…
Behind the scenes, therefore, Israel should save the Egyptians’ face but seek the involvement of other mediators, who are more skilled in negotiations and have the ability to secure investments in the strip if an arrangement is reached. I am particularly referring to European countries, including the Scandinavians and the Irish, who have already proved their negotiating skills although they are not particularly fond of us.
When it comes to negotiating with clients like Hamas and Islamic Jihad, even the Scandinavian and the Irish are possible mediators.

In other news Israel is burnt by incendiary kites from Gaza.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 3 2018 21:24 utc | 17

somebody
Its very simple Syria is occupied and they have the legal justifications to take their land back, with or without their allies in iran and lebanon, you clearly dont understand this and neither are israel apparently.

Posted by: Zanon | Jun 3 2018 21:59 utc | 19

IF the US pulls out of Al Tanf, Putin’s apparent backstabbing will look a little bit more like clever strategic thinking.
Then again, the Hegemon seems to be digging in deeper in the part of Syria that matters more, the part that the Hegemon seems determined to control permanently, the northeast. So perhaps it is more a matter of the US giving up something it didn’t really want in exchange for something really useful, that is, a precedent set that Syria does not have sovereignty, that its decisions are made for it by others, such as Putin and Netanyahu and -ultimately – the US.
The key is air power. Russia is selling powerful air defense to NEARLY EVERY COUNTRY THAT ATTACKED SYRIA! Now apparently Qatar is in line. Ok, let Putin show some real strategic thinking, thinking that he should have shown long ago, by providing top quality air defense to Syria and Iran. Also, let the SCO bring Iran in as a permanent member. But see, he won’t do any of that. Putin prefers to keep a choke collar on both Iran and Syria. He likes to keep his foot on their throats. Putin thinks that miring weaker countries in endless conflicts keeps them dependent, makes him powerful. So it appears anyway. But see, that’s exactly how the Hegemon and its vassals think. That is how Israel thinks. Putin’s backstabbing love for his ‘friends’ makes Putin irrelevant. He’s just a footnote in the rise of the Hegemon to global rule.
I suspect that there will be a time when Putin and Russia will regret how they treated friends and will find no consolation with the giant circle of fake friends they seem to be cultivating.

Posted by: paul | Jun 3 2018 22:10 utc | 21

23 :-))
Actually, Iran says Israel is spreading the rumour to “weaken the resistance”.
But Israel does have a problem it needs to solve urgently as Trump and Saudi seem to have cut all aid to Palestinians in Gaza and Jordan. Desperation makes people fight. So in all likelihood Israel is in talks and they have all the backchannels for it since the time of Iran Contra.
Angela Merkel pretends everything is going smoothly but it could mean a rerun of the 2015 “refugee crisis” in Europe – which was sparked by UNRWA running out of money to feed the refugee camps.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 3 2018 22:42 utc | 23

Zanon @ 3, 20: All that Russia and Israel have agreed to is that at some time in the near future, any Iranian forces near the Syrian-Israeli border will be leaving.
That is assuming Iran has any military forces near the Syrian-Israeli border in the first place. Do you know if there are any Iranian forces in the area?
If there happen to be none – because maybe all that Iran is doing is providing military advice and leadership to Syrian Arab Army forces, and it is the SAA and Hezbollah forces who are overseeing the area – then there is not much to worry about, is there? And deluded Israel is shooting its mouth off as usual, crowing about how it made the Russians blink.
That Syria is committed to taking back the Golan Heights is a project to be pursued at a later time, when Syrian forces are stronger and have the systems, equipment and munitions to back them up. The Syrians cannot afford at this time to defend that territory and they know it.

Posted by: Jen | Jun 3 2018 23:10 utc | 25

If Russia’s dealings with other players results in the unification of all Syrian territories, fine, if not then Z may have a point.
If these agreements result in the Balkaization of Syria, then Russia has truly surrendered to the empire..
Time will tell..

Posted by: ben | Jun 3 2018 23:54 utc | 27

Yeah, the news that AMLO has a growing lead has been so universally reported, that rigging the election would be obvious. No doubt, leading to yet another country torn apart by protests.
Nicaragua has been rocked by protests that the MSM blames on President Ortega’s plan to cut Social Security. But when I dug deeper, I found out that Ortega had refused an IMF loan, and proposed the cuts so Nicaragua wouldn’t be forced into the IMF debt spiral.
Of course, Venezuela’s protests get a lot of positive coverage in the US, but not getting much mention is that Brazil is experiencing everything we hear that Venezuela is, but it’s because of the neoliberal/Milton Friedman/Shock Doctrine economics of coup leader, Temer. And the people seem to be backing he trucker strike even though it’s caused shortages.
Meanwhile, IMF is busy in Jordan, too.
Several thousand protesters chanting anti-government slogans and calling for King Abdullah to dismiss Prime Minister Hani Mulki have been holding vigils near the cabinet office.
The protesters say a new tax bill backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will hurt the poor and middle class.
Jordanians have seen prices rise with salaries failing to keep up.
The government says it needs the money to fund public services and says the new tax bill will see higher earners pay more.

Posted by: Daniel | Jun 3 2018 23:59 utc | 29

somebody @ 10 said:”Don’t you think that preventing a war is in Hezbollah/Iran’s interest, too?”
I think the people in Syria would believe there’s already a war going on…
Securing Syria’s territorial integrity may be worth a wider war. If it were my home, I’d die to protect it. Many people already have.
Screw the empire and her sycophants..

Posted by: ben | Jun 4 2018 0:05 utc | 31

Daniel @ 30: Good and informative post, thanks.

Posted by: ben | Jun 4 2018 0:13 utc | 33

The marathon live stream in support of Julian Assange is still going strong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cTqkEsyAKo. They’re over 24 hours now. Surprise guest Jimmy Dore is live at the moment.

Posted by: S | Jun 4 2018 0:18 utc | 35

Ghost Ship @ 27: Shaun-of-the-Dead Walker and Alex Luhn-y might be a little more circumspect in future reporting about Ukraine but I doubt very much that any lessons The Fraudian should learn from the Babchenko hoax murder stunt will sink into its collective mindset.
More likely The Fraudian will stay away from Banderastan for a while until the whole stunt is forgotten and then it’s back to the usual Russia-bashing business.
We must remember The Fraudian churnalists have memories worse than the proverbial goldfish.

Posted by: Jen | Jun 4 2018 0:39 utc | 37

I forgot to note that when Jordan says “the new tax bill will see higher earners pay more,” they’re describing “trickle down” VooDoo Economics.
Also, I guess the putsch regime in Honduras has slaughtered enough dissidents that the protests have stopped there. But the whole world is on the verge.
France has been holding protests nearly every week for like two years. Austerity. Police violence. Escalating the war against Syria. And they have the “anti-refugee” protests we see in many other European countries, too.
TPTSB are tearing us apart.

Posted by: Daniel | Jun 4 2018 1:19 utc | 39

Pretty slow recently aside for events that serve mainly to distract. Calm before the storm me thinks. Bilderbergers meeting next week in Italy of all places. Things should heat up soon with the Kim-Trump meeting and World Cup following , and Israel likes to stir things up in the 6th month of the year and seem to have cleared whats to come with Putin.

Posted by: Pft | Jun 4 2018 1:45 utc | 41

@ Daniels who wrote: “TPTSB are tearing us apart.”
Au contraire my friend. The elite are tearing themselves apart and hurting many of “us” as they try and stay relevant in the evolving world.
All the trade and territorial bluster from Trump does not signal empire ascendency. When you have a grifter TV showman as the front for empire who surrounds himself with puppets with vacuous or no morals except allegiance to the God of Mammon, what makes it look like they are “winning”?
Dying empire is violating one of Voltaire’s precepts of “Act, but stay apart from action.”
I admit that the show is going on way longer than most of patience can endure but the beast of empire has to fail itself as we see it doing. It is failing by not providing a collective vision for humanity that all can embrace and it no longer can force its God of Mammon religion on everyone. China et al are providing a much more compelling vision form society and the scales are tipping…..
Global public finance cannot come to soon for me but I will wait and watch empire die of its anti-humanistic tenets so we don’t have to pretend or argue with zealots raving that they have merit.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 4 2018 2:20 utc | 43

@44 psychohistorian
Thanks for your comment au contraire to Daniel. Indeed, the elite are tearing themselves apart, and we are merely the collateral damage – nothing personal.
You said “…the show is going on way longer than most of patience can endure but…” and I will differ slightly to say that I love the timescale. I find it incredibly fast. But not scary. As I’ve said before, there was a time a mere few years ago when we all feared the fall of empire. But now it seems as if a barrel of honey has been poured into the cog wheels that allows the fall to come down almost vertically and yet soundless, and with no dust, and avoiding innocent villages in the falling, and with all around the minimum of death.
Honestly, I praise this mechanism, whatever it is. And I don’t pretend to understand it. But I have the charts and prognoses from a year ago, two years, three, and four. The patient has made a remarkable non-recovery, and may die long before the original forecasts. A miracle.

Posted by: Grieved | Jun 4 2018 4:21 utc | 45

Anybody notice the bollocks from Sky News , actually giving credence to a supposed counter terror detective who says that the poison must have been dabbed on Skripal’s doorknob when he was away at Heathrow picking up Yulia
https://news.sky.com/story/skripal-poisoning-police-must-be-prepared-for-obstruction-in-russia-11391520
Amnesia has set in already. It was Ross Cassidy who picked up Yulia, it took 2 weeks after for his car to be picked up for possible “decontamination”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5847350/car-russian-spy-sergei-skripal-daughter-yulia/
Does anyone else find this utter nonsense and lack of fact checking both insulting and worrisome.? There is no longer any effort being put in to the deliberate disinformation

Posted by: francesca | Jun 4 2018 5:48 utc | 47

I forgot to note that when Jordan says “the new tax bill will see higher earners pay more,” they’re describing “trickle down” VooDoo Economics.
…
TPTSB are tearing us apart.
Posted by: Daniel | Jun 3, 2018 9:19:45 PM | 40
Sorry to nitpick, but although Trickle Down = Voodoo Economics, obliging higher earners to pay more tax is the opposite of TD/VE. Trickle Down is the demonstrably fraudlent Neolib ‘promise’ used as the standard excuse for REDUCING taxes on the wealthy.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Jun 4 2018 6:10 utc | 49

@Jordan
The kingdom is indeed in a tight spot. It is not only the people that are being squeezed but also corporations and prominent exponents of business and industry.
The equation looks ugly.
On one hand –
Jordan’s economy produces little that is of interest to foreign markets.
Jordan used to be the purveyor of skilled human capital to the Gulf states (doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers, architects and managers) and remittances were a significant chunk of the economy.
The Kingdom’s armed services still enjoy a large degree of respect in the Middle East and Jordan has leveraged this reputation in recent years to help regional potentates stay in power.
Agricultural exports are holding their own although this comes at a cost to the state in the form of water subsidies
On the other hand –
Since the first Gulf war and increasingly since the second Gulf war, many Jordanians have returned home to an economy that cannot absorb them and make use of their skills
Many other Jordanians from Europe and the USA have returned too
Jordan’s traditional role as mediator between Arab states and Israel is increasingly unnecessary as regional countries have established direct links with the Hebrew state.
Saudi Arabia has recently stopped both their financial support and their oil grants to the kingdom
Although the USA initially threatened to withhold their financial support, it eventually was approved but the arrangement may be shaky
As if that was not bad enough –
Jordan runs a grossly bloated public sector.
Healthcare and welfare costs are out of control
Debt to GDP is approaching 100% (depending on how you count of course)
60% of the Jordanian population is under the age of 30 and largely unemployed
—
In a desperate effort to boost fiscal revenues, the state is implementing a very aggressive tax collection strategy targeted largely at high net worth individuals and their companies.
Substantial retroactive fines and penalties are being applied liberally across sectors with threats of jail time
Predictably this is resulting in a flight of capital and, I suspect, a collapse of fiscal revenue
Put it all together –
Unless something drastic happens soon, this time is different for Jordan
Of course, like in Europe and the West in general, what needs to be done will not be done and everyone is hoping for an exogenous solution.
Arithmetically speaking however, not all countries can expect to receive an exogenous solution neither in the West nor around the world. Many, if not most, will be hung out to dry.
The rise of the exchange value of the US$ guarantees that any country that has sold sovereign debt in US$ will be thrown under the bus in coming months.

Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 4 2018 9:12 utc | 51

Actually re 53, I can’t think of any greater error that Israel could make than taking over Jordan (other than nuking Europe, which is in the plans). It would give them a wide open desert frontier, impossible to defend against infiltrating jihadis. Any such plan would certainly be refused by the military.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 4 2018 9:45 utc | 53

@55
Jordan’s position has changed. The Gulf states no longer need an intermediary nor do they need (want) Jordanian labor.

Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 4 2018 10:27 utc | 55

And, frankly, the current king had no choice. It was either go along or have a color revolution on its hands

Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 4 2018 10:38 utc | 57

@59
Indeed, if you belong to the school of thought that money is “owed to ourselves” then, yes, Debt to GDP is irrelevant.

Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 4 2018 11:08 utc | 59

Zanon @ 47:
I have rechecked your link to Al Masdar’s tweet and followed the link that the tweets links to and this is what the agreement between Russia and Israel is about:
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-ambassador-confirms-agreement-between-russia-israel-on-syria/
‘… The Russian Ambassador to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, told journalists on Friday that there is an agreement between his nation and Israel regarding the removal of Iranian forces from the Syrian-Israeli border.
“I can’t respond whether the agreement is already being implemented on the ground, but the sides involved in the process are satisfied. If it hasn’t happened on the ground yet, it will in the near future,” he said, according to Yediot Aharonot.
Nebenzya could not specify if the agreement was made during the Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s recent visit to Moscow …’
Now since, according to the Fars News Agency and Sputnik (links to their articles at my earlier comment @ 43)- Iranian and Russian media outlets respectively – Iran’s assistance to Syria consists of military advisors, that must mean there are no Iranian troops currently on Syrian territory near the Israeli border. I bet Nebenzya was talking with the straightest of straight faces.
Russia and Israel either basically agreed on nothing or Israel is talking up BS to give the impression that it is staring down the Russians. It is very easy for Russia to say, yes, Iran will have no troops in the area – because there never were any Iranian soldiers in the area in the first place.
The more Israel carries on about non-existent Iranian troops near the Golan Heights, the more stupid it looks.
Best not go down that rabbit hole with Israel.

Posted by: Jen | Jun 4 2018 11:15 utc | 61

The diference now is that nutty wants to ensure he stays in power in israel despite the ‘do-gooder’ (in their dreams) puritans wanting to take him down for corruption which extends far beyond the scams pulled by sharon or shamir, even mr military procurement kickback Dyan whose scams were pitiful in comparison to the bibi-adelson land grab rorts.
To stay in power nutty needs regular conflict (which he has) tied into ‘wins’ for the deluded ignorantly superstitous orthodox dummies. Now that amerika has ‘given’ them all of jerusalem, the likudniks need something else.
The amerikans don’t appear to be over the moon about giving the arseholes the green light to take over golan and anyway that is already an on the ground fact as far as the zionists are concerned but grabbing complete control of ‘the temple on the mount’ or whatever was the lame name for the sh1tbox shack which the hebrew ruling elite abandoned, when they scarpered & left ordinary jordan valley humans behind. Ordinary humans who eventually became believers in Islam and constructed a truly grand mosque, the only mosque other than Ka’abah, mentioned in the Quran. This mosque, al Aqusa, was constructed on the site of the long abandoned four be two shanty hangout, which the four be two’s had knocked up then deserted.
Now the indigenous population are about to get ripped yet again, when bibi uses the purloining of a really holy site to ingratiate himself. with the orthodox drongos.
There is no chance of getting a stunt like that through the UN even with wilfully ignorant amerikan support because even amerika/israeli puppets of saudi arabia won’t wear it. Palestine’s long suffering under zionism, christian community have united with their indigenous muslim bretheren and demanded that nutty’s nonsense cease.
Of course there is no way in the world the ‘chosen people’ are ever going to accede to the wishes of ‘filthy ay-rabs’, so they are planning on punishing for what they consider to be Jordan’s unwarranted interference.
The fact that Jordan’s barely tolerated & heavily suppressed opposition had demanded Jordan properly stand up to the zionist megalomaniacal adventurism over al Aqusa has played like a red rag to a bull. Nutty will “show em whois boss” by staging a provocation via false flag mercs the zionists have been siccing on to all and sundry in Syria, then sending in the IDF to stop terrorists butcher all military age Jordanians.
Jordan’s military is capable but the englanders have been deliberately denying Jordan access to latest war tech since the 21st century kicked off.

Posted by: Debsisdead | Jun 4 2018 11:27 utc | 63

65 It is GTZ and they have been in Jordan for more than 40 years. I did not notice they got any budget rise to counter UNWRA cuts – their goal is very different, they are supposed to transfer technology (and create German business opportunities), UNWRA is about feeding people.

Posted by: somebody | Jun 4 2018 12:27 utc | 65

re Debs

Jordan’s military is capable but the englanders have been deliberately denying Jordan access to latest war tech since the 21st century kicked off.

Not that new – since the days of the mandate in the 1920s.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 4 2018 12:39 utc | 67

It used to be GTZ it is now GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH;)
Although they have been in Jordan for many years, recently their activities have dramatically expanded. Today GIZ not only implements programs financed by Germany but they also implement EU programs.
There is a whole constellation of old and new NGOs that have made their way to Jordan in the past 5 years and more keep coming every week.
Be that as it may.
I am not so sanguine that nothing has changed for Jordan.
I feel something has changed dramatically. In particular, this new unrelenting aggressiveness on the part of the state towards both corporations and the people is counterproductive and does not bode well.

Posted by: guidoamm | Jun 4 2018 13:49 utc | 69

YetAnotherAnon
Actually it very easy, Russia should stop helping Israel keep its occupation of Syria and stop approving their attacks on Syria. Above all they should stop trying to get Hezbollah/Iran “out” of Syria.

Posted by: Zanon | Jun 4 2018 14:30 utc | 71

YetAnotherAnon
Since Russia is attacking ISIS, Syria is of course happy with their effort. This issue I am talking about is related to the Golan heights and Israel.

Posted by: Zanon | Jun 4 2018 15:08 utc | 73

The agreement on the Golan Line between Russia and Israel is as follows: Russia will prevent Hezbollah and any Iranian troops from participating in the SAA’s retaking of SW Syria, and Israel will not interfere with the SAA.
Although, as usual, the U.S. disagrees with both Russia/Israel…Says “we must keep the pressure on Assad.” Looks like a good cop/bad cop routine to me…Russian strategy/tactics are typically several miles deeper than the U.S.

Posted by: kgw | Jun 4 2018 15:32 utc | 75

Debsisdead@29 – American translation help for this wonderful phrase, “…to clag up the despicable graun…”
clag up is clear, but graun? Nickname for the Observer or is this something like muck up the works referring to the organization (or readers)?

Posted by: PavewayIV | Jun 4 2018 16:14 utc | 77

deal or no deal? e j magniers latest from yesterday..

Posted by: james | Jun 4 2018 17:05 utc | 79

james @ 80: enlightening article, thanks for the link..

Posted by: ben | Jun 4 2018 17:50 utc | 81

JUNE 4, 2018
Sacrificing Gaza: The Great March of Zionist Hypocrisy
by JIM KAVANAGH
Full article from Counterpunch:
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/06/04/sacrificing-gaza-the-great-march-of-zionist-hypocrisy/

Posted by: ben | Jun 4 2018 18:06 utc | 83

You have to wonder what is going to happen to the USA once they can not threaten the entire world. Will international law finally be applied?
https://viableopposition.blogspot.com/

Posted by: Bakerpete | Jun 4 2018 18:55 utc | 85

– There’s one other country (besides Turkey) that’s about to descend into a financial crisis: Australia. After a credit bubble of about 17 years now the moment has come that australians no longer
https://wolfstreet.com/2018/06/03/housing-bubbles-in-sydney-melbourne-deflate/
https://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2018/06/mortgage-rejections-soar-to-40-of-applications-as-lti-capped/
Quote from the last web article: “…. credit is harder to get…. ”

Posted by: Willy2 | Jun 4 2018 20:06 utc | 87

re 78
Graun(iad) is a reference to the Guardian’s poor reputation for correct typesetting.
By the way, the peaceful survival of the Hashemite dynasty is an absolute requirement for Israel’s security. If nobody else can be found to fund the necessary subsidies for the Jordanian government (they will never ever reach financial equilibrium; it’s impossible), then the US will have to pay. There will be a lot of argy-bargy, but they’ll pay in the end. Trump just hasn’t understood. Trump may want to cut UNWRA, to punish the Palestinians, but there’ll be a quick change of tune, once the Israelis tell him there’s a serious prospect of revolution in Jordan.

Posted by: Laguerre | Jun 4 2018 20:33 utc | 89

James. @ 89
Time will tell ! Being an optimist I’d like to think he’s showing a bit of sane muscle,as a sobering influence. Around (as you say) insane (and i’l add) bully’s.
From my memory of the school yard that was the best plan for all concerned! Of course the fear is the new muscle does not turn into the next bully, most times not, everyone backs down!! We can but hope.
P.s shocking enough that I have to compare global affairs to a playground !!!

Posted by: Mark2 | Jun 4 2018 20:56 utc | 91

Mina @ 93
I spent a whole day full on catching up with Yemen the other day. Dear god sometimes I dispair ! What has mankind become! It gave nightmares. I truly hate my government for there part in it. The phrase ‘we are human too’ came to mind. But I believe in karma, one day it will be are turn to cry that phrase!!!

Posted by: Mark2 | Jun 4 2018 21:42 utc | 93

The move away from the Petrodollar looks to be gathering pace. How will the Hegemon react? What can it do? Sanction everyone until only the Brits, the Israelis, the Aussies and Canada are left with their crappy stock-market vampire economies?
From today’s (Mon) Global Research: Failures of the Petro Dollar? by True Publica:
“Executive director of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) Caleb Fundanga said at a forum for financial experts earlier in the week had agreed that there was need to use the Chinese yuan as a reserve currency because China was playing an active role in their economies.
The forum was attended by deputy central bank governors and deputy permanent secretaries of finance from 14 countries that fall under MEFMI.
“The general conclusion is that we should use the yuan more because its time has come. We are doing more business (with China) so it’s natural that we use the currency of the country with which we are trading.
“Just the way we have been using the (U.S.) dollar and the Euro, we want to use the Chinese currency more in our transactions because it is to our benefit,” Fundanga said.

Posted by: Lochearn | Jun 4 2018 23:10 utc | 95

Petrodollar has plenty of legs left IMO. US is soon to be the top energy exporter. Chinas policy of devaluation makes it less of a safe haven than the USD. Also besides oil/energy purchases, 90% of foreign currency transactions and 80% of international finance transactions are conducted in USD. Not to mention the drug trade whose dollars are funneled through tax havens to the international banksters , and arms deals not to mention food exports. Furthermore, while China may wish to see the RMB be a bigger player on the global stage, their USD investments are substantial enough that they dont wish to threaten the dollar too much. Their economy benefits from the Petrodollar still.
China is a member of the BIS which largely sets the limits of exchange rates for the major players and enforced by the worlds central banks
BIS has China as among the economies most at risk of a banking crisis, according to their early-warning indicators although some progress in derisking has been made of late. Thats enough to scare off many countries from dumping the dollar and rushing to the RMB
People have been claiming the dollar will collapse for decades. The Euro was supposed to kill it, the increasing deficits and debt was supposed to kill it, and now the RMB. It may happen bit such a collapse will only occur by design to the benefit the elites who run such things
So countries having few options or trying to skirt sanctions or secure loans outside the strong arm of the IMF, alternatives to the USD may be desirable, but thats it. Wont hurt the Petrodollar much, but if it anyone becomes a threat to the Petrodollar remember Libya and Iraq. More than one way for these guys to skin a cat.

Posted by: Pft | Jun 4 2018 23:51 utc | 97

@ Daniel who writes that I said no actions were needed to end the rule of Mammon.
I only have the example of how I live my life to share with others and trust that my actions meet your criteria for the world you want to live in….I try. And I see myself as an actor in a bigger play, but one I have little if any “control” over.
The leaders of China and Russia are more prominent actors in that bigger play and they are leading their countries to “stand-up-to” the God of Mammon religion. The are acting on my behalf and for others of our species that share the common enemy of Mammon.
I do what I can to support their actions and suggest you do the same……….”Act, but stay apart from action.” (Voltaire)
And please attack the system structure and not current individuals or groups you see pulling the levers….thanks!

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 5 2018 0:05 utc | 99