As Empires decline the course of their failures is rarely noted until history is written and hindsight allows perfect vision.
This article by Steven Sahiounie, on the Mideast Discourse, claims that the disaster in Syria has united the Arab world.
He cites the aid which has been sent to Damascus “On Tuesday, a plane landed from Saudi Arabia at the Aleppo International Airport, carrying 35 tons of humanitarian aid. Aid to Damascus also arrived from: China, Russia, Algeria, Iraq, Iran, UAE, Bangladesh, Libya, Belarus, Jordan, Cuba, Venezuela, Tunisia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Cyprus, Hungary, India, and Sudan…”
He adds that
“Italy sent two planeloads of aid to Beirut, Lebanon to be transported to Syria by land. This demonstrates the extreme fear that western allies of the US have of the sanctions. By sending the aid to Lebanon, which is not sanctioned, Italy feels more comfortable that the US Treasury will not issue massive penalties against them…”
And then notes
“The US, the EU, and all US allies such as Canada have sent nothing to Syria for the earthquake-ravaged zones of Latakia and Aleppo. According to America, the European Union, the United Kingdom, and the allies of the US, there is no place called Syria. There is only a small, rural agricultural province called Idlib. Syria is 10,000 years old, and Damascus and Aleppo both tie as the undisputed oldest inhabited cities on earth. But the great minds in Washington, DC. only acknowledge the tiny area called Idlib. The terrorist-controlled Idlib is suffering, and has innocent unarmed civilians in need of help; however, Latakia, and Aleppo are far bigger and have sustained more deaths, injuries, and structural damages than Idlib. The US and the west have used politics to judge who gets helped, and who is forgotten. The Syrian people will never forget this….”
Nor will people around the globe. History will record that this moral failing, this outrageous failure of the “West” was a major stepping stone on imperialism’s descent to oblivion.
https://newcoldwar.org/the-syrian-earthquake-has-united-the-arab-world/

Posted by: bevin | Feb 21 2023 5:40 utc | 103

This is the list of people who are not allowed to travel in the European Union. Sorted by country, one sees the travel ban is heavily skewed towards Russia.
571 RUSSIAN FEDERATION
406 AFGHANISTAN
275 BELARUS
254 SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC
183 IRAN (ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF)
180 UKRAINE
It would be interesting to have a map of the world, with countries colored brighter according to the number of people sanctioned. If one of the forum readers is handy with graphics…

Posted by: Passerby | Feb 21 2023 8:02 utc | 105

bevin | Feb 21 2023 5:40 utc | 104
Italy sent two planeloads of aid to Beirut, Lebanon to be transported to Syria by land. This demonstrates the extreme fear that western allies of the US have of the sanctions
Yes, as I posted the other day, Marwa Osman excoriates this cowardice in no uncertain terms. I think it’s true that the disaster in Syria has united the Arab world, that new and improved liaisons are in the offing, tectonic shifts, if you will. Of course a pan-Arab world is just another fearsome possibility for our dreary overlords, so hostile to culture as they are.
Hopefully, as Marwa concludes, “Unprecedented events are taking place in occupied Palestine, and we are looking at a very, VERY, decisive year.”
Insha’Allah.

Posted by: john | Feb 21 2023 11:18 utc | 107

Posted by: bevin | Feb 21 2023 4:19 utc | 100
They spent a long time (SPD, Linke, Greens) trying to remove Maassen as Head of German Counter-Intelligence (Verfassungsschutz) until Merkel obliged. Now they want him out of CDU because he is a conservative out of touch with the Zeitgeist.
The AfD outlier – Bjorn Hoecke is a teacher from Hesse on extended leave because he is a Beamter.
SPD is run by cretins like Faeser – daughter of a Hesse politician with a very dubious reputation herself and loathed in Hesse……….who want to create a New Left Era akin to Weimar Republic………..they hope to install their own at every level before being ejected much as the University Trotskyite Tony Blair did in UK with his Popular Front regime

Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Feb 21 2023 13:15 utc | 109

With the original text in Dutch, translation in your language of choice is provided by the ‘Google translate’ tool in the top right corner.
Posted by: Paul-Robert | Feb 21 2023 13:59 utc | 112
RE Holslag: It would be interesting to know who pays him.
Thank you for your comment.

Posted by: Bemildred | Feb 21 2023 15:14 utc | 111

On the subject of AI, this youtube video I think correctly identifies, or rather charts, the true application of AI.
For context, the video was originally a non-playable scene from a 20 year-old video game called Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. If your eyes are glazing over reading this, know that its creator, Hideo Kojima, is a genuine artist who is widely-considered to be the finest creator of interactive games in the world.
This linked video has been updated, meaning the dialogue has been changed to better reflect the question that is the military application of ostensibly “AI technology.”
Originally, back in the early 2000s when this game was released, the scene addressed how the incredible amount of information had led to an inane society that needed a government response to decide what the public should actually know. Iow, a government of total obscurantism.
So have fun with your consumer-based AI applications. But don’t fool yourself that this is either for our benefit or that it is even true intelligence. Rather, it seems that the thesis of the linked video is more likely the true intent: total digital control of your identity and complete censorship of anything they don’t want you to know.

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Feb 22 2023 4:49 utc | 113

From Xinhuanet about China/Egypt relationship

CAIRO, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) — Egypt looks forward to attracting more investments from China through further improving the investment environment in the most populous Arab country, Egyptian officials and business leaders told a recent seminar held in the Egyptian capital of Cairo.
The China-Egypt Entrepreneur Seminar, hosted on Monday by the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association, was attended by China’s Ambassador to Cairo Liao Liqiang and about 130 representatives from Chinese and Egyptian enterprises, financial institutions, as well as trade and investment promotion agencies.
The seminar focused on the promotion of Chinese investments in Egypt under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the implementation of the outcomes of the first China-Arab States Summit held in Saudi Arabia in December last year.
Speaking at the seminar, Hossam Heiba, the CEO of the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones of Egypt, praised Chinese enterprises’ deep involvement in the Egyptian market, their extensive participation in the construction of projects in various fields in Egypt, and their significant contribution to promoting Egypt’s economic and social development as well as its industrialization process.
Egypt looks forward to further strengthening cooperation with China and attracting more Chinese investments, especially in participating in the construction of key projects which will improve Egyptian people’s livelihood, employment and industrial localization, Heiba said.
“The Egyptian side will further improve the investment environment by revising the investment law, simplifying investment procedures, speeding up the approval process, actively coordinating and solving the difficulties faced by Chinese enterprises investing in Egypt,” he said.
Ayman Kamel, the Egyptian assistant minister of foreign affairs for Asian affairs, said that the political mutual trust between Egypt and China has been continuously consolidated, laying a solid foundation for enhancing practical cooperation in various fields.
“The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will continue to play an active coordinating role and provide more support and convenience for the economic, trade and investment cooperation between Egypt and China,” he said.
China’s optimization and adjustment of its epidemic prevention measures provides an important new opportunity for Egypt and China to expand economic, trade and investment cooperation and exchanges, said Magd El-Manzalawi, secretary general of the Egyptian Businessmen’s Association.
“We are looking forward to strengthening exchanges and visits with Chinese enterprises and business associations and looking forward to more Chinese friends investing in Egypt,” he said.
In his keynote speech to the seminar, Ambassador Liao said that China will continue to firmly pursue mutually beneficial and win-win opening-up policies, and promote high-level opening-up and high-quality development of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road,” which provide new opportunities for countries including Egypt.
The Chinese ambassador briefed the participants on China’s current economic situation, noting that the overall situation of epidemic prevention and control in China is stable and improving.
“It is highly likely that China’s economic growth rate will reach a normal level in 2023. The keyword for China’s economic development is stabilization and recovery,” he said.
Reviewing the achievements of the China-Egypt economic and trade cooperation in recent years, Liao emphasized that the core of such cooperation is mutual benefit and win-win results.
The joint BRI construction is highly compatible with Egypt’s 2030 Vision, he said, adding that China will strengthen coordination with Egypt on implementing the nine programs announced at the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and the eight major cooperation initiatives proposed at the China-Arab States Summit.
Egyptian entrepreneurs are welcome to participate in the 6th China International Import Expo to be held in Shanghai, China in November this year, Liao said.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 22 2023 6:53 utc | 115

Team Jorge is looking after your election.
Source: http://www.defenddemocracy.press/israelis-meddling-in-33-elections-building-a-totalitarian-world-order/

The unit is run by Tal Hanan, a 50-year-old former Israeli special forces operative who now works privately using the pseudonym “Jorge”, and appears to have been working under the radar in elections in various countries for more than two decades.
He is being unmasked by an international consortium of journalists. Hanan and his unit, which uses the codename “Team Jorge”, have been exposed by undercover footage and documents leaked to the Guardian.
Hanan did not respond to detailed questions about Team Jorge’s activities and methods but said: “I deny any wrongdoing.”
The investigation reveals extraordinary details about how disinformation is being weaponised by Team Jorge, which runs a private service offering to covertly meddle in elections without a trace. The group also works for corporate clients.
Hanan told the undercover reporters that his services, which others describe as “black ops”, were available to intelligence agencies, political campaigns and private companies that wanted to secretly manipulate public opinion. He said they had been used across Africa, South and Central America, the US and Europe.
One of Team Jorge’s key services is a sophisticated software package, Advanced Impact Media Solutions, or Aims. It controls a vast army of thousands of fake social media profiles on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Telegram, Gmail, Instagram and YouTube. Some avatars even have Amazon accounts with credit cards, bitcoin wallets and Airbnb accounts.

etc etc,.
I am intrigued that this undercover work was done for, and reported in, The Guardian. I assume the good Team Jorge has mightily offended MI6 or Integrity Initiative or Institute for Statecraft etc. Perhaps they posted sex toys there too in a discredit campaign. Time might tell us more.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 22 2023 8:55 utc | 117

the economist
I have a number of friends who consider themselves “progressive” ie, anti-war and who hate Putin. It’s personal. Some almost brag that they read the Economist, the Guardian and watch/listen to the BBC. Our friendships are strained and maybe some are broken. So I did a little test to try and understand what’s in their heads– I searched for “Putin the Economist”, then clicked on “image”. Revealing to me. Same with “AMLO the Economist”, and others whom my friends don’t like anymore.
Try it if you have time and want to understand your friends if they read these kinds of publications. I might do this with them together. We’ll see how that works out!

Posted by: migueljose | Feb 22 2023 15:27 utc | 119

“The Economist magazine was spun off of an private intelligence operation run by the Rothschild’s, the Economist Intelligence Unit.” too scents@123
I’m sorry but that is not true. It was founded in 1843 to campaign against the Corn Laws and for Free Trade. You are right that one of the minor shareholders is a Rothschild but the controlling interest is owned by the FIAT family-the Agnellis.
The Economist Intelligence Unit was founded in 1946.

Posted by: bevin | Feb 22 2023 16:01 utc | 121

Is anybody still reading this? There are so many other threads on top of this one.
I just came across the name of Eduard Limonov, a Soviet writer. Anybody of you guys here familiar with him? Could you tell me what to expect from him, and maybe what book would be a good start?
Thanks!

Posted by: Scotch Bingeington | Feb 22 2023 16:58 utc | 123

“…I was rather certain the the EIU began as a banking intelligence service similar to today’s Bloomberg, but somehow also grew out of (or parallel to) governmental agencies in the shadow of WWII.”
too scents@125
I am sure that you are right about that.
In 1946 capitalism was very unloved in the UK and those, like The Economist, who believed in it organised in its defence, both in terms of ideas, the magazine became scrupulous and authoritative (it no longer is) and in practical ways. The EIU was designed to help businesses thrive in difficult conditions.
I forget the figures but taxes on profits, unearned incomes and salaries in both the US and the UK were very steep and very progressive.

Posted by: bevin | Feb 22 2023 21:24 utc | 125

Some more reading for those that need sleep or just something legitimate to whine and scream about.
February 21: https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/02/credit-suisse-tanks-to-new-intraday-lows-as-wall-street-mega-banks-mysteriously-shake-off-the-contagion-effect/

The shares of Credit Suisse can’t find a bottom. They plunged to a new intraday low this morning in Europe to trade at the equivalent of $2.79 – down over 6 percent from their previous close.
Sparking the continued exodus out of Credit Suisse shares is the growing concern that the exodus of client assets from Credit Suisse has not found a floor. Reuters is reporting this morning that the Swiss financial regulator, FINMA, is investigating remarks made by Credit Suisse Group Chairman Axel Lehmann to the media in early December, which suggested that client asset outflows had stabilized. Simple math indicated they had not.
When Credit Suisse reported its earnings results in early February, CEO Ulrich Koerner had told Wall Street analysts that 85 percent of the client asset outflows in the last quarter of 2022 had occurred in October and November. That meant that approximately 15 percent of the outflows came in December.
And yet, Reuters reported that Lehmann had told the Financial Times in an interview that appeared online on December 1 that following the asset outflows in October, they had “completely flattened out” and “partially reversed.”

February 22: https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/02/these-charts-scared-the-stock-market-into-a-700-point-drop-yesterday/

The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 697 points by the closing bell yesterday, wiping out all of its gains this year. Here’s a rundown of what happened.
At 2 p.m. ET today, the Federal Reserve will release the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting it held on January 31 and February 1. The stock market is particularly skittish on the day prior to the release of those minutes, out of concern that an overly hawkish tone on interest rates will tank stocks.
Given that skittishness, all the stock market needed for a major selloff was a trigger. It got that when Bloomberg News published this headline at 1:36 a.m. in the morning: Morgan Stanley Says S&P 500 Could Drop 26% in Months.
Morgan Stanley’s opinion matters for two main reasons: it has just shy of 16,000 stockbrokers (a/k/a “Financial Advisors”) who typically pitch the firm’s playbook to their clients; and it is a major prime broker to hedge funds who will get a boost from a negative outlook if they are shorting stocks.

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Feb 23 2023 1:41 utc | 127

Posted by: migueljose | Feb 22 2023 15:27 utc | 122
The Guardian’s defense of Zionism makes me sick.
I’d rather watch ft than the Economist. The former at least has some information and ideas about a part of the bourgeoisie, the latter has nothing to read but propaganda.
For information on liberals I’d rather read articles from the Brookings Institution than the Guardian.

Posted by: Colin | Feb 23 2023 9:15 utc | 129

Light Sleeper@133
If you really want to communicate with Bernhard you may do so through his email address. But you don’t. Your rude and silly posts are designed to insult and offend.
This is the literary equivalent of the thuggery that your fellow Zelensky supporters practise on Ukraine.

Posted by: bevin | Feb 23 2023 10:09 utc | 131

Just an add-on to @ 137
Maybe this in part explains the recent news coverage of that shark fighting a dog in the Bahamas.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/daring-dog-jumps-into-water-and-scuffles-with-12-foot-hammerhead-shark-in-the-bahamas-1.6282636
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11771343/Shark-v-Dog-Astonishing-moment-12ft-hammerhead-attacked-Bahamas-pup-tourists-watch-on.html

Posted by: Bruised Northerner | Feb 23 2023 13:50 utc | 133