Autor: João

Diplomacy

Por | 9 dez, 2018 | , |

Waste of Time with Washington   Stephen Lendman Dec. 6, 2018   The US is a serial lawbreaker, operating by its own rules, no others. Time and again, it flagrantly breaches international treaties, Security Council resolutions, and other rule of law principles, including its own Constitution. Diplomacy with Republicans and undemocratic Dems is an exercise in futility. Trump’s JCPOA pullout and threatened INF Treaty withdrawal show Washington can never be trusted. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s proposed US outreach to discuss INF Treaty bilateral differences is well intended – despite knowing nothing is accomplished when talks with Washington are held, so why bother. It’s just a matter of time before the US breaches another promise. They’re hollow when made. Kremlin good intentions aren’t enough to overcome US duplicity and implacable hostility toward Russia. “We are ready to continue the dialogue in appropriate formats on the entire range of problems related to this document on the basis of professionalism and mutual respect, without putting forward unsubstantiated accusations and ultimatums. Our proposals are well known and remain on the negotiating table,” said Zakharova, adding: “We have admitted (US) documents for further consideration. This text again includes accusations in the form of unfounded and unsubstantiated information about Russia’s alleged violations of this deal.” Comments to Washington like the above and similar remarks are like talking to a wall. The US demands...

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George H. W. Bush v. Noam Chomsky

Por | 4 dez, 2018 | |

A Killer Dies, a Teacher Lives   Paul Street Dec. 3, 2018   A Humble Man Who Liked to Wear Socks The obsequious praise of the life and legacy of the now deceased mad-dog killer George H. W. Bush (1924-2018) on the supposedly liberal and left cable networks CNN and MSNBC this last weekend was really something. Some of this historical ass-kissing was practically comedic.  I heard the power-worshipping “presidential historian” and occasional plagiarist Doris Kearns-Goodwin fondly recall getting stuck in the Bush’s Kennebunkport toilet. Daddy Bush graciously broke the bathroom lock with a hammer and then told Kearns-Goodwin, “well, at least you write well.”  A special memory! Kearns-Goodwin also lovingly remembered that both Bush and her husband enjoyed “wearing socks.” On their feet? Who knew? We saw a clip from the junior mad-dog killer George W. Bush43 remembering that the senior Bush41 reached out and touched his hand after Dubya gave a speech at a memorial service in the wake of the 9/11 jetliner attacks.  It was an act of “fatherly love” that Bush Junior could never forget. MSNBC fake-progressive commentator and Obama fanatic Jonathan Alter praised Daddy Bush for writing nice personal notes to people – not nasty Tweets like a certain orange president today. (Even Trump himself got some semi-praise for calling Bush41 “a wonderful guy who loved his family.” It was almost as if the...

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Trade War

Por | 4 dez, 2018 | , |

The China trade reality show   David P. Goldman Dec. 4, 2018   For at least a month, there has been no doubt that Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping would agree to agree at the Buenos Aires summit. The threats, remonstrations and hints of high officials were for the most part scripted. Buenos Aires was less negotiation than reality show. When the dust settles, America and China will have a deal that allows Trump to claim victory and allows China to become the world’s dominant economy. Two things changed to bring America and China back to negotiations. First, Trump learned that he was in the position of the Lord High Executioner in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Mikado,” that is, “he can’t cut off another’s head until he’s cut his own off.” Trade war with China contributed to the correction in the S&P 500, which lost 10% peak-to-trough through last Wednesday. It also produced so much uncertainty about the future of supply chains that capital investment plunged around the world, as I reported November 30. If Trump made good on his threat to impose tariffs on all Chinese imports, including most of American purchases of consumer electronics, the impact on household budgets would have been severe. Trump wants a second term, and trade war risked a recession just before the 2020 elections. Second, China concluded that Trump wants to look like a...

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SI

Por | 3 dez, 2018 | , , |

Situação Internacional   João da Silveira     Seg. 26 BOLSONARO PRESIDENTE ELEITO : O GROUNDLING : O problema do Mais Médico parece que está sendo resolvido por Michel Temer sem maiores dificuldades. As coisas mudaram. Em 2013, os médicos formados no Brasil não queriam saber de pequenas cidades e comunidades. Em 2018, os médicos formados no Brasil não acham emprego nos grande centros e parece que ficaram também mais patriotas… Bolsonaro é contra a “certificação” de médicos formados no Brasil, num desencontro sensato com Mandetta, seu ministro da Saúde, insensato… Lá no Parlamento, o estilo direto de Bolsonaro no trato com os parlamentares incomoda as lideranças partidárias e os partidos do centrão… Lá no Itamaraty, as posições de Ernesto Araújo surpreendem seus colegas. Não deveriam surpreender por pelo menos duas razões. Primeiro porque as posições de Ernesto estão muito bem expostas no texto “Trump e o Ocidente”. Segundo porque não trazem novidades: a Revolução de 1964 teve a mesma justificação: a defesa do Ocidente contra o comunismo ateu… A nota de avaliação para Ernesto Araújo é máxima, é dez. Seu texto é mil vezes mais claro que os textos de Golbery do Couto e Silva. Mesmo sendo tão mais claro, é possível de se fazer as mesmas ressalvas tanto aos textos de Golbery quanto ao texto de Ernesto. Um exemplo. Eles afirmam que o cristianismo é a essência do Ocidente. Muito bem. Que...

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Lebanon and Hezbollah

Por | 26 nov, 2018 | , |

Hezbollah in Lebanon: US Hegemony Is Over   Elijah J. Magnier Nov. 22, 2018   The policy of the US establishment towards Lebanon is evidently changing and unstable, with a President who lacks general knowledge about the Middle East and above all of Hezbollah’s role in the region. It seems President Donald Trump is willing to reduce military support to the Lebanese Army and to impose further sanctions on Lebanon, unaware that he is thereby strengthening the Axis of Resistance and throwing the country of the Cedars into the arms of Russia and Iran. While the US is imposing further sanctions on Hezbollah, in the last few months its European partners have held secret meetings with that Organisation’s leaders during the visits of their official delegations to Beirut. The US is gradually losing its hegemony in the Middle East. In Iraq, the “Islamic State” (ISIS) grew under the watchful and complaisant eyes of the US establishment in the first months of its occupation of Mosul in June 2014. Washington considered ISIS a strategic asset, oblivious to how this unscrupulous policy would backfire against its interests in the Middle East. The policy alienated Europe but above all the people of the Middle East, especially those minorities who suffered grievously under ISIS tyranny. This ruthless US policy triggered the creation of Hashd al-Shaa’bi (the Popular Mobilisation Forces). This force has now become...

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