Mês: fevereiro 2017

Vladimir Putin

Por | 23 fev, 2017 | , , |

Did Putin win in Syria? Or is he cutting his losses?   Pavel K. Baev and Sergey Aleksashenko Monday, March 21, 2016 BY PUTIN’S OWN DEFINITION, RUSSIA WON IN SYRIA By Sergey Aleksashenko Pavel and I agree that while the withdrawal of Russian military power from Syria came as a surprise in the immediate sense, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to pull out was logical given the circumstances he faced in Syria. Where we differ is in our assessment of whether Putin essentially won at his own game in Syria. I argue that he did, and that the West misunderstands that—which will make it harder for the West to predict his next moves. First, when Putin deployed Russian armed forces in Syria last September, these were his goals: Returning Russia to great-power status and participating as such in international dialogues, particularly on the Middle East; Resisting the West, particularly its efforts to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad; Preserving Syria as a unified state that remains a Russian ally (and one ready to buy Russian weapons and provide territory for Russian military bases), as well as ending the Syrian civil war and launching an internal political dialogue; Forming a partnership with Iran, including with the aim to promote the economic interests of Russian oil and gas companies and arms manufacturers; and Forming a broad coalition with the participation of the United States, Russia, Iran,...

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Donald Trump

Por | 19 fev, 2017 | , |

Dreams vs Reality and Hopes Still Permitted!   The Saker Feb. 19, 2017 For a lot of Trump supporters the past week has been a painful one. Whether we chose to react with abject panic or pretended like nothing happened, something did happen and it was something big: the Three Letter Agencies pulled-off a de facto coup against Donald Trump by forcing him to fire his most important foreign policy advisor and the man who had dared to declare that he wanted to reform the bloated and largely ineffective US intelligence community. There is no way of putting a brave face on what happened. Not only because it showed that Trump is not loyal to those who are loyal to him, but because this episode pretty much killed what I would call the “Trump dream”. I chose my words carefully here. I speak of “Trump dream” as opposed to the Trump reality. Let me explain. The “Trump dream” When Trump won the elections the spectrum of hopes about his actions was very wide. It ranged from “Trump will forever reshape the international system, end the Empire and bring peace and prosperity to the USA” to “he will never be as bad as Hillary no matter what he does”. On that spectrum, here is what I would list as the key elements of the “Trump dream”: Draining the swamp: kicking the Neocons down to the...

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Vladimir Putin

Por | 17 fev, 2017 | , |

How has the Russian leader gotten the better of Clinton, Bush and Obama?   Patrick L. Smith Nov. 24, 2015 Watching Trump beat his chest about how he’d force Putin to his will is a reminder that Putin’s had his way with us   Aug. 9, 1999, was an eventful day for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin. In the morning President Boris Yeltsin appointed him deputy prime minister and named him acting prime minister a few hours later. In the afternoon, Yeltsin let it be known that he had selected the come-from-nowhere former intelligence agent to succeed him. By sundown Putin, then 47, announced that he would, indeed, stand for the presidency. Putin has ever since rotated between the presidency and the premier’s office. That makes 16 years at the pinnacle of power in the Russian Federation. It makes 16 years trying to clean up the tragic, god-awful mess the ever-inebriated Yeltsin had made of post-Soviet Russia. And it makes three American presidencies: Bill Clinton in his final years, George W. Bush and now President Obama have all tried to build a relationship with a man as resolute in his determination to retrieve Russia as Yeltsin was craven in his desire to please the Americans at any cost. Two things stand out, both remarkable, as one reflects back on this span of years. One, none of the above-named presidents has succeeded...

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ISIS and Oil

Por | 16 fev, 2017 | , , |

US connived with Islamic State’s oil trade   M. K. Bhadrakumar Nov. 28, 2015   The latest crackdown by the Turkish President Recep Erdogan on two prominent personalities in the country’s print media underscores his acute sensitivity over the cascading allegations regarding Ankara’s covert support of the Islamic State (IS). The stakes are high for Erdogan, since, according to the grapevine, some very powerful people close to the president make tons of money out of selling the oil dispatched to Turkey by the IS. It must be a double whammy for anyone doing business with the IS’ oil, because with the money generated through oil sales, the terrorist group procures weapons via Turkey. No wonder, Turkey shot down the Russian strike aircraft targeting the northern Syrian border region through which the IS convoys reach Turkey. The Russian President Vladimir Putin made some extensive remarks to the media on Friday regarding Turkey’s nexus with the IS in oil trade. At one point, he finger-pointed at Turkey for being “mentors” of the IS. Putin said: At the G20 summit, which took place in Turkey as it happens, in Antalya, I showed a photograph… taken by our pilots at a height of 5,000 metres. Vehicles transporting oil made a long line that vanished over the horizon. It looks like a living oil pipeline. These are industrial-scale oil supplies coming in from parts of Syria now in the terrorists’ hands… We see from the air where these vehicles are heading. They are heading for Turkey...

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Política Brasileira

Por | 10 fev, 2017 | , |

Pornopolítica Arnaldo Jabor 13/10/2015   Tenho escrito muito sobre a pornopolítica brasileira. Que relação tem ela com os filmes verdadeiramente pornográficos? Atualmente, come-se o Brasil como se comem as pornoatrizes. No filme pornô não se esconde nada, é tudo explícito. Os neocorruptos políticos de hoje também são explícitos. Os crimes políticos são cometidos sem culpa, como nos filmes pornográficos. Ninguém se envergonha mais de nada. O filme pornô estende sua luz para nos ajudar a entender o Brasil. Na internet, nas TVs, há uma grande congestão de putaria. Nunca se viu tanta sacanagem, no sexo e na politica. Os filmes pornô são uma grande indústria que hoje movimenta bilhões de dólares. Tem até Oscar de filme pornô. Este ano houve grandes premiados em uma festa iluminada: “Bunda 2”, “Elas preferem anal”, “Bocas gulosas”. “Borboneca tarada” e “ A bunda manda e o bundão obedece”. A política também movimenta bilhões com bocas gulosas e mãos grandes para desconstruir nossa indústria. Há um grande despertar de pornografia e de corrupção não só no Brasil, mas no mundo todo. Creio que é resultado da urgência de compensações de prazer e poder diante da vida desolada que se dilui em tragédias e óperas bufas. O despudor é fruto de uma aceleração do tempo também. Não dá mais tempo para a honestidade, não há mais tempo para o amor. O amor não se vê,...

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