Yearly Archives: 2021

How an ex-intel official’s prison sentence exposes the folly of the Espionage Act

Former Air Force analyst Daniel Hale is going to jail for revealing the extent to which US drones kill civilians. The District Court of Alexandria, Virginia on Tuesday sentenced former Air Force intelligence analyst Daniel Hale to nearly four years in prison. He was charged under the Espionage Act for …

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Lawrence in Arabia – War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East

Lawrence in Arabia – War, Deceit, Imperial Folly and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Scott Anderson. Anchor Books, Random House LLC, New York, 2013. Every very seldom often a book comes along that greatly exceeds expectations. Lawrence in Arabia is one of those books. Scott Anderson’s writing is …

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USA Only Knows the Language of Militarism

On July 27, 2021, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin – amid a diplomatic standoff with China – said: “We will not flinch when our interests are threatened. Yet we do not seek confrontation.” The message is clear: the US is turning its gaze to Asia and wants China to …

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Iran JCPOA: A bridge too far?

Ebrahim Raisi will be sworn in as Iran’s next president on August 5, marking a defining moment in the situation around the nuclear issue. Having weathered the brunt of Trump’s ‘maximum pressure’, Tehran is in a better situation today. The international situation works in its favour too. Iran has gained …

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Saudi Aramco denies rumors it will produce bitcoins

The Saudi state-owned oil company said reports it will engage in the process of creating cryptocurrency are “false.” Saudi Arabia’s state oil company has denied reports it will make more of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Aramco called claims they would engage in Bitcoin mining “false and inaccurate” in a Monday press …

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Blinken vows ‘collective response’ for ship attack blamed on Iran

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is confident that Iran carried out the attack on the Israeli-linked oil tanker. The United States is “confident” that Iran is responsible for an attack on an Israeli-linked oil tanker that killed two crew members off the coast of Oman last …

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Russia recalibrates coordination with new Israeli government in Syria

There are indications the Kremlin is about to revise its approach to Israel in order to force the Israel Defense Forces into accepting new rules of the regional game. The end of Benjamin Netanyahu’s grip on power in Israel fueled media speculation of what it means for Russian-Israeli coordination in …

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Raisi pledges to save Iran from sanctions, restore public trust

The new Iranian president said he will push to get harsh sanctions lifted without hinging Iran’s battered economy on the West. As he was officially endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran Aug. 3, Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi pledged to get the country’s sanctions-stricken economy back on …

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Лукашенко нашел слабое место ЕС

В миграционном кризисе, который возник из-за конфликта Литвы и Белоруссии, примечательнее всего индифферентное отношение Евросоюза к проблемам государства-члена. Литовские руководители подчёркивают, что проблема носит общеевропейский характер, не является продуктом исключительно белорусско-литовских отношений, и даже утверждают, что получают серьёзную поддержку от ЕС. Однако это больше похоже на сохранение лица и своего …

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Лукашенко-тур: як відреагує ЄС на білоруський шантаж біженцями

Гуманітарна допомога у вигляді колючого дроту виглядає досить дивно, проте саме так Україна планує підтримати Литву. І ця допомога справді потрібна Вільнюсу, який потерпає від небаченої навали мігрантів. Стабільним постачальником мігрантів до Євросоюзу через кордон з Литвою стала Білорусь. Більш того, Литва напряму звинувачує самопроголошеного білоруського президента Александра Лукашенка в …

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