Category: GeoPolitics
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
What the Fall of the Berlin Wall Did Not Change / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
George Friedman writes: Twenty-five years ago, a crowd filled with an uneasy mixture of joy and rage tore down the Berlin Wall. There was joy for the end of Germany's partition and the end of tyranny. There was rage against generations of fear. One fear was of communist oppression. The other fear was of the threat of a war, which had loomed over Europe and Germany since 1945. One fear was moral and ideological, while the other was prudential and geopolitical. As in all defining political moments, fear and rage, ideology and geopolitics, blended together in an intoxicating mix.
Marxism's Sway
Monday, November 03, 2014
Moral Hazard and Socialism in Collective Security Agreements Such as NATO / Personal_Finance / GeoPolitics
By: MISES
Patrick Barron writes: The economic phenomenon known as the "tragedy of the commons" instructs us that commonly-held resources that are insufficiently protected will be plundered to extinction. The phenomenon was recognized in the early nineteenth century to explain why the commons in England quickly came to be denuded by sheep. All sheepherders had an equal right to graze sheep on the commons. There often was no agreement as to how many sheep each could graze, so it was sheer rational self-interest for each to graze as many sheep on the common ground as possible. In short order the commons came to be overgrazed. What later came to be called "the tragedy of the commons" was a simple and imminently understandable explanation.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Mysterious Death od CEO Who Went Against the Petrodollar / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Marin_Katusa
Last month in these pages, I wrote:
Patrick de la Chevardière, CFO of Total SA (which is France’s largest energy company), has publicly announced that Total is looking to finance its share in the $27-billion Yamal LNG project using euros, yuan, Russian rubles, and any other currency but US dollars.
“The effect of US sanctions was that Yamal LNG will be prevented from raising any dollar financings,” Patrick de la Chevardière stated in London at a news briefing.
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Friday, October 24, 2014
War And The Law Of Unintended Consequences / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
Upping the Ante
Vladimir Putin and several of his senior advisors in published statements have recently said the only logical conclusion of the US and EU goading Russia and upping the ante in the Ukrainian imbroglio is nuclear war. Strident calls for “The Pariah” or “Vlad the Vampire” to back down and back off would theoretically have to end in all-out nuclear war. Insane comments by (of course) unidentified “senior US military strategists” quoted in 'Wall St Journal' in August claimed that first strike nuclear attack by the West could prevent nuclear retaliation by Russia.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
The Similarities Between Germany and China / Economics / GeoPolitics
By: STRATFOR
I returned last weekend from a monthlong trip to both East Asia and Europe. I discovered three things: First, the Europeans were obsessed with Germany and concerned about Russia. Second, the Asians were obsessed with China and concerned about Japan. Third, visiting seven countries from the Pacific to the Atlantic in 29 days brings you to a unique state of consciousness, in which the only color is gray and knowing the number of your hotel room in your current city, as opposed to the one two cities ago, is an achievement.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
The March Of History And The End Of Nations / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
Dancing at the Victims' Ball
By July 1794, with the surprise execution of ace executioner Maximilien de Robespierre, who himself had probably ordered more than 5000 killings by the then-newfangled and dreaded guillotine in the French revolution, faction rivalry akin to the type that sets al Qaeda against ISIS in the Middle East today was so intense that a new wave of Terror was at hand. Called counter-revolution by some, and even the “death of History” by others, the strident call for Saving the Nation became a powerful excuse for new purges, plots and mass executions leading in 1799 to the emergence of the self-styled supreme leader who could save the nation, Napoleon I.
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
The Consequences of the Economic Peace / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: John_Mauldin
This week’s TTMYGH is going to be a little different.
After several weeks on the road and staring down a couple more, I am going to make an attempt to turn the presentation I have been delivering into written form, after many requests for a version that people can look at in the comfort of their own homes (and, presumably, without my annoying voice clouding the issue).
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Sunday, September 28, 2014
U.S. Aggression - Will Russia and China Hold Their Fire? / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Obama’s September 24 speech at the UN is the most absurd thing I have heard in my entire life. It is absolutely amazing that the president of the United States would stand before the entire world and tell what everyone knows are blatant lies while simultaneously demonstrating Washington’s double standards and belief that Washington alone, because the US is exceptional and indispensable, has the right to violate all law.
It is even more amazing that every person present did not get up and walk out of the assembly.
The diplomats of the world actually sat there and listened to blatant lies from the world’s worst terrorist. They even clapped their approval.
Monday, September 22, 2014
Scotland YES 71% - Global Youth Intifada Moves On / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
71% of Yes Votes in Scottish Refrendum
Under 20's in the Scottish referendum vote of 18 September voted Yes at 71%. The over 55's voted about 65-35 for staying with Nanny England but Duke Franz of Bavaria is biding his time to become King of Scotland. Its only a question of time you know!
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Russian Union Of Engineers Accuses Ukraine Airforce In MH17 Crash / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
The Russian Union of Engineers has issued a report on what happened to flight MH17. The report has now been translated. It doesn’t leave open the option that MH17 was downed by a ground-to-air missile, something all other sources have so far labeled the most likely explanation for what happened on July 17. The Russian Union of Engineers instead claims the plane was attacked by a fighter jet, and that, since the east Ukraine rebels have no such jets, and multiple sides have confirmed there were no Russian jets in the vicinity, this jet had to have been Ukrainian air force.
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
The Yin and Yang of Economic Growth and Power / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
These are dangerous times. The dangers come from places hardly anybody ever thought to look for them. And that is a danger in itself.
The world has become an amalgamation of centralized blocks of power on the one hand, and a move away from these blocks on the other. The latter happens for good reason. Not that any such reason should be required. The plain and basic human right to, and desire for, freedom and self-governance should be enough. It isn’t, though, as we shall find out soon enough.
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Sunday, September 07, 2014
The Battle for Trade Sanctions Against Russia / Companies / GeoPolitics
By: Investment_U
Tom Sandford writes: Would you like “despise” with that?
Like a delicate slice of cheese between two meat patties in a Big Mac, American and European companies in Russia are watching as trade sanctions take a bite out of business.
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Sunday, September 07, 2014
The West Paves The Road To War With Lies / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Paul_Craig_Roberts
Official statements from the Russian government indicate that the president and foreign minister continue to rely on the good will of “our Western partners” to work out a reasonable diplomatic solution to the trouble in Ukraine caused by Washington. Not only is there no evidence of this good will in Western capitals, the hostile measures against Russia are increasing. Moreover, hostile measures are on the rise even though their main effect is to disadvantage Europe.
Saturday, September 06, 2014
We Live In A New World, But We Don’t Want To / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Looking around us today, it would – or at least could – seem obvious that we live in a new world. Which we don’t recognize – as being new – because we don’t want that world. We instead want more of what we used to know, with icing and a cherry on top. We want to go back, not forward, though we don’t phrase or see it that way. The underlying issue is that the ‘forward’ we do want is not available, and we have no problem fooling ourselves into believing we can still achieve it.
Monday, September 01, 2014
Designer War By Default / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
How Did World War I Start?
Due to 2014 being the centenary of this war, which in some European countries is still called The Great War, interest in how it started has led to re-examining its many possible causes. The major problem is that disagreement on its causes and origins is widespread among academics and specialists, and has been that way since at least the 1920s – immediately after the war.
But whether this war was by design, or by default, it happened.
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Monday, September 01, 2014
Islamic State or Russia? Ten Key Questions Towards Pragmatism / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: DK_Matai
There are insufficient resources and bandwidth to counter the rising threat of global destabilisation from the barbaric ambitions of the Islamic State operatives and Russia’s increasing belligerence and military interventions in Eastern Europe simultaneously. At some stage, a clear and present danger based priority needs to be established. At that point, some strategic questions need to be asked. It is in the context of prioritisation that the ATCA 5000 Research and Analysis Wing and the mi2g Intelligence Unit have been framing the foundation for this Socratic dialogue for executive decision makers across more than 150 countries around the world.
Monday, September 01, 2014
These Clowns Are Dragging Us Into War with Russia / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Raul_I_Meijer
In 8 weeks, on October 26, there are – supposed to be – parliamentary elections in Ukraine. What’s that going to look like? Who’s going to vote? In the presidential elections a few months ago, most of east Ukraine did not vote. How many different ways are there to define democracy and still remain credible?
In an interview today on Russian Channel 1, Vladimir Putin commented on the upcoming elections: “All the participants in the electoral race will want to show how cool they are; Everyone will want to show they are strongmen or strongwomen, and as the political struggle sharpens it is hard to expect anyone to seek a peaceful resolution and not a military one.” That would seem to be an accurate prediction.
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Sunday, August 31, 2014
The Unintended Blowback Of False Flags / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
What We Know and Don't Know
As remarked by Brandon Smith on alt-market .com, governments and their secret service agencies have engineered “false-flag” and terrorist incidents over centuries. They are a historically established fact. For centuries, political and military or financial elites have been sinking ships, setting buildings on fire, stealing gold bullion in transit or storage, assassinating royal families or diplomats, overthrowing elected leaders, blowing up airliners and then blaming these disasters on scapegoat enemies to get public opinions behind them for war fever – also reinforcing their own elite power.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Ukraine Standoff Signals Global Power Shift / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Andrew_McKillop
Power Shift
Following from and related to the economic proxy war, by sanctions, engaged by the EU28 and US against Putin's Russia, and counter-sanctions by Russia against the “Atlantic Alliance”, we do not have to look very far for sequels. Plenty of EU28 banking groups are now on a short fuze, for example on the borrowing of PKO Bank Polski, Poland's largest lender. Able earlier this year to raise over 2 billion euros this lender's timing was very lucky. Even “EU28 core” private banks, including BNP of France and Deutsche of Germany may soon face “unexpected difficulties” recapitalizing their bad debt. Banks of the “southern tier” or Club Med countries will soon face serious difficulties, like Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo group's “unexpected difficulties”.
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Will The US Succeed in Breaking Russia to Maintain Dollar Hegemony?... / Politics / GeoPolitics
By: Clive_Maund
In Why they are making an enemy of Russia? we looked at two of the key reasons why the US is making an enemy of Russia, namely the promotion of conflict by the powerful Defense industry lobby in order to keep its order books full, and the value of conjuring up an external enemy as a hate figure for the masses, in order to take the heat off the government. In this article we are going to look at what is arguably an even bigger reason, that was largely omitted in the earlier article, which is that Russia, in alliance with China, is threatening to bring an end to the dollar as the global reserve currency, which would mean the end of the American empire.