August 8, 2017 – Astute News

August 8, 2017

Here’s Why Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Want International Control Over the Two Holy Mosques

Saudi Arabia threateningly accused Qatar of “declaring war” on the Kingdom for supposedly calling for the Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina to be placed under international control. Qatar denies that it ever issued such a statement, but that didn’t prevent the Saudis from reacting in a very harsh way by framing the idea as a declaration of war. This...

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August 8, 2017

How Long Can Gaza Survive with No Water?

The water crisis caused by ongoing power outages of more than 20 hours a day has pushed Gaza Strip residents to dig unlicensed wells, disregarding the ensuing serious threats to the already scarce aquifer water stock. At the request of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israel reduced its power supply to Gaza on June 19 from 120 megawatts to 48 megawatts,...

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August 8, 2017

Now, a Trade War — Is a Shooting War Next?

A popular thesis since the 1930s is that a natural progression exists from currency wars to trade wars to shooting wars. Both history and analysis support this thesis. Currency wars do not exist all the time; they arise under certain conditions and persist until there is either systemic reform or systemic collapse. The conditions that give rise to currency wars...

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August 8, 2017

Between Cersei and Daenerys

-Will he sign, or won’t he? – Moscow’s John Bull pub customers tried to second-guess the US President. The pub on the Nikitsky Boulevard in the centre of Moscow is a good watering hole that is frequented by the Foreign Office minor officials and sundry intelligentsia. – He won’t sign his own surrender, fervently said A Pint of Bitter. –...

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August 8, 2017

20 Years After the East Asian Crash – Is History Repeating Itself?

Twenty years ago, a run on the Thai currency triggered a financial crisis that quickly devastated the economy of the entire region, sinking the currencies of Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea and ultimately spreading as far as Russia and Brazil. Far from ‘lessons being learned’, history looks worryingly set to repeat itself. On July 22, 1997, Thailand’s Prime Minister Chavalit...

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August 8, 2017

U.S. Troops Flow into Yemen and More are Probably on the Way

More U.S. troops entered Yemen this week escalating ground operations against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). And according to the Pentagon, additional troops are likely to follow. Pentagon spokesman Jeff Davis has not ruled out sending additional troops to Yemen shortly, possibly even in a matter of weeks. U.S. and U.A.E. Troops Push AQAP Out of Oil and Gas Fields...

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August 8, 2017

“Continued and Systematic (US) Massacre” of Civilians in Syria

The so-called international coalition in Syria against ISIS supports the scourge it pretends to oppose. It’s largely a US operation, begun in September 2014, with minimal help from so-called coalition partners, mainly Britain and France, others mostly in name only. It has nothing to do with combating terrorism, everything to do with wanting Assad ousted, Syria transformed into a US...

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August 8, 2017

The Instability of Britain and the US: How Do We Come Back From This?

There is a famous scene in Shakespeare’s Henry V on the night before the battle of Agincourt, when the French lords speak of the inevitability of their coming victory. Puffed up with arrogance, they deride the English: “Do but behold yon poor and starved band.” Of course, all this is to be exposed as bombast when the over-confident lords get their comeuppance the...

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Daily Archive: August 8, 2017

Here’s Why Saudi Arabia Doesn’t Want International Control Over the Two Holy Mosques

How Long Can Gaza Survive with No Water?

Now, a Trade War — Is a Shooting War Next?

Between Cersei and Daenerys

20 Years After the East Asian Crash – Is History Repeating Itself?

U.S. Troops Flow into Yemen and More are Probably on the Way

“Continued and Systematic (US) Massacre” of Civilians in Syria

The Instability of Britain and the US: How Do We Come Back From This?