May 9, 2018 – Astute News

May 9, 2018

Russia’s Grand Strategy in Afro-Eurasia (And What Could Go Wrong)

Russia’s 21st-century grand strategy is all about becoming the supreme “balancing” force in Afro-Eurasia through the skillful diplomatic management of the hemisphere’s multiple conflicts, though the greatest danger to this vision comes not from the US’ Hybrid Wars, but from Russia itself if its diplomatic and expert community representatives don’t rise to the occasion in properly explaining this strategy to...

Opinion Comments: 11

May 9, 2018

Lebanon Elections: Hezbollah and Allies Gain a Parliamentary Majority

Lebanese parliamentary elections didn’t turn out the way Washington and Israel wanted. The May 6 general election was the first in nine years. Results were as follows: Hezbollah and its allies won a 67-seat majority of parliament’s 128 seats – equally divided between Muslims and Christians. The right-wing Christian Lebanese Forces was the biggest winner in Sunday elections, nearly doubling...

Opinion Comments: 0

May 9, 2018

Don’t Trash the Nuclear Deal!

This next week may determine whether President Trump extricates us from that cauldron of conflict that is the Middle East, as he promised, or plunges us even deeper into these forever wars. Friday will see the sixth in a row of weekly protests at the Gaza border fence in clashes that have left 40 Palestinians dead and 1,500 wounded by...

Opinion Comments: 0

May 9, 2018

Short of War, China Now Controls South China Sea

Tensions in the South China Sea are on the boil again amid new reports that China has deployed advanced missiles to land features in the disputed maritime area. According to new reports, China has installed several Surface-to-Air Missiles (SAMs) and Anti-Cruise Ballistic Missiles (ACBMs) systems across the Paracel and Spratly island chains, parts of which are claimed by multiple regional...

Opinion Comment: 1

May 9, 2018

Is Israel a Psychopath State?

Introduction There is a lot of talk these days about the psychopaths ruling the world. A study among high executives of large companies, published under the title Snakes in Suits, shows that psychopathic traits are widespread among them.[1] This naturally reflects into collective forms of psychopathy: in The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power, Joel Bakan noted that...

Opinion Comment: 1

May 9, 2018

Protecting Israel is Their Full-Time Job

I have a number of times discussed how the U.S. and other governments have legislated and otherwise promoted Jewish and Israeli interests in ways that most people would find unacceptable if they were aware of what exactly has been going on. Here in the United States, special Medicare coverage and immigration status have been granted, often concealed in other legislation,...

Opinion Comments: 0

May 9, 2018

A Nicaraguan Spring or Imperial Spring Cleaning?

In April, Nicaragua saw intense clashes between protesters and government forces that reportedly left dozens dead. The protests were initially set off by proposed adjustments to the national social security system, which have now been cancelled by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Journalist and former teleSUR English director Pablo Vivanco remarked to me in an email that, while the violence was...

Opinion Comments: 0

May 9, 2018

Saving the Military from Itself. Why Medals and Metrics Mislead

It’s time to save the military from itself. I say this as a retired Air Force officer who served for twenty years, my last three in a “joint” assignment, working closely with Army, Marine, and Navy officers and enlisted men and women. As the Dean of Students at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, I saw hundreds of young...

Opinion Comments: 0

Daily Archive: May 9, 2018

Russia’s Grand Strategy in Afro-Eurasia (And What Could Go Wrong)

Lebanon Elections: Hezbollah and Allies Gain a Parliamentary Majority

Don’t Trash the Nuclear Deal!

Short of War, China Now Controls South China Sea

Is Israel a Psychopath State?

Protecting Israel is Their Full-Time Job

A Nicaraguan Spring or Imperial Spring Cleaning?

Saving the Military from Itself. Why Medals and Metrics Mislead