Tag: usa

Last of US troops exit Afghanistan as Taliban celebrates with gunfire at Kabul airport

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Celebratory gunfire in Kabul by Taliban coincided with exit of last of US troops from Afghanistan, putting an end to twenty year long war in Afghanistan. On Monday night the last US military aircraft took off from Kabul airport. Two weeks earlier the Taliban insurgent group had seized control of the capital city of Kabul, toppling the internationally recognized Afghani government and President Ashraf Ghani fleeing the country. The swift rise of Taliban to power took everyone by surprise, including Taliban leadership and US, that had clearly mis-anticipated the timeline before setting troops withdrawal deadline in a hasty fashion.

US announced its complete exit just before midnight, local time, but sans any official handover. Taliban spokesperson Qari Yusuf said in statement, “The last US soldier has left Kabul airport and our country gained complete independence.”

The new rulers of Afghanistan hailed their return to power after 20 years after the first Taliban regime was ousted by US invasion in 2001. The Kabul sky was lit with gunfire by rejoicing Taliban fighters.

“The last five aircraft have left, it’s over!” said Hemad Sherzad, a Taliban fighter stationed at Kabul’s international airport. “I cannot express my happiness in words … Our 20 years of sacrifice worked.”

As soon as the last US military airplane took off in air, Taliban wasted no time in moving in and seizing control of the Kabul airport that was under US and foreign forces control while they attempted hurried evacuation of their citizens and Afghan citizens before August 31 deadline.

Videos show Taliban fighters entering the hangar and examining US military helicopters left behind along with the equipment. US has said it had disabled 73 aircrafts and 27 Humvees before leaving them behind. C-RAMS (Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar System) were also made inoperable. Few equipment including two firetrucks, front end loaders and aircraft staircases were left behind by US military for Taliban to run the airport.

Mohammad Islam, a Taliban guard at the airport said, “After 20 years we have defeated the Americans. They have left and now our country is free.” He added, “t’s clear what we want. We want Shariah (Islamic law), peace and stability.”

Rising Neo-Nationalism Threatens Social, Economic Progress Worldwide

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Nationalism is on the rise worldwide. A new form of nationalism has emerged in the last decade that pits nativists, xenophobes, and populists against an increasingly globalized world. “Neo-nationalism” as the trend has become known is leading to increasing belligerence between nations and an uninformed suspicion of the “other” that could lead to far-reaching international confrontation.

Three countries exemplify this trend like none other, with deepening consequences to their national reputation and diplomatic standing in the world. India’s Hindu nationalism is leading to an economic boycott of its most important trade partner, the disastrous pandemic response in the US is diminishing its standing, and Israeli nationalism is bringing it ever closer to annexation.

US nationalism meets COVID-19

For decades US politicians have considered their country to be the best of all, solely based on GDP and military might. Even though the US slipped in important metrics, including education and healthcare, it remained a taboo for politicians to declare the US anything but number one. The US is now not even in the top 10 in most fields that would be considered to be signs of “being the best.”

The US now ranks 27th in education in health, down from 6th place in the 1990s. The country is the 19th happiest country, and the 42nd most corrupt. The country is now the 27th in social mobility, which means that there are 26 countries where citizens are more likely to achieve the “American Dream,” or work their way up from poor to rich.

But amid this collapse of living standard and public services, amid a crumbling infrastructure that needs $4.5 trillion worth of repairs and maintenance before 2025, American nationalism has maintained the fiction that the US is the best country in the world. This mistaken analysis was evident in its approach to COVID-19 that has now cost 125,318 American lives.

The US has considered its privatized and decentralized healthcare system more than capable of resisting a shock that caused much more accessible healthcare systems in Western Europe to tremble. The country’s misplaced nationalism meant little extra effort was mobilized even as evidence of the pandemic’s severity emerged from Europe, leading to a disastrous and deadly failed response that has severely diminished the US’ standing in the world.

Israeli annexation fueled by nationalism

There are few people in the world as familiar with the dangers of unfettered nationalism than the Jewish diaspora. The rise of nationalism in Europe led to increasing antisemitism that concluded in the barbarous mass murder of millions of innocent Jewish people. But history is doomed to repeat itself as Israeli hardliners now fuel a similar type of nationalism within their own nation.

Far-right media continuously turn the native Palestinians into a dangerous “other” and push the country further right. Israeli neo-nationalism is visible on a daily basis in publications such as the Netanyahu-aligned newspaper Israel Hayom, and more mainstream publications such as the Jerusalem Post or the Times of Israel regularly feature highly problematic opinion pieces.

One feature of neo-nationalism that is visible from Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban to Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro is the rapid mainstreaming of nationalist thinking. By employing marketing strategies and exploiting social media, neo-nationalists create a world of alternative facts for their supporters.

The world of alternative facts has turned UN-declared illegal settlers into “brave pioneers” and oppressed native people into “dangerous terrorists.” iI has turned the country’s nationalists against the United Nations, through which Israel was founded in the first place. Now misplaced nationalist zeal could lead Israel to commit a blatant violation of international norms and turn itself into a global pariah as nationalists urge Netanyahu to go further and annex even more Palestinian land.

Indian radical nationalism

India’s Hindu nationalists are transforming their country away from the legacy of Gandhi and Nehru and into a dangerously volatile chaos of misinformation, mob violence, and an increasing war fervor against neighboring China. India’s media has enthusiastically whipped up resentment and even violence against local minorities, blamed COVID-19 on local Muslims, and framed an undisciplined scuffle between border troops as a casus belli.

Indian neo-nationalism is likely the most entrenched form of the trend found globally. Mainstream politicians, news reporting, and the government itself continuously misinform and manipulate public frustrations.

The rise of mainstream nationalist fervor could be seen in Indian Prime Minister Nahendra Modi’s 2019 electoral campaign. After his first successful campaign focused on economic development, whipping up nationalism proved easier to deliver. “We were nationalist, we are nationalists and we will remain nationalists,” he said in a campaign speech.

Similar to neo-nationalism in Israel and the US, Indian nationalism is producing a dangerous feedback loop that could turn disastrous.

When a hand-to-hand fight between a few dozen Chinese and Indian border troops led to casualties, there was no critical media left to see the event as what it was. Troops showing poor discipline that should have been court-martialed instead became national martyrs as ill informed masses cried for war against a country with a far superior military and economy.

Divide and conquer

In the end neo-nationalism serves but one purpose: It masks the negative effects our global neoliberal economics have on the poor and middle classes and instead pitches them against each other. By fueling resentment and hatred of the “other,” neoliberal leaders such as Modi, Netanyahu, and Trump can hide the continuous wealth transfer from the poor and working classes to the rich.

Misinformed working-class Indians, Israelis, and Americans have much more in common with those who they are manipulated into hating, than the millionaires and politicians that foment this discord. Neo-nationalism has become the favored approach by politicians who can no longer promise economic development through neoliberalism, as that theory has again and again been roundly disproved.

“Divide and conquer” appears to be the political mantra of our era, with potentially disastrous consequences for us all.

Turkey: Bolton’s New Book is ‘Reprehensible’

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Fakhruddin Alton, head of the Turkish Republic’s Communications Department, has hit back at the claims made by former US National Security Adviser John Bolton in his new book. The book includes references to discussions between Turkey and the United States.

Alton explained that, according to Bolton’s account of the meetings, it is clear that the talks held by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump were “one-sided” and “manipulative”

“We find it reprehensible that former high-level officials attempt to use serious diplomatic conversations and efforts to resolve outstanding issues between allies like the U.S. and Turkey for their domestic political agendas,” Alton continued.

Alton also stated that “President Erdogan and Trump are keen on repairing and maintaining stable Turkish-American relations, despite deep differences, and despite the votes targeting Turkey in Washington.”

Bolton’s book alleges that in 2018 Trump offered to step and help Erdogan with a Justice Ministry investigation. Erdogan was suspected of breaching US sanctions on Iran through links to a Turkish bank. Bolton wrote that Trump told Erdogan: “I will take care of things.” 

Bolton alleged that Trump said “they are not his [Trump’s] people (close to him) but they are Obama’s people” and that the problem will be solved when they are replaced by his [Trump’s] people.

“Erdoğan provided a memo by the law firm representing Halkbank, which Trump did nothing more than flip through before declaring he believed Halkbank was totally innocent of violating U.S. Iran sanctions. Trump asked whether we could reach Acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker, which I sidestepped. Trump then told Erdoğan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people, but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people.” Bolton wrote in his tell-all book.

The Turkish statement came a day after South Korea slammed Bolton’s new book. South Korea clarified that the account of discussions between US President Donald Trump and the leaders of the two Koreas were inaccurate and distorted.

“It does not reflect accurate facts and substantially distorts facts,” South Korea’s National Security Adviser Chung Yue Young said.

While Chung did not elaborate on specific points that South Korea considers inaccurate, he said the book sets a “dangerous precedent.”

“Unilaterally publishing consultations made based on mutual trust violates the basic principles of diplomacy and could severely damage future negotiations,” he added.

A book that annoys Trump

Bolton became Trump’s national security adviser in April 2018 but left his post in September 2019 due to differences between him and Trump over dealing with countries that pose major challenges for the United States, including Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan.

In his book, “The Chamber that Happened the Events ” Bolton presents President Trump as a reckless leader.

Bolton’s book was published on June 23, after a federal judge in the United States ruled on Saturday, June 20, that former National Security Adviser John Bolton could go on publishing his book. The ruling came despite the efforts made by President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent the book from being released due to concerns that classified information could be revealed.

World Struggles to Stand Against Israeli Annexation

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With less than a week until Israeli annexation plans could feasibly commence, countries around the world are expressing very different reactions to Israel’s intended moves. The responses have been varied as global alliances, religious convictions, and economic factors weigh on nations’ willingness to risk conflict with Israel and its powerful ally in Washington.

While few nations have expressed outright support for the clear violation of international law, the rhetoric employed by those in opposition indicates that few are willing to position themselves as “anti-Israeli” or risk the ire of our global hegemon. That annexation would risk the local peace progress is nothing but a statement of simple fact, but most world leaders are reluctant to venture beyond restating this.

The EU

European leaders have received Israel’s annexation plans with much bombastic diplomatic language, but have been reluctant to make any threats if Israel proceeds with its planned violation of international law.

Germany’s foreign minister, Heiko Maas, traveled to Israel to discuss the matter, but even before departure had to admit he would offer no practical threat that could provide an incentive for Israel to halt its plans.

Over 1,000 parliamentarians have since signed a letter opposing Israel’s planned annexation, but the letter does little more than express “serious concerns” or highlight the “destabilizing potential” of Israel’s publicly stated intention to break international conventions on warfare, the Charter of the United Nations, and the basic premise of national sovereignty.

The US

In the US wide-spread political support for Israel has led to fragmented partisan splits on the issue. While many politicians have spoken out against annexation, the language used reveals much more concern about implications for Israel’s security than the well being of “annexed” Palestinians.

Their entire concept of an “agreed upon” annexation according to an unsigned peace plan originates from diplomatic novice Jared Kushner’s heavily criticized proposal. Much of the US press has opposed annexation but has done so primarily from a perspective that focuses on Israeli security.

Many have claimed that the annexation plans, and their timing, are a direct Trump ploy to create a new narrative before the US presidential elections in November 2020.

Arab nations

The Gulf Cooperation Council and the Arab League have condemned annexation plans and endorsed the establishment of an independent Palestine. However, other than highlighting the obvious breaches of international law, the Arab world has so far not shown a united front against a possible expansion of Israeli land at the expense of Palestinians.

Only Jordan has posed a clear ultimatum to Israel by threatening war. Jordan is highly dependent on the US and fears its possible retaliation, just like many Arab states, but stands alone in offering a practical disincentive to Israel’s plans. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent the director of the Israeli secret service to Amman last week with a message for Jordan’s King Abdullah II. Whether Israel can force Jordan to renege on its commitment remains to be seen.

Israeli Settlers

People living in Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territories generally oppose annexation plans. Even though many of these settlements would become part of Israel following annexation, settlers fear the plan does not go far enough and would create momentum for the establishment of a small, fragmented Palestinian state, which they categorically oppose.

Billboards along Israeli highways feature Hebrew slogans urging Netanyahu to “do it right,” calling on him to annex all of what remains of Palestinian land. While annexation of more land than included in the Trump “peace plan” would be controversial, it would be no more illegal than Israel’s current plans.

Palestinians

For Palestinians, especially those living in the occupied territories, annexation is simply an inevitable reality. “These areas are already [as good as] annexed… It’s all in their hands” a farmer in the West Bank told the BBC. But many Palestinians see the looming annexation as the logical next step in the decades-long Israeli encroachment on Palestinian territory.

Israel has intensified evictions of Palestinians in the Jordan Valley and locals see annexation as inevitable. “Everyone is scared about annexation, no one wants to live under the occupation’s law,” Palestinian activist Sami Hureini told Al Jazeera, as locals appear to have no illusions over Israeli intentions.

The UN

On June 24, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres joined in the growing chorus of voices opposing annexation rhetorically. “We are at a watershed moment,” Guterres told the UN Security Council (UNSC), saying, “If implemented, annexation would constitute a most serious violation of international law.”

But the head of the UN is as powerless to stop Israel as those living in the occupied territories. As long as Israel proceeds with the blessing of the US, international law is of little consequence.  The power of the US alone could prevent any strong response against annexation.

The crisis over Israeli annexation has revealed once again that we are all living under American hegemony that in practice can supersede international law, the UN, and the will of the rest of the globe. Underneath political posturing, angry letters, and formal diplomacy, all nations continue to tremble at the prospect of angering the US.

Economic Woes Could Trigger New Levant Conflict

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When the militant extremists of ISIS started occupying territory in 2013, Iraq and Syria seemingly became the center of the world. Camera-crews from around the world reported breathlessly on each small town where black-clad men in pick-up trucks were advancing. Cities like Mosul, Raqqa and Palmyra became common features in news items as each small conquest was widely shared.

But in 2020, it seems very few still care about the region. Camera-crews have moved on and politicians have found new enemies to worry about. The reporting in the region does garnish is a stream of negative news. Financial crises, the impact of COVID-19, rising bread prices, it appears the region just cannot catch a break from misery.

Countries like Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria face multiple crises at once, with far-reaching consequences for neighboring countries and the region as a whole. What seems like an uncommonly troubled region where misery appears to simply compound and evolve, is largely a strategy of orchestrated and controlled chaos at the behest of foreign powers and institutions.

Hyperinflation

Comments on “hyperinflation” are becoming more common in reports on Syria and Lebanon, as extreme inflation causes prices for basic necessities to skyrocket amid stagnant or diminishing wages. Hyperinflation has sparked renewed protests in Syria, unseen since Bashar al-Assad and Russia reasserted control over the country through a brutal military campaign.

In Lebanon protests have again rocked the country, with much of the ire aimed at the country’s banking sector and the Lebanese central bank itself. A crisis of institutionalized corruption and sectarianism have intertwined with the country’s dwindling foreign currency reserves and the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic to create a “perfect storm” of troubles for the Lebanese.

Austerity

In response to a historic drop in oil demand, oil prices have tumbled to levels that no expert could have predicted at the start of the year. For countries in the region, the drop in state revenue leaves large gaps in their national budget amid an increase of costs for the healthcare sector and much needed basic support for the poorest and most vulnerable.

In order to find funds abroad, countries like Lebanon and Iraq face increasing pressures from global institutions to reform their countries in order to cut public spending, boost the private sector and increase foreign direct investment. Receiving loans from institutions like the World Bank and the IMF means bending domestic policy to align with foreign visions and implementing unpopular reforms.

Sanctions

Then there are ever increasing sanctions that further weaken local economies. The US targets the leadership of Syria by halting most international trade, including from its destitute neighbor Lebanon. Washington similarly limits Iraq’s ability to buy much needed energy from its neighbor Iran, with the US issuing “waivers” that allow Iraq to import Iranian electricity.

Iran itself is facing crippling sanctions that have turned a health crisis into an unmitigated human tragedy, as the country continues to have the life squeezed out of its last remaining international trade. Iran has faced severe medical shortages and faced major barriers to importing much needed protective equipment and medicine, making the spread of COVID-19 in the entire region more likely.

Misery by Design

While hyperinflation, austerity, and sanctions continue to make an impact on citizens’ lives in the region, none of these are accidental byproducts, but instead are very much the intended goal. Financial support only comes when nations submit to the “Washington Consensus,” turning their countries into neoliberal countries rife for exploitation by foreign multinationals.

Sanctions and hyperinflation are similarly highly related to foreign influence. Sanctions on Syria intend not just to hurt its leadership but actively intend to starve the people of Syria and Lebanon into revolt against its leaders. US officials regularly regurgitate their belief that economic hardship for citizens will lead to a popular uprising that will replace elements of the government that the US does not like.

Sovereignty

While it appears that countries in the region roll from one crisis to the next, in truth these countries have never been “granted” the ability to stop these crises. Iraq cannot exercise any sense of a sovereign foreign policy because of its reliance on US support, Lebanon cannot reform its banking sector without demands from the IMF, and Syria is unlikely to have a “successful” new revolution after al-Assad’s inhumane crushing of dissent.

If foreign powers are genuine about creating stability in the region, they would be best served by leaving the region to determine its own future. The US alone could make a significant contribution to local stability by following the will of the Iraqi people by withdrawing its forces. The US could also lift sanctions on Syria and Iran and allow Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to freely decide who it trades with.

Freedom to choose

Stability in the region will only materialize when local economies are allowed to grow, politicians are permitted to succeed, and nations can freely trade with one another. The only standard the West needs to follow, is the standard of national sovereignty that it sets for itself. Greater personal freedoms, religious tolerance, and gender equality all depend on rising living standards and the absence of fear and chaos.

By removing foreign influence from the region, the Levant and its neighbors could have a genuine shot at improving the lives of its citizens, unconstrained by the motivations and goals of nations thousands of miles away. As long as foreign powers freely meddle with the fate of millions of local people, the Levant and its neighbors will continue to spiral into further chaos, exactly as was intended.

Has Saudi-Arabia Won the Oil Price War?

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Riyadh will likely celebrate in receipt of a new report by investment bank JP Morgan Chase. “Saudi Arabia will come out on top in the fight for market share as non-OPEC and U.S. production fades,” Christyan Malek, a managing director at JP Morgan Chase told Reuters. The report predicts that Saudi Arabia’s share of the oil market will be the highest since the 1980s.

It appears Saudi Arabia has increased its market share because of a decline in higher-cost oil production around the world, a development unimaginable even a year ago. The development will be much-needed positive news for most OPEC countries who have collectively seen a dramatic drop in government revenue because of a historic drop in oil prices.

Amid low oil prices, investment in the development of new fields drops and higher-cost oil production such as American shale gas or oil produced from Canadian tar-sands is no longer profitable. Because of the massive global scale of oil production, even a temporary dip in investment or bankruptcies of competitors can give low-cost producers an advantage for the foreseeable future.

Oil price war

Saudi Arabia and Russia together drove down oil prices by refusing to curb production even before the COVID-19 pandemic drove down demand to unprecedented levels. The combination of high production levels and dropping demand meant oil prices crashed to hit an absolute first: They fell to negative $40 as the expiration date for oil futures approached with no buyers for the actual crude.

While low oil prices are extremely painful for the state budgets of both Russia and Saudi Arabia, for countries where oil is produced at a much higher cost, like in the US shale gas industry, such low prices are potentially lethal.

Large-scale state-owned oil producers such as Saudi Arabia’s Aramco can dial back production without too much long-term damage, but for smaller producers that depend on a few wells or fields, closing down wells can mean buckling under debt and going bankrupt.

Saudi market share

By keeping production high while demand was dropping, Saudi Arabia directly influenced global oil prices. Media reported on the decision to continue high production levels as a price war between Russia and the Saudis continued until both countries agreed on production cuts in April.

However, both countries ultimately stood to benefit much more from a drop in production in the US than any fathomable end-game of a Russo-Saudi dispute could have realized. This begs the question if their “disagreement” was ever the real underlying motivation.

Russia and Saudi Arabia were both declining in market share as the US enjoyed its “shale gas revolution” over the last decade, with no end in sight. Although Russia likely has unexplored oil and gas reserves, the Saudi reserves have little way to go but down.

Their gamble to continue oil production and even send cheap crude to the already overflowing US oil market appears to have paid off in the long-run.

US shale gas decline

The victims of the geopolitical plays to influence oil prices will be those working in the US shale gas industry. While environmental groups will likely cheer the decline of shale gas, or “fracking,” millions of Americans are employed in the industry, working-class people who have been part of the essential workforce that has kept America running throughout the first wave of the pandemic.

Adopting a Green New Deal would more than offset these jobs with new positions in industries that support a healthy environment and provide good working conditions. However, hope for such a legislative move runs thin amid entrenched partisan tensions.

The international supermajors have already written off previously cherished gas assets in a sign of the time, yet the fate of Chesapeake Energy, one of the US shale gas pioneers, could signal what World Oil called “the end of an era.”

Because of the absence of available credit that saved many smaller oil firms during the last oil crash in 2015-2016, many smaller companies are now facing bankruptcies. The continued uncertainty over the future value of oil assets makes mergers and acquisition a risky game.

Between January and May, 18 oil and gas firms filed for bankruptcy protection in North America with more expected as “lower for longer” becomes the expectation.

The Saudi-led OPEC bloc has now promised to extend production cuts with an additional one-month voluntary cut, which is enough to prevent a new crash in oil prices, but likely not enough to help US producers.

The United States Is In a State of Crisis

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In the midst of a global combined economic and public health crisis, American stock markets have been doing rather well. The country has pumped trillions into its large corporations which has avoided a large-scale market crash such as that seen in 2008. But while Wall Street remains relatively intact, the rest of the country is spiraling into chaos due to several inter-connected crises.

Just a month ago it was incomprehensible that any news could top the historic global pandemic as 2020’s biggest story. But a wave of protests across the United States has highlighted that the country is suffering from more than just COVID-19.

Crisis in health

After months of economically painful lockdowns, curfews, and restrictions the US is reopening the economy even as its cases continue to climb. Wednesday, June 10, saw the two millionth COVID-19 case recorded. US President Donald Trump has pushed for reopenings even while many public health experts warn the nation might still be in the first wave of infections.

Those who died from COVID-19-related complications have disproportionately comprised minorities, and continue a sad historic trend of hitting the country’s Black communities the worst.

The unique nature of the US healthcare system means many will now face thousands of dollars in medical bills just as a “tsunami” of bankruptcies is due to hit in the aftermath of lockdowns that saw millions lose their jobs.

Crisis in inequality

The brutal death of George Floyd served as another painful reminder that the United States still has not created even a semblance of parity between Black and white people in the country. The death of another Black man in police custody triggered protests around the country, and a heavy backlash from the country’s elites.

Media and many officials instantly painted the protests as violent riots, and labeled protesters “looters.” State officials and media channels rushed to discredit the genuine demands of the mostly peaceful protests. The anti-racism demonstrations have since been used by agent provocateurs from groups advocating for a second civil war to stir up more violence and resentment between racial and economic sections of the population.

Pulitzer-prize winning reporter Chris Hedges has called the government response to protests “treason by the ruling class” and says a “mafia state” has replaced the country’s capitalist democracy. “We are serfs ruled by obscenely rich,” Hedges wrote in Common Dreams, saying the country’s wealthy constitute “omnipotent masters who loot the U.S. Treasury, pay little or no taxes and have perverted the judiciary, the media and the legislative branches of government.”

According to Hedges, who has seen several countries spiral into chaos and war, the US has only two possible paths left: Revolution or tyranny.

Crisis in the economy

The country’s shocking poverty has only worsened in a time of record highs in the country’s stock markets. The disconnect between main street and wall street is now painfully exposed as news of record highs in the NASDAQ feature on the same front pages as record numbers of deaths, unemployment, an approaching “avalanche” of evictions, and severe public discontent.

The crisis has similarly exposed the country’s nearly defunct labor laws to daylight as millions were immediately laid off from their jobs when lockdowns became a reality. Constantly clicking refresh on overwhelmed and continuously crashing state unemployment websites, citizens have started to realize that a welfare state is not a comfortable “handout” to those too lazy to work, as politicians have told them for years.

Instead people have been left to their own devices with little help from the government outside a one-time stimulus check that did not cover rent and expenses in most US cities. For decades Americans have swallowed tax cuts for big business, but the crisis has again proven that businesses actually have a responsibility to create as few jobs as possible to ensure maximum profits for shareholders.

Crisis in leadership

Amid the disintegration of the American social contract, US Donald Trump is rapidly undoing the post-WW2 era unspoken agreement that has sustained American hegemony. For decades, the US paid the most to global institutions such as the WHO and NATO. In exchange the US did not have to decolonize, was able to invade nations at will, and made its currency the favored exchange in the international market.

But President Donald Trump apparently considers that the country’s superior military strength alone should be enough to force the global community into compliance. By withdrawing funding from the WHO, pressuring NATO allies into paying higher dues, and sanctioning the world’s highest court, Trump is changing the image of the US from a benevolent global empire into a rogue state.

Vetoes at the Security Council are casually and repeatedly suppressing the will of the global community, while calls for mercy on states suffering under crippling US sanctions remain ignored. Trump has willfully broken the unspoken agreement between the US and the world, silently approved by Democrats who have signed off on every increase of the military budget, corporate hand-out, and even his wall on the Mexican border.

With America’s reputation badly damaged abroad and civil discord in the streets at home, the US is facing a historic crisis that could precipitate the final tumultuous decline of “global America” as we know it today.

The Palestinian Thobe as a Symbol of National Pride

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Consisting of multiple pieces, including front and back panels, a square chestpiece, and sleeves, it is possible to trace the Palestinian back to the second century B.C. Records from the era show the Canaanites (as people from the region were then known) dressed in the distinct fashion.  

The detailed embroidery that features on the thobe, known as tatreez, is a skill that mothers have passed down to their daughters for centuries. In the post-Crusades era, tatreez patterns and the thobe styles began to influence the attire of European women. 

Paintings from the period show garments featuring the same intricate patterns or Arabic calligraphy. By tracing the trading routes of the Middle Ages, historians have been able to link the garments directly to modern day Palestine. 

Popular patterns featured on the thobe include the ancient eight-pointed star. The symbol has been found in crafts across the Middle East since antiquity. In Europe, it featured heavily on garments where it was known as the “Holy Star of Bethlehem.”

In recent years, the thobe has emerged as an important subject in projects seeking to preserve Palestinian history and culture. For historians and activists alike, the ability to trace the presence of the thobe in the region for thousands of years further legitimizes Palestinian claims to the territory as their ancestral homeland. 

#TweetYourThobe

In January 2019, US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress, wore a thobe during her swearing-in. 

Tlaib’s announcement in December 2018 that she would wear the thobe sparked controversy with some netizens claiming that it was “anti-American” to wear the traditional dress of another country. 

The backlash prompted fellow Palestian-American Susan Muaddi Darraj to start the hashtag #tweetyourthobe. In defiance of the anti-Arab sentiment at the heart of the controversy, hundreds of women shared photos of their thobes and pride in their Palestine heritage. 

On her decision to wear the thobe, Tlaib wrote, “It fills me with joy to be able to show aspects of Palestinian culture.” For Tlaib, the decision was also political with the thobe as symbolic of the diversity of the United States. She described the move as “an unapologetic display of the fabric of the people in this country.”

The survival of the thobe and the practice of tatreez following the creation of Israel and mass exodus of Palestinians in 1948 is in itself a political statement. For many, the hundreds of hours of labor needed to produce a thobe is as much about Palestinian nationalism as it is about the production of the dress. 

As Rachel Dedman of the Palestine Museum noted, “The historic thobe conjures an ideal of pure and untouched Palestine, before the occupation.” In diaspora communities, the thobe and tatreez have become important means of connection to Palestine and keeping Palenstianian culture alive. 

In recent years, the production of cheaper and lighter versions has facilitated the thobe’s transition to an everyday piece worn to express pride and nationalism.  

Palestinian PM Calls for EU Sanctions on Israel

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On September 10, 2019 a Middle Eastern national leader promised voters he would commit a crime against one of the pillars of international law and break with the Charter of the United Nations. Since that date, that national leader has won reelection and has provided even more details of how and when they intend to commit these crimes against the international community and the rules that bind us together.

The announcements have been met with a deafening silence, occasionally interspersed with ineffective diplomatic rhetoric and posturing by the powerless.

One month left

With one month left until the date Israel has indicated it will invade Palestinian territory and claim the land and its resources for its own, no one has lifted a finger to force Israel to abandon its plans. The silence must sound like music in the ears of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel’s head out state appears fully aware that as long as the United States backs him, he is free to commit crimes against international law.

It is in this strange paradigm that Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh is trying to find a way to stop the coming invasion. With all the UN’s rules and resolutions on his side, Shtayyeh’s government still stands powerless before the imminent annexation.

Palestinian statehood

In a desperate last plea for adherence to international law, Shtayyeh on June 9 made a statement to try to ensure “Israel does not get away with murder.” “We’re waiting and pushing for Israel not to annex, if Israel is going to annex after July 1st, we are going to go from the interim period of the Palestinian Authority into the manifestation of a state on the ground,” Shtayyeh stated.

If, or when, the state of Israel does choose to proceed with the annexation of vast swaths of the West Bank, Palestine will declare statehood on the basis of the borders established after the 1967 Six-Day War, Shtayyeh said. To prevent this, Shtayyeh is asking the international community to intervene and put genuine pressure on Israel to stop its plans.

The threat of EU sanctions and a possible preemptive recognition of Palestinian statehood would suffice, according to Shtayyeh.

Slow response

The question remains whether any nation will do so. Only the state of Jordan has so far offered a defensive alliance to Palestine, committing to war if an invasion occurs. The rest of the international community, including most Arab states, have simply mused over the “threat to the peace process,” as if any peace process could remain after a unilateral attack on Palestinian land.

“I think the British government and all European governments are really looking at this very seriously. The tone I have heard was very different, too,” Shtayyeh said of his conversations with European heads of state. How serious these governments will take it remains to be seen. Most countries as of yet appear reluctant to threaten sanctions, even over an obvious breach of a legislated world order.

The consequences for Palestine, and for the world, will likely unfold in June, when we will all be treated to the empty spectacle of “international outrage,” as politicians will too late decry Israeli violence and civilian casualties.

Central Banking For All: How a Digital Yuan Could Change Banking Forever

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When officials in China’s government heard Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announce plans for a digital currency called the “Libra” in October, it made a decision to fast-track the implementation of its own digital currency. The Chinese government had been working on a digital version of its currency since 2014 and the looming threat of a potential competitor meant they needed to act fast.

‘Leaked’ trials

In April 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, China started field-testing its digital currency in four large cities. Screenshots of China’s digital currency soon circulated on the internet, prompting government officials to announce that the new currency’s digital wallets were “part of the test in our research and development process and it does not mean the digital yuan has been launched officially.”

The trial run in Chengdu, Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Xiong’An meant that locals would receive part of their wages not in their bank account, but instead through deposits to a “digital wallet.” From that digital wallet customers could buy a hamburger at McDonald’s, pay for their morning coffee at Starbucks, or spend their earnings in participating shops, entertainment venues, and restaurants.

The government has stressed that it has no official timetable or launch date for the digital currency but currency traders and financial experts have nevertheless begun debating the potential threats and benefits. “American economic and geopolitical power is at stake,” stated Foreign Affairs, while Forbes published an op-ed titled “China could force Donald Trump and the Fed to destroy the US banking system.”

Going digital

The Chinese are already very familiar with cashless payments. Apps like Alipay and Wechat Pay mean Chinese people increasingly grab their phone instead of their wallet when it is time to pay at shops, restaurants, or even informal street vendor stalls, a user experience very similar to that of a potential digital Yuan.

After it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic had hit Wuhan the worst, China’s government had trucks full of locally used cash shipped to be disinfected for reuse. Officials feared the virus could easily transfer through currency and initially planned to literally “launder” the money to clean and disinfect it.

But it soon became clear it was easier to replace the paper notes with digital currency and that the implementation of a digital currency meant that in a future crisis, money could be distributed instantly to citizens.

The Coronavirus crisis has already inspired the much-criticized Chinese government to ditch growth targets, something deemed unimaginable just a year ago, and could be set to again challenge the global financial and economic status quo with its newest innovation: “Central banking for all,” with the digital Yuan.

Cutting out the middleman

While some fear a possible long-term threat of the digital Yuan replacing the Dollar as the favored international currency, it is the banking system that should be most worried. The digital Yuan means that citizens, businesses, and the government can make payments without banks taking their cut.

Our global status quo means citizens get their money from their employer. They then deposit this in a bank account, and the bank then uses that money as collateral in order to borrow much more money from central banks, which banks use to make trades and invest just like any market trader would. In essence, banks hold depositors’ money, and use it to borrow more money to loan out or “play with” in the market.

That system is the part of the “financialized economy” in which we live, where banks produce no actual products but profit from their position in between central banks and citizens and businesses. That entire industry could be upended by China’s digital Yuan with citizens receiving and transferring money directly through their central bank with no fees or profits made.

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