Middle East

A majority of Americans live in a fake world created by propaganda. They are disconnected from reality.

"If European leaders fail to agree a plan to counter the sudden inflows of refugees, it could mean the end of the European Union. If we don't find a solution today, if we don't do everything we can today, then it is the end of the European Union as such," Prime Minister Miro Cerar said. "If we don't deliver concrete action, I believe Europe will start falling apart."

Defying the international call for an arms embargo over war crimes concerns, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced Tuesday it has approved an $11.25 billion deal to sell combat ships to Saudi Arabia, which has been waging a military assault against Yemen for more than six months. “The selling of arms in the middle of a war will obviously send the message that the Saudis can do whatever they want and get away with it,” said Farea Al-Muslimi, Beirut-based Yemeni writer and visiting scholar with Carnegie Middle East Center.

Watch out for a snowball-effect in the Treasury market...

If you are seeking more freedom and prosperity, ask yourself if that is what you will get by voting for any of the current candidates. If you are seeking to reclaim the moral high ground the United States may have once had, ask yourself if these policies will do just that. Remember, not everyone is an idiot, a Republican, or an apathetic sheeple. Some of us simply disagree with Bernie’s economics and solutions.

The philosophy of individualism is the foundation of a free society; it is the basis of a community of men that does not require or demand the sacrifice or enslavement of some for the one-sided benefits of others. Individualism is the premise of a morality for mankind that recognizes and respects the liberty and dignity of every human being. It is the ethical philosophy of freedom.

The powers that be have lost control. After almost a century of playing the Wizard of Oz, the curtain is disintegrating. Institutions to ensure control, stability and prosperity are failing. People and markets were not to be trusted and most of these institutions were established to protect against such freedom. Bureaucrats, central planners and big governments were to be the answers for a better world. The damage of nearly a century of this nonsense is suddenly becoming evident. Things fall apart is characterized by institutions that no longer are trusted or believed in.

America is a nation divided, not only upon the means we should use to attain our ends in the world, but upon the ends themselves.

The circus is back in town in Washington D.C. (actually, it’s part of a permanent residency), as a congressional panel spent Thursday peppering presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with questions about her role in the Benghazi consulate attack. It’s pure political theater, but sadly, no one on this congressional panel will ask the real questions to which Americans deserve answers. And this is because the real scandal presents questions that can’t be asked, because the answers indict the entire U.S. government.

• China's central bank cuts rates for sixth time since November (Reuters)
• Global stocks hit two-month high on dovish Draghi message (Reuters)
• $6.5 Billion in Energy Writedowns and We're Just Getting Started (BBG)
• Alphabet, formerly Google, sets share buyback, shares jump (Reuters)
• Hurricane Patricia, Stronger Than Katrina, Nears Mexico (BBG)
• TVA Cleared to Start First New U.S. Nuclear Power Plant in Nearly 20 Years (WSJ)

What if the U.S. had not invaded Iraq in 2003? How would things be different in the Middle East today? Was Iraq, in the words of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, the "worst foreign policy blunder" in American history? Let's take a big-picture tour of the Middle East and try to answer those questions. But first, a request: after each paragraph that follows, could you make sure to add the question “What could possibly go wrong?”

As John Kerry prepares to meet Sergei Lavrov in Vienna, Putin and Assad are drawing up plans to call for elections in Syria. The idea, of course, is that Assad will prevail in a landslide, allowing Moscow to claim that the people have spoken and the regime must rightfully be restored. 

"We wish that Iran would change its policies and stop meddling in the affairs of other countries in the region, in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen. We will make sure that we confront Iran's actions and shall use all our political, economic and military powers to defend our territory and people."