Saudi Arabia

“These special operators will over time be able to conduct raids, free hostages, gather intelligence, and capture ISIL leaders."

In a broad-based press conference, President Obama is expected to address everything from climate change and fossil fuels to more mundane threats such as ISIS, Boko Haram, Turkey, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. As you watch the President explain how he is solving all these 'issues', bear in mind his statement from earlier today that the global pact on climate control is "an act of defiance" against terrorism that proves the world stands undeterred by ISIS. Yeah that really showed them, eh?!

With Jeremy Corbyn's divided Labour MPs free to break party rank in Wednesday's key vote, "RAF crews could be bombing the Isis headquarters in Raqqa by the end of the week." Meanwhile, "German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet approved deploying warplanes over Syria in the fight against Islamic State."

"At the moment we have received additional information confirming that that oil from the deposits controlled by Islamic State militants enters Turkish territory on industrial scale."

Faced with a sharp deterioration in government finances, the Saudis have resorted to tapping the bond market and delaying contractor payments in an effort to avoid further depletion of the kingdom's SAMA reserves. Now, Saudi banks are bleeding private and public sector deposits, while interbank rates have spiked the most since 2008. 

Without a rerun of last Friday's Chinese stock market rout, European traders could focus on what "really matters", namely how much of the ECB's upcoming 20 bps rate cut and €20 billion QE expansion (with Commerzbank saying Draghi may even hint at Europe's QE3) is priced in, and whether the ECB's actions are just modestly priced in, or more than fully, and just how big the "sell the news" event will be.The result: the Euro falls to a new 7 month low, the dollar spot index hits a new all time high, and European stocks and US futures stage another remarkable overnight comeback on the usual low volume levitation and central bank intervention.

The latest deranged idea floated by US 'ally and friend' Saudi Arabia’s monarchs is to sue Twitter users comparing the barbaric kingdom to ISIS. The following table demonstrates precisely why the Saudis are so sensitive about the topic. Namely, because the accusations are true.

Americans today are blissfully distracted by their iGadgets, plotting out their holiday shopping strategies, leasing new cars, eating out, and buying advance tickets to the new Star Wars movie. They don’t see the wicked winter squalls ahead which will try their souls. We are experiencing the lull before the storms, but the storms are surely coming. The potential for catastrophe is high and burying our heads in the sand is not a strategy.

It's no secret that the US has played an outsized role in facilitating Syria's five-year civil war by funneling money and guns to a hodgepodge of opposition groups. It's also no secret that The Pentagon's latest "train and equip" program was a disaster of epic proportions. But rest assured, if Washington can make it worse, Washington will make it worse, which is why we weren't surprised that the 2016 NDAA authorizes more taxpayer money for the funding of "moderate" Syrian rebels.

If the end justifies the means, and we make sure there never is an end to this, then arms will continue to be traded, profits will continue to be made, and lies will be told till no-one can tell up from down, since all means are justified until the end of time. That this leaves us morally utterly rudderless then becomes just another one of those justified means. Anything goes.

“There was no fear anymore after I took Captagon...You don’t have any problems. You don’t even thinking about sleeping or leaving the checkpoint. It gives you great courage and power,”

At least 151 people have been put to death since Saudi Arabia's current King Salman rose to power after the death of King Abdullah in January 2015, dramatically higher than the total of 90 in 2014. As Amnesty International warns, "it is clear that the Saudi Arabian authorities are using the guise of counter-terrorism to settle political scores."

“China has for decades proudly proclaimed its lack of military facilities on foreign soil, so seeking long-term military access at a quasi-base level is a massive about-face… China is poised to cross the Rubicon.”

How Uncle Sam seeded global Jihad... and cultivates it to this day.