Saudi Arabia

“The king is not in a stable condition and in reality the son of the king [Mohammed bin Salman] is ruling the kingdom,” the prince said. “So four or possibly five of my uncles will meet soon to discuss the letters. They are making a plan with a lot of nephews and that will open the door. A lot of the second generation is very anxious.”

Most people believe that low oil prices are good for the United States, since the discretionary income of consumers will rise. There is the added benefit that Peak Oil must be far off in the distance, since “Peak Oilers” talked about high oil prices. Thus, low oil prices are viewed as an all around benefit. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth...

Nothing screams out human rights like bombing women and children at a wedding party.

"It was our Black Monday. The big question is when will they come back, because managers have been really quite reliant on Sama for business in recent years."

"... the United Nations proposes both that social networks proactively police every profile and post, and that government agencies only “license” those who agree to do so."

As Russia gears up for an offensive designed to rout anti-government forces operating in Syria, the US finds itself in the awkward position of having to partner with two of Washington's fiercest critics in the fight against terror. With the clock ticking on America's Mid-East strategy, Obama is set to sit down for a critical one-on-one with Putin that could have major geopolitical implications.

Armed U.S. Drones Alone Killed Twice As Many As Al Qaeda …

Like on many previous occasions, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca once again led to a tragic loss of life in what may be the deadliest stampede in pilgiramge history when at least 717 people died and another 805 were injured.

As Bloomberg reports, "President Vladimir Putin, determined to strengthen Russia’s only military outpost in the Middle East, is preparing to launch unilateral airstrikes against Islamic State from inside Syria if the U.S. rejects his proposal to join forces, two people familiar with the matter said."

“We assume [the Russian buildup in Syria is] being coordinated with the Iranians. What we are seeing now is that there is some sort of Iran nexus."

"I don’t blame America. I am America, you are America. I don’t blame you. I blame bad policy. I blame the interventionists. I blame the neoconservatives who preach this stuff, who believe in it like a religion — that they have to promote American goodness even if you have to bomb and kill people. In short, I don’t blame America; I blame neocons."

Having accurately foreseen the current events instead of just levering up on even more beta and praying the BTFDers return and bail out his underwater positions, John Burbank's opinion actually matters as does his outlook on what happens next. What he foresees is not pleasant.

"Possible Actions: Publicize presence of transiting (or externally focused) extremist groups in Syria, not limited to mention of Hamas and PIJ. Publicize Syrian efforts against extremist groups in a way that suggests weakness, signs of instability, and uncontrolled blowback. The SARG,s argument (usually used after terror attacks in Syria) that it too is a victim of terrorism should be used against it to give greater prominence to increasing signs of instability within Syria."

As Benjamin Netanyahu visits Moscow to discuss the possibility that Russian arms delivered to Syria could end up being funneled to Hezbollah, the action on the ground heats up with the Russian embassy in Damscus coming under mortar fire. The Kremlin has condemned the attack as "criminal" and is now calling for "action." 

If you were trying to put together a global all-star team of the most authoritarian, human rights abusing nations on earth, not only would Saudi Arabia be at the top of the list, it would be captain of the squad. In a move as embarrassing, laughable and tragic as Barack Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize just as he was about to embark upon several overseas wars and drone countless civilians to death without due process, the United Nations has, remarkably, named Saudi Arabia head of it’s human rights panel.