So Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the EU Commission, wants to set up a European army in the face of the threat posed by Moscow. Quite apart from the fact that this would partly duplicate NATO and the suspicion that it is motivated more by the desire to centralise key powers at EU level since in terms of foreign policy (in Juncker’s words) “we don’t seem to be taken entirely seriously”, it completely misreads ‘the Russian threat’. Over the last 20 years there has been a steady Western encroachment eastwards which was bound eventually to cause Russian resistance and retaliation. It has also happened in blind disregard of Western pledges to do no such thing. Continue reading
Tagged with US
US slaps sanctions on Venezuela as some fear right-wing destabilisation
In January, Venezuela’s progressive, elected President Nicolas Maduro warned that the right-wing opposition in the country is trying to create conditions which could lead to a coup, similar to the 2002 attempt to overthrow the late President Hugo Chavez. Destabilisation attempts have intensified following President Chávez’s death in 2013 – as the opposition believe that their time has come. His warning came days after right-wing opposition leader Henrique Capriles called for a change in government, with the President saying:
They are using the same script: economic warfare, campaigns to promote social unrest, rumors of a coup d’etat. They have the same objective that they had throughout 2001, 2002 and 2003.”
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Obama imposing $300bn levy on banks & hyper-rich: how about UK?
It is remarkable t
hat in the citadel of capitalism Obama has just unveiled a plan to impose a levy on the biggest banks and on the wealthiest families that is expected to raise $300bn, yet in Europe any such idea is taboo. In the US the new tax is being crafted to affect only the richest 1%, with 80% of the impact falling on the richest 0.1%. The levy will also set a fee of 0.07%on the liabilities of a hundred financial institutions with assets of $50bn, which would have the added benefit of deterring banks from taking on excessive leverage as well as reducing the risk of defaults. Why isn’t such a skilfully targeted measure being considered here? Continue reading
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The new EU Commission has marked up a TTIP deal with US as a key objective
The fight over the euphemistically named Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which the US Congress successfully blocked over the last year, is about to be pushed forward in a higher gear now that the new EU Commission has made clear their eagerness to drive a deal through with the US over this next year. The previous Commission had already met with corporations and their lobbyists 119 times, according to FOI requests, compared with just 8 times with civil society groups. The argument is that TTIP will promote jobs and growth – the same argument that the US used to promote NAFTA, when it actually led to an export of jobs from the US and is only now supported by 15% of Americans. The other main argument is that it will remove regulation and red tape that gets in the way of trade. The talk is of ‘regulatory convergence’ which is likely to mean chasing the lowest common denominator in terms of labour, social and environmental standards. Continue reading
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On bombing ISIS
War is politics by other, violent means. Proving the axiom right now is the arc of slaughter carving a great bloody crescent out of the Middle East. Start from the Mediterranean coast and move gradually in. The racist hysteria in Israel has found an outlet in the carefree pounding of the Gaza Strip. Civilians? Children? Collateral, Guv. Blame Hamas.
Scan eastwards and we find Assad’s regime just about clinging on. This secular but brutal monarchy has defended itself by any and all means at its disposal, be it torture, massacre and, arguably, chemical weapons. As despicable as Israel’s actions are, Assad’s crimes in the Syrian civil war are far, far worse. Continue reading