January 19, 2021
Special Dispatch No. 9146
CCP People s Daily : Fukuyama s End Of History Hasn t Materialized, Western Democracy Has Failed; The East Is Rising And The West Is Falling
January 19, 2021
On January 7, 2021, The People s Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published commentary on the January 6 riot at the U.S. States Capitol, stating that on that date, the world had witnessed a reality show of democracy. Depicting the riot as a natural result of America s failure to confront the COVID-19 crisis, the commentary said: The Covid-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the values of democracy, freedom and human rights which have always been relished and bragged about in the West.
January 19, 2021
Special Dispatch No. 9144
Russian Journalist Bavyrin: Russian Grain Export Controls Could Trigger A New Arab Spring As They Triggered The Original Outburst In 2011
January 19, 2021
Russian journalist Dmitry Bavyrin writing in Vz.ru scoffs at both naïve Western views that the Arab Spring was triggered by a thirst for democracy but also at the pro-regime narrative that Western intelligence agencies, seeking to impose more supine regimes were behind the unrest. He claims that Russia inadvertently caused the outburst by withholding grain for export thus driving up bread prices. As Russia, recently imposed similar controls to lower prices within Russia,[1] Middle Eastern countries like Egypt that have seen their tourism industry crushed by the coronavirus are ripe for a renewed outburst. The Middle East, burdened by overpopulation and endemic food crises, will always be the planet s tinderbox.
Was The GCC Reconciliation Summit A Pause Or A Breakthrough?
January 19, 2021 | By Alberto M. Fernandez
Artwork by Saudi artist Basma al-Balawi celebrating the 41st GCC Summit at Al-Ula
The recent reconciliation among feuding Gulf states is potentially a positive, hopeful step. Whether engineered by self-interest, last-gasp Trump administration diplomacy, or fear of a new Democratic administration in Washington, it was an effort to repair a painful and costly episode in regional history. The 41st Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit at Al-Ula in Saudi Arabia ostensibly healed a breach that had last for over three years as Qatar faced off against four opponents – Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt. The concluding Al-Ula Declaration, aimed at bolstering GCC unity, was diplomatic boilerplate.[1] But the actual steps of restoring air and land transport (by the anti-Qatar bloc) and the freezing of some international lawsuits (by Qatar) were more tangible.
A Telegram channel affiliated with Iran-backed militias in Iraq shares photos showing U.S soldiers and armored vehicles in Taji base, north Baghdad, claims they were hacked by its cyber team.