Day: December 21, 2016

Closing Thought–21Dec16

Stop The Presses!

There has been much written and said about the news and the news institutions…..most Americans do not like or trust their news outlets…..why is that?

This Press is pertaining to the media in the UK but all you have to do is change the UK to US and it would still be accurate….

While most of us don’t trust journalists, many of us are still under the illusion that we have a free and independent press. The truth is we don’t. Here’s five reasons why we should be very sceptical of the information we read in the corporate media and why there is hope for the future.

Source: Five reasons why we don’t have a free and independent press in the UK and what we can do about it | openDemocracy

Sounds all too familiar……huh?

Plus I seem to get a chuckle when I hear the MSM use the term “Freedom of the Press”…..it is all so much smoke and mirrors.

Will There Be A Positive Aftermath?

(Yep I have returned to my first love….foreign policy and international situations….let the fun begin)

Like all wars this one in the Middle East will come to pass…that is if the world wants it to end.

There have been a few reports issued about what could be done after the hostilities….the first was issued by the Atlantic Council, now I am not a big fan of this group for they are a neo-liberal think tank that has a agenda and that agenda is not always diplomacy….but they did do some research and issue a report…..

On November 30, 2016, the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center launched the Middle East Strategy Task Force (MEST) co-chairs’ final report with an event featuring former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former US National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley. The discussion was moderated by Ayman Mohyeldin of MSNBC and NBC with opening remarks by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe.

Kempe opened the event by discussing the deliberate process the Task Force underwent to hear from voices in the region. He then explained that the co-chairs’ report presents a unique approach that will lead to a better understanding of the Middle East and to a more hopeful future. He added that the MEST report has not focused solely on defining an American strategy for the region but rather a strategy for the region itself.

Source: A New Approach for the Middle East | 11.30.2016 – MEST

But in case you are too lazy to do the leg work here is the full report…..Read the Full Report

Another neo-liberal bunch has weighed in on the Middle East……Council on Foreign Affairs…….

When the Arab Spring began in 2011, supporters of democracy in the Middle East had widespread hopes that the region might turn a corner and move from autocracy to democracy. Those hopes have been realized reasonably well in Tunisia, which has seen free elections and the peaceful alternation of power between political parties. But many other Arab countries have cracked down on dissent and political speech.

The United States should nevertheless support those seeking peaceful change toward more open and democratic political systems. The Arab uprisings of 2011–2012 suggest that the public desire for change is widespread, and democratic political systems provide paths for peaceful change that can accommodate many different social and economic views through compromise.

Source: How to Support Democracy in the Arab World | World Affairs Journal

Contrary to the naysayers the Middle East does have a future….but it will depend on whether the world promotes peace or conflict……

As it stands today I will say the later.

Donald Trump is pragmatic, not ideological

This Not An Endorsement.

Every media outlet is scrambling to determine what type of president Trump will be….and a recent op-ed in the Washington Times offers some insight….

Cozying up to Russia, questioning the “one-China policy,” disputing CIA intelligence and naming several generals and billionaires to his Cabinet, Donald Trump has set aghast many foreign policy analysts, economists, security experts and mainstream journalists who are accustomed to orderly thinking and a pretense of what they view as principled decision-making from Washington’s political leaders.

Sadly for them — but not for the voters who elected Mr. Trump — the president-elect has no big, idealistic vision of an orderly world to anchor American international policy or limit strategies at home to resurrect the economy.

Mr. Trump lacks John Kennedy’s inaugural confidence that America has the wealth and will to bear any burden, endure any price to defend freedom in every corner of the world. Nor does he embrace Barack Obama’s sense of American responsibility and guilt to risk our national prosperity, cultural identity and security to promote an ethereal global community.

Source: Donald Trump is pragmatic, not ideological – Washington Times

I do not totally agree with this piece I offer it up as a discussion piece…..so please do not deride my posting this….by pressing it does not mean I endorse the thoughts contained within it.

Global Leadership Vacuum

“The world is going to Hell in a hand basket”…..was my grandfather’s favorite term when he would read the daily newspaper.

The US has a new president and the world is wondering what it will mean for the allies of America……while China and Russia are looking for a bigger foothold in international affairs….who’s back gets scratched first?

I read a good op-ed on this very issue…..

A dangerous vacuum of global leadership is emerging that is far too easy to exploit by those who do not support the existing system of collective management of human affairs. Western powers will lose out as United States’ President-elect Donald Trump gets increasingly unpredictable in his international policies and consequently the US suffers a slow erosion of trust. German Chancellor Angela Merkel may be re-elected and therefore continue as de facto leader of the European Union (EU), but will not offer much global leadership as she continues to muddle through Europe’s permanent state of crisis. This is all good news for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping as they pursue their very different national strategies, but share a desire to end what they see as an America-dominated system that they consider Washington has grossly abused to its great benefit.

Source: Global leadership vacuum | GulfNews.com

WE who watch the issues of the world will just have to wait to see what happens after 20Jan17….I wish I could say that I am optimistic….but that would be a lie….