In 1947, former British prime minister Winston Churchill famously observed that: “Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.”

This aphorism has been repeated countless times since, especially by those advocating the increased adoption of the Western democratic model of electoral politics around the globe.

“No man is an island, Entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own Or of thine friend’s were. Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.” (John Donne – For Whom the Bell Tolls)

The surprise offensive by Syrian rebels led by a radical Islamist group with roots in Al Qaeda dramatizes the enormous regional repercussions set off by Israel’s war against Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Badly battered by Israel’s air strikes and ground campaign in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah’s inability, at least for now, to be a prominent player in defense of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a real game-changer, as evidenced by the ease and speed with which the insurgents advanced on the ground after launching their campaign on Nov 27. 

BY ALI RIZK

WE ARE AT A TRUMPIAN JUNCTURE…. WHATEVER THIS MEANS, TRUMP WANTS TO SHAKE THE OLD “SYSTEM” WHICH HAS BECOME STALE AND CORRUPT (IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN)….

THE “OLD SYSTEM” HAS SURVIVED MANY UPS AND DOWN, BUT ITS RESILIENCE IS MOSTLY DUE TO THE ADAPTATION OF THE MIDDLE CLASS TO VARIOUS DEGREE OF ACCEPTANCE AND PRODUCTION OF CRAP — SOME PHILOSOPHICAL AND SOME MATERIALISTIC. 

HERE WE’RE GOING TO TRAVEL ALONG A FEW ROADS WITH WRITERS SUCH AS NORTHROP FRYE — A DEEP ANALYST OF IDEAS VIA LITERATURE — TO DAVID FUKUYAMA — A LIGHTWEIGHT ECONOMIST WHO STILL HAS NOT UNDERSTOOD HISTORY.

AT THE CORE OF OUR STUDY HERE STANDS A GERMAN WRITER, Oswald Spengler, WHICH WE HAVE ALREADY MENTIONED ON THIS SITE…:

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https://yourdemocracy.net/drupal/node/52622#comment-589549

Before we begin: This is about the Superman comic What's So Funny About Truth, Justice & The American Way? Better known to some as Superman Vs. The Elite and a major argument as to why Superman is still relevant today. It has nothing to do with American values, the United States Constitution or any politically charged subject matter. It's about people who fly through the sky, pile-drive trains and fight crime.

Everyone got that? Good. Hopefully this will mean i'll only be getting hate mail from DC fans, not misguided patriots.

BY BELLARIUS

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward tells the revelatory, behind-the-scenes story of three wars--Ukraine, the Middle East and the struggle for the American Presidency.

War is an intimate and sweeping account of one of the most tumultuous periods in presidential politics and American history.

We see President Joe Biden and his top advisers in tense conversations with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. We also see Donald Trump, conducting a shadow presidency and seeking to regain political power.

Will the government save us in a fuel security emergency? After a long FOI fight, the Federal Government’s plan has been made public, and it’s not comforting. Rex Patrick reports.

After a year-long $150K Freedom of Information (FOI) fight to keep secret their plans for dealing with a fuel security emergency, the Australian Government has been forced to come clean and hand them over. Should we be reassured or alarmed?

There’s no single fuel emergency scenario. Australian Governments rightly ‘wargame’ all sorts of possibilities to see how they, the Australian economy and people might cope with a major disruption of liquid fuel supplies. Australia still predominantly runs on petroleum products, without which our nation would come to a crashing halt.

President-elect Trump reportedly joked about annexing Canada during last week’s talks with Justin Trudeau, citing the looming impact of a potential trade war on Canada’s economy. Why isn’t Canada already the 51st state, anyway? Or maybe it is, and Canadians just don't realize it?

The 8,891 km US-Canadian border, long hailed as the “longest peaceful border” in the world, hasn’t always been so peaceful, with the US invading twice – in 1775 and 1812.

The first invasion targeted Quebec, seeking to seize the mostly French-speaking province 16 years after its 1759 British conquest from France. The invasion failed due to poor organization, illnesses among troops, and a surprise decision by local residents and Native tribesmen to side with the British.

Bernie Sanders has expressed his support for Donald Trump’s planned new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Bernie Sanders recently expressed his support for Donald Trump’s planned new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The lefty senator even admitted that “Elon Musk is right.”

Democrats nationally are wrestling over who will lead their party post-election. But in the Senate, they’re largely staying the course.

In a closed-door party meeting on Tuesday, Senate Democrats elected leadership for their return to the minority, including tapping Sen. Chuck Schumer for another term as caucus leader, according to a Senate Democratic leadership aide. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) was also elected to another term as whip, the No. 2 spot.

It’s been a mere three weeks since Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate former Fox News personality Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense. 

President Joe Biden didn’t pardon Hunter because he’s a loving father who thinks his drug addict son was treated unfairly by the Justice Department. He pardoned Hunter to help cover up his own crimes, just as he’ll likely pardon other members of his family before he leaves office in January. He’s trying to protect himself, and this is one of the only ways he has left to do it.

Ukraine’s self-proclaimed “fight for independence” has ironically only led to deeper dependency on financial, military, and energy support from Western countries, raising concerns about the sustainability of this arrangement.

Recently, I came to a conclusion, and now I always repeat it, that the Ukrainian government declared a struggle for independence, but in fact, it turned out to be a struggle for dependence, only from another country. Moreover, this dependence will be several times stronger than the one which they claim to be fighting against, and now it is a struggle to keep the money and arms flowing for financial gain and political survival.

Ukraine and Europe: Caught in “Treacherous Cycle” of Dependency Amid Energy and Economic Struggles

BY 

Henry Kamens

Amid the welter of commentary and post-mortems among Democrats to explain Kamala Harris’ loss to Donald Trump, there is one theory that has received widespread acceptance. The Democrats made a serious tactical mistake in concentrating too much on Trump, and spent too little time promoting positive messages about Harris.

BY GEORGE BRANDIS....

Admittedly, Harris was an awful candidate – hectoring, annoying, a platitude-mongering avatar of political correctness, faced with the difficult task of defending an incumbent administration at a time when most Americans felt worse off after four years of the Democrats. She was hard to sell.

Les liens cachés d’un géant du journalisme avec le gouvernement américain

L’OCCRP, le plus important réseau de médias d’investigation au monde, a dissimulé l’ampleur de ses liens avec le gouvernement américain, qui fournit la moitié de son budget, bénéficie d’un droit de veto sur ses dirigeants et finance des enquêtes sur la Russie ou le Venezuela.

https://www.mediapart.fr/journal/international/021224/les-liens-caches-d-un-geant-du-journalisme-avec-le-gouvernement-americain

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