Week Twelve of the Russian Intervention in Syria: Zag!

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This colums was originally written for the Unz Review: http://www.unz.com/tsaker/week-twelve-of-the-russian-intervention-in-syria-zag/

In last week’s review of the Russian military intervention in Syria I wrote that Kerry had lost every single negotiation he ever had with the Russians and that he had a record of agreeing to A only to come back to the US and then declare non-A. This time again, the Americans did not change their modus operandi, except that it was Obama himself who declared, yet again, that Assad must go, resulting in some commentators speaking of a “White House Schizophrenia”. Others, however, notedthat this could be simply a case of face saving denials. Personally, I think that both of these explanations are correct.

Is the Saudi monarchy coming apart at the seams?

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Originally appeared at Consortiumnews; Written by Daniel Lazare

Is the Saudi monarchy coming apart at the seams? Scholars and journalists have long predicted the kingdom’s demise, but this time the forecasts may finally prove correct.

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Check out Top 10 Business Tips For Newbies

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1. Love What You Do

It's a smart ideo to choose an area which you as of now have an interest for, for various reasons. You as of now have some knowledge and expertise in this area which is precious and you won't as a matter of course be beginning without any preparation. In the event that you picked an area which is as of now of enthusiasm to you it won't inexorably feel like work, particularly when difficult situations arise. Regardless of which zone you area you will without a doubt have harsh patches, when this happens you are much more prone to move forward on the grounds that you have a connection, a personal stake and an enthusiasm. On the off chance that you have no hobby you'll be considerably more likely to quit at the first sign of inconvenience.

Week Eleven of the Russian Intervention in Syria: a step back from the brink?

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This article was originally written for the Unz Review:http://www.unz.com/tsaker/week-eleven-of-the-russian-intervention-in-syria-a-step-back-from-the-brink

This has been an amazing week. While last week I concluded that “The only way to avoid a war is to finally give up, even if that is initially denied publicly, on the “Assad must go” policy”. Now it is true that various US officials, including Kerry, did make statements about the fact that Assad need not go right now, that a “transition” was important or that “the institutions of the state” had to be preserved, but of course what I, and many others really meant, was that the US needed to fundamentally change its policy towards the Syrian conflict. Furthermore, since Turkey committed an act of war against Russia under the “umbrella” of the US and NATO, this also created a fantastically dangerous situation in which a rogue state like Turkey could have the impression of impunity because of its membership in NATO. Here again, what was needed was not just a positive statement, but a fundamental change in US policy.