10 November 2012 — Strategic Culture Foundation
Devolution for Scotland and the British Crown
10.11.2012 | 00:00 | Nikolai MALISHEVSKI
This October, London handed the Scottish Parliament the authority to hold a referendum on independence… The centuries-old colonial experience shows that the British Crown, when she could not stop the process, sought to lead it, and direct this energy to their advantage. In principle, this scenario is possible today. Inside the United Kingdom a sovereign Scotland could be used to solve economic problems. Beyond this – the Anglo-Saxon path of fragmentation can be seen in the European Union, the Balkans, Eurasia, and even Canada, where this autumn the Quebec party won the election, and advocated the creation of a sovereign state separate from Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth…
Obama II
09.11.2012 | 00:00 | Wayne MADSEN
Obama will have to carefully avoid being drawn into Pentagon plans to establish a NATO-like military pact in the Asia-Pacific to confront China and Russia… Mrs. Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have tried to re-militarize U.S. policy in Asia with such phraseology as the «Asia Pivot» and «Asia Rebalance» but the intent is to establish a cordon sanitaire around China’s maritime and land borders… If Obama continues with a military-led pivot to Asia, Beijing’s hardliners will step up to meet the threat, whether it is from America directly or American surrogates like Japan, South Korea, or the Philippines…
Good Luck… and Just at the Right Time
09.11.2012 | 00:00 | Rafe MAIR
Out of this election came an immense development – a man of colour won twice… Why is this so important? Because US demographics are changing so that now almost 30 out of 100 Americans are non-white. With the exception of Florida Cuban Americans, all will solidly support a Democrat of colour…
Killing the alternative: the US elections is a no-win situation for the third parties
08.11.2012 | 00:00 | Brian WILSON
The history of the third parties in the US is a struggle for survival. Political analysts often proclaim that bipartisanship is hardwired in the structure of the electoral process. They notice three main factors that predetermine the existence of the two-party system: campaign finance rules, Electoral College and special rules giving party candidates ballot access. Such euphemisms as «campaign finance rules» are ridiculous, to say the least. Any viable alternative is blocked at the grassroots level by underfunding. But thanks to many investigations, the problem of the so called «soft money» is not unknown to the public…
Syria the Bleeding and Spreading Wound (II)
08.11.2012 | 00:00 | Najmuddin A. SHAIKH
As Lakdar Brahimi, while in Beirut canvassing support for his proposal for an Eid Festival ceasefire in Syria warned “This crisis cannot remain confined within Syrian territory»,… «Either it is solved, or it gets worse… and sets [the region] ablaze». This was for most observers no more than a statement of the obvious when one looks at the developments in the countries of the region…
Obama Wins Election: What Next?
07.11.2012 | 11:05 | Andrei AKULOV
True, Mr. Obama has not lived up to many expectations. His eloquence helps but not to the extent it was four years ago when he was a newcomer giving a hope. He has actually failed in the Middle East, he faces growing anti-American sentiments in Latin America and elsewhere in the world, he cannot oppose China’s influence due to well-known economic realities, his reset policy towards Russia has failed so far, his economic performance is a far cry from real recovery. But he preserved control when the country was in dire straits and has solved some problems. It’s not a strong opponent but rather frustration over the results of his first term that Obama had to fight. So election result means a lot of uncertainty…
German gold and the U.S.
07.11.2012 | 00:00 | Alexander GOROKHOV
According to British media reports, the German central bank – the Bundesbank – has decided to recall 150 tonnes of gold from the U.S., Britain and France, which was transferred by the Germans for storage in these countries at the height of the Cold War. It would seem a small amount compared to the total weight of Germany`s gold reserves, amounting to 3.396,3 tonnes, which is the second in the world only to the stocks of the U.S.. However, if you did not know, only recently Germany returned «home» about 1,000 tons of the precious metal, and its future plans are to bring back another 500 tons and examine them physically (i.e., literally counting each ingot) of gold stored abroad…
Democracy in America today (IV)
06.11.2012 | 00:00 | Dmitry MININ
The Russian Foreign Ministry report on human rights in the United States, along with other crimes, recorded numerous cases of police abuse… The systematic violations of human rights in United States prisons have come to be mass practice… In 33 U.S. states the death penalty is still permitted… Hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. are abused… One of the most disenfranchised segments of the population of America are migrants…
Democracy in America today (III)
05.11.2012 | 12:00 | Dmitry MININ
A very special topic in the report by the Russian Foreign Ministry on human rights in the U.S on the partial review of offences committed by the American side, is in the absolutely abhorrent practice of extrajudicial killings abroad. As part of the «war on terror» Washington has developed highly specific approaches, the application of which has not only massively violated many international legal norms, but killed thousands of innocent people…
NATO turns into IOTO as it spread to the East
05.11.2012 | 00:00 | Wayne MADSEN
With the prodding of the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) appears to be making another long-leap to the east. Already extending its influence in the Mediterranean and North Africa through the Mediterranean Dialogue and the Middle East through the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative, NATO now looks set to extend its North Atlantic Charter well into the Indian Ocean. The «North Atlantic» Treaty Organization may one day be expanded to be called NATO– «IOTO», or the NATO – Indian Ocean Treaty Organization…
Democracy in America Today (II)
04.11.2012 | 19:15 | Dmitry MININ
The fundamental political rights of Americans in today’s society, not only are not exempt from elements of an archaic character, but they have become even more vulnerable, and even more manipulated… Elections arouse the most criticism. The U.S. president is still not elected by direct popular election, and instead by Electoral College. Many rightly believe this system to be obsolete and undemocratic… Down to this system, three times in the history of the U.S., the President elected has been a candidate with fewer votes than his opponent (the last time was George W. Bush in 2000)…
Democracy in America today (I)
03.11.2012 | 16:53 | Dmitry MININ
Washington believes that one of the achievements of its propaganda and diplomatic machinery was that after a meeting in Helsinki in 1975, they managed to make the so-called «third basket» which in the main placed emphasis on human rights. Decade after decade, the United States used the «third basket» as an important weapon of foreign policy influence. Tectonic upheavals happened in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the late 80’s and 90’s. The twentieth century convinced the Americans of the effectiveness of the chosen instrument…
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The New Dark Age 
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