The Century Foundation: Corruption Is Strangling Iraq

Originally posted on Levant's Agora:
By Sajad Jiyad.  It sounds like a Hollywood script: a network of thieves forge documents to withdraw $2.5 billion in cash from an idle government account. The money disappears into shadowy real estate purchases and foreign banks. A ringleader is apprehended as he is about to board his private…

Alan Sked’s view on the EU

<>”The EU may not survive for much longer. It is still “a work in progress”, but without any progress. It lacks fiscal unity, armed forces, an effective foreign service, and accountability in government. It possesses a sclerotic parliament, a problematic currency and suffers from massive corruption if its Court of Auditors is to be believed..”

2nd week of August 2022 by Bloomberg

August 08 US Democrats finally have something to celebrate. President Joe Biden emerged from a prolonged period of isolation due to Covid-19 right as a massive $430 billion climate, energy and tax bill that was critical to his domestic agenda was passed by the Senate yesterday. His party was disciplined in just getting it done, showing

Putin speaks plainly – and the West is speechless

Originally posted on a-bigger-bang:
As was to be expected, Putin explained once again, and this time in summary form for everyone to take note of, why he wants to recognize the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which have broken away from Ukraine, as independent. In doing so, the president made out two enemy images above all:…

Walgelijk vrij lastig vallen van Indische vrouwen

Enkele maanden geleden werden weer eens twee jonge meisjes werden opgeknoopt aan een boom na een groepsverkrachting in de weilanden rond hun huis in India, en een minister van de regeringspartij heeft gereageerd door te zeggen dat verkrachting “een sociale misdaad is… soms is het goed, soms is het verkeerd.” Hoe zou zo iets ooit