We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, February 7, 2014

Two key articles suggesting a radical turn of events in the Middle East

by Ron Horn.

I was astonished to read the two articles from Al Akhbar that I am citing here which seem to suggest major shifts in Middle East policies by the directors of the Empire and a key regional satrap, the Saudi Arabian monarchy. The more I have delved into the information addressed in the two articles, the more impressed I am that their analyses are accurate. 

I will leave to you and others to make interpretations about the long term implications of these recent developments. I will make only this brief comment: these developments suggest to me that the directors of the Empire want to bring stability to this chaotic region in order to focus more on the Far East and curbing China's power (Obama's "pivot to Asia").

The key news event which started all the speculation was a decree issued by the Saudi king, which occurred to the best of my knowledge, on February 3rd. Then the following two experts on Middle East matters have now provided their initial analyses of this event in Al Akbar. As you can see the first article, by ending with quotes from the second author, flows nicely into the second.
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