G’day mates from across the plaid planet! Looks like our esteemed Skype guest from last semester, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, has once again become the current Prime Minister of Australia! Crikey! This podcast covers that palace intrigue, as well as pointing out some particulars about new world leaders in Iran, Pakistan, and even a shout out to the clown prince of politics in Italy. New peeps in charge across the planet! Learn more here!
“Democracy is not what governments do, it is what people do,” and man, oh man, are the peeps dropping the democracy bomb in Brazil right now! Check out this Brazilian Boyer rant which highlights the reasons behind the current protests in Brazil, and also compares and contrasts the other people protests happening around the planet. Power to the people, and go democracy!
Keywords: Brazil, protests, bus fare, government, democracy, World Cup, Olympics, corruption, crime, infrastructure, Turkey, Arab Spring, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Tea Party, Occupy Wall Street, Howard Zinn, USA
Russia just agreed to ship the S-300 missile defense system to Syria, and has also pledged to support the Assad regime of Syria to the bitter end. Damn! Why they gotta be like that? Just being haters to Team West and freedom in general?
Not really. These moves are actually an extension of hundreds of years of Russian foreign policy in this region, and also are indicative of a re-assertive Russian entree back into Middle Eastern affairs in general…a move that counters the influence of their adversaries, strengthens the hand of their allies, and attempts to keep a lid on Islamic extremism and/or sectarian independence movements that might spill over into Russia itself. Putin power ain’t done in the Middle East just as yet….and it actually may be on the rise.
Keywords: Russia, Syria, S-300, missile defense system, Turkey, USA, Israel, Arab, Saudi Arabia, GCC, Black Sea, Crimean War, Russo-Turkish War, Iran, Chechnya, Dagestan, Caucuses, Islam, extremism, terrorism, Muslim Brotherhood, Arab Spring, Cold War
Here we are 2 years in to the Syrian Civil War that was sparked by the Arab Spring…70,000 dead, hundreds of thousands of refugees, and no end in site to the suffering. Instead of trying to make any grand predictions about the future of this mess, or to try and explain all the historical intricacies that lead up to it, the Professor is simply offering up a short list of players involved in the struggle for control and the soul of this state….and indeed outlines why this particular face-off could be the start of a greater regional showdown between Shia and Sunni Islam
Keywords: Syria, civil war, Shia, Alawite, Sunni, Islam, Iran, Hezbollah, Lebanon, Turkey, Israel, USA, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Arab, Arab Spring, Arab States
Forgive my bluntness, but this wanna-be demi-god of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un, is making monumentally stupid moves at this point that are going to have repercussions far beyond the current Korean crisis. As he ramps up the insanity and provocations, it is not the USA that is changing its strategy: it may be that South Korea and Japan make moves towards nuclear armament themselves! And who stands to lose the most in an escalated Asian arms race? China, who can’t be too none happy about any of this mess! Dig this Professor pontification on this Korean conundrum….
Keywords: North Korea, South Korea, Japan, China, USA, war, provocation, escalation, arms race, nuclear, nuclear weapon, nuclear arms, nuclear energy, enrichment, threat, arms race, Asia
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