Synopsis: Last week US President Barack Obama canceled plans for setting up the controversial missile defense shield in Eastern Europe…specifically in Poland and the Czech Republic. This move not only significantly alters US relations with Russia, but has caused an outpouring of anger from pro-shield protagonists. Watch the Plaid Avenger rant and rage about what the ‘supposed’ shield is, and why its shelving has very little consequence for the US, Eastern Europe, or even Iran.
Synopsis: The President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, has been an exceptionally busy boy the last couple of weeks, having been on a world tour cutting energy deals, buying weaponry, touting socialism, and in general pissing off the US. How is it that this dude from a small South American country has become a serious political force on the world stage? The Avenger explores some of the reasons for Hugo’s rise to international power, and its repercussions to the US, Latin America, and the world….possibly for decades to come.
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Keywords: Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, socialism, oil, natural gas, Orinoco Belt, Russia, weapons, Colombia, Brazil, US, Latin America
Synopsis: September is turning into a seriously sloppy surprise for Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. After German forces in NATO were to blame for a bloody civilian bombing accident, Merkel and her country have been berated and badgered by fellow NATO allies….but that’s just the tip of the weinerschnitzel for Merkel. This misplaced mortar may be responsible for her losing a re-election bid, as her political opponents try to rally a overwhelmingly anti-war German public to vote to end Germany’s participation in the NATO Afghan campaign. The Avenger describes this situation, and why this election has repercussions for the US, for NATO, for Afghanistan, and the world.
Synopsis: The Plaid Avenger travels deep into central Asia to report on on the on-going ethnic violence plaguing the Xinjiang Autonomous Province in northwestern China. He explains how and why this Han/Uyghur friction has accelerated in the last few decades, how ti is manifesting itself today in these bizarre needle attacks reported widely in the news, and the greater repercussions they hold for the central Chinese leadership as they ponder what to do about their Wang.
Synopsis: As Iran continues to develop its nuclear energy industry, the US and Team West as a whole are increasingly worried that the Iranians are actually wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. The P5 +1 (5 members of the UN Permanent Security Council + Germany) are debating about increasing sanctions and/or incentives on Iran in order to reel in their nuclear ambition. Whether any of the P5 + 1 actions will actually work is anybody’s guess, but the Plaid Avenger wants you to be aware that the whole situation marks a new era in assertive foreign policy for two of the EU’s super-powers: Germany & France. Merkel & Sarkozy: a new axis of ass-kicking foreign policy?
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