Saudi Arabia and BRICS

No one serious considers the Saudi monarchy to be a model of anything positive.

Although Ibn Abdul-Wahhab is considered to be the father of Wahhabism, it was actually the British who initially impregnated him with the ideas of Wahhabism and made him its leader for their own sinister purposes to destroy Islam and the Muslim Ottoman Empire. The intricate details of this intriguing British conspiracy, are to be found in the memoirs of its master spy, titled “Confessions of a British Spy”.

How do you explain the potential inclusion of Saudi Arabia in the BRICS and the Global South-led drive toward de-dollarization?

Isn’t that bad?

No one serious considers the Saudi monarchy to be a model of anything positive.

But if there is ever going to be systemic change in the Gulf (which I think is inevitable at some point), it is much more likely to come about through integration with the Global South, not the imperial core.

It was the British and US empires that created the Saudi regime in the first place, protected it, and prevented any systemic change for the past century.

Moreover, it has arguably been the United States that has historically pressured and/or forced the Saudi regime to implement its most reactionary foreign policies, such as Riyadh’s support for Salafi-jihadist contras (in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the former Yugoslavia, Libya, Syria, etc.), or its collaboration with Israeli colonialism, bombing of Yemen, sectarian anti-Shia propaganda campaign, and war drive against Iran.

If Saudi Arabia maintains a more independent, non-aligned foreign policy, that helps strengthen the resurgent Non-Aligned Movement, and is certainly good for West Asia.

That doesn’t make the reactionary monarchy desirable in any way — or directly help the largely South Asian migrant workers who keep the country running through brutal slave-like exploitation — but it does mean the possibility for potential peace in the region after decades of US-led neocolonial wars, a weakening of the US-led campaign to normalize Israeli colonialism, and a likely end to the wars on Yemen and Iran.

The fact of the matter is simply that, as one of the world’s leading oil producers, and the de facto leader of OPEC, Saudi Arabia’s inclusion in the Global South-led drive toward de-dollarization is very important.

The petrodollar is absolutely fundamental in undergirding the US-led imperial system of economic domination, which is built around the dollar as the global reserve currency.

An end to Saudi petrodollar backing, even if only partially, would be a major blow to US economic hegemony.

If that imperial system does eventually collapse, whether or not the Saudi regime (or the UAE, Qatar, or any other Gulf monarchy) survives is up in the air as well — given how crucial US military support has been historically for protecting the Gulf monarchies.

But as long as the US empire was propping up the Saudi regime, it was not going anywhere.

South Africa to Use BRICS Chair Role (bad for ‘Israel’)

South Africa calls for Israel to be declared an ‘apartheid state’

The South African government has remained a strong ally of Palestine, providing both material and public support for its liberation cause.

The South African government has expressed concerns that Israel’s continued occupation of “significant portions of the West Bank” and the development of new settlements there “are glaring examples of violations of international law” as the longrunning Israel-Palestine conflict goes on.

“The Palestinian narrative evokes experiences of South Africa’s own history of racial segregation and oppression,” Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations and cooperation, said at the second meeting of the Palestinian Heads of Mission in Africa, held in the capital Pretoria.

(1) South Africans Condemn Israeli Aggression Against the Palestinians. ANC, COSATU maintains long held position in opposition to Zionist occupation Quote: “While Israel says it fights Hamas because it is a terror organization that does not recognize its existence as a Jewish state, it unleashes the same violence on virtually any Palestinian. It practices ruthless collective punishment. It opposes unity among Palestinians ostensibly because this includes Hamas, but it acts just as harshly against other political movements in the Palestinian territory. The latest escalation of violence against Palestinians comes just over a month since they established a unity government, which was then recognized by many world governments to the chagrin of the state of Israel. Hamas has become a convenient explanation for indiscriminate violence visited on Palestinians before unity efforts.”

“As oppressed South Africans, we experienced firsthand the effects of racial inequality, discrimination and denial and we cannot stand by while another generation of Palestinians are left behind,” she said.

Pandor said Pretoria believes Israel should be classified as an apartheid state and that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) should establish a committee to verify whether it satisfies the requirements.

Palestinian foreign minister Riad Malki, who attended the forum, spoke to the state-run South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) after the session.

“If there is any country or countries that can comprehend the suffering and the struggle for freedom and independence of Palestine, it is the African continent and the people of Africa,” Malki said.

Ties that bind

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The first Palestinian embassy in South Africa was accredited in 1995, marking the beginning of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Over the years, the South African government has remained a strong ally of Palestine, providing both material and public support for its liberation cause.

“Our position on Palestine has always been clear, consistent, and convergent with the international community,” Pandor said.

According to a recent report by the Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights, a civil organisation with headquarters in the Gaza Strip, approximately 5,418 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military operations in the embattled Gaza Strip during the past 15 years, including 1,246 children and 488 women.

A recent UN commission of inquiry to investigate violations in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, determined in its report that Israel is responsible for severe human rights violations against Palestinians.

“These reports are significant in raising global awareness of the conditions that Palestinians are subjected to and they provide credence and support to an overwhelming body of factual evidence, all pointing to the fact that the State of Israel is committing crimes of apartheid and persecution against Palestinians”, said Pandor while referencing the reports.

Global campaign for Shireen

Israel defiant as Al Jazeera drags Tel Aviv to ICC over Shireen Abu Akleh killing I Key Details - YouTube

Pandor was the first representative of the South African government to denounce the killing of Palestinian-American Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in May by Israeli forces during a raid in the West Bank.

At the time of Abu Akleh’s death, she compared the violent disruption of her funeral procession by Israeli police to the cruelty of the South African apartheid military.

After Tuesday’s conference session, she told SABC that “we can’t leave the matter of Shireen Abu Akleh untouched.”

“We will push the Palestinian cause at the UN General Assembly and we need also civil society to join us,” said Pandor.

China: Iran-Saudi pact to Kick US and Israel Out of the region!

China has praised an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic relations after seven years of hostility, saying the pact will help regional countries to get rid of foreign interference and take the future into their own hands.

After several days of intensive negotiations hosted by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia finally clinched a deal on Friday to restore diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions within two months.

According to the statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia highlighted the need to respect each others’ national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another.

Iran, Saudi Arabia and China expressed their firm determination to make their utmost efforts to promote regional and international peace and security, it emphasized.

Iran, Saudi Arabia agree to resume relations, re-open embassies

Iran and Saudi Arabia agree in the Chinese capital of Beijing to restore their diplomatic relations seven years after they were severed over several issues.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Saturday that the dialogue and agreement between Tehran and Riyadh “set a good example of how countries in the region can resolve disputes and differences and achieve good neighborliness and friendship through dialogue and consultation.”

The agreement, he said, “will help regional countries to get rid of external interference and take the future into their own hands.”

The spokesperson emphasized that Beijing pursues no selfish interest whatsoever in the Middle East, respects the stature of the regional countries and opposes “geopolitical competition” in this region.

“China always believes that the future of the Middle East should always be in the hands of the countries in the region. China always supports the people in the Middle East in independently exploring their development paths and supports Middle East countries in resolving differences through dialogue and consultation to jointly promote lasting peace and stability in the region,” the diplomat said.

The Foreign Ministry official added that China seeks to promote security and stability in the Middle East, supports its development through solidarity and become a partner for development and prosperity.

“China will continue to contribute its insights and proposals to realizing peace and tranquility in the Middle East and play its role as a responsible major country in this process,” the spokesperson said.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters, enraged by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government, stormed its embassy in Tehran.

The two sides had held five rounds of negotiations in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad since April 2021.

In Moscow, Xi and Putin Bury Pax Americana

“Foam at the mouth” as much as you like; NATO is in the process of being thoroughly humiliated in Ukraine.”

What has just taken place in Moscow is nothing less than a new Yalta, which, incidentally, is in Crimea.

But unlike the momentous meeting of US President Franklin Roosevelt, Soviet Leader Joseph Stalin, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in USSR-run Crimea in 1945, this is the first time in arguably five centuries that no political leader from the west is setting the global agenda.

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“There’s no turning back on the demolition of the remnants of Pax Americana.”

It’s Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin that are now running the multilateral, multipolar show.

Western exceptionalists may deploy their crybaby routines as much as they want: nothing will change the spectacular optics, and the underlying substance of this developing world order, especially for the Global South.

What Xi and Putin are setting out to do was explained in detail before their summit, in two Op-Eds penned by the presidents themselves.

Like a highly-synchronized Russian ballet, Putin’s vision was laid out in the People’s Daily in China, focusing on a “future-bound partnership,” while Xi’s was published in the Russian Gazette and the RIA Novosti website, focusing on a new chapter in cooperation and common development.

Right from the start of the summit, the speeches by both Xi and Putin drove the NATO crowd into a hysterical frenzy of anger and envy: Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova perfectly captured the mood when she remarked that the west was “foaming at the mouth.”

The front page of the Russian Gazette on Monday was iconic: Putin touring Nazi-free Mariupol, chatting with residents, side by side with Xi’s Op-Ed.

That was, in a nutshell, Moscow’s terse response to Washington’s MQ-9 Reaper stunt and the International Criminal Court (ICC) kangaroo court shenanigans.

“Foam at the mouth” as much as you like; NATO is in the process of being thoroughly humiliated in Ukraine.

During their first “informal” meeting, Xi and Putin talked for no less than four and a half hours.

At the end, Putin personally escorted Xi to his limo.

This conversation was the real deal: mapping out the lineaments of multipolarity – which starts with a solution for Ukraine.

Predictably, there were very few leaks from the sherpas, but there was quite a significant one on their “in-depth exchange” on Ukraine.

Putin politely stressed he respects China’s position – expressed in Beijing’s 12-point conflict resolution plan, which has been completely rejected by Washington.

But the Russian position remains ironclad: demilitarization, Ukrainian neutrality, and enshrining the new facts on the ground.

In parallel, the Russian Foreign Ministry completely ruled out a role for the US, UK, France, and Germany in future Ukraine negotiations: they are not considered neutral mediators.

A multipolar patchwork quilt

The next day was all about business: everything from energy and “military-technical” cooperation to improving the efficacy of trade and economic corridors running through Eurasia.

Russia already ranks first as a natural gas supplier to China – surpassing Turkmenistan and Qatar – most of it via the 3,000 km Power of Siberia pipeline that runs from Siberia to China’s northeastern Heilongjiang province, launched in December 2019.

Negotiations on the Power of Siberia II pipeline via Mongolia are advancing fast.

Sino-Russian cooperation in high-tech will go through the roof: 79 projects at over $165 billion.

Everything from liquified natural gas (LNG) to aircraft construction, machine tool construction, space research, agro-industry, and upgraded economic corridors.

The Chinese president explicitly said he wants to link the New Silk Road projects to the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU). This BRI-EAEU interpolation is a natural evolution.

China has already signed an economic cooperation deal with the EAEU.

Russian macroeconomic uber-strategist Sergey Glazyev’s ideas are finally bearing fruit.

And last but not least, there will be a new drive towards mutual settlements in national currencies – and between Asia and Africa, and Latin America.

For all practical purposes, Putin endorsed the role of the Chinese yuan as the new trade currency of choice while the complex discussions on a new reserve currency backed by gold and/or commodities proceed.

This joint economic/business offensive ties in with the concerted Russia-China diplomatic offensive to remake vast swathes of West Asia and Africa.

Chinese diplomacy works like the matryoshka (Russian stacking dolls) in terms of delivering subtle messages.

It’s far from coincidental that Xi’s trip to Moscow exactly coincides with the 20th anniversary of American ‘Shock and Awe’ and the illegal invasion, occupation, and destruction of Iraq.

War is entertainment for US public

Are we still at war in Iraq and Afghanistan? | TigerDroppings.com

In parallel, over 40 delegations from Africa arrived in Moscow a day before Xi to take part in a “Russia-Africa in the Multipolar World” parliamentary conference – a run-up to the second Russia-Africa summit next July.

The area surrounding the Duma looked just like the old Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) days when most of Africa kept very close anti-imperialist relations with the USSR.

Putin chose this exact moment to write off more than $20 billion in African debt.

In West Asia, Russia-China are acting totally in synch. West Asia.

The Saudi-Iran rapprochement was actually jump-started by Russia in Baghdad and Oman: it was these negotiations that led to the signing of the deal in Beijing.

Moscow is also coordinating the Syria-Turkiye rapprochement discussions.

Russian diplomacy with Iran – now under strategic partnership status – is kept on a separate track.

Diplomatic sources confirm that Chinese intelligence, via its own investigations, is now fully assured of Putin’s vast popularity across Russia, and even within the country’s political elites.

That means conspiracies of the regime-change variety are out of the question.

This was fundamental for Xi and the Zhongnanhai’s (China’s central HQ for party and state officials) decision to “bet” on Putin as a trusted partner in the coming years, considering he may run and win the next presidential elections.

China is always about continuity.

So the Xi-Putin summit definitively sealed China-Russia as comprehensive strategic partners for the long haul, committed to developing serious geopolitical and geoeconomic competition with declining western hegemons.

This is the new world born in Moscow this week. Putin previously defined it as a new anti-colonial policy.

It’s now laid out as a multipolar patchwork quilt.

There’s no turning back on the demolition of the remnants of Pax Americana.

‘Changes that haven’t happened in 100 years’

In Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250-1350, Janet Abu-Lughod built a carefully constructed narrative showing the prevailing multipolar order when the West “lagged behind the ‘Orient.’”

Later, the West only “pulled ahead because the ‘Orient’ was temporarily in disarray.”

We may be witnessing a similarly historic shift in the making, trespassed by a revival of Confucianism (respect for authority, emphasis on social harmony), the equilibrium inherent to the Tao, and the spiritual power of Eastern Orthodoxy. This is, indeed, a civilizational fight.

Moscow, finally welcoming the first sunny days of Spring, provided this week a larger-than-life illustration of “weeks where decades happen” compared to “decades where nothing happens.”

The two presidents bid farewell in a poignant manner.

Xi: “Now, there are changes that haven’t happened in 100 years. When we are together, we drive these changes.”

Putin: “I agree.”

Xi: “Take care, dear friend.”

Putin: “Have a safe trip.”

Here’s to a new day dawning, from the lands of the Rising Sun to the Eurasian steppes.

https://www.unz.com/pescobar/in-moscow-xi-and-putin-bury-pax-americana/

The “BRICS” states reaffirm their commitment to Syria’s sovereignty

Were Putting The Band Back Together Were Getting Back Together GIF ...

Moscow, SANA-The states of the BRICS groups reaffirmed on Tuesday their firm commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Syria.

The final statement of the 12th summit of the “BRICS” states, held through video conference and posted on the Kremlin website said “We declare once again our firm commitment to Syria’s sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity, pointing out that the crisis in Syria can’t be solved through military means ”.

According to Sputnik Agency, the BRICS countries also reiterated their international obligations to combat terrorism with all its forms, stressing  the importance of unity in combating terrorist organizations operating in Syria .

On the Palestinian issue, the BRICS states called for exerting new efforts  for a just and comprehensive settlement for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict .

“No longer viable” implies that the two-state solution has been viable and then became nonviable. Such an argument often presents Israeli settlements as the reason for the change. I disagree with the assertion from two seemingly contradictory arguments:
1) A state’s viability can take many forms and sizes, while borders and territory may be changed and agreed upon; hence there is no “point of no return” after which the two-state solution is no longer viable.
2) To begin with, the two-state solution is dependent on the two sides being willing and able to agree to, deliver, uphold, and survive it. For more than two decades, the required political will in Israel and with the Palestinians has been insufficient or contrary, while both sides doubt that the two-state solution is attainable at all. For the foreseeable future, Hamas as a significant counterforce will impede such an option, while both it and the Palestinian Authority lack the will, ability, and support to lead a united, stable Palestinian state as a reliable partner for peace.

In conclusion, the two-state solution is currently unattainable, if it ever was. This does not exclude the option of its viability in general, yet significant and proactive efforts are needed to create conditions for its success in the future.

When the war against Syria began in 2011, the Zionist enemy was still occupying the Golan Heights and the Turkish enemy was still occupying the Sanjak of Alexandretta.

Over the years, the Syrian Arab Army has managed to dismantle the conspiracies led by the United States and other colonial powers, in which the Zionist enemy and the Turkish enemy participated.

According to the new balance of powers in the region, when the war in Syria comes to an end, the Zionist enemy will be forced to withdraw fully from the Golan without alleged peace deals that follow the Camp David, Oslo and Arabah models.

The withdrawal will be without conditions and similar to the Zionist withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

The Zionist enemy has a crippling fear about entering into a direct war with the Syrian Arab Army, whose military and fighting capabilities have developed greatly and has stunned the Zionist enemy.

The enemy has tried and failed more than once to test the Syrian air defenses. Syria is fully prepared to enter into a war and liberate the occupied Arab territory in the Golan.

Of course, the same new equations apply to the Turkish enemy, which will be forced to withdraw from Syrian territory which it occupies, because the Syrian Arab Army and its allies will not accept anything but the full liberation of Syrian Arab territory, which has been occupied by aggressor nations which are either directly engaged in this war or which have been occupied by terrorist takfiri groups who work as proxies for them.

After that, Turkey will have to withdraw from the Sanjak of Alexandretta which has been historically occupied and which the Syrian state will not allow to remain occupied.

The Syrian Arab Army is ready to enter into a war to liberate it — with God as our witness.

BRICS another Rothschild enterprise?

ROTHSCHILD control BRICS. ROTHSCHILD control the Worlds Banking System.

Iran, Argentina, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have applied to join BRICS. Founding members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa

Jair Bolsonaro, who recently “lost” the election in Brazil, the Selection Committee appointed Lula, wanted “Braxit” from BRICS.

Bolsonara is also a conservative Christian and loves Israel, like all the Evangelicals in America.

Bolsonaro was completing the process, started by previous President Michel Temer, taking Brazil back to the North-West axis controlled by the U.S.

Now we can clearly see why Bolsonaro had to go.

They tried to kill him, but he survived the assassination attempt.

BRICS is a ROTHSCHILD smokescreen. They have sucked the West dry and now want to transfer their wealth to BRICS to create ever bigger profits.

ROTHSCHILD are moving out of the US Dollar, the global reserve currency, into gold and ‘other currencies’.

They are looking to get ahead of the downward trend curve, and cash out before a global collapse, and use gold to pick up the pieces.

In recent decades more and more Chinese economists and budding entrepreneurs have closely studied the Rothschilds.

At the same time, members of the Rothschild family have looked to a rising China for new business opportunities.

China is fascinated with the Rothschilds and Jewish business practices.

Chinese books on Jewish business practices with titles such as ‘How do Jewish People win?’, Jewish Business Bible’, ‘Jewish Businessmen’s Wisdom’, ‘Jewish Business Teachings’, ‘The Legend of Jewish Wealth’, ‘Jewish Family Education’, ‘The Illustrated Jewish Wisdom Book’ can all be found in the business sections of bookstores across China.

With the increasing interest in business education in China, and a rise in sales of self-help literature, the production of business guides to the TALMUD has exploded.

The guides are like the Chinese equivalents of books such as ‘Sun Tzu and the Art of Business’.

Turkey: Another BRIC in the Wall?

BRICS is reviewing the request made by different nations seeking a membership from BRICS.

BRICS was founded by Brazil, Russia, China and India and 2006 and it was in 2010 that South Africa became a part of the BRICS.

The name was then modified from being ‘BRIC’ to “BRICS.’

Besides Turkey, Argentina, Afghanistan, Mexico, Lebanon and Indonesia have shown great interest in being full-time members of the BRICS.

A long list of other nations to have expressed their desires to be a part of the group.

In 2015 BRICS nations represented over 3.1 billion people which makes up about 41% of the global population.

Four out of the 5 BRICS nations are among the 10 most populated nations of the world.