North Africa And The Scramble For ‘New Oil’ – Analysis

October 22, 2023 
By Arab News
By Hafed Al-Ghwell

As technology becomes increasingly central to our lives and economies, the demand for rare earth elements and other critical mineral resources — essential raw materials that underpin the global transition to the low-carbon economies of the future — has grown exponentially. These critical minerals are the lifeline of technologies ranging from semiconductors, flash memory and fiber optics to electric vehicle batteries and smartphones. As a result, competition for these assets is reshaping the geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape, far offsetting the conventional hegemony of oil, and laying out the contours of the next global resource scramble.

To meet goals laid out in the Paris Agreement, it is believed that 80 percent of confirmed fossil fuel supplies will need to stay in the ground. Yet, as we transition from these traditional energy sources to more sustainable alternatives, such as solar, wind, and geothermal energy, the demand for certain minerals and metals is set to balloon, which will likely transform Africa into a battleground for competing hegemonies seeking to monopolize the lifeblood of future economies. By 2050, we could need close to 3 billion tons of metals such as lithium, cobalt and vanadium, which are useful in storing energy. Minerals such as manganese and graphite, which are essential for these new technologies, are found in abundance on the African continent, in addition to copper and other materials like indium, selenium and neodymium that are used in the manufacture of wind turbines and solar panels.

For optimists, such conditions could set Africa up for success as the world speeds up the move toward eco-friendly energy solutions. It will not be a new phenomenon, either, since the continent’s large deposits of gold, silver and other metals remain a wellspring of raw materials that fuel current manufacturing processes across the globe. The extraction and export of these materials continues to play a significant role in Africa’s economic lifeline, driving exports, earning revenue, and contributing largely to gross domestic product. To date, minerals and fossil fuels made up over a third of all exports for most African countries. Moreover, a striking 42 out of 54 African countries depend heavily on these resources, with minerals providing a significant amount of revenue, foreign currency and jobs.

Yet, despite holding such abundant natural wealth, Africa remains disadvantaged on a global scale and struggles to fully capitalize on its resources. This is mostly because, while its abundance is phenomenal, Africa still lacks the capacity and technology to develop these raw materials into more valuable finished products. This has limited the continent’s opportunities to grow economically and to carve a more substantial place for itself in global supply chains. However, the global thirst for climate-friendly technologies and the will to transition away from energy sources that contribute to climate change presents a golden opportunity.

The continent could tap into its near limitless potential and become a focal point in the manufacture of everything from solar panels to batteries for electric vehicles. The growth of these clean energy industries carries a promise of industrial and employment expansion, which will then go on to secure unprecedented levels of socioeconomic development and prosperity. Countries well-endowed with these vital minerals could attract substantial investments not only in the extraction of these resources, but also in advanced sectors that rely on them. Africa’s natural wealth, therefore, offers an opportunity to play a lead role in driving investments, and spearheading domestic and regional industrial evolution and growth. To harness this opportunity fully, African countries need to beef up their manufacturing prowess, ramp up production, and encourage exports by bolstering domestic and cross-border collaborations and supply chain linkages.

Simply put, the African continent is increasingly indispensable, and the supply-chain risks stemming from the monopolization of these resources by a few countries such as China and Russia pose a significant threat of disruption to the global semiconductor and electric vehicle markets. China currently commands the lion’s share of the global market for critical minerals — extracting 60 percent and processing about 80 percent of them — in addition to investing billions in Africa to fuel its ambitious Digital China strategy. Beijing’s practices occasionally raise eyebrows for capitalizing on soaring demand, political leverage, governance challenges, and exploiting cheap labor. Russia is not far behind, its footprints evident in deploying thousands of Wagner Group mercenaries to guard mineral resources.

Even the US, a mostly distant “partner” of the continent, cannot escape the surge of interest and attention in Africa, given that its countries have the minerals that will power the modern world. Recognizing Africa, specifically North Africa, as a crucial strategic partner can help Western economies in mitigating their dependencies on a single nation or region. The Maghreb countries are well-positioned to serve as a gateway to Africa, despite not possessing vast reserves of these crucial minerals. They already serve as crucial gateways, both for the in and outflow of people and resources. In the future, their position will be critical in facilitating investments, talent growth, tech advancement and enabling the all-important trading markets for Africa’s huge, untapped mineral wealth deposits.

To unlock the potential of these resources, the US and Western countries should incentivize and strengthen collaborative private-sector partnerships with African nations that share democratic and rule-of-law values. For instance, Africa’s landmark African Continental Free Trade Area can be leveraged to support semiconductor, flash memory, and consumer electronics supply chains.

The far-seeing efforts by Western multinationals in the 1970s and 1980s offer valuable lessons for today’s context. By establishing manufacturing hubs and R&D centers in ASEAN countries, they kick-started the growth of these economies. Fostering a similar approach by encouraging multinationals to invest in Africa can yield the twofold benefit of growing the local economies while reducing dependency on Eastern powerhouses. For instance, Google, Microsoft and IBM have already begun making inroads by opening R&D labs in various African countries. Intrinsic in this strategic equation is the clear message that critical minerals have not merely evolved as the new oil but also as crucial geopolitical pivot points. The traditional oil-driven geopolitics is giving way rapidly to geostrategic competition over these prized resources.

Thus, the international spotlight on Africa’s potential is not just a reflection of its burgeoning promise but also a smoking gun pointing to the heightening political and economic dynamics shaping the world. Major global and regional forces are fortifying their footprints in Africa, staking claims in strategic areas, increasing their soft power, and going all-in to compete for influence and projects. The Maghreb countries are not immune to these global dynamics and, in many ways, are in the thick of the action. In aiming to act as the continental gateway, they will continually find themselves assuming center stage in an escalating global scramble for Africa’s future riches.

Increasingly, foreign powers, from China, Russia and the Gulf states, see Morocco and its Saharan neighbors as a strategic playground between the West and Africa, making these nations increasingly important players in these geopolitical and economic games. Just as Morocco and others vie to be Africa’s portal, the broader North Africa region itself could also become a highly contested ground, especially if its countries endeavor to facilitate Africa’s rise on the world stage. To be the conduits for Africa’s potential should be seen not just as an opportunity, but also as a great responsibility.

Africa is no longer on the sidelines of the global scheme but rather the center of the attention. No longer does the old tag, “the forgotten continent,” hold. Instead, it is being sought after with such intensity that this renewed attention threatens to outweigh the continent’s capacity to absorb and utilize it effectively. This is where the Maghreb’s strategic geographical advantage can be harnessed by leveraging the subregion as an entry point, intermediary market, and a channel for investment and technology transfer, opening up unexplored opportunities. Ambitious but strategic planning, investment, and collaboration could steer these countries to become the custodians of the African resource map while serving their significant role in clean energy transformations across the globe.

• Hafed Al-Ghwell is a senior fellow and executive director of the North Africa Initiative at the Foreign Policy Institute of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C., and the former adviser to the dean of the board of executive directors of the World Bank Group.

Arab News is Saudi Arabia's first English-language newspaper. It was founded in 1975 by Hisham and Mohammed Ali Hafiz. Today, it is one of 29 publications produced by Saudi Research & Publishing Company (SRPC), a subsidiary of Saudi Research & Marketing Group (SRMG).

Banksy highlights cultural revival amid rubble strewn Kyiv suburb

UN
21 October 2023


When Russian invaders withdrew in early spring of 2022 from Borodianka, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a piece of street art by world renowned graffiti artist Banksy appeared on the wall of a war-damaged home.


The artwork – a ballerina balancing precariously on the rubble – solidified the town’s reputation as a beacon of resilience. Despite Borodianka’s sudden fame, the efforts of its local artists musicians and librarians to revive their beloved hometown remain largely unknown outside Ukraine.

Now, cultural activities, one supported by the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOMOpens in new window), are drawing hundreds of fans, choirs are singing again, and art is being made and taught by inspirational local artists.

IOM/Alisa Kyrpychova
Despite the war, Natalia is determined to help her community in Ukraine preserve and revive its cultural identity.

Revival and resilience

Natalia Vyshynska is committed to reviving cultural life in the town. She and her colleagues have organized several public events since last year.

“We don’t use the word ‘concert’,” she explained. “We say ‘a public gathering with musical performances.’ Concerts will be after our victory.”

Taking part in this revival and resilience, Ms. Vyshynska has led Borodianka’s culture department for nearly two decades. She works out of the local cultural centre, still scarred from shelling and standing next to homes destroyed in the devastating March 2022 bombings.

Despite the dangers of war, she has remained dedicated to her colleagues and the important work they carry out. She even returned to the office two days after the invasion to ensure staff would get their salaries.

Since April 2022, she and colleagues worked in the offices for the following year, with broken windows covered with plastic film.

A town in ruins

Ms. Vyshynska, along with her husband, daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters, took refuge in a cellar, where they survived weeks of heavy fighting. Eventually, the family was able to escape and briefly relocated to western Ukraine.

IOM
This depiction of a dancer in Borodianka was the first of a series Banksy spray painted in Ukraine after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

When they returned home, they found their town in ruins. Of its 26 cultural establishments, 18 were damaged or destroyed, losing 95 per cent of their facilities and assets, among them a local art school.

“Every musical instrument, including a grand piano, was ruined,” she said. “We had a violin from 1826 stored in a protective box, but it was consumed by fire. Only a scorched metal violin clef was found amidst the rubble.”
Life before war

Prior to Russia’s invasion, Ms. Vyshynska and her colleagues were working to modernize the cultural institutions in Borodianka, a town with a pre-war population of roughly 13,000.

Applying her background in psychology to transform a local sewing class into a fashion theatre, students were able to walk onto a stage, showcasing their creations, gaining confidence, and overcoming fears of sharing their art with a live audience.

Before the war, town librarians helped senior citizens develop digital literacy skills.
Coming home

While many young people have left to find safety and jobs elsewhere, a steady stream is returning since the Government of Ukraine regained control over Borodianka and the northern areas of the country.

Many displaced people make the decision to return, even as the war continues. Most of those returning are in their forties and fifties, Ms. Vyshynska said.
‘They are singing now’

Acknowledging that some people still might find public events inappropriate, she said for the hundreds of attendees and for those who organize them, it all has meaning.

“Many of our singers lost their relatives; many lost their homes,” she said. “They could not sing for some time. Some needed two months, some needed three. They managed. They are singing now.”

However, coping with death and losses is a reality in the town.

“We go to the cemetery; we cry and remember our dead,” she said. “I think, they would like life in Borodianka to go on.”

IOM/Alisa Kyrpychova
The monument of renowned Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko, was damaged in the conflict.

Healing power of art

Ms. Vyshynska and her team continue to engage psychologists in their efforts, particularly with children.

“Children are afraid of death, injury, and losing their parents and homes,” she said. “By using drawing, music and games, they can express their fears and traumatizing experiences, and we help them process these difficult emotions and continue with their lives.”

Members of her community give her strength and make her proud. She can point to many examples.

There is local history expert Valentyn Moiseenko. He miraculously survived the bombing of Borodianka and escaped with his wife, who has a mobility impairment. They spent weeks sheltering in a basement. Recalling those times, he wrote a book about the days when the town was under Russian military control and at the centre of heavy fighting.

Another inspirational town resident is Svitlana Vyskochy, a local artist who creates decorated Easter eggs called pysankas. She conducts master classes for hospital patients every week, including people with amputations.

IOM/Alisa Kyrpychova
Pins adorned with “Borodianka’s culture is alive” alongside the famous maiolica rooster were created by Natalia’s team.

‘Borodianka’s culture is alive’

Ms. Vyshynska’s team have produced pins, adorned with the famous maiolica rooster and the words “Borodianka’s culture is alive”.

The town cultural centre relies on grants from businesses and international organizations.

One project supported by the UN International Organization for Migration (IOMOpens in new window), with funding from the Republic of Korea and Canada, is helping to refurbish a local museum. It is also creating a space for young families, purchasing equipment for a local library, and providing a huge tent that will allow Ms. Vyshynska’s team to bring services to people in war-affected communities around Borodianka.

With support from IOM, she and other community members took part in inclusive dialogue sessions, where they could collectively shape the future of their community through projects for social change.

Together with volunteers from across Ukraine, they applied these skills to transform their cultural centre, so that Borodianka can continue to celebrate its unique culture for generations to come.

IOM/Alisa Kyrpychova
The “Girl under the Sun” sculpture represents the victory of life over destruction.

New California Law Would Further Protect Wildlife From Super Toxic Rat Poisons

A new bill proposed in California would make great strides in protecting wildlife threatened by super-toxic rat poisons. Assembly Bill 1788, introduced by California Assemblymember Richard Bloom, (D-Santa Monica), would restrict super-toxic rodenticides — known as second generation anticoagulant rodenticides — that have been linked to the poisoning of animals, pets and people in communities across California.

A December 2018 state analysis by the Department of Pesticide Regulation documented super-toxic rat poisons in more than 85 percent of tested mountain lions, bobcats and protected Pacific fishers. This prompted the state agency to reevaluate whether to restrict or ban second generation anticoagulant rodenticides because of the “significant adverse impact” they have on the environment and wildlife.

Despite previous regulatory efforts in 2013 to restrict availability of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides only to those with a certified application permit, super toxic rat poisons continue cause widespread wildlife poisonings.

A.B. 1788 would ban some of the most dangerous rodenticides in residential and commercial areas where people, pets and wildlife are frequently exposed. But it allows their continued use to protect California’s agricultural economy and to protect public health and the environment during an emergency rodent or disease outbreak.

I OFTEN FORGET ABOUT THE RAT PROBLEM

IMPERIALISM

Kenyan Manufacturers Decry High Numbers of Chinese Imports

China remains the single leading source of imports to Kenya, accounting for over 20% of total imports, according to the country’s bureau of statistics. Many local manufacturers say the Chinese imports are hurting their bottom line. Juma Majanga reports from Nairobi, Kenya. Camera: Jimmy Makhulo.

New Armenian Ethnic Cleansing Is Bad For The World – OpEd

Armenian refugees fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh. Photo Credit: PanArmenian.net

October 22, 2023  

By Eurasia Review

By Timur Nersesov

We are currently living in the most multipolar and unstable period the world has seen since August 1914.  It took two world wars to undo the consequences of the last period. The rules-based international order as we know it today is being challenged, and for the first time in the 80 years since the end of World War II, wars are being fought that take no notice and don’t bother with the pretense of that order. The events that began unfolding in the countries of Azerbaijan and Armenia in September 2020 were the first unvarnished challenge to the legitimacy of that world order, and the Western world has not answered that challenge. 

While the history of the conflict goes back for centuries, its relevance for the West begins in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union what is now known as the first Karabakh war ended in April 1994 with a negotiated ceasefire between the Azeris and the indigenous ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.  The ceasefire was followed by commitment from all parties to a mediated settlement under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Mink Group. The terms of that ceasefire were to freeze the line of contact that would leave just under 20% of what was Soviet Azerbaijan’s territory under control of the local Armenians who were supported by the Republic of Armenia, pending a negotiated settlement on self-governance status, resettlement of refugees, and any exchange of territories.

From frozen conflict to ethnic cleansing

Within the OSCE framework, Azerbaijan and Armenia along with three mediators composed of the United States, France, and Russia, proceeded to conduct many rounds of negotiations over the next 27 years. The lack of substantive progress led the conflict to take on the ominous status of a “frozen conflict”, with occasional clashes along the line of contact.  In September 2020 the situation changed.  On September 27,2020 Azerbaijan launched a war to retake Karabakh in what became known as the 44-day war or the second Karabakh war.  

Russia negotiated a ceasefire in November 2020, which was followed by nearly three years of clashes and blockades and an ineffective Russian peace-keeping mission. Azerbaijan justified the war as a resolution to the frozen conflict. It completed its conquest to take over Karabakh with a week-long campaign beginning on September 19 this year. At the conclusion of this crusade, Azerbaijan had established total control of the region of Karabakh and the expulsion of the entire Armenian population of 120,000 people.

The immediate consequence of the failure to respond to Azerbaijan’s rejection of its international commitments with the support ofTurkey, a NATO member, and Israel, a NATO partner, have been earth shattering. First, it is the complete eviction of all 120,000 remaining Armenians in the region that has been populated by ethnic Armenians for more than two millennia. Azerbaijan committed an ethnic cleansing within essentially one week. The speed of the events was such that the Western powers did not have time to issue reactions through their bureaucratic processes before the ethnic cleansing was complete. 

Moreover, the very public support of a NATO state and NATO partner made any Western intervention a minefield.  With Turkish troops directly involved and Israeli weapons on the front line, both of those states had the power to block most any coordinated effort from Western powers to react.  For the first time, Western-aligned states were explicitly on the side of undermining an international conflict resolution process. 

A terrible precedent for the future

The consequences of this profound failure to protect the rules-based international order will reverberate in generations to come. The September 2020 Azerbaijani military offensive against ethnic Armenians was executed summarily. Azerbaijan made no effort to seek international legitimation or had any concern that an international reaction would follow. The lack of Western response emboldened Russia to leverage the same pseudo-legalistic language used by Azerbaijan to legitimize its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. 

Russia did not drum up support for Armenians through the UN. It did not activate Russia’s own alliance structure under the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). This alliance of six post-Soviet states — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan — formed in 2002 proved to be useless for Armenians. Russia did not even make a serious propaganda effort focused on the international community to identify a clear casus belli. In essence, Russia did not bother with a single step to legitimize its invasion. Even in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was done under the auspices of an intervention in a civil war, like the justification used by the United States for its engagement in Vietnam.

Every setback to the legitimacy of the institutions the West relies upon to provide peace and order increases danger.  The biggest danger is that state actors start bypassing the international system to pursue their goals.  Rules-based orders give us predictability. They create a sandbox, which limits the realm of the possible. If things cannot be confined within that sandbox, then we are increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). This VUCA world is dangerous in the age of nuclear weapons.

The rise of VUCA at a time globalized economies upon which billions depend for food, water, fuel and basic goods, such unpredictability is frightening. The ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh is a humanitarian disaster. The fact that it has gone completely unopposed is a terrible precedent. Azerbaijan’s decision to wage war to resolve the frozen conflict sets an example for others that it will be nearly impossible to walk back without a unified front from the West. This precedent will continually be used to embolden the use of violence to resolve conflict, without regard to international norms and will make the entire world worse off in the process.

[The views expressed in this article are the authors and do not represent the views of the US Government or any company.]

About the author: Timur R. Nersesov is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserve with a total of 18 years in uniform. He is a veteran of the Iraq War and has spent over 13 years as a consultant to national security departments and agencies such as US Departments of Defense, State, and Homeland Security, and as a technology executive. Timur is also a member of the Truman National Security Project.  He holds a MS in Analytics, a BA in Anthropology, and his current work centers on cloud technologies and Artificial Intelligence applications in defense and civil government.

Source: This article was published by Fair Observer

Op-Ed: New architecture redesigning the world – You’d think someone would notice

By Paul Wallis

DIGITAAL JOURNAL
October 21, 2023

Photo by LYCS Architecture, Unsplash

If we weren’t all so “busy” with politics and pandering to mindlessly rich criminal psychopaths, we’d probably be paying more attention to new architecture. You know, the sort people live in?

Not the slums glamorized by idiots in music videos. Not two-dimensional sound stages with windows. Not the unoccupied mega-monstrosities so appropriately sited in deserts. Not the Easy Flip American corporate development type. Not the recycled traditional architecture which is now Auto CAD’s bread-and-butter templates.

I mean the new tech architecture which is basically inevitable and grudgingly finding its way into the market. It’s taken an incredible length of time to get out of the early 1900s but it’s finally happening.

The “visions of tomorrow” are usually pretty bland. It’s still pretty much The Jetsons vs The Flintstones. This is the sparkly neat almost IKEA-standard future we’re supposed to see, remember?

In practice, the world is full of a weird mix of truly lousy old architectural designs based on worse ideas of human life. If you check out some of these designs, you can see which caves and 1970s cocaine binges they came from.

The Industrial Revolution didn’t do human quality of life any favors. Cost ruled, as it does now. Amenity and quality of life were distant considerations at best. “High density” started then, and it’s as much of an atrocity now as it was then. Even being worth looking at wasn’t a thing. Brutalism, aka institutionalized boredom, is an example.

As for the quality of building, the whole idea of that was buried somewhere about then. There’s a huge dichotomy of quality in the market. Let’s just say “good architecture is wasted on the rich”. Good building is wasted on just about everything.

Nobody could be accused of learning from the past. Some older designs were very good quality indeed. Most in the mass market weren’t, and still aren’t. By the 1950s, the instant suburb had basically killed any theory of good residential design as good business.

The market IS to blame for this unsightly mess with its obsession with building The El Cheapo Ultra- Crud-esque Slums of Tomorrow. These ridiculous things were obsolete before they entered to comatose brains of the poor souls “designing” them. Materials may be good, bad, or inexcusable.

This is where sustainable architecture sneaks in. It’s a buzzword that even the most banal spruikers don’t quite know how to use. That’s largely because the expression relates to competence. “Sustainable” effectively means “unkillable”, like some occasional generations of past architecture. Tudor is a case in point, as are some of the actual Georgian buildings. They’re tough, structurally dependable, not death traps by design. Just keep a structural engineer handy because these great old places do need some TLC every century or so.

To be strictly fair, a lot of people in construction and architecture are patiently slogging away with good designs and better materials. Market inertia and a Smithsonian-worthy market image of suburbia are the only things creating a demand for these fossils.

New materials like hempcrete and more integrated systemic designs are slowly slinking into this unimaginative money-mad contraceptive of a sector. That’s mainly because these designs are a lot more productive and infinitely more cost-effective at all levels including for consumers.

Imagine a city as an ecosystem. Instead of a heat sink, it’s a water reservoir, passive energy producer, cheap and easy to maintain. Homes are spacious, and not cookie-cutter.

These homes aren’t pretentious overpriced cupboards. They’re designed to be upgraded. They’re multi-level with decent exterior living spaces. Tech systems are easy to install in dedicated spaces. They protect the environment instead of destroying it. You can fit more people into cubic space, ending urban sprawl.

You simply can’t have slums in this design ethos. You can’t have rotting infrastructure coast-to-coast. People could actually live like human beings.

Keep an eye on the new designs. They’re only just now getting out of the womb. Just think – For the first time in history, you can design the sort of place you want your kids to live in.

A RUSSOPHILE

Answering Biden On Russia-Ukraine And Israel-Palestine – OpEd

US President Joe Biden. Photo Credit: The White House

October 22, 2023 
By Michael Averko

US President Joe Biden’s October 19 rant on prime-time national television brings to mind several related thoughts which rebuke the neocon-neolib foreign policy slant.

News Nation host Dan Abrams blasted MSNBC hosts Mehdi Hasan and Ali Velshi for emphasizing a two sides approach to understanding the recent upsurge in Israel-Palestine violence. Hasan and Velshi are hypocrites when it comes to not having this stance towards Russia.

On that particular, Abrams shares their piously inaccurate spin against that nation. This predicament relates to the hypocritical use of terms like human shields, proportionate response and collateral damage.

Israel’s current dilemma reminds one of the situation in Grozny at the end of the second Chechen war of the post-Soviet era. In an effort to eliminate the terror surge, Grozny was levelled. It has since been rebuilt with noticeable effort. Considerable Russian government funding has gone to Chechnya. The much maligned (in Western mass media and body politic) Russian President Vladimir Putin formally denounced the Soviet era deportation of Chechens. Russians and Chechens had differences in the pre-Soviet era. Russian-Chechen relations have noticeably stabilized, thanks in good part to Putin.

At present, there’s calculated talk of a massive Israeli ground assault, along with the aerial bombardments over Gaza. Living conditions in Gaza prior to the recent upsurge weren’t good. They’ve since dramatically worsened.

One doesn’t have to be a Marxist to understand the need for the population in Gaza to have dramatically improved living conditions and for the two sides (Israeli and Palestinian) to actively engage each other in a constructive manner. The heightened differences between them have led to the responsible diplomatic intervention of some other nations.

Chechnya and the rest of Russia are far from perfect. This is also certainly true of the Western establishment government and mass media spinsters. There’s something to be learned from the Russian-Chechen experience. Rather than doing that, the neocons spin the today Israel, tomorrow America scenario, in support of the Jewish state. Their hypocritical irony is duly noted.

Circa 1980s Afghanistan, with neocon approval, the US government funded individuals with extreme views. The blowback was 9/11. When post-Soviet Russia’s population endured terrorism, neocons were apt to say it was a result of Russian policy. Then came the bothers Tsarnaev to Boston.

With Machiavellian intent, the US government has used extremists in Syria against the internationally recognized Syrian government. For its part, Israel has had a fluctuating relationship with Hamas, which involved the Bismarckian purpose of weakening the more secular Palestinian POV.

US President Joe Biden has tried to impress the American public with the need to militarily support Israel and the Kiev regime. In both instances, smart diplomacy is the better route for ensuring long term peace.

Can Hamas be thoroughly crushed and if so, is that act alone going to bring a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians? A grave geopolitical miscalculation was made with the assumption that Arab-Israeli relations were going to improve without addressing Palestinian concerns.

Over the last few years, Israel has made diplomatic advances among nations that have been critical of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians. There’s a clear willingness to accept the Jewish state up to a certain point.

Some Biden administration folks use the “walk and chew gum” term to support the faulty notion of US military support for Israel and the Kiev regime, when there’s evidence that this approach is (put mildly) quite problematical. On the other hand, NATO/EU member Hungary is critically chastised (within NATO and by Estonia’s hypocritical prime minister) for pursuing dialogue with Russia. The neocon/neolib preference is to isolate Russia (something that hasn’t worked so well) and the promotion of negative inaccuracies against that nation (which has led to much ignorance about that country for those heavily reliant on Western mainstream media).

On the matter of walking and chewing gum at the same time, one should be able to condemn the Hamas hostage taking and murder of Israeli civilians, while noting that the fatal Israeli on Palestinian action (before and after the October 7 Hamas attack) is considerably greater than vice versa.

At play, is the non-acknowledgement of the concerns of the “other team” – the sports term Biden used when discussing the bombing of a Gaza hospital. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau highlights this obtuse mindset as shown by his initial applause for a Galician SS veteran and his follow-up apology, which (in a roundabout way) blames Russia. Trudeau apologized to Poles, Jews, Slovaks and LGBTQ but not Russians. Instead, he absurdly made reference to “Russian disinformation”, when it’s clearly his own arrogance, ignorance, hypocrisy and dare I say bigotry which led to his gaffe.

Armed conflicts led to the post-WW II breakup of Yugoslavia, the creation of Pakistan, India and Bangladesh (among other countries) in their present form. The world at large accepts the idea of a two-state solution regarding Israelis and Palestinians. Likewise, the Russia-Kiev regime dispute reveals the viable option for territorial change and a changed security arrangement concerning Russia and the collective West.

The territory encompassing the former Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic brought together people with different historical, cultural, religious and linguistic preferences. In order for this dynamic to properly function as an independent state, a fine balance is required.

Russia and the pro-Russian element in Ukraine’s Soviet drawn boundary accepted an independent Ukraine within its Communist drawn boundary, as long as it at least remained neutral and on good terms with Russia, in conjunction with respecting the pro-Russian sentiment in that former Soviet republic. When anti-Russian elements in Ukraine gained control via coup like circumstances in 2014, the pro-Russian side rebelled with the support and sympathy of the Russophile community elsewhere.

Within its Communist drawn boundary, post-Soviet Ukraine had a lengthy period of time to develop into a nation which respected those having a pro-Russian orientation. Numerous instances reveal that the reverse occurred after 2014, with some disturbing trends evident beforehand.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that the war in the former Ukrainian SSR began years before the start of Russia’s February 24, 2022 Special Military Operation – something that Donbass residents are especially aware of. Stoltenberg added that the Kiev regime was receiving arms and training from some NATO countries for several years prior to 2022.

Biden’s insistence on continuing a failed proxy war against Russia prolongs an agony which has been especially hurtful to Ukraine and the economy of Western nations. In comparison, the Russian economy has prevailed with Putin standing a good chance to hold high office after Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Olaf Scholz, Emanuel Macron, Rishi Sunak and Volodymyr Zelensky have been replaced.

Recall the efforts to remove Bashar Assad, Alexander Lukashenko and Nicholas Maduro. Of that grouping, Putin appears to be in a much stronger position.

Biden’s foreign policy adventurism takes away from substantively dealing with pressing socioeconomic issues in the US. Throughout America, elected officials stress the need for more funding to improve the well-being of a population facing greater challenges.

Michael Averko is a New York based independent foreign policy analyst and media critic. He has appeared as a guest commentator on the BBC, RT and WABC talk radio, in addition to having been a panelist at the World Russia Forum, Russia Forum New York and US-Russia.org Experts' Panel. Besides Averko's Eurasia Review column - Academia.edu, Counterpunch, Foreign Policy Journal, Global Research, History News Network, InoSMI.Ru, Johnson's Russia List, Journal of Turkish Weekly, Kyiv Post, Oriental Review, Penza News, Pravda.Ru, Pravoslavie.Ru, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Russia Insider, Sputnik News, Strategic Culture Foundation, The Duran, The Huffington Post, Valdai Discussion Club, Yonkers Tribune and WikiLeaks, are among the numerous venues where his articles have either appeared or been referenced. The American Institute in Ukraine and the Lord Byron Foundation for Balkan Studies, have referenced some of Averko's articles, along with academic white papers prepared for NATO Watch, Ohio State University, Problems of Post-Communism and the Royal College of Defence Studies. He has been referenced in the Council on Foreign Relations, Defense One and The New York Times. Averko is source referenced in Richard Sakwa's book "Frontline Ukraine". His Eurasia Review article on Pavlo Skoropadsky, provides the first full online English language transcript of Skoropadsky's edict calling for an "All-Russian Federation", inclusive of Russia and Ukraine. Among other issues, that article explains the relationships among the major combatants in the Russian Civil War. He can be reached via michaelaverko@msn.com

GEMOLOGY

ZIMBABWE DIAMOND FIND

The Sunday Mail

Fungai Lupande

Mashonaland Central Bureau

THE Chiadzwa diamond fields hold an estimated 50 million carats, with parts of the mining concession having grades of up to 1 000 carats per 100 tonnes, it has been learnt.

According to the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), the country’s diamond industry has grown from US$40 million to over US$420 million in the past six years. Speaking during a tour of the diamond fields recently, ZCDC exploration manager Mr Hope Mvura said they have since defined a massive deposit of 12 billion tonnes of ore.

The bulk of the precious stones are, however, industrial diamonds.

Mr Mvura said they are presently mining an alluvial diamond deposit at the Umkondo Basin. Although potential of the resource is huge, he said, there is a need for more research.

“The deposit was formed through weathering and transportation.

“The source could be continental. Up to now, we do not know the source of the Chiadzwa diamonds,” he said.

“Underground mining is not possible due to the type of rock, which cannot support underground mining. Therefore, we resort to a massive open-cast pit.”

Mr Tawanda Kadowonda, who is in charge of mine planning at Chiadzwa, said his role is to determine whether or not the mine can commercially exploit all the 50 million carats.

“It is important to add value to the diamonds, because this is what determines how much the resources will be utilised,” he said.

“We have defined 12 billion tonnes, which translate to 50 million carats. We are going to mine everything.”

The mining processes are highly mechanised. The mine has 11 excavators, 21 trucks and five drill rigs. Metallurgy manager Engineer George Chipepera, who was trained as a metallurgical engineer at the University of Zimbabwe and has extensive experience in the industry, said they presently have the latest machinery in diamond processing.

“I gained a lot of experience at several diamond mines, including Murowa Diamonds in Zvishavane, before working in Botswana.

“I came back in 2022 to work for my community and my country,” said Eng Chiperera, who was also born and bred in Chiadzwa.

“I am giving back my skills and experience to my community. It is a wonderful thing for me. This has become a big motivation in my community, as they now see that hard work is rewarding.” Zimbabwe, which generated more than US$424 million in revenue from diamonds last year, is considered the seventh-biggest diamond producer in the world, according to finance and business analyst Mr Albert Norumedzo.

But the “real money” lies in the diamond money value chain, especially in cutting and polishing, jewellery and retail sales, he said.

“Most of the cutting and polishing is done in India, and they export to the jewellery industry in Europe.

“Fifty percent of the diamonds end up in the United States of America, yet 65 percent of rough diamonds come from Africa,” said Mr Norumedzo.

“Having 50 percent of the market base in a certain geographic location affects prospects due to geo-political conflicts.”

Bad publicity and intrinsic high barriers to entry, he added, have constrained Zimbabwe’s participation in the value addition of its diamonds.

“The world needs to know that we are mining responsibly, creating jobs and are conscious of the environment,” he said.

“Perception is key in selling diamonds. The largest consumers of diamonds are in the USA, who are also the largest consumers of information and news.”

He claims ZCDC could be losing margins of between 30 percent and 40 percent in prices due to negative perception.

ZCDC mine manager Mr Admore Mangoma said the operation has a lifespan of 12 years, while the resource has a 40-year lifespan. “Zimbabwe was appointed to be Kimberly Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) chairperson for 2023,” he said.

“Concurrently, Zimbabwe was also appointed to lead the African Diamond Producers Association for 2023.

“This follows a successful review mission in May 2022, when the team visited ZCDC operations in Chiadzwa and found that Zimbabwe complied with the minimum requirements of the KPCS.”

Mr Mangoma said ZCDC’s community engagement and development framework were commended and recommended for adoption by other diamond producers.

“When the public is made aware of the positive strides that the industry is making, this promotes the brand and enhances our stakeholder relations,” he said.

Diamond mining at Chiadzwa started in 2008. Initially, Government had to move in to restore order after the earlier diamond rush.

ZCDC is wholly owned by Government.

Presently, greenfield exploration is underway in Chimanimani and Mwenezi.

$10 Trillion in Added US Debt Since 2001 Shows 'Bush and Trump Tax Cuts Broke Our Modern Tax Structure'

AUSTERITY FOR THEE, TAX CUTS FOR ME

"In their blind loyalty to their mega-donors, Republicans' fixation on giant tax cuts for billionaires has created a revenue problem that is driving up our national debt," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse in response to new Treasury Department figures.


President Donald Trump jokes with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wy.), Vice President Mike Pence, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) during an event celebrating the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the South Lawn of the White House December 20, 2017 in Washington, DC.

(Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

JON QUEALLY
Oct 21, 2023

The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday released new figures related to the 2023 budget that showed a troubling drop in the nation's tax revenue compared to GDP—a measure which fell to 16.5% despite a growing economy—and an annual deficit increase that essentially doubled from the previous year.

"After record U.S. government spending in 2020 and 2021" due to programs related to the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, the Washington Postreports, "the deficit dropped from close to $3 trillion to close to $1 trillion in 2022. But rather than continue to fall to its pre-pandemic levels, the deficit unexpectedly jumped this year to roughly $2 trillion."

While much of the reporting on the Treasury figures painted a picture of various and overlapping dynamics to explain the surge in the deficit—including higher payments on debt due to interest rates, tax filing waivers related to extreme weather events, the impact of a student loan forgiveness program that was later rescinded, or a dip in capital gains receipts—progressive tax experts say none of those complexities should act to shield what's at the heart of a budget that brings in less than it spends: tax giveaways to the rich.

Bobby Kogan, senior director for federal budget policy at the Center for American Progress, has argued repeatedly that growing deficits in recent years have a clear and singular chief cause: Republican tax cuts that benefit mostly the wealthy and profitable corporations.

In response to the Treasury figures released Friday, Kogan said that "roughly 75%" of the surge in the deficit and the debt ratio, the amount of federal debt relative to the overall size of the economy, was due to revenue decreases resulting from GOP-approved tax cuts over recent decades. "Of the remaining 25%," he said, "more than half" was higher interest payments on the debt related to Federal Reserve policy.

"We have a revenue problem, due to tax cuts," said Kogan, pointing to the major tax laws enacted under the administrations of George W. Bush and Donald Trump. "The Bush and Trump tax cuts broke our modern tax structure. Revenue is significantly lower and no longer grows much with the economy." And he offered this visualization about a growing debt ratio:







"The point I want to make again and again and again is that, relative to the last time CBO was projecting stable debt/GDP, spending is down, not up," Kogan said in a tweet Friday night. "It's lower revenue that's 100% responsible for the change in debt projections. If you take away nothing else, leave with this point."


In his tweet, Kogan offered the following chart to show recent and projected levels of both federal revenue and spending relative to gross domestic product (GDP):







In a detailed analysis produced in March, Kogan explained that, "If not for the Bush tax cuts and their extensions—as well as the Trump tax cuts—revenues would be on track to keep pace with spending indefinitely, and the debt ratio (debt as a percentage of the economy) would be declining. Instead, these tax cuts have added $10 trillion to the debt since their enactment and are responsible for 57 percent of the increase in the debt ratio since 2001, and more than 90 percent of the increase in the debt ratio if the one-time costs of bills responding to COVID-19 and the Great Recession are excluded."


On Friday, the office of Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) cited those same numbers in a press release responding to the Treasury's new report.

"Tax giveaways for the wealthy are continuing to starve the federal government of needed revenue: those passed by former Presidents Trump and Bush have added $10 trillion to the debt and account for 57 percent of the increase in the debt-to-GDP ratio since 2001," read the statement. "If not for those tax cuts, U.S. debt would be declining as a share of the economy."



Whitehouse, who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, said the dip in federal revenue and growth in the overall deficit both have the same primary cause: GOP fealty to the wealthy individuals and powerful corporations that bankroll their campaigns.

"In their blind loyalty to their mega-donors, Republicans' fixation on giant tax cuts for billionaires has created a revenue problem that is driving up our national debt," Whitehouse said Friday night. "Even as federal spending fell over the last year relative to the size of the economy, the deficit increased because Republicans have rigged the tax code so that big corporations and the wealthy can avoid paying their fair share."

Offering a solution, Whitehouse said, "Fixing our corrupted tax code and cracking down on wealthy tax cheats would help bring down the deficit. It would also ensure teachers and firefighters don't pay higher tax rates than billionaires, level the playing field for small businesses, and promote a stronger economy for all."

None of the latest figures—those showing that tax cuts have injured revenues and therefore spiked deficits and increased debt—should be a surprise.

In 2018, shortly after the Trump tax cuts were signed into law, a Congressional Budget Office (CBo) report predicted precisely this result: that revenues would plummet; annual deficits would grow; and not even the promise of economic growth made by Republicans to justify the giveaway would be enough to make up the difference in the budget.

"The CBO's latest report exposes the scam behind the rosy rhetoric from Republicans that their tax bill would pay for itself," Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and now Senate Majority Leader, said at the time.

"Republicans racked up the national debt by giving tax breaks to their billionaire buddies, and now they want everyone else to pay for them."

In its 2018 report, the CBO predicted the deficit would rise to $804 billion by the end of that fiscal year. Now, for all the empty promises and howling from the GOP and their allied deficit hawks, the economic prescription they forced through Congress has resulted in an annual deficit of more than double that, all while demanding the nation's poorest and most vulnerable pay the price by demanding key social programs—including food aid, education budgets, unemployment benefits, and housing assistance—be slashed.

Meanwhile, the GOP majority in the U.S. House—with or without a Speaker currently holding the gavel—still has plans to extend the Trump tax cuts if given half a chance. In May, a CBO analysis of that pending legislation found that such an extension would add an additional $3.5 trillion to the national debt.


"Republicans racked up the national debt by giving tax breaks to their billionaire buddies, and now they want everyone else to pay for them," Sen. Whitehouse said at the time. "It is one of life's great enigmas that Republicans can keep a straight face while they simultaneously cite the deficit to extort massive spending cuts to critical programs and support a bill that would blow up deficits to extend trillions in tax cuts for the people who need them the least."

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JON QUEALLY
Jon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams.
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Robert Reich: A Final Word About The Common Good – OpEd

October 22, 2023 
By Robert Reich


It’s been a ghastly two weeks. War, violence, and the deaths of innocent people — whether in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, or on the streets of America — can cause even the most optimistic among us to doubt the capacities of human beings to live together peacefully on this earth.

Which is why it’s so important to seek the common good.

President Biden reminded us of that common good:

“In moments like these, when fear and suspicion, anger and rage run hard … we have to work harder than ever to hold on to the values that make us who we are. We’re a nation of religious freedom, freedom of expression. We all have a right to debate and disagree, without fear of being targeted in schools or workplaces or in our communities…. We reject all forms, all forms of hate, whether against Muslims, Jews, or anyone.”

In urging additional aid for Israel and Ukraine, the President also reminded us how important our common good is to the rest of the world:

“American leadership is what holds the world together. America is a beacon to the world, still, still. … Tonight, there are innocent people all over the world who hope because of us. Who believe in a better life because of us. Who are desperate not to be forgotten by us. And who are waiting for us.”

Which brings me to the central point of this series of Friday essays on the common good.

Many Americans today worry that our nation is losing its national identity. Yet the core of that identity is not the whiteness of our skin or our religion or our ethnicity.

It is the ideals we share, the good we hold in common.

That common good is a set of shared commitments. To the rule of law. To democracy. To tolerance of our differences. To equal political rights and equal opportunity. To participating in our civic life. To sacrificing for the ideals we hold in common. To upholding the truth.

We cannot have a functioning society without these shared commitments. Without a shared sense of common good, there can be no “we” to begin with.

If we are losing our national identity, it is because we are losing our sense of the common good. This is what must be restored.

As I’ve argued in these essays, recovering our common good depends on several things:

It depends on establishing a new ethic of leadership based on trusteeship. Leaders must be judged not by whether they score a “win” for their side, but whether they strengthen democratic institutions and increase public trust.

It depends on honoring those who have invested in the common good, and holding accountable those who have exploited it for their own selfish ends.

It requires that we understand — and educate our children about — what we owe one another as members of the same society. Instead of focusing solely on the rights of citizenship, we need also to focus on the duties of citizenship.

And it requires a renewed commitment to truth.

Some of you may feel such a quest to be hopeless. The era we are living in offers too many illustrations of greed, narcissism, brutality, and hatefulness.

I, however, firmly believe this quest is not hopeless.

Almost every day, I witness or hear of the compassion and generosity of ordinary Americans. Their actions rarely make headlines, but they constitute much of our daily life together.

The challenge is to turn all this into a new public spiritedness extending to the highest reaches in the land — a public morality that strengthens our democracy, makes our economy work for everyone, and revives trust in the major institutions of the nation.

The moral fiber of our society has been weakened but it has not been destroyed.

We can recover the rule of law and preserve our democratic institutions by taking a more active role in politics.

We can fight against all forms of bigotry. We can strengthen the bonds that connect us to one another by reaching out to one another. We can help resurrect civility by acting more civilly toward those with whom we disagree.

We can protect the truth by using facts and logic to combat lies.

We can help restore the common good by striving for it and showing others it’s worth the effort.

We have never been a perfect union. Our finest moments have been when we sought to live up to our shared ideals.

I worked for Robert F. Kennedy a half-century ago when the common good was better understood. Resurrecting it may take another half-century, or more.

But as the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once said, “Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history.”

Thank you for joining me on this journey. I hope you’ve found these essays useful and even on occasion inspiring. I hope you’ll join me in carrying forward the fight for the common good.

This article was published at Robert Reich’s Substack

Robert B. Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies, and writes at robertreich.substack.com. Reich served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written fifteen books, including the best sellers "Aftershock", "The Work of Nations," and"Beyond Outrage," and, his most recent, "The Common Good," which is available in bookstores now. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the award-winning documentary, "Inequality For All." He's co-creator of the Netflix original documentary "Saving Capitalism," which is streaming now.