Jews not involved

 

Bill Maher has a point here. He could also have mentioned the on-going Muslim-on-Muslim violence in Sudan! 

Media ignores massacres of Christians in Nigeria

Helomvändning...eller nej?

Greta Thunberg och Lorena Delgado Varas vänder om, ska till Sudan istället. Nej, vänta...så var det ju inte.

Vad hände förresten med pseudo-debatten om att man inte får kalla politiska vildar för vildar, om de politiska vildarna har utländsk bakgrund? Delgado Varas är ju mapuche-indian. En rent bokstavlig "vilde", alltså. Ja, enligt de gamla ras- och etno-hierarkierna. Vill säga.

Fast *den* konversationen kommer väl nästa månad eller så. Antar jag. 

Oh no, not again

A Tuareg in Algeria,
no direct relation to articles!
Credit: Amine Ioua 

Is this true? Is Ukraine aiding al-Qaeda in Mali against the Wagner Group?! I mean, what the fuck...

Not *this* particular Machiavellian alliance again!

Note that France were *fighting* al-Qaeda and their Machiavellian Tuareg allies before pulling out of Mali after a miltary coup. The new regime then hired the Russian Wagner Group to continue the war against the Islamists. But now it seems that the Ukrainian military intelligence service has provided the terrorists with information to help them attack the Wagner mercenaries.

Oh, and what are the *Ukrainian* intelligence services doing in West Africa in the first place? There have previously been (unconfirmed?) reports of Ukrainian mercenaries fighting in Sudan. Ukraine isn´t that powerful. Is it the CIA, then? 

This is getting more and more tiresome...   

Mali cuts diplomatic ties with Ukraine after Wagner defeat

Mali army admits "significant losses"

Mossadisering

 

Anmärkningsvärda uppgifter, om sanna. Det verkar som att Ukraina (eller är det USA eller kanske Blackwater) fortfarande har några oväntade ess i rockärmen...

Ukrainska soldater strider mot Wagner i Sudan

The female side of possession

 

An interesting YouTube-clip, based on an anthropological study, about an Egyptian possession cult known as Zar. Nominally Muslim, Zar came to Egypt from Ethiopia during the early 19th century. Originally, it may be Yemenite. It also exists in Sudan. 

Initiates claim to be possessed by spirits or jinn, but these spirits can´t be exorcised. Instead, one most learn how to live with them, something made possible by joining a Zar group and participate in its often extatic rituals. 

Most Zar initiates are women, including some of the leaders, and it´s interesting to note that the "possessions" are often associated with puberty, child  birth and menopause, which can be tumultous times for females (especially in patriarchal societies). In other words, we´re dealing both with a cope and with an attempt to carve out female ritual and social space within a generally male-dominated culture. Apparently, there is also a connection to homosexuality, but the narrator never elaborates on this.  

Peace, or just peace in our time?

The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have recognized the State of Israel. According to rumour, Sudan, Oman or even Saudi Arabia might be next. The peace agreements have been brokered by the United States, more specifically by Jared Kushner, Donald  Trump's son in law. They are being hailed as a great breakthrough, at least by supporters of the Trump Administration.

Well, I'm skeptical. Don't the nations involved in this unexpected peace process have at least *something* in common? Of course they do. They are all opposed to Iran. This is simply an attempt by the United States to create a more firm anti-Iranian alliance. It comes after Trump ordered the assassination of one of Iran's top leaders, and after a series of mysterious explosions both in Iran and other Mideast nations, seemingly directed at Iranian interests.

The closer cooperation between Iran, China and Russia is another reason why the conservative Gulf monarchies have decided to move even closer to the United States. Note also the escalating "cold war" between the US and China, and a potential conflict with Russia over Belarus. 

The agreement will perhaps also give the United States increased leverage over Turkey, a NATO member which doesn't seem to know its place in the American-led pecking order.

Now, I'm not a great fan of the Iranian regime. However, in order to really be about "peace", this alliance must do something *truly* radical. Say, broker a peace agreement in Syria. How about letting the secular regime stay in power, let the refugees return, and evacuate all foreign troops and mercenaries?

That might perhaps be worth a Nobel peace prize. That, and a two state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

What is happening now is simply that the marriage of convenience between Israel and the conservative Arab states is being formalized in anticipation of the next Mideast war... 

Wtf, I love Saudi Arabia now

Intressant artikel om Saudi-Arabiens geopolitik i Afrika. (På bilden ovan syns Sudans nyligen avsatte president Omar Bashir.) 

Nu tar militären makten i Sudan