Second Amendment threatened as toll of gun violence rises in the U.S.
America has always has had a bittersweet relationship with guns. The Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms, including to defend against external and internal tyrannies. But the mass shootings and police violence in recent weeks are calling into question all certainty. A lucid analysis is needed to understand the reasons. Because it is people who kill, not the guns.
Withdrawing troops from Afghanistan spells defeat for the West
The U.S. has apparently taken the final decision to withdraw all its armed forces from Afghanistan. The symbolic date to complete the operation is September 11, 2021, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. Meanwhile on the ground, the Taliban are not defeated and local armed forces are not prepared. Therefore, this spells defeat.
Johnson&Johnson vaccine suspended, yet another blow to vaccine Messianism
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has decided to suspend the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The cause: dangerous reactions linked to blood clots that occurred within two weeks of its being administered to six women aged 18-48. In Europe, the EMA is stalling any pronouncements on the causal connection, as it had initially done with AstraZeneca. The reality is that for commercially-developed Covid vaccines, normal approval times have gone into "warp speed." Better pharmacovigilance is needed while Australia’s University of Queensland has issued a warning about vaccine-centric strategies.
Covid in Brazil: media epidemic spreads against Bolsonaro
Not a day goes by that we don't hear about Covid carnage in Jair Bolsonaro's Brazil. But does Brazil really "deserve" it? Brazil has the second highest number of Covid-related deaths, but compared to its large population the situation isn't so dramatic. Worse than Brazil are Italy and most of Europe. As usual, we are dealing with manipulative politically-oriented data.
So many lies about Covid and Africa
The Covid-19 situation in Africa is very different from what we are being told. First of all, the statistics show that the pandemic is not the continent's number one problem. Secondly, the rhetoric about poor countries not receiving vaccines clashes with reality: the doses have arrived, but no health organisation is there to help manage administering them to the enormous population.
Iraq, praise for the Pope calls for an adequate response
Pope Francis' visit to Iraq, which illustrated that the road to dialogue is a viable one, has no doubt generated hope among the local population. However, it is now up to political and religious leaders to demonstrate their willingness to lay down their arms and fight corruption. For Christians, the desire to return to their homes and lands - previously occupied by Isis and now by Shiite militias - risks remaining a mere hope.
The equivocal “Sons of Abraham”
It is right to invite the three religions to collaborate for development and peace, but it isn’t to try and make a new religion of the Sons of Abraham. Yet, this is precisely the risk that Pope Francis ran with the approach he took in Ur.
Congo and Guinea, Ebola is back
Since February 3, Ebola has again struck the Democratic Republic of Congo: the first victim was a 42-year-old woman who died after two days. Meanwhile, the virus has also reappeared in Guinea. The WHO has alerted the countries most at risk, where Ebola, which has a lethality rate varying between 25 and 90%, is much more alarming than Covid. At least, compared to the past, there is more availability of vaccines.
Khashoggi revealed, the many whys of a Saudi crime
By declassifying a CIA report more than two years later, the new US president is reopening the Khashoggi case. The journalist, who was murdered in Istanbul in 2018 in the Saudi consulate, was linked to the Muslim Brotherhood. He promoted its agenda in the Washington Post.
UK will reopen before the EU it exited from
The reopening roadmap announced by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks like a dream when seen from EU countries. Yet, in spite of those who predicted post-Brexit catastrophes, at least in terms of managing the Covid war, the fact is the United Kingdom has proven itself much better prepared than the EU from which it recently exited.
U.S. and France rethink strategies to fight jihadism
Both the new Biden administration in the United States and Macron's in France are currently questioning their long-standing wars against jihadist terrorism. The U.S. is unable to end its lengthy conflict in Afghanistan. Furthermore, by pulling out, it knows that the Taliban will take over. It is the same situation for the French in the Sahel campaign against Isis and Al Qaeda.
Biden changes policy in the Gulf, a pro-Iran turnaround
Although it’s not yet clear whether we are facing a real turnaround, or only propaganda tactics, the Biden administration immediately makes it clear which side it is on in the Gulf: a stop to military aid to the Saudis and Emiratis in their war in Yemen, the rehabilitation of the Houthi (Shiites, pro-Iran), and new nuclear agreements with Tehran.
