Author: M Barbu

‘Convivencia’, What Is It All About? – Analysis

Convivencia: Spanish noun, from convivir, to live with the other, used by historians in the 20th century to describe inter-religious coexistence in al-Andalus, between the 8th and 15th centuries. The roots of this word, and of its Occitan twin Convivéncia, lie in an ancient Pyrenean matrimonial alliance. (1) In the 8th century, Llívia, a small Pyrenean town in Cerdagne, welcomed an Amazigh/Berber-Occitan couple. He was killed, she was exiled, the marriage ended badly. But this union, later magnified by the romantics, continues to nourish the concept of Convivencia, a concept with strong political potential. A story of halted territorial expansion, a pact between dissidents, an “unnatural” marriage and, ultimately, the re-establishment of the warrior order.

The Iraq Report: Mosul’s long road to recovery after liberation from the Islamic State

On 21 July 2017, Iraq’s second city Mosul was liberated from the Islamic State after three years of brutal rule. But has the traumatised city recovered?

Mosul, located 465 km northwest of Baghdad on the west bank of the Tigris River, is the main city of Nineveh Governorate. It sits directly across from the ancient city of Nineveh and Jonah’s Tomb, also known as Al-Nabi Yunus Mosque.

Erdogan says Turkey might enter Israel to help Palestinians

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: ‘We must be very strong so that Israel can’t do these ridiculous things to Palestine.’

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that Turkey might enter Israel as it had done in the past in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh, though he did not spell out what sort of intervention he was suggesting.

The 700-Year-Old Polish-Hungarian Brotherhood Is Officially Dead At The State-To-State Level

There’s no restoring the trust that was just lost at that level, but the Polish-Hungarian Brotherhood still endures in the hearts of their patriots since they’ll never let politicians break the bonds between them.

Polish-Hungarian tensions have been boiling for the past two and a half years due to their polar opposite approaches towards the latest phase of the Ukrainian Conflict and finally spilled over this weekend. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban lambasted Poland in a speech where he accused it of seeking to replace the EU’s traditional Franco-German axis with a new one comprised of itself, the UK, Ukraine, the Baltic States, and Scandinavia, with the innuendo being that this is contributing to continental instability.

L’UE dirigée par l’Allemagne prépare une guerre suicidaire avec la Russie

Le 16 juillet, le ministre russe des Affaires étrangères Sergueï Lavrov a assisté à une réunion du Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU, où il a parlé du projet américain d’utiliser l’Europe comme une sorte d’«escadron suicide» contre la Russie. Lavrov a averti Washington DC de ne pas vivre dans l’illusion que cela fonctionnerait et qu’il s’agit d’une «idée fausse extrêmement dangereuse». Il a également averti l’Union européenne qu’elle «doit prendre conscience du rôle suicidaire qu’elle est destinée à jouer».

Strikes on Russian military airfields, a “critical” situation for the Armed Forces of Ukraine north of Avdiivka. What was happening at the front this week

In today’s summary:

  • “Critical” situation for the Armed Forces of Ukraine north of Avdiivka – some units had to fight out of the encirclement
  • Russian troops are conducting massive mechanized assaults on the eastern face of the Ugledar salient
  • In the Z-environment, they are indignant about the law adopted by the State Duma banning the use of gadgets in the war zone
  • During Russian air raids on Ukraine, at least four Shahed flew to Romania
  • Strikes on three Russian military airfields – Millerovo and Morozovsk in the Rostov region and Saki in Crimea
  • BBC Russian Service and Mediazona – Over 61 thousand people died in the war on the Russian side
  • Czech Republic launches new initiative to supply artillery ammunition to Ukraine in 2025
  • The number of towed artillery pieces, self-propelled guns and MLRS has been significantly reduced in Russian warehouses

What Really Happened in Chile

The CIA, the Coup Against Allende, and the Rise of Pinochet

On September 9, 1973, I was eating lunch at Da Carla, an Italian restaurant in Santiago, Chile, when a colleague joined my table and whispered in my ear: “Call home immediately; it’s urgent.” At the time, I was serving as a clandestine CIA officer. Chile was my first overseas assignment, and for an eager young spymaster, it was a plum job. Rumors of a military coup against the socialist Chilean president, Salvador Allende, had been swirling for months. There had already been one attempt. Allende’s opponents were taking to the streets. Labor strikes and economic disarray made basic necessities difficult to find. Occasionally, bombs rocked the capital. The whole country seemed exhausted and tense. In other words, it was exactly the kind of place that every newly minted CIA operative wants to be.