One of the problems with capitalism is that it is driving us towards disaster.
Greed is good?
Adam Smith (1723-1790) maintained that individual self-interest can and should be the principle guiding our economic behavior . He told the readers of his book “The Wealth of Nations”, that, as if guided by an invisible hand, individual self-interest leads to the general good. To put is in fewer words, Smith maintained that greed is good. However, during England’s industrial revolution the contrast between the lives of factory owners and those of slave-like workers, who had been driven off the land by the Enclosure Acts.
The military transitional government of Mali is expected to announce a deal with the Russian Wagner Group to combat the Islamic jihadist movements that are spreading violence across the country.
Moscow has confirmed the deal. Nevertheless, it stated that it had nothing to do with the negotiations as Mali approached Wagner directly. Moscow said that Mali feels it is effectively being banned by France which decided to unilaterally withdraw from the country.
A delegation of Palestinian clerics from Gaza, South Lebanon and Syria has been visiting Iraq in the recent days to attend the “Call of Al-Aqsa Procession”, organized by the Iraqi “Call of Al-Aqsa” (Nida Al-Aqsa) organization. The procession is held as part of the “Arba’een Pligrimage” march from Najaf to Karbala, held annually at the end of the 40-day mourning period for Imam Hussein, the Prophet’s grandson, who was assassinated in 680.
On September 24, 2021, some 300 Iraqi notables, both Sunnis and Shi’ites, held a conference in Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, calling for Iraq to join the Abraham Accords and establish diplomatic ties with Israel. They also called to abolish the law criminalizing contacts between Iraqi and Israeli citizens. The conference was initiated by the Center for Peace Communications, based in New York.
A system of abuse against migrants in Libya, carried out by militias and the government, is fueled by European Union money given to authorities in a country where violence has been normalized after years of instability, according to a new documentary to be released in October.
A number of migrants and refugees speak of the abuses and torture they suffered at the hands of Libyan militias in Libya: No Way Out of Hell by documentary filmmaker Sara Creta.
Increased military movements by government forces and Russia near the Idlib fronts and the strategic M4 highway indicate that the battle against the Turkey-supported opposition may be drawing near.
Since mid-September, the Syrian government has been leading a large-scale military operation against opposition factions to expel them from areas under their control south of the international M4 highway connecting Aleppo and Latakia.
President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey still intended to buy a second batch of S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, a move that could deepen a rift with NATO ally Washington and trigger new U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported.
According to the report Washington says the S-400s pose a threat to its F-35 fighter jets and to NATO’s broader defense systems. Turkey says it was unable to procure air defense systems from any NATO ally on satisfactory terms.
“In the future, nobody will be able to interfere in terms of what kind of defense systems we acquire, from which country at what level,” Erdogan said in an interview that aired on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
“Nobody can interfere with that. We are the only ones to make such decisions.”
The United States imposed sanctions on Turkey’s Defense Industry Directorate, its chief, Ismail Demir, and three other employees in December following the country’s acquisition of a first batch of S-400s, Reuters said.
Talks continued between Russia and Turkey about the delivery of a second batch, which Washington has repeatedly said would almost certainly trigger new sanctions.
“We urge Turkey at every level and opportunity not to retain the S-400 system and to refrain from purchasing any additional Russian military equipment,” said a State Department spokesperson when asked about Erdogan’s comments.
“We continue to make clear to Turkey that any significant new Russian arms purchases would risk triggering CAATSA 231 sanctions separate from and in addition to those imposed in December 2020,” the spokesperson added, referring to the 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
The spokesperson also said the United States regards Turkey as an ally and friend and seeks ways to strengthen their partnership “even when we disagree.”
Erdogan will meet with President Vladimir Putin in Russia on Wednesday to discuss issues including the violence in northwestern Syria, read the report.
Erdogan also said that U.S. President Joe Biden never raised the issue of Turkey’s human rights track record, seen as extremely troublesome by international rights advocacy groups, confirming Reuters reporting from earlier in September.
Asked whether Biden brought up the issue during their June meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels, Erdogan said: “No he didn’t. And because we don’t have any problems of that nature in terms of freedoms, Turkey is incomparably free.”
Turkey is among the top jailers of journalists, according to figures from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), while Human Rights Watch says Erdogan’s authoritarian rule has been consolidated by the passage of legislation that contravenes international human rights obligations, Reuters reported.
Tajikistan is interfering in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, Abdul Ghani Baradar, the acting deputy head of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) said on Sunday.
Turkey has deployed more troops to northwestern Syria as a deterrent against any major offensive by Russian-backed Syrian forces, ahead of a meeting between the Turkish and Russian leaders next week.
Ankara is concerned that an escalation in Idlib, the last rebel stronghold in northwest Syria, would push a new wave of refugees toward Turkey, which has been hosting about 4 million Syrians since the start of the conflict a decade ago.
On 18 July, Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada said the group seeks strong diplomatic, economic and political relations with all countries including the United States. The Taliban soon revealed it had opened several channels of communication with foreign countries. China is among the first in the region to embrace — albeit cautiously — the new political reality shaping Afghanistan. For Beijing, the Taliban takeover presents opportunities as well as threats.
