As promised last podcast, the Professor now looks forward to the new year of 2012 to inform you of the details of the significant shift of world leadership going down in the next 365 days. From new leaders to be tested in North Korea, Italy and Spain; to election cycles in US, Mexico, France, Russia, and Taiwan; to major turnovers in China, Palestine and possibly Pakistan, Syria, and Yemen…the parade of new faces started in 2011 is going to be accelerated significantly in the coming year, and the Professor wants you to be in the know!
Sweet Sub-Saharan salvation! The outside world is finally, finally, finally looking to truly invest in the future of Africa…and this interest in the continent is certainly going to trigger other parties to get into the game as well! The country kicking off this race for investment and influence in Africa is none other than India! Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh just finished a three-day tour of Africa in which billions of dollars of credit and infrastructure aid has been promised, the first-ever serious long-term investment strategy in the region of the planet that has long been marginalized. All the pundits are raging about how this sets India in competition with China, who has long been a investor in Africa focused on resource extraction. But the Avenger knows there is much more to the story than that! Africa stands to gain big-time, long-term from the events being initiated right this second, so tune in an find out the bigger impacts to the region, to India, and the world!
Yes, yes, yes, there is tremendous hype and pomp and circumstances surrounding the death of Osama Bin Laden by US forces who covertly invaded Pakistan and took out the head terrorist honcho of al-Qaeda a couple of weeks ago. While much attention has been focused on the man since his death, and the future of his death-wielding terrorist group, and even on how this affects US power/prestige in the world, the Plaid Avenger believes the biggest impacts of bin Laden’s locational transfer to hell will be most felt by the Afghanistan Taliban…who will be ‘legitimized’ and become an accepted power player in Afghan politics.
Say what? Yeah, confusing stuff! That’s why the Avenger did this two-part series to unpack it for you:
Part 1 goes over the differences between the main groups involved in the chaos in this neighborhood, including the goals and objectives of the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, and al-Qaeda.
Part 2 offers 5 reasons why the death of Osama bin Laden will influence the US, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the wider world to accept the Afghan Taliban as a legitimate component of a future stabilized Afghanistan.
The Avenger also points out some relevant insight into the dangers of a growing Pakistani Taliban, and what this might mean for future US/Pakistani relations. And he wants your opinion on how that should be proceeding as well…
Yes, yes, yes, there is tremendous hype and pomp and circumstances surrounding the death of Osama Bin Laden by US forces who covertly invaded Pakistan and took out the head terrorist honcho of al-Qaeda a couple of weeks ago. While much attention has been focused on the man since his death, and the future of his death-wielding terrorist group, and even on how this affects US power/prestige in the world, the Plaid Avenger believes the biggest impacts of bin Laden’s locational transfer to hell will be most felt by the Afghanistan Taliban…who will be ‘legitimized’ and become an accepted power player in Afghan politics.
Say what? Yeah, confusing stuff! That’s why the Avenger did this two-part series to unpack it for you:
Part 1 goes over the differences between the main groups involved in the chaos in this neighborhood, including the goals and objectives of the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, and al-Qaeda.
Part 2 offers 5 reasons why the death of Osama bin Laden will influence the US, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the wider world to accept the Afghan Taliban as a legitimate component of a future stabilized Afghanistan.
The Avenger also points out some relevant insight into the dangers of a growing Pakistani Taliban, and what this might mean for future US/Pakistani relations. And he wants your opinion on how that should be proceeding as well…
Summary: Holy hibachi! Japan is in a Pacific pinch, my friends! A collision between a Chinese fishing boat and Japanese coast guard vessels in September near the Senkaku/Diaoyu islands north of Taiwan set off a firestorm of diplomatic fury by both countires…only to be followed in November by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev pissing off Japan by visiting the disputed island of Kunashira in the Kuril island chain north of Hokkiado. Damn! Battered from both ends! But these territorial squabbles centering around Japan have repercussions far beyond the borders of these dink-ass islands. In this plaid-cast, the Avenger high-lites some of the deeper ramifications of these Pacific geo-political problems.
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