The greatest threat to the U.S. dollar isn’t a rival currency–it’s a financial system that doesn’t need one. And that’s exactly what the BRICS alliance–originally Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa–is trying to build. What started as a loose economic partnership has evolved into a strategic alliance bent on dismantling U.S. economic dominance. But […]
Tag: oil
Echoes of the Earth: A Battle for Sacred Lands
The coast of South Africa’s Eastern Cape, near the Dwesa-Cwebe Nature Reserve, is a picture of calm. Clouds rest on the horizon, and gentle waves turn the sand into a reflection of the blue sky. But this serenity faces a threat—one driven by the demands of a warming climate and an economy rooted in fossil […]
The Malacca Dilemma: A hindrance to Chinese Ambitions in the 21st Century
“This man may look intelligent but in fact is stupid.” As evident from the quote above, Deng Xiaoping had a rather low opinion of Mikhail Gorbachev, the last President of the USSR. Xiaoping did not believe in imitating the western model of success. While Gorbachev had tried to reform the USSR through westernized political reform […]
Venezuela’s Unintentional Regional Influence
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, much like his predecessor Hugo Chavez, often appears on national television to address the country on the problems facing the nation and to boost approval ratings. However, during a television appearance in November 2017, Maduro made a very public gaffe that highlighted the growing corruption and inequality in Venezuela. During the […]
Basra in Flames, with No Water to Put out the Fire
Basra is a city located in the southeast of Iraq, bordering the countries of Kuwait and Iran. Basra is known as the oil capital of Iraq, yet despite the abundance of wealth, the whole country, and especially Basra, has been suffering from a stagnant economy. Government corruption, financial mishandling, and high unemployment took the Basrawis […]
How Climate Change Will Empower Russia
Former Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Rajendra Pachauri once said, “Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change.” People fear that the very existence of the planet may be in jeopardy, given the reality of anthropogenic global warming and the fact that sea levels are rising, oceans are […]
Venezuela’s Humanitarian Crisis: Not The Exception, But The Rule.
As Syrian refugees continue to arrive in battered dinghies to the shores of Europe, a migration of similar urgency is taking place in Latin America. The Venezuelan crisis has its roots in the poor transfer of dictatorial power and an over-reliance on oil exports. However, this issue of politics and economics has transformed into a […]
Gassed up: Standoffs, Strikes, and Tension in West Virginia
A couple weeks ago, Lissa Lucas, a Democratic political candidate for the West Virginia House of Delegates, was physically dragged off the House Chambers floor during a Judiciary Committee hearing. Prior to this, Lucas had taken to the podium at the hearing and listed donations that Congresspeople, primarily Republicans, had received from the oil and […]
“Eat the Rabbits”: Venezuela’s Plan to Curb its Food Crisis
Government mismanagement of oil revenues, international debt, and rampant inflation have led Venezuela into an extreme food crisis with only one plausible solution: eat the rabbits. At least that’s the plan recently proposed by President Nicolás Maduro. This is not the first instance we have seen such a simple solution to a complex national issue […]
Frozen in Place: Canada’s Arctic Policy
Canadian Ranger transporting supplies in the Arctic during Canada’s annual sovereignty Operation Nunalivut It’s 1984. Cold War animosity is back to normal and the U.S.S.R has announced its boycott of the Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Ronald Reagan and his promise to fight the “evil empire” have succeeded in one of the greatest electoral landslides in […]