Author: Christine Schier

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (Markit PMI/S&P Global) measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector, below indicates contraction. The PMI for Germany has been below 50, with ups and downs, for the last twelve months. Now, data released at the beginning of December are even worse than the […]

Israel’s Haaretz newspaper took issue with remarks made by President Biden on Dec. 12 in Washington, in which the latter had basically blamed Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir for blocking a two-state solution. The implication was that if Prime Minister Netanyahu dumps that minister, and makes a few changes in the government, he could then align with the U.S. on […]

Since rescuing Brazil from the radically neocon, pro-Washington government of Jair Bolsonaro, President Lula da Silva has emerged as a solid spokesman for nations of the Global South. On the level of South America as well, he is assuming a leading role in pushing development. His statesmanship was again on display at the Dec. 7 heads of state summit in Rio […]

The Dec. 8 online meeting of the International Peace Coalition, co-founded by the Schiller Institute, featured an exciting discussion of the defense industry based in the United States , otherwise known as the military-industrial complex. Just six major defense contractors dominate the market, and share a good chunk of a military budget, which is expected to reach close to $1 […]

We extend our best wishes to our readers for the holiday period. Your first issue in the new year will be dated January, 4, 2024

At the Doha Forum in Qatar on Dec. 10, the Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres issued another dramatic call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. That followed the outrageous decision by the United States to veto, on Dec. 8, a UN Security Council resolution demanding such a ceasefire, the only country to do so, while the United […]

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor reported on Dec. 9 that infectious diseases and epidemics are spreading in Gaza “in a way that is catastrophic and unprecedented in modern history”. The release, published by the United Nations’ Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), cites record numbers of displaced people, the lack of clean drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and malnutrition as factors leading […]

Recent statements from officials in the Biden Administration demonstrate their desperation in the face of the collapse of their ability to dominate the globe, as the military force enforcing the “Unipolar Order”. As Congress has thus far blocked passage of a special appropriation package of funds for the war against Russia in Ukraine, and for Israel’s war against Palestinians, President […]

Faced with zero chances of Ursula von der Leyen being re-elected President of the European Commission next June, the European oligarchy is pushing Mario Draghi as her replacement. According to diplomatic sources in Brussels quoted by La Repubblica Dec. 8, French President Macron has already consulted Olaf Scholz on the matter. Indeed, the conspiracy to put Draghi in began some […]

On Dec. 6, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera revealed that Italy is withdrawing as a member of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as undersigned in the 2019 Memorandum. The decision was taken without consulting Parliament, almost secretely, and communicated in a letter sent by Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani to the Chinese embassy in Rome. After the Corriere leak, […]