STRATEGIC ALERT Service

Of all the different protest actions in Germany in 2023, the tractorcades of the farmers in the weeks before Christmas have been the most effective, in particular the pattern of road and highway blockades. The ferment in Germany may very well spread to neighboring countries, both East and West, where the agricultural policy imposed by Brussels threatens the existence of […]

In his “2024 New Year Message,” China’s President Xi Jinping detailed the achievements of China during the course of the year and congratulated the Chinese people on their accomplishments: “In 2023, we have continued to forge ahead with resolve and tenacity. We have gone through the test of winds and rains, have seen beautiful scenes unfolding on the way, and […]

The Julius Nyerere Hydroelectric Power Project (JNHPP), one of Tanzania’s mega projects, is to be completed and commissioned by mid-February 2024. Under construction since 2019, it aims to produce 5,920 GWh of electricity annually, in addition to improving overall water management. Even more impressive, the 94%-completed project is truly an all African project. Financed by the Tanzanian government, its major […]

This holiday season in the trans-Atlantic world traditionally brings forth more profound reflections on the purpose of life and the love of humanity. It was in this spirit that the leaders of the major Christian communities in Bethlehem, including Greek Orthodox, Syriac, Armenian, Catholic and Lutheran denominations, composed a letter to U.S. President Biden in late November asking him to […]

At a time when many world leaders do their best to avoid facing questions in public, Russian President Putin held a press conference for nearly four hours on Dec, 14, which was broadcast on all national television channels in Russia. The questions came from reporters and from ordinary citizens, with topics raging from the special military operation in Ukraine, to […]

The decision taken on Dec. 15 by the European Council (minus Hungary, whose Prime minister Viktor Orban left the room before the vote) to start negotiations on Ukraine’s entry into the European Union is, at best, divorced from reality and, at worst, a cruel deception. Immediate aid to Ukraine was blocked, while the process of entry into the EU, if […]

Farmers throughout the European Union have been up in arms for the past couple of years against the European Union’s insane “Farm to Fork” policy, which provides for radical cuts (up to 50%) in the use of pesticides and fertilizers, as well as the reduction of farmland available. This has already had political consequences in the Netherlands, where farmers founded […]

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 […]