Category Archives: Middle East

Freedom on the Net 2022 Ratings by Country

Posted on October 19, 2022 by Dennis SILVERMAN

Freedom on the Internet and in social media in 2021-22 shows that only 18% of global internet users are assessed as Free, 34% as Partly Free, and 37% as Not Free.  11% are in countries that were not assessed.  The … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, Algorithms, Big Data, China, Communications, Cybersecurity, Democracy, Democracy Ratings, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to Petition, Freedoms, Infrastructure, Iran, Middle East, NATO, Putin, Religion, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Nations | Leave a comment

Democracy Survey Details of Countries of Current Concern

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Dennis SILVERMAN

We go back to the International Democracy Survey of 2022 and focus in more detail on countries of current concern to understand how they have entrapped and suppressed their populations to live in dictatorships. The first two components are the … Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 Election, Affairs of State, California Oil, Democracy, Democracy Ratings, Economies, First Amendment, Fossil Fuel Energy, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to Petition, Freedoms, Gasoline, Immigration Policy, Iran, Middle East, Natural Gas, Oil, Politics, Putin, Religion, Russia, Saudi Oil Imports, Ukraine, US Oil, World Oil Exports, World Oil Usage, Yemen | Tagged | Leave a comment

Making American Gasoline Greater Again

Posted on June 11, 2022 by Dennis SILVERMAN

Making American Gasoline Greater Again I am not an oil expert, but I am trying to put together some factors which have appeared in the press to solve the rapidly increasing gasoline price inflation. The high price of gas may … Continue reading →

Posted in California Oil, California Smog, Clean Energy, Economies, Energy Efficiency, Fossil Fuel Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Huntington Beach Oil Spill, Joe Biden, Middle East, No More Drilling, Offshore Oil Drilling, Oil, Politics, Regulations, Saudi Oil Imports, Transportation, Trump Administration, Trump Insurrection, Trump on Climate Change, Ukraine, US Oil, VP Pence, Waste Energy, World Oil Exports, World Oil Usage | Tagged | Leave a comment

California’s Oil Refinement, Imports, and Use

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Dennis SILVERMAN

California’s Oil Refinement, Imports, and Use I am going to use a mix of numbers from recent years, which of course change from year to year with a fungible product like oil.  Costs don’t matter much since those thrifty days … Continue reading →

Posted in Autos, California Oil, Carbon Tax, Energy Efficiency, Fossil Fuel Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Middle East, No More Drilling, Oil, Saudi Oil Imports, US Oil, World Oil Exports | Leave a comment

Sanctioning Russian Oil Exports

Posted on March 9, 2022 by Dennis SILVERMAN

Russian Oil Exports to Europe, China, and the US The oil scene in round numbers is that the World is about to use 100 million barrels per day (mbpd), where a barrel is 42 gallons and makes 19.2 gallons of … Continue reading →

Posted in Autos, California Oil, China, Climate Change, Climate Science, Energy Efficiency, Fossil Fuel Energy, Iran, Middle East, Oil, Saudi Oil Imports, Ukraine, US Oil, World Oil Exports, World Oil Usage | Leave a comment

Saving Gas Money in Face of Gas Price Rises

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Dennis SILVERMAN

Saving Gas Money in the Face of Gas Price Rise Update, March 10, a poll by AAA on American’s how and when they are planning to adapt to the rising gas prices.  With the price of gas greater than $4 … Continue reading →

Posted in California Oil, California Smog, Carbon Tax, China, Conservation, Coronavirus, Electric Cars, Fossil Fuel Energy, Free Trade, Middle East, Oil, Russia, Saudi Oil Imports, Ukraine, US Oil, World Oil Exports, World Oil Usage | Leave a comment

The International Democracy Survey of 2022

Posted on March 2, 2022 by Dennis SILVERMAN

For most countries, there are few changes from the Survey of 2021, which we recently put up.  The 2022 survey includes events through 2021.  The 2022 Survey is at V-dem.org.  It is a compilation of ratings from 0 to 1 … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020 Election, 2022 Election, Congress, Congressional Investigation, Democracy, Democracy Ratings, Equal Treatment Under the Law, Equality of Opportunity Project, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to Petition, Freedoms, Impeachment, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Politics, Russia, Trump Administration, Ukraine, Upward Mobility, Voting Rights | Leave a comment

The Democracy Index 2021 Summary

Posted on February 23, 2022 by Dennis SILVERMAN

The Democracy Index 2021 Summary This is produced yearly by The Economist Intelligence Unit, based on 60 indicators in 5 categories.  Each category is rated 0-10, and then the overall score is their average.  We focus on those by size … Continue reading →

Posted in China, Democracy, Democracy Ratings, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to Petition, Freedoms, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, North Korea Nuclear Threat, Putin, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Voting Rights | Leave a comment

The Nobel Peace Prize Should Not be Bought by Trump for Arming Dictators

Posted on September 12, 2020 by Dennis SILVERMAN

You Shouldn’t Win a Nobel Peace Prize for Selling Weapons of War to Dictators Three stories collided to make this article.   First, Trump is selling F35s, our most sophisticated fighter jets, to the UAE in order to get them … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020 Election, Affairs of State, Congressional Investigation, Democracy Ratings, Game of Thrones, Gun Control, Impeachment, Middle East, Negotiations, Politics, Yemen | Tagged | Leave a comment

In International Democracy Survey, US Drops to 36th, and Only 70%.

Posted on August 5, 2020 by Dennis SILVERMAN

  We show the 2020 Democracy ratings of countries of current concern to the US.  The source of the ratings is the V-Dem Institute at V-dem.net.  We use data from Version 10 of April 2020.  The North American Regional Center … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020 Election, Affairs of State, China, Congress, Congressional Investigation, Criminal Justice System, Democracy Ratings, Equal Treatment Under the Law, First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to Petition, Freedoms, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Politics, Russia, Supreme Court, Trump Administration, Turkey | Tagged | Leave a comment