Category Archives: Syria

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

World Malnutrition in the Pandemic

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Dennis SILVERMAN

One of Science Magazine’s Breakthroughs of 2019 was how to treat malnourished children. Millions of Children who were malnourished remained sick, even after being well fed.   Over a decade, researchers found that their gut microbiomes were not developing to … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, Children, Donald Trump, Health Care, Poverty, Syria, United Nations | Leave a comment

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Posted on February 1, 2020 by Dennis SILVERMAN

“Power Corrupts; Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely”, Lord Acton Donald Trump, William Barr, Mick Mulvaney, Mike Pompeo, Rudy Giuliani, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, Pat Cipollone, Alan Dershowitz, Kenneth Starr,  … Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jung Un, Bashar Al Assad, Recep … Continue reading →

Posted in 2020 Election, Affairs of State, AG William Barr, Congressional Investigation, Constitution, Criminal Justice System, Democracy Ratings, Donald Trump, Impeachment, Mitch McConnell, Mueller Report, Politics, Secrecy, State Department, Syria, Trump Administration, Turkey, Voter Fraud, Voting Rights, White House | Leave a comment

Democracy Ratings for the US and Countries in the News from the V-Dem Institute

Posted on January 16, 2020 by Dennis SILVERMAN

We show graphs over time of the US and countries in the news, for five categories.  The ratings go from 1900 through 2018, unless only fewer years are available.  The source of the ratings is the V-Dem Institute at V-dem.net. … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, Democracy Ratings, Economies, Education, Equal Treatment Under the Law, Equality of Opportunity Project, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to Petition, Freedoms, Immigration Policy, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Politics, Religion, Secrecy, Syria, Turkey, United Nations, Voting Rights, Women’s Rights | Leave a comment

The United States and the World in the Freedom in the World 2019 Ratings

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Dennis SILVERMAN

We show graphs in the Freedom House report “Freedom in the World 2019” by Freedom House at freedomhouse.org, for both the United States, and for World countries. We show the decline in the US Freedom rating over 10 years from … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, Criminal Justice System, Democracy Ratings, Donald Trump, Education, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Freedom to Assemble, Freedom to Petition, Freedoms, Immigration Ban, Immigration Policy, Iran, Middle East, North Korea, Russia, Saudi Oil Imports, Syria, Turkey, Voting Rights, Yemen | Leave a comment

Oh What a Mess This Iranian Challenge Is

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Dennis SILVERMAN

Oh What a Mess This Iranian Challenge Is. Trump has today threatened to swiftly hit 52 major Iranian targets, if Iran makes ANY retaliation against Americans or American targets in response to Trump’s killing Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani.  Again, … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, California Oil, Donald Trump, Iran, Oil, Secrecy, Syria, Turkey, US Oil, VP Pence, World Oil Exports, World Oil Usage | Leave a comment

Freedom in Countries Which the US Deals With

Posted on September 19, 2019 by Dennis SILVERMAN

Freedom in Countries Which the US Deals With in the Cato Institute Rankings of 2018 In the US dealing with various countries around the world, it is nice, but simple, to have a Freedom Ranking and evaluations to inform us … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, Democracy Ratings, Freedoms, Middle East, North Korea, Russia, Syria, United Nations, Yemen | Leave a comment

The Absurdity of Trump’s Trusting Enemy Dictators

Posted on July 5, 2018 by Dennis SILVERMAN

The Absurdity of Trump’s Trusting Enemy Dictators Even that sentence is an absurdity, but true. Is there anything that Trump won’t give away to dictators? Is there anything that Trump won’t believe from a dictator, even in the face of … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, Cybersecurity, Donald Trump, Economies, North Korea, North Korea Nuclear Threat, North Korean Nuclear Agreement, Nuclear Weapons, Public Confidence, Russia, State Department, Syria, Trump's Logic, United Nations | Leave a comment

Trump Blew It With World Condemnation of Assad

Posted on April 12, 2017 by Dennis SILVERMAN

Trump Blew It With World Condemnation of Assad Trump didn’t use diplomacy in the Assad sarin attack, because he only had a Secretary of State and no connection to the 70,000 serious, experienced diplomats in the State Department. He also … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, Donald Trump, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, Immigration Ban, Middle East, Russia, State Department, Steve Bannon, Syria, Trump Administration, Trump Budget, US Intelligence Agencies | Leave a comment

In Syria, Start with Diplomacy: War is Going Down a Black Hole

Posted on April 6, 2017 by Dennis SILVERMAN

In Syria, Start with Diplomacy: War is Going Down a Black Hole The previous times when Syrian President Bashar al Assad used nerve gas, in 2013, pressure from the Russians, the US, and the world made him stop. That was … Continue reading →

Posted in Affairs of State, Donald Trump, Middle East, Syria, Trump Administration, United Nations | Leave a comment