Winter of Discontent

Romanian President Traian Basescu

      Despite near frigid temperatures in the country of Romania, the political climate has been heating up, as protestors clash with police in the streets of the capital Bucharest. It is said up to 60 protestors were injured after anti-government protests sprouted up in many of the major cities across Romania.
     The 'Winter of Discontent' as it's been coined has come in response to new austerity measures the Romanian government under President Traian Basescu. Demands from protestors include the resignation of the President, along with strong opposition to these cuts that would affect the public health care system, education, among other social institutions many Romanians depend on for their livelihoods.
     Public wages were recently cut by a dramatic 25%, meanwhile benefits were slashed, and taxes are being increased on a nation where the median income is $12,200 (2008 estimate). While a majority of the protests have been peaceful, clashes and confrontations have been reported throughout the country.
     Reports of police brutality have been widespread and according to prosecutors, four police officers are under investigation after reports of their misconduct during the protests.
     The latest protest over the weekend in Romania was over the government's plan to build an open-cast gold mine in a Carpathian town, only providing more fuel for the protestor's anti-government rallies. Environmentalists and civic right groups claim the cyanide and explosives that will be used to extract the 314 tonnes of gold will effectively destroy ancient Romanian gold mines and villages. Vlad Rogati, a 61 year old retired engineer commented on the government's plan to bring revenue through gold mining to the small town. "Never mind that this project is an utter environmental catastrophe waiting to happen, but it is also the worst possible business from a financial point of view for the Romanian state... We are being misled. The promised jobs for miners are an illusion."
     These protests are similar to the protests being held all over Europe in reaction to harsh austerity measures being imposed by governments seeking to tighten their fiscal belt. Greece being the center of this economic calamity has seen similar reactions from their citizenry after huge austerity measures and harsher tax rates were implemented by the government seeking to pay back it's staggering $500 billion debt. Protests have also turned violent in America, where Occupy Wall Street protestors in D.C. over the weekend claimed they were being assaulted by police officers for peacefully demonstrating. Despite this claim by many, a protest at D.C.'s city hall led to more than 400 people being arrested after protestors threw rocks and bottles at police who responded with tear gas to subdue the protestors.
      The painful austerity measures come at a time when many economists say growth is needed, not restraint. "Starving yourself is not the road to health" says J. Bradford Delong, a former assistant secretary of the US Treasury and a current Professor of Economics at the University of California at Berkeley.
      Whether or not these austerity measures will have a positive effect on economic growth remains to be seen. To the average person on the street, the new measures are only taking from those who already don't have enough. If this trend of popular revolt continues, the year 2012 could be a rocky one for governments everywhere.

Occupy Somalia?

The Potential War Between Iran & America Is Already Happening

President Ahmadinejad of Iran touring a nuclear facility

       The tension between Washington and Tehran has been increasing steadily in the past few months. From the crash of a secret American drone in Iranian territory, to the assassination of a prominent Iranian scientist, to the continued threats from Tehran towards U.S., Israel and Britain, the air seems to be thickening all around us. It's moments and events like these that eventually lead up to wars and conflicts.

      Many would say that there already is a war waging between America and Iran. Just over the past few months alone, a number of events have brought to light this shadowy and often unknown world of intelligence gathering and military posturing that is often seen in clandestine wars like these.

Protesters during the 1979 revolution in Iran donning posters
of the leader of the revolt, Ayatollah Khomeini

      A cyber attack that many claimed the C.I.A carried out on an Iranian nuclear facility was just another form of a missile strike between the two nations. The drone that supposedly malfunctioned itself into Iranian territory is a modern version of gathering intelligence on the enemy. The summary trial and pending execution of an accused American-Iranian spy in Tehran is a war criminal being put on trial. The assassination of a prominent Iranian scientist is just another casualty of this secret war being waged behind the scenes. All in all, a war has not been declared, but it can be said that a war is being fought.
      The 1979 revolution in Iran which started off with the over throw of the Shah and ended with the takeover of the American Embassy where over 60 workers were held hostage for 444 days could be seen as the day war was declared. Through negotiations carried out by then President Ronald Reagan and the C.I.A., weapons and ammunition were funneled through terrorist groups in Nicaragua to the Islamists in Tehran to have the hostages released. To the American government this was a short term solution to what they knew was going to be a long term problem.
      The problem? A hostile nation, with access to immense resources, centered in one of the most strategically important areas of the globe, was now attempting at the expense of international law, at obtaining and enriching uranium for nuclear purposes. This was a sore sight for C.I.A. officials and businessmen who enjoyed a comfortable relationship with Iran under the western backed Shah. For this, the Iranian regime was deemed to have no validity and was to be prevented in anyway from achieving their goal of becoming a nuclear power.
       Sanctions imposed by President Clinton reflect this sentiment. Claims of Iran sponsoring groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon have stalled any form of productive talks since the cutting of diplomatic ties. Iran's ever growing influence over affairs in the region has left many in the west shaken, as control over the regions political stability is vital to many interests in both America and the business world.
       This regime which has threatened stability in the region and has pitted Shia Muslims against Sunni Muslims since 1979 have been working for decades now on obtaining nuclear materials for what they claim are peaceful energy uses. While many citizens in the country believe it is their country's right as a sovereign state to utilize nuclear energy for domestic consumption, western nations have been weary of the Iranian government's intentions.
       Iran's long time feud with Israel is one that has also been of much concern. Being that Iran is ruled by strict fundamentalist Islamists, their views towards the country have always been hostile, and it is feared that an attack on Israel by Iran could spark a war between the West and the Arab world. With rising frequency in both covert and overt operations being perpetrated by both Iran and Washington, it seems that an attack on Israel might not even be needed to start the next war. That is, if you don't already consider this a war.