English LCCC Newsbulletin For
Lebanese, Lebanese Related, Global News & Editorials
For January 01/2022
Compiled & Prepared by: Elias Bejjani
#elias_bejjani_news
The Bulletin's Link on the
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Bible Quotations For today
Baby Jesus is circumcised
and Presented To The Temple
Luke 02/21-39/ And at the end of eight days, when
he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he
was conceived in the womb. And when the time came for their purification
according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him
to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first
opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) and to offer a sacrifice
according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two
young pigeons.” Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and
this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and
the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came in
the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to
do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and
blessed God and said, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have
prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”and his father and his mother marveled at
what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,
“Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and
for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also),
so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” And there was a prophetess,
Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years,
having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then
as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple,
worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very
hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting
for the redemption of Jerusalem.
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials
published on December 31/2021-January 01/2022
Video-Text: Resolutions For the new year of 2022/Elias Bejjani/January
01/2022
Question: "What sort of New Year’s resolution should a Christian make?"/GotQuestions.org?/January
01/2022
Lebanese bid farewell to 2021 amid health and security alerts/Najia Houssari/Arab
News/December 31, 2021
Corona - Health Ministry: 4,290 new Corona cases, 17 deaths
Corona - Health Minister: Increase in PCR positivity rate reflects a surge in
community viral spread, vast majority of infections recorded...
'Shiite Duo' Says Aoun's Clarification 'Hasn't Convinced Anyone’
Hariri Hopes for Halt of Collapse in 2022
Jumblat Tweets about 'Their Lebanon'
Judge Aoun Says Salameh’s Lawsuits Going Round in Circles
Army Chief: Army will remain cohesive, capable of carrying out its sacred
mission
‘Strong Republic’ – ‘Lebanese Forces’ delegation visits Aoudeh on New Year’s
occasion
Hariri: I ask God Almighty that conditions change in the new year
Mikati: With hope and faith, we will welcome a new year
Strida Geagea: Elections will be a referendum on Lebanon's identity
John X contacts Al-Rahi on New Year occasion
Lebanon’s New Year Resolutions… hopefully/Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/31 December
,2021
A booming market': Lebanese rush to buy weapons for personal security/Aya
Iskandarani/MENA/December 31/2021
Titles For The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
December 31/2021-January 01/2022
Pope Francis says domestic violence against women ‘almost satanic’
World to Ring in New Year under Covid Cloud
France says Iran’s space launch hits nuclear talks as they were showing progress
Iran Says Biden's White House Also 'Responsible' for Soleimani Killing
Bahrain Names Its First Ambassador to Syria in Over a Decade
Israel signs deal to buy $3.1 bln in US helicopters, refueling planes
Palestinian Knifeman Shot Dead by Israeli Troops
Final Goodbye: Recalling Influential People who Died in 2021
Titles For The Latest The Latest LCCC
English analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published on
December 31/2021-January 01/2022
We are living in an age of disorder and discontent/Sir John Jenkins/Arab
News/December 31, 2021
A strategy for dealing with Iran that would work/Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab
News/December 31, 2021
Getting 2022 right: Three political risk predictions for the coming year/John C.
Hulsman/Arab News/December 31, 2021
Will Turkey continue its policy of reconciliation in the region next year?/Meneskse
Tokyay/Arab News/December 31, 2021
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese &
Lebanese Related News & Editorials published
on December 31/2021-January 01/2022
Video-Text: Resolutions For the new year of 2022
Elias Bejjani/January 01/2022
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/81879/elias-bejjani-resolutions-for-the-new-year-of-2020/
(First published on 01 January/2021)
How healthy and fruitful would it be if each and every one of us is fully ready
to welcome the new year of 2022 with a clear conscience and a joyful
reconciliation with himself/herself, as well and with all others, especially
those who are the beloved ones, e.g, parents, family members, friends, etc.
How self gratifying would be for any faithful and wise person to enter the new
year of 2022 and he/she is completely free from all past heavy and worrying
loads of hostility, hatred, enmities, grudges, strives and jealousy.
And because our life is very short on this mortal-perishable earthly world.
And due to the fact that, Our Heavenly Father, Almighty God may at any moment
take back His Gift of life from any one of us.
Because of all these solid facts and realities, we are ought to leave behind all
the 2021 hardships, pains and disappointments with no regrets at all.
We are ought to happily welcome and enter the 2022 new year with a totally empty
page of our lives….ready for a new start.
Hopefully, every wise, loving, caring and faithful person would feel better in
striving to begin this new year of 2022 with love, forgiveness, faith, hope,
extended hands, open heart, and self-confidence.
I wish every one a Happy, Happy new Year that hopefully will carry with it all
that is love, forgiveness, faith, hope, extended hands, open heartd, and
self-confidence.
Notice: Click Here To Read The Arabic Version of the above piece
Question: "What sort of New Year’s resolution should a
Christian make?"
GotQuestions.org?/January 01/2022
Answer: The practice of making New Year’s resolutions goes back over 3,000 years
to the ancient Babylonians. There is just something about the start of a new
year that gives us the feeling of a fresh start and a new beginning. In reality,
there is no difference between December 31 and January 1. Nothing mystical
occurs at midnight on December 31. The Bible does not speak for or against the
concept of New Year’s resolutions. However, if a Christian determines to make a
New Year’s resolution, what kind of resolution should he or she make?
Common New Year’s resolutions are commitments to quit smoking, to stop drinking,
to manage money more wisely, and to spend more time with family. By far, the
most common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight, in conjunction with
exercising more and eating more healthily. These are all good goals to set.
However, 1 Timothy 4:8 instructs us to keep exercise in perspective: “For
physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things,
holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” The vast
majority of New Year’s resolutions, even among Christians, are in relation to
physical things. This should not be.
Many Christians make New Year’s resolutions to pray more, to read the Bible
every day, and to attend church more regularly. These are fantastic goals.
However, these New Year’s resolutions fail just as often as the non-spiritual
resolutions, because there is no power in a New Year’s resolution. Resolving to
start or stop doing a certain activity has no value unless you have the proper
motivation for stopping or starting that activity. For example, why do you want
to read the Bible every day? Is it to honor God and grow spiritually, or is it
because you have just heard that it is a good thing to do? Why do you want to
lose weight? Is it to honor God with your body, or is it for vanity, to honor
yourself?
Philippians 4:13 tells us, “I can do everything through Him who gives me
strength.” John 15:5 declares, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man
remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do
nothing.” If God is the center of your New Year’s resolution, it has chance for
success, depending on your commitment to it. If it is God’s will for something
to be fulfilled, He will enable you to fulfill it. If a resolution is not God-honoring
and/or is not in agreement with God’s Word, we will not receive God’s help in
fulfilling the resolution.
So, what sort of New Year’s resolution should a Christian make? Here are some
suggestions: (1) pray to the Lord for wisdom (James 1:5) regarding what
resolutions, if any, He would have you make; (2) pray for wisdom as to how to
fulfill the goals God gives you; (3) rely on God’s strength to help you; (4)
find an accountability partner who will help you and encourage you; (5) don’t
become discouraged with occasional failures; instead, allow them to motivate you
further; (6) don’t become proud or vain, but give God the glory. Psalm 37:5-6
says, “Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will
make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the
noonday sun.”
Lebanese bid farewell to 2021 amid health and security
alerts
Najia Houssari/Arab News/December 31, 2021
BEIRUT: The Lebanese bid farewell to 2021 amid health and security alerts,
cautiously awaiting what 2022 holds. Security services and civil defense members
were deployed throughout the country on New Year’s Eve, setting up 60
checkpoints along the Lebanese coast from Anfeh to Naqoura, and in mountainous
areas known to host parties this time of year. An awareness hashtag #DontLetLaughterTurnToTears
was launched for citizens, warning them to drive with caution so that the joy of
the coming New Year does not turn into a tragedy.
The Ministry of Tourism demanded that restaurants, nightclubs and hotels deny
entry to those without a vaccination certificate or a negative PCR test in the
past 48 hours, all while abiding by current COVID-19 preventive measures.
Many rushed to bakeries, supermarkets and catering services on the last day of
2021, as the majority of citizens are spending the night at home or in chalets,
while the well-off and expatriates who returned home for the holidays are
celebrating at hotels and nightclubs.
Almost all television stations broadcast entertainment programs on Friday,
giving out various gifts to callers, such as cheese wheels, dinner vouchers and
a few dollars, which are now worth a fortune amid the financial crisis Lebanon
is experiencing.
Although most Lebanese artists are singing at parties abroad this New Year’s
Eve, the cost of attending a party during which several artists are singing
ranges between $100 and $750, provided that only 30 percent of the venue’s
capacity is filled, per the Ministry of Health’s guidelines.
Meanwhile, the committee that follows up on COVID-19 preventive measures had
imposed a curfew on unvaccinated persons, but this measure has not been not
taken seriously by all.
Ahead of New Year’s Eve, the Ministry of Health confirmed 4,537 new COVID-19
cases and 15 deaths. As Lebanon escaped a lockdown over the holidays, Minister
of Health Dr. Firass Abiad fears a health disaster that would force the
concerned authorities to impose a full lockdown, which may harm the academic
year that is supposed to resume on Jan. 10, 2022. The Minister of Education and
Higher Education Abbas Al-Halabi called on all officials of public and private
educational institutions to make sure all employees take two vaccine doses, or
face taking a PCR test twice a week at their own expense. Assem Araji MP, a
cardiologist who heads Parliament’s health committee, seemed concerned about the
increasing omicron cases. “We face an outbreak; an increase in cases is
imminent,” he said.He expressed concerns about “the hospitalization rate rising
following New Year’s Eve parties, especially since we are running low on
COVID-19 beds in several hospitals amid the shortages in medical staff and
medical supplies. We will thus be facing a painful health reality.” Araji called
on the public to “abide by preventive measures, or we will pay.”
Corona - Health Ministry: 4,290 new Corona cases, 17
deaths
NNA/December 31/2021
In its daily report on the COVID-19 developments, the Ministry of Public Health
announced Friday the registration of 4,290 new Corona infections, which raised
the cumulative number of confirmed cases to-date to 727,930. The report added
that 17 deaths were recorded during the past 24 hours.
Corona - Health Minister: Increase in PCR positivity
rate reflects a surge in community viral spread, vast majority of infections
recorded...
NNA/December 31/2021
Minister of Public Health, Dr. Firass Abiad, referred Friday to the rise in
Coronavirus cases in the recent days, explaining in a series of tweets that,
“The increase in PCR positivity rate over the past few days reflects a surge in
community viral spread, fueled by the more contagious Omicron, and aided by the
rise in social activities due to festive gatherings. A closer look at the data
shows important observations.”He added: “The vast majority of infections were
recorded in unvaccinated individuals (78% in the past three days). Also, 79% of
infections were noted in patients younger than 50yrs. Asymptomatic patients
comprised 38% of positive cases.”Abiad went on to state that, “The number of
patients in critical condition continue to rise, though at a much lower rate… In
South Africa where Omicron was first recorded, less patients required
hospitalization than previous waves with other variants. Still, 78% of our Covid
ICU beds are occupied.”He added in another tweet: “More than 100 ICU beds (30%
of previous capacity) were made available in the past two weeks. More will be
added this week. The ministry of Interior has vowed to diligently enforce
restrictions. Still, some will decide to be irresponsible about their and
society’s safety.” “For now, a lockdown was discussed but not recommended yet.
The ability to open more hospital beds, and the severity of future cases will
dictate the next step. Ironically, the ones most vocal against a lockdown are
the same ones behaving in a way to increase its likelihood,” Abiad affirmed.
“Next week, there will be an update on the situation of medications and
supplies, and hospitalization. It is not easy to work in a limited resources
environment. Still, no excuses…This new year’s resolution is to hold on. Better
days are ahead,” he asserted.
'Shiite Duo' Says Aoun's Clarification 'Hasn't Convinced
Anyone’
Naharnet/December 31/2021
President Michel Aoun’s clarification of his remarks about administrative and
financial decentralization “has not convinced anyone,” Shiite Duo sources have
said. “This clarification has not convinced anyone, because administrative
decentralization is different than financial decentralization, and never in
Lebanon’s history has a president committed to the Taef Accord spoken of
financial decentralization,” the sources told al-Joumhouria newspaper in remarks
published Friday. In a statement issued Thursday, the Presidency had said that
some politicians and journalists “went too far in their imaginations, whether
deliberately or due to misinterpretation.” “President Aoun reminds those keen on
Lebanon’s unity and claiming to be against its partitioning that he was the one
who launched his famous slogan, ‘Lebanon is too big to be swallowed and too
small to be partitioned,’ during an official visit to Washington in 1978,” the
Presidency added. “As for those who deliberately or inadvertently misunderstood
the idea of broad administrative and financial decentralization in the
President’s message, the Presidency would like to stress that administrative and
financial decentralization go together, according to the Document of National
Accord (Taef Accord),” the Presidency said.
Hariri Hopes for Halt of Collapse in 2022
Naharnet/December 31/2021
Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri on Friday extended New Year
greetings to the Lebanese people. “We are bidding farewell to a year that was
extremely difficult due to its crises that affected the various aspects of the
lives of the Lebanese,” Hariri said in a tweet. He added that he hopes that
Lebanon will halt the collapse, restore stability and hold elections on time in
the new year. Mustaqbal deputy chief ex-MP Mustafa Alloush meanwhile said that
Hariri will return to Lebanon in early 2022 to take a decision on his political
course, adding that “al-Mustaqbal Movement will continue” to be present in the
political scene.
Jumblat Tweets about 'Their Lebanon'
Naharnet/December 31/2021
Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on Friday criticized those
whose vision of Lebanon is based on “conspiracies and lies.”“Our Lebanon is
based on intellect, history, love and challenge,” Jumblat said in a tweet.
“While their Lebanon is based on security, deceitful conspiracies, ignorance and
darkness,” the PSP leader added.
Judge Aoun Says Salameh’s Lawsuits Going Round in Circles
Naharnet/December 31/2021
Mount Lebanon's prosecutor Judge Ghada Aoun said Thursday in a statement that
Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh is not only prosecuted abroad, but also in
Lebanon. According to Aoun, there are two lawsuits against Salameh. The
governor’s first offense is “interfering in currency speculation along with a
bank,” Aoun said. The second is allowing the transfer abroad of $5 billion in
cash. The judge said that the source of 4 out of the 5 billion is unknown.
“Without Salameh’s intervention, these crimes would not have happened,” Aoun
claimed. She added that “if the Court of Cassation decides to grant him an
edict, that would be another issue.”Aoun pointed out that “there are evidences
and numbers from Switzerland that can’t be disregarded” in a lawsuit pending
before the Public Prosecution. She questioned why this lawsuit is going round in
circles, “although allegation is based on suspicion.”“Is there no suspicion
despite all these facts?” the judge asked. “Let someone read the Swiss request
for judicial assistance!"
Army Chief: Army will remain cohesive, capable of
carrying out its sacred mission
NNA/December 31/202
Lebanese Armed Forces Commander, General Joseph Aoun, tweeted Friday on the New
Year occasion, saying: “Tonight we are turning the page of 2021 with all its
tragedies and crises, so that 2022 will bring goodness to all the Lebanese,
including the military, who still have the will and determination despite the
difficult economic conditions.”He added: “We also remember all the families who
lost their loved ones this year; may the coming year bring solace to their
hearts. Let our wishes be for a new year of peace and stability for our
homeland, and a new opportunity for dialogue and reconciliation.”“We pledge that
the army will remain solid and cohesive and able to carry out its sacred
mission," affirmed the Army Chief.
‘Strong Republic’ – ‘Lebanese Forces’ delegation visits
Aoudeh on New Year’s occasion
NNA/December 31/2021
A senior delegation representing the "Strong Republic" Parliamentary Bloc and
the “Lebanese Forces" Party, commissioned by Party Chief Samir Geagea, visited
Friday Beirut Metropolitan Greek Orthodox Archbishop, Elias Aoudeh, at the
Archdiocese headquarters in Ashrafieh, offering their well-wishes on Christmas
and New Year occasions. Following the visit, MP Imad Wakim spoke on behalf of
the delegation, emphasizing that "Archbishop Aoudeh denotes one of the solid
rocks of a free Lebanon that is steadfast in the face of strong waves, and his
national stances meet the aspirations of the Lebanese Forces with regards to
building a strong republic."“A year is passing and the people are suffering and
afraid of losing their homeland, but the authority, which committed the
atrocities, is indifferent and continues with the same approach,” Wakim said,
stressing that “there is no solution left for all of us except the revolution,
the constitutional revolution.” He added: “The constitutional revolution will
take place through fair parliamentary elections, accompanied by the awareness of
the Lebanese voter, to overthrow the ruling majority and rebuild the authority,
so that Lebanon restores its full sovereignty, builds an administration free of
corruption and clientelism, and sets a comprehensive economic and financial
revival plan to get us all out of hell.”“We believe that our Lord Jesus, on the
anniversary of his birth, will not abandon Lebanon and its people, and as
always, only what is right will be realized,” Wakim concluded.The delegation
conveyed to the Archbishop the greetings and well-wishes of LF Party Leader
Samir Geagea.
Hariri: I ask God Almighty that conditions change in the
new year
NNA/December 31/2021
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri wished the Lebanese a “Happy New Year”, saying
via Twitter: “We bid farewell to a year that was very difficult because of the
crises that impacted the lives of the Lebanese in various aspects, and I ask the
Lord Almighty that conditions would change in the new year and that the
cessation of the collapse, the return of stability, and the implementation of
the constitutional obligations on time would be achieved.
Mikati: With hope and faith, we will welcome a new year
NNA/December 31/2021
Prime Minister Najib Mikati tweeted on the New Year’s occasion, saying: "With
hope and faith, we will welcome a new year that we hope will be full of health,
goodness and wellness for all the Lebanese. We are full of hope that all
goodwill and determination shall engage in Lebanon’s advancement workshop in
wake of the difficulties and problems it is going through…God willing, the
ordeal will end, our country will recover and the Lebanese will restore their
normal life…Happy New Year to all!”
Strida Geagea: Elections will be a referendum on
Lebanon's identity
NNA/December 31/2021
“We as a people must take advantage of the golden opportunity that is available
to us this year through the parliamentary elections in order to overthrow the
ruling majority that tampered with our livelihood, our daily lives and our
security, in order to get out of the dark abyss in which these forces threw us,
out into the light of sovereignty, freedom and decent living," stressed MP
Strida Geagea on Friday. She emphasized the need for every Lebanese to realize
that his or her participation in said parliamentary elections is a “national
duty”, since these elections will be “a referendum on the identity and future of
the Lebanon we desire.”“If we want to change from the current Lebanon to the
Lebanon of a strong, capable and effective state, a state of law and
institutions, a state of transparency, equality and justice, a state of
stability, prosperity and affluence, all we have to do is vote for those who are
known for their institutional and transparent work, and their execution of laws
with equality and justice and without any discrimination,” the MP maintained.
Geagea was thankful that all the twisted attempts to deprive the Lebanese
expatriates of their right to participate in national life have failed,
congratulating the Lebanese in the countries of the Diaspora in this regards and
encouraging them to be present and influential in the future of their country as
they are always and forever present alongside their families residing in
Lebanon. “They are Lebanese citizens who have their clear opinions, positions
and choices in politics, and they must translate their patriotism by determining
the fate and future of this country,” she asserted. Geagea's words came as she
chaired the meeting in Maarab by the administrative board of the "Al-Arz
Mountain Foundation", during which attendees discussed the projects carried out
by the Foundation pertaining to the region of Bcharre.
John X contacts Al-Rahi on New Year occasion
NNA/December 31/2021
Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, received Friday a call
from Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and all the East, John X, on the
occasion of the New Year, asking the Lord Almighty “to grant stability and peace
to Lebanon and the remaining countries in the region,” and hoping that “the
coming year will be a good year for all.”“May God inspire all those concerned to
work together for the wellbeing and dignity of the citizen,” he prayed.
Lebanon’s New Year Resolutions… hopefully
Makram Rabah/Al Arabiya/31 December ,2021
The following is a work of satire and black humor forecasting what Lebanon’s
so-called political elite will do during 2022 to fix the sinking ship.
The country’s ruling establishment has proven over the year to be incorrigible,
and their appetite for corruption is only matched with their delusion and
inability to take responsibility for the country’s terrible state of affairs.
I have deliberately decided not to mention the President of the Republic in this
article simply because his physical and mental state precludes him from carrying
out the office of the President but more so because article 384 of the Lebanese
penal code states: “Whoever insults the head of state, shall be punished by
imprisonment from six months to two years,” a predicament I wish to avoid or
perhaps delay - for the time being at least.
The Lebanese have a philosophy that the hangover kicks in once the night of
drinking ends. This is the case with many of those at large, but mainly the
politicians who have for years delivered nothing but empty promises and have
gone out of their way to derail and obstruct real change from taking place. But,
in Lebanon 2022, perhaps some of these chaps might grow a conscious and finally
come up with a New Year’s resolution which will not peter out like the decision
to quit smoking or commit to a healthy diet.
For Najib Mikati, the current Prime Minister and billionaire, 2022 will be a
year when he finally decides to change his political hairdo and stop playing
bosom and admit that it was unethical to take out millions of dollars of
subsidies loans to finance the purchase of penthouses and luxury apartments.
Mikati, a former business partner of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, might
rethink his decision to invest in the telecom sector in Myanmar and avoid
funding the ruling internationally unrecognized Junta. Mikati might perhaps have
an epiphany and donate his fortune to the people of his city Tripoli which is
one of the poorest and underdeveloped towns on the Mediterranean.
As for Nabih Berri, the aging speaker of parliament who has occupied this office
since 1992, 2022 will be a year when he finally decides to retire and allow for
someone other than his sons or cronies to assume the post. Berri, who has time
and again violated the Lebanese constitution and skewed the laws to fit his
vision and coincidently accumulated enormous wealth in the process, will finally
confess publicly and ask the Lebanese people for forgiveness. Hopefully, he will
go into exile in Sierra Leone, where he was born.
The most hated man in Lebanon (and there are plenty of contenders), Gebran
Bassil - President Aoun’s son-in-law and his political heir - will undergo
plastic surgery and leg-lengthening surgery in a beautification process that
might improve his chances of becoming the next president. Faithful to his
earlier promises as Minister of Power to provide 24/7 electricity, water, and
extracting gas from the untapped fields in the Mediterranean, Bassil will take
it upon himself to go door to door and give each household a bag of candles and
a gallon of water. In exchange, he will beg of them to sign a petition to remove
him from the US sanctions list, which he earned for his unfathomed appetite for
corruption.
In 2022, the syndicate of Lebanese warlord/feudal lords and shady businessmen
will convene and decide to invest the their illicitly accumulated fortunes in
stem cell research which will extend their lives by slowing down the aging
process, allowing them to stay in power indefinitely. The only good thing from
this scenario is that many Lebanese people will not be alive to witness this
monstrous scientific calamity.
On his next visit to Lebanon, French President Emmanuel Macron will undertake
another trip and drink tea and fruit and will slowly realize that the
local-grown produce is concealing Captagon pills. He will find out that the
drugs are intended for smuggling to the Gulf by both Hezbollah and the Syrian
regime, which ironically, Macron is trying to normalize ties.
The Axis of Fake Fruit Exporters will realize that its efforts and resources
spent manufacturing and stashing amphetamines in Lebanese agriculture goods is
unproductive. They can make more money by farming and exporting fruit and
vegetables legally.
As a result, Hezbollah will announce its transition into a farmer’s coop and
exchange its missile arsenal with hand forks, shovels, and tractors. The
terrorists will direct their zeal for mayhem and destruction to farming the
fertile land of Beqaa Valley to the east of the country.
The year 2022 will finally be when the Lebanese minister of interior and various
other judicial actors will tell the Lebanese who are manufacturing and smuggling
these pills. Oh, and they might as well finally reveal who was responsible for
the Beirut port explosion in 2020 while dropping the ridiculous claim that it
was the result of a welding accident.
And a nod to the last political player manipulating the current state of affairs
to maintain the crises in Lebanon. Voldemort has a nice ring to it. I’ll
classify him as he that shall not be named.
I hope Voldemort finds it easier to access medical products than the rest of the
country. I can only imagine the costs of buying an ever-increasing need for
Vitamin D supplements as he moves under cover of darkness in the south of the
country, hiding in peoples’ basements. A walk in the park or perhaps a visit to
the cedars for a picnic is always good. A sunny disposition might help his
depressing view of the world.
Given that the scenarios above are wishful thinking at best, the Lebanese are
better off hoping that a Martian expedition abducts their politicians and keep
them for years, probing their cavities for the real mystery of the universe.
Regardless of how 2022 plays out, the Lebanese people need to grasp that no one
is interested nor willing to help them out of their self-inflicted crisis and
that their salvation can only come if they finally decide to become themselves
superheroes to fight off the many devils and villains they supported over the
years.
Until then, Happy New Year.
A booming market': Lebanese rush to buy weapons for
personal security
Aya Iskandarani/MENA/December 31/2021
Two years of economic meltdown and political instability leave the state unable
to protect its citizens. The business of firearms dealer Abdullah has been
booming since Lebanon's economy collapsed. He sells at least three rifles a day
– Kalashnikovs are popular among households in fear for their safety as crime
rates soar. He also sells boxes of ammunition and grenades. An automatic rifle
or machinegun costs between $400 and $1,400. His sales have risen threefold
since the financial crisis began in 2019, even though the dollar value of the
minimum wage has dropped to just $25 per month. People have been rushing to buy
weapons on the black market in the past year as the struggling state fails to
prevent rising crime and political violence.
'There is no state'
Abdullah makes $2,000 per month selling arms. “That's more than a doctor’s
salary nowadays,” he says, taking a puff from his cigarette as he hunches over a
pile of grenades on the floor of an abandoned house.
The gaunt 30-year-old is a member of an arms smuggling ring with connections in
Syria. He says 90 per cent of his clients are ordinary people from Beirut. He
also sells weapons to smaller dealers in the capital.
Abdullah says assault rifles such as those shown here are some of the most
popular among Lebanese buyers. Finbar Anderson / The National
The state, which provided a semblance of protection before the crisis, is
withering away in the eyes of many Lebanese, and sectarian clashes are more
common.
Banks have frozen savings and restricted withdrawals. Residents began keeping
their money and valuables at home.
“There is no state in Lebanon. My clients just want to protect their houses,
their families, their money,” Abdullah says.
The Russian-made Kalashnikov is a national favourite, he says, and
rocket-propelled grenade launchers, RPGs, are also in high demand.
Handguns command high prices. An Austrian Glock 17 Gen5, which sells for $500 in
the US – could fetch up to $5,000 on the Lebanese black market.
Abdullah is wanted by the authorities. He drives a car without a number plate
around the quiet streets of Hermel, a town in the north-east Bekaa Valley. The
mostly Shiite area largely controlled by clans and the Iran-backed Hezbollah
movement. The Bekaa Valley is known for illegal activities including smuggling,
car theft and drug production.
Some of Abdullah's wares, including a machine gun and spare magazines. Finbar
Anderson / The National
It is not just the economic crisis that has sent Abdullah's sales skyrocketing;
recent political instability led to a rush for weapons, he tells The National.
In October, Hezbollah supporters fought gun battles with unknown rivals on the
streets of Beirut, leaving seven people dead.
Abdullah says many Lebanese fear the violence means a return to civil war, so
they stocked up on arms and ammunition.
“The whole Hermel region was out of stock after the clashes. I sent more than
300 boxes of ammunition to Beirut in one day.”
Each box contains between 700 and 1,000 rounds.
Weapons for whisky
Abdullah says that before economic collapse, which pushed more than 80 per cent
of the population into poverty, it would take months to sell his stock. Now, his
shipments from Syria sell out in weeks.
He brings more than 150 “items” at a time every few weeks, at least 70 of which
will be guns, ammunition and grenades.
There has always been smuggling along Lebanon's border with Syria, but a decade
of war and economic crises on both sides have made illegal trade easier.
Smugglers typically use back routes and smaller roads to get from Syria into
Lebanon and then from the border to Beirut, avoiding checkpoints and the army.
Abdullah boasts about bribing officials to let his merchandise through
checkpoints, a practice traffickers call “buying the road”.
“I can buy the highest-ranking Syrian officer with a bottle of whisky or a $50
tip if I’m feeling very, very generous,” he says.
“The problem is that it’s easier to smuggle arms from Syria to Lebanon than to
move them from Hermel to Beirut.”
Smugglers only “buy the road” in Lebanon when they need to take a large shipment
that requires lorries, he says.
Belts of machine gun ammunition and hand grenades. Finbar Anderson / The
National
A representative of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces says the proliferation of
light weapons has been a problem since the start of the civil war in 1975. But
he says authorities are still in control of the situation.
"In general, we have a hold on security. Criminals know that we will look for
them," the representative says.
"The problem in Lebanon is not about loose security, it’s the political and
economic situation."
He denies that so many Lebanese people were stocking up on arms now.
"I don’t think people can afford it any more," he says.
But that is not the case for people like Majed, a father of two. He says he
never would have imagined that owning a gun would be a part of his life – even
when his friend gave him a handgun as a gift in February.
“The market for guns is booming for people like me: regular folks with a little
bit of money who want to keep their family safe,” Majed, 40, says from his home
in the well-to-do Antelias suburb of Beirut.
Majed started going to the shooting range with his wife every week since he
became a gun owner. Although he doesn’t store the weapon at home, he is thinking
about doing so “for emergencies”.
"People are carrying guns for self-protection more – respectable and educated
people you wouldn’t expect to be carrying guns," he says.
Crime rates have soared since the start of the crisis.
The ISF did not respond to a request for crime statistics. A report by the
Beirut-based consultancy Information International showed a 212 per cent
increase in car thefts, 265 per cent increase in robbery and a 101 per cent
increase in homicide in the first 10 months of 2021.
What is left of Lebanon’s shrinking middle class is driving the demand for arms,
says Edwin Haddad, who launched a holster company, Doubletap Concealment, in
April.
“I was afraid it would fail, but sales have exceeded all my expectations,” he
says. He has more 60 clients every month for shooting paraphernalia and
instruction. “Most of them are not training because they are passionate about
firearms, but because they are concerned for their safety,” he says.
'A man's pride is his rifle'
Malek Abi Nader, an expert on arms laws, says ordinary citizens can own only
licensed hunting weapons in Lebanon; anything else is illegal. Security forces
personnel may carry weapons on duty, and municipal police can carry firearms
after getting a licence from the Ministry of Interior.
Yet, in 2018 Lebanon ranked second in the Middle East for civilian gun ownership
per capita, according to the Graduate Institute of International and Development
Studies in Geneva.
“It’s an old Lebanese tradition,” Mr Abi Nader says of owning weapons.
In his home town of Bsharre, a Christian town in north Lebanon, he believes
there is a gun in every house.
“A rifle is considered a man’s pride, but the trend is new among city folks.”
While many ordinary gun buyers get unlicensed weapons from the likes of
Abdullah, Lebanon’s VIPs who need protection can get weapon licences for their
bodyguards from the Ministry of Defence, Mr Abi Nader says.
Abdullah shows off a light machine gun. Finbar Anderson / The National
Many MPs, senior officials, businessmen and others have personal protection in a
country where political assassinations and kidnappings were common during the
civil war and after.
Although most armed groups laid down their weapons after war ended in 1990,
Hezbollah did not. Today, it is by far the most well-armed and supplied
non-military force in the region.
Dozens of smaller paramilitary groups as well as Palestinian factions also carry
weapons.
Mr Abi Nader says MPs and ministers can buy firearms from security forces for
personal protection and those are registered in their records. They are
prohibited from selling or giving them as gifts.
But VIP firearms licences are only for the transfer of weapons and do not
include the number or the type of weapon, which makes it difficult to track arms
in circulation.
Mr Abi Nader says most people with a weapons licence are politically connected.
“Can you really blame people? This country has gone through tumultuous times,
this is why people feel they need weapons," he says.
The Latest English LCCC
Miscellaneous Reports And News published on
December 31/2021-January 01/2022
Pope Francis says domestic violence against women
‘almost satanic’
NNA/December 31/2021
[The Guardian] – Pope Francis has said that men who commit violence against
women engage in something that is “almost satanic”. He made the comment – some
of the strongest language he has used to condemn such violence – during a
programme broadcast on Sunday night on Italy’s TG5 network in which he conversed
with three women and a man, all with difficult backgrounds. “The number of women
who are beaten and abused in their homes, even by their husbands, is very, very
high,” he said in answer to a question by a woman named Giovanna, a victim of
domestic violence.
“The problem is that, for me, it is almost satanic because it is taking
advantage of a person who cannot defend herself, who can only [try to] block the
blows,” he said. “It is humiliating. Very humiliating.” --- [The Guardian]
World to Ring in New Year under Covid Cloud
Agence France Presse/December 31/2021
The world prepared to usher in 2022 on Friday after another tumultuous and
pandemic-ridden year capped by new restrictions, soaring case numbers, and a
slight glimmer of hope for better times ahead. The past 12 months saw a new US
president and a new Adele album, the first spectator-free Olympics, and dreams
of democracy from Afghanistan to Myanmar and Hong Kong crushed by authoritarian
regimes. But it was the pandemic -- now entering its third year -- that again
dominated life for most of humankind. More than 5.4 million people have died
since the coronavirus was first reported in central China in December 2019.
Countless more have been sickened -- subjected to outbreaks, lockdowns, lock-ins
and an alphabet spaghetti of PCR, LFT and RAT tests. The year 2021 started with
hope, as life-saving vaccines were rolled out to around 60 percent of the
world's population, although many of its poor still have limited access, and
some of its rich believe the jabs are part of some ill-defined plot. As the year
drew to a close, the emergence of the Omicron variant pushed the number of daily
new Covid-19 cases past one million for the first time, according to an AFP
tally. France became the latest country to announce Omicron was now its dominant
coronavirus strain on Friday. In Britain, the United States, and even Australia
-- long a refuge from the pandemic -- the variant's prominence is driving record
new cases. From Seoul to San Francisco, New Year's Eve celebrations have again
been cancelled or curtailed as infections rise.
To party, or not?
But in South Africa, the first country to report Omicron back in November, a
midnight-to-4:00 am curfew was lifted to allow festivities to go ahead. Health
officials there said that a dip in infections in the past week indicated the
peak of the current wave had passed -- crucially without a significant increase
in deaths. Australia's largest city Sydney has also decided to press ahead with
a firework display that will light up the city's harbor, despite one of the
world's fastest-growing caseloads. The country's conservative government says
its decision to abandon a "Covid-zero" approach in favor of "living with Covid"
is based on high rates of adult vaccination and mounting evidence that Omicron
is less deadly. Tens of thousands of revelers had been expected to crowd
Sydney's foreshore, though AFP journalists said the city was quieter than normal
as evening fell. "I'm just trying to focus on the positive things that happened
this year, rather than dwelling on all the bad things that have happened," said
22-year-old medical student Melinda Howard, part of an enthusiastic but
smaller-than-usual crowd waiting by the Opera House for the show to begin. Dubai
is planning a pyrotechnics spectacle at the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest
tower, despite a slew of infections in the United Arab Emirates. Meanwhile the
northern emirate of Ras Al Khaimah will attempt to break two world records with
a huge fireworks display.
'Only one desire'
In Rio, celebrations on Copacabana Beach will go ahead in a scaled back format
-- though crowds of revelers are still expected. "People have only one desire,
to leave their homes, to celebrate life after a pandemic that has forced
everyone to lock themselves up," 45-year-old Copacabana beach waiter Francisco
Rodrigues said. Some Brazilians are more circumspect, after one of the world's
deadliest outbreaks that left 618,000 dead. Roberta Assis, a 27-year-old lawyer,
plans to hang out at a friend's house with a small group. "It's not the moment
for large gatherings," she said. Authorities in Seoul are showing similar
caution, barring spectators from a traditional midnight bell-ringing that will
instead be live-streamed on television and a metaverse platform.
- 'Trying times' -
For now, the World Health Organization has warned of trying times ahead, saying
Omicron could lead to "a tsunami of cases". "This... will continue to put
immense pressure on exhausted health workers, and health systems on the brink of
collapse," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said. Many Western leaders have
been hesitant to reimpose strict controls seen in 2020, for fear of sparking a
new economic downturn. But on-again-off-again restrictions have still prompted
frequent, vocal and occasionally violent anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine and
anti-government protests. Experts and non-experts alike hope that 2022 may be
remembered as a new, less deadly phase of the pandemic. "Hopefully 2022 is going
to be better for everyone," said 31-year-old reveler Oscar Ramirez in Sydney.
"Everyone in the world needs a big change."
France says Iran’s space launch hits nuclear talks as
they were showing progress
AFP/December 31, 2021
PARIS: France on Friday condemned Iran's satellite rocket launch and said it was
“all the more regrettable” as nuclear talks with world powers were making
progress, echoing concerns expressed by the United States and Germany. Iran said
on Thursday it had used a satellite launch rocket to send three research devices
into space, as indirect US-Iran talks take place in Austria to try to salvage a
2015 nuclear deal. The satellite launch was in breach of UN Security Council
resolutions, France's foreign ministry said. “These activities are all the more
regrettable as they come at a time when we are making progress in the nuclear
negotiations in Vienna,” the French foreign ministry said. “We call on Iran not
to launch further ballistic missiles designed to be capable of carrying nuclear
weapons, including space launchers.”Iranian state TV showed footage on Thursday
of what it said was the firing of the launch vehicle from the Imam Khomeini
Space Center in northern Iran at dawn. The US State Department said on Thursday
Washington was aware of reports on the launch, adding such launches defy a UN
Security Council resolution enshrining the 2015 nuclear deal. A German diplomat
said such launches could be used to test technology for ballistic missiles which
in principle could be used to deliver nuclear weapons. Tehran denies its space
launch activity is a cover for ballistic missile development. The 2015 deal
extended the time Iran would need to obtain enough fissile material for a
nuclear bomb — if it chose to — to at least a year from about two to three
months, in return for a lifting of sanctions. The latest indirect talks between
Iran and the US on the 2015 deal resumed on Monday. On Tuesday, Washington
expressed caution over upbeat comments by Iran and Russia about the talks,
saying it was too soon to say if Tehran had returned to the negotiations with a
constructive approach.
Iran Says Biden's White House Also 'Responsible' for
Soleimani Killing
Agence France Presse/December 31/2021
Iran said Friday the current U.S. administration is also "responsible" for the
assassination two years ago of its revered commander Qassem Soleimani, as the
Islamic republic started commemorations to mark his death. Former U.S. president
Donald Trump sent shock waves through the region on January 3, 2020 with the
targeted killing of General Soleimani, who was commander of the Quds Force, the
foreign operation's arm of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. He was killed in a
US drone strike in Baghdad ordered by Trump, along with his Iraqi lieutenant Abu
Mahdi al-Muhandis, infuriating Iran and its allies.
"The US government bears definitive international responsibility for this
crime," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter to mark
the second anniversary of Soleimani's killing. "Undoubtedly, the criminal act of
the United States in martyring general #Soleimani is a clear manifestation of a
'terrorist attack' that was orchestrated and carried out in an organised manner
by the then US government for which the White House is now responsible," it
said, in reference to President Joe Biden's administration. Five days after
Soleimani's killing, Iran retaliated by firing missiles at a US air base in Ain
al-Assad housing American troops in Iraq, and another near Arbil in the north.
No US troops were killed in those strikes but Washington said dozens suffered
traumatic brain injuries from the explosions. Trump said at the time that the
drone strike came in response to a wave of attacks on US interests in Iraq,
warning he would hold Iran responsible if such assaults continued. The foreign
ministry's statement came as Iran prepared Friday to launch week-long activities
to commemorate Soleimani's killing. Authorities said the main event of the
remembrance will be held on Monday, without elaborating. They added that on
January 7 a display of "Iran's missile capabilities" will be held. Iranian
officials have pledged repeatedly that Soleimani will be avenged. On the first
anniversary of his killing then judiciary chief Ebrahim Raisi -- who is now
Iran's president -- warned that even Trump was not "immune from justice" and
that Soleimani's killers would "not be safe anywhere in the world". During the
former US president's term in office, tensions between Washington and Tehran
were at an all-time high. In 2018, Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal
between Iran and world powers and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. The two
countries were also on the brink of direct military confrontations on at least
two occasions.
Bahrain Names Its First Ambassador to Syria in Over a Decade
Associated Press/December 31/2021
Bahrain appointed on Thursday its first ambassador to Syria in more than a
decade, the island nation's state news agency reported, the latest sign of a
stepped-up outreach to Damascus by Gulf Arab countries.
The decree by Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa came as more Arab
countries are improving relations with Damascus nearly 11 years since the
outbreak of Syria's civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and
destroyed large parts of the country. Early in the conflict, Arab states like
Saudi Arabia and Qatar rushed to back Sunni fighters battling President Bashar
Assad's forces. Syria was expelled from the 22-member Arab League in 2011. Arab
countries sanctioned Damascus and condemned its use of military force against
civilians. In recent years, however, the Syrian army has won a series of key
military victories with the help of Russia and Iran. The Bahrain News Agency
said the king appointed Waheed Mubarak Sayyar as the kingdom's "ambassador
extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Syria." The embassy of Bahrain was reopened
in Damascus in 2018. The foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates visited
Damascus last month and met with Assad, sending the clearest signal yet that the
Arab world is willing to re-engage with Syria's strongman. Most Gulf countries,
at odds with regional rival and Shiite powerhouse Iran, seek warmer ties with
Damascus, hoping to peel it away from Tehran's influence. Iran is a traditional
ally of Syria and has sent advisers and resources to back Assad during the
conflict that broke out in March 2011.
Israel signs deal to buy $3.1 bln in US helicopters,
refueling planes
Reuters, Jerusalem/31 December ,2021
Israel has signed a deal with the United States to
buy 12 Lockheed Martin Corp CH-53K helicopters and two Boeing Co KC-46 refueling
planes, the Israeli Defense Ministry said on Friday, estimating the total price
at around $3.1 billion. The deal, signed on Thursday, is part of an upgrade of
Israel’s air force capabilities and includes an option to buy six additional
helicopters, a ministry statement said. It said the first helicopters were due
to arrive in Israel in 2026. Brigadier-General Shimon Tsentsiper, chief of
material for the air force, told Israel’s Army Radio on Thursday that the
refueling planes on order would not be delivered before 2025. He said Israel was
trying to bring forward the delivery of the KC-46s, and eventually wanted a
total of four of them. Israeli media have speculated that the refueling planes
could be crucial for carrying out a long-threatened air strike on Iran’s nuclear
facilities. Tsentsiper said the air force’s current refueling capacities were
sufficient for its missions.
Palestinian Knifeman Shot Dead by Israeli Troops
Agence France Presse/December 31/2021
Israeli troops Friday shot dead a Palestinian man who attempted to stab soldiers
and settlers at a bus stop in the occupied West Bank, the military said. The
Palestinian health ministry confirmed the death of the alleged assailant,
identifying him as Amir Atef Rayyan.
The army said the attempted stabbing took place near the Gitain Avisar junction
in the West Bank. The Palestinian, it said, approached a military post in a car
"and got out of the vehicle armed with a knife." The man "ran towards the bus
station where civilians and IDF soldiers were standing. The troops fired towards
the assailant and neutralized him," the army added. An Israeli army spokesperson
confirmed to AFP that the Palestinian was dead. The army said there were no
injuries among the Israelis. Troops sealed off roads in the area while others
chased the vehicle that had dropped off the alleged assailant, looking for more
suspects. According to the Israeli army's annual report, 100 attacks were
carried out in 2021 against Israelis in the West Bank, up from 60 a year
earlier. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
recorded 410 attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the first 10
months of 2021, compared to 358 in the whole of 2020. The latest attack came
after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas made a rare visit Wednesday to Israel
for talks with Defense Minister Benny Gantz. After the talks at Gantz's home,
Israel unveiled a package of "confidence-building measures" for the West Bank.
Tensions have been running high in the occupied territory in recent weeks. The
West Bank has seen a series of attacks by Palestinians on Israelis and the
killings of Palestinians by Israeli troops during clashes since late November.
In the latest attack on December 21, a Palestinian man tried to ram Israeli
soldiers with his car near the West Bank town of Jenin. The man crashed his car
into a military jeep after being shot, causing both vehicles to burst into
flames, the military said at the time. On December 19, the army said it had
arrested four Palestinian men suspected of shooting dead a Jewish settler and
wounding two others days earlier. The four are suspected of firing at least 10
bullets at a car, killing 25-year-old religious student Yehuda Dimentman and
wounding two fellow students as they drove out of Homesh, an illegal outpost in
the northern West Bank. United Nations Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland
said in December he was "alarmed by the escalating violence in the occupied West
Bank, including east Jerusalem, which is claiming the lives of Israelis and
Palestinians."Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 from Jordan. Nearly 500,000
Israelis have moved into settlements in the territory, which much of the
international community regard as illegal.
Final Goodbye: Recalling Influential People who Died in
2021
Associated Press/December 31/2021
They both carved out sterling reputations as military and political leaders over
years of public service. But both also saw their legacies tarnished by their
actions in the long, bloody war in Iraq.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld are among the many noteworthy people who died in 2021.
Powell, who died in October, was a trailblazing soldier and diplomat. He rose to
the rank of four-star general in the Army before becoming the first Black
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And under former President George W.
Bush, he became the nation's first Black secretary of state.
Rumsfeld, who died in June, had a storied career in government under four U.S.
presidents and was seen as a visionary of a modern military.
Rumsfeld was secretary of defense and shouldered some of the blame as Iraq sank
into chaos after the toppling of Saddam Hussein's regime. In the leadup to the
war, Powell cited faulty information during a United Nations Security Council
address while claiming Hussein had secretly stashed weapons of mass destruction.
Others political figures the world said goodbye to this year include former U.S.
Vice President Walter F. Mondale, former South African President F.W. de Klerk,
former Sen. Bob Dole, former South Korean President Roh Tae-woo, talk radio host
Rush Limbaugh, former Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, former Danish Prime
Minister Poul Schlueter and Iranian ambassadors Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour and
Ardeshir Zahedi.
Also among those who died this year was a man who held the title of baseball's
home run king for years. Hank Aaron, who died in January, endured racist threats
on his path to breaking Babe Ruth's record and is still considered one of the
game's greatest players.
Other sports figures who died in 2021 include Los Angeles Dodgers Manager Tommy
Lasorda, college football coach Bobby Bowden, Olympic swimmer Clara Lamore
Walker, NBA players Paul Westphal and Elgin Baylor, auto racer Bobby Unser,
golfer Lee Elder, track and field star Milkha Singh and boxer Leon Spinks.
Among the entertainers who died this year was a children's author whose books
were enjoyed by millions around the world. Beverly Cleary, who died in March,
channeled memories from her youth in Oregon to created beloved characters such
as Ramona Quimby, her sister Beatrice "Beezus" Quimby and Henry Huggins.
Others from the world of arts and entertainment who died this year include
actors Cicely Tyson, Ed Asner, Cloris Leachman, Christopher Plummer, Olympia
Dukakis, Ned Beatty, Jane Powell, Sonny Chiba, Gavin MacLeod, George Segal,
Jean-Paul Belmondo, Johnny Briggs and Dustin Diamond; magician Siegfried
Fischbacher; Bollywood star Dilip Kumar; Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts;
theater songwriter Stephen Sondheim; ballerina and actress Carla Fracci; rappers
DMX and Biz Markie; artist Arturo Di Modica; telenovela writer Delia Fiallo;
authors Anne Rice, Eric Carle, Joan Didion, bell hooks and Norton Juster; reggae
musician Bunny Wailer; comedians Norm Macdonald and Paul Mooney; singers Pervis
Staples and Sabah Fakhri; ZZ Top bassist Dusty Hill; and filmmaker Richard
Donner.
Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2021 (cause of death
cited for younger people, if available):
JANUARY
George Whitmore, 89. A member of the first team of climbers to scale El Capitan
in Yosemite National Park and a conservationist who devoted his life to
protecting the Sierra Nevada. Jan. 1.
Paul Westphal, 70. A Hall of Fame NBA player who won a championship with the
Boston Celtics in 1974 and later coached in the league and in college. Jan. 2.
Brian Urquhart, 101. The British diplomat was an early leader of the United
Nations and played a central role in developing the U.N. practice of
peacekeeping. Jan. 2.
Gerry Marsden, 78. The lead singer of the 1960s British group Gerry and the
Pacemakers that had such hits as "Ferry Cross the Mersey" and the song that
became the anthem of Liverpool Football Club, "You'll Never Walk Alone." Jan. 3.
Eric Jerome Dickey, 59. The bestselling novelist who blended crime, romance and
eroticism in "Sister, Sister," "Waking With Enemies" and dozens of other stories
about contemporary Black life. Jan. 3. Cancer.
Tanya Roberts, 65. She captivated James Bond in "A View to a Kill" and appeared
in the sitcom "That '70s Show." Jan. 4.
Tommy Lasorda, 93. The fiery baseball Hall of Fame manager who guided the Los
Angeles Dodgers to two World Series titles and later became an ambassador for
the sport he loved. Jan. 7.
Meredith C. Anding Jr., 79. A member of the "Tougaloo Nine," who famously
participated in a library "read-in" in segregated Mississippi about 60 years
ago. Jan. 8.
Sheldon Adelson, 87. He rose from a modest start as the son of an immigrant taxi
driver to become a billionaire Republican powerbroker with a casino empire and
influence on international politics. Jan. 11.
Siegfried Fischbacher, 81. He was the surviving member of the magic duo
Siegfried & Roy who entertained millions with illusions using rare animals. Jan.
13. Pancreatic cancer.
Phil Spector, 81. The eccentric and revolutionary music producer who transformed
rock music with his "Wall of Sound" method and who later was convicted of
murder. Jan. 16.
Hank Aaron, 86. He endured racist threats with stoic dignity during his pursuit
of Babe Ruth's home run record and gracefully left his mark as one of baseball's
greatest all-around players. Jan. 22.
Larry King, 87. The suspenders-sporting everyman whose broadcast interviews with
world leaders, movie stars and ordinary people helped define American
conversation for a half-century. Jan. 23.
Walter Bernstein, 101. The screenwriter was among the last survivors of
Hollywood's anti-Communist blacklist whose Oscar-nominated script for "The
Front" drew upon his years of being unable to work under his own name. Jan. 23.
Sifis Valyrakis, 77. A former minister and resistance fighter against Greece's
1967-74 military dictatorship who twice made daring escapes. Jan. 24.
Carlos Holmes Trujillo, 69. As Colombia's defense minister, he was one of the
country's most recognized conservative politicians. Jan. 26. Complications of
COVID-19.
Cloris Leachman, 94. An Oscar-winner for her portrayal of a lonely housewife in
"The Last Picture Show" and a comedic delight as the fearsome Frau Blücher in
"Young Frankenstein" and self-absorbed neighbor Phyllis on "The Mary Tyler Moore
Show." Jan. 27.
Cicely Tyson, 96. The pioneering Black actor who gained an Oscar nomination for
her role as the sharecropper's wife in "Sounder," won a Tony Award in 2013 at
age 88 and touched TV viewers' hearts in "The Autobiography of Miss Jane
Pittman." Jan. 28.
Paul J. Crutzen, 87. A Dutch scientist who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry for
his work understanding the ozone hole and is credited with coining the term
Anthropocene to describe the geological era shaped by mankind. Jan. 28.
John Chaney, 89. One of the nation's leading basketball coaches and a commanding
figure during a Hall of Fame career at Temple. Jan. 29.
Hilton Valentine, 77. He was the founding guitarist of the English rock and roll
band The Animals who is credited with coming up with one of the most famous
opening riffs of the 1960s in "The House of the Rising Sun." Jan. 29.
Sophie, 34. She was the Grammy-nominated Scottish disc jockey, producer and
recording artist who had worked with the likes of Madonna and Charli XCX. Jan.
30. Accidental fall.
Abraham J. Twerski, 90. An esteemed Hassidic rabbi and acclaimed psychiatrist
who championed treatment for substance abuse and authored over 80 books on
subjects both spiritual and scientific. Jan. 31.
FEBRUARY
Dustin Diamond, 44. An actor best known for playing Screech on the hit '90s
sitcom "Saved by the Bell." Feb. 1. Cancer.
Jack Palladino, 76. The flamboyant private investigator whose clients ranged
from presidents and corporate whistleblowers to celebrities, Hollywood moguls
and sometimes suspected drug traffickers. Feb. 1. Injuries suffered in an
attack.
Rennie Davis, 80. He was one of the "Chicago Seven" activists who was tried for
organizing an anti-Vietnam War protest outside the 1968 Democratic National
Convention in Chicago in which thousands clashed with police. Feb. 2. Lymphoma.
Millie Hughes-Fulford, 75. A trailblazing astronaut and scientist who became the
first female payload specialist to fly in space for NASA. Feb. 2.
Tony Trabert, 90. A five-time Grand Slam singles champion and former No. 1
player who went on to successful careers as a Davis Cup captain, broadcaster and
executive. Feb. 3.
Jim Weatherly, 77. The Hall of Fame songwriter who wrote "Midnight Train to
Georgia" and other hits for Gladys Knight, Glen Campbell and Ray Price. Feb. 3.
Christopher Plummer, 91. The dashing award-winning actor who played Captain von
Trapp in the film "The Sound of Music" and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award
acting winner in history. Feb. 5.
Leon Spinks, 67. He won Olympic gold and then shocked the boxing world by
beating Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight title in only his eighth pro fight.
Feb. 5.
George P. Shultz, 100. The former secretary of state was a titan of American
academia, business and diplomacy who spent most of the 1980s trying to improve
Cold War relations with the Soviet Union and forging a course for peace in the
Middle East. Feb. 6.
Mary Wilson, 76. The longest-reigning original Supreme. Feb. 8.
Marty Schottenheimer, 77. He won 200 regular-season games with four NFL teams
thanks to his "Martyball" brand of smash-mouth football but regularly fell short
in the playoffs. Feb. 8.
Chick Corea, 79. He was a towering jazz pianist with a staggering 23 Grammy
Awards who pushed the boundaries of the genre and worked alongside Miles Davis
and Herbie Hancock. Feb. 9. Cancer.
Larry Flynt, 78. He turned his raunchy Hustler magazine into an empire while
fighting numerous First Amendment court battles. Feb. 10.
Johnny Pacheco, 85. A salsa idol who was a co-founder of Fania Records, Eddie
Palmieri's bandmate and backer of music stars such as Rubén Bladés, Willie Colón
and Celia Cruz. Feb. 15.
Bernard Lown, 99. A Massachusetts cardiologist who invented the first reliable
heart defibrillator and later co-founded an anti-nuclear war group that was
awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. Feb. 16.
Rush Limbaugh, 70. The talk radio host who ripped into liberals and laid waste
to political correctness with a merry brand of malice that made him one of the
most powerful voices on the American right. Feb. 17.
Arturo Di Modica, 80. The artist who sculpted Charging Bull, the bronze statue
in New York which became an iconic symbol of Wall Street. Feb. 19.
Ahmed Zaki Yamani, 90. A long-serving oil minister in Saudi Arabia who led the
kingdom through the 1973 oil crisis, the nationalization its state energy
company and once found himself held hostage by the assassin Carlos the Jackal.
Feb. 23.
Michael Somare, 84. A pivotal figure in Papua New Guinea's independence and the
South Pacific island nation's first prime minister. Feb. 26.
Kenneth C. Kelly, 92. A Black electronics engineer whose antenna designs
contributed to the race to the moon, made satellite TV and radio possible and
helped NASA communicate with Mars rovers and search for extraterrestrials. Feb.
27.
Johnny Briggs, 85. A British actor best known for his role as businessman Mike
Baldwin in the long-running TV soap opera "Coronation Street." Feb. 28.
MARCH
Vernon Jordan, 85. He rose from humble beginnings in the segregated South to
become a champion of civil rights before reinventing himself as a Washington
insider and corporate influencer. March 1.
Bunny Wailer, 73. A reggae luminary who was the last surviving founding member
of the legendary group The Wailers. March 2.
Carla Wallenda, 85. A member of "The Flying Wallendas" high-wire act and the
last surviving child of the famed troupe's founder. March 6.
Lou Ottens, 94. The Dutch inventor of the cassette tape, the medium of choice
for millions of bedroom mix tapes. March 6.
Sister Janice McLaughlin, 79. A Maryknoll Sisters nun who was jailed and later
deported by white minority-ruled Rhodesia for exposing human rights abuses.
March 7.
Norton Juster, 91. The celebrated children's author who fashioned a world of
adventure and punning punditry in the million-selling classic "The Phantom
Tollbooth." March 8.
Roger Mudd, 93. The longtime political correspondent and anchor for NBC and CBS
who once stumped Sen. Edward Kennedy by simply asking why he wanted to be
president. March 9.
James Levine, 77. The conductor ruled over the Metropolitan Opera for more than
four decades before being eased aside when his health declined and then was
fired for sexual improprieties. March 9.
Luis Palau, 86. An evangelical pastor who was born in Argentina and went on to
work with Billy Graham before establishing his own powerhouse international
ministry. March 11.
Ronald DeFeo, 69. The man convicted of slaughtering his parents and four
siblings in a home that later inspired the "The Amityville Horror" book and
movies. March 12.
King Goodwill Zwelithini, 72. The traditional leader of South Africa's Zulu
nation, he reigned for more than 50 years, making him the longest-serving Zulu
monarch. March 12.
Yaphet Kotto, 81. The commanding actor who brought tough magnetism and stately
gravitas to films including the James Bond movie "Live and Let Die" and "Alien."
March 15.
Elsa Peretti, 80. She went from Halston model and Studio 54 regular in the 1960s
and '70s to one of the world's most famous jewelry designers with timeless,
fluid Tiffany & Co. collections. March 18.
Elgin Baylor, 86. The Lakers' 11-time NBA All-Star who soared through the 1960s
with a high-scoring style of basketball that became the model for the modern
player. March 22.
George Segal, 87. The banjo player turned actor who was nominated for an Oscar
for 1966's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and worked into his late 80s on the
ABC sitcom "The Goldbergs." March 23. Complications from bypass surgery.
Jessica Walter, 80. Her roles as a scheming matriarch in TV's "Arrested
Development" and a stalker in "Play Misty for Me" were in line with a career
that drew on her astringent screen presence. March 24.
Beverly Cleary, 104. The celebrated children's author whose memories of her
Oregon childhood were shared with millions through the likes of Ramona and
Beezus Quimby and Henry Huggins. March 25.
Larry McMurtry, 84. The prolific and popular author who took readers back to the
old American West in his Pulitzer Prize-winning "Lonesome Dove" and returned
them to modern-day landscapes in works such as his emotional "Terms of
Endearment." March 25.
Bill Brock, 90. A former senator from Tennessee whose long career in Washington
included a key role in rebuilding the Republican Party after the Watergate
scandal. March 25.
Bobby Brown, 96. An infielder who played on five World Series champions with the
New York Yankees and later became a cardiologist and president of the American
League. March 25.
G. Gordon Liddy, 90. A mastermind of the Watergate burglary and a radio talk
show host after emerging from prison. March 30.
APRIL
Clara Lamore Walker, 94. She swam for the U.S. at the 1948 Olympic Games in
London, won three national championships, and later in life set hundreds of
national and world swimming records in several masters age groups. April 2.
Sugako Hashida, 95. She was a renowned Japanese scriptwriter best known for the
internationally popular TV drama series "Oshin." April 4.
Hans Kueng, 93. A Roman Catholic theologian who was an early colleague and
friend of the future Pope Benedict XVI but later fell foul of the Vatican for
challenging church doctrine and became a vocal critic of the pontiff. April 6.
Anne Beatts, 74. A groundbreaking comedy writer with a taste for sweetness and
the macabre who was on the original staff of "Saturday Night Live" and later
created the cult sitcom "Square Pegs." April 7.
John Naisbitt, 92. The author whose 1982 bestselling book "Megatrends" was
published in dozens of countries. April 8.
Prince Philip, 99. The irascible and tough-minded husband of Queen Elizabeth II
who spent more than seven decades supporting his wife in a role that both
defined and constricted his life. April 9.
DMX, 50. The iconic hip-hop artist behind the songs "Ruff Ryders' Anthem" and
"Party Up (Up in Here)" whose distinctively gruff voice and thoughtful messages
in his rhymes made him one of rap's biggest stars. April 9.
Bernard Madoff, 82. The infamous architect of an epic securities swindle that
burned thousands of investors, outfoxed regulators and earned him a 150-year
prison term. April 14.
Charles "Chuck" Geschke, 81. The co-founder of the major software company Adobe
Inc. who helped develop Portable Document Format technology, or PDFs. April 16.
Walter F. Mondale, 93. The former U.S. vice president was a liberal icon who
lost one of the most lopsided presidential elections after bluntly telling
voters to expect a tax increase if he won. April 19.
Jim Steinman, 73. The Grammy-winning composer who wrote Meat Loaf's best-selling
"Bat Out Of Hell" debut album as well as hits for Celine Dion, Air Supply and
Bonnie Tyler. April 19. Kidney failure.
Shock G, 57. He blended whimsical wordplay with reverence for '70s funk as
leader of the off-kilter Bay Area hip-hop group Digital Underground. April 22.
Christa Ludwig, 93. The mezzo-soprano was a renowned interpreter of Wagner,
Mozart and Strauss who starred on the world's great stages for four decades.
April 24.
Michael Collins, 90. An Apollo 11 astronaut who orbited the moon alone while
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made their historic first steps on the lunar
surface. April 28. Cancer.
Jason Matthews, 69. An award-winning spy novelist who drew upon his long career
in espionage and his admiration for John le Carre among others in crafting his
popular "Red Sparrow" thrillers. April 28. Corticobasal degeneration.
Eli Broad, 87. The billionaire philanthropist, contemporary art collector and
entrepreneur who co-founded homebuilding pioneer Kaufman and Broad Inc. and
launched financial services giant SunAmerica Inc. April 30.
MAY
Olympia Dukakis, 89. The veteran stage and screen actor whose flair for maternal
roles helped her win an Oscar as Cher's mother in the romantic comedy
"Moonstruck." May 1.
Bobby Unser, 87. A beloved three-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and part of
the only pair of brothers to capture "The Greatest Spectacle in Racing." May 2.
Jacques d'Amboise, 86. Grew up on the streets of upper Manhattan to become one
of the world's premier classical dancers at New York City Ballet and spent the
last four and a half decades providing free dance classes to city youth. May 2.
Lloyd Price, 88. The singer-songwriter was an early rock 'n' roll star and
enduring maverick whose hits included such up-tempo favorites as "Lawdy Miss
Clawdy," "Personality" and the semi-forbidden "Stagger Lee." May 3.
Paulo Gustavo, 42. A popular comedian whose character Dona Herminia dealt with
everyday family and LGBTQ issues in some of Brazil's biggest-box office movies
and television shows. May 4. COVID-19.
Mohammed Ashraf Sehrai, 78. A prominent politician in Kashmir who challenged
India's rule over the disputed region for decades. May 5. Died while in police
custody.
Pervis Staples, 85. His tenor voice complimented his father's and sisters' in
the legendary gospel group The Staple Singers. May 6.
Norman Lloyd, 106. His role as kindly Dr. Daniel Auschlander on TV's "St.
Elsewhere" was a single chapter in a distinguished stage and screen career. May
11.
Charles Grodin, 86. The actor and writer who scored as a caddish newlywed in
"The Heartbreak Kid" and later had roles ranging from Robert De Niro's
counterpart in the comic thriller "Midnight Run" to the bedeviled father in the
"Beethoven" comedies. May 18. Bone marrow cancer.
Paul Mooney, 79. A boundary-pushing comedian who was Richard Pryor's longtime
writing partner and whose sage, incisive musings on racism and American life
made him a revered figure in stand-up. May 19. Heart attack.
Lee Evans, 74. The record-setting sprinter who wore a black beret in a sign of
protest at the 1968 Olympics then went onto a life of humanitarian work in
support of social justice. May 19.
Alix Dobkin, 80. The lesbian singer and feminist activist who appeared in an
iconic and recently resurgent 1975 photo wearing a T-shirt that read "The Future
is Female." May 19. Brain aneurysm and stroke.
Yuan Longping, 90. A Chinese scientist who developed higher-yield rice varieties
that helped feed people around the world. May 22.
Max Mosley, 81. Shook off the stigma of his family's links to fascism to become
international motorsport's top administrator and later made a stand as a privacy
campaigner in response to tabloid stories about his sex life. May 23.
Eric Carle, 91. A beloved children's author and illustrator whose classic "The
Very Hungry Caterpillar" and other works gave millions of kids some of their
earliest and most cherished literary memories. May 23.
John Warner, 94. He served for 30 years in the U.S. Senate and was a longtime
military expert who became famous as the sixth man to walk down the aisle with
movie star Elizabeth Taylor. May 25.
Lois Ehlert, 86. Her cut-and-paste shapes and vibrant hues in books including "Chicka
Chicka Boom Boom" put her among the most popular illustrators of books for
preschoolers of the late 20th century. May 25.
Kay Lahusen, 91. A pioneering gay rights activist who chronicled the movement's
earliest days through her photography and writing. May 26.
Carla Fracci, 84. An Italian cultural icon and former La Scala prima ballerina
renowned for romantic roles alongside such greats as Rudolf Nureyev and Mikhail
Baryshnikov. May 27.
Poul Schlueter, 92. Denmark's prime minister for over a decade who negotiated
exemptions for his country to a key European Union treaty after Danes rejected
the initial text in a referendum. May 27.
B.J. Thomas, 78. The Grammy-winning singer who enjoyed success on the pop,
country and gospel charts with such hits as "I Just Can't Help Believing,"
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" and "Hooked on a Feeling." May 29.
Gavin MacLeod, 90. The veteran supporting actor who achieved fame as sardonic TV
news writer Murray Slaughter on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and stardom playing
cheerful Capt. Stubing on "The Love Boat." May 29.
JUNE
F. Lee Bailey, 87. The celebrity attorney who defended O.J. Simpson, Patricia
Hearst and the alleged Boston Strangler, but whose legal career halted when he
was disbarred in two states. June 3.
John Patterson, 99. A former Alabama governor who entered politics as a reformer
after his father's assassination but was criticized for failing to protect the
Freedom Riders from angry white mobs. June 4.
Clarence Williams III, 81. Played the cool undercover cop Linc Hayes on the
counterculture series "The Mod Squad" and Prince's father in "Purple Rain." June
4.
David Dushman, 98. The last surviving Soviet soldier involved in the liberation
of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. June 5.
Chief Leonard Crow Dog, 78. A renowned spiritual leader and Native American
rights activist who fought for sovereignty, language preservation and religious
freedom. June 6.
Ali Akbar Mohtashamipour, 74. A Shiite cleric who as Iran's ambassador to Syria
helped found the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and lost his right hand to a
book bombing reportedly carried out by Israel. June 7. COVID-19.
Ned Beatty, 83. The Oscar-nominated character actor who in half a century of
American movies, including "Deliverance," "Network" and "Superman," was a
booming, indelible presence in even the smallest parts. June 13.
Yang Huaiding, 71. A former factory worker known as "China's First Shareholder"
after he amassed a fortune trading in the country's infant financial markets
starting in the 1980s. June 13.
Enrique Bolaños Geyer, 93. The former Nicaraguan president was a businessman who
led the country from 2002 to 2007, saw his predecessor and old running mate
locked up for corruption and pushed for the country's economic development. June
14.
Jack B. Weinstein, 99. A former federal judge who earned a reputation as a
tireless legal maverick while overseeing a series of landmark class-action
lawsuits and sensational mob cases in New York City like that of the "Mafia
Cops." June 15.
Frank Bonner, 79. He played a brash salesman with an affection for polyester
plaid suits on the TV comedy "WKRP in Cincinnati." June 16. Complications of
Lewy body dementia.
Consuewella Dotson Africa, 67. A longtime member of the Black organization MOVE
and mother of two children killed in the 1985 bombing of the group's home in
Philadelphia. June 16.
Merle Smith Jr., 76. The first Black cadet to graduate from the Coast Guard
Academy. June 16. Complications from Parkinson's disease and COVID-19.
Kenneth Kaunda, 97. Zambia's founding president and a champion of African
nationalism who spearheaded the fights to end white minority rule across
southern Africa. June 17.
Milkha Singh, 91. One of India's first sport superstars and ace sprinter who
overcame a childhood tragedy to become the country's most celebrated athlete.
June 18. Complications from COVID-19.
Mike Gravel, 91. A former U.S. senator from Alaska who read the Pentagon Papers
into the Congressional Record and confronted Barack Obama about nuclear weapons
during a later presidential run. June 26.
Greg "Da Bull" Noll, 84. He became a surfing legend by combining a gregarious,
outsized personality with the courage and skill to ride bigger, more powerful
waves than anyone had ever attempted. June 28.
Donald Rumsfeld, 88. The two-time defense secretary and one-time presidential
candidate whose reputation as a skilled bureaucrat and visionary of a modern
U.S. military was unraveled by the long and costly Iraq war. June 29.
Delia Fiallo, 96. She was considered the mother of Latin America's telenovelas
and wrote dozens of the popular television soap operas. June 29.
JULY:
William H. Regnery II, 80. The heir to a family publishing fortune who was known
for his quiet but influential support of extreme right-wing causes in the United
States. July 2.
Raffaella Carra', 78. One of Italian television's most beloved entertainers for
decades and affectionately nicknamed the "queen of Italian TV." July 5.
Richard Donner, 91. The filmmaker who helped create the modern superhero
blockbuster with 1978's "Superman" and mastered the buddy comedy with the
"Lethal Weapon" franchise. July 5.
Father Stan Swamy, 84. A jailed Jesuit priest and longtime Indian tribal rights
activist. July 5.
Dilip Kumar, 98. Bollywood icon hailed as the "Tragedy King" and one of Hindi
cinema's greatest actors. July 7.
Jovenel Moïse, 53. The Haitian president was a former banana producer and
political neophyte who ruled for more than four years as the country grew
increasingly unstable. July 7. Assassinated at his home.
Edwin Washington Edwards, 93. The high-living, quick-witted four-term governor
who reshaped Louisiana's oil revenues and dominated the state's politics for
decades, a run all but overshadowed by scandal and eight years in federal
prison. July 12.
Kurt Westergaard, 86. A Danish cartoonist whose image of the Prophet Muhammad
wearing a bomb as a turban was at the center of widespread anti-Danish anger in
the Muslim world in the mid-2000s. July 14.
Gloria Richardson, 99. An influential civil rights pioneer whose determination
not to back down while protesting racial inequality was captured in a photograph
as she pushed away the bayonet of a National Guardsman. July 15.
Biz Markie, 57. A hip-hop staple known for his beatboxing prowess, turntable
mastery and the 1989 classic "Just a Friend." July 16.
Floyd Cooper, 65. An award-winning illustrator and author of children's books
whose mission to offer candid and positive images of Black history included
subjects ranging from Frederick Douglass to Venus and Serena Williams. July 16.
Tolis Voskopoulos, 80. A popular Greek folk singer, songwriter and actor whose
career spanned more than six decades. July 19.
Phyllis Gould, 99. One of the millions of women who worked in defense plants in
World War II and who later relentlessly fought for recognition of those "Rosie
the Riveters." July 20. Complications of a stroke.
Gloria Ratti, 90. A champion of women's running who rose from a finish line
volunteer at the Boston Marathon to vice president of the race's organizing
body. July 24.
Robert Parris Moses, 86. A civil rights activist who was shot at and endured
beatings and jail while leading Black voter registration drives in the American
South during the 1960s and later helped improve minority education in math. July
25.
Mike Enzi, 77. The retired U.S. senator and Wyoming Republican was known as a
consensus-builder in an increasingly polarized Washington. July 26. Died after
breaking his neck in a bicycle accident.
Joey Jordison, 46. A founding member of Slipknot, who drummed for the
influential metal band in its most popular period and helped write many of its
best-known songs. July 26.
Dusty Hill, 72. The long-bearded bassist for the Texas blues rock trio ZZ Top.
July 28.
Ron Popeil, 86. The quintessential TV pitchman and inventor known to generations
of viewers for hawking products including the Veg-O-Matic, the Pocket Fisherman,
Mr. Microphone and the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ. July 28.
Richard "Dick" Lamm, 85. A former Colorado Democratic governor who successfully
fought to stop the 1976 Winter Olympics from being held in Colorado even though
they had been awarded to the state. July 29.
Carl Levin, 87. A powerful voice on military issues in Washington and a staunch
supporter of the auto industry back home in Michigan during his tenure in the
U.S. Senate. July 29.
AUGUST:
The Rev. Leonid Kishkovsky, 78. He came to the United States as a childhood
refugee from war-torn Poland and later became a leader in cross-church
cooperation and the first Eastern Orthodox president of the National Council of
Churches. Aug. 3. Heart attack.
Richard Trumka, 72. The powerful president of the AFL-CIO who rose from the coal
mines of Pennsylvania to preside over one of the largest labor organizations in
the world. Aug. 5.
Donald Kagan, 89. A prominent classical scholar, contentious defender of
traditional education and architect of neo-conservative foreign policy. Aug. 6.
Markie Post, 70. She played the public defender in the 1980s sitcom "Night
Court" and was a regular presence on television for four decades. Aug. 7.
Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, 70. A founding member of the long-running soul-funk
band Kool & the Gang known for such hits as "Celebration" and "Get Down On It."
Aug. 7.
Bobby Bowden, 91. The folksy Hall of Fame coach who built Florida State into an
unprecedented college football dynasty. Aug. 8.
Walter Yetnikoff, 87. The rampaging head of CBS Records who presided over
blockbuster releases by Michael Jackson, Billy Joel and many others and
otherwise devoted his life to a self-catered feast of "schmoozing, shmingling
and bingling." Aug. 9.
Maki Kaji, 69. The creator of the popular numbers puzzle Sudoku whose life's
work was spreading the joy of puzzles. Aug. 10.
Gino Strada, 73. An Italian surgeon who co-founded the humanitarian group
Emergency to provide medical care for civilian victims of war and poverty in
many countries, and was a fierce critic of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Aug. 13.
Nanci Griffith, 68. The Grammy-winning folk singer-songwriter from Texas whose
literary songs like "Love at the Five and Dime" celebrated the South. Aug. 13.
James Hormel, 88. The first openly gay U.S. ambassador and a philanthropist who
funded organizations to fight AIDS and promote human rights. Aug. 13.
Sonny Chiba, 82. The Japanese actor who wowed the world with his martial arts
skills in more than 100 films. Aug. 19.
James W. Loewen, 79. His million-selling "Lies My Teacher Told Me" books
challenged traditional ideas and knowledge on everything from Thanksgiving to
the Iraq War. Aug. 19.
Tom T. Hall, 85. The singer-songwriter who composed "Harper Valley P.T.A." and
sang about life's simple joys as country music's consummate blue collar bard.
Aug. 20.
Don Everly, 84. He was one-half of the pioneering Everly Brothers whose
harmonizing country rock hits affected a generation of rock 'n' roll music. Aug.
21.
Charlie Watts, 80. The self-effacing Rolling Stones drummer who helped anchor
one of rock's greatest rhythm sections and used his "day job" to support his
enduring love of jazz. Aug. 24.
Hissene Habre, 79. Chad's former dictator, he was the first former head of state
to be convicted of crimes against humanity by an African court after his
government was accused of killing 40,000 people. Aug. 24.
Akis Tsochadzopoulos, 82. A once prominent Greek socialist politician who held
nearly a dozen ministerial positions over two decades but later fell from grace,
was convicted and imprisoned in one of Greece's highest profile corruption
trials. Aug. 27.
Ed Asner, 91. The burly and prolific character actor who became a star in middle
age as the gruff but lovable newsman Lou Grant, first in the hit comedy "The
Mary Tyler Moore Show" and later in the drama "Lou Grant." Aug. 29.
Michael Constantine, 94. An Emmy Award-winning character actor who reached
worldwide fame playing the Windex bottle-toting father of the bride in the 2002
film "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Aug. 31.
SEPTEMBER
Syed Ali Geelani, 91. An icon of disputed Kashmir's resistance against Indian
rule and a top separatist leader who became the emblem of the region's defiance
against New Delhi. Sept. 1.
Mikis Theodorakis, 96. The beloved Greek composer whose rousing music and life
of political defiance won acclaim abroad and inspired millions at home. Sept. 2.
George M. Strickler Jr., 80. A civil rights attorney who fought to desegregate
Southern schools in the 1960s and was pushed out of his University of
Mississippi teaching job amid uproar over his work on behalf of Black clients.
Sept. 2.
Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim, 85. One of Iraq's most senior
and influential Muslim Shiite clerics. Sept. 3.
Willard Scott, 87. The beloved weatherman who charmed viewers of NBC's "Today"
show with his self-deprecating humor and cheerful personality. Sept. 4.
Jean-Paul Belmondo, 88. Star of the iconic French New Wave film "Breathless,"
whose crooked boxer's nose and rakish grin went on to make him one of the
country's most recognizable leading men. Sept. 6.
Sunil Perera, 68. A singer and musician who entertained generations of Sri
Lankans with captivating songs, but won their minds and hearts with his
outspoken comments against social injustice, corruption, racism and suppression
of democracy. Sept. 6. Complications from COVID-19.
Elizabeth Ireland McCann, 90. A Tony Award-winning producer who helped mount an
astounding array of hits on Broadway and in London, including "The Elephant
Man," "Morning's at Seven," "Amadeus," "The Life and Adventures of Nicholas
Nickleby" and "Copenhagen." Sept. 9. Cancer.
Abimael Guzmán, 86. The leader of the brutal Shining Path insurgency in Peru who
was captured in 1992. Sept. 11.
The Rev. Cho Yong-gi, 85. His founding of South Korea's biggest church was a
symbol of the postwar growth of Christianity in the country before that
achievement was tainted by corruption and other scandals. Sept. 14.
Norm Macdonald, 61. A comedian and former "Saturday Night Live" writer and
performer who was "Weekend Update" host when Bill Clinton and O.J. Simpson
provided comic fodder during the 1990s. Sept. 14.
Jane Powell, 92. The bright-eyed, operatic-voiced star of Hollywood's golden age
musicals who sang with Howard Keel in "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and
danced with Fred Astaire in "Royal Wedding." Sept. 16.
Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 84. A former Algerian president who fought for
independence from France, reconciled his conflict-ravaged nation and was then
ousted amid pro-democracy protests in 2019 after two decades in power. Sept. 17.
George Holliday, 61. The Los Angeles plumber who shot grainy video of four white
police officers beating Black motorist Rodney King in 1991. Sept. 19.
Complications of COVID-19.
Hussein Tantawi, 85. The Egyptian general who took charge of the country when
longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down amid the 2011 Arab
Spring uprising. Sept. 21.
Melvin Van Peebles, 89. The groundbreaking filmmaker, playwright and musician
whose work ushered in the "blaxploitation" wave of the 1970s and influenced
filmmakers long after. Sept. 21.
Theoneste Bagosora, 80. A former Rwandan army colonel regarded as the architect
of the 1994 genocide in which more than 800,000 ethnic Tutsi and Hutus who tried
to protect them were killed. Sept. 25.
George Frayne, 77. As leader of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, he
enjoyed a cult following in the 1970s with such party and concert favorites as
"Hot Rod Lincoln" and "Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)." Sept. 26.
Bobby Zarem, 84. A tireless, relentless entertainment publicist, with a client
list that read like a Who's Who of a certain era: Cher, Diana Ross, Dustin
Hoffman, ??Kevin Costner, Michael Douglas, Ann-Margret, Al Pacino, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone and more. Sept. 26.
Michael Renzi, 80. During a storied musical career, he worked with Peggy Lee,
Mel Tormé, Lena Horne and some of the other biggest names in jazz and pop, and
for years was also the musical director of "Sesame Street." Sept. 29.
OCTOBER
Umar Sharif, 66. One of Pakistan's most beloved comedians. Oct. 2.
Todd Akin, 74. A conservative Missouri Republican whose comment that women's
bodies have a way of avoiding pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape" sunk his
bid for the U.S. Senate and became a cautionary tale for other GOP candidates.
Oct. 3.
Bernard Tapie, 78. A flamboyant businessman who was beloved by sports fans for
leading French soccer club Marseille to glory but also dogged by legal battles
and corruption investigations. Oct. 3.
Lars Vilks, 75. A Swedish artist who had lived under police protection since
making a sketch of the Prophet Muhammad with a dog's body in 2007. Oct. 3.
Killed in a car crash along with two police bodyguards.
Alan Kalter, 78. The quirky, red-headed announcer for David Letterman for two
decades who frequently appeared in the show's comedy bits. Oct. 4.
Abolhassan Banisadr, 88. Iran's first president after the country's 1979 Islamic
Revolution who fled Tehran after being impeached for challenging the growing
power of clerics as the nation became a theocracy. Oct. 9.
Abdul Qadeer Khan, 85. A controversial figure known as the father of Pakistan's
nuclear bomb. Oct. 10.
Megan Rice, 91. A nun and Catholic peace activist who spent two years in federal
prison while in her 80s after breaking into a government security complex to
protest nuclear weapons. Oct. 10.
Eddie Jaku, 101. A Holocaust survivor who published his best-selling memoir,
"The Happiest Man on Earth." Oct. 12.
Hubert Germain, 101. The last of an elite group of decorated French Resistance
fighters who helped liberate France from Nazi control in World War II. Oct. 12.
Ronnie Tutt, 83. A legendary drummer who spent years playing alongside Elvis
Presley and teamed up with other superstars ranging from Johnny Cash to Stevie
Nicks. Oct. 16.
Betty Lynn, 95. The film and television actor who was best known for her role as
Barney Fife's sweetheart Thelma Lou on "The Andy Griffith Show." Oct. 16.
Colin Powell, 84. The trailblazing soldier and diplomat whose sterling
reputation of service to Republican and Democratic presidents was stained by his
faulty claims to justify the 2003 U.S. war in Iraq. Oct. 18.
Jerry Pinkney, 81. A prize-winning children's book illustrator known for his
richly textured images of Black life, fables and fairy tales in works ranging
from "The Lion and the Mouse" to "The Sunday Outing." Oct. 20.
Peter Scolari, 66. A versatile character actor whose television roles included a
yuppie producer on "Newhart" and a closeted dad on "Girls" and who was on
Broadway with longtime friend Tom Hanks in "Lucky Guy." Oct. 22.
Sunao Tsuboi, 96. A survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing who made opposing
nuclear weapons the message of his life, including in a meeting with President
Barack Obama in 2016. Oct. 24.
Roh Tae-woo, 88. The former South Korean president was a major player in a 1979
coup who later became president in a landmark democratic election before ending
his tumultuous political career in prison. Oct. 26.
Mort Sahl, 94. A satirist who helped revolutionize stand-up comedy during the
Cold War with his running commentary on politicians and current events and
became a favorite of a new, restive generation of Americans. Oct. 26.
A. Linwood Holton Jr., 98. Virginia's first Republican governor since
Reconstruction and a crusader against racial discrimination. Oct. 28.
NOVEMBER
Aaron T. Beck, 100. A groundbreaking psychotherapist regarded as the father of
cognitive therapy. Nov. 1.
Sabah Fakhri, 88. One of the Arab world's most famous singers, he entertained
generations with traditional songs and preserved nearly extinct forms of Arabic
music. Nov. 2.
Ruth Ann Minner, 86. A sharecropper's daughter who became the only woman to
serve as Delaware's governor. Nov. 4.
Marília Mendonça, 26. She was one of Brazil's most popular singers and a Latin
Grammy winner. Nov. 5. Airplane crash.
Dean Stockwell, 85. A top Hollywood child actor who gained new success in middle
age in the sci-fi series "Quantum Leap" and in a string of indelible
performances in film, including David Lynch's "Blue Velvet," Wim Wenders'
"Paris, Texas" and Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob." Nov. 7.
Max Cleland, 79. He lost three limbs to a hand grenade in Vietnam and later
became a groundbreaking Veterans Administration chief and U.S. senator from
Georgia until an attack ad questioning his patriotism derailed his reelection.
Nov. 9. Congestive heart failure.
Jakucho Setouchi, 99. A Buddhist nun and one of Japan's best-known authors
famous for novels depicting passionate women and her translation of "The Tale of
Genji," a 1,000-year-old classic, into modern language. Nov. 9.
Jerry Douglas, 88. He played handsome family patriarch John Abbott on "The Young
and the Restless" for more than 30 years. Nov. 9.
F.W. de Klerk, 85. He shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela and as
South Africa's last apartheid president oversaw the end of the country's white
minority rule. Nov. 11.
William Sterling Cary, 94. A pioneering minister and civil rights activist who
was the first Black person in prominent church leadership roles, including
president of the National Council of Churches. Nov. 14.
Ardeshir Zahedi, 93. Iran's flamboyant ambassador to the United States during
the rule of the shah who charmed both Hollywood stars and politicians with his
lavish parties until the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Nov. 18.
Chun Doo-hwan, 90. A former South Korean military strongman who seized power in
a 1979 coup and brutally crushed pro-democracy protests before going to prison
for misdeeds while in office. Nov. 23.
Stephen Sondheim, 91. The songwriter who reshaped the American musical theater
in the second half of the 20th century with his intelligent, intricately rhymed
lyrics, his use of evocative melodies and his willingness to tackle unusual
subjects. Nov. 26.
Phil Saviano, 69. A clergy sex abuse survivor and whistleblower who played a
pivotal role in exposing decades of predatory assaults by Roman Catholic priests
in the United States. Nov. 28.
Lee Elder, 87. He broke down racial barriers as the first Black golfer to play
in the Masters and paved the way for Tiger Woods and others to follow. Nov. 28.
Virgil Abloh, 41. A leading designer whose groundbreaking fusions of streetwear
and high couture made him one of the most celebrated tastemakers in fashion and
beyond. Nov. 28. Cancer.
David Gulpilil, 68. Australia's most acclaimed Indigenous actor. Nov. 29.
Arlene Dahl, 96. The actor whose charm and striking red hair shone in such
Technicolor movies of the 1950s as "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and
"Three Little Words." Nov. 29.
DECEMBER
Antony Sher, 72. One of the most acclaimed Shakespearean actors of his
generation. Dec. 2.
Bob Dole, 98. He overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate
leader, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol of his dwindling
generation of World War II veterans. Dec. 5.
Lina Wertmueller, 93. Italy's provocative filmmaker whose mix of sex and
politics in "Swept Away" and "Seven Beauties" made her the first woman nominated
for an Academy Award for directing. Dec. 9.
Al Unser, 82. One of only four drivers to win the Indianapolis 500 a record four
times. Dec. 9.
Michael Nesmith, 78. The singer-songwriter, author, actor-director and
entrepreneur who will likely be best remembered as the wool-hatted,
guitar-strumming member of the made-for-television rock band The Monkees. Dec.
10.
Anne Rice, 80. The novelist whose lush, best-selling gothic tales, including
"Interview With the Vampire," reinvented the blood-drinking immortals as tragic
antiheroes. Dec. 11.
Vicente Fernández, 81. An iconic and beloved singer of regional Mexican music
who was awarded three Grammys and nine Latin Grammys and inspired a new
generation of performers, including his son, Alejandro Fernández. Dec. 12.
bell hooks, 69. The groundbreaking author, educator and activist whose
explorations of how race, gender, economics and politics intertwined helped
shape academic and popular debates over the past 40 years. Dec. 15.
Eve Babitz, 78. The Hollywood bard, muse and reveler who with warmth and candor
chronicled the excesses of her native world in the 1960s and 1970s and became a
cult figure to generations of readers. Dec. 17. Complications from Huntington's
disease.
Johnny Isakson, 76. An affable Georgia Republican politician who rose from the
ranks of the state legislature to become a U.S. senator known as an effective
behind-the-scenes consensus builder. Dec. 19.
Joan Didion, 87. The revered author and essayist whose social and personal
commentary in such classics as "The White Album" and "The Year of Magical
Thinking" made her a clear-eyed critic of turbulent times. Dec. 23.
Desmond Tutu, 90. South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize-winning icon, an
uncompromising foe of apartheid and a modern-day activist for racial justice and
LGBT rights. Dec. 26.
Sarah Weddington, 76. A Texas lawyer who as a 26-year-old successfully argued
the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dec. 26.
Edward O. Wilson, 92. The pioneering Harvard biologist who advanced the
provocative theory that human behavior such as war and altruism has a genetic
basis and warned against the decline of ecosystems. Dec. 26.
John Madden, 85. The Hall of Fame coach turned broadcaster whose exuberant calls
combined with simple explanations provided a weekly soundtrack to NFL games for
three decades. Dec. 28.
Harry Reid, 82. The former U.S. Senate majority leader from Nevada, widely
acknowledged as one of toughest dealmakers in Congress. Dec. 28. Pancreatic
cancer.
The Latest The Latest LCCC English
analysis & editorials from miscellaneous sources published
on December 31/2021-January 01/2022
We are living in an age of disorder and discontent
Sir John Jenkins/Arab News/December 31, 2021
In his remarkable book, “Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in
the Seventeenth Century,” the British historian Geoffrey Parker explores in
great detail the complex interaction of the physical environment, social change,
political instability and armed conflict in an era of constant threat. His focus
was an age of plague and disruptive climate events, when not a single year
passed without a major war in some part of the globe and peace was a vanishingly
rare commodity. Political orders tottered, regimes collapsed and many states
came close to disintegration in the face of internal and external challenges.
Sound familiar? We live, of course, in the middle of a global pandemic, whose
virulence has strained the resilience of all states, including those that are
able to lock down their citizens at the flick of a switch. Simple, unthinking
strands of rogue DNA and RNA have become our mortal enemy. Elsewhere, we are
witnessing the damaging impact of long-standing economic inequalities on social
and political systems in the US and Europe, where social solidarity is eroding
in the face of an identity-driven flight to group security.
In Iran, we have seen mass demonstrations by farmers, driven to desperation by
repeated and worsening droughts. In Iraq, blessed with two of the greatest river
systems in the world, the issue of depleting water resources and salination is
urgent. There is now a serious public debate. But it may already be too late.
The same would apply in Syria if debate there was not drowned out by the sound
of human misery. Yemen is a disaster. Both there and in Syria, the costs of
reconstruction, even if conflict were to end tomorrow, would be unachievable.
Lebanon, meanwhile, is becoming a test case in collapse. The great Scottish
political economist Adam Smith famously observed that there was a great deal of
ruin in a nation. But Hezbollah, Amal and their collaborators in Lebanon’s
subjection to the interests of Iran are demonstrating quite how fast things can
deteriorate when you pursue not the common good, but factional and sectarian
advantage. Meanwhile, the global order established after 1945 under the aegis of
a dominant US and its allies is under unprecedented pressure.
Some of this was probably inevitable. The Roman Empire stood in one form or
another for 1,500 years. But that was before social media. Globalization, which
has brought so many benefits to so many people, also has the capacity to amplify
systemic shocks and send them coursing around the world in seconds. Even with
Rome, when the western empire fell apart sometime between the fifth and sixth
centuries A.D. — another phenomenon we now know was associated with climate
disasters and virulent pandemics — many parts of Europe reverted for a period to
a level of subsistence that they had not seen for four centuries. Out of this
emerged the modern European state system. But the pax Romana — the stability and
order provided by a central imperial authority — was no more. It took another
1,200 years for such an order, in Europe at least, to be restored at the
Congress of Vienna in 1815. That, in turn, lasted a century. The post-1945
global order has so far lasted less than 80 years.
The most significant geopolitical disruption to this order has come from the
rise of China. China has always tended to authoritarianism — or collapse. This
may be a function of the country’s sheer size. And the Communist Party is, in
effect, simply another in the long line of dynasties stretching back millennia.
But most dynasties did not interpret their mandate as meaning global — and often
not even regional — domination. It was enough to govern the Middle Kingdom.
We are collectively facing a more unstable and uncertain future than we could
have imagined even a decade ago
In contrast, driven by a frantic search for resources to power economic growth
while there is still time and riding a wave of nationalism, the China of
President Xi Jinping has sought to claim expansive territorial rights across the
South China Sea and the Sea of Japan, in the Himalayas and possibly, in the
future, in Siberia (a Russian nightmare). The Belt and Road Initiative seeks to
open up new trade routes for Chinese business underwritten by the state, secure
the energy resources of Central Asia — and doubtless also Iran — for Beijing and
create digital linkages that will help disseminate Chinese modes of governance
and social control across the world.
This is causing deep concern among China’s neighbors and in the US. It is also
driving a divisive policy debate within the EU, which is already fractured over
energy issues. European leaders like France’s Emmanuel Macron proclaim that
Europe needs to distance itself from a US they claim is no longer a dependable
security partner: The English word folly is, of course, derived from the French.
Within Europe, populism is on the rise. Brexit was a harbinger of this
phenomenon, shaped by the distinctive history and political traditions of the
UK, but driven by discontents that are almost universal, certainly across the
West and probably much more widely. Just look at the current situation in the
French presidential race, where the populist right is shaping up as the most
significant threat to Macron’s position — something that looks like a long-term
trend. Look at Poland, Hungary or the Czech Republic, or indeed Austria or
Italy. And look at the US, where the appeal of Trumpism has not faded, even if
many would prefer it to be Trumpism without Donald Trump.
We are, in short, living in an age of disorder and discontent. Globalism, which
seemed like the answer 20 years ago — as it had in 1914 — has become part of the
problem. Its costs have been borne by the poor and its benefits captured by the
rich. The damage it causes to the environment has not been properly priced. And,
again, those who suffer most, like Iran’s farmers or the inhabitants of Iraq’s
marshes, are often those without political power. Where a regime’s legitimacy
depends on continual growth, such as in China or Turkey, an awareness of
impending scarcity and demographic pressures has produced external aggression,
not collegiality. Where regimes can suppress popular protests by violence and
intensive surveillance, as in China, Turkey, Iran, Syria or Iraq, they do.
Elsewhere, these pressures produce neo-tribalism, which risks disabling
democratic politics.
The response of the Gulf states to all this has been interesting, and often
clever. Their economies remain overwhelmingly dependent on the production of
hydrocarbons. They understand they need to diversify. And they are taking action
— often impressively. But this costs money. So they have sought, quite
rationally, to maintain global energy prices at a level that enables them to
meet their needs. On the other hand, the pace of technological change in major
international markets — and the rise of green politics — suggests there is now a
relatively narrow window within which to make the most of their energy assets.
This demands more efficient governance and investment in education and more
productive private sector jobs.
This is a demand of most populations in the region anyway. But the record
remains patchy. In too many countries, a lack of accountability and an
overreliance on government — often through parastatals or favored businesspeople
with privileged political access — as the engine of welfare distribution has, in
practice, constrained growth and innovation. The UAE’s recent announcement of
sweeping changes to its legal and regulatory framework shows an admirable desire
to adapt to this rapidly changing landscape. Saudi Arabia’s drive to bring more
women into the workforce is also positive. And the expansion of the Abraham
Accords — with all their implications for trade, technology and skills transfer
— to include more regional states is welcome. I do not for a moment think that
the Palestinian issue has gone away. It still needs a proper resolution. It
always has done. But conflict is not going to help. Integration might.
Globalism, which seemed like the answer 20 years ago — as it had in 1914 — has
become part of the problem
This is especially true when other conflicts show no sign of abating. Iran is at
the heart of most of these, certainly as they affect the Middle East. Whatever
happens at the nuclear talks in Vienna, that is not going to change. What
regional and other actors need to do is ensure they are, as far as possible,
insulated from such conflicts and that Iran itself is constrained from
exploiting or expanding them. No one can afford another regional war. But the
alternative to war is not appeasement: It is — as I have written before —
containment and deterrence. And part of this is making clear to Iran what costs
will be incurred by aggression and what benefits will arise from normality.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their partners can play an important role here — and
are already doing so.
But even the welcome new initiatives that we see in the Gulf region and the
wider Middle East — involving the Kingdom, its Gulf Cooperation Council
neighbors, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Israel in a wary diplomatic quadrille — will
not fundamentally alter the imbalances of power, ideology and ambition that have
bedeviled the region for decades. If the US genuinely means to lessen its
presence and interest in the region, then the stabilization of relations between
states will need to be built on the stability of political orders within them.
The need of the elite in Tehran to behave as if the Iranian revolution never
ended — and the intense dissatisfaction of most Iranians with the hardships this
brings — is a major reason for their bellicosity abroad. You could say the same
for Hezbollah. Daesh arose partly because enough Sunnis thought the Iraqi and
Syrian states were oppressive. That is no basis for regional order in the new
balance of power world we are entering.
The perception that domestic political stability — achieved by sufficient
attention to the interests of all stakeholders — should be the first priority of
a successful state is as old as Aristotle, who thought Sparta was exemplary.
Polybius, the great Greek historian of the Roman Republic’s rise to empire,
thought it was because of the inclusive Roman class-based order. The Italian
thinkers of the early Renaissance, constantly threatened by internecine
conflict, thought the same. Human nature has not changed much in 2,500 years.
That suggests that governance will continue to be contested everywhere.
None of this alters the fact that we are collectively facing a more unstable and
uncertain future than we could have imagined even a decade ago. The urgent task
of all states is to help build new and sustainable domestic, regional and global
orders that will satisfy the needs of restive populations and contain rivalries
— such as those between the US, India and China, Russia and the EU, and Iran,
Turkey and the Arab world — without spilling over into conflict.
Speaking as a European, I firmly believe that at the heart of the global order
must be a reinvigorated US true to its best traditions. Without this, freedom
will retreat and regional orders will simply represent the dominance of the
strong. And that, as we see in the Middle East, produces an intense
counterreaction. At a time of great political strain and momentous social and
rapid environmental change, achieving all that is easier said than done. But a
failure to achieve it will cost us dearly. We are all in this together. That is
the task for 2022 — as it was for 2021 and will be for 2023. As the Italian
political theorist Antonio Gramsci remarked, to balance any pessimism of the
intellect, we shall need long-term optimism of the will.
• Sir John Jenkins is a senior fellow at Policy Exchange. Until December 2017,
he was corresponding director (Middle East) at the International Institute for
Strategic Studies, based in Manama, Bahrain, and was a senior fellow at Yale
University’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. He was the British ambassador
to Saudi Arabia until January 2015.
د . ماجد رفي زاده: استراتيجية من شأنها أن تنجح في التعامل
مع إيران
A strategy for dealing with Iran that would work
Dr. Majid Rafizadeh/Arab News/January 01/2021
http://eliasbejjaninews.com/archives/105198/dr-majid-rafizadeh-a-strategy-for-dealing-with-iran-that-would-work/
The Biden administration and European leaders appear to be mistakenly investing
all their political capital in reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Also known as the Iran nuclear deal, it is an agreement reached in 2015 between
the Islamic Republic and the P5+1 world powers — the US, the UK, Russia, China
and France plus Germany — together with the EU.
Whether or not a renewed deal is reached with the Iranian regime, the West
should simultaneously pursue another strategy of supporting and assisting
regional powers in confronting the theocratic establishment in Tehran.
This is due to the fact that the Iranian regime’s underlying threat in the
region has never been limited to its nuclear program. This wider threat is the
reason why, when the nuclear agreement was reached in 2015, access to the
considerable funds the deal freed up had the perverse effect of allowing Tehran
to pour ever greater sums into the coffers of groups such as Hezbollah and the
Houthis. Warnings from nations such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were largely
ignored, despite their clear concerns about the direct threat the enrichment of
these groups presented.
As a result, a reversion to the previous US policy, where Washington believes
that the nuclear deal is adequate to confront the Iranian regime, risks
undermining peace and stability in the Middle East.
US President Joe Biden previously suggested that Iran had ceased being a “bad
regional actor” in the aftermath of the nuclear deal. He said: “I will offer
Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy. If Iran returns to strict compliance
with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement as a
starting point for follow-on negotiations.”
This is an easy view for someone thousands of miles away to form but for those
living on the ground, dealing with Hezbollah’s weapons caches and Syrian
militias wreaking death and destruction, Iran — through its proxy networks in
the region — has become a more malign actor than ever. Unless these other issues
are resolved, then any efforts to render Iran a more responsible international
actor are doomed to failure.
From the perspective of the Iranian leaders, no deal with the West is going to
change the core pillars of their revolutionary regime. Instead, the theocratic
establishment generally uses international and regional agreements to advance
its revolutionary ideals.
Specifically, at a time when the US military presence in the region is being
reduced and other forces, in the form of China and Russia, are looking to fill
the vacuum, it is more essential than ever to work in lockstep with the Gulf
states. The Islamic Republic has positioned itself squarely in opposition
against America’s allies in the Gulf, pushing an increasingly hard-line
narrative that seems to be part of a grander strategy to destabilize the region.
The four decades since the establishment of the Islamic Republic have proved
that diplomacy alone is not adequate. As Henry Kissinger once remarked: “The
exercise of diplomacy without the threat of force is without effect.”
The Iranian regime should become cognizant of the fact that its provocations and
military adventurism in the Gulf will bring grave consequences. From the
viewpoint of the Iranian leaders, a failure by other countries to respond to the
actions of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps is a sign of weakness. In
other words, as far as the Iranian regime is concerned, concessions, leniency
and diplomacy all represent powerlessness.
A regional Arab coalition — with the support of the US and other Western allies
— would be the most significant element of the equation, forming a robust
bulwark against the Iranian regime. This will require taking steps beyond words.
It requires a three-pronged strategy: strengthening the coalition’s navy,
missile and defense capabilities. It also necessitates an accompanying
comprehensive plan to counter Iran’s interventionism in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
Tehran seeks to sow instability in the region because it benefits from chaos in
other countries. For example, it was through instability in Lebanon that Iran
gave birth to Hezbollah. It was in the midst of the conflict in Iraq that Iran
formed powerful militia groups. It was through the war in Syria that Iran armed
and empowered additional proxies. It is through the crisis in Yemen that Tehran
strengthens its ties with the Houthis. And so the list goes on. When there is
instability, Iran expands its powerful operations and increases its influence.
It is critical for the international community to counter Iran’s hegemonic
ambitions and provocations by standing with regional powers that are prepared to
confront Tehran. Iranian leaders ought to be aware that their destabilizing
actions in the region will trigger serious consequences.
Otherwise, Tehran’s aggression and provocations will continue to gather
strength. This can be prevented by the aforementioned comprehensive plan, which
is anchored in three-dimensional strategic and military cooperation between the
West and other powers in the region, including the Gulf states.
*Dr. Majid Rafizadeh is a Harvard-educated Iranian-American political scientist.
Twitter: @Dr_Rafizadeh
Getting 2022 right: Three political risk predictions for
the coming year
John C. Hulsman/Arab News/December 31, 2021
As I wrote in my last book about the political risk industry, “To Dare More
Boldly: The Audacious Story of Political Risk,” I have long held heretical views
about my chosen profession. Despite their shiny exteriors, the recent predictive
call record of many top firms has been nothing short of abysmal.
To get out from under this inconvenient truth, they now disingenuously tell you
that their predictive records don’t matter much; as if being analytically right
were not at the core of the profession. We must not let them get away with this
conjuring trick. As I wrote in the book, political risk calls are a lot like
baseball; while there is an undoubted element to chance in the game, there is a
lot more skill than randomness driving both fields of work. In both cases, over
time, the best teams tend to win the World Series, real or analytical. If the
soothsaying perfection of Merlin is out of the question, mastering political
risk analysis is not. So my firm is putting its 80 percent positive call record
over the past decade on the line here, with three predictions for 2022.
The COVID-19 crisis will come to an end. It is surely true that COVID-19 is not
going anywhere; we are all going to have to learn to live with it. However, as a
world historical crisis, its deadly reign is nearly over. In terms of the two
key initial factors put forward by governments in faraway March 2020 that must
matter above all else — the death rate and the hospital admission rate —
COVID-19 is already winding down.
The number of people in hospital in England is less than half what it was a year
ago, despite there being three times as many cases. This is because the omicron
variant, in an effort to survive — in line with Charles Darwin’s theory of
evolution — is far less lethal than earlier strains, even as it is far more
transmissible and vaccine-resistant. Overall, this is good news. Weaker strains
of a more transmissible version of the virus mean COVID-19 is well on its way to
becoming just another variant of flu, rather than a world-altering emergency.
This is the year it ceases being the defining political risk of our planet.
The Sino-American “cold war” is the pivotal geostrategic feature of our era.
Historically, such a political competition has always been likely. As the
American political scientist Graham Allison has pointed out, “Thucydides’s Trap”
— the Greek historian’s metaphor for Athens’s challenge to Sparta in ancient
Greece —makes clear that 12 out of 16 times in the past 500 years there has been
a war when a rising superpower (such as China) has bumped into an established
superpower (such as the US).
Xi Jinping’s China is a peaking power — much like the Kaiser’s Germany of the
1910s and imperial Japan in the 1930s — whose march to superpower status has
been blunted, leaving it aggressive and at a strategic crossroads. Its
effortless rise to superpower status has run into terrible demography (China
will get old before it gets rich), a giant real estate bubble and a shaky shadow
banking system, and a recognition by its Asian neighbors of its adventurism,
from India to the South China Sea. The counter-reaction has led to the rise of
an anti-Beijing coalition from the Quadrilateral Initiative (composed of India,
Japan, Australia and the US) to the AUKUS Defense Treaty between the UK,
Australia, and the US. With Taiwan as the key flashpoint to watch over the next
half decade — the Berlin of this new “cold war” — the moment of maximum peril
lies in the medium term. But it is coming.
The beast of endemic inflation has been loosed. Overly sanguine central banks
have taken their eye off the ball, unleashing the beast of endemic inflation
after a hibernation of 40 years.
The one global supply chain — centered on the US and China — has been challenged
by the coming of the aforementioned cold war between the two superpowers.
Geopolitics, for the first time in two generations, now trumps geo-economics, as
countries care far more about where pharmaceuticals and semi-conductor chips are
made, and less about whether they are manufactured in the most economically
efficient way. Onshoring, regionalization, and hedging mean that there will be
many new economic alternatives to the one global supply chain — but at an
increased price, which will fuel inflation.
Moreover, policymakers, particularly in the Biden White House, have poured
gasoline on the raging economic fire, in terms of wildly profligate spending. As
Larry Summers, Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton, makes clear, if you
increase fiscal stimulus by 14-15 percent, as Trump and Biden have done, while
the economy is only a couple of percentage points short of capacity, the math is
the math: You will have skyrocketing rates of inflation. True to form, the
inflation rate in the US was a whopping 6.8 percent in November. The beast of
endemic inflation is once again roaming the earth.
Take these predictions to the bank; hold us to account for the predictions we
make, and for the work that we do. On that bold note, I wish you the happiest of
new years.
*John C. Hulsman is the president and managing partner of John C. Hulsman
Enterprises, a prominent global political risk consulting firm. He is also a
senior columnist for City AM, the newspaper of the City of London. He can be
contacted via johnhulsman.substack.com.
Will Turkey continue its policy of reconciliation in the
region next year?
Meneskse Tokyay/Arab News/December 31, 2021
ANKARA: Turkey made significant efforts in 2021 to normalize its relations with
Armenia, Egypt, the Gulf, and Israel after years of disagreements.
The big question now is whether Ankara’s efforts to thaw the ice with these
countries by de-escalating regional conflicts will continue with the same vigor
in 2022.On Thursday, Armenia announced its embargo on goods from Turkey would be
lifted on January 1 and that Yerevan-Istanbul charter flights would soon begin
again after decades of closed borders.
Two weeks ago, Turkey appointed its former ambassador to the US Serdar Kilic as
its special envoy to conduct normalization talks with Armenia. This gesture was
followed by Armenia appointing Ruben Rubinyan — who studied in Turkey through a
scholarship from a Turkish NGO — as its special representative for dialogue.
Moscow will host the first meeting between the two envoys in January.
“Turkey has been recalibrating its foreign policy in the eastern Mediterranean
and the MENA region,” Prof. Michaël Tanchum, a non-resident fellow at the Middle
East Institute in Washington and an associate senior policy fellow in the Africa
program at the European Council on Foreign Relations, told Arab News. According
to Tanchum, Turkey’s focus in the Eastern Mediterranean has been on Egypt and to
a lesser extent Israel.
Regarding Egypt, Turkey this year asked all Istanbul-based Muslim
Brotherhood-affiliated media channels to soften their criticism of the Egyptian
government. The two countries held talks in September, while Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced that Ankara was considering sending
ambassadors back to Egypt and Israel.
During his recent meeting with representatives from the Jewish diaspora, Erdogan
underlined that Turkey-Israel ties are vital for the stability and security of
the region. “Both (Egypt and Israel) have become key energy, economic, and
military partners to Greece and Cyprus following the deterioration in their
respective relations with Turkey in the early part of the previous decade,”
Tanchum said. “Similarly, Ankara has been taken aback by Greece’s developing
defense ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The normalization of relations
between the UAE and Israel under the Abraham Accords has solidified this
alignment of Middle Eastern states with Greece and Cyprus.”
Tanchum thinks that, for Egypt, the most immediate stumbling block — despite
Ankara’s diplomatic outreach — is Turkey’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood.
“Beyond this, the two countries are increasingly rivals for influence across
Africa. The fact that Egypt was not invited to Turkey’s recent Africa summit
shows the geopolitical limitations. Nonetheless, commercial relations between
the two nations will likely increase, barring any major incident. The same is
true for Israel-Turkey relations,” he said.
Although Turkey and several regional actors backed different sides in the Libyan
conflict, Ankara now supports Libya’s political transition towards elections.
Turkish Airlines is also expected to relaunch its flights to Benghazi once
technical work and security precautions have been completed.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu recently noted that Turkey does not
differentiate between the west and east of Libya, and that Ankara was prepared
to meet with both military strongman Gen. Khalifa Haftar and the speaker of the
Tobruk-based parliament, Aquila Saleh.
Turkey’s moves towards reconciliation with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and
Israel as part of its efforts to break its regional isolation have escalated in
recent months. The UAE committed to investing $10 billion in Turkey following
the visit of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Muhammed bin Zayed to Ankara on November 24
— offering a vital boost for the Turkish economy. The Turkish Central Bank is
expected to sign deals with its counterpart in the UAE soon and Erdogan is
reportedly scheduled to visit the UAE in February.
“The rapprochement between Turkey and the UAE will likely continue, with
expanding Emirati investment in Turkish companies. The Emirati fintech company
Tpay’s acquisition of Turkey’s mobile banking and digital financial services
firm Payguru is just one example of more investments likely to occur in 2022,”
Tanchum said.
Meanwhile, Erdogan announced that Turkey will work to improve its ties with
Saudi Arabia. The two countries’ foreign ministers met in May and committed to
holding regular consultations. Experts anticipate further such commitments
between Riyadh and Ankara in the new year.
Of all its relationships that Turkey sought to improve in 2021, Tanchum sees
Armenia as the wild card.
“Because of the outcome of the Karabakh war, there is a genuine moment of
opportunity for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation,” he said. “A grand diplomatic
gesture on Turkey’s part that closes a chapter on an old historical wound could
reset the tone of Turkish foreign policy with positive spillover effects for
Turkey’s relations with its Eastern Mediterranean neighbors as well as with the
European Union.” Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish program at the
Washington Institute, agrees that 2021 has been a year of significant shifts in
Turkey’s foreign policy. “By re-establishing friendships and forging new
partnerships, Ankara has shown that it realizes it cannot stand alone and ignore
everybody else in regional and global politics. Therefore, it chose to reset its
ties with former rivals,” he told Arab News.
Cagaptay expects Turkey’s next target for normalization of relations will be the
US, but considering Ankara’s current power-sharing agreements with Russia in
Syria, Libya and the South Caucasus, that process could be trickier and take
longer. “Therefore, I think it’s not a complete pivot (in foreign policy), but
the Middle East part of it is an attempt, at least,” he said.
Regarding Turkey’s relations with Egypt, Cagaptay notes that it took Turkey
nearly eight years to recognize that its singular support of the Muslim
Brotherhood failed to pay off. “No one could have anticipated the speed of the
Brotherhood’s fall from power. So I don’t blame Erdogan for that, but he should
have been in touch with other political actors and I think that’s where the
policy is ill-conceived,” he said. “There is now recognition of this, and 2022
is a pivotal year.”