World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

Tensions have been rising for several weeks over the status of what Jews call the Temple Mount and what Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary in the city of Jerusalem.  The site exists in Old Jerusalem which was controlled by Jordan until the 1967 war after which has been controlled by the Israelis.  Since 1967, Israel has prevented Jews from praying on the site in deference to the tradition giving access to Muslims to the al Aqsa mosque.  Recently, however, some Jews have insisted on praying on the site and violence has broken out between those Jews and the Muslims defending the mosque.  Rumors are swirling that the Israeli government of Prime Minister Netanyahu is going to change the rules to allow Jewish prayers as a matter of course.  Such a change would likely precipitate a harsh reaction from Muslims all over the world.

There seems to be a consensus emerging among many of the outside powers involved in the Syrian civil war that the only solution to the slaughter is to line up behind President Assad.  With Iranian support consistent and likely to increase once Iran is able to sell its oil again and the Russians building a military base to support Assad, it seems as if Assad’s position is assured.  The Europeans are more or less deciding that ending the civil war as quickly as possible is the only way to staunch the flow of refugees.  And the Americans, although rhetorically opposed to the Assad regime, is in fact supporting Assad by attacking the Islamic State.  In the end, it seems as if the cruel logic of realism will prevail: better to deal with the butcher who appears most likely to win.

The Brazilian economy recently fell into a recession (two quarters of negative economic growth), its bond rating was lowered to junk status, and the popularity of its President, Dilma Rousseff, is in single digits.  Now the country has to go through painful fiscal austerity.  It has increased taxes and reduced subsidies to infrastructure and poor families in an effort to balance its budget.  No one knows if the austerity will ultimately prove to be successful, but the initial shock of austerity will be very difficult for most Brazilians.  The global economy continues to weaken.