Freedom – Into oblivion

Just when it seemed that things couldn’t get worse for capitalist culture in the Middle East, we now have to absorb the backward blow of a dismal 2007. The region is more than ever trapped in enmity, pushing the advance of free minds and markets further into oblivion; Lebanon is facing a sustained threat to what remains of the 2005 Independence Intifada, with the increasing likelihood that Syria will re-impose some form of hegemony in the coming years; and 2008 is looking very much like it will only exacerbate the tensions of this past year. So much for your Christmas cheer. Complicating matters is the price of oil. It’s moving inexorably upwards, helping the likes of Iran, Russia, and others who have a vested interest in seeing the United States remove itself from Iraq and downgrade its power in the region. Whatever the merits or demerits of such ambitions, they