By Onur Sinan Güzaltan
Some claim that the phrase “May you live in unusual times” is a Chinese malediction. Some say that the original Chinese saying is, “better to be a dog in times of tranquility than a human in times of chaos.” Let’s leave the truth to the linguists.
Trump’s ear and maledictions
What is left to us is to live in times when the malediction is manifesting itself. Yes, we are indeed living in unusual times.
The brain of US presidential candidate Trump nearly exploded live. He turned his head and dodged the bullet, and Biden had to withdraw his candidacy. Vice President Kamala Harris was nominated in his place.
As if nothing had happened and the US had not come to the brink of civil war, everyone lined up to greet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu just a few days later. Congress members applauded Netanyahu’s decision to continue the massacre until their hands were sore. President Biden and presidential candidates Trump and Harris reiterated America’s unwavering support for Israel and praised the great friendship between the US and Israel.
Meanwhile, in China, Palestinian organizations gathered to form a National Consensus Government. (Let’s hope they succeed this time and that resistance from the West Bank to Gaza strengthens and triumphs.)
While Netanyahu was being welcomed with flowers in the US and Palestinian organizations were meeting in China, Israeli bombs continued to fall on the people of Gaza. According to the British Medical Journal Lancet, the death toll in Gaza, including indirect casualties, is 186,000. This amount corresponds to 7.9% of the population in Gaza.
While people in Gaza were resisting honorably with whatever they had at hand against Israeli bombs and tanks and while the Israeli Defense Minister was threatening from the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the powerful leaders of the Islamic world both “condemned” and “cursed” the US and Israel. Some claim that some of these powerful leaders, even It is even claimed that some of those powerful leaders maledicted.
The Olympics “joy” in Paris
While blood was dripping from Trump’s ear and the bodies of children were torn apart in Gaza, the flame of Olympic brotherhood enveloped Paris, the “cradle of civilization”.
In Paris, which was turned into an open-air prison due to security concerns, citizens expressed their reactions to the happenings by taking loud sips of their coffees and biting off large chunks of their croissants.
The “elegant” Macron announced that they would gladly host Israeli athletes at the Olympics in line with Europe’s “human rights” understanding. While Macron’s statements were met with great enthusiasm in “civilized” Europe, Dostoevsky and Tolstoy’s books continued to be burned in squares with “democracy” slogans against Russia.
Meanwhile, Morocco and Argentina faced off in the opening match of the Olympics. Moroccan fans expressed their Olympic enthusiasm by throwing a sound bomb at Argentine players. The match was halted. Whether the Olympic Games can continue successfully remains a topic of debate.
The East while the Western front falters
While the Western front continues to falter in political, economic, military, and cultural areas, neighbors in the East are rediscovering each other.
After reciprocal statements between Türkiye and Syria, the possibility of repairing relations after 13 years has emerged.
Key topics on the table include the joint operation against separatist and bigot terrorist organizations based in northern Syria and the situation of millions of refugees.
In this context, the meeting in Moscow between Russian President Putin and his Syrian counterpart Assad is of critical importance. The news about a possible visit by Putin to Türkiye following the meeting indicates that the primary topic of the Putin-Assad meeting was the normalization of Türkiye-Syria relations.
While Syria and Türkiye are trying to outline a roadmap, the US, which has clearly declared its displeasure with the normalization steps, is not sitting idle. The US provided air defense systems to the PKK/YPG/PYD terrorist organization based in northern Syria and is also preparing to release ISIS prisoners in the region to use against Türkiye and Syria.
Meanwhile, China, at the other end of Asia, is taking joint steps with Russia and Belarus to strengthen the forefront.
The Chinese army conducted a joint military exercise with Belarus on the European border. Chinese and Russian warplanes demonstrated a show of strength on the coast of Alaska.
Also, China is supporting the normalization steps between Saudi Arabia and Iran. There are some claims that Saudi Arabia is preparing to take steps to end the dominance of petrodollars.
As reports in US and European newspapers about the inevitable collapse of the American economy and the dollar increase, just like the news about BRICS introducing an alternative currency to the dollar.
And the world keeps revolving in these unusual times.