#getnuanced with tjc by Thomas James Ciotola

In the aftermath of the stunning Fall of Aleppo (Syria's second most important urban center and formerly its most populous / economically vital city, prior to the initial onset of the conflict over a decade ago) and the ongoing success of the surprise Northwestern Syria Offensive led by HTS (Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham, known formerly as the al-Nusra Front) and a motley coalition of rebel militia groups representing the Syrian Opposition, the question now on everyone's mind —Is this the beginning of the end for embattled Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his secular, authoritarian Syrian Arab Republic?

History never repeats itself, but all too often it rhymes and in the case of geopolitics, especially those pertaining to the ongoing disposition of the Middle East region —the particular sentiment of this adage roars from the theoretical world into the practical manifestation of mankind's darkest inclinations: yet another war. And this new war is part of a broader, decades-long territorial dispute between the State of Israel and Palestine, respectively.

"There are bigger issues at stake!"

The (Israeli) High Court of Justice faced two unprecedented challenges to Basic Law amendments on Tuesday with a flurry of petitions against one of the most controversial laws in recent memory, the reasonableness bill, and the Attorney-General's Office sanctioning the striking down of the incapacitation law.

With the potential threat of (presumably tactical) nuclear weapons being used in anger for the first time since the Second World War looming on the horizon and amidst the recent territorial annexations of the four Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk via a "totally legit" (at least according to President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and his Ukrainian political collaborators) referendum, today I provide my perspective on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine as of early October 2022 (with the obvious caveat that things are ever-changing in terms of the approximate state of play on the ground, which will of course require further elaboration future video and podcast episodes).

To say that the current situation between Washington, Beijing, and Taipei is a crisis of world-changing significance would be a massive understatement.

An improved description will be implemented very soon!

With the situation getting ever more tense and confrontational --today we revisit the geopolitics of Taiwan and the ongoing cross-strait showdown between Taipei and Beijing (with external powers including Washington and Tokyo also finding themselves in the political crossfire).

Attempting to make sense of the ongoing chaos in Kabul in the aftermath of Washington's announcement that it would be fully withdrawing its armed forces from Afghanistan.

Breaking from the usual sorts of subject matter that I often (and much prefer to) discuss, this particular segment detours into some of the recent hub-bub pertaining to the circumstances of the recent H3 Podcast hosted by Ethan Klein (aka: "h3h3Productions") in which he and Sam Seder from "The Majority Report w/ Sam Seder" (the eponymous show that he and his compatriots host) ambushed and subsequently humiliated Steven Crowder, the host and self-proclaimed "comedian" from the "Louder with Crowder" show.

Updated description for this episode and video edition coming soon!

Updated description for this episode and video edition coming soon!

Previous Discussion on this Particular Subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5FaFv6Juk8

In the aftermath of Alexander the Great's epic conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire and much of the known world (at least as far as the contemporary Ancient Greeks / Macedonians had been geographically cognizant of), his former companions would become in turn his successors (aka: "The Diadochi") and would each attempt through their own respective means to carve out their own Hellenistic Kingdom(s) at the expense of their former brothers in arms who overnight (and due to the untimely demise of Alexander) had become little more than treacherous, bitter rivals.

Almost an entire millennia before the famous "Battle of Lepanto" (1571) was fought against the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League, another decisive naval engagement took place on the high seas of the Mediterranean —the fateful "Battle of the Masts" (aka: the Battle of Phoenix) in the year of 654 / 655 AD. 

Emperor Diocletian: Peasant, Soldier, Rebel, Emperor, and God of the Romans?!

In the wake of a historic summit in Anchorage, Alaska (the so-called "Last Frontier" as it is known by many of my fellow Americans) which marked the first official face-to-face diplomatic conference between the respective representatives of the United States of America (USA) & the People's Republic of China (PRC), there are clear but incredibly important takeaways of which will be the primary subject matter for this particular segment. 

At the twilight period of the Eastern Roman / Byzantine Empire, the once secluded and seemingly almighty Emperor of the Romans in Manuel II Palaeologus (c. 1391 - 1425) would break with past precedent and in spite of the claims of divinity that his ancient office held, he would leave the Palace of the Caesars in his besieged capital of Constantinople in the East and be one of the last Emperors to visit the distant nations of the West.

In this special #HappyNewYear Edition of the show I will be discussing at length multiple events of pressing significance with a particular focus on the Jan. 4th verdict the extradition case which determines the fate of #WikiLeaks Founder #JulianAssange who is currently being prosecuted based on alleged violations of the Espionage Act of 1917 (this #EspionageAct itself has a worthwhile discussion forthcoming as it had been introduced in the midst of WWI and is of broader importance but especially to the former topic which is the primary subject matter for segment). 

WATCH the video edition of this episode of the #GetNuanced Podcast on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lG44Uc_81YU

An in-depth overview and critical analysis of Procopius of Caesarea: A Byzantine Historian and primary source for Late Antiquity in the Roman Empire during the Age of Justinian when the New Rome centered at Constantinople became once again for one last time the undisputed geopolitical superpower of the Mediterranean.

Watch the video-friendly edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KXpA6aqxt0

RE-UPLOAD from /GetNuanced on YouTube - Reigning as Emperor of Rome during the climax of the Crisis of the Third Century, Aurelian (c. 270 - 275 AD) despite being of humble origins had risen through the military ranks of the Roman Army to become leader of the Orbis Romanus at a time when its continued existence as a unified, single political state was within question from its contemporary citizenry.

Just a brief introduction to the #GetNuanced Podcast for the official AnchorFM profile.