Whereas the last two US presidents campaigned for withdrawal from the Middle East—and both of them did so in the wake of ‘shale oil revolution’ in the US itself—doing so has not only been difficult due largely to the geo-strategic setback that this withdrawal will give to the US supremacy in the Middle East, but also to the increasing competition the US is already…
Politics
Middle East
17.09.2020
Uzbekistan to Throw in Its Lot with the EAEU
The discussions that have been going on for more than a year on Uzbekistan’s entry into the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are coming to a logical conclusion. The topic of the integration of Tashkent into the EAEU was loudly discussed in October 2019, during the visit of the Speaker of the Federation Council of Russia Valentina Matvienko to the Uzbek…
Central Asia - Uzbekistan
17.09.2020
Indonesia - the Center of "Humane Piracy"
The Strait of Malacca between Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula is a strategic corridor connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans, which maintains maritime traffic between Europe, Africa and East Asia. The Strait of Malacca is used to transport approximately 25% of all the cargo sent by sea on the planet. Considering the number of ships with…
Southeast Asia
16.09.2020
New Attempts at Rekindling the Sino-Indian Conflict
At a recent US-India meetup US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo led an American effort to take advantage of recent India-China friction. In a move to do exactly what the United States blames Russia, China, and other nations of doing, the Trump administration foreign policy chief put forward again a possible US-India Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, thinly…
Southern Asia - India
16.09.2020
Moon Jae-in vs. Lee Nak-yon
On August 29, 2020, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Lee Nak-yon was elected chairman of the ruling Democratic Party Toburo. He received 60.77% of the delegates’ votes. His rivals for the leadership of the ruling party were former Interior Minister Kim Boo-kyum and National Assembly MP Park Chul Min. In the author’s opinion, this is another, albeit an imperceptible, political loss…
Eastern Asia - South Korea
16.09.2020
New US Plans in the Middle East
The third trilateral summit between Egypt, Jordan, and Iran took place at the end of August in Amman, Jordan. The first summit took place in Cairo in March last year, and the second one was held in New York during the regular session of the UN General Assembly in September 2019. Iraq was represented by Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi in the first two summits…
Middle East
15.09.2020
Navalny Sacrificed as Part of a Wider Geopolitical Battle
Few stories in recent years more clearly illustrate the sorry decline in western media standards than the coverage currently being given to the illness of Russian dissident politician Alexei Navalny. Mr Navalny is at most a minor irritant to the ruling Russian politicians. At the last election he polled less than 2% of the popular vote. In most western countries such a poll rating…
Russia in the World
Economics
16.09.2020
Twilight in the Desert for Saudi and MBS?
It appears as if Saudi de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is on a mission to destroy the world oil giant by one after the other ill-conceived economic decisions. Now, as MBS orders yet new desperation cuts in Saudi oil prices, his economy is imploding from all sides—from the stupid Vision 2030 plan to even the traditional oil sector, the source…
Middle East - Saudi Arabia
14.09.2020
On the Trade and Military Agreement between Iran and China
In the last two or three months, leading media around the world have been paying attention to the “imminent” signing of a bilateral document, described as a Trade and Military Partnership, between China and Iran. The New York Times claims to obtain “an 18-page proposed agreement”. This may well be the case, as…
Eastern Asia - China
14.09.2020
Port of Darwin: Australia's Relationship between China and the US
In recent years, Australia has established increasingly close economic relations with China yet, at the same time, it relies on a strategic alliance with the United States being the guarantor of its defense capability. But Australia’s growing dependence on trade with China is having an increasing impact on foreign policy. Canberra…
Asian-Pacific region - Australia
09.09.2020
Australia Confronts a Changing Economic World
The nature of Australia’s trading relationship with the rest of the world has changed dramatically in the 75 years since the end of World War II. In 1945–46 the total value of Australia’s exports of goods and services was $19 billion. It remained relatively low for the next 25 years, passing $50 billion only in 1969-70. It took a further 15 years to double, passing…
Asian-Pacific region - Australia
07.09.2020
Gates Foundation is Also Destroying Africa’s Food Economy
The same Gates Foundation which is behind every aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic from financing much of the WHO budget, to investing in favored vaccine-makers like Moderna, is engaged in a major project in Africa which is destroying traditional small farmer production of essential food crops in favor of monoculture crops…
Africa
07.09.2020
Russia – Nord Stream 2 vs. Poisoning of Alexei Navalny
Wednesday, 2 August – all German TV channels – mainstream media were focused unilaterally on the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition critique, Alexei Navalny. Two weeks after he has been flown from Tomsk in Siberia to Moscow, when he fell ill on the plane and the airliner had to make an emergency landing in Omsk. Navalny was hospitalized in Omsk…
Russia in the World
02.09.2020
Eastern Nations Prefer Russian Weapons to US Ones
In recent years, the United States has increasingly more often impinged on sovereignty of other nations, thus flagrantly flaunting just how uncivilized its policies are. Such behavior is exemplified in various ways: diplomatic pressure exerted on policies of other nations; involvement in color revolutions; imposition of unlawful sanctions, and bans on trading with clear…
Russia in the World
Society
18.09.2020
South Korean “Patriots”: “What have We Ever Done to Them?”
In September 2020 two scandals unfolded simultaneously in South Korea, both of which can tell us a lot about popular attitudes to racism and bullying in that country. On the one hand there is the fuss about the singer Lee Hyori, who, talking on MBC’s “Hangout with Yoo” chat show claimed that she want to build up her international fan base and plans to adopt…
Eastern Asia - South Korea
15.09.2020
The Holy Synod Expands the Scope of its Pastoral Responsibility to Papua New Guinea
Over the past few years, both Russian and foreign media have increasingly been reporting on the development of Russia’s relations with Papua New Guinea, the largest island nation in Oceania, with a population of almost 9 million people. Another area of media interest has been the activities…
Asian-Pacific region
14.09.2020
UK: Everyone Now Drowning in Enoch’s Rivers of Blood
The Prophet Enoch is a well-known figure in the Old Testament. Consequently his name has been popular as a personal name at certain periods, with parents of Jewish and Christian backgrounds naming their sons after him. The name never used to have any significance, except in reference to the biblical figure, other family members or some…
Europe
11.09.2020
Guo Wengui – So Anti-Chinese that even US Establishment Cannot Stomach Him
In some very rare cases, it is better to read British conservative, right-wing press, like The Economist or the Telegraph, instead of the mainstream liberal sheets like The Independent or The Guardian. That is if one wants to come somehow closer to the truth. The Economist is extremely biased; it is pre-historically conservative, anti…
Eastern Asia - China
10.09.2020
Lebanon: Colonial Thieves & Conflicting Networks of Patronage
I am trying to think how best to write about Lebanon, about the BIGGER picture and the complicated political situation and structure there. It goes beyond the Beirut port bombing or the source of the fertiliser, well beyond the recriminations, and what is actually being reported in the news as well. This is a topic we have covered earlier in NEO…
Middle East - Lebanon
04.09.2020
In America, Privilege is Far More Fatal than COVID
Yesterday, I received a report from Syria. It told of blistering heat and no electricity, of fuel lines, of food shortages and economic suffering by the Syrian people. This is an excerpt: “I wonder if people in EU, US and UK had to deal with the repercussions of their government sanctions on Syria, would they fight harder to get sanctions banned as a hybrid war…
USA in the World
03.09.2020
The Biggest Lie About China's Xinjiang "Internment Camps"
For years now Western media and governments have maintained an almost ceaseless barrage against China over what they claim are networks of “internment camps” built and used in China’s western Xinjiang region to persecute the Uyghur ethnic minority. These claims are a mix of half-truths, truths taken out of context, and outright fabrications and lies. Yet…
Eastern Asia - China
