Politics
Aftermath of the Afghan Conflict for South Korea
How Will the Investigation into the Shameful British Evacuation from Afghanistan End?
On August 16, the head of the British TV channel LBC, Ben Wallace, the UK’s Defence Secretary, could not hold back tears in his commentary on the situation in Afghanistan. During the interview, Wallace revealed that “all of the ministry’s efforts were devoted to helping compatriots stranded in the Islamic republic.” However, he cautioned…
Terrorist Attacks Continue in Pakistan
It looks like it may become a bad tradition to use the opening phrase “No sooner had the New Eastern Outlook…” in an article on the situation in Pakistan, which is prompted by yet another terrorist attack on Pakistani territory. These attacks have increased sharply recently, which fits in with the general pattern of increasing turbulence in the Central and South…
Iraq: Afghan Lessons and Reality
It may only be a matter of time before the states of the Middle East, whose instability has been embodied by the West led by the United States, begin to feel the echoes of the Taliban’s rapid conquest of almost all of Afghanistan. The consequences of the Sunni Islamist triumph will not be lost on non-state actors and militant nationalists active in countries where the US still has troops…
Power in Words: Convicting the Cabal That Hurts Us All
Did you know that Russia is in a ruthless pursuit of geopolitical, strategic, commercial, and economic interests in Africa and beyond? This is how western think tanks and other organizations aligned with the liberal order frame Russian foreign policy, Russians, and especially Vladimir Putin. Funny, isn’t it, how one word can make all the difference. (see bolded terms) Look what…
South Korean Military Exercises and North Korean Response
Every spring and autumn, inter-Korean relations are notoriously tested by the annual US-South Korea joint military exercises. Pyongyang has long criticized the South Korea-US military exercises, calling them a “rehearsal for an invasion of the North”, while Seoul and Washington emphasize their regularity and defensive nature. The level of escalation may vary…
Ukraine to Help Britain?
In the face of collapsing British policies and actions in the foreign arena, the recent joyful publication of the British authoritative publication The Telegraph brought to attention that London had signed an agreement with the Ukrainian Navy “that will contribute to the development of British shipbuilding.” As the newspaper points out, a tragicomic situation has developed in Ukraine in recent years…
Economics
US vs. China: Where does Vietnam Stand?
As tensions continue to mount between Washington and Beijing, examples continue to abound comparing and contrasting the approaches used by both global powers regarding foreign policy. Another recent example on stark display is the US and China’s respective approaches to Vietnam – a nation both countries have had rocky and even hostile…
How Many People in the US Enriched Themselves via the F-35 Fighter Jet Scam?
American research company Wealth-X, which provides access to a unique perspective on the world’s wealth, has published its ninth annual report World Super Wealth 2021. It is devoted to studying the wealthiest individuals, as the authors put it, those whose fortune exceeds 30 million dollars. The authors estimate that despite…
Afghanistan: Chinese Reconstruction vs. US Sanctions
Beijing now has a key opportunity to demonstrate the stark contrast between its brand of foreign policy and Washington’s through its own plan to aid in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. A Global Times piece titled, “China to offer ‘genuine’ aid in Afghanistan’s economic reconstruction amid chaotic transition,” in title alone infers that the US – despite…
The Hunger Pandemic and Global Food Security
According to UN Secretary General António Guterres, 88 million people were hungry worldwide by the end of 2020. The number of hungry people has increased by 20% in one year and the trend continues in 2021. “Extreme climate events and the Covid-19 pandemic are only ‘adding fuel to the fire’. If we do not act immediately, millions of people will find themselves…
The Real Reason Biden Abandoned Afghanistan So Fast
The scenes from Kabul prompted ten thousand newspapers to frame Saigon evacuation images alongside those from Afghanistan. Only this time Youtube was available to show human bodies falling from US Air Force planes, as Afghans clung to landing gear to escape the Taliban. The scenes, the bitter reality of it all, brought back the memory of America’s Southeast Asia…
Can India Replace China for Australia?
At first glance, the question in the title seems a figment of the imagination, affected by this year’s abnormal heatwave. Indeed, the two great powers India and China, part of the narrow pool of significant players in the current “Great World Game,” occupy their spots at the gaming table. These spots, of course, are not entirely autonomous and overlap with each other to a certain…
The US has Little to Offer to Southeast Asia
In his recent visit to Southeast Asia – the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore – the US Defense Secretary, Lloyd Austin, outlined what can be called the blueprint of US re-engagement with the region after a lull of few years. One thing that becomes strikingly clear is that the US needs China to survive in Southeast Asia. However, the US does not need China as a friend…
Society
One Day, Two Holidays
On August 15, 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a congratulatory telegram to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Korea’s national holiday, Liberation Day. Putin’s telegram stated that Russia honors the memory of soldiers of the Red Army and the Korean patriots who gave their lives in the struggle for the freedom of Korea. The good traditions of friendship strengthened in those…
The Calm before the Storm: the World Will Soon be Overwhelmed by Afghan Refugees
On August 16, 2021, the entire world was stunned by gruesome footage from Kabul. Locals, struggling to leave the country, run after a US Air Force plane, trying to get a hold of it to leave Afghanistan, overrun by the Islamist terrorist movement Taliban (banned in Russia). Washington’s failed policies are resulting…
Sex and Violence in the South Korean Army
During a meeting with the country’s top military leaders on August 4, 2021, South Korean President Moon Jae-in stated that the Republic of Korea’s armed forces must work to regain the people’s trust. The armed forces have been undermined by several recent incidents, most notably a high-profile sex scandal. Recall that it all began on May 25, 2021, with the suicide…
The Pandemic has Caused Many Countries and Politicians to Lose their Standing
Since the time the virus started to spread, the death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic has reached 4 million people! The United States, the country that would seem to have the most technologically advanced healthcare system in the world, takes the lead in terms of the number of deaths from COVID-19 (more than 600,000 people). And India…
Why has China Revised its Demographic Policy?
China has faced demographic problems for several decades now. For a long time, the Chinese authorities have been forced to take various large-scale and costly measures to regulate the birth rate in accordance with the needs of the state at the time. In 1979, when the birth rate was recognized dangerously high, the government launched the “One family…
The Climate is Becoming Increasingly Hostile
In recent months, reports from various media on the manifestation of climate change in the world have become more like combat reports. Forest fires happen every year, but experts believe it is now more intense, more frequent, and on a larger scale. Not only the Mediterranean is on fire: raging flames are destroying vast areas worldwide, from Russia…
One Good Reason To Put Down The New York Times Forever
Why does it always start with the same weak lead-in, the Russophobia, I mean? This time the mighty New York Times overrode journalism 101 to let author Julian E. Barnes properly propagandize what publisher A. G. Sulzberger needs to say about those pesky Russians. The “story” begins like this: “A new campaign appears to be spreading falsehoods about the potential…
