We won’t be fooled again, say people of Pakistan

AUGUST 04: PAKISTAN JUSTICE MOVEMENT (PTI) PARTY SUPPORTERS HOLD A PROTEST LED BY FORMER PRIME MINISTER IMRAN KHAN AGAINST THE COALITION GOVERNMENT AND THE ELECTION COMMISSION AT FATMA JINNAH PARK IN THE F-9 REGION OF ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN ON AUGUST 04, 2022. (MUHAMMED SEMIH UĞURLU – ANADOLU AGENCY)

Politicians in Pakistan rise to power and fall from grace with alarming regularity, so much so that not a single prime minister has ever completed a full term in office. The one constant has been the genuine love and affection ordinary people have for the military. However, that could be about to change now that some inconvenient truths are beginning to surface in the increasingly clumsy attempts to silence Imran Khan.

We won’t be fooled again, say people of Pakistan

Tedros is Playing the Race Card to Revive Western Support for Terrorism Against Ethiopia

By Andrew Korybko

He’s immorally taking advantage of the Western population’s growing awareness of their authorities’ racist policies to manipulate perceptions in order to mislead that targeted audience into wrongly thinking that their governments’ scaling back of support for the TPLF is due to racism against Tigrayans when it was actually their tangible support for that group’s divide-and-rule agenda against the historically cosmopolitan civilization-state of Ethiopia that was the epitome of racism.

Tedros is Playing the Race Card to Revive Western Support for Terrorism Against Ethiopia

Africa taken for ‘neo-colonial’ ride

By Anis Chowdhury and Jomo Kwame Sundaram – Jul 26, 2022

SYDNEY and KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 26 2022 (IPS) – Like so many others, Africans have long been misled. Alleged progress under imperialism has long been used to legitimize exploitation. Meanwhile, Western colonial powers have been replaced by neo-colonial governments and international institutions serving their interests.

Africa taken for ‘neo-colonial’ ride

South African Minister Tells West To Stop “Patronising Bullying” On Ukraine

Minister Pandor made these statements while sitting next to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor has warned global powers against dictating how African countries should respond to global issues saying South Africa will never accept what she termed “patronising bullying”.

South African Minister Tells West To Stop “Patronising Bullying” On Ukraine

Related:

Blinken: US Won’t ‘Dictate Africa’s Choices’ on Russia, But…

In South Africa, Blinken has been pressed about legislation passed by the House this year that aims – in the words of its author, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) – to “counter the malign influence and activities of the Russian Federation and its proxies in Africa.”

The text describes Russia’s “malign influence and activities” as those “that undermine United States objectives and interests.” – i.e, US corporate interests!

Last week, Pandor offered pointed criticism of the legislation, describing it as an “unprecedented” measure that is “intended to punish countries in Africa that have not toed the line on the Russia-Ukraine war.”

The Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act passed the House in April in a 415-9 vote, and now faces Senate consideration.

‘Offensive’

At a joint press briefing with Blinken on Monday, Pandor expressed the hope the Senate would reject the “offensive” bill.

“When we believe in freedom, as I’m saying, it’s freedom for everybody, you can’t say because Africa is doing this, you will then be punished by the United States,” she said.

Pandor argued that South Africa’s position on Ukraine was one of abhorring war and supporting a search for peace.

She also suggested that the U.S. employs double standards, by supporting freedom for Ukraine but not for the Palestinians.

“We should be equally concerned at what is happening to the people of Palestine as we are with what is happening to the people of Ukraine,” she said. “We’ve not seen an even-handed approach in the utilization of the prescripts of international law.”

In a television interview in Johannesburg earlier in the day, Blinken was asked about the House legislation, and said, “I can only speak for our administration and for the president. Our focus is not on saying to friends, partners: you have to choose.” – liar!

In contrast to those diplomatic words, when the Meeks bill was first marked up by the committee he chairs, ranking member and co-sponsor of the legislation Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) spoke of the need to “make every state choose between doing business with the free world or with a war criminal” – the latter a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin. – then they shouldn’t be doing business with any NATO country!

ROK and the US – Words and Facts

After the text about the President of the ROK at the NATO summit was published, part of the audience questioned whether the ROK, despite its loyalist statements, was in fact in no particular hurry to do Washington’s bidding. This question is best answered by a combination of words and facts.

In another important development, on July 20 Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho openly stated that South Korea should be cautious when deciding whether to join the US Chip 4 or Fab 4 technology alliance initiative, as the potential implications could affect not only the country’s semiconductor industry, but also the economy as a whole. The framework, which in addition to the US and the ROK also includes Taiwan and Japan, is designed to counter China’s growing influence in global supply chains for advanced high-tech products, as well as to increase American production capacity and capabilities in this area.

ROK and the US – Words and Facts

H/T: THE NEW DARK AGE

Previously:

South Korea’s new president playing dangerous game with Pyongyang

On this day, 24 July 2009, 3,000 steel workers in Tonghua, China rioted and beat an executive to death when threatened with privatization and job losses.

Jianlong Steel Holding Company official Chen Guojun, who earned over 3 million yuan the previous year, planned to take over the majority state-owned Tonghua Iron and Steel Group. He announced plans to cut the number of workers from 30,000 down to around 5,000, with those made redundant receiving around 200 yuan in compensation. The firm was still profitable, but the planned restructuring was aimed at increasing profits further amidst a global economic downturn.

Outraged, the workers shut down production and rioted, beating Chen, blocking roads and smashing police cars to prevent police and ambulances from reaching him.

The sale was subsequently scrapped.

On this day, 24 July 2009, 3,000 steel workers in Tonghua, China rioted and beat an executive to death when threatened with privatisation and job losses.

More:

China, rising wages and worker militancy

Questions remain unanswered after New York City nuclear war alert

Questions remain unanswered after New York City nuclear war alert

It should also be noted that the head of New York City’s Office of Emergency Management is Zach Iscol, who was appointed by Adams on February 22, just days before the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Iscol is a representative of what the WSWS has termed the “CIA Democrats”: former intelligence and military personnel who are deeply embedded in the US national security apparatus and have come to play a major role in Democratic Party politics.

Iscol is a former Marine who was involved in the Second Battle of Fallujah in 2004, the single biggest battle during the bloody, decades-long US occupation of Iraq. The city, one of the oldest urban settlements of human civilization, was turned into a sea of ruins and has become a sinister symbol of the war crimes of US imperialism against the people of Iraq. In 2020, Iscol unsuccessfully ran for the office of mayor, pledging to “translate” his experience during the battle of Fallujah to New York City — a threat that must no doubt be taken seriously.

Previously:

NYC Prepares for the ‘Big One’ With Nuclear Attack PSA Video