US-backed Proxy War Against China Rages in Myanmar

Aug 31, 2022 – The US government through one of its organizations, the US Institute of Peace, has recently called for more aid to opposition groups fighting the central government of Myanmar.

What is the rest of the story and why has the US invested billions over decades to interfere in Myanmar’s internal political affairs. Are we watching another case of US interference as part of a wider proxy war – this time instead of Russia, against China?

US-backed Proxy War Against China Rages in Myanmar (Odysee) via The New Atlas
Read More »

Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Somalia

Bomb, Bomb, Bomb Somalia

That’s because we bomb Somalia in virtual secrecy from the American people. Our government barely acknowledges the strikes. The media maintains a virtual blackout on the bombings. When pressed by the peace community, the official response is we’re killing bad guys in al-Shabab, an anti-Somalia government outfit the US helped create with its meddling in Somalia politics as part of its endless GWOT (Global War On Terror).

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 Meanwhile, Western colonial powers have been replaced by neo-colonial governments and international institutions serving their interests.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

Producing New Enemies for No Reason Whatsoever

A good friend of mine, learning of the impending visit of Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, recalled Homer’s description of Helen of Troy, “The face that launched a thousand ships and burnt the towers of Ilium.” Well, Nancy ain’t no Helen of Troy, but she might nevertheless be in the business of launching warships and burning cities due to her bizarre interpretation of her foreign policy prerogatives as Speaker.

Producing New Enemies for No Reason Whatsoever

Moscow prioritises ties with Myanmar

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Myanmar on August 3 shows that the relationship is assuming a strategic character. The Foreign Ministry in a press release on August 2 highlighted that the relationship is “one of the priorities of foreign policy in the Asia–Pacific region, an important factor in ensuring peace, stability and sustainable development.”

Moscow prioritises ties with Myanmar

Apple Supplier Pegatron Denies Reports of China Blocking Shipments

Apple supplier Pegatron has denied media reports claiming shipments to and from its factories in China were being held for scrutiny by Chinese customs officials, following a Pegatron executive’s meeting with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (via DigiTimes).

Pegatron is the second largest Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer and ‌iPhone‌ assembler behind Foxconn, while TSMC is the sole supplier of Apple’s custom silicon chips and the world’s most valuable semiconductor company. All three firms operate plants in China.

Update: Nikkei reports that Apple on Friday asked suppliers to ensure that shipments from Taiwan to China strictly comply with Chinese customs regulations, which state that Taiwanese-made parts and components must be labeled as being made either in “Taiwan, China” or “Chinese Taipei,” language that indicates the island is part of China.

Apple Supplier Pegatron Denies Reports of China Blocking Shipments

Stephen Kinzer: Neutralism returns — and gets more powerful

Stephen Kinzer: Neutralism returns — and gets more powerful

Many countries recoil from us-versus-them confrontations like the one Biden is now promoting. They prefer to resolve disputes through compromise and to maintain good ties even with countries they fear or dislike. Besides, Biden’s insistence that he is leading a global war against autocracy is hard to take seriously as he kowtows to Saudi Arabia, where dissent is punished by beheading or dismemberment.

A second reason more countries are drifting away from the United States is that to many of them, we seem unreliable. In recent years our foreign policies have zigzagged wildly. Written accords with other countries appear and disappear according to election results. Add our acute domestic problems to this mix, and it’s easy to understand why some countries feel reluctant to hitch their wagon to our

One recent American step has especially spooked several large countries. As soon as war broke out in Ukraine, we and our allies froze billions of dollars that Russia keeps in Western banks. Other countries fear they might suffer the same fate if they one day fall afoul of the United States. To prevent that, they are looking for other places to park their money and imagining banking networks outside of Washington’s control. Saudi Arabia is negotiating with China to price its oil in yuan as well as dollars. Iran’s stock market opened a legal exchange this month for trading the Iranian and Russian currencies.