In 2022, the US kicked Russia out of the SWIFT system, causing significant losses for Russian businesses and ordinary citizens. Even Switzerland’s traditionally neutral banks joined this looting. The monopoly over the financial system and global currency once gave the U.S. and EU such capability, but at the 2024 BRICS summit, Western countries permanently lost this advantage.
Previously:
Russia outlines proposal for BRICS DLT cross border payment system
Saudi Arabia, Iran, Argentina, the UAE, Egypt, and Ethiopia were invited
BRICS Invites Six Countries to Join Bloc in Major Expansion
Video via Sean Foo
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Ahead of the Defence Ministers’ meeting at the SCO conference in Delhi later this week, military commanders of India and China held a crucial meeting in Eastern Ladakh along the disputed border on Sunday.
Ahead Of SCO Summit, Indian, Chinese Military Commanders Meet To De-escalate Tensions Along The LAC
WASHINGTON: The NATO alliance is open to more engagement should India seek it, but the organisation is not seeking new members in the region, the US envoy to NATO said.
NATO stops short of opening its doors to India
Video via Amit Sengupta
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US provided India real-time military intelligence in China border clash
A recent US Chamber of Commerce InSTEP program hosted three empire managers to talk about Washington’s top three enemies, with the US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns discussing the PRC, the odious Victoria Nuland discussing Russia, and the US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides talking about Iran.
US Ambassador To China: “We’re The Leader” Of The Indo-Pacific
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Inside the Trilateral Commission: Power elites grapple with China’s rise (original)
Each new candidate for Commission membership is carefully scrutinized before being allowed entry. As a rule, members who take up positions in their national governments — which is uncannily common — give up their Trilateral Commission membership while in public service. Those include U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
This revolving door between the commission and senior government ranks has always been fodder for conspiracy theorists. Its first director in 1973, Zbigniew Brzezinski, later became U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser. The very existence of the commission, meanwhile, seems predicated on the question of whether governing should be left to the people. It is a question the commission itself has tackled head-on since 1975: Is democracy functioning? Or does someone need to guide it?
That year, three scholars — Michel Crozier, Samuel Huntington and Joji Watanuki — wrote a report for The Trilateral Commission titled “The Crisis of Democracy.” In it, Huntington wrote that some of the problems of governance in the U.S. stem from an “excess of democracy.”
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US to hold joint war games with India near Chinese border
US and Indian military forces will hold joint war games in the Himalayan mountains in October, less than 100 kilometers from India’s disputed border with China, a report says.
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Meanwhile, as both sides are flexing their military muscle, the US-based Politico news outlet reported on Friday that Chinese defense officials are ignoring phone calls from their US counterparts.
Previously:
‘China did not enter our territory, no posts taken’: PM at all-party meet on Ladakh clash
“Neither have they intruded into our border, nor has any post been taken over by them (China). Twenty of our jawans were martyred, but those who dared Bharat Mata, they were taught a lesson,” said PM Modi.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 