The U.S. Has A Plan For What’s Next in Afghanistan – It Does Not Include Peace + Kabul Is Not Saigon : Afghanistan: Drug Trade and Belt and Road

August 31, 2021August 31, 2021 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The U.S. Has A Plan For What’s Next in Afghanistan – It Does Not Include Peace

Is China Transforming the World?

August 9, 2021August 9, 2021 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

From speeches by president Xi Jinping, including the one he gave at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2017, journalists only wanted to retain his support of globalization—that is, his praise of free trade without obstacles—and a denunciation of protectionism. It is clear that the Chinese president was saying that “economic globalization has provided a powerful driving force for world growth, by facilitating the movement of capital and goods, the advancement of science, technology and human civilization, as well as exchanges between peoples.”^1.What a sweet song in the ears of the neoliberals! Nevertheless, we should not hide the setbacks and problems, also underlined in this same speech: “Globalization is a double-edged sword.… The contradiction between capital and labor is accentuated.… The gaps between the rich and the poor, between the North and the South, are constantly widening.… The richest [elements] represent 1 percent of the world’s population, but have more wealth than the remaining 99 percent.”²

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MONTHLY REVIEW JULY-AUGUST 2021

[2014] China and the Middle East: More Than Oil

July 31, 2021July 31, 2021 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

China and the Middle East: More Than Oil

While China’s heavy dependence on Middle Eastern oil is an established fact, less is known about China’s early efforts to establish broad energy ties with the Middle East. Back in 1983, before the Chinese economy really took off, the overseas construction arm of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) moved into the Kuwaiti market and later won an oil storage reconstruction project in 1995. Beijing also signed the Strategic Oil Cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia in 1999, which laid the foundation for Saudi Arabia to become and remain China’s largest oil supplier. In exchange for stable crude supply, China has courted Saudi investment for expanding its refining capacity. One example is China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation’s (SINOPEC) meeting with Saudi Aramco to discuss a stake in a $1.2-billion refinery in the Chinese city of Qingdao. The two sides further joined hands in a $3.5-billion venture in Fujian province that included greater refinery capacity.4

Biden Is Not Ending The ‘Forever Wars’. He Is Preparing The Path To New Ones.

July 29, 2021July 29, 2021 Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

Biden Is Not Ending The ‘Forever Wars’. He Is Preparing The Path To New Ones.

The Taliban have recently done a lot of diplomacy with visits to Moscow, Beijing and Tehran. Together, with Pakistan, which continues to supply the Taliban with weapons and manpower, those countries are planing for a future where the Taliban will have total control of, or at least a significant role in. the Afghan government. They have promised to invest in a Taliban led Afghanistan.
But the U.S. will not allow a rebuilding of the silk road between China and Iran. It will not allow for safe ‘Belt & Road’ investments in Afghanistan. Instead of controlling Afghanistan for its own purpose, as it did with its occupation, the U.S. will, from now on, do its best to deny others to benefit from the country.