The RCEP Deal Signed on Sunday Represents a New Era in World Trade Relations

The RCEP Deal Signed on Sunday Represents a New Era in World Trade Relations

A major treaty was signed on 16 November 2020 and it has been barely noticed by the western media. The treaty in question was between 15 predominantly Asian states, with two exceptions being Australia and New Zealand. It is called the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with (RCEP). The signatories to the historical agreement are the…

America Versus China

America Versus China

On October 27 U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo spoke with Shekhar Gupta, editor-in-chief of India’s news website The Print in an interview that descended into an anti-China diatribe by Pompeo, who was fed soft-touch questions. Pompeo refused to abide by conventionally courteous diplomatic practice in referring to “the government” of China, preferring, like Trump, to…

America has No Allies, Only Hostages

America has No Allies, Only Hostages

The US-centralized empire functions like a giant blob that absorbs nations and turns them into imperial client states. Once absorbed, it is rare for a country to escape and rejoin other genuinely sovereign nations. The new president-elect of Bolivia, Luis Arce, has told the Spanish international news agency EFE that he intends to restore the nation’s relations with…

Dropped Prosecutions: The Afghan Files, Public Interest Journalism and Dan Oakes

Dropped Prosecutions: The Afghan Files, Public Interest Journalism and Dan Oakes

In July 2017, two journalists working for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Dan Oakes and Sam Clark, wrote of a stash of incriminating documents, running into hundreds of pages. They were “secret defence force documents leaked to the ABC”. These documents gave “an unprecedented insight into the clandestine operations in Australia’s elite special forces in Afghanistan,…