Ten weeks of protests, some huge, a few violent, culminated Monday with a shutdown of the Hong Kong airport. Ominously, Beijing described the violent weekend demonstrations as “deranged” acts that are “the first signs of terrorism,” and vowed a merciless crackdown on the perpetrators. China is being pushed toward a decision it does not want…
Complex doesn’t even begin to describe the positioning of Iran-Russia in the geopolitical chessboard. What’s clear in our current, volatile moment is that they’re partners, as I previously reported. Although not strategic partners, as in the Russia-China tie-up, Russia-China-Iran remain the crucial triad in the ongoing, multi-layered, long-term Eurasia integration process. A few days after our…
The blinkered security establishment is standard fare in politics. From Washington to Manila, we hear of terrors and concerns which tend to more spectral than not. Legitimate concerns such as catastrophic environmental failure, or a nuclear accident, are treated with a sigh, its warners doomsday advocates rather than reasoned citizens. It is the unseen demon…
Washington’s withdrawal from the INF Treaty is just the latest move against Russia that will serve to intensify an arms race on the European continent that is already underway. It may also force Russia to take things to the next level. Aside from the unprecedented stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction on an epic scale,…
Since announcing his candidacy for the highest office in the land, President Donald Trump has been accused of playing grand 4D chess. Lately, you have to wonder if the billionaire real estate mogul is not only competing in a chess match against the world but also playing backgammon, checkers, Risk, and Hungry Hungry Hippos blindfolded,…
Hong Kong is fast becoming another frontline in the struggle between East and West, between the forces of unipolarity and multipolarity. The initial proximate cause of the unrest in this semi-autonomous former British colony – as those who’ve been following this crisis will know – was controversy over the city’s authorities attempt to introduce an…
