Create a vacuum, and China and Russia will fill it, and their authoritarian styles of government will fill much more of the world. Trump’s “America First” version of isolationism, and Rand Paul’s, are wrong. This is a free country, and voters are entitled to make mistakes. Bu[...]
Archive for the ‘Foreign Affairs’ Category
March 13th, 2021 - 10:26 am § in Foreign Affairs
Myanmar coup opponent vows “revolution”
“The acting head of Myanmar’s civilian government addressed the public from exile Saturday, vowing to fight against the military’s rule,” The Hill reported on Saturday, March 13, 2021. “Mahn Win Khaing Than, who was appointed … by ousted lawmakers … vowed there woul[...]
China doesn’t have all the world’s “rare earths”
“Rare earth” elements are metals that figure prominently in “green energy” technologies because of their use in electronics and electric motors (some are highly magnetic). For technical details, read Wikipedia article here. “Rare earths” aren’t actually rare[...]
February 26th, 2021 - 2:13 am § in Foreign Affairs, Russia
North Korean public transportation
You load your luggage and kids on it, then push it. (Read story here.) Return to The-Ave.US Home Page[...]
Contrite Saudis suck up to Biden
“Saudi Arabia is extending an olive branch to the Biden administration,” Foreign Policy magazine says, noting that, “On Feb. 10, the kingdom released women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul after 1,001 days in prison …. Earlier this year, Riyadh released other politic[...]
Former Aussie PM: How the U.S. and China could avoid war
“Officials in Washington and Beijing don’t agree on much these days, but there is one thing on which they see eye to eye: the contest between their two countries will enter a decisive phase in the 2020s. This will be the decade of living dangerously. No matter what strategies the two sides p[...]
February 7th, 2021 - 2:31 am § in Foreign Affairs
Myanmar: Genie out of the bottle?
Now that Burmese have had a taste of democracy, they don’t want to give it up. The military never really gave up power in Myanmar (aka Burma), and when the elected civilian government under Aung San Suu Kyi got too popular, and grew less subservient, the junta under Gen. Min Aung Hlaing arrest[...]
February 7th, 2021 - 2:05 am § in Economics, Foreign Affairs
Is Cuba turning capitalist?
“Cuba has announced it will allow private businesses to operate in most industries, in what is a major reform to its state-controlled economy,” BBC reported on Saturday, February 6, 2021. BBC‘s correspondent in Cuba says “the step essentially opens up almost all economic acti[...]
China vs. Taiwan
China has been preparing for decades to invade the island democracy, which it claims as its sovereign territory, and recently has sharply escalated its threats and airspace incursions against Taiwan; with the U.S. preoccupied at home, is conflict brewing? Read story here. Secretary of State Antho[...]
February 1st, 2021 - 10:21 am § in China, Foreign Affairs
U.S. threatens Myanmar military with sanctions after coup
The U.S. condemned the Myanmar (Burmese) military’s detention of that country’s democratically elected leaders and takeover of its government, media outlets reported on Monday, February 1, 2021, the day after the coup. The Biden administration threatened sanctions and said, ““The[...]