Saturday, April 26

Types of News: Analysis

Deeper analysis on world diplomacy, economics and geopolitics.

Belarus, Still The Last Dictatorship In Europe
20Jul By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Geopolitics, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Belarus, Still The Last Dictatorship In Europe

Increasing Human Rights Violations Since 2020 Draw Attention July 21, 2021-- Belarus' reputation as a repressive nation has gotten even worse. Here's why. On a trip to Lithuanian in 2005, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice referred to the former Soviet republic of Belarus as “the last remaining true dictatorship in the heart of Europe.” It angered officials in Belarus at the time. The administration of President Alexander Lukashenko asserted that the country's future is “determined by the nation’s people.”  Sixteen years later, the country is still ruled by Lukashenko. And he rules it with an iron fist. East Or West? Five years ago, Lukashenko faced a difficult decision: Partner with Russia, his closest ally, or apply to join the European Union. Belarus decided not to choose ...
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State Department Tells Businesses: Stay Away From Xinjiang, China
13Jul By Spencer HayesNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Diplomacy, Global Trade, Human rights, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

State Department Tells Businesses: Stay Away From Xinjiang, China

July 14, 2021—The U.S. State Department and six other Cabinet departments warned Americans against doing business with any person or entity connected to China's Xinjiang Province. It comes a day after the State Department formally accused China along with four other countries and a terrorist network of committing genocide. In China, the reputed human rights abuse is taking place against the primarily Muslim Uyghur population as well as other minorities. A Warning On Business Relations U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken - By U.S. Department of State The departments of State, Commerce, Homeland Security, Justice, Labor, Treasury, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative warned Americans of the risks of breaking U.S. law for doing business with anyone connected ...
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Assassination The Latest In String Of Haitian Hardships
13Jul By Steve BerlinNo Comments
Domestic Politics, Types of News: Analysis

Assassination The Latest In String Of Haitian Hardships

July 13, 2021—With Haiti’s political and economic future in flux following the assassination of President Jovanel Moïse last week, the GER offers a brief primer on who he was. Jovanel Moïse Age: 53 years Party: Haitian Tèt Kale Party, a center-right party Family: Married with three children Career: Politician and Banana Exporter Jovanel Moïse, center, from May 2021 Moïse, whom even critics have said wanted to end monopolies that favored the country’s elites, also reputedly looked to make money off of government contracts for his banana company (NY Times, July 7). He presented himself as a reformer and battler of corruption who wanted to change the constitution to better serve the people. The country scheduled three elections this year, including a constitutional ref...
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Free Press Dies in Hong Kong As China Freezes Paper’s Assets
22Jun By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Democracy, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Analysis

Free Press Dies in Hong Kong As China Freezes Paper’s Assets

June 22, 2021--The writing may have already been on the wall for the forced closure of the Apple Daily paper when China passed its security law. But the news yesterday that China's strong-arm control of Hong Kong would force the pro-democracy tabloid to shut down still stung like an unexpected bite. In the past week, Hong Kong authorities froze the paper's financial assets, arrested two of the paper's senior executives and raided the paper's offices. Unable to pay staff or operations, the paper is expected to close within days. The forced closure of the paper made headline news around the world on Monday. And in Hong Kong, it represents "the biggest sledgehammer blow to Hong Kong's fast-vanishing civil liberties" since the handover to China in 1997, an editorial in the Apple Daily sa...
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Is the Sky Turning Red Over EU-Member Hungary?
4May By Patti MohrNo Comments
Democracy, Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Types of News: Analysis

Is the Sky Turning Red Over EU-Member Hungary?

Hungary And China Strengthen Ties, Will Build Chinese University In Budapest May 4, 2021--As tensions rise between China and the West, one European Union-member country is drawing ever closer to Asia's Red Dragon: Hungary. Situated between seven countries in Central Europe, Hungary is a key outpost of the 27-member European Union. Lately, however, the country appears to be falling out with its European allies and drawing closer to communist China. Hungary Leaning East In March, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban broke with the rest of the EU consensus on COVID-19 by ordering China's Sinopharm and Russia's Sputnik V vaccines. Later that month, Hungary's President Janos Ader met with his Chinese leaders in Budapest and promised to strengthen relations with China on trade, econ...
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Kid Gloves Come Off At US-China Meeting
22Mar By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Global Trade, Political Systems, Domestic Politics, Sanctions, Types of News: Analysis

Kid Gloves Come Off At US-China Meeting

March 22, 2021--The kid-gloves came off at the first in-person meeting between the United States and China under the new U.S. administration. In a sign that tensions between the world's two largest economies are rising, the diplomats exchanged political punches from the beginning. They met first in front of cameras at the beginning of two-day strategic dialogue in Anchorage, Alaska. Typically, televised remarks might be a brief exchange of niceties. But , this exchange was anything but typical. It wasn't brief. And it wasn't polite. In fact, the opening remarks turned into an extended exchange of insults and condemnations between the countries' top diplomats. The United States launched the first blows. U.S. Cites Concerns on Hong Kong, Human Rights and Coercion U.S. Secr...
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WHO Mission Gives China Political Win, Overlooks Evidence About Bats in Wuhan Lab
15Feb By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Analysis

WHO Mission Gives China Political Win, Overlooks Evidence About Bats in Wuhan Lab

February 15, 2021--Over a year after the start of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization concluded a four-week investigatory mission in Wuhan, China, making comments favoring the Chinese government's narrative. It was a political win for China and a significant loss for science. In almost a surreal and surprising outcome, the mission team downplayed the possibility the virus started in a Wuhan lab and pointed to other theories popular in China. "All the work that has been done on the virus and trying to identify its origin continue to point to a natural reservoir of this virus and similar virus in bat population," said Peter Ben Embarek, the head of the WHO Mission in Wuhan. "But since Wuhan is not a city or environment close to this bat environment, a direct ...
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Leaders at Digital G20 Summit Pledge Global Cooperation
24Nov By Patti MohrNo Comments
Diplomacy, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Types of News: Analysis

Leaders at Digital G20 Summit Pledge Global Cooperation

Nov. 24, 2020--The overriding theme at this year's G20 Summit was cooperation, not only on controlling the global pandemic but also a vast array of economic and social issues. Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga promised to "lead international society in realizing a decarbonized world" to address climate change, while Chinese President Xi Jinping called for cooperation on trade, low tariffs and a global governance system for the digital economy. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the host, praised the governments for injecting over $11 trillion into the global economy and providing debt relief to the most vulnerable countries. Lengthy List of Goals Overall, the final Leaders Declaration addresses the following: the digital economy, trade and investme...
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GUEST POST: The Shattering of Global Oil
28Apr By Guest WriterNo Comments
Energy Policy, Oil & Gas, Type of News: Guest Post, Types of News: Analysis

GUEST POST: The Shattering of Global Oil

By Peter Zeihan Oil demand is relatively inelastic. That’s a fancy-schmancy economic term that means people and firms’ energy demand doesn’t vary very much from day-to-day or even year-to-year. Driving to work is perhaps the most accessible example. You do it every workday. If you don’t, you don’t work. And so you drive. Your gasoline demand is stable. Inelastic. Doesn’t matter much if gasoline sells for $1 or $4. On the price side, this means the “normal” rules of supply and demand barely apply. Even minor shifts in supply or demand have wildly outsized impacts on price. We’re used to seeing this as a shortage. China booms and oil prices go up. Iran and Iraq go to war and prices go up. Derivatives trading enters the world of oil and prices go up. Geopolitical Shocks to Oil Pr...
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COVID-19, From Bats to Humans: Examining the Wuhan Connection
17Apr By Patti MohrNo Comments
Communism, Dictatorship, Globalization, Global Disintegration, Organizations, IMF, WTO, G7, Types of News: Analysis

COVID-19, From Bats to Humans: Examining the Wuhan Connection

April 17, 2020--A great and tragic mystery of 2020 is the origin of the COVID-19 virus that is sweeping the world with sickness and death. Some researchers point to a seafood market in Wuhan. Others say it could have started in a Chinese lab in Wuhan. Most certainly, it came from bats. But how did it jump to humans? From Wuhan to the World To date, the COVID-19 virus that has infected over 2 million people worldwide and killed 149,000 people. Of the first 309 confirmed cases in China, 270 cases were confirmed in Wuhan. Of the first 41 patients hospitalized in Wuhan with the virus, 27 of them, 66 percent, had a connection to a food and wild animal market. Wholesale Food Market As early as December 2019, reports from China pointed to the connection to the Huanan Seafood Wholes...
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