Geopolitics

Those Amazon fires: Elite meltdown vs reality

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted on Aug. 22: “Our house is burning. Literally. The Amazon rain forest - the lungs which produces 20% of our planet’s oxygen - is on fire. It is an international crisis. Members of the G7 Summit, let's discuss this emergency first order in two days!” Read More.

Mosul: From 15,000 Christians to 40; From 45 churches to 1

Before Islamic State (ISIS) unleashed its reign of terror in Iraq, there were 15,000 Christians in Mosul, the Muslim-majority nation’s third-largest city. By July of 2019, only about 40 Christians have returned to Mosul according to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Read More.

Ratings for Seoul’s pro-North president head South

Even South Korea's "mainstream media" which has largely ignored a populist conservative revolt against President Moon Jae-In are reporting that he has squandered his political capital. Read More.

Report: Chinese state media got orders on Hong Kong coverage

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have prohibited state-run propaganda outlets from publishing “any positive reports on the Hong Kong people’s appeals for democracy and freedom,” a report said. Read More.

Seoul cancels intel pact with Tokyo against U.S. wishes

South Korea’s government on Aug. 22 announced that it was scrapping a military-intelligence sharing pact with Japan weeks after being urged to do so by communist North Korea. Read More.

Trump greenlights F-16Vs for Taiwan; China threatens ‘countermeasures’

On Aug. 15, the Trump administration informally told the U.S. Congress that it had approved the $8 billion sale of Lockheed-Martin F-16V fighters to Taiwan, that now requires Congressional approval to proceed. Read More.

China could dominate Pacific; Trump says he was 'chosen' to fight back

China would “pay a price they wouldn’t want to pay” in a military conflict with the United States, President Donald Trump said after a report said the U.S. has lost its military edge in the Indo-Pacific to China. Read More.

Rand: China eyes Pacific Islands as ‘power-projection superhighway’

In becoming the first sitting U.S. Secretary of State to visit the Federated States of Micronesia earlier this month, Mike Pompeo hailed the island nations of the Pacific as “small islands” which “are big strongholds of freedom.” Read More.

Arctic strategy: Why was President Trump serious about Greenland?

It’s the summer silly season in the media; see what purports to be serious news from the eternal campaigning for the Iowa Caucuses, to bizarre Washington antics. And then, there's the wildest of all: Donald Trump wants to buy Greenland! Read More.

Trump 'doesn't buy' Tlaib tears; Palestinians spurn LGBTQ

LGBTQ activists have been banned by the Palestinian Authority (PA) from all activities in the West Bank. The ban comes after the group alQaws for Sexual & Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society, which supports Palestinians who identify as a part of the gay community, had announced it would hold a gathering for its members at the end of August in Nablus. Read More.

Report: FBI 'dismissive' of 3 intel warnings about Clinton server

The FBI was warned that nearly all of Hillary Clinton’s emails, including some which included classified information, were copied to a Gmail account but the bureau, specifically anti-Trump agent Peter Strzok, disregarded the information, a new Senate report says. Read More.

Win-win-lose: Taiwan offers asylum to Hong Kong protesters

China has warned Taiwan against interfering in its affairs after the Taiwanese government offered asylum to pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Taiwan is a self-ruled island which China considers its own territory under its “One China Principle”. Read More.

Demonstrators shift gears: ‘People of Hong Kong, keep fighting’

Hundreds of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators, despite warnings from the Chinese government, filled the streets of Hong Kong on a rainy Sunday afternoon in a "peaceful" protest against what they say are Beijing’s increasingly heavy-handed tactics in the autonomous territory. Read More.

How China has quietly exploited the U.S.-Iran showdown in the Gulf

All attention is focused on the twists-and-turns of the very noisy U.S.-Iran dispute in the Persian Gulf, but all the while the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is rapidly and quietly consolidating a dominant presence in the area with the active support of Russia. Read More.

Bolton: Accident shows Kremlin's 'hypersonic' nuclear ambitions

U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton says a mysterious accident last week in northern Russia that caused a temporary spike in radiation levels shows how hard the Kremlin is working to develop delivery systems for nuclear weapons. Read More.