Indonesia, BRICS, and the Demand for Nickel

https://consortiumnews.com/2025/04/21/vijay-prashad-brics-industrial-development/

I found Prashad's comments which suggested a comparison between BRICS and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to be timely and worth serious consideration. Western opponents of the NAM always considered it to be unofficially more friendly toward the Eastern Bloc - itself something of a fiction. In this case, the foes of Western Atlanticism are in BRICS and so one could say everyone's cards are on the table. However, it's important to understand why the USSR and China were happy to deal with NAM nations and the West was not. Unlike the United States they did not assume that everyone who wasn't fully on board with them was an enemy. The US has a tendency to cast geopolitics in such terms - stated so bluntly by GW Bush. "You're either with us or against us." - a stance which may or may not drive nations away in the immediate but in the long term it's a position that destroys trust and respect.

The Destructive Mafia-inspired Style of Trump Diplomacy

Right-wing and Evangelical media are already lavishing praise on Trump for the supposed stability that he's bringing to the world order. In the latest episode of delusion, these factions believe that Trump stands for stability and calm and that the US is respected while he stands at the helm.

Expanding AUKUS Declares Hostility to China

https://thedefensepost.com/2024/09/17/canada-aukus-alliance-china/

Even as Justin Trudeau's government is on the ropes, the Canadian Establishment is moving to bring Ottawa into the growing Pacific alliance. The UK's membership is rooted in historical interests and the fact that it is America's essential ally. Or perhaps it should be worded the other way around? Australia has gone through a stream of scandals and failed governments to finally come to the right conclusion that Washington wanted all along - membership in a military alliance against China. Japan has now made moves to join and South Korea and New Zealand have expressed interest.

Zelenskiy Knew

As I stated in a related piece, the coverage of the Canadian Parliament scandal has been largely disingenuous and has omitted several critical points.

Lessons from the Watchtower's Canadian Experience during World War II

https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/canada/Remembering-a-Legacy-of-Faith-From-Canadian-Labor-Camps/

https://www.e-know.ca/regions/east-kootenay/kootenay-park-conscientious-objector-camps/

Juxtaposing these two articles on Canadian Jehovah's Witnesses during WWII reveals something of how this group perceives itself and how it is perceived and misunderstood by those outside it.

Kyrgyzstan's Latest Round of Unrest

Central Asia is complicated. It's not the Balkans but it's not a region that's easily explained or understood. The current crisis in Kyrgyzstan can be summed as a struggle between two factions – one, the group headed by former president Almazbek Atambayev (2011-2017) who has been in and out of prison and was recently subjected to an assassination attempt.

The rival faction is represented by Sooronbay Jeenbekov who was president from 2017 until 15 October 2020 when he resigned and was replaced by Sadyr Japarov whom we will mention again below.

This is partly an internal struggle over control of the Kyrgyz political order. There's a great deal of corruption and shadowy business dealings, there are international players and as expected there are questions surrounding the black market, drugs and organised crime. Kyrgyzstan has emerged as a key point on the smuggling route between Afghanistan and the Russian Federation. There is also great mineral wealth which continues to play a part in the nation's struggles.

The Downed 737 in Tehran

The downing of a Ukrainian 737 over Tehran was a tragedy with well over one hundred lives lost. It took place amid the confusion and angst surrounding the assassination of Iranian general Suleimani and in particular the Iranian missile strike in which US bases in Iraq were hit as a form of retaliation.

The Feminist Double-Standard on Display in Ottawa

Recently there was a big stink in the news about Canadian PM Trudeau 'elbowing' a fellow MP who was part of a group trying to physically block a vote.