BRICS, Brazil, and the Dollar

https://www.agweb.com/markets/pro-farmer-analysis/brics-nations-accelerate-shift-away-u-s-dollar-global-trade

https://trt.global/world/article/b73a9e89ed67 

The lead-up to the July 2025 BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro was the source of a great deal of hype and speculation. Would the BRICS bloc make a more aggressive move against the dollar?

An American Military Presence in the Caucasus Sold as Peace

https://eurasianet.org/trump-brokers-potentially-game-changing-deal-with-armenia-azerbaijan

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/07/us-deal-armenia-azerbaijan-00499285

I must say if this deal holds and comes to fruition, it will be quite the feather in Donald Trump's cap. Or if it goes wrong, it may be viewed by historians in terms of folly and provocation.

The Multifaceted Competition Continues in Central Asia

https://eurasianet.org/us-strikes-mineral-deals-with-uzbekistan-tashkent-report

https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyz-pm-gets-polite-brush-off-by-us-business-executives

https://www.eurasiantimes.com/china-intrudes-in-russias-backyard-as-moscow/

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Central-Asia-and-Beijing-after-the-Astana-summit-63374.html

https://eurasianet.org/united-states-and-russia-angling-for-influence-in-turkmenistan

https://eurasianet.org/rumors-of-chinese-land-deals-spark-public-unease-in-uzbekistan

As Ankara seeks to work with Azerbaijan in the creation of a new energy and trade corridor connected to Central Asia, the other big players are also quite active and the region is astir.

The Grand Chessboard 2.0? - Central Asia, Iran, Israel, and the Shah

There's so much that could be said right now about events in the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Iran and the potential for a wider war including the United States and others.

For my part I think about scenarios in which the war could go sideways or the aftermath of a regime collapse.

European Evangelicals Wave the Bloody Shirt and Call it Wisdom

https://evangelicalfocus.com/europe/30816/rearm-europe-evangelical-leaders-in-four-countries-express-their-convictions

One might wish that Evangelical leaders would be a little more familiar with history. If so, they might raise an eyebrow at the sabre-rattling of politicians and be a little more cynical of their motivations. Make no mistake, many are motivated by nationalist interests vis-a-vis Atlanticism or the EU. Others are simply in line to profit from military expansion and militarism.

Noboa Inaugurated and Ecuador's Future in the Age of Trump

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/24/ecuadors-daniel-noboa-sworn-in-for-full-term-promising-a-crackdown-on-gangs

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/12/ecuador-president-blackwater-alliance

Ecuador had been part of the so-called Pink Tide of Latin American nations that had turned turned to Left-wing governments during the George Bush era. The term of Rafael Correa (2007-2017) came to symbolize this era for Ecuador. After Correa departed office, his party continued holding power but the shift was underway. By 2021 a conservative (and pro-Washington) president was in power but his tenure was marked by controversy, corruption, and ultimately collapse.

The Fall of Phnom Penh: Short Memories and Outright Spin

https://europeanconservative.com/articles/commentary/the-fall-of-phnom-penh-the-left-has-a-short-memory/

Lately, I've been reading a lot of articles at The European Conservative and similar publications, trying to get inside the heads of these people and how they frame history and revise it. This article was no exception to what seems to be an established rule.

The Uighurs in Post-Assad Syria

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/syria-assad-hts-china-future/

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3291393/syria-xinjiang-link-china-warns-leaders-damascus-not-threaten-security-elsewhere

Foreign Policy magazine and The Economist have articles on this topic but due to firewalls there's little point in linking them.

Instead I'm linking this piece from (of all places) The Atlantic Council. It's biased to be sure (and even misleading at points) but given that it's readership is a little more high-brow, it's intelligent and touches on things that an AP story, let alone something from CNN or CBS wouldn't even address.

A Neanderthal Commenting on Cavemen

It's been more than a month since the Signal Group Chat scandal broke. This Politico piece from the end of March is dated but still relevant. Waltz has now been shifted over to UN Ambassador and Hegseth has invited further scandal. Some believe his days are numbered.

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.

A Fool, Her Money, and Empirical Fantasies

I was in a coffee shop and noticed a copy of the Sunday edition (13 April 2025) of the New York Times. While perusing it, I came across a large ad placed by one Eileen Hamilton. It contains two columns, one reads 'Putin' and the other 'Hitler' meant to tease out analogies and make direct comparisons. It got my attention.

The Ghosts of Tinian and the Growing Cold War in the Asia-Pacific

https://archive.is/EQ0TJ

I heard one Chinese analyst speak truthfully - the end-game of these tariffs is war. Hopefully a 'deal' can be reached long before then but Trump's moves are a form of warfare - even if the bullets aren't flying yet.

American Militarism, the Philippines, and the Media

https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/in-manila-u-s-defense-secretary-commits-to-protecting-philippines

Marcos has committed his country to the path of war, and yet is this really what the people of the Philippines want? Do they understand what it will mean when the US has bases there - when it stages missiles batteries there?

The Amur Frontier Considered

https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Do-the-Chinese-really-want-Siberia-62318.html

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3654427-does-china-have-designs-on-siberia/

There is nothing particularly profound or revelatory in this article but it's worth considering and filing away. The issue of resources and the Russian Far East have come up before in history. There were those in Imperial Japan who coveted these lands and had an opportunity to invade from their colony of Manchukuo (the conquered realms of Manchuria) in the 1930's. In fact after the German invasion of the USSR in June of 1941, Stalin hesitated to bring the desperately needed troops from Siberia to the West, as he believed the Japanese would invade - something Berlin was very keen for them to do.

The Fog of Delusion: The Collapse of Liberal Democracy and Atlanticism

https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/donald-trump-and-the-new-world-order-the-end-of-the-west-a-b71fa1bd-6147-47a4-8738-5c17eff44a55

This piece was written before Trump even took office and yet it has proven prescient - to a point. You won't read or hear about any of this on the FOX channel. Visiting their website is like a trip to fantasy-land - they are completely detached and divorced from the reality that the rest of the world sees and is dealing with.

Trump and South Africa

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/10/white-victimhood-to-g20-whats-behind-trumps-attacks-on-south-africa

The Trump administration has made the news recently with regard to South Africa and White farmers. I've been following the coverage and I must say I've found it frustrating. I think many outlets have more or less answered and/or explained the misleading nature of Trump's charges. A little more context would be helpful but such endeavours take time.

Morales and the Struggle for Bolivia

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/27/bolivias-evo-morales-vehicle-gunfire-political-tension-rises

This story of attempted assassination has all but dropped out of the news even while pro-Morales protests continue in Bolivia. It would seem that a Morales return remains a threat and as such he's been targeted. But by whom?

Indonesia, Prabowo, and BRICS

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/1/7/indonesia-joins-brics-group-of-emerging-economies

Even as the US seeks to expand its Eastern footprint and re-establish and strengthen military ties with Indonesia - the new Prabowo regime is seeking a path of triangulation.

Shigeru Ishiba and Japan's Evolving Role in the American Empire

https://reihotakeuchi.substack.com/p/the-new-japanese-prime-ministers

Ishiba who assumed the office of prime minister in October is important because he represents new thinking in terms of Japan's role in the Asia-Pacific and its relationship with the United States. A member of the Far-Right Nippon Kaigi faction (which has a significant presence in the ruling LDP), he seems to represent two tendencies - one, to strengthen Japan's relationship with Washington and build a NATO-type alliance in the Pacific, and two, resentment of US domination and a wish for Japan to re-establish its autonomy and take its place among the great powers.

A Ukraine Miscellany (XX): The End of the Biden Regime

 I more or less dispensed with these 'miscellany' posts in the summer of 2023 due to the ongoing stalemate. There wasn't much to say.

The big events or developments since then are the August 2024 Kursk Offensive in which Ukraine tried to flip the narrative and invade Russian territory. After some initial and yet modest gains the situation turned into another stalemate and now as 2024 comes to a close, they are rapidly losing this captured territory to Moscow.