Tensions between China and United States continue to rise over the South China Sea as a Chinese government newspaper warns that war may be ‘inevitable’ if the U.S. and its allies do not back off from the heavily disputed territory. Last week, the Chinese government condemned the actions of the U.S. military after the P8-A Poseidon, the US’ most advanced …
The Bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999, Reconsidered – PETER LEE
When I was in Beijing during the protests in 1989, a middle-aged man came up to me and asked, “Couldn’t America send some B-52s here and…” and he made a swooping motion with his hand. Ten years later, on May 7, 1999, the American bombers did show up. Instead of showering freedom ordnance on China’s dictators, however, they dropped five …
China Jams US Spy Drones Over Disputed South China Sea Islands – RALPH TURCHIANO
China tried to electronically jam US drone flights over the disputed South China Sea in order to prevent surveillance on man-made islands Beijing is constructing as a part of an aggressive land reclamation initiative, US officials said. Global Hawk long-range surveillance drones were targeted by jamming in at least one incident near the Spratly Islands, where China is building military …
Is the US planning a “Gulf of Tonkin” incident in the South China Sea? – Peter Symonds
Following weeks of scaremongering by American officials over China’s activities in the South China Sea, US Secretary of State John Kerry used his visit to Beijing last weekend to issue an ultimatum to Chinese leaders to halt land reclamation on islets and shoals. His Chinese counterpart Wang Yi bluntly refused, insisting that China would safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity …
Over Reach of the Financial-Military Complex and the New Multi-Polar World Order – Jim Miles
From a perspective of continually searching for knowledge and relationships, for synthesizing information into a larger paradigm I have reached a point where the world – the human world and its cultural and physical geography – is reaching certain tipping or turning points. Several genres of interest – financial, military, and environmental – appear to be at a stage where …
U.S. Wakes up to “New Silk World Order” – Pepe Escobar
History may signal it all started with this week’s trip to Sochi, led by their paperboy, Secretary of State John Kerry, who met with Foreign Minister Lavrov and then with President Putin. Arguably, a visual reminder clicked the bells for the real Masters of the Universe; the PLA marching in Red Square on Victory Day side by side with the …
Ghost Cities of China by Wade Shepard review – unpopulated replica towns explained – Owen Hatherly
One of the many under‑populated cities visited in this book is Hallstatt, on the outskirts of Huizhou, in Guangdong province. It is a precise copy of Hallstatt in Upper Austria. “The resemblance to the real Hallstatt went down to the smallest detail … the sounds of birds tweeting were playing throughout the streets from hidden speakers … and The Sound of Music soundtrack played on an …
China’s struggle for water security – Giles HEWITT
Way back in 1999, before he became China’s prime minister, Wen Jiabao warned that water scarcity posed one of the greatest threats to the “survival of the nation”. Sixteen years later, that threat looms ever larger, casting a forbidding shadow over China’s energy and food security and demanding urgent solutions with significant regional, and even global, consequences. The mounting pressure …
Chinese citizens sue government over transparency on Monsanto herbicide
Three Chinese citizens are taking China’s Ministry of Agriculture to court in a bid to make public a toxicology report supporting the approval of Monsanto’s popular weedkiller, Roundup, 27 years ago. The case, a rare example of a lawsuit by private citizens against the Chinese government, comes amid renewed attention on glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, after a controversial …
3 Reasons to Be Optimistic About the Fight to Save the Climate
“Just plain immoral.” That’s how Secretary of State John Kerry recently described those who stand idly by while the world burns—or, worse, obstruct those trying to douse the fire. He didn’t name names, but Kerry was clearly referring to Republicans who lockstep refuse to acknowledge climate science, even as California enters the fourth year of a historic drought and the …