Category Archives: foreign policy

Much Ado

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…is being made about the People’s Republic of China’s slowing economic growth rate.

The Chinese economy has suffered a loss of momentum in the second quarter, with the GDP falling to 6.2% from a 6.4% expansion in the first three months of the year, figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.

This is the slowest growth rate in 27 years, goes the alarm.  That’s supposed to apply pressure to the PRC to start negotiating seriously with the US on trade.  In truth, it does add some pressure, but it’s necessary to keep in mind a couple of other things, too.

This is a preview of Much Ado. Read the full post (316 words, estimated 1:16 mins reading time)

A Thought on Huawei

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John Hemmings made some interesting and critical points about the “security” (my metaphoric quotes) of Huawei equipment.  In doing so, he cited a study by Finite State, a cyber-security organization that looks deeply into the Internet of Things and resulting vulnerabilities—an IoT of which Huawei is aiming to be a central part (as well as a central part of national communications and defense systems and of governments).  Finite State’s analysis investigated “more than 1.5 million files embedded in 9,936 firmware images supporting 558 different products within [Huawei’s] enterprise networking product lines.”

Hemmings’ points center on these:

This is a preview of A Thought on Huawei. Read the full post (440 words, estimated 1:46 mins reading time)

A Continued Power Grab

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The People’s Republic of China objects to the sale of defensive weapons to the Republic of China.

China will sanction US firms that participate in arms sales to Taiwan [The Wall Street Journal‘s conflation of the island with the nation that sits on the island], after Washington approved sales of $2.2 billion in tanks, missiles and related military hardware, Beijing said.

The PRC’s Foreign Ministry has justified the threat with this:

the arms sales “harmed China’s sovereignty and national security”

This is a preview of A Continued Power Grab. Read the full post (225 words, estimated 54 secs reading time)

Distortions and Misguided Solutions

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Wrong answers:

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have called on the EU to implement a series of measures aimed at assisting people trapped in Libya or at risk of dying on the Mediterranean Sea. The suggestions include restarting a program of organized sea rescues.
In the past European State vessels conducting search and rescue operations saved thousands of lives, including through disembarkations in safe ports,” the IOM and UNHCR noted in a statement on Thursday. “They should resume this vital work….”

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Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy

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Last Thursday, Progressive-Democratic Party Presidential candidate Joe Biden laid out his foreign policy paradigm.  The gist of his policy is this:

[The] overarching purpose of our foreign policy, I believe, must be to defend and advance our security, prosperity, and democratic values that the United States stands for.

And

I would remind the world that we are the United States of America and we do not coddle dictators. The United States of America gives hate no safe harbor.

And he’ll

make it my mission to restore American leadership….

In fine, Biden’s foreign policy is to Make America Great Again.

This is a preview of Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy. Read the full post (133 words, estimated 32 secs reading time)

A Thought on Tariffs

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The tariffs as used by President Donald Trump are viewed by many as having no impact on our overall trade deficit, and much is made of Trump’s disdain for trade deficits.

Thirty months into the Trump Presidency, the US economy continues to import more than it exports. This isn’t a problem, since the trade deficit is of no great consequence as an economic measure.  But in President Trump’s telling this is a clear and present danger….

Suppose something else, though.

This is a preview of A Thought on Tariffs. Read the full post (334 words, estimated 1:20 mins reading time)

Hypocrisy of the British Left

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Yes, ex-Prime Minister John Major claims himself a Conservative, but he’s acting more and more Left.  Boris Johnson, British Prime Minister wannabe and front-runner to replace the resigned Theresa May, has said that if needs be, he’ll prorogue Parliament to block an anti-no-deal Brexit vote, if a no-deal departure is necessary.

Prorogue: a temporary suspension of Parliament following petition of the Queen by her first minister—the Prime Minister—for permission to suspend Parliament and her granting that permission.  This use is unusual; prorogation is normally used for normal terminations of Parliamentary sessions; the term also describes the interval between that termination and the normal opening of the next session.

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The Cost of a Celebration

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President Donald Trump held America’s Independence Day celebration with a Salute to America, centered at the Lincoln Memorial.

Together, we are part of one of the greatest stories ever told—the story of America.  Today, just as it did 243 years ago, the future of American Freedom rests on the shoulders of men and women willing to defend it.

Just to pick out a couple of things: The Wall Street Journal cited “Democrats” complaining about

the use of military hardware for a traditionally nonpartisan celebration.

Because defending our nation’s existence and celebrating those who do that defense isn’t nonpartisan.  Sure.

This is a preview of The Cost of a Celebration. Read the full post (304 words, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)

A Whole Year

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That’s how close Iran is to getting a nuclear weapon.  The Wall Street Journal‘s subheadline tells the tale.

Tehran exceeded a key limit in the 2015 deal but experts say that it is only a small step and that it would take Tehran at least a year to make a weapon

That’s how far away from nuclear armament Iran would have been under the JCPOA on that deal’s expiration.  After all,

The 2015 deal was structured to make sure that Iran would take a year to amass enough material for a weapon if it chose to break the accord.

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Hong Kong Protests

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And the People’s Republic of China threatens.  Hong Kong citizens have been protesting a PRC-endorsed law proposal that would allow Hong Kongese and others resident in or visiting Hong Kong to be extradited to the mainland for trial in the PRC’s government-run court system.

[The PRC’s] government signaled its fraying patience with protesters in Hong Kong after they stormed the city’s legislature, calling the violent turn a direct challenge to Beijing’s authority and suggesting it would have to be answered.
Public statements from Beijing marked a shift in Chinese leaders’ attitude toward the crisis in the semiautonomous territory, indicating they may be forced to step in….

This is a preview of Hong Kong Protests. Read the full post (348 words, estimated 1:24 mins reading time)