Previously posted on my Facebook Page.
Time: “Indian Prime Minister Modi's Visit to Washington Is His Most Important So Far.” Per geopolitical power measure, India has the upper hand. Regardless of Covid and Ukraine War, India had the highest economic growth, 7+ percent, among large economies in the last 3 years. India is second to China in labor force, owns enormous supply of pertinent raw materials/minerals + a huge consumer market as 2nd most populous country on earth.
Also: India is BRICS partner of China and Russia, and other giant emerging markets/economies Brazil and South Africa. But India is not a member of the 15-nation RCEP trade bloc, with China as de facto leader. So the U.S. may directly negotiate with Narendra Modi on stuff. But the Prime Minister is not easy, he is a hardball negotiator. 🇮🇳😎🇺🇸
New York Times: “Hunter Biden Reaches Deal to Plead Guilty to Misdemeanor Tax Charges.” Under a deal with the DOJ, Hunter agreed to probation for filing his taxes late, and “...he can avoid a charge that he lied about his drug use when he purchased a handgun.” I am more interested in Hunter’s life with Ukraine’s natural gas giant Burisma Holdings. And why the fantastic support for Kyiv’s war with Moscow instead of dad Joe brokering peace, instead. 🏦🗽🏦
Rolling Stone: “Majority of American Voters Shrug at Trump Indictment. 53 Percent Want Him Pardoned If Convicted.” Most federal criminal defendants in the U.S. faced offenses related to drug, immigration, firearms and explosives, and property. Not those against Trump. Of course, he is not a typical federal defendant. He is the first former president ever to face federal criminal charges and is running for president again in 2024. Ah Hollywood, Washington drama. 🗽🇺🇸🗽
New York Times: “A $1 Trillion Borrowing Binge Looms After Debt Limit Standoff.” Weird, isn't it? Lawmakers agreed per debt limit decision, only to start borrowing again! But then, “debt” is complex. Let's talk of highly-indebted Japan, with a debt of 221 percent of GDP. Yet Japan is still #3 top global economy. But Japan's inflation rate is 3.2 percent and unemployment at 2.60 percent. U.S. inflation is 5 percent; unemployment, 3.7 percent.
The U.S. is still world’s #1 economy and so while China stays at #2, America must ponder deep. Washington needs to lose the high-handed hawkish/military mojo and think economics. As does Tokyo, and of course, Beijing. Or be pulled down to #2. 💸🤌💸
New York Times: “Analysts said Russia and Saudi Arabia’s mutual need to keep energy prices high would help them maintain close ties, despite signs that Moscow has undercut previous deals.” Not new. Russia was the first country to establish full diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia. These days: The two countries account for a quarter of the world's crude oil production. However, the Moscow-Riyadh pact pales in comparison to Saudi arms contracts with the U.S.
The Russia (or Soviet Union then) and Saudi Arabia relations began in 1926 as a means for Moscow to stand up to the U.K. Apparently, their main adversity these days is the United States. And then, there’s China, the world’s top oil client, but aligned with Moscow and Riyadh. 🇷🇺⛽️🇸🇦
New York Times: “Blinken Meets Xi as China and the U.S. Try to Rein in Tensions.” And adds: “The talks pave the way for a possible Biden-Xi meeting.” Didn’t China broker peace, especially between longtime rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, while the U.S. was busy dissing Beijing per Taiwan etcetera? Yet the competition or endgame is all economics. Not military machismo. So why do the U.S. and Europe lose the arms aid to Kyiv and start negotiating peace with Russia?
News adds: “U.S. diplomats visited Beijing to try to ensure that competition `does not veer into conflict.’” It’s all economics. Let’s face it, China or Beijing’s BRICS partners (including Russia and India) own the strongest trade leverage these days: Labor force/manufacturing, supply of raw materials and pertinent minerals, energy/fuel sales (Russia and buddy Saudi Arabia/OPEC), and must we talk of RCEP trade bloc? 🇺🇸☮️🇨🇳
New York Times: “Two Former Tucker Carlson Producers Exit Fox News.” And adds: “The departures are the latest fallout since the network sidelined Mr. Carlson in April.” The Murdoch Kingdom is embroiled in a “Succession”-level internal tempest. Current Fox News CEO is Suzanne Scott, who was installed by Lachlan Murdoch as the first (Fox) female CEO to rival Rashida Jones* of MSNBC. Lachlan is ultra Right but wickedly business-minded. James? Elisabeth?
Lachlan is viewed as far more personally conservative than his father, who at times prioritized the finances and political influence of his media outlets rather than their ideology. The younger James is known to donate to Democratic causes. Elisabeth’s politics tends to go liberal. Or is Rupert still in control? So when top draw Tucker Carlson was eased out, we don’t really know who masterminded it, as we head to 2024 election, with Donald Trump up and running. Of course the old Murdoch backed the beleaguered but Republican frontrunner ex-prez. Suzanne Scott, along with Jay Wallace and Jack Abernethy, took over Fox after Roger Ailes left in 2016. The disgraced Ailes, who loved Trump, was a Rupert gamble. (Note: Rashida Jones, not the actress.) 📺🗣📺
New York Times: “Saudi Arabia and China Flaunt Growing Ties at Investment Forum.” The kingdom hosted a lavish Arab-China business conference days after a visit from the U.S. secretary of state, inviting companies blacklisted by Washington. Sanctions don't work anymore. Negotiations and compromises result in better global dynamics. Geopolitical power is now balanced between West and East. So “rogue” nations are welcomed by other giants such as China and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, trade between China and Saudi Arabia has been exponentially spiking. Riyadh's trade with Beijing: $87.3 billion against $25.1 billion with Washington. China and Saudi Arabia are close and strategic allies and have been increasing cooperation in the energy and financial sectors, the Belt and Road Initiative, and have signed numerous deals across several areas. 🇨🇳🇸🇦🇺🇸
New York Times: “Allies Pressure Biden to Hasten NATO Membership for Ukraine.” And adds: “Some members of the military alliance want to set a timetable for Ukraine to join, though only after the war is no longer raging.” So what is the point then? The Warsaw Pact ended in 1991 as the Cold War closed, alongside USSR's dissolution. NATO and the Warsaw Pact were ideologically opposed. Would have been logical that NATO ended as well or at least stopped expansion. Nope.
NATO was formed in 1949. The Warsaw Pact was signed in 1955 in Poland between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republics. NATO and Warsaw Pact built up their own defenses and started an arms race then. But WP was over long time ago. Yet NATO continued to expand. The Ukraine War isn't linear as “evil country invades weaker country.” Agreements were ignored in pursuit of greater economic leverage and political supremacy. ☮️☮️☮️
Time: “Why Everyone Is Having Bad Sex (Especially Young People).” First, we gotta ask young people what is sex to them. Interviewed by AP, an 18-year old high schooler who identifies as LGBTQ, offers: “Honestly, that question is a little laughable. There’s probably a lot of teenagers who are like, ‘No, I’ve never had sexual intercourse, but I’ve had other kinds of sex.’” Another survey says 30 percent of teens in 2021 reported having sex. Or do they call it “sex,” anyways? 😏😒😟
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