Showing posts with the label
Security
A lot off the top, a lot off the side: Ukraine seeks to give its creditors a sizable haircut. The unprecedented example of IMF lending to a country in the midst of civil war demonstrates US influenc…
Their "customers" are all outfitted in Guantanamo orange. Care to invest? With interest rates set to rise in the United States, it is difficult for folks to figure out where to invest. Bond…
Chinese, keep out! Aboard the (reds-free) "International" Space Station. In an age of specialization, there's an academic journal for everything. Did you know there's one entitled S…
Wassup, Chinese landgrabbers? Guess who looks like visiting you soon.. When even the hyper-tabloidal UK Daily Mail features aerial photographs of China's efforts to create artificial islands in…
The Ultimax machine gun is proudly Made in Singapore. Today marks the end of an era as arguably the best-known Asian leader of his generation, Lee Kuan Yew--statesman, father of an independent Singap…
Next stop for Soryu -class Japanese subs? The Land of Oz. Whoa, another security-related post after the previous one on China's fisher militia. You'd think the IPE Zone is turning into Jane&#…
And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” [Matthew 4:19] Since it's the weekend, let's try something different. By now everyone knows China has maritime disputes w…
Good luck finding these sorts of wedding photo ops back in the PRC. An area of study in international relations that nobody has looked at is this one: countries locked in disputes engaging in travel …
bin Laden is dead and gone, but Carlos rambles on. Whereas Osama bin Laden struck me as a po-faced fanatic, Venezuelan Carlos the Jackal always had an ironic streak to him. At the height of his infam…
For a profit, would you dare to fight the Chinese? The mother of all "political risk"-laden investments is probably this one: Say a country embroiled in territorial disputes over potentiall…
Like giving matches to a pyromaniac? French-built warships ordered by Russia. It is no secret that the French economy is not doing so well. Its President Francois Hollande faced a no-confidence vote …
Where'd all the gas go? Nobody may really know...except the Russians. Energy geopolitics between Russia and its European "customers" are fascinating to watch. On one hand, Russia has no…
Yonder lies adventure...for $25, whitefella jihadist. Does god really care for your life in the suburbs? / A dull little life full of dull little things / Bring up the babies to be just like daddy / …
Cleaning up paradise. As a pragmatist, I am not wedded to ideas that "democracy" and "free markets" are necessarily the best solutions in all places at all times. If you want simp…
Battling the evil empire of US technology. There's more fun news suggesting a further escalation of China's tech jihad against American technology firms. Now, PRC authorities are banning gove…
Not your grandfather's idea of "nation branding." Regardless of the party in power, one thing you can count on is that the United States will be more pro-Israel than nearly everyone els…
His sartorial choices may have been Oppa Moammar Style, but Sisi has made a good start. For the record, let us recall how Egyptian President Abdul Fattah El-Sisi came into power. First, he overthrew …
