AltWeeklies Wire
Political Bickering Could Start a New Cold Warnew
There is still no good reason to have a new Cold War, and I still think it won't happen. But as the politicians posture and the stupidities accumulate, I'm less sure than I was that it won't happen.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
08-29-2008 |
International
Fired Up On the Shanghai Sizzlenew
This delicious chaos of city that's turned Mao into Mickey Mouse and trains into bullets leaves Beijing -- and Toronto -- in its dust.
NOW Magazine |
Michael Hollett |
08-25-2008 |
International
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgianew
Maybe oil figures it's time to get back to Plan A and revive the Cold War, or at least oilmen do. There are issues aplenty behind the conflict in Georgia, but to the powers fueling it, it's a war of competing pipelines.
Los Angeles CityBeat |
Jim Washburn |
08-25-2008 |
International
The Georgian Debacle Could Break NATOnew
If the U.S. pursues its goal of bringing Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, there are only three options. If "old Europe" digs in its heels and refuses, then either the U.S. drops its demand, or NATO breaks up. The third alternative is that "old Europe" agrees to let the two former Soviet republics join -- but with the unspoken reservation that they will never actually go to war with Russia to protect them.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
08-20-2008 |
International
Retired Russian Army Colonel Criticizes U.S. Actions in Iraq Even as Tanks Roll in Georgianew
Yuri Yuryevich, also a former journalist, says the idea of Russian censorship was concocted by the West -- investigative journalism no problem as long as president isn't criticized.
L.A. Weekly |
Steven Leigh Morris |
08-18-2008 |
International
South Ossetia Was a Monumental Miscalculation by Georgianew
This was Georgia's second attempt in 18 years to conquer the breakaway territory by force, and now that option is gone for good. So are the country's hopes of joining NATO. Yet sections of the Western media are carrying on as if the Russians started it, and are now threatening to invade Georgia itself.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
08-11-2008 |
International
A Field Guide to Chinese Oppressionnew
Though Beijing's enemies are way too numerous to list, consider the following four non-Tibetan religious, ethnic, and intellectual minorities a sort of Olympic qualifying heat. In order to advance Beijing's "Harmonious Society" in preparation for the 2008 Games, members of these groups have been locked up, exiled, or have disappeared altogether. Enjoy the synchronized swimming!
Boston Phoenix |
Adam Matthews |
08-07-2008 |
International
Tags: China, Olympics, Tibet, journalism, civil liberties, international, Falun Gong, Uighurs, Mongolians
China, Tibet, and the Olympicsnew
Buddhist scholar Robert Thurman explains the Dalai Lama's political wisdom, the myopia of the Chinese, and the essence of the Olympics.
Boston Phoenix |
Peter Kadzis |
08-07-2008 |
International
Mao's Ghost: The Spirit of the Chairman Haunts the Olympicsnew
Americans should ask themselves, is it in our interests that China today holds $1.2 trillion in reserve assets alone, with billions more invested in US financial institutions and other businesses? And while we ponder that question, we should ask ourselves this: is it prudent for the federal government to spend like a drunken sailor with money borrowed from China?
Boston Phoenix |
Editorial |
08-07-2008 |
International
Beijing's Defenses Can't Stop Terrorismnew
The deployment of 100,000 troops around Beijing and the surface-to-air missile batteries that protect the main stadiums couldn't stop two equally determined Uighur militants from killing 16 Chinese police and injuring another 16 in an attack on a border post near Kashgar.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
08-06-2008 |
International
Why a Palestinian Town is Suing Two Canadian Companiesnew
Accused of war crimes for their involvement with Israeli settlement expansion, two Quebec-registered companies are being sued in Canada by the occupied West Bank Palestinian village of Bi'lin.
Montreal Mirror |
Jesse Rosenfeld |
08-05-2008 |
International
EU's Soft Power Defeated Serbia's Radovan Karadzicnew
Radovan Karadzic's disguise was quite elaborate, but he didn't spent the past thirteen years hiding from the Serbian authorities. They knew where he was all along.
The Georgia Straight |
Gwynne Dyer |
07-28-2008 |
International
Iran Calls U.S.'s Bluff on Attacknew
This explains the bravado of Iran's little propaganda show on July 9, when it test-launched a number of ballistic missiles, including one that has the ability to carry a nuclear weapon and the range to strike Israel. This elicited the usual veiled threats of an attack on Iran from both Washington and Jerusalem, but the Iranians don't believe them any more.
NOW Magazine |
Gwynne Dyer |
07-21-2008 |
International
How One Ginseng Farmer is Rolling Back America's Trade Deficit with Chinanew
At a time when the Chinese are getting rich exporting to Americans, Larry Harding is a countertrender: an American getting rich exporting to the Chinese. In the world's most populous country, ginseng is like coffee, Viagra, and Prozac all rolled into one, with a dollop of quasi-religious mysticism on top.
Washington City Paper |
Franklin Schneider |
06-26-2008 |
International
Mark Weisbrot on the Media's Misleading Latin American Reportingnew
Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C., is considered to be one of the leading experts on the Venezuelan economy and the reforms of President Hugo Chavez. Weisbrot was in town last week to discuss American media's coverage of progressive changes in Latin America, coverage that he claims is misleading.
Shepherd Express |
Louis Fortis |
06-20-2008 |
International
