NEWS OF THE WORLD

 

There have been some important events in the news recently. I’ll pretend to be a reporter and report on them:

 

G-20 DIDN’T GO PEAR-SHAPED AFTER ALL—Earlier this month the G-20 summit in New Delhi saw the emergence of a growing multipolarity on the world stage. Discussions during the meeting of representatives and heads of state from the world’s top twenty economies* focused on economic affairs, global trade, and infrastructure development. By the time the meeting ended most parties walked away with something. Even the United States, through the auspices of the doddering Joe Biden, made successful trade deals and welcomed, along with India’s PM Modi, a new rail/pipeline transport link, a “…project, billed as an alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that seeks to build a commercial route from India through to Europe via the Arabian Peninsula, Israel, and then the Mediterranean Sea.” It has the backing of several Gulf and Middle Eastern states as well as the EU and US. 

India, which is not part of China’s massive trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), sees the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) as a key component to improve it’s connectivity with world markets. It may seem that India is “blindsiding” China, its BRICS’ partner, by joining the IMEC initiative, and perhaps this was one reason why China’s Xi Jinping did not attend the summit to avoid conflict in the surprisingly unified international body. (Another reason, one commentator mused, for both the Xi and Russia's Putin not attending this year's  summit was that the G-20, like the G-7,  are becoming less relevant to them than the emerging BRICS.) Premier Li Qiang attended in Xi's place.

 

“Xi may be prioritizing multilateral forums that fit into China’s own vision for how the world should be governed – such as the recently concluded BRICS summit and the upcoming Belt and Road Forum.”

 

INDIA served up a masterful G-20 meeting using diplomacy to incorporate into the final communique—that all parties signed—language (“Inclusivity”) that would strengthen future participation of Global South nations in  G-20s as well as in multi-lateral organizations like the WTO, IMF, World Bank, etc. India’s Modi did several bi-lateral side deals, as did the US and other countries. As mentioned, Russia’s President Putin did not attend but Foreign Minister Lavrov was sent instead. The FM praised Modi’s event management skills and how he steered the agenda in favour of developing nations, “to protect their legitimate interests” and “to prevent the West from once again Ukrainizing the entire agenda” which would have diverted attention from the urgent problems facing emerging economies. President Zelenski was not invited this year. Too bad. So sad.

AT THE MEETING, Joe Biden took a back seat to Modi, which was just as well, and the American President seemed pleased with the IMEC initiative he hopes will compete with China’s BRI project and might dissuade India from seeking further engagements with China. Of course, it remains to be seen if work on the IMEC will even break ground and whether it will prove a rival to China’s BRI or complement it.

 

ONE RESOLUTION I found interesting was to have G-20 committees undertake studies around expanding the “Unified Payments Interface” (UPI), something we might want to watch, going forward. UPI seems to be about networking—globally—cross border financial transactions, nascent CBDC systems, crypto-currencies, digital wallets, digital transactions, etc., to track and “manage” the world’s finances. It’s done benignly, of course, in the service of convenience, connectivity, development and “transparency” purposes. BUT, it may end up allowing future digital overlords unprecedented oversight and control of citizens’ lives and activities globally. Such projects increasingly seem to be of interest to elites, whether they are traditional or emerging ones.   Put a pin in this one.

PERHAPS the most important aspect of the meeting was how ‘un-Ukranian’ it was. This year, President Zelenski wasn’t there to display his usual hectoring and tin cupping (thankfully!), and the final communique did not mention the Ukraine war directly, as had 2022’s summit. Neither was Russia formally criticized for its role in the conflict as was also done previously, which suggests an evolving appreciation for complexities of the war and a greater understanding around Russian concerns over NATO encroachment along its borders.  

ONE commentator suggests the US went along with the unanimously endorced final communique, which mentions neither Ukraine or Russia directly, in order to curry favour with India and draw the rising East Asian giant away from China (and Russia). 

   The "Collective West".

[Note: India plays both sides. For example, it's part of the BRICS as well as the newly-formed AUKUS military alliance. As a middle power, Canada should be more neutral in its foreign policy and work to keep good relations with all sides, like India does. Instead, we follow in lockstep wherever the US goes, including the nonsense of sending frigates to the East China Sea. Ed.]

 

OVERALL, and despite what you may think of Modi (authoritarian, divisive, etc.), the conference demonstrated the growing power and confidence of the developing world and the steady erosion, economically and politically, of the Collective West. Next year’s G-20, chaired by Brazil’s President Lula, will prove equally challenging for the United States and those Western nations that cling to its coattails. The message seems to be that the rest of the world is no longer willing to kowtow-it to the Americans and their pals, and that a new order of international politics is demanded. And they’re just getting started.

 

    Awkward!

A FINAL NOTE: Our increasingly less-than-effervescent PM mewled upon leaving the New Delhi conference that "[i]f it were just up to me…the leaders' declaration would have been much stronger on Ukraine. If it was just up to some other countries around the table, it would have been much weaker." But no one cared. Boo-hoo. Perhaps Trudeau’s ass-kissing unwavering quick march behind U.S. foreign policy and his support of Ukraine “for as long as it takes”, combined with his platitude-preaching, and favourite woke agendas are wearing thin with folks. As with Zelensky, the bloom is off the rose. Indeed, our PM was one unhappy camper when he left in a huff without even a one-on-one sit-down with event host Modi. Earlier, the Indian premier had berated Trudeau for his handling of Sikh separatist organizations within the Indian community of British Columbia. And recent reports suggest Trudeau had an angry exchange with Modi, claiming the Indian government was behind the recent murder of a Sikh-Canadian in B.C. Fur was flying behind the scenes which explains  our PM's sour demeanor.¹

Furthermore, Trudeau churlishly skipped the official dinner at the summit’s end and his cringe-worthy handshake with Modi raised eyebrows. To add fuel to the karmic fire, his plane was grounded with mechanical problems for two days while the PM remained in seclusion in his hotel suite where, no doubt, wailing and gnashing of teeth were heard in the hallway outside his door. Ouch! I wouldn’t want to have been his bunk-buddy on that trip!

 

“The voice of the Global South seems to have become more pronounced, and other countries are now talking about it even though the Global South was irrelevant to G-20 earlier,” she said. “PM Modi himself said that India tries to bring together the Global North and the Global South, East and West, and India stands at the crossroads. Geography is as important as history. The historical circumstances can never completely overcome geography, and India will continue its balancing act simply because of that.” (Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic affairs editor of The Hindu newspaper.)

 

SEVASTOPOL ATTACKED—In an assault last week using naval drones and cruise missiles⁺, Ukraine struck dockyards in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, home to Russia’s Black Sea fleet. A Russian submarine and two naval vessels were damaged, with the submarine perhaps left in an un-repairable state. Since the conflict started, Russia has lost two other naval vessels to the NATO-backed Ukrainians, most notably when the Moskva cruiser was holed by anti-ship missiles in March of last year. What makes this recent attack more problematic is the British-made missile’s range—up to 150 miles, making it possible for Ukraine to launch strikes on Crimea or the Kerch bridge, or in other parts of the Russian homeland. Previously, Ukraine had limited supplies of cruise missiles and none with the range of Britain's “Storm Shadows”. The eminent fuktards currently occupying power in Westminster apparently thought it was a good idea to escalate the conflict by sending Ukraine longer-range missiles, despite warnings from Moscow that this would not change the outcome of the war and was seen by them as a provocation, a red line not to be crossed. 

 

IN THIS WHOLE SORDID AFFAIR, Britain seems bizarrely, even absurdly, to be the most strident supporter of Ukraine, a real pit-bull, rallying Western nations to send guns and money to fight Russia “to the last Ukrainian.” Such decisions, like sending in Storm Shadow missiles, dangerously provokes Russia to retaliating in kind.

IN A WAR that could easily have been prevented, in a conflict that could have ended in a negotiated settlement just weeks after its inception, it's as if a collective madness grips Western leaders. Most of the Global South (and that’s most of the world) looks with incredulity at the shenanigans perpetrated by America and the lackey nations who fall in line behind whatever mucked-up, geo-political gambit Washington proposes. Two nuclear-armed peer powers head-to-head in a proxy war in Ukraine! What could go wrong? And by year’s end, Washington may send Ukraine ATACMS missiles with an even longer range (up to 190 miles) which threatens all of Crimea and parts of Russia.

 

What will Russia’s response be to NATO’s repeated violations of its “red lines”? Thus far, from when America sent advanced missile defense systems last year, then tanks and munitions, now long-range Cruise missiles (from France and Britain), perhaps eventually jet aircraft, Russia’s response has been tactical and calibrated. UNFORTUNATELY, this is interpreted by some in Washington and London and Brussels as weakness on the part of the Russian president. They assume Putin won’t respond with matching escalatory violence. [Please recall: he did install tactical nuclear weapons (TNW) in Belarus following Britain’s shipment of depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine a few months ago. From my perspective, that’s more than a tit-for-tat move by Putin (i.e., he’s raised the stakes in a deadly game of nuclear poker). Will the Americans be foolish enough to “see” Putin’s bet and raise the stakes even higher? The West needs to fold and cash in their chips before it’s too late, or else Ukraine will be popped like a balloon if the Russians choose to go on the offensive. Here’s a thought: Perhaps Russians are genuinely concerned about what goes on along their borders. Wow! What a news flash! Ed.]  

IN ADDITION, the West’s leadership may not realize that President Putin is actually a moderate within the Russian government, which was obvious in February 2022 when he sent such a small military force into Ukraine.² That line of tanks we all witnessed on the road to Kiev was meant to demonstrate to Washington and the Zelensky regime that Russia meant business. Putin wanted a resolution to the Donbass conflict that had killed thousands of Russian-speaking Ukrainians. He also wanted Ukraine to be neutral. He wasn’t interested in additional territories; he wanted limited autonomy for the two breakaway provinces (Donetsk and Luhansk) that would guarantee certain rights to their inhabitants, within a federated and intact Ukraine. That's what the 2014 Minsk Accords were about! They were an agreed upon settlement everyone could live with, or so it was thought by the Russians, who'd negotiated in good faith. Problem was that the Ukrainian leadership and the two guarantors of the treaty, France and Germany, were not willing to follow through on their obligations. Instead, Kiev was allowed to harass and bombard Donetsk and Luhansk for eight years, while building a massive army poised to invade the breakaway provinces. And they would have invaded if Putin hadn't intervened to prevent mass civilian causalities and ethic-cleansing of the region. He sent armies into the Donbass to protect the inhabitants and he sent those tanks to Kiev in a failed bid to make Kiev come to their senses.

In addition, the Russian president wanted guarantees that Ukraine would adopt neutrality in its constitution, along the lines of Austria and, until recently, Finland and Sweden. In March of 2022, just weeks after Russia’s invasion, peace talks began BUT they were scuppered by British and American interference, after which President Putin realized negotiating was futile. No one in the West was listening. Thus, war must ensue and a much larger army was needed. The Russian president began the special military operation in Ukraine reluctantly. He did not want a conflict with NATO. He wanted proper treatment of the Russian-speaking minority and for Ukraine to never join NATO.

 

The West, NATO, and the rest should wake up and realize there are hardliners in Russia who think the Russian military should take the gloves off and make mincemeat of Ukraine, and turn it into land-locked rump state at the tail end of Europe, removing, once and for all, any possibility the former Soviet republic could re-militarize or join NATO. It's quite possible that Ukraine might lose Odessa and the entire Black Sea coast, which would destroy it's economy without access any longer to ports. Will Putin have to move that far? Do the Russians have to capture Kiev? Who Knows? But I guess the nihilists in Washington, London, and all places in between have other plans…

“Negotiations” sounds pretty good right about now.

 

FUN FACT: When the US perfects its own version of a hyper-sonic missile (and they will), then NATO forces, should they ever be stationed in Ukraine with such state-of-the-art missiles, will be able to strike Moscow within minutes. Note that Poland and Romania already have TNWs facilities in place. And with only one nuclear disarmament treaty between the two nuclear super-powers that remains intact (New START Treaty), is it any wonder Moscow sees further NATO encroachment along its territory as an existential threat. 

What would happen if the Russians or Chinese were to establish a nuclear-capable missile facility in, say, Windsor, Ontario, right on the U.S. border? What would the Americans do about it? Think "ashtray".

 

UPDATE: On Thursday, this week, it appears the Sevastopol HQ of the Russian Black Sea fleet was hit by a British-made "Storm Shadow" missile, with some damage and  reports of a causality. But the question is: What will Russia do in reply?

 

MORE CANADIAN NEWSPAPERS CLOSE—Recently, there have been a number of newspaper closures in the news. Nordstar (parent company of the Toronto Star) announced layoffs at its Metroland division, which publishes 70 community newspapers alongside advertising flyers. Six-Hundred employees, including 68 journalists will be let go. They will be replaced with digital editions.

 

"The media industry continues to face existential challenges, largely because digital tech giants have used their dominant positions to take the vast majority of the advertising revenue in Canada," the company said in a statement.

"The decline of the print and flyer distribution business was significantly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and by the reduction of flyer usage both by readers and advertisers as a marketing vehicle." Under the plan, Metroland's community publications will move to a digital only model."

  

This follows the unsuccessful merger attempt between Nordstar Capital LP and Postmedia Network Canada Corp. earlier this year. This signals the on-going battle between legacy news organizations and on-line media companies, with ad revenues for newspapers circling the drain. While Google and Facebook dominate the on-line ad revenue scene with a whopping 80% of ad expenditures, overall they account for about 45% of all ad spend in Canada, with the majority going to newspapers, broadcast TV, radio and mags. Two companies account for almost half of the $14.2 billion spent this year on advertising in Canada. The efficiency of on-line media to gather readers' "eyeballs" to their sites and web pages, makes legacy media less attractive to advertisers which have been the lifeblood of newspapers, radio, etc. 

Nevertheless, layoffs of so many local news employees and journalists inevitably means less coverage of local events and politics, issues that are far more important and relevant to readers than the latest Hollywood sex scandal (unless you live in L.A., of course.) Pooled editorial content and standardized, AI-generated news summaries are increasingly the norm, leaving many citizens knowing less and less about their own communities. And the fact that so many local news organizations have been bought out by national news chains or hedge funds (as was the Toronto Star, by an American operator, BTW) is another reason why layoffs have  broader, ripple effects throughout Canada's media environment. A handful of media conglomerates make decisions that affect hundreds of local papers. ANOTHER business model must be created for local news, in whatever format, if it is to be preserved going forward. Old school local news is dying and digital is to blame (mostly). At least for now.  

GUNMAN ARRESTED AT KENNEDY RALLY—

   

They killed his uncle. They killed his father. Now Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is in the crosshairs of who knows who or what! While at a speaking engagement in Los Angeles as part of his presidential campaign tour, RFK Jr. may have been in a life-threatening situation had not his private security guards been alerted to an individual acting suspiciously, who later was discovered to be armed. Police also detained a second armed man, who may have come with the first.

RFK Jr. has requested Secret Service protection for the duration of his campaign. This request is not the norm but it does have a precedent. For example, Kamila Harris was given Secret Service protection during her pitiful primary run for President in 2020. 

I will bet that Kennedy, a popular challenger to the incompetent incumbent Joe Biden, will be kept from participating in the primaries as Democratic Party elites move heaven and earth to bend the rules to prevent him. The 69-year old has left open the possibility of a third party run if he is unfairly cast aside by the Dems, and he stands a good chance of spoiling Biden's  bid for a second term. [Biden? Are you kidding!? Ed.] Kennedy could draw away enough Biden voters in the general election to give the Republican challenger the edge they need. And don't forget about Cornell West's Green Party bid for the presidency. He also could draw disillusioned Democrats away from Biden and the votes he needs to win. We'll see. But, as far as Secret Service protection goes, so far, Kennedy has been ghosted by the White House.

 

"Candidates running for president are protected by Secret Service officers if they meet certain thresholds. Typically, those deemed “major” presidential and vice-presidential candidates within 120 days of the general election — and their spouses — qualify for protection. Sometimes protection can start earlier if warranted, such as with Sen. Barack Obama who got his detail in May 2007 — more than a year before he won the 2008 Democratic nomination....According to the Secret Service’s website, major candidates for president and vice president, and their spouses, started getting protection after New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was killed campaigning in California in June 1968."

 

YOU would think with a name like Kennedy and with a family history he has that some official protection might be warranted. Unless there are other reasons for Old Joe not wanting to cough up the security detail. Just sayin'...

 

CLOWN SHOW—President Zelensky addressed the United Nations General Assembly this week with his usual gravely-voiced pandering we've all come to know and love. (Zelensky's undiplomatic hectoring was  almost to the level of Joe Biden who seems more and more like a grouchy granddad annoyed with the kids.)

 

    "You're so cute I could lick you like a popsicle"

Unlike last year, Zelensky's reception was muted, with many delegates deciding to skip his address (as they did Biden's). It's becoming obvious that support for Ukraine's on-going war is waning in the West, including Washington, where Zelensky did not get a firm "yes" on whether he would be receiving further significant funding or weapons (i.e., ATACMS) any time soon. Congress is actually pushing back on sending yet more money and materiel to Ukraine where it's destined to be wasted or "lost". 

Zelensky plans to next visit Ottawa and Toronto on what might be his final victory tour before he head's off into the sunset with all the loot he's scammed from everyone. No doubt Justin "Hugs" Trudeau will be his fawning self along with the rest of Parliament. Gag me with a spoon! Have a barf bag handy.

 

 DID YOU KNOW: Since record keeping began in 1922, 322 people have died climbing the various peaks in the Himalayas including Mount Everest (named for the English Surveyor General of India in 1858), which is the world's highest mountain at 29,035 feet or 5.49 miles above sea level. The peak's Tibetan name is "Chomolungma" ("Mother Goddess of the World".) In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary was the first non-indigenous person to reach the summit, along with his Tibetan sidekick guide, Tenzing Norgay. There is no record, presumably, of who actually was the first to reach the top. And when.

 

Cheers, Jake

 _____________________________________ 

 

* The African Union is the newest member of the G-20, now with 21 members. The African Union represents 55 nations from the African continent.

 

+ “Cruise missiles, although similar to ballistic missiles in some regards, provide an alternate means to deliver a lethal payload rapidly and accurately to a target. Cruise missiles differ from ballistic missiles in that they fly towards their target at lower altitudes, remaining within the Earth’s atmosphere throughout their trajectory. Cruise missiles are defined as ‘an unmanned self-propelled guided vehicle that sustains flight through aerodynamic lift for most of its flight path and whose primary mission is to place an ordnance or special payload on a target.’”

 

1. Perhaps there is something to Trudeau's claim. After all, in 1985, a group of radical Sikh-Canadians were thought to have planted a bomb on Air Canada Flight 182 from Vancouver to New Delhi killing all 329, mostly Canadian, passengers.  The chief suspect was murdered last year. And the Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose murder Trudeau confronted Modi with, was gunned down June, 2023. Our PM was in a tough spot at the G-20. And I almost feel sorry for him. Were the Indians responsible for assassinating Nijjar, who  was part of a movement to establish a Sikh homeland inside India? A suspected "radical", he was thought to be dangerous by the Indian government. Dunno. Stay tuned for further developments.

 

2. We may yet see Russian tanks  patrolling the streets Kiev.

 

 

 

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