Amateur hour in year four

Amateur hour in year four

Sol W. Sanders Back in prehistory, during The Cold War, students of arcane Kremlinology — the science and art of trying to unravel what Winston Churchill called “a riddle wrapped in an enigma” — identified a dangerous heresy. “Mirror-imaging”, it was called, defined as attributing to Moscow our own motivations, rather than understanding Soviet Communist […]

The ‘trusting American voter’ and the end of freedom

The ‘trusting American voter’ and the end of freedom

Lev Navrozov We trace the mental development of mankind only as far back as, say, one of the tribesmen of that distant time would if he could write and did write on a certain surface that we have found x thousand years later and were able to decipher what he wrote at that time. Let […]

N. Korean hell on earth: Purges, gulags for unconvincing mourning loom

N. Korean hell on earth: Purges, gulags for unconvincing mourning loom

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The rise of the son as “supreme commander” of North Korea’s armed forces gives rise to nostalgia. Already the reign of the father is beginning to seem like the good old days. At least as long as Kim Jong-Il was around a certain sense of security prevailed. South […]

In pursuit, globally, of the elusive soft-landing

In pursuit, globally, of the elusive soft-landing

Sol W. Sanders The new year’s worldwide economic downturn has an interlocking effect: every national economy is searching to accommodate itself politically as well as economically to what looks to be an extended period of low growth. After longer or shorter periods of historically unrivaled prosperity, they are feeling for a “bottom” — a level […]

Free transfer of technology could snuff out a relatively new concept: freedom

Free transfer of technology could snuff out a relatively new concept: freedom

Lev Navrozov I call countries that are not free “slave countries,” though Soviet propaganda proclaimed that “Soviet Russia” was the only first “free” country in the world even after it conquered some countries to the west of it, after which those countries became “free” countries in the Soviet propaganda, in contrast to “the rest of […]

Potentially explosive movements on a volatile Asian chessboard

Potentially explosive movements on a volatile Asian chessboard

Sol W. Sanders A new era of increasing instability is opening in East Asia. The death of North Korean leader Kim Il-Jong is only adding another, if explosive, element to an already volatile equation: China enters a period of substantially slower economic growth, if not a crash, on the eve next autumn of a takeover […]

New Burma Road: Watch for the geopolitical landmines

New Burma Road: Watch for the geopolitical landmines

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — With the historic visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma, the highest profile American diplomatic contact in fifty years, the United States has entered a high stakes geopolitical chess game in Southeast Asia. Burma, a political pariah state has long been courted by China, coveted by India, […]

And China was going to save the global economy? Guess again

And China was going to save the global economy? Guess again

Sol W. Sanders Creeping up on the outer edges of Wall Street soothsayers’ economic crystal ball, until now dominated by American and Euro crises, is growing concern about China. The inane idea China [and India, which is also in trouble] would somehow rescue the world economy is now, finally, dismissed by the pundits — without […]

U.S. state media trumpets White House spin on Asia tour

U.S. state media trumpets White House spin on Asia tour

Special to WorldTribune.com Based on an article by Cliff Kincaid for Accuracy in Media President Obama is being portrayed by the always supportive U.S. media as almost a “peace through strength” Ronald Reagan Republican as he travels abroad. “With the Obama administration’s high-profile pivot toward Asia this week — pushing for a new free-trade agreement […]

Video backs reports N. Korea’s military ordered to shoot to kill refugees escaping into China

Video backs reports N. Korea’s military ordered to shoot to kill refugees escaping into China

By Lee Jong-Heon, East-Asia-Intel.com North Korea’s military has been ordered to shoot anyone crossing the border into China, even if they had reached Chinese soil. The directive was issued by Kim Jong-Il’s son and heir-apparent, Kim Jong-Un, who is seeking to tighten his grip on the populace, activists and media reports from Seoul say. It […]