Russia may wage a new hybrid war against the US to drive wedges domestically and internationally. The Alaska summit could be an example. Israel fell for a similar ruse with Hamas. The Hamas October 7 massacre and kidnapping were not a desperate and senseless terrorist action; it’s now clear. It was the first step of […]
The Elephant in the Alaska Room
The Trump-Putin summit puts Xi Jinping in an impossible situation, trying to double-guess both. It all started from wrong assessments of the international situation. Perhaps China should stop fighting Buddha’s fingers and instead try to become Buddha. The summit between the US and Russian Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will be held in Alaska, […]
China’s Ukrainian Trap
Ukraine is Beijing’s biggest quagmire, and there is no easy way out. A Russian victory is unlikely, and a prolonged war would bleed China politically and economically—unless the Western political front collapses, mesmerized by its ghosts. But then it’d be a different story. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly told the EU’s top diplomat on […]
Under What Volcano
When will an eruption occur in China? Is Beijing more similar to Vesuvius or Etna? A flow of questions and maybe some advice for Trump – you’ll get what you want without much effort. What’s brewing in China? Many ordinary people, who see the value of their homes sliding, their children unemployed, or who have […]
Israel against Iran – Peace or More War
Israel attacked Iran to stop the salami tactics. Now Tehran and Moscow will choose to raise the stakes or to bargain. The uncertainty about China. Israel attacked Tehran’s Ayatollahs to stop the salami tactics of an unwinnable proxy war with Hamas in Gaza, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and the Yemenite Houthis, while Iran was completing its nuclear […]
Trump’s Taoist Solution
The situation is explosive, but Trump has a way out—do nothing, wu wei. It’s easier than pushing for something that grows harder by the day. An unstable mix of long- and short-term pulls is stoking tensions and bringing everyone closer to an unpredictable blast. Short-term US hesitation and zig-zags put many countries close to the […]
Democracy’s Original Sin and Its Limits
Democracy is not perfect. It has flaws that were apparent to the ancient Greeks and that modernity has attempted to rectify. Present challenges may require those fixes again. Democracy was born with an existential flaw, as the Hellenist Luciano Canfora warns. The rabble (perhaps a more accurate translation of the ancient Greek demos than “the people”) elects its leader. […]