Supporters of the TikTok bill need to ask themselves how an algorithm developed in China came to dominate America’s social media landscape, a question that is getting lost in the political slugfest surrounding the app.
Hey MAGA: Both sides want to “be someone”
Now that the party is more aligned than ever with Moscow and Beijing in a push for populist ideological purity, Ukraine and possibly Taiwan won’t matter. As the isolationist fervour grows, the only fight left for Republicans is on the culture front.
Beware of Republicans who blame Biden for not appeasing Putin
The Republicans' suggestion that we shouldn’t have made any moves that might disturb Putin is exactly what Stoltenberg was trying to bury during his many appearances in the US, where Republicans are pushing the narrative that President Joe Biden is responsible for the terror that the Russian leader is unleashing.
Remember CVID? Nikki Haley does; Trump thinks it’s a virus
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un got what he wanted, because he understood Trump’s psyche – all that was required to go around Haley was a few “love letters” to Trump, who has never met an authoritarian leader he didn’t like.
The irony of the moment that established Stefanik as the Republican Party’s new leader
Within the cesspool of conspiracy theories, bigotry and misogyny that animates the far-right, there are some legitimate grievances.
If you understand Biden’s strategy, you know the “dictator” comment was also aimed at Trump
Having stood by his assertion that Xi is a dictator, Biden has solidified the ground he stands on going into the election when he portrays Trump as the same.
Xi arrives for the Republican Party’s transformation into Visigoths
When a political party undergoes such a dramatic transformation, it needs a new name. I suggest “Visigoth Patriot Party”. Trump, Johnson and the movement they represent would love the Germanic link, and there was that whole episode where the Visigoths sacked and looted Rome.
Kick China while it’s down? Lift democracy first.
(Originally published here in the South China Morning Post on October 2, 2023.) “What are things we could do to kick [China] while they’re down?” The question was posed by Randall Schriver, a member of the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), during one of the body’s hearings in August, and reflected one that’s probably on [...]
On economic growth and environmental decline
The American right will call this a “woke” conspiracy. Let them. Their message will be lost in the smoke of our burning forests.
Why are China’s neighbours not demanding the US Navy’s ouster?
(Originally published here in the South China Morning Post on June 20, 2023.) In the flurry of US-China diplomacy in recent weeks, it’s understandable that tensions between the two countries over the South China Sea and Cuba have been in the background. Despite all the initial clamouring to confirm reports that Beijing is paying Cuba billions of dollars to [...]
The Wounded Muse 