Patrick Henry

Sunday, February 18, 2018

EUROPE IS AWASH AS ITS QUEST IN THE 21ST CENTURY FORM OF NATIONALISM AS NEW FLASH POINT EMBERS IN THE BACKGROUND FROM GREECE, POLAND, FRANCE, GERMANY, YUGOSLAV TAKES CENTER STAGE CLAIMS OF NATIONALITY WITH HISTORICAL DISASTROUS OUTCOME

Europe seems awash with historical hang-ups. And they are important ones. They may define the continent’s future as much as the outcome of Germany’s current political convulsions, or the state of Italy’s banks, or whether Brexit Britain manages to cobble a transition deal. Large crowds of Greek people recently protested against the use of the name Macedonia by the neighbouring former Yugoslav republic.
In Paris, there is intense debate about whether the writer Charles Maurras, a leading intellectual figure of French early 20th-century ultranationalism and antisemitism and a prominent supporter of the Vichy regime, should be listed among the names to be officially “commemorated” this year (he was born in 1868). Poland’s new law aimed at curtailing any discussion of the role some Poles played in the Holocaust led to a spat with Israel and the US. In Germany, where the far-right AfD holds 94 seats in the Bundestag, a local Berlin politician (of Palestinian family background) last month called for newly arrived migrants to be sent on mandatory visits to concentration camp memorials to assist their “integration courses”.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/13/europe-future-past

Saturday, January 20, 2018

AFTER 10 YEARS A NEW US NATIONAL STRATEGY CALLS OUT CHINA AND RUSSIA THE NEW AGGRESSORS TO BE COUNTERED IN THE 21ST FROM THE NEW AUTHORITARIANS

China has denounced the US government for what it called its Cold War and zero-sum mentality in its latest national defence strategy, which viewed China and Russia as “revisionist powers” that “seek to create a world consistent with their authoritarian models".
The 2018 US National Defence Strategy (NDS) released on Friday called the two countries “revisionist powers” that sought to shape the world in their authoritarian image and erode American influence, language similar to the US National Security Strategy put out last month.

China is also referred to as “a strategic competitor using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbours while militarising features in the South China Sea”, a characterisation that drew a backlash from Chinese officials.

A spokesman for the Chinese embassy in Washington told Xinhua news agency that China seeks global partnerships rather than global hegemony, and used a Chinese phrase that meant one’s mentality determines how one sees the world.

“Peace and development are the themes of this era, and are also the shared aspirations of mankind,” the spokesman told reporters on Friday evening.

“However, if some people look at the world through a Cold War, zero-sum game mindset, then they are destined to see only conflict and confrontation."

In unveiling the NDS – the first new document of its kind in a decade – Defence Secretary James Mattis said the US is simply recognising reality, and that “this is not a strategy of confrontation, but it is strategy that recognises the reality of competition”.

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-denounces-new-us-defence-strategy-that-singles-out-russia-china

THUS IT BEGINS CHINA CLAIMING ITS NEW LAND GRABBED TERRITORIES AS ITS OWN EVEN WHEN INTERNATIONAL RULING GOES AGAINST ITS TAKING OVER OF THE SCARBOROUGH SHOALS - THE NEW CHINA DOES WHAT IT NOW WANTS

Beijing said on Saturday (Jan 20) it had dispatched a warship to drive away a US missile destroyer which had "violated" its sovereignty by sailing close to a shoal in the disputed South China Sea.
The USS Hopper sailed within 12 nautical miles of Huangyan Island on the night of Jan 17 without alerting Beijing, the foreign ministry said, referring to the shoal by its Chinese name.
Also known as Scarborough Shoal, the ring of reefs lies about 230km from the Philippines in the South China Sea, where Beijing's claims are hotly contested by other nations.
The US vessel "violated China's sovereignty and security interests" and put the safety of nearby Chinese vessels "under grave threat", foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.
China's defence ministry said in a separate statement that a Chinese frigate "immediately took actions to identify and verify the US ship and drove it away by warning" it.
The USS Hopper recently entered the US Navy's 7th Fleet area of operations, where the ship is on an "independent deployment", according to a statement released earlier this month on the navy's website.
Its mission in Asia involves "security cooperation, building partner capacity, and performing routine operations within the area".
News of the encounter follows Friday's release of a new US national defence strategy that says America is facing "growing threats" from China and Russia.
China is a "strategic competitor using predatory economics to intimidate its neighbors while militarizing features in the South China Sea", the document says.

https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/china-says-us-warship--violated--its-sovereignty-9879894