CLINICAL PROFESSOR TOM PLATE WRITES – The topic of nuclear war is no joking matter, but I was rather tempted to cry out “Get me rewrite!” while dipping into my old book on the nuclear arms race. So much is changing now. My published tome had been premised on the…
Full Article THREAT OF RUSSIAN NUCLEAR ATTACK SHOWS WHY CHINA’S NO-FIRST-USE POLICY SHOULD BE GLOBAL STANDARD
KIANA KARIMI WRITES – « Vous dépendez du pouvoir russe et vous dépendez de Monsieur Poutine…Vous avez contracté un prêt auprès d’une banque russe… Vous ne parlez pas à d’autres dirigeants, vous parlez à votre banquier Madame Le Pen…Vos intérêts sont liés au pouvoir Russe. » “You depend on Russian…
Full Article EUROPE: SELFIES FROM LE PEN AND THE FAR-RIGHT
KIANA KARIMI AND LIAM ROGERS WRITE — What a scene: White, Blue, and Red stripes encapsulate a Moscow stadium with a crowd roaring in cheers and clad in Z’s giving a grand welcome to a celebration of “unity” while awaiting the illustrious dictator himself, President Vladimir Putin. The Russian government…
Full Article UKRAINE CONTROVERSY: MAKING THE CASE FOR ICC PROSECUTION OF PUTIN
BENJAMIN BARRETT WRITES – One of the most popular football clubs in the world, Chelsea FC, is currently facing sanctions due to its Russian roots. Roman Abramovich, a Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea, is suspected of having close ties with Vladimir Putin. According to an Al Jazeera article, Abramovich…
Full Article ROMAN ABRAMOVICH: PARTISAN OR PEACEMAKER?
TOM PLATE WRITES – It is imperative that the government of Xi Jinping of China continue to edge away from the bleak dark shadow of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine and re-settle itself geopolitically into a better moral place. While it would be presumptuous to offer instructions on how in…
Full Article UKRAINE: CRISIS CALLS FOR CHINA TO TAKE PART IN A DARING DIPLOMATIC INTERVENTION
PROFESSOR TOM PLATE WRITES — Suppose I stopped working so hard to stay on the sunny optimistic side of the street but instead defected to the dark side and always anticipating the worst? Consider the figure of Vladimir Putin. Just try to stay optimistic after reading the depressing but richly…
Full Article THE PUTIN SHADOW: DARKENING VISIONS OF OPTIMISM
KIANA KARIMI WRITES – Picture this: All of a sudden, Britney Spears spins around, dodging Russian bomb after Russian bomb. TikTok, a social media app, has entered your learning process. Videos depicting Ukraine’s state of siege cast an ominous shadow over all involved actors. Portentous cyberpunk music blasts as tanks…
Full Article UKRAINE/RUSSIA: A TIKTOK UNDERSTANDING OF AN INTERNATIONAL CRISIS
TOM PLATE WRITES — The Chinese tilt towards Russia is understandable enough. It is immensely satisfying to be able to tell American leaders that China will do what it wants to do, whether the arrogant West likes it or not. China is the big deal now – or so goes…
Full Article UKRAINE CRISIS: IS CHINA’S TILT TOWARDS RUSSIA IN BEIJING’S BEST LONG-TERM INTEREST?
TOM PLATE WRITES — Power is not always angelic. When the power to do something exists, it often gathers like a storm, ready to be unleashed. Power is also agnostic; it can be used for evil as well as for good. One thing is for certain. Without concentrations of power, not…
Full Article POWER GAME: UKRAINE’S FATE WILL BE SHAPED BY DECISIONS FROM RUSSIA, CHINA AND AMERICA
DMITRY KOLESNIKOV WRITES – Russia is getting ready to film the first ever movie in space. On October 5th, 2021 famous Russian actress Yulia Peresild, film producer Klim Shipenko and experienced astronaut Anton Shkaplerov traveled to the International Space Station in pursuit to film the first ever movie in space…
Full Article RUSSIA: BLAST OFF TO FILM THE FIRST MOVIE IN SPACE
KIANA KARIMI WRITES — A flickering light, screams of famished, sleep-deprived young girls inside tightly-packed crates, armed men ripping victims from each other’s arms, their innocence slowly stripped away in a twisted, torturous cycle of violence… A chilling rendition of Nirvana’s hit 90’s song “Teenage Spirit” creeps through the screen…
Full Article RUSSIA: MARVEL’S “BLACK WIDOW” PUTS A NEW SPIN ON FEMINISM
‘VICTOR B’ WRITES — How do clashes in Russia, between police and the public, look right now, when most other nations are struggling to maintain safe and healthy environments? Not good. Orwellian, in fact? The Russian government now requires issuance of a ‘QR’ code to every citizen wanting to walk…
Full Article RUSSIA UNDER COVID-19: FROM MOSCOW BUT NOT WITH LOVE
TOM PLATE WRITES — Without becoming too defensive about America at this rocky passage in its political history (well, it is difficult to defend), I nonetheless will offer something of a defense, since almost no one else wants to try, but maybe someone ought to. So we start with this: Whether…
Full Article WASHINGTON: HOW COULD A NUCLEAR ACCIDENT EVER POSSIBLY TAKE PLACE?
(AMI NOTES: Moon Chung-in is a distinguished professor at Yonsei University and the special advisor for unification, diplomacy and national security affairs for South Korean President Moon Jae-in. His essay, condensed via common use courtesy, was produced by The WorldPost, a partnership of the Berggruen Institute, and The Washington Post.)…
Full Article SINGAPORE SUMMIT: COOPERATION TRUMPS GO-IT-ALONE FOR EAST ASIAN STABILITY
JACQUELINE DILANCHYAN WRITES – Jaws, as well as reputations, dropped after a second athlete from Asia was caught doping at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. After Japanese speed skater Kei Saito was sent home from the Olympic Village after becoming the first athlete at the 2018 Olympic Games to return…
Full Article RUSSIA: CURLING SCANDAL FLOORS WORLD OPINION MORE THAN SPEED-SKATER KAITO
SEBASTIAN SEGURA WRITES – Russia has threatened to ban U.S. media in retaliation for pressure being put stateside on Russia Today, a TV station viewed by many as a propaganda channel for the Kremlin. The threatened ban also comes after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s statement that Russia bought thousands of…
Full Article MOSCOW: FROM RUSSIA, BUT NOT WITH LOVE