Melvin Goodman (2021-05-25). Intelligence and Ideology: the Exaggeration of the Threat. counterpunch.org The three major military powers (the United States, Russia, and China) systematically and consistently engage in inflation of the threats they face. Each side tends to see the worst motivation and the greatest capabilities in assessing its adversaries in order to justify its own actions. This problem was endemic throughout the Cold War, particularly in the 1980s when President Ronald Reagan used exaggerated and politicized threat assessments to justify the largest peacetime increase in defense spending and to rally American support for the buildup. Ironically, the United States was doing so at the very time that…

Editorial Team (2021-05-24). All the questions socialists have about China but were too afraid to ask. challenge-magazine.org Alexander Norton interviews Keith Lamb on how China's self-proclaimed socialist system measures up to the expectations of a Western socialist expat from Scotland who has lived through almost two decades of drastic change in the world's emerging superpower | In the 1990s and 2000s conventional Western wisdom was that China had long abandoned socialism. But by 2018, when president Xi Jinping lauded Marx as the greatest thinker of modern times at the closing speech of a 2-week celebration of his 200th anniversary and reaffirmed China's commitment to his vision of communism, many on the left — and the right…

Staff (2021-05-24). Venezuela to Start New Vaccination Phase with 1.3 Million Doses from China. orinocotribune.com The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, announced that 1.3 million new COVID-19 vaccines have arrived in the country from China, which would help to accelerate mass vaccination in the country. | During his speech this Sunday, May 23, the president clarified that a new phase of vaccination will start this week, with the aim to get 70% of the population vaccinated by the end of August. | "This week, a new phase of vaccination starts in the country; 1,300,000 new vaccines arrived in Venezuelans from China. More vaccines are arriving this week, and even more doses are yet to come," he stated in his Sunday address…

Sonali Kolhatkar (2021-05-24). It's Past Time to End U.S. Funding of Israeli Violence. counterpunch.org At the end of 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic was continuing to ravage the populations of many nations, Israel stood out as a success story, administering more doses of vaccines to its modest-sized 9-million-strong population than any other country after China, the U.S., and the UK. Today, more than 60 percent of Israelis are vaccinated,

WSWS (2021-05-24). COVID-19 breaks out in Taiwan, with daily case numbers above 100. wsws.org Despite the resurgence of the pandemic globally, Taipei continued to ease restrictions, leading to what is now a dangerous outbreak.

Aidan Jonah (2021-05-24). Canadian Media Launches Sinophobic Anti-China Campaign, Amid Years of Attacks on Chinese-Canadian Institutions. orinocotribune.com Over the past few weeks there has been a ramping up of a sinophobic anti-China campaign by Canadian media. This campaign comes in total disregard of the clear links between rampant Sinophobia and the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes across the continent, including Canada. The core element of this campaign is a push to create the impression among Canadians that China is plotting to subvert Canadian "democracy" and infiltrate Canadian institutions. The groups used as proxies to push these dangerous narratives: Hong Kong "pro-democracy" dissident groups in Canada, and "Uyghur rights" groups and their imperialis…

David Swanson (2021-05-24). What The New Acceptability of the Lab Leak Origin Tells Us About Media Outlets. warisacrime.org Have you noticed that a lot of science writers have lately been saying that they were perfectly right a year ago to mock and condemn even considering a lab leak origin for Coronavirus but that now it's perfectly proper to admit that Coronavirus may very well have come from a lab? It seems to be …

Michael T. Klare (2021-05-24). The Future of Renewable Energy Depends on China. thenation.com The Future of Renewable Energy Depends on China…

Pavan Kulkarni (2021-05-24). South African dockworkers to boycott Israeli ships until total liberation of Palestinian people: Union. peoplesdispatch.org The dockworkers continue to boycott work on the Israeli ship Zim Shanghai which arrived at Durban port on May 20. All ships carrying cargo to and from Israel will be boycotted by dockworkers, South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) told Peoples Dispatch…

John Whitbeck (2021-05-24). A Biden Speech to Transform the Middle East. counterpunch.org President Biden has a problem. He wishes to escape from the Middle East quagmire and focus American foreign policy on the perceived China threat. However, in the wake of the recent Israeli-Palestinian carnage, there is no escape. He must do something. But what? Doing the same thing yet again while hoping for a different result