(2021-12-10). The "Summit for Democracy": Biden gathers anti-democratic forces against Russia and China. wsws.org The function of Biden's summit is to escalate global pressure on Russia and China while dressing this up as a defense of "democracy" against "autocracy."
(2021-12-10). Parisian "Wheeling and Dealing" in the Persian Gulf. journal-neo.org 
The first official European assessment of the recent round of talks in Vienna between the representatives of Iran and those of the E3 (Great Britain, France, and Germany), Russia, China, and the US came, oddly enough, from Dubai, where the quick-witted French president Emmanuel Macron announced what he called the failure of the foregoing phase …
(2021-12-10). Between China and the AUKUS: The Future of Indonesia-France Strategic Partnership. moderndiplomacy.eu The regional tension between Indonesia and China was reaching a new stage. On December 1, 2021, some Chinese diplomats told Indonesia to halt the oil and gas exploration in Northern Natuna. Believing that the drilling was taking place in the Chinese territory, the Chinese authorities sent a protest letter towards the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign …
(2021-12-10). Laos' Railway Opens: The West Kicks and Screams as China and Laos Move Forward Together. asia-pacificresearch.com
(2021-12-09). China Winter Olympics: US Boycott. dissidentvoice.org 
President Biden, in full mood of marking "red lines" against Russia and Ukraine in a virtual meeting with Vladimir Putin, does not forget the importance of boycotting China's Winter Olympic Games. It's a diplomatic boycott only, so says Madame Jen Psaki, White House press secretary. Nevertheless, she and Biden are wishing the US sport-participants best …
(2021-12-09). Ukraine: The Danger is NATO. libya360.wordpress.com Fabrizio Casari Putin-Biden summit focuses on Ukraine. Image: TASS The West had better abandon the war it has opened against Russia, China, India, Iran and others for absolute domination of the planet by a superpower that loses wars, markets and leadership every day. To think that the world will stand by while a decadent empire…
(2021-12-09). China Plays a Crucial Role Supporting Progress and Sovereignty in Latin America. orinocotribune.com By Carlos Martinez — Dec 6, 2021 | In the last two decades, economic links between Latin America and the People's Republic of China have been expanding at a dizzying rate. | Bilateral trade in 2000 was just $12 billion (1 per cent of Latin American's total trade); now it stands at $315bn. In the same time period, China's foreign direct investment in Latin America has increased by a factor of five. | Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, 19 of the 33 countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region have signed up to the China-led global infrastructure development strategy. | Infrastruc…
(2021-12-09). "An Outrage": House Passes Largest Military Budget in Generations Despite End of Afghanistan War. democracynow.org 
President Biden may soon approve the largest military spending bill since World War II, which ramps up spending to counter China and Russia. Separately, the Senate voted down a bipartisan bid by Senators Bernie Sanders, Rand Paul and Mike Lee to halt $650 million in U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia amid the devastating ongoing war in Yemen. "The last thing we need to do is be throwing more money at the Pentagon," says William Hartung, director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy. "This whole idea that China and Russia are military threats to the United States has primarily been…
(2021-12-09). Ineffectual Boycotts: The Beijing Winter Olympics. dissidentvoice.org Making moral statements in the blood and gristle of international relations can often come across as feeble. In doing so, the maker serves the worst of all worlds: to reveal a false sense of assurance that something was done while serving no actual purpose other than to provoke. Anger, and impotence, follow. The Biden administration …
(2021-12-09). Headlines for December 9, 2021. democracynow.org As Coronavirus Cases Surge, Study Finds World Dangerously Unprepared for Next Pandemic, Senate Approves Bill to Reverse Vaccine Mandate for Large Employers, Olaf Scholz Sworn In as German Chancellor, Ending Angela Merkel Era, Canada, U.K. and Australia Join U.S. Diplomatic Boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics, Western Sahara Activists Accuse Moroccan Authorities of Brutality and Sexual Assault, India's Military Chief Among 13 Killed in Helicopter Crash, Biden Orders Transition to Renewable Energy for Federal Buildings and Vehicles, Lawmakers Grill Instagram Head over App's Damaging Effects on Children, Mark Meadows…