Substack SitRep 2 October 2023: China's Global Proposal
Plus COVID and the CIA, how BlackRock got so big, South Africa's water woes and more...
COVID-19 is back in the news as conspiracy theorists become truthtellers. I doubt anyone reading this is surprised that the CIA is involved. More about that further in this newsletter.
I’m taking a break, and hoping you’ll treat this as meaty education and not quick news. Spend a week slowly crawling your way through it, like a soldier in a soon-to-be muddy trench in Ukraine.
WAKE UP!
HOT QUOTES
“Slovakia and the people of Slovakia have bigger problems than Ukraine.” – election winner, Robert Fico, head of the Slovak Social Democracy party, won on the promise not to further arm Ukraine. Slovakia is a member of NATO.
“An opposition candidate widely seen as pro-China won a runoff election to be the next president of the Maldives, marking a significant loss for Indian influence in the archipelagic nation… Muizzu campaigned on an ‘India Out’ platform, arguing that the military presence in the Maldives undermined its sovereignty and pledging to expel all Indian military personnel.” - Washington Times
HOT FACT
High-Speed Rail by Country (km):
China 26,869 (10,738 under construction)
Japan 3,041 (402 under construction)
USA 54 (192 under construction)
South Africa 0 (and 0)
HOT PIC
I subscribe to a lot of clever substackers but Darrin Bell, the cartoonist, is clever AND enjoyable.
THIS WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS
China's Proposals and Actions: A Global Community of Shared Future:
223,000 murders in South Africa in 10 years (proportionately, that would be 1.1-million in USA)
The Burning Platform: South Africa's water woes - we’re fucked (audio)
Nebraska woman gets 2 years prison for giving abortion pills to teen daughter
Scott Horton: Ken Silva on FBI-created terrorist plots and Nazi groups (audio)
I've gotta hand it to Matt Gaetz (includes must watch video)
Alarm grows in Kyiv and Washington as GOP House blocks Ukraine aid
Press freedom does not exist while my husband Julian Assange is in jail
An open letter to Catherine Valentine, Head of Politics at Substack
COVID SPECIAL
Fauci’s suspicious CIA connection smacks of a COVID cover-up
New allegations that Fauci potentially influenced CIA COVID-19 origins investigation
Illustrating how bad censorship of British excess deaths is...
MHRA failed to test mass manufactured 'Process 2' batch of Pfizer vaccine
Shunned scientists mock Nobel Committee after they award mRNA scientists with prize for medicine
ARTICLES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED
ME THE PAST WEEK
THE HOT WAR
Lavrov confirms Ukraine war peace deal reached last April, but then abandoned
EU foreign ministers in Ukraine’s Kyiv for unprecedented meeting abroad
‘Sixty Minutes’ holds up the mirror to the West: and the picture in the frame is ugly
Nagorno-Karabakh shows up the myth of a “rules-based international order”
ARMENIA/AZERBAIJAN CONFLICT
Armenia desperate to join International Criminal Court, damaging ties with Russia
Iranian paper warns Azerbaijan if it presses home advantage against Armenia
THE COLD WAR
Western Governments surrounding Russia with promises of money
A visit to Belmarsh Prison with Roger Waters and Yanis Varoufakis
America, the Not-So-Beautiful, has no business lecturing other countries
German firms 'de-risk' from the West in their China policies
SOUTH AFRICA
Chicken and egg prices to jump, bird flu faster than culling
Extension for bank branches offering Smart IDs and Passports in South Africa
REST OF AFRICA
ASIA
“The entire world should carefully read this white paper from China”
How can China overcome challenges to realize a 5% annual economic growth?
LATIN AMERICA
Argentina and Brazil, from nuclear rivalry to potential nuclear energy leaders in Latin America
Poverty is growing in Puerto Rico, under US colonialism: 57.6% of children live in poor households
Argentina politics update, new cash handouts, deal with France
Terror attacks on Cuba's embassy fueled by aggressive US policy
Armed Groups ramp up threats ahead of local elections in Colombia - except EMC
MIDDLE EAST
Turkey says PKK targets in north Iraq destroyed after Ankara suicide attack
Afghanistan closes embassy in India citing lack of diplomatic support
NORTH AMERICA
Matt Gaetz rallies House GOP rebels to force out Kevin McCarthy
Hollywood writers’ strike is over, this is what they won
Breaking the Menendez cycle? Senator pleads not guilty to corruption, but calls grow for resignation
“The workers are the liberators,” declares United Auto Workers union President
EUROPE
Pro-Russia leftist party wins Slovakia’s parliamentary elections
Kosovo Serb politician admits role in gun battle that killed four
Portugal voted best tourist destination in Europe at World Travel Awards
HEALTH & CLIMATE
SOMETHING ELSE
PODCASTS/VLOGGERS
‘Voters are unhappier with the NHS than they’ve been for 30 years. As a GP, I feel the same’
Merit of the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon
Beijing to Britain: Chinese elite politics and British universities visit Beijing
MEANINGFUL MUSIC (FOR LONGTRAIL)
“Moved on to another town
Tried hard to settle down
For every job, so many men
So many men no-one needs…”
DOCUMENTARIES
VIDEO DEBATES & INTERVIEWS
VIDEO NEWS
Stand for truth, not popularity!
Oh Mike, I can't believe you mentioned me! I love that video and Peter Gabriel too. I sing Love Without Frontiers Karaoke too.
Peter Gabriel also did this song with Senead O'Connor. What a loss, Senead.
I'm honored!❤️
🕊️