Geopolitics

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27079897

Generated Summary below:

Video Description:

COL. Douglas Macgregor : Will US Attack Iran?

Generated Summary:

Main Topic: The interview discusses the potential for war between the US and Iran, the conflict in Ukraine, and the role of Israel in the Middle East. It also touches upon the relationship between President Trump and Vladimir Putin.

Key Points:

• US-Iran Conflict: Col. Macgregor believes a war between the US and Iran is likely, driven by continued pressure from the US and Israel on Iran. He suggests that President Trump's seemingly bellicose statements are a bluff intended to pressure Iran into submission, a strategy he believes will fail.
• Israel's Actions in Gaza: The Colonel asserts that President Trump is obligated to support Netanyahu's actions in Gaza due to agreements with major donors, effectively allowing Netanyahu to pursue his agenda.
• Ukraine Conflict: Macgregor believes that the US is losing the war in Ukraine and that a cessation of military aid to Ukraine is necessary to achieve peace. He highlights the lack of unity within NATO and the difficulty in influencing allies to stop aiding Ukraine.
• Trump-Putin Relations: The conversation touches on a phone call between Trump and Putin, where an agreement to cease attacks on energy infrastructure was reached, though its effectiveness is questioned due to subsequent Ukrainian strikes on Russian infrastructure. Both Trump and Putin are said to want to avoid direct conflict.
• NATO's Future: Col. Macgregor expresses skepticism about NATO's effectiveness without US leadership, highlighting the differing perspectives and interests of European nations.
• Israel's Future: He expresses concern that Netanyahu's actions risk Israel's existence, due to the alienation of its neighbors and the overestimation of US military capabilities in the region.
• FBI's Role: The interview discusses a statement by an FBI director expressing strong support for Israel, highlighting the pro-Israel stance within the Trump administration.
• Internal Israeli Divisions: The Colonel acknowledges internal divisions within Israeli society but believes Netanyahu remains firmly in control and committed to his current path.

Highlights:

• Col. Macgregor's strong opinions and predictions regarding the likelihood of war between the US and Iran.
• His critical assessment of the US's involvement in the Ukraine conflict and its relationship with NATO allies.
• His analysis of the complex political dynamics between the US, Israel, and Iran, and the potential consequences of current policies.
• The discussion of the Trump-Putin phone call and its implications for the war in Ukraine.
• The candid assessment of the limitations of US power and influence in the Middle East and Europe.

About Channel:

Hard-hitting legal/political news from a man who knows and respects the Constitution and the importance of defending individual freedoms. Judge Andrew P. Napolitano.

A daily discussion of news from the perspective that government is the negation of liberty, and the individual is greater than the state. Judge Andrew P. Napolitano is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Notre Dame Law School. He is the youngest life-tenured Superior Court judge in the history of the State of New Jersey. He sat on the bench from 1987 to 1995, when he presided over more than 150 jury trials and thousands of motions, sentencings, and hearings.

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The Judge is the author of nine books on the U.S. Constitution, two of which have been New York Times Best Sellers. Learn more at JudgeNap.com

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/27087502

Video Description:

Ballistic missiles fired at Israel by Yemeni Houthi rebels caused sirens to sound throughout Gush Dan and powerful explosions in Tel Aviv and West Bank communities. The commotion caused Israel's Ben Gurion Airport to briefly suspend operations. A crucial Israeli target was destroyed, and the Houthis reported several deaths. The IDF, however, said it had intercepted one missile and is looking into reports of other launches. Six people were killed in an earlier Israeli strike on Houthi-controlled locations, including Sanaa Airport, which prompted this escalation. As tensions in the area rise, the Houthi commander has threatened to launch more assaults against Israel.

#houthi #telaviv #israel

About Channel:

WION The World is One News examines global issues with in-depth analysis. We provide much more than the news of the day. Our aim is to empower people to explore their world. With our Global headquarters in New Delhi, we bring you news on the hour, by the hour. We deliver information that is not biased. We are journalists who are neutral to the core and non-partisan when it comes to world politics. People are tired of biased reportage and we stand for a globalized united world. So for us, the World is truly One.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/30870842

The global security landscape has undergone profound changes in recent years, characterized by the rise of revisionist powers and the weakening of the rules-based international order. Two regions stand at the forefront of these challenges: Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), confronting Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, and the Indo-Pacific, where China’s assertive actions continue to raise tensions well beyond the Taiwan Strait.

Despite their geographic distance, CEE and the Indo-Pacific thus face similar economic, political and security challenges, especially when it comes to their authoritarian neighbors. As regional conflicts become increasingly interconnected, the war in Ukraine offers critical lessons not just for Taiwan but for the broader Indo-Pacific region.

The Sino-Russian Partnership

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, China has attempted to position itself as a neutral power promoting peace and stability. However, its actions tell a different story. Beyond the infamous Xi-Putin meeting that established the “no limits” partnership just weeks before Russia’s invasion,** China has effectively sustained Russia’s war efforts through financial collaboration, technology transfers, and the circumvention of international sanctions**. Among these forms of bilateral support, the transfer of dual-use technology and components has been flagged as particularly concerning.

Moreover, Beijing has advanced peace proposals that largely mirror Russian positions while criticizing Western peace initiatives.

[...]

In contrast to Beijing’s ambiguity [...] Japan swiftly provided unconditional support for Ukraine, even at significant costs to its own national interests, including energy cooperation with Moscow.

South Korea initially adopted a more cautious approach, balancing its support for Ukraine against regional security concerns. However, North Korea’s deployment of troops to support Russia’s war efforts in late 2024 prompted Seoul to reassess its position. With Russia and North Korea forming an increasingly entrenched authoritarian alliance, South Korea has drawn closer to Western partners to counter this emerging threat.

[...]

For Central and Eastern European states, particularly those most threatened by Russia’s actions – i.e., Poland, the Baltic states, and the Czech Republic – China’s stance on Ukraine has fundamentally altered their approach to Beijing.

[...]

This reflects a broader shift in Central and Eastern Europe, where initial enthusiasm for Chinese investment has largely given way to disillusionment due to unfulfilled economic promises. The cooperation platform between China and CEE (originally known as the 16+1) now functions as a “zombie format,” especially since the withdrawal of the Baltic states. As China’s role in CEE diminishes due to its tacit support for Russia’s aggression and regional cohesion fractures, China has prioritized bilateral relations with countries like Hungary [...]

[...]

CEE states have also embraced more constructive engagement with other Indo-Pacific countries such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan [...] Indeed, Taiwan has found vocal allies in the CEE region, with the Czech Senate President Vystrčil’s high-profile visit to Taiwan in 2020 exemplifying these deepening ties. Most recently, Taiwan’s major semiconductor company – TSMC – has begun constructing a semiconductor production facility in Germany, with the Czech Republic and other Visegrád Four (V4) states expected to play vital roles as component suppliers.

[...]

Ukraine and Taiwan share several concerning similarities. Both face revisionist powers that contest their sovereignty based on distorted historical narratives. The long-held neoliberal assumption that economic interdependence deters military aggression has proven flawed in Ukraine and may similarly fail when it comes to Taiwan, where the global economic consequences would be even more severe.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/29487222

Archived

[...]

Feeding lies to every last Russian

[Radio] remains a crucial tool to reach audiences in remote areas. State-owned stations such as Vesti FM, ‘Radio of Russia’, and Mayak reach 98% of Russian territory and even people who might not have access to TV and the internet. Other notable stations are Kommersant FM(opens in a new tab), Business FM(opens in a new tab), Govorit Moskva(opens in a new tab) and Radio Sputnik(opens in a new tab), part of the same influence operation as RT.

[...]

Unsurprisingly, [EUvsdisinfo] found the Russian airwaves full of the same deceitful toxic sludge as elsewhere.

On the show Soloviev Live (Vesti FM, 11.02.2025), propagandists Sergey Mikheyev and Roman Golovanov painted the EU as ‘powerless’ and ‘crumbling under internal divisions’. Mikheyev claimed that ‘dark times’ were ahead for Europe, arguing that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was showing the way forward by pursuing independent ties with the United States rather than aligning with Brussels.

Mikheyev pushed nuclear fearmongering to the extremes, warning that if negotiations between Russia and the West fail, Ukraine’s leadership could be ‘ruthlessly destroyed’ and Russia could move toward the ‘total annihilation’ of the country with nuclear warfare.

[...]

Depicting Europe as declining and powerless is a familiar theme in pro-Kremlin media and often repeated on radio shows as well. On Formula Smysla (Vesti FM, 10.02.2025), propagandists Dmitry Kulikov and Fyodor Lukyanov claimed that Europe is ‘cosying up to Big Brother’ in Washington, desperate to maintain American security guarantees as its own military capabilities fall short.

They further asserted that the EU has been ‘devalued to a non-entity’ in global affairs, suggesting that future security negotiations will take place solely between the US and Russia – leaving European leaders sidelined.

[...]

Radio shows are also being used to attack EU member states, according to recent events. On the Evrozona show (Vesti FM, 08.02.2025) host Vladimir Sergienko painted the Baltic states as aggressors, accusing them of preparing for war against Russia by cutting off Russian energy supplies and purchasing Western military equipment.

Sergienko also accused Denmark of engaging in ‘economic piracy’ by tightening controls on Russian oil shipments through the Baltic Sea. The Danish Maritime Authority’s move to enforce stricter inspections on aging Russian tankers was framed as an attack on Russia’s economy – another example of how pro-Kremlin outlets repurpose legitimate actions as supposed Western aggression.

[...]

Residents of occupied regions liberated by the Ukrainian army in the fall of 2022 said that listening to Ukrainian radio gave them hope that they had not been forgotten. Radio broadcasts can be received by relatively simple battery-powered receivers and do not depend on infrastructure in the occupied territory itself. In 2023 the Lithuanian Ministry of Communications financed Ukrainian broadcasts(opens in a new tab) aimed at the occupied territories from Lithuania.

Yet for that very reason, one of the first things the occupying Russians did was jam Ukrainian broadcasts and seize control of TV and radio stations. By 2023, they had established a pro-Russian network of news sources that included stations like Za! Radio Melitopol, designed to flood occupied territories with Kremlin propaganda. This process continues, with the occupiers modernising TV and radio infrastructure to tighten their information grip.

[...]

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18388964

Archived

The intensity and danger of hybrid threats, as well as disinformation, has been increasing in recent years, while Russia and China are considered the main actors of these threats, according to experts and diplomat at the recent "Balkan Disinfo 2025" conference, which is being held in Pristina.

...

Finnish diplomat Tapio Pysalo said that these two countries are cooperating to spread disinformation, also using artificial intelligence.

...

"The intensity and dangerousness of hybrid threats has been increasing in recent years, especially considering Russia and the People's Republic of China as the main threat actors. Their objective above all is to undermine our partnerships by sowing divisions within the EU and NATO, by hindering NATO enlargement, especially the EU in the Western Balkans, by undermining democratic institutions including the credibility of elections, by undermining public trust and by polarizing our societies, thereby affecting the stability of our society."

"The goal is to sow uncertainty, fear, undermining public trust and weakening the support we give to Ukraine. I believe that all of this can also be applied to disinformation as a general trend, and in disinformation we see that both China and Russia have escalated their operations in Europe and the US. Russia has invested heavily in disinformation," he said.

...

Consultant specializing in new challenges to election integrity, Ben Graham, emphasized that in the United Kingdom, where he comes from, there is a strengthening of pro-Russian narratives from networks of the People's Republic of China.

But, he added that the numerous electoral processes that marked the past year have created some positive aspects for combating disinformation more effectively [but he emphasizes also that] we must also look at the psychological aspects of why people believe this disinformation and how they can convince people. I think we need to work more eloquently in the opposition".

"We see a greater strategic alignment with our adversaries, we see an increase or strengthening of pro-Russian narratives from the networks of the People's Republic of China, and it is important that we work together to counter them."

...

Researcher and digital intelligence expert, especially on manipulation campaigns and foreign information influence, Benjamin Schultz from the United States, stated that due to executive orders received from the new American presidency, an attack on researchers is taking place.

According to him, the US has become a hyper-polarized society.

...

`Biden had intended to be part of the photo, but it occurred earlier than scheduled.´

at 47 seconds in this video, an American (possibly a Biden aide) is heard shouting. Xi looks toward the camera and seems to wink

What do u think? Why can't we all get along? :(

But Lasting Victory Against Hamas Will Require Installing New Leadership in Gaza

Very insightful video about the continuous history of French colonialism in Africa.

cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/22317595

Not sure where to put it - here or for book promotions

Some key takeaways:

The Kremlin struggled to cohere an effective rapid response to Wagner’s advances, highlighting internal security weaknesses likely due to surprise and the impact of heavy losses in Ukraine.

Putin unsurprisingly elected to back the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and its ongoing efforts to centralize control of Russian irregular forces (including Wagner) over Prigozhin.

The Lukashenko-brokered agreement will very likely eliminate Wagner Group as a Prigozhin-led independent actor in its current form, although elements of the organization may endure under existing and new capacities.

Prigozhin likely gambled that his only avenue to retain Wagner Group as an independent force was to march against the Russian MoD, likely intending to secure defections in the Russian military but overestimating his own prospects.

The optics of Belarusian President Lukashenko playing a direct role in halting a military advance on Moscow are humiliating to Putin and may have secured Lukashenko other benefits.

The Kremlin now faces a deeply unstable equilibrium. The Lukashenko-negotiated deal is a short-term fix, not a long-term solution, and Prigozhin’s rebellion exposed severe weaknesses in the Kremlin and Russian MoD.

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