Well, if the Russians can sort out the mess US imperialism has left behind in Syria more power to them. This NY Times article shows the US is still stuck in the "cold war mode" as seeing world events in a US vs Russia context rather than one of a multi-polarity of conflicting interests. Two quotes: "In the short term, Mr. Trump’s withdrawal is a win for Russia because it expands the territory under Mr. Assad’s control." Syria is not a part of Russia and it is a win for the Syrian Arab Republic when more of its territory is restored to its government. It is a win for Assad and benefits Russia indirectly as it is an ally of Syria. The clear win for Russia is that it appears as, and is, a stabilizing influence in the region while US imperialism has sown only disruption and chaos. "To be sure, even if developments in Syria and Ukraine present Mr. Putin with tactical and propaganda victories, his aggressive foreign policy of recent years means that Russia’s image will likely remain tarnished in much of the world for a long time to come." This quote is purely the result of the imagination of the reporter as, in fact, the majority of the world's people see the US as having the most aggressive foreign policy and don't consider the Russians tarnished at all for the reactive and defensive foreign policy they have engaged in as a result of US provocations. It's only the US and its NATO allies, and not even all of them, plus a few reactionary Third World dictatorships and client states that echo this anti-Russian line and even many of these want better relations with Russia as its actions seem more rational than those of the US (as this visit of Putin to Saudi Arabia indicates).
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Sunday, October 6, 2019
Hong Kong and Democracy?
Well, if it is a pro-Democracy movement rather than an anti-China movement it should recognize Mr Ho's democratic rights, as an elected representative of his constituency. He appears to be as extreme in his views as many of the demonstrators are in theirs but real democrats would be defending his rights to express his opinions. Whatever happened to "I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it?" This quote, misattributed to Voltaire but expressive of his beliefs, is the essence of the democratic spirit and neither Mr. Ho nor his critics appear to subscribe to it. It appears as if the so called "pro-democracy" demonstrators, while representing a substantial proportion of the population of Hong Kong do not speak for the majority of Hong Kong's citizens; when, and if, that happens the local police will simply lose control of the streets and Beijing, to which Hong Kong is actually subject, will have to restore order. There is in reality no way the PRC is going to be dictated to by this former British colony nor hopefully, be provoked by Western meddling in this dispute, to intervene and act like the pro US government of India has in Kashmir. A peaceful negotiated solution is the only way forward and this is the line the Hong Kong government has taken.
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