The Financial Times (FT) reported over the weekend that “Putin ally pushes deal to restart Nord Stream 2 with US backing” in reference to his decades-long close friend Matthias Warnig’s alleged efforts. The gist is that possible American ownership over Nord Stream could lead to the resumption of Russian gas exports to Germany via this megaproject’s one […]
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Block 3 / News / The Conversation / Trump Aluminum Tariffs / Trump Steel Tariffs / Trump Tariffs / Trump Tax Cuts / Trump Trade Wars / United States / US Economy / US inflation
US inflation up even before Trump’s tariffs take hold
The cost of living crisis, which saw inflation in the US peak at a four-decade high of 9.1% in 2022, played a significant role in determining the outcome of last November’s presidential election. Exit polls across ten of the key battleground states showed 32% of voters considered the economy to be the most important election […]
Block 2 / CASS Index / CHIPS Act / Donald Trump / Joe Biden / News / Scott Bessent / Trump Tariffs / United States / US Economy / US recession
Trump tariffs could be bargaining chip or economic bomb
Key economic indicators flashed recession warnings as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on February 25 that the US was in a private sector recession and that the Trump administration’s goal was to “re-privatize” the economy. “The previous administration’s over-reliance on excessive government spending and overbearing regulation left us with an economy that may have exhibited […]
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Romania epicenter of liberal-globalist vs populist-nationalist struggle
Observers were shocked on Wednesday (February 26) after former Romanian presidential front-runner Calin Georgescu was temporarily detained and charged on six counts amidst police raids against some of his closest supporters as he was preparing to file for his candidacy in May’s election redux. The first round last December was annulled on the basis that an unnamed state actor […]
Business / Donald Trump / Great Depression / Herbert Hoover / Mitch McConnell / News / Paul Krugman / Smoot-Hawley / The Conversation / Trump Tariffs / United States / US Free Trade / World War II
US tried ‘America First’ tariffs in 1930s – guess what happened next?
Donald Trump has hit the 30-day pause button on imposing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, but is proceeding with slapping 10% tariffs on Chinese imports, and tariffs on the EU are still on his agenda. Trump has declared that “tariff” is “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” Yet as the president weighs up […]
Fiji / Immigration / News / Samoa / The Conversation / Tonga / Trump deportations / United States
Pacific island nations worry Trump deportations may overwhelm them
In his first term, Donald Trump deported far fewer people from the United States than his three predecessors: Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Just weeks into his second term, however, Trump is making the deportation of immigrants one of his top priorities. Immigration raids on those who have overstayed their visas and […]
BRICS / Donald Trump / NATO / News / Russia / Russia Economy / Russia Oil Exports / Russia-China relations / Russian Energy / Syria Civil War / The Conversation / Ukraine war / Vladimir Putin / World
Putin’s diminishing returns and Russia’s shrinking world
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a guarded message of congratulations to Donald Trump on inauguration day but then held a long direct call with his “dear friend,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping. From Putin’s perspective, this makes sense. Russia gets billions of dollars from energy sales to China and technology from Beijing, but from Washington, until […]
Chinese diaspora / ethnoburb / Monterey Park California / News / The Conversation / United States / US Asian immigration
Asian immigrants, rejecting assimilation, created US ‘ethnoburb’
This article is adapted from UNASSIMILABLE: An Asian Diasporic Manifesto for the 21st Century by Bianca Mabute-Louie (HarperCollins, January 2025). I grew up in San Gabriel Valley — also referred to as SGV or the 626. SGV is an ethnoburb — an ethnic enclave — that grew out of the 1970s, with its own economy […]
China / Donald Trump / NATO / NATO Article 5 / News / Pete Hegseth / Quad / The Conversation / Ukraine war / US-China rivalry / World
US makes clear Europe’s security isn’t a Trump priority
European defense ministers left their meeting in Brussels on February 12 in shock after the new US secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, told them they could no longer rely on the US to guarantee their security. Hegseth said he was there “to directly and unambiguously express that stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from […]
Block 2 / China-Russia Relations / News / Putin Appeasement / Taiwan / The Conversation / Trump-Putin Talks / Ukraine Minerals / Ukraine war / US isolationism / Vladimir Putin / World / Xi Jinping
Trump’s vision of a new US-China-Russia world order
There has been much and justified focus on the implications of a likely deal between US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and the overwhelmingly negative consequences this will have for Ukraine and Europe. But if Trump and Putin make a deal, there is much more at stake than Ukraine’s future borders […]