Representatives of Dictators’ Club working via WIPO
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is a likely vector for intelligence gathering by participants from China and Russia. Last week I noted a young, former Rostec executive (per his LinkedIn profile) working in Geneva, Switzerland apparently assigned to WIPO and more probably than not under pressure of the Putin regime. Indeed, in posted videos…
House Obstruction Drives Risk of Long War, Lost Advantages
The Senate has passed a $95 billion dollar aid package for Ukraine and Israel but the Majority Leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) signaled that Republicans there will not pass it without the border security measures they want. However, a bi-partisan border security measure is already on the table…
China’s Strategic Buffering and Iran
Yesterday, Britain, France, and Germany asserted that Iran has violated a U.N. Resolution buttressing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) by “developing and testing ballistic missiles, transferring hundreds of drones to Russia, and enriching uranium to an unprecedented 60% level for a country without a nuclear weapons program — all in violation of a…
Strategic Patterns: China & Russia Seek Control Over Food & Migration
Setup There is a common strategic pattern in China’s pursuit of global food supply control at-Sea, international agricultural ownership, and support for Russia as it guns for Ukraine as Europe’s breadbasket. China also supports Russia as Moscow asserts its “plus” influence on OPEC, towards inflating fuel and therefore food prices in many markets. China also…
Under Putin, Russia’s Vassalage to China
China’s and Russia’s “multipolar world” brand has obscured China’s global unipolar objectives and Russia’s subjection to China. As Putin gambles Russia’s future on death dealing expansion during an economic contraction, China’s power over Putin hardens. Multipolar-speak helps hide that from Russians. Susan Haynes née Turner warned of this deception risk in her 2009 paper “Russia,…
Beijing’s Gamble: Putin’s Unsuccessful Mentor
As with Dr. Frankenstein’s ill-considered electrification of a dead person in Shelley’s classic, President Vladimir Putin three years into his reign sought to raise Yuri Andropov’s foreign and domestic policies from the dead to help him rebuild the USSR that Andropov’s decision-making on Soviet intervention in Afghanistan hastened toward collapse. And now there’s Ukraine. Other hardliner…
Iran Regime: Russia’s and China’s Destabilizer Bot
The dictatorial theocracy of Iran has been a quasi-vassal of larger dictatorships since the Iranian revolution of 1978-79. Today Iran acts in the strategic interests of Russia and China as it seeks membership in their regional organization, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. From 1997-2006, Russia under Putin was the top heavy conventional weapons supplier to Iran…
Conceptual Thoughts: Defending Against the Onyx
Setup: The Kyiv Post ran a practical headline on Thursday, July 20, entitled with subhead, “Ukraine’s Latest Missile Problem – How to Shoot Down Russia’s ‘Onyx’: Russia has taken to using “Onyx” supersonic anti-ship cruise missiles against southern coastal cities, highlighting the shortage of air defense systems capable of taking them on.” The Onyx supersonic…
Collective Action: Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and Nova Kakhovka Dam
Ask: What new, perhaps non-obvious proactive approaches can be taken to try to reverse weaponization of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and Ukraine’s hemispherically important Nova Kakhovka Dam by Russia? Fact: The Putin regime’s state terrorist activities against the Nova Kakhovka Dam and Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station are a threat to world food supply, and specifically…
From Cluster Munitions to Cluster Neutralizers
Setup: Cluster munition shells made the latest round of U.S. military support to help Ukrainian Armed Forces replenish dwindling artillery shell supplies. For that stopgap purpose, it may be the only substitute the U.S. can now give. To date, Russia has aggressed with cluster and incendiary weapons against Ukrainian defenders and civilians, and Ukraine has…