China is militarizing the South China Sea, or is it?

China is by far the most powerful contestant. Neither the Philippines, nor Malaysia nor Vietnam can compare, though they, especially Hanoi, dare to put up a fight and stave off the encroachment on its sovereignty. China, true, is willing to sit down to the negotiation table, yet insists on bilateral talks; the smaller contestants prefer group talks. And they all look to the United States, if for different reasons. China is trying to expand its regional clout, the smaller countries are defending their rights. And the United States? Failure to respond to the Chinese challenge entails serious consequences such as damage to Washington’s status of the world superpower and loss of American credibility, not only in the eyes of the few South-East Asian nations concerned but also others, like Japan. The eyes of the world are thus focused on the South China Sea.

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Gold and the Dollar Can Hardly Be Relied On

Author: Tomasz Gruszecki

Gold has always been and remains a measure of trust in currencies, especially since we have fiat money, money that is backed up by trust. That is the reason why during crises it becomes a benchmark of the value of money. The present-day monetary world cannot be regarded as anything but normal.

The main world central banks appear to have come to the end of interest rate easing and stimulating growth. Some of them have entered in a weird world of negative interest rates. Continue reading →

The Weakening of the Dollar Could Destroy US Public Finances

Holding US assets is not as safe as it is thought to be since interest rates are artificially low, and the US dollar is artificially high as a result of the coordinated actions by central banks. The Bank of Japan’s and the European Central Bank’s monetary policies such as sub-zero interest rates and quantitative easing not only drive down yields, but it also drive up the price of the dollar and US Treasuries.

The strength of the dollar cannot be explained from the US trade balance nor the health of the American economy or the predicted worsening of the US deficit. Americans have been consuming more than they have been producing for decades. Such a comfort cannot last for ever: one of these days debtors (consumers) will have to pay back their creditors. When investors start to withdraw their investments from the US, the dollar will lose its value rapidly. Many have wrongly prophesied the demise of the dollar: it has not happened as yet, but that is not to say it never will.

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Failed Western-backed coup against Tayyip Erdoğan has far-reaching consequences

The failed Western-backed coup against Tayyip Erdoğan has far-reaching geopolitical consequences.

That this coup was coming was known to the Americans, Europeans and President Erdoğan; In May the Wall-Street Journal wrote: “Speculation about a military coup reached a fever pitch in late March, when Turkish media reports suggested the Obama administration was trying to topple Mr. Erdoğan. The rumors led to a terse exchange at the State Department, where a Turkish reporter asked spokesman John Kirby whether the U.S. was working to bring down Mr Erdoğan.” Continue reading →

Our societies will undergo a radical change

Let us wind the tape fast forward. Germany 2060. We are entering the country from east or west. We are travelling across it, visiting ancient towns and cities, doing the sights in medieval castles and cathedrals. The people that we face are black or brown; with kinky hair, squinted eyes, pouted lips and sometimes even blond hair and fair skin. Some speak good German, some speak broken German, some speak Somali, some Pashto, some Turkish. We hear their names: Muhammad,Karl-Heinz, Hassan, Konrad, Omar, Gojko, Mammoon. A German of Afghan descent is our guide around a medieval castle explaining to us the ways of life of the former inhabitants of the country; an imam walks us around a cathedral turned mosque, explaining that some time back it fell into disuse, and so it was taken over; we are entertained by a black teacher who is proud of teaching German to students with diverse cultural heritage, ‘You know,’ she says, German is almost a kind of present-day Latin in terms of it being almost obsolescent but still one of the official languages of the country.’ So we tour the country in search of Germany or rather traces thereof. We can still find German cuisine in isolated pockets in the countryside. Continue reading →

No support from the West for Erdoğan during coup

In the chaotic moments and endless news feed about the Turkish coup, it became clear that Washington and the West did not support Erdogan.
After Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi and Viktor Yanukovych it was now time to get rid of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. According to the Daily Sabah the coup was linked to the Gülenist Terror Organization (FETÖ), which has its leadership based in Washington.
The day after the failed coup, Western-based media tried to contain the damage and hurried to proclaim: “NATO Allies Rally Behind Erdogan as Turkish Coup Splits Military.” They did not!
On Friday when the situation was very chaotic the White House website stated “The President spoke tonight by phone with Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss the events in Turkey. The President and Secretary agreed that all parties in Turkey should support the democratically-elected Government of Turkey, show restraint, and avoid any violence or bloodshed. The Secretary underscored that the State Department will continue to focus on the safety and security of U.S. citizens in Turkey. The President asked the Secretary to continue to keep him updated as the situation unfolds.”

The announcement was purposefully vague nor was it made by the president himself; in the text of the White House, there was no reference or any direct support for Erdogan or outright condemnation of the coup. The “democratically-elected Government” as stated in the announcement does not include Erdogan as President. Of course, if the White House did support the democracy, the text should read: “democratically-elected Government and the President.”
The coup leaders said they’d done so in the name of protecting democracy, and this is in line with the statement of the White House.

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