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Monday, April 18, 2022

Unmasking the superpower America, the 'Dark Lord' set on destroying international order

 

 Voldemort' of global order: America is the 'Dark Lord' set on destroying international order

Voldemort: The Dark Lord

 

 Editor's Note:

Since the start of the military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the international community has grown increasingly aware of the role the US and NATO behind the crisis.

From imposing sanctions on "disobedient countries," to coercing other nations to pick sides, lip service on the Ukraine refugee issue, to a questionable overseas human rights record… the US has acted like a "Cold War schemer," or a "vampire" who creates "enemies" and makes its fortunes from pyres of war.

The Global Times is publishing a series of stories and cartoons to demonstrate how the US, abusing its superpower status, has been creating trouble in the world one crisis after another. This is the final installment.

1 Ukraine crisis instigator: US-led NATO reneges on 'Not one inch eastward' promise to compress Russia's space to the extreme
2 Instability brewer: Behind every war and turmoil in the world is shadow of the Star-Spangled Banner
3 'Vampires' in the war: US warmongers feeding on the bloody turbulence in other countries
4 Cold War schemer: Reminiscing in its past 'victory,' US brings color revolutions to 21st century to maintain its hegemony
5 The poison disseminator: How US spread biological 'poison', ethnic division and ideological antagonism around the world
6 Human rights destroyer: US causes humanitarian disasters around globe, killing innocent civilians and creating millions of refugees
7 'Voldemort' of global order: America is the 'Dark Lord' set on destroying international order

A woman walks past the landmark graffiti on the walls of the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran.  Photo: AFPA woman walks past the landmark graffiti on the walls of the former US embassy in Tehran, Iran. Photo: AFP

"Just in one year, our sanctions are likely to wipe out the last 15 years of Russia's economic gains" and make Russia "an outcast on the international stage." These remarks by US President Joe Biden after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian military conflict are frightening. The US could implement such a "strangulation" plan economically and politically to a superpower like Russia,, not to mention other countries that are not as powerful.

Fanning the flames to create turmoil, using economic and financial hegemony to sanction opponents, and forming cliques to create political isolation - the US is using its hegemony to undermine the international order.

In fact, the US government's approach is quite similar to Voldemort's - they both believe in power, recruit followers, use violence, and repeatedly want to kill competitors in order to maintain supremacy.

'Paralyzing' sanctions

After the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, the US did not persuade Moscow and Kiev to negotiate and promote peace, but instead continued to provide military assistance to Ukraine in an attempt to prolong the conflict and to bring down Russia.

On April 13, Biden announced that he would provide Ukraine with an additional $800 million in military aid to help Kiev strengthen its defenses. Since the conflict, Washington's aid to Kiev has surpassed $2.4 billion.

In addition to supporting Ukraine ensnare Russia, the US has also imposed "paralyzing" sanctions on Moscow, involving economic, financial, technological and other fields. Kicking some Russian banks out of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), canceling the "Most-Favored-Nation" for trade with Russia, depriving Russian citizens access to their overseas assets, restricting the sale of Russian vodka... the US sanctions against Russia are all-inclusive.

Unwilling to act alone, the US is also pulling together European countries, Australia, Japan, South Korea and many other allies to deal with Russia, trying to "turn the ruble into paper." With their joint "efforts," Russia has become the country that has suffered the most sanctions from the US in recent years. According to a report by Sputnik News Agency, data from a sanctions tracking platform shows that since 2014, Russia has been subject to 5,532 sanctions, surpassing Iran and Syria.

Meanwhile, since the conflict began, at least 300 multinational companies have withdrawn from Russia. JPMorgan Chase previously predicted that Russia's GDP will shrink by 12 percent due to Western sanctions. Some Russian experts have warned that living standards in Russians may drop to 1990s levels. Meanwhile, the World Bank predicts that Ukraine's GDP will plummet by about 45.1 percent this year.

The war brought disaster to both Russia and Ukraine, while the US benefited.

A heartless dependence on sanctions

The crazy sanctions against Russia are just the latest manifestation of the US sanction addiction. Over the past 20 years, the US has relied on the tool of sanctions almost to the point of insanity. The number of sanctioned targets on the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control sanctions list has grown from 912 in 2000 to 9,421 in October 2021, a net increase of 933 percent.

Iran, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea are all on the US sanctions list, the reasons given by the US government for punishing these countries include the so-called "anti-terrorism", "anti-corruption", and "protection of human rights, " but the real reasons are in fact closely related to the US' ideological differences and geopolitical interests. The sanctions have ultimately triggered huge humanitarian disasters in these countries, observers said.

On October 25, 2021 people held a demonstration near the US Embassy in Zimbabwe to protest against Western sanctions against Zimbabwe. Photo: Xinhua

On October 25, 2021 people held a demonstration near the US Embassy in Zimbabwe to protest against Western sanctions against Zimbabwe. Photo: Xinhua

John Mueller, professor of political science at the University of Rochester, has compared the threat of chemical and biological weapons to the massive death and destruction caused by US economic sanctions and found that "more people have been killed because of the sanctions than have been killed by all weapons of mass destruction in history."


Except for sovereign states, companies of all countries will be hunted down by the US as long as they affect the country's interest.  Germany's Siemens, Japan's Toshiba, France's Alstom. The US has set one trap after another for these competitors in the high-tech sector. They were all fined heavily by Washington, and their core businesses were severely affected. Some employees were even arrested by the US government on trumped up charges. Frederic Pierucci, former executive of Alstom, detailed in his book The American Trap about how the US, under the guise of anti-corruption, manage to dismantle many of Europe's biggest multinationals for more than a decade.

The US has always stressed the need to maintain the so-called "rules-based international order," but when it comes to international trade rules, the US applies them when it suits them and abandons when it doesn't. The WTO report shows that two-thirds of the organization's violations are caused by the US, making the country the biggest "non-compliant" nation of WTO ruling.

'Secret Cold War'

The so-called "rules-based order", a termed pushed by the US had gained currency after then US President George W. Bush ordered the invasion of Iraq without the approval of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, which "exemplified his general disregard for international restraints on American power," according to an article published on The New York Times (NYT) in June 2021.

Looking back at the wars in the Korean Peninsula, Vietnam, Iraq, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Syria - the US, under the banner of "upholding justice," "stopping aggression" and "humanitarian intervention," participated in almost all major wars and armed conflicts around the world since WWII to maintain its hegemony. That has led to untold humanitarian disaster to the invaded countries and regions, and plunged them into instability and economic recession.

Former US president Jimmy Carter, once referred to the US as "the most warlike nation in the history of the world." In order to impose its political system and values, the US willfully interferes in other countries' internal affairs. It also provokes the so-called "color revolutions" and incites unrest in the involved countries in addition to military invasions.

According to American scholar Lindsey A. O'Rourke's book Covert Regime Change: America's Secret Cold War, the US engaged in 64 covert attempts at regime change during the Cold War. After the 9/11 attacks, the US started to use "counter-terrorism" as an excuse to force regime change abroad. The war on "terror" spread to more than 40 percent of the world's countries since 2001, according to a special report by the Smithsonian Magazine. Another study conducted by Brown University showed that, the post-9/11 wars have led to over 929,000 deaths and over 38 million refugees and displaced persons.

US' economic bullying not only affects the economic livelihood of the sanctioned countries, but also causes serious damage to the global economic order and economic security. Western sanctions against Russia have also had a profound impact on the global energy, food and financial markets. According to the Financial Times, sanctions against Russia are the biggest blow to globalization, devouring not only the real wealth but also expectations of future global economic growth.

US and UK ambassadors to the United Nations vote on March 31, 1992 for sanctions against Libya.?Photo: AFPUS and UK ambassadors to the United Nations vote on March 31, 1992 for sanctions against Libya.?Photo: AFP

A 'rogue superpower'

As a principal architect and custodian of the international order after WWII, the US is the initiator, founder and participant of many existing international organizations and international treaties. However, if these rules affect US' interests, Washington is quick to push them to one side.

In January 2017, the US withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. In December 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration. And in the following years, the US has withdrawn from the Iran Nuclear Deal, the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the Open Skies Treaty and other international agreements.

In terms of international organizations, the US has twice officially withdrawn from the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in October 2017 and again in January 2019. When the International Criminal Court "encroached" on US interests, Washington was quick to threaten sanctions in September 2020.

"In the early 21st century, if any power sought world domination, coercing others and flouting rules, it was the United States," commented a NYT opinion piece in October 2020. Noam Chomsky and other prominent US scholars also bluntly said that the US has become a "rogue superpower."

Experts point out that countries of the world are seeing ever more clearly the behavior of the US in undermining the international order. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, facing the extreme pressure from the US, Serbia refused to follow the West to impose sanctions on Russia. On April 9, Iran, which has suffered from decades of US sanctions, announced the inclusion of 24 Americans on its blacklist of sanctioned individuals for violations of human rights of the Iranian people.

Conclusion

In the Harry Potter series, Voldemort's arrogance and unchecked need for absolute power lead to his eventual demise. Unmasking the nature of US government as Voldemort, its face has now been revealed to readers piece by piece - the US is not only the Ukraine Crisis Instigator and Cold War Schemer, but also the  Instability Brewer, Poison Disseminator, "Vampires" in the war who spread plague and creates hatred, a Human Rights Destroyer who committed grave crimes against humanity, and the ""Voldemort" of Global Order. The world has suffered from the US for too long, and it is only a matter of time before the US' hegemonic behavior and destruction of the international order backfires.

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Sunday, April 17, 2022

Chinese Astronauts Return with Six-month Space Station Mission Accomplished

 

Shenzhou-13 crew return safely to Earth after record six months in orbit


Shenzhou-13 crew return safely to Earth after record six months in orbit The Shenzhou-13 crew have safely returned to Earth after their epic six-month orbital trip, which nearly doubled the previous record

 

Dashcam to the rescue: Scammers’ hopes of a quick buck dashed

 

North Klang district police are investigating a video showing a man purposely throwing himself onto a car’s windshield, which has gone viral. 

 

PETALING JAYA: A woman driver crashes into a group of mat lajak cyclists, and another driver is shocked when a pedestrian throws himself onto his car windscreen, smashing it.

The woman has been jailed but the driver of the other car managed to escape from a potential scam.

The reason – the second driver had a dashcam.

Dashcams have suddenly become a hot topic again as the debate continues over whether the woman deserves to be jailed or not. A video of the windscreen smashing scam has also gone viral.

ALSO READ:  No problems with dashcams as long as safety concerns met, says Transport Ministry

Car salespersons and auto accessory dealers have confirmed the increasing demand for dashcams, adding that customers choose to install them for safety reasons.

Salesman Foong Wen Sian said that in recent years, 60% to 70% of customers have chosen to install dashcams when buying their cars. “Customers ask if our vehicles are equipped with a dashcam and also request for it to be installed,” he said.

Foong said dashcams are important especially when accidents or thefts occur in areas without CCTVs.

“With dashcams, the recording can be used as evidence so police can take action,” he said.

Another car salesman, Annison Francis, said dashcams are important for women to defend themselves in cases of unwanted incidents on the road.

Dashcam salesperson Willie Cheng said there was a 30% increase for the product in the past year.

“More motorists are now educated about its importance,” said Cheng.

ALSO READ: Dashcam okay if it does not affect vehicle’s safety

Businessman Jason Wong, 70, said he was planning to install a dashcam for both the front and rear sides of his car.

“There are many drivers with bad driving habits nowadays so having a dashcam gives me evidence in case of any accident,” he said, adding that it could also avoid potential arguments.

Fitness instructor Wayne Wong Zhi Herng, 30, said the recent ruling in the mat lajak case – which saw clerk Sam Ke Ting jailed for six years – prompted him to install a dashcam.

“We can never be too sure of what can happen on the road so a dashcam comes in handy in case of any misunderstanding,” he said.

Casey, 29, an accountant, said he installed a dashcam due to concerns about scams and road rage.

“I fear cases where people intentionally get hit by vehicles and then claim compensation.

“Having a dashcam will give us evidence to better explain the situation to the authorities,” he said.

A dashcam video has gone viral showing a man throwing himself onto an oncoming vehicle, leaving the windscreen smashed.

A group of people then suddenly appeared and seemed to surround the driver.

When driver told them to wait for police as he had dashcam footage, the group, including the “accident victim” quickly dispersed.

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Dash it, where's my camera? | The Star

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'Mat lajak' modified bicycles-car accident case: Saleswoman/clerk gets six years' jail, fined RM6,000, no bail, appeal rejected although she had been acquitted twice before by the Magistrate’s Court.

 

Thursday, April 14, 2022

'Mat lajak' modified bicycles-car accident case: Saleswoman/clerk gets six years' jail, fined RM6,000, no bail, appeal rejected although she had been acquitted twice before by the Magistrate’s Court.

Tragedi basikal lajak, ibu bapa perlu dibawa ke muka ... - FMT


JOHOR BARU: A woman who drove her car into eight teenagers on modified bicycles on a dark street here has been sentenced to six years in jail and sent straight to prison – although she had been acquitted twice before by the Magistrate’s Court.

Following an appeal by the prosecution, the High Court here ruled yesterday that the lower court had erred in accepting Sam Ke Ting’s defence.

It said that not knowing there would be basikal lajak activity during the time of the incident could not be used by Sam as an excuse to drive dangerously, which resulted in the death of the teens.

High Court judge Justice Abu Bakar Katar sentenced the 27-year-old clerk to six years’ jail and a fine of RM6,000 for reckless driving which resulted in the deaths in Jalan Lingkaran Dalam, Johor Baru, at 3.20am on Feb 18, 2017.

Sam was ordered to serve another six months in prison if she did not pay the fine.

She was also disqualified from driving for three years, effective immediately after she completes her prison sentence.

Sam was accompanied by a female friend yesterday and did not show any emotion when the judge handed down the sentence.

After the sentencing, she was immediately handcuffed and taken by a female police officer to the lockup.

Justice Abu Bakar refused to grant a stay of execution of the conviction and sentence on Sam before an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

Sam had been acquitted twice by the Magistrate’s Court before this.

The first time, on Oct 28, 2019, the Johor Baru Magistrate’s Court acquitted and discharged her of the charge at the end of the prosecution’s case without calling for her defence.

However, the prosecution appealed against that decision and the Johor Baru High Court then ordered Sam to enter her defence on Feb 18 last year.

She was again freed on Oct 10 last year when her defence was accepted.

The High Court, however, held yesterday that the prosecution had proved a prima facie case against her and set aside the magistrate’s decision.

Justice Abu Bakar ruled that the magistrate had erred in accepting Sam’s defence.

“In her defence, she stated that she did not see the group of cyclists at the scene of incident and there was another vehicle that hit them and drove off.

“This version was never raised by the respondent (Sam) during the prosecution’s case.

“The Magistrate’s Court made a mistake when it accepted her defence of not knowing there would be basikal lajak activity at the time as an excuse to drive dangerously, which resulted in the victims’ deaths.

“She should have driven her car vigilantly instead of driving fast and causing the incident and should have realised that the lighting in the area was not bright at around 3.20am,” he said.

Justice Abu Bakar added that with visibility limited, the respondent should have realised there was a risk if she drove her car at more than the speed limit, which was 50km per hour.

He said Sam failed to raise any doubts while the prosecution had proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt.

“With this, the High Court sets aside the earlier decision to acquit and discharge the respondent and find her guilty under Section 41(1) of the Road Transport Act,” he ruled.

Lawyer Muhammad Faizal Mokhtar asked for a stay of execution of the conviction and sentence on Sam as they would be appealing to the Court of Appeal but the judge rejected the request.

Johor prosecution director Tengku Amir Zaki Tengku Abd Rahman and deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Syafiq Mohd Ghazali prosecuted.

The eight cyclists who died were Mohamad Azrie Danish Zulkefli, 14; Muhamad Shahrul Izzwan Azzuraimie, 14; Muhammad Firdauz Danish Mohd Azhar, 16; Fauzan Halmijan, 13; Mohamad Azhar Amir, 16; Muhammad Harith Iskandar Abdullah, 14; Muhammad Shahrul Nizam Marudin, 14; and Haizad Kasrin, 16.

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Wednesday, April 13, 2022

US forces other countries pay for its economic problems with monetary policy tightening: experts

If the US really acts wildly on China over the Ukraine issue, Chinese people will just face it

 China feels cascading effects with dropping stocks

With its stock market jumping, the dollar strengthening, and global capital flowing in, the US is again reaping profits but bringing financial shockwaves to foreign countries, whether they are what it claims are rivals, like China, or allies, like the EU, by tightening its monetary policy, experts observed.

As the Fed policy tightening accelerates, analysts said that the US is increasingly turning into a world "damager" instead of "protector" when the country finds its global responsibilities clash with its own national interests, and the world is paying the price for the US' domestic problems, like surging inflation.

In recent days, the side effects of US monetary policy, particularly the Fed's hawkish push for raising interest rates, have spread to multiple regions of the world and multiple financial areas.

The US Dollar Index is turning up sharply, at one point touching a ceiling of 100.19 on Friday, the highest level since May 2020. Accompanied by the rise is the weakening of global currencies including the yen, the euro and the yuan.

Global stock and bond markets are also sliding. The 10-year US Treasury yield topped its Chinese equivalent on Monday for the first time in 12 years.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index slipped by 2.61 percent on Monday, the Hong Kong-based Hang Seng Index dropped by more than 3 percent, and the Japanese Nikkei 225 was down 1.81 percent on Tuesday.

Contractions on global financial markets are generally considered to be a result of the Fed's move to increase interest rates recently, the first time in more than three years. Investors are betting on more aggressive rate hikes in the coming months after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell vowed tough action to rein in inflation during a recent speech at the National Association for Business Economics.

The US government has stepped on the gas to drive up interest rates to contain inflation. The US Consumer Price Index jumped by 8.5 percent on a yearly basis in March, touching a 40-year-high due to rising oil, food and housing costs. The growth beat market expectations of 8.4 percent.

However, Chinese experts criticized the US for shifting the burden of its own economic problems to global markets.

"The US is letting global markets pay the price for its own crisis of inflation, depending on the dominant role of the US dollar and the integration of the global economy," Li Haidong, a professor from the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

According to Li, the countries holding massive US dollar assets will feel the pinch from Fed's tightening, but the blow will be even more vital for countries that have a vulnerable social system, as the US action might bring havoc to social stability there.

He also said that when the US government sees a clash between its global responsibility and its own interests, it does not feel guilt in choosing the latter.

"The US' role in the world is turning from that of a protector to a kind of damager, as it thinks that globalization is bad for its own interests," Li said.

Even countries that are in the same league as the US won't escape the US' profit-seeking moves, experts said.

Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times that the US is adding fuel to the flames of the Ukraine crisis, in order to strengthen its position in the so-called Western alliance, as well as further enhance the role of the greenback after investors saw Europe was not secure.

A direct consequence of this strategy is a weaker EU, both businesswise and politically, as the region's independence is undermined, while the military chaos also hurts the region's energy supplies and the euro's attraction to international investors.

Xi said that US monetary policy shifts will put pressure on the Chinese mainland's financial markets, especially as the mainland expands connections with the Hong Kong stock market, which is more vulnerable to US financial volatility.

However, Xi stressed that the impact on the mainland markets won't be severe because of capital flow restrictions, and China's independent monetary policy will not be swayed by external factors like the US Fed's decisions.

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