... underscores the close links between the Netherlands and France and the two leaders.

Keep your adversaries close by ...

The Dutch have natural close economic ties with Germany because of Rhine river transport to the Industrial zone of the Ruhrgebiet.

 The Dutch Big Four and Germany: AkzoNobel, Royal Dutch Shell, Unilever and Philips, 1890-1960

Shell moved HQ to London and isn't "Royal" anymore, same goes for Unilever, all on Rutte's watch. Philps went commercial and sold many divisions while moving HQ from Eindhoven to Amsterdam. Philips Medical USA has been a disaster.

• Mark Rutte: North's quiet rebel | Politico - June 8, 2018 |
• Merkel and Macron walk out on Rutte in dispute over EU stimulus | Gulf News - July 19, 2020 |

Macron, Rutte agree to disagree on European response to US subsidies | Politico - Jan. 30, 2023 |

The two leaders don't see eye to eye on how the bloc should hit back at US Inflation Reduction Act.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte hinted at agreement on a possible European response to the U.S.'s multibillion green subsidy package Monday, while also exposing key differences on what that response should be.

Speaking at a joint press conference in The Hague, the two leaders spoke optimistically of their talks ahead of a European Council summit planned for next week. Macron said he felt there were "convergences" between them, while Rutte said European leaders would "work towards an agreement."

The two men have been at odds in recent weeks over how to respond to fears across the bloc that America's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will siphon green investments out of Europe. While Macron has pushed for the EU to match the IRA with a generous package of its own, Rutte, a leading voice in the so-called frugal group, has warned against throwing money at the system without reforming it.

Mark Rutte folded twice in "negotiations" with Joe Biden on banning sales of global leader ASML high-definition chip wafer machines to China.

Mark Rutte does miss his principled friends Donald and Boris ... observe the date as Joe Biden and Antony Blinken were making preparations to confront "pariah state" Russia soon.

The Big Lie China | Sept. 17, 2021 |

The second dossier Rutte wants to discuss in Downing Street 10 is sustainability and climate change, he says. 🤥

Highly unlikely! On both counts the Dutch are far behind and court orders the government to meet the criteria set forth by the European Commission in Brussels.

• Will Rutte's Falsehoods Catch Up With Him?

In my analysis these will not be on the table in talks with Johnson today. As FM Sigrid Kaag resigned yesterday, Rutte has free reign to cover foreign policy and speak of commitments in full secrecy.

The playing field: coalitions in the European Union

A Qualified Majority

As a consequence, organising blocking minorities without the UK will be considerably more difficult for some groups of countries, as illustrated by the examples below:

• A like-minded coalition of Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden and Denmark constitute five of the 27 EU member states representing 26.64% of the Union's population. This group is 8.36% short of a blocking minority.
• The Benelux, the Nordic member states, the Baltic states and Ireland constitute 10 of the 27 EU member states, but represent only 13.67% of the Union's population. This group is 21.33% short of blocking minority.

For other groups of countries, forming a blocking minority will become easier:

• After the UK's departure, France and Germany will automatically represent 33.2% of the EU's population and therefore together will almost constitute a blocking minority.
• France, Italy and Spain together represent 39.24% of the European population and can therefore easily form a blocking minority.

It can be concluded from the above outline and examples that it will be practically impossible for the Netherlands to form a population-based blocking minority without Germany, the biggest member state. If the Netherlands fails to mobilise any of the large member states, it will need the support of 12 other smaller member states to form a blocking minority. Because Germany is not an automatic ally for the Netherlands on all issues, the Netherlands must seek to work with like-minded countries, many of which traditionally orient themselves towards the UK. In the next section and the following chapters the AIV explains which groups and policy areas it believes offer the best scope for achieving this aim.

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Protest in concert hall at the start of Macron's speech on the Future of Europe and economic sovereignty.

De toespraak die de Franse president Macron dinsdagmiddag hield in Den Haag, is verstoord door actievoerders [_link]

— AD.nl (@ADnl) April 11, 2023

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Volgens Macron moet Europa gebouwd worden op basis van concurrentiekracht, industriepolitiek, protectionisme, reciprociteit en samenwerking. Heel Frans, en heel idealistisch. pic.twitter.com/fW2rAxZ7ki

— rob de wijk (@robdewijk) April 11, 2023

Translation:
According to Macron, Europe must be built on the basis of competitiveness, industrial policy, protectionism, reciprocity and cooperation. Very French, and very idealistic.

A very poor summary would grade it with a D-. Being kind to him.

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Macron lays out his plan for Europe on a visit to the Netherlands [_link] pic.twitter.com/ISyrHcykkM

— RFI English (@RFI_En) April 11, 2023

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How to keep a "controversy" going: talk to Charles Michel (whose main job should be to bring member states, who always have different opinions, together towards a common position) [_link]

— Caroline de Gruyter (@CarolineGruyter) April 12, 2023

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Baerbock will follow America on position Taiwan ... One China policy unchanged. But Taiwan is not a province, it's a sovereign state recognized by a handful of countries including Lithuania.

"Foolish," "extremely short-sided," "botched" -- these are just some comments about Macron's China/Taiwan remarks you hear in Berlin these days.

Amid this backdrop, German Foreign Minister Baerbock leaves to China "to set the record straight." [_link]

— Hans von der Burchard (@vonderburchard) April 12, 2023

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The French Marine-ship FS Normandie fired 21 salute shots from Amsterdams IJ-river, at the start of the state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the Netherlands. The shots were answered by 21 shots out of howitzer canons of the Dutch army. It is the first time in 23 years a French President visits [official state visit with all ceremonials] the the Netherlands. Macron and his wife Brigitte were received by King Willem-Alexander and his wife Princess Maxima this morning at the Palace at Dam Square.

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Two suspects were arrested this morning in front of the entrance to the UvA at Science Park who ran towards French President Macron. Images show how police officers tackle one of the two suspects.

Politie tackelt demonstrant die op Macron afrent, twee verdachten aangehouden [_link]

— AT5 (@AT5) April 12, 2023

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Germany has condemned China's military drills close to Taiwan.

Berlin is accusing Beijing of inflaming tensions.

"We expect all parties in the region to contribute to stability and peace," German Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Andrea Sasse said. pic.twitter.com/j1pbOlcLMi

— DW Politics (@dw_politics) April 12, 2023

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Mapping out Taiwan war scenarios [_link]

— Asia Times (@asiatimesonline) April 10, 2023

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The experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST), or the Chinese "artificial sun," achieved a steady-state high confinement plasma operation for 403 seconds on Wednesday, a key step toward the development of a fusion reactor. #GLOBALink pic.twitter.com/EfCTCM3rUc

— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) April 13, 2023

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Thu Jan 12th 2023, Tue Dec 13th 2022, Wed Feb 9th 2022, Thu Jun 3rd 2021, Thu Apr 19th 2018, Sat Apr 4th, 2015

Yesterday I read a lively, somewhat technical thread at After Shock. Surprising no one, I hope, contributers there attribute marginal gain of function in this cooperative enterprise to historical Russian mechanical thermo-nuke expertise. Over all, practical application following this milestone merited, "meh."

Diese erschütternden Bilder belegen ein weiteres Mal die Verbrechen der KPCh an Uiguren und anderen muslimischen Minderheiten. Sie entlarven die Behauptungen der chin. Regierung als dreiste Lügenpropaganda. [_link]

— Margarete Bause (@MargareteBause) May 24, 2022

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warns China of 'fundamental differences' over human rights | SCMP - Jan. 21, 2022 |

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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang held talks with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock in Beijing on Friday. [_link]

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) April 14, 2023

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#FromTheSouth News Bits | Presidents of China and Brazil strengthen cooperation ties by signing important agreements. pic.twitter.com/PFpshC9xCv

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) April 14, 2023

China offers products for her green energy transition as Germany meets the greed of the wealthy Chinese for fast fossil-fuel driven German cars.

China turns tables on German car industry as BYD plans to buy Ford factory to make EVs

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Will Annalena undo the damage done to EU/NATO relations on policy towards China? 🧑🏻‍🚀 😂

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on April 10, 2023

CCTV: French President Emmanuel Macron has concluded his state visit to China. Can you share more about the outcomes of his visit?

Wang Wenbin: From April 5 to 7, President Emmanuel Macron paid a state visit to China. This is the first visit to China by a European head of state since China fully resumed foreign exchanges and held the successful "two sessions". During the visit, the two heads of state had friendly, in-depth and quality exchanges of views in Beijing and Guangzhou and reached a number of strategic common understandings. Together, they charted the course and drew the blueprint for China-France cooperation at the bilateral, China-EU and global levels. Premier Li Qiang and Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Zhao Leji met with President Macron respectively.

[...]
During the visit, the two sides signed close to 40 inter-governmental agreements and business contracts, covering areas of aviation, science and technology, education and agriculture. The two sides also issued a joint statement, making plans for cooperation in all areas in the next stage.

Reuters: While displaying itself as a force for global peace, China is threatening Taiwan with military drills in the Taiwan Strait. How can China win the trust of the international community while conducting military drills?

Wang Wenbin: I can't see the logic in which you raised the question. I think your question makes no sense. 

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US doubles down on its maritime power to regain influence and superiority over Beijing.

US warns it will defend ally if China breaks sea ruling | AP News - July 2022 |

Blinken's statement, issued by the U.S. Embassy in Manila, was released on the sixth anniversary of the 2016 decision by an arbitration tribunal set up in The Hague under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea after the Philippine government complained in 2013 about China's increasingly aggressive actions in the disputed waters.

China did not participate in the arbitration, rejected its ruling as a sham and continues to defy it, bringing it into territorial spats with the Philippines and other Southeast Asian claimant states in recent years.

"We call again on the PRC to abide by its obligations under international law and cease its provocative behavior," Blinken said, using the acronym for China's formal name, the People's Republic of China.

"We also reaffirm that an armed attack on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the South China Sea would invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments" under the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, Blinken said.

• Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA)
• The South China Sea Arbitration (The Republic of Philippines v. The People's Republic of China)

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US, Philippines begin largest-ever drills after China exercises around Taiwan [_link]

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) April 11, 2023

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U.S. Unveils Strategy for Nuclear Threats from China and Russia | TIME - Oct. 27, 2022 |

The Biden Administration unveiled a new defense strategy Thursday that puts the U.S. military on a Cold War-footing with China and Russia, detailing a plan to confront two nuclear peer adversaries for the first time in history with a multi-year build-up of modernized weaponry, enhanced foreign alliances and a top-to bottom overhaul of the American nuclear arsenal.

The 80-page document serves as the Administration's roadmap for global security for the decades to come, and makes clear the U.S. faces two powerful but very different competitors. It characterizes China as a long-term "pacing challenge" with its growing power projection in the Pacific region, while deeming Russia to be an immediate "acute threat" amid its ongoing war with Ukraine and continual threats to launch a nuclear strike.

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US Defence Strategy Brands China as Greatest Security Challenge & Russia as 'Acute Threat'

"We are living in a 'decisive decade,' one stamped by dramatic changes in geopolitics, technology, economics, and our environment," said US president Joe Biden.

The defense strategy that the United States pursues will set the Department's course for decades to come. The Department of Defense owes it to our All-Volunteer Force and the American people to provide a clear picture of the challenges we expect to face in the crucial years ahead--and we owe them a clear and rigorous strategy for advancing our defense and security goals.

The 2022 National Defense Strategy (NDS) details the Department's path forward into that decisive decade--from helping to protect the American people, to promoting global security, to seizing new strategic opportunities, and to realizing and defending our democratic values. For the first time, the Department conducted its strategic reviews--the NDS, the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) and Missile Defense Review (MDR)--in an integrated way, ensuring tight linkages between our strategy and our resources.

The NDS directs the Department to act urgently to sustain and strengthen U.S. deterrence, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the pacing challenge for the Department. The NDS further explains how we will collaborate with our NATO Allies and partners to reinforce robust deterrence in the face of Russian aggression while mitigating and protecting against threats from North Korea, Iran, violent extremist organizations, and transboundary challenges such as climate change.

The PRC remains our most consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades. I have reached this conclusion based on the PRC's increasingly coercive actions to reshape the Indo-Pacific region and the international system to fit its authoritarian preferences, alongside a keen awareness of the PRC's clearly stated intentions and the rapid modernization and expansion of its military. As President Biden's National Security Strategy notes, the PRC is "the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order, and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do so."

[...]

2022 National Defense Strategy, Nuclear Posture Review | USNI News |

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Exactly my thoughts when diplomacy is willingly set aside to let trench warfare come to Europe. Stupidity all around for the survival of capitalism and hegemony.

The Geopolitical Boomerang: Can We Still Hope to Meet the Climate Challenge? |

Just a few months before, in November 2021, during the opening ceremony of COP26 in Glasgow, Boris Johnson was playing to the Davos crowd, calling for the re-enchantment of capitalism as solution to the climate crisis: "We in this room can deploy hundreds of billions. No question. But the market has hundreds of trillions. And the task now is to work together to help our friends to decarbonize...".

The friends in question are the fossil fuel majors, old industrial giants, or smart tech multinationals -- of which several (Shell, Apple, Walmart, and others) have annual revenues that surpass the GDP of many nations -- who are supposed to invest massive amounts of money to decarbonize the global economy and rise to the climate challenge. But we know that decades of effort to mobilize different market strategies, from voluntary commitments to the idea of a single carbon price, to attempts to "de-risk" green investments to redirect private savings, have never had the expected results. Political effort and economic tools have all proven insufficient; they all fundamentally fail to address reality.

We are no longer -- if indeed we ever were -- looking at an orderly and gradual transition, facilitated by global consensus, to a greener world. Yet this illusion, along with several others we will come back to, have for three decades tacitly accompanied the global governance and even the framing of the climate problem. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has violently shattered these illusions and its shock wave has exposed the contours of disorderly and unequal dynamics, driven by conflicting forces, in a highly confrontational landscape. The geopolitical lack of thought concerning climate governance is now coming back to us like a boomerang, exposing the fragility of a system that has relied on the civilizing force of markets and the virtues of broad, almost universal international cooperation.

The impasse over climate governance is also paired with great difficulties in the democratic functioning of Western states. Inabilities to agree at the national level, the rise of populist movements (the anti-democratic machinations of Trump in the United States or Bolsonaro in Brazil, the rising turnout for the extreme-right in France or Italy, violent anti-vax protests, campaigns against wind power), as well as the explosion of social grievances in countries in Europe and elsewhere, can be seen all over. Never has the dream of erasing development inequalities at a global level and social inequalities at the nation-state level through the virtues of soft trade and market forces alone seemed so vain.

Have a peaceful cultural summer

Sat Apr 6th, 2019 at 03:52:48 PM EST

G7 politicians only know how to play "Total World Domination" aka "Superpower" aka "Great Game" aka "Top Gun" aka FPTP aka Win/Lose aka Prisoner's Dilemma aka primacy, and they don't even observe their own rules. Anyone who's familiar with Piaget's observations of developmental psychology, in particular Moral Judgment of the Child, knows how, when, and why "self-organizing" players dispense with cheaters. No doubt there is an analogue buried in primatology litchitchure.

CN, RU, indeed ROW are not playing the same game.

.

Hypersonic Missiles Arms Race: What You Need to Know

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'Law not war' - Inspiring international criminal law champion Benjamin Ferencz (1920-2023) will be sorely missed | Asser Institute - 11 April 2023 |

Ferencz became well-known because of his role in Nuremberg after World War II. He was an investigator of Nazi war crimes and would become chief prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen trial.

Relentless efforts

With his work in Nuremberg, Benjamin Ferencz assisted in laying the foundation for the International Criminal Court (ICC). Ferencz: De "Nuremberg taught me that creating a world of tolerance and compassion would be a long and arduous task. And I also learned that if we did not devote ourselves to developing effective world law, the same cruel mentality that made the Holocaust possible might one day destroy the entire human race."

Ferencz was also critical though: he was very disappointed that the United States did not become a state party to the Rome Statute of the ICC. Ferencz: "I have not forgotten that it took the United States forty years to ratify the Genocide Convention which we sponsored. But the world didn't wait for the United States. If the United States comes on board sooner, and I hope it will, and I expect that it will, so much the better. If they don't, the world will move ahead and the United States will remain behind and it will lose the leadership role which it has enjoyed for so many years."

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Benjamin Ferencz repeatedly said George W. Bush and his administration should be tried for the Iraq War | The Intercept |

One thing worth remembering in this context are the famous opening remarks at Nuremberg by Robert H. Jackson, the chief justice:

If certain acts of violation of treaties are crimes, they are crimes whether the United States does them or whether Germany does them. And we are not prepared to lay down the rule of criminal conduct against others which we would not be willing to have invoked against us. We must never forget that the record on which we judge these defendants is the record on which history will judge us tomorrow. To pass these defendants a poisoned chalice is to put it to our own lips as well.

Sadly, by the end of Ferencz's life, he understood why Jackson's confidence was misplaced and might not be surprised by the glaring omissions in his obituaries. "No country that prefers to use its power rather than the rule of law will vote for the rule of law, it's logical," he said in a recent documentary. "There are some people who do not trust the rule of law, and they prefer to use military power to achieve their goals as they decide, when they decide. That's led by the United States. ... War will make mass murderers out of otherwise decent people. ... It's inevitable, whether they are Americans, or they're Germans, or anybody else."

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ARRIVAL: Her reputation preceeds her.

Foreign minister first to visit Pasch school and a German company producing wind turbines

Germany's government appealed for efforts to reduce tensions over Taiwan as the German foreign minister arrived in China on Thursday for official talks following Chinese military exercises near the self-governed island democracy that Beijing claims is part of its territory.

Annalena Baerbock arrived in the northeastern port city of Tianjin for meetings and was due to hold talks with her Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, on Friday in Beijing and with senior diplomat Wang Yi on Saturday. Her ministry said she would discuss Taiwan, Ukraine, human rights and other issues with Chinese officials.

China's ruling Communist Party sent warships and fighter planes near Taiwan last weekend in retaliation for a meeting between U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen.

"Threatening military gestures" increase "the risk of unintentional military confrontations," a spokesperson for Baerbock's ministry, Andrea Sasse, said in Berlin.

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Merkel pushes EU-China investment deal over the finish line despite criticism | Politico |

From my diary ...

EU-China Strike Investment Deal | Dec. 31, 2020 |

After long years of Brexit negotiations, four years of American intransigence under Donald Trump, sanctions imposed on NATO allies, ambassadors with a political agenda w/o experience in diplomacy from the School of Pompeo, flaunting International Law, choice for MAGA and ending policy of multilateralism ... even the election of Democrat Joe Biden will be insufficient to believe American ways will change bound by a destructive U.S. Congress.

After the recent trade deal with Japan, the EU again sets a priority in Asia with this EU-China deal.

China scores an EU investment deal before Biden takes office -- and it wants to do more [_link]

— CNBC (@CNBC) December 31, 2020

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President Xi's rush to close a historic EU investment deal betrays his approach to President-elect Biden, creating economic agreements with US allies that lock them in .

Read my op-ed here: [_link]

— Fred Kempe (@FredKempe) December 20, 2020

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EU Suspends China Trade Deal as Tensions Grow Over Xinjiang, Hong Kong | May 10, 2021 |

European and Chinese leaders are urging swift ratification of the trade deal they agreed to in December, after tensions over accusations of human rights abuses in China delayed approval of the deal by European Union lawmakers.

The EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) took seven years of negotiations and was finally agreed to in principle December 30, 2020, following a virtual summit between EU and Chinese leaders. Europe said it was the most ambitious trade deal China had ever undertaken with a third party.

However, EU Commission Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said last week that efforts to get the deal ratified by lawmakers in the European Parliament had been halted.

[...]
The suspension follows tit-for-tat sanctions imposed over China's treatment of the Uyghur population in Xinjiang province.

The United States, along with several other Western states, has described the treatment of the Uyghur population as genocide. Washington imposed sanctions on several Beijing officials in March. Officials had also voiced reservations over the China-EU trade deal.

Uyghur Muslim Ethnic Separatism in Xinjiang

After the opportunity taken by Joe Biden for his power play at the expense of Europe ...

America Fills Void Left by Merkel | July 8, 2022 |

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< wipes tears >

A clever demonstration of US-Eng. idiom

< wipes tears >

or news from the future. Chinese FM spokesperson has not yet released 14 April daily press conference transcript. Nor has fmprc released a Activities "readout" for informal or formal Qin-Baerbock discussions about Strategic Dialogue on Diplomacy and Security. Begging the question, Who is Baerbock's chaperon on her "whistle stop" journey between, ahem, "marginalized" German voters doing bidness in China?

I detect a schedule conflict.

On 13 April 2023, the Foreign Ministers of the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran, held the Second informal Meeting on Afghanistan in Samarkand, the Republic of Uzbekistan....

And Global Times' 14 Apr edition seems to be missing the relevant Baerbock "feature story."

I idly wonder, How many European journalists accompanied Baerbock? And How will embellish the void left in this episode of feminist foreign policy?

Read coverage by Cat here ...

Re: World POWs "messaging system"

... At the hotel, Lula met with Dilma again. He is taking part in his Workers' Party colleague's inauguration at the head of the New Development Bank (NDB), better known as BRICS Bank, Thursday 13 April). Surrounded by reporters and cameras, the former president avoided talking about the bank, promising news for the interview the next day.

#FromTheSouth News Bits | Presidents of China and Brazil strengthen cooperation ties by signing important agreements. pic.twitter.com/PFpshC9xCv

— teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) April 14, 2023

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Had a talk with 🇫🇷 President  @EmmanuelMacron.
I thanked the 🇫🇷 leader for condemning the terrible execution of 🇺🇦 soldier by 🇷🇺 war criminals.
We discussed recent President Macron's visit to 🇨🇳. Grateful for conveying 🇺🇦's stance on the need to fully withdraw 🇷🇺 troops from 🇺🇦

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China seeks a long term settlement for the region ... the choice of the West was to start a new Cold War, impose sanctions and abolish globalization and multilateralism. Moving NATO into Indo-Pacific region. The U.S. Navy and Air Force just completed its largest ever military exercises with ally Philippines near the South China Sea.

USS Milius (DDG 69) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait transit April 16 (local time) through waters where high-seas freedoms of navigation and overflight apply in accordance with international law.

Click here to read more:[_link] pic.twitter.com/IzEOPA1T0Y

— 7th Fleet (@US7thFleet) April 17, 2023

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Out now: South China Sea, East China Sea and the emerging US-Japan-Philippines 🇺🇸 🇯🇵 🇵🇭 trilateral.

Special thanks to experts who joined us in Manila last December.

👇🏼 @PacificForum @DavidSantoro1 @sweetcarolli @BradGinTokyo @Aaron_MatthewIL [_link] pic.twitter.com/CHXThQrMkr

— Jeffrey Ordaniel (@JeffreyOrdaniel) April 26, 2023

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One of the SINKEX "interlopers" that disrupted the exercise. (📸 Inquirer) [_link] pic.twitter.com/t4BVuE1IKu

— Aaron-Matthew Lariosa (@Aaron_MatthewIL) April 26, 2023

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Zelensk*'s beating his "readout" like a rented mule.
fmprc daily briefings "clarifying" Xi's position will be epic.

George Bush, democratization and "reality-based community"

At the time, journalist Ron Suskind had a meeting with "a senior advisor" to President George W. Bush (later identified as Karl Rove). Here's how he described part of their conversation:

The aide said that guys like me were "in what we call the reality-based community," which he defined as people who "believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality." I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off.

"That's not the way the world really works anymore," he continued. "We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors .... and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do."

As events unfold increasingly chaotically across the region that officials of the Bush years liked to call the Greater Middle East, consider the eerie accuracy of that statement. The president, his vice president Dick Cheney, his defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, and his national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, among others, were indeed "history's actors." They did create "new realities" and, just as Rove suggested, the rest of us are now left to "study" what they did.

• The Philosophy of Online Manipulation | TU Delft - 2022 |
• Hostile Social Manipulation: Present Realities and Emerging Trends | RAND Corp. - 2019 |

Recent diary ...

Winning the Propaganda War

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Moscow court arrests Budanov in absentia | Kyiv Independent |

Meanwhile, in Russia, a Moscow court on April 21 arrested Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov in absentia over what it claimed were allegations of "organizing terrorist attacks."

Budanov immediately reacted to the arrest warrant by applauding it as "a good indicator of our work," referring to the work of Ukraine's military intelligence. He added that it motivated him to work "even better," in a commentary to the Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda.

While the Moscow court did not disclose which incident it deemed Budanov allegedly responsible for, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has earlier accused Budanov and Ukraine's intelligence of organizing the Crimean Bridge blast.

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