Month: February 2021

State Department veteran Daria Novak provides this analysis of China’s worrisome gains in Latin America.

Twenty years ago, countries within America’s sphere of influence were easily identified on a map. Today China is redrawing that picture in Latin America and it doesn’t look promising for the US. Beijing is making major economic inroads into a number of countries in the region. Brazil, which represents 40 percent of the continent’s GDP, exported 24 percent of its goods to the United States in 2000 and only 2.8 percent to China. By 2018 the number had flipped and China was importing over 27 percent of Brazil’s merchandise while the US figure had dropped to 12 percent. A recent report by Claudia Trevisan, Executive Director of the Brazil-China Business Council, analyzed  the impact of China’s trade relationship with the region. Excluding Mexico from the figures, Trevisan points out that by 2018 Chinese imports rose to 21 percent of the region while the US number fell to 15 percent. The trade data, however, reveal only one part of the challenge.

The nature of China’s trade relations in Latin America also have evolved in recent years. Transactions previously included iron ore, soybean, copper, and other primary exports. Today Trevisan reports that China has “…changed the nature of its engagement with many countries, through infrastructure construction in Latin America and a marked increase in direct investment in areas as diverse as mining and oil, automobile manufacturing, finance, clean energy, and hydropower.” In the last 15 years China’s investments and construction projects in the region rose to $175.2 billion. 

The Brazilian Ministry of Economy reported in 2019 that over this same period China invested over $80 billion in Brazil alone, while the US number was only slightly higher at $83 billion. Brazilians sit on Chinese trains and use a Chinese-owned company similar to Uber for rides. Chinese telecom giant Huawei controls over 35 percent of the country’s mobile communications, although pressure from the Trump Administration is pushing back on its Chinese-supplied, 5G network. According to Trevisan, a Chinese electrical utility company built two transmission lines from the Amazon to cities in Brazil’s southeast. “These lines are the longest ones in the world to use ultra-high voltage technology, which increases transmission efficiency across long distances,” she noted.

What does Chinese economic involvement mean for the region? Local constituencies are now beholden to the communist giant, not unlike China’s efforts to influence continental politics in Australia and Africa over the last few years. During the 2018 Brazilian election President Jair Bolsonaro complained in a TV interview that “China is not buying in Brazil; China is buying Brazil.”  A year later he flew to Beijing to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to lobby for additional Chinese investment in oil and gas exploration. Interestingly, Chinese firms were the only foreign companies that bid in 2019 as every Brazilian company backed out. Although the Covid-19 pandemic has slowed investment and trade this past year, China’s influence efforts continue to push the agenda. With Brazil’s help, and over the objections of the United States, China took chairmanship of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Committee. “Beyond the warmth created by trade and investment,” Trevisan says, “ China deploys a series of direct initiatives to influence political elites, civil society, academics, and students in Latin America. Among the most successful of these initiatives are scholarships, courses, seminars, and invitations to China sponsored totally or partially by the Chinese government and/or by the Chinese Communist Party.”

Beijing is using soft power to entice these states. On the economic side, when combined, the total loans provided to the region by the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Development Bank of South America combined total less than what China alone has lent it since 2005. Once countries  accept Chinese loans, investment, and become entwined in bilateral trade arrangements with the communist giant, it becomes difficult to decouple, a problem the United States is experiencing, too. China is moving fast on many fronts, while as President Xi Jinping like to say, “there is a golden window of opportunity.”

Illustration: Pixabay

Judge John H. Wilson (ret.) examines China’s influence on Joe Biden’s Washington.

Human Rights Watch https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/global# reports that “China’s government sees human rights as an existential threat. Its reaction could pose an existential threat to the rights of people worldwide. At home, the Chinese Communist Party, worried that permitting political freedom would jeopardize its grasp on power, has constructed an Orwellian high-tech surveillance state and a sophisticated internet censorship system to monitor and suppress public criticism. Abroad, it uses its growing economic clout to silence critics and to carry out the most intense attack on the global system for enforcing human rights since that system began to emerge in the mid-20th century.”

With the advent of the Biden Administration, we can expect the Chinese Communist Party to have a great influence on American politics.  

This is not a statement of hyperbole – it is a matter of fact.

Chinese communists have already made extensive use of the California Democratic Party to conduct surveillance on American political activity.  Senator Dianne Feinstein’s chauffeur, who according to CBS News, ”also served as a gofer in her Bay Area office and was a liaison to the Asian-American community (who) even attended Chinese consulate functions for the senator” was a Chinese spy, reporting to the Chinese government about local California politics for 20 years. 

The Chinese communist spy who compromised Congressman Eric Swalwell, Fang Fang, also “socialized, networked with Rep. Judy Chu and then-Rep. Mike Honda, campaigned for now-Rep. Rho Khanna, volunteered for Bill Harrison, the mayor of Fremont, California at the time, fundraised for people such as Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, and in some cases, developed romantic or sexual relationships with politicians to gain intelligence and send it back to her handlers, who were believed to be stationed in mainland China.” 

The phenomenon of Chinese influence on American politics has now culminated with Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who undoubtedly traded his influence with his father for financial gain.  As described by Sean Hannity of Fox News, “Let’s start with the obvious. We know Chinese nationals, why were they spending millions of dollars and giving private equity deals to Hunter Biden? No expertise that we can find. Nothing on his resume that stood out to us … these Chinese nationals, what were they looking for? They were buying access, meaning buying influence. The question tonight is, just how much access did they get?” 

With Joe Biden as the 46^th President of the United States, the Chinese Communist Party has gained more influence than they could have hoped for.

Even if we ignore the evidence and pretend that the Bidens are not influenced by Communist Chinese money, the incoming President would not appear to take China seriously.  As reported by Foreign Policy, “(a)t a campaign stop in Iowa in 2019 he famously mocked China’s power and capacities: ‘China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man … They’re not competition for us.’”  

“In Beijing, the change will be very much welcome. In fact, it is already being enthused. Just as the new National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan explained in his first public comments about how the new administration will reimagine national security…his list of threats included racial inequality and climate change but not China…(f)ormer Secretary of State John Kerry’s appointment as climate envoy was especially applauded by the foreign-policy blob in Beijing. It shows that Washington will be desperate for China’s cooperation on the issue and less able to continue a strategy of active confrontation.” 

Besides using members of the California Democrat Party for surveillance and seeking sway over the Bidens, it is also no secret that the Chinese Communist Party has been pursuing another avenue of influence – the Black Lives Matter Movement. 

The Report concludes tomorrow.

Illustration: Pixabay

The impact of the global trend towards censorship by social media giants, news organizations and other outlets has caught many by surprise in the United States, where the concept of free speech had long been held sacrosanct.

That cherished concept began to break down around the time that the “progressive” wing of the Democrat Party rose to ascendency, reflecting the impact that “cancel culture” universities had in producing young voters educated in leftist institutions that openly oppressed contrary opinions.

Several years ago, Senator Charles Schumer called for the weakening of free speech rights, alleging that paid political speech is not covered by the First Amendment. He stated that “The First Amendment is sacred, but it is not absolute.” Frighteningly, he received the support of the Democrat delegation. Happily, that was not enough to secure passage of the measure.

Throughout the Obama Administration, various tools were employed to attack political opponents.  The IRS sought to deny conservative groups the ability to form not-for-profit organizations.  It’s Department of Justice engaged in harassing actions against conservative think tanks. There were thwarted attempts to place federal monitors in newsrooms.

CNN, which has emerged less as a news organization than as a spokesman for Progressive views, has called for the “blacklisting” of conservative news sites.

While corporate giants seek to portray the opposition to its censorship as a Trump-related phenomenon, opposition has been growing across the board.

Inside Sources  reports that “The Left and the Right may have different specific complaints with the most-powerful sector in global business, but the concerns about the unintended consequences of monopolies are strangely similar…many conservatives plausibly believe that the liberal Silicon Valley-headquartered Facebook and Google discriminate against them and their viewpoints. They increasingly see it in corporate culture wars (the intolerance of diversity of thought at Google or Apple), and in complicated algorithms that pick what content is “OK to be viewed” (Twitter banning Marsha Blackburn’s pro-life campaign ad), among other things… growing number of liberals and progressives are fighting mad at Facebook and Google, along with Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, and maybe even Uber … they worry that a menacing and moneyed Big Tech is snuffing out competition and oversight.”

The corporate giants’ attempts to grab power away from elected officials and censor non-progressive voices has been made clear by startling examples.

The Federalist found that Rep Louie Gohmert R-TX was silenced for merely literally quoting Nancy Pelosi.

The New York Post found that Twitter…temporarily s suspended the account of new Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after she posted a tweet questioning the results of the state’s runoff election for Senate.

Breitbart found that Amazon not only ended, in apparent violation of its contract. Its relationship with Parler—and even shut down the conservative-leaning sites’ servers.   Despite Amazon’s allegations that some had posted violent language on Parler, Amazon continues to host The tech giant, however, hosts, on its own website such as a t-shirt reading, “Kill All Republicans,” and a mug that reads, “Where is Lee Harvey Oswald now that we really need him?”

Internet oligarchs are not alone in their bid to drown out voices that question progressive views.  Thanks to Google, Twitter and Facebook bias, leftist politicians are freed from the fiery opposition that would certainly result from one group of politicians censoring others. Breitbart provides a number of examples. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) warned the incoming Biden administration is positioning itself to use national security tool against political opponents.  Pennsylvania lt. Governor John Fetterman alleges that questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election is not protected by the First Amendment.

The attacks on those challenging leftist views aren’t restricted to muzzling free speech.  Some progressives openly seek to remove rival politicians from office. There are solutions to the growing power of internet giants to censor political views that oppose progressive-leftist orthodoxy. There are solutions to the growing power of internet giants to censor political views that oppose progressive-leftist orthodoxy.

Illustration: Pixabay

China Condemned for Detaining Innocents

Secretary of State Blinken has endorsed Canada’s response to China’s actions in detaining innocent members.

“Arbitrary detentions are prohibited under international human rights conventions. When they are used, as too many nations do, to try to obtain leverage in state-to-state relations, they are a heinous act against the human rights of the individuals in question, and are an affront to international diplomatic norms. The broad coalition of governments endorsing this declaration sends a clear message that history remains on the side of human rights and the rule of law – not the cynical use of law as a political tool. Human beings are not bargaining chips. The United States wholeheartedly endorses this declaration and calls on all like-minded countries to work together to pressure the nations that engage in such detentions to put an end to this practice, to release those detained under such conditions, and to respect the rule of law and human rights.” 

Biden State Department Again Tilts Towards Iran

In another indication of the Biden Administration tilting towards Iran, The Sate Department  revoked the designations of Ansarallah, sometimes referred to as the Houthis, as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) under the Immigration and Nationality Act and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended.

According to Secretary of State Blinken, “This decision is a recognition of the dire humanitarian situation in Yemen. We have listened to warnings from the United Nations, humanitarian groups, and bipartisan members of Congress, among others, that the designations could have a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel.  The revocations are intended to ensure that relevant U.S. policies do not impede assistance to those already suffering what has been called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.  By focusing on alleviating the humanitarian situation in Yemen, we hope the Yemeni parties can also focus on engaging in dialogue.

“Ansarallah leaders Abdul Malik al-Houthi, Abd al-Khaliq Badr al-Din al-Houthi, and Abdullah Yahya al-Hakim remain sanctioned under E.O. 13611 related to acts that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Yemen.  We will continue to closely monitor the activities of Ansarallah and its leaders and are actively identifying additional targets for designation, especially those responsible for explosive boat attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and UAV and missile attacks into Saudi Arabia.  The United States will also continue to support the implementation of UN sanctions imposed on members of Ansarallah and will continue to call attention to the group’s destabilizing activity and pressure the group to change its behavior.

“The United States remains clear-eyed about Ansarallah’s malign actions, and aggression, including taking control of large areas of Yemen by force, attacking U.S. partners in the Gulf, kidnapping and torturing citizens of the United States and many of our allies, diverting humanitarian aid, brutally repressing Yemenis in areas they control, and the deadly attack on December 30, 2020 in Aden against the cabinet of the legitimate government of Yemen.  Ansarallah’s actions and intransigence prolong this conflict and exact serious humanitarian costs.

“We remain committed to helping U.S. partners in the Gulf defend themselves, including against threats arising from Yemen, many of which are carried out with the support of Iran.  The United States will redouble its efforts, alongside the United Nations and others, to end the war itself.  We reaffirm our strong belief that there is no military solution to this conflict.

“We urge all parties to work towards a lasting political solution, which is the only means to durably end the humanitarian crisis afflicting the people of Yemen.”

Illustration: Pixabay

The Pentagon’s Zachary Willis reports that While COVID-19 vaccinations are currently being distributed across the world to begin the process of reining in the pandemic, the threat of contracting the virus remains, and the population still waiting on vaccinations continues to be at risk of infection. However, help may be on the horizon by way of STORM CHASER, a study led in the Military Health System by the Uniformed Services University’s Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program. 

STORM CHASER, which stands for Study To Optimally Reduce Morbidity in Care Homes And Sites with Enhanced Risk, seeks to find out if COVID-19 could be prevented in those who have recently been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 infection by administering an intramuscular monoclonal antibody within eight days of exposure and not yet symptomatic. 

If successful, the product could be beneficial for those in high-risk circumstances, such as health care workers, those with COVID-19-positive household members, and restaurant workers. Those receiving the antibody could see immediate immunity and up to six months of protection from COVID-19 from a single dose.

Monoclonal antibody products differ from the vaccines currently being developed and administered.

“Vaccines require time to produce antibodies,” said Dr. Simon Pollett, an infectious disease physician and IDCRP lead for the STORM CHASER trial, “and thus do not offer immediate protection against COVID-19 when given after a SARS-CoV-2 exposure. The antibody product may provide very rapid protection against COVID-19 because it is given while the virus is incubating.”

The antibody therapy is administered via two shots during a single visit to study participants in their gluteal muscles. The scientists are also looking at whether viral shedding, which makes the individual with the virus contagious to others, will be reduced in those who get COVID-19 after receiving the antibody therapy.

Currently, the multinational STORM CHASER study is being conducted at multiple sites including five Defense Department facilities — Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, Madigan Army Medical Center in Washington, William Beaumont Medical Center in Texas, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia, and the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland. IDCRP is coordinating the study across all five DOD sites.

Study teams at these sites are made up of active duty and/or GS/contractor physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and clinical research staff. 

“Those who have recently been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and who are eligible for care in the Military Health System [including active duty service members] are potentially eligible to participate in this study at the five DOD sites,” said Navy Capt. (Dr.) Timothy Burgess, IDCRP director.

STORM CHASER is set to run for one year, with primary analyses likely occurring much earlier in 2021.\

In other COVID-19 related activities, the Defense Department’s first 222-person team have arrived in California and will begin to support a mass vaccination site in Los Angeles by Feb. 15, said the Pentagon press secretary. 

Additionally, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III authorized an additional 20 teams to support FEMA at vaccination sites around the country, Kirby said. This will be 10 222-person teams and 10 139-person teams. The smaller teams will be assigned to sites with fewer people who need to be vaccinated.

This will bring the Defense Department total to more than 4,700 Title 10 personnel supporting, or preparing to support FEMA, he said. These Title 10 personnel are in addition to the more than 26,000 National Guard members and 3,000 active duty personnel who have been supporting COVID-19 efforts over the last year.

“We will continue to work with FEMA as they refine their plan for vaccination sites across the country,” Kirby said. Details are still being worked across the interagency, he added.

Photo: Department of Defense