Russia making money with mercenaries in Africa

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Mercenaries have been a fixture in Africa since the second half of the 20th century. They have been used to protect incumbent leaders or install new ones in conflict zones. Their offering – guns for hire – has remained essentially the same for decades. However, they’ve recently undergone an evolution that forces countries to look […]Continue Reading

Wandering Earth II speaks to China’s global aspirations

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A prequel to the 2019 film Wandering Earth, the Chinese blockbuster hit Wandering Earth II opens on a futuristic dystopia where the dying Sun is about to explode and engulf Earth. A survival strategy is proposed: the Wandering Earth Project will build giant engines and use them to propel Earth away from the Sun. Amid […]Continue Reading

Chinese balloons and US alchemic leadership

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“The political fracas is already under way in Washington. Republicans claim the Biden administration showed weakness in allowing the balloon to enter US airspace. Officials counter that the previous administration, under president Donald Trump, didn’t react to several similar missions over US states and territories. Yet those previous incursions didn’t go on for so long, or reach so far […]Continue Reading

Putin is implicated in the downing of flight MH17

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The investigating into the downing about Malaysian Airlines journey MH17 has found “strong indications” that Ruskies President Vladimir Putin authorized the supply on the missiles used by separatists to shoot over the plane. However , typically the joint investigative squad leading the research said it has arrived at the limits of its analysis, largely due to Russia’s refusal […]#@@#@!!Continue Reading

Balloon drama inflates pressure for confrontation

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Seven days after a Chinese spy balloon began drifting across the United States, the US military downed it with a single missile. But the balloon, in a sense, continues its flight through diplomatic circles, complicating US-China relations amid rising tensions. One consequence is that the balloon may help shift how Americans view China. We are […]Continue Reading

Inflatables have been used in war for centuries

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One of the more surreal sights of the recent Afghan war was tethered balloons (also known as “aerostats”) looming over the bases of international forces. These “persistent threat detection systems” carried a suite of 360-degree cameras providing a constant view – out to 100 miles – of surrounding areas to the US “force-protection” teams within […]Continue Reading