News & commentary by Dave Maxwell. Edited and published by Duncan Moore.
1. What China learned from Cold War America
2. China’s catastrophic success: US strategic blunders fuel rivalry
3. New white paper on China's full-spectrum information operations
4. Public asked to report receipt of any unsolicited packages of seeds
5. America isn’t a racist country
6. Leaf-blower wars: how Portland protesters are fighting back against tear gas and forming ‘walls’ of veterans, lawyers, nurses
7. Who gets to be a ‘naked Athena’?
8. Pompeo’s surreal speech on China
9. Mike Pompeo just declared America's new China policy: regime change
10. Officials push U.S.-China relations toward point of no return
11. As the world gets tougher on China, Japan tries to thread a needle
12. Coronavirus: patient who travelled from NZ to Korea tests positive for Covid-19
13. The U.S. wants India as a real ally, not another helpless dependent
14. If you’re not terrified about Facebook, you haven’t been paying attention
15. Being fluent in diversity: a 'Hamilton' lesson that cuts across generations
16. With a potential Iran-China deal, time for Israel to reassess its policy
1. What China learned from Cold War America
Wall Street Journal · by David P. Goldman · July 24, 2020
And the question is: what is our strategy? Here is our new strategic approach. Can it be applied to what has been laid out in the article? Can we effectively compete?
2. China’s catastrophic success: US strategic blunders fuel rivalry
The Interpreter · by John Culver · July 24, 2020
Has it really had catastrophic success? If China believes that the US will actually pursue the overthrow of the CCP as an end goal, it is going to make for some really difficult times ahead.
3. New white paper on China's full-spectrum information operations
Stanford Internet Observatory · by Renee Diresta et al. · July 20, 2020
The 62 page white paper can be downloaded here.
I think this is a must read for PSYOP professionals and all those who study and work on informational influence activities strategy and campaigns. This covers overt and covert propaganda (making overt propaganda social), key organizations, the United Front, and the Central Propaganda Department. It looks at three contemporary case studies: Hong Kong, the Taiwan election, and CVID 19.
4. Public asked to report receipt of any unsolicited packages of seeds
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services · July 24, 2020
What is this all about? Is this some kind of Chinese campaign to sow the seeds of chaos? A biological warfare campaign? If this is happening, why is there not a nation aide alert and why is this only from the Virginia Department Agricultural and Consumer Service?
5. America isn’t a racist country
Wall Street Journal · by Ward Connerly · July 24, 2020
I am sure this will upset a lot of people. However, I am reminded of the words of Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. He has said what makes America exceptional is that we correct our mistakes. And, of course, our Constitution is one of the best examples of our ability to correct our mistakes.
6. Leaf-blower wars: How Portland protesters are fighting back against tear gas and forming ‘walls’ of veterans, lawyers, nurses
Washington Post · by Marissa J. Lang · July 26, 2020
I have to admire the ingenuity of the protesters. But if, as many seem to believe, these protests are part of an insurgency, the federal law enforcement personnel conducting operations in Portland are failing on multiple levels. They are an abject failure. The fact they have to adopt the same tactics invented by the protestors shows their lack of training and readiness. And, as can be seen by the response of mothers, fathers, and veterans, their tactics are causing an increase in resistance in Portland by more than the "usual suspects."
7. Who gets to be a ‘naked Athena’?
New York Times · by Mitchell S. Jackson · July 25, 2020
Musings on the subject of 'weirdness" in Portland. (But the author says that he is not arguing that whiteness leads to weirdness)
8. Pompeo’s surreal speech on China
The Atlantic · by Thomas Wright · July 25, 2020
Another critique of the new approach to China.
I think we should recall this excerpt in the White House's new strategic approach to China:
“Even as we compete with the PRC, we welcome cooperation where our interests align. Competition need not lead to confrontation or conflict. The United States has a deep and abiding respect for the Chinese people and enjoys longstanding ties to the country. We do not seek to contain China’s development, nor do we wish to disengage from the Chinese people. The United States expects to engage in fair competition with the PRC, whereby both of our nations, businesses, and individuals can enjoy security and prosperity”
9. Mike Pompeo just declared America's new China policy: regime change
The National Interest · by Gordon G. Chang · July 25, 2020
This is quite an interpretation from Gordon Chang. He never pulls any punches. He provides a key point: up to now, many pundits have thought we can and must deal with China with traditional diplomacy. Do we now believe we cannot?
Again, this is what the new approach says:
“Even as we compete with the PRC, we welcome cooperation where our interests align. Competition need not lead to confrontation or conflict. The United States has a deep and abiding respect for the Chinese people and enjoys longstanding ties to the country. We do not seek to contain China’s development, nor do we wish to disengage from the Chinese people. The United States expects to engage in fair competition with the PRC, whereby both of our nations, businesses, and individuals can enjoy security and prosperity.”
10. Officials push U.S.-China relations toward point of no return
New York Times · by Edward Wong & Steven Lee Myers · July 25, 2020
Hyperbole? Are we really pushing to the point of no return?
11. As the world gets tougher on China, Japan tries to thread a needle
New York Times · by Motoko Rich · July 25, 2020
Japan, please do not waiver from the "alliance of democracies." But we have to respect the tightrope it must walk and the needle it must thread.
12. Coronavirus: patient who travelled from NZ to Korea tests positive for Covid-19
Stuff · by George Block and Brittany Keogh · July 26, 2020
Perhaps no nation can completely eradicate the coronavirus until we get a vaccine.
13. The U.S. wants India as a real ally, not another helpless dependent
The American Spectator · by Doug Bandow · July 26, 2020
But does India want to be an ally of the US? I am sure if there ever was an alliance between the US and India, Mr. Bandow would turn on it as well. He is not in favor of any alliance for any reason and he thinks all alliance partners are free loaders and dependents of the US.
14. If you’re not terrified about Facebook, you haven’t been paying attention
The Guardian · by Carole Cadwalladr · July 26, 2020
But we cannot give it up.
15. Being fluent in diversity: A 'Hamilton' lesson that cuts across generations
San Francisco Chronicle · by Dave Murphy · July 25, 2020
I have noticed this with our college age daughter. Perhaps it’s because she has diverse parents of different
16. With a potential Iran-China deal, time for Israel to reassess its policy
Newsweek · by Jacob Nagel & Mark Dubowitz · July 26, 2020
"Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose - a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye."
- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, in Frankenstein (1818)
"The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost;
to be everywhere is nowhere."
- Michel de Montaigne
"To forget one's purpose is the commonest form of stupidity."
- Friedrich Nietzsche