Donald Trump was elected with a mandate to make deals and “drain the swamp.” I had my doubts he could make a difference in the geopolitical realm. But even on economic matters, he has not had a lot of success. His Tiktok saga reveals just how far he has left people down. [This article is cross posted at the Saker; a short, abridged version of this article was … [Read more...] about Tiktok – How Trump Failed America
internet
It is Time for the World to Demand a Cleaner, more Accountable Internet
[An edited version of this article first appeared at the South China Morning Post.] With much pomp and circumstances, the U.S. has proposed to the world a brand new beginning, a shiny new age: a Clean Global Internet. The new enemy is China, which must be purged from the new rebuilt Internet. According to Secretary of State Pompeo, "The Clean Network addresses the … [Read more...] about It is Time for the World to Demand a Cleaner, more Accountable Internet
There are many reasons for the Donald to threaten to shut down Tiktok
There are many reasons for Donald Trump to threaten to shut down Tiktok. One is personal. He is still infuriated about his team being tricked into his Tulsa rally disaster earlier in June. Another is political. Donald is down in the polls. He is not down and out, but he is down across the board in so many areas, across demographics, and in electorally critical states. … [Read more...] about There are many reasons for the Donald to threaten to shut down Tiktok
New Internet Economy Puts Dent In “Boycott China”
I have long maintained that boycotts rarely work well as a tool of political protest. Even when mobilized as a collective national action like a trade embargo, history has not shown much effectiveness in causing political change, other than merely increasing bitterness (like the Embargo against Cuba). Against a much larger target, with even broader scope, such as "boycott … [Read more...] about New Internet Economy Puts Dent In “Boycott China”
Shadows of Censorship? Really???
Two weeks back, Russia Today broke a story with the title "China employs 2 million analysts to monitor web activity." From that, we get a plethora of dark articles about how bad the Chinese government is. For example, from the BBC, we get an article titled "China employs two million microblog monitors state media say": More than two million people in China are employed by … [Read more...] about Shadows of Censorship? Really???