No one disputes that the world is unfair. But no one expected a vaccine gap between the global rich and poor that was this bad, this far into the pandemic.
Inequity is everywhere: Inoculations go begging in the United States while Haiti, a short plane ride away, received its first delivery July 15 after months of promises - 500,000 doses for a population over 11 million. Canada has procured more than 10 doses for every resident; Sierra Leone's vaccination rate just cracked 1% on June 20.
It's like a famine in which “the richest guys grab the baker,” said Strive Masiyiwa, the African Union's envoy for vaccine acquisition.
In fact, European and American officials deeply involved in bankrolling and distributing the vaccines against coronavirus have told The Associated Press there was no thought of how to handle the situation globally. Instead, they jostled for their own domestic use.
For the complete detailed report go to:
COVID-19 vaccine inequity: Inside the cutthroat race to secure doses | CP24.com
Showing posts with label Power Play. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Power Play. Show all posts
7/6/20
Middle East: Turkey: Emerging From the Pandemic, Turkey Rolls Out a More Assertive Foreign Policy - by Marc Pierini
Turkey has been swift to implement its own brand of diplomacy during the
coronavirus pandemic, including deliveries of medical supplies and
plans for long-term cooperation on medical equipment. This cooperative
diplomacy goes hand in hand with an assertive foreign policy,
illustrated by military interventions and challenges to the legal order
in the Eastern Mediterranean. While consistent with the government’s
strategy for 2023—when Turkey will hold both a presidential election and
celebrations of the country’s centennial—this policy is bound to create
increasing difficulties for Ankara’s partners.
Turkey has been sending supplies of medical equipment to countries and regions chosen for a variety of strategic ends—whether to maintain stable ties (as with Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), further geopolitical interests (as with the Western Balkans and various African partners), or attempt to win favors (as with the United States). Using its long-haul military cargo planes, Turkey was able to promote these deliveries to 116 countries through ceremonies carefully choreographed by Turkish diplomats.
Read more at:
Emerging From the Pandemic, Turkey Rolls Out a More Assertive Foreign Policy - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Turkey has been sending supplies of medical equipment to countries and regions chosen for a variety of strategic ends—whether to maintain stable ties (as with Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom), further geopolitical interests (as with the Western Balkans and various African partners), or attempt to win favors (as with the United States). Using its long-haul military cargo planes, Turkey was able to promote these deliveries to 116 countries through ceremonies carefully choreographed by Turkish diplomats.
Read more at:
Emerging From the Pandemic, Turkey Rolls Out a More Assertive Foreign Policy - Carnegie Europe - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
12/4/18
USA: Democracy under threat by Republicans who want to reduce the power of the Democrats
'This is not democracy': Republicans try to shrink power of incoming Democrats
Read more at:
11/17/16
US Politics: Senate Republicans displaying strong opposition to Trump’s agenda - by John Ibbitson
Donald Trump may be waking to the
realization that a major centre of opposition could come from members of
his own party: Senate Republicans who are warning that the incoming
president’s preferred policies and people may not meet with their
approval.
“Heaven forbid,” Kentucky
Senator Rand Paul wrote in an op-ed, on rumours that the president-elect
might nominate John Bolton, who was George W. Bush’s ambassador to the
UN, as secretary of state.
Mr. Bolton championed the Iraq war that
both Sen. Paul and (eventually) Mr. Trump opposed. “At a time when
Americans thirst for change and new thinking, Bolton is an old hand at
failed foreign policy,” Mr. Paul warned. “The man is a menace.”
But Mr. Giuliani’s work as a lobbyist for foreign governments and companies, including TransCanada pipelines, could also land him in trouble during any Senate confirmation hearing.
Senators are powerful figures who are wont to assert independence, even against administrations that share their party stripe. With the Republicans holding only a narrow 52-48 lead in the next Congress, any defections could prove fatal. That may be why Trump press spokesman Jason Miller told reporters Wednesday that the transition team planned to take its time in choosing cabinet nominees, with swift confirmation by the Senate a top priority.
The Democrats on Wednesday chose New York Senator Chuck Schumer as minority leader. While Mr. Schumer promised to work with the new administration in areas where they could find joint agreement, “we will go toe to toe against the president-elect whenever our values or the progress we’ve made is under assault,” he warned. The Democratic minority, which has the power of filibuster, will fight to preserve the health-care reforms and environmental initiatives of the outgoing Obama administration.
Read more: Senate Republicans displaying strong opposition to Trump’s agenda - The Globe and Mai
10/6/15
Middle East Inside A Mid-East Coup: A Closer Look At The Russia-Iran Power Play
Earlier, we ventured to characterize the breakdown of Washington’s strategy in Syria as the worst US foreign policy blunder since Vietnam.
To be sure, that’s a bold claim, but it’s supported by the sheer number of missteps, bad outcomes, and outright absurdities that have developed in the Mid-East as a result of the effort to oust Bashar al-Assad.
At the most basic level, the support provided by Washington, Riyadh, and Doha for the various Sunni extremist groups battling for control of Syria has created a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.
Hundreds of thousands of people are dead and millions are displaced. As tragic as the situation already is, the conditions are ripe for it to get even worse if the move by Brussels to force recalcitrant EU countries into accepting a migrant quota system they are opposed to ends up triggering a dangerous bout of xenophobia in the Balkans.
Washington’s move to train and arm the Syrian opposition has of course also led directly to the creation of a group of black flag-waving jihadists that have taken the term “extremists” to a whole new level on the way to producing a series of slickly-produced videos depicting the murder of Westerners.
This same group is now stomping around between Syria and Iraq wreaking havoc on civilians and committing acts so heinous that even al-Qaeda has condemned them.
Of course the outright chaos the West has managed to create in Syria has now come full circle, providing Iran and Russia with a unique opportunity to tip the scales and seize power in the Mid-East.
What's important to understand here, is that this isn’t confined to Syria
Read more: Inside A Mid-East Coup: A Closer Look At The Russia-Iran Power Play | Zero Hedge
To be sure, that’s a bold claim, but it’s supported by the sheer number of missteps, bad outcomes, and outright absurdities that have developed in the Mid-East as a result of the effort to oust Bashar al-Assad.
At the most basic level, the support provided by Washington, Riyadh, and Doha for the various Sunni extremist groups battling for control of Syria has created a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions.
Hundreds of thousands of people are dead and millions are displaced. As tragic as the situation already is, the conditions are ripe for it to get even worse if the move by Brussels to force recalcitrant EU countries into accepting a migrant quota system they are opposed to ends up triggering a dangerous bout of xenophobia in the Balkans.
Washington’s move to train and arm the Syrian opposition has of course also led directly to the creation of a group of black flag-waving jihadists that have taken the term “extremists” to a whole new level on the way to producing a series of slickly-produced videos depicting the murder of Westerners.
This same group is now stomping around between Syria and Iraq wreaking havoc on civilians and committing acts so heinous that even al-Qaeda has condemned them.
Of course the outright chaos the West has managed to create in Syria has now come full circle, providing Iran and Russia with a unique opportunity to tip the scales and seize power in the Mid-East.
What's important to understand here, is that this isn’t confined to Syria
Read more: Inside A Mid-East Coup: A Closer Look At The Russia-Iran Power Play | Zero Hedge
4/12/15
Democracy: the party is over - corporations have taken over
It used to be kings, but a new book called "Power, Inc.: The Epic
Rivalry between Big Business and Government, and the Reckoning that Lies
Ahead" argues that global corporations are now in charge.
Author David Rothkopf is a former Commerce Department official, and now editor-at-large of Foreign Policy magazine.
In his book, Rothkopf discusses the population size of various corporations and compares them with countries. For instance more people work at Walmart worldwide than live in countries such as Botswana and Slovenia. Rothkopf said the comparison is to point out the power of various companies and the political influence they wield.
"It has an impact on the outcome of things," Rothkopf said. "Who do you think had more impact on the global climate talks, Sweden or Exxon? Exxon had more political power. If it has more influence, they're going to sort of pursue things in a direction that serves their bottom line. That's what they're legally supposed to be doing.
What we need is a balance. Particularly on the global stage we need a balance. We don't have international institutions that can balance it. The government's power is shrinking more and more every day."
EU-Digest
Author David Rothkopf is a former Commerce Department official, and now editor-at-large of Foreign Policy magazine.
In his book, Rothkopf discusses the population size of various corporations and compares them with countries. For instance more people work at Walmart worldwide than live in countries such as Botswana and Slovenia. Rothkopf said the comparison is to point out the power of various companies and the political influence they wield.
"It has an impact on the outcome of things," Rothkopf said. "Who do you think had more impact on the global climate talks, Sweden or Exxon? Exxon had more political power. If it has more influence, they're going to sort of pursue things in a direction that serves their bottom line. That's what they're legally supposed to be doing.
What we need is a balance. Particularly on the global stage we need a balance. We don't have international institutions that can balance it. The government's power is shrinking more and more every day."
EU-Digest
6/26/14
EU: Russia pressures Moldova and Ukraine ahead of signing of E.U. Association Agreement - by Michael Birnbaum
A new showdown is looming over former Soviet states’ ties to Europe —
the same trigger that has ignited months of violence in Ukraine.
With some of those states planning to sign a landmark deal Friday that will draw them closer to the European Union, the Kremlin is beaming out urgent warnings about the consequences.
Russia has said it will flex its considerable muscle to squeeze any nation in the former Soviet orbit that seeks a future with Europe.
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are facing intense pressure ahead of the signing of the deal, including threats of export bans and tightened immigration rules, as well as the specter of strengthened separatist movements.
But the warnings may be backfiring, with leaders in all three countries saying Moscow’s ominous tone demonstrates more than ever why they need to pick a different path.
In Moldova, where decaying Austro-Hungarian mansions in the capital, Chisinau, testify to the once-grand heritage of Europe’s now-poorest nation, leaders say they are committed to the agreement, even if it makes their nation more impoverished in the short term in the event of a Russian backlash.
Read more: Russia pressures Moldova and Ukraine ahead of signing of E.U. Association Agreement - The Washington Post
With some of those states planning to sign a landmark deal Friday that will draw them closer to the European Union, the Kremlin is beaming out urgent warnings about the consequences.
Russia has said it will flex its considerable muscle to squeeze any nation in the former Soviet orbit that seeks a future with Europe.
Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia are facing intense pressure ahead of the signing of the deal, including threats of export bans and tightened immigration rules, as well as the specter of strengthened separatist movements.
But the warnings may be backfiring, with leaders in all three countries saying Moscow’s ominous tone demonstrates more than ever why they need to pick a different path.
In Moldova, where decaying Austro-Hungarian mansions in the capital, Chisinau, testify to the once-grand heritage of Europe’s now-poorest nation, leaders say they are committed to the agreement, even if it makes their nation more impoverished in the short term in the event of a Russian backlash.
Read more: Russia pressures Moldova and Ukraine ahead of signing of E.U. Association Agreement - The Washington Post
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