Bangladesh at a crossroads between authoritarianism and democracy

Recommendable!

Bangladesh's PM Front-Runner Tarique Rahman Returns After 17 Years in exile with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Mr. Rahman promises e.g. coexistence between different religions and ethnicities if he is elected.

Peter Tiede über die SPD: „Diese Partei brennt gerade von innen aus“

Das klingt ziemlich ernst!

Iranian Regime Falling Apart?

Recommendable! Is the Iranian military defecting? Over 40 years of theocracy and dictatorship is enough!

Iran's Hardliners are shaking up the government with Palki Sharma

Recommendable!

Why Spain’s Government is Under Pressure

Recommendable! What a mess! Like the running of the bulls!

Comment on No, the world isn’t heading toward a new Cold War – it’s closer to the grinding world order collapse of the 1930s

The author and history professor of this article is certainly right to describe perilous  parallels between our time and pre World War II.

Otherwise, the article is not recommendable! The author excessively engages in ridiculous bashing of classical liberalism. Just to provide one example of the nutty argument of this professor: "The rise today of figures like Hungary’s Victor Orban, Vladimir Putin in Russia, and China’s Xi Jinping remind historians of the continuing appeal of authoritarianism in moments of uncertainty." To compare Victor Orban to Putin the Terrible and Emperor Xi Jinping like this is about as stupid as it gets.

No, the world isn’t heading toward a new Cold War – it’s closer to the grinding world order collapse of the 1930s

Why El Salvador's President is the World's Most Popular Politician

Update of 3/31/2024: Sorry, it appears the channel has removed the video within less than 24 hours of posting it on YouTube.

Recommendable! The president jailed about 2% of the population to bring down the exceptionally high murder rate due to violent criminal gangs. Drastic, but perhaps effective!

Will India Follow in China’s Footsteps? (of oppressiveness)?

Is this becoming a new Western narrative about India! It's largely phony! This article is actually a contradiction as the last paragraph testifies!

To compare a totalitarian communist dictatorship like China with the largest democracy of the world in this fashion is pretty foolish and simplistic!

The author is apparently not very fond of Narendra Modi!

"... India was insular and hostile to foreign investment until the 1990s, focusing on traditional agriculture and crafts, in line with the moral teachings of Mahatma Gandhi and his idealization of frugality. ...
capitalism was frowned upon, and it was almost impossible to create even the smallest business without countless bureaucratic authorizations. ...
It took the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 for India to change its model. However, China got there first, flooding the global market with cheap manufactured goods. India arrived on the scene late, behind China and Vietnam, with less experience and a less-educated workforce [???].  ...
After turning its back on socialism, the Indian government under the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party, or “Indian People’s Party”), in power since 2014 and led by Narendra Modi, has taken a page out of China’s book. At great expense, it has built ports, highways, and airports to unite the Indian market. It is also staunchly capitalist and open to both domestic and international investment ...
Unfortunately, Modi also seems drawn to the worst aspects of the Chinese model, including the one-party system, a state that operates above the law, and the cult of personality. India is the world’s largest democracy, but having previously enjoyed unprecedented press freedom and judicial independence, the country now finds itself at the mercy of the BJP’s despotic whims. The party is seeking to impose a nationalist ideology based on a cheap form of Hinduism and traditions completely divorced from the linguistic, religious, and cultural diversity of eternal India. ...
Muzzling the people, as the Chinese Communist Party does, might be achievable due to centuries of subjugation. But silencing Indians? No one has ever succeeded in doing that—not even the British. India will certainly become an economic and military power, finally taking its place on the world stage. Modi and his radical Hinduism will have contributed to this evolution, but only Mahatma Gandhi and Amartya Sen will remain the saints of India."

Will India Follow in China’s Footsteps? | City Journal Under Narendra Modi, economic growth and political illiberalism have advanced together.

Rahul Gandhi’s 150-day about 4,000km long march across India is over. But will it revive the Congress Party?

I do not claim to be very familiar with either Rahul Gandhi nor with his march! Here are some quick thoughts:

Rahul Gandhi is a sort of reminder of the caste system and a royal family! Perhaps, this is not exactly what a modern India needs!

Imitating Mahatma Gandhi's (no direct relation) famous Salt March of 1930 might not be enough!

"It saw a large number of people – from prominent civil society members and activists to local leaders and celebrities – trying to keep up pace with the 52-year-old scion of India’s most famous political family throughout his journey spanning a distance of nearly 3,500km (2,175 miles).

Political observers described the march as a last-gasp attempt by Gandhi to revitalise the fortunes of his beleaguered Congress Party ahead of national elections due next year. ...

But for his supporters, the march was an audacious attempt to bridge the nation’s political and religious divisions, which they blame on the policies of the Hindu nationalist government of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ..."

"In India, Rahul Gandhi seems to have finally come of political age as he finished his marathon Bharat Jodo Yatra (Unite India March) from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.

Along the nearly 4,000 kilometres long walk, Gandhi struck most unbiased crowds, party workers and extremely unsympathetic journalists as a decent, thoughtful and compassionate man — rare for a 24/7 politician. ...
Gandhi has, at various times, described himself as a “sanyasi” and a sort of “love guru”. He repeatedly said during the yatra that he is trying to provide love and compassion when the others are selling hate. ..."

Gandhi’s 150-day march is over. But will it revive Congress? | Politics News | Al Jazeera

Rahul Gandhi’s long march an important turning point in India Bharat Jodo Yatra showed Congress is alive and kicking, still in the business of politics

Japan nears plan for dozens of new ammunition and weapons storage depots on islands closer to Taiwan

Good news! I recently blogged here, here about the rearmament of Japan.

We have learnt from the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war how important the ammunition supply has become given the enormous daily ammunition usage.

"Japanese defense officials are weighing a plan to build dozens of ammunition and weapons depots on far-flung southwestern islands in preparation for a potential Taiwan crisis ...

Japan has about 1,400 ammunition storage facilities nationwide, but 70% are located in the country's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, more than 2,000 km away from Japanese islands in the East China Sea.

Defense planners seek to spread these supplies out to make them more accessible to Japanese forces defending the country's China-facing islands.

The Defense Ministry estimates the Ground Self-Defense Force will need about 90 additional munitions depot within the next decade, while the Maritime Self-Defense Force will need roughly 40 more depots. ..."

Japan nears plan for ammo storage network closer to Taiwan - Nikkei Asia Exclusive: Defense officials seek to spread out firepower with dozens of new depots

Credits: Taiwan-Konflikt: Japan erwägt Munitions- und Waffendepots nahe Taiwan

TTP declares parallel government in Pakistan

Very recommendable and concerning! Will Pakistan split a second time? Will there be another Afghanistan war this time Pakistan directly involved?

Let's not forget that Pakistan has nuclear weapons. Perhaps, not many, but a few is enough!

Turkish, Russian, U.S., Iranian, Israeli strategy for Syrian endgame emerging?

Recommendable! Will this blow up first before the Russo-Ukraine war ratchets up further?

What is going on in Syria? This is another geopolitical mess! Too many cooks spoil the broth and human lives are in danger! I have to admit this long time hot spot of military conflict was under my radar for quite some time.

When will the Assad dictatorship (father & son) finally end after more than 50 years?

We are living already in very dangerous times with the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, a World War III by any other name so far largely limited to the area of Ukraine. 

Why is Turkey still a member of NATO as long as warmonger Erdogan is still in office? I have asked this question here multiple times before.

How much and for how long is the U.S. involved? What are the goals?

Once more, the ethnic minority of Kurds play a role in Syria too! Will there ever be an independent Kurdistan?

"Since 2019, the Syrian situation has been largely at a stalemate, with authority divided among three de facto enclaves, each dependent on the sponsorship of outside powers. ...
Turkey's Erdogan threatens invasion of Syria while trying diplomacy ...
Turkey finds natural partners in Russia and Assad [What???] ..."

Turkish, Russian strategy for Syrian endgame emerging - The Jerusalem Post BEHIND THE LINES: Without US pushback, Turkish-Russian cooperation may deliver victory in Syria to Moscow-Tehran axis

Südamerikas Demokratien zeigen bemerkenswerte Stabilität

Gute Nachrichten! Das deckt sich auch generell mit meinen Beobachtungen! Siehe z.B. meinen blog post hier.

Südamerikas Demokratien zeigen bemerkenswerte Stabilität Bis vor dreissig Jahren war Lateinamerika ein Hort linker Diktatoren und rechter Militärregime. Doch seither haben die meisten Länder einen überraschenden Wandel vollzogen.

Recent developments in Brazil?

Recommendable to some degree! You have to subtract some Trump Derangement Syndrome and the glowing admiration for the corrupt Lula! It also mentions only very briefly that Lula has to govern without a majority in parliament without any further details or explanation.