Putin the Terrible Was Xi Jinping’s Role Model. Now He’s the Junior Partner.

Nice headline!

"Xi Jinping once admired Vladimir Putin. Now he manages him. ..."

Putin Was Xi’s Role Model. Now He’s the Junior Partner. - WSJ "Four years of war and economic isolation have reduced the Russian president to a supplicant in a relationship growing more imbalanced"

Modi’s visit: Australia, India seek to gain strength from each other

Good news! India, a rising superpower!

"... Probably the most striking part is the undertaking ‘to consult on defence-related developments in the Indo-Pacific that affect shared interests.’ This would have been unthinkable between Australia and India even a few years ago. ...

A second remarkable outcome was in the area of civil nuclear energy and the sale of uranium to India as part of broader energy-security cooperation.

Uranium sale to India has a long and complicated history, because India was usually rejected as a buyer because of its refraining from signing the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. India, on the other hand, has repeatedly argued with the justification that, even though it has not been a party to the NPT, it has abided by the treaty’s principles better than the signatories have. This used to be a source of much frustration in India because Australia was selling uranium to China even though it had violated its NPT and Nuclear Suppliers Group commitments. ..."

Modi’s visit: Australia, India seek to gain strength from each other | The Strategist

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to Australia last week delivered substantial outcomes, especially in the defence and security sector.

The Next Russia Threat: Moscow’s Military Power After Ukraine. Really!

The Cold War warriors are back at the Foreign Affairs journal!

What if glasnost and perestroika return to Russia? Was Mikhail Gorbachev (the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 until the country's dissolution in 1991) only a one time, singular historical accident in Russia? I doubt it!

Will the Russian people remember War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (published in 1869)?

Will the Russian people, which suffered now over 1 million war casualties that maimed and killed young Russian men in this absurd Russo-Ukrainian War, not have second thoughts about another strong man like Putin the Terrible?

"... Even if defeated, Russia will remain the primary threat in Europe for years to come. Despite its stagnating economy, poor demographics, and ossifying authoritarian regime, Russia remains the main power capable of and invested in upending the continent’s security architecture. ..."

The Next Russia Threat: Moscow’s Military Power After Ukraine

Current issue

Front page of War and Peace sixth volume, first edition, 1869 (Russian)

U.S. aims to curb foreign distillation of or training on domestic models

Interesting! Is this an exercise in futility?

How much of a copycat is communist China?

"The Trump administration plans to implement new restrictions to prevent foreign entities, specifically companies in China, from training AI models to mimic the outputs of models built in the United States, a common practice known as knowledge distillation. Chief White House technology advisor Michael Kratsios said the administration intends to work with AI companies to identify efforts to distill U.S.-built models, defend against them, and punish foreign companies that attempt them. Chinese officials responded by calling for cooperation and accusing the U.S. government of seeking to suppress China’s technological development. Banning foreign entities from distilling knowledge from U.S. models would limit open development and potentially complicate international research collaborations." (Datapoints)

"The Trump administration is vowing to crack down on foreign tech companies’ exploitation of U.S. artificial intelligence models, singling out China at a time that country is narrowing the gap with the U.S. in the AI race.

In a Thursday memo, Michael Kratsios, the president’s chief science and technology adviser, accused foreign entities “principally based in China” of engaging in deliberate, industrial-scale campaigns to “distill,” or extract capabilities from, leading AI systems made in the U.S. and “exploiting American expertise and innovation.” ..."

Trump administration vows crackdown on Chinese companies ‘exploiting’ AI models made in US

Russia, Turkey And Other countries Engage with African Autocrats

Recommendable! What are Russia and others up to?

Caveat: I did not read the entire, long article!

Us Competes With Russia And Others As It Engages African Autocrats: Africa File Special Edition | Critical Threats

Figure 5. Russia Pursues Mediterranean Sea to Atlantic Ocean Corridor

Figure 6. Madagascar Moves Closer to Russia

Figure 8. United Arab Emirate backed Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Regional Smuggling Supply Lines

Trump, Xi, and the Specter of 1914 | Foreign Affairs. Really!

This article headline makes very little sense if no sense at all! 

China is very different than any of the European countries involved in World War I!

Maybe the author, a professor of history, should first read Sun Tzu's The Art of War!

Caveat: I did not read the article given the idiotic headline!

Written by "ODD ARNE WESTAD is Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs at Yale University. This essay is adapted from his forthcoming book, The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings From History (Henry Holt, BBC Books). Copyright © 2026 by Odd Arne Westad."

Trump, Xi, and the Specter of 1914 | Foreign Affairs "How America and China Can Avoid the Blunders That Led to World War I [???]"

Latest issue of Foreign Affairs is full of delusions

Caution: satire!

From the table of contents:

"The Globalist Delusion

Why America Must Build a New Operating System

Nadia Schadlow

The Multipolar Delusion

And the Unilateral Temptation

C. Raja Mohan"

March/April 2026 | Foreign Affairs

The Predatory Hegemon | Foreign Affairs. Really!

Big words used here by a talking head from the ivory tower to describe President Trump!

"Stephen M. Walt

STEPHEN M. WALT is Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School. A leading proponent of the neorealist school of international relations"

"Ever since Donald Trump first became U.S. president, in 2017, commentators have searched for an adequate label to describe his approach to U.S. foreign relations. Writing in these pages, the political scientist Barry Posen suggested in 2018 that Trump’s grand strategy was “illiberal hegemony,” and the analyst Oren Cass argued last fall that its defining essence was a demand for “reciprocity.” Trump has been called a realist, a nationalist, an old-fashioned mercantilist, an imperialist, and an isolationist. Each of these terms captures some aspects of his approach, but the grand strategy of his second presidential term is perhaps best described as “predatory hegemony.” Its central aim is to use Washington’s privileged position to extract concessions, tribute, and displays of deference from both allies and adversaries, pursuing short-term gains in what it sees as a purely zero-sum world.

Given the United States’ still considerable assets and geographic advantages, predatory hegemony may work for a time. In the long run, however, it is doomed to fail. It is ill suited for a world of several competing great powers—especially one in which China is an economic and military peer—because multipolarity gives other states ways to reduce their dependence on the United States. ..."

The Predatory Hegemon | Foreign Affairs "How Trump Wields American Power"

Stephen M. Walt (Source)

Poland Still Without U.S. Ambassador: Jacek Najder Will NOT Be Poland's Ambassador to the U.S.

What a strange situation! The US and Poland have a special relationship at least since 1776!

Is the Old World Order Dead?

Recommendable!

How is Turkey expanding its sphere of influence?

Recommendable! About Osman sultan Erdogan!

Belarusian President Lukashenko meets with Trump's envoy Keith Kellogg in Minsk

Is old Lukashenko getting a little wiser and tries to distance himself from the megalomaniac and war criminal Putin the Terrible?

Did Muslim Countries Abandon Pakistan This Time? with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Affirmative!

Leaders of UK, Germany, France Poland in Ukraine for 1st joint visit

Good news! This happened almost in a relaxed and jovial atmosphere!

Taiwan: the sponge that soaks up Chinese power

That has been one familiar way to look at the China/Taiwan situation for several decades! The Communist Party of China may hold similar views.

However, this view is too narrow!

"Taiwan has an inadvertent, rarely acknowledged [???] role in global affairs: it’s a kind of sponge, soaking up much of China’s political, military and diplomatic efforts. Taiwan absorbs Chinese power of persuasion and coercion that won’t be directed elsewhere while the island remains free. ..."

Taiwan: the sponge that soaks up Chinese power | The Strategist

France Threatens “Consequences” as Algeria Expels 12 French Officials with Palki Sharma

Recommendable! Serious stuff and more complicated!

Slovak female singers perform Indian National Anthem at the Banquet hosted in honour of female Indian President Murmu

Cute! What a scene! A Slovak female choir in local costumes sings the Indian Anthem in a traditional Western salon. India, a rising superpower. We will see more Western countries singing the Indian anthem in the future. Mark my words!

Trump Should Fire Envoy Witkoff Says Top Ukrainian Official

Apparently, I am not the only one having some doubt about President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff. See my blog post of 3/23/2025.

Trump Should Fire Envoy Witkoff Says Top Ukrainian Official "A senior colleague in the Ukrainian President’s Servant of the People Party accused President Donald Trump ally Steve Witkoff of “shameful and shocking statements” and called for his dismissal."

India-New Zealand Strengthen Ties: Trade, Defense, and Strategic Cooperation Take Center Stage

Good news! The Kiwis are coming to India! Free trade agreement, defense cooperation and much more.

Japan To Allow Taiwan As Place Of Origin In Family Registry

Good news!