Da circa un mese il governo delle Filippine sta combattendo un gruppo che ha giurato fedeltà all’ISIS. La battaglia si sta svolgendo a Marawi, a circa un’ora dalla città della mia famiglia, dove ho costruito una casa e vivo per parte dell’anno. Abbiamo parenti a Davao, dove il Presidente delle Filippine, Rodrigo Duterte, è stato sindaco per decenni. Abbiamo una buona comprensione generale di ciò che sta accadendo, e grazie ai nostri contatti sui social media a Marawi sapevamo della conquista della città da parte dell’ISIS prima dei notiziari internazionali. Un po’ di storia:

DI JOHN PILGER
johnpilger.com

Il 5 maggio, John Pilger è stato premiato con l’Ordine di Timor-Leste dall’ambasciatore di Timor Est in Australia, Abel Gutteras, in riconoscimento dei suoi articoli su Timor Est sotto la brutale occupazione dell’Indonesia, e in particolare per il suo film documentario, Morte di una nazione: la cospirazione di Timor. Di seguito la reazione di Pilger.

Gli interessi di Stati Uniti ed Europa continuano a rappresentare il governo e la nazione della Corea del Nord come una minaccia alla sicurezza perpetua per l’Asia e il mondo. Le accuse per quanto riguarda i programmi di armi nucleari e missili balistici [in inglese] della nazione sono continuamente utilizzate come giustificazione non solo per una continua presenza militare degli Stati Uniti nella penisola coreana, ma come giustificazione per una presenza costante più ampia attraverso tutto il Pacifico asiatico.

In realtà, ciò che viene raffigurato come un atteggiamento irrazionale e provocatorio da parte del governo della Corea del Nord, è invece guidato da un atteggiamento molto palese, e sinceramente provocatorio, da parte degli Stati Uniti e dei suoi alleati all’interno del governo della Corea del Sud.

By Lindsay Murdoch
ICH - SMH

Half a century after United States B-52 bombers dropped more than 500,000 tonnes of explosives on Cambodia's countryside Washington wants the country to repay a $US500 million ($662 million) war debt.

The demand has prompted expressions of indignation and outrage from Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh.

Over 200 nights in 1973 alone, 257,456 tons of explosives fell in secret carpet-bombing sweeps – half as many as were dropped on Japan during the Second World War.

DI DAVID MACARAY
counterpunch.org

Molti osservatori – comprese alcune disparate voci come Zbigniew Brzezinski, Noam Chomsky, Hillary Clinton, Thomas Friedman, Papa Francesco e il proprietario del CounterPunch Conn Hallinan – hanno descritto la provincia nord indiana del Kashmir (e l’area circostante) come “il posto più pericoloso sulla terra”.

Per quanto tale affermazione possa a prima vista apparire stravagante o melodrammatica, è vera. Avendo vissuto una volta a Punjab, India, e viaggiato in varie parti del Kashmir, posso affermare che le relazioni tra India e Pakistan sono incredibilmente velenose e che la regione del nord-ovest è considerata così pericolosamente instabile che è un miracolo che non sia esplosa.

DARIUS SHAHTAHMASEBI

Il noto critico americano di politica estera e linguista, il prof. Noam Chomsky, ha dichiarato svariate volte che il potere degli Stati Uniti è costantemente diminuito dalla fine della Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Come nota Chomsky, nel 1945, gli Stati Uniti possedevano “metà della ricchezza mondiale, una difesa incredibile, controllavano l’intero emisfero occidentale, i due oceani, e le sponde opposte di entrambi gli oceani.”

(Foto: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte (4th L) gestures with Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Khovaev (3rd L), Russia's Rear Admiral Eduard Mikhailov (5th L), and other Philippine and Russian officials in front of the Ka-26 anti-submarine helicopter at the anti-submarine navy ship Admiral Tributs at the south pier in Metro Manila, Philippines January 6, 2017. REUTERS/Noel Celis/Pool)

Andre Vltchek
Information Clearing House

When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ascended to power in 1999, almost no one in the West, in Asia and even in most of the Latin American countries knew much about his new militant revolutionary anti-imperialism. From the mass media outlets like CNN and the BBC, to local televisions and newspapers (influenced or directly sponsored by Western sources), the ‘information’ that was flowing was clearly biased, extremely critical, and even derogatory.

A few months into his rule, I came to Caracas and was told repeatedly by several local journalists: “Almost all of us are supporting President Chavez, but we’d be fired if we’d dare to write one single article in his support.”

By Marjorie Cohn
Information Clearing House

In April 2016, Rodrigo Duterte won the Philippine presidential election by a landslide, with more than 6 million votes. He openly declared that he was the nation’s first Left president, calling himself a socialist but not a communist. So far, his regime has been controversial, to put it mildly.

By Glen Ford
BAR

Americans – including, and maybe especially, Black Americans – were upset that Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte called President Obama a “son of a whore” at a summit meeting, last week.

But, what would Americans call the head of a country that killed a million of their compatriots, colonized their country for half a century, dominated its affairs for another half century, and then gave lectures on human rights. Son of a what?

“Duterte does not accept being lectured to by the United States, a country with so much Filipino blood on its hands.”

Tony Cartalucci
journal-neo.org

Just as the Western media attempted to hide the true nature of violence unfolding in Libya and Syria during the opening phases of the so-called “Arab Spring,” it is now attempting to do likewise regarding the Southeast Asian country of Thailand.

Between August 11-12 and within a 24 hour period, several bombs detonated in four separate regions of Thailand including Trang, the resort city of Hua Hin, Phuket, and Surat Thani. Several deaths were reported and dozens were maimed as shrapnel tore through their bodies.

Tony Cartalucci
journal-neo.org

During the upcoming Russia-ASEAN Summit (May 19-20) to be held in Sochi, Russia, additional talks will be held with Southeast Asian nations seeking to bolster ties with Russia, who has until recently played a disproportionately minor role in Asia relative to the United States.

Diversifying Economic Ties 

It should be understood that Western special interests seeking global hegemony are driven first and foremost by economic ambitions. Political and military operations augment and run parallel to attempts to expand and dominate nations and regions of the planet economically. Such ambitions are meticulously planned out by policy think-tanks underwritten by corporate-financier interests, and sold to the public by corporate-dominated media campaigns.

Tony Cartalucci
journal-neo.org

The “New Cold War” could be a potential description for the unfolding geopolitical lay of the planet as Russia reemerges as a world power, and China rises as a new one in the face of a prevailing Wall Street-Washington-London international order.

The most obvious battlegrounds taking shape in this “New Cold War” are Ukraine, Syria, and the South China Sea. Perhaps not as high-profile but no less important are the ongoing conflicts in and around Libya, the proxy war being waged across Yemen, and America’s enduring occupation of Afghanistan in Central Asia.

However, there are other struggles taking place that go virtually unseen by the general public, or are briefly mentioned – out of context in the news – before being quickly forgotten.

Doveva essere una "drastica protesta politica" del comandante, che però è andata storta: è questo lo scenario più plausibile.

Statesman Kasit Piromya weighs in on the ongoing Thai political crisis – peels off Western label of “anti-democratic protesters.” 

In Part 1, protest spokesman Akanat Promphan enumerated the grievances of his movement and attempted to correct disinformation being intentionally propagated by the Western media.