Geopolitical Focus | October, 2024

As the US heads into the final stages of the 2024  election, the world has become as unstable as it has been in a long time. The 50-year veteran of politics, who once touted his pedigree and connections, no longer has a voice, neither through his administration nor personally. He may have a phone and a Teleprompter, but neither works effectively anymore. The people and the World are simply tired of Uncle Joe, and his vision for the World seems to be from the past. That includes his cannonball advisors, who believe wars are the solution to every conflict. 

The UN summit , another gathering of the world's elites, has released a paper of resolutions on how they will make the world a better place. Think of Gaza / Israel and Ukraine / Russia. What really is the legacy of the UN? Yes, there may be some improvements, but is it worth the money, infrastructure, and effort spent? Consider this example from 2015: there are realities, and then there are dreams. Life is a reality, so how can the UN explain the future when the G7 and G20 are confronted by BRIC? Perhaps Oktoberfest has a more unifying message. Here's the  abstract  and the  full report , for your reading. Just don’t rely on the  UN to stop a war  — they are captive to the superpowers.

In 2015, we resolved to free humanity from the tyranny of poverty, hunger, and want, and to heal and secure our planet. We promised to leave no one behind. While we have made progress, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals is in jeopardy. Progress on most Goals is either moving too slowly or has regressed below the 2015 baseline. Years of development gains are being reversed. Poverty, hunger, and inequality have increased. Human rights are under threat, and millions of people are at risk of being left behind. Climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification, and other environmental challenges pose serious risks to our natural environment and our prospects for development.

We have the WEF, unlimited  global foundations  and political organizations, but the WTO has taken a backseat in favor of politics and good feelings. We have experienced different political systems from Dictatorships to Socialism, Communism to Capitalism, and in all of them, people remain discontent. None of these systems truly offer value to all people, except perhaps the  Scandinavians , who seem to have built a sustainable model — at least until  immigration proved  a decisive factor in creating unrest. Still, the UN believes it can rule however it wants.

The Nordic countries have achieved high levels of welfare and well-being, along with economic output comparable to other highly developed nations. This success stems from high levels of social solidarity, taxation, and a political and economic system that fosters enterprise, autonomy, and aspiration.

However, the Nordic countries are small and more ethnically and culturally homogeneous than most developed nations. These conditions have facilitated high levels of trust and cooperation, leading to a willingness to pay higher-than-average taxes.

What if the world, especially the red/green coalitions like the Democrats, together with the UN, diverted warfare funds toward developing infrastructure, fostering real sustainability, and creating opportunities, so all countries could have a  better standard of living?  This report is from 2021, but things haven’t improved since.

Making trade more inclusive is a key priority for WTO members. Their shared goal is to ensure that trade benefits more economies and people, aligning with the vision outlined in the WTO's founding Marrakesh Agreement. The 30th anniversary of this agreement offers a chance to review past progress, assess current trends, and find ways to make trade work for all.

This is the focus of the World Trade Report 2024, launched on September 10. It seeks to answer three questions: How can we make trade work for more economies? How can we make trade work for more people? And how can the WTO better support these goals?

But now, this liberal trading order  is in crisis. International cooperation on  trade  has largely broken down. The United States, once a champion of open markets, has abandoned its commitment to free trade, multilateral cooperation, and rule of law. By imposing tariffs and providing massive subsidies across multiple industries, Washington has openly violated the WTO’s principles.  China  has similarly distorted and weaponized trade through subsidies and economic coercion. To avoid punishment for its violations, the United States has paralyzed the system’s enforcement mechanism, risking the collapse of the trading order.

If you examine the state of the world today, it seems to be a fight over globalism. Countries are now fighting for themselves, with “cheap” goods catapulting China into economic and global power. Perhaps the US should start friendly talks with Russia as part of Europe. At some point in history, Genghis Khan might rise again to conquer Europe if nations continue to destroy themselves from within.

Don’t be too afraid  — bans and restrictions are as old as humanity. Even the godliest have participated in wars over  wigs and beards  and  French brandy . Some might prefer brandy over an EV, even in China. In the age of AI,  the UN is still trying to solve  the world’s problems. 

It said the new tariffs will be imposed in the form of cash deposits, effective from Friday. The deposit rates are set at between 30.6% and 39%.

It stressed that the decision was made after it conducted an anti-dumping investigation against the EU’s brandy in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, as well as the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

China’s new provisional tariffs are expected to hit French brands from Hennessy to Remy Martin.

Get Europe buried by sanctions and the Ukraine War? France is implementing some of its biggest budget cuts, while Germany is still spending big but enters another year of recession. Zelensky is still running his usual beggars' tour monthly, even turning the UN into a war party , rather than seeking a peaceful resolution. No one on the political scene seems to have a sense of logic, boasting that Russia lost 600,000 soldiers while failing to mention Ukraine lost a country, albeit a democratic one. With global powers holding veto powers, don’t expect the UN, especially the Security Council, to have any effect on wars; it’s more of a cleanup arm now.

While still wasting taxpayer money on Ukraine, France receives a reminder from the EU to pony up finances to support the EU's anti-business, big government rules, while the French economy slowly trips into nowhere.

With a deficit of 6.1% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024, according to the Interior Ministry's latest forecast, and a debt representing over 110% of national wealth, Europe's second-largest economy is worrying both its eurozone partners and financial markets.

A different take on Germany : while the recovery is still a far cry, with companies like Volkswagen fighting closures, the government is still battling democracy through constitutional maneuvers (defending democracy). People using the word “NAZI” do not understand the term or recognize they live in a Stalinist totalitarian bubble. Political incompetence has led the way . (Note: Energy prices are a direct consequence of the Ukraine conflict.) Meet the German Industry Minister , who has five Master’s degrees, speaks Danish, but has never worked. DEI matters more than the economy? His political ideologue is Barack Obama with a Green vision. Welcome to Kamala Harris politics in 2025. If you said white people couldn’t vote for Kamala, you’d be called a white supremacist. Google “black supremacy”—isn’t that what Obama is asking for? Call it democracy, then? Here’s another piece of VW drama.

While the US President and VP are embattled in 'hurricane politics' and campaign sit-ins (don’t call Colbert, Stern, or The View anything more than that), the warmongers are now starting to point US missiles all over the world while totally failing in any diplomatic effort. The wars in Israel and Ukraine are nowhere near a close, the hostages are still not found, and Israel’s claim to have killed most of Hezbollah and Hamas leadership is questionable. But has that ended the war? Let's wait and see; Blinken is still on the job , and the CIA failed to bring peace . But maybe they found Israel’s totalitarian war plans sufficient to win—so what are a couple of 10,000 innocent people? Their fault for not overthrowing their government?

As long as the pro/con Israel debate rages, no ceasefire will be reached . At some point, the West may need to recognize there are more than one culture and political system. Rather than lecturing everyone about gender and DEI with a totalitarian approach, perhaps redrawing the region around Israel would be a better start. Unless, of course, you want a unified Muslim population fighting Israel in the next escalation if Israel continues bullying everyone for its arch-enemy.

Germany is sending another aid (WAR) package to Ukraine to appease Zelenski, Biden, and the EU, hoping the Ukrainians can kill another few Russians to extend the civil war. It is beyond comprehension that these wars are the result of failed diplomacy and aggression—one by the Israeli settlers (thieves) and failing security , and the other by western warmongers and NATO expansion. The current US Commander in Chief has already set the tone for a continuation of the war in Ukraine. It will continue under the guise of a ‘Victory Plan’ that Mr. Zelensky rubs into the eyes of incompetent leadership.

In short, while Trump may have been what Democrats call a chaotic leader (keeping friends and enemies in the dark), Biden’s clear strategy is one of destruction and war. As long as you don't see an end in sight for either of these conflicts, that’s the main reason the US warmongers are supporting a Harris ticket—so they can keep the missiles raining. It's good for the economy, so keep those cannonballs flying .

Meanwhile, Volodymyr Zelensky, who was just forced to cancel a forthcoming “peace summit” (officially postponed to a future time because no one wanted to attend), has made it clear that he will not negotiate with Moscow under any circumstances.

Zelensky understands that any concession he makes to Russia would be fatal for him. As his army begins to disintegrate, Zelensky is relying on the Azov Brigade, an elite unit trying to wipe clean a neo-Nazi ideological stain from its predecessor unit's history. Because Zelensky is unlikely to move, various “peace formulas” being floated in Europe won’t change anything or influence the outcome.

If you need a reminder of what the US military is thinking, Paul Nitze has the answer . Probably together with Zbigniew Brzezinski, Nitze was the architect of “peace through strength,” but that strategy leads to war if you show weakness. That approach worked well when China had only guns and people—now they match the US arsenal but have five times the people.

In this new era of competition with China and Russia, Nitze’s career and ideas are more relevant than ever. They highlight both the promise and the pitfalls of striving relentlessly for military superiority. His vision of a robust global defense network and deterrence, laid out in NSC-68 in 1950, still inspires U.S. defense policy in the Indo-Pacific and Europe today, whether policymakers realize it or not.

The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (1997) is one of the major works of Zbigniew Brzezinski . Brzezinski graduated with a PhD from Harvard University in 1953 and became Professor of American Foreign Policy at Johns Hopkins University. He was later the United States National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981, under the administration of President Jimmy Carter .

Understanding China, take an initial lesson : they are no longer a copycat; they are technology leaders.