The West’s decline is no triumph, but nor is it a tragedy. It’s just the latest reminder that all organising systems, even empires, are transient, that success always brings complacency, but that the best of human civilisation is renewed and transformed even as the old order fades away. (more…)
Kari McKern
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Ukraine and the battle for Skaro
Over the past eighteen months, I’ve often found myself under scrutiny for not outrightly condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Any acknowledgment of Russia’s stance—that the hasty expansion of NATO played a role in the current conflict—earns labels: indifferent to Ukraine’s plight, a “Putin” apologist, a victim of Kremlin misinformation. (more…)
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In the 1930s, scholars made remarkably accurate predictions on the China of 2030
“This nation, after three thousand years of grandeur and decay… exhibits today all the physical and mental vitality that we find in its most creative periods… Very probably such wealth will be produced in China [by 2030] as even America has never known and once again, as so often in the past, China will lead the world in luxury and the art of life.” – Will Durant, 1935. (more…)
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Chat GPT4 on the necessity for dissent in times of war
The new House Select Committee on China is currently blaming China for every problem in America. Those who appeared and suggested improving Sino-American relations were accused of giving comfort to the enemy. (more…)
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Do China’s COVID-19 numbers add up?
Now that China is opening up, it’s a good time to reflect on their pandemic response. (more…)
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The story behind China’s fourth generation nuclear reactors
The fact that only China has implemented a Small Modular Nuclear Reactors is a testament to the skills and capacities of Chinese nuclear engineers and the policy makers that the West, despite renewed interest in the idea, will find difficult to match. (more…)
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The West fought a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine 100 years ago and failed
One hundred years ago, a Western proxy war against Russia had just been lost. It was fought in Poland, Ukraine and in Russia. That war has lessons for us today. (more…)
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Sixty years and twenty-seven days ago Australia sent 30 advisors to Vietnam
That war has lessons for us today. (more…)