The Chair

The Roman Catholic geographies of the globe are vast. In Madrid, Pedro Sanchez called for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu. Rome’s message also echoed in the Hispanosphere and Lusosphere of Latin America, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and Cuba. The twenty percent of US citizens who speak Spanish also overlap with the twenty percent who profess Catholicism. US president Trump has published im...

The June 2025 and February 2026 attacks on Iran, first by Israel and then the United States of America, has confirmed the transformation of the US republic from unipolar hegemon into a neuralgic global tyrant. The Trump administration has completed the post 9/11 transformation of the US into a fiscal military state dedicated to the subordination of the Western hemisphere, Western Asia, Western Pac...

Featured contributor Professor Josef Mahoney The U.S. forcible seizure of Venezuela’s President Maduro has sent shockwaves across the world. Is this abuse of unilateral power becoming a go-to tool for the United States? Are we witnessing the return of a “might makes right” logic in international affairs? And what kind of world order may emerge from this? Host Ge Anna is joined by Anna Rosario Mali...

Featured contributor Professor Josef Gregory Mahoney Recently, the term “U.S. death line” has been trending across Chinese social media. Originally a term from the gaming world, it’s now being used to describe the financial fragility haunting everyday Americans. Why are so many people in the U.S. just one crisis away from poverty? What does it tell us about the deep-seated institutional gaps in th...

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By Dr. Digby James Wren In the wake of the Pahalgam attack on April 22, 2025, which claimed 26 lives, India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’, a targeted military strike against alleged terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and Pakistan itself. The operation, described by Indian officials as “focused and non-escalatory,” aimed at camps linked to groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed and L...

Partnerships, not pressure: what China offers where the West hesitates Three countries, one tour, and a clear message from Beijing- President Xi Jinping touched down in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Cambodia this week, marking one of his most strategic Southeast Asian tours in years. What's behind the charm offensive? While the U.S. is fueling global confusion and frustration with its tariff war, China a...

Tariffs or Diplomacy: Will they divide the world? On April 9, 2025, a titanic 145% U.S. tariff on Chinese imports ignited Beijing's swift 125% retaliation. This move has created a cacophony of concerns. Featured contributor Dr. Yasir Masood engaged in a digital dialogue with Mike Billington, a renowned American geopolitical analyst, to unpack this high-stakes clash and its global fallout. Editor's...

President Donald Trump’s second term in office has demonstrated his mastery of modern media, but also the weaknesses of being surrounded by ‘Yes’ men and women in his cabinet choices and administration generally. Moreover, his nostalgia for late 19th century American tariff regimes, the Monroe Doctrine and American Imperialism is based on the false assumption that such policies can work in a post-...

By Yasir Masood (CGTN) Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events. Asia's push to lead in green and digital innovation faces fractured supply chains and geopolitical divides. Can ambition outpace division? The Boao Forum for Asi...

A Journey Through Chinese Fine Arts History, Periods, Materials, and Masterpieces Source: https://chat.deepseek.com (prompt: write a short article on the history of Chinese fine arts) Chinese fine arts, with a history spanning over 5,000 years, represent one of the world's most enduring and sophisticated artistic traditions. Rooted in philosophy, religion, and imperial patronage, Chinese art refle...

The rapid turnover of G7 leaders has become a farce. Economic turmoil, a major change in global industrial investment and a river of US sanctions and the Team Trump tariff avalanche expected this year provide the bulk of today’s episode. A quick update on ASEAN and Cambodia FDI and the outlook for Trump tariffs on the world’s largest trade partnership between China and ASEAN. Australia’s sustainab...

Belt and Road update In this episode we cover Cambodia's Techo Funan Canal and China's involvement and investment attitude as well as a update on risks to the Belt and Road in West Asia, Red Sea, Mediterranean and Africa. Check out my Multipolar Peace friends on YouTube below. Transcript (00:00:00): welcome to the chair i'm your host dr digby james wren today is friday the 13th of (00:00:06): dece...

(00:00:00): Guest Intro: Dr. Digby Wren, geopolitical risk analyst and policy advisor at Belt and Road Capital Partners. Li Qiang saying, [South China Sea situation] it just needs to be more understanding right now. Do you see some sort of off ramp to these tensions that continue to escalate? Or are we actually seeing some sort of imminent armed conflict with China? See Transcript link: Added Comm...

Multipolar Peace Now ! Part 2:1 We are forming a global alliance against globalism, and neutrality studies is part of that. Don't get confused, let's just live with the contradiction. Last Friday we held the second panel of independent social media contributors, discussing the new multipolarity we are now in, why we think that the collective west is being collectively stupid about it, and what we—...

Multipolar Peace Now ! Part 2:2 We are forming a global alliance against globalism, and neutrality studies is part of that. Don't get confused, let's just live with the contradiction. Last Friday we held the second panel of independent social media contributors, discussing the new multipolarity we are now in, why we think that the collective west is being collectively stupid about it, and what we—...

(00:00:00): Well, thank you for having me on the show again. (00:00:01): Well, (00:00:02): the first thing to say, (00:00:03): I think, (00:00:03): is that political assassination is not a new thing in the United States. (00:00:06): There's a long history of this. (00:00:07): I'm not sure how many presidents have been assassinated, but there's been at least (00:00:29): at least seven or eight atte...

NATO is boosting its visibility in the Asia Pacific region. For three years in a row, leaders or representatives of four Asia Pacific countries – Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand – have attended the annual summit of the military alliance. The outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has been an ardent advocator of Asia Pacific outreach, and his argument has been echoed by US o...

The United States wants NATO to be dragged in to Asia. Today is Wednesday the 10th of July 2024 and today we're going to explore the NATO Summit that's being held in Washington today and tomorrow. And, I think we're going to start with an article written by the the former Singapore ambassador to the United Nations, Kishore Mahbubani, who was actually appointed twice as Singapore’s UN ambassador. N...