Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a conciliatory solution toward resolving the crisis on the Korean peninsula, noting that the incorporation of North Korea into joint development projects across the region could soothe the frayed nerves caused by the region’s militarization and the ratcheting-up of tensions. Such a move would not only serve mutually-beneficial economic interests of the divided Korean peninsula and Russia, Putin noted, but would help build trust and strengthen...
Read More »William R. Polk — On the Brink of Nuclear War (Korea Part 2)
In the first part of this essay, I gave my interpretation of the background of the current confrontation in Korea. I argued that, while the past is the mother of the present, it has several fathers. What I remember is not necessarily what you remember; so, in this sense, the present also shapes or reshapes the past. In my experience as a policy planner, I found that only by taking note of the perception of events as they are differently held by the participants could one understand or...
Read More »William R. Polk — MAYDAY KOREA!
Part one of backgrounder on Korea. It's a must-read for understanding the situation today.Sic Semper TyrannisMAYDAY KOREA! William R. Polk
Read More »Racism, the election and more
After writing on Venezuela last week, Trump suggested that the US might intervene there. And then the predictable happened, violence and death ensued... in the US. I don't have much to say about what happened in Charlottesville. It is worth noting that even though the city and the University of Virginia are relatively progressive places these days, they do have a long history that ties them to slavery and white supremacy (see this on NPR; h/t URPE blog).*At any rate, it's not surprise that...
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