JAPAN

K. PETERSEN—he recently ensconced Japanese prime minister Sanae Takaichi began her early leadership with a major diplomatic gaffe when she said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could constitute “a survival-threatening situation” for Japan, requiring the use of force.

Beijing is apoplectic. Fu Cong, Beijing’s ambassador to the UN, accused Takaichi of committing “a grave violation of international law.”

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, “It is shocking that Japan’s current leaders have publicly sent the wrong signal of attempting military intervention in the Taiwan issue, said things they shouldn’t have said, and crossed a red line that should not have been touched.”

Takaichi seems oblivious of Article 9 of Japan’s constitution which renounces war and forbids Japan from using force to settle international disputes.

NIMA—The video discussion focuses on the recent high-profile meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump held on October 30th, 2025. The conversation, led by experts Richard Wolff and Michael Hudson, delves deeply into the political and economic implications of the meeting, assessing its outcomes and broader geopolitical context.

The meeting was widely portrayed as a positive breakthrough, with Trump publicly declaring it a great success. However, the experts argue that the apparent warmth and handshake optics masked a fundamentally inconclusive and strategically nuanced encounter. China resisted making any significant concessions, unlike previous negotiations with Japan and South Korea, which had yielded more tangible, albeit questionable, trade commitments to the U.S.

The discussion highlights that China’s primary concessions were symbolic and marginal, such as increased soybean purchases from the U.S., which served more as a public relations move for Trump’s domestic political base rather than a substantive change in trade relations. Crucially, China refused to roll back its national security policies that restrict key exports, such as rare earth elements and advanced technology components, unless the U.S. reciprocated by lifting its own economic sanctions and export controls on Chinese companies.

JUDGE NAP–Despite his public popularity, Putin’s ability to maintain deterrence and respond effectively to Western pressures is weakening. This internal erosion is more acute among Russia’s political elite than the general populace, signaling potential shifts in power dynamics that are not yet openly acknowledged but simmer beneath the surface. The presence of capable successors indicates an emerging transition, albeit a cautious and controlled one given the risks of instability.
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The Taboo of Discussing Putin’s Departure: The political class in Russia does not openly debate Putin’s potential exit due to the regime’s closed nature and fear of destabilizing narratives. However, private conversations and the expert’s analysis suggest this is a real and pressing concern. This secrecy reflects the authoritarian context where public discourse is tightly controlled, but private dissent and strategic planning continue.

BRUCE LERRO—At the same time, the Eurocentrists had no problem imagining war with the East if it was profitable. But when it came to the civilized states of Europe, war was seen as unprofitable. Also, as we shall see later, racist theories bemoaned Europeans fighting because this would result in the depletion of the white race. Colonial annexation was entirely appropriate when it came to Europe’s relation with the East. The East has  conditional agency, such as Japan during World War II. However, the East cannot take the lead in historical development without being predator (as in the Yellow Peril).

As for the Global South, (Africa) for it  to be a respectable civilized state, Western core countries took a page out of Calvinism and insisted that these “savage societies” have a duty to develop their land productivity (meaning agriculturally) and abandon their primitivism (hunting and gathering). Non-Western politics, whether they be monarchies without constitutions or the egalitarian political consensus societies of hunting and gathering, are not recognized as sovereign.

TIM SHORROCK—My award was doubly significant because my stories had grown directly out of events that took place on the very square where I stood. There, in the shadow of Gwangju’s old Provincial Capital, the last voices of the city’s rebels had been stilled on May 27, 1980, by a Korean Army division dispatched from the DMZ marking the border with North Korea. They were sent with the approval of the US commander of the US-Korea Joint Command, Gen. John Wickham. That decision, made at the highest levels of the US government, forever stained the relationship between the United States and the South. For the people of Gwangju, many of whom believed that the US military would side with the forces of democracy, it was a deep betrayal that they’ve never forgotten.