The Chinese government recently announced a near 10% increase in their military budget for 2018. Chinese state media have defended the decision, saying it is part of a modernization program, calling the increase “proportionate and low.”
The increase is the biggest jump in Chinese military spending in recent years. In 2014, the total was $132 billion, which grew to $145 billion in 2015, $147 billion in 2016 and will reach $175 billion next year. Zhang Yesui, a spokesperson for the first annual session of the 13th NPC, explained that the extra money is not to increase China’s overall military capacity, but to update and modernize their armed forces:
“A large part of the growth of the defense budget is to make up for the low military spending in the past and is mainly used to upgrade equipment and improve the welfare of servicemen and women and the living and training conditions of grassroots troops.”
Sputnik spoke to political analyst Pearse Redmond about the geopolitical struggles that are the underlying reasons for China’s consistently growing military expenditure:
“As China becomes more and more integrated in the global economy it understands that maintaining economic superiority requires more security. In Africa, where China has poured vast sums of money into various projects, they have also been quietly building small military bases and developing relationships with various African military and security forces. For example, in Djibouti, once the exclusive military domain of the US, China now operates a naval base adjacent to the Port of Doraleh, which is west of Djibouti City.”
On this episode we talked with Casey Gane-McCalla all about his new book Inside the CIA’s Secret War in Jamaica. We began with an overview of the geopolitcal situation Jamaica found itself in during the Cold-War. Casey explained how the Caribbean nation was one of the premier battle grounds for US imperialism throughout the 1970’s-1980’s. Casey breaks down how the two dominant political parties, the Jamaican Labour Party, headed by Edward Seaga and backed by the CIA, and the People’s National Party, headed by Michael Manley and aligned with Cuba, fought a bloody struggle for dominance. We then discussed the CIA’s use of anti-Castro Cuban terrorists and economic warfare to destabilize the country. We also touched on the racial politics which dominate Jamaica to this day.
Later we moved on to the introduction of cocaine and arms trafficking into Jamaica. Casey explained how, with the help of the CIA, Edward Seaga was able to build up his own well-armed drug-dealing militia, The Shower Posse. We explored how gangs in Jamaica are fully integrated into the Jamaican political system. Casey also talked about the links between Iran-Contra and Jamaica. We also discussed Jeb Bush’s deep connections to the Jamaican drug trade and right-wing Cuban terrorists.
We finished off the conversation by looking at the 2010 Tivoli Gardens Incursion which resulted in the eventual extradition of Shower Posse leader, Christopher “Dudus” Coke. Casey and I talked about the reasons that the CIA may have turned on their asset in the island nation. We also examined the larger issue of Drug War as it effects us as a society today.
We closed out by briefly discussing Casey’s next project, a book dealing with The Boston Bombing and the brutal murder of Casey’s friend, Erik Weissman, by Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
On this week’s episode Traces of Reality’s contributing editor Danny Benavides joins us once again to discuss the mass disappearance in Iguala, narco-cartel reorganization and the prospect for a “Mexican Spring.” We begin the conversation by discussing what actually transpired last September in the city of Iguala, in southern Mexico. Danny explains who the Normalista students are and why, in fact, they were in Iguala. Danny and I explore the complex web of connections and familial relations between Iguala Mayor Jose Luis Abarca, his wife Maria de los Angeles Pineda and the Guerreros Unidos cartel, as well as the Mexican military. Danny breaks down how the mass disappearance, and the players involved, represent a microcosm of the endemic problems Mexico faces today. Later we discuss the reorganization of the narco chessboard that we have seen happening in the past few years. Danny explains how the arrests of high-level narco leaders and the destruction of large cartels like Sinaloa, La Familia, and Caballeros Templarios have led to the rise of smaller but equally effective cartels and drug gangs. Later Danny presents his own theory as to what may have happened to the missing 43 students. Unlike the official narrative that places blame solely on “rogue policemen” and Guerreros Unidos, Danny explains how this might actually be a diversion to distract people from a much larger conspiracy, possibly involving the military. We then explore the large-scale protests that have been taking place in Mexico, and whether or not these represent the beginning of a Mexican Spring. We discuss the similarities between these protests and the student protests of 1968, both of which involved agents provocateurs attempting to subvert and disrupt the movement. We end the podcast with a look at a recent Wall Street Journal article which revealed that US Marshals, disguised as Mexican troops, have been participating in operations with the Mexican military. While this is not too surprising, Danny and I explore what it really means — how this is yet another cog in the massive money-making scheme that is the illegal narcotics trade. This is a long podcast with lots of important facts, details, names and threads that require further investigation, so have pen and paper ready so you can continue this research for yourself.
Recently the spokesman for Michoacan’s Autodefensas, Dr. Jose Juan Mireles Valverde, spoke to a gathering of people in Caleta de Campos. The speech is important on a number of levels; chief among them is that this is actually Dr. Mireles speaking in his own words. Mexican and English language media have routinely distorted Mirele’s words and persona since the autodefensas movement began.
A recent guest on the podcast, Danny Benevides, of Traces of Reality, translated the entire speech into English. If you are not familiar with Dr. Mireles, or the autodefensas, I would urge you to check our in-depth conversation and then read the speech in its entirety.
For today’s episode I was joined by Traces of Reality contributing editor Danny Benevides. Danny and I had an extended conversation on some of the most recent events regarding the drug war south of the border. Danny explains what the vigilante movement in Michoacan, know as the autodefensas, is doing to combat the rising tide of cartel violence. We also explore how the autodefensas movement may be being co-opted by the new PRI government headed by Enrique Pena Nieto as well as foreign actors. Danny breaks down the history of the cartels in Michoacan state. Danny explains how La Famila splintered off into Los Caballeros Templarios, and how average citizens decided to take action against them. We also discuss the recent uptick in violence in the northern state of Tamaulipas and how this relates to the “capture” of Sinaloa cartel leader El Chapo. We round off the conversation by discussing actor Kevin Spacey’s $8 million dollar selfie with Pena Nieto and what this means for the future of Mexico.
On this episode of PPR we discuss the drug war with guest Guillermo Jimenez. Guillermo is the founder and editor of Traces of Reality where he hosts the TOR Radio podcast, as well as a contributor to Boiling Frogs Post, where he is the host of De-Manufacturing Consent.
Jan Brewer is hopping mad. What is it this time? Why those dam Mexican drug cartels that are about to march into Arizona. The Governor told Fox News all about her fact finding mission in which she flew in a Black Hawk helicopter and
saw them on the other side, the drug cartels, ready to come across in the middle of the night. It is not secure.
What Brewer thinks these cartels are going to do is beyond me. It is remarkable that a governor that lives so close to Mexico and drug war would be so naive. The cartels don’t want to march into America and conquer it, they want to traffic drugs and make money. Every so often politicians rehash this ridiculous notion that the cartels want to invade their biggest and most reliable customer. The cartels have no incentive to bring the violence from Mexico over into America; not when it would affect their massive profit margins. Jan Brewer is just looking to beat up on Mexicans and score cheap political points. Surprise surprise.
When Washington and Colorado defied our oppressive Federal government and nullified the national drugs laws prohibiting the recreational use of marijuana many including myself rejoiced at this magnificent event. Perhaps this would act as a wakeup call to other states that they don’t have to roll over and accept whatever unjust law the Federal government implements. There was even the added bonus that President Obama said in an ABC interview that
We’ve got bigger fish to fry. It would not make sense for us to see a top priority as going after recreational users in states that have determined that it’s legal.”
Well it is safe to say that Obama really choose his words carefully; recreational users won’t be pursued. It turns out that Obama’s fascist drug czar will in fact be arresting people for marijuana. They instead will just target “distributors and large scale growers.” I guess it really shouldn’t surprise us that a former member of the Choom Gang would be so two faced about the war on drugs. This is the same great leader who promised to stop the crack down on medical marijuana dispensaries only to turn around and have the DEA raid dispensaries four times as much as President Bush. Obama has also accelerated the militarization of the conflict in Central America in yet another futile attempt by a president to rid the world of the evils of drugs. Yet we should not acquiesce. Nullification represents the most significant and powerful tool that we as a society posses in stopping the tyrannical forces of the state. Be it drugs laws, NDAA, drones, and yes even Obamacare, we do have a method with which to combat the rise of the police state.
Porkins Policy Review 