Global

Though brief, the exchange between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Indonesia on November 16 has become a social media sensation. Xi, assertive if not domineering, lectured the visibly apprehensive Trudeau about the etiquette of diplomacy. This exchange can be considered another watershed moment in China’s relationship with the West.

 “If there was sincerity on your part,” the Chinese President told Trudeau, “then we shall conduct our discussion with an attitude of mutual respect, otherwise there might be unpredictable consequences.” 

 At the end of the awkward conversation, Xi was the first to walk away, leaving Trudeau uncomfortably making his way out of the room. 

 Based on the long trajectory of US military and political support of Israel, and Washington’s constant shielding of Tel Aviv from any accountability for its illegal occupation of Palestine, one can confidently conclude that there will not be any actual investigation. 

Having returned to L.A. after my voyage from Tahiti to Pitcairn Island aboard the cargo/cruiser Aranui, I’m happily back in the reviewer’s seat and was enraptured by LA Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, which premiered in Rome 122 years ago. Those in the TikTok generation and others who consider opera to be a stuffy, bourgeois art form should consider the plot of Tosca, which could be proverbially ripped from today’s headlines. Tosca centers around political prisoners, secret police, torture, executions and direct action against tyrants. I kid thee not, Dear Reader!

Having returned to L.A. after my voyage from Tahiti to Pitcairn Island aboard the cargo/cruiser Aranui, I’m happily back in the reviewer’s seat and was enraptured by LA Opera’s production of Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca, which premiered in Rome 122 years ago. Those in the TikTok generation and others who consider opera to be a stuffy, bourgeois art form should consider the plot of Tosca, which could be proverbially ripped from today’s headlines. Tosca centers around political prisoners, secret police, torture, executions and direct action against tyrants. I kid thee not, Dear Reader!

Here’s a video of John Oliver denouncing FIFA for putting the World Cup in Qatar, a place that uses slavery and abuses women and abuses LGBT people. It’s a video about how everyone else glosses over nasty truths. Oliver drags in Russia as a past World Cup host that abuses protesters, and even Saudi Arabia as a possible host in the distant future that commits all sorts of atrocities. My concern is not just that the U.S., as one of the planned hosts four years hence, gets a pass on its general behavior. My concern is that the U.S. has far outdone FIFA this year, and every year, in Qatar. The U.S. has put six things into that horrific little oil dictatorship, each of which is worse than the World Cup.

Soon after arriving in Oslo, my taxi zigzagged through the city's well-organized streets and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Large billboards advertised the world's leading brands in fashion, cars, and perfumes. Amid all the expressions of wealth and plenty, an electronic sign by a bus stop flashed the images of poor-looking African children needing help. 

Over the years, Norway has served as a relatively good model of meaningful humanitarian and medical aid. This is especially true if compared to other self-serving western countries, where aid is often linked to direct political and military interests. Still, the public humiliation of poor, hungry and diseased Africa is still disquieting.