U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY Lloyd Austin blasted China’s “growing coercion” towards Taiwan at the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit held last June 10-12 in Singapore.   Convened by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), the Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s premier security summit.  A unique annual event, it allows heads of state, ministers and other senior figures from global defense… Read More »

BEATEN AND DISGRACED in November 2016 by Democrat Joe Biden, former president Donald Trump wants a comeback in 2024.  He’s been holding rallies in various cities around the country, bringing together a cultic following among Republicans.   Initially, he managed to demonstrate his hold on Republicans who see him as the leader that would lead them to victory in… Read More »

RUSSIA CELEBRATED HER MAY 9, 2022 Victory Parade with pomp and circumstance but it lacked meaning amidst President Vladimir Putin’s disastrous Ukraine invasion.  While it was originally planned to celebrate Putin’s victory in Ukraine, it remained a hollow and wishful dream that never saw the light of day.  Ukraine until now remains strong and the Ukrainians remain determined… Read More »

WHEN VLADIMIR PUTIN told the entire world, “To anyone who would consider interfering from the outside – if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history.” His message sent shock waves across Europe.  And to make his point, he put Russia’s nuclear forces on “special” alert to show that he was serious… Read More »

IN 1853, THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE was referred to by Tsar Nicolas I as the “Sick Man of Europe,” which was then in a state of decline.  After World War I, the phrase was applied to several European countries that included France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany.  It was the result of the economic chaos that the… Read More »

WITH 40 DAYS LEFT to Election Day, the campaign season in the Philippines is now on the homestretch.  From here onward, everyday counts.  While the five remaining and active presidential candidates – Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Leni Robredo, Isko Moreno, Manny Pacquiao, and Ping Lacson – are busy crisscrossing the archipelago courting voters, many of whom are still… Read More »

THREE WEEKS TO ELECTION DAY, the tide of the Philippine election is turning the other way!  Yes, it’s happening!  You can feel it when you listen to the political rallies around the archipelago.  From Basilan in Southern Mindanao to Cagayan in Northern Luzon, the Filipino people are coming out enthusiastically for their presidential candidate of choice: be it… Read More »

LAST MARCH 21, 2022, President Joe Biden gave a speech in which he used the phrase “New World Order.”  “Now is the time when things are shifting.  We’re going to — there is going to be a new world order out there, and we’ve got to lead it.  And we’ve got to unite the rest of the free… Read More »

IN APRIL 2013, I wrote a column titled “Nuclear Blackmail,” where I talked about North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un’s saber rattling, threatening to send nuclear ballistic missiles to the United States and Guam.     Although nothing came out of Kim’s threat to send nuclear missiles to the U.S., it brought to the forefront of geopolitics the notion that… Read More »

THE RUSSIAN INVASION of Ukraine is now on its second stage: the bombardment of Ukraine.  Without a no-fly zone over the Ukrainian sky, the Russian Air Force is now poised to launch all-out air strikes against Ukraine. But Russian President Vladimir Putin warned any attempt by NATO allies to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be viewed… Read More »