War
Japanese Yakuza have a unique form of extortion known as sōkaiya. Instead of harassing small businesses for protection money, the yakuza harasses the stockholder meetings of large corporations. But that was a big mistake, forcing the introduction of anti-organized crime law in 1992 and 2011. As a result, the mobsters were forced to go underground, […]
... written on Apr 21 2025Rosmah Mansor, wife of disgraced former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak currently in jail for corruption, would be fuming mad if people on the street could easily own and flaunt Hermès Birkin handbags. The Imelda Marcos of Malaysia owned hundreds of luxury bags, and her most favourite was the tote bag introduced in 1984 by […]
... written on Apr 17 2025Beijing has called U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff strategy “a joke”, irritating U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Incredibly upset, the clueless and incompetent Bessent has denied it was a joke. At the same time, the arrogant man is desperately pushing for a negotiation, any negotiations, to start between his boss and Chinese President Xi Jinping. […]
... written on Apr 15 2025Less than 24 hours after Beijing slapped a 125% tariff on all types of American goods going into China in retaliation, President Trump has started showing weakness when he scrambles to undo some of his self-inflicted damage. The U.S. – in yet another embarrassing U-turn – has now exempted smartphones and computers from reciprocal tariffs, […]
... written on Apr 13 2025In all three rounds of tax hikes – from 34% to 84%, and then to 125% – since Donald Trump started his tariff war on China last Wednesday (April 2), the U.S. president actually thought he could win easily. After all, Beijing was weak during Trump’s first term eight years ago, unwilling to go full […]
... written on Apr 11 2025As expected, Donald Trump was incredibly upset after Xi Jinping called his bluff and raised the bets in the poker game. Did the U.S. president really think Beijing will do nothing and with tail between legs, kiss his ring and accept the 34% tariffs slapped on the Middle Kingdom? Nope, the Chinese decisively slapped back […]
... written on Apr 10 2025Since returning to power in January 2025, Trump had already imposed two rounds of 10% additional duties on all Chinese imports. Having failed to bring the Middle Kingdom to its knees during his first term, the U.S. president is throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, in his “Trade War 2.0” with China. On Wednesday (2-April), […]
... written on Apr 05 2025While news agency of the government of Malaysia trumpeted how Israeli air strikes brutally killed 33 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on the first day of Aidilfitri or Eid al-Fitr, the news about a demonstration – the largest protest against Hamas since its attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023 – staged by the Palestinians in Gaza […]
... written on Apr 01 2025From a monastery that turned into rubble in a village in Myanmar to a 33-story tower under construction that collapsed in Bangkok, Thailand, a major 7.7-magnitude earthquake near Mandalay has left a trail of destruction. Even water from the rooftop of the five-star Hotel Intercontinental in Bangkok was seen splashing out, hitting dozens of floors […]
... written on Mar 29 2025Known as the United States’ “deputy sheriff” in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia is arguably one of the most vulnerable allies in the second Trump tariffs. While Canada dares to claim it could win the ongoing trade war with the U.S., the same cannot be said about Australia. In fact, the Aussie is so weak it […]
... written on Mar 25 2025
