Foreign Digest: Thailand, Venezuela and Lithuania

Thailand

            In a surprise, the opposition won the parliamentary elections in Thailand last week over the party of the military junta that has ruled for the last five years since taking over in a coup d’etat.  The party of a controversial former Prime Minister won the most seats.  It is hoped that Thailand will have a peaceful transition back to representative government.

Venezuela

            There were arrests last week by the Socialist dictatorship of the staff of the leader of the democratic opposition in the national assembly who had invoked a constitutional provision to proclaim himself president, Juan Guaido.  There have been more blackouts and more protests, which, as usual, were met with violence by the regime.  Meanwhile, the Russian Federation is sending troops to Venezuela.  The authoritarian regime of Vladimir Putin backs fellow authoritarians, especially anti-American ones.  

Lithuania

           The former Soviet Defense Minister was convicted in abstentia in a court in Lithuania for his role in the USSR’s bloody attempt to thwart Lithuania’s independence in 1991. 

Update: Latest Developments on the United Kingdom Leaving the European Union

           The United Kingdom asked last week for a delay of a few months of its departure from the European Union, currently scheduled for March 29, under EU rules and based upon the timing of the British request for leaving after the June 2016 referendum result in favor of exiting the EU. 

            Parliament seized control of the voting agenda through the passage of a motion and is considering a range of alternative options, from not leaving the EU to leaving with a customs union or some arrangement like certain non-EU member have with the EU to leaving without a deal.

The Conservative Prime Minister, Theresa May, who rules in coalition with a small Unionist Northern Irish party, had negotiated a deal over the last two years with the EU to leave the organization, but Parliament has twice rejected it overwhelmingly over the last few months.  Without an agreement, the UK would leave the EU without any deal, including any trade relations or customs agreement, an arrangement for British expatriates in EU States or EU expatriates in the UK, a fishing agreement, or a border with Northern Ireland or one between Gibraltar and Spain.  An agreement for an indefinite delay of the implementation of the Irish border is the most controversial part of the deal, especially with the junior coalition partner.  A lack of a border is an essential component of the Northern Ireland peace accords, but an exit from the EU would necessitate one, for which there is currently no infrastructure, let alone an agreement for the movement of peoples.  The UK has obtained some clarifications from the EU on the interpretation of the provision and its timing, but the indefinite nature of it remains.  The EU has refused to renegotiate its deal with the UK.  May insists her deal is the best option, one that remains faithful to the referendum to leave the EU.

All 27 of the other members of the EU must agree to the delay for it to be granted.  There is willingness for a delay of various lengths, complicated by the deadline for British participation in EU parliamentary elections, but some States are insisting on the condition of British Parliamentary approval of the deal first.  Approval remains uncertain.

In the UK, massive protests and popular petitions in favor of remaining in the EU have been made, but the British Government is rejecting remaining in the EU, in accordance with the referendum and Parliament’s subsequent ratification of it.  There were also anti-leave protests in Spain last week.

The EU, which created a free trade zone and allowed the free movement of peoples internally, gradually evolved into a transnational government.  The UK, which had opted not to join its common currency, negotiated a deal under Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron with the EU to claw back some of its sovereignty, but the referendum to leave was approved instead.  

The UK and member EU States have been making contingency plans for a British exit without any deal.  

European Union Digest: Turkish Accession Termination; European People’s Party Suspension of Fidesz; Egyptian Murder Case Lack of Cooperation

Turkish accession termination

The European Parliament voted last week to terminate the process of the accession of Turkey into the European Union.  The once-secular and free Turkey has become Islamist and increasingly authoritarian, which makes it incompatible with EU ideals. 

European People’s Party suspension of Fidesz

The European People’s Party (EPP), the main center-right EU Parliamentary Group, voted last week to suspend indefinitely Fidesz, the ruling Hungarian party, because of its lack of faithfulness to the EPP’s ideals of liberty and representative government.  Hungary has become illiberal, especially in its restriction of freedom of the press and intolerance of non-governmental organizations while pro-government businesses are favored.  Its Government has closed a university and launched an anti-EU campaign.  Although few people migrate to or seek refugee in Hungary, the Hungarian Government is the strongest opponent to the EU’s migration policy.  In an agreement between the EPP and Fidesz, a commission will be appointed to mediate the differences between them.

Egyptian murder case lack of cooperation

           The European Parliament this week cited the lack of adequate cooperation from Egypt in solving the case of an Italian student who was tortured and murdered there two years ago.  The authoritarian Egyptian regime is suspected.

Italian News Digest: Chinese Infrastructure Agreement, Splits in the Government, Immunization, Extradition of Militants, Anti-Mafia Protests

Chinese Infrastructure Agreement Signing

Italy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Communist Chinese Government for the latter’s New Silk Road plan to improve trade infrastructure in Eurasia and Africa, despite American and European Union warnings.  Italy won some trade and other concessions from China.  The United States was concerned about Chinese espionage and the EU about unilateral instead of collective decisions on major external issues.  In response to U.S. concerns, the Italian Government plans to deny China access to its telecommunications systems as a safeguard.  Italian President Sergio Mattarella raised the concern about human rights in China, calling for constructive dialogue.

Splits in the Coalition Government

As there are on a number of issues, there was a split on the Chinese initiative in the coalition government between the populist anti-establishment party and the far-right anti-immigrant party.  Governments in Italy, which are always by coalition, are usually unstable.  This unusual pairing is especially.

Immunization

The Government maintained the mandatory immunization policy on schedule for schoolchildren, despite opposition from the far-right junior coalition partner.  Despite the effectiveness and safety of vaccination, there is cynical populist opposition from both the far left and far right, often supported by disinformation from the Russian Federation regime of tyrant Vladimir Putin.  The lack of vaccination poses a particular threat to those who are immuno-compromised and has caused outbreaks of diseases in Western Europe and the American States that had nearly been eradicated.

Extradition of Militants

Italy convinced the European Parliament last week to agree that Nicaragua should extradite a Red Brigade militant involved in the kidnapping and killing of former Christian Democratic Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978.  The left-wing murderer owns a restaurant in the Marxist-led state.  The Italian Government continues to press France to extradite militants who were responsible for many deaths during the “Years of Lead” of the 1970s-1980s, a period of far-left and far-right terrorism and militancy.  A plurality of the around 30 militant fugitives are harbored in France.  Last month, Bolivia extradited a far-left militant who had killed four people, after fleeing from Brazilian authorities.  This killer, too, had been harbored in France, where he had become a crime novelist.  The Socialist French Government of the 1980s had a policy of harboring militants.

Anti-Mafia Protests

           There were anti-mafia protests across Italy last week, centered in the northern Italian city of Padua, where tens of thousands demonstrated.  The mafias are based in the South, but have a presence in northern Italy, as well as internationally, and their crimes, such as drug trafficking, harm Italians across Italy and undermine Italy’s economy and discourage business investment.

Foreign Digest Updates: Venezuela, Algeria, Turkey and Thailand

Venezuela

There have continued to be blackouts in Venezuela, after the one a week ago across most of the country that had lasted a week.  The authoritarian Socialist Venezuelan regime blames sabotage by the United States, but the oil-rich country has suffered from them for years as the regime has undermined the electricity industry as millions of Venezuelans have fled oppression, corruption and poverty.  There have been protests, often met with violence a opposition leaders are often arrested.  The democratic opposition leader in the national assembly the regime had supplanted invoked a constitutional provision last month to proclaim himself president.

Algeria

The old and ailing President of Algeria, who has rarely been seen in public the last few years, announced that he would not be a candidate for a fifth term, after protests against his candidacy.  Demonstrations continue for his resignation.

Turkey

            There were more arrests across Turkey of those accused of ties to a Muslim cleric in exile in Pennsylvania who has been accused by the authoritarian Islamist Turkish regime of being behind the failed military coup in 2016.  Tens of thousands of Turks have been fired or arrested under the pretext of suspicion of complicity to the coup or ties to the cleric as the autocratic leader of Turkey has increasingly eliminated all opposition.

Thailand

           Thailand today is conducting its first elections since the military coup d’etat five years ago.  The leader of the military junta is expected to receive the most votes.  It is not certain the election will be honest.  The coup was in response to an impasse between two main parties that had accused each other of corruption.  

Foreign Digest Updates: Venezuela, Italy, Russia

Venezuela

            There have been more protests in Venezuela against the authoritarian and corrupt Socialist regime.  There have been efforts by the leader of the democratic opposition in the national assembly, who has invoked a constitutional provision to declare himself president, to coordinate the arrival of humanitarian aid to the suffering Venezuelan people, and more defections of Venezuelan troops.  Millions of Venezuelans have fled to neighboring Latin American States.  At the end of last week, there was a blackout across most of Venezuela, which caused several deaths.  Power outages in the oil-rich State are frequent. 

Italy

            Italy has postponed its decision on whether to proceed with the high-speed train link from Turin to Lyon, France.  The European Union has backed the ongoing project, but the populist Italian Government has been divided over whether to finish the project, at least in a less-costly way.  The EU has warned that it will demand the return of funds if the project is not completed while France is reminding the Italian Republic that the two neighbors have signed a treaty to complete it.  Socialists, anarchists and environmentalists oppose the project, while local officials and the main center-right and center-left parties support it.

            The Deputy Prime Minister, who leads the far-right junior partner of the coalition government, is trying to relax the implementation of the requirement of schoolchildren to be vaccinated.  Opposition to vaccination or at least to mandatory vaccination is popular among the far-left and far-right and is amplified by Russian propaganda and disinformation.  As a result of fewer vaccinations, there have been outbreaks in Europe and the American States of diseases that had previously nearly been eradicated.  For example, there has been an outbreak of measles in Italy.

            The United States is discouraging its ally Italy from becoming the first European State to sign onto Communist China’s New Silk Road initiative that aims to expand Chinese influence through upgraded infrastructure for roads, railroads and navigational routes.

Russia

           There was a protest by thousands of Russians in Moscow today in opposition to the tyrannical Russian Federation regime of Vladimir Putin of cyber censorship by establishing an independent Russian internet.  There have been protests over the last several months, despite mass arrests of protestors, against authoritarianism, corruption and Russian support for Syrian tyrant Bashar Assad.

Abolish Daylight Saving Time in Pennsylvania

           A bill is being introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to abolish Daylight Savings Time (DST) in the Commonwealth.  I had posted on this subject in March of 2011 in my post, Abolish Daylight Saving Time: https://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2011/03/abolish-daylight-savings-time.html.  Since then, more information has become available through studies as to the costs of the disruption of changing clocks twice a year versus the supposed benefits. 

Instead of federal legislation to abolish the semi-annual changing of the clocks across the American Union, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania can lead the effort to eliminate this burdensome practice.  Only two States have opted out of DST, Arizona (except for Navajo Nation land) and Hawaii, while every United States unincorporated territory also does not observe DST.

            Turning clocks forward or behind an hour is damaging not only economically, as DST imposes a cost to businesses, but costly in terms of safety and physical and mental health.  More accidents, strokes and suicides because of the loss of sleep and disruption of the Circadian rhythm are not worth the negligible or non-existent benefits of energy savings, which was the original intent when DST was introduced in the mid-Twentieth Century.  The length of DST was subsequently further expanded.  Although it often mistakenly said that DST benefits farmers, farmers would awaken with the Sun before DST, as they could again.  

           The subject of the abolition of changing the clocks gives rise to a debate over whether Pennsylvania, with Congressional approval, should opt to switch from Eastern Standard Time (EST) to DST permanently, but the proposed bill eliminates DST because the Keystone State’s geographic position makes the meridian of EST close to the Sun’s highest position in the sky.  Therefore, the bill would effectively end semi-annual clock-changing by leaving Pennsylvania on EST permanently.  Remaining on EST all year round would also minimize differences with neighboring or nearby Eastern States, until they, too opt out of DST or Congress abolishes it entirely.

Protests around the World against Authoritarianism and Corruption

           I have been posting in recent months or weeks about protests in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Sudan and Russia against authoritarianism or corruption.  The demonstrations have been deadly in the first three States because of government oppression, as none of them tolerate the freedom to assemble peacefully, although, after mush bloodshed at the hands of the regime, Nicaragua’s Marxist Sandinista government is offering mediation. 

           I post now to observe that there have also recently been protests against authoritarianism in Croatia, against corruption in Albania, against corruption and the cost of living in Haiti and against the candidacy for a fifth term for the old and ailing President of Algeria.  As I had posted about several protests last year, both authoritarian and corruption, which often go hand-in-hand, have been themes of demonstrations around the world.

Mumps and Pertussis Outbreaks because of Anti-Vaccination Myths and Disinformation

Last month, I posted about an outbreak of measles in both Western Europe and the States of the American Union in Foreign Digest: Macedonia, Ukraine, Italy, the Measles Outbreak and Venezuela, https://williamcinfici.blogspot.com/2019/01/foreign-digest-updates-macedonia-italy.html.  On United States soil, there have also recently been outbreaks not only of mumps, which is usually vaccinated against together with measles, but also pertussis.  Meanwhile, a definitive study this week completely disproved the theory that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism, a theory that had long been retracted from a medical journal because of a lack of proof. 

Populist opposition to vaccination, or at least to mandatory vaccination, from both the far left, extreme libertarians and the far-right has left Americans vulnerable to infection.  Cynicism about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, socialist bias against the free market and the concomitant suspicion against pharmaceutical companies, or an overly minimalist view of the role of government to regulate health and morals have combined to make the “anti-vax” movement significant enough to cause a decrease in immunizations and, thus, the outbreaks of contagious diseases that had heretofore nearly been eradicated in Western Europe and America.  Russian Federation tyrant Vladimir Putin takes advantage of the extreme left-right convergence through disinformation, targeted to Europeans and Americans.

Foreign Digest: Russia, Turkey, Moldova and Hungary

Russia

            Over ten thousand Russians late last week protested the tyrannical Russian Federation regime of Vladimir Putin by commemorating the anniversary of the murder of the main opposition leader, Boris Nemtsov, near the Kremlin.  Demonstrators risk arrest, as the freedom of peaceful assembly is not tolerated by Putin.  Many opposition leaders, regime critics or journalists have been murdered, even abroad, imprisoned or driven into exile under Putin’s rule.

Turkey

            There were more arrests late last week of the military by the Islamist authoritarian regime for alleged ties to a cleric exiled in Pennsylvania who is blamed for the attempted military coup of 2016.  Tens of thousands of Turks have been sacked or arrested.  The purge of all opposition to the regime has continued even after the lifting of the emergency decree.

Moldova

            Parliamentary elections in Moldova Sunday were inconclusive as no party gained close to a majority.  The ruling center-left coalition came in third, after the pro-Russian nationalists and the pro-Western main center right coalition, with another pro-Russian far right-wing party entering Parliament with a fourth-place finish.  The Communists and another center-right party both lost all their seats in the national assembly.  Unless the center-right and center-left can form a national unity government, another vote will be necessary.

An increase in authoritarianism and corruption, like elsewhere in Eastern Europe, as well as a higher cost of living were factors in the loss by the ruling party of the former Soviet republic that feels threatened by Vladimir Putin’s Russia.  Moldovan admission to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or a turn toward Russia could be determined.  An issue for some of the center-right parties and many Moldovans is union with Romania, minus the breakaway Transnistria, inhabited by ethnic Russians and where Russian troops are stationed, and probably Gaugazia, inhabited by the Gagauz. Moldovans are ethnic Romanians.

Hungary

           There is publicly an effort within the European Peoples’ Party, a center-right European parliamentary group, to exclude Fidesz, the Hungarian ruling party, for failure to live up to the group’s principles of freedom.  Hungary’s Prime Minister admits his increasingly authoritarian government as “illiberal.”  Fidesz is a far-right anti-immigrant nationalist pro-Russian (i.e. pro-Vladimir Putin) party. European parliamentary elections are scheduled for later this month.