Tim Talks Politics - The Weekly Brief, April 26, 2019
The Weekly Brief - April 26, 2019
Sri Lanka
Easter services and brunches were rocked by explosions across the island nation of Sri Lanka this past Sunday. The resulting attacks left over 300 dead and more than 500 wounded, the largest act of terrorist violence to hit the island since the end of its civil war in 2009.
Initial investigation has suggested that a little known Islamist terrorist group with ISIS backing carried out the attack. Much remains to be explained as to just how this group got its materials and abilities to carry out such an attack.
The bombings underscore the ongoing threat of ISIS to reach just about any location with its brand of radicalization and inflict casualties.
“What do you want to do tonight, Xi?”
As the trade war with China cools down attention shifts to the new front in the US-China competition for global influence: the 5G front.
The scope of the Chinese 5G threat took on a new dimension as close American ally, Great Britain, opted to allow Chinese tech giant Huawei to help develop the UK’s 5G network over American concerns.
Events like this have led the Daily Signal to argue that the 5G threat from China is not a materializing threat but a real and present one requiring America to step up. America may have already stepped up as the Manhattan Institute reports that Trump has made the right call on adopting a free market stance to win the 5G race. That being said, China may still have a head-start given the willingness of European allies to sign on to Chinese 5G infrastructure.
However, the Hudson Institute seems to think that the US can still beat China on infrastructure development by providing better investment alternatives in American markets, and thus slow down the amount of American investment fueling a growing, but still unstable Chinese economy.
For now, China seems to be in the lead on 5G on the economy. However, China still has its own skeletons in the closet, or rather, massive re-education camps in the closet. War on the Rocks offers up an overview on the massive Chinese detention and re-education centers being built in western China to corral the Uyghur population.
In Ukraine, the joke’s on Russia
With the runoff election held this last week, the TV president became the real president in Ukraine as comedian Volodymyr Zelensky won the Ukrainian presidency in a landslide.
Zelensky came to fame playing a presidential character on Ukrainian television, but the really interesting thing is how he campaigned… he didn’t.
Zelensky must now navigate the very real and even dangerous world of Ukraine politics and Ukrainian-Russian relations. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace looks at how he may be able to do that with European help and National Review notes that this is yet another populist victory.
Despite the wave of populist victories of both right and left flavors over the last couple of years, it remains to be seen if these populist movements prove effective at more than just catharsis.
To impeach or not impeach
With the Mueller report finally published and out, it is now time for the Democrats to enter the next phase of their opposition to Trump, which is to consider the question of impeachment.
The backbenchers in the Democratic House who have loudly called for his impeachment are now getting a boost from presidential candidates like Elizabeth Warren.
However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi seems to be taking a cautious approach. She might be more right than the louder voices in her party care to acknowledge as Commentary Magazine argues impeachment proceedings would rip the Democrats apart and worsen the ongoing divide within that party. Maybe that's why Politico reports that impeachment is exactly the fight that Donald Trump is looking for in 2019 and 2020.
Returning to the religion conversation
A couple months ago, this newsletter spotlighted an interesting study by the Pew Research Center on the positive social effects of religion. New research suggests that religious practice also has positive impacts on health.
Pew Research also published some interesting findings on Christians in America who may have a more nuanced perspective on Israeli-Palestinian crisis than is often portrayed. This caricatured portrayal of Christians in America seems to be something that has gotten more secular-minded observers in journalism and politics into some hot water.
The Daily Signal reports on some embarrassing gaffes made in the media over the course of the last couple weeks when reporting on religious issues. Between the new research showing the public good of religion and the difficulty elements of American culture appear to have with talking about religion it stands to reason that a conversation on the public role of religion is worth having. But how do you do that?
The American Conservative provides of very good example of how to think and talk about religion, particularly a religion that one is not a part of.
The streets speak
Early 2019 in Europe and Africa seems to be the year the streets speak. Whether it’s the yellow vest movement in France dramatically demonstrating the shortcomings of the Macron administration or the ongoing street protests in Algeria and Sudan, the politics of the street seem to be part of the broader global populist moment.
In Sudan and Algeria, street protesters continue to be at odds with the respective military's in those countries over the future direction of governments which suggests that though a new era has begun, it is not a settled point as to what the new era will look like.
The American Interest also reports that Morocco, one of the more stable countries in North Africa, is also seeing a street movement that is pressuring the government for reforms.
Beyond North Africa, concerns are rising that other aged regimes in unstable countries, like the one in Cameroon, could be facing overthrow.
Eyes up!
A couple of quick hits on some developing stories to keep an eye on over the next week or so.
This week, North Korean president Kim Jong Un pulled off another first by traveling outside his country again to visit a head of state, only this time it's not the American president, but the Russian one.
Axios reports on a very full docket of potentially landmark Supreme Court cases coming up in the next Court’s session and the SCOTUS blog provide some analysis on the opening arguments regarding the inclusion of citizenship questions on the 2020 census.