Putin should issue warrants for the arrest of ICC officials

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden said on Friday (Mar 17) that Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly committed war crimes and the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue an arrest warrant for him was justified.

The ICC earlier on Friday called for Putin's arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from Ukraine to Russia since Moscow's invasion began of its neighbour last year. The United States is not a member of the ICC.

"He's clearly committed war crimes," Biden told reporters, referring to Putin.

"Well, I think it's justified," Biden added, referring to the warrant. "But the question is - it's not recognised internationally by us either. But I think it makes a very strong point."  CNA

 

Russia and BRICS countries' response to this outrageous attack on Putin can be simple. Just declare the ICC as a mafia or terrorist organisation. Putin should issue arrest warrant for the senior gangsters in the ICC. All BRICS countries should arrest these gangsters on sight. Who did these gangsters think they are, and Imperial force that rules the world?

ICC has discredited itself as a terrorist organisation, letting off criminals committing war crimes like George Bush Jr, Tony Blair and many American and western leaders involved in the invasion and massacre of Iraq and Iraqis. It also turned a blind eye to the genocides committed in Ukraine by Zelensky and the neo Nazis. It also ignored the genocides of the Palestinians in their own country.

The war crimes against the Afghans and Syrians and many Middle east and African countries were totally ignored by this terrorist organisation as they did not fit into their agenda.

 Countries of the world should outlaw this terrorist organisation. Those still members to this mafia organisation must cancel their membership. It is not only a waste of time and funds being member of this terrorist organisation, it also lends legitimacy to the gangsters running this mafia secret society.

Putin should start the ball rolling, issue arrest warrants immediately on all the gangsters running the ICC.

More good news - $20 worth of health points

SINGAPORE: The Singapore Ministry of Health (MOH) announced on Mar 3 that all Singapore residents will receive S$20 worth of health points if they enrol in the voluntary Healthier SG programme and complete their first health consultation.

Healthier SG benefits such as free health screenings and vaccinations will commence in July, with enrolment starting for residents aged 60 and above.

Minister for Health Ong Ye Kung said on Mar 3 that Singapore will build a strong population health system through Healthier SG. The concept of population health - health for everyone in a defined population - is relatively new to Singapore and Southeast Asia. How does the concept translate to action and benefits for our citizens?  CNA

Free health screenings and vaccinations in an island state that does not believe in free lunch except maybe the occasional free chicken wings must be music to the ears of the seniors. When medical services and medicine are so expensive, just like everything, getting free health screenings and free vaccinations must be most welcoming news. Just wondering what vaccines are they going to give for free? Pfizer mRNA vaccines?

And to top up the good news, got $20 worth of health points some more. How can the seniors not become healthier with such goodies? Would there be long queues for the Healthier SG programmes? It reminds me of a personal experience when I was with the Lions Club. We organised free health screenings also, but no $20 health points. No seniors came for the free screening. If only we could provide $20 health points it might make a difference.

We had to approach the seniors to cajole them to come for the free screenings. They looked at us blankly with a slight scorn in their faces. Subsequently we found out why. They said screening was free, but after screening they would end up with a list of illnesses that needed to be treated, needed medicine. And they had no money for the medicine. So they rather opt to stay away from the free screening.

With $20 health points, wondering what this is all about, perhaps it could cover the cost of buying some medicine should they be found to be ill and needed treatment. For many seniors, likely to be retired and have little or no income except a dwindling savings kept in the CPF, they have to make a big decision, to pay for food or for medicine. The little money they have is fixed and limited and paying for one means not having the other.

What do you think? Food or medicine? Heard someone said, in Singapore can die but cannot afford to be sick.

TikTok - Sore America loser playing foul

Washington is demanding that the app’s Chinese owners sell their stake, company representatives have said

FILE PHOTO. The TikTok logo is displayed outside a TikTok office in Culver City, California. © Getty Images / Mario Tama


Washington has urged TikTok’s Chinese owners to divest their stakes in the popular video app or face a potential US-wide ban, representatives of ByteDance – the company behind the platform – told various media outlets on Wednesday.

TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter told the Wall Street Journal, which first broke the story, that the Beijing-based company had received the ultimatum from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US (CFIUS). It’s part of the US Treasury Department and is officially tasked with overseeing national security risks in cross-border investments.

ByteDance, which was founded in Beijing in 2012, has pointed out that 60% of its shares are currently owned by global investors, 20% by employees, and 20% by its founders, who also carry outsize voting rights.  RT

The evil American Empire is showing its fangs everywhere, fighting wars, agitating for wars, sanctions, daylight robbery, inciting riots and destabilising countries, selling arms, nuclear proliferation etc etc. After losing many sectors in the tech war to China, failing to cripple Huawei, losing in the chip war, it is not giving up. Now it is going after TikTok, a very popular and easy to use software for people to express themselves in very creative ways. Again the evil Americans are waving the security threat flag to demonise TikTok where every young Americans are using it and enjoying every bit of it. No, this is not allowed. 

Other than the security threat, the evil American Administration is angry that the users are spending too much time on TikTok, but ok to spend time on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc and other American software. What a load of shit!

Where is the freedom of speech, freedom to choose, freedom to live and play in this fake democracy but an authoritarian evil Empire, curtailing the freedom of its own people. And this curb in freedom is extended to other AngloSaxon tribe countries. Ban TikTok because the Americans are sour losers. When they can't compete, break it. This is what the evil American Empire is best at.

Are they going to stop using Chinese made cranes in their ports? Are they going to stop selling Chinese consumer goods and toys in Walmarts? Where is World Trade Organisation to stop these violations of free trade? Where are the champions of freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of choice, freedom to play?

More than a hundred million Americans are happily using TikTok. Are they going to take this abusive authoritarian ruling without a fight? Would they be demonstrating in the streets for their freedom, individual rights? And this is America, supposedly the home of democracy. Where is democracy, where is human rights, where is freedom?

Everything is politicised, everything is weaponised. America is now an authoritarian state, an evil Empire, not a democracy. The power of the deep state is eating up everyone and everything in America, the biggest fake democracy.

It was easy for the Americans to destroy and rob Japanese and European countries. But China is a different kettle of fish. All the lies and abuse of power would not make any difference. The more the Americans try to suppress China, China would only grow stronger.  TikTok would survive just like Huawei and gets stronger by the day. Good stuff would always be in demand and no lies can bring it down.

PS. One good thing about using TikTok is that the American govt cannot spy on you. This is actually the main reason why they want to ban it or steal/rob it from its owners.

Xi Putin coming meeting will be a game changer in the Ukraine War

President Xi's impending visit to Moscow to meet with Putin will be one important event that will be closely watched by the rest of the world. Xi's visit to Russia is sure to come up with very important geopolitical outcome for the China/Russia alliance. It could be the final nail in the coffin for the de-dollarisation move, the coup de grace against the US$ hegemony. Xi's overseas visit in the past had never been done for irrelevant matters.

China's impending supply of lethal weapons to Russia will likely be linked to USA's sale of weapons to Taiwan, which will probably be discussed between Xi and Putin. China is prepared to face USA sanctions by providing arms to Russia, a move in tandem with what the USA is providing to Taiwan. China has to tell the USA that it can also play the same game.

China knows such sanctions, if they go ahead with weapons supply to Russia, cannot be avoided, whether weapons supply to Russia is actually carried out or not, since the USA side is hyping up the possibility. The USA is going all out to target China in every conceivable way. The chips sanctions, the tech sanctions and sanctions on Chinese apps are already on after all.

The USA can extend sanctions to Chinese products, which if done, will cause inflation to skyrocket in the USA. Understandably, the raising of interest rates by the Fed had failed to tame inflation in the USA and the Fed has no more ammunition to bring down inflation without destroying the economy. Any move by way of sanctions on China will inevitably do more harm to the USA, and not just harming Chinese manufacturing. It will in effect be more damaging on the USA than all the sanctions on Russia, which by the way only harmed Europe more than the USA.

 

Anonymous 

Asean in the eyes of the West - Pathetic and shallow

 

Photo cropped from an article by Ravi Velloor in the ST on 23 Feb 23. The caricature depicting Asean as a bunch of mindless men behaving like hungry third world kids is quite demeaning and condescending. Is Asean really that hungry and silly to rush for a hamburger offered by the Americans, like the $150m pittance, and fighting for it in glee?

Velloor's article in a way repeats the western narrative and wishful thinking that China is now in decline and the USA is back in favour. This kind of American propaganda trying to deceive the world that the failing American Empire is winning the war to remain as the number one hegemon is common in all American and western media, as well as the media of American crony states. 

Is America really winning the war of dominance? Is China really losing it because of a few sanctions and the chip and technology war? Just because of 3 years of Covid lockdown, self imposed by China, would this change the fate of China's rise? Don't dismiss the fact that China is now the number one trading partner of more than 120 countries in the world and now with the opening up, ex Covid, the Chinese factories are going to run full steam ahead while the Americans are sucked in the self destructive war in Ukraine, with its factories ramping more bullets and killer machine.

And not to forget, Asean is not the silly children of yesteryears that would run after a white tourist throwing sweets at them. Asean is now an economic power in its own right and does not need little pieces of crumbs to get by. As long as the region and the world at large remains peaceful, leaving aside the war in Europe, Asean's economies would do well without needing charity from the Americans.

The only way for the Americans to squeeze and control Asean is to blackmail Asean leaders on some indiscretion to do their bidding. This can only happen to one or two Asean leaders but not all the Asean leaders. The only thing the Americans can offer to Asean is war and military hardware that Asean did not want. 

Poor Marcos is now in a very difficult position and being dragged into the anti China camp by the Americans, just a few days after he became the President. What did the Americans have on him that led to this volte face in his foreign polices vis a vis China and the USA?

Which other Asean leader is going to be the next Marcos Jr to be arm twisted by the Americans to go against China?

Indonesia and Malaysia not happy with nuclear subs in the region? But some Asean members are very happy.  Perhaps Indonesia and Malaysia should join the party and ask the Americans to sell nuclear subs to them also. Caveat, the answer likely to be no even if both would want to be subsets of AUKUS, because they are not whites but Muslim states.