NONG KHAI, Thailand -- You can see China's  inexorable southern thrust along the Mekong River where tall, fanciful, Chinese buildings sprout nearby on the Laos side of this sleepy northern border, sparking hopes and fears about Beijing's influence and intent in Thailand.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief's recent visit to Bangkok amid a flurry of lucrative U.S. military and business deals, may lure Thailand to favor the U.S. and not China in the future, but the rivalry is heating up.

"Thailand has been leaning toward China, and away from the U.S., for two decades," said Benjamin Zawacki, Bangkok-based American author of "Thailand: Shifting Ground Between the U.S. and a Rising China."

"In the military sphere, relations with the U.S. are arguably still deeper, but the gap is closing swiftly," Mr. Zawacki said in an interview.

Many Thais celebrate Chinese ancestry which dates back more than 700 years, in contrast to the persecution they suffered in Thailand during U.S.-led anti-communist purges in the mid-20th century.

Hidden in plain sight, the extreme hypocrisy of the U.S. position on NATO and Ukraine cries out for journalistic coverage and open debate in the USA’s major media outlets. But those outlets, with rare exceptions, have gone into virtually Orwellian mode, only allowing elaboration on the theme of America good, Russia bad.

Aiding and abetting a potentially catastrophic -- and I do mean catastrophic -- confrontation between the world’s two nuclear superpowers are lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Like the media they echo and vice versa, members of Congress, including highly touted progressives, can scarcely manage more than vague comments that they want diplomacy rather than war.

When New York Times opinion editor Kathleen Kingsbury published her case for “guest essays” replacing OpEds(April 27, 2021), she did not include “fact-based” among her “principles.” Her standards—cogent argument, logical thought, compelling rhetoric—however, are not requirements for all opinion writers. They do not apply to regular columnists and especially “conservative” writers. Is this requirement only for “guests”?

There’s a lot of money to be made in cannabis these days. The global legal marijuana market – said to be growing exponentially – is forecast to exceed $50 billion by 2025, with projected sales U.S. rising to $43 billion. Almost $650 million in marijuana products have been sold in Ohio alone since the inception of its medical marijuana program in in 2016.

Saturday, January 29, 12noon-3pm,
True Love Ministries, 1634 Minnesota Ave.
It’s that time of year again; we celebrate the life of Casey Goodson, Jr. Casey would have been 25 years old this January 30th; unfortunately, Jason Meade took Casey’s life. Join community members as we serve the community in Casey’s name to honor his life. Make some noise for #CaseyGoodsonJr.Hosted by Central Ohio Food Not Bombs and Sunrise Columbus.
Facebook Event