“De-Americanising” the world

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“De-Americanising” the world

Fran O’Sullivan had an interesting piece in the NZ Herald last week. She contrasted China’s rapidly increasing influence with the American “failure to display strong political governance”.

Fran O’Sullivan wrote: “It’s no accident that an opinion-editorial by Xinhua’s Liu Chang was posted on Monday slamming the US fiscal failure which the writers says ‘warrants a de-Americanised world.’” Xinhua is China’s official news agency.

Fran O’Sullivan went on to describe some of the progress China is making to de-Americanise the world, at least in the currency area, where the US dollar has long been the world’s reserve currency. She refers to an Asia RMB [Chinese currency] block of seven countries, new currency swap arrangement (including with New Zealand] and the prospect of New Zealand agreeing with China on a currency convertibility pact.

American dominance is being challenged by other countries too. Angered by US NSA spying on its official communications, Brazil is now creating its own secure email system and will be hosting an international conference on internet governance in April. The influence of the US over internet protocols is weakening. Earlier this month the key global internet agencies met in Montevideo and “agreed to catalyse community-wide efforts towards the evolution of global multistakholder Internet cooperation.” They expressed “strong concern over the undermining of the trust and confidence of Internet users globally due to recent revelations of pervasive monitoring and surveillance.”

Brazil is planning to lay an underwater cable to Europe to avoid routing its internet traffic via the US, and it’s also considering legislation to force Facebook and Google to host data on Brazilian residents solely in Brazilian data centres.

However, there’s a way to go before we break the American stranglehold on the world’s financial transaction system. Wikileaks suffered badly when PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, Western Union and Bank of America– on orders from the US government – blocked payments to its account. Many Iranian businesses also suffer because – again under US orders – the SWIFT global financial transactions network holds up many payments – even those not covered by the current sanctions regime.

We have been informed by the Snowden revelations how far the US government will go to suppress information on its own wrongdoing. But this too is producing an international reaction (involving some important American players). Last week the founder of eBay, Pierre Omidyar – reputed to be worth $US8 billion – announced he was creating a new independent online media organization with Glen Greenwald, the Brazilian based journalist responsible for many of the Snowden stories. Greenwald’s colleague, the Germany-based Laura Poitras, and Jeremy Scahill (author of Dirty Wars) also seem to be involved. Omidyar said he was motivated by a “rising concern about press freedoms in the United States and around the world.”

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Hopefully, there will be some New Zealand involvement in these new global initiatives for a freer world.

6 COMMENTS

  1. The US for a long time has been saying “do as we say or else” and the ‘or else’ is the military machine which is currently terrorising the world. We can all participate in disempowering the US by buying New Zealand made.

    The world economy though is broken beyond repair and the only solution is to wipe the slate and start again which could only happen if we all cooperated with each other instead of feeding off each other.

    • Wouldn’t it be great if N.Z treated its citizens as family and fed everyone here well first from our land. Instead of feeding the cuckoo in the nest. Also stop creating separation between people, bring back some humanity… And look after amazing N.Z small business people, I was watching a documentary on You Tube about John Britten we need to appreciate our creative people. Stop mindlessly stumbling towards the American dream which looks like a big fat ugly horror story. America is ready to fall over it would be sad if it rolled all over us in its death throws… We should be better than that beast not feeding it.

  2. Interesting you mention that cable.
    Some years ago when Pacific Fibre was planning a direct link to Hawaii, I made an attempt to get in touch with the protagonists, proposing a slightly less ambitious (and less costly link) …. for BOTH geological and geo-political reasons. A link was being proposed/underway from Tahiti to Hawaii. My thinking involved the Fijian situation, our ties to P.I. nations as well as La France, closer proximity to South American nations and their past experiences – and of course the geology (Tonga Trench/plate boundaries et al)
    A shame it couldn’t have come to pass – especially considering where France Telecom/Orange came to be as well as other initiatives underway.

    “Hopefully, there will be some New Zealand involvement in these new global initiatives for a freer world.”
    Indeed. One thing’s for sure, the American Empire is definitely being challenged. Would have been nice for us to have been in a position to hedge our bets rather than just follow our ‘master’.
    Cudda shudda wudda as they say

  3. … Essential viewing-
    A video that explains how the monetary system works, and why it is “the Biggest Scam in the History of Mankind”.

    http://www.oneworldchronicle.com/?p=17595

    It is worth taking the time to watch 2 or 3 times , till you “get” it, and you’ll suddenly see how we’ve all been made economic slaves without realising it. Every person needs to see it.

  4. oops – re-reading the above it seems a little ambiguous (re the cable).
    The Tahiti-Hawaii thing was already in train (and I think now completed).

    My thinking was a link eastward beginning somewhere from south of Kaikoura (on the Pacific plate) to the Chathams, then northward to the Cooks or similar – easily connecting the Samoas and Tahiti. Then with Orange/France Telecom further east to the South Americas.

    You’ll note that Brasil is now seeking independence and freedom from the American Empire with a direct link to Europe…. That was ALWAYS going to happen.

    NZ – well …. we’re still in the ‘club’ without any other ‘viable options’.
    Under the thumb, beholden to the Empire, dictated to by the ‘land of the free’!
    Yea …. right!

    • I will be watching John Key’s career very closely once he leaves New Zealand’s political scene. I’d be fascinated to see in what form the thirty pieces of silver will be handed him. Of course he might have received it already: a spot on David Letterman’s show. I reckon’s he’s that cheap.

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