97 Percent of the world lives under tyranny, according to a non-profit

Al Jazeera, 6/2–Just 40 countries representing 3.5 percent of the world’s population respect all civil liberties, a new study has found, warning that “democracy and human rights are under attack worldwide in a way we have not seen for decades.” The Atlas of Civil Society report published by the German relief organisation Brot fur die Welt (Bread for the World) on Monday said only 284 million people living in “open” countries – including Austria, Estonia, the Scandinavian countries, New Zealand and Jamaica – enjoy protection of unrestricted civil rights and liberties.

“I’m preparing you” says U.S. general to politicians about war

Reuters, 5/14–Earlier this month, U.S. Air Force Brigadier General Doug Wickert summoned nearby civic leaders to Edwards Air Force Base in California to warn them that if China attacks Taiwan in the coming years, they should be prepared for their immediate region to suffer potentially massive disruption from the very start. In a remarkable briefing shared by the base on social media and promoted in a press release, Wickert…outlined China’s rapid military growth and preparations to fight a major war…”If this war happens, it’s going to happen here,” Wickert told them…”It’s going to come to us. That is why we are having this conversation.

Starvation in Gaza increases under Israeli boots

Der Spiegel, 5/28–Ruqqia rarely cries. Usually she just lies there quietly and sleeps. When her mother drips milk into her mouth with a syringe, the little girl hardly even opens her eyes. Ruqqia weighs 2,900 grams and is 53 centimeters long, the size of a newborn. But she is seven months old. “She couldn’t move for the first 12 weeks,” says Randa Al Dohdar, 29. “The doctor told me that she might die at any moment”...Suzan Maroof, a malnourishment specialist who is also providing treatment to Ruqqia, says that 200 children come to the clinic each day…If Israel’s blockade of the Gaza Strip continues, up to 71,000 girls and boys could be acutely malnourished over the next 11 months…

Potential for larger war between India and Pakistan rises

Foreign Affairs, 5/23-–Nearly two weeks after India and Pakistan reached an uneasy cease-fire, neither New Delhi nor Islamabad agree on what happened preceding it…further salvos…led to the downing of Indian fighter jets and Pakistani jets...Drones and missiles whizzed across the border in both directions…Unlike India’s limited punitive strikes in the past, this offensive pressed deeper into Pakistani territory. India’s Operation Sindoor ranged far beyond Pakistani-administered Kashmir into Punjab, Pakistan’s heartland, eventually hitting not just the facilities of militant groups but also military targets, including air bases.

U.S. whipping allies into war shape

Defense News, 6/2–The United States is urging Australia to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP, almost a third above the target Canberra has set even for the early 2030s, the Pentagon said Sunday. “...[Defense Secretary Pete] Hegseth conveyed that Australia should increase its defense spending to 3.5 percent of its GDP as soon as possible”...Hegseth said the military threat posed by China “could be imminent” and called on U.S. allies in the region to drastically increase defense spending…During his speech, Hegseth pointed to NATO countries’ recent push to reach defense budgets closer to 5% of GDP — a share the Pentagon’s head of policy has repeatedly said should be the standard for U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific.

Most guns in Haiti come from the U.S. 

Americas Quarterly, 5/12–The continued influx of illegal firearms and ammunition, predominantly from the U.S., is a key driver of violence. Despite efforts to slow arms trafficking and seize weapons, including in ports in Miami, Santo Domingo, and Port-au-Prince, it continues virtually unabated. In March, Dominican authorities intercepted a shipment from Florida containing 23 high-caliber rifles, an Uzi submachine-gun, and 36,000 rounds of ammunition, all concealed in textile cargo…A UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) analysis confirms that approximately 70% of weapons recovered in Haitian operations originate from U.S.-licensed dealers…