September Roundup: Declassifying Intelligence
Newsletter 025 -- Assassination. The high seas. September 11th (but not the one you're thinking of).
This month is 823’s second anniversary!
Over the past two years, we’ve had fascinating conversations with our readers, and as a team. I’m so proud of what we’ve created: a digital catalog of our changing world, and the life cycle of trends and global affairs, month by month. Our work has culminated in an intentionally curated archive of our world history, as it has unfolded. This labor of love is all of the things I had hoped it would be and wished I had growing up, to make sense of this rapidly changing, and seemingly incomprehensible world.
*Ah, I got too sentimental and lost my thought!* Thank you so much for trusting us, for being here, and for learning and digesting global affairs alongside us, every month! We’re so humbled by how this community has grown and we hope to connect with more of you in this next year.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Alexis Wong
Editor-in-Chief of 823 Newsletter
» Nefarious Behavior & How It’s About to Get More Complicated
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau first publicly alleged that the Indian government was involved in the assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, it stopped me in my tracks. My thoughts went into overdrive: 1) What does it mean that a Western leader has gone public with intelligence information? 2) If the Indian government did play a role in the assassination, how does the quashing of Nijjar’s activism play into their larger goals? 4) And, what does this move say about the kind of partner India might be as it becomes a predominant fixture on the international stage? It is a very serious overstep that a foreign government (India), has allegedly authorized and carried out the assassination of a citizen of another country (Canada), on that country’s soil.
India is currently overhauling their foreign policy playbook, which makes right now a good time for Western leaders to proactively participate in the process by making their expectations of Indian leadership clear. These expectations should include that India be held to abide by international law and be held accountable if they don’t. Historically the US has not been great at following international law itself, nor do they hold their allies accountable. But, if they’re able to do this, it won’t just make for better diplomatic relationships, it will also keep the Indian diaspora safe. National politics in India and the Indian foreign policy approach have had direct effects on the Indian diaspora. Even if the Indian government was not involved in Nijjar’s assassination, his death did not happen in a vacuum – rising tensions and socio-political realities have been brewing for some time now and this violence should make it clear to American and Canadian leaders that action is necessary.
Trudeau Facing Cold Reality After Lonely Week on World Stage
The geopolitical reality for Canada: After Trudeau went public with the allegation that the Indian government was involved in Nijjar’s assassination, Xavier Delgado, a researcher at the Wilson Center's Canada Institute had this to say about the lack of support the Canadian leader experienced from his longtime allies, "The United States, the UK, and all these Western and Indo-Pacific allies have built a strategy that largely focuses on India, to be a bulwark and counterweight to China. That's something they can't afford to toss out the window." Allyship and diplomatic relationships should have conditions. In the event the Indian government played a role in Nijjar’s assassination, they should be held responsible. The US can set the terms of their relationship by using its leverage to incentivize India to uphold democratic values and moral standards that won’t cause the international community to call into question this relationship in the future. But, whatever course of action the US (and Canada, for that matter) decides to move forward with will have direct effects on their South Asian citizens.
FBI Warned Sikhs in the US About Death Threats After Killing of Canadian Activist
We should revisit the way US officials have handled the caste discussion and related issues among the Indian diaspora over the last few years. Non-Hindus have been calling out discrimination and the rising vitriol that has coincided with Modi’s concerted efforts and violent campaigns to turn India into a majority Hindu state. Many large tech companies have created internal infrastructure to protect their non-Hindu, Indian employees from discrimination. We’ve also seen this discrimination play out across the nation sparking local governments in Washington state and New Jersey to create legislation to protect their non-Hindu Indian citizens.
Here’s a guide to the analysis we’ve written in previous newsletters that will help you understand the landscape as the world experiences the rise of India in the foreign policy arena:
Last summer we discussed the huge and lasting effects Partition had on the social, cultural, and political fabric of the South Asian region. It sparked mass South Asian migration, the creation of new states, and fortified prejudices still held to this day.
Then in February of this year, we learned about the organizing work Dalit activist, Thenmozhi Soundararajan, was doing inside tech companies like Google and the backlash she faced from Hindus. This happened around the same time that the city of Seattle banned discrimination based on caste.
In April we saw how under Modi, Indian textbooks were being revised to exclude Muslim history from the country’s textbooks.
Lastly, in June, we wrote an analysis of a story about how Hindu nationalists were usurping the narrative in US foreign policy spaces and activating their foreign policy and national interests in the US State Department.
— Alexis
This is an incredibly important conversation about what new dynamics might exist in the realm of international governance as AI becomes more prominent. Namely, the issue of power between nations and the companies that drive this technology. What does it look like for nations to cede power to the tech companies creating the necessary AI technology that will shape our world? It’s essential that states develop working relationships with AI companies that allow them to mitigate risks and maintain checks on emerging technology, without stifling innovation. It is also essential for each nation to have its own, in-house tech experts who can make these ideas and their effects of governance easy to understand. — Alexis
» September 11th & How to Make Friends
On the 50th anniversary of September 11th, in memory of the American-backed coup in Chile, the Chilean government asked Biden for a special diplomatic gesture to release declassified documents about the American government’s role in the coup. So far only two documents have been released. But the National Security Archive released documents showing how President Nixon and, then National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, worked to prevent Salvador Allende from being inaugurated and how they later ousted him. Allende’s leftist policies threatened America’s neo-liberal economics which touted the wonders of a free market, and American ideals of trickle-down economics that diverted money from the welfare of the people and their needs and put it, almost exclusively towards state defense and surveillance. — Alexis
“I think a lot of leftists fail to examine the situation with nuance. And they either don't know what's going on, and it’s kind of like this Achilles heel or there's also a cohort that wants to defend what is happening there at all costs, and I think that is problematic as well.” — AOC (quote from episode)
AOC describes what she believes solidarity looks like between Latin America and the West (specifically the US). After decades of violent intervention, US policymakers are attempting to change this relationship. Hence why progressive leaders embarked on a delegation trip, organized by the Center for Economic Policy & Research, across South America. Their trip coincided with the 50th anniversary of the US-backed coup in Chile and the release of declassified documents relating to the coup. AOC’s main point about solidarity was that relationship building would be essential moving forward and that the US’s transparency and honesty are necessary to the Chile-US relationship as the country continues to heal from the coup and its fallout. — Alexis
This interview, about the Congressional Delegation’s trip to Latin America, is with Representative Greg Casar from Texas. He shares what he learned from leaders they met with on the trip and touches on the devastating effects of the US’s War on Drugs in Colombia, migration, and sanctions in Venezuela. Overall, his biggest concern was how the US could pivot from their long used tactics and develop new ways of working alongside these countries. Studies have shown that US sanctions on Venezuela have heavily contributed to starvation, and the high death tolls regular Venezuelans are experiencing. They’ve also caused economic instability. This, he says, is why we’re seeing so many Venezuelans at American borders seeking asylum. — Alexis
This episode offers a concise recap of Chilean contemporary history to help listeners understand how Chile ended up with a Pinochet dictatorship. Prior to the coup, and Allende’s short presidency, in the 1930’s, Chile was politically stable (more so than its neighbors at the time) but its economy was dependent on foreign-owned (American, Australian, and British) copper companies and farming done by large estates. Allende was elected on a socialist platform and won 36% of the vote. As president Allende turned the operation of many large companies over to the government and began printing more money which caused inflation. The US was worried that Chile’s socialism would turn it into another Cuba, on top of the fact that the American bottom line had been affected, so it backed a military coup that ushered in the Pinochet dictatorship. — Alexis
»What We Owe Island Nations
Small Island States Make Case for Greenhouse Gas Emissions to be Covered by UN Law of the Sea
A coalition of small island states, represented by Prime Minister Gaston Browne of Antigua and Barbuda, argue that over a century of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions have polluted their oceans causing irreparable damage. The UN Law of the Sea governs marine territorial rights and requires countries to prevent and control marine pollution. There are 169 parties that are a part of the UN Law of the Sea – the US is not one of them. As we discussed in the last newsletter, island nations are the most vulnerable to the effects of our changing climate. The excess heat created by greenhouse gas pollution finds its way into our oceans causing marine heat waves, migration of fish stock, and sea level rise. The coalition believes that the law should be interpreted such that it would require countries to slash emissions enough to limit global warming. The opinion of the tribunal they are posing this to wouldn't be legally binding, but a positive opinion vote by the tribunal could pave the way for cases that would be legally binding. A positive opinion vote from the tribunal would mean that cases could be brought by one state, against another, arguing that they’ve suffered damage as a result of that state breaking their obligations to the Law of the Sea convention. States would also be able to file injunctions against other states that have plans to build new coal-fired power plants because the emissions would significantly impact oceans. Essentially, the positive opinion vote would open up the door for the most vulnerable states to hold others accountable. This is the third case of its kind that has been brought before an international court this year, and the second case led by small island nations. — Alexis
The Real Intervention that Haiti Needs
In this article, the writer argues that the main driver of Haiti’s current social and political turbulence is the country’s broken monetary system (a relic of the country’s colonial past) and that international efforts will only succeed if they make amends and confront this specific issue head-on. The writer names France and the US as the main drivers of Haiti’s financial ruin, and subsequently, the island's best shot at monetary sovereignty. We’ve spoken about Haiti a number of times, for a plethora of reasons because, as the article states, Haiti is the canary in the coal mine when we discuss international debt restructuring, climate change, post-coloniality, and a host of other contemporary foreign policy issues. The Haitian example keenly displays how international financial systems are intertwined with one another. This article offered me new insights about how countries like Haiti found themselves here today: After WWII, the US led the dollarization of the world. For Haiti today, this means that international transactions are done in dollars, while gourdes (Haitian currency) is the predominant currency for domestic transactions. Few Haitians have access to USD because remittances from the Haitian diaspora in the West are paid in gourdes. The US Federal Reserve’s current inflation regimen has intensified the gourde’s downward spiral – in 2022, $1 USD was equal to 100 Haitian Gourde and by 2023 it grew to 150 Haitian Gourde. Many post-colonial nations, like Haiti, are still experiencing the damaging effects of dollarization and hyperinflation – Venezuela is an example of this. Even before the devastating earthquake wrought the current social and political deterioration, Haiti was strapped with a double debt: one from France, post-independence, and one from the US. Based on conservative calculations of the present-day economic losses due to the weight of these debts, Haiti would be owed $21 billion. The NYT ‘Ransom’ project estimates that the actual economic cost might be closer to $115 billion. Even if the West (but specifically France and the US) were to write Haiti a check today for their losses under slavery, the price they paid for their independence and imposed financial strangulation, it wouldn't be enough. Central banks would have to help strengthen the Gourde by selling reserve currency to make the Gourde more valuable. The author also suggests that in order to help the island get on a somewhat equal playing field, Haiti’s debt should be fully canceled. Not just that, the author also makes a point to say that because of its oppressive history of debt, debt shouldn’t be used in financial relationships with Haiti moving forward. And lastly, France, the US, and other North Atlantic nations would have to include them in trade and promote these trade pathways that would bring Haiti into the fold long term. — Alexis
» The Culture Report
“I recently discovered this new realm called Medicine Anthropology. This subject is…looking at different parts of the world and how they use medicine, or curing, as a way to work with the local community. And how different communities treat medicine and the ways of curing.” (quote from episode)
Te Magazine is a bilingual magazine that explores different topics in cultural anthropology as it pertains to our contemporary lives and experiences. Independent printing in China is getting more difficult as the government now requires companies to have a Chinese ISBN for their projects. In order to get the Chinese ISBN you have to send your design layout and all of the content through the censorship system before printing, and this takes a year. More and more printing companies in China are requiring that you have the Chinese ISBN for them to take on your project. The effects this will have on creatives, print, and art are likely to greatly impact culture creation! — Alexis
Why Kenya’s Streetwear Scene is Ahead of The Curve
Besides the competitive price points fast fashion brands offer for dupes of items created by large fashion brands, I didn’t understand what made the animosity so visceral between luxury fashion brands and fast fashion companies. Was this not just the cost of doing business under capitalism? Aren’t you offering items to completely different consumer demographics? Besides the obvious plagiarism issues, why do luxury brands really care? Turns out that when fast fashion stepped on the scene it upended the traditional fashion cycle. Designers would show their new collections twice a year – the Spring/Summer collection in August, and the Fall/Winter collection in February. Meanwhile, all year round, fast fashion companies were producing seasonless items for consumption. That is until they realized they could also produce dupes of luxury items faster and at a lower cost to consumers (because of horrible labor practices) months before the luxury items became available on the market. This seasonless cycle forced luxury brands to begin showing Pre-Fall and Resort collections as supplements to the main collection, as well as collaborate with companies like H&M in order to maintain their relevance and stay in front of their audiences. With the American market heavily inundated by the same trends from both luxury brands and fast fashion, how can we develop our own unique style? We can look to Kenya for inspiration! Kenya doesn’t have flagship stores, and Kenyans predominantly purchase their clothes from mitumbas (“bundles”) which is where the West’s donated clothes tend to end up. Kenyan consumer and designers alike develop their unique style with the help of tailors who take these outdated clothes and alter them to create new designs. Designers tend to only be able to produce their designs in smaller batches and have very loyal local followings. — Alexis
“In our art history, we were learning more about the West than our own country. And it’s not that we’re saying that were not going to be talking about the West, but i’m saying, ‘Why is the West not reading about us as their art history?’” (quote from episode)
The Irregular Times is an art and design newspaper based in Delhi, India. Their mission is to highlight creatives of color, not just in India but all over the globe. Their interviews focus on artists’ practices, and the works that are special to them. In the interview, the editors of the newspaper expressed frustration at how galleries and curators will try to fit artists in a box of their choosing to fit their specific show interests.“There is this desire to place someone’s identity before you can allow them, or their work, to speak for themselves. And with the newspaper, we try to allow that to happen a bit more.” The newspaper was created to center the art practices of people of color, but also allow them the opportunity to discuss and represent their work on their own terms. — Alexis
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In Solidarity,
The 823 Team