China's Xiaomi Passes US' Apple Despite DC's Dirty Games
Xiaomi went from a startup smartphone company competing in China’s domestic markets in 2010, to entering global markets between 2014 and 2015, to this year surpassing Apple in global smartphone sales, with only Samsung selling more. CNN in a July 2021 article titled, “Xiaomi has Samsung in its sights after overtaking Apple in smartphone sales,” would note: The Chinese company...
China’s Space Program Makes its Mark
China’s growing technological prowess is on clear demonstration not only across telecommunication markets around the globe, but high up above it, in space. China’s space program overseen by the China National Space Administration (CNSA has this year made several landmark accomplishments. It began the construction of its own space station. Called Tiangong...
Russia and China Have Big Plans in Space
The trend of shifting away from the Washington-led unipolar "international order" toward multipolarism is not just unfolding here on Earth but far above it in orbit and even beyond. Washington's continued campaign of belligerence toward Moscow has even complicated one of the few fields of constructive cooperation between the two nations...
West's Information War Continues
YouTube has recently deleted the latest channel used by Iranian state media's PressTV. The move follows attacks on the Iranian media outlet by US-based social media giant Facebook earlier this year. PressTV's own take on the deletion in its article, "Google renews attack on YouTube account of Iran’s Press TV," would note: Google has for the seventh time targeted...
US-Russian Cooperation in Space Pokes Holes in Conflicts on Earth
A last minute request from NASA to fly an American astronaut on Russia's Soyuz rocket opens up a wide array of interesting points. Space.com in an article titled, "Here's how NASA just booked a last-minute trip to space on a Russian Soyuz," would note: "The crew composition change came as a result of an earnest request from...
Nations Race Toward Reusable Rockets
The original space race was a bipolar affair with mostly political implications for the United States and the Soviet Union. Out of that space race, commercial and military capabilities began to grow in the realm of communication satellites, collecting intelligence, and global navigation. We are now looking at an emerging new space race, one significantly different...
The Problem With US Space Force
The US Space Force (USSF is the newest branch of the US Armed Forces. Its personnel are referred to officially as "Guardians" versus "soldiers," "sailors," "airmen," and "Marines" of other branches. Regarding the USSF's stated mission, its official website claims: The USSF is a military service that organizes, trains, and equips space forces...
A Nation's Cyberspace Must Also be Defended
In recent months the role of powerful US-based transnational tech corporations has taken center stage. From censoring national leaders to purging entire political movements and discussions from their platforms, never has the power to influence what people can say, see, and hear been held in so few hands. Beyond this threat is a new form of information warfare...
Iran Prepares Next Satellite Launch
The Iranian Space Agency (ISA is preparing the launch of another satellite into orbit, the Zafar 2, which is described by Tehran Times as being capable of "taking color photos and [surveying] oil reserves, mines, forests, and natural lands." This capability can be used for monitoring seasonal environmental changes as well as for creating detailed maps. Zafar 2 has been developed...
Russian-Chinese Civilian Aviation Challenges Western Duopoly
For decades US-based Boeing and European aerospace giant, Airbus, have dominated global civilian aviation in what many in the industry describe as a duopoly. But as is the case in so many other industries as of late, China's economic and technological rise has raised questions about the future of this duopoly. China's Commercial...
China Completes its Beidou Satellite Navigation Network
Earlier this year China launched the final satellite in its Beidou satellite navigation network. The completion of China's Beidou network makes it the fourth network of its kind and capabilities alongside the US Global Positioning System (GPS, Russia's GLONASS, and the European Union's Galileo network. Conceived in the 1990's with the first and second versions...
US Walks Away From Another Treaty, Closer to Confrontation with Russia
The US has signaled a desire to withdraw from yet another agreement created specifically to reduce the likelihood of a military confrontation between the US and NATO versus Russia. The US State Department's own Voice of America in an article titled, "US Officially Withdraws from Open Skies Agreement," would...