Open Thread - 2-20-2026 -
Morning - a collection of international news not in the boldest of headlines.
A curiosity - Why do the Judge's guest interviews often frame Trump's backing out of a hot war or tariffs as caving, TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out) or stupid. Any attempt for peace as a desperate attempt for a Nobel peace prize.
Is this a backhanded way to try to affect policy by creating an emotional response for presidential action. It has been rumored Trump finally seriously ran for the presidency after Obama ridiculed him at the 2011 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. So why the constant taunting?
The initial court case for President Yoon in South Korea is completed and he lost. Appeals expected to follow. Asia Times has been pro Yoon and is very pro US intervention of another countries government via influence over their leaders.
Yoon conviction stirs questions of judicial overreach Asia Times Feb 19, 2026
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Seoul court on Thursday for spearheading an insurrection through his December 3, 2024, martial law decree.
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Insurrection has traditionally meant violent rebellion against the state, using armed force to overthrow constitutional authority. In Yoon’s case, however, prosecutors advanced — and the court effectively endorsed — a theory of “insurrection from above.”A sitting president, they argued, can commit insurrection not by leading rebels but by misusing state power against other constitutional organs. Democracies routinely confront abuses of emergency authority.
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Whether South Koreans ultimately judge the latest Yoon verdict as necessary accountability or as an expansion of doctrine is uncertain. What is clear is that South Korea has entered a new era of jurisprudence.Yoon, a democratically elected president, has received life imprisonment for insurrection in circumstances that did not involve an armed uprising, dissolution of the constitutional order, or sustained seizure of state institutions.
This development marks a significant shift in how insurrection is understood within South Korean law. Once legal categories broaden, they rarely narrow in subsequent application.
An example of additional method of influencing for another country.
https://asiatimes.com/2026/02/china-gives-lithuania-punishing-silent-tre...
China gives Lithuania punishing silent treatment over Taiwan
Asia Times Feb 18, 2026
Prime Minister Ruginiene likens China’s quiet but well-targeted retribution for engaging Taiwan to getting hit by a train
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In 2021, Lithuania tested one of China’s most sensitive red lines. It allowed Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius under the name Taiwan rather than the customary name of Taipei. The decision challenged China’s non-negotiable “One China Policy.”
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Lithuania’s challenge to China was fueled by idealism rather than realism. The asymmetry between the two countries could hardly be more pronounced. With a population of 3 million, Lithuania is one of the smallest countries in the world. China has over 50 cities with populations of more than 3 million.The initial economic impact of China’s silent administrative measures was severe, affecting broad sectors of the Lithuanian economy.
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The diplomacy of silence is neither emotional nor improvised. It is a disciplined, calculated form of statecraft particularly suited to a multipolar environment. Influence is exercised through strategic absence, restraint and calibrated non-engagement rather than through overt action or declaratory confrontation.Conceptually, this approach aligns with the ancient Chinese notion of wu wei, often mistranslated as “non-action,” but more accurately understood as highly informed restraint—acting through alignment, timing, and structural positioning instead of direct force.
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In strategic terms, wu wei offers clear advantages in an interdependent world: overt confrontation invites escalation, coalition-building and reputational costs, whereas calibrated non-engagement allows pressure to accumulate quietly, minimizes blowback and preserves space for eventual normalization on the stronger actor’s terms.
Pepe's visit to Iran prior to the 12 day war was filmed by an Iranian camera team. The documentary has just been released. A little slow in pace, but found it worth viewing for a better perspective of the area and potential future development being planned by foreign investors. Pepe's prodevelopment stance is visible in his presentation.
Did not find video I could embed.
Golden Corridor (52.06 min) A little history, present and potential future.
Comments
Hey, good morning
.
Thanks for the news bites.
The quote "The diplomacy of silence" when used as a tool
of reason would be beneficial if applied to US foreign policy.
But we know there is no chance for that with the current regime.
The penchant to make outrageous headline grabbers as
attention seeking gestures on a daily basis precludes things
like discipline or constraint as a possibility.
Appreciate your OT's. It is good to be able to talk back to the
broadcast news, especially pollitically.
Zionism is a social disease
Good morning soe, et.al. Thanx for the OT, soe. We. I think,
have very incomplete information as to the history and activity of both the Yoon Presidency and the history of "democracy" in SK. Also, all the nuances of what might be considered to be whatever the Korean language term being translated as "insurrection". I also dont know if Yoon was convicted of violating a specific law like the infamous US "Insurrection Act" or broader Korean legal principal. That said, I have problems with the Asia Times' view of Yoon's conviction and sentencing,
Some of my questions o problems are wheTher "Insurrection" should include "Coups d'etat"? If anybody other than chief executive seizes the reins of power by force of threat thereof, it is a coup and an overthrow of the sitting government, which, to me, should be considered to be an insurrection. By expansion, if, at the end of their legal term said chief exec refuses to step down and seizes control of the government by force or threat thereof, that too should be seen as a coup, overthrow of the government or, arguably, insurrection. So, what should we call it and how should we view it if they begin the process in the middle of their term of office, setting the stage and preparing the ground for the day of their actual coup?
Some things to keep in mind is that the chief executive in many countriies, especially those pretending to be democracies, is not the government. The government is the entire process by whichnational or regional decisions are made and enforced.
The other thing to keep ion mind is that force or threat thereof needn't come from the military, though that is very frequently the case and the military generally needs to acquiesce in any coup which they son't themselves foment. Other governmental forces such as "police", "security services", "National Gaurd" and the like can also be the source of the "force of threat of force" behind a coup, and the police, depending upon the details of the administrative processes in place, will or do carry out the bidding and instructions of the prosecutorial offices and officials.
The use of corrupt, ideologically driven prosecutors, with the implicit backing of the police, to suppress the authority of the rest of the governmental apparatus in order to achieve something of a semblance of one man or one party rule in a government where such has not been the case ab initio cannot be anything but a coup, overthrow of the government, and, hence, arguably an insurrection.
Just my opinion, but not to take this view quickly slides into a realm where theft by crooked cops would not be theft, etc.
be well and have a good one
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Good afternoon, soe!
I think Judge Nap and his guests are taunting MAGAS. They are all staunch peaceniks and promoters of diplomacy. I agree that Trump tends to fight hard against ridicule. There is a way to control him. Example:
The bold headlines announce the Supreme Court has ruled Trumps tariffs have been struck down. A stopped clock...you all know the rest.
Yesterday, a bold headline announced a study has determined the cause of Alzheimer's. Before I could click and read, it disappeared. I tried to find it, but after 20 minutes searching yielded zip, I have given up. I would like to know how to keep myself from drifting into dementia. With my luck, beer is the cause.
At any rate, if anyone sees the results of this study, please share it with us.
Thanks for the OT, my friend!
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981