The biggest stories you won’t see headlining the news are Germany and southern Europe’s growing dependence on Russia. And China’s advance into Africa.
Where four decades of Warsaw Pact weaponry failed, gas and oil pipelines are succeeding. Russia’s influence runs right up to the Rhine – and where communism couldn’t win converts, cash and a seat on the board purchases politicians like former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
It is scary stuff. The British government knows it and buries it beneath a green agenda. And even as our diplomatic relations revolve around the Litvinenko affair the subtext is that we once again find ourselves lining up with Poland against an alliance between Germany and Russia.
France looks across the Atlantic and gets results.
Britain is divided by Eurosceptic Little Englanders and disillusioned Atlanticists. And so the not-so-great powers play out the not-so-great game.
Meanwhile China advances in Africa, with Sudan its major overseas oil provider.
And the post-colonial battle for resources is on. For anyone with a fondness for history it’s eerie stuff.
But we don’t talk about it.
Still, the stories are all out there, just a Google search away.
4 responses to “The biggest stories you won’t see headlined”
“Where four decades of Warsaw Pact weaponry failed, gas and oil pipelines are succeeding.”
All for the lack of a little extra Lebensraum.
What are the solutions then Adrian.
It comes down to what our news values are.Yes all those mentioned are important issues,yet people are not made aware of them.Yes they are only a google click away but how many times are those topics put in the search engines.
BBC World Service has been covering the story of China and Africa for a long time now. Not in everyday bulletins admittedly, but it’s firmly on the ‘in-depth’ agenda.
It’s all about the international perspective, something they do better than most, if not all.
These issues rarely get the headlines they deserve but realpolitik is coming alive again. I think newspapers shy away from “China is trying to take over the world” stories because of its conspiratorial nature. Conspiracies often made up by madmen.
I recommend everyone check out Pambazuka (google it) its an African online newspaper that has a special section on the Chinese relationship. It’s a goldmine of information.