Division multiplication: the UAE’s foreign meddling

United Arab Emirates: Regional Influence and the Sudan Conflict

• The UAE has emerged as a key intermediary in the Russia-Ukraine war, facilitating the exchange of 115 Ukrainian prisoners for 115 Russian prisoners and hosting recent diplomatic talks between the two nations.
• Concurrently, the UAE is finalizing a new trade deal with the European Union, signed by President Mohammed bin Zayed and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
• Despite its "good guy" diplomatic branding, The Economist reports the UAE is actively pursuing a strategy of regional division rather than the stability sought by Saudi Arabia.
• The UAE is accused by Sudan of complicity in genocide and is currently facing a case at the International Court of Justice for providing weapons, money, and support to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
• Evidence cited includes satellite imagery and UN investigations confirming the transfer of weaponry to the RSF, which has been responsible for mass killings of the Masalit ethnic group in Darfur.
• The UAE officially denies these accusations, labeling the legal case a "PR stunt" and insisting it provides no military support to the RSF.
• The UAE has a history of backing secessionist and destabilizing groups across the region, including:
  • Khalifa Haftar in Libya, an attempt to overthrow the government in Tripoli.
  • The Southern Transitional Council in Yemen, aiming to split the country into an independent South Yemen.
  • Leaders in the breakaway republics of Puntland and Somaliland in Somalia.
• This strategy places the UAE in direct opposition to the United States, China, and Russia regarding the Sudan conflict, a rare alignment of these three powers against a US ally.
• Analysts suggest the UAE's strategy is driven more by ideology than economics:
  • The ruling family in Abu Dhabi is deeply hostile to political Islamism (e.g., the Muslim Brotherhood), leading them to support factions fighting against Islamist trends in the Sudanese army.
  • The strategy aims to curb the influence of Qatar and Turkey, both of which sponsor Islamist groups.
  • The UAE seeks to distinguish itself from Saudi Arabia and avoid being a "junior partner" in the Gulf alliance by carving out a unique sphere of influence.
• The policy of division is viewed as unsuccessful due to:
  • The severe humanitarian cost of the wars fueled in Sudan, Libya, and elsewhere.
  • Military failures of backed groups, such as the RSF's retreat from Khartoum and Haftar's failure to take Tripoli.
  • Reputational damage, with US congressional advisors considering sanctions against the UAE over its role in Sudan.

Japan: The Rice Crisis and Agricultural Protests

• Thousands of rice farmers in Tokyo staged the rare "Reiwa no Hyakushou Ikki" (modern peasant uprising), citing harsh working conditions, low pay, and an aging workforce.
• The protest occurred amid a national rice crisis characterized by severe shortages and price hikes, with Tokyo rice prices reaching 90% higher year-on-year in March—its steepest rise in half a century.
• The shortage originated from heat waves in summer 2023 that damaged crops; due to rice's one-year harvest cycle and long distribution timelines, the supply gap persisted into the current year.
• Market demand surged due to:
  • A post-pandemic tourism boom increasing restaurant demand.
  • Panic buying and hoarding by households following rumors of a potential mega-earthquake and initial stock-outs.
• In response to the crisis, the Japanese government released 210,000 tons from its National Strategic Rice Reserve to stabilize supply and lower prices.
• Farmers are not benefiting from the price surge because they sold their harvest to agricultural cooperatives at predetermined prices long before the market spike occurred.
• The market structure remains distorted by the "Gintan Seisaku" policy, officially scrapped in 2018 but still influencing the market via subsidies that discourage table rice production in favor of soybeans and animal feed.
• Experts are divided on solutions, with some advocating for direct cash handouts to small farmers and others pushing for farm consolidation and corporate takeover to boost production efficiency.

English Pronouns: Linguistic Trends and Culture War Context

• Pronouns have become a central flashpoint in the 2024 US culture war, evidenced by President Trump's executive order to remove preferred pronouns from federal employee signatures and viral videos of officials misgendering colleagues.
• Linguist John McWhorter's book, Pronoun Trouble, provides a descriptive analysis of English pronouns, moving away from prescriptivist rules to analyze how language actually evolves.
• English is described as "pronoun-starved," lacking formal distinctions found in other languages, such as:
  • Specific terms for "me and them" or "me and those three people."
  • A formal second-person plural (relying on informal variants like "y'all" or "yins").
• The evolution of pronouns is slower than that of nouns or verbs, as they function as ubiquitous, unremarkable "street signs" for communication.
• McWhorter challenges traditional grammar rules, specifically the prohibition against ending sentences with prepositions or using "me" as a subject (e.g., "It was me"), citing these as artificial constraints.
• While invented gender-neutral pronouns like "ze" and "Xe" have failed to gain traction, McWhorter argues for the adoption of the singular "they" as a standard gender-neutral pronoun.
• The use of singular "they" is validated by historical precedent, having been used by writers such as Chaucer, the Brontë sisters, and Jane Austen for centuries.
• The book distinguishes between natural linguistic evolution and political imposition, noting that while Sweden successfully integrated a gender-neutral pronoun decades ago, such changes remain rare and difficult in English.