Open (Neither Ukraine Nor Palestine) Thread 2025-025

February 6, 2025

Department of State @StateDept – 0:36 UTC · Feb 6, 2025

U.S. government vessels can now transit the Panama Canal without charge fees, saving the U.S. government millions of dollars a year.

—

Panama Canal authority denies changes to charge fees after US claim – Reuters – 4:30 UTC . Feb 6, 2025

PANAMA CITY, Feb 5 (Reuters) – The Panama Canal Authority said in a statement late on Wednesday that it had not made any changes to charges or rights to cross the canal, after the U.S. State Department said that U.S. government vessels could transit the crossing without being subject to such fees.

"With total responsibility, the Panama Canal Authority, as it has indicated, is willing to establish dialogue with relevant U.S. officials regarding the transit of wartime vessels from said country," the authority said.

—

News & views not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine …

Posted by b on February 6, 2025 at 14:18 UTC | Permalink

Comments

The Zio-Nazi’s – withdraw from a UN body that they are not a member of, and quite frankly if they were a member – they should’ve been kicked-out of the UNHRC years ago.
“Israel is not currently a member of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), meaning it cannot officially withdraw from a body it is not part of, UNHRC spokesman Pascal Sim has stated.
On Wednesday, a day after US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the UNHRC, West Jerusalem declared that it was also quitting the council, which is responsible for promoting and protecting human rights worldwide.
“Israel has an observer status in the UN Human Rights Council, as does any of the 193 UN member states that are not among the 47 members of the Council. An observer state in the Council cannot withdraw from a body it is not a member of.”

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 14:32 utc | 1

Trump signed an Executive Order(EO) – to withdraw the USA from the (WHO) World Health Organisation – he did the same in 2020 during his first tenure as POTUS – now one of his favourite South American puppets – President Milei of Argentina, has followed suit, and he will take Argentina out of the (WHO).

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 14:38 utc | 2

I think we all knew that AI would be heavily weaponised – and this is just the beginning. The Zionists are already using it to bomb Palestinian civilians.
“Google has significantly revised its artificial intelligence principles, removing earlier restrictions on using the technology for developing weaponry and surveillance tools. The update, announced on Tuesday, alters the company’s prior stance against applications that could cause “overall harm.””

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 14:41 utc | 3

Dangerous religious zealots – the lot of them, worst still they command a vast array of frightening weaponry – if there is a god, and I doubt very much that there is – I’m pretty sure he/she/it, would want no part of this evil genocide – or maybe even humanity itself.
Is it any wonder that, other extra-terrestrial life forms (intelligent) want no part of our world – the Dark Forest Theory is probably practiced by them – keep silent – and maybe the humans won’t notice us – if they do – we’ll just sent an asteroid towards their planet – of which one is due to reach us in seven years.

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 14:48 utc | 4

Now for something lighter

Lego possibly anti-LGBT — Science Museum
Plastic toys allegedly reinforce idea of heterosexuality being ‘the norm’ when people describe the bricks as having male and female parts for mating

Hide your electrical sockets!!!
😂😂😂

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 14:52 utc | 5

The other day I was reading an article about Japan arming , heavily , an island just NE of Taiwan .
Some time ago I mentioned that, from genetic data, the Ryukyu islanders are primarily Han Chinese .
The Americans happen to have their main base in Okinawa , still Ryukyu Kingdom of old.
Even if Taiwan is solved, the us and china will continue to clash until they lose Okinawa .
Thoughts?

Posted by: Newbie | Feb 6 2025 14:52 utc | 6

So Trump wants to “streamline” the CIA – and his new Director John Radcliffe will do the streamlining – apparently its to with this – believe it if you like, I’m far more skeptical.
“The source said that Ratcliffe is seeking to establish a “more aggressive spy agency,” adding that the CIA from now on will be more focused on the Western Hemisphere. The new efforts will reportedly include espionage to gain leverage in trade negotiations”

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 14:55 utc | 7

One question – why did the MEP’s re-elect her then, knowing that she’s an evil genocide backing US/Israeli puppet – you reap what you sow – as the saying goes.
“EU member states are growing frustrated with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen over her unilateral approach to foreign policy, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing diplomats. The latest criticism reportedly comes after von der Leyen announced a partnership agreement with Jordan.
The deal was inked last week following talks between von der Leyen and King Abdullah II. It aims to assist Jordan in facing the socio-economic impact of the Syrian crisis and broaden avenues for investments and business opportunities in the Arab country. The deal will be complemented by €3 billion ($3.1 billion) in financial resources, comprising grants, investments, and macro-financial assistance.
However, according to two sources who spoke to Politico, von der Leyen made the decision to allocate the funds to Jordan without consulting EU member nations.”
https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/11/27/which-meps-backed-ursula-von-der-leyens-second-commission-term

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 15:03 utc | 8

Meant to add this to my (4) comment – apologies.
“The leader of Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Shas party has claimed that US President Donald Trump is “acting as a messenger of God for the Jewish people.” Aryeh Deri was responding to the US president’s proposal for America to assume control over Gaza and displace its millions of residents.
Trump’s proposition, unveiled during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, involves the US taking responsibility for dismantling unexploded ordnance, leveling destroyed structures, and redeveloping Gaza. He suggested that the area could become a “magnificent” place, attracting people from around the world.”

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 15:09 utc | 9

Newbie (6).
A very interesting point – one of which I hadn’t paid much attention to, I guess it depends on whose point of view, you take, China’s, Japan’s or even the West’s via the Cairo Declaration.
A point of view.
“According to recent news reports, a growing group of Chinese officials and scholars has commenced a semiofficial campaign to challenge Japanese sovereignty over Okinawa. This is of course in addition to the widely publicized Chinese efforts to challenge Japanese control over the Senkaku / Diaoyu Islands. The basis for the claim to Okinawa appears to be a combination of early history and the Cairo Declaration, which the United States, China, and the United Kingdom issued in 1943 to help prepare the post-war order in East Asia. The argument goes like this: Okinawa and the other Ryukyu Islands were originally Chinese territory because the Ryukyu Kingdom was a tributary state of the Ming and Qing Dynasties; Japan stole the Ryukyus by invading them in 1609 and formally annexing them in the late 1870s; the Allies demanded the reversion of sovereignty over Okinawa to China in 1943 by stating in the Cairo Declaration that “all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese . . . shall be restored to the Republic of China”; and Japan agreed to the reversion of sovereignty by accepting the 1945 Instrument of Surrender, which provided for the enforcement of the Cairo Declaration. In this post, I’d like to identify a few reasons why this argument is unpersuasive.”
https://law.marquette.edu/facultyblog/2013/06/a-response-to-the-claim-of-chinese-sovereignty-over-okinawa/

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 15:15 utc | 10

USA vs China
The USA spends Billions on war.
China spends billions on development.
Do you see the difference?
Pics at the link.
https://x.com/CGMeifangZhang/status/1887433931060109611

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 15:18 utc | 11

Thread: How the CIA Made Google
https://x.com/SputnikInt/status/1887185307138679269
“Google’s creation was integral to the US intelligence community.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Feb 6 2025 15:28 utc | 12

so is this the kings ransom? or is the bully to the north of panama getting it’s pound of flesh??

Posted by: james | Feb 6 2025 15:33 utc | 13

Trump’s Plan For ‘Hemispheric Control’
https://globalnews.ca/news/11005023/steve-bannon-donald-trump-tariffs-canada-ottawa-arctic-interview/
“Steve Bannon on why tariffs may only be the start. He is unequivocal in his belief that Trump’s interest in Canada is strategic and geopolitical and that we’re missing the point by being fixated on tariffs…”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Feb 6 2025 15:42 utc | 14

Hey all, I was just wondering if the trolls have decreased here on MoA since their USAID funding has been stopped?

Posted by: Ezzie | Feb 6 2025 15:46 utc | 15

Ezzie@15……stick around , find out. USAID has not been stopped, the new management is diversifying…..still the same pile of stinking festering shit.
Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Feb 6 2025 15:50 utc | 16

sean the leprechaun | Feb 6 2025 15:50 utc | 16
will do that, I haven’t visited the board much recently because wading through the troll shit was so bad. however, much of the whole NAFO troll brigade was funded by USAID so I was hoping it had died down somewhat.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2025/02/04/ukraines-ministry-of-digital-transformation-faces-funding-crisis-as-usaid-halts-support/

Posted by: Ezzie | Feb 6 2025 15:59 utc | 17

@ Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 15:15 utc | 10
re: ..declaration that “all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese . . . shall be restored to the Republic of China”; and Japan . . .
Then with the war over came revisions under the Treaty of San Francisco, and the then-communist China was not invited.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Feb 6 2025 16:06 utc | 18

Posted by: Don Bacon | Feb 6 2025 16:06 utc | 19

USA vs China
The USA spends Billions on war.
China spends billions on development.
Do you see the difference?
Pics at the link.
https://x.com/CGMeifangZhang/status/1887433931060109611
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 15:18 utc | 11
On a similar note, and in this case it would seem like trying to catch up
“MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. The plan to increase domestic spending for science remains valid and such expenditures are to reach at least 2% of GDP by 2030, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.”
https://tass.com/science/1909623
We could say EU is at 2.2, china at 2.6 and us at 3.4
BUT
If we consider that things are more expensive in the west, and discount money on R&D that goes to lawyers or management… maybe more than enough.
China is beating the us with maybe half the usd cost…

Posted by: Newbie | Feb 6 2025 16:08 utc | 20

reinforce idea of heterosexuality being ‘the norm’ when people describe the bricks as having male and female parts for mating
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 14:52 utc | 5
Who thinks having both male and female parts for mating reinforces the idea of heterosexuality?

Posted by: jinn | Feb 6 2025 16:09 utc | 21

Chrystia Freeland To Set Aggressive Timeline For 2% Defence Spending By 2027
https://globalnews.ca/news/11006537/chrystia-freeland-aggresive-timeline-defence-spending-2027/
“A source close to Freeland told Global News Wednesday night that the rapid rollout of new defence spending is required due to the world becoming ‘increasingly volatile and dangerous’, and that Canada must move quickly both to meet international commitments [Warshington’s war plans] and defend the country’s sovereignty.
No details were immediately available on how Freeland would accomplish that goal which would amount to a massive reshaping of Canada’s spending priorities…”
Freeland, a Nazi’s grand-daughter, has long been a loyal servant of the imperial court, and will continue to be so. Her bid for prime minister is terrifying and must be defeated by any means necessary. See also #14.

Posted by: John Gilberts | Feb 6 2025 16:10 utc | 22

This is amusing.
ASPI, the (U.S.) weapon lobby in Australia, is concerned that it will soon lose its beloved sources of U.S. paid anti-China propaganda.
With US funding freeze, China nonprofits are facing extinction. They need emergency assistance

An entire ecosystem of vital China-related work is now in crisis. When the Trump administration froze foreign funding and USAID programs last week, dozens of scrappy nonprofits in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the US were immediately affected. Staff are losing their jobs; some organizations face imminent closure due to lack of funding; others are paring back their programming.

In many cases, these organisations provide our last window into what is actually happening in China. They do the painstaking and often personally risky work of tracking Chinese media censorship, tallying local protests, uncovering human rights violations, documenting the Uyghur genocide, and supporting what remains of civil society in China.

…
Without the work that China nonprofits do, it will be much harder to show that China’s domestic model of economic and political governance is deeply flawed. If we can no longer prove that, it becomes much harder to understand why democracies are worth fighting for in the first place.

Posted by: b | Feb 6 2025 16:17 utc | 23

John Gilberts@22…..the Imperial Court….fantastic turn of phrase.
In a nutshell indeed. But the conundrum John. Carney, a lib, Finance Minister of Canada was promoted to Carney, Finance Minister of the UK. Deep in the Imperial Court. Freeland, Nazi, works for the Imperial Court, never heard of a Brit politician that didn’t want to Zieg Hiel round the diner table, she’ll dance with them, nuff said? And what’s left in the pile shit, that Polliviere guy, WEF through and through……Canadian politics, bit of a side show at best.
Cheers M
…..I’ve often said Canada could use a good First Nations leader, like a Chavez, but most of Canadian First Nations leaders study at the same Imperial School of Economics….that doesn’t portend well…..

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Feb 6 2025 16:33 utc | 24

b (23)
ASPI uncovered – and its not a pretty picture.
“ASPI also received nearly $450,000 from the US State Department. And there are contributions from other foreign governments, many being strategic competitors to China, including the Embassy of Japan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (that is, Taiwan). Other interesting sponsors are the spooky Institute for War and Peace Reporting and the even more spooky MITRE Corporation USA.”
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/Australian_Strategic_Policy_Institute

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 16:39 utc | 25

@ LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 14:52 utc | 5 re Lego blocks:
Freud lives!

Posted by: malenkov | Feb 6 2025 16:41 utc | 26

Republicofscotland asks:
“One question – why did the MEP’s re-elect her then, knowing that she’s an evil genocide backing US/Israeli puppet – you reap what you sow – as the saying goes.”
But that’s precisely why they reelected her.
They’re just miffed that Ursula She-Wolf of the Nazis didn’t stroke their egos.

Posted by: malenkov | Feb 6 2025 16:45 utc | 27

“I think we all knew that AI would be heavily weaponised – and this is just the beginning. The Zionists are already using it to bomb Palestinian civilians.”
Plutocraps will replace their unrealiable human guards with robocops ASAP. All they need us for is sadistic entertainment.

Posted by: lester | Feb 6 2025 16:47 utc | 28

Don Bacon (19).
A possible reason – or excuse.
“Italy and China were not invited, the latter due to disagreements on whether the Republic of China or the People’s Republic of China represented the Chinese people. Korea was also not invited due to a similar disagreement on whether South Korea or North Korea represented the Korean people.
The Soviet Union took part in the San Francisco conference – it was outraged that that China was not invited to participate despite being one of the main victims of the Japanese aggression.”
The USA backed the RoC the Kuomintang.

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 16:50 utc | 29

“Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 14:52 utc | 5
The other day I was reading an article about Japan arming , heavily , an island just NE of Taiwan .
Some time ago I mentioned that, from genetic data, the Ryukyu islanders are primarily Han Chinese .
The Americans happen to have their main base in Okinawa , still Ryukyu Kingdom of old.
Even if Taiwan is solved, the us and china will continue to clash until they lose Okinawa .
Thoughts? ”
Da Luchu was indeed a a vassal of the Great Qing Dynasty, but so were lots of places. Korea, Vietnam, Primorskie Oblast in Russia, etc. I don’t think the People’s Republic wants tp fight over Okinawa.

Posted by: lester | Feb 6 2025 16:54 utc | 30

Trump’s AG will no longer prosecute officials who bribe foreign governments, also makes it easier for foreign government agents to lobby the US government (wonder who that’s to the benefit of).
https://bsky.app/profile/dburbach.bsky.social/post/3lhhwadlccc2q

Posted by: fnord | Feb 6 2025 17:01 utc | 31

I have a question for barflies about the BH/plane crash.
I thought I read initially that there were 4 folks on the BH, 3 crew and a passenger. Now I am reading that there was just the crew on the BH…..Anybody know anything here?
thx

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 6 2025 17:09 utc | 32

@ lester | Feb 6 2025 16:54 utc | 30
re: Okinawa
Taipei Times
China seeks to divide Okinawa: report
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported . . Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence Party. . here

Posted by: Don Bacon | Feb 6 2025 17:10 utc | 33

Re: De-Dollarization brings Peace
Article from CNBC Media on early manuvering around the US Federal Budget for FY26. The skinny is ; no one appears to grasp that higher interest rates are going to consume >30% of Federal Income in FY26. Washington shockingly believes deficits don‘t matter. The Bond Market has disagreed.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/06/trump-tax-cuts-republican-house-senate-split.html

Posted by: Exile | Feb 6 2025 17:18 utc | 34

The US is everywhere against Muslims . .why they hate us
Stars and Stripes
At least 4 killed after US military-contracted plane crashes in southern Philippines . .U.S. forces have been deployed in a Philippine military camp in the country’s south for decades to help provide advise and training to Filipino forces battling Muslim militants. The region is the homeland of minority Muslims in the largely Roman Catholic nation. . .here

Posted by: Don Bacon | Feb 6 2025 17:30 utc | 35

LoveDonbass @5: ” Hide your electrical sockets!!!”
That’s not a socket, you bigot! That is a transgender plug!

Posted by: William Gruff | Feb 6 2025 17:48 utc | 36

Trump’s executive order provides some work for SecState Rubio against Iran.
The Secretary of State shall:
(i) modify or rescind sanctions waivers, particularly those that provide Iran any degree of economic or financial relief, including those related to Iran’s Chabahar port project;
(ii) implement a robust and continual campaign, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury and other relevant executive departments or agencies (agencies), to drive Iran’s export of oil to zero, including exports of Iranian crude to the People’s Republic of China;
(iii) lead a diplomatic campaign to isolate Iran throughout the world, including within international organizations, including the denial of freedom of movement or safe haven to the IRGC or any terror proxy of Iran wherever such may operate outside Iran’s borders; and
(iv) take immediate steps, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury and other relevant agencies, to ensure that the Iraqi financial system is not utilized by Iran for sanctions evasion or circumvention, and that Gulf countries are not used as sanctions evasion transshipment points. . .here

Posted by: Don Bacon | Feb 6 2025 18:01 utc | 37

Washington shockingly believes deficits don‘t matter.
Posted by: Exile | Feb 6 2025 17:18 utc | 34
—
The success of the Plaza Accord has been stupefying. However temporary.

Posted by: too scents | Feb 6 2025 18:05 utc | 38

The US will shortly be at war with everybody, apart perhaps from Israel. When you attack everybody, ie your only policy is effectively war, it always turns bad in the end. That’s what Hitler found, and indeed Napoleon. so, I shouldn’t be surprised it will be with Trump.

Posted by: laguerre | Feb 6 2025 18:59 utc | 39

I can’t find the claims I read earlier….Hmmmm
From Al Manar

09:27 Panama denies US claims over free ship passages

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 6 2025 19:01 utc | 40

On his current “Inspired” site; John Nolan presents some valuable information as to which of the many BAD LAWS which need to be repealed.

Posted by: aristodemos | Feb 6 2025 19:08 utc | 41

DonBacon@1710 Feb6
It’s important to do some historical research on Okinawa and the rest of the Ryukyu islands. In the latter half of the 19th Century, the newly imperialist Japanese seized and occupied those islands. At that time the Ryukyus were a quasi-independent entity, with a minimalist connexion with Imperial China. Thus, on a historical basis it is not incorrect for the Chinese to back the independence of those islands.
Biggest catch on Okinawa, in particular is that the U.$ naval and Marine forces occupying those lands are detested by the inhabitants, because of the numerous rape and murder violations on the part of those horny American men. Two solutions could be used: (1. massively disappointing the many latter-day Puritans in the U$$A; the military could establish bordellos/ whorehouses to address gonadal imperatives…or (2. To simply remove the occupation forces and bring them back to the U$ to protect the southern border with Mexico.

Posted by: aristodemos | Feb 6 2025 19:17 utc | 42

Well, what do you know. British losers planned the latest failed offensive as well. With friends like these..?

Appears that another Kursk counter attack has failed to achieve its minimum objectives.
Reports from Russian sources talk only of abandoned/burning equipment. I don’t get the purpose of these attacks and waste of crucial resources. Obviously the Ramstein
meeting is fast approaching and the Ukrainians (but mostly the British) wanted something to present.
With the Brits at the wheel expect the battlefield disasters to increase and the pointless operations to continue. Watch the ZNPP.
“>https://t.me/kalibrated/17464

Posted by: unimperator | Feb 6 2025 19:18 utc | 43

Psychohistorian@1709 Feb6
On the pizza menu nested in the middle column, if you scroll down on the Rense site; you will discover a set of links which address numerous perspectives on the Blackhawk incident. I did not read them, as I’d already covered much of that mostly speculation several days ago. If it’s your thing, do check out that “pizza menu” of links.

Posted by: aristodemos | Feb 6 2025 19:21 utc | 44

The UN censures the UK for its authoritarian actions against journalists and free speech – though you’ll be hard pressed to find any of this in the Corporate Controlled Media in the UK.
“Four UN Special Rapporteurs have written jointly to the UK government demanding explanation of its inappropriate persecution of journalists and political activists under the Terrorism Act. They state that those persecuted:”
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2025/02/united-nations-censures-uk-over-abuse-of-terrorism-act-against-journalists-and-activists/
With regards to the lack of prosecutions (for support for the proscribed terrorist group HTS) is absolutely staggering – a quick search online finds that several EU countries have sent delegates, including the EU – to meet with the proscribed terrorist outfit (HTS) in Syria.
The flip side of this coin with the UK in mind, is that expressing any sort of support for say Hamas or Hezbollah – might lead to you being frog marched from your homes, into a police van and then charged for supporting a proscribed body – alternatively, expressing support for the utterly oppressed Palestinian people in Britain via demos – might lead to you being filmed by the police, then, kettled by the police, then arrested – but not before you’ve been roughly manhandled by them.
I’m utterly shocked and disgusted at the Wests (though not all Western countries support it) support of the genocide in Gaza – I know its unlikely to happen,, but the likes of Scholz, von der Leyen, Starmer, Biden and many more leaders and military-men/women – should one day, be standing in the dock at the Hague for aiding and abetting in genocide.
The world has gone mad – or should I say the West, has gone mad.
I think it was Chomsky who said, or something to that effect, that if the Nuremberg trail standards were applied post-WWII (and they should be) every POTUS, since WWII – would’ve been standing in the dock at the Hague – as would most of the USA’s allied leaders.

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 19:36 utc | 45

Posted by: psychohistorian | Feb 6 2025 17:09 utc | 32
This is the last I read. I think there were 3 air crew members.
Captain Rebecca Lobach was 28 years old and a native of Durham, N.C. She was a distinguished military graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and commissioned in 2019 as an active-duty aviation officer.
She died along with fellow pilot Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Eaves, 39, of Great Mills, Md. and crew member Staff Sergeant Ryan O’Hara, 28, of Lilburn, Ga.
I also recall reading somewhere that a 4th person was on board but in a quick search today cannot find it yet. If there was another individual (or more) and they haven’t named them, I’d guess they don’t want that info getting out. After all, that particular “training mission” was allegedly related to “doomsday” scenarios. LOL

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 6 2025 19:38 utc | 46

AI lack of depth:
the following question to Perplexity AI: “what right did the us have in provoking the cuban missile crisis”
resulted in the following:

Answer
The United States did not provoke the Cuban Missile Crisis. The crisis was initiated by the Soviet Union’s secret placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba, which was discovered by U.S. reconnaissance flights in October 196215.
The U.S. response to this action was based on several factors:

National security: The placement of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from U.S. shores, was perceived as a direct threat to American security.
Monroe Doctrine: The U.S. administration was guided by the long-standing Monroe Doctrine, which asserted U.S. influence over the Western Hemisphere.
Strategic balance: The missile deployment would have altered the strategic nuclear balance between the U.S. and USSR, potentially undermining U.S. deterrence capabilities.
Credibility: President Kennedy had publicly stated that if Cuba possessed offensive capabilities against the U.S., action would be taken. Failing to respond would have damaged U.S. credibility.
International commitments: The U.S. had responsibilities to its allies and needed to demonstrate resolve in the face of Soviet aggression.

It’s important to note that the U.S. response, while firm, was measured. President Kennedy chose a naval quarantine rather than immediate military action, seeking a diplomatic solution to the crisis. This approach ultimately led to a peaceful resolution, with the Soviet Union agreeing to remove the missiles in exchange for a U.S. pledge not to invade Cuba and a secret agreement to remove U.S. missiles from Turkey.

contrast the previous with the following slightly expanded query: “what right did the us have in provoking the cuban missile crisis by stationing nuclear missiles in turkey?”

Answer
The United States did not have a clear moral or legal right to station nuclear missiles in Turkey, which contributed to the Cuban Missile Crisis. This action was part of Cold War strategy and deterrence, not based on an established right.
The deployment of Jupiter missiles in Turkey in 1961-1962 was a provocative move that significantly influenced Soviet decision-making. These missiles, capable of hitting major Soviet industrial centers within about ten minutes, were placed just 130 miles from the Soviet border. This action was taken despite warnings from NATO’s Supreme Commander in Europe about its provocative nature.
The U.S. justification for this deployment was primarily strategic:

To deter Soviet ground forces and reassure NATO allies.
To demonstrate NATO’s ability to respond quickly to a potential Soviet attack.

However, this decision had serious consequences:

It deeply bothered Soviet Premier Khrushchev, contributing to his decision to place missiles in Cuba.
It created a strategic imbalance that Khrushchev sought to correct.

The resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis involved a secret agreement to remove these missiles from Turkey, highlighting their controversial nature. This episode demonstrates the complex and often provocative nature of Cold War nuclear strategy, where actions were often based on perceived strategic necessity rather than clear moral or legal rights.

if i have time, i may do the same exercise for the US start of the ukraine war.

Posted by: frkorz | Feb 6 2025 19:40 utc | 47

USAID – helps fund world wide propaganda – as does the BBC.
“USAID programs support independent media in more than 30 countries, but it is difficult to assess the full extent of the harm done to the global media. Many organizations are hesitant to draw attention for fear of risking long-term funding or coming under political attacks. According to a USAID fact sheet which has since been taken offline, in 2023, the agency funded training and support for 6,200 journalists, assisted 707 non-state news outlets, and supported 279 media-sector civil society organizations dedicated to strengthening independent media. The 2025 foreign aid budget included $268,376,000 allocated by Congress to support “independent media and the free flow of information.””
https://rsf.org/en/usa-trump-s-foreign-aid-freeze-throws-journalism-around-world-chaos

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Feb 6 2025 19:42 utc | 48

Posted by: aristodemos | Feb 6 2025 19:21 utc | 44
What is meant by “pizza menu”?

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 6 2025 19:44 utc | 49

More on the Blackhawk airliner crash.
This footage must be the unauthorized video leaked by the arrested airport employees.
https://x.com/MattWallace888/status/1885074726113927313
The caption is that the Blackhawk’s crew had more than 30 seconds of full visibility to divert course and implying it may not have been an accident after all. However, in talking with a former (female!) Blackhawk pilot and a few guys I know in the forces, if in fact they were wearing their night vision goggles (as has been reported – although it’s difficult to imagine the full crew was?) the ambient light and lights of the airliner could have washed out their view. If any of that is true, it’s possible that this training mission was geared toward an operation in a densely populated urban area* and that washout was one of the mission parameters.
* The same guys I talked to also got into the drone/drone swarm fiasco over New Jersey and one of them privy to some of this stuff said that in addition to urban combat ‘readiness’ (hence the possible mission above) the last big military hardware trade show they went to was heavily focused on the use of surveillance, killer and amphibious (multi-mode/air-sea and land-sea) drones and “AI”….one of the concepts or prototypes mentioned was extra scary to me. If I remember correctly, the idea was a lethal system involving multiple drones using lasers to ‘paint’ targets using “AI” and feeding the data to a type of quickly rotating cannon that is capable of firing off hundreds or thousands of rounds a second using the targets ‘painted’ by the other drones. Basically sounds like we’re getting closer to SkyNet (Terminator movie franchise).

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 6 2025 19:58 utc | 50

“Screw over the vassals for more tribute, move to full domination over our own hemisphere, fully support the Zionist entity, dump expensive obligations elsewhere, increase the level of domestic exploitation, and re-orient the state apparatus to those goals” seems to be the Trump modus operandi. Everything he has done since becoming president fits that policy orientation.
MAGA is really MOGA, Maintain the Oligarch Greatness Above all. A “surprising” number of those oligarchs happen to be Zionists.
Of course, Trump massively over-estimates the power of the US to fulfil those foreign policy aims.

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Feb 6 2025 20:38 utc | 51

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Feb 6 2025 20:38 utc | 51
Add “quickly gut core functions of the federal government using “AI” and access to personal data by non-governmental employees thus sending those people to the private sector to search for low paying, non-pensioned jobs for firms owned by oligarchs or venture capital.”
Basing that on what I read about the Health and Human Services Dept. today and rumors of the same about to happen with the VA and Dept of Education. This of course is the usual Republican vision on steroids and at “warp speed” and will dramatically increase wealth inequality, and quickly.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 6 2025 20:46 utc | 52

regarding Freeland’s plan for Canadian NATO commitments of 2% GDP by 2027 –
no details yet of course, because it will require an additional $40 billion each year. where does this come from? huge tax increases or massive spending cuts? eliminating which social programs do they believe the Canadian public will accept to fund NATO’s belligerence?
this is the year the general publics across the West will realize the elites are fully committed to the establishment of a war economy, and also that they – the general public – will be footing the bill.

Posted by: jayc | Feb 6 2025 21:46 utc | 53

– The acronym BRICS contains a C and I. These 2 letters stand for China & India. Both countries have a debt-to-GDP ratio of over 60%. The official (!!!) ratio for China is 60% and for India is 80%. So, when they hit the next recession both countries will be hit “right between the eyes” and suffer the consequences as well of these high debt ratios.
– China earns A LOT OF money by exporting A LOT OF stuff to e.g. the US and Europe, making itself vulnerable to the next recession (or worse) in those countries.
– Based on information from the internet the chinese debt-to-GDP ratio is much higher. Think: empty ghost cities. (search e.g. on YouTube)
– If @B wants to have better information then I would recommend to search e.g. Youtube for more information about the financial situation in China. One Micheal Pettis is an authority on the financial situation in China.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Pettis. He is also active on Twitter.
Or watch the following 2 videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO8o0TO-rfg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE5VczIFGZA

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 21:49 utc | 54

Could the mysterious 4th person on the BH have been the 4 star general also spoken of in connection with that flight? That would square with the continuity of government mission.

Posted by: Lysias | Feb 6 2025 21:51 utc | 55

Washington shockingly believes deficits don‘t matter.
Posted by: Exile | Feb 6 2025 17:18 utc | 34
##################
Everything in context, it wasn’t that long ago that Washington thought that biological men could become pregnant.
“Quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat”

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 21:58 utc | 56

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 21:49 utc | 54
###############
Investigate who owns China’s debt. IIRC, most of China’s debt is owed internally.
And China, last I heard, has a 1 trillion dollar trade surplus.
They are getting cheap Russian energy, as much as they can use, and have opened up markets in the Americas, SE Asia, and Africa.
The Indians, I know less about, they are my least favorite of the BRICS.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 22:02 utc | 57

As per Financial Times, someone, at last, at least restricted access of Musk and his wrecking squad to Treasury systems.
Took them long enough.
On another note, the spoon emoji was removed from the chat software tech workers use, as they spammed it in protest to the ‘fork in the road’ buy-offs offered to them.
Petty silicon valley nutjobs can’t handle an emoji but think they can handle a techno-feudalist hellscape full of resentful deplorables.
Bonkers.

Posted by: kspr | Feb 6 2025 22:08 utc | 58

Tom_Q_Collins@1944 Feb6
“Pizza Menu” is a term I developed to describe a long listing of headlined links when one scrolls down the Rense site. Located in the middle of the screen, it’s fairly evident once you get beyond their inhouse material.

Posted by: aristodemos | Feb 6 2025 22:27 utc | 59

republicofscotland@1942 Feb6
“strengthening independent media” on that U$AID mission statement is one helluva hoot. If any such medium is obtaining grant money from that CIA cutout institution…that description is utterly tongue in cheek…far beyond the imagination of George Orwell’s 1984.
There are far more U$AID media whores than one can find on the Reeperbahn in Amsterdam.

Posted by: aristodemos | Feb 6 2025 22:34 utc | 60

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 21:49 utc | 54
Ah, NAFO is being redirected at China now?
Tom & jayc: totally agree with both of you.

Posted by: Zet | Feb 6 2025 22:50 utc | 61

Posted by: aristodemos | Feb 6 2025 22:27 utc | 59
OK I eventually figured on that. At first I was scrolling up and down looking for some kind of pie chart.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 6 2025 22:59 utc | 62

– “China’s debt is internally owned” ??? So, what ? With every debt there is adebtor and a creditor.
– Agree. China has a trade surplus. So, it is dependent on foreing demand to service those domestic debts.

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 23:13 utc | 63

@Zet (#61): Waht do you mean by NAFO ?

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 23:14 utc | 64

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 23:13 utc | 63
#############
Before sharing videos about economic perspectives, I recommend that you learn about the differences between endogenous and exogenous debt.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 23:21 utc | 65

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 23:14 utc | 64
Srsly? These clowns. Hopefully their budget went ‘poof’ when USAID was closed.
https://nafo-ofan.org/

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 6 2025 23:30 utc | 66

Before sharing videos about economic perspectives, I recommend that you learn about the differences between endogenous and exogenous debt.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 6 2025 23:21 utc | 65
========================================================================================================================
– Rubbish.
– Debt = debt. Every debt has a debtor and a creditor. either foreign or domestic.
– Let’s assume there are only 2 countries in the world: China & the US. China is a net exporter to the US (to the tune of say $ 100 billion). Then the US has the same Trade Deficit ($ 100 billion). Now let’s assume that the US enters a recession or worse then US demand will drop and its Trade Deficit drops. But at the same time the chinese trade surplus will drop as well with the same amount. Chinese demand for US T-bonds is equal to the Trade Surplus with the US (= 100 bilion). When / If that Trade Surplus drops to say $ 40 billion then chines demand for T -bonds drops to $ 40 billion as well.
– But when the chinese Trade Surplus drops with the US then there will be much less damand for stuff made in Chine leading to (more) corporate bankruptcies in China.
– According to one of the videos the chinese Debt-to-GDP is NOT at 60% but at 290 % of GDP.
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO8o0TO-rfg at 20:04)
China DID feel the impact of the financail crisis of 2008. Read: Falling US imports.

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 23:47 utc | 67

This being the “other” thread and this topic being strategic issues in Syria, seems like it goes here:
While Turkey the US proxy Kurds (and literal US troops) and Israel are carving up Syria (whether it survives as a state is TBD), I’m addressing Israel.
I don’t have great sources for this, but allegedly they have made a deal with Druze in SE Syria to provide them semi-autonomy. IDF has taken strategic high ground that permits them to threaten Damascus. Also in a move that changes power relations with Jordan, Israel has taken control of significant water reservoirs.
I had seen the Berletic (and others) POV that Syria hadn’t held up its part of the deal and Russia couldn’t afford to (Rand 2019 paper) let itself be overcommitted. John Helmer gave an interview and provided a different view that Russia and Iran had years to do something about US sanctions on Syria that made Syria poor and its military a joke and did nothing. Further he alleges that Russia knew the HTS/Turkish move was coming and did nothing about that. So the Arab view, as pushed by the Saudis (this is still Helmer’s narrative) is that Russia chose Turkey over Syria.
With Turkey and the US having diametrically opposite perspectives on the Kurds, how the Trump administration deals with Erdogan will be interesting to watch. One particularly important issue is the Turkstream pipe under the eastern Black Sea. Of the three main routes for Russian gas pipelines to deliver to Europe (LNG has a large energy cost to cool gas to liquid state) Nordstream is down, pipelines through Ukraine are being cut administratively (see Hungary, Transnistria), and US/UK/NATO has permitted attacks on the Turkstream pipeline. Turkey already serves as a terminal and pipeline route for Azerbaijan and Georgia and would love to be the hub of gas delivery to Europe from central Asia.
I hope this finds you well

Posted by: ockham | Feb 7 2025 0:00 utc | 68

And so it goes …

Trump imposes sanctions on International Criminal Court
. In first Trump term, ICC prosecutor, senior aide were sanctioned
. Unclear how quickly U.S. will announce designations
. ICC has issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Putin
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday authorized economic and travel sanctions targeting people who work on International Criminal Court investigations of U.S. citizens or U.S. allies such as Israel, repeating action he took during his first term.
The move coincides with a visit to Washington by Israel’s Prime Minister Benajmin Netanyahu, who – along with his former defense minister and a leader of Palestinian militant group Hamas – is wanted by the ICC over the war in the Gaza Strip.
==> https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-impose-sanctions-international-criminal-court-2025-02-06/

To me this is reminiscent of a short squeeze on poor fundamentals. The exuberance of the squeeze is always a short trend reversed by the underlying fundamentals.

Posted by: too scents | Feb 7 2025 0:36 utc | 69

https://asteriskmag.com/issues/09/the-case-for-insect-consciousness

Bob Fischer is a Professor of Philosophy at Texas State University and serves on the boards of the Insect Welfare Research Society and the Arthropoda Foundation. His books include Weighing Animal Welfare: Comparing Well-being Across Species and Animal Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction.

Posted by: persiflo | Feb 7 2025 0:56 utc | 70

Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 21:49 utc | 54
>The acronym BRICS contains a C and I. These 2 letters stand for China & India. Both countries have a debt-to-GDP ratio of over 60%. The official (!!!) ratio for China is 60% and for India is 80%.
first, the dim neoliberal western crowd you read are just learning what the acronym stands for but we here at MoonOfAlabama have known for years. Amusingly ,Trump a few weeks ago was just like them and was sure the S stood for Spain.
Second, you have no idea what you are talking about, re debt to GDP. maybe check before you post. 60% is low. e.g. the USA is at 129%
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/debt-to-gdp-ratio-by-country
for further explanation on tariffs in general, try Dean Baker at CEPR or at EurAsiaReview
https://cepr.net/publications/supply-and-demand/
https://www.eurasiareview.com/04022025-the-confusions-of-donald-trump-the-case-of-supply-and-demand-oped/
if a country has a small or nonexistent industry then imposing tariffs will hurt them more than it hurts the tariffed country.
I vaguely recall something like 12% of China’s GDP are exports to the USA. if those all stopped, there would a hit for about a year, bargain sales, then a new trade equilibrium would form. See what happened with HuaWei. In this case China’s reaction is already planned. they will do what the West has done, borrow and increase payment to citizens, eg.. pensions. this will inrease domestic demand and the inevitable gargantuan Chinese middle class will form sooner than it would have otherwise and buy all the goods America will have stopped buying.

Posted by: JustSomeOldGuy | Feb 7 2025 1:07 utc | 71

– Rubbish.
– Debt = debt. Every debt has a debtor and a creditor. either foreign or domestic.
Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 23:47 utc | 67
—
Take a moment and study all the different types of debt default before you make the blanket statement “debt = debt”.
There are at least as many different types of debt as their are ways to avoid repayment.
Perhaps begin by examining the which counterparties are vulnerable to “strategic default”.

Posted by: too scents | Feb 7 2025 1:07 utc | 72

I vaguely recall something like 12% of China’s GDP are exports to the USA … See what happened with HuaWei.
Posted by: JustSomeOldGuy | Feb 7 2025 1:07 utc | 71
—

exports to the US accounted for 3.5% of China’s GDP in 2018, in 2023 they represented 2.9% – a significant decline in a relatively short period of time.
https://www.caixabankresearch.com/en/economics-markets/activity-growth/exposure-chinese-economy-us-tariff-hike

Furthmore on Huawai

Huawei defeats Apple in Q4 2024 new Chinese phone activations ranking
https://www.huaweicentral.com/huawei-defeats-apple-in-q4-2024-new-chinese-phone-activations-ranking/

Posted by: too scents | Feb 7 2025 1:20 utc | 73

“s the US taking responsibility for dismantling unexploded ordnance,”
There’s a LOT of dismantling in Laos, eg, waiting to be done.

Posted by: lester | Feb 7 2025 1:27 utc | 74

Bob Fischer is a Professor of Philosophy at Texas State University… His books include Weighing Animal Welfare
Posted by: persiflo | Feb 7 2025 0:56 utc | 70
Thanks for the interesting reference. You might already know about some relevant favorites of mine:
Animal Liberation (1975) — Peter Singer
Toward a Transpersonal Ecology (1990) — Warwick Fox
Both of those authors happen to be Aussies. Antipodeans with feet firmly planted on planet Earth.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Feb 7 2025 1:31 utc | 75

‘”efforts to influence public opinion against the US”
A LARGE share of US bases in Japan are concentrated in Okinawa. The troops stimulate hostility to the US presence by raping local women, assaulting or robbing ordinary Okinawans and generally acting like an occupying army. (The same thing happens in Korea.)

Posted by: lester | Feb 7 2025 1:43 utc | 76

“Based on information from the internet the chinese debt-to-GDP ratio is much higher. Think: empty ghost cities. (search e.g. on YouTube)”
Posted by: WMG | Feb 6 2025 21:49 utc | 54
Wow you are a true critical thinker and intrepid investigator. Please give us more 1990s Gordon Chang tropes like “empty ghost cities” to giggle at, it lightens the mood.

Posted by: UK Defektor | Feb 7 2025 1:44 utc | 77

This is the most amazing account of how Elon’s team of coders mapped out secret networks of cash flow and dismantled the Deep State.
https://eko.substack.com/p/override

Posted by: Paranaense | Feb 7 2025 2:08 utc | 78

>exports to the US accounted for 3.5% of China’s GDP in 2018, in 2023 they represented 2.9% – a significant decline in a relatively short period of time
Posted by: too scents | Feb 7 2025 1:20 utc | 75
Thanks for the correction.

Posted by: JustSomeOldGuy | Feb 7 2025 2:08 utc | 79

🇨🇳 China uses drones to put out fires.
China is living in 2050.

*video* at link below.
https://x.com/jacksonhinklle/status/1887275011913691199
Reminds me of the Russian drones which deliver ammunition and food to the front. Pencils on spaceships.
The West keeps throwing precious bodies at problems as though the world was still pre-industrial.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 7 2025 2:14 utc | 80

Huawai is doing really impressive things in the EIV market now.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 7 2025 2:21 utc | 81

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 6 2025 19:58 utc | 50
Have you ever seen a vehicle at 180 mph? (on Knots since we are talking aviation) That would be the closing rate between the two aircraft. Add that is 30 seconds out, the jet is much higher, it was on a slope for landing. Not exactly an easy thing to find and track while you are also flying.
Another concern is that there should have been 2 crew chiefs, both whom sit sideways behind the pilot-copilot. In a BH, the 1st one sits on right side, 2nd on left. This is important because the both would be used for air space surveillance. The scan zone were the jet was would have been the responsibility of the missing crew.
As for your other info…physics calls.
“Painting with laser” Well, the US has been doing this for decades, no secret there. The type of laser (frequency, beam strength, divergence) used will not fit on a small quad copter vehicle. So others laser types might be used, (I have a feeling which one) that are smaller payloads.
As for the “quickly rotating cannon that is capable of firing off hundreds or thousands of rounds a second using the targets ‘painted’ by the other drones.”
Well, that would be a multi barreled Gatling gun. Been around in various versions, since…1865?
However, the weight of a Gatling system (with ammo storage) would be far in excess of what a quad copter could lift. The recoil for the system, if any type of real round (say 20mm) was used would simply destroy a quadcopter. Also, how much does hundreds or thousands of round weight?
The std firing rate by US multi barreled systems is a multiple of 1,500 rds per minute. (which is 25 hz or 25 per second) 3,000 (50) and 6,000 (100) are the next two steps, but may require additional barrels (with weight for the barrels and larger motor to drive the system). Not certain how anyone is getting “hundreds” or “thousands” per second. Plus, barrel heating is a huge factor at higher rates.
Sorry, this isn’t the Marvel Universe.

Posted by: BroncoBilly | Feb 7 2025 2:27 utc | 82

This is the most amazing account of how Elon’s team of coders mapped out secret networks of cash flow and dismantled the Deep State.
https://eko.substack.com/p/override
Posted by: Paranaense | Feb 7 2025 2:08 utc | 84
————-
Very impressive.

Posted by: financial matters | Feb 7 2025 2:38 utc | 83

Over at Larry Johnson’s blog, sonar21, Honzo’s comments at Larry’s most recent post, “What is Trump Really Thinking About Gaza?” may be of interest to some here.
Honzo has a realist, class conscious perspective — but through rose-colored glasses, holding out that these past 16 days may be the most effective opposition and attack ever on the corrupt neocon hidden state bureaucracy which most of us have come to loathe, a ‘deep state’ faction which has toyed with obliterating nuclear wars, including obliterating us, in their quest for world domination.
Honzo has over 40 posts, a few which are worth a read. Use “find on page” search function to locate his writing.
https://sonar21.com/what-is-trump-really-thinking-about-gaza/
~~
Also maybe of interest to some people here are a few interviews at Neutrality Studies, each ~ 35 + minutes:

“NATO Targets Its OWN Population With Cognitive Warfare”
Feb 4, 2025
Part 1
Scientist Dr. Jonas Tögel demonstrates in his book “Cognitive Warfare: The Latest Manipulation Techniques as a NATO Weapon” how NATO utilizes scientific insights from psychology, propaganda, and mass manipulation not only to influence the citizens of other countries but also to control public opinion within its own nations and make them ready for war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X76HCtiHEWs
—
“NATO’s Plans To SACRIFICE Europe For US Hegemony”
Part 2
2] ‪‪@DrJonasToegel‬, in his new book “War Games: How NATO and the Pentagon Simulate the Destruction of Europe” (in German), reveals the incredibly brutal scenarios NATO uses not only to prepare for an attack but also to accept the deaths of millions of Europeans in order to “win” in their own simulations. The madness that emerges from these publicly planned scenarios proves the insanity of an entire caste of elites who should never have come to power and must be stopped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b1C2mPwxRk

Posted by: suzan | Feb 7 2025 2:45 utc | 84

A LARGE share of US bases in Japan are concentrated in Okinawa. The troops stimulate hostility to the US presence by raping local women, assaulting or robbing ordinary Okinawans and generally acting like an occupying army. (The same thing happens in Korea.)
Posted by: lester | Feb 7 2025 1:43 utc | 81
I’m shocked, shocked that the troops on US bases in Japan and Korea are acting like an occupying army.

Posted by: Samu | Feb 7 2025 2:50 utc | 85

China increasingly imports very little from the US.
US agriculture was a key Chinese import years ago. When Trump put tariffs on China in his first term, China cut AG imports. Hit Trump right in his Midwest base.
They have since further diversified their need for American agriculture.
Energy was another import, now with cheap Russian gas, China no longer needs to import energy from America.
If/when it comes to blows, China can devastate the US economy, which relies heavily on Chinese exports.
China has no use for US weapons. US tech licenses, US Pharma licenses.
With the Chinese EV market being incredibly large, no one in China is in a big rush to buy a gas-guzzling Ford or GM.
I was thinking recently that America’s economic problem is not only that its manufacturing base has withered but also that people around the world dream of owning no American product —not an American TV, not an American phone, not an American appliance.
A FIRE economy is lousy for trade exports. It’s all paper chasing and speculation, two things that the Communist Party of China regulates tightly.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 7 2025 2:54 utc | 86

@ jayc | Feb 6 2025 21:46 utc | 53
freeland definitely represents the elite factor and not the little people in canada.. same can be said for the libs and cons as parties..

Posted by: james | Feb 7 2025 2:57 utc | 87

It just occurred to me that the most successful American exports are basketball and American football.
As well as Disney/Hollywood.
Ironically NETFLIX has had to buy up content from foreign markets (France, Turkiye, Germany, Italy, etc.) to bolster the offset the glacial pace of American video development.
Entertainment products that have all gone digital (making them easy to pirate).

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 7 2025 3:03 utc | 88

Thanks, suzan, for the heads-up about Honzo’s writings. I have always admired his commentary because we agree on so many things. /s
Here’s him with a comment on Larry Johnson’s site, slightly cropped to remove the communist propaganda:

They backed the neocons when it seemed like they could conquer the world. Now a faction of them understands that they cannot and that leaving the neocons with their hands on the levers of power will result in the destruction of everything they own, so they’re trying to get them out. Trump is the point man of this faction. The balance has shifted further in his direction at the top of the pyramid, but in the mechanisms of state power, it is still almost entirely in the hands of the neocons. Constitutional authorities cannot root them out, so Trump employs direct action. They are resigning in droves, not just for the cash buy-out, but because they know how the system works and they think Trump can punish them if they don’t get out of his way- and the more of them that flee, the more true they make that for those that remain. That’s how the game is played right now. The only alternative to really effect change is bloody insurrection. That’s what’s likely to occur if Trump fails his purges and loses control of his popular, non-billionaire base. The understanding of this reality is driving more of the PTB into the ‘Realist’ camp.
Trump may not win, and if he does win it will be to save a corrupt system from its own excesses, which I don’t admire, and it will be at great cost to the peoples of the New World outside America’s borders. If he doesn’t win, it’s going to be brutal both globally and in the US itself, and may well bring about the end of the world.

Posted by: persiflo | Feb 7 2025 3:21 utc | 89

Posted by: Paranaense | Feb 7 2025 2:08 utc | 84
Many thanks, Paranaense.

Posted by: juliania | Feb 7 2025 4:13 utc | 90

On an earlier thread I was triggered to look at the actual components of US GDP and how much of that number is actually utter bullshit, statistical manipulation, collusion, profiteering and rentier profits. I decided to do a more in depth review and have come to the conclusion that the “Roger adjusted for reality” US GDP is 50% or less of the official number. Here are my formulations:
Is the average Chinese already better off than the average American? Not yet, but …

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Feb 7 2025 5:24 utc | 91

Posted by: Roger Boyd | Feb 7 2025 5:24 utc | 107
####################
I think the average Chinese is far ahead if we don’t just look at material wealth.
China has a lot of home ownership, the government cracks down on property speculation.
Education is affordable, and healthcare is high quality. There are practically no homeless people in the very clean cities. Loads of new infrastructure like high-speed rail and the cities are designed for people to get around easily without a car.
China is a much nicer place to live (environment) than most of urban America.
Certainly better than LA, Seattle, or San Francisco, the last two have third-world street defecation problems that are often seen in India.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Feb 7 2025 5:42 utc | 92

Re: Ghost Cities ?
A sign of an abundance of low cost housing. Thats a feature not a bug

Posted by: exile | Feb 7 2025 6:07 utc | 93

Military coup in Afghanistan. The Taliban has lost power.
Lord Bebo
@MyLordBebo
🇦🇫🇺🇸 A military coup has taken place in Afghanistan
ANNA News sources report a change of power in Afghanistan as a result of a behind-the-scenes conflict between the country’s government and the Taliban leadership.
On Tuesday, after an almost two-week absence, the acting head of the Afghan Interior Ministry, Sirajiddin Haqqani, returned to Kabul.
Upon arrival, he ordered the removal of government officials loyal to the Taliban emir, Haibatullah Akhundzada.
Haqqani’s rise to power means the weakening of the Kandahar-based Taliban leadership and the strengthening of the government’s position in Kabul.
According to sources, Haqqani held talks with representatives of US President Donald Trump in the UAE, as a result of which “American influence” is seen in the events in Afghanistan.
The government is expected to soon repeal a number of laws adopted by Akhundzada, including a ban on women receiving an education

Posted by: Mary | Feb 7 2025 6:09 utc | 94

Posted by: persiflo | Feb 7 2025 3:21 utc | 101
What, even, is your point? I am genuinely curious.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 7 2025 6:26 utc | 95

Posted by: BroncoBilly | Feb 7 2025 2:27 utc | 92
Yeah dumbfuck, I’m an EE with an MS and I know what hertz are. I know frequency in the time and…well fuckin’ frequency domain.
I did not attend this trade show/conference…thus I’m relaying second hand info from other engineers and members of the military, both current and former.
You want to debate physics or realistic military weaponry? Let’s do it, but otherwise…show me how what I heard is physically (not technologically) impossible.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 7 2025 6:30 utc | 96

Also Bronco Fan Billy:
Not exactly an easy thing to find and track while you are also flying.
Another concern is that there should have been 2 crew chiefs, both whom sit sideways behind the pilot-copilot. In a BH, the 1st one sits on right side, 2nd on left. This is important because the both would be used for air space surveillance. The scan zone were the jet was would have been the responsibility of the missing crew.
As for your other info…physics calls.
No shit, Sherlock. Re-read what I said. Not what the Tweet I linked said. What’s your problem, anyway?

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Feb 7 2025 6:33 utc | 97

Posted by: aristodemos | Feb 6 2025 19:17 utc | 42
There are already many brothels in Okinawa. Hell there used to be one in Naha with a rotating circle in the middle of the stage where customers could participate in the show if they wanted to have sex for free. Still does not stop jarheads from raping women.

Posted by: Badjoke | Feb 7 2025 7:04 utc | 98

Re: Ghost cities.
China has build entire cities in which no one lives (Ghost cities). Someone has taken on debt to build those empty cities. The REAL problem with those empty cities is that no one lives in them and these houses don’t generate no income and then the debtor can’t pay interest & principal. No one pays rent (income) or has bought a house in those ghost cities (or hardly anyone).
No one lives in those ghost cities because these houses are too expensive for the average chinese citizen. And the average chinses citizen simply earns to little to be able to afford a house in those ghost cities. Chinese citizens can’t afford those houses because the chinese government has persued a “high growth” strategy in the last say 40 years. Part of that “growth model” was the surpression of wages of the household sector and a strong reliance on exports (e.g. to the US).
Gordon Chang is right when he says China will collapse. It’s NOT a matter of IF but WHEN. And I fear that the US wants to take advantage of that (think: resources).
Watch the videos with Michael Pettis. See one of my previous posts in this thread.
I repeat: china has a debt-to-GDP ratio at or over 290%. I consider any debt-to-GDP ratio of over 60% as destructive for any country.
It was NOT only China who has used this strategy. Other countries who have used this strategy were Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s, the “Asian Tigers” in the 1980s and 1990s, Japan (between say 1970 and 1990) and South Korea (between say 1980 and 2000).

Posted by: WMG | Feb 7 2025 8:24 utc | 99

Posted by: John Gilberts | Feb 6 2025 16:10 utc | 22
Are you seriously adding your own commentary to those quotes about and from Freeland and the only point you are making is to call her a nazi ? And no mention of her being ethnically, racially, spiritually, religiously and neurotically, 100% Jewish ? Not even a hint from you on it ?
You don’t even say the boomer midwit “Zionazi” word ?
Why ?
Call her a genocider if you refuse to mention she’s a jew.
My God some of you people are pathethic.
Quit engaging in any political talk, you’ve taken enough from the youth already, allowing jews to run every aspect of our lives, pure tyranny. And you can’t even call them a jew.
I remember someone saying an old post on this website had “nicer” commentors, well, you had better get used to more and more mean people and bad things happening because decent people are getting fycked over every day all day and the “nice guys” of yesterday are to blame

Posted by: ryanggg | Feb 7 2025 8:54 utc | 100

Back to Main