The U.S. President is performing one of his usual stunts:

Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump – May 30, 2025, 12:09 UTC

…
I made a FAST DEAL with China in order to save them from what I thought was going to be a very bad situation, and I didn’t want to see that happen. Because of this deal, everything quickly stabilized and China got back to business as usual. Everybody was happy! That is the good news!!! The bad news is that China, perhaps not surprisingly to some, HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US. So much for being Mr. NICE GUY!

Trump's take is, of course, nonsense. But to see that one has to take a step back.

Trump had raised absurdly high tariffs against China which then had responded in kind. Additional hostile measures imposed by the U.S. were targeting China's import and production of semiconductors.

In response China limited the export of products for which it holds a monopoly. These are mainly rare-earth elements and magnets produced with them. While these are rather small items trade-wise they are needed to make modern electrical motors and are thus a significant part of the supply chain for higher level production items.

The high tariffs on products from China threatened to lead to empty shelves in U.S. markets. The financial markets were concerned. The U.S. dollar, stocks markets and treasuries decreased in price. A financial crisis was developing.  Trump had to pull back.

On May 11 the U.S. and Chinese trade representative met in Geneva. In a Joint Statement they agreed on a pull back from high tariffs and to pause other trade related measures. The preamble of the deal is making the most important points:

Cont. reading: Trump Accuses China Of Violating Agreement He Did Not Adhere To

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News & views related to the war in Ukraine …

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

Last night one of President Donald Trump central policies was defeated in court:

Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs halted by Court of International Trade (archived) – Washington Post
Most of President Trump’s tariffs were halted late Wednesday by a US trade court in a sharp rebuke of the president’s signature trade war policy.

A specialized federal court in New York on Wednesday ruled that most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs — including those on Chinese goods — are illegal, …
…
The trade court’s ruling that Trump exceeded his authority in imposing tariffs on all imported goods brought an immediate, albeit perhaps temporary, halt to his signature trade war policy.

“The challenged Tariff Orders will be vacated and their operation permanently enjoined,” a three-judge panel ruled.

This is the end to Trump's tariffs.

His administration will do the utmost to fight the court ruling. But the legal reasoning against it is strong and higher courts are likely to follow it. As The Economist explains (archived):

Cont. reading: Tariffs Defeated, DOGE Failure, Big Bill Endangered – What’s Trump Gonna Do?

On May 23 the former Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian army had a pessimistic assessment of the war in Ukraine (machine translation):

Former commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and now Ambassador to the UK Valery Zaluzhny said that Russia has overtaken Ukraine in innovations on the battlefield.
…
According to him, Ukraine at the moment "does not manage to continuously generate and scale innovations, even in those areas where yesterday we were ahead of the enemy."

"The enemy has already overtaken us and we are lagging behind – and we must be honest about this," he said.
…
The ex-commander-in-chief believes that the Russian Federation is now waging a war of attrition. In response, it is necessary, according to Zaluzhny, "to undermine the economy and social component in order to deprive Russia of the possibility of scientific and technological development and start the processes of civil unrest and disintegration."

How to do this, the ex-commander-in-chief does not specify, …

Zaluzhny was likely not only referring to the drone war which Russia is winning but also to the mediocre state of Ukraine's air defenses.

A day after Zaluzhny, the spokesman of the Air Force of Ukraine confirmed his take (machine translation):

Cont. reading: U.S.-Supplied Air Defenses Fail In Ukraine

Yesterday, during a lengthy interview, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz mention the lifting of restrictions on western weapons used by Ukraine.

Media took that as a new revelation:

• Merz says no more range limits for weapons supplied to Kyiv – DW, May 26
• Germany’s Merz backs Ukraine’s long-range missile strikes on Russia – FT, May 26
• Western allies lift Ukraine's restrictions on long-range weapons, says Merz – Euronews, May 26

> German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Monday that Germany, along with France, the UK and the US, had lifted restrictions on the range of weapons they are sending to Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia.

"There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine — neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans," he said at the WDR Europaforum 2025 at the re:publica digital conference in Berlin. <

Some media even claimed that Merz had cleared the path for the delivery of German Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine:

Germany and its key allies have lifted range restrictions on weapons sent to Ukraine allowing Kyiv to hit targets inside Russia with no external limits, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday.

That announcement by the German leader could clear the path for Berlin to finally deliver its powerful Taurus cruise missiles to Kyiv, something that the previous government refused to do so as not to provoke nuclear-armed Russia.

I was astonished seeing this. There had been nothing new in Merz' announcement.

President Joe Biden had lifted all restrictions on U.S. delivered weapons many months ago:

Cont. reading: Recycling Old News Media Push For More War In Ukraine

Over the last seven days the Ukrainian military has launched over one thousand drones against targets in Russia. Most of these were shot down by Russian air defenses. There are no reports of any serious damage.

The biggest effect the week long drone attacks achieved was to shut down air traffic in Moscow for several hours.

After waiting a few days the Russian military responded in kind.

Over the last three days a record number of drones and missiles were launched against military installations and production facilities in Ukraine (archived):

Russia stepped up missile-and-drone assaults on the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and other regions, killing at least 12 people overnight into Sunday after President Trump last week declined to impose further sanctions on Moscow over its refusal to halt its invasion.

Russia attacked with a total of 367 drones and missiles—one of the largest single-night raids of the war, according to the Ukrainian Air Force—in a second consecutive day of pounding strikes that sent civilians running for shelters in the middle of the night.

Over three days the Russian forces used some 1,000 heavy drones plus 58 cruise- and 31 ballistic-missiles to attack Ukraine.

The Russian attacks are overwhelming (archived) the western provided air defenses:

Cont. reading: A Week Long Drone Fight Which Russia Is Winning

News & views related to the war in Palestine …

News & views related to the war in Ukraine …

Last week's posts on Moon of Alabama:

• May 19 – Gaza 'Aid' That Isn't
  Related:
  – Sweeping overhaul of Gaza aid raises questions of morality and workability (archived) – Washington Post
  – New Gaza Aid Plan, Bypassing U.N. and Billed as Neutral, Originated in Israel -´(archived) – NY Times
  – Israel’s aid plan for Gaza is a key part of its strategy to expel Palestinians – Mondoweiss
  – Gaza aid trucks looted amid ‘hunger, desperation and anxiety,’ U.N. says (archived) – Washington Post

  – Today’s Hitler Says “Free Palestine” Is Today’s “Heil Hitler” – Caitlin Johnstone
  – How western foreign policy “experts” provide cover for Israel’s genocide – Lucy Komisar

  – Israel says it is unleashing an “unprecedented attack” (archived) – Yair Golan / Economist
  – Israel’s reinvasion of Gaza is a strategic disaster (archived) – Ehud Barak / Financial Times
  – That's it. We commit war crimes (archived) (in Hebrew) – Ehud Olmert / Haaretz
  (Machine translation):

> I tried, at every opportunity, to distinguish between the crimes attributed to us, of which I refused to confess, and the carelessness and indifference to the Palestinian victims in Gaza and the unbearable human toll we are taking there. The first charge I denied, the second I admitted.

In the past few weeks I have been unable to do so. What we are doing in Gaza is a war of destruction: indiscriminate, indiscriminate, cruel and criminal killing of civilians. We do so not because of an accidental loss of control in a particular sector, not because of a disproportionate surge of fighters in any unit — but as a result of a policy dictated by the government, knowingly, deliberately, maliciously, lawlessness. Yes, we are committing war crimes. <

• May 20 – Ukraine Negotiations Still Hover Around Its Root Cause
  Related:
  – Anti-Russia Through The Years – Patrick Armstrong
  – Putin succeeds in engaging with Trump – Indian Punchline
  – Imposing 500% tariffs on nations that trade with Russia will backfire – Responsible Statecraft

• May 23 – Chinese Work Less For Longer Retirements
  Related:
  – What National Security Means To China – Indi.ca
  – Building the Low-Altitude Economy – Urban Land
  – The End of Extended Deterrence in Asia? (archived) – Foreign Affairs

• May 24 – Ukraine – Winning The Drone War
  Related:
  – Expect no miracle’: Ukraine braces for Russia’s summer offensive (archived) – Financial Times
  – Ukraine scrambles to overcome Russia’s edge in fiber-optic drones (archived) – Washington Post
  – Trump softens on Putin as Russia’s military edge weakens, officials say (archived) – Washington Post

—
Other issues:

Cont. reading: The MoA Week In Review – OT 2025-113

Who is winning the drone war in Ukraine?

Some say Ukraine:

• Elon Musk’s Starlink helping Ukraine to win the drone war – Telegraph, Mar 18 2022
• Ukraine Is Beating Russia in the Drone War – Newsweek, Aug 22 2023
• Ukraine's underdogs are outfoxing archaic Russia with drone warfare – Sky News, Sep 22 2023
• More Russian ships sunk: The West and Ukraine are winning the missile-and-drone war – Telegraph, May 21 2024
• Shoddy Russian workmanship is letting Ukraine win the drone war – Telegraph, Jul 6 2024
• Ukrainian Drone War Shakes Up Russian Society – Jamestown, Oct 16 2024
• Ukraine is winning the drone start-up war (archived) – Financial Times, Apr 10 2025
• Ukraine: Putin humiliated as Ukrainian drone attacks shut down Moscow airports – Express, May 21 2025
• Russia Accuses Ukraine of Massive Drone Attacks Amid Peace Talks – Dev Discourse, May 23 2024
• Ukraine’s drones disrupt Russia with airport closures, internet blackouts (archived) – Washington Post, May 24 2025

Others say Russia:

• Ukraine Is Losing the Drone War (archived) – Foreign Affairs, Jan 22 2024
• The New Drones Boosting Russia's Advances On The Battlefield In Ukraine – RFERL, Jan 10 2025
• Can Russia’s Shaheds Win The Long-Range Drone War Against Ukraine? – Forbes, Mar 29 2024
• Ukraine scrambles to overcome Russia’s edge in fiber-optic drones (archived) – Washington Post, May 23 2025
• How Putin’s new drone war is getting deadlier (archived) – The Times, May 23 2025
• KYIV BURNS – Putin launches blitz on Kyiv with 250 drones & 14 missiles – The Sun, May 24 2025
• Russia hits Kyiv with massive drone and missile attack amid prisoner exchange – Euronews, May 24 2025
• Russia hits Kyiv with one of the largest drone wave yet – 200 launched overnight – RBC Ukraine, May 24 2025

I earlier had agreed with Eric Schmidt's piece in Foreign Affairs linked above. Russia was set to out-innovate and outproduce Ukraine and its supporters in the drone war by a large margin. It has now done so.

I have a writing blockade on my usual themes, so let me take up something different:

‘Unrealistic and unreasonable’: Outcry as Denmark’s retirement age to become highest in Europe at 70 – Independent, May 23 2025

Denmark will increase its retirement age to 70 by 2040 making it the highest in Europe, after its parliament adopted a controversial new law.

Since 2006, retirement age in Denmark has been tied to life expectancy, which is currently 81.7 years. It is revised every five years and is set to rise to 68 in 2030 and 69 in 2035.
…
The policy is “unrealistic and unreasonable”, 47-year-old roofer Tommas Jensen told public broadcaster Danmarks Radio. “We work and work and work, but we can’t keep going.”

While it might be different for those with desk jobs, Mr Jensen added, workers with physically demanding jobs would struggle with the changes.

To which Hongshen Zhu, a western educated professor in Hong Kong, made an astonishing comment:

China’s new retirement age for males born in 1970/12 is 61.5, and females is 55.25. With life expectancy 81.5 🇩🇰 vs 79 🇨🇳 and China’s much longer working hours (2450 hrs vs 🇩🇰 1563), Chinese work 4600 hours for 1 year of retirement, while Danes need to work for 6500 hours.

I have checked his numbers and they are, give and take depending on sources, in the right ranges.

This calculation assumed Chinese start working at 20 years old and Danes start at 22 years old to account for higher education level in Denmark. Average retirement age 58.4 is assumed in China, just an average of male/female retirement ages.

So 🇨🇳 worked for 38.4*2450=94000 hrs in exchange of 20.6 yrs; 🇩🇰 worked for 48*1563=75000 hrs, retire for 11.5 yrs.

My personal 2 cent on this:

• Europeans should work longer, especially when they are at a younger age.
• We will have to change our model of working in one (manual) specialty throughout once life. One can not be a roofer at an age above ~65. Let the younger ones do the more physically demanding jobs to transition into less physically demanding jobs as they get old.
• Pensions should be universal. The should be at a uniform level and guarantee only the basics of a decent life.

Your opinion will vary …

by Debs is Dead
lifted from a comment

Lately I've been avoiding reading about Palestine being genocided by zionists as I'm too old and too crook to get out & do anything about it and it seems words which ain't worth SFA are the only thing I can do now.

However today is too much. Lookit the silly fuss from every western fishwrap & googlebox about a pair of dead zionists on today, a day when Gaza health report the first official notice of five children dying of starvation, the zionist army shot at a bunch of western diplomats to chase them away from a spot where the zionists were indulging in the usual rape, torture and murder of Gaza civilians and that same army today announced the evacuation order for all people in Northern Gaza, in the region of more than 500,000 human beings being chased off their land – again.

In the light of that how can anyone see the dc shooting of a brace of zionist diplomats as anything other than a deliberate set-up by the entity's propaganda machine. Like I said up-thread the photo the zionists released of the two dead apologists for genocide just happened to be much more than a corporate portrait as it showed the pair arm-in-arm in a posed shot standing in front of the embassy logos; a seemingly ideal PR portrait of two photogenic young people, as if the picture takers knew they would need something sympathetic for zionism as for the past few days western fishwraps haven't been nice about zionists (they'll get over that now but), so this is a pic for the front page of every western fishwrap once these two are shot & killed.

The timing stinks far too much to be coincidental, just like the opportune appearance of the picture.

Even starmer had something 'anti-semitic' to say to media yesterday.

Hmm …

The Israel Embassy Shooter Manifesto – 900-word document cites Gaza as motive – Ken Klippenstein

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The most important sentence from President Trump about yesterday's phone call between President Putin and him is this:

Russia and Ukraine will immediately start negotiations toward a Ceasefire and, more importantly, an END to the War. The conditions for that will be negotiated between the two parties, as it can only be, because they know details of a negotiation that nobody else would be aware of.

The most important sentence by President Putin about yesterday's phone call is this:

Notably, Russia’s position is clear. Eliminating the root causes of this crisis is what matters most to us.

Russia will not fall for ending the war without having achieved its main goal.

Western media, here the NY Times, continue to play dumb (archived) about what the Russia's main goal is:

[Putin] repeated his mantra that a peace deal needs to “remove the root causes of this crisis,” referring to Russia’s pursuit of wide-ranging influence over Ukraine.

David Ignatius, a CIA spokesperson at the Washington Post, makes a similar (archived) nonsensical claim:

He still wants victory, which he described once again after Monday’s call with the phrase “eliminate the root causes of the crisis.” That’s code for his conviction that Ukraine cannot be a European country, as it wants, but must remain under Russian hegemony.

Russia as well as Ukraine are European countries. Russia has no interest in having 'hegemony' or 'wide-ranking influence' over Ukraine. Its interest is the defense of the Russian Federation. It had to prevent Ukraine from becoming a U.S. (NATO) spear tip aimed at its heart.

A different NY Times piece about the Russian northern defenses build up after Finland joined NATO is far more correct when it states (archived):

From Moscow’s perspective, the Russians need to bolster their defenses to protect themselves from NATO expansion, which has always been a sore subject. The Baltic nations were the first members of the former Soviet Union to join NATO, bringing large stretches of Russia’s border up against NATO’s. The prospect of Ukraine, an even bigger former Soviet republic, following suit was so threatening to Moscow that it became one of the causes of the most devastating land war in generations.

It is NATO expansion, not Ukraine the country, that is the root cause of the war. It is NATO expansion that has to be eliminated.

The U.S. and its European allies are still in denial of that. To ignore that the U.S. has, for over 30 years, been driving the NATO expansion that led to the war, allows Trump to play a 'mediator' in war in which the U.S. is a dominant participant.

It is stupid for western media to accept Trump's claim (archived) of such a role:

Cont. reading: Ukraine Negotiations Still Hover Around Its Root Cause

Amid US pressure, Netanyahu announces resumption of Gaza aid without Cabinet vote – Ynet News, May 18 2025

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday authorized the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, a decision made without a cabinet vote and against the apparent will of a majority of ministers. The move came amid mounting pressure from the United States to prevent a worsening humanitarian crisis in the territory.

Tobias Cole comments:

Bibi and the War Cabinet are clinically insane……..30 trucks per WEEK, to feed a population of 2.3 million people, is not nearly enough and they clearing know that.

If the EU is dumb enough to fall for this charade, then I have a bridge to sell them…….these officials like Smotrich are engaged in massive war crimes and are admitting so in the media daily……they have now issued orders to evacuate the second largest city in Gaza – Khan Yunis and have already completely destroyed in the entire municipality of Gaza City.

In the midst of these evacuation they continue missile attacks on refugee tent cities and hospitals…..

The IDF is now flying drones near hospitals to specifically ID persons with wish to assassinate – including individual public servants, doctors, nurses, emts, ambulance drivers, police officers, firefighters, journalists, every one with a public service duty is now be marked for elimination by the IDF…..

Massive war crimes……all in the name of rump state of Israel……….

I could not verify the tweet below. But as Zionist sadism has no bounds whatever, it is certainly a possibility  …

Sarah Wilkinson @swilkinsonbc – 12:18 UTC · May 19, 2025

It looks like flour, but it’s shrouds, which do NOT classify as “basic aid” morally or under any law: 9 lorries of burial clothes #GazaDeathCamps
Pic (of truck load)

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