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Cadence of Conflict: Asia, December 13, 2021

China responds with propaganda. A lot more keeps happening more. It’s too much for China to track. But, when the US pontificates about democracy, China leaps to opine first. The problem is the vibe. It’s not about what we say, but about the vibes created by our actions.

Perhaps both the US and China labeled it wrong. It’s not democracy that won; it’s freedom. Freedom in the market, freedom in speech, freedom in religion, freedom in family—all these are valued by one country and despised by another country. So, the free country gets hate from the opinionated country.

As for other zingers China can’t track, Guatemala, Honduras, and now Germany plan only stronger ties with Taiwan. Nicaragua switched for China this week, making it a three for one to the Confucian Communist team.

You see, that’s the sneaky thing about China’s own problems. Russia is simply Marxist to the core. China always has and always will ever love Confucius more than Marx. Confucius was the greater hater of freedom. That’s why Russia poses a real threat while China just threatens and poses.

Indo-Pacific

Nicaragua embracing China to shield against sanctions, US official says // Taipei Times

Trade & Tech

Taiwan and US unveil new tech trade framework // Taipei Times

China

Four disrupt AIT official’s speech at Uighur forum // Taipei Times

China’s Overwrought Response to Biden’s Democracy Summit Is Telling // Foreign Policy

Taiwan

Bundestag votes to expand Taiwan ties // Taipei Times

Honduras ‘to keep Taiwan relations’ // Taipei Times

Guatemala backs Taipei: president // Taipei Times

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Encore of Revival: America, August 24, 2020

The US has has taken a hardline on NATO. Of course, NATO members love to criticize the nation that pays the bills that their economic policies can’t afford—or perhaps that their economic priorities refuse.

Germany wants an American debt-funded military and complains like a cat when something is taken away. Everyone wants to negotiate with an Iranian government that actually issued an arrest warrant for the American president. It’s not that those nations believe negotiating is an answer; they don’t know what the answer is. For them, negotiation is nothing more than their ongoing career habit that guided them through fundraisers and elections.

Europe is largely Liberal anymore. It’s like a nest of baby birds whose economic theory is that mamma and pappa bird need to give them more worms—and this is the way to keep the economy going. None of these baby birds demonstrate awareness that worms don’t just appear; the adult birds must go find them! The solution is for baby birds to grow up and learn to hunt for worms of their own. But, tell that to European Liberal leaders these days and you’ll get a response of aloof entitlement and condescension.

There are ways in which things must be done so that cash flows. Money doesn’t move merely because the government told it to. People are driven to invent and pursue dreams and healthy ambitions. Keep them from killing each other, stay out of their way, and then they will gladly generate profit on which they gladly pay enormous taxes.

Ambition is unimaginable to a baby bird who thinks it will never be able to fly simply because it never has. Lucky for us, many Americans are growing up. But, Europe might not grow up in time.

Democrats

Doug Schoen: Democratic convention — On first night this is what worked and what didn’t // Fox News

Death & Taxes

And it’s taxable
Filed your tax return? IRS to distribute tax refund interest checks // USA Today

Security & Public Safety

Attorney General William Barr announces nearly 1,500 arrests so far under ‘Operation Legend’ // ABC News America

Prices, Rates, Oil & Food

300 Pizza Huts are closing after a giant franchisee goes bankrupt // CNN

Mid East

Iran sanctions: nearly all UN security council unites against ‘unpleasant’ US // Guardian

NATO Focus

Victor Davis Hanson: American soldiers leave Germany — and suddenly Germany is upset // Fox News

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Cadence of Conflict: Asia, December 16, 2019

China is desperately grasping for straws. While German parliament is planning to ban Huawei against the will of their head of state, Chancellor Merkel, a Chinese ambassador sends a message that "there will be consequences"—when diplomatic channels go to the head of state, not parliament. The Chinese ambassador is like a dog barking up a tree; German parliament doesn't care what the Chinese ambassador says. But, in China different branches of government don't matter because that's just a "silly Western thing". So, the Chinese don't know how German government works because the Chinese presume that Germans lie as much as the Chinese do.

Moreover, the Chinese Communists have overlooked one blaring flaw—if Huawei isn't controlled by China's government, that would make it the only entity in China not subject to passive-aggressive threats under pain of organ harvesting. Moreover, if Huawei were the independent company China's government claims it is, China's government wouldn't be so defensive of Huawei being banned from Germany.

China has many weaknesses, self-contradicting diplomacy being the least. Its labor force is shrinking. Its economy is much more dependent on exports than America's. Its tech sector is even more dependent on importing American-made components. Tit-for-tat tariffs don't favor China in that regard. The Chinese don't spend as much on their military as America does, regardless of the hype from State-run Chinese news outlets. And, it doesn't own a very big piece of the pie when it comes to US Treasury bonds—the greatest liquidation threat China could make there is to offer a temporary discount price to willing investors. The cost would be China forfeiting any leverage it had by owning such a small part of America's debt, while America's economy might skip two beats at most, then nevermore.

Then, we have the anti-Trump camp. Many economists who haven't a clue where wealth comes from despise America's president. Everything needs to pay for itself, otherwise it will die in a suicide cult of bankruptcy. Maybe NATO shouldn't be in Germany, maybe it should, but the answer—one way or the other—will only surface if NATO requires Germany to pay for its own national defense. Bowing down to China may have made a few American companies rich—regardless of making a few million Americans poor—but it was never going to last long. Even though China took American money and started bullying their neighbors, those who profited from those greedy companies in particular are angry. But, most Americans aren't fooled anymore.

Trump played his cards well, and he's still got plenty of chips left to ante up for many rounds to come. That isn't good news if you're a member of the Chinese Communist Party, hoping to help the party dominate America.

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Cadence of Conflict: Asia, July 16, 2018

Global trade has become too congested and inbred. Enemies make vital weapons parts for each other—well, enemies of the US make vital weapons parts for the US, but don't return the favor. Western companies outsourced to developing markets, then were surprised at workplace hazards, loss in consumer trust, and didn't seem to anticipate that by sending jobs overseas they were downsizing their own customers.

The borderless fling wasn't going to last for a myriad of reasons—cultural incohesion being an impossibility for a manufacturing industry in denial, security conflicts of interest being a concern for Western powers. Internationalization is about governments and cultures understanding each other, not forcing cooperation between peoples who haven't yet learned to gel in the daily routines. Companies like Boeing got themselves too entangled in the scene of borderless manufacturing and are now whining and moaning because the inevitable finally happened. This indicates that their "globalist" action plan wasn't based in foresight, but delusional hopes.

Globalism is inevitable, but it won't take the path that the impatient hopefuls dreamed and thereby planned it would. Globalism needs cultural exchange to precede and exceed industrial integration, not vice versa. Boeing through the cart pulled its horse, banked on it, it backfired, and Boeing is now denying blame.

China and Europe, mainly Germany, are headed for the same blend of oil and water. This so-called "trade war" isn't setting well in China's market. Chinese people blame their government. That government doesn't want any misreporting that could even remotely influence the people into thinking that the unrelated trade and stock market could have any kind of direct relationship. The trouble Trump is making for China isn't demonstrated from rumors of censorship within China or its stock market, but in China's attempt for yet another foreseeably incohesive relationship with Germany. China is being smart, Germany is not.

China is owed everything by the West, but Germany hasn't figured this out yet. China doesn't need to say so because no one tells the obvious. A relationship between China and Germany would rightly favor China, Beijing would have no objection, but Berlin will cry and whine just as much as Boeing, once it all lays flat on the table. And, China will have made the profit.

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November 17, 2015

27 Governors reject Obama refugees, executive order (CNN)

US Congress to defund Obama refugees (FP)

France, Germany’s right wing demand immigrant halt (UK Mail)

Battle of professors: Carson knows more about Syria than Obama? (AP)

Obama uses the Nixon defence: “I’m too busy” (WA Times)

CIA: Spying is solution (FP)

West: Paris was Snowden’s fault! (POLITICO)

Feinstein disagrees with Obama (POLITICO)

Goals, Dreams & Priorities: Facebook will be ‘better than humans at vision, hearing, language, and general cognition’ in a DECADE, Mark Zuckerberg claims (UK Mail)  · · · →

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November 10, 2015

Israel remembers, Germany, 1938; viz modern Antisemitism (JP)

Obamnesty ‘could’ be heard by SCOTUS, possibly implemented summer 2016 (POLITICO)

2nd LA missile muscle flex: Did US Navy plan social reaction? (WP) (LA Times)

U. of Missouri prez resigns, slow response to racism, “stop yelling at each other and start listening…” (AP)

Music censored: China may have just made it harder for its citizens to ever get Spotify or Apple Music (QZ)

   · · · →

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November 5, 2015

Fred Thompson dies, 1942-2015 (The Tennessean)

Kentucky Gubernatorial: GOP 52.5% (Courier-Journal)

1st Muslim city council in Detroit Metro (Click on Detroit)

Germany in violence (Daily Mail)

Cheating on emissions: The test ‘defeat device’, Volkswagen, now Porsche (QZ) (read EPA notice)

To the sea: Scotland is about to become home to the world’s largest floating wind farm  · · · →

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October 20, 2015

Cruz, the defender of the Internet from daily attacks in Congress

…“This administration views the Internet as a threat.”

W on Cruz: “I just don’t like that guy,”

Germans hatin’ on Islam, refugees

US nat’l registry of drones

Foot-Mouth: Theaters are boycotting Netflix’s first feature film, which is great for Netflix  · · · →

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Cadence of Conflict: Asia, June 6, 2015

China moves more and more with money. The economy is crashing, largely due to the Communist doctrine that citizens do not own land—something we rarely read about.

China also gears up for both war and investment contingency. BRICS was ratified this week. New national “interests” rhetoric and policy came from Beijing, implying war against Taiwan more than recently.

The Taiwan problem comes from documentation. When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, they gave up Taiwan, which China had surrendered properly to Japan. But Japan never stated who they were giving Taiwan over to, technically rendering Taiwan an already independent State. Taiwan has been fought over by China’s Communist party after China’s KMT-Nationalist party was forced to find a place to live in de facto exile. Both Communist and KMT-Nationalist parties seem to be attempting to rewrite history, as the Taiwan education fiasco shows.

China

China’s national security law gives PLA mission to protect overseas interests

…Old rhetoric, made more official.  · · · →

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