Autor: João

Donald Trump’s Ironies

Por | 21 maio, 2019 | , |

[US]America, You Are Fired!   Dmitry Orlov May 7, 2019 Some ironies are just too precious to pass by. The 2016 US presidential elections gave us Donald Trump, a reality TV star whose famous tag line from his show “The Apprentice” was “You are fired!” Focus on this tag line; it is all that is important to this story. Some Trump Derangement Disorder sufferers might disagree. This is because they are laboring under certain misapprehensions: that the US is a democracy; or that it matters who is president. It isn’t and it doesn’t. By this point, the choice of president matters as much as the choice of conductor for the band that plays aboard a ship as it vanishes beneath the waves. I have made these points continuously since before Trump got into office. Whether or not you think that Trump was actually elected, he did get in somehow, and there are reasons to believe that this had something to do with his wonderfully refreshing “You are fired!” tag line. It’s a fair guess that what motivated people to vote for him was their ardent wish that somebody would come along and fire all of the miscreants that infest Washington, DC and surrounding areas. Alas, that he couldn’t do. Figurehead leaders are never granted the authority to dismantle the political establishments that install them. But that is not to...

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Civilization

Por | 21 maio, 2019 | , , |

Clash or Crisis   Pepe Escobar May 18, 2019   Talk about a graphic display of soft power: Beijing this week hosted the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations.  Organized under the direct supervision of President Xi Jinping it  took place amid an “Asian Culture Carnival.”  Sure, there were dubious, kitschy and syrupy overtones, but what really mattered was what Xi himself had to say to China and all of Asia. In his keynote speech, the Chinese leader essentially stressed that one civilization forcing itself upon another is “foolish” and “disastrous.” In Xi’s concept of a dialogue of civilizations, he referred to the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as programs that “have expanded the channels for communication exchanges.” Xi’s composure and rationality present a stark, contrasting message to US President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign. West vs East and South Compare and contrast Xi’s comments with what happened at a security forum in Washington just over two weeks earlier. Then, a bureaucrat by the name of Kiron Skinner, the State Department’s policy planning director, characterized US-China rivalry as a “clash of civilizations,” and “a fight with a really different civilization and ideology the US hasn’t had before.” And it got worse. This civilization was “not Caucasian” – a not so subtle 21st century resurrection of the “Yellow Peril.” (Let us recall: The “not Caucasian” Japan of World War...

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USAmerica’s War on Iran

Por | 21 maio, 2019 | , |

U.S. Increases Risk Of War On Iran Without A Path To De-escalation   Moon of Alabama May 14, 2019   Is the U.S. military, which lost its powerful positions in the White House, trying to get National Security Advisor John ‘Stache’ Bolton fired? A ‘leak’ to the New York Times accuses Bolton of preparing for war on Iran: At a meeting of President Trump’s top national security aides last Thursday, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan presented an updated military plan that envisions sending as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East should Iran attack American forces or accelerate work on nuclear weapons, administration officials said.The revisions were ordered by hard-liners led by John R. Bolton, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser. It does not call for a land invasion of Iran, which would require vastly more troops, officials said. The development reflects the influence of Mr. Bolton, one of the administration’s most virulent Iran hawks, whose push for confrontation with Tehran was ignored more than a decade ago by President George W. Bush. If asked for ‘options’ the military typically lays out three scenarios. The first is very minor action unlikely to have any effect. The second is what the military sees as reasonable or wants. The third option is fantastically exaggerated. The 120,000 troop deployment is the third option. The number is too high for an attack by...

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USAmerican Economy

Por | 20 maio, 2019 | , , |

It’s a Zero-Sum World   Van Brian May19, 2019   As Bill often says, there are two ways to get by in this world: You either make. Or you take. You either strike a deal. Or you bend an arm. America used to be a maker. Win-win deals flourished. The feds, for the most part, minded their own business. But that was then… Today, Bill looks around and sees a zero-sum world. Whether it’s more win-lose tariffs… Silicon Valley “unicorns” losing money by the boatload… and even the financialization of the American economy, today, it’s getting harder and harder to be a maker. So, you take. Should Alabama Impose Tariffs on California? On Monday, Bill responds to some reader feedback. Dear readers seem to be on the president’s side: The government SHOULD regulate trade between nations. “Sure,” says Bill. “But heck… why stop there?” How “Megapolitics” Destroy Wealth Some societal changes you don’t see coming. Nobody votes on them. The pollsters don’t “call them.” And the talking heads on TV ignore them. But these “megapolitical shifts” do happen. And if you’re not paying attention, they’ll flatten you… The Nice Thing About Donald Trump… The mainstream press has plenty to say about Donald Trump. “A bigot,” they say. “A blowhard,” they howl. But Bill, ever the optimist, likes to look on the bright side. At least Donald Trump is honest…...

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USAmerica and BRI

Por | 15 maio, 2019 | , , |

How the ‘Real’ America Is in Harmony With the Belt and Road Initiative   Matthew Ehret Apr. 28, 2019   The new rules proposed by Xi Jinping and expressed by the BRI’s political economic practices are exactly what the best American patriots fought for, Matthew Ehret argues.   Since Donald Trump’s 2016 election, waves of strange paradoxes have presented themselves to the world. With the blatant collaboration of nominally “American” forces from the CIA, FBI, NSA, the Pentagon, and MSM who conspired directly with international agencies such as the Five Eyes and MI6 to overthrow Trump, it has become evident that there isn’t one single America, but rather two opposing forces within America acting against each other. So what really is the “real” America? When Donald Trump calls for US-China-Russia collaboration, is that just an anomaly or is something truly American being expressed? In reviewing some history, you might be shocked to discover that the Belt and Road Initiative is more American than the America which the world has come to know over the past 50 years. The American Revolution as an International Struggle The fact that the American Revolution was an international affair is made evident by the fact that without the collaboration of the leadership of Russia, France, as well as many powerful forces in Poland, Spain, Germany the revolution could never have succeeded. Catherine the Great...

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