Lisa Benson for February 21, 2023

Has China actually torched demands from the US, or are they attempting to find a way to deal with their largest customer while saving face in their balloon debacle and realizing that the power both nations have are economically MAD, regardless of the military power each wields? It is a mystery.

Not even close. China is scrambling but at the same time trying to save face.

Xi does not want to touch the Bright Line at this time considering the internal matters he is trying to quell.

This isn’t right. China needs us and the world more than we need China. Without our buying power shoring up their economy, they’re really in trouble. For now, they’re acting like the tough guy on the block, but that’s just for face saving. Reality is somewhat different.

It’s taken decades, but now China calls the shots. We’ve handed them the keys to the kingdom in terms of IP and production capability. Imagine an immediate shut off of most drugs, rare earth minerals, car parts, and on and on.

It doesn’t hurt that they also own Biden.

“Be willing to give up the things of youth – clean air, tuna, Taiwan”.

PJ O’Rourke

Demonizing China is Republican foreign policy—all of it.

China has outlasted the U.S. in negotiations for over 40 years. Trade concessions, copyright protections on music and movies, China has barely budged an inch on these and other issues.

That’s a no, alright.

It seems to me that the overall policy of Biden is the correct one. One that is framed as a competition between an authoritarian and a free society. He has signed (bipartisan) bills that should make it easier to manufacture some products here. Real world events often interrupt things. An example is the hyperbolic response by so many in the public, flamed by a few know-nothings in the GOP and their lap dog media. This cartoon is an example. Literally based on no current interaction between the US and China.

China has its own issues, many of which are outlined above. I’d add that their aging population is one that will have impacts that we can’t even begin to fathom.

Maybe we should rethink the policy of allowing Chinese Communist into our research universities. Also grants to those same universities.

@preacherman- Very good observation!

The Right always wants to portray China as an insurmountable giant, but I don’t see any evidence of that. Yes they are big and rich, but they are hollow. Their country relies on world trade. Their people are fed propaganda and intimidation. Their economy always seems on the verge of collapse. Their military formidable but untested(like Russia’s). War would be a disaster, even if they won it. Their best move would be cooperation, but they’d rather huff and puff.

We need traitor Trump with his Chinese bank account and Ivanka with her Chinese patents to deal with this.

China’s economy depends on the U.S. Without us they crash worse than 1929. The ‘debt’ is in the form of investments made by China in U.S. bonds and such. The U.S. is current in making payments and always has been. But the $trillion+ in debt is a major part of the U.S. defense plan. China knows they cannot win a war with the U.S. Losing such a war would eliminate that debt in reparations. Winners get to do that.

So few commentators have any knowledge of China. Their long term view of world domination never wavers.

I have no idea what you are referring to.

Biden is a puppet to the Chinese government from the prior Chinese business dealings he had via his crackhead son. He can go thru the motions and threaten whatever he wants, and they will tell him to pound sand. I’ll await the customary orangemanbad replies.

Benson “graduated” MAGA from the School of World Affairs at Trump University…

A profoundly un-american portrayal of china in a position of power over the USA, and a false portrayal at that. You would obviously like to see the USA succumb to china if it somehow owned the libs or made the Biden administration appear weak. So sad the state of extremist right wing propaganda.

Xi owns Biden.

No wonder CHYNA feels confident, libs are destroying this country, it starts with the schools and we are all paying for it.

“We, the taxpayer, are funding our own demise,”

23 Baltimore schools have zero students proficient in math, per state test results

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Baltimore City is facing a devastating reality as the latest round of state test scores are released.

Project Baltimore analyzed the results and found a shocking number of Baltimore City schools where not a single student is doing math at grade level.

“We’re not living up to our potential,” said Jovani Patterson, a Baltimore resident who made headlines in January 2022, when he filed a lawsuit against Baltimore City Schools. The suit claims the district is failing to educate students and, in the process, misusing taxpayer funds.

“We, the taxpayer, are funding our own demise,” Patterson said at the time.

More education decline in Illinois and the dummy State Senator blames it on covid policies, as if this just happened? What about the teacher’s union and their push for lib, woke education over basic education and their support of seniority vs meritocracy. What about all the irresponsible baby mammas and daddies (of ALL colors, calm down, step away from the keyboard) who are not capable of parenting, modeling responsible behavior? Nope, we can’t talk about any of that or what???? RACISTS all of us, RACISTS!!!

The racists want to correct a mad max future for these kids, the self proclaimed non racists must selfishly support the decline or they are out of the woke club.

D@mning report reveals there are NO students proficient in either math or reading at 60 different public schools in Illinois: Lawmaker slams pandemic policies for ‘serious’ academic decline

New report finds 60 Illinois schools with zero proficiency in math or reading

Twenty-three schools, including 18 in Chicago, appear on both listsState senator blames Covid education policies for decline in proficiency - Daily Mail

The United States has systematically traded our own critical material supply chains, once the envy of the world, in exchange for a lie. Out of sight and out of mind, we declare environmental and labor victories while outsourcing the ugly side of modernity to the downtrodden around the world, subject to odious forces beyond their control. Perhaps ignorance helps us sleep at night. Or maybe in our industrial self-immolation we feel pure and holy.

To be clear, our goal should be the proliferation of carbon-free energy and a cleaner, better world for everyone. No one wants to kill the whales. But there are crippling second-order effects of this transition that we’re charging toward in blissful ignorance. Chief among them, if we don’t control our critical material supply chains, the path we’re accelerating down will lead to the end of American preeminence, and the global shift to a Chinese world order.

Put in simple terms, America and our allies lack secure access to the necessary materials for developing the next era of industry — not only solar panels, but key components of every machine in our entire technological infrastructure. Incredibly, we have given up our control of these materials by choice. Moral indignation and a sense of virtuous spite have driven us into dependence on what is clearly a geopolitical adversary, twisting us into a Chinese finger-trap. Now, as we slowly wake up and struggle, the grip tightens. The outcome is a reliance on China that compounds as we shift further towards a more advanced, electrified world. – Ryan McEntush, Private Wires

The pro-china anti-American commenters are out in full force today. Guess it is worth it for them to lie about the USA position of strength in the world today if it somehow makes the current US Presidential administration appear weak. Seems those fools that falsely chant USA USA USA at extremist rallies are the ones that are the biggest detriment to true American Exceptionalism.

In what way is China superior to the U.S. Economy? No. GDP? No. Military? No. Freedom? No. Democracy? Surprisingly, not even there.

CHYNA will surely support the next golden boy, dim dummy for president in 2024. Why? They’re not very good at basic math but they are very good at calling you by your self appointed pronoun and supporting soft on crime AG’s and illegal, unvetted immigration (aka child sex and drug trafficking). CHYNA is eating our lunch Jack! I ain’t lyin, come on man, no joke.

Gavin Newsom predicted a massive budget deficit for California. Reality was even worse, analysis finds.

Last month, Newsom announced that California faces a projected budget deficit of $22.5 billion for the coming fiscal year. The figure represented a striking downturn from last year, when the state enjoyed a surplus of about $100 billion due to federal COVID relief and surging capital gains.

While the predicted year-to-year drop-off seemed large, it may not have been large enough.

“While revenues are moderating from the recent peak, they are still above average historical levels,” writes Patek. “Even after adjusting for inflation, anticipated revenues for 2023‑24 remain about 20% higher than before the pandemic.”

Patek also noted “spending remains above historically recent peaks,” explaining it’s unlikely that tax revenues will be high enough over the next few years to afford California’s projected spending levels.

Newsom is set to release a revised budget in May, which is expected to be quite different than the version from last May that projected a $97.5 billion surplus. – Fox News

Thanks Joek, your idea of building back better defense by way of mandating jabs, pronouns, equity, diversity, CRT, LGBTQ+-dog, cat, furry & whatever ridiculous identity “them” come up with next, has taken away any leverage of military might. We can’t seek refuge from war in your safe snowflake spaces.

Putin Scraps Arms Treaty, China and Russia Threaten To Use Nukes

At this moment, no arms control deal is either possible or advisable, especially because during the past year both Russia and China have been making threats to preemptively use nuclear weapons against America and its partners.

Global arms control is dead. Putin did everyone a favor by making it clear that it’s time for America to rebuild defenses against a wider war Beijing and Moscow are preparing to fight.- Gordon G Chang

Dims, Rhino’s and the WEF can’t give up the Ukraine money laundering scheme so the non-elitist peasants around the world are held captive to/for their greed.

Russia and China showcased their deepening ties Wednesday in a series of meetings closely watched for signs that Beijing might offer the Kremlin stronger support for its war in Ukraine.

The visit by Wang Yi, the Chinese Communist Party’s most senior foreign policy official, to Moscow comes as the conflict in Ukraine continues to upend the global diplomatic order.- San Diego Times

America, the next South Africa as planned by CHYNA and executed by Dims. California is just about there and Gruesome is the next frontrunner for 2024. Sure, why not, anything but America First…

The meltdown in South Africa isn’t a natural disaster or a random fluke. It’s a choice. South Africa was the first modern nation to be refounded on the anti-white principles of critical race theory, and now it is reaping the whirlwind of that choice.

South Africa did everything that is being done in America right now. As a hyperdiverse multiethnic, multilingual society, South Africa has followed almost every prescription embraced by the globalist ruling class.

Despite being the “economic superpower” of Sub-Saharan Africa, South Africa’s brain drain is significant and accelerating. Those who have options are abandoning the country. More than four percent of all deaths are murders, and the murder rate is somehow still rising; last year it rose by 8.4 percent. But it’s not just about day-to-day violence. It’s the expectation for what is to come.

South Africa’s dominant African National Congress party is corrupt and ineffective, but its most dangerous rival is one of the most radical political parties to enjoy representation on Earth. The Economic Freedom Fighters vow to seize white-owned land (without payment), nationalize the banking and mining sectors, and double welfare payments.

But EFF isn’t a radical outlier in South African politics. It’s the natural endgame for the country’s post-apartheid ideology. For decades, the South African economy has been shaped by a policy known as Broad Based Black Economic Employment. Despite its name, there is nothing “based” about BBBEE. Instead, the policy uses the same tactics to achieve “equity” that activists in the United States are demanding.

BBBEE relies openly and explicitly on injecting racial preferences throughout the economy. Companies receive a BBBEE scorecard based on hiring black workers, elevating black management, and giving black South Africans a share of ownership. Companies with high BBBEE scores are given favorable tax treatment and preferences in government contracts. Corporate actors are strongly incentivized to give contracts to high BBBEE scorers as well.

The results are predictable.

The Guptas = The Bidens

As the country has broken down, race hate against white people isn’t used to reduce inequality but to increase it — much like in America. One of South Africa’s richest families is the Gupta family; Indian immigrants who arrived in 1993 to profit off the end of apartheid. The Guptas soon built a close relationship with the now-jailed Jacob Zuma. When Zuma became president, his actions benefited the Guptas to such a degree that it constituted state capture.

The Guptas owned a portfolio of companies that enjoyed lucrative contracts with South African government departments and state-owned conglomerates. They also employed several Zuma family members — including the president’s son, Duduzane — in senior positions. Sound familiar? Hunter, Jimbo, the Big Guy

According to testimony heard at the inquiry, the Guptas went to great lengths to influence their most important client, the South African state.

Public officials responsible for various state bodies say they were directly instructed by the Guptas to take decisions that would advance the brothers’ business interests. hmmm, sounds just like Ukraine and the Bidens.

It is alleged that compliance was rewarded with money and promotion, while disobedience was punished with dismissal.

Wow, Joek and the dims are following the Gupta playbook:

Crucially, when political heat was directed toward the Gupta family, they knew exactly how to fight back: Point the finger at society’s most acceptable target, white people. The Guptas employed a British PR firm to argue that South Africa’s problem wasn’t a corrupt family dynasty, but the white race hoarding resources from everyone else:

According to an investigation by the Sunday Times last month, Bell Pottinger took on the Gupta family as clients in 2016 to try to improve their image, and the chosen strategy was to target white business leaders as a distraction from serious allegations of state capture.

One of the strategies was apparently to drive a predominantly social media narrative that “white monopoly capital”, the SA Communist Party and National Treasury have been standing in the way of transforming the South African economy.

The phrase “white monopoly capital” has, over past months, become a major feature of mainstream political discourse, with even President Jacob Zuma using it.

The Bell Pottinger plan reportedly involved using, among other things, Twitter bots involved in a fake news campaign to support messages critical of white monopoly capital and be defensive of the Guptas.

Bury your heads dims, the similarities are too striking to deny:

But as South Africa’s CRT-driven economic policies break down, the country is likely to only get more radical. Much of South Africa has fully embraced the ideology of American critical race theory darling Ibram X. Kendi, which holds that if outcomes differ between two racial groups, the only possible cause is racism, and the only possible remedy is direct intervention to correct the “injustice.” The disastrous example of Zimbabwe barely matters.

As South African society frays apart, the always-dangerous country is returning to the levels of violence seen at the end of apartheid, when onlookers feared full-blown genocide was imminent. It’s not from lack of police. South Africa has one police officer for every four hundred people, a substantially higher figure than the United States. But the police are borderline useless at actually protecting the nation’s law-abiding citizens, who are forced to rely on private security or their own devices in order to keep themselves safe.

From the late 90s onwards, in the name of hitting diversity quotas, South Africa’s police adopted a “fast-track” promotion strategy while also gutting training requirements for new recruits. Senior police leadership became political appointees selected for loyalty rather than competence. The end result is a shoddy police force that kills people with hammers for violating COVID-19 lockdowns but abandons the population in the face of lethal riots.

..and the bleak predictable ending for America:

Nobody wanted South Africa to fail. It would have been nice if the hamhanded affirmative action and redistribution policies of the “Rainbow Nation” had quickly created a successful, wealthy, safe multiracial democracy. But they did not, because those policies are fundamentally not based in reality. A nation cannot raise up the weak by tearing down and ruining the strong. It does not become prosperous by despoiling the rich to simply hand their wealth to the poor (or by extorting them to give politicians a cut). It cannot achieve peace by letting the mob rampage, loot, burn, and kill at will.

For three decades, South Africa has avoided the calamitous implosion suffered by Zimbabwe. But because it has accepted the same basic assumptions about reality, it will soon suffer the same fate. And if America continues down the same path, the path demanded by anti-white doctrines such as Critical Race Theory and other identity politics hustlers, it too will collapse in turn. – Revolver News

Biden will kowtow to the Chinese, of that I’m sure. He won’t make them too mad because they own him and his family.