Greatest Threat To Global Peace?

Responses to Facebook chats.

IN a WIN/Gallup poll in 2014, a survey conducted in 65 countries involving 66,000 responders, under a quarter named the U.S. as the greatest threat to global peace. A distant second was Pakistan at 8 percent; China, 6 percent. Tied at 4 percent were Iran and Israel. Years before that, in 2006 study by Pew, the U.S. was #1 greatest threat. 

       Yup, I don't think that ever changed. But today's poll that says Donald Trump is the greatest threat, I believe, is more Western (liberal) media manipulation. Why is that? It's because Mr Trump, it seems, has a different foreign policy playbook than other Potuses. He prefers to employ a relatively dovish agenda and dislikes the U.S. as top donor to NATO funding. He is "friendlier" to Russia, the West's traditional global narcissism rival. 

       Friendship with perceived U.S./European enemies is how the media define threat to peace, which baffles me. Threat to global "domination" via trade is not really about the military as the narrative says. Reason why Joe Biden vehemently, enthusiastically goaded China to a war in South China Sea (by way of Taiwan) which of course didn't work. Sorry, the CCP isn't MMA crazy. 

       China's trade expansionism via its ambitious BRI project threatens the West's global economic rule for centuries until the 21st century. But The D is fighting China via trade (tariffs) which I expect would lead to his second trade pact with Xi Jinping. Of course, China is not dumb (as Russia isn't dumb although Kremlin's hardcores can never be cowed as do the U.S. hawks). So China will respond but who knows how but all in trade. 

      Meanwhile, check the expansion of the BRICS trade bloc and RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) in Asia Pacific etcetera. Meanwhile, before the revered historian Howard Zinn died in 2010, he predicted a huge divide in the U.S. that could rival the Civil War years. Repeat: 2010, we didn't even know Donald would run for the GOP primary at that time. He was all Apprentice shit. But yes Donald Trump is this side of America's greatest alibi for anything bad about America. Convenient. A loud excuse for America's guilt? ☮️☮️☮️

War and Stuff and POTUS Policies.

Responses to Facebook chats.

<>BILL CLINTON. President Clinton and NATO and the Kosovo War. That is a huge discussion. After 1991 and the end of the Warsaw Pact (and Cold War sort of), NATO would have at least stayed cool. Nope. So the Slovenian War and Bosnian War (and Kosovo War) were "rationales" for NATO expansion. Pissed Russia off, of course. On the trade angle, Bill's trade pact with Jiang Zemin in 2000 is another huge discussion. The following year, China joined the WTO as a privileged member or Most Favored Nation (MFN). Next is history, such as China's unflagging trade expansionism. 🏛🗽☮️

<>BARACK OBAMA. President Obama and prolonged or heightened the Afghanistan War. He could have stopped this war from surpassing the Vietnam crisis as America's longest war but he didn't. In his first term, he increased U.S. military presence there but he withdrew 8,400 (from 98,000) in his second term. 

       To his credit, Mr Obama presided over a mission to take out Osama bin Laden in 2011. Yet he also helped install the U.S.-educated Ashraf Ghani as president, which only infuriated the Taliban. Development projects in the countryside didn't really work because the people out there rejected them or didn't really mostly participate.

       Lots to talk about the Afghanistan story. Budget or expenditures etcetera. You may google numbers.

       Meanwhile, before Barack left office in 2016, he enhanced arms aid to Israel via a 10-year $38 billion military aid package in September of that year (which would expire next year). 🏛🗽☮️

<>JOE BIDEN. Two weeks following November 2020, as President Biden exalted his election win, China gathered 14 Asia Pacific economies to form the largest trade pact in history, the RCEP. China meanwhile solidified its trade partnership with Taiwan (think Foxconn and TSMC's silicon supply). 

       So all the war-mongering that Mr Biden did per South China Sea via Taiwan didn't work. President Trump is doing it via tariffs but the Chinese are not dumb; the CCP's trade leverage has exponentially strengthened since 2001. 

       Meanwhile, the U.S. still gotta sell arms in Asia because the Arab League, especially Saudi Arabia, ain't cool with "arms for oil" anymore. Well, unless wars continue, policies may change? Hawks will not allow peace in the desert, obviously. 

       Iran is a key but per recent news, the Supreme Leader is pissed with Mr Trump's “dares.” Still, Tehran's new moderate leadership doesn't want more war or China will stop buying Iran's oil (if the Strait of Hormuz becomes a bottleneck). Etc etcetera. ☮️☮️☮️

FB Friend: I’m tired of this horror movie we’re trapped in the middle of.

Me: Imagine, those who are ACTUALLY in these/those horror for real--while we (only) watch the movie.

Who Rules America? / More Migrant Talk.

Responses to Facebook chats.

Who Rules America?

Who rules: The 1 Percent. The current eerie divide is basically caused by both sides' corporate powers. Divide and rule. Only, they gotta decide between themselves who'd gain more profit traction by way of partisanship politics. Their zealots are pretty much what they are. Partisan zealots.

       The (New) Left favors a hawkish playbook, and uses its military brawn the traditional way: Proxy wars, "arms for oil," and the likes. The other, a dovish playbook, which puts more premium on trade wars (tariff gambits) or economic negotiations. The common denomination is–military brinkmanship stays. Up front or in the background.

       Whatever the case, Washington's military spending stays exponentially spiking. America is culturally obsessed with weaponry as proof of power, whether they use them or not. (So far, hawks are winning over Trump's doves. Or we don't really know the actual composition of Mr Trump's crew, dovish or hawkish.) 💻✍️📲

More Migrant Talk.

<>Due to record number of border crossings (from 2021 to 2024), the U.S. asylum fiscal management is now bankrupt. Cities that house them are facing budget problems and their constituents, jittery. But those who were removed or deported were mostly facing criminal cases hence they were directly sent to prisons in their country of origin. 

       The U.S. helps these countries with the surge of new inmates. I guess, they pretty much dealt with basic accounting per U.S. taxpayer money. Feed them in U.S.prisons or feed them in El Salvador etc prisons. Which is more expensive? I give them the benefit of the doubt. (Hint: President Trump is massively cost-cutting.)

<>The thinking that the U.S. is helping undocumented migrants (or helping Americans) by having them pick veggies and fruits for us is a bit flawed. Farms and factories actually exploit or abuse these migrant workers by paying them $2/hr (no benefits and insurance etc) and house them in trailers like 12 in a 4 room trailer. Some are minors, too. Food is rationed. 

       Meanwhile, those who are left wandering about, figure that one out. When calamities happen, they are not counted of course. Anyhow there are still many who are in DOJ housing, foster homes, churches and NGO-provided facilities with paralegal aid, awaiting asylum but these numbers have overflowed years ago. Bottomline, the U.S. needs to process their papers before accepting more applications. No brainer. 💻✍️📲