World Politics

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Nodack
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World Politics

Post by Nodack »

I wanted a place to talk world politics. We do talk about them in individual threads but, this could be a place to generally talk about political events on the world stage as in right now the posturing going on between US/NATO and Russia. The US and NATO are conducting drills right now and Russia is complaining about it and threatening retaliation. All this just a couple of weeks before Biden and Putin’s summit next week. I think it’s mostly posturing, especially by Putin, who has to keep his country thinking it’s on the brink of war between the US at all times to stay in power imo. Both sides having a pre pissing match.

I suppose after Trump bailed on the world and basically pulled out of every deal we had with anyone, that Biden and NATO are announcing to Putin and whoever that Trump is gone and the US and NATO are militarily one and the same when it comes to what we defend, as in Russia deciding to take another bite out of the Ukraine and wondering what the US/NATO will do about it.

Showdown: U.S., NATO wage war games in Europe; Russia to send troops west
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/20 ... -troops-w/
The U.S. and its NATO allies on Monday conducted a set of major war games across Europe, while Russia responded by announcing plans to send at least 20 new military units to its western border.

“NATO is there to defend all our allies, and this exercise sends a message about our ability to transport a large number of troops, equipment across the Atlantic, across Europe and also to project maritime power,”

Meanwhile, Pentagon officials on Monday announced Operation Allied Sky, which will see U.S. and NATO fighter aircraft fly over all 30 NATO nations on Monday.

Kremlin officials said Russia will establish “20 new military units and formations” in the country’s western districts, near its borders with NATO nations.

The military tensions are sure to be another item on a packed agenda for the June 16 meeting between Mr. Biden and Mr. Putin.

Mr. Biden is expected to confront Mr. Putin over election interference in 2016 and 2020, the SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline cyberattacks that have been linked to Russia, the poisoning and detention of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and a host of other issues.


Russia says it is ready to use force to stop 'unfriendly' foreign action
https://news.trust.org/item/20210531130429-gzqs
MOSCOW, May 31 (Reuters) - A senior Russian security official said on Monday Moscow would be ready to use force to stop what he described as "unfriendly" actions by other countries, the Interfax news agency reported.

You are going to start a war because of unfriendly actions Putin? Attacking the Ukraine isn’t unfriendly? Attacking our elections isn’t very friendly. The hackers that shut down our pipeline were Russians. Very unfriendly

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In2ition
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Re: World Politics

Post by In2ition »

This interview is a bit scary about China and Russia and what is happening right now.
JR Nyquist interview: China planning to launch attack on America "in a matter of months"
https://www.brighteon.com/56efa647-c0a5 ... 7199225c4a
"When we all think alike, nobody is thinking" - Walter Lippmann
"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." ~ Frederick Douglass

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virtual9mm
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Re: World Politics

Post by virtual9mm »

Been meaning to reply to this thread, 'dack, sorry about the delay.

The world is turning into two superpowers, the US and China, with some powers clearly aligned with the US (the Five Eyes: UK, Aus, NZ, Canada), others aligned with the US but carefully hedging their bets (Germany, Japan, perhaps India and Korea, likely Vietnam as well), still others looking for opportunities to play off China and the US for gain and profit (Singapore, Indonesia, Italy, most of Southern Europe), others aligned with China but carefully hedging their bets (Malaysia), and some clearly aligned with China (Russia).

Everyone I have talked to (credible experts in academia, business, or diplomacy) thinks that we in the US are getting our collective asses kicked by China. The one person who disagreed is a senior official in the US government involved with diplomacy, who was a senior official across the Obama, Trump, and now Biden administrations. I suspect that he already knew all the stuff that the G7 announced. In previous years, we might have talked about it -- but in Hong Kong today, it's better that I know as little as possible.

In2 -- nobody in their right minds talks about a Chinese invasion of the US. There might be some wargaming scenarios deep in a Pentagon vault somewhere, next to scenarios about alien invasions and the Brits nuking New York State in retaliation for the War of 1812.

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In2ition
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Re: World Politics

Post by In2ition »

v9mm -- If the Pentagon isn't actively vigilant towards this, it would be a colossal mistake, imo.
1. We know that the CCP have a lot of troops in Canada training.
2. We know that the CCP have bases of operation in Mexico with cooperation of Mexico and the Cartels(who they supply fentanyl for)
3. We know from recent defector Dong Jingwei - Head of Counterintelligence for Chinese Ministry of Security also served as Vice Minister for State Security of China, said that 1/3 of all Chinese students in the US are Chinese Spies/CCP Military.
4. We know that the CCP has smuggled large amounts of weapons and uniforms into the US and have them placed all over.
5. We know that the CCP has purchased large amounts of farm land near military bases in the US and TX specifically.
6. We know that the CCP has the largest Navy in the world.
7. We suspect that the CCP have placed militarized shipping containers all over the US.

As far as alien invasions, I have no idea, and that feels more like a False Flag, as they are trying to drip out that information. John Podesta was even asking that Biden release the Alien declassified information this morning. I'm not so worried about alien invasions.
"When we all think alike, nobody is thinking" - Walter Lippmann
"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." ~ Frederick Douglass

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Nodack
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Re: World Politics

Post by Nodack »

How do “we know” all of that?

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Nodack
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Re: World Politics

Post by Nodack »

I read where Russia is playing war games with their naval fleet 30 miles off the coast of Hawaii where they were practicing sinking an aircraft carrier.

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In2ition
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Re: World Politics

Post by In2ition »

All these things have been reported and I thought were common knowledge.
"When we all think alike, nobody is thinking" - Walter Lippmann
"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." ~ Frederick Douglass

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virtual9mm
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Re: World Politics

Post by virtual9mm »

In2ition wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 10:15 am
v9mm -- If the Pentagon isn't actively vigilant towards this, it would be a colossal mistake, imo.
1. We know that the CCP have a lot of troops in Canada training.
2. We know that the CCP have bases of operation in Mexico with cooperation of Mexico and the Cartels(who they supply fentanyl for)
3. We know from recent defector Dong Jingwei - Head of Counterintelligence for Chinese Ministry of Security also served as Vice Minister for State Security of China, said that 1/3 of all Chinese students in the US are Chinese Spies/CCP Military.
4. We know that the CCP has smuggled large amounts of weapons and uniforms into the US and have them placed all over.
5. We know that the CCP has purchased large amounts of farm land near military bases in the US and TX specifically.
6. We know that the CCP has the largest Navy in the world.
7. We suspect that the CCP have placed militarized shipping containers all over the US.

As far as alien invasions, I have no idea, and that feels more like a False Flag, as they are trying to drip out that information. John Podesta was even asking that Biden release the Alien declassified information this morning. I'm not so worried about alien invasions.
Most of this is just unsubstantiated garbage and I won't be replying to any more posts of this nature.

This does remind me of a story from my graduate student days at a well-known university in California. I was friends with two fellow students -- a WASP from Chicago and a Chinese student from Ningpo. My friend from Chicago was convinced that my friend from Ningpo was a Chinese spy. My friend from Ningpo was convinced that my friend from Chicago was an American spy keeping an eye on the Chinese.

I'm convinced that neither was true. Although my friend from Chicago DID spend some time working for the DIA. And I'm convinced that there was a third friend who had spent time as a spy prior to graduate school. But such are the figments of peoples' imaginations that turn into witch hunts.

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In2ition
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Re: World Politics

Post by In2ition »

Nearly everything we read is unsubstantiated with eyes on first hand knowledge. Would I look at Chinese students with a suspicion of them being a spy? No, I don't think that's helpful and sounds like the former Soviet Union. When I went to school, way back in the past, with a number of Chinese exchange students. They were all great, and that thought never passed my mind.

Obviously, you can think whatever you want and respond to whatever you want. Here are a few links of infiltration I've found:
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/investigatio ... l/2648940/
https://nypost.com/2020/12/08/suspected ... ns-report/
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-ne ... Z2PLI.html
https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/ ... francisco/
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diploma ... e-possible
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/29/us/p ... onage.html
https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-medi ... louisville
https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/24/us/chine ... index.html
https://www.masslive.com/news/2020/09/i ... eized.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/those-c ... too-2015-6
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/two-chin ... -intrusion
https://www.wired.com/story/doj-indictm ... ers-apt10/
https://www.zdnet.com/article/us-charge ... oup-apt41/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/pol ... 711796002/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fed ... ities-say/
https://health.economictimes.indiatimes ... e/74725984
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_M._Lieber
https://www.irs.gov/compliance/criminal ... rant-fraud
https://foxsanantonio.com/news/yami-inv ... -said-hurd
https://www.theepochtimes.com/chinese-i ... 13661.html
https://thenationalpulse.com/exclusive/ ... ropaganda/

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news ... amps-61479



https://thefederalist.com/2021/05/24/ch ... ng-europe/

https://trendingpolitics.com/massive-ch ... arch-knab/
https://www.brighteon.com/56efa647-c0a5 ... 7199225c4a
"When we all think alike, nobody is thinking" - Walter Lippmann
"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." ~ Frederick Douglass

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virtual9mm
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Re: World Politics

Post by virtual9mm »

Nobody is arguing that there isn't some kind of infiltration going on, with the main vehicle being the United Front. And I have given lectures in the US with observers from the Chinese consulate in presence taking notes. And a lot of Chinese students are patriotic in the same sense that many American students would be, if their governments asked for info on what they had heard, they would probably pass it along.

And most certainly, there are crimes against humanity going down in Xinjiang.

But let's not get crazy with hysterical ideas of a Chinese invasion You might get an invasion of Taiwan but if you are thinking that the Chinese could invade California, you have been watching too much Red Dawn.

And forget the hysteria about the Chinese navy (PLAN) being bigger than the USN. This is true if you count by the number of ships. But the PLAN has far more small patrol boats while the USN has bigger and more powerful blue water ships. Where the Chinese have a huge edge is in intermediate range carrier killer missiles. But just like the USN cannot win inside the first Island chain, the PLAN cannot win beyond missile range. This will be true for the next decade.

But the Chinese economy is already larger in many ways, and the Chinese can build DDGs (guided missile destroyers) at 1/4th the cost that we can. The only other that can nearly match these low costs is South Korea. We need some kind of deal to source cheap DDGs from Korea while keeping our own shipyards busy with the next generation of cruisers and such.

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Nodack
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Re: World Politics

Post by Nodack »

I don’t fear China invading anytime soon. My biggest fear with them is their economic dominance over America. They make everything and we buy it, which finances their growth. We are paying for their economic and military expansion. Say what you want about Democracy versus Communism. Right now China’s leadership is doing whatever they want whenever they want. Building cities, infrastructure, military. They built a massive hydroelectric dam. They are investing heavily into wind, solar. Sure they have a huge pollution problem. They are doing something about it.

Meanwhile in the US it’s a total shit show joke. Our government is pretty much non functional. Half the country still thinks Trump is President and Dems leaders are all part of a devil worshipping pedophile ring selling children out of a pizza shop. Our infrastructure is in dire need of help. Our health care system is still messed up. Our deficit is off the charts and there isn’t anything that is going to get passed by Congress. Americans on both sides of the isle wonder who Congressmen really work for.

It’s just so sad. A Chinese invasion? Maybe after the US collapses from the civil war and becomes so weak that they just walk in because we were such idiots. I really don’t see a way out of this. It seems very clear to me that it’s inevitable China overtakes the US as the premier Super Power.

“United We Stand” - “Divided We Fall”

We chose to fall.

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Mori Chu
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Re: World Politics

Post by Mori Chu »

Republicans do love their conspiracy theories.

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In2ition
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Re: World Politics

Post by In2ition »

Yes, building up the Chinese economy worked well in the short term, but didn't do well moving them out of the CCP. It hurt the US economy in the long term, as the manufacturing infrastructure in the states practically disappeared. The US is nearly entirely dependent on foreign entities for pharmaceuticals and many other vital products.

If the CCP and the Russians were working in cooperation as a long play attack to bring down the US, you would certainly do many of the things suggested. It would have to be an enormously large task and plan that would take decades to a point where they could feel confident in it's success.
"When we all think alike, nobody is thinking" - Walter Lippmann
"Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have the exact measure of the injustice and wrong which will be imposed on them." ~ Frederick Douglass

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virtual9mm
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Re: World Politics

Post by virtual9mm »

Nodack wrote:
Tue Jun 22, 2021 1:59 pm
I don’t fear China invading anytime soon. My biggest fear with them is their economic dominance over America. They make everything and we buy it, which finances their growth. We are paying for their economic and military expansion. Say what you want about Democracy versus Communism. Right now China’s leadership is doing whatever they want whenever they want. Building cities, infrastructure, military. They built a massive hydroelectric dam. They are investing heavily into wind, solar. Sure they have a huge pollution problem. They are doing something about it.

Meanwhile in the US it’s a total shit show joke. Our government is pretty much non functional. Half the country still thinks Trump is President and Dems leaders are all part of a devil worshipping pedophile ring selling children out of a pizza shop. Our infrastructure is in dire need of help. Our health care system is still messed up. Our deficit is off the charts and there isn’t anything that is going to get passed by Congress. Americans on both sides of the isle wonder who Congressmen really work for.

It’s just so sad. A Chinese invasion? Maybe after the US collapses from the civil war and becomes so weak that they just walk in because we were such idiots. I really don’t see a way out of this. It seems very clear to me that it’s inevitable China overtakes the US as the premier Super Power.

“United We Stand” - “Divided We Fall”

We chose to fall.
Well said.

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Nodack
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Re: World Politics

Post by Nodack »

China, Russia and even Iran have conducted military exercises in response to the US/NATO. I wonder if they have cute name to go along with it. I cannot fathom China and Russia declaring war on the US. I can certainly fathom them rattling swords and projecting their military power. We do it as much as they do. Russia is practicing sinking US aircraft carriers 30 miles off Hawaii. The US and UK just ran joint exercises where US Raptor fighter jets and UK fighters all shared the same UK aircraft carrier for their war games. War games after war games. It’s constantly going on. If it ever came to actual blows, I can’t imagine a world war staying non nuclear. Someone would lose and not want to surrender choosing the nuke route, which is the end of all civilization. Who wins that war? No one. Guaranteed mutual destruction.

I know all sides continue to advance their weaponry and defenses trying to keep up with the Joneses. That will probably never end. The world is always a dangerous place.

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Nodack
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Re: World Politics

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Northrop CEO: To beat China, US must step up investments in advanced computing
https://www.defensenews.com/artificial- ... computing/
China has not yet caught up with the United States in most areas of advanced military technology, and the U.S. industrial base is well positioned to retain its edge, said Northrop CEO Kathy Warden, speaking during an event hosted by the Council on Foreign Relations. But one sector that is “particularly problematic” is China’s growth in advanced computing, including in the development of artificial intelligence and applications used to process and interpret large amounts of data.

“If there were an area I would point to where that capability has shrunk to an alarming state, that would be the one that I would highlight,” Warden said. “It’s not an area that the U.S. has been investing significantly in in previous years.”

There are signs that might be changing under the Biden administration, she said.

The Pentagon boosted funding in its fiscal 2022 budget request for a variety of areas closely related to advanced computing. It aims to spent $2.3 billion on microelectronics, $398 million for 5G network capability and $874 million on artificial intelligence.

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Indy
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Re: World Politics

Post by Indy »

Sounds like Northrop wants us to pay them another $100B.

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Nodack
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Re: World Politics

Post by Nodack »

I’m sure they always want another contract. I am not in a position to say if what he says is true or not. I don’t know if Northrop is lobbying for another job or not. Would they be the ones to advance our computer capabilities? They seem to do all kinds of things. You are probably right.

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virtual9mm
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Re: World Politics

Post by virtual9mm »

What does Northrop know about computing? It really should be a consortium of Google, Amazon, and Stanford/MIT with backing from In-Q-Tel (the CIA's VC).

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Nodack
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Re: World Politics

Post by Nodack »

That sounds more realistic.

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