I mentioned last week that the brouhaha over President Trump increasing tariffs on Chinese goods was exactly that – a brouhaha, not a real issue. However, we’re still seeing alarmist articles in the mainstream media almost every day suggesting they’ll precipitate a recession, throw the USA into economic doom and gloom, and so on. MarketWatch… Continue reading Follow the money, and all becomes clear
Tag: Geopolitics
The not-so-scary reality of President Trump’s tariffs against China
Corporate agriculture has been ringing alarm bells about President Trump’s latest tariff increases against Chinese products, because retaliatory tariffs threaten their exports to that country. Karl Denninger – no fan of the President – brings the smackdown against such scare tactics. So over the first seven months [of tariffs] we’ve collected $41 billion and change… Continue reading The not-so-scary reality of President Trump’s tariffs against China
Why African migrants will flood the world over the next half-century
CDR Salamander has an interesting series of charts about Africa at his blog. They’re all factual, and I’ll leave you to read about them for yourself. I’d like to highlight this one in particular. (Click the image for a larger view.) The reasons for Africa’s pyramid-like population distribution and youthful population explosion are many, including… Continue reading Why African migrants will flood the world over the next half-century
“After Empire” – a doctor reflects on Rhodesia and Africa
Following my series of three articles on Africa last week: Rhodesia and white supremacists Revisiting the Rhodesian War What to do about Africa? I thought it might be useful to provide some additional perspective. Theodore Dalrymple (a pseudonym) is a British doctor who’s traveled extensively in Africa, and (to my mind) understands African culture very… Continue reading “After Empire” – a doctor reflects on Rhodesia and Africa
What to do about Africa?
Following my article a few days ago about Rhodesia and white supremacists, I received this e-mail from a reader. Feel free to publish my comment, if you like — but please do not publish my name. I think that it is clear from your writings that you oppose the Apartheid approach to the ordering of… Continue reading What to do about Africa?
IQ, countries, and coping skills
Readers who’ve been following my series of articles on the current Ebola crisis in Congo will recall that one of the biggest problems is cultural blindness to the seriousness of the problem. This article sums up the local cultural approach. The root of the problem is, one’s dealing with a very low local level of… Continue reading IQ, countries, and coping skills
Challenging conventional wisdom about Special Forces
I’m very interested to see the debate currently going on in the US Marine Corps about its Special Forces component (MARSOC), their contribution to SOCOM, and the mission and future of the Corps itself. Military.com reports: Dakota Wood, who worked as a strategist at Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command from 2012-2013, released a 60-page… Continue reading Challenging conventional wisdom about Special Forces
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”
That well-known quotation from L. P. Hartley‘s well-known novel, “The Go-Between“, sums up the current dispute between Spain and Mexico. Spain’s government has refused a demand from Mexico’s new president that it apologise for conquering the country five hundred years ago. Firing the first shots in what threatens to become a diplomatic row, the Left-wing… Continue reading “The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there”
Russia continues Soviet disinformation tactics
I’ve noticed something of a blitz of pro-Russian propaganda, particularly in the military technology sphere, over the past couple of years. It’s gotten so bad that some outlets (yes, I’m looking at you, Zero Hedge) run pro-Russia articles almost daily, trying to portray that country as a neglected superpower that can still make a lot… Continue reading Russia continues Soviet disinformation tactics
China: worrying signs
China’s economy is now regarded as the largest in the world, by most normal standards of measurements. Many – in some economic sectors, most – of the consumer goods sold in Europe and the USA are sourced from Chinese factories. Any impact on the Chinese economy would undoubtedly have a ripple effect in our own… Continue reading China: worrying signs