Sometimes The Double Standard Is Amazing

Last week, President Trump made a speech about Chinese interference in the 2020 election and provided links to the evidence. Two networks refused to air the speech and one network only aired the criticism. It was as if it was no big deal to have another country interfere in our elections. The mainstream media worked hard to play down the importance of the interference. Just for the record, it wasn’t always this way.

On Monday, Just the News reported:

When the Biden Justice Department announced that Chinese hackers had gotten their hands on Great Britain’s publicly available voter files in 2024, American news media clamored with stories claiming it was a “dangerous” breach. The same, too, when U.S. officials announced Russia and Iran had hacked small numbers of U.S. voter files in 2020 and 2021.

The reason was simple: U.S. intelligence agencies believe the targeting and acquisition of voter registration files is an act of election interference. “Election interference is a subset of election influence targeted at the technical aspects of the election, including voter registration, casting and counting of ballots and reporting of results,” an October 2020 National intelligence Council report on election interference explains.

In other words, the compromising of election voter registration data, is, by the definition of intelligence agencies, an act of election interference.

When President Donald Trump presented confirmed evidence last Thursday night that China had compromised and obtained 220 million American voter registration files, the news media swung 180 degrees in the opposite direction. They argued it was old news (it was not) and not a big deal because you can buy limited data in America related to voter registration commercially. According to security experts, that limited data accessibility is not the same thing.

…In 2021, the Biden Justice Department indicted two Iranian hackers for accessing just 100,000 voter files from a single state where it is also commercially available. They were charged with criminally interfering in the 2020 election even though voter files are commercially available in limited form.

Hopefully the people who actually see the double standard outnumber the people who still either have their eyes closed or suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome.

Will The Facts Matter?

Last night President Trump gave a speech about the problem of election fraud in America. Many of us who follow the non-mainstream media were familiar with most of the examples he cited about election fraud.

This is the chart of which networks carried the speech:

Somehow I don’t trust CBS’s fact-checking.

On Thursday, Just the News posted an article about the dangers of China hacking into our voter data base.

The article notes:

President Donald Trump announced in a speech on Thursday that China has compromised more than 200 million voter registration entries affecting 18 states, citing newly declassified U.S. Intelligence Community records compiled by the Government Transparency Task Force created in May. 

The findings triggered a review by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) of voter registration systems. In that review, the agencies outlined exactly how this exposed data could be exploited. 

The report warned that foreign countries, specifically China and Russia, have consistently targeted these state voter registration databases over the last decade.

“The impact of the breaches is not limited to ‘undermining confidence’ or ‘spreading false claims’ but the data itself could be used months or years after the breach to alter voter registration information,” the agencies wrote. “​​The real threat is what can be done with the stolen data.”

On Thursday, Townhall also posted an article detailing some of the information in the newly declassified documents. I strongly suggest following the link to read the documents.

The most disturbing thing to me is that the information about the data breach and possible fraudulent activities by China was left out of the daily Presidential briefing by people who decided their decisions on national security issues were more important than those of a duly-elected President.

People who dislike the President will ignore this information. The only way that exposing this fraud will be useful is if the people responsible for the fraud and the people responsible for keeping the information from the President go to jail.

Less Than

As people, it is very easy to fall into the trap of ‘less than.’ No matter how poor you are, you can always find someone poorer. No matter how little education you have, you can always find someone with less. The problem comes when you begin to see someone with a different education,  economic level, or different set of beliefs as ‘less than.’ It’s easy to overvalue yourself and consider others as somehow inferior.  Slavery is an example of the outcome of a ‘less than’ mentality. Slavery still exists in cultures with a ‘less than’ mentality. The atrocities committed by the Muslims against the Israelis on October 7th were the result of a ‘less than’ mentality. If you don’t see your fellow humans as having the same value you have, you have no problem mistreating them or doing horrific things to them. That is one of the concerning things about the number of Islamists that have come into America in recent years. In Islam, infidels (anyone who is not Muslim) are ‘less than.’ Infidel women can be sexually assaulted, people can be made slaves, and people can be killed for being infidels. The concept of ‘less than’ is also relevant to our relationship with China.

Tyrannical governments sometimes encourage the ‘less than’ mentality. When people are taught to look at certain groups as ‘less than,’ they can be trained not to care what happens to the people in those groups. We saw that principle in Nazi Germany. We are currently seeing that principle in China.

In China, first the Falun Gong and then the Uyghurs began to be considered ‘less than’ by the Chinese government and eventually the Chinese people. People who practiced Falun Gong or were Uyghurs were put in prisons. According to author Jan Jekielek in his book KILLED TO ORDER, published this year, many of those prisoners are used as involuntary organ donors. The fees charged to the recipients of these organs are paying for China’s healthcare program. A cornea transplant costs about $30,000 and a liver-kidney transplant costs about $180,000. The book gives one example of a person waiting for a heart transplant (years of waiting in America because of the unique circumstances of obtaining a donated heart) who was able to get a heart transplant in China in two weeks. Because the person was more focused on getting a new heart than the details, he did not totally research the procedure beforehand. I can’t imagine how he felt when he realized how the heart was obtained. Many of the people receiving the organs are told that the organs come from prisoners who have received the death penalty. The numbers do not bear that out. THE SLAUGHTER written by Ethan Gutmann after interviews with refugees, medical staff, and officials, estimates 65,000 deaths of Falun Gong members for organ transplants between 2000 and 2008.

Israel has blocked its medical insurance programs from funding Chinese organ transplants for Israelis. I think America needs to block American health insurance companies from paying for Chinese organ transplants.

In March 2025, H.R.2114 – Block Organ Transplant Purchases from China Act of 2025 was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. It was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. It has been there ever since. This is one bill that I think all Americans could probably agree on—harvesting organs from live humans is barbaric.

Where are the Human Rights Commissions of the United Nations and the World Court on this matter? Where is the World Health Organization? Why is H.R. 2114 still in committee after more than a year?

The only way to put these barbarians out of business is for every country in the world to ban their citizens from receiving organ transplants in China. Otherwise, the practice will continue. This is worse than anything the Nazis in Germany ever imagined.

Most of the information for this article came from KILLED TO ORDER by Jan Jekielek.

In What World Is This Acceptable Behavior?

Mark 3:25 in the New King James Version says, “And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” Some of the people who work for the American government need to learn that principle.

On Tuesday, Just the News, reported the following:

Analysts inside the U.S. intelligence community sought to conceal evidence of Chinese influence efforts from President Donald Trump during the 2020 election, with analysts saying they didn’t want their intel used by “that vulgarian in the Oval Office” to pursue policies toward China they personally disagreed with.

The revelation is found within a January 2021 report written by — and never before reported upon comments by — analytic ombudsman Barry Zulauf, who conducted a review of the spy community’s handling of Russian versus Chinese meddling efforts during the 2020 election. Among his conclusions was that intelligence analysts downplayed China’s actions because they had disdain for the “vulgarian” Trump and did not want to support the policies and priorities of the Trump administration toward China with which they “personally disagree.”

Just the News reported this week that the U.S. intelligence community has known since early 2020 that Beijing also gained access to American voter registration data and used that information to conduct opinion analysis related to the presidential election between Trump and then-former Vice President Joe Biden.

That is totally unacceptable behavior. They were hired to do a job–inform the President of terrorist threats and activities–not to act on their own political views.

The article notes:

The Justice Department, FBI, DHS, and CISA put out a “joint report” in March 2021 which argued there was “no evidence that any foreign government-affiliated actor manipulated election results or otherwise compromised the integrity of the 2020 federal elections.”

The report downplayed or dismissed the impact that Chinese meddling may have had.

“We identified several incidents when Russian, Chinese, and Iranian government-affiliated actors materially impacted the security of networks associated with or pertaining to U.S. political organizations, candidates, and campaigns during 2020 federal elections,” the joint report said. “In most cases, the IC has assessed that it is unclear if those actors sought these accesses to inform broader foreign policy interests or election-specific operations. Several such actors gathered at least some information they could have released in influence operations, but ultimately we did not see any such materials deployed, modified, or destroyed.”

The people responsible for holding back the information should be fired and barred from ever working for the government again. I don’t know if any criminal charges would be applicable, but this is borderline treason.

The Global Impact Of The Iran War

According to brics.br:

The BRICS is a group formed by eleven countries: Brasil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Iran. It serves as a political and diplomatic coordination forum for countries from the Global South and for coordination in the most diverse areas.

Basically, this is Russia and China’s attempt to move oil trade away from the U.S. dollar, and some of our ‘friends’ are playing both sides. Well, the war on Iran has had a serious negative impact on BRICS.

On Tuesday, The Conservative Treehouse reported:

Consider the severe economic body blows to China in the past 14 months.

♦ First blow, the Trump tariffs hit Beijing hardest. ♦ Second blow, the Beijing tentacle on the Panama Canal is severed.  ♦ Third blow, global tariff threats changed the risk dynamic for southeast Asia countries who acted as transnational shippers for China. ♦ Fourth blow, cheap sanctioned oil from Venezuela was cut-off. ♦ Now, the fifth blow; cheap, sanctioned Iranian oil is disrupted.

As noted by Politico: Following USA military strikes, “ships have begun to avoid the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Iran — a critical shipping lane for Gulf nations to export oil to Asia. China in 2025 received about half of its imported oil from the six Gulf countries that rely on the strait. Other large crude oil producers in the region — including Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates — transport almost all their crude exports through the geographic bottleneck.

The article includes this chart from Politico:

The article notes:

With Iranian oil removed from the non-petro supply chain, the only remaining non-petro oil producer is Russia – who is simultaneously hit with a loss in military hardware support.  China may end up as a larger oil customer to Russia, but at what price and in what payment structure.

With global oil supplies in a state of flux, and with the USA in control of the oil flow from Venezuela, North America is certainly in the best position for minimal energy disruption.

Asia is heavily dependent on oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, and the majority of Europe has already shut themselves off from Russian oil production, putting themselves in a position of dependency to the global markets.  The short-term ramifications of this oil disruption hit China, Southeast Asia, Japan and Europe particularly hard.

“OPEC+ countries affirmed on Sunday that they would boost oil production starting in April by 206,000 barrels daily — a modest increase intended to dampen the war’s effect on prices down the road. The majority of the increase would come from Saudi Arabia and Russia.” {SOURCE}

As usual, President Trump is playing chess while much of the world is playing checkers.

Looking At The Big Picture

Despite what his enemies tell us, President Trump is a very smart man. The backing of the Israeli attack on Iran is a major step toward American national security because of its impact on China’s fuel supply. President Trump may have just prevented an Chinese attack on Taiwan.

On March 3, Red State reported:

President Donald Trump’s latest attack on Iran takes a big economic bite out of one of America’s chief rivals: China.

Over the span of two months, the Trump administration has removed the leaders of two countries that both shared China as their most important crude oil customer. Although China buys oil from nations all across the Middle East, Iran was second only to Saudi Arabia as its supplier last year, according to a POLITICO analysis of data provided by market research firm Kpler.

Almost all of Iran’s exported oil, and more than half of Venezuela’s, went last year to China, which remained one of the only purchasers of goods from the two heavily sanctioned nations. The two countries combined represented some 17 percent of China’s overall oil purchases — a meaningful share for the world’s largest importer of crude oil.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Saturday said it was “highly concerned” by the attacks on Iran and called for an end to the war. The squeeze on China’s energy supply also comes just weeks before Trump is slated to hold a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

…Iran has a single use beyond supplying cut-rate oil to China’s economy, that is to provide a distraction to the U.S. Iranian operations effectively handed us defeats in two wars. Iranian explosive-formed penetrators killed hundreds of American soldiers and Marines. Iran’s sponsorship of Lebanese Hezbollah and the Houthis has created conflict and disrupted international trade. In case of a real war, a nuclear-armed Iran could create a massive distraction to any U.S. effort in the Indo-Pacific and put the Suez Canal as well as Gulf oil fields at risk.

We are in the early stage of a rollback of Chinese influence. From an oil perspective, Venezuela and Iran account for 17 percent of China’s oil imports. Not much you say. Making up that oil volume at below-market rates is difficult. Add to that the fact that the supply of Russian oil smuggled by “dark fleet” tankers is also coming to an end. President Trump and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi have agreed that India will stop buying bootleg Russian oil. In fact, only three weeks ago, India seized a tanker carrying Russian oil; Indian Coast Guard Seizes Three Sanctioned ‘Dark Fleet’ Tankers Carrying Illegal Iranian Oil…to India – RedState. This has caused a significant disruption in the supply of Russian oil to China.

Please follow the link above to read the entire article. The implications of the fall of the current government of Iran are wide-ranging.

Getting Into The Weeds About The Tanker Seizure

This is a warning that the following information is definitely in the weeds. On Saturday, Zero Hedge posted an article about the taking of the Venezuelan tanker and the possible strategy behind it. It’s a long article. I suggest you follow the link and read the entire article. I will post some of the highlights. The taking of the tanker is another example of the ability of the Trump administration to wage economic war rather than kinetic war.

The article reports:

During President Trump’s first term, there was a brief moment in which the Maduro regime appeared close to being overthrown, but it was countered by support from Cuba. According to The New York Times reporters Michael Crowley and Edward Wong, that failure frustrated Trump, his advisers, and then Senator Rubio, who had backed regime change.

Their theory of change involves cutting off all support to Cuba,” said Juan S. Gonzalez, who was President Joe Biden’s top White House aide for Western Hemisphere affairs. “Under this approach, once Venezuela goes, Cuba will follow.”

In a separate NYT report, journalists Anatoly Kurmanaev, Nicholas Nehamas, and Farnaz Fassihi explained that the seized tanker Skipper, which was carrying crude contracted by Cubametales, Cuba’s state-run oil trading firm, is a critical part of how Cuba benefits from its oil trade with Venezuela.

The article quotes The New York Times:

Two days after its departure, Skipper offloaded a small fraction of its oil, an estimated 50,000 barrels, to another ship, called Neptune 6, which then headed north toward Cuba, according to the shipping data firm Kpler. After the transfer, Skipper headed east, toward Asia, with the vast majority of its oil on board, according to a U.S. official briefed on the matter.

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, have for decades sent oil to Cuba at highly subsidized prices, providing a crucial resource at low cost to the impoverished island.

In return, the Cuban government over the years has sent tens of thousands of medics, sports instructors, and, increasingly, security professionals on assignments to Venezuela. That exchange has assumed special importance as Mr. Maduro has leaned on Cuban bodyguards and counterintelligence officers to protect himself against the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean.

In recent years, however, only a fraction of Venezuelan oil set aside for Cuba has actually reached the island, according to PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela) documents and tanker tracking data. Most of the oil allocated for Cuba has instead been resold to China, with the money providing badly needed hard currency for the Cuban government, according to multiple people close to the Venezuelan government.

The article concludes:

What’s likely happening is that the Trump administration is in the early innings of disrupting large volumes of crude that flow from Venezuela to Cuba to China. That strategy could trigger falling dominoes across the region, pushing Cuba’s economy deeper into collapse while also meaningfully weakening Venezuela and tipping the balance of power away from Maduro.

So far, Beijing has yet to lash out over the Skipper seizure and the resulting disruptions to crude flows to Asia. One has to wonder whether Bessent worked out a secret deal with Beijing; otherwise, this type of maneuvering by the Trump administration risks triggering turmoil that could derail any upcoming Trump-Xi talks.

Stay tuned.

American Ingenuity At Work

China has worked for years to obtain a monopoly on the rare earth minerals used in our technological society. They have been pretty successful in reaching a monopoly, but American ingenuity has thrown a wrench in their plans.

On Monday, Red State posted an article quoting Fox News:

In April, China imposed export restrictions on seven rare earth elements, crippling American manufacturing across dozens of critical sectors. Ford temporarily shuttered production lines while European suppliers closed entire factories. In one calculated move, Beijing demonstrated its power to hobble the West. 

This economic warfare represents decades of strategic planning. While America slept, China cornered the market on materials essential to modern civilization. By controlling 90% of rare-earth processing capacity, it dictates prices and decides who receives supplies. The periodic table became their ultimate economic weapon. 

But weapons can be rendered obsolete through superior innovation. American scientists discovered that combining iron, the planet’s fourth-most abundant element, with atmospheric nitrogen makes a compound more magnetic than anything produced by China. This breakthrough doesn’t just match Chinese materials; it surpasses them. 

Red State reports:

That’s a great way to stick a metaphorical thumb in the eye of not only Chairman Xi, but in the eyes of all of the members of the Chinese Communist Party.

The key? Magnets. This whole thing started in the 1980s. China was producing cheap magnets and exporting them around the world, shutting down a lot of domestic manufacturing in its customer nations. Magnets have countless industrial applications, used in everything from electric motors to windmills to electronics. 

On Monday, Fox News reported:

Yet, while China was tightening its grip, American researchers at the University of Minnesota had been solving a puzzle that had frustrated scientists since the 1950s. Professor Jian-Ping Wang spent nearly a decade perfecting techniques to synthesize iron nitride magnets from the most abundant elements on Earth. His breakthrough, published in 2010, finally explained how combining iron with nitrogen can create a material with magnetization exceeding anything China produces from rare earths. 

The physics is remarkable. Iron nitride retains full magnetization at 200 degrees Celsius, exceeding the temperature capability of all magnet compounds except those made from the scarcest and most expensive critical elements. Most importantly, the raw materials come from sources no nation can monopolize: Minnesota’s iron ore deposits and atmospheric nitrogen. Iron nitride represents something China cannot replicate — American innovation driven by scientific curiosity rather than state industrial policy — and reduces our national security and economic vulnerabilities while strengthening domestic manufacturing capacity. 

Please realize that I understand none of the physics involved in this. What I do know is that American scientists have learned how to overcome the Chinese monopoly.

The Need To Be Self-Sustaining

On August 26th, Yahoo Finance posted an article about the sudden spike in the price of rare earth elements. These are the elements that are necessary for the high-tech batteries, weapons, and necessary parts for our electronics. America is beginning to mine rare earth elements–we have them here, but we are late to the game.

The article reports:

Prices of two rare earth elements needed for super-strong magnets have surged to their highest in more than two years after U.S. miner MP Materials (MP) stopped raw material exports to leading magnet maker China amid rising demand.

China dominates the global supply chain for rare earths, accounting for 90% of refining capacity and around 70% of mined output, but the U.S. has pushed back, signing a deal with its biggest producer MP in July to refine its output domestically.

MP’s shipments had in the past three years fed 7%-9% of China’s oxide production from mine output of rare earths neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) – vital to magnets that power electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence equipment – consultancy Adamas said.

The article notes:

Its 40% rally after several years of weakness will boost prospects for mine projects seeking investment outside China as the West seeks to wean off reliance on Beijing.

Boosting the West’s rare earth output became more urgent after China clamped down on exports in April amid a trade war with the U.S., prompting some auto plants to shut.

The U.S. government announced a ground-breaking deal with MP last month stipulating the company halt shipments to China. It also offered price support to MP for the NdPr it produces based on $110 per kg, at the time about twice the Chinese price.

China has been working hard in recent years to corner the rare-earth market. We need to consider the fact that China thinks in decades and centuries while America generally thinks in strategies of ten years or less. America needs to up its game.

If The Strait Of Hormuz Is Closed, Who Loses?

On Monday, CNBC posted an article about Iran’s Parliament voting to block the Strait of Hormuz. Twenty percent of the world’s oil is shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

The article reports:

  • Should Iran follow through on its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz, it could alienate its neighbors and trade partners.
  • But the possibility of a closure of the strait is low, experts said, despite Tehran’s rhetoric around closing the strait.
  • A closure would provoke Iran’s markets in Asia, particularly China, which accounts for a majority of Iranian oil exports.

The article continues:

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed that Iran had shipped 1.5 million barrels per day via the Strait of Hormuz in the first quarter of 2025.

Furthermore, a closure would also provoke Iran’s market in Asia, particularly China, which accounts for a majority of Iranian oil exports.

“So very, very little to be achieved, and a lot of self inflicted harm that Iran could do” Hari said.

Her view is supported by Andrew Bishop, senior partner and global head of policy research at advisory firm Signum Global Advisors.

Iran will not want to antagonize China, he said, adding that disrupting supplies will also “put a target” on the country’s own oil production, export infrastructure, and regime “at a time when there is little reason to doubt U.S. and Israeli resolve in being ‘trigger-happy.’”

Clayton Seigle, senior fellow for Energy Security and Climate Change at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that as China is “very dependent” on oil flows from the Gulf, not just Iran, “its national security interest really would value stabilization of the situation and a de-escalation enabling safe flows of oil and gas through the strait.”

Iran does not need to alienate anyone right now. I am sure many of the Middle Eastern countries are breathing a sigh of relief knowing that Iran at the moment does not have nuclear capability.

The Results Of Failing To Prepare

President Trump has been in office for about five months. He has cleaned up some of the mess he inherited, but there are going to be things that are going to take a while. Our government has not always done a good job of predicting and dealing with future problems. The problem of obtaining rare earth minerals is one that could be very serious in the coming months.

On Tuesday, Victor Davis Hanson posted an article in The Asia Times. The article reported:

America usually has other countries over a barrel. Not the other way around – unless you’re old enough to remember when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cracked the whip and Washington and the West usually fell in line.

But last week China forced President Trump to back down on tough tariffs that were hurting the PRC.

Rare earth minerals. They’re nearly all sourced from China and Beijing choked off exports.

Major American companies – car makers for example – warned Trump they’d have to curtail or shut down operations in a matter of weeks.

…The Trump administration reduced tariffs in exchange for Beijing’s sort-of agreement to allow rare earth exports to US customers.   

How much and how fast is unknown – but expect the PRC to slow-roll this and squeeze all it can – such as sensitive business data – from its customers.

At best, this is a temporary reprieve.

The US side also agreed to drop plans to ban Chinese students from US universities. 

It’s not that they are rare. The US has plenty of rare earths. It’s just much cheaper to source from China, and US environmental laws make domestic mining and processing difficult and expensive.

They are essential for commercial manufacturing – cars, electronics, computers, etc.

And more ominously they’re needed for military production – to include aircraft, ships, submarines, radars, missiles, lasers, satellites, guidance systems, night vision devices and more. 

It’s not Trump’s fault. He got caught holding the hot potato.

China’s chokehold on rare earths was known a long time ago.

American business and the US military knew. And Congress knew as well.

And they knew the Chinese might use their dominant position to squeeze other countries.

In 2010 after Japan detained a Chinese fishing boat that rammed a Coast Guard ship near Japan’s Senkaku islands, China banned rare earth exports to Japan.

 Japanese industry squirmed. The boat and its skipper were returned.

And Japan set about finding alternate sources of rare earths. 

The United States?

Apparently it did nothing.

It was 15 years of idiocy by the business class, officialdom and the military’s perfumed princes.

Please follow the link for further information. We need to be mining our own rare earth elements.

If We Can Hide The Evidence, It Didn’t Happen

On Tuesday, PJ Media posted an article about China’s meddling in the 2020 election.

The article reports:

There’s been a new, disturbing development in the case of the Chinese plot to interfere in the 2020 election. 

As PJ Media previously reported, on Monday, FBI Director Kash Patel handed Congress an intelligence report exposing a Chinese plot to interfere in the 2020 election. The report details how Chinese operatives mass-produced fake U.S. driver’s licenses to flood the system with fraudulent mail-in ballots, which helped Joe Biden in the process. However, the intel wasn’t investigated, corroborated, or acted on. In fact, it was quietly pulled from intelligence agencies even as then-FBI Director Chris Wray told Congress there were “no known plots” of foreign interference. 

Why hasn’t former FBI Director Chris Wray arrested for lying to Congress? Where is the S.W.A.T. team that was used to arrest Roger Stone?

The article continues:

The report was sent out on Aug. 24, 2020, but was abruptly recalled by the FBI with a vague excuse about needing to “re-interview” the source. But it didn’t stop there. The bureau didn’t just recall the report; it ordered its destruction.

According to the recall notice, intelligence agencies weren’t just asked to disregard the report — they were ordered to “destroy all copies” and “remove the original report from all computer holdings.” This wasn’t routine bureaucratic cleanup. It was a deliberate effort to wipe damning evidence from existence. The FBI didn’t just bury credible intelligence about Chinese election interference; it tried to scrub it from history. And now, years later, the truth is finally surfacing: the fix was in, and so was the cover-up. Deliberate. Coordinated. And chilling.

The article concludes:

This wasn’t some careless screw-up. This was a deliberate, calculated cover-up. The FBI didn’t just drop the ball — it went out of its way to bury explosive evidence of a foreign power trying to rig a U.S. presidential election. Instead of doing its job and protecting America’s election integrity, it chose to protect Biden’s campaign by destroying the very documents that exposed the truth. It lied to Congress, scrubbed the report, and tried to erase one of the biggest national security threats of our time from the record.

This isn’t just a scandal — it’s a betrayal of the highest order. And everyone involved in this disgraceful cover-up needs to be held accountable. The American people were cheated, not just at the ballot box, but by the very FBI that swore to safeguard our democracy. It’s time to stop pretending that this was anything less than a full-blown political operation disguised as law enforcement.

Is anyone ever going to be held accountable for the scandals that are being uncovered?

Just the News posted a copy of the FBI memo about the investigation.

The View From The Lair

Sweating Blood

A few weeks ago, I commented on the effects that PDJT’s tariffs would have on the world’s economy, especially China’s. Like most everyone, I underestimated our esteemed President Trump. Chairman Xi started out by putting up a strong face. That is very important to many cultures, especially in the orient. Keeping “face” is essential to maintain dignity, to present strength and composure, to display courage and conviction. To do less than this is to invite shame. In some instances, death is preferable to shame.

Shaming is a tool used by our Marxist enemies to generate a reaction to their taunts and abuses. It is effective only against those with a conscience and who can hold shame. Alas, they are invulnerable to the same tactics used against them because they have neither shame nor conscience.

I projected that the tariffs might take over 60 days to show some effect. The Chinese stated that they would “fight to the end” to oppose the US tariffs. Apparently, the end is nearer than they thought. Now, the Chinese are lowering their retaliatory tariffs on some microchips as well as other products. There are as many as 16 million Chinese factory jobs at risk of being lost due to the tariffs. Container ships are reportedly being turned around. Which means a LOT of already manufactured products will not be paid for. Note: there is no unemployment in China. No work, no pay. No pay, no food. Things go downhill from there. Think of 1932 USA but with over a billion people.

Chairman Xi is presently chairman for life. That position does not state how long the term actually is. With the economy beginning to collapse his term may not be as long as he had expected.

Sending out the military against factory workers in cities all across China will be…problematic. Tiananmen Square situations in multiple cities would certainly be bad optics. Mao had no problem with killing millions of his people, but they mostly succumbed to starvation, primarily due to ignorance and central planning. Bad central planning…which it almost always is.  There were no cell phones, no way to document the tragedy.  Seeing the army slaughter civilians because they are rioting for pay and food might be a different situation.

A government coup in China will likely be different from what the Marxists pulled off with Biden. Regardless of what they wished they could do, putting a bullet in Biden’s brain (not that he or anyone else would notice) would not be as acceptable to the news vultures as doing the same to PDJT.

It has been said that war is a result of poor diplomacy. But diplomacy takes different forms. Chairman Xi wants to take Tiawan. Tiawan isn’t interested. The Chinese have already embarked on a very aggressive program to build an enormous army, navy and air force. They have constructed new islands with military bases on them. The invasion of Tiawan wouldn’t require this…but to fight us as well certainly would. With his economy faltering and civilian unrest, how does he pay for the military buildup? Buy guns or butter? Can he afford both? His population growth has also stalled. Who will support both the economy and the military?

POTUS is using economic warfare to replace military warfare. He can starve the military buildup and prevent a shooting war. And in doing so, return basic manufacturing capacity to the US. He’s still playing 5D chess; everyone else is playing tiddlywinks.

ciao,

The Snark

Why Some Imported Products Are Cheaper

There are a lot of reasons for the decline of manufacturing in America. Many of those reasons are related to trade deficits and the desire for cheap goods, but some are related to the cost of doing business in America. For better or worse, corporations in America who choose to operate within the law are required to pay their employees a minimum wage. We can debate over what that wage should be, but the fact of the matter is that a minimum wage exists. Some other countries have no qualms about employing slave labor or paying people very low wages. The Chinese have used Muslims as slave labor for years. So why would a manufacturing company want to locate in America? There are a number of incentives (in addition to the lowering of the corporate tax rate). America has dependable energy and is moving toward lowering the cost of energy. America protects property rights–the state cannot come in and simply take your business away. Innovation is also protected by patent and copyright laws. America represents a stable environment in which to do business. Changing the structure of tariffs also has moral component.

On May 12, The Federalist reported:

…But Trump’s tariffs were not just economic, they were moral. Rather than relying on foreign countries, particularly China, that benefit from abusive labor practices, Trump put America first by deciding the U.S. must stop pretending inexpensive products come with no human cost. 

…During Trump’s first term, his administration repeatedly highlighted human rights abuses abroad, especially in regions like China’s Xinjiang province, where the Chinese Communist Party is running forced labor camps filled with Uyghur Muslims. More than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been detained by China and sent to reeducation camps in what is called the “Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Zone” for a range of reasons, including attending religious services, having more than three kids, or texting verses from the Quran. 

China forced many of its religiously and ethnically targeted workforce to toil away in factories, making products distributed and sold across the globe. Muslim slaves in China produce countless store shelves worth of goods, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, such as textiles, hair products, and aluminum, among many other things. They get extremely low pay, can’t contact or visit their families (unless, in some circumstances, they are heavily surveilled by the government), and they can’t leave. 

The article concludes:

Yes, U.S. prices may go up a bit in the short term. Maybe American girls will find two dolls under the Christmas tree instead of 30, as President Trump suggested Sunday on Meet the Press. Maybe U.S. students will sharpen five pencils instead of hoarding 250 like mini office supply tycoons. But maybe underpaid workers in China won’t have to literally slave away making those dolls or pencils for someone else’s kid in a distant Land of the Free. 

President Trump believes temporary price fluctuations are a trade-off worth making in the interim, and he is doing what no other president had the guts to do. There is short-lived pain before lasting progress, and Trump is willing to take the heat now to put human rights and American prosperity over easy profits. 

Why We Need To Secure All Points Of Entry Into Our Country

On Thursday, The Epoch Times posted an article about a drug seizure at a Chicago air cargo facility.

The article reports:

Federal agents at a Chicago air cargo facility have seized shipments from China containing 18 pounds of xylazine, which is increasingly found in the U.S. illicit drug market.

The three shipments arrived on April 12 and were headed to residences in Cleveland and Philadelphia, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in a statement on April 16.

“Drug traffickers are persistent in their attempts to smuggle sedatives such as xylazine into the United States, however, through our hard work and vigilance we will continue to intercept these dangerous substances at our port of entry before they can harm our communities,” LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of field operation at the Chicago field office, said in a statement.

Xylazine, also known as “tranq” and the “zombie drug,” is a veterinary medication that acts as a sedative when administered to animals such as cattle, sheep, and horses during diagnostic and surgical procedures. Xylazine is not a controlled substance in the United States, but it is not approved for use on people, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Because of increased border security at America’s southern border, cartels and other drug smugglers are having to look for other ways to bring illegal drugs into America. We need to have drug-sniffing dogs at all points of entry.

The article notes:

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has warned that xylazine is making the deadly fentanyl crisis in the United States “even deadlier,” as fentanyl adulterated with xylazine has a longer-lasting psychoactive effect than fentanyl alone, increasing the risk of overdose death.

The Mexico-based Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are known to be sourcing chemical precursors from China before these chemicals are manufactured into fentanyl. Last year, the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party warned in a report that China-produced xylazines “are rapidly proliferating across the United States.”

The article concludes:

In recent years, some states have enacted laws to regulate the use of xylazine, including South Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act in both the House and the Senate in February. The legislation would make xylazine a Schedule III controlled substance while enabling the DEA to track its manufacturing to prevent any diversion to the illegal market.

“Illicit xylazine is contributing to the national drug epidemic and driving up overdose deaths in communities across the country,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who led the Senate bill with Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), said in a statement at the time.

“This bipartisan bill recognizes the lethal threat of xylazine and provides law enforcement new tools to combat its spread, while ensuring veterinarians, ranchers and cattlemen can continue to access the drug for legitimate animal treatment,” Grassley said.

Things Are Changing Very Quickly

On Sunday, Breitbart posted an article about one of the changes the Trump administration has made regarding the Panama Canal.

The article reports:

… Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had one mission on his trip to Panama — to secure a deal to get “first and free” passage for U.S. ships in the Panama Canal, a critical waterway for the United States’ economy and military that was at risk of falling under China’s control.

As the secretary and his team flew the down from Washington on Monday evening to meet with Panama’s leaders, such a deal with Panama was far from certain.

While the U.S. had built the canal in the early 1900s and maintained it for decades before handing it over to Panama, China had in recent years poured money into projects and infrastructure attached to it. As a passageway between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans that handles more than 40 percent of U.S. maritime trade, if China were able to close the canal, it would be a catastrophe for the U.S.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s mission was a success:

On Wednesday, Hegseth delivered opening remarks at the conference, which was co-hosted by the U.S. and Panama.

It was there that Hegseth announced that the U.S. and Panama would sign a declaration providing a framework for U.S. warships and auxiliary ships to travel “first and free” through the canal, in a huge win for the U.S.

Hegseth and Abrego also agreed to an expanded partnership to secure the canal and signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperative security activities between the U.S. and Panamanian militaries, which will see the increase of U.S. troops in Panama.

Asked by Breitbart News if he had accomplished everything he wanted to on the trip, a triumphant Hegseth responded, “This trip not only met but exceeded our expectations. A warm welcome from Panama. Great partnership. Spent a lot of time with their troops. I want to thank Panama for what they’ve done in the Darien Gap as well.”

This is a much needed move by the Trump administration.

Solving An Obvious Problem In North Carolina

On Tuesday, The Carolina Journal reported that the Senate Agriculture, Energy, and Environmental Committee approved a bill prohibiting the foreign acquisition of land by adversarial nations. This should probably be done on the national level, but a number of states have passed similar laws. I know it’s just a coincidence that much of the farmland that China is buying up is very close to America’s major military installations.

The article reports:

Prohibit Foreign Ownership of NC Land (SB 394) is sponsored by Sens. Bob Brinson, R-Craven, Timothy Moffitt, R-Henderson, and Bobby Hanig, R-Currituck. The bill was voted on favorably by the committee.

“The key purpose of this bill is to both safeguard our agriculture integrity and to protect our national security,” explained Brinson. “This is a state effort to protect national security because food security is national security. This will ensure that North Carolina farmland does not come under international adversarial control and also prevent adversarial nations from acquiring land near sensitive military installations.”

The bill prohibits land acquisition by adversarial nations outlined in the bill: China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia, or entities they control. It blocks these foreign entities from owning agricultural lands and lands within 25 miles of a military installation or areas designated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as special-use airspace.

Entities currently owning restricted land before the bill’s effective date must register their holdings with the secretary of state and the attorney general. Foreign entities that acquire restricted land after the bill takes effect are required to divest the property within three years.

The article notes:

The bill also introduces a new deed requirement that mandates an affidavit affirming that the buyer is in compliance and is not affiliated with any prohibited foreign entities. The affidavit is already a standard practice for mortgage loans.

The article concludes:

Sen. Jay Chaudhuri, D-Wake, expressed concerns about how this bill would impact Smithfield Foods, now an independent subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate the WH Group. The bill would have minimal impact on the company because existing land holdings are provided for within the bill, and they only have to be registered with the secretary of state and attorney general. Additional land acquisitions would be prohibited. It was pointed out that many of Smithfield’s growers are North Carolinians, so this has not been an issue yet. 

Sen. Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe, addressed concerns about a provision in the bill requiring the Registers of Deeds office to document the citizenship of both parties to any property transaction, not just transactions addressed by the legislation. It was clarified that while this is, in fact, correct, it is not an enforcement mechanism but a public record transaction mechanism. 

The bill will “protect North Carolina’s farmland, strengthen our national security, and ensure that our critical resources remain in trusted hands,” according to Brinson.

SB 394 received a favorable report and advanced to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

This bill needs to pass.

Leveling The Playing Field

On Wednesday, Townhall posted an article about one result of President Trump’s tariffs.

The article reports:

Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Wednesday suggested that Canada would drop its tariffs on U.S. goods if President Donald Trump eased up on his tariffs on Canadian goods.

During an appearance with CNBC’s Ross Sorkin, he stated that the impending tariff war is “just going to hurt American jobs” and that Trump “said he was going to create jobs, create wealth, reduce inflation.”

Sorkin asked whether Ford believed it was fair that Canada has “tariffs on a whole number of products.”

Ford replied, “And we’d be willing to take those off tomorrow if he took all the tariffs off” and suggested that “China is the problem.”

The host asked why Canada wouldn’t have these negotiations before Trump imposed his tariffs.

The premier responded:

Well, we’ve had this conversation for over the last month. We don’t want tariffs. We have another $65 billion dollars with a tariff to launch today. That’s the last thing we want to do because it’s just, again, it’s going to hurt both countries. It’s going to hurt American workers. That’s the last thing I want.

That statement is a very diplomatic way of saying nothing.

America has been paying tariffs on its exports to other countries for years. It is not unreasonable to expect that at some point the playing field would be made more level. It is not up to us to bankroll the rest of the world by letting other countries impose tariffs on us without imposing tariffs on them. I suspect that President Trump’s tariffs are not yet set in stone and are still in the negotiating stage. We do need to put tariffs on other countries, but the final details may be different from what we are currently hearing.

When Common Sense Takes A Vacation

On Friday, The Gateway Pundit posted an article about the fake news posted by The New York Times about Elon Musk receiving a security briefing on top secret war plans. He did not  receive such a briefing. First of all, Elon Musk is seriously involved in America’s space program (some might argue that he is America’s space program). What kind of clearances might he have because of that involvement? I realize that classified information should be given out on a ‘need to know’ basis, and there might not be a case for Elon Musk to know about China policy, but I do believe this is much ado about nothing.

The article reports:

The deep state was has been in full meltdown since Thursday night’s leaked report by the New York Times that DOGE chief Elon Musk would be visiting the Pentagon on Friday for an alleged briefing on top secret U.S. war plans for communist China.

Notice it was a leaked report. Who leaked it? We can guess why–anything to make the Trump administration look bad. The person who leaked it needs to face consequences. That is how you stop the leaks.

The article notes:

Trump addressed the controversy with reporters in the Oval Office midday Friday with Hegseth by his side, saying he would not authorize such a briefing for Musk given his business ties with China. The purpose of the Oval Office meeting with Hegseth was to announce the selection of Boeing to build the military’s new Next Generation Air Dominance fighter jet, the F-47.

The article includes the following quote by President Trump:

““Elon Musk will be briefed by the Pentagon about the USA’s top secret plans against China should there be a War,” according to the Failing New York Times, one of the worst and most purposely inaccurate newspapers anywhere in the World. Their FAKE concept for this story is that because Elon does some business in China, that he is very conflicted and would immediately go to top Chinese officials and “spill the beans.” RATINGS CHALLENGED FAKE NEWS CNN immediately picked up on this absolutely ridiculous and false story, which is probably libelous, and went heavy with it. Fortunately, nobody was watching! Maggot Hagerman, the really dumb “scammer” who constantly writes about me for the Times, using anonymous, made up (nonexistent!) sources, and who I haven’t spoken to in ages, is a big part of the Scam. She lead the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, only to realize that she was duped and got it wrong. She owes me a totally discredited Pulitzer Prize for her bad reporting. The Fake News is the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE…And Elon is NOT BEING BRIEFED ON ANYTHING CHINA BY THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR!!!”

How many Americans still believe the fake story? That is the scary part.

U.S. vs Chinese Navy

Author: R. Alan Harrop, PhD.

Many military experts believe that if there is a conflict between the U.S. and China, the outcome will be settled by naval forces. Given the location of China, this makes sense, and it may be a repeat of World War II, where our overwhelming naval forces defeated Japan.

Assuming that this analysis is correct, a comparative assessment of the status of the navies of each country is appropriate. Most authorities believe that the U.S. Navy is still superior to the Chinese navy, but that superiority is shrinking. The Chinese have been rapidly increasing their number of ships over the past ten years. They currently have 340 naval ships compared to 280 in the US Navy. We still have a superiority in large aircraft carriers– eleven compared with China, which now has three. Similarly, we have a greater number of submarines. One area of concern is the rapidly increasing lethality of missiles, especially supersonic types. These missiles will make large aircraft carriers difficult, if not impossible, to defend adequately. In many ways, the aircraft carrier fleet was what allowed us to defeat Japan; whereas, the battleship which was dominant in an earlier era was no longer effective. Could this be the case for aircraft carriers in future conflicts?

The rate of increase in the Chinese navy should be of concern. Last year, China built 30 new naval vessels while the US built 2. Construction capacity is always a concerning factor. During WWII, the industrial capacity of the United States far exceeded any other country. The US was truly the arsenal of democracy. For example, at the beginning of WWII with the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941, both the US and Japan had eight aircraft carriers each. In the next four years, Japan built 18 new carriers (of various sizes) while the US built an astounding 144. China currently has 20 large shipyards that build both naval and merchant craft. The US has only 4 similar shipyards.

Another area of significant Chinese expansion is their merchant marine fleet. They now own over 50% of merchant shipping in the world, far exceeding the size of the merchant fleets of Japan and South Korea, which are their closest competitors. A large merchant fleet of container ships and tankers not only allows China to ship needed supplies and fuel to combat areas, but provides a large resource of trained seaman if needed for their navy.

China has also been making a concerted effort to operate and control seaports around the globe. They invest in existing ports and thereby obtain control of those vital stations. For example, the Chinese just made a large financial deal with Belgium which will allow them to dominate the port of Zeebrugge, the second largest port in that country. They are doing this around the world, including the east and west entrances to the Panama Canal, which President Trump recently targeted as an unacceptable threat to the security of the US. Also, even US ports are now using Chinese ship loading and unloading equipment.

China clearly has plans to dominate the world’s oceans and trade. Finally, we have a President who is willing to recognize and deal with this realty before it is too late.

Bringing Back The Monroe Doctrine

History.com describes the Monroe Doctrine as folllows:

The Monroe Doctrine, first outlined in a speech to Congress in 1823, had President James Monroe warning European powers to not attempt further colonization, military intervention or other interference in the Western Hemisphere, stating that the United States would view any such interference as a potentially hostile act. Over the centuries, the Monroe Doctrine policy has become a cornerstone of U.S. diplomatic and military policies.

In recent years, that policy has been somewhat ignored. That changed on January 20th of this year.

On Sunday, Legal Insurrection reported:

Panama has decided not to renew its memorandum of understanding with China on the Belt and Road Initiative, marking a significant shift in its foreign policy. The move follows increased U.S. pressure, as Washington works to curb Beijing’s growing influence in Latin America.

This decision came as Senator Marco Rubio visited Panama to discuss key issues like the Panama Canal’s operations and migration through the Darien Gap, a critical transit point for migrants heading to the U.S.

This is definitely a move in the right direction. I would like to say that the article is incorrect in describing Marco Rubio as a Senator–he has been confirmed as Secretary of State.

Stopping Green Energy 

Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.  

The re-election of Donald Trump provides an opportunity to correct the devastating agenda of the green new deal extremists.  Inexpensive and ample supplies of energy are essential to the progress of our economy.  Solar and wind will never produce sufficient reliable energy to fuel a modern society.  Impossible, as the Europeans have found out.

It is very discouraging to realize that many of our elected Republicans believe the man-made climate change hoax and are therefore willing to support things like carbon neutrality.  There is no reliable scientific evidence that man’s consumption of fossil fuels has altered the environment!  The environmental extremists base their scare tactics about manmade global warming on computer models generated by their fellow believers.  The truth is that the earth’s temperature has varied substantially long before there were enough human beings to impact the CO2 levels.  There have been at least eight ice age/warming periods over the earth’s history going back several million years.  We are now in a global warming cycle from the last ice age that occurred over 10,000 years ago.  So the first thing we need to do is to ensure that our lawmakers are not taken in by the climate change extremists.  We also need to stop indoctrinating our children with the man-made climate hoax.

As President Trump has advocated, we need to “drill baby drill” for oil and natural gas, both of which we are fortunate to have an abundant supply.  We also need to return to coal burning plants since we have the technology to ensure that coal is burned efficiently and cleanly;  instead of shipping our coal to China, which is greatly expanding their coal fired plants and doing so with little concern for the environment.  President Trump’s recent announcement of our withdrawal from the globalist so-called Paris Accords which are detrimental to America is a step in the right direction.  Remember, that cheap and abundant energy will enhance our ability to compete with other countries in manufacturing.

All government subsidies and tax incentives for solar, wind and electrical vehicles need to be stopped immediately.  Wind farms off our coast are an environmental hazard that only enriches China.  A recent study conducted by the conservative John Locke Foundation estimates that continued movement towards wind and solar will produce an enormous increase in energy prices in our country.  Not only are wind and solar expensive and produce unreliable energy, but due to their intermittent energy production, extensive battery storage capacity (or more likely backup fossil fuel plants) will still be needed.  Experts have recently predicted that a full implementation of Artificial Intelligence will require a threefold electrical capacity increase nationwide.

The final solution to energy production is nuclear power.  Due to the environmental extremists scare tactics and excessive regulation, there has not been a nuclear power plant built in North Carolina since the Shearon Harris plant near Raleigh was completed in 1987.  This despite the improved safety and ability to produce nuclear power plants of smaller size, which could be located closer to customer demand.  The European Union is planning on increasing their nuclear plants due in large measure to the ineffectiveness of wind and solar.  Currently, France generates over 70% of their electricity from nuclear reactors.

The bottom line is that we need to do away with the move towards wind and solar and go back to the common sense approach of relying on fossil fuels and nuclear power.  If we do not, we will be unable to maintain our economy and grow for the future.  Our conservative lawmakers need to make this happen.

Drones Part III Chinese Threat 

Author:  R. Alan Harrop,Ph.D.

As I reported in the prior two article on this topic, drones are increasingly changing the nature of warfare.  With the reality that China represents the greatest security threat facing our country, it is critical that we stay apprised of their actions in this area.  Let’s take a look.

China not only has produced some of the most effective and reliable drones, but their production capacity far exceeds any other country including the United States.  For example, their company, DJI Technology, dominates the U.S. market for commercial and recreational drones which is estimated to exceed 6 billion dollars.  They produce 90% of the drones sold worldwide.  China, like most other countries, has noted the effectiveness of drones for military purposes being used in the Russia/Ukraine war.  In fact, it was just reported that the Chinese military has placed an order with DJI Technology, for almost one million drones.  The potential impact of these “kamakaze” drones armed with explosives has proven very effective against tanks, artillery placements, naval vessels, and troop placements in the Russia/Ukraine war.

China has developed a drone system that consists of a large “mother drone” that can be directed towards a target area and then releases multiple smaller drones to hit specific targets.  The swarming effect of this system would be very difficult to stop to say the least.  Combine this with low altitude flight patterns and difficulty detecting with radar and the threat increases dramatically.  On a much larger scale, China is producing drones that are the size of fighter aircraft that are flown using artificial intelligence.  The plan is to have a manned fighter/bomber accompanied by multiple unmanned drones overwhelm the target using missiles to deliver the explosives.  The use of artificial intelligence as the drone control system eliminates the need for extensive training programs required by human pilots.  China at a November 2024 air show unveiled a stealth drone not easily radar detectable that is 190 ft. long with a wing span of 175 ft. with a range of 4,000 miles.  This is scary stuff indeed.  Do we need any more evidence that China is preparing for future warfare?  Financed, of course, with the money they make from trade with our country.

There are some of our lawmakers that are waking up to this threat.  For example, Senator Rick Scott (R-Fl) has proposed a ban on the import of Chinese made drones.  The ban is being resisted by people in this country who rely on these relatively inexpensive drones for commercial purposes.  For example, for about $35,000 a farmer can purchase a Chinese drone to monitor and spray crops as compared to a ground sprayer that can cost up to $250,000.  Clearly, like many items we get from China, we need to return to relying on our own domestic production.  We cannot continue to rely on a communist adversary for essential products.  Also, we must recognize that the only way to defeat new technology is with other new technology.  For example, our military has been developing the use of high energy lasers to defend against missiles, artillery, drones, etc.  This may be a solution to some of the challenges of drone warfare.  Clearly, using expensive missiles that cost near one million dollars a piece is not the solution to the drone threat.

Hopefully, the new Trump administration will take whatever action necessary to defend our country and allies.  Wasting money on green energy and DEI is not the answer.

As Iranian Military Might In The Middle East Shrinks, China’s Grows

On January 6th, The National Interest reported the following:

Amid Iranian defeats across the Middle East, the Houthi rebels in Yemen are increasingly turning to China for missile components to use against the West.

The Yemen-based Houthi rebels have found a new backer: the People’s Republic of China. In a recent report published by i24 News, U.S. intelligence sources detail the undercover collaboration between Beijing and the Iranian-backed terror group which has perpetuated the ongoing instability in the Red Sea. While the Houthis have indiscriminately carried out attacks targeting warships and shipping vessels alike in these waters for years, the rebel group’s maritime strikes have escalated following the October 7, 2023, massacre in Israel. According to the Israel-based news outlet, the Houthis are now using Chinese-designed weapons in their attacks. In exchange, the terror group will cease attacks on ships flying the Chinese flag. With a shared mutual contempt for the West, Beijing and Tehran’s collaboration in the region makes sense.

 Iran has suffered significant blows over the last year. From the decimation of Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah’s leadership in Lebanon to the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria, Tehran’s clout in the Middle East is rapidly deteriorating. Lacking the resources and weapons needed to continue its asymmetric objectives in the region, the regime has relied on China and Russia for support. The rogue allies are largely isolated from the international community and therefore lean on each other for arms, funds and even training at times.

The article concludes:

The Chinese-Iranian collaboration on this front coincides with the allies’ determination to establish a new international order based on their own rules. Beijing, Tehran, Moscow and even Pyongyang are increasingly working together to undermine the U.S. and Western power. The People’s Republic of China has also allegedly interfered in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine by providing drones to Moscow. Now that U.S. intelligence services have uncovered China’s material support for a group perpetuating attacks against Israel, the U.S. and other Western nations, the depth of this collaboration is even more alarming.

Diplomacy in the Middle East is going to be very complicated in the coming years. China is not fighting the west directly–it is just supplying weapons to countries that will not be able to stop its rise to world domination in the future. The idea is that these countries will use the weapons against countries that might actually be able to compete with China. If China can significantly weaken the major western countries without being directly involved, there will be no barriers to China become the sole superpower of the world.

Standing Up To China

Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D.  

Let me start off with a clear understanding of our relationship with China. Is China an adversary or an enemy? According to Webster’s dictionary, both labels refer to an entity that is out to harm and diminish you. What do the facts show about China’s actions and plans towards our country?

Here are a few things to consider: 1)  China is ruled by a communist government which we have been resisting and fighting (Korean and Vietnam Wars) since the end of World War II. Communists are committed to over-throwing all other forms of government worldwide. It is an essential part of their mission.  2)  The Chinese are shipping vast amounts of fentanyl to the cartels in Mexico and killing approximately 100,000 Americans each year.  3)  The Chinese steal our intellectual property and protected information to produce products and weapons.  4)  The Chinese are infiltrating our borders and subverting our universities by using grants and student visas.   5) The Chinese recently hacked into our communications network and recorded telephone calls made by our elected officials (e.g. J.D. Vance) and business leaders.  6) The Chinese flew at least one spy balloon (probably one of many) across our country targeting military bases.  7)  Just recently, several drones were sent over three of our military bases in the United Kingdom.  8)  The Chinese are in the process of using the profits from our trade deficit with them to build the largest and most advance military in the world–especially naval ships and supersonic aircraft.

In addition to these actions, China has announced its so-called Belt and Road Project, which involves expanding its economic influence globally, and consequently, diminishing our role and influence with other countries, seriously injuring our economy and making the world dependent on the Chinese. This, if it happens, will provide the communist takeover that they have been seeking.

The question is what do we do about it.  Thankfully, on January 20, 2025, we will have a president and administration that recognizes the reality of the threat from China and will not be afraid to take necessary action. One obvious thing for us here in North Carolina, is to follow Florida’s lead and curtail and reverse the ownership of land in our state– especially around our military bases. A recent report  by the federal Agriculture Department listed North Carolina as one of five (5) states that have “…worrisome amounts of land owned by the Chinese.”  (Always remember that all private Chinese businesses are beholden and controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.)   In 2010, China did not own any land in North Carolina. They now own over 50,000 acres, most of which is in close proximity to the largest military base in the state:  Ft. Liberty ( formerly Ft. Bragg).   If you believe this is by mere chance, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you! Posing as farming operations, the Chinese can set up reconnaissance, radar tracking devises, monitor communications and troop movements, and send out spy drones. Fortunately, the House portion of the General Assembly drafted and passed HB 463 in the last session to restrict China’s ability to purchase land around military bases. The bill was not taken up by the Senate. Personally, I do not think the bill goes far enough. If we really believe that China is an existential threat, we should do what Florida did and preclude them from owning any land in North Carolina and force them to divest themselves of what they currently own. By the way, China does NOT allow any foreign entity to own land in their country; why should we?

We need to get serious about the threat that China poses before it is too late!    No more half-measures!