new pico cedula rules, pretty strict

[mudd]

get caught, now its expensive

[robert angel]

get caught, now its expensive

Next county over from me in South Georgia, there's a fine of 'up to' $1000 for not donning a mask, fine renews each day. I'm pretty sure the good ole tobacco spitting boys there aren't wearing masks and that if any tickets are given out, they're for ten bucks or something.


It's also become more a form of 'political party affiliation' than a 'yes, I can get behind the science' statement---Most of those around here who refuse to wear masks are right wing republicans.


What some people see as 'freedom' others see as a lack of discipline...

[Calipro]

get caught, now its expensive

Best to stick to indoor sports right now.
I get sun on my balcony and do cardio in the apartment.

[ignorante]

Next county over from me in South Georgia, there's a fine of 'up to' $1000 for not donning a mask, fine renews each day. I'm pretty sure the good ole tobacco spitting boys there aren't wearing masks and that if any tickets are given out, they're for ten bucks or something.


It's also become more a form of 'political party affiliation' than a 'yes, I can get behind the science' statement---Most of those around here who refuse to wear masks are right wing republicans.


What some people see as 'freedom' others see as a lack of discipline...

Governor has said it is not enforceable, as state law authorizes his executive order (an actual statute passed by the legislature), and his executive order does not permit localities to adopt ordinances or executive orders more restrictive or less restrictive than his order.


I am not aware of anybody being fined yet by any of these cities.  There will be a ready defense to the charge if anybody is cited.   Atlantans are pretty much ignoring the Mayor's order (and plenty of folks who are not "right wing Republicans" are included).  Of course, she has a serious problem getting the police to do anything at all right now (including answering serious calls), so they certainly are not going to be running around enforcing her illegal order.

[robert angel]

get caught, now its expensive

Thought you died! Keep dishing the dirt thisaway,,,,

[RioRanger]

The whole mask situation has become so part of the political partisanship it makes things worse. Whereas you have people treating put political apparatus as some sort of sports team rivalry. People are not looked at as human and everything and anything is almost fair game on the way of his people interact with one another.

I come from a family that have been in the medical field for years. However, they are at times looked at as not being truthful about the pandemic. Like doctors and nurses have something to gain from all this. A lot of people in the medical field are starting to feel burned out and some have take the mindsets of ' you do not have to listen to me now but when I have you on life support you'll have no choice.

My aunt who is a ER doctor had to At with a family of a 31 yr old man and explain why there is not much more than can do. The man end up dying two days later. Why because him and his wife felt like they were being lied to by their governor and did not wear a mask while they went out for drinks.

I feel if Trump from the beginning made it known how this virus could affect our citizens and been honest about it then his base would have listened to him and our economy and health care industry would not be in such of a mess.

They are the main ones talking about freedom from big government. However, if they had done the right thing from the jump then the government would not had to jump in with all these laws and fines. When you do the right thing no one will have to pass laws for you to do it!

How hard is it to just tell the truth?

[robert angel]

The whole mask situation has become so part of the political partisanship it makes things worse. Whereas you have people treating put political apparatus as some sort of sports team rivalry. People are not looked at as human and everything and anything is almost fair game on the way of his people interact with one another.

I come from a family that have been in the medical field for years. However, they are at times looked at as not being truthful about the pandemic. Like doctors and nurses have something to gain from all this. A lot of people in the medical field are starting to feel burned out and some have take the mindsets of ' you do not have to listen to me now but when I have you on life support you'll have no choice.

My aunt who is a ER doctor had to At with a family of a 31 yr old man and explain why there is not much more than can do. The man end up dying two days later. Why because him and his wife felt like they were being lied to by their governor and did not wear a mask while they went out for drinks.

I feel if Trump from the beginning made it known how this virus could affect our citizens and been honest about it then his base would have listened to him and our economy and health care industry would not be in such of a mess.

They are the main ones talking about freedom from big government. However, if they had done the right thing from the jump then the government would not had to jump in with all these laws and fines. When you do the right thing no one will have to pass laws for you to do it!

How hard is it to just tell the truth?

When it comes to the coviid-19 pandemic, Americans have shown little discipline and have confused 'freedom' with common sense, sacrifice and 'doing the right thing.' Combine that with a totally late, then consistently botched up government response and we're approaching the 200,000 dead mark.


And now we're finding that many adults who do survive don't just 'get better' as they were before, but are left with chronic conditions.


Savannah, Georgia--population 145.000, gets 15 million tourists a year and incredibly, those tourist numbers have held pretty steady. Tons of large bachelorette parties fill downtown, where drinking alcohol on the streets is legal, as long as it's in a plastic cup. Even in 90+ heat and humidity, they oooze alcohol literally arm in arm in and out of countless historic bars and shops, crowding the sidewalks. With money to go, they soak it into Savannah, covid or not.


Savannah was the first city in Georgia in defiance of the state's governor,  to make wearing a mask in public the 'law'--with tickets up to $500 for not wearing a mask. Same at the beach 20 minutes away.


That was over two months ago, Not ONE ticket has ever been issued at Savannah or on local Tybee Island Beach.


Not that all lockdown measures, not all contact tracing and other measures have proven successful in all places. Korea, Germany, Sweden--all different approaches, results.


But instead of embracing an opportunity for the world for once to act in unison, the USA let it's own political agendas hinder even adequately protecting our own nation. Never mind cooperating with other countries--we can't even cooperate with each other. Embarrassing on the world stage, to put it mildly.


History will remember how it took months for the USA --the wealthiest and most powerful nation in history (after political arguing about science) to produce 10 cent masks.  A nation that once had women in WWII building B29 Bombers in hours, after the car factories were refitted in mere days. Then after similarily dismissing their usefulness when cotton testing swabs and thermometers were deemed useful, of course we didn't have them either. Almost a total botch job, all down the line.


Meanwhile, Disney and other Orlando's parks are sold out for this holiday weekend, young kids and college age students are back in halls and class rooms and there, as well as in tourist areas nation wide, you can see people partying down, shoulder to shoulder, w/o masks. In most tourist spots, hotels are fully booked this holiday weekend. The 'last hurrah' of summer 2020...


Even when 'shelter in place' so called 'laws' and 'curfews' were supposed to be enforced, they weren't. Kids--especially the highly contagious and free of parental guidance 18 to 30 year olds, ran around asymptomatic but radioactive, spreading death to others free and wild, almost with a 'school's out--let's parteee!" mindset.


China--population 1.4 billion, where the virus originated, has reported 85,102 cases and 4,834 deaths.


The USA, population 328 million, with less than 1/4 the population of China, has reported 6.17 MILLION cases, and over 187,000 deaths.

Why?


"I have seen the enemy, and it is US"

[Calipro]

The whole mask situation has become so part of the political partisanship it makes things worse. Whereas you have people treating put political apparatus as some sort of sports team rivalry. People are not looked at as human and everything and anything is almost fair game on the way of his people interact with one another.

I come from a family that have been in the medical field for years. However, they are at times looked at as not being truthful about the pandemic. Like doctors and nurses have something to gain from all this. A lot of people in the medical field are starting to feel burned out and some have take the mindsets of ' you do not have to listen to me now but when I have you on life support you'll have no choice.

My aunt who is a ER doctor had to At with a family of a 31 yr old man and explain why there is not much more than can do. The man end up dying two days later. Why because him and his wife felt like they were being lied to by their governor and did not wear a mask while they went out for drinks.

I feel if Trump from the beginning made it known how this virus could affect our citizens and been honest about it then his base would have listened to him and our economy and health care industry would not be in such of a mess.

They are the main ones talking about freedom from big government. However, if they had done the right thing from the jump then the government would not had to jump in with all these laws and fines. When you do the right thing no one will have to pass laws for you to do it!

How hard is it to just tell the truth?

Look at the pie chart and tell us who is it that looks to president Trump for the truth or medical advice....or anything for that matter. jajaja

[robert angel]

Look at the pie chart and tell us who is it that looks to president Trump for the truth or medical advice....or anything for that matter. jajaja

I daresay that chart would look quite different post clinton/era, obama era, actually significantly different from year to year.

But the purported 29.9% who don't vote, they're recognized as substantial (even if 'potentially) 'swing voters'.

That group is more often than not, democratic. No wonder CNN is running their own ads, pushing people to get out and vote. So are a lot of people from the left and to the middle of the political spectrum.

The republicans don't worry as much, as their party followers do actually show up to vote more predictably.

[Calipro]

I daresay that chart would look quite different post clinton/era, obama era, actually significantly different from year to year.

But the purported 29.9% who don't vote, they're recognized as substantial (even if 'potentially) 'swing voters'.

That group is more often than not, democratic. No wonder CNN is running their own ads, pushing people to get out and vote. So are a lot of people from the left and to the middle of the political spectrum.

The republicans don't worry as much, as their party followers do actually show up to vote more predictably.

https://scatter.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/making-voter-pie/


I don’t know what happened to my pie chart....I guess it didn’t get uploaded. But here is the article it came from...it is post Clinton Obama. The 30 percent of Americans that don’t vote doesn’t change much from election to election. They aren’t swing voters....hell they don’t even bother to register to vote.

[robert angel]

https://scatter.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/making-voter-pie/


I don’t know what happened to my pie chart....I guess it didn’t get uploaded. But here is the article it came from...it is post Clinton Obama. The 30 percent of Americans that don’t vote doesn’t change much from election to election. They aren’t swing voters....hell they don’t even bother to register to vote.

Yes, they are the people who live typically poorer neighborhoods, places where the liberals try and improve voter turnout. They not only encourage them to 'get on the bus'--but the liberal establishment increasingly sends actual buses to take them to the polls, after having encouraged increased voter registration.


But between ignorance and apathy, it's probably of less impact than many assume. It's hard to change old ways and habits.

[robert angel]

Look at the pie chart and tell us who is it that looks to president Trump for the truth or medical advice....or anything for that matter. jajaja

I daresay that chart would look quite different post clinton/era, obama era, actually significantly different from year to year.

But the purported 29.9% who don't vote, they're recognized as substantial (even if 'potentially) 'swing voters'.

That group is more often than not, democratic. No wonder CNN is running their own ads, pushing people to get out and vote. So are a lot of people from the left and to the middle of the political spectrum.

The Republicans don't worry as much, as their party followers do actually show up to vote more predictably.

[Elexpatriado]

https://scatter.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/making-voter-pie/


I don’t know what happened to my pie chart....I guess it didn’t get uploaded. But here is the article it came from...it is post Clinton Obama. The 30 percent of Americans that don’t vote doesn’t change much from election to election. They aren’t swing voters....hell they don’t even bother to register to vote.

It showed up for me.

The ones not voting are likely the ones burning and looting and toppling statues..


They will probably be too stoned to vote come election day..then start new protests the following day should Trump get re-elected


Quite ironic -its these Post Modern progressive types who created Trump. If there had been some more centralist Democrats and Republicans in the first place, and if the humanities faculties in all the universities hadnt gone way off on a Marxist Tangent indoctrinating the students, the reactionary Trump phenomena never would have occured in the first place.


Its all basically symptoms of the collapse of Western Civilization anyway..not much we can do about it..just sit back and watch the train wreck ..and try to protect yourself personally

[robert angel]

It showed up for me.

The ones not voting are likely the ones burning and looting and toppling statues..


They will probably be too stoned to vote come election day..then start new protests the following day should Trump get re-elected


Quite ironic -its these Post Modern progressive types who created Trump. If there had been some more centralist Democrats and Republicans in the first place, and if the humanities faculties in all the universities hadnt gone way off on a Marxist Tangent indoctrinating the students, the reactionary Trump phenomena never would have occured in the first place.


Its all basically symptoms of the collapse of Western Civilization anyway..not much we can do about it..just sit back and watch the train wreck ..and try to protect yourself personally

Call them lazy, ignorant, spoiled, disenfranchised, apathetic, apolitical and more, but there will always be a substantial number of people that fit at least one of those labels and they're the ones not voting. What's funny is that even when not voting, they probably still have a favorite.


Going back before 'Boss Tweed' and Tammany Hall made giving out turkeys and perks of patronage for political support to the lowest classes of people (in that case the Irish. who even before they quickly became US Citizens, were signed up to fight and die in our wars) It's the same thing today, only different. Now you donate and later you get something in return. Like maybe rezoning your land to commercial for 10 grand and for ten million, you're suddenly ambassador to Sweden or some such.


Our secretary of education had no experience with public education, but her family gives 100's of million$ to republican causes. After you have more money than you can ever spend, the only thing left is power.


Used to be a pretty reasonable donation and you got to sleep in the White house's "Lincoln Bedroom" but that's gone up a bit recently.


But rich, rich and powerful and poor alike--if they have a cell phone and TV, if they get mail--they will all be subject to the same media menu to choose from.


The media (and using them takes MONEY) and that includes the internet of course, has never been as essential to gaining political office as it is today. I think trump proved that. Using the internet effectively became arguably, a deciding factor in our last federal election.


But also more than ever before, the media-especially the 'news'- is not typically objective. Wherever you search and importantly the news and stuff that you can't avoid when you look on your phone and TV, it's almost always slanted. CNN's more liberal than fox and so on, yada yada. The more viewers, the more money, so pull em in however you can.


But beyond slant and spin, they decide just for starters, what's important, adding words like 'breaking', 'major', 'shocking revelation' and so on, seemingly adding significance to what's a story that THEY decided is 'news'.




Don't get me wrong--be it covid-19, racial injustice, lbgt, climate change etc. etc, -- we need to know about those things and more, but what we're getting lacks balance and objectivity. Then add layers of so called 'fake news' interspersed with overly sensationalized stories (if it bleeds it leads) and we're just being fed a diet of pre selected pap.


It's sometimes called 'The tail wagging the dog' and here I say it implies that instead of objectively reporting the news and facts and letting them determine people's decisions based on facts, the media is the 'thing' that is determining --driving the circumstances and consequential actions of the people.


"You believe what you wanna believe" but it's hard for most non recluses to avoid the standard media patter.
presidential candidates like biden and trump are textbook pictures of politicians--rich old guys, with veneered teeth, hair transplants and lots of cosmetic surgery. Like game show hosts, which in a way is exactly what they are. After all, they give away all the prizes!!


And while academia has always had a liberal bent, most presidents and politicians in general come from the same schools in equal numbers of republicans and democrats. Yeah the University of Michigan and Stanford's more to the left than most Ivy League schools, (Brown's the liberal Ivy League outlier) but in terms of influencing public opinion and voting, the masses are acting more on what they see and hear, and that's mostly media feed that has at least a bit of their own 'agenda' guiding what and how the media chooses to show you.


I'd guess that universities and think tanks that identify more with republican, conservative ideals than do the liberal's side, donate more money and get more for it at the ballot box


But more than ever, the internet has influenced political outcomes. I have no doubt that foreign operatives are currently trying to manipulate our political outcomes. We too as a nation have a long history of trying to support foreign leaders and candidates who are in alignment with US policy.


But covertly using the internet, and that goes way beyond generating 'fake news'-- when foreign operatives are clandestinely working in direct conjunction with US citizens/officials to manipulate the elections, that's illegal.


There's a line that's 'yet to be determined' on the new post 1990's media/TV/internet fronts and foreign involvement in our affairs.


Right now that yet to be determined 'line' falls somewhere between 'leveraging your position' and 'treason.'


And asking for the government to change or regulate it is like asking the very people who control the game and stand to benefit the most, to change the rules.

[robert angel]

It showed up for me.

The ones not voting are likely the ones burning and looting and toppling statues..


They will probably be too stoned to vote come election day..then start new protests the following day should Trump get re-elected


Quite ironic -its these Post Modern progressive types who created Trump. If there had been some more centralist Democrats and Republicans in the first place, and if the humanities faculties in all the universities hadnt gone way off on a Marxist Tangent indoctrinating the students, the reactionary Trump phenomena never would have occured in the first place.


Its all basically symptoms of the collapse of Western Civilization anyway..not much we can do about it..just sit back and watch the train wreck ..and try to protect yourself personally

While in my opinion we're probably at least another generation or two from utter and total "collapse", we do indeed see "symptoms."
From electronics and computer systems from China, really China developing their unique own "parallel universe" for everything that drives their own economy, that and currency changes will bring the end.

[robert angel]

While in my opinion we're probably at least another generation or two from utter and total "collapse", we do indeed see "symptoms."

From electronics and computer systems from China, really China developing their unique own "parallel universe" for everything that drives their own economy, that and currency changes will bring the end.



And unlike the last world war, if the Chinese and the Russians team up instead of the Germans and Japanese this time (and they were a fight to the death handful) we'll be in trouble. Of course before that happens, they will have already invaded and taken physical or virtual (financial/infrastructure) control of not just neighboring nations, but even distant ones in places like S. America. You don't think China's building power plants, ports and a new Panama Canal in Nicaragua out of the good of their hearts, do you? They are making a serious move on controlling the vital Strait of Malacca and China sea. They are building air strips and military bases--dumping land into the oceans to create new islands in strategically military vital areas globally.


We have prevented them from having access to some cell phone (USA) markets, but just ONE Chinese cell phone company, Huawei, sold more phones than Apple did in 2019.


And that's w/o allowing them access to Google or Android or to the giant USA market. They decided if we're going to 'play that way' that they need to be self sufficient, quit copying us and be able to make everything that goes into technology, from design and materials to product.

Before, we sent them the our plans and they built it. Then they copied and counterfeited. No more...


The Chinese view control of space as an essential military project. Boeing Aerospace and Carlyle Group sold them the  final satellite they need not just for listening in and 'communicating' with the entire planet, but to not only utilize current GPS globally, but to hack existing GPS and as they will do, create their very own GPS system, so when ours is knocked out, they'll still have control.


As we have belatedly begun to cut them off from our highest, most commercial and military sensitive technology, they have stockpiled what they need for at least a year already.


But as the USA's consumers and yes, our military, is reliant on Chinese production of technology, they are in firm control of the rare earth elements that our leading edge of defense MUST have. Those rare earth elements are in a lot of everyday objects we use.


Rare earth elements are found in such trace amounts in relatively few mines to the point that only the Chinese and Russians, with slave and dirt cheap labor, can supply them.


As China becomes a 'self sufficient parallel universe' no longer needing the USA buyers to provide the current symbiosis--the 'need' for each other, the USA will suffer.


If the US dollar no longer is taken seriously as the world's 'Reserve Currency'--if another nation's--or bitcoin--or digital currency in general, is the new 'gold standard'--we may end up basically being the farm, the food producer, for the rest of the world.


Like most 1st world nations, the USA's economy is largely built on 'intellectual property'--we don't really manufacture our own things--not nearly as much as we once did. We don't seem motivated to change that--we're much happier to just pay much less for everything--no problem, as long as it's made in China. Once our banks and insurance interests are neutered, we're going to suffer.


Agriculture is still big. The Middle East has largely given up trying to desalinize water to grow their own food. Instead it's cheaper for them to deplete our essential aquifers to grow crops to export right here. They cut out the middle man--us--our farmers--using our own land and water. Especially out west--our 'bread basket'--many farmers and ranchers are going out of business as their underground water is being depleted. Climate change just makes it worse everywhere. When things get desperate, awful things happen.


So control over space and technology, control over nations, land and shipping lanes, as well as water and food supply concerns, those are very real, very ongoing critical concerns that are going to spell much greater trouble down the line.


China and Russia against us? Who would fight with us? The UK is less than 70 million total. Canada and Australia together have fewer people than the UK. The rest of Western Europe has little military capability. Next year, India will surpass China as the largest population, but they're not remotely ready for war.


The writing's on the wall. I think the only way to avoid war in the long term is to continue diplomacy that (unlike in WW! and WWII) doesn't placate China and Russia by letting them take over more territory.

That placating didn't work before and it won't work again against bullies.


That and realizing that while we need to be more self sufficient in technology (as well as able to make our own face masks and Q tips) we have to realize that the world economy is going to--that it HAS to, remain symbiotic overall.

[robert angel]

From electronics and computer systems from China, really China developing their unique own "parallel universe" for everything that drives their own economy, that and currency changes will bring the end.



And unlike the last world war, if the Chinese and the Russians team up instead of the Germans and Japanese this time (and they were a fight to the death handful) we'll be in trouble. Of course before that happens, they will have already invaded and taken physical or virtual (financial/infrastructure) control of not just neighboring nations, but even distant ones in places like S. America. You don't think China's building power plants, ports and a new Panama Canal in Nicaragua out of the good of their hearts, do you? They are making a serious move on controlling the vital Strait of Malacca and China sea. They are building air strips and military bases--dumping land into the oceans to create new islands in strategically military vital areas globally.


We have prevented them from having access to some cell phone (USA) markets, but just ONE Chinese cell phone company, Huawei, sold more phones than Apple did in 2019.


And that's w/o allowing them access to Google or Android or to the giant USA market. They decided if we're going to 'play that way' that they need to be self sufficient, quit copying us and be able to make everything that goes into technology, from design and materials to product.

Before, we sent them the our plans and they built it. Then they copied and counterfeited. No more...


The Chinese view control of space as an essential military project. Boeing Aerospace and Carlyle Group sold them the  final satellite they need not just for listening in and 'communicating' with the entire planet, but to not only utilize current GPS globally, but to hack existing GPS and as they will do, create their very own GPS system, so when ours is knocked out, they'll still have control.


As we have belatedly begun to cut them off from our highest, most commercial and military sensitive technology, they have stockpiled what they need for at least a year already.


But as the USA's consumers and yes, our military, is reliant on Chinese production of technology, they are in firm control of the rare earth elements that our leading edge of defense MUST have. Those rare earth elements are in a lot of everyday objects we use.


Rare earth elements are found in such trace amounts in relatively few mines to the point that only the Chinese and Russians, with slave and dirt cheap labor, can supply them.


As China becomes a 'self sufficient parallel universe' no longer needing the USA buyers to provide the current symbiosis--the 'need' for each other, the USA will suffer.


If the US dollar no longer is taken seriously as the world's 'Reserve Currency'--if another nation's--or bitcoin--or digital currency in general, is the new 'gold standard'--we may end up basically being the farm, the food producer, for the rest of the world.


Like most 1st world nations, the USA's economy is largely built on 'intellectual property'--we don't really manufacture our own things--not nearly as much as we once did. We don't seem motivated to change that--we're much happier to just pay much less for everything--no problem, as long as it's made in China. Once our banks and insurance interests are neutered, we're going to suffer.


Agriculture is still big. The Middle East has largely given up trying to desalinize water to grow their own food. Instead it's cheaper for them to deplete our essential aquifers to grow crops to export right here. They cut out the middle man--us--our farmers--using our own land and water. Especially out west--our 'bread basket'--many farmers and ranchers are going out of business as their underground water is being depleted. Climate change just makes it worse everywhere. When things get desperate, awful things happen.


So control over space and technology, control over nations, land and shipping lanes, as well as water and food supply concerns, those are very real, very ongoing critical concerns that are going to spell much greater trouble down the line.


China and Russia against us? Who would fight with us? The UK is less than 70 million total. Canada and Australia together have fewer people than the UK. The rest of Western Europe has little military capability. Next year, India will surpass China as the largest population, but they're not remotely ready for war.


The writing's on the wall. I think the only way to avoid war in the long term is to continue diplomacy that (unlike in WW! and WWII) doesn't placate China and Russia by letting them take over more territory.

That placating didn't work before and it won't work again against bullies.


That and realizing that while we need to be more self sufficient in technology (as well as able to make our own face masks and Q tips) we have to realize that the world economy is going to--that it HAS to, remain symbiotic overall.

Well, almost a couple years later and we have a 'proxy war' against the russians, with with the chinese lending them monetary and other indirect aid. Things like this rarely end well.

[Calipro]

From electronics and computer systems from China, really China developing their unique own "parallel universe" for everything that drives their own economy, that and currency changes will bring the end.



And unlike the last world war, if the Chinese and the Russians team up instead of the Germans and Japanese this time (and they were a fight to the death handful) we'll be in trouble. Of course before that happens, they will have already invaded and taken physical or virtual (financial/infrastructure) control of not just neighboring nations, but even distant ones in places like S. America. You don't think China's building power plants, ports and a new Panama Canal in Nicaragua out of the good of their hearts, do you? They are making a serious move on controlling the vital Strait of Malacca and China sea. They are building air strips and military bases--dumping land into the oceans to create new islands in strategically military vital areas globally.


We have prevented them from having access to some cell phone (USA) markets, but just ONE Chinese cell phone company, Huawei, sold more phones than Apple did in 2019.


And that's w/o allowing them access to Google or Android or to the giant USA market. They decided if we're going to 'play that way' that they need to be self sufficient, quit copying us and be able to make everything that goes into technology, from design and materials to product.

Before, we sent them the our plans and they built it. Then they copied and counterfeited. No more...


The Chinese view control of space as an essential military project. Boeing Aerospace and Carlyle Group sold them the  final satellite they need not just for listening in and 'communicating' with the entire planet, but to not only utilize current GPS globally, but to hack existing GPS and as they will do, create their very own GPS system, so when ours is knocked out, they'll still have control.


As we have belatedly begun to cut them off from our highest, most commercial and military sensitive technology, they have stockpiled what they need for at least a year already.


But as the USA's consumers and yes, our military, is reliant on Chinese production of technology, they are in firm control of the rare earth elements that our leading edge of defense MUST have. Those rare earth elements are in a lot of everyday objects we use.


Rare earth elements are found in such trace amounts in relatively few mines to the point that only the Chinese and Russians, with slave and dirt cheap labor, can supply them.


As China becomes a 'self sufficient parallel universe' no longer needing the USA buyers to provide the current symbiosis--the 'need' for each other, the USA will suffer.


If the US dollar no longer is taken seriously as the world's 'Reserve Currency'--if another nation's--or bitcoin--or digital currency in general, is the new 'gold standard'--we may end up basically being the farm, the food producer, for the rest of the world.


Like most 1st world nations, the USA's economy is largely built on 'intellectual property'--we don't really manufacture our own things--not nearly as much as we once did. We don't seem motivated to change that--we're much happier to just pay much less for everything--no problem, as long as it's made in China. Once our banks and insurance interests are neutered, we're going to suffer.


Agriculture is still big. The Middle East has largely given up trying to desalinize water to grow their own food. Instead it's cheaper for them to deplete our essential aquifers to grow crops to export right here. They cut out the middle man--us--our farmers--using our own land and water. Especially out west--our 'bread basket'--many farmers and ranchers are going out of business as their underground water is being depleted. Climate change just makes it worse everywhere. When things get desperate, awful things happen.


So control over space and technology, control over nations, land and shipping lanes, as well as water and food supply concerns, those are very real, very ongoing critical concerns that are going to spell much greater trouble down the line.


China and Russia against us? Who would fight with us? The UK is less than 70 million total. Canada and Australia together have fewer people than the UK. The rest of Western Europe has little military capability. Next year, India will surpass China as the largest population, but they're not remotely ready for war.


The writing's on the wall. I think the only way to avoid war in the long term is to continue diplomacy that (unlike in WW! and WWII) doesn't placate China and Russia by letting them take over more territory.

That placating didn't work before and it won't work again against bullies.


That and realizing that while we need to be more self sufficient in technology (as well as able to make our own face masks and Q tips) we have to realize that the world economy is going to--that it HAS to, remain symbiotic overall.

The writings on the wall alright.


China will eventually be eating our lunch and there is really nothing we can do about it. I don't think China wants to invade the USA....they just want us to wake up to reality.


The GDP of the USA and China are about equal right now. But China has a population that is more than 4 times that of the USA. So when the per capita GDP of the Chinese is about half of that of the per capita GDP of the USA ....China's economy will be twice as large as the US economy.


And when the Chinese economy is 3 or 4 times as large as the US economy we will be completely irrelevant.


The only thing that will slow China down are their demographics....China has an even a larger percentage of senior citizens compared to younger workers due to their once one child policy....But now  the Chinese can have as many children as they like and China is even giving incentives for people to have children.


The US has a much greater ability to import workers and young immigrants than China has....so we have a chance to slow down the the take down of the new world order.....but in the end....it is inevitable. China will be at least twice as big as us if not more.


Russia sees the writing on the wall. They realize they will never be number one....so they make friends with the big new BIG kid on the block. They also see that oil and gas will be a smaller part of the global economy in the future....so what do they do....they are taking over Ukraine to control a larger portion of the world's bread basket.






 

[robert angel]

The writings on the wall alright.


China will eventually be eating our lunch and there is really nothing we can do about it. I don't think China wants to invade the USA....they just want us to wake up to reality.


The GDP of the USA and China are about equal right now. But China has a population that is more than 4 times that of the USA. So when the per capita GDP of the Chinese is about half of that of the per capita GDP of the USA ....China's economy will be twice as large as the US economy.


And when the Chinese economy is 3 or 4 times as large as the US economy we will be completely irrelevant.


The only thing that will slow China down are their demographics....China has an even a larger percentage of senior citizens compared to younger workers due to their once one child policy....But now  the Chinese can have as many children as they like and China is even giving incentives for people to have children.


The US has a much greater ability to import workers and young immigrants than China has....so we have a chance to slow down the the take down of the new world order.....but in the end....it is inevitable. China will be at least twice as big as us if not more.


Russia sees the writing on the wall. They realize they will never be number one....so they make friends with the big new BIG kid on the block. They also see that oil and gas will be a smaller part of the global economy in the future....so what do they do....they are taking over Ukraine to control a larger portion of the world's bread basket.

Epic post. India and China have the same population right now and Indians like lots of babies. India's still a bit hamstrung as a bureaucracy nightmare based loosely on vestiges of British colonial rule. But the tech sector is different there in growth speed, as data becomes the new 'water' and while we're awake and asleep, their software and data management--all the 'plumbing' is managed through their developers.


I don't know if they'd join us in a war with China.


But meanwhile we've long reached a symbiotic relationship with China similar to the late 70's; where I remember my political science professor saying we don't nuke each other because it'd guarantee 'MAD" = "Mutually Assured Destruction"--now it's that economically as well.


But we have a president with loose lips volunteering that if China tries to take Taiwan, we're sending in the mighty seventh fleet-so who the hell knows. Look at any serious US chart and you'll see strong economic performance during war engaged years.


Teddy Roosevelt: "Speak softly and carry a big stick."


Putin's seeing that traditional assets, including gold and crypto, never mind fossil fuels, aren't worth what they were, especially when international sanctions really are making life difficult--tech warfare in synch w/ the west.


Meanwhile our most worrisome countries have almost all the lithium used for all the new electric vehicle batteries, using slave labor wages that make us gathering from our own decently sized US mines economically impossible. We need to crack hydrogen power--something--or else we're fried. What a fine mess this is!!


In the end, ammo will be the last currency and a hershey bar--not to forget a bag of seed--will be worth more than a bar of gold. My wife can shoot better than me AND reload faster!