China Thread

[McDad]

They aren’t in Cuba though. Not yet.

I’m not saying it’s “fine” for us and not them. I’m saying they can’t do anything about us being there - not now.

We can do something about Cuba throwing open it’s doors to China. In a way that China cannot do about Taiwan or Japan - not at this point.

I’m not saying it’s “right”, or “fair”, or even.

China simply cannot operate over here like we operate over there. Not yet anyway. They certainly would like to.

What would you have America do to Cuba to prevent an agreement between it and China?

 

[85SugarVol]

What would you have America do to Cuba to prevent an agreement between it and China?

I don’t know. I’m willing to hear proposals.

Can they be bribed?
Can they be squeezed?
Wanna go Teddy Roosevelt?

I’m not saying we should bomb Havana.

 

[AM64]

I don’t know. I’m willing to hear proposals.

Can they be bribed?
Can they be squeezed?
Wanna go Teddy Roosevelt?

I’m not saying we should bomb Havana.

Most of the Cuba wouldn't look a whole lot worse if it had been bombed. There are beautiful buildings, but most are literally hulks - gutted and covered in mildew and mold. I was amazed by the lack of industry (not meaning production facilities); you just didn't see people working despite all the buildings in ruin. There was scaffolding and sometimes cranes, but nothing happening. The food was OK, but not anything to brag about, and we ate a whole lot better than the locals. I found almost none of my pictures from the tour bus were any good due to the quality of the roads and it looks like the glass in Chinese buses. When you do find beautifully restored places, you also find they are often the property of a foreign government - official residence or consulate.

When we went, you had to be on a tour dedicated to one of a few areas like education. You have a guide and go everywhere on a bus where you are told all the good and how without our embargo it would be better. Nobody will admit that communism/socialism was abject failure. Almost every building has water tanks on the roof because the water supply only works some days of the week. Those old American cars are really there, but the one we rode in like most others ran on a Gaz diesel - the shell is the old car, but the power is almost always some sort of Russian powertrain. We got one background/indoctrination about how the US screwed Cuba but nothing of how US companies that had invested there lost all their investment.

I'd guess Cuba wants money - lots of money, but not enough to really drop what's left of their failed socialist experiment. That's a shame in a lot of ways because there's opportunity both ways. I know I'd love to see things with real sugar in them again as opposed to corn syrup. You do see some trucks and even horse drawn carts hauling sugar cane. Our last few days were in Cienfuegos - near the Bay of Pigs - complete with a visit to the museum dedicated to the invasion. One of the more interesting things happened at the Cienfuegos airport when we left. When our flight landed (American Airlines), I noticed armed guards patrolling the runway so nobody could cross over and stow away. I'm happy to have been able to see Cuba in my lifetime, and I enjoyed the trip, but my overwhelming feeling toward Cuba and the Cuban government would be that sarcastic "I really like what you've done with the place." I can't see China being what Cuba needs, and I also can't see the socialists working hand in hand with the US either - just too stubborn to admit failure.

 

[headhunter15]

 

[85SugarVol]

Well if there’s one thing this Biden administration does well, it’s execute an evacuation.

 

[Velo Vol]

Reminder that this is the country that is going to unseat the dollar because the US economy is terrible.

 

[85SugarVol]

If China is in Cuba, is it not in the Caribbean?

I was wrong. Well, the WSJ was wrong (CNN too) and I was basing my assertion off their reporting - so I was wrong too as a result.

The Hill -
https://thehill.com/policy/internat...ince-2019-biden-administration-official-says/

A Biden administration official confirmed that China has had a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019, The Associated Press reported, just days after the administration denied claims that Beijing was developing a spy facility on the island nation.

The Administration just flat out lied about it -

“Certainly we know that China and Cuba maintain a relationship of sorts, but when it comes to the specific activities outlines in the press reporting, based on the information we have, that is not accurate,” Ryder said. “We are not aware of China and Cuba developing any type of spy station.”

When contacted early Sunday, the Pentagon referred The Hill to the National Security Council, which has not responded to a request for comment.

 

[LouderVol]

why is CHINA in the TAIWAN Straight? I thought names mattered to you Ras?

 

[LouderVol]

Sure. We’ve got outposts in South Korea and Japan. Been there for decades.

We’ve been projecting power there for a long time - because we can.
China doesn’t project power in the Caribbean - because they can’t.

They have been moving in on the Panama Canal. They haven't been able to get control of the Canal yet, but they are doing their typical tricky business of trying to make non-Chinese operation of the Canal too expensive. This time they are buying up a lot of the surrounding infrastructure, supply, and repair capability. And they are charging more for those services.

 

[85SugarVol]

They have been moving in on the Panama Canal. They haven't been able to get control of the Canal yet, but they are doing their typical tricky business of trying to make non-Chinese operation of the Canal too expensive. This time they are buying up a lot of the surrounding infrastructure, supply, and repair capability. And they are charging more for those services.

How is Panama’s balance sheet? Last thing we need is them taking out a “loan” from the PRC…

 

[McDad]

How is Panama’s balance sheet? Last thing we need is them taking out a “loan” from the PRC…

America should build a canal along our southern border. Benefits:
1. Provides a formidable barrier for illegal immigrants and smugglers.
2. Increases our economic influence worldwide.
3. Stabilizes trade.
4. Insurance against enemy nations creating a choke hold on trade.
5. Attach hydro electric generators to the locks so electricity produced when water drains.
6. Revenue

 

[LouderVol]

How is Panama’s balance sheet? Last thing we need is them taking out a “loan” from the PRC…

Not sure.

 

[Septic]

America should build a canal along our southern border. Benefits:
1. Provides a formidable barrier for illegal immigrants and smugglers.
2. Increases our economic influence worldwide.
3. Stabilizes trade.
4. Insurance against enemy nations creating a choke hold on trade.
5. Attach hydro electric generators to the locks so electricity produced when water drains.
6. Revenue

I wonder if there would be any inexpensive labor around those parts? Cheap labor and no OSHA standards might make it more affordable than one may think.

We'd need 7-11 to install some more stores, not nearly enough Super Big Gulp and Tacitios to feed the labor pool.

 

[85SugarVol]

America should build a canal along our southern border. Benefits:
1. Provides a formidable barrier for illegal immigrants and smugglers.
2. Increases our economic influence worldwide.
3. Stabilizes trade.
4. Insurance against enemy nations creating a choke hold on trade.
5. Attach hydro electric generators to the locks so electricity produced when water drains.
6. Revenue

That’s a big canal bruh

 

[Orangeburst]

Enemies at the door: Copycat Samsung plant in China - KED Global

Poor Koreans..the CCP has stolen trillions from us. What is the ****ing point of having a WTO and such when they just steal and paste? Ridiculous.

 

[McDad]

That’s a big canal bruh

Not big. It's...

 

[AM64]

Finally somebody is dealing more seriously with this issue. Read up on the Chinese state owned Frontier Services Group and its founder Erik Prince. BTW, that Erik Prince is also the same Erik Prince (and supposed Navy SEAL officer) who founded Blackwater ... a true piece of scum.

Beijing Criticizes New US Sanctions on Companies over Pilot Training, Weapons Development

 

[EasternVol]

Finally somebody is dealing more seriously with this issue. Read up on the Chinese state owned Frontier Services Group and its founder Erik Prince. BTW, that Erik Prince is also the same Erik Prince (and supposed Navy SEAL officer) who founded Blackwater ... a true piece of scum.

Beijing Criticizes New US Sanctions on Companies over Pilot Training, Weapons Development

Betsy DeVos' brother. Wasn't he close to the Trump administration? Maybe draining the swamp was a ruse.

 

[AM64]

Betsy DeVos' brother. Wasn't he close to the Trump administration? Maybe draining the swamp was a ruse.

Can't say I know much about either Prince or his sister, but it looks like they spent enough money getting republicans elected that she got DOE spot that she definitely didn't seem fit to have - the evils of money and politics. Prince seems to have done quite well during both rep and dem administrations, and made bundles through DOD and CIA; and then started working with foreign governments - like China. Apparently the FBI was on him for some other shady stuff like selling arms. You get the impression they are an ambitious family and don't have many scruples about where the money comes from or what they do to "earn" it. We need to put a stop to mercenary armies whether Wagner, Blackwater, or other. This article even ties Prince to Wagner.

Erik Prince Offered Lethal Services to Sanctioned Russian Mercenary Firm

 

[Orangeburst]

 

[Volsdeep4]

Sexy not scary

 

[headhunter15]

 

[headhunter15]

The Pentagon Is Freaking Out About a Potential War With China

America needs to begin war production on everything before this scenario plays out and we get our ass kicked on the world stage.

 

[Franklin Pierce]

EXCLUSIVE: Chinese Intel Arm Quietly Operates ‘Service Centers’ In 7 US Cities

A Chinese intelligence agency quietly operates “service centers” in seven American cities, all of which have had contact with Beijing’s national police authority, according to state media reports and government records reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) United Front Work Department (UFWD) — which at least one U.S. government commission has characterized as a “Chinese intelligence service” — operates so-called “Overseas Chinese Service Centers” (OCSCs) that are housed within various U.S.-based nonprofits. OCSCs were ostensibly set up to promote Chinese culture and assist Chinese citizens living abroad, according to Chinese government records.

EXCLUSIVE: Chinese Intel Arm Quietly Operates ‘Service Centers’ In 7 US Cities

 

[BreatheUT]

It is alarming what is going on with China and how brazen they've been with this administration. Then there is the weakness coming out of the Biden Administration. Both are and have been unevenly in China's favor.