The tedious China scare in Latin America

In a January article for Foreign Affairs, former Peruvian presidential candidate Julio Armando Guzmán depicts increased Chinese investment in Latin America as an existential threat to the region’s democracies.

The tedious China scare in Latin America

Related:

NED: FALL 2022 REAGAN-FASCELL DEMOCRACY FELLOWS

NED/CIA’s candidate lost the 2021 Peruvian general election and is calling for regime change in Peru, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and El Salvador!? 🧐💭

China’s suspected spy balloon had Western-made components with English writing on them, report says

China’s suspected spy balloon had Western-made components with English writing on them, report says

Related:

EXPLAINER -What we know and don’t know about the Chinese balloon

By looks and by size, it resembles balloons made by U.S. firm Aerostar, whose own balloon was mistaken for the Chinese one while flying over Memphis.

Aerostar is an aerospace and defence contractor that supplies stratospheric balloons to the likes of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) made out of polyethylene film that can fly for over 200 days and carry hundreds of pounds.

It also previously had a deal with Google to use such balloons to provide internet to rural areas.

Other companies that develop stratospheric balloon systems include U.S. space tourism firm World View and French firm CNIM Air Space.

[2019] US military begins testing flying surveillance balloons across the country to TRACK people’s movements

Stratollites can maintain position over specific areas of interest for days, weeks, and eventually months on end. This allows for more sustained measurements and monitoring capabilities over a targeted area. Stratollites can carry a wide variety of commercial payloads (sensors, telescopes, communications arrays, etc.), launch rapidly on demand, and safely return payloads back to earth after mission completion.

Worldview Stratollites are commercial high altitude balloons like Google Loon – Worldview had an explosion December 2017

Emerging Markets Aim To Capitalize On Shifting Semiconductor Supply Chains

After the US levied sweeping restrictions against China’s semiconductor manufacturing industry last autumn, opportunities are emerging for other countries to bolster their positions in the supply chain for this critical component of the global economy and linchpin of future technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and next-generation computing.

Emerging Markets Aim To Capitalize On Shifting Semiconductor Supply Chains

Only one U.S. semiconductor plant! 😠

Stepping up US war preparations against China, Victoria Nuland visits South Asia

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland visited Nepal, India and Sri Lanka between January 28 and February 1, before travelling to Qatar. Her trip coincided with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent trip to South Korea for high-level meetings with President Yoon Suk-yeol and Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop.

Stepping up US war preparations against China, Victoria Nuland visits South Asia

The specter of socialism haunts US Congress

*Trigger Warning*: this talks about socialism, which seems to trigger some of those who follow my blog. If you don’t like something, that I post, either scroll on by or unfollow me!

A specter is haunting Congress: the specter of socialism.

Last week, as the US Congress discussed approving billions more dollars in weapons for the war against Russia and began negotiating cuts to social programs in advance of the debt ceiling expiration, the House spent three days discussing and adopting a resolution denouncing socialism and pledging to reverse all the social gains made by the working class on a global scale in the century since the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Before the resolution was brought to a vote Thursday, the Republican-controlled House Rules Committee rejected a proposed amendment introduced by Democrats that would have clarified “that opposition to the implementation of socialist policies in the US does not include federal programs like Medicare and Social Security,” according to the Hill.

The specter of socialism haunts US Congress