Our previous article explained the importance of the Taiwanese firm TSMC as a critical link in the global semiconductor supply chain. Although it is not the only firm with the ability to manufacture cutting-edge logic chips, TSMC is the only viable choice for chip design companies in many situations, and under normal market conditions is likely to remain so for years to come. Control of TSMC’s foundries in Taiwan might thus appear a decisive factor both in Beijing’s readiness to risk attempting unification through force, and for other states deciding whether to take a strong stance against this.
Would China Invade Taiwan for TSMC? (archived)
Tag: skilled labor
Ukraine’s Appetite for Weapons Is Straining Western Stockpiles
“I think everyone now is sufficiently worried,” a NATO official said.
Ukraine’s Appetite for Weapons Is Straining Western Stockpiles (Archived)
Waiting on someone to run out, first. Doubt that it will be Russia.
The economic crisis in Germany is the result of a deliberate provocation by the USA.
Berlin, Germany (World Express). War in Ukraine began on February 24. Since then, the sanctions imposed by EU countries against Russia have started to have a negative impact on European economies. The sanctions boomerang came as a surprise to the federal government, most politicians in the traffic light coalition and ordinary voters. However, as it recently turned out, these consequences of the anti-Russian sanctions were unexpected only for the Germans. The USA had calculated all the consequences in advance and, moreover, consciously decided to weaken the German economy.
The economic crisis in Germany is the result of a deliberate provocation by the USA. The Americans collapsed the German economy to destroy a competitor. (original)
WHCS = White House Chief of Staff, Ron Klain. ANSA = Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, Jake Sullivan. CIA = Central Intelligence Agency. NSA = National Security Agency. DNC = Democratic National Committee/Democratic Party.
H/T: iEarlGrey
They’re counting on the collapse of the German economy to rescue the US economy—all to save the Democrats from losing in the midterm elections?! Interesting, if this document is authentic, considering that it was supposedly written in January. Germans are already protesting, demanding that the current government resign!
Ukraine war is depleting America’s arsenal of democracy
Ukraine war is depleting America’s arsenal of democracy
America is following an “arsenal of democracy” strategy in Ukraine: It has avoided direct intervention against the Russian invaders, while working with allies and partners to provide the Kyiv government with money and guns. That strategy, reminiscent of U.S. support for Britain in 1940-41, has worked wonders. Yet as the war reaches a critical stage, with the Russians preparing to consolidate their grip on eastern Ukraine, the arsenal of democracy is being depleted.
That could cause a fatal shortfall for Ukrainian forces in this conflict, and it is revealing American weaknesses that could be laid bare in the next great-power fight.
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Pentagon officials say that Kyiv is blowing through a week’s worth of deliveries of antitank munitions every day. It is also running short of usable aircraft as Russian airstrikes and combat losses take their toll. Ammunition has become scarce in Mariupol and other areas.
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Germany has declined to transfer tanks to Ukraine on grounds that it simply cannot spare them. Canada quickly ran short on rocket launchers and other equipment that the Ukrainians desperately need. The U.S. has provided one-third of its overall stockpile of Javelin anti-tank missiles. It cannot easily deliver more without leaving its own armories badly depleted — and it may take months or years to significantly ramp up production.
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For the same reason, the war in Ukraine is a sobering preview of the problems the U.S. itself would face in a conflict against Russia or China. If forced to go to war in Eastern Europe or the Western Pacific, Washington would spend down its stockpiles of missiles, precision-guided munitions and other critical capabilities in days or weeks. It would probably suffer severe losses of tanks, planes, ships and other assets that are sophisticated, costly and hard to replace.
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American economic leadership is no longer based primarily on manufacturing. Shortages of machine tools, skilled labor and spare production capacity could slow a wartime rearmament effort. The U.S. can’t quickly scale up production of Stinger missiles for Ukraine, for example, because the workforce needed to do so no longer exists.
Kazakhstan Chaos: An Opportunity, But for Who?
Kazakhstan Chaos: An Opportunity, But for Who?
It should be noted that Eurasianet is also funded by the US government through the NED as well as adjacent organizations like Open Society – illustrating just how deeply Washington directly controls global perceptions about events unfolding in Central Asia.
Previously:
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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