A shooting war between the U.S. and China seems far-fetched at the moment,
but could be plausible once the Pentagon reduces its rare earth mineral exposure on the Asian country and sets up new processing facilities in Australia.
Lord's meeting comes after a series of threats made by the Chinese to block rare earth mineral exports to the U.S.,
about 17 minerals in total,
mostly used in fifth-generation fighter jets,
M1 Abrams tank armor,
radars,
lasers,
and engines.
Based on what I know,
China is seriously considering restricting rare earth exports to the US. China may also take other countermeasures in the future.
What irks Washington and the neocon warmongers in the White House is that China controls 80%
of the global processing capacity of rare earth minerals.
To derisk and decrease reliance on China,
the Pentagon also held talks with Canada and countries within Africa to develop rare earth reserves.
"
China represents a significant and growing risk to the supply of materials and technologies deemed strategic and critical to U.S. national security;
a challenge shared by key allies such as Germany and Australia,"
the report read. Last month,
President Trump directed the Pentagon to develop new ways in acquiring magnets made from rare earth minerals,
suggesting that reliance on China or other countries could one-day result in declining stockpiles.
When the Pentagon can fully source its rare earth minerals from Australia,
which would ultimately reduce its China exposure to zero,
that will be the moment when war planners in Washington might feel comfortable in waging a shooting war against China in the South China Sea.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-28/combat-china-pentagon-races-develop-rare-earth-mineral-plants-australia
Pork prices in China have soared to record highs in the past two weeks,
adding pressure on a government trying to contain food-price inflation during the trade war with the U.S.,
even as the country's Producer Price index posted its first negative print in 3 years,
putting China in a bind:
contain soaring food inflation,
or stimulate the economy and risk an angry public backlash.
Speaking to the WSJ,
Darin Friedrichs,
senior Asia commodity analyst,
at INTL FCStone in Shanghai said "
It's hard to know where prices are going to go.
We're in uncharted territory."
He said his own grocery bills have increased by 35%
for pork belly since November and 32%
for pork chops since January.
The 27%
surge in pork prices - a core component of the Chinese CPI basket - lifted the headline inflation index by 0.59%. It could not have come at a worse time:
due to the trade war between the US and China,
Beijing's tariffs on U.S. pork have increased prices of American meat.
Traditionally,
Chinese people typically eat far more pork than other meat;
in fact China is the single biggest consumer of pork in the world.
As pork prices rise to levels that are prohibitively high for many,
consumers are changing their buying habits,
pushing up prices for other meat.
"
I've never seen anything like this,"
said Xiao Tong,
a vendor who has been selling pork for nearly 20 years in Beijing.
Beijing levied new tariffs totaling 50%
on pork from the U.S. last year and in June suspended pork imports from Canada.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-08-29/ive-never-seen-anything-china-reels-pork-prices-explode-record-levels
Rep. Ilhan Omar is demanding that the United Nations take control of the U.S. border with Mexico in a mirror of how Europe was inundated with migrants following lobbying from international bodies.
"
We should do what any other country does by dealing with this situation in a serious way,"
Omar said during an immigration forum in south Minneapolis.
"
So,
we have to bring in the United Nations high commissioner on refugees,
an agency that has the expertise and the training to handle massive flows of refugees humanely."
Rep. Ilhan Omar says the *
United Nations*
must be brought in to handle the immigration crisis on America's southern border.
Omar,
who was accused this week of having an affair with a married man,
lectured the audience about the "
Moral high ground"
pic.
Any such intervention by the UN would represent a direct violation of U.S. sovereignty,
fundamentally weakening America's national security.
Omar previously called for the elimination of the entire Department of Homeland Security,
which was tasked with dealing with threats to the nation following 9/11. * * *
. There is a war on free speech.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ilhan-omar-demands-un-take-control-us-borders-mirror-european-migrant-crisis
One attempt to stop UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson from '
proroguing'
- or suspending - Parliament for five weeks in September and October to help prevent lawmakers from thwarting his plan to take the UK out of the EU with or without a deal has itself been foiled by a top court in Scotland,
which on Friday rejected a request to stop the prime minister's plan,
CNN reports.
The action was brought by a cross-party group of 70 lawmakers opposed to a '
no deal'
exit who were seeking an injunction against the attempt to prorogue Parliament until a final decision had been reached,
and is one of three legal challenges to Johnson's plan to circumvent any challenges from Parliament.
The ruling shouldn't be characterized as a defeat for Johnson.
The judge in the case,
Lord Raymond Doherty,
ruled only that there is no need for an immediate order to block the plan,
while moving forward a full decision on the matter until Thursday.
Nigel Farage,
founder of the Brexit Party and considered by some to be the '
godfather'
of Brexit,
complained about the '
remainer sabotage'
on Twitter following the court cases.
That tweet was in response to petitioners in the Scottish court demanding that Johnson provide an affidavit explaining why he wants to suspend parliament,
something that could open him up to cross examination,
according to the FT. With a full hearing now due before Scotland's Court of Session next Tuesday and Gina Miller and John Major's case set to be heard next Thursday,
attention will now turn to Belfast's High Court,
which will hear another challenge later on Friday.
The legal challenges come as Johnson is trying to step up talks with the EU about possible modifications to the withdrawal agreement.
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/scottish-judge-rejects-bid-stop-boris-johnson-suspending-parliament-ahead-brexit-day
An aide and top gatekeeper to President Trump has resigned from her position at the White House after reportedly being caught leaking to the press,
Bloomberg and the New York Times reported late Thursday.
Madeleine Westerhout,
the now-former special assistant to the president and director of Oval Office operations,
had worked for the president since the transition.
She shared details about Trump,
his family and his time in the White House during an off-the-record chat with reporters.
Westerhout served as a critical gatekeeper for the president.
Her office sat literally in front of the Oval Office.
Many former Trump staffers tried to turn Westerhout into an ally because of her ability to control access to the Oval.
Per the NYT,
her authority in the West Wing came almost entirely from her physical proximity to the president,
since she was not a "
Name brand"
aide.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-aide-and-oval-office-gatekeeper-fired-leaking
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders'
struggle to become the Democratic front-runner in the 2020 presidential election seemingly hit a major speed bump this week,
as the Federal Election Commission issued a document with 69 pages of problematic donations to his campaign.
With an Oct. 2 deadline,
Sanders has a little over a month to account for the 69 pages of "
Apparent excessive,
prohibited,
and impermissible contributions."
Sanders'
campaign site has a page that lets supporters donate exactly $
27 - a throwback to 2016,
when Sanders claimed the average donation to his presidential campaign was $
27. Should Bernie get his own donations under control before he continues his campaign?
One flagged donor gave the campaign more than two dozen donations in a roughly three-month period,
each of them totaling $
27. Others named in the document appeared to use the same tactic,
with another contributor filling 20 pages of the report with almost exclusively $
3 donations.
Dave Levinthal,
a federal politics and campaign money expert at the Center for Public Integrity,
noted that although the FEC often flags political campaigns for accounting issues,
a 69-page request is uncommonly large.
While all of these FEC documents don't accuse Bernie or his campaign of illegal activity,
they reveal a potentially deeper problem.
While other campaigns do sometimes receive these FEC notices,
the frequency and size of Sanders'
missteps might give even die-hard Bernie fans reason to reconsider their loyalties.
https://www.westernjournal.com/fec-demands-bernie-account-whopping-69-pages-questionable-donations/
The arrest of opposition activists and the ban of a mass rally planned for Saturday set the stage for an escalation of conflict between antigovernment protesters and police this weekend.
On Friday morning,
an appeals tribunal upheld a police ban on a mass rally planned for Saturday.
"
The Hong Kong activists were apparently arrested for supporting freedoms of assembly and expression-which are rights,
not crimes,"
said Sophie Richardson,
China director at Human Rights Watch.
Y Chan,
founder of the banned pro-independence Hong Kong National Party,
was detained at the airport late Thursday on allegations of rioting.
If passed,
the bill,
which has bipartisan support,
would impose penalties on Hong Kong or Chinese officials who suppress basic freedoms in the city.
The protests in Hong Kong were initially sparked by widespread objection to a bill that would have allowed extradition of criminal suspects to China.
The move drew strong opposition from Hong Kong's civil society and helped kick off the 2014 Umbrella Movement democracy protests in which protesters occupied roads in the heart of the city for 79 days.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/arrest-of-hong-kong-activists-rally-ban-set-stage-for-more-clashes-11567163889?mod=hp_lead_pos3
