Pure propaganda even if factually true because

• what is a “teapot refinery”? Is that two shirtless dudes smoking cigarettes in a basement while stirring a barrel of oil or is that actually referring to the most advanced refineries on earth?
• It’s not trade actually it’s “oil for weapons”, just like Saddam Hussein and Iraq with “oil for food”
• “compliance and oversight risk” scary words especially since US law doesn’t apply to direct trade between China and Iran
• friendly reminder to all western companies that if you’re not buying from US oil then you risk sanctions. Even buying from friendly/neutral places like Malaysia is a compliance risk so you better be buying oil from the US oil companies who paid the PR rep who wrote this article

EuroNews - Chipmaker Nexperia said it halted China shipments on payment refusal

Posting mainly because the article describes Nexperia as “Dutch owned” and apparently the fact that Nexperia was very recently seized from Chinese ownership is somehow not a salient fact to include in the discussion.

Instead this is framed as China stealing Dutch IP rights, which the Dutch stole fair and square from the Chinese first I guess.

Workers exempt from conscription:

• rich people
• McDonald’s workers
• direct servants of rich people

He was still fuckn alive??

nonetheless

A lot of it to Microsoft to run their servers

Joining Russia and China like this is by far the greatest strategic fuckup since Athens invaded Sicily during the Peloponnesian wars.

RAND REPORT - Accept China has won. Best case scenario is avoiding a century of humiliation

clarify U.S. objectives in the rivalry with language that explicitly rejects absolute versions of victory and accepts the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party.

each side must accept, in ways that are deeply ingrained and broadly shared among decision-making officials, that some degree of modus vivendi must necessarily be part of the relationship

each side must accept the essential political legitimacy of the other.

state that it does not support Taiwan independence, seek a permanent separation across the Straits, or oppose peaceful unification

creating the maximum incentive for Beijing to pursue gradual approaches to realizing its ultimate goal

Reunification. Taiwan surrendered its stranglehold on chips and became a chip itself to be traded accordingly.

[The US should] balance its commitments to Taiwan with leveraging its influence to ensure Taiwan's actions do not escalate tensions with China… use its potential leverage over Taiwan to limit its activities that upset the status quo.

This would have been a great strategy for the US to adopt 10 years ago.

As God hath set the king over the people, so must all his subjects obey him as God’s own vicegerent on earth. - Hans Shane

The King shall be the supreme head of all his subjects, both ecclesiastical and secular, and they shall owe him obedience as to God himself. - Lex Regia

Under this commandment is also contained obedience to all superiors and authorities whom God has set over us — especially the King, who rules us in God’s stead. - Erik Pontoppidan’s exposition on the 4th Commandment

A good Christian is also an obedient subject; for God has bound together religion and obedience to authority. - Ludvig Harboe

Selected Lutheran quotes defending democracy

Bloomberg - Distress in Europe Retail Above 2009 Levels, Weil’s Index Shows

While eight out of ten industry groups experience lower levels of distress compared with the previous quarter, conditions worsened across retail and consumer, which remained the most distressed sector.

Germany is Europe’s most distressed market, with limited signs of recovery and the Bundesbank expecting flat growth until at least 2026, the report showed.

Industrials is the second most distressed sector, with Germany a key drag on the outlook, according to the report. That’s followed by real estate, where refinancing pressures remain “significant” even though the pace of deterioration has slowed.

Huh it sucks that market-based economic planning doesn’t work for Russia.

Given how resource-rich they are, it’s odd to accept that limitation for purely ideological reasons.

Has Russia ever considered trying a centralized command economy instead? It might work better for them.

They are all

• not blonde
• clearly not even Northern European
• yet also not Chinese (like Shinzo Abe)

What else could they be? Someone offer them tapas just to be sure.

Also the implication that they did this because they’re fucking evil and not starving and desperate