▪️It should be remembered that President Trump's previous "bad" tariffs were not only kept in place under the Biden administration, they were expanded upon over the last 4 years indicating this is a bipartisan "deep state" agenda.
As I have argued elsewhere many times, Trump is – and always has been – a “Deep State” critter. He eats the flies they feed him.
One must keep in mind that whatever someone running for office in the US says about almost anything is intended to influence public opinion – it’s “PR” defined in terms of public bias and not reality. It should not be taken seriously. It is all theater.
In addition, what is the “Deep State”?
Most people think it is within the government – some kind of clandestine organization—a group of people who all meet secretly to direct the actions of those in the public view. A 21st Century Illuminati? That understanding is implied in the word “deep”-- monsters in the depths.
Gramsci did warn us:
The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born; now is the time of monsters.
But the “monsters ” are not inside, subterranean, subversive in the darkness, pulling us down –they are above –in the light. They say they are pulling us up — with them, while they trample us into the dirt.
They look like Elon Musk and Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, each attractive in his way, at least to some people.Nice smiles. No hoodies.
But each has immense financial power. And each has his dreams for the world, whether it is a colony on Mars or chips in your brain or whatever. They do not meet secretly—and publically only at events like Davos. Let’s forget about Epstein.
For them, Trump is just a comprador. An important one—but a comprador nonetheless
As was Biden. As was Obama.
The monsters have more money than they can count. So instead they count power.
Why are we so mistaken in our perceptions of these people?
Power has many aspects — so “hegemony” is not only international – it is cultural.
Take another look at the photo of our old friend Bill. Or maybe Elon.
What are these people really like?
The elites that comprise the ownership class are individuals-- and not connected directly to one another on a personal basis. In fact, they are not connected to anyone – including their own societies. Financial power is alienative. Poor people look for broken windows. The rich look of broken societies.
The only thing that matters is maintaining the power that their wealth confers –and getting more. In that sense, their interests align and are “organized” towards realizing a common goal. It is that alignment that gives the appearance of a cabal or secretive group, the “deep state” metaphor.
For our elites, politicians and the two parties of our single-party system are just investments. Buy and sell, when the time is right.
Look at how quick Bezo and Zuck’ were to donate money to Trump at the time of inauguration. It does not matter that Trump is even more genocidal than Biden.
Elites have just one common value—profit — whose currency is power.
This is end result of financial capitalism, as Michael Hudson defines it, which as Wallerstein indicates is the last stage of hegemonic cultures before they collapse.
In this situation, China and its “managed capitalism” , as well as its “consultative democracy” represents a threat. Keep in mind, that in Western countries, ownership of land is the key to every local economy, in fact the most basic form of “capital”. But in China, the government still owns all property. And corporations must serve the public interest. That’s why China was able to handle its housing crisis so well.
▪️Follow-up tariffs on not only China but now also Canada and Mexico are aimed at further permanently decoupling the US from China, not at negotiations or the stemming of "drugs" and "illegal immigrants," all of which are fabricated pretexts;
As the US economy worsens and faces the challenge of BRICS, which has grown from representing just over 30% of the world’s population to over 50%, the owners of the US fear that their vassal states if not the US public may be seduced to the “other side”-- which clearly offers more advantages for the future, both technologically— with China and Russia leading now in almost all areas and economically— and maybe morally and spiritually as well. Yes, Huawei is a threat and TikTok too.
Tariffs are like a policeman’s billy club.
Those clubs were symbols of authority, meant to wave about, to capture runaway slaves, who were property to be returned undamaged—which means not using the club too aggressively. But mostly he doesn’t need to use it - just wave it. Just the threat works. If that doesn’t work, gang up on him.
▪️Tariffs have precipitated a cost of living crisis in the US (coupled with a similar crisis in Europe linked to sanctions on Russia), a crisi both the Trump and Biden administrations are clearly indifferent to/
“The theory is “no pain, no gain”, which is fine for body builders taking steroids and with the genetics to build muscle, keeping in mind that big muscles are not necessarily strong ones – and the regimen often comes with heart disease, as you see in the case of people like Arnold.
That aside, the real point is that you cannot “gain” if you do not have a solid foundation for growth-- which would mean industrial capital – not financial capital, as Hudson and Wallenstein and others point out. Financialization is the economy’s version of steroids. It weakens you and kills you in the end. And ‘ware “roid rage”!
Japan grew rapidly protected by a weak yen and mostly “non-tariff” barriers-- but it was building from nothing, destroyed by WWII. Everyone was poor. That’s the secret: challenge and egalitarian meritocracy. .
The US could grow again too-- but it would have to start from nothing also. It would also need a weak dollar. That’s not going to happen. First the US must collapse—from the top down. The whole “MAGA” idea is the opposite of that. The US needs guillotines.
▪️The goal is very obviously to prepare for war with China, including a blockade of Chinese maritime shipping US moves against Panama and Greenland both serve as steps toward preparing.
War is also a way of increasing wealth for elites – especially in the US where the dominant industries are military, property development, and media, and Big Pharma. . Even if ordinary people are close to poverty and cannot buy, the MIC, can sell their products. The government buys - with your tax dollars, Taxes are “internal tariffs”. You pay— no matter what!
The public is like oil or gas — a resource to be fracked. Drill baby, drill.
Disrupting supply chains and raising prices, improves opportunities for elites not only for fracking LNG but for fracking you and me, who have to go into debt to get by. .
▪️Under the Biden administration, the reorganization of the US Marine Corps into an anti-shipping force likewise served as preparation for this.
The US military suffers from overpriced but often impractical equipment and even poorer strategies – all demonstrated in its various proxy wars – but especially in the Ukraine, the closest it has come to a peer level conflict since WWII. Reorganizing the MC as an anti-shipping force, however, is not a realistic strategy because the MC is not set up for this. The best it could do would be to secure bases in the Philippines. As a anti-shipping force in the East Chinese sea, it would be destroyed almost immediately.
The MC has already been used in the Red Sea.
The Houthis were unimpressed.
Submarines are of course another matter . The US had an advantage — 30 years ago.
As for the Marines? Just flag-waving.
▪️China and its trading partners (virtually the rest of the world) need to realistically face this and prepare for this US plan to strangle multipolarism in the cradle - negotiations with the US must be done with this in mind, realizing the US has no intention of ever striking an actual deal, but is instead preparing the battlefield
Rubio’s recent comments about the “new multipolar world” belie American fear of that world’s emergence and the US’s desire to stop multipolarity from ever happening.
But too little too late.
Trump’s declaration of financial war – tariffs-- in the interests of his financial overlords, America’s economic pantheon—signals a war the US can only lose—by creating consensus outside the American Collective (known also as the “West”) to create alternatives which recapitulate FDR’s concept of international democracy, as well as Chou En Lai’s Five Points. BRICS has something to offer. The US has only threats.
The US psychology is dominance-based': hence its inhumanity. BRICS, however, is a “reverse dominance” concept closer to our evolutionary beginnings as I explain in my most recent special article—and inherently more human. The US targets China as the keystone of BRICS.
▪️China's ability to innovate and replace US imports as well as diversify and protect alternative exports elsewhere from US destabilization (both regime change installing anti-China client regimes and the backing of violence targeting Belt & Road Initiative routes) will determine the outcome of Washington's actual objectives;
China has already proven its ability to innovate and replace US imports. Deepseek is just one of many information technology advances—not even fully developed. But China is rapidly developing new semiconductor technologies, looking beyond silicon to new materials. It will also benefit from Russian advances in metallurgical technologies and even EUV lithography.
The US can only double down on subversion, terrorism, and propaganda. No, Trump did not “cancel” USAID - he just brought under new management - the Department of State—for better control and targeting, drawing on the full resources of the CIA.
All in all, Brian Berletic’s article points the way to a new understanding of the decline of empire. But I don’t think there will be a military war with China because as time goes by the US gets weaker and Russia and China get stronger. A war with China would leave the US without bases in the Pacific.
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Never thought I'd see the day that the difference in the Western worlds capitalist ways. Are being proven in front of our eyes. To be so bad for the vast majority of citizens in capitalist countries. Compared to the systems that the Chinese & now Russian rulers have complimented in their countries. I read the reports given to President Putin in the various areas of Russian society. Healthcare, education, infrastructure projects, social policies & everything else that effects every civilian in the country. The ongoing projects of improvement are absolutely staggering. They make our Western capitalist countries look like the corrupt basket cases they are. It's amazing the achievements that are actually happening & in many cases have already happened. While we in the West. Have our media thrusting the multi billionaire class individuals in our faces 24/7 like they're God's that we alm should aspire to be the same as. Never letting us know how rigged the game is against us. Both the Chinese & Russian leaderships put huge emphasis on education. Their standards make ours look as pathetic as they are. I'm nearly 60 now & the decline I've witnessed in my own country is staggering. My wife works in primary school education & has done for over 25 years. She's very reserved & says very little. It takes a lot for her to get frustrated. But she's at the end of her tether now. She hates the thought of wishing her life away. But she's constantly talking about retirement now. Society is breaking down, too many unqualified immigrants a drain on the country. Not their fault at all. They only want to better themselves in the main. Sadly they come to my country & realise what they thought my country was. Is a completely different reality to what they're now experiencing. Hopefully BRICS is a big success & it filters through to the brainwashed masses.
Ahh, Tokyo based, uh?
Well, the reality here in the UnUnited Snake$ of Israel is, well, think of carnage. Think of a society of toughies like Hegseth running the show. And then all those super educated folk running for cover, the shadows.
The society is one big hedge fund for the super rich, but this country is not run by Musk or Trump.
A society of Jews in high office and in the shadows and in banking, finance, digital gulags. It is an extension of Talmud and Israel -- you think Fink and Blackstone and Ellison and Adelson and Adolph Netanyahu and Kushner and Stephen Miller are the exception, here?
And so, yes, impeachment proceedings, man. Emanuel has it here, clearly:
American Carnage and the Establishment of a Military Dictatorship
https://emanuelprez.substack.com/p/american-carnage-and-the-establishment
Immediate Impeachment is the only option, but we must bring criminal charges against all the collaborating politicians, Democratic and Republican alike. It does not matter if the call comes from a small handful of citizens at first. That is all it takes to galvanize the nation.
It breaks the heart to see so many lost souls congratulating themselves on the impending approval of Gabbard and Kennedy by the Senate, two corrupt and gutless politicians who have not said a word in opposition to the takeover of the Federal Government by the vicious gangs that prop up the Trump and Musk puppets. These same fools are delighted that Trump had somehow shut down the “deep state” by closing USAID without any explanation or transparency.
The Trump regime is engaging in an unprecedented takeover of the federal government by intimation, bribes, and force, and it is covertly merging the United States Northern Command, the FBI, ICE, and intelligence agencies into one massive instrument of oppression that serves not the senile Donald Trump, nor the narcissist figurehead Elon Musk, but a dark cabinet of billionaires who intend to weaponize the entire United States government against its own citizens and the world, to dismantle all parts of government that serve the needs of citizens, and to sell off everything held in common to the highest bidder, or the best connected financier.