Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

Category: Foreign Affairs

U.S. Auto Makers Losing in China After Radical Shift to EVs

When the CCP pushes Chinese people to use EVs, they do so. This is not a story of the success of EVs. It a story of the power of totalitarian government. This is the kind of power that makes America’s environuts envious.

The biggest problem is China’s shift from traditional gasoline-powered cars in recent years to electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids, which now make up a majority of its market. The country had introduced policies and incentives that pushed buyers towards EVs, where they found better cars and better values in the Chinese brands.

“Ten years ago, President Xi Jinping and the Chinese automakers decided: ‘We have been chasing global automakers in internal combustion engine vehicles, and we’re not catching up. We’re going whole hog into electric,’” said Dunne.

Western automakers tried to stay the course with gasoline-powered cars, and for the most part, so did their JV partners. Now those companies — other than Tesla, which has a factory in Shanghai — are trailing far behind in an effort to keep up with lower priced EVs and hybrids from Chinese automakers, such as BYD.

It was a massive miscalculation by Western automakers, said Bill Russo, head of Shanghai-based investment advisory firm Automobility and head of Chrysler’s Northeast Asia operations from 2004 to 2008.

South Korea in Turmoil

Sheesh. The world seems to be coming apart at the seams. South Korea plunged into civil disarray after Yoon declares martial law, but then immediately backs down when the Parliament rescinds the order. There are a lot of Americans serving in South Korea protecting their border and they are a significant economic partner. We are living in very dangerous times.

“I am declaring a state of emergency in order to protect the constitutional order based on freedom and eradicate shameful pro-North Korea anti-state groups, that are stealing freedom and happiness of our people,” Yoon said on the country’s YTN news channel. He added that this would protect the country “from the threats of North Korea’s communist forces.”

 

“While the imposition of martial law may cause significant inconvenience to the law-abiding citizens who uphold the constitutional values of the Republic of Korea, I will strive to minimize these disruptions,” he added.

 

Yoon’s address was quickly followed by a proclamation from Martial Law Commander, Gen. Park Ahn-soo.

 

It said that “all political activities” would be banned, and that “all media and publications will be subject to the control of the Martial Law Command.”

 

“Strikes, work slowdowns, and gatherings that incite social disorder are forbidden,” it added. It also ordered “all medical professionals” to return to work within 48 hours.

 

“Violators of this proclamation will be subject to arrest, detention, and search and seizure without a warrant under Article 9 of the Martial Law Act,” it said.

Zelenskyy Pushes for NATO Membership

No.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — An offer of NATO membership to territory under Kyiv’s control would end “the hot stage of the war” in Ukraine, but any proposal to join the military alliance should be extended to all parts of the country that fall under internationally recognized borders, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a broadcast interview.

 

Zelenskyy’s remarks on Friday signaled a possible way forward to the difficult path Ukraine faces to future NATO membership. At their summit in Washington in July, the 32 members declared Ukraine on an “irreversible” path to membership.

 

However, one obstacle to moving forward has been the view that Ukraine’s borders would need to be clearly demarcated before it could join so that there can be no mistaking where the alliance’s pact of mutual defense would come into effect.

 

“You can’t give an invitation to just one part of a country,” Zelenskyy said in an excerpt of the interview with Sky News. “Why? Because thus you would recognize that Ukraine is only that territory of Ukraine and the other one is Russia.”

First, Russia, and more specifically, Putin, will not stand for it. Ukraine joining NATO is a red line for him and the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO helped precipitate this war. To understand why, look at a map. For centuries, Russia has feared invasion from the West. That fear is not without basis. See: Adolphus, Napoleon, Hitler, and many others who would have liked to try.

Russia’s western border is very long with few natural boundaries. To counter this, Russia’s traditional foreign policy has been to create and manage a buffer zone by conquering territory or leveraging allied buffer states. It has been this way for centuries.

Ukraine has a long border that juts into the southwest corner of Russia. Russia, and more specifically, Putin, views a NATO country that close to Moscow to be an existential threat. You may disagree with the argument that Putin’s fears are unfounded because NATO is a defensive organization. Your disagreement does not matter to Russia. Put yourself in their shoes. If China or Russia formed a military alliance with Canada or Mexico, we’d be a bit skittish too.

Second, there is nothing but downside for NATO countries to allow Ukraine to join. That math may have been a bit different before the war, but we must deal with the realities before us. Ukraine’s military capacity has been severely depleted. They bring nothing to the alliance. Instead, Ukraine would be outsourcing their military defense to the other NATO countries. They would be a military welfare state.

At the same time, allowing Ukraine into NATO dramatically increases the threat of a violent confrontation with Russia. See above. Put together, Ukraine joining NATO would obligate NATO countries to defend it while increasing the likelihood of needing to do so. It may not happen right away, but it will happen. The geopolitical realities don’t change even if we reach a temporary peace in Ukraine. It’s all upside for Ukraine. It’s all downside for every other NATO country.

Zelenskyy is looking for a way out of the war with the prospect of the military gravy train drying up. We should not let the prospect of a near-term peace doom us to a long-term war with a nuclear power.

Ceasefire in Lebanon

May peace take hold.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, over 60 days Hezbollah will remove its fighters and weapons from the area between the Blue Line – the unofficial border between Lebanon and Israel – and the Litani river, about 30km (20 miles) to the north.

 

Hezbollah fighters will be replaced by Lebanese army forces in that area, who will ensure that infrastructure or weaponry is removed and that it cannot be rebuilt, according to a senior US official.

 

Over the same 60 days, Israel will gradually withdraw its remaining forces and civilians, Biden said, adding that it would enable civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes.

Massive Chinese Hack of Networks Threatens National Security

We shouldn’t have to say it, but China is not our friend.

(CNN) — Top telecom executives met with US national security officials at the White House on Friday as concerns mount over a long-running Chinese cyber-espionage campaign that has targeted some of the most senior US political figures in the country.

The hackers burrowed deep into some major US telecom providers to spy on phone calls and text messages and have proved difficult to kick out of some networks, people briefed on the matter said.

[…]

The hack is shaping up to be one of the biggest cyber and national security challenges facing the incoming Trump administration.

It is “by far” the “worst telecom hack in our nation’s history,” Sen. Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia and chairman of the intelligence committee, told CNN.

But the full scope of the hack, who it affects and its impact on national security are still being investigated.

The FBI has notified fewer than 150 victims, most in the Washington, DC, area, according to Warner. But all of those victims have likely called or sent texts to numerous people, meaning the number of records accessed by the hackers is likely far greater. The hackers could listen to the calls of specific targets for certain periods of time, according to Warner.

US officials and private cyber experts are keeping a running tally of the number of telecom firms breached. US broadband and internet providers AT&T, Verizon and Lumen have all been targeted in the hacking effort, CNN previously reported.

Maori Protest Equal Rights Bill

Interesting stuff. I’m certainly not an expert on New Zealand politics, but it appears that, in response to historic injustices against the Maori people, the laws have gradually come to favor them with special privileges. This bill would reset their laws to a status of everyone being equal under the law. The Maori people are opposing equality. This is something we may see in the U.S. some day if/when people get frustrated with the Native American tribes having special privileges under the law.

The ACT Party asserts that the treaty has been misinterpreted over the decades and that this has led to the formation of a dual system for New Zealanders, where Maori and white New Zealanders have different political and legal rights. Seymour says that misinterpretations of the treaty’s meaning have effectively given Maori people special treatment. The bill calls for an end to “division by race”.

 

Seymour said that the principle of “ethnic quotas in public institutions”, for example, is contrary to the principle of equality.

 

The bill seeks to set specific definitions of the treaty’s principles, which are currently flexible and open to interpretation. These principles would then apply to all New Zealanders equally, whether they are Maori or not.

 

According to Together for Te Tiriti, an initiative led by ActionStation Aotearoa, the bill will allow the New Zealand government to govern all New Zealanders and consider all New Zealanders equal under the law. Activists say this will effectively disadvantage the Maori people because they have been historically oppressed.

Israel Finds Russian Arms in Lebanon

Russia continues to be the armory of evil.

TEL AVIV—As Israel advances its invasion of southern Lebanon, its troops are finding large troves of Russian weapons, confirming longstanding suspicions in Israel that Hezbollah is enhancing its fighting capacity with the help of sophisticated Russian arms.

Some of the weapons, which include modern Kornet antitank missiles manufactured as recently as 2020, were sent to southern Lebanon in recent years from Russian stockpiles in neighboring Syria, according to Syrian security officials and an Arab official. Russia has long provided arms to Syria’s military, as well as controlling its own warehouses in the country.

Crimea is Gone

Ultimately, it’s up to Ukraine and Russia to end the war. Our choice, as Americans, is to decide how much more we will finance and how and whether we will use our power to help bring it to an end. But this is correct. If Zelensky wants to reclaim Crimea or expand the borders of Ukraine elsewhere, then there is not a path to peace.

A senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump says the incoming administration will focus on achieving peace in Ukraine rather than enabling the country to gain back territory occupied by Russia.

 

Bryan Lanza, a Republican party strategist, told the BBC the Trump administration would ask Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for his version of a “realistic vision for peace”.

 

“And if President Zelensky comes to the table and says, well we can only have peace if we have Crimea, he shows to us that he’s not serious,” he said. “Crimea is gone.”

 

[…]

 

Mr Lanza, Trump’s political adviser since his 2016 campaign, did not mention areas of eastern Ukraine, but he said regaining Crimea from Russia was unrealistic and “not the goal of the United States”.

 

“When Zelensky says we will only stop this fighting, there will only be peace once Crimea is returned, we’ve got news for President Zelensky: Crimea is gone,” he told the BBC World Service’s Weekend programme.

 

“And if that is your priority of getting Crimea back and having American soldiers fight to get Crimea back, you’re on your own.”

Dutch King Responds to Pogrom in Amsterdam

There needs to be more than words.

The Dutch king says Jewish people must feel safe in the Netherlands, after violent attacks against Israeli football fans in the centre of Amsterdam.

 

Willem-Alexander said “our history has taught us how intimidation goes from bad to worse,” adding that the country could not ignore “antisemitic behaviour”.

 

Youths on scooters had criss-crossed the Dutch capital in “hit-and-run” attacks on Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters who were visiting Amsterdam for a Europa League match, authorities said.

 

Police said five people were treated in hospital and others suffered minor injuries. At least 62 people have been arrested.

Trump to Visit Muslim Community in Dearborn, MI

Good for him.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Donald Trump is set to visit Dearborn, Michigan — the nation’s largest Arab-majority city — on Friday, according to a local business owner who first insisted the former president call for peace in Lebanon before hosting him.

 

Metro Detroit is home to nation’s largest concentration of Arab Americans, with a large chunk of them living in Dearborn. The city — which President Joe Biden won by a 3-to-1 margin — has been roiled by political turmoil, with many upset with the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

 

While Vice President Kamala Harris has been working through surrogates to ease community tensions, Trump’s visit will mark the first by either candidate, according to a local leader, Osama Siblani. Earlier this year, Harris met with the city’s Democratic mayor, Abdullah Hammoud, though their discussion took place outside Dearborn.

Sam Abbas, the owner of The Great Commoner in Dearborn, told The Associated Press that Trump was set to visit his restaurant.

 

“We expect some remarks around ending the war and bringing peace to the Middle East,” said Abbas. “I’m not here to get political. I’m not here to tell people which way I’m voting. I am simply here because our family is being slaughtered and we just want to end the war. Stop the bombing.”

 

Israel invaded Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack and last month launched an invasion of Lebanon to suppress Hezbollah, the militia that has continuously launched rockets into Israeli territory. At least 43,000 people have died in Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish in its death toll between combatants and civilians.

I think there are two major things in play here for why the Muslim community is lining up to support Trump. First, Muslim Americans are, after all, Americans. They are as frustrated with the higher cost of living, open borders, tax increases, etc. of the Biden/Harris administration. Muslims are also generally socially conservative (to put it mildly) and don’t like the woke BS infiltrating everything we do. For these voters, their religion is not necessarily the primary driver – just like Christians, Jews, and atheists who support Trump.

Second, for the Muslim Americans who are basing their support on America’s foreign policy in the Middle East, Trump’s foreign policy was far more effective in creating a framework for peace than Biden/Harris’ foreign policy. He was able to do this without wavering in his support for Israel by building connections on the basis of mutual self-interest – like a business deal. Trump was also more effective at keeping the crazies in their caves. He did this partially with the effective use and threat of force, and partly with effective diplomacy with the countries who can help control them. Trump neutered Iran, destroyed ISIS, and kept Russia at bay in the region. For Muslim Americans who want peace with dignity in the region, Trump is more likely to be able to deliver it.

Leftists Raise Taxes

In Britain, the Labour Party (liberals) took power in the last election. What are they doing? Raising taxes. It’s what they do. It’s an ideology that knows no borders. If America elects the Leftists, they will raise taxes on us too. It’s what they do.

Reeves set out plans to raise £40bn. She had promised not to put these rises on “working people”, without precisely defining who she meant. Instead, she explained that most of the money will be raised from businesses, and the better off.

 

In Britain, people who work, and the businesses who employ them, pay a national insurance tax. This is compulsory and it is used to pay for things such as benefits, hospitals and pensions. Reeves raised the amount businesses will have to pay, saying the increase would bring in a substantial £25bn.

 

“I know that this is a difficult choice,” she said. “I do not take this decision lightly. We are asking businesses to contribute more, and I know that there will be impacts of this measure felt beyond businesses … but in the circumstances that I have inherited, it is the right choice to make.”

 

Other taxes were raised too, including capital gains tax (paid when you sell an asset for more than you bought it) and inheritance tax. Private schools will have to pay more tax, as well as people who use private jets. It was the rise in national insurance, though, that was the big ticket of the budget.

Vietnamese Surge into the U.K. on Small Boats

There’s big money in smuggling people and entrapping them into servitude. Go read this story and about the elaborate underground system of gangs that funnels people thousands and thousand of miles through dozens of countries. Don’t think that those same gangs and their peers aren’t just as sophisticated getting people to the U.S.

Earlier this year, Vietnam emerged – abruptly – as the biggest single source of new migrants seeking to cross the Channel to the UK illegally in small boats. Arrivals surged from 1,306 in the whole of 2023, to 2,248 in the first half of 2024.

 

The Vietnamese do not control the small boat crossings themselves, which are largely overseen by a handful of Iraqi Kurdish gangs. Instead they negotiate access and timings.

“The Vietnamese are not allowed to touch that part of the process [the crossing]. We just deliver clients to [the Kurdish gangs],” says another Vietnamese smuggler, who we are calling Thanh, currently living in the UK. He tells us the extra cash secures priority access to the small boats for their Vietnamese clients.

Canada Cuts Back on Immigration

Any country can only absorb new arrivals, legal or otherwise, so fast without overwhelming systems. It takes time to build, assimilate, and adjust.

But in recent months, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he intends to significantly cut the number of immigrants allowed in Canada as public concern grows over inaccessible social services, high costs of living and unaffordable housing.

 

It is a major shift for both the country and Trudeau, who ran in 2015 on a platform of embracing multiculturalism as a key part of Canadian identity.

 

His government has relied on ambitious immigration targets to fuel economic growth.

 

In the face of criticism and plummeting approval ratings, the prime minister now says that his government miscalculated, and that Canada needs to “stabilise” its population growth so that public infrastructure can keep up.

 

On Thursday, Trudeau and Immigration Minister Marc Miller presented their most stringent immigration cutbacks yet – a 21% reduction of permanent residents accepted into the country in 2025.

Mexican President Pushes for Return to Old Diet

Marxists always have a soft spot for a more rural, simple, bland life for their people as they live large.

“It is about producing what we eat,” Sheinbaum said of her policy, whose main focus will be on increasing bean and corn production.

 

Sheinbaum appears to have a deep interest in boosting beans. On Monday, she said, “It is much better to eat a bean taco than a bag of potato chips.”

 

Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegué said the focus would be on guaranteeing prices for farmers who grow corn used for tortillas and lowering tortilla prices by 10% after prices jumped a couple of years ago.

 

The government aims to boost bean production by about 30% in six years to replace imports of beans, and will set up research centers to supply higher-yielding bean seeds.

 

“Self-sufficiency in beans is a goal the president has set for us,” Berdegué said.

 

The government will also focus on supporting coffee production, but mainly for instant coffee, which it claims is used by 84% of Mexican households. The plan will also seek to support cocoa production, but mainly for powdered baking and hot chocolate, not fine chocolate bars.

 

The policies appear to run counter to market trends and what Mexican food sales look like today, when consumption of most of the old basics has fallen.

 

Most Mexicans today shop at modern grocery stores, and consumption of fresh ground coffee, not instant, has increased enormously, accompanied by a boom in specialized coffee chains and shops.

 

Meanwhile, bean consumption has been dropping precipitously for decades in Mexico. According to the government’s “2024 Agricultural Panorama” report, Mexicans consume only about 17 pounds (7.7 kilograms) of beans annually. That’s less than half of the 35.2 pounds (16 kilograms) consumed per year in 1980.

Traitor(s) Leaks War Plans

Is it any wonder that Israel has stopped giving the U.S. a heads up on war plans.

Documents purported to show classified U.S. intelligence gathering on Israel’s preparations for a potential retaliatory strike on Iran appeared on social media platforms this week. It is unclear what impact the potential leak may have on any Israeli military planning for a possible strike on Iran, or Israeli-American relations.

 

On Sunday, House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged that there is an investigation underway into the possible intelligence leak during an appearance on CNN, and added officials are following it closely. A law enforcement source also confirmed the investigation to ABC News.

 

ABC News could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents, which appear to show specific details about the types and number of munitions that Israel may be readying for a potentially large-scale strike on Iran in retaliation for the regime’s late September barrage of almost 200 ballistic missiles aimed at Israel.

 

The documents posted on social media have markings that would indicate that they originated from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the U.S. agency that collects, analyzes and distributes intelligence gleaned from satellite and aerial imagery. ABC News is not quoting directly from or showing the documents.

A Little Less Evil in the World

Good job, IDF.

The Israeli military claims it killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar during a military operation in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

 

Sinwar had been credited with being the mastermind behind the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, during which over 1,100 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage. It was the deadliest attack against Jewish people since the Holocaust.

 

Israel Defense Forces said in an X post on Oct. 17 that they were investigating whether Sinwar was one of the three terrorists killed during a patrol in Gaza. The Associated Press reported that Israel was using Sinwar’s DNA, which is on file from his time in prison, to determine whether he was one of the terrorists killed. The IDF stressed there were no hostages in the area.

 

Hours later, the IDF posted that they had “eliminated” Sinwar.

Operation Beeper Began Years Ago

Absolutely amazing foresight and ingenuity.

The first part of the plan – booby-trapped radios – was initiated by Mossad in Lebanon in 2015. The concept for the pager operation emerged in 2022 and began to be implemented more than a year before the Hamas attack on October 7, reports The Washington Post.

 

[…]

A special proposal, allegedly from a well-known Taiwanese company, was developed for Hezbollah militants. The Apollo AR924 pager was somewhat bulky but ideal for combat conditions. It was waterproof and equipped with an extended battery that could last for months without recharging. However, its main advantage was its purported anti-tampering protection. Hezbollah leaders were so impressed that they purchased 5,000 units and began distributing them to mid-level fighters and support staff in February.

According to officials from Israel, the US, and Middle Eastern countries, around 3,000 Hezbollah officers and members were killed or injured when Mossad remotely activated the devices on September 17.

The idea for the pager operation originated in 2022, with elements of the plan being implemented more than a year before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

The first part of the plan – booby-trapped radios – was initiated by Mossad in Lebanon nearly ten years ago, in 2015. The mobile two-way radios contained large battery packs, hidden explosives, and a transmission system that provided Israel with full access to Hezbollah’s communications.

According to sources, for nine years, Israeli operatives eavesdropped on Hezbollah while maintaining the capability to turn the radios into bombs. However, a new opportunity arose: a small pager equipped with powerful explosives.

Hamas Disappointed With Lack of Arab Support

This is interesting.

DOHA, Qatar — The day after Iran launched strikes against Israel, a senior Hamas official told NBC News on Wednesday that the militant group has been let down by its Arab neighbors in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks.

 

In an interview in Qatar’s capital, Doha, where part of the group’s political wing is based, Dr. Basem Naim said Hamas was “disappointed by the reaction of the region, of the countries in the region.” Although some of them had supported the group politically and financially, he said Iran “was maybe the only country regarding supporting the resistance.”

He has a point. Where is Saudi Arabia? Iraq? Egypt? Jordan? Turkey? Oman? The UAE? Qatar? Libya? Bahrain? Syria? It is telling that none of these countries have stepped out to support Hamas or Hezbollah

Why?

Two reasons. First, for decades, the myth of a unified Arab or Muslim block is just that… a myth. These countries all have their own interests and, as history has shown, the sharpest fights are often between siblings. They have given rhetorical support to the Palestinian cause in an effort to further their own interests, but they aren’t interested in expending blood or treasure on it.

Second, knowing this first fact, Trump’s Middle East policy of engagement and economic entanglement based on mutual self-interest is paying dividends. Many of these Arab countries have political, economic, and even cultural ties to Israel, the United States, and European nations that are more valuable to them than the Palestinian cause.

Iran is on an island even in their own sea. That is largely thanks to Trump’s foreign policy.

CIA Solicits for Informants

Really? If you are living in one of these totalitarian countries and happen to be surfing around the CIA’s channels, you’re already on a list. Or you make the list. This feels like an agency that’s out of ideas.

The US Central Intelligence Agency has launched a new drive to recruit informants in China, Iran and North Korea.

 

The organisation posted messages on its social media accounts in Mandarin, Farsi and Korean on Wednesday, instructing users how to contact it securely.

 

This latest effort follows a campaign to enlist Russians in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, which the CIA says was a success.

 

“We want to make sure individuals in other authoritarian regimes know that we’re open for business,” a CIA spokesman said in a statement.

Army Disarms Police in Mexican City

How’s it going to our south?

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Local police in the cartel-dominated city of Culiacan, Mexico have been pulled off the streets after the army seized their guns, officials announced Monday.

 

The move came just one day after about 1,500 residents of Culiacan, the capital of the northern state of Sinaloa, held a march Sunday though the city’s downtown to demand peace after weeks in which cartel gunfights have killed dozens of people in and around the city.

 

But rather than announcing a stepped-up police presence, Ruben Rocha, the state’s governor, said Monday the entire 1,000-member municipal police force would not return to duty until they get their weapons back. Soldiers, state police and National Guard will take over patrolling until then.

Rocha said the seizure of the weapons for inspection of their permits and serial numbers was not a routine check, but rather was “exceptional,” and said “we hope it will end soon.”

 

Historically, the Mexican army has seized the weapons of local police forces they distrust, either because they suspect some local cops are working for drug gangs or because they suspect they are carrying unregistered, private sidearms that would make abuses harder to trace.

Archives

Categories

Pin It on Pinterest