Tucker Carlson gives a good preliminary outline showcasing the hypocritical argument being used against the social media platform TikTok and the auspices of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) expansion and influence in America.  Carlson walks through some of the current aspects of Chinese ownership and influence in the USA and then asks why is TikTok the focus of concern.

Rand Paul then joins Carlson to discuss the specific details of HR7521 and the interests of Washington DC as espoused.  Toward the end of their conversation, Rand Paul does a good job framing the issue around the global cleaving we have discussed at length here.  Senator Paul doesn’t specifically connect the dots clearly, but his larger point about where he sees this approach going is correct.  The global cleaving, which was triggered by Western sanctions against Russia, is a very real phenomena despite people denying it is taking place.  WATCH:

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Breeauna Sagdal – “Once you realize that TikTok and its parent company Bytedance have been working WITH the Biden Administration and CFIUS for the last three years to become compliant, once you realize that On January 19, 2021, one day before President Biden assumed office, the US Department of Commerce (Commerce) published an interim final rule implementing its sweeping new authority to block, unwind, or condition “transactions” involving information and communications technology and services (ICTS), once you realize that TikTok’s servers are in Texas, and then understand that the company already has an American board, and has already turned over ALL records of shareholders to the satisfaction of our federal government – then you start to understand the REAL target isn’t TikTok – it’s YOU via “X,” Rumble, Gettr, Crypto, and so on down the line of non-compliant, divergent thought, content hubs and decentralized financial mechanisms.”

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Serendipitously, or not – depending on who you talk to, I was previously scheduled to be in DC at the moment of inflection for the passage of HR7521, the proverbial “TikToK Ban Law.”   Allow me to encapsulate the issues and present the point of those who say there is nothing to worry about.

First, the context that should matter (it doesn’t because the USIC are in charge here) is that every element that preceded the passage of the Patriot Act is being duplicated in the passage of the TikTok ban.  Which is to say, everyone is deferring to this ridiculous need to support USA National Security.

We The People have been burned by this approach before, yet so many refuse to see the similarity.

Second, the essential shield for those who support the bill [READ HR7521] comes down to the term “Foreign Adversary”, which is defined in the bill as Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.  As they make the case, TikTok ban advocates cite the content or platform of the issue must originate from, and/or be controlled by, a foreign adversary…. so quit worrying.

However, the legislative language cites Foreign Adversary Controlled Application (FACA), which applies to content providers, apps, websites, social media and hosting platforms.  This is where things get sketchy, because “under the direction of” is language that is included in the legislation, and the determinations of “at the direction of” are made by the Attorney General.

If the content, platform, website, or social media app generates content that is considered a national security threat, and providing information therein that is deemed to be under the control of a “foreign adversary,” it is the content within, not necessarily the platform ownership itself, that transfers compliance inquiry to the U.S government (DOJ Attorney General) for definitions.

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Our own analysis of U.S. consumer prices in 2019 showed that prices of imported goods actually declined despite the tariffs. A recent report from CPA takes a look at the impact to Chinese exports to the U.S.  [SEE DATA HERE] Bottom line, the tariffs worked to reduce Chinese imports.

CPA – […] Since the Section 301 tariffs were imposed, the share of imports from China has steadily declined from 21.6% in 2017 the year prior to the tariffs to 16.5%, a decline of 5.1%. No other country has lost as much share of total U.S. import penetration over the past five years.

In terms of total import value, Mexico gained the most from the tariffs, adding $110.8 billion. Vietnam gained the second most in import value by $78.4 billion and by far gained the most of total share of U.S. imports. In 2017, Vietnam accounted for about 2% of U.S. imports at $46.5 billion. In 2022, the U.S. imported $127.5 billion in goods from Vietnam, and the share of the total nearly doubled to 3.9%. Other countries in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, Cambodia, and Indonesia all saw significant increases in their value of imports by the U.S. (read more)

With the 2024 election rapidly coming, it is worth revisiting the actual tariff outcome to American consumers in order to dispel the popular myths about tariffs raising prices here at home.  This might be the cited data you want to bookmark for later reference.

It was the Fourth Quarter of 2019…..

Right before the pandemic would hit a few months later, despite two years of doomsayer predictions from Wall Street’s professional punditry, all of them said Trump’s 2017 steel and aluminum tariffs on China, Canada and the EU would create massive inflation – it just wasn’t happening!

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The non-pretending reality behind this duo is that Marco Rubio knows Mark Warner participated in an illicit and unlawful effort to target Donald Trump using the intelligence community and the national security institutions which included the DHS, ODNI, CIA, FBI, NSA and a weaponized DOJ-NSD.

There is absolutely zero possibility Rubio didn’t know what the U.S intelligence apparatus, DOJ, Mueller team and his friend across the aisle, Mark Warner, was doing. Despite the SSCI silo that surrounds him, Senator Rubio knew the motives, intents and purposes of every element within this network from 2016 through 2021. Denying this reality is pretending on a level that is insulting to the honest observer.

As a consequence of that reality, anything Rubio and Warner say about the national security status is suspect to an admission they are both selling a story that is based on an entirely false framework about the construct of the geopolitical world outside the USA. If you understand the cleaving taking place between both global zones, West and non-West, then everything Warner and Rubio say about activity outside the Western sphere becomes transparently motivated. Most of their review is complete BS, and akin to trying to obfuscate the reality of the world “out there.”  WATCH:

TRANSCRIPT – MARGARET BRENNAN: Thank you for doing this–

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): Thank you.

MARGARET BRENNAN: –and for speaking in the bipartisan way you’re sitting down with us today. How would you both define the greatest national security threat facing our country right now?

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Republican senators Boozman, Capito, Cassidy, Collins, Cramer, Crapo, Hoeven, Ernst, Grassley, Kennedy, McConnell, Moran, Murkowski, Romney, Rounds, Sullivan, Thune, Tillis, Wicker, Young, and Cornyn all voted to send $95 billion to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan to protect their borders while leaving our borders unprotected.

This is the UniParty in all its glory:

[DATA SOURCE]

Most people just don’t realize the nature of the opposition we face. ¹The elected representatives simply don’t care what our opinion is, they will do whatever serves their interests and too hell with the voters.

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Trust me, I had to dumb down this headline to avoid the Google “reputation” block.   But let me start by reminding everyone [CHECK DATE]:

[SOURCE]

{GO DEEP} – And so, it begins:

White House – Today, at my direction, U.S. military forces—together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands—successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most vital waterways.
 
These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea—including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history. These attacks have endangered U.S. personnel, civilian mariners, and our partners, jeopardized trade, and threatened freedom of navigation. More than 50 nations have been affected in 27 attacks on international commercial shipping. Crews from more than 20 countries have been threatened or taken hostage in acts of piracy.  More than 2,000 ships have been forced to divert thousands of miles to avoid the Red Sea—which can cause weeks of delays in product shipping times. And on January 9, Houthis launched their largest attack to date—directly targeting American ships.

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In his New Year message to the people of China, Chairman Xi Jinping affirms the intention to unify Taiwan with China.

[Full Translation HERE] From the speech:

“We will continue to support Hong Kong and Macao in harnessing their distinctive strengths, better integrating themselves into China’s overall development, and securing long-term prosperity and stability. China will surely be reunified, and all Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”  ~ Chairman Xi Jinping (link)

This is sure to create anxiety amid the DC interventionists within the U.S. foreign policy establishment.  However, with the USA bogged down in two regional conflicts, Israel/Gaza and Ukraine/Russia, the window for China to influence the Taiwan election is wide open.

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I’m very serious when I share with people that almost everything we understand about the geopolitical purposes and impacts of sanctions against Russian economic interests is entirely fabricated.  However, because the scale of the propaganda against us is so effective, breaking the mental/cognitive barrier is almost impossible.

It’s not that situations are ‘shaped’ or information is ‘manipulated,’ like would be the definition of the term “disinformation.”  But rather that the entire construct of reality regarding the economic issues -as presented- is fabricated, created by massive financial interests, and flat-out lies; I mean, total unadulterated nonsense. Complete fiction.

This latest article from Reuters, and the accompanying graphic from ZeroHedge, only scratches the surface.

[SOURCE]

We are through the looking glass folks.  Literally captive to the narrative as sold by our Western government officials, and there’s a huge one-way mirror; beyond which, massive segments of the grey zone are looking at us as if we are pathetic victims of professional propaganda.

The worst part of this dynamic is how the USA looks insufferably weak, because we are playing this massive game of pretending that only the Yellow Zone is participating in.

MOSCOW, Dec 27 (Reuters) – Almost all of Russia’s oil exports this year have been shipped to China and India, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday, after Moscow responded to Western economic sanctions by quickly rerouting supplies away from Europe.

Russia has successfully circumvented sanctions on its oil and diverted flows from Europe to China and India, which together accounted for around 90% of its crude exports, Novak, who is in charge of the country’s energy sector, told Rossiya-24 state TV.

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The headline is the non-pretending reality.  Now that Joe Biden has designated EPA mandates for U.S. automobiles that include having at least 50% of all new vehicle sales be electric by 2030 {LINK}, three major Chinese EV manufacturers are reportedly building manufacturing facilities in Mexico.

Blackrock investments steer WH policy {Go Deep}. Blackrock investments are heavy in China and EV production.  Blackrock returns on their investments would be substantial with Chinese EV production in Mexico.  Quite a coincidence.

BUSINESS INSIDER – Three major Chinese EV companies are planning to build new factories in Mexico, sparking concern among US officials, according to a new report.

MG, BYD, and Chery are all looking at sites to build new factories in the country, according to unnamed sources cited by The Financial Times, and this investment is causing angst in Washington as it seeks to keep China out of the US electric car market.

US officials have reportedly raised concerns with their Mexican counterparts over Chinese investment, with the new sites potentially including a new $1.5 billion to $2 billion MG electric car factory and a factory investment worth hundreds of millions of dollars from Warren Buffett-backed Tesla rival BYD.

China’s electric vehicle market is booming, and local manufacturers are increasingly looking to expand overseas amid cutthroat competition for customers back home.

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Every person reading this has been impacted by the policy agenda of former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

NEW YORK, Nov. 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Dr. Henry Kissinger, a respected American scholar and statesman, died today at his home in Connecticut.

Henry Kissinger was born in southern Germany in 1923, where his father was a teacher. His family fled Nazi Germany and came to America in 1938. After he became an American citizen in 1943, Dr. Kissinger served in the 84^th Army Division from 1943 to 1946. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his “meritorious service.” Dr. Kissinger subsequently served in the Counter Intelligence Corps in occupied Germany. He was in the U.S. Army Reserves until 1959.

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