Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †
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[AUTHORS NOTE: Having attended the ASEAN conference to make contacts, after a brief respite at home I spent the past several weeks traveling Southeast Asia to research the likely impact from Trump’s tariff and global trade reset. Visits included manufacturing and distribution facilities in the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and South Korea. What I will share with you in the next few months is an overview from direct first-hand discussions, contrast against the MSM financial media outline.]
The predictable doomsday Wall Street Journal narrative includes a forecast for a massive drop in exports from China as shipping conglomerates begin to outline a drop in trans-pacific sea cargo and container carriers.
What I would say to concerned Americans is to filter out the political narrative and remind yourself of the expanded footprint throughout SE Asia that Beijing has already established. Chinese companies, many of them subsidized by the CCP, are pre-positioned to begin transnational shipping. I have witnessed it first-hand. However, here’s the WSJ narrative as it begins.
WSJ – The number of ships sailing from China to the U.S. laden with clothes, electronics, furniture and other goods is plunging, as an accelerating number of cargoes are canceled.
The scrapped sailings come after the Trump administration ratcheted up tariffs on China while giving a three-month reprieve on punitive levies for much of the rest of the world.
At the Port of Los Angeles, one of America’s biggest gateways for imports from China, executive director Gene Seroka told port officials Thursday that he expects a 35% drop in import volumes in two weeks “as essentially all shipments out of China for major retailers and manufacturers has ceased.”
An interesting report from the U.K reflects British government officials who feel their legal position against ‘free speech’ in Great Britain is now part of the negotiations for President Trump’s tariffs. Essentially, the tariff discussion is encompassing more than just tariffs; if the nation does not support traditional freedoms and liberty, they could face stronger tariffs from the USA.
The messenger for this dynamic is not coincidentally Vice President JD Vance, who aligns closely with the tech platforms. The tech control agents are bitterly opposed to President Trump’s tariff position, and this nuance is quite possibly a way to give the tech platforms an ancillary benefit, vis-a-vis free speech support.
The tech industry is facing pressure from the EU and British government to censor and control information content on their platforms. By adding the importance of free speech to the leverage of tariff pressure, President Trump gives both Main Street companies and American Tech Titans something important to their business interests. This is both a smart and righteous approach.
(Via The UK Independent) Sir Keir Starmer must embrace Donald Trump’s agenda by repealing hate speech laws in order to get a trade deal over the line, a Washington source has told The Independent.
The warning came after the US vice-president suggested a UK-US agreement may be close, with the White House “working very hard” on it.
This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †
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President Trump hosted Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in the Oval Office and took questions from reporters on Thursday. The majority of the question from both the U.S. and Norwegian media encompass the current effort to negotiate a ceasefire in Ukraine.
One of the ceasefire ‘sticking points’ per se’, is that immediately following the breakout of the conflict the government of President Zelenskyy changed many of their constitutional rules to include the legal elimination of opposition parties in the country, removal of religion or faith-based social influence that runs counter to the Ukrainian Nazi mindset, the cessation of elections in Ukraine, and other “emergency measures” intended to assist the stability of Zelenskyy’s government as they entered a war footing.
The results of the legal changes and constitutional framework, which included non-recognition of any lost territory, is now being leveraged by Zelenskyy in negotiations for a ceasefire. President Zelenskyy is now saying the ceasefire terms proposed, which include accepting regional losses of geography to Russia, are not constitutionally possible and he has no power to agree to them.
In essence, Zelenskyy’s emergency government changed the constitutional power of the President, cemented a new constitutional status during war, and now says those previous changes make it impossible to accept proposed terms. This self-fulfilling creation, intentionally done with forethought for exactly this kind of current scenario, is the baseline for frustration toward the Ukraine position. President Trump notes this Ukraine position is frustrating, while thousands die weekly in the process. WATCH:
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Apparently, all of the test pilots for biometrics, real ID etc. are now linked and active. As I approached the passport control kiosk with my passport in hand, the gentleman said “welcome back, enjoy the rest of your day,” and that was it.
I stood there for a second, asked if he needed my passport and he said, “no, you’re good. Go on through.” It seems the facial recognition software is live. You no longer need to show your U.S. passport or any ID when arriving through U.S. international passport control.
Now, I should say I have never signed up for TSA pre-check, Fast Track, or any other kind of Global Travel authentication. I have always opted to just be a grey traveler with as little a footprint as possible. I reentered the U.S. the same way in February and needed to show the traditional passport, etc. However, this time in April it was totally different. There is no longer any paperwork or documentation needed. It actually, seemed a little weird.
I should also note the U.S. “opt-out” for facial scans is a little bit of a ruse; the reason is when you depart from a foreign country, destined to the USA, the facial recognition is mandatory. The U.S. Dept of Homeland Security, TSA and Border Control, require all countries to authenticate the U.S. destined traveler at the point of exit. It’s not optional in other countries, you either comply or you don’t get to come home to the USA.
Because it’s not optional in other countries, and because the database is connected to the U.S. border entry system, the fact you can opt-out of having your picture taken inside the USA is moot; your facial impression is already captured at your point of departure from the foreign country and shared with U.S. homeland security.
This appears to be how the interconnected systems are now recording travel. By the time you reach the U.S. entry point, they already have a database of your biometrics to match your entry. Cameras located facing toward the traveler as they approach the kiosk, cross reference the data and the passport control officer knows exactly what authorities for entry you carry as you approach. Showing documentation such as your passport is no longer needed.
President Donald Trump will be holding a celebration of his 100 days in office during a stop in Michigan. It makes sense to pick Michigan as the auto industry is representative of the Trump global trade reset and tariff program.
So far, eleven new or expanded U.S. automotive factories have been announced as major automakers seek to establish production lines in the USA to avoid 25% auto tariffs. The latest announcement was from Toyota, for expanded facilities in West Virginia.
“Toyota Motor Corporation’s North American manufacturing subsidiary, Toyota North America Inc, announced this week that it plans to invest a further US$88 million in its West Virginia plant in the US to assemble its next generation of hybrid transaxles.” {source}
Additionally, South Korea is on the losing end of negotiation leverage due in large part to their position within the auto sector. Japan has already had preliminary discussions with the Trump administration on a new free trade agreement. Now we see South Korea coming to the table for the agreement outline today.
(Reuters) – A South Korean delegation will meet U.S. counterparts on Thursday for an opening round of trade talks, with cooperation on shipbuilding and energy expected to be on the agenda, and possibly shared defence costs, as Seoul seeks lower tariffs.
This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †
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