There’s a lot of background discussion about this latest issue created by Elon Musk signing a pledge to support the socialist (communist) economic enterprise systems under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.

Most of the current discussion is focused on the weak ideological ‘free-market and democratic’ commitment exhibited by Musk’s adherence to the rules and dictates of the Chinese state.  However, I’m staying far outside the esoteric and nuanced implication of this.  The reality is much simpler.

Elon Musk is in a dire financial situation; he cannot afford to be high-minded and ideologically connected to free-speech and free-enterprise right now (if he ever was).

The Musk empire is in a very weak financial position; these decisions made, while China is holding such financial leverage over him, are made without option.  Ironically, Twitter is banned in China. lolol

(Via Daily Mail) – […]  Elon Musk’s Tesla was the only foreign company in the lineup of 15 other automakers to sign the letter.  Part of Musk’s pledge was a promise to support China’s ‘core socialist values’ and bear ‘the heavy responsibility of maintaining steady growth.’ 

The automakers also agreed not to ‘exaggerate or use false publicity and disrupt fair competition with abnormal pricing,’ according to Bloomberg. 

China accounts for one third of Tesla’s annual sales, reports the FT. The communist country is Tesla’s second-largest market after the U.S. and the Shanghai plant is the electric car maker’s largest production hub. 

Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher with Human Rights Watch, criticized Musk’s moves, telling the FT: ‘Failing to comply with ‘core socialist values’ has been frequently used by authorities to punish speeches that are critical of the Chinese government.’  (read more)

Once you strap onto the ride with the dragon, you don’t get off until the ride’s over.

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

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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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The Ron DeSantis campaign continues to collapse under the inertia of its central flaw, a terrible candidate.

Hundreds-of-millions have been amassed to structure the pretending, create the brand image and present the narrative of something completely false.

The central flaw was always, eventually, going to surface.

Tens of millions have been spent on the launch and careful construct. However, when the core of the effort is built upon a false premise, there is nothing that can be done to change the outcome. Truth has a way of being self-evident; this represents the ultimate problem for the DeSantis team.

Every single week since the launch of the DeSantis campaign he has lost ground. The more Ron DeSantis is pushed into the voting audience, the less he is supported. In a desperate effort to stop hemorrhaging that support, the branding and image consultants decided to replace the candidate with a stand-in, his wife, Jill “Casey” DeSantis.

Think about this in context. The best hope of a multi-million-dollar ‘Never Back Down operation’ is to remove the principal from the equation and use an alternate. That’s the mindset of the DeSantis brain-trust. That’s their solution to the central flaw; remove the candidate – show him less.  None of their action deals with the central flaw, because the core of the problem is the center of the operation.

[READ ARTICLE HERE]

The only hope for the assembly behind those hundreds-of-millions, behind all those group chats, email lists and meeting rooms of professional political consultants, is if some external force removes President Donald Trump.   Ultimately, that’s all they have.  Without an external intervention, the downward spiral continues.

When you realize this central truth, you can then go back to what I was saying in the summer of 2022 and get an idea of what I meant.

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The Netherlanders are a rather dramatic sort, organizing their system of governance on coalitions of various shades that agree to high-minded pleasantries as a way to remain above the fray of pesky conflict.  Alas, once a moment of core and consequential disagreement reaches an impasse, the entire Dutch government is said to “collapse.”

The Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte traveled to Tunisa earlier this year, together with EU leaders, pledging €1 billion in assistance if the North African gatekeepers could just stop the flow.  The effort didn’t work, and his small country of 18 million, already dealing with major internal conflict driven by farmers and climate change, could not cope with the toxic political challenge of increased unlawful migration.

Associated Press – The ruling Dutch coalition collapsed Friday after tense talks among the four parties in Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s ruling bloc failed to broker a deal over ways to rein in migration, a senior politician said. 

Henk Kamp, a senior member of Rutte’s People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy told Dutch television: “It is a great shame that the government has now fallen.” The failure of months of talks on the thorny issue could now force a general election. 

Rutte’s Cabinet gathered late Friday in a hastily scheduled meeting. “We talked for a long time, we are coming here tonight because we did not succeed,” Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren told reporters as she walked into the Cabinet meeting.

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Nevada is going to play a key role in the 2024 election.  Historically, Clark County Nevada has been the western edge of the corrupt political municipalities similar to Philadelphia County, PA; Fulton County, GA; Wayne County, MI; Cook County, IL; Madison, WI; and Maricopa County, AZ.

The Sea Island GOPe group and the California GOPe have collaborated in Clark County several times, including 2008 on behalf of Obama, again in 2012, in the 2018 midterms and in the 2020 election to assist Trump removal.  The Never Back Down group have been seeding the background there on behalf of Ron DeSantis for ’24.

Whether the Trump organization can overcome the UniParty corruption in NV is yet to be determined, but any change first comes with an admission of how serious the problem is.  This framework sets the stage for President Trump to attend a Nevada campaign recruitment effort today and deliver remarks to the field generals who will be in charge of trying to fight against the tilted machinery.  Livestream Links Below.

{RSBN Livestream Link}  –  {Alternate Livestream LINK}

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In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the JoeBama Administration and Presidency.

“This is no small thing, to restore a republic after it has fallen into corruption. I have studied history for years and I cannot recall it ever happening. It may be that our task is impossible. Yet, if we do not try then how will we know it can’t be done? And if we do not try, it most certainly won’t be done. The Founders’ Republic, and the larger war for western civilization, will be lost.”

“But I tell you this: We will not go gently into that bloody collectivist good night. Indeed, we will make with our defiance such a sound as ALL history from that day forward will be forced to note, even if they despise us in the writing of it.”

~ Mike Vanderboegh

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

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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(more…)

This latest development from the Biden administration is concerning on many levels.

The White House is announcing their approval to send cluster bombs to Ukraine in an effort to provide a very deadly and dangerous type of munitions that have been resoundingly criticized by most of the western alliance. Cluster bombs are not just dangerous on the battlefield, they are also notorious for creating collateral civilian damage.

That said, when you overlay the reality of the Ukraine policy, essentially World War Reddit, being driven in large part by a psychological operation that is challenging to figure out from a reality perspective; in combination with very unstable people in the U.S. government seemingly playing war within the larger policy agenda; one must also look at this from a Russian intelligence position.

Is the Biden administration really willing to deploy cluster bombs or is this some PR narrative intended to give the impression the U.S. is willing to up the stakes in the use of weapons that will continue escalating, regardless of consequence. There are a lot of unstable minds within this larger Ukraine narrative as promoted by the White House, Pentagon and State Dept (CIA).

WASHINGTON DC – The Biden administration on Friday announced it will include cluster bombs in the United States’ next $800 million weapons package for Ukraine, as well as armored vehicles and air defense missiles.

President Joe Biden acknowledged it took some time to be convinced to provide the controversial weapons, but he stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine’s ammunition supplies while preserving U.S. inventories, as well as discussing how Kyiv plans to deploy the bombs.

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It’s been a while since we had a genuine Treehouse challenge. So, today I stumbled upon an excellent opportunity for each Treeper to test their mental stamina, and the contest has benefits.

Yesterday Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was asked on Fox News, essentially, why he could not relate to people [video segment below fold]. Ron responded by saying, essentially, ‘hey, who cares, did you see how much money we’re raising‘. People immediately started being snarky and discussing it. However, the real answer can be found in this Treehouse challenge below.

♦ Here’s the rules: (1) Watch the video below which is prompted to start at 2:14. (2) You cannot walk away for a break, you cannot pause the video, you must sit and watch it without the assistance of alcohol, medication or any other cognitive numbing substance. (3) How long were you able to watch the video? (4) Everything is on the honor system. (5) Respond in the comments with your honest answer of how long you were able to watch. (6) Whoever lasts the longest is the winner.

Turn off any other distractions. Get yourself mentally prepared. Ready?

Okay. WATCH:

Be honest.

How many seconds did you last before you just couldn’t take it any longer?

Respond with your honest assessment of your stamina in the comments.

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