No. of Recommendations: 7
Wonder why Iran's President is still breathing? We've had ample opportunities to whack that guy and yet he's not only been seen and heard, he's been out in public.
Why do you think that is?Because the President is purely a figurehead role who has no formal authority in the government? Unlike in other countries, the head of state in Iran doesn't carry the title of Prime Minister or President - that title is "Supreme Leader."
Oh, we don't control their oil, just tell them who they can sell it to out in the open. Distinction without difference.We don't tell them who they can sell it to. Or rather, we "tell them" they can sell it to anyone they want - which is the same thing.
Yeah, we're not doing *any* diplomacy work at all. Just bombing the sh1t out of people.I didn't say we weren't doing
any diplomacy. But we're clearly not centering diplomacy, or soft power, compared to using military power.
Look at it this way. China put $3.5 billion into building one of the largest and most modern container ports in Chancay, Peru. As a result of that, not only has China significantly increased their influence in Peru - but it's going to reorient virtually all of the economics in that part of South America towards Asian export markets (read, China) as roadway and railway ties are connected to let goods move from the Atlantic coast (read, Brazil) to the Pacific Coast.
Meanwhile, for 10x that amount we're....bombing the sh1t out of people, so that they can be replaced by
different people who are aligned with China and are hostile to the U.S. Because bombing the sh1t out of people is cool and involves warfighters and seeming manly and is
fast. But meanwhile:
Chancay sits at a curve along the ocean, about 50 miles north of Lima. Until recently, it was best known for its medieval-themed amusement park, a crescent of beach and a row of seaside restaurants. Now it’s home to South America’s newest, most technologically advanced deepwater megaport and the epicenter of China’s bid to control the flow of goods to and from this commodity-rich continent.
For Peru, the recent opening of the port here was the realization, nearly two decades in the making, of a dream to position itself as South America’s global transportation hub, the continent’s primary launching point for a straight shot across the Pacific to Asia’s biggest economies.
For China, the port delivers a strategically direct route for the critical minerals and agricultural commodities coming off the continent, and in the other direction, a more expedient channel for its cars, machinery and electronics to stream into South American markets.
The port represents Peru’s first project under the banner of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing’s $1.3 trillion bid to remake how the world travels and trades, and collectively speaking, the most ambitious infrastructure project in history. It is China’s flagship infrastructure investment in South America—and a crucial node in Beijing’s global strategy for securing access to critical commodities.
It also brings China logistically closer to one of its chief goals: direct access to neighboring Brazil and the massive amounts of timber, soy and beef produced in the Amazon rainforest. Now, in theory, these commodities no longer have to travel through the politically fraught Panama Canal or around the continent’s southern tip. The new megaport, the only one in South America that can manage the largest class of fully loaded container ships, cuts the transport time by 10 days or more.And you're talking about China losing influence in South America....
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01122025/china-...
