Xi’s call is unusual, but it’s also easy to figure out. I have a peace proposal.
China’s Xi Calls Trump
The Wall Street Journal reports China’s Xi Calls Trump in Unusual Move to Discuss Ukraine, Taiwan
In an unusual diplomatic move, Chinese leader Xi Jinping initiated a phone call with President Trump on Monday, and the two men spoke about Taiwan and Ukraine as Washington, Kyiv and Moscow try to hammer out a plan to end the war.
China has provided crucial diplomatic and economic support for Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Now that Trump is pushing to make a decisive move to end the war, Beijing is seeking to play a more visible role.
“Xi Jinping emphasized that China supports all efforts committed to peace and hopes that all parties will continue to narrow their differences and reach a fair, lasting, and binding peace agreement as soon as possible to resolve the crisis at its root,” Chinese state media said in an account of the conversation.
The Chinese leader also highlighted the issue of Taiwan, a flashpoint between Beijing and Washington, as tensions across the Taiwan Strait have flared in recent weeks.
“Taiwan’s return to China is an important component of the postwar international order,” according to the Chinese state media account. In a pointed historical parallel, Xi also asserted that since China and the U.S. “fought side-by-side against fascism and militarism” during World War II, they should now work together to safeguard those achievements.
Trump affirmed that the U.S. “understands the importance of the Taiwan issue to China,” Xinhua said.
While the official Xinhua News Agency disclosed the call, it didn’t specify which leader took the initiative. However, people close to Beijing said it was Xi who made the outreach, transforming the high-level communication into a strategic, and rare, diplomatic overture from the Chinese side. A White House official confirmed that Trump and Xi spoke.
“It is highly unusual for Xi to initiate a call, and it underscores the opportunity Xi believes he has to shape President Trump’s views,” said Evan Medeiros, a former senior national-security official in the Obama administration and now a professor at Georgetown University. “Taiwan policy is almost certainly at the center of Xi’s thinking, pulling the U.S. closer to China’s thinking about Taiwan’s future.”
Who Should Decide the Future of Taiwan?
Mish Proposal: I suggest we let the people of Taiwan vote on it. That idea made sense for Crimea and it makes sense here.
However, I fear World War III is far more likely than my suggestion.
Ukraine Update
The call from Xi to Trump was a surprise, but this isn’t: Big Gaps Still Left to Bridge in U.S. Peace Plan for Ukraine
Diplomats from the U.S., Ukraine and Europe are thrashing out changes to a Trump-backed plan to end the war between Moscow and Kyiv, a proposal that critics said was too skewed in Russia’s favor in its first iteration.
Washington expressed optimism about the modifications made during what it called “constructive talks” over the weekend.
But significant sticking points remain.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday his country had managed “to keep extremely sensitive points on the table” during discussions in Geneva on Sunday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was still work to be done before agreeing on a final plan, which would need the signoff of President Trump and Zelensky.
Further complicating matters: If the issues resolve as Ukraine hopes, it is likely that the proposal would then be unpalatable to the Kremlin. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that the American proposals on Ukraine, in their current form, could form the basis of a settlement, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
Surrendering territory
The U.S. plan demands that Kyiv surrender heavily defended territory in its eastern Donbas region, including strategically important cities that Moscow hasn’t managed to seize in almost four years of war.On Monday, Zelensky said the main problem with the multipoint plan was the Kremlin’s demand for international legal recognition of the territory it has taken from Ukraine.
“It is crucial to support the principles on which Europe stands, that borders cannot be changed by force,” Zelensky said.
Under the U.S. plan, America would recognize the surrendered territory as Russian but the area would be a demilitarized zone from which Russian forces would be barred.
As for the rest of the Donbas, which is currently under Russian occupation, the U.S. would recognize it as “de facto” Russian, the plan says.
Top European officials said over the weekend that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia should start with a cease-fire along the current front lines.
NATO ambitions
The U.S. plan would block Ukraine from membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and its mutual defense pact. It also creates an expectation that the military alliance wouldn’t expand. No NATO troops could be stationed in Ukraine.Kyiv recognizes that its chances of entering the alliance in the coming years are very low, although the country’s constitution says this remains the aim.
After Sunday’s talks, Rubio said that issues directly involving NATO and the European Union had been set aside for now. However, the Europeans are pushing for wording in the plan that would allow them to send a reassurance force to Ukraine after a peace deal, something Moscow has opposed. Such a force would never be under NATO command or allowed into Ukraine during peacetime, the Europeans say.
Borders Cannot Be Changed by Force
I like the idea.
I suggest a vote for Ukraine and Taiwan.
What’s In Trump’s Original Proposal?
For details of the initial lopsided deal, please see Trump Peace Plan Requires Ukraine to Cede Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia
Territory for peace or a total surrender?
Update 1: Trump to Revise Ukraine Peace Plan After Huge Wave of Criticism
Update 2: Russia Sticks to Demands. Will Trump Change Peace Deal Proposal?
Once Trump made a proposal that Putin liked, it will be difficult to get Putin to accept changes.
What Does Putin Have on Trump?
The key question of the day is: What Does Putin Have on Trump? Nothing? Something?
That question has been on my mind for months. Trump has made dozens of threats on Putin this year and backed off every one of them.
Is Trump that much of a paper-tiger blowhard, or is something else in play?
Either is plausible.
Maybe Trump is privy to information about the situation on the ground Ukraine that is not in the MSM, and that is why he would like to get a deal quickly. Or maybe he just doesn’t like seeing white people killing each other. If I had to bet, it’s one of these two.
I agree. We have a limited number of white people as it is, and we are not reproducing at the rate they are in Africa. But, as long as liberal white women run the country, we can forget it.
You can also argue that the girls need to lose weight and tattoos.
Or maybe he sees the opportunity to grab mineral rights in Ukraine.
“Borders Cannot Be Changed by Force
I like the idea.
I suggest a vote for Ukraine and Taiwan”
I totally agree. After all, that’s the American way… ooops!
The Chinese side has made it very clear what this call is about: Japan. Read the release from Global Times or China Daily.
“Xi said that given what is going on, it is even more important for the two sides to jointly safeguard the victory of World War II.”
“Japan’s actions completely deviate from historical justice and its commitment to peace. As a defeated nation in WWII, it is Japan’s basic obligation to profoundly reflect on its history of aggression, adhere to its pacifist constitution, and maintain regional stability. However, its various actions today are strikingly similar to the tactics employed by Japanese militarism in the past to launch foreign aggression under the pretexts of “survival-threatening situation” and “self-defense” – such as exaggerating nonexistent “security threats,” creating a tense regional atmosphere, and even actively provoking incidents to promote military expansion.”
Taiwan belongs to China. How to resolve the Taiwan question and realize national reunification is a matter for the Chinese people to decide and brooks no interference by any external force. International legal documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation have already clearly established the fact that Taiwan is returned to China. China will never allow external forces to lay their hands on its Taiwan region, as this relates to the political foundation of China-Japan relations and Japan’s fundamental trustworthiness. This is a non-negotiable red line for China. China will never allow Japan’s right-wing provocateurs to turn back the wheel of history, as this concerns the peace and welfare of the Asia-Pacific region and international fairness and justice, which is a bottom line that all countries should jointly uphold. The Japanese administration’s attempts to intervene in the Taiwan Straits affairs with a “new type of militarism” are not only a serious disruption to China-Japan relations but also a blatant infringement on international justice and a provocation against the post-war international order.
The Japanese government should clearly recognize that turning the southwestern Islands into a military front will not bring so-called “security”; it will only make the regional situation more dangerous. Manipulating the Taiwan question will not garner international support; it will only expose the fact that Japan has insufficiently reflected on its history. Ignoring public opinion and pursuing military expansion is not the path to building a strong nation, but rather the beginning of a repeat of past mistakes.
Countries around the world, especially Asian neighbors, should be jointly vigilant about the extreme dangers posed by Japan’s “new type of militarism.” History has repeatedly proven that peace is hard-won, must be defended, and that militarism not only endangers the world but is also destined for self-destruction.
You obviously have not been to Taiwan. No, Taiwan does not belong to China.
“Taiwan belongs to China”. That right there is the crux of the problem. Countries don’t like it when other countries go around claiming ownership of sovereign territory. How about letting the Taiwanese people decide if they want to be ruled by the ruthless CCP.
But no; we have to get hundreds of thousands of people killed and countries wrecked because of ego and false promises that Xi can’t back up. Even the Chinese Generals know it will be a very costly and potentially failed mission.
let’s try to get something clear. China is an authoritarian dictatorship. Same thing, right, just to get clear.
Ergo, China can NEVER turn their consumers into consumers. Can’t happen.
But, gosh, why not???? ’cause the politburo can NEVER trust their subjects, EVER.
But, admittedly, I’m rather new to historical analysis. So, would somebody show me any existing patrimonial authoritarian dictatorship with a ‘consumer economy’ ? Where the consumer has any important decision making ability of any sort?
Venezuela
Poor Ven’s can’t even buy their straw hats, let alone a decent thatched hut.
Let’s see, borders can’t be changed by force eh. Let me see, let me see. I do recall a belligerent little country on the eastern side of the Mediterranean that seems to get away with that on a regular basis.
Xi told Trump to stop escalating via Japan, or military options is on the table.
“Once Trump made a proposal that Putin liked, it will be difficult to get Putin to accept changes.“
Putin liked the utterly ludicrous 28 point piss plan only in the alternate universe the Western MSM, the Western politicians and the clueless Western audience following them live in.
Peak clownworld.
“The key question of the day is: What Does Putin Have on Trump? Nothing? Something?“
And the key answer of the day is that what Putin has on Trump is having won the war.
The West has no money, no weapons and no men to send to be destroyed in Ukraine anymore.
Not sure if Putin has won the war. It has been a bloody stalemate at the current line of control for a very long time. If Putin could have just marched to Kiev, they would have done so two years ago. It is likely that Ukraine forces will collapse without the aid of the West but that will be too costly for the West so it will not happen.
“Not sure if Putin has won the war. It has been a bloody stalemate at the current line of control for a very long time. If Putin could have just marched to Kiev, they would have done so two years ago. “
The Russians don’t measure success in territory conquered like we (used to fight 3rd world countries with 3rd world militaries) do, they measure success in soldiers killed and weapons destroyed.
So when the Ukraine will run out of soldiers, NATO “volunteers”, NATO weapons and Western money and the inevitable NATO capitulation will come you (and the rest of the clueless masses blindly believing the BS our MSM and our politicians feed you) will be shocked by it and wonder how could we have “allowed” Russia to win since they were in a “stalemate”…
The Russians did “march to Kiev”, they initially tried Western-style “shock and awe” and, at the cost of big losses, it DID work: the month after the start of the war the Ukrainians signed the Istanbul agreement.
Then the Anglos made the puppet they installed in Kiev renege on it, as usual, and the Russians switched strategy and prepared for the true war that they wanted to avoid.
“It is likely that Ukraine forces will collapse without the aid of the West but that will be too costly for the West so it will not happen.“
The aid of the West has ITSELF become too costly and Ukraine is approaching the point when unless the aid includes men too they are done regardless so we are going to lose period.
“ Is Trump that much of a paper-tiger blowhard, or is something else in play?
Either is plausible.”
I suspect both are true. We all know Trump as TACO, but his extreme deference to putin cant be explained by only that.
“It is crucial to support the principles on which Europe stands, that borders cannot be changed by force,” Zelensky said.
When is the EU going to reassemble Yugoslavia, whose borders changed by force?
Why stop there? Why not reassemble the USSR or Czechoslovakia?
Poland was once Germany (created after WWI by force of splitting up Germany)
Alsace-Lorraine has been swapped between Germany and France multiple times via war over the past 150ish year.
It’s an insane proposal that makes zero sense.
“German” regime undermining its subjects’ welfare:
https://kdwalmsley.substack.com/p/the-german-government-wants-to-decouple
Who benefits?
Germany benefits from free trade with China. Just as the US did.
> The key question of the day is: What Does Putin Have on Trump? Nothing? Something?
USA wants to break up BRICS. Russia is redirecting hydrocarbons from EU to China, exactly what NATO does not want. So, Russia’s “leverage” over NATO is simply their participation in BRICS.
If Russia were to agree to stop building Power of Siberia 2 and just shut in those hydrocarbons, I bet NATO would sign over most of Ukraine quickly (for now, until they renege). A NATO “stretch goal” would be for Moscow to join the “pivot to Asia”. The challenge for NATO oligarchs is to structure a deal that profits Russian oligarchs more than doing business with China.
…
Mish, I don’t read independent geopolitical experts to learn about finance, FED/BLS reports, etc. I read you. But the reverse is true. So, please start watching Brian Berletic “The New Atlas”. He’ll help you make sense of geopolitics outside of economics.
This 44 minute discussion from today is also good https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNOuqWOktCM
Berletic is pretty black-pilled for most people to accept – even when he’s right! 😉
Mish, I love your guts. But you don’t study wars, regime change, and propaganda enough.
>> I suggest we let the people of Taiwan vote on it. That idea made sense for Crimea and it makes sense here.
And watch Taiwan — the place to which the European-USA monarchies’ and opiate warlords’ local proxy retreated after George Washington Mao led a successful revolution to oust them — be Ukrainized? To be turned into a fist to attack China, maybe with nukes, as cannon fodder? The past 30 years of NATO offensive wars and abuse of primacy — the dissolution of the USSR was met with the Wolfowitz Doctrine that led to many new wars — proves that’s what would happen, if China lets it.
USA and UN previously agreed to recognize “one China”. On a long enough timeline, a foreign puppet government can always brainwash local youth to hate its neighbor and pay local youth to hold signs in English demanding freedum. If I were China, i wouldn’t recognize a vote that allows the warmaking European-USA monarchists and oligarchs to renege on their prior agreement and to use the legal fiction of an “independent” Taiwan to build up a new threat right off my coast.
The question is just nuts. Serf quality of life is plummeting in NATO and rising in BRICS. NATO is trying to compete not by improving conditions for its serfs but by trying to Tonya Harding the competition. (Well, her boyfriend tried. I don’t remember the case well.). The people of Taiwan are better served by reuniting with China than dying as disposable NATO cannon fodder.
Now, maybe pro-unification voices would win anyway. I hear different things and don’t know. I always disbelieve NATO sources. But I don’t know enough about current sentiment.
Mish, have you watched any of the videos I posted recently? Like the one from Brian Berletic about ongoing plans to blockade China, terrorist attacks against China infrastructure, etc?
I second this recommendation. Over time I’ve found that Brian Berletic seems to have a better read of the overall direction of travel than almost anyone. He literally quotes from think tank policy papers stating what the U.S. should do to confront/contain Russia and China, and then methodically connects the dots how the implementation has followed the plan (watch what they do, not what they say they do).
I assume you asked the people of Taiwan what they actually want. Right??? Did you also ask the people of Hong Kong what they wanted just before the CCP came in and took it over????
NATO and Taiwan????? What???
Why don’t you study the history of Spain eight years ago. Nine astute politicians were going to be elected by the people…. Then the king of Spain sent in the troops to shut down the voting booths.
Why can’t Taiwan just be Taiwan? Oh wait, I know…..it’s the f….ing Communists.
>> Did you also ask the people of Hong Kong what they wanted
For over 140 years of British rule in HK, the British held no elections. They started introducing elections of a small number of seats in the decade or so and gradually increased that before handing over the city.
So, the West ruled it as a dictatorship until they had to hand it back. Obviously, they didn’t do it because they believe in self-rule for others. They did so in order to increase the difficulty for china to reintegrate.
>> just before the CCP came in and took it over????
Pursuant to the terms of the lease ending for the Brits.
…
Go chide your teachers for not teaching you better.
So!!! The CCP is not a dictatorship???
Fool
Which would you prefer…. Communist rule or British rule???
Go ahead. Answer that!!!
Better yet move to Hong Kong. Or Venezuela.
By the way, Britain itself still has the House of Lords and therefore isn’t a “democracy” according to the American litmus test of “elections for the top position”. Brussels is full of unelected leaders. The EU is banning political parties and invalidating elections. The same transnational cartel rigs USA elections too, through cartel ownership of the media and most everything else.
Fix your own house before you try to tell others how to live.
See above. Have you ever lived under Nazi ruling??? Stasi??? Didn’t think so. Fools like you probably think honest Abe was a good guy.
That’s how much you know about history. Wake up
The way to end the Ukrainian War is for the US taxpayer to cease funding it. I think Trump knows this, but thinks that makes him look like a loser, who gave in Russia. I think Trump’s fear of being branded a loser is behind his “scatterbrain” approach to ending the killing. With well over a million Ukrainians dead (to prevent a divorce from ethnic Russians the Ukrainian govt was abusing), Trump’s ego should take a back seat for once.
Trump IS a loser!
And a bad loser at that…
They’re not funding it. The USA is selling weapons and sharing intelligence, in return for a mining deal. EU is paying
If a majority of countries in the world can demand that a Palestinian state be created, then why can’t the same countries push for an independent Taiwanese state with the same logic?
Show me an independent Palestinian state…
Still reading challenged. I said “demand”. Look up the definition.
China is a great deal closer to Ukraine than the US.
They also want Russian oil, natural gas and raw materials. It makes sense for them to step in and use Taiwan as a bargaining chip. Trump is stupid enough to give all of it away as he is compromised by his previous activities in Russia in my opinion.
Do not forget that Trump rolled out th eRed Carpet for Putin and Putin just laughed at Trumps bragging about getting an agreement in a few days.
Elections have consequences and the gold market which should be going down in front of futures/options expiry is going up…
Like a telltale on a sailboat, you don’t need a weatherman to tell which way the wind blows…
😉
good book highly recommend
https://a.co/d/92S3jFH
Xi took away the humiliation of his father and his family by the Mao regime as a reason to be such a communist party stalwart.
“The key question of the day is: What Does Putin Have on Trump? Nothing? Something?
That question has been on my mind for months. Trump has made dozens of threats on Putin this year and backed off every one of them.”
Trump has also made various positive overtures to Putin this year and backed off every one of them. I really don’t see any bias in Trump’s behaviour – just him having the fortitude of jello.
Put simply, Trump has the attention span of a goldfish, and the principles of a snake. He will go wherever the immediate opportunity presents.
I repeat: Trump is either a conscious or unconscious Russian agent. Its probably both because Trump is geo-strategicaly naive and as we know he has a history of severe sexual lack of ethics and Putin uses both probable video or auditory evidence of that and the hope of Trump Tower Moscow to black mail him.
Hey Mish, ever wonder how many posters here are actually outright Russian bots, overseas paid Russian influencers or people who can’t think a new thought due to being afflicted by terminal orthodoxy?
Hey, just because you don’t think you’re a Russian asset doesn’t mean you’re not a Russian asset. Trump’s been getting played by Putin for a decade or more.
The average ten year old girl is more of a man than Trump. Of course he will always back off. Anyone who ruins casino businesses like a serial murderer kills helpless teen girls hiding in haystacks is about as inept as they come.
DaddyPig definitely has the larger breasts though.
Seek professional help.
Dunno. I hate Trump. But corruption requires some talent. So does convincing dopes to support you. So… Shouldn’t we give (dis)credit where it is due?
I don’t see any resolution. Putin knows this. He is not rejecting the Trump plan outright at this stage as it this point it is just a bargaining tactic to buy more time to wrap up his victory in the Ukrainian war. US wants to end the threats from BRICS to dollar hegemony. Russia will never give this up unless the east and West can come to a global resolution that will end the tyranny of the dollar and the USA’s ability to create money to carry on endless wars. Although the West appears to be losing, they are desperate and feel they have to continue fighting to ensure the Unipolar (Wolfowitz Doctrine) dominance of the Globalists and the subjugation of Russia. The West is willing to play the long game and be patient, even though it harms their own populations. They are confident they can buy off and intimidate future leaders of the East, as long as they have enough time to regroup and fashion a new plan to change the present situation to once again gain the upper hand. Russia and Putin will not fall for this trap. The West is losing influence and military dominance in Ukraine, the far East and even in the Middle East where Iran is only growing stronger. The World is turning against Israel and the USA because of their aggressive regime change wars and especially the Gaza genocide. Putin and XI want comprehensive security arrangements and the end to the Rules based order of the US with their license to change the rules as they see fit. USA and the West oppose this because on an even field, they lose politically, militarily and economically. All that I see from both sides is simply political posturing and delay tactics by each party with their own motives. Something has got to give. I don’t know what will happen, but we should all be concerned about both immediate and/or short term consequences.
< Wolfowitz Doctrine
Amazing how little press that got or gets. Was a call to conquer the globe. At the time, I was clueless and didn’t notice. If it weren’t for the internet and specifically independent geopolitical journalists, I would be that same fool.
The talks that took place in Geneva did not include Russia. They included only NATO combatants in the war on Russia. If Ukraine were required to change its Constitution back to the 1991-94 setting that required it to be neutral it is possible Russia might agree. Otherwise, the conflict will continue for at least another year and likely result in Ukraine losing everything.
As for whether Putin has something on Trump anything is possible. But again, if Russia had it, then the CIA/MI6/Mossad would also have it and they almost certainly would have already used it. Which tilts the probability that Putin has something on trump into low probabilities.
Say What? They already used it to support the genocide in GAZA?
And, the US bombing Iran was previously a low probability event. Now it can be used to turn Taiwan over to China and much of the Ukraine over to Russia.
Oddly much of Ukraine is OK with being part of Russia just as Crimea voted overwhelmingly to be part of Russia.
Trump is not smart enough to even know that he is in a wet paper bag. He is so impressed with himself for being in the room where it happens that he gets disoriented and only works for himself instead of our nations best interest.
“Elections have consequences”
Epstein’s operative statement “Erections have consequences”…
>
Maybe the Chinese want to position their troops in a buffer zone between Russia and Ukraine? Wouldn’t that be a riot?
The great negotiator caves again and again. Soon the Gulf of Mexico, now the Gulf of America, will be the Gulf of Russia.
For XI to even suggest that China take control of Taiwan, tells us that XI thinks Trump is a weak, pushover.
You misspelled “The Gulf of Vlad’s Trump Pee Tapes”
Taiwan will roll over and reach an accommodation with Chia once they realize that the USA is too weak to defend them. Taiwanese billionaires want to keep their money and will enter into an arrangement like Hong Kond did in 1997. China will make them an offer they can’t refuse-keep their money and some level of independence in arrangement with China–or lose everything and die. Easy choice for the Taiwanese.
Exactly. Mish wants a referendum in Taiwan. I guess it would be nice if Taiwan would vote to join Mainland China, but if they voted against it, China would still claim Taiwan and the US would still not be able to prevent reunification. For those who think the US could prevent reunification, for how long? Do they think China would just make one attempt and then give up? The idea of America maintaining Taiwan as a separate entity in perpetuity is silly. We’re on the other side of the planet, and that matters. I know we’re busy trying to convince nearby countries like the Philippines to join in the insanity by being forward bases for the US, but hopefully they’ll decline. We’re not defending the Philippines, we’re using them. There are only 24 million people in Taiwan. Life under rule by PRC would be like being in Hong Kong. There are billions of people on this Earth who would consider that heaven compared to their current lives. Why should the US spend trillions of dollars and put ourselves at risk to maintain the status quo for 24 million distant people? It’s untenable and unsustainable, and the sooner we make this clear to the Taiwanese, the better for them.
Likely motive for the call was crisis brewing between China and Japan. Xi probably asked Trump to talk to Japanese government and cool it down. It is in Trump’s interest as the US is still involved in Ukraine and Venezuela war is looming on horizon. 3rd conflict would be a bit too much and it would leave Israel exposed. Somebody wrote that Xi said that Beijing supports Ukrainian peace deal which includes solving roots of the conflict. EU and Kiev ideas are not going this way I am afraid. Taiwan – I remember reading a year ago that 70% Taiwanese were happy with current situation and that only 10% of Taiwanese men would go to fight for independent Taiwan. Changing borders by force is not a good idea but who opened the Pandora (sorry, Bosna) box ? Now we have to live with that as best as we can.
Correct, the call was about Japan. China is ready to go to war.
Well, we might as well realize that Crimea and the Donbass areas of Ukraine are MINERAL and NATGAS rich areas. ALL wars are, in the end, about the SPOILS, right? In America, the spoils include the Lobby Money from the M.I.Complex: BILLIONS.
If borders can’t be changed by force then that means everything is to be static for the rest of time.
In an area like Europe where borders and countries change on a VERY regular basis (just since the fall of the USSR there have been many changes of borders as new countries were created, borders adjusted etc) that’s about as realistic as World Peace.
Taiwan can use what has happened in Hong Kong as a model for what life would be like if (when) they go back to China.
There is great strength in the proposition that borders cannot be changed with force. It this proposition is adopted, it should help to discourage aggressive actions against smaller countries. Very clever.
poppycock. humans don’t change. many times smaller nations win their autonomy. sometimes they get stomped. propositions are like dreams.
Then how does one win their freedom to become their own state?
The USA itself was founded by force.
There is great strength in the proposition that 4’11”, ninety pound women should be allowed to be beat cops. And by great strength, I mean that it’s totally f***ing ridiculous.
i was a cartographer in my twenties. taking out globes from past 500 years is very instructive. the big story is the old empires have busted up into small nation states. africa to south america to europe……..my long term bet is USA busts up back to the 50 states. like south america.
The break up needs to happen, the red welfare states are sucking us dry.
i bet a few pals in 2018 that one or more states would effectively secede back to pre 1860 set up. my date was by jan 20, 2029. a decade bet. they don’t have to announce anything, just do it. all the nullifications from abortion to weed to much more……..i think it will happen and be a big yawn. pre 1860 was a decent set up. like the EU is today basically. no need for fort sumter bombing………btw i liked in charleston SC for a glorious decade and looked out on sumter from my office. ha ha
bmcc, I doubt it but will credit you as a visionary on that front if it happens!
UT already is very much close to this. i think it is inevitable. what happens when empires go broke. their old states take more power.
California, I think.
Basically a separate country now, with Trump helping things along.
i have side bet with an old neocon. i bet CA will secede before TX. the west seems the most nullified, from the imperial cities of NYC and DC.
Who knows, maybe the south will rise again.
… Like the water in a backed up toilet…
it’s only halftime to the secession revolution. or the recent unpleasantness as my pals south of broad street, in charleston SC used to LOL about. best city ever.