Alan Zweibel

Thank you for sharing with us the alternative reality you inhabit: "Zebra mussels probably arrived in the Great Lakes in the 1980s via ballast water that was discharged by large ships from Europe. They have spread rapidly throughout the Great Lakes region and into the large rivers of the eastern Mississippi drainage. They have also been found in Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California." https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-zebra-mussels-and-why-should-we-care-about-them The Southern Pine Beetle: The Tree Killer The southern pine beetle was first recorded in the southeastern United States in the late 1700s. Though they are originally native to the southeast, warming winter temperatures have allowed the beetle's range to expand up the east coast in recent decades. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/the-southern-pine-beetle-the-tree-killer.htm As a rule, Chinese solar panels are as good as any others on the market. China produces around 80% of all solar panels, so like any product, there are cheaper offerings from less well-known companies. https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/sourcing-solar-are-chinese-solar-panels-any-good

I suspect that your criterion for a great link is that it is completely baseless.

Because the folks in Qatar have such warm feelings towards the Saudis and the Iranians?

How exactly? By damaging their industrial base?

I'm not sure why you posted this. Trump claimed China was imposing export controls on virtually every product they make. Are you claiming that all China produces are rare earth minerals and products that include them?

If you're saying that Trump has staged a hold-up against most nations in the west, I'm sure that they would agree with you. But as for sustaining the west, how exactly?

Given how Trump has soured relations with most Western nations, by your criterion it follows that most of the west is anti-west. Or maybe you're confusing anti-west with anti-Trump?

Not only did Biden keep Trump's tariffs, he actually raised them. https://ustr.gov/about-us/policy-offices/press-office/press-releases/2024/december/ustr-increases-tariffs-under-section-301-tungsten-products-wafers-and-polysilicon-concluding https://archive.ph/yG4Ob He also imposed new semiconductor export controls. https://www.justsecurity.org/83744/new-us-semiconductor-export-controls-signify-dramatic-shift-in-tech-relations-with-china/ He also increased arms sales to Taiwan https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2022-10/news/us-offering-more-arms-taiwan?utm_source=chatgpt.com Apart from that fact that you got it completely wrong, thanks for the great post.

Can you provide a link for that?

And how does that justify the Justice department's citation of that report which offers no evidence of criminality?

Report on Soros Cited by Justice Dept. Does Not Show Funding for Terrorism When the Justice Department urged federal prosecutors last month to investigate the billionaire George Soros, it cited a report by a conservative watchdog group that accused the liberal megadonor of financing groups “tied to terrorism or extremist violence.” But the report by Washington-based Capital Research Center does not show evidence that Mr. Soros’s network knowingly paid for its grantees to break the law, which legal experts said would be necessary to build a criminal case. In fact, the report does not offer proof that groups that received money from the Soros-backed Open Society Foundations used those donations to commit acts of violence or terrorism. https://archive.ph/Ne0Uo George Soros is the MAGA version of the bogeyman.

The past history of currency swaps in Latin America has been uniformly dismal. Dismal at least for the country in question. Just more debt piled on. But great for billionaires who would otherwise be on the hook. Interesting how right wingers applauded the slashing of health care funding around the world which amounted to a lot less than this but are keeping mum about this nasty bit of business.

A woman who was shot multiple times by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents did not ram them with her car and had her weapon stored in her purse at the time of the incident, according to her lawyer, contradicting accounts by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that described the shooting as an act of self-defense. Marimar Martinez, 30, was charged on October 5 with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon after she followed a vehicle driven by border patrol agents with her car in the Brighton Park neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest Side... On September 12, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, 38, during an attempted arrest in the suburb of Franklin Park. DHS also said in its statement that Villegas-Gonzalez drove his car at ICE agents, though surveillance video appeared to show him driving away. https://archive.ph/4ChLZ

You are confusing the stock market with the economy.

She got her eye poked? Before I knew about that, I thought the Trump was exaggerating the level of violence in Portland. But an eyepoke definitely justifies sending in the National Guard.

And it's better than a mass plague too. But the issue is whether or not it's good news about the economy.

Funny. I wonder how all the rightwingers here reacted to Hunter Biden's alleged profits from deals that take place with Ukrainian and Chinese interests and compare that to how they are reacting to this news. Not only was were Biden's deals maybe 1/10th of one percent of this one bailout alone, but it wasn't US taxpayer funds he was profiting from.

Well, you treated 28,000 net new jobs as positive thing in and of itself.

In light of that fact, maybe not so wise to engage in economic warfare against China?

Actually, what you have failed to take into account is the growth of the labor force as the American population grows. Even with reduced immigration, to keep the unemployment rate stable, a certain minimum growth number is necessary to keep the unemployment rate stable.

In advance of President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to South Korea later this month—where he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for the first time since 2019—China announced that it has expanded its restrictions on rare earth and permanent magnet exports. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s Announcement No. 61 of 2025 implements the strictest rare earth and permanent magnet export controls to date. The move both strengthens Beijing’s leverage in upcoming talks while also undercutting U.S. efforts to bolster its industrial base. https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-new-rare-earth-and-magnet-restrictions-threaten-us-defense-supply-chains China testing Trump's resolve as US economic outlook looks grimmer?

As long as Trump is in office it looks like possible co-conspirators will be protected everywhere. Have you forgotten what the Attorney General and the head of the FBI have said about alleged Epstein conspiracies? Do you understand that the Justice Dept actually has to reverse its stance in order to investigate further?

The Trump administration moved forward on Thursday with its bailout of Argentina, making a direct purchase of pesos and finalizing terms of a $20 billion lifeline, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. The terms and conditions of the economic support package were not announced, but Mr. Bessent said the funds would come in the form of a currency swap with Argentina’s central bank. Big global investors have been anxiously awaiting the details of the bailout, which critics have said will benefit wealthy fund managers at a time when American farmers are struggling and the U.S. government is shut down. https://archive.ph/HD0Ri More blatant self dealing. is history is any indication, that's another down the drain and into the cesspool known as Wall Street. In other words: America Last.

Florida Republican unveils bill threatening state funding if colleges don’t rename roads after Charlie Kirk Florida state Rep. Kevin Steele (R) filed a bill Tuesday that threatens state funding to public universities and colleges if they do not rename specific roads after conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The bill points to specific roads at campuses Steele wants colleges to rename after Kirk, who was assassinated last month while speaking on a college campus in Utah. If a campus does not comply, the bill says state funding will be withheld from the institution. https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5544681-florida-republican-charlie-kirk-state-colleges/ Check the link if you think that I'm making this up.

Good for you for ignoring the high price of coal and gas and the extremely high cost of building HELE coal fired power stations.