First of all, thank you, Rufus, for your thoughtful and balanced piece on the current tariff panic. In an age where Trump Derangement Syndrome and extreme polarization dominate Western discourse, it's rare to find commentary that attempts genuine analysis rather than reacting to the messenger.
Most mainstream coverage fixates on variations of "orange man bad," completely missing the point. In reality, tariffs — as blunt as they may seem — are not entirely irrational when facing a trade imbalance as massive as the one the U.S. endures today. Dock workers themselves have expressed amazement at the sight of colossal container ships arriving fully loaded from China’s ports — the largest in the world save Singapore — and returning empty. That’s right: not half-empty, but completely empty. The implication is chilling — the U.S. has nothing China wants to buy.
Given that, efforts to reclaim U.S. manufacturing make basic sense. However, as with all things, the devil is in the details. Trump may be right in principle, but the execution has been haphazard. Rather than build consensus with key stakeholders and phase in policy with cooperation, he launched an all-out tariff war on so-called Liberation Day. The result? Chaos. Even if it's ultimately a win, it may prove to be a Pyrrhic one.
What's most striking to me is the lack of real analysis in the media. Beyond the usual inflammatory soundbites, there’s little in the way of grounded commentary. What’s happening now isn’t revolutionary — it’s part of a broader shift already in motion. Countries are rethinking globalization, leaning into friendshoring, and forming regional blocs like ASEAN and BRICS. Even if some manufacturing returns to the U.S., it would have been wiser to target specific subsectors rather than take a scattershot approach.
Singapore offers a useful example. Despite high labor costs and minimal land, they've developed a thriving, high-growth manufacturing sector by focusing on niche areas. If the U.S. blindly forces companies to set up shop domestically without considering costs, infrastructure, or sustainability, they may build a fragile sector propped up only by tariffs.
In summary, while I support the goal of revitalizing American manufacturing, it deserves the deft chisel kf a skilled sculptor— not a sledgehammer.
The GeezerMedia is useless, and has been for a very long time. Their purpose is not to report, but to divide and conquer. They are not interested in fair and balanced analysis, even if they had the brain power to pull it off.
Trump's style is annoying, like gadflies on a summer night. He is clearly trying to create chaos in order to do other things while folks are distracted. I think we've seen this before in his previous term.
His impulse is right, and the US has been screwed for decades, though folks have been blinded by cheap overseas goods. The result is that they now can't even afford the cheap stuff, because the remaining McJobs don't pay a living wage, and there are no high-paying manufacturing jobs left. The problem is that onshoring manufacturing now means new automated factories, with humans only needed to program and maintain the bots and 3D printers.
Singapore is a good example, but Starbase, Texas, is probably more apropos to what's coming back home. I still maintain that Trump is hand-selected to oversee the bankruptcy of the US. That said, it's either his (vaguely) controlled implosion, or utter Soviet-style collapse. Rock and a hard spot.
He certainly does appear to be walking a very shaky tight rope. He is constantly lighting fires to draw attention from other fires, and one wonders when the kindling will run out. I will say, as I have since his first term, Trump is nothing if not entertaining.
Trump understands media and knows how to use it. He also understands that great leaders plow ahead against all odds and resistance. He is by no means an idiot, and his enemies constantly underestimate him to their own loss.
Trump has clearly studied Sun Tzu and John Locke, not to mention Niccolò Machiavelli. He also shows clear knowledge of what made William McKinley a defining president of the 20th century, who enjoyed widespread adulation among the American working class.
I am working on a podcast that puts Trump in a wider historical perspective, with a signature dash of snark.
In the end, Trump is a symptom of history. He was predicable as far back as the Reagan years. It will be an interesting ride for those who can rise above the noise and see the world from LEO.
Good article. Tariffs are confusing. My friend, Arthur, in Scotland, told me that the Scots are upset about Trump's tariff on Scottish whisky. Whisky is their biggest export.
Probably 12 years ago or so, I read an article by the famous Libertarian writer James Bovard. Back in the day, he and his girlfriend toured Europe.
Bovard found a way into the World Tariff HQ in Basel (maybe Geneva or Zurich, I can't remember), Switzerland.
James found a stack of binders 6" thick, which contained all the tariffs in the world. James decided to liberate this binder and put it in his backpack.
When he returned to his hotel room, James told his girlfriend to pack. They were leaving on the next train to anywhere.
So, yeah, the EU sets tariffs and the US enforces them. Trump is saying "Piss off!" to the EU both in Ukraine, NATO, and tariffs. Trump is getting the Euro-Monkey off of America's back.
TT - I've been paying outrageous prices for things like peanut butter for 17 years, because Indonesia levies outrageous tariffs on just about all imports. They are rabidly protective of their homegrown industries and markets (such as they are). It's the same story in just about any country you can name--except the US. Trump's methods leave a lot to be desired, but I have to agree with what he is doing. Time to strike back at all those countries that get a free ride into the US, but like tire spikes at the car park, if you back up...BLOWIE!
Rufus, I had a 10-day break in filming in Belem in August of 1990. I flew back to Washington State for a small vacation. Before I left Belem, I asked my girlfriend and her friends what they wanted me to bring back from the USA. They all said, "Peanut butter!" I brought back three large tubs of peanut butter to Belem. I was a hero.
"Whenever the people need a hero, we shall supply him." Albert Pike 33rd Degree Freemason. I don't think any of this will end well for MAGA fans. Yes, I think we are being played bigtime.
Nuff said. And it wasn't only Pike who said it. Seems there was a document found on a park bench in Odessa in the late 1800s that said much the same thing.
If Trump wanted to replace the income tax with tariffs, he should have had Congress make it constitutional by revoking the income tax while instituting the tariffs, two things he doesn't have the constitutional authority to do. We wouldn't miss the terroristic IRS at all.
He does have the authority, and I cited the laws. He's had less than three months to correct a massive decadal imbalance, so patience will be rewarded if this works. Getting CONgress to act on anything makes doing donuts in the parking lot with a fully-loaded 18-wheeler look achievable. CONgress is the problem, not the solution. However, Trump may have lit a fire under their cans, but we'll see. When you crank the rudder hard over on a super tanker, it actually takes a bit of time before you notice the bow changing direction.
You really need to study the Constitution instead of relying on the lies that pervade the polity. The president has no constitutional authority to enforce tariffs, even if Congress delegates such to him. The SCOTUS is hiding behind Marbury v. Madison while the country disintegrates.
Can u say margin call Monday! The tariffs are a US Treasury move to save the collapse of the runaway defecit spending of the US debt machine. CA Fitts says its the beginnibg of the digital prison system. When you look at the grift of the US reserve currency system thru the BIS, it appears that there is real ANX over the BRICS! The us defecit in Marchjumped by 285 billion, way beyond the realm of reality, of course in the far side we escape that!
MK - What the US did with tariffs is essentially join the BRICS, which rely on FTAs for trade among partners, using whatever currencies (including gold) they agree upon. It deeply upsets the globalist apple cart, which is why Wall Street, the GeezerMedia, China, the EU, and the North American union are hollering like stuck pigs.
Make no mistake, it's going to hurt, like ripping a bandage off, but the alternatives are much worse. It's the difference between a controlled implosion, or Soviet-style collapse. Fitts is right to an extent, but her calculus is slanted green slips of paper being the answer, and that system has run its course. Civilization is at a change-or-die moment, and some sort of digital currency is inevitable. What it will be and how it functions is the real threat.
By the bye, this moment has been planned and building since the 1975 Lime Agreement out of the UN. Nothing is a surprise here, except Trump's usual circus around it.
The tariffs are completely unconstitutional, because Congress didn't pass a law to create them. No president has the constitutional authority to create tariffs.
Vonu - Actually, I stated explicitly the two laws that authorize the Trump tariffs. The only question that remains is can he justify national security protocols and protection against IP theft and market manipulation. It's a game of semantics, but the laws are in place since LBJ and Ford.
I don't quite get the distinction. Either nations have complete discretion over their internal affairs, or they don't. There's no particular flavor that I can detect.
The first thing to appreciate is that 'globalism' is a group of people and their agents who operate at a 'global' level. It's not a specific ideology. It's not even a specific set institutions. It's just these people.
Now, some of these people are jews and some are not. What Trump is doing is what jews have always done with power is to find a way to mobilize non-jews to destroy one another. While I carry no water for White globalists, I absolutely despise jewish globalists who, basically, exploit their stupid belief in 'values' and 'ideals' that harm Whites (and the natural world).
As for 'no particular flavor', I must disagree. Jewish oppression of non-jews is always horrific. See Russia. See Palestine.
The jews don't care how much they destroy as long as it hurts Whites.
And their access to a global culture of 'jewishness' and 'jewish interests' makes them the template of 'globalism'.
Every non-jew could stop engaging in 'globalism' tomorrow and the rich, well-placed, influential jews on every continent would still have a rolodex of international numbers of contacts who can 'make things happen'.
Those rolodex and the numbers in them are 'globalism', not the WEF or the WTO.
This is why China and so many other countries don't really take 'global institutions' seriously.
It's because they're not serious. They're the Punch and Judy puppets barking and bashing to distract from the reality of the puppet-master behind the curtain.
The people who see in the media are not the people with power.
HT - I suppose it's your terminology that's confusing. The Judean people vanished well over 1,200 years ago. You seem to be referring to a 19th century cabal hell-bent on global ownership, using the veil of "Jew" to hide from criticism and exposure. The folks you refer to are primarily (Eastern) European, and they have been the scourge of Europe for centuries, hiding behind various guises to infiltrate and enrich themselves.
The cabal indeed uses religion as a shield, but that is true of any economic/power system on the planet. They all tie themselves to a religion to lend authority and Divine Blessing on their systems.
I understand what you are trying to say, but I think your scope is a bit narrow. Try widening the field of view and look at any political system that doesn't have some religious cloak of invincibility. Labels are just toys to control thinking.
You seem to agree with 'the jews' that 'the jews' are a specific people from a specific place and time. They're not. The jews are an attitude toward non-jews and by virtue of their operationalizing of that attitude, they have come to have distinct racial features.
If 'Christians' didn't derive their religion from 'jews', there would be no advantage to this '19th century cabal' to saying they were 'jews' and appealing to 'Christians' to protect and help them (in their scamming and destruction of White life).
Labels are tools. Use them wisely and they will get the job done.
In the end, 'globalism' will not come to an end until the last rolodex on an influential jew's desk has become worthless.
End free movement of goods, persons, money, contracts and information and the power of 'the jew' will wither and die.
What is commonly known as "Jews" today sprang up in the mid-1800s from a group of gypsies that inhabited Germany, Poland and the Ukraine. The gypsies are essentially descended from the Khazar, who originally inhabited the lands between Romania and Turkey. They are not Semitic people and have adopted a religious "costume," which they use to pretend having Biblical roots, and as a form of stolen cultural identity to hide their less-than-shiny ancient reputations as grifters, thieves and con men.
Using their assumed identity, they have wormed their way into a number of economic sectors, where they immediately begin to hire each other in order to crowd out competition. It's an effective strategy that has been used throughout history by many different groups.
The actual Judeans dispersed after Jerusalem was sacked. A great number of them merged with Bedouin tribes in northwest Arabia, where they were integral in creating Islam. Your average Muslim is more "Jewish" than any "Jew" I've ever met.
To call the Khazar "Jews" buys into their grift, which I refuse to do. Just because Binyamin Mileikowsky adopted the name Netanyahu doesn't make him any more "Jewish" than a Polish pork sausage.
Nations are patches of land that would generally be better off without central governments. Their internal affairs should be the sole matters of their legitimate residents rather than invaders from other countries.
Vonu - You are arguing de jure versus de facto authority, and that could fill a book (it has in fact). As I have argued many times, nations are artificial constructs, while countries are organic societies. Humans have only had "nations" for about 250 years. I, for one, would be happy to see them die off. Organic countries is a far more sane way to live. Will it happen? Perhaps, but we're not going back. We're reinterpreting the past for the future.
An empire is not a nation-state. It is the extension of a monarchy, which itself oversees a country. The US as a nation-state was modelled on Greek city-states. The US invented the constitutional republic, based heavily on the works Locke and Bacon.
I never suspected that. He seems to have had access to quite a bit of learning at some point. The most curious claim I've heard is that he was a red head, which I'm down with.
It's a fascinating topic, akin to studying alchemy, which is why I chose the golem image. I have been working on a greatly expanded edition of the book for paperback, as well. It goes into much greater detail on the historical, philosophical and legal developments.
Thank you for buying the book! I truly appreciate it, and please leave a review (good, bad or indifferent). Helps me improve. Cheers!
I just posted a review on Amazon. Let me know if i missed the point of the book. Or a point or two, or three. A question came to mind as I was reading, and was delighted to find you addressed it later in the book. See my review. I have another comment to share but I will post it separately.
Thank you for reading and reviewing. Your review was fair and insightful. It is true I avoid drawing a conclusion, as I was seeking to present a case for and against that invited the reader to decide. I think I presented both the advantages and dangers of collective entities in a clear and unambiguous manner, showing the long history of development across philosophy, theology, and policy, to inform the reader of just what a legal fiction is and how it functions.
The second edition that I am working on goes into much greater detail, and I will present my opinion in the final analysis. There are obvious benefits, such as perpetuity and continuity, but to treat organizations with certain rights and privileges crosses a dangerous line, and I want to be very clear about where that line is and why it should never be crossed.
Thank you again. Very thoughtful review and worthy questions--one of which I will address in your other comment.
Again, thank you for confirming what I thought was the case. I kept thinking I missed something. I'm in agreement with you on the dangers of legal fiction. I thought Jeremy Bentham equating it with fraud was worthy of descent down a rabbit hole. So much of what passes for law really is legal fraud. Looking forward to your future writings on these topics!
I first got into the topic reading (trying to read, ahem) Ancient Law, by Henry Sumner Maine. I haven't finished it, as I got sidetracked at the beginning by the concept of legal fiction and tried to find rabbit holes to descend to learn more. Case in point, your book at the moment.
I'm no legal scholar, but this interests me. I shall gladly leave a review when I finish it. It's much easier to read than Maine, by the way.
Maine's book is a slog, but rewarding for the persistent.
I am by no means a legal scholar. I'm one of those folks who hate paying extortionist legal fees, so I embarked on an odyssey to fight fire with fire, and stop being bamboozled by "lawyers" and governments who use ignorance to run us over.
I hope my book will make complex concepts clear and remove some of the mystery behind the "legal fiction". Like any magician, once you know the secret, they no longer have power.
So this post is no doubt controversial for many, but I shall risk it here, as it seems relevant to legal fiction.
Adoption
Child adoption is a legal fiction in that the adoptive parents become the legal parents, notwithstanding the lack of a biological relationship.[7]
Once an order or judgment of adoption is entered, the biological parents become legal strangers to the child, legally no longer related nor with any rights related to the child. Conversely, the adoptive parents are legally considered to be parents of the adopted child. A new birth certificate reflecting this is issued, which is a legal fiction
Henry Maine, on the other hand, argued that legal fictions seem an ornate outgrowth of the law that ought to be removed by legislation. Jeremy Bentham sharply criticised the notion of legal fictions, saying that "fictions are to law what fraud is to trade."[3][4]
The Quran, English translation used by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D., mention three verses where I interpret legal fiction is wrong in cases of adoption:
[33:4] GOD did not give any man two hearts in his chest. Nor did He turn your wives whom you estrange (according to your custom) into your mothers. Nor did He turn your adopted children into genetic offspring. All these are mere utterances that you have invented. GOD speaks the truth, and He guides in the (right) path.
[33:5] You shall give your adopted children names that preserve their relationship to their genetic parents. This is more equitable in the sight of GOD. If you do not know their parents, then, as your brethren in religion, you shall treat them as members of your family. You do not commit a sin if you make a mistake in this respect; you are responsible for your purposeful intentions. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
[33:37] Recall that you said to the one who was blessed by GOD, and blessed by you, "Keep your wife and reverence GOD," and you hid inside yourself what GOD wished to proclaim. Thus, you feared the people, when you were supposed to fear only GOD. When Zeid was completely through with his wife, we had you marry her, in order to establish the precedent that a man can marry the divorced wife of his adopted son. GOD's commands shall be done.
These verses did not fully resonate until I read Maine's take on legal fiction. Keep in mind that the Quran preceded Maine by how many years (centuries)?
Where I stand on legal fiction at the moment: There are some beneficial aspects to corporate personhood, insofar as a corporation can transact contracts, etc., like a person, but I have always felt that adoption laws were not right. I realize that some adoptive parents are better human beings than the biological parents, and having feelings based on love and care are important, but preserving the genetic ties supersedes the non biological ties among us. I'm not opposed to adoption, so long as records are kept open preserving the genetic, hereditary line of descent.
Adoption, for me, is a highly charged topic. I was adopted at 6 weeks, and I met my birth family at the age of 27. I think, from my viewpoint, that this topic would fill an entire volume in itself, perhaps as a companion piece to Paper Golem.
Adoption has also existed in various forms throughout history. The Romans took it to extremes, and the modern legal practice in the West, is dubious in many aspects. For myself, I feel my adoptive parents are my "true" family, and my birth family are an expansion rather than a replacement. There are as many views and experiences as there are adoptees.
My parents never hid my adoption, and being the oldest of six, I was well aware of it when my younger siblings came along. We had both a birthday and a "got you" day, so it was instituted within the family.
You make some profound points and at the moment, I am running through a great many thoughts, both personal and as a objective legal practice. You may well have inspired another book exploring adoption, because while it is certainly a legal fiction, it stands apart from collective organizations in a number of aspects, Though it is a fiction, it is not a collective, but is rather highly personal and individualized.
Thank you for this comment. It has me thinking now about something I have done quite a bit of thinking about, but not for quite a long time. I'm off to the ponder shack for a while to turn this one over and see what soil lies beneath. cheers!
Thanks for all that insight. Familial love transcends genetics, no doubt, and one of the verses i cited states that adopted children should be treated as family. My takeaway was that hiding the identity of the biological parents has negative consequences, too.
I knew of a marriage between brother and sister, not knowing their bloodline connection. Once it was discovered they were related, they annulled the marriage with great heartbreak. I have great respect and admiration for families who adopt. They are to be honored.
There are all kinds of problems with hiding adoption, not the least of which is sibling marriage by accident. Familial ties certainly go beyond genetics. It is a mutual support relationship that binds folks beyond friendship.
Here in Indonesia, the population is about 70% Muslim. In practice, adoption typically happens as a result of death or divorce. Generally, children follow the woman's family, and in some cases grandparents adopt grandchildren under certain circumstances. I don't see a lot of adoption in the sense we typically think of it in the West (complete strangers).
It's a very complex issue and one well worth some research.
What is "Tarrifying"--great word by the way-- depends on what you buy, how much you can afford, and where you live. If you are rich in America, tariffs on foreign goods are not a problem. They are if you are poor. If you live in a developing country and you are used to American Levi jeans costing twice what they do in America, if that country capitulates and ends these tariffs on Levis, you will benefit. The war on trade Trump has lit, will burn out, as you say. Or, if it is China--which Trump wants war with--and China has nothing to lose, as it can sell its goods to other countries--Trump will get the war he wishes for, but his presidency will be doomed.
It's a highly complex and volatile situation, no matter how you slice it.
Here in Indonesia, the tariffs and excise taxes only serve to line the pockets of bureaucrats and apparatchiks. The country has enjoyed decades of uneven trade with many nations, and as a consequence a very small group of people have gotten fabulously rich, along with spawning dozens of mafia operations--artificially scarce items or high prices always foster black markets and organized crime (see Prohibition).
China's strong-arm tactics and market manipulations are not just an issue for the US. China has grown to the point that it outsources sweatshops to surrounding countries, essentially mining the wealth of nations to sell it to the US and EU. Indonesia imposes a 100-200% tariff on Chinese goods, which are basically the raw materials China took from Indonesia being sold back as finished goods. While this benefits the cabal, it does nothing to aid the general populace.
If Trump manages to beat the tiger, it may have long-term benefits for the regular folks around Asia. Much of what you see about China is a carefully constructed marketing campaign, much like the US image globally. The country's economy is bloated, the corruption is rampant, and the centralized planning has created massive bubbles in various industries that are overready to pop.
We shall see what we shall see. In any case, it's free entertainment, and I take it as such. I don't invest a lot of emotion in the game. Mostly I try to anticipate the next move and position myself to capitalize on it. Hold tight and have your rain gear ready.
Thank you for going out of your way to provide a more thorough explanation. Sharing your experience helps a lot. I have lived in Thailand for almost 40 years, and I would guess that it is much the same as it is in Indonesia, regarding China. . . I would be interested in knowing what you think.
HH - You went out of your way to read my article, I am returning the honor.
ASEAN is a large-scale version of labor unions. The idea is that regions with similar political, cultural and historical ties should collectivize and negotiate on a global scale. As a consequence, ASEAM members, including Thailand and Indonesia, have equalized trade among themselves, but act together against the global stage. Consequently, Thailand and Indonesia treat each other fairly, but attempt to suck the life out of "developed" nations who depend on both the cheap labor and raw materials found in ASEAN.
Thailand currently has a general tariff of 11.5% on Chinese goods, but you will want to look up ACFTA to get the full picture.
China is a complex and unique case. I am working on an article that goes into more detail on the post-Nixon/Kissinger era, and the Bush family interests in China.
It's enough to say at this point that Mao signed a deal with the devil, and the current situation is the result. China was intended to be America East, but the CCP had other ideas, and here we are. The US saw China as part of its colonial conquests, but Beijing saw it as an opportunity to take the same tools and make an entirely different product. It's a fascinating story in any case.
Once again, you are so kind to reply to my comment.
I lived in Hangzhou, China, in 1984, when China was just opening to its own people. It was raw and rich with innocence, as people traveled more than a few kilometers from their place of birth. Everyone was excited, friendly, and happy. The first National Day celebration since 1949, on October 1, 1984 was a spectacular extravaganza, I will never forget, being out on a boat in West Lake watching the 4 hour fire works. Nobody was tired on that boat, but me.
You probably know this, but in the 1930s, 40s, the Thai government made all Thai-Chinese, change their Chinese names to Thai. And, they closed down all of the Chinese schools. Nationalism was important, to give these 1st generation T-C a Thai identity. I look all around me, and more than 3/4 of the population, is Chinese. Although, few Thais will acknowledge that. What is quite delightful, is that there are some original Chinese families here, whose ancestors came several hundred years ago and some very old Chinese shop houses still stand in the Chinese villages around the island (Koh Samui). Sometimes over the years, when I was in those shop houses, I would notice the family's great, great grandmother/father, seen in the back room lying on a hospital bed getting ready to die. Several of these blessed old folks made it to over 100. Now they are all gone.
It is quiet, but obvious, the scent of China's people coming to Thailand. More investors every year; more young families in groups; more Chinese weddings. From the other perspective, I have good friends who have lived in China, since they became adults and all love it.
Nevertheless, the hidden undercurrents of Chinese influence on Thailand, are yet to be discovered.
Thank you. . . Radio Far Side--I don't know your name.
Hello Hillary, I am Bernard. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, and thank you for the fascinating comments.
My wife's grandfather was Hokkien, and her grandmother was Javanese. There is a similar Chinese subculture here in Indonesia, and in 1998, there was a bloody purge of Chinese here. Thailand sounds almost polite by comparison. Chinese here have Indo names, but inside the family they all use their Chinese names. My mother-in-law wasn't happy to have a Westerner in the family...at first. By the time she passed, I had become her favorite in-law.
My son got married to a Chinese girl last year, and of course we had a big Chinese Catholic wedding party. The subculture is intriguing to me, very similar to my Irish-Texan roots and the close Irish communities in the US, even 150 years after the Famine migration.
I wish I could have visited China in the 80s. Before Nixon met with Chou En-lai, China was a distant and mysterious place in the West. Few Westerners appreciate how many cultures and languages there are, as with Indonesia. China dominates the Eastern hemisphere, much like the US dominates the West. It is very interesting to watch the clash of Titans with one foot in both hemispheres.
I love Thailand, especially the northeast along the Lao border and Mekong river. I don't enjoy big cities at all, but I love the open country, where people are still warm and kind, and curious. I especially enjoy eating ลาบ sitting on the ground in the sala. Impossible language though.
All along the Malacca Peninsula the Chinese are from Hainan. During the western monsoons, the Chinese would travel south, over the Isthmus of Kra on their journeys to India to study Buddhism. Then during the eastern monsoons, they would return the same route.
I came here in 1987, after finishing a Masters at Harvard in education. My spirits were very low. I was depressed and because I design curriculum according to Dharma principles--not so much as a religion--as a philosophy and psychology,--no school in the Cambridge area would hire me. So, having discovered Thailand and Koh Samui, during the early 1980s before I taught in China, I felt that was where I needed to go, to continue studying Buddhism, study Thai and translate Dharma texts from Thai to English. Plus design regarding alternative health, according to Dharma. I have lived here ever since, and a day doesn't go that I don't soak my heart in gratitude!!!
I'm still trying to figure out, as I was at the Hair cut saloon, watching the owner raise prices by 33% ,which had nothing to do with tariffs. real estate prices are dropping by 20-25% here in Phoenix. The dollar purchasing power is sinking like trump drops 40 ft birdi puts.
MK - sounds like the saloon owner is price gouging. Domestic beer should be little affected, and imported spirits will get whacked, but many distillers produce products locally in a lot of countries to avoid the ridiculous excise taxes and tariffs already on alcohol (e.g. Smirnoff in Bali). You should tack a 95 Theses to the tavern door, warning customers the proprietor is a fascist goon.
As for commercial real estate, it's been diving in the US since the Black Death. Private home prices have been WAY over historic norms for at least 10 years (and the stock market). What you are seeing is a correction to normalcy.
All things being equal, I would expect to see the buying power of the dollar start to rise against early next year, if it survives that long.
That was so enlightening! Thank you very much Bernard! Now I feel much more like this is a good thing and even if it's hard for a bit, it will definitely be worth it. It will make our Country stronger and get the businesses here BACK in business!
Bringing in CHEAP GOOD from other Nations with no real Tariffs on them, (even though they charge big tariffs on us!) is making it so our own Businesses here in the USA can not Compete at all! That's destroying America.
I'm very pleased to hear this helped a bit. The situation is complex enough, without all the chaff being thrown up by Wall Street and the GeezerMedia.
Indeed, if there are enterprising small businesses who want to replace the now more expensive overseas alternatives, this would be the time to jump at it. Dozens of small factories and assembly plants for things like wiring harnesses, compressors, and similar components could spring up in small towns across the US, and be competitive with tariffs levelling the table a bit.
It's not all peaches and cream, but it is certainly a shove in the right direction. There will be lots of torpedoes trying to sink this Lusitania, but with a little fancy helmsmanship, the country might just steer a course between them.
DoF - The Chinese and the Freemasons said it long before Clif. "In chaos there is opportunity," say the Chinese, and "Ordo ab chao," says the Great Seal of the US. If the good guys stop listening to the hair-on-fire crowd and start thinking ahead a bit, they will find all sorts of rewards for folks who take the lead.
'Tarrifying'? Very punny, Wilde:)
First of all, thank you, Rufus, for your thoughtful and balanced piece on the current tariff panic. In an age where Trump Derangement Syndrome and extreme polarization dominate Western discourse, it's rare to find commentary that attempts genuine analysis rather than reacting to the messenger.
Most mainstream coverage fixates on variations of "orange man bad," completely missing the point. In reality, tariffs — as blunt as they may seem — are not entirely irrational when facing a trade imbalance as massive as the one the U.S. endures today. Dock workers themselves have expressed amazement at the sight of colossal container ships arriving fully loaded from China’s ports — the largest in the world save Singapore — and returning empty. That’s right: not half-empty, but completely empty. The implication is chilling — the U.S. has nothing China wants to buy.
Given that, efforts to reclaim U.S. manufacturing make basic sense. However, as with all things, the devil is in the details. Trump may be right in principle, but the execution has been haphazard. Rather than build consensus with key stakeholders and phase in policy with cooperation, he launched an all-out tariff war on so-called Liberation Day. The result? Chaos. Even if it's ultimately a win, it may prove to be a Pyrrhic one.
What's most striking to me is the lack of real analysis in the media. Beyond the usual inflammatory soundbites, there’s little in the way of grounded commentary. What’s happening now isn’t revolutionary — it’s part of a broader shift already in motion. Countries are rethinking globalization, leaning into friendshoring, and forming regional blocs like ASEAN and BRICS. Even if some manufacturing returns to the U.S., it would have been wiser to target specific subsectors rather than take a scattershot approach.
Singapore offers a useful example. Despite high labor costs and minimal land, they've developed a thriving, high-growth manufacturing sector by focusing on niche areas. If the U.S. blindly forces companies to set up shop domestically without considering costs, infrastructure, or sustainability, they may build a fragile sector propped up only by tariffs.
In summary, while I support the goal of revitalizing American manufacturing, it deserves the deft chisel kf a skilled sculptor— not a sledgehammer.
Speaking of great commentary, you want a job? :)
The GeezerMedia is useless, and has been for a very long time. Their purpose is not to report, but to divide and conquer. They are not interested in fair and balanced analysis, even if they had the brain power to pull it off.
Trump's style is annoying, like gadflies on a summer night. He is clearly trying to create chaos in order to do other things while folks are distracted. I think we've seen this before in his previous term.
His impulse is right, and the US has been screwed for decades, though folks have been blinded by cheap overseas goods. The result is that they now can't even afford the cheap stuff, because the remaining McJobs don't pay a living wage, and there are no high-paying manufacturing jobs left. The problem is that onshoring manufacturing now means new automated factories, with humans only needed to program and maintain the bots and 3D printers.
Singapore is a good example, but Starbase, Texas, is probably more apropos to what's coming back home. I still maintain that Trump is hand-selected to oversee the bankruptcy of the US. That said, it's either his (vaguely) controlled implosion, or utter Soviet-style collapse. Rock and a hard spot.
I think Trump wields both. With a velvet glove, no less.
He certainly does appear to be walking a very shaky tight rope. He is constantly lighting fires to draw attention from other fires, and one wonders when the kindling will run out. I will say, as I have since his first term, Trump is nothing if not entertaining.
I doubt he will run out of kindling. He understands alchemy, I dare say. Maybe a meme of golem, superimposing his face as the caricature?
Of course, Trump is only human, but he does have a magic wand that Barry said he needed to bring back the economy. At least, I think so.
A golem meme...hmmm.
Trump understands media and knows how to use it. He also understands that great leaders plow ahead against all odds and resistance. He is by no means an idiot, and his enemies constantly underestimate him to their own loss.
Trump has clearly studied Sun Tzu and John Locke, not to mention Niccolò Machiavelli. He also shows clear knowledge of what made William McKinley a defining president of the 20th century, who enjoyed widespread adulation among the American working class.
I am working on a podcast that puts Trump in a wider historical perspective, with a signature dash of snark.
In the end, Trump is a symptom of history. He was predicable as far back as the Reagan years. It will be an interesting ride for those who can rise above the noise and see the world from LEO.
Can't wait to hear the podcast. 👍
Good article. Tariffs are confusing. My friend, Arthur, in Scotland, told me that the Scots are upset about Trump's tariff on Scottish whisky. Whisky is their biggest export.
Probably 12 years ago or so, I read an article by the famous Libertarian writer James Bovard. Back in the day, he and his girlfriend toured Europe.
Bovard found a way into the World Tariff HQ in Basel (maybe Geneva or Zurich, I can't remember), Switzerland.
James found a stack of binders 6" thick, which contained all the tariffs in the world. James decided to liberate this binder and put it in his backpack.
When he returned to his hotel room, James told his girlfriend to pack. They were leaving on the next train to anywhere.
So, yeah, the EU sets tariffs and the US enforces them. Trump is saying "Piss off!" to the EU both in Ukraine, NATO, and tariffs. Trump is getting the Euro-Monkey off of America's back.
TT - I've been paying outrageous prices for things like peanut butter for 17 years, because Indonesia levies outrageous tariffs on just about all imports. They are rabidly protective of their homegrown industries and markets (such as they are). It's the same story in just about any country you can name--except the US. Trump's methods leave a lot to be desired, but I have to agree with what he is doing. Time to strike back at all those countries that get a free ride into the US, but like tire spikes at the car park, if you back up...BLOWIE!
Rufus, I had a 10-day break in filming in Belem in August of 1990. I flew back to Washington State for a small vacation. Before I left Belem, I asked my girlfriend and her friends what they wanted me to bring back from the USA. They all said, "Peanut butter!" I brought back three large tubs of peanut butter to Belem. I was a hero.
"Whenever the people need a hero, we shall supply him." Albert Pike 33rd Degree Freemason. I don't think any of this will end well for MAGA fans. Yes, I think we are being played bigtime.
Nuff said. And it wasn't only Pike who said it. Seems there was a document found on a park bench in Odessa in the late 1800s that said much the same thing.
If Trump wanted to replace the income tax with tariffs, he should have had Congress make it constitutional by revoking the income tax while instituting the tariffs, two things he doesn't have the constitutional authority to do. We wouldn't miss the terroristic IRS at all.
He does have the authority, and I cited the laws. He's had less than three months to correct a massive decadal imbalance, so patience will be rewarded if this works. Getting CONgress to act on anything makes doing donuts in the parking lot with a fully-loaded 18-wheeler look achievable. CONgress is the problem, not the solution. However, Trump may have lit a fire under their cans, but we'll see. When you crank the rudder hard over on a super tanker, it actually takes a bit of time before you notice the bow changing direction.
You really need to study the Constitution instead of relying on the lies that pervade the polity. The president has no constitutional authority to enforce tariffs, even if Congress delegates such to him. The SCOTUS is hiding behind Marbury v. Madison while the country disintegrates.
Can u say margin call Monday! The tariffs are a US Treasury move to save the collapse of the runaway defecit spending of the US debt machine. CA Fitts says its the beginnibg of the digital prison system. When you look at the grift of the US reserve currency system thru the BIS, it appears that there is real ANX over the BRICS! The us defecit in Marchjumped by 285 billion, way beyond the realm of reality, of course in the far side we escape that!
MK - What the US did with tariffs is essentially join the BRICS, which rely on FTAs for trade among partners, using whatever currencies (including gold) they agree upon. It deeply upsets the globalist apple cart, which is why Wall Street, the GeezerMedia, China, the EU, and the North American union are hollering like stuck pigs.
Make no mistake, it's going to hurt, like ripping a bandage off, but the alternatives are much worse. It's the difference between a controlled implosion, or Soviet-style collapse. Fitts is right to an extent, but her calculus is slanted green slips of paper being the answer, and that system has run its course. Civilization is at a change-or-die moment, and some sort of digital currency is inevitable. What it will be and how it functions is the real threat.
By the bye, this moment has been planned and building since the 1975 Lime Agreement out of the UN. Nothing is a surprise here, except Trump's usual circus around it.
The tariffs are completely unconstitutional, because Congress didn't pass a law to create them. No president has the constitutional authority to create tariffs.
Vonu - Actually, I stated explicitly the two laws that authorize the Trump tariffs. The only question that remains is can he justify national security protocols and protection against IP theft and market manipulation. It's a game of semantics, but the laws are in place since LBJ and Ford.
Laws that aren't granted cert by the SCOTUS aren't made legitimate and constitutional thereby.
Trump is damaging non-jewish 'globalism' while growing the power of jewish globalism.
I don't quite get the distinction. Either nations have complete discretion over their internal affairs, or they don't. There's no particular flavor that I can detect.
The first thing to appreciate is that 'globalism' is a group of people and their agents who operate at a 'global' level. It's not a specific ideology. It's not even a specific set institutions. It's just these people.
Now, some of these people are jews and some are not. What Trump is doing is what jews have always done with power is to find a way to mobilize non-jews to destroy one another. While I carry no water for White globalists, I absolutely despise jewish globalists who, basically, exploit their stupid belief in 'values' and 'ideals' that harm Whites (and the natural world).
As for 'no particular flavor', I must disagree. Jewish oppression of non-jews is always horrific. See Russia. See Palestine.
The jews don't care how much they destroy as long as it hurts Whites.
And their access to a global culture of 'jewishness' and 'jewish interests' makes them the template of 'globalism'.
Every non-jew could stop engaging in 'globalism' tomorrow and the rich, well-placed, influential jews on every continent would still have a rolodex of international numbers of contacts who can 'make things happen'.
Those rolodex and the numbers in them are 'globalism', not the WEF or the WTO.
This is why China and so many other countries don't really take 'global institutions' seriously.
It's because they're not serious. They're the Punch and Judy puppets barking and bashing to distract from the reality of the puppet-master behind the curtain.
The people who see in the media are not the people with power.
HT - I suppose it's your terminology that's confusing. The Judean people vanished well over 1,200 years ago. You seem to be referring to a 19th century cabal hell-bent on global ownership, using the veil of "Jew" to hide from criticism and exposure. The folks you refer to are primarily (Eastern) European, and they have been the scourge of Europe for centuries, hiding behind various guises to infiltrate and enrich themselves.
The cabal indeed uses religion as a shield, but that is true of any economic/power system on the planet. They all tie themselves to a religion to lend authority and Divine Blessing on their systems.
I understand what you are trying to say, but I think your scope is a bit narrow. Try widening the field of view and look at any political system that doesn't have some religious cloak of invincibility. Labels are just toys to control thinking.
You seem to agree with 'the jews' that 'the jews' are a specific people from a specific place and time. They're not. The jews are an attitude toward non-jews and by virtue of their operationalizing of that attitude, they have come to have distinct racial features.
If 'Christians' didn't derive their religion from 'jews', there would be no advantage to this '19th century cabal' to saying they were 'jews' and appealing to 'Christians' to protect and help them (in their scamming and destruction of White life).
Labels are tools. Use them wisely and they will get the job done.
In the end, 'globalism' will not come to an end until the last rolodex on an influential jew's desk has become worthless.
End free movement of goods, persons, money, contracts and information and the power of 'the jew' will wither and die.
What is commonly known as "Jews" today sprang up in the mid-1800s from a group of gypsies that inhabited Germany, Poland and the Ukraine. The gypsies are essentially descended from the Khazar, who originally inhabited the lands between Romania and Turkey. They are not Semitic people and have adopted a religious "costume," which they use to pretend having Biblical roots, and as a form of stolen cultural identity to hide their less-than-shiny ancient reputations as grifters, thieves and con men.
Using their assumed identity, they have wormed their way into a number of economic sectors, where they immediately begin to hire each other in order to crowd out competition. It's an effective strategy that has been used throughout history by many different groups.
The actual Judeans dispersed after Jerusalem was sacked. A great number of them merged with Bedouin tribes in northwest Arabia, where they were integral in creating Islam. Your average Muslim is more "Jewish" than any "Jew" I've ever met.
To call the Khazar "Jews" buys into their grift, which I refuse to do. Just because Binyamin Mileikowsky adopted the name Netanyahu doesn't make him any more "Jewish" than a Polish pork sausage.
Nations are patches of land that would generally be better off without central governments. Their internal affairs should be the sole matters of their legitimate residents rather than invaders from other countries.
Vonu - You are arguing de jure versus de facto authority, and that could fill a book (it has in fact). As I have argued many times, nations are artificial constructs, while countries are organic societies. Humans have only had "nations" for about 250 years. I, for one, would be happy to see them die off. Organic countries is a far more sane way to live. Will it happen? Perhaps, but we're not going back. We're reinterpreting the past for the future.
If there hadn't been nations before 250 years ago, the age of the United States, there would have been no need for the Declaration of Independence.
An empire is not a nation-state. It is the extension of a monarchy, which itself oversees a country. The US as a nation-state was modelled on Greek city-states. The US invented the constitutional republic, based heavily on the works Locke and Bacon.
The problem stems from the fact that the men who founded the republic were well-read in world history, but few have been since Lincoln's treason.
He's doing more for world Zionism than he is for either of them.
Oh, and contrary to popular belief, Muhammad was not illiterate as they like to claim. Or so my research says. Cheers.
I never suspected that. He seems to have had access to quite a bit of learning at some point. The most curious claim I've heard is that he was a red head, which I'm down with.
Just bought your Kindle book. I'm interested in legal fiction.
It's a fascinating topic, akin to studying alchemy, which is why I chose the golem image. I have been working on a greatly expanded edition of the book for paperback, as well. It goes into much greater detail on the historical, philosophical and legal developments.
Thank you for buying the book! I truly appreciate it, and please leave a review (good, bad or indifferent). Helps me improve. Cheers!
I just posted a review on Amazon. Let me know if i missed the point of the book. Or a point or two, or three. A question came to mind as I was reading, and was delighted to find you addressed it later in the book. See my review. I have another comment to share but I will post it separately.
Thank you for reading and reviewing. Your review was fair and insightful. It is true I avoid drawing a conclusion, as I was seeking to present a case for and against that invited the reader to decide. I think I presented both the advantages and dangers of collective entities in a clear and unambiguous manner, showing the long history of development across philosophy, theology, and policy, to inform the reader of just what a legal fiction is and how it functions.
The second edition that I am working on goes into much greater detail, and I will present my opinion in the final analysis. There are obvious benefits, such as perpetuity and continuity, but to treat organizations with certain rights and privileges crosses a dangerous line, and I want to be very clear about where that line is and why it should never be crossed.
Thank you again. Very thoughtful review and worthy questions--one of which I will address in your other comment.
Again, thank you for confirming what I thought was the case. I kept thinking I missed something. I'm in agreement with you on the dangers of legal fiction. I thought Jeremy Bentham equating it with fraud was worthy of descent down a rabbit hole. So much of what passes for law really is legal fraud. Looking forward to your future writings on these topics!
Looking forward to the paperback edition.
I first got into the topic reading (trying to read, ahem) Ancient Law, by Henry Sumner Maine. I haven't finished it, as I got sidetracked at the beginning by the concept of legal fiction and tried to find rabbit holes to descend to learn more. Case in point, your book at the moment.
I'm no legal scholar, but this interests me. I shall gladly leave a review when I finish it. It's much easier to read than Maine, by the way.
Maine's book is a slog, but rewarding for the persistent.
I am by no means a legal scholar. I'm one of those folks who hate paying extortionist legal fees, so I embarked on an odyssey to fight fire with fire, and stop being bamboozled by "lawyers" and governments who use ignorance to run us over.
I hope my book will make complex concepts clear and remove some of the mystery behind the "legal fiction". Like any magician, once you know the secret, they no longer have power.
So this post is no doubt controversial for many, but I shall risk it here, as it seems relevant to legal fiction.
Adoption
Child adoption is a legal fiction in that the adoptive parents become the legal parents, notwithstanding the lack of a biological relationship.[7]
Once an order or judgment of adoption is entered, the biological parents become legal strangers to the child, legally no longer related nor with any rights related to the child. Conversely, the adoptive parents are legally considered to be parents of the adopted child. A new birth certificate reflecting this is issued, which is a legal fiction
Henry Maine, on the other hand, argued that legal fictions seem an ornate outgrowth of the law that ought to be removed by legislation. Jeremy Bentham sharply criticised the notion of legal fictions, saying that "fictions are to law what fraud is to trade."[3][4]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_fiction#cite_note-Moglen1998-6
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_fiction#cite_note-Moglen1998-6
The Quran, English translation used by Rashad Khalifa, Ph.D., mention three verses where I interpret legal fiction is wrong in cases of adoption:
[33:4] GOD did not give any man two hearts in his chest. Nor did He turn your wives whom you estrange (according to your custom) into your mothers. Nor did He turn your adopted children into genetic offspring. All these are mere utterances that you have invented. GOD speaks the truth, and He guides in the (right) path.
[33:5] You shall give your adopted children names that preserve their relationship to their genetic parents. This is more equitable in the sight of GOD. If you do not know their parents, then, as your brethren in religion, you shall treat them as members of your family. You do not commit a sin if you make a mistake in this respect; you are responsible for your purposeful intentions. GOD is Forgiver, Most Merciful.
[33:37] Recall that you said to the one who was blessed by GOD, and blessed by you, "Keep your wife and reverence GOD," and you hid inside yourself what GOD wished to proclaim. Thus, you feared the people, when you were supposed to fear only GOD. When Zeid was completely through with his wife, we had you marry her, in order to establish the precedent that a man can marry the divorced wife of his adopted son. GOD's commands shall be done.
These verses did not fully resonate until I read Maine's take on legal fiction. Keep in mind that the Quran preceded Maine by how many years (centuries)?
Where I stand on legal fiction at the moment: There are some beneficial aspects to corporate personhood, insofar as a corporation can transact contracts, etc., like a person, but I have always felt that adoption laws were not right. I realize that some adoptive parents are better human beings than the biological parents, and having feelings based on love and care are important, but preserving the genetic ties supersedes the non biological ties among us. I'm not opposed to adoption, so long as records are kept open preserving the genetic, hereditary line of descent.
Anyway, just my two cents.
Adoption, for me, is a highly charged topic. I was adopted at 6 weeks, and I met my birth family at the age of 27. I think, from my viewpoint, that this topic would fill an entire volume in itself, perhaps as a companion piece to Paper Golem.
Adoption has also existed in various forms throughout history. The Romans took it to extremes, and the modern legal practice in the West, is dubious in many aspects. For myself, I feel my adoptive parents are my "true" family, and my birth family are an expansion rather than a replacement. There are as many views and experiences as there are adoptees.
My parents never hid my adoption, and being the oldest of six, I was well aware of it when my younger siblings came along. We had both a birthday and a "got you" day, so it was instituted within the family.
You make some profound points and at the moment, I am running through a great many thoughts, both personal and as a objective legal practice. You may well have inspired another book exploring adoption, because while it is certainly a legal fiction, it stands apart from collective organizations in a number of aspects, Though it is a fiction, it is not a collective, but is rather highly personal and individualized.
Thank you for this comment. It has me thinking now about something I have done quite a bit of thinking about, but not for quite a long time. I'm off to the ponder shack for a while to turn this one over and see what soil lies beneath. cheers!
Thanks for all that insight. Familial love transcends genetics, no doubt, and one of the verses i cited states that adopted children should be treated as family. My takeaway was that hiding the identity of the biological parents has negative consequences, too.
I knew of a marriage between brother and sister, not knowing their bloodline connection. Once it was discovered they were related, they annulled the marriage with great heartbreak. I have great respect and admiration for families who adopt. They are to be honored.
There are all kinds of problems with hiding adoption, not the least of which is sibling marriage by accident. Familial ties certainly go beyond genetics. It is a mutual support relationship that binds folks beyond friendship.
Here in Indonesia, the population is about 70% Muslim. In practice, adoption typically happens as a result of death or divorce. Generally, children follow the woman's family, and in some cases grandparents adopt grandchildren under certain circumstances. I don't see a lot of adoption in the sense we typically think of it in the West (complete strangers).
It's a very complex issue and one well worth some research.
What is "Tarrifying"--great word by the way-- depends on what you buy, how much you can afford, and where you live. If you are rich in America, tariffs on foreign goods are not a problem. They are if you are poor. If you live in a developing country and you are used to American Levi jeans costing twice what they do in America, if that country capitulates and ends these tariffs on Levis, you will benefit. The war on trade Trump has lit, will burn out, as you say. Or, if it is China--which Trump wants war with--and China has nothing to lose, as it can sell its goods to other countries--Trump will get the war he wishes for, but his presidency will be doomed.
It's a highly complex and volatile situation, no matter how you slice it.
Here in Indonesia, the tariffs and excise taxes only serve to line the pockets of bureaucrats and apparatchiks. The country has enjoyed decades of uneven trade with many nations, and as a consequence a very small group of people have gotten fabulously rich, along with spawning dozens of mafia operations--artificially scarce items or high prices always foster black markets and organized crime (see Prohibition).
China's strong-arm tactics and market manipulations are not just an issue for the US. China has grown to the point that it outsources sweatshops to surrounding countries, essentially mining the wealth of nations to sell it to the US and EU. Indonesia imposes a 100-200% tariff on Chinese goods, which are basically the raw materials China took from Indonesia being sold back as finished goods. While this benefits the cabal, it does nothing to aid the general populace.
If Trump manages to beat the tiger, it may have long-term benefits for the regular folks around Asia. Much of what you see about China is a carefully constructed marketing campaign, much like the US image globally. The country's economy is bloated, the corruption is rampant, and the centralized planning has created massive bubbles in various industries that are overready to pop.
We shall see what we shall see. In any case, it's free entertainment, and I take it as such. I don't invest a lot of emotion in the game. Mostly I try to anticipate the next move and position myself to capitalize on it. Hold tight and have your rain gear ready.
Thank you for going out of your way to provide a more thorough explanation. Sharing your experience helps a lot. I have lived in Thailand for almost 40 years, and I would guess that it is much the same as it is in Indonesia, regarding China. . . I would be interested in knowing what you think.
HH - You went out of your way to read my article, I am returning the honor.
ASEAN is a large-scale version of labor unions. The idea is that regions with similar political, cultural and historical ties should collectivize and negotiate on a global scale. As a consequence, ASEAM members, including Thailand and Indonesia, have equalized trade among themselves, but act together against the global stage. Consequently, Thailand and Indonesia treat each other fairly, but attempt to suck the life out of "developed" nations who depend on both the cheap labor and raw materials found in ASEAN.
Thailand currently has a general tariff of 11.5% on Chinese goods, but you will want to look up ACFTA to get the full picture.
China is a complex and unique case. I am working on an article that goes into more detail on the post-Nixon/Kissinger era, and the Bush family interests in China.
It's enough to say at this point that Mao signed a deal with the devil, and the current situation is the result. China was intended to be America East, but the CCP had other ideas, and here we are. The US saw China as part of its colonial conquests, but Beijing saw it as an opportunity to take the same tools and make an entirely different product. It's a fascinating story in any case.
Once again, you are so kind to reply to my comment.
I lived in Hangzhou, China, in 1984, when China was just opening to its own people. It was raw and rich with innocence, as people traveled more than a few kilometers from their place of birth. Everyone was excited, friendly, and happy. The first National Day celebration since 1949, on October 1, 1984 was a spectacular extravaganza, I will never forget, being out on a boat in West Lake watching the 4 hour fire works. Nobody was tired on that boat, but me.
You probably know this, but in the 1930s, 40s, the Thai government made all Thai-Chinese, change their Chinese names to Thai. And, they closed down all of the Chinese schools. Nationalism was important, to give these 1st generation T-C a Thai identity. I look all around me, and more than 3/4 of the population, is Chinese. Although, few Thais will acknowledge that. What is quite delightful, is that there are some original Chinese families here, whose ancestors came several hundred years ago and some very old Chinese shop houses still stand in the Chinese villages around the island (Koh Samui). Sometimes over the years, when I was in those shop houses, I would notice the family's great, great grandmother/father, seen in the back room lying on a hospital bed getting ready to die. Several of these blessed old folks made it to over 100. Now they are all gone.
It is quiet, but obvious, the scent of China's people coming to Thailand. More investors every year; more young families in groups; more Chinese weddings. From the other perspective, I have good friends who have lived in China, since they became adults and all love it.
Nevertheless, the hidden undercurrents of Chinese influence on Thailand, are yet to be discovered.
Thank you. . . Radio Far Side--I don't know your name.
Hello Hillary, I am Bernard. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, and thank you for the fascinating comments.
My wife's grandfather was Hokkien, and her grandmother was Javanese. There is a similar Chinese subculture here in Indonesia, and in 1998, there was a bloody purge of Chinese here. Thailand sounds almost polite by comparison. Chinese here have Indo names, but inside the family they all use their Chinese names. My mother-in-law wasn't happy to have a Westerner in the family...at first. By the time she passed, I had become her favorite in-law.
My son got married to a Chinese girl last year, and of course we had a big Chinese Catholic wedding party. The subculture is intriguing to me, very similar to my Irish-Texan roots and the close Irish communities in the US, even 150 years after the Famine migration.
I wish I could have visited China in the 80s. Before Nixon met with Chou En-lai, China was a distant and mysterious place in the West. Few Westerners appreciate how many cultures and languages there are, as with Indonesia. China dominates the Eastern hemisphere, much like the US dominates the West. It is very interesting to watch the clash of Titans with one foot in both hemispheres.
I love Thailand, especially the northeast along the Lao border and Mekong river. I don't enjoy big cities at all, but I love the open country, where people are still warm and kind, and curious. I especially enjoy eating ลาบ sitting on the ground in the sala. Impossible language though.
Cheers!
All along the Malacca Peninsula the Chinese are from Hainan. During the western monsoons, the Chinese would travel south, over the Isthmus of Kra on their journeys to India to study Buddhism. Then during the eastern monsoons, they would return the same route.
I came here in 1987, after finishing a Masters at Harvard in education. My spirits were very low. I was depressed and because I design curriculum according to Dharma principles--not so much as a religion--as a philosophy and psychology,--no school in the Cambridge area would hire me. So, having discovered Thailand and Koh Samui, during the early 1980s before I taught in China, I felt that was where I needed to go, to continue studying Buddhism, study Thai and translate Dharma texts from Thai to English. Plus design regarding alternative health, according to Dharma. I have lived here ever since, and a day doesn't go that I don't soak my heart in gratitude!!!
I'm still trying to figure out, as I was at the Hair cut saloon, watching the owner raise prices by 33% ,which had nothing to do with tariffs. real estate prices are dropping by 20-25% here in Phoenix. The dollar purchasing power is sinking like trump drops 40 ft birdi puts.
MK - sounds like the saloon owner is price gouging. Domestic beer should be little affected, and imported spirits will get whacked, but many distillers produce products locally in a lot of countries to avoid the ridiculous excise taxes and tariffs already on alcohol (e.g. Smirnoff in Bali). You should tack a 95 Theses to the tavern door, warning customers the proprietor is a fascist goon.
As for commercial real estate, it's been diving in the US since the Black Death. Private home prices have been WAY over historic norms for at least 10 years (and the stock market). What you are seeing is a correction to normalcy.
All things being equal, I would expect to see the buying power of the dollar start to rise against early next year, if it survives that long.
To quote the great GWBush, thats just a piece paper with holes in it! To quote drumpf, US will go to war with any country that aligns with the BRICS.
Haven't heard the Trump quote, but the Shrub quote is well known.
That was so enlightening! Thank you very much Bernard! Now I feel much more like this is a good thing and even if it's hard for a bit, it will definitely be worth it. It will make our Country stronger and get the businesses here BACK in business!
Bringing in CHEAP GOOD from other Nations with no real Tariffs on them, (even though they charge big tariffs on us!) is making it so our own Businesses here in the USA can not Compete at all! That's destroying America.
I'm very pleased to hear this helped a bit. The situation is complex enough, without all the chaff being thrown up by Wall Street and the GeezerMedia.
Indeed, if there are enterprising small businesses who want to replace the now more expensive overseas alternatives, this would be the time to jump at it. Dozens of small factories and assembly plants for things like wiring harnesses, compressors, and similar components could spring up in small towns across the US, and be competitive with tariffs levelling the table a bit.
It's not all peaches and cream, but it is certainly a shove in the right direction. There will be lots of torpedoes trying to sink this Lusitania, but with a little fancy helmsmanship, the country might just steer a course between them.
Hang on!
Yup. Clif says that this next few years are going to be a good time to be an entrepreneur! Lots of opportunities he says.
DoF - The Chinese and the Freemasons said it long before Clif. "In chaos there is opportunity," say the Chinese, and "Ordo ab chao," says the Great Seal of the US. If the good guys stop listening to the hair-on-fire crowd and start thinking ahead a bit, they will find all sorts of rewards for folks who take the lead.
I appreciate your comments. There is one other book on Amazon that I can recommend:
Benedikt Koehler
Early Islam and the Birth of Capitalism
I'm just getting into it, but it has been an enlightening read so far.
Trump said he was going to tariff any country 100% if it left the reservation!