The alternative system will cripple the American dollar and military hegemony

Most smaller countries have no choice under USA's veiled threat. When the USA says, you are either with us or against us, what choice do small countries have?

But the obvious choice is getting murkier over time and getting away from the threat looks clearer with BRICS providing the alternative. Under Russia and China's protective umbrella in BRICS, both militarily and economically, unfolding events are undoubtedly changing the game. Russia is militarily about on par with the USA in terms of nuke capability. China underwrites the economic facade of BRICS, with the Chinese Yuan playing its part and providing the stability. BRICS is not formed for harvesting immediate results. It is for a longer-term objective of weaning countries away from using the US$. Rome was not built in a day, but the Roman Empire rose and flourish over time.

Decades ago, most countries faced the cardinal truth that the USA was their most important market for their exports. They provided the blood and sweat to produce the real goods in exchange for toilet paper printed out of thin air.

The strong USA military is the result of the US$ hegemony which must continue to function to provide the USA the ability to maintain such a widespread force globally. The US$ hegemony's continued existence is needed to maintain the USA military, while the USA military exists to protect the US$ hegemony. If the US$ hegemony fails, everything goes down like a house of cards, just like the British without the privilege of unlimited money printing powers then. Any weakening of the US$ hegemony, not necessarily its collapse, will render the USA military being heavily compromised.


Anonymous

Several old myths have been torn to pieces by the Iran War

Several old myths have been torn to pieces over the Iran War. A few are worth repeating.

First myth is that expensive weapons will always win no matter what happens has now been torn to pieces by Iran, a precedent that China will undoubtedly take good note. Iran has proven that cheap drones and missiles can also do a good job against top end weaponry. One interceptor cost five times or more to take down one cheap Iranian drone. And it is honestly highly optimistic to suggest that only one interceptor will be fired to take down one incoming drone. For the same price, Iran can fire five or more drones, which will in turn specify that the USA needs to fire five interceptors to take them down. Calculate the math.

Second myth is that aircraft carriers will always be used to project power has been proven and obsolete idea by Iran using cheap hypersonic missiles and drones, so much so that aircraft carriers have now turned into sitting ducks, having to stay far offshore carrying fighter jets that are now unable to take advantage of close to shore take off and return. In other words, the projection of power advantage delegated to aircraft carriers is no longer achievable and could be lost for good. More so, when the reach of hypersonic drones and missiles keep increasing. The USA was reported to have predicted that Iranian hypersonic missiles were not capable of going for targets more than two thousand kilometers away. The shock came when Iran showed its threat by firing two missiles at Diego Garcia, four thousand kilometers away. So much for the much-touted USA intelligence.

The third myth being broken to pieces is that blockading the Straits of Hormuz is going to strangle China over Persian Gulf oil. Iranian oil can still enter China by rail, still paid in Yuan, while Russia has assured China of taking up the slack. Meanwhile China is going all out by leveraging on renewable energy and building Thorium nuclear plants to provide unlimited nuclear energy on top of hydropower, wind and solar energy. Oil imports will slowly not figure most prominently in China's manufacturing sector in time to come. So, what will become of those choke points that can no longer be instrumental in choking China? Who else is the USA going to choke.

Many countries are also migrating to renewable energy in the face of the Middle East turmoil. For example, Pakistan has already been following the Chinese by harvesting hydropower with huge dams and solar farms. More countries will realize that depending on oil alone is disastrous as global oil reserves are limited and turning to renewables is the answer for the future.

Now, here again one country is going to laugh all the way to the bank. Chinese wind turbines, solar panels, EVs and even Thorium nuclear power plants for export are planned, all of which China is already dominating globally and will be sought after in years to come. Which other country has the capacity to supply all the equipment demanded at scale?

All the showboating about the USA having so much oil is perhaps just a short-term feel-good moment, when the rest of the world start migrating to renewables, while Trump keeps demonizing wind turbines for killing birds and Chinese solar panels spying on citizens and all the hubris. Oh, maybe Trump will threaten them with high tariffs if they turn to clean energy, lol.

USA still needs to import 30 to 35% of its oil needs. The USA cannot use all the oil that it produces as its own refineries are not built to process those lighter crude. The lighter crude may be sold to refineries outside USA that are able to process them elsewhere. So, what affects most countries around the world, also does affect the USA as well if the Strait of Hormuz remain closed. The fact that USA pump prices are now reaching for unscalable heights shows the reality of what I am saying. So much oil and yet cannot keep pump prices down does prove a thing or two.


Anonymous

Operation Kill Iranians - 3 aircraft carrier strike groups and more than 70,000 troops

Do take lunatic Trump seriously when he said he is going to wipe out the Iranians. This is not a joke. Lunatic Trump meant what he said. He will continue to sack the American generals and admirals if they refused to do his bidding, to kill Iranians and risking the lives of American boys and girls. Surely after all the sackings there will be one or two wimps with stars on their shoulders to say aye to Trump. Then the massacre will begin, the Iranians will die, a lot of them. The American boys and girls will also die, a lot of them. Why? For what, for who?

For the moment, lunatic Trump has been checked. He asked for the nuclear codes. If a nuclear threat is just for negotiation, there is no need to ask for the codes. The codes will give him access and the ability to press the nuclear button. To this lunatic, what is nuking Iran and killing a few Iranians? Gen Dan Caine, Chairman of Joint Chief of General Staff blocked Trump from access to the nuclear codes. How long will he stay on the job and his replacement would definitely be picked by Trump and do his bidding. This is a very dangerous situation facing Iran and the world. If this mad man can nuke Iran, he can nuke anyone. Period.

Operation Kill Iranians is temporarily on hold and will continue once the Trump has his forces in place. The extension of the ceasefire is not for anything good, but giving the American terrorists more time to deploy all the weapons and attack forces. Many aircraft, including the out of action F18s have not been flown to UAE to within striking distance of Iran. The F18s have been out of action as the aircraft carriers had been forced to flee to a safe distance from Iran. Now they can only fly from land bases near Iran. And the ceasefire is exactly for this purpose.

Iran must deploy and target the UAE bases with hypersonic missiles and fingers on the button the moment ceasefire expires. Better to be on the button now as the treacherous and cheating Americans will likely to strike before the ceasefire ends, the moment they are ready to hit Iran. They had done this twice during a ceasefire negotiation.

The next phase of attack against Iran is going to be harder. Hopefully Iran also make use of this ceasefire to restock with more hypersonic missiles to wipe out everything the American terrorists have laid before them. 70,000 American boys and girls will present enough targets for the Iranians, and the aircraft in nearby airbases. Would the American terrorists dare to sail their warships near to the Persian Gulf for target practice by the Iranians?

When the lunatic Trump only cares about winning, he will sacrifice all the boys and girls he can get. Body bag manufacturers should ramp up their production of these plastic bags.

America is now the joke of the world

While Trump, his regime and the USA people want to treat China as a joke, the whole world is beginning to see USA as a bigger joke. The war on Iran has exposed the biggest joke about USA military power. Not that it had not been already exposed in Vietnam and Afghanistan. The irony is that the world does not see the woods from the trees regarding the fate of a falling superpower.

China giving visa free travel to foreign visitors is a masterstroke to let foreign visitors see and experience the real China and undo the brainwashing that they had been subjected to for decades. No amount of propaganda can win against experiencing the reality. Just the high-speed rail experience in China is enough to floor visitors, with high-speed rail stations overshadowing airports in their own country. Do they think those are a joke?

And the low cost of living is another shocking experience that foreign travelers have noticed while in China. The food available at supermarkets are cheap, eating out is cheap, transportation is cheap and above all homes, rental flats and hotels are cheap as well. Medical treatment in China is also cheaper and more efficient. For comparison of cost, each Chinese ambulance costs about US$60,000 each fully equipped and delivered in weeks. An ambulance made in USA cost about US$500,000 and takes three years to deliver. That is the extent of the greed inside a democracy that works for the top 1% to make more money at the expense of the bottom feeders. Do USA voters realized that they have landed on the wrong side of the bargain, paying for essential things that should be heavily subsidized. What has USA voters benefitted from having a right to vote but ended up being more heavily squeezed each time.


Anonymous

China's real economic growth versus American's money printing growth and Ponzi scheme in Wall Street

25 years of the collapse of China has not come to fruition. This must be the mother of all failed propaganda ever trotted out by the West. I guess, this mantra will be repeated for another 25 years to come. I do not think Gordon Chang will still be around to witness the collapse of China, or the rise of China to be the biggest economy of the world.

Never mind that China's GDP growth is now around 4.5% or whatever, but it is still double what the USA has achieved over the years. Real growth supported by real manufacturing and real exports resulting in ever growing surpluses does not lie. On the other hand, growth through money printing is hiding a very unpalatable truth pertaining to more money being used for round-tripping investments in order to give the impression of growth. A Ponzi scheme never ends well.

Countries are wising up realizing that the Ponzi scheme is going to unravel sooner or later. Treasury interest rates are pushed higher and higher, yet few takers are being enticed. The fall of the US$ does not compensate even with the increase in interest rates and the inherent risk of holding such investments. Coupled with the risk of seizures like the Russian assets, lessons are being learnt. Investments in gold and silver rather than treasuries are now more beneficial without the inherent risk. It is better to be safe than be sorry like the Russians and Iranians.


Anonymous