United States Biden administration policies and actions - megathread

[Carrot of Truth]

Not necessarily. The US economy implodes, but China could step in to ensure its bloc is just fine. Capitalism as we know it would cease to exist, but we'd probably go back to a pre-1914 world economic system.

Nevermind the fact that China lacks the navy or force projection to make that happen, China's economy is completely reliant on the US and Europe. Basically if the Petro Dollar goes it will lead to a great depression no one is making it out of that.

 

[Captain X]

 

[Floridaman]

Yep, I saw that, but that might be more the Saudis warning the US not to deal with Iran.

probably but for some reason the us government is obsessed with the idea, and they will be submitting to Iran.

 

[DarthOne]

Secret Service says it doesn’t have Hunter Biden emails from some years, his laptop says otherwise

Secret Service says it doesn’t have Hunter Biden emails from some years, his laptop says otherwise

Just the News found on laptop seized by FBI dozens of emails in which presidential son coordinated travel, corresponded with agents on his protective detail

justthenews.com

D
ays ahead of his trip to Mexico in spring 2011, Hunter Biden got an email from a Secret Service agent coordinating his protection detail.

“Hunter, when you have some free time, I would like to discuss the Monterrey trip with you,” Secret Service agent Yvonne DiCristoforo wrote then-Vice President Joe Biden’s son on April 28, 2011.

"I have some specific information to provide you that we received from our Mexico City office,” she added. “I know you are out of the office this evening, but if you could contact me at your convenience, I would appreciate it."

File
Monterrey-redacted.pdf
Secret Service records show Hunter Biden, in fact, took the trip with agents protecting him between May 15 to May 17, 2011.

The email, contained on a Hunter Biden laptop now in FBI custody and reviewed by Just the News, may not seem that significant at first blush. But it has significant meaning to Senate investigators.

Why? Because the Secret Service, after years of delay, told GOP Sens. Chuck Grassley, Iowa, and Ron Johnson, Wisconsin, last month the agency has been unable to locate any emails or other records showing its agents coordinating travel for Hunter Biden.

"The Secret Service worked extensively with your committees, and agreed to search parameters provided by your office as to identify communications regarding Mr. Biden's travel," Secret Service Director James M. Murray wrote the senators on Feb. 14.

"These search parameters did not yield communications for the years 2010, 2011, or 2013," Murray added.

File
2022-02-14 Secret Service to CEG RHJ (Hunter Biden Follow Up) (2).pdf
In fact, Just the News found about five dozen emails between Hunter Biden and his Secret Service handlers on the FBI-seized laptop for those same years, as well as other ones in other years that Senate investigators said they had not previously seen.

Some emails located by Just the News had clear subject lines such as "upcoming trip" or "all checked in" that made clear they involved the subject of travel. And most appeared to be routine to the daily business of protecting the vice president's family on various trips.

File
All checked in-redacted.pdf
"Hi Hunter and Kathleen," Agent Ian Rifield wrote in a Feb. 17, 2010, email to the vice president's son and his then-wife. “Enjoy your travels and please be careful in Haiti. I also would ask that you make sure that each of the young ladies has my cell phone number programmed into their cell phone and that they know to call me if they have any problems while you are gone."

Hunter Biden wrote back the agent two days later claiming one leg of his trip had been canceled. "We are not going to Antartica … State dept again,” the vice presidential son wrote.

The agent expressed dismay at the development. "Sorry about that … the guys were looking forward to going and training hard,” Rifield wrote back. “Enjoy the rest of your trip."

File
Re FYI -redacted.pdf
Rifield has won a special award for his service, records show.

A few of the emails veered into the sort of politics or personal favors most Americans might not expect from the Secret Service.

For instance, DiCristoforo wrote the younger Biden on March 30, 2012 that an airline pilot she called "The Capt" had "wanted to pass to you that he is a Democrat. I think he is a fan."

File
Capt - redacted.pdf
DiCristoforo is now listed by the agency as the Special Agent in Charge in Cincinnati.

In March 2013, Hunter Biden asked for "favor" from the Secret Service to press local law enforcement to help out a friend on a security matter, each using shorthand nicknames for each other.

"C- below is an email from a friend of mine in NYC," Hunter Biden wrote a Secret Service agent named Charles Marino on March 7, 2013. "He is a part of a basketball league named in honor of a deceased friend. The league is largely Jewish and many people including the family have been receiving these (see below) disturbing messages (in NYC, Long Island and NJ).

"They can't get any local law enforcement attention for some reason, even though the threatening messages continue. Is there someone you know in law enforcement DA's office or police that he could speak to that would help them take action?" Hunter Biden asked. "An example of the hate mail they have received is attached. Thanks buddy."

Marino responded three days later. “Hunt, Didn't forget about this. My buddy has been out of town. Just spoke with him and I'll be getting a contact for your friend tomorrow afternoon," the agent wrote. "I'll send it once I have."

File
Re Favor -redacted.pdf
A spokesman for the Secret Service and its parent agency, the Homeland Security Department, did not immediately respond to emails Tuesday from Just the News seeking comment.

But the two senators who have worked for years to get more details on the Secret Service's activities as Hunter Biden crisscrossed the world from China to Ukraine seeking foreign business on his father's vice presidential watch expressed frustration Tuesday night.

"For years, Sen. Johnson and I have been trying to get a clear picture of Hunter Biden's communications with the Secret Service when he was under their protection," Grassley told Just the News. "The Secret Service says they don’t have records for three years during Hunter Biden's time as a protectee, but I have reason to believe they do.

"In fact, I suspect there was also communication between Secret Service employees and Hunter Biden even after his protection ended. The Secret Service needs to come clean, and I intend to get to the bottom of this discrepancy."

Johnson demanded that the service "immediately produce all records responsive to our October 2020 request or explain to us why the agency did not retain records it is required by law to retain."

"The Secret Service’s inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to comply with my requests for records relating to Hunter Biden is unacceptable," he told Just the News. "We now know that Hunter Biden's laptop contained records that the Secret Service claimed they did not possess and therefore failed to produce to me and Senator Grassley. I can think of only two explanations for their lack of compliance, either the Secret Service is incompetent or it is corrupt."

The emails Just the News located are from a laptop a Delaware repair shop owner said was abandoned by Hunter Biden in 2019. The shop owner turned it over to the FBI under subpoena in December 2019 as part of a probe into Hunter Biden's business dealings.

At first, Biden family defenders and some national security experts claimed the laptop was disinformation, and some social media banned stories about contents from it. But then-Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declared in 2020 there was no evidence the laptop was disinformation.

The FBI's former chief handwriting analyst also reviewed the receipt for the laptop and concluded it contained Hunter Biden's signature, affirming the store keeper's account.

 

[Bacle]

 

[sillygoose]

Nevermind the fact that China lacks the navy or force projection to make that happen, China's economy is completely reliant on the US and Europe. Basically if the Petro Dollar goes it will lead to a great depression no one is making it out of that.

Only to keep the current system in place. If they opted to go full autarky for some reason they could do so much more readily than the US. Also you're forgetting that the US and Europe are more dependent on China (as is the entire world economy) rather than the inverse.

China lacks the economic and military projectio power to ensure any 'bloc' will be just fine.

Have you not heard of the one belt one road initiative?
They don't need power projection, especially now with Russia dependent on them.

 

[Cherico]

Only to keep the current system in place. If they opted to go full autarky for some reason they could do so much more readily than the US. Also you're forgetting that the US and Europe are more dependent on China (as is the entire world economy) rather than the inverse.


Have you not heard of the one belt one road initiative?
They don't need power projection, especially now with Russia dependent on them.

The US is the least trade involved country in the world.

Our Key trade partners are Canada and Mexico as long as these two are locked up into our sphere if the rest of the world goes to hell we get a recession not a depression. During the Trump era trade deals were hashed out between both of them. Japan, South Korea, and Australia.

Only one left that we care to bring in are the british who have been patently stupid and decided to drag things out until Trump was gone, and from the looks of it are still dragging their feet so their going to either get an incredibly bad deal from us as punishment for wasting our time and have a recession or they go at it alone and have a depression.

 

[sillygoose]

The US is the least trade involved country in the world.

Pardon? I'm going to need a source for that. Given how much more the US imports vs. exports the US is highly dependent on foreign trade as we've seen from the inflation crisis we're experiencing now.

Our Key trade partners are Canada and Mexico as long as these two are locked up into our sphere if the rest of the world goes to hell we get a recession not a depression. During the Trump era trade deals were hashed out between both of them. Japan, South Korea, and Australia.

China is our biggest goods trade partner:

The People's Republic of China

U.S.-China Trade Facts U.S. goods and private services trade with China totaled $579 billion in 2012 (latest data available). Exports totaled $141 billion; Imports totaled $439 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China was $298 billion in 2012.

ustr.gov

• China is currently our largest goods trading partner with $559.2 billion in total (two way) goods trade during 2020. Goods exports totaled $124.5 billion; goods imports totaled $434.7 billion. The U.S. goods trade deficit with China was $310.3 billion in 2020.

We need China for our economy to function. Rare earth metals alone, not to mention semiconductors, are virtually entirely dependent on China.

 

[Cherico]

Pardon? I'm going to need a source for that. Given how much more the US imports vs. exports the US is highly dependent on foreign trade as we've seen from the inflation crisis we're experiencing now.


China is our biggest goods trade partner:

The People's Republic of China

U.S.-China Trade Facts U.S. goods and private services trade with China totaled $579 billion in 2012 (latest data available). Exports totaled $141 billion; Imports totaled $439 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China was $298 billion in 2012.

ustr.gov

We need China for our economy to function. Rare earth metals alone, not to mention semiconductors, are virtually entirely dependent on China.

we have reserves of rare earths like every other country has because of the last time china tried this shit and rare earths are not rare we have deposits here in the united states and there are deposits elsewhere. The problem is that to get those rare earths you need a series of acid baths and those are a pain in the ass. China put all the money into anything that would make people work so thats why they lead that industry.

That gets shut down and its going to take us a year or so to retole.

When it comes to the other stuff Mexican labor is less expensive and more skilled then chinese labor, and this has been true for awhile we are already moving factories from China to the us and mexico which by the way is why we need mexico. If trade stopps with china thats a recession not a depression.

 

[Carrot of Truth]

Only to keep the current system in place. If they opted to go full autarky for some reason they could do so much more readily than the US. Also you're forgetting that the US and Europe are more dependent on China (as is the entire world economy) rather than the inverse.

China's entire house of cards economy relies on selling cheap shit to the US and Europe if they both go into an economic depression then China's economy collapses as well.

 

[Floridaman]

Pardon? I'm going to need a source for that. Given how much more the US imports vs. exports the US is highly dependent on foreign trade as we've seen from the inflation crisis we're experiencing now.


China is our biggest goods trade partner:

The People's Republic of China

U.S.-China Trade Facts U.S. goods and private services trade with China totaled $579 billion in 2012 (latest data available). Exports totaled $141 billion; Imports totaled $439 billion. The U.S. goods and services trade deficit with China was $298 billion in 2012.

ustr.gov

We need China for our economy to function. Rare earth metals alone, not to mention semiconductors, are virtually entirely dependent on China.

Only something like 5% of the gdp is connected with foreign trade, both imports and exports. The catch is it is mostly imports, but apart from a few specific products like taiwanese microchips it is mostly the clothes and other useless crap you find at walmart.

 

[sillygoose]

China's entire house of cards economy relies on selling cheap shit to the US and Europe if they both go into an economic depression then China's economy collapses as well.

You really don't understand what China actually produces then:

2021 State Export Report

In 2020, the global economy underwent significant shifts, and the US-China commercial relationship was no exception. Early in the year, the United States and China signed and implemented the Phase One trade agreement and halted tariff escalations for the first time in two years. Last year saw a...

www.uschina.org

.

• Exports to China benefit nearly all US states and industries. China was a top-five goods export destination for 45 states in 2020. The top US goods exports to China are oilseeds and grains, semiconductors and their componentry, oil and gas, and motor vehicles. Many states also generate substantial economic value from service exports like travel, education, and financial services.

China Exports to United States - 2023 Data 2024 Forecast 1992-2022 Historical

China Exports to United States was US$582.76 Billion during 2022, according to the United Nations COMTRADE database on international trade. China Exports to United States - data, historical chart and statistics - was last updated on October of 2023.

tradingeconomics.com

China Exports to United States	Value	Year
Electrical, electronic equipment	$111.53B	2020
Machinery, nuclear reactors, boilers	$95.32B	2020

Plastics

$21.85B

2020

Vehicles other than railway, tramway

$14.04B

2020

Optical, photo, technical, medical apparatus

$10.99B

2020

Organic chemicals

$7.39B

2020

Vitamin C production is rather important and 95% comes from Chinas:

'China-free' vitamin C: Industry defends standards against 'marketing claims'

China, the largest vitamin C exporter in the world, is again facing a battle to convince US firms and consumers that their products are up to scratch.

www.nutraingredients-asia.com

Ascorbic Acid - ChemicalSafetyFacts.org

Ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid , is a naturally occurring organic compound with antioxidant properties.

www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org

.
Industrial/Manufacturing Uses
Ascorbic acid is used in a range of industrial and manufacturing applications, including as a developing agent and preservative in photo production, and in water purification, where it is used to help remove the taste of iodine in sterilized, potable water. Scientists also use ascorbic acid in fluorescence microscopy, an essential tool to understanding cell biology. In this application, ascorbic acid helps increase fluorescence, making cells more visible to researchers. In plastic manufacturing, ascorbic acid helps bring about the chemical reaction that makes plastic.

we have reserves of rare earths like every other country has because of the last time china tried this shit and rare earths are not rare we have deposits here in the united states and there are deposits elsewhere. The problem is that to get those rare earths you need a series of acid baths and those are a pain in the ass. China put all the money into anything that would make people work so thats why they lead that industry.

That gets shut down and its going to take us a year or so to retole.

When it comes to the other stuff Mexican labor is less expensive and more skilled then chinese labor, and this has been true for awhile we are already moving factories from China to the us and mexico which by the way is why we need mexico. If trade stopps with china thats a recession not a depression.

Just because we have reserves doesn't mean we can put them into production in enough time to prevent a massive economic depression.

Labor is only part of the equation BTW, you need massive industry know-how that Mexico simply doesn't have. Plus Mexico's crime problem is an issue as well.

 

[Carrot of Truth]

Okay? That just proved my point that China would not get off scot free if the US and European economies went into a depression.

 

[sillygoose]

Okay? That just proved my point that China would not get off scot free if the US and European economies went into a depression.

That is all you got from that? The US is more dependent on China for the materials to make the economy function than the inverse thanks to China having access to Russia and most of Asia....including via conquest if necessary. Maybe not Taiwan, but South Korea.

 

[Bassoe]

Nevermind the fact that China lacks the navy or force projection to make that happen...

In the event of a worldwide economic crash, all our fancy expensive military would be in the same situation as the Russian one immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, abandoned to rust for lack of money for maintenance or sold off to third world tyrants for petty cash.

 

[Cherico]

In the event of a worldwide economic crash, all our fancy expensive military would be in the same situation as the Russian one immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union, abandoned to rust for lack of money for maintenance or sold off to third world tyrants for petty cash.

looks at afganistan

you sure that hasn't already happened?

 

[Bassoe]

looks at afganistan

you sure that hasn't already happened?

That was the equipment being given to third world tyrants for free, not sold.

 

[sillygoose]

That was the equipment being given to third world tyrants for free, not sold.

Not even, just left behind because trying to ship it out was way too expensive relative to its worth.

 

[Bigking321]

Not even, just left behind because trying to ship it out was way too expensive relative to its worth.

No, that was a absolute disaster.

The proper procedure for leaving gear behind (which in Afghanistans case was not necessary at all) is to make sure it's destroyed so it's not usable by enemy forces.

The initial plan was to have all Americans and associates flown out, then all equipment, and lastly the remaining military personnel goes and blowing our base up.

What Biden did was delay the planned withdrawal and screwed up the planned evacuations, then abandoned our air force base in the dead of night without telling the allied afghans.

This took away any air support the Afghans had and left a ton of military gear and a base in pristine condition for the Taliban to just walk in and take. It also left all remaining Americans and allies scrambling to get out of Afghanistan without any air support keeping the Taliban back. There are lots of people still trapped there after they took the airport.

It was incompetence so vast it looks malicious. The Afghanistan withdrawal could hardly have been any worse if they sat there and planned to fail as spectacularly as possible.

 

[LordsFire]

Have you not heard of the one belt one road initiative?
They don't need power projection, especially now with Russia dependent on them.

I have, and it's been a fun and exciting new way for the Chinese to make more enemies, show how corrupt and incompetent their construction companies are, and as a modest benefit create a limited amount of ability to reduce their dependence on ocean-going transport for their trade work.

It is no substitute for eleven aircraft carriers and ~9 Amphibious Assault Ships, an international military basing system, and hundreds more generation 5 combat aircraft than any other nation has.

China has been trying to increase their global power projection ability. Their efforts have no been completely in vain, but they've been lacklustre at best, and considering that everything they offer the rest of the world is fairly easily replaceable, odds are good (though not certain) that they're at a peak of influence and power, not still climbing.