China thought it had a truce with the US. Then Trump dropped two bombshells

Posted on by Lone Candle

“A one-two punch from the United States risks shattering the already fragile trade war truce between Washington and Beijing, with Chinese tech companies and students both dealt shock blows by the Trump administration”

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“The first hit came in a Financial Times report on Wednesday that said moves by US President Donald Trump had effectively cut off some American companies from selling software used to design semiconductors to China.”

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“But it was the second blow from the White House that landed right in the living rooms of Chinese families, with US State Secretary Marco Rubio saying the US will “aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students” – especially those in critical fields or with connections to the Chinese Communist Party.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-thought-had-truce-us-075046801.html

By Trump’s Logic, Biden Deserves Credit for a Dramatic Drop in Overdose Deaths

Posted on by Lone Candle

“When it became clear that overdoses had risen dramatically in 2020, experts surmised that it had something to do with the social and economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s response to it—an impression confirmed by subsequent research.

A 2024 study found that “volatile drug use during the COVID-19 pandemic was common, appeared to be driven by structural vulnerability, and was associated with increased overdose risk.” Another study pub­lished the same year concluded that “policies limiting in-person activities significantly increased” drug death rates.

If pandemic-related disruption drove the 2020 overdose spike, the return to normal life seems like a plausible explanation for subsequent decreases, although the death toll was still about 14 percent higher last year than it was in 2019. Last fall, University of North Carolina drug researcher Nabarun Dasgupta and his colleagues suggested other possible factors, including wider availability of naloxone, an opioid antagonist that quickly reverses overdoses.”

https://reason.com/2025/05/21/by-trumps-logic-biden-deserves-credit-for-a-dramatic-drop-in-overdose-deaths/

Top Historian: How the Ukraine War is Going to End

Posted on by Lone Candle

‘Already in 1993/1994, [Russia] had begun to make threatening language and gestures toward its neighbors. In 1994 the president of Estonia made a speech about how happy Estonia was to be a member of Europe and about the reemergence of a threat from Russia. He was already hearing language from Russia threatening Estonia sovereignty and whether Estonia was really an independent country. At this speech, the deputy mayor of Saint Petersburg, Vladimir Putin, walked out. The language of threat from Russia began in the 90s. In 2005 there was a large cyber attack on Estonia. This is why these countries wanted to join NATO, because they felt a reasonable direct threat from Russia.’

NATO is not a direct threat to Russia’s homeland, and it is only a threat to Russia’s interests if Russia has the intention of dominating its neighbors. Russia’s interest in Ukraine is not primarily defensive, but imperial.

There was almost no U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe until Russia stole Crimea with military force.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKdpLFvxJxg