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Page added on August 18, 2020

The Great Fishing Competition

A Chinese fleet of 340 fishing trawlers just south of the Galapagos Islands is causing outrage from Quito to Washington. For Latin American nations like Ecuador, the presence of the state-subsidized distant-water fishing fleet offers a glimpse into the future of a dangerous combination: China’s increasing demand for resources, extractionist policies, disregard for maritime sovereignty, and irresponsible environmental practices. How can the United States best support regional partners like Ecuador, who despite siginificant economic ties to China are becoming increasingly aggravated at Chinese revisionist behavior off their shores? It is this simple: Follow their lead.

Great-power competition is not a future challenge — an abstract phenomenon to plan and prepare for. It is already taking place today. The People’s Republic of China operates the largest state-subsidized fishing fleet in the world. The questionable practices of the hundreds of Chinese vessels operating off the west coast of South America illustrate the extent to which competition with an ascendant China is already underway in the maritime domain — and far beyond the South China Sea.

In July, Ecuadorian Defense Minister Oswaldo Jarrin announced that the Ecuadorian navy was “on alert” and monitoring a fleet of Chinese fishing trawlers south of the Galapagos economic exclusion zone. The statement sparked concern both domestically and abroad. While Chinese fishing vessels have been active in the area in previous years, the large size of this summer’s fleet made it noteworthy. The response included a statement from Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, who vowed to work toward a regional posture to defend the biodiverse region. A statement from Ecuador’s former environment minister, Yolanda Kakabadse, noted that the “fleet’s size and aggressiveness against marine species is a big threat to the balance of species in the Galapagos.” Ecuador’s navy has conducted patrols in the area, including a flyover.

‘Rule-breaking and Willful Environmental Degradation’

On the international front, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a stern press statement and a tweet admonishing China for its predatory fishing practices in the Galapagos. The statement calls out China for subsidizing “the world’s largest commercial fishing fleet, which routinely violates the sovereign rights and jurisdiction of coastal states, fishes without permission, and overfishes licensing agreements.” Likewise, Pompeo reaffirmed U.S. support for Ecuador and highlighted China’s “willful environmental degradation of the oceans.”

Nongovernmental organizations are also speaking out against the activity. Australia’s Blue Planet Society posted a map depicting the Chinese vessels in the vicinity of the islands with an ominous comment: “We are watching the destruction of the ocean in real time.” The statement likely refers to certain industrial fishing practices, as the boats were observed using stadium-style lighting to attract squid, which can lead to overfishing of the species. Furthermore, many of the vessels are bottom trawlers, which means they use nets that scrape the sea floor to catch fish and invertebrates like shrimp. Bottom trawling is widely regarded as destructive and destabilizing for marine ecosystems. Since the practice is extremely efficient at trapping fish, if unregulated it can lead to overfishing. Other concerns are that bottom trawling is indiscriminate and other animals like whales, dolphins, and even seabirds can get caught in nets and become “bycatch.” Lastly, the dragging of the nets damages the seabed, including delicate species like coral, sea anemone, and urchin. Even the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Centre registered its concern regarding the “massive presence of industrial fishing vessels” in the ecologically sensitive Galapagos region, although it refrained from calling out China by name.

The Galapagos Islands: A Natural Wonder

The Galapagos Islands, which belong to Ecuador, are situated about 560 miles off Ecuador’s Pacific coast. The United Nations designated the islands a World Heritage Site in 1978 in recognition of the immense biodiversity and large number of endemic species found on the islands. The surrounding Galapagos Maritime Reserve was similarly added to the list in 2001. Home to the Galapagos tortoise and the Darwin finches that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, the islands occupy a special place in the collective imagination.

The Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador. (Created from base map by author)

The islands partially owe their high levels of biodensity and biodiversity to their location at the confluence of volcanic activity and multiple ocean currents — the South Equatorial Current, the Cromwell Current, the Panama Current, and the Humboldt (or Peruvian) Current. The Humboldt Current brings cold, nutrient-dense waters from the south, making the surrounding equatorial waters of the Galapagos Islands rich in animal life. The area is home to over 3,000 marine species, including critically endangered creatures like the scalloped hammerhead shark. These unique geographical features also make the surrounding waters a productive fishery.

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing

Unfortunately, the rich fishing grounds surrounding the islands also make them vulnerable to the increasingly transnational crime of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. While illegal fishing is not a new phenomenon, the upward trend of commercial fishing fleets from outside the region — mostly Chinese — arriving in regional waters is making it difficult for some Latin American maritime security forces to monitor the activity. In addition to protecting their exclusive economic zones and commercial interests, countries like Ecuador are concerned with protecting the environment and delicate ecosystems from the threats of overfishing and habitat destruction. According to the Trump administration’s May 2020 United States Strategic Approach to the People’s Republic of China, China “ranks first in the world for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in coastal nations’ waters around the world, threatening local economies and harming the marine environment.”

In fact, one of the reasons that the appearance of the large fishing fleet caused so much alarm in Ecuador was the memory of a 2017 incident in which a Chinese fishing trawler, Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, was interdicted with 6,600 illegally obtained sharks onboard — among them endangered whale sharks and hammerhead sharks.

Surely other Latin American nations are also watching closely. Argentina, Peru, and Chile have had their own confrontations in recent years with Chinese fishing fleets near their exclusive economic zones. In March 2016 in the South Atlantic the Argentinian coast guard caught three Chinese vessels fishing illegally in Argentina’s waters. Coast guard ships and helicopters intervened, but the Chinese vessels ignored warnings. While two vessels fled, the third, Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010, was shot at by the Argentinian patrol forces — and then reportedly tried to ram the Argentinian vessel before it sank. In 2018, Peruvian authorities stopped the Chinese vessel Runda 608 for fishing without authorization in Peruvian waters. Similarly, Chilean forces boarded and searched a Chinese vessel in their exclusive economic zone in 2015 — although no illegal cargo was found aboard.

In recognition of the fact that illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is of regional concern, the commander of Ecuador’s navy, Rear Adm. Darwin Jarrin, has stated his intention to cooperate with Colombia and Peru on both information sharing and response efforts. Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Luis Gallegos signaled a commitment to working toward a regional approach by acknowledging the necessity of “bilateral agreements with other countries with regards to illegal fishing, to monitor every ship that’s in the South Pacific.”

A Facebook post from the Ecuadorian navy on Aug. 3, as the largest Chinese fishing fleet in several years was a few miles outside Ecuadorian waters. (Photo by the author)

The threat from encroaching Chinese fishing fleets is only projected to grow as climate change and the rising global population mean that demand for fish will continue to increase. Currently the top consumer of seafood globally, China’s fish consumption is projected to grow at six percent annually. China is already regularly clashing with neighbors in the South China Sea over fishing practices, including a recent flare-up with Japan around the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. In addition to being an affront to national sovereignty, extra-regional illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing denies regional economies access to valuable natural resources — in this case, marine protein — for both domestic and international markets. For a country already indebted to China to the tune of $5.3 billion, the menace of fishing illegally off Ecuador’s coast likely adds insult to injury.

Sino-Ecuadorian Relations: Partnership or “Debt-Trap Diplomacy?”

Ecuador has historical ties to China, which were strengthened in 2007 after the election of President Rafael Correa as part of the “pink tide” — a wave of transitions to left-leaning, anti-United States administrations in the region. A small example of this kind of sentiment can be seen in the fact that, in a jab to the United States, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was offered diplomatic refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in London in 2012, to avoid extradition.

During Correa’s presidency, the country took billions of dollars in loans from China — in exchange, PetroEcuador, Ecuador’s state oil company, supplied China with crude oil. Some, like Pompeo, have criticized such economic agreements as “debt-trap diplomacy” — a predatory tactic where a creditor nation intentionally allows a debtor to overextend and then demands excessive economic or diplomatic concessions (e.g., fishing rights). Consider the case of Sri Lanka. Unable to continue servicing debts to China, the country completed a debt/equity swap and handed over the strategic port facility at Hambantota to China Merchants Port Holdings.

In 2017, Ecuador elected Moreno, who served as Correa’s vice president from 2007 to 2013. The two have since had a public falling-out, and Moreno has reversed some of Correa’s main legislative victories. Correa, living in exile in his wife’s native Belgium, was found guilty in April of bribery and corruption charges in Ecuador. He was also charged in Ecuador in 2018 for his role in a kidnapping attempt of a political rival.

New Era of U.S.-Ecuadorian Cooperation

With the election of Moreno in 2017, U.S.-Ecuadorian relations are warming, as evidenced by Ecuador granting refueling permissions for U.S. counter-drug surveillance planes in the Galapagos. Also, the Ecuadorian navy participated in UNITAS 2019, a United States-led multinational maritime exercise. Coincidentally (or not), in 2019 Assange’s Ecuadorian citizenship was rescinded, and he was removed from the country’s embassy in London.

Adm. Craig Faller, Commander of United States Southern Command, reaffirmed U.S. commitment to the region in his 2018 Senate nomination hearing: “My plain and simple message to our friends in the region is ‘the United States is a reliable and trustworthy security partner’ … Our commitment is unwavering.”

U.S. Navy Adm. Craig Faller meets with Ecuadorian Minister of Defense Gen. Oswaldo Jarrin in 2019. (Photo courtesy U.S. Embassy Ecuador)

Despite warming diplomatic and military relations with the United States, Ecuador is still economically enmeshed with China. In addition to its existing debt, the Moreno administration is currently negotiating an additional $2 billion loan deal. However, standing with Ecuador against Chinese illegal fishing represents an excellent opportunity for the United States to reinforce a new era of partnership and cooperation with Ecuador. Doing so is in line with a mandate from the 2018 National Defense Strategy, which points out that revisionist states “are particularly adept at exploiting their economic relationships with many of our security partners. We will support U.S. interagency approaches and work by, with, and through our allies and partners to secure our interests and counteract this coercion.”

Future Threat of Chinese Navy Presence in the Region

While this obscure diplomatic event seems relatively benign on the competition continuum, one can extrapolate to envision what future escalation could look like in the western hemisphere if this type of activity goes unchecked. In a piece for the Center for International Maritime Security, W. Alejandro Sanchez observes, “Demographic growth, the eternal quest for profit, and depleting maritime life in other bodies of water mean that extra-regional fleets will travel great distances for new sources of fish.”

As China looks to secure resources — including food — for its 1.43 billion citizens, it could resort to escalatory tactics like embarking security crews to intimidate regional maritime patrol forces looking to protect their waters, or even deploying naval combatants to escort the fleets. The People’s Armed Forces Maritime Militia has been deployed in this role regularly in the South China Sea with much success, to the chagrin of regional neighbors. In an alarming incident in 2016, a Chinese fishing vessel rammed and sank a South Korean coast guard vessel in an altercation in the Yellow Sea.

U.S. Naval Academy Professor Claude Berube articulates the urgency of the situation in his piece “Stand Up a Joint Interagency Task Force to Fight Illegal Fishing,” pointing out that

“Chinese fishing vessels are plying global waters for their own interests, but tomorrow, their white hulls will follow to protect these interests. And then, given the quickly growing size of the Chinese Navy, gray hulls will eventually ensure that fishing fleets go virtually unimpeded by any nation.”

The militarization of the maritime commons in a region like Latin America, which has largely avoided a turn to interstate conflict, would be unfortunate.

As part of a great-power competition strategy, it remains important for the United States to focus on maintaining military advantage to dominate in a “high-end” fight. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that countering Chinese “sharp power” consistently will likely be the best predictor of long-term success against the revisionist power. It is in the consistency of U.S. response to delicate incidents like the Chinese state-subsidized fishing fleet near the Galapagos Islands that the United States can demonstrate its commitment to international maritime norms.

In this case, the United States, through Pompeo’s pointed press statement and tweet, used diplomatic tactics to counter China’s attempts at redefining existing maritime norms. The statement simultaneously supported a regional partner, condemned China’s extractive economic practices and disregard for environmental stewardship, and reaffirmed a commitment to a rules-based international order. In a more subtle move, a well-timed tweet from U.S. astronaut Chris Cassidy showing a picturesque image of the Galapagos Islands from space amid the controversy is a good example of how the United States can compete with China across domains — in this case, in the information space.

U.S. Navy SEAL and Astronaut Chris Cassidy tweets a photo of the Galapagos Islands Aug. 10. (Screenshot by the author)

Recommendations for Regional Engagement

Given relatively small defense budgets in Latin America, some countries might welcome the invited presence of U.S. assets to help maintain maritime domain awareness, at least in the short term. These capabilities could include assets from the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and the U.S. Fourth Fleet, such as maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, unmanned aerial systems at sea, and surface ships. In order to build proficiency in specialty skills — from operating unmanned aerial systems to outboard motor maintenance — host nations can request tailored mobile training teams from entities like the U.S. Special Operations Command’s Naval Small Craft and Instructional Training School. Intelligence sharing would also be an essential part of any solution. The topic could also be explored in regular security cooperation events like Southern Partnership Station and maritime exercises.

In developing a broader approach for partnering with Latin American states who might want to cooperate to counter Chinese revisionist behavior in the maritime commons, the United States should carefully consider attitudes regarding both intervention and conflict in the region.

Acknowledging Regional Attitudes toward U.S. Intervention

First, decision-makers should keep in mind the regional collective memory toward previous U.S. involvement in the region. Prior U.S. military and intelligence activities loom large in places like Chile, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Panama (among others). It is not uncommon in the cities of Latin America to see graffiti with some version of “Go home, Yankee imperialists.” Taking those realities and attitudes into account, it follows that a practical approach would ensure that Latin American partners feel like they are in the driver’s seat in any combined effort. This will take patience for the U.S. military establishment but will pay dividends in the long run. If the choices are to lead, follow, or get out of the way, the United States should do its best to follow and allow the affected countries, like Ecuador, to set the pace for cooperative efforts.

Do No Harm

Second, the United States should recognize the abiding, transnational inclination within Latin America toward cooperation and avoiding interstate conflict. There have certainly been instances of interstate armed conflict in the region including the Cenepa War (fought by Ecuador and Peru, 1995), the Football War (fought by El Salvador and Honduras, 1969), the Chaco War (fought by Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-35), the Falklands or Malvinas War (fought by Argentina and the United Kingdom, 1982), and the War of the Pacific (fought by Chile and a Bolivia-Peru alliance, 1879-84). But the overwhelming trend demonstrates a relative lack of interstate conflict (when compared to parts of Africa or the Middle East, for example). This commitment to cooperation can be observed in that neighboring states consciously modulate increases in defense spending to foster trust and not alarm one another. The United States should be mindful to not upset this balance when considering programs like foreign military sales.

This geopolitical trend can partly be explained by similarities in contemporary histories, which largely center on keeping foreign powers at bay and may have paved the way for the high levels of regional cooperation. The Andean nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru), for example, all gained independence from Spain between 1810 (Colombia) and 1825 (Bolivia). Additionally, some nations have pursued regional cooperation efforts largely in order to balance perceived threats from extra-regional powers, namely the United States. The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America, initiated by Cuba and Venezuela in 2004, is an example of regional cooperation to counter U.S. influence (of note, Ecuador exited the alliance in 2018).

Relative ethnic, linguistic, and religious homogeneity in many parts of South America (at least among elites) serves to facilitate regional cooperation. Unlike in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria (where the Department of Defense has largely focused over the past two decades), where sectarianism and tribalism are major factors, Latin America, although diverse, does not have the same challenge of overcoming divisions rooted in centuries of factional violence. That is not to say that the region is without challenges to integration, but any U.S. policies in Latin America should strive to continue fostering this tendency toward cooperation, as a strong regional posture will be required in countering the Chinese agenda in Latin America.

Acknowledging the relative interstate peace in Latin America is not to say that the region is devoid of security challenges or latent tensions. Venezuela, mired in political and economic turmoil, is facing the Western Hemisphere’s largest ever humanitarian and migrant crisis. Colombia still grapples with significant internal challenges from armed groups in the aftermath of civil conflict and insurgency. Additionally, Latin American cities occupy the top ten spots on lists of the world’s most dangerous cities. This statistic is particularly staggering because Latin America is home to only eight percent of the global population. Much of the violence centers on transnational organized crime and gang activity associated with illicit trafficking in humans, drugs, and weapons. Reporting also suggests that Latin American transnational criminal organizations have collaborated with terror groups like Hizballah, which has a longstanding presence in the tri-border area between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.

Tailored Approach

Latin America faces unique challenges that will require tailored approaches. In their piece entitled “Navigating the future — and understanding the troubled past — of great-power competition in Latin America,” Ryan Kertis and Chris Bernotavicius advocate for a unique, regionally specific approach. They astutely point out that “rule of law, social equality, and a strong civil society are more vital to any strategy to compete with foreign influence than the scale of military aid. During the Cold War, strong social forces, compounded by weak economic structures, created the conditions for increased communist influence. No amount of military aid was going to change those facts. The same may be true for this new era of competition.” Therefore, viewing the situation as an opportunity to aid allies in building capacity, rather than to counter a revisionist adversary, should remain at the forefront. This approach is not only likely to yield better outcomes, but it also demonstrates U.S. commitment to being a responsible power and provides a foil against Chinese malign activity in the region.

Policymakers should, therefore, be mindful of the potential for misconceptions surrounding U.S. involvement and be deliberate in their messaging to both allies and partners as well as international audiences. Any effort should be a Latin American effort, by Latin Americans for Latin America — with security cooperation support from the United States as and when requested. To that end, the United States should continually encourage bilateral and regional solutions, leveraging organizations like the Organization of American States.

With the apparent failure of the “pink tide,” as Latin American nations have largely eschewed leftist candidates at the ballot box, the United States should capitalize on this momentum. In events like the industrial fishing fleet near the Galapagos, the international community is beginning to see the perils of coercive Chinese influence and revisionism first hand, from breaches of sovereignty to disregard for overfishing in protected ecosystems. Calling attention to the problem — in the Ecuadorian and international media — also represents an excellent first step. It did not hurt that the Chinese aggression happened to be in the vicinity of a treasured ecological reserve, which helped propel this story into media outlets it might not have otherwise reached.

True Colors

U.S. defense officials and policymakers alike often lament the challenge of competing with an authoritarian regime like the Chinese Communist Party, whose policies and operations are not subject to the same moral or ethical constraints as the United States. While an authoritarian approach can sometimes work out favorably for these regimes, sometimes it does not. This is one of those cases. Sending a fishing fleet 9,000 miles across an ocean to fish only miles outside of your “partner’s” treasured maritime ecological reserve sends a message — one that both Ecuador and the international community received loud and clear — that China’s insatiable appetite for natural resources and disregard for international norms are a dangerous combination.

In this sense, the United States can hope to outmaneuver against China — or let China outmaneuver against itself — without ever firing a shot.

war on the rocks

90 Comments on "The Great Fishing Competition"

bochen777 on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 2:49 pm

ascendchina.ch

Sissyfuss on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 4:14 pm

We are in overshoot and will do everything we can to maintain it. That includes scraping the oceans clean.

DT on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 5:24 pm

Why be pick on about China trawling for the oceans last remaining fish, when every other country does the same thing and or buys the same fish on the open market.

makati1 on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 5:37 pm

“According to the latest science, 35-38% of seafood consumed in the U.S. is produced domestically, meaning 62-65% is imported.” That is 15% of the total fish imports in the world. Number one by far and double that of China.

https://sustainablefisheries-uw.org/fact-check/how-much-seafood-is-imported/
http://www.worldsrichestcountries.com/top-fish-importers.html

I agree DT. more Amerikan hypocrisy in action!

Duncan Idaho on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 6:17 pm

As a former commercial fisherman in Guam, it is a bit more complex than stated.
However, it needs to stop.
Where I fished (far side of Marianas Trench) it is still quite empty of people fishing or anything else.
Pirates were our major concern.
Sometimes sold our fish in Japan and Hawaii.
Sushi Bars were major clients– they needed the best of fish.

Duncan Idaho on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 6:23 pm

Hint:
Galvez Bank
http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/pibhmc/cms/data-by-location/cnmi-guam/submerged-banks/galvez-bank/

makati1 on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 8:59 pm

Duncan, you are full of goat shit. You have never been to Guam or fished anywhere near.

the all new supertard bochen777 the third reloadedPantyless Sharon Stone Shames Maskless “Refuseniks” on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 9:13 pm

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now he is pulling all stops

sharon stone didnt wear panties but she is not ok with people not wearing face panties on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 9:16 pm

how does supertard bochen777 reconcile this illogic?

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supertard bochen777 is now bringing out the big gun which is Big Mike who flexes muscles and say she is all about (((supremetard))) on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 9:18 pm

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Anonymouse on Tue, 18th Aug 2020 11:42 pm

“U.S. defense officials and policymakers alike often lament the challenge of competing with an authoritarian regime like the Chinese Communist Party, whose policies and operations are not subject to the same moral or ethical constraints as the United States”

Are they F**king kidding or what? Is there another United snakes in this world whose ‘defense’ officials act morally or ethically? Because the uS we are all familiar with, does not conduct itself morally, or ethically, even remotely. And that goes double, no triplly so for its ‘defence’ (cough) War Dept. PR campaigns, spin and outright deception not withstanding.

Btw, everyone over-fishes, especially North Americans. In my country, the fisheries collapsed on BOTH coasts due to mis-management and over-fishing. The only reason the arctic fishery didnt collapse is because there wasnt one TO collapse to speak of. If there was, it would have as well. In my province, we almost know the living whales and other larger creatures in the sea on an individual basis by name, there are so few of them left.

The uS is not tasked, or charged with ‘policing; the worlds oceans. So they can go screw themselves. The uS war-machine doesn’t give a toss about the Galapagos islands and its eco-systems. Only about harassing China by any means, short of openly firing on them.

For now anyhow.

world peace inshalalah pedifile On This Day... Aug 19, 2009: Baghdad, Iraq Iraqis are shaken by a series of Religion of Peace bomb blasts: 101 Killed on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 12:13 am

Actress Busted by Turkey's Nipple Police… on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 12:16 am

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Abraham van Helsing on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 12:45 am

As a former commercial fisherman in Guam, it is a bit more complex than stated.

There is something fishy about dunkan.

Abraham van Helsing on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 1:22 am

Talking about competition, after Galileo, GPS, Glonas and Beidou, the UK now wants to have a satellite positioning system of its own, now that the country had been placed outside of Galileo thanks to Brexit. The UK gov bought a share in the bankrupt US company OneWeb for that purpose:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/03/uk-buys-stake-bankrupt-oneweb-satellite-rival-eu-galileo-system

“UK buys £400m stake in bankrupt satellite rival to EU Galileo system”

They do have some 74 satellites in low orbit (instead of the 650 planned), brought there by a joint venture of Airbus and OneWeb:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OneWeb_satellite_constellation

Apart from global positioning they intend to bring broadband internet from space.

Last month the UK gov and the Indian company Bharti bought the remains of OneWeb for pennies on the dollar in a bankruptcy auction. Dominic Cummings is behind the initiative, where otherwise the UK is reluctant to come to the aid of failing UK companies. US courts still need to approve the deal. Much of India doesn’t have broadband internet, hence the stakes.

The real risk lies in the open question if a low-altitude satellite system can be made to function as a positioning system, where all the existing 4 rival systems operate from 20,000 km rather than 1,200 km.

I’m sure ESA-Airbus will put 600 missing satellites in orbit for a friendly fee.

https://www.oneweb.world/

On the project site talk is of no less than 48,000 satellites, as if there is no tomorrow.

Abraham van Helsing on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 1:37 am

Belarus to become a normal Eastern European country, destined for EU-membership, like the Baltic states. The revolution is disciplined, peaceful, friendly… and determined:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/16/we-will-win-vast-belarus-rally-adamant-lukashenko-must-go

Hopefully the EU and certainly NATO have the wisdom to stay out of this. Especially Victorya Nuland is urged to stay where she is and not to show up in Minsk.

https://www.ed.nl/buitenland/oppositieleider-tichanovskaja-roept-eu-op-stem-belarus-te-respecteren~ad93bb61/

Belarussian opposition leader calls for the EU not to recognize the outcome of the recent election. The EU will probably offer to mediate.

Abraham van Helsing on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 3:09 am

“OBAMA’S EX-DOCTOR ON BIDEN’S MENTAL STATE: “HE’S JUST LOST””

https://www.infowars.com/obamas-ex-doctor-on-bidens-mental-state-hes-just-lost/

Range problems no more:

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/08/19/hyundai-kona-ev-drives-1000-kilometers/

“Hyundai Kona EV Drives 1,000+ Kilometers”

Note these are range competitions. Officially the range is 415 km. You can get more than 1000 km out of a single 64 kWh charge by driving 30 kmh and not using airco. The competition takes place on an isolated race track.

https://cleantechnica.com/2020/08/18/german-state-requires-solar-panels-on-new-non-residential-buildings/

German city state of Hamburg makes solar panels obligatory in any new non-residential building as of 2023.

Abraham van Helsing on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 3:24 am

At Yale or other “academic” hellholes, it greatly helps if you are black, to get an admission, even if you are dumb as a brick:

https://www.lewrockwell.com/2020/08/patrick-j-buchanan/the-progressive-racism-of-the-ivy-league/

“Asian Americans and whites have only one-tenth to one-fourth of the likelihood of admission as African American applicants with comparable academic credentials…

At US universities it is no longer about equal opportunity, it’s about equal results, even if you are not fit to deliver high quality academic results.

It is all the work of LBJ, a Texan closet kike:

President Lyndon Johnson first formally introduced this notion of benevolent racial discrimination. Addressing D.C.’s Howard University in 1965, LBJ said in a speech written by Richard Goodwin, “We seek… not just equality as a right and a theory but equality as a fact and equality as a result.”

He could wreck academia and the country by first laying JFK to rest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79lOKs0Kr_Y

The dirty work of shooting JFK was done by the future premier of Israel and Mossad agent Yitzak Rabin, who oversaw the operation and himself got assassinated eventually.

Motive hit: JFK wanted to abolish the kosher cash cow Fed and prevent Israel from acquiring nukes.

Once JFK was cleared out of the way, LBJ could write the suicide note of the US in 1965:

https://americanhistory.si.edu/becoming-us/sites/default/files/inline-images/LBJ%20Library_a1421-33a_med_Ed.jpg

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Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:34 am

“ECB: On The Credit Wave Towards Zombification”
https://www.aier.org/article/ecb-on-the-credit-wave-towards-zombification/

“All in all, the process of capital allocation, as is usually the case in a market economy, is turned upside down. In the old world, companies strived for profits by investing in more efficient production processes or innovative products. Because they expected higher profits, they were prepared to pay a positive rate of interest (see Böhm von Bawerk 1884). The banks charged a risk premium, which gave companies a permanent incentive to keep the risk of default low, also anticipating lower profits in a downturn. In the new world, the ECB is the originator of lending. As collateral requirements are softened, the ECB transfers a premium to the banks, which lend to enterprises. As in the wake of the euro crisis, weak banks can keep weak companies afloat by not charging sufficiently high risk premiums (see Storz et al. 2017). The banks may even have an incentive to convince companies to launch new investment projects with a low expected return. In theory, even a new project with a nominal return of zero (e.g. cash hoarding) is advantageous because the bank and the company can share the premium paid by the ECB. The growth effects of the (T)LTRO wave are therefore likely to be negative in the long run as bankruptcies and painful restructurings will be prevented in the short term. Hence productivity gains are likely to continue to decline or even become negative on average. Kornai (1986) once spoke of soft budget constraints for the Central and Eastern European planned economies: Since restructurings of loss-making state-owned enterprises was taboo to avoid unemployment, the state-controlled banking sector granted mainly unconditional loans. The banks’ losses were covered by the central bank via the printing press. The European Monetary Union is now following a similar path. With the (T)LTRO wave it is moving into an increasingly soft budget constraint for a growing number of companies. The zombification that has already begun in the south of the monetary union is likely to spread to more and more companies in the north of the union. As in all planned economies, negative productivity gains and painful prosperity losses will be unavoidable. Because productivity gains are the basis for real wage increases, the benign long-term credit conditions of the ECB increasingly become a burden for the young people in Europe. Their wages tend to decline in comparison to former generations. If the ECB would like to be a custodian of youth, it should therefore fundamentally revise its lending policy.”

Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:43 am

“President Xi Launches Historic Purge Against China’s ‘Deep State”
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/president-xi-launches-historic-purge-against-chinas-deep-state

“Just days after Communist Party officials censored a prominent academic who dared to criticize the CCP and its glorious leader, Xi Jinping, more news of what appears to be a mounting purge of dissent in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, as Beijing prepares a Russia-style vaccine rollout. WSJ reports that one of Xi’s most senior allies has called for a Maoist purge of China’s domestic-security apparatus, insisting last month that it is time to “turn the blade inwards and scrape the poison off the bone.” Within one week of the call, party “enforcers” launched investigations into at least 21 police and judicial officials. Dozens more have been taken down in the weeks since. So far, the most high-profile figure to face charges is the police chief of Shanghai. In essence, President Xi, who won plaudits for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic but is nevertheless weakened due to China’s weakened economy and rising tensions with Washington, is launching his own assault on the deep state, mirroring President Trump’s animosity and distrust toward his own intelligence machine. While it’s true that China’s political system suffers from “endemic corruption”, that’s not the real reason President Xi is doing this now, contrary to what some western media outlets have suggested. Instead, it appears President Xi is launching his own war against China’s “deep state” by launching a full-blown purge of the state security apparatus. The ultimate goal of the campaign is simple: create police, prosecutors and judges who are “absolutely loyal, absolutely pure and absolutely reliable…“Xi is especially reliant on this coercive state apparatus, yet also distrustful of it,” Wu told the Wall Street Journal. We really couldn’t have put it better ourselves.”

Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:54 am

“China food security: country faces ‘grain supply gap of 130 million tonnes by 2025’ as rural workforce dwindles”
https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3097781/china-food-security-country-faces-grain-supply-gap-130

“China will face a domestic grain supply gap of about 130 million tonnes by the end of 2025, pointing to growing reliance on imports to feed the world’s most populous country, according to a new report from a government think tank. The forecast, which was released on Monday, comes amid heightened concern about food security in China, which has been ignited by anecdotal reports of grain shortages and calls by President Xi Jinping to cut back on food waste. China’s domestic supply of three staple grains – wheat, rice and corn – is expected to fall short of demand by 25 million tonnes by the end of 2025, meaning there will be a rising dependence on imports, the Rural Development Institute at the China Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) found. While it noted China had established a national grain security system and that overall supply was sufficient at the moment, it said “there are also problems of structural imbalance between supply and demand”

Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:14 am

“Davy mental insecurity: dumbass faces brain supply gap of 130 IQ points by 9am today, as rural dumb-ass dwindles to nothing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIkqx-sAHpw

Davy will face a domestic brain supply gap of about -130 IQ points by the end of Aug 2020, pointing to growing reliance on importing copy and paste smart peoples comments to feed the worlds largest ego, according to as new report from a government thunk tank. The forecast, which was released Tuesday, comes amid heightened concern about davys insecurity in Missouri, which been ignited by anecdotes of his brain shortages and calls by JuanP to cut back on davys waste of time comments. Davys domestic brain supply of three staples, stalking, socking and pricking, is to expected to fall short of his 25000 fake comments goal by the end of 2020, meaning there will be a rising dependence on importing smart people, the PO development Institute at the JuanP Academy of Neutering Dumbasses (JAND) found. White it noted davy had established a brain insecurity system, and that his overall supply of his of stupid asshole comments was more than sufficient at the moment, it said, there were also problem of a structural imbalance between davs left and right frontal lobes.”

Abraham van Helsing on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:16 am

“ECB: On The Credit Wave Towards Zombification”

The article doesn’t match the sensationalist title, representing US wishful thinking and little else.

“As in all planned economies”

Americans and their eternal obsession with “communism”. The EU is a fully-fledged capitalist economy, just like the US, but has long beaten the US on global markets:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_current_account_balance

The reason WHY the US has lost competition on global markets against the EU, China and Japan is too political incorrect to mention. I’ll do it anyway: race. If you open yourself up to mass immigration from the third world, you become an impotent third world country yourself and you will sink away into economic irrelevance.

Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:27 am

“The article doesn’t match the sensationalist title, representing US wishful thinking and little else. “As in all planned economies”

This same phenomenon is also present in Japan, US, and China but the worst aspects of it is in Europe. This is mainly true because of Europe’s imperfect union and policy by committee.

the board on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:28 am

Poor juanPPee is brain dead and stupid. Little left of him then noise:

JuanP on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:14 am

“Davy mental insecurity: dumbass faces brain supply gap of 130 IQ points by 9am today, as rural dumb-ass dwindles to nothing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIkqx-sAHpw

lora loomer not a fan of muzz or FGM on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 7:02 am

congrats

the new supertard juanp why supertard abe stil not calling for amputation of whitey supertard thunderf00t who is scientific supremacist on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 7:26 am

and who went on self imposed quarantine in the first week of the CONVICT-19 corona?
why does this supertard who speak high british english is not ampuated?

is it becuase supertard abe’s faith in SCIENCE-19 is so strong?

he has faith in moon landing too. strong faith leads to white supremacy

Abraham van Helsing on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 7:33 am

Just another flu?

When it comes to death rates, perhaps.

Yet there could also be long terms effects:

https://twitter.com/LionBlogosphere/status/1295676016006967301

60% of those who recover from Covid-19, even those with mild or no symptoms at all, have myocarditis afterwards. Covid-19 could be a lot worse than its death rate implies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myocarditis

I must admit that in my own attitude I have grown more pessimistic about the severity of the crisis and have much more understanding for the measures, European governments and others have put in place and have zero sympathy for those who claim it is all one big conspiracy and an attempt to “take freedoms away”.

zero juan on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 9:47 am

Give us a break superturd juanPPee. Your stupidity is so ugly. You must be an ugly stupid looking fool in real life. You are probably short and have a little prick. This has you pumped with an attitude of compensating low self esteem. Combine this with mental illness and you have the forum clown! fuck face!

the new supertard juanp why supertard abe stil not calling for amputation of whitey supertard thunderf00t who is scientific supremacist said and who went on self imposed quarantine in the fir…

lora loomer not a fan of muzz or FGM said congrats

Abraham van Helsing on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 10:07 am

As a former Thia ladyboy connoisseur this article smells like my dick breath.

IFuckBrownDiversityInTheAss on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 12:37 pm

Hi StarvingLion.

I don’t have much more to say, I think it is pretty obvious what it coming for someone that sees the world as an energy equation.

It is really obvious they don’t know what they are doing and have no real future plans.

So my advice is still the same, prepare to die, is still the best advice I can give.

I reduce by lot my daily watching of COVID news and international news.

zero juan on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 12:58 pm

butt fucker:

IFuckBrownDiversityInTheAss said Hi StarvingLion. I don’t have much more to s…

the board on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 1:00 pm

JuanP on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 10:07 am

“As a former Thia ladyboy connoisseur this article smells like my dick breath.”

You are correct JuanP, you have Dick breath says makati1.

Terror On Germany's Autobahn As Islamic 'Radicalized Refugee' Goes On Vehicle Ramming Spree on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 2:15 pm

peaceful news

The REAL Board on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 2:33 pm

Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 10:07 am

“As a former Thia ladyboy connoisseur this article smells like my dick breath.”

You are correct Davy, you have Dick breath says REAL Green

zero juan on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 3:23 pm

Forum clown superturd juanPPee. Fuck Face asshole

The REAL Board said Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 10:07 am “As a former T…
The REAL Board said Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 10:10 am “The best stuf…
The REAL Board said Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 10:11 am “Recovery is n…
Terror On Germany’s Autobahn As Islamic ‘Radicalized Refugee’ Goes On Vehicle Ramming Spree said peaceful news

Duncan Idaho on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 3:59 pm

“Robespierre had it right: you must mix virtue with terror. With the Right you have to put it on the ground and make sure it’s dead.”

this is what whitey supertard said ‘Scholar’ Claims Landmarks of Western Architecture Were ‘Stolen’ from Islamic World on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 4:28 pm

from the mouth of babe

whitey supertard said this from the mouth of babes on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 4:55 pm

muzzie milk is rewiring the brain

In this case, the deception and sleight of hand are clumsy and obvious. Note that the subtitle of the Guardian article claims that “the designs of Europe’s greatest buildings were plundered from the Islamic world.” A centerpiece of Diana Darke’s case for that is that “Notre-Dame’s architectural design, like all gothic cathedrals in Europe, comes directly from Syria’s Qalb Lozeh fifth-century church.”

A fifth-century church. Islam arose in the seventh and eighth centuries. What exactly does the design of a pre-Islamic church in Syria have to do with the Islamic world? Nothing. Nothing whatsoever.

ht supertard big muzzie beard

zero juan on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:08 pm

fuck for brains juanPPee, superturd forum clown:

whitey supertard said this from the mouth of babes said muzzie milk is rewiring the brain

In this case, th…
this is what whitey supertard said ‘Scholar’ Claims Landmarks of Western Architecture Were ‘Stolen’ from Islamic World said from the mouth of babe

Duncan Idaho on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:12 pm

“reads like a spaghetti Western crossed with Frankenstein, viewed through an opium haze”

The REAL Board on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:33 pm

Give us a break superturd davvee. Your stupidity is so ugly. You must be an ugly stupid looking fool in real life. You are probably short and have a little prick. This has you pumped with an attitude of compensating low self esteem. Combine this with mental illness and you have the forum clown! fuck face!

Duncan Idaho on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:40 pm

“One minute and 37 seconds out of a program two hours in length, and Representative Ocasio-Cortez made the most of all of it. Imagine if she had been given the same amount of time as Kasich, or Powell, or even the commercials CNN ran during the roll call?”

Duncan Idaho on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:48 pm

“Blooper Reel”
https://buzzflash.com/articles/john-kerry-trump-is-a-blooper-reel-when-he-travels-overseas

makati1 on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:03 pm

Totally agree Anon. The US is the world’s biggest hypocrite and liar country, bar none. It points the fishy finger at China but imports those fish China catches. When the imports stop, Amerika will be stunned at what they do NOT have.

Not to mention poisoning the Gulf of Mexico in the name of oily $$$. The Great Lakes, for the same reason, $$$. Most of the Amerikan rivers and lakes for the same reason, $$$. And destroys anyone/country who calls them a liar.

I am enjoying the pain that is infesting the US now and it will only get worse in the future. No, not that caused by the flu but that caused by the greedy oligarchs as they make a last gasp at controlling the tax slaves as the country dies.

Duncan Idaho on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:12 pm

“The combination of greed and power often spin out of control and challenge the enforceable rule of law and the countervailing force of the organized civic community.

When greed and power are exercised by giant multinational corporations that escape the discipline of the nation-state, the potential for evil becomes infinite in nature. Enough is never enough.”

the board on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:24 pm

JuanP on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 5:33 pm

JuanP on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:25 pm

For the record. I am the real JuanP and I haven’t posted a single comment here since before August 19th. I’ve moved on to greener pastures. I would recommend you all do the same. Reading the comments here or posting something is a complete waste of your lives. This website is fucked beyond redemption. Move on, guys!

The REAL Board on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:29 pm

Davy on Wed, 19th Aug 2020 6:24 pm

The Great Fishing Competition

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