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Tuesday, April 29, 2025

The Fentanyl Crisis: Unraveling a Global Web of Death, Trade, and Geopolitics

Trump pushes back against economic anxieties in ABC interview

Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption
AOC 2028: : The Future of American Progressivism

The Fentanyl Crisis: Unraveling a Global Web of Death, Trade, and Geopolitics

The fentanyl crisis is one of the deadliest public health emergencies in modern U.S. history, killing tens of thousands of Americans annually and revealing the dark undercurrents of global supply chains, international diplomacy, organized crime, and historical grievances. What started as a medical innovation has evolved into a synthetic tsunami sweeping through cities, rural communities, and families—with few signs of slowing down.

What Is Fentanyl and Why Is It So Dangerous?

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine. Developed for severe pain treatment, especially for cancer patients, it is legally manufactured in hospitals. However, illicitly produced fentanyl—often mixed with other drugs like heroin, cocaine, or fake pills—has become the primary driver of U.S. overdose deaths.

Unlike heroin, which is derived from poppy plants and requires expansive agricultural operations, fentanyl can be synthesized in labs using chemical precursors. This makes production cheaper, faster, and easier to conceal—creating a perfect storm for the black market.

The Body Count: How Many Have Died?

Fentanyl-related deaths in the United States have skyrocketed in recent years:

2013: ~3,000 deaths
2016: ~19,000 deaths
2019: ~36,000 deaths
2021: ~71,000 deaths
2022-2023 (estimated): Over 75,000 deaths annually

Fentanyl now accounts for more than two-thirds of all U.S. overdose deaths. It’s not just a crisis—it’s a mass casualty event unfolding year after year.

The Global Supply Chain: From China to Mexico to the U.S.

Illicit fentanyl often travels a circuitous route:

Precursor chemicals—the key ingredients—are largely manufactured in China and India.
These chemicals are shipped—legally or illicitly—to Mexico, where they are processed in cartel-run labs into ready-to-smuggle fentanyl.
The final product is trafficked across the U.S.-Mexico border, often hidden among goods or carried by individuals.

Unlike heroin or cocaine, which require farming and harvesting, fentanyl can be made in a garage-sized lab and shipped worldwide. That makes regulation and enforcement extremely difficult.

China's Role: Allegations, Denials, and Accusations

The U.S. government has repeatedly accused Chinese companies—and in some cases, the Chinese government—of failing to crack down on the production and export of fentanyl precursors. Some claims go further, suggesting willful negligence or tacit allowance by Chinese authorities.

Critics draw a stark parallel: just as Britain used opium to weaken China in the 19th century, some speculate that fentanyl is China’s revenge, flooding the U.S. with a synthetic poison. This narrative has echoed in fringe circles and even in some Congressional rhetoric—but there is no solid evidence proving this is state policy. It remains a conspiracy theory rather than an established fact.

Beijing, for its part, rejects responsibility and claims it has made fentanyl a controlled substance since 2019. Chinese officials argue that it is the U.S.'s demand for drugs—and failure to tackle addiction—that fuels the crisis. They also point to lax U.S. gun laws and accuse Washington of hypocrisy.

Mexico’s Role: Cartels as Manufacturers and Middlemen

The Mexican cartels, especially the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation Cartels, have become primary manufacturers of illicit fentanyl. These groups receive precursor chemicals from Asia and turn them into pills and powders for the U.S. market.

In a grim irony, Mexican leaders often point fingers back at America, blaming the influx of U.S.-made guns for the violence that allows cartels to flourish. Just as fentanyl flows north, firearms flow south—fueling a vicious feedback loop of addiction and violence.

Why Was Trump’s Trade War Linked to Fentanyl?

President Donald Trump frequently cited China’s role in the fentanyl crisis as part of his broader critique of unfair trade practices. While the trade war was primarily economic—focused on tariffs, IP theft, and trade deficits—the fentanyl issue added moral weight to Trump's hardline stance.

Critics argue this linkage was opportunistic. Still, fentanyl did become a bargaining chip in U.S.-China trade talks, with Trump at one point announcing that China had promised to crack down on fentanyl exports—a promise many in Washington believe was never fully enforced.

How Bad Is Fentanyl Compared to Other Drugs?

Fentanyl dwarfs other opioids in lethality:

A lethal dose can be as small as 2 milligrams, equivalent to a few grains of salt.
It is often consumed unknowingly, as it is used to lace pills and powders for higher potency and profit.
Unlike heroin or oxycodone, fentanyl acts faster, and overdoses are harder to reverse, even with naloxone (Narcan).

Its synthetic nature also means it can mutate easily—new analogues can be created faster than laws can ban them.

Is This the Opium War in Reverse?

This theory—popular in nationalist corners—suggests that China is exacting revenge for the humiliation of the Opium Wars, when British imperialists flooded China with opium and forced open Chinese markets. Today, some claim, China is turning the tables.

While the historical parallels are striking, there is no verified evidence that Beijing sees fentanyl as a geopolitical weapon. However, the narrative resonates emotionally with many in both countries and further poisons bilateral relations.

How to End the Fentanyl Crisis

Solving the fentanyl crisis requires a coordinated, multi-level strategy, including:

1. Global Diplomacy

U.S. pressure on China and India to regulate precursor chemicals.
More robust cooperation with Mexico to dismantle labs and interdict traffickers.

2. Domestic Prevention

Expanding education, addiction treatment, and harm reduction.
Funding public health campaigns as aggressively as anti-smoking efforts.

3. Law Enforcement and Tech

Enhance border security using AI, scanning tech, and predictive analytics.
Disrupt dark web drug markets where fentanyl is sold in bitcoin and mailed discreetly.

4. Supply Chain Monitoring

Track and trace chemical shipments, like how nuclear or biological materials are handled.
Introduce international agreements to regulate dual-use chemicals.

5. Gun-Fentanyl Parallels

Just as America’s guns worsen Mexico’s violence, China and Mexico's fentanyl networks devastate America.
Recognition of mutual culpability may be the beginning of mutual cooperation.

Conclusion: The Crisis of Our Time

The fentanyl epidemic is not just a drug crisis—it is a public health disaster, an international relations dilemma, and a mirror to America’s own internal vulnerabilities. There is no silver bullet. But through diplomacy, enforcement, education, and empathy, the death toll can be reduced.

The world has seen the damage of synthetic addiction before. This time, it’s not opium in China—it’s fentanyl in the United States. And unless bold, coordinated action is taken, the next decade may see overdose deaths rival the casualties of war.

“Tourism is way up.” - Trump

Why lie about the most easily disprovable data points?

pic.twitter.com/U4N20Q4JVR
— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) April 30, 2025

India-US Trade: Mapping the Path to $500 Billion by 2030

As of 2024, the total goods trade between India and the United States reached approximately $129.2 billion, with U.S. exports to India at $41.8 billion and imports from India at $87.4 billion, resulting in a trade deficit of $45.7 billion for the U.S. (India | United States Trade Representative)

Mapping the Path to $500 Billion by 2030

Achieving a bilateral trade volume of $500 billion by 2030 would require an annual growth rate of approximately 20%. Several scenarios could contribute to this ambitious target:

1. Trade Agreements and Tariff Reductions

Ongoing negotiations between the U.S. and India aim to finalize a trade deal that could significantly boost trade volumes. India has proposed reducing tariffs on various U.S. agricultural products and is considering cuts on liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports. These measures are designed to facilitate a more balanced trade relationship and could lead to increased trade flows. (Modi, Vance tout progress on India-US trade deal, India offers US lower tariffs on farm imports, weighs natural gas tax cuts in rush to reach trade deal: report)

2. Diversification of Supply Chains

The U.S. is seeking to diversify its supply chains, reducing reliance on China. India presents a viable alternative, especially in sectors like electronics, pharmaceuticals, and textiles. This shift could result in increased U.S. imports from India. (JD Vance's India agenda: trade, China and riding an elephant, India Exports to United States - 2025 Data 2026 Forecast 1988-2024 ...)

3. Growth in Services Trade

Beyond goods, services trade, including information technology, business process outsourcing, and financial services, is a significant component of India-U.S. trade. Enhancing cooperation in these areas could contribute substantially to reaching the $500 billion target.

Projected Trade Composition at $500 Billion

India's Exports to the U.S.

Electronics and Semiconductors: India's electronics exports have been growing, with mobile phones and other electronics forming a significant portion.
Pharmaceuticals: India is a major supplier of generic drugs to the U.S., a trend likely to continue.
Textiles and Apparel: Traditional strengths in textiles could see further growth.
Jewelry and Precious Stones: Continued demand for diamonds and gold jewelry. (Electronics and semiconductor manufacturing industry in India, India–United States relations)

U.S. Exports to India

Energy Products: Exports of crude oil, LNG, and coal are expected to rise.
Aerospace and Defense Equipment: India's modernization efforts may lead to increased imports of U.S. aircraft and defense systems.
Agricultural Products: Reduced tariffs could boost exports of almonds, walnuts, and other produce.
Technology and Services: Software, cloud services, and other tech exports are poised for growth.

Conclusion

Reaching a $500 billion trade volume by 2030 is ambitious but achievable through strategic agreements, supply chain diversification, and growth in both goods and services trade. Both nations stand to benefit from a strengthened economic partnership. (India-US embark on a new era of trade and economic partnership)

Wednesday, April 16, 2025

Game Theory and the U.S.-China Trade War: Who Blinks First?

Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption

Game Theory and the U.S.-China Trade War: Who Blinks First?

As of April 2025, the U.S.-China trade war has escalated dramatically, with the U.S. imposing tariffs up to 245% on Chinese imports, prompting retaliatory measures from China. This tit-for-tat escalation has led to significant economic disruptions globally.

Applying game theory provides a structured lens to analyze this complex standoff.

The Trade War as a Strategic Game

In game theory, the U.S.-China trade conflict resembles a classic Prisoner's Dilemma, where both parties face the temptation to defect (impose tariffs) rather than cooperate (maintain free trade). This often results in a suboptimal outcome for both.

Additionally, the situation mirrors the Game of Chicken, where each side escalates threats, hoping the other will yield first. This risky strategy can lead to mutual destruction if neither side backs down.

Strategic Moves and Countermoves

United States:

Tariff Escalation: President Trump's administration has increased tariffs to 245% on Chinese goods.
Economic Pressure: The U.S. aims to leverage its market size to force concessions from China.

China:

Retaliatory Tariffs: China has imposed its own tariffs on U.S. goods, signaling its unwillingness to capitulate.
Diversification: China is strengthening trade ties within Asia and promoting domestic consumption to mitigate reliance on the U.S. market.

Who Has the Upper Hand?

While both economies are suffering, China's centralized governance and long-term planning may provide it with greater resilience. Conversely, the U.S. faces internal political pressures and market volatility, which could compel it to seek a resolution sooner.

Potential Outcomes

Mutual De-escalation: Both nations agree to roll back tariffs and negotiate a new trade agreement.
Prolonged Stalemate: The trade war continues, leading to sustained economic harm globally.
One Side Concedes: Under mounting pressure, either the U.S. or China makes significant concessions to end the conflict.

Conclusion

The U.S.-China trade war, when viewed through the lens of game theory, highlights the complexities of international negotiations where national interests and global economic stability are at stake. While both sides have strategic reasons to maintain their positions, the mutual benefits of cooperation suggest that a negotiated resolution would be the optimal outcome.

Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
The Last Age of War, The First Age of Peace: Lord Kalki, Prophecies, and the Path to Global Redemption

AI-Era Social Network: Reimagined for Truth, Trust & Transformation
Game Theory and the U.S.-China Trade War: Who Blinks First?
China's Dedollarization Drive: A New Era of Currency Competition
Immigration: The Edge That Made America Great
Manufacturing the Future: Why America’s Tech Revolution Must Begin at Home
AOC 2028?

Why an AI Chatbot on Your Website Is the Perfect First Step into Business AI
How AI Can Revolutionize Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMBs)
The AI Revolution: How Emerging Trends Are Empowering Small and Medium-Sized Businesses

Thursday, April 10, 2025

The Trump–Xi Trade Saga: From Tariff Wars to Economic Brinkmanship

Trump’s Trade War

Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible

Trump’s Trade War

The Trump–Xi Trade Saga: From Tariff Wars to Economic Brinkmanship

Since Donald Trump first assumed the U.S. presidency in 2017, his trade negotiations with Chinese President Xi Jinping have been a defining feature of global economic relations. Spanning two non-consecutive terms, Trump's approach to China has evolved from aggressive tariff implementations to a complex interplay of economic strategies and geopolitical considerations.

First Term (2017–2021): The Genesis of the Trade War

Upon entering office, President Trump prioritized addressing the U.S. trade deficit with China, accusing Beijing of unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft. This led to a series of escalating tariffs:

In 2018, the U.S. imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, prompting China to retaliate with duties on $110 billion of U.S. products.
The conflict culminated in the "Phase One" trade deal in January 2020, where China committed to purchasing an additional $200 billion in U.S. goods over two years. However, by the end of 2021, China had fulfilled only 58% of its commitments, falling short of the agreement's targets.

Despite these efforts, the U.S. trade deficit with China continued to grow, reaching record highs by 2020.

Second Term (2025–Present): Renewed Confrontation

Re-elected in 2024, President Trump resumed a hardline stance on China, implementing a series of aggressive trade measures:

Tariff Escalations: In early 2025, the administration imposed a 10% baseline tariff on all Chinese imports, which was subsequently increased to 20%. Additional "reciprocal tariffs" brought the effective rate on some goods to as high as 145%.
Chinese Retaliation: Beijing responded with tariffs of up to 84% on U.S. goods, suspended certain agricultural imports, and initiated investigations into American companies.
Economic Impact: These actions led to significant market volatility, with U.S. stock indices experiencing steep declines. Former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen described the tariffs as the "worst self-inflicted wound" on a strong economy.

Diplomatic Dynamics and Future Prospects

Despite the escalating tensions, both leaders have expressed openness to dialogue:

Trump's Position: President Trump has indicated a willingness to negotiate, stating he would "love to make a trade deal with China."
China's Stance: Chinese officials have affirmed that "the door to talks is open," emphasizing the need for mutual respect and equality in negotiations.

However, underlying issues such as technology transfers, market access, and geopolitical rivalries continue to complicate the path to a comprehensive agreement.

Conclusion

The trade relationship between the U.S. and China under President Trump's leadership has been marked by cycles of confrontation and tentative engagement. As both nations navigate the complexities of economic interdependence and strategic competition, the outcomes of their negotiations will have far-reaching implications for global trade and economic stability.

Trump’s Trade War

Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible

Trump’s Trade War

Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible

Trump’s Trade War

Hillary's Self-Goal, Kamala's Self Goal
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The Coming Storm: What Happens Now That Trump Has Slapped Tariffs on the Entire World
The Emperor and the River: Why Manufacturing Jobs Aren’t Coming Back Why the U.S. Has Trade Deficits (And Why That Might Be by Design)
WTO Minus One: Trump’s Tariff Chaos and America’s Self-Inflicted Decline
China And Trade
Trumponomics: A 1600s Idea in 21st Century Clothing
Economic Theories That Disagree with Trump's Tariff Policy
$8 Billion Is Insufficient to End World Hunger
The Structure Of Trump's Victory
Only The Kalkiist Economy Can Fully And Fairly Harvest AI
मैं कपिल शर्मा शो का बहुत बड़ा फैन हुँ

How BYD Is Beating Tesla at Its Own Game
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Trump’s Trade War

Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible

Trump’s Trade War

Tuesday, April 08, 2025

8: Donald Trump

"..... the first step is disruption: tariffs that shatter the existing economic order and drive countries to the negotiating table. Once at the negotiating table, countries will be asked to take steps via currency agreements to lower the value of the dollar. ......... Should allies refuse to bend to the tariffs and decide instead to retaliate with levies of their own, they may find the United States withdrawing from defense agreements such as NATO. .......... Unlike in 1985, large numbers of U.S. dollars today are held by China. Lowering their value would amount to financial warfare with China, which the plan endorses. ...... Much as the Cold War arms race with the Soviet Union squeezed the Communist system to the point of collapse, this strategy seeks to cut off China from the world economy through punishing tariffs, or a user fee on reserves, which would eventually force transformative change. ..........

If everything goes as planned

, U.S. exports would be more competitive globally, China would be weakened and more of our allies would be sharing the burdens of military spending. The upshot would be more manufacturing in the United States and a reinvigorated American heartland. ..........

Will it work? Few economists think so. Many prophesize disaster

........... There is an even bigger problem with the plan, though, than its slim prospect of success. Perhaps the United States could manage in a world that does not run on the dollar. But the dollar is the world’s reserve currency because it is considered the most reliable place to store assets and to invest — a haven from expropriation, political retribution and economic unpredictability. Foreign states and individuals alike invest in the United States because they believe our political system is stable, our legal system is fair and private property is valued. ............ The dollar became strong after World War II when the United States committed to supporting a web of economic and military alliances intended to stave off conflict and ensure peace through trade. The dollar remained strong because, as other nations entering the global trading system fell prey to corruption, cronyism and civil unrest, the U.S. economic and political system stood out as a beacon of security, innovation and enterprise. ............. The most valuable asset of the United States is not the dollar but our trustworthiness — our integrity and our values. If the world envisioned by the Mar-a-Lago Accords comes to pass, it will be a sign that not only our currency but our nation has been devalued. "

Why Did So Many People Delude Themselves About Trump? Donald Trump’s 2024 election sent many finance types into spasms of anticipatory ecstasy as they imagined freedom from regulations, taxes and unfamiliar pronouns. “Bankers and financiers say Trump’s victory has emboldened those who chafed at ‘woke doctrine’ and felt they had to self-censor or change their language to avoid offending younger colleagues, women, minorities or disabled people,” The Financial Times reported a few days before Trump’s inauguration. It quoted one leading banker crowing — anonymously — about finally being able to use slurs like “retard” again. The vibes had shifted; the animal spirits were loose............. “We’re stepping into the most pro-growth, pro-business, pro-American administration I’ve perhaps seen in my adult lifetime,” gushed the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman in December....... The surprising thing isn’t that Berezin saw the Trump tariff crisis coming, but that so many of his peers didn’t. .......... Trump believes, firmly and ardently, in taxing imports, and he thinks any country that sells more goods to America than it buys must be ripping us off. .......... most of the people who make a living off their financial acumen had less understanding of Trump’s priorities than a casual viewer of MSNBC. .......... many investors who pride themselves on their savvy are in fact just creatures of the herd. “All these cognitive biases that amateur retail investors are subject to, the Wall Street pros, are, if anything, even more subject to them because they’ve got career risk associated with bucking the trend” .......... “You don’t get fired for being bullish, but you do get fired for being bearish on Wall Street,” said Berezin. ............ When wokeness was ascendant, plenty of people in tech and finance quietly seethed at being guilt-tripped and forced to feign concern about social justice. “When the opportunity came to jettison all that, they were happy to do it,” said Berezin. “And Trump enabled them to do it.” ............. So last October, when Scott Bessent, soon to become Treasury secretary, said that Trump was really a free trader who used tariffs as a negotiating tactic, Wall Street was eager to believe him. “It’s escalate to de-escalate,” Bessent told The Financial Times. ...........

This claim was obviously absurd. Trump has been obsessed with tariffs, which he called “the most beautiful word in the dictionary,” for decades.

............. When he makes sales, whether of Trump University courses or Trump-branded cryptocurrency, he is usually taking advantage of the buyer, and he views global trade through the same zero-sum lens. .......... during his first term, the so-called adults in the room thwarted some of Trump’s most destructive whims. There have been far fewer such figures in the Trump sequel, resulting in the wholesale degradation of American governance. ............ The conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer just directed a purge of the National Security Council. ....... There’s no one in the executive branch willing to publicly push back on Trump’s threats to take over Canada. Somehow, traders failed to recognize that there would eventually be economic fallout from such profound misrule. ........... Wall Street professionals, like so many other ostensibly smart people, refused to see Trump clearly, mistaking his skill as a demagogue for wisdom as a policymaker. .......
What an odd assumption to make about a man who bankrupted casinos.
................ we might have passed the event horizon, meaning that even if Trump backs off from the tariffs, there’s been enough damage done to the U.S. economy, to the global economy, to investor confidence, consumer confidence, that we’re probably going to see a recession regardless of what happens” ..........
while public attention is focused on the stock market, there are alarming signs in the bond market
............. Usually, if stocks go down, so do yields on U.S. Treasuries, because they become more desirable to people looking for a safe place to park money. At least right now, that’s not happening, which he thinks could signal a crisis of confidence in the stability of the U.S. government and the debt it issues. ............. “Do we really want to use the dollar as a reserve?” It turns out that there’s a price for taking all the soft power America has accrued since World War II and setting it on fire.

Paul Krugman on the ‘Biggest Trade Shock in History’

I have no anger toward Dems. Just disappointment.

I don’t think this was foreseeable. I assumed economic rationality would be paramount. My bad.
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 7, 2025

pic.twitter.com/OC0lLSSSFm
— Sheel Mohnot (@pitdesi) April 7, 2025

“I don’t think this was foreseeable”

[checks date] https://t.co/Sr5IkSV07s
— Brandon Richards 🐻 (@BrandonRichards) April 7, 2025

Juliane woke up alone, in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, surrounded by wreckage and the sounds of wildlife. She had:

• A broken collarbone
• A deep gash in her arm
• A swollen eye
• No shoes

But she had knowledge—her parents were zoologists, and she had grown up in…
— Thought Odyssey (@ThoughtTOX) April 7, 2025

For Republicans, Tariffs Pose a Risk Like No Other Trump’s political strength is built on the economy. If it sinks, he could drag his party down with him........ over the last two decades, the post-election period hasn’t offered any clarity at all about the future of American politics. The winning party repeatedly convinces itself it has won a mandate, or even a generational advantage. The shellshocked losers retreat into internal debate. And then just a few months later, it becomes clear that the next phase of American politics will not be what the winners imagined. ........... In one key respect, the elections on Tuesday were not significant: They do not suggest that Democrats solved any of the problems that cost them the last election. Instead, they mostly reflect the party’s advantage among the most highly informed, educated and civically engaged voters. This advantage has allowed Democrats to excel in low-turnout elections throughout the Trump era, even as he made enormous gains among the disaffected and disengaged young, working-class and nonwhite voters who show up only in presidential elections. ............ No party or politician is recession proof. Historically, even truly dominant political parties have suffered enormous political defeats during major economic downturns. .......... In New York Times/Siena College national surveys last fall, more than 40 percent of voters who backed Mr. Trump in 2024 but not 2020 said that the economy or inflation was the most important issue to their vote. ............ Consumer confidence was falling, inflation expectations were rising, and polls found that tariffs themselves were generally unpopular. ............ Already, a half-dozen Republican senators have supported legislation to rein in the president’s authority to impose tariffs. This is nowhere near enough to overcome a presidential veto, but it is an unusual level of Republican opposition to Mr. Trump, and the time for opposition to build is nowhere near over.

Experts say she survived the fall because she was strapped into her seat.

It acted like a parachute.

A thunderstorm’s updraft slowed her.

The thick foliage caught her.

Imagine falling 10,000 feet—and walking away.
— Thought Odyssey (@ThoughtTOX) April 7, 2025

Not telling their story.

You don't need to fall 10,000 feet from a plane to become interesting. You already are.

Your skills, knowledge and life experiences.

It's never been easier to build your personal brand. pic.twitter.com/CiGGLW9AIK
— Thought Odyssey (@ThoughtTOX) April 7, 2025

Trump Is Selling Jews a Dangerous Lie Taking a break from her work dismantling her own department, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon last week threatened roughly $9 billion of grants and contracts with Harvard because of “the school’s failure to protect students on campus from antisemitic discrimination.” ............ Jew hatred is real, but today’s anti-antisemitism isn’t a legitimate effort to fight it. It’s a cover for a wide range of agendas that have nothing to do with the welfare of Jewish people. .......... Jews who applaud the administration’s crackdown will soon find that they do so at their peril. ........ Among the first high-profile targets of the anti-antisemitic push have been a recent Columbia graduate and a current Tufts University graduate student, one a lawful permanent resident of this country and the other one here on a student visa, who spoke out in favor of Palestinian rights. Both have been handcuffed, driven off and indefinitely detained. Neither has been charged with a crime. ......... Abductions by government agents; unexplained, indefinite detentions; the targeting of allegedly dangerous ideas; lists of those under government scrutiny; official proclamations full of bluster and bile — Jews have been here before, many times, and it does not end well for us. ............ “A country that has pushed one group out of its political community will eventually push out others.” What our government is doing now is wrong in itself, but beyond that, it poses a bigger threat to Jewish people’s safety than all the campus protests ever could. ................. the forces of anti-antisemitism. ......... But not some of MAGA’s most prominent representatives, including Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who had no objection to fighting antisemitism but observed that the language of the bill would interfere with Christians’ ability to accuse Jews of killing Christ. At other times, agreeing with Vladimir Putin, Ms. Greene has said that the Jewish president of Ukraine was running “a Nazi army.” .......... As for Mr. Trump, he declared that Senator Chuck Schumer is “not Jewish anymore” .......... Karl Lueger, a raging antisemite and fin-de-siècle mayor of Vienna, who declared, “I decide who is a Jew.” .......... Leo Terrell, the head of Mr. Trump’s antisemitism task force, shared a tweet by a prominent white supremacist that lauded the president’s “ability to revoke someone’s Jew card.” ........ As Oscar Hammerstein II put it in “The King and I”: “If allies are strong with power to protect me/Might they not protect me out of all I own?” .......... In the Long Island town where I grew up, Jews were a minority. My father taught me how to punch antisemites before getting hit — when I was in elementary school! And he emphasized to me that I should expect to encounter such people wherever I went, especially as I moved into unfamiliar professional or social settings. ............ Like the white supremacists liberated by mainstream anti-D.E.I. language, these antisemites hear perfectly legitimate criticism of, say, the Israeli government and regard it as an opportunity to unfurl the true extent of their prejudice. .............. The president hadn’t been in office a full day before the Anti-Defamation League spoke up to defend Elon Musk for throwing what sure looked to me like a Sieg heil. After weathering intense criticism over its support for Mr. Khalil’s abduction, the organization’s chief executive last week restated the need for due process. How did we get to the point where that’s even in doubt? ......... The Anti-Defamation League was founded in 1913, in the wake of the case of Leo Frank, a Jewish man accused of murdering a 13-year-old Christian girl. Most historians today agree that Frank, who was lynched in 1915, was wrongly convicted after a sham trial, but the MAGA folks on X can’t help but celebrate the lynching of a Jew. “He got exactly what he deserved,” exclaimed Lauren Witzke, a 2020 Republican Senate nominee, “and everyone in that crowd should have received medals for protecting their community.” ..................... “The ‘vibe shift’ is not necessarily that more people on the right are antisemites compared to eight years ago, but that much of the right now appears to reject the basic notion that there should be any stigma against even the vilest bigotry.” ............. In the second and first century B.C., the Jewish kingdom of Judea aligned itself with Rome to protect itself from the domination of Greek culture. Rome obliged and conquered Judea for itself. The enemy of our enemy was not our friend.

SHALOM COLUMBIA: The Trump Admin, led by @USEDgov and the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism (@TheJusticeDept, @HHSGov, & @USGSA), has canceled ~$400M in federal grants to @Columbia over its failure to protect Jewish students from antisemitic harassment. pic.twitter.com/CavoXbhhvx
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) March 7, 2025

Trump Has Everything Under Control .... and an America that has dethroned itself from global economic leadership. And don’t be surprised if it leads to war, as global economic upheavals often do. ....... Like millions of other Americans, I barely noticed losing a big chunk of my net worth. Can’t wait for all the price increases to kick in.

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— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) April 8, 2025