Barackface

Donald Trump's approval rating collapses with Gen Z
Seattle Port Empty As Trump Tariffs Disrupt Shipping Industry
Trump Tariffs: Only Two Deals Finalized with Britain and Vietnam
Elon Musk Predicts Prison 'For A Long Time' For Key Trump Insider Bannon said Musk ― a naturalized U.S. citizen ― “should be deported,” while Musk predicted that Bannon ― who served a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress ― could be heading back to prison for a longer term.......... Bannon on his “War Room” podcast slammed Musk for saying he would start a new political party, the America Party. ........ “A non-American starting an America Party?” Bannon said. “No, brother, you’re not an American, you’re a South African. And if we take enough time and prove the facts of that, you should be deported because of the crime of which you did, among many.” ........ Bannon had last month suggested that Musk, who was born in South Africa, “may be here illegally.” .......... Musk fired back on X. .......“The fat, drunken slob called Bannon will go back to prison and this time for a long time,” Musk predicted. “He has a lifetime of crime to pay for.” ........ Musk had said he would form his new party as an alternative to both Republicans and Democrats if the bill passed, which it did. .......... Bannon was chief executive of Trump’s 2016 campaign and served as chief strategist early in Trump’s first administration. He was out after seven months......... Trump later turned on Bannon, calling him “Sloppy Steve.” ........ The two patched things up soon after, and Bannon has stayed close, reportedly meeting with Trump at the White House just last month and frequently talking up Trump and MAGA agenda on his “War Room” podcast. .......... Trump gave Bannon a pardon in 2021 in a fraud case where Bannon and others allegedly scammed donors who contributed to a private fund supposedly dedicated to building a wall at the southern border. ......... He pleaded guilty to state charges in a related case earlier this year in a deal that will allow him to avoid prison......... Musk, however, implied that more legal trouble may be heading Bannon’s way.

Trump claims tariffs could 'eliminate' income tax for Americans making under $200,000
AOC Warns of ICE ‘Explosion’ After ‘Big Beautiful’ Bill Passes
Newsom turns the tables: Trump gets a dose of his own medicine
Trump Scrambles to Defend His Megabill After Savage Polling Donald Trump has insisted his “Big Beautiful Bill” is “very popular” even though it is being hammered in the polls ....... The legislation has been the subject of extensive polling by a wide range of reputable pollsters, with all data revealing poor approval levels. ......... It’s not just pollsters who have critiqued the bill. Trump’s former key ally, Elon Musk, vehemently denounced the bill this week, describing it as a “disgusting abomination” packed with political pork that would destroy millions of American jobs and saddle the country with enormous debt. ....... Musk mocked Republicans supporting the bill,
calling the GOP the “Porky Pig Party,”
and warned that passing it would amount to political suicide. He went so far as to suggest forming a new political party to counter what he sees as a sellout of conservative values. ......... Trump fired back by threatening to use federal power against Musk’s companies, including Tesla and SpaceX. He hinted that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Musk once led, could review or even cancel Musk’s federal contracts—and hinted that Musk could be deported......... Musk renewed his threats Friday, retweeting critics and opening a poll on whether to launch a new political party.

Kyiv hits Russian airbase after Moscow pounds Ukraine with hundreds of drones
'Flatly inconsistent with our democratic system': Trump DOJ eyes anti-Nazi law to expel Americans
Ukraine’s War Effort Is Now ‘Deteriorating’ Against Russia
Trump’s MAGA supporters revolt over his 'great betrayal'

I Asked ChatGPT What Would Happen If Billionaires Paid Taxes at the Same Rate as the Middle Class ChatGPT broke down something called the “buy-borrow-die” strategy that wealthy people use to minimize taxes. It sounds like financial wizardry because, honestly, it kind of is......... Here’s how it works: Billionaires borrow money against their stock holdings (which isn’t taxed), live off those loans and then pass their assets to heirs largely tax-free when they die. Meanwhile, regular people like me can’t defer taxes on our paychecks or borrow against our retirement accounts without major penalties. .......... if those top 25 billionaires had been taxed at a 20% rate on their wealth growth, they would have paid around $80 billion instead of $13.6 billion. ........ “Extrapolate that across approximately 1,000 billionaires?” the AI asked. “You’re talking hundreds of billions in added revenue annually.” .............. The AI outlined several ways this massive revenue increase could transform government services:......... Healthcare: We could expand Medicare and Medicaid, potentially moving toward universal coverage. Education: Fund universal pre-K or make community college free for everyone. .......... Infrastructure and climate: Invest seriously in clean energy projects and fix our crumbling roads and bridges. .......... Debt reduction: Actually pay down the national debt instead of adding to it every year......... ChatGPT noted that this extra revenue could “stabilize the economy by boosting the spending power of everyday Americans.” Basically, reducing inequality in a way that helps everyone, not just those at the bottom..........

our entire tax system is designed around taxing work rather than wealth.

.......... “Middle-class families can’t defer taxes on wages or borrow against stocks tax-free,” ChatGPT pointed out. This creates a fundamental unfairness where people who work for their money get taxed immediately, while people whose money grows through investments can delay or even avoid those taxes entirely. ............ The AI concluded that if we could successfully tax billionaires more like middle-class workers, the results would mean hundreds of billions in additional revenue annually and potentially better funding for health, education and climate programs. What’s more, it could have the power to reduce inequality and improve public trust in the tax system.

'Fear and desperation' grips Trump economy as execs refuse to hire
Russia’s top goal may no longer be taking Ukrainian territory — WSJ Putin, during a call with Trump on July 3, made it clear he had no intention of heeding Trump’s calls to end the war and reaffirmed that his objectives remain unchanged. Hours later, Russia launched a massive drone attack on Kyiv, wounding 26 people and killing one. ......... “Putin’s strategy is aimed at breaking Ukraine’s ability and will to wage war by increasing pressure on its military and civilians, just as its most powerful backer recedes into the background,” the article says......... The authors note that recent developments have only reinforced the Kremlin’s belief that it “can outlast Ukraine and its backers in a war of attrition.” The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War wrote July 4 that Ukraine would have to ration material resources, which could accelerate Russia’s advances on the battlefield. ......... Moscow has failed to capture a single strategically significant city since Avdiivka in February 2024. ........... Putin wants to grind down his smaller neighbor’s forces and equipment and sap support both among Ukrainian civilians and in the West ........ Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said last month that Ukraine cannot defeat Russia by staying on the defensive. ......... Ukraine’s long-range drones are inflicting damage worth 15 times more than the cost of the drones themselves. ........ On July 4, the presidents of Ukraine and the United States held a phone call. According to Axios, Trump told Zelenskyy he would review which U.S. weapons deliveries had been halted. ........ Trump said he was disappointed with his call on July 3 with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The U.S. leader admitted he had made “no progress” in efforts to broker a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Grounded Greatness: The Case For Smart Surface Transit In Future Cities
The Garden Of Last Debates (novel)
Deported (novel)
Empty Country (novel)
Trump’s Default: The Mist Of Empire (novel)
The 20% Growth Revolution: Nepal’s Path to Prosperity Through Kalkiism
Rethinking Trade: A Blueprint for a Just and Thriving Global Economy
The $500 Billion Pivot: How the India-US Alliance Can Reshape Global Trade
Trump’s Trade War
Peace For Taiwan Is Possible
Formula For Peace In Ukraine
A 2T Cut
Are We Frozen in Time?: Tech Progress, Social Stagnation
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

1. 🛠 De‑dollarization: steady but gradual

The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has raised its mandate for yuan trade settlement: banks must now use the renminbi for at least 40% of cross-border trade, up from 25% (reuters.com).
Chinese state banks have significantly shifted loan and trade finance portfolios toward RMB—Chinese global bank lending now includes nearly 40% RMB, compared to under 20% a few years ago .
SWIFT data indicates the yuan is now the fourth most used currency globally, comprising about 4% of global payments, while the dollar remains about 40–50% (reuters.com).

2. eYuan (digital RMB) progress

📈 Usage to date

Since its public pilot in 2020, China has seen over 260 million wallets and around ¥7 trillion (~$1 trillion) in domestic transactions by 2024, spread across retail, transit, welfare and salaries .
Nearly 10 billion worth in transactions and ~140 million wallet downloads reported earlier (bitcoininsider.org).
1.5 million merchants are set up to accept e‑CNY; pilot features include offline NFC, SIM‑card storage, and transport payments (cryptorank.io).

🌐 Cross-border efforts

Pilot programs exist in Hong Kong and select FTA zones, enabling cross-border wallet use (reuters.com).
PBOC has pledged to push e‑yuan internationally, invoking a “multi‑polar currency system” vision (reuters.com).

3. China’s leverage

China is now the largest trading partner for over 140 countries . That large trade footprint gives it natural reasons to promote the yuan and e‑yuan in settlements—whether via CIPS (their SWIFT alternative) or making e‑yuan the default for BRI‑aligned countries. However, trust, liquidity, capital freedom, and legal transparency are still major hurdles .

4. Future roadmap

Scaling pilot zones: expanding testing beyond current FTZs using the “Shanghai model” (reuters.com).
Stablecoins: tech giants (Ant, JD.com) seek to launch offshore yuan-backed stablecoins to deepen global liquidity (reuters.com).
State enterprise drive: PBOC urges SOEs to use RMB/e‑yuan for trade and overseas investment (en.wikipedia.org).
Integration with gold, euro: central banks increasingly eye yuan (+e‑yuan) as part of reserve diversification (reuters.com).
Digital infrastructure ramp-up: continued improvements—offline payments, programmable currency, blockchain integrations .

5. Challenges & headwinds

Dollar dominance remains overwhelming—USD still ~45% of global payments, 80% of trade finance (reuters.com).
Trust and restrictions: limited capital convertibility, geopolitical mistrust, and internet censorship reduce appeal.
First-mover fatigue: domestic mobile platforms (WeChat/Alipay) still dominate. PBOC integration is slow (gsb.stanford.edu, reuters.com).
Global regulatory caution: countries wary of giving China financial surveillance power; partnerships limited.

✅ Bottom line

China has made measurable progress in both de-dollarizing trade and rolling out its digital currency domestically, backed by strong infrastructure and regulatory support. Its vexing challenge is translating this into real international usage. Leveraging its global trade heft helps, but deep, trusted, liquid international usage will require time, openness, and coordination with like-minded economies.

🧭 What to watch next

Area	Indicator
Offshore e‑yuan	Rollouts in Hong Kong/FTZ, stablecoin approvals in HK/Singapore
CIPS reach	Increased counterparties and international bank connections
Trade invoicing	Percent of BRI trade settled in RMB/e‑yuan
Reserve usage	Central bank reserve allocation data (RMB share)

China is laying the infrastructure and incentive framework to challenge dollar dominance—step by step. But until global capital mobility, trust, and scale catch up, the dollar's reign remains unshaken.

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Saturday, July 05, 2025

5: Trump

calling the GOP the “Porky Pig Party,”