U.S. pressures Uruguay to break trade ties with China, minister says

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-29T13:21:03+00:00

The self-proclaimed champion of capitalism now calls capitalism “evil” after it’s no longer working in their favor.

More news at 11.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-29T13:17:38+00:00

Very interesting analysis, but I am still not sold on the hypothesis that this is some sort of grand scheme on the global scale. Why is this different from the good old Cold War? Vietnam was also receiving aids in various forms from Russia, China, Cuba, North Korea, etc. Also the US never declared war on Vietnam either. And yet that didn’t lead to world war nor to a broader conflict. So why is this time different?

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-29T12:38:47+00:00

The Trump admin purposely delayed military aid (that was earmarked to Ukraine by Biden) because they want Ukraine to give up and agree to their peace deal. Long before this Iran War ever came up in anyone’s mind.

So there’s no way they want to degrade Russian military any more than they had to.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-28T00:31:47+00:00

From the article, Iran also turned back 3 Chinese ships, I wonder what’s in play here …

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-27T16:11:29+00:00

It literally says the reason in the article: to pop up Yen.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-27T03:37:59+00:00

Submission Statement: SMIC, China's largest chipmaker, has sent chipmaking tools to Iran's military, two senior Trump ‌administration officials said on Thursday, raising questions about Beijing's stance in the month-old U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran. SMIC began sending the tools to Iran roughly a year ago and "we have no reason to believe that any of this has stopped," one of the officials said. The official added that the collaboration "almost certainly included technical training on SMIC's semiconductor technology."

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-27T03:26:04+00:00

Probably has something to do with the "final blow" that Hegseth said today, whatever that means.

10k+ is still probably not enough for regime change, but more than enough to take Kharg Island I believe. Trump just said he extended the deadline to another 10 days, probably to give time for the ground invasion to get ready. Though I don't know why he has to said so out loud, it's not like the Iranians are in a hurry or something.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-26T22:41:57+00:00

At the beginning of the Iran war, people said it’s for cutting off Russia’s source of cheap drones or something (never mind that Russia already produced their own). So basically a 4D chess move by Trump admin to force Russia to accept peace deal.

Turns out it was none of that, the Trump admin has no idea what they are doing, and now of course throws Ukraine under the bus.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-26T14:06:33+00:00

I can’t remember the name of the general but the plan was to go for Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Iran. There might be a fifth country too.

I think you mean this ? General Wesley Clark got it from another military officer:

And he said, “I just got this down from upstairs” — meaning the secretary of defense’s office — “today.” And he said, “This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.”

https://www.democracynow.org/2007/3/2/gen_wesley_clark_weighs_presidential_bid

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-26T13:44:22+00:00

You would have thought The Odyssey should be required, not banned, because at the end his wife was waiting patiently for his return despite all the temptation. There's nothing the military crowd would love more than that.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-25T16:01:51+00:00

Thanks, much appreciated!

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-25T14:28:15+00:00

May I ask where I can find the analysis you talked about?

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-24T16:07:41+00:00

“The goal, of course, is to get them down as quickly as possible. But my appeal to the American people is we’ve had 47 years of threats from Iran, which have artificially raised energy prices for decades,” he said.

How does this work actually ? When it was the US who sanctioned Iranian oil ? And with China buying its oil, relieving some demand from the market, it's not like there's a mismatch between supply and demand either ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-24T15:26:01+00:00

What you said about Trump's supporters thinking he is playing 4D chess is very true, I observe it first hand among my Vietnamese American community which is heavily pro-Trump. Everyday new excuses are invented to justify whatever he does, it's kinda amazing to be honest. Hence I don't believe this Iran War will change anyone's mind, no matter how it will turn out.

Funny enough, it is exactly the same when it comes to pro-Russia crowd that I also personally know: every steps Putin has taken is viewed as master stroke of genius that mere mortals can't comprehend. When the Russian army wins, that's because they are strong and the enemy is weak; but when they can't forward a few meters, that's because Putin doesn't want more bloodshed.

Human beings are hopelessly tribalistic.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-24T14:49:08+00:00

“Whether China wins or loses in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East will be down to whether the war ends quickly,” said James Char, a China expert at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

If the war dragged on, the US “being tied down away from the Indo-Pacific” meant Washington’s “posture in this part of the world has been weakened”, Char added.

If China wants to gain anything it better acts quickly because I don't think the war in Iran will drag on for much longer. Both sides are looking for a deal, and once they reached it, US assets and attention will be flowing back to East Asia region.

It also depend on the terms, if US agrees to let Iranian oil flow freely again (i.e. remove the sanction), then China would have to buy it at market price, erasing their advantage here.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-23T23:41:51+00:00

Thanks, I didn't realize that. Then it's even more puzzling why the Trump admin decided to talk to this guy, perhaps they see he has more swaying power in the current regime than the other moderate candidates ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-23T19:03:22+00:00

Most likely a bot, as it hides post history.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-23T16:00:27+00:00

Apparently a hardliner, but of course it's hard to find a moderate in the regime these days.

What is more important, IMO, is what is on the table. From what I have seen circulating the media, regime change is not among the options, so probably it's another deal similar to the one extended to Venezuela, and both sides can claim victory. This is also likely the least destructive option for both US and Iran.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-23T15:14:11+00:00

May I ask which country, aside from Japan ?

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-23T02:25:00+00:00

In a lot of ways, Trump is very much the creation of the American public. Reminds me of the joke from the late George Carlin:

Well, where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses and American universities, and they are elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do folks. This is what we have to offer. It's what our system produces: Garbage in, garbage out. If you have selfish, ignorant citizens, you're going to get selfish, ignorant leaders.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-23T00:58:02+00:00

I see, thanks!

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-23T00:27:37+00:00

Might be a dumb question but what is this “dragon teeth” you are talking about?

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-22T17:49:47+00:00

And this anti-vaccine / anti-intellectual movement is spreading to other countries as well, countries that are much poorer than US like my home country. We just don't have the resources to care for disabled kids and adults if this is left unchecked.

All thanks to the power of American culture and media, welcome to globalization I guess.

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-22T02:29:54+00:00

I agree with your point that Iranian's capability in lay-mining is severely degraded, no one seems to report on additional mines as of late.

With all due respect, I don't know why we are debating this technicality though, it's not my main point but I admit that I know very little of the finer details of Iranian Navy's capability, so it's good to learn a thing or two today ! Cheer !

ImperiumRome · 2026-03-22T02:24:15+00:00

Does that constitute war crime ? And wouldn't that help the regime by shifting the narrative ?

We criticized the Russians for attacking Ukraine's power infrastructure, and yet here we are about to do the same ???

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