RTThe foreign minister noted that Washington may feel anxious about China’s “rapid development,” but he urged the US to focus on “self-improvement” rather than trying to “block” others from advancing. Wang stressed that as China becomes a larger player on the world stage, it will not attempt to emulate Washington’s behavior.We don't need a world where China becomes another United States. This is neither rational nor feasible. Rather, the United States should try to make itself a better country, and China will surely become its better self.
‘We don't need a world where China becomes another US’: Beijing names conditions for improving relations with Washington
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"The year 2021 is a year of special importance for China-Russia relations, as both countries will enter a new development stage. In developing China-Russia strategic cooperation, we see no limit, no forbidden zone and no ceiling to how far this cooperation can go", the minister said in an interview with the Xinhua news agency and China Media Group.Sputnik International
China's Foreign Minister Hails Prospects of Strategic Cooperation With Russia as Limitless
Also on the international front.
‘Beware of trap’: Iranian FM warns Trump ‘Israeli agents’ are preparing attacks on US forces in Iraq to spark war against Tehran
Israeli Provocateurs Are Plotting Attacks on US Forces in Iraq, Iranian FM Zarif
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I would say rather than Bellingcat is a creation of MI6, which, of course, is integral to "Five Eyes." MI6 is at least as active operationally as the CIA.
US govt-sponsored website Bellingcat disrupts MH17 trial in Netherlands
Eric van de Beek
Also
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson accuses US of going rogue.
US ‘goes haywire’ with idea of its exceptionalism, Russian diplomat says
Also
Sputnik International
Iran Tells IAEA It Plans to Push Uranium Enrichment Up to 20%, the Level Achieved Before JCPOA
2021 not getting off to a great start on the international scene.
Iran Tells IAEA It Plans to Push Uranium Enrichment Up to 20%, the Level Achieved Before JCPOA
2021 not getting off to a great start on the international scene.
19 comments:
but he urged the US to focus on “self-improvement” rather than trying to “block” others from advancing.
Correct. The US has nukes so need not fear an invasion.
Then let's finally adopt an ethical fiat creation/use and banking model as well as land reform to conform to the Spirit if not the actual letter of the Bible, including the Old Testament?
Or admit we are officially apostate and see where that get's us*?
*But not me and my loved ones since I object to the current, Bible mocking system.
Andrew,
"Then let's finally adopt an ethical fiat creation/use and banking model..."
Banks do not and cannot create money, fiat or otherwise. If they could, they wouldn't need bailouts.
Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding the problem that you have with the current banking system.
Banks create liabilities for fiat.
However, due to government privileges for the banks such as deposit guarantees and exclusive use of fiat in account form, those liabilities for fiat are largely a sham.
So the accounting is a sham.
And sham accounting is not ethical.
And because only banks may use fiat in account form, we have only a SINGLE payment system (besides mere coins and paper Central Bank notes) that MUST work through private banks or not at all.
That means that private banks essentially hold the economy hostage.
Hence the reason they are bailed out even though that is clearly unethical too.
“So the accounting is a sham.“
Well you are at least getting thru to Neil...
Andrew,
"However, due to government privileges for the banks such as deposit guarantees..."
The deposit guarantee is not a free lunch from the public for the banks. Because of that deposit guarantee, the banks can operate on a lower spread, which means borrowers pay lower interest rates while savers earn a higher interest rate, than would otherwise be the case. Think of it as the public collecting premiums for that insurance which they provide to the banks.
It has been suggested that banks be required to have a larger capital base and thus reduce the need for bailouts. Given that bank profits are a function of leverage and spread, lower leverage would mean the banks would require a higher spread between loan and deposit rates.
Or worse yet is full reserve banking. Ask yourself what interest rates would be for borrowers in that case, adding in the bank's spread.
Andrew,
"That means that private banks essentially hold the economy hostage."
Sorry, not seeing this. The fact that banks have to compete with each other means they have to provide a service at cost.
Here in Canada, the banks earn about 0.75% return on assets, which they then leverage to a 15-20% return on equity. That less than 1% return on assets is extremely efficient for that service.
As an aside, I've been analyzing banks for over thirty years now as an investor, so I understand how banks earn their returns.
Ahmed Fares:
Banks create bank money - issue liabilities against themselves which can then be traded. They can't create state money. Any more than Bank A can issue liabilities against Bank B, or than I can issue liabilities against you. That is called forgery or counterfeiting.
In a modern system, bank money is backed by the state, most importantly by the state's acceptance of bank money for tax payments from individuals and firms - but of course not from banks.
There are many proposed Newspeaks that claim they will magically make every thing better. They won't. In reality, common parlance is more scientific, precise, useful and practical than all these Newspeaks, whose main effect is to confuse the Newspeak devisers and their victims. And MMT usually tries to just talk with ordinary words like that, with a little accounting, which is explained in those ordinary terms. I try to use the normal / MMT parlance, (with of course just a few comments of my own.) And so it is perfectly all right to use the scientific & vernacular term "money" and also perfectly all right to speak of "bank money."
I saw that this thread had 8 comments and thought, "Nice, a geopolitical discussion," but instead the comments are about banks and money creation. What a letdown :(
“ Any more than Bank A can issue liabilities against Bank B,”
This is certainly possible and in fact happens all the time if Bank A is the central bank and Bank B is a member institution....
I don't argue for full reserve banking but that banks be 100% private with 100% voluntary depositors.
As for interest rates, these can be as low as desired via:
1) An equal Citizen's Dividend.
2) Negative interest on large and non-individual citizen accounts at the Central Bank.
Also, government privileges for private credit creation have allowed equity owners to avoid sharing their equity thus leading to unjust wealth inequality.
Moreover, broader equity ownership would mean less need to borrow in the first place.
Adding that an equal Citizen's Dividend, metered to just counter price deflation, would also reduce the need to borrow.
That said, we need land reform too to end homelessness and the problem of rentiers.
Because of that deposit guarantee, the banks can operate on a lower spread, which means borrowers pay lower interest rates while savers earn a higher interest rate, than would otherwise be the case. Think of it as the public collecting premiums for that insurance which they provide to the banks. Ahmed Fares [bold added]
Not so since banks would obviously have to pay a risk premium for uninsured deposits.
Besides which, savers earn NEGATIVE real interest rates in housing in the current system. So those who can't or won't borrow are cheated for the benefit of those who can and do borrow.
AA just put your savings in 100% USG money market with check writing feature and fuhgetabowdit....
just put your savings in 100% USG money market Franko
And there's another problem with the system:
Risk-free assets should return AT MOST* zero percent. Otherwise we have welfare proportional to account balance.
*with large and non-individual citizen accounts returning NEGATIVE.
Adding that an ethical money system is a narrow road indeed but the ONLY road if we desire a just and thus stable society.
Calgacus,
"Banks create bank money - issue liabilities against themselves which can then be traded."
As Richard Werner explains, banks are in the business of purchasing securities. When you sign a loan document, you have created a promissory note, which the bank purchases from you in exchange for a matching deposit liability. That deposit trades as money.
Sorry, not seeing this. The fact that banks have to compete with each other means they have to provide a service at cost. Ahmed Fares
Banks are in a government-privileged cartel. That they compete with each other in looting the public is no more relevant than that pirates also competed with each other.
As for providing a service at cost, that's a laugh since the banks are heavily privileged by government. Also, the externalities are enormous and include Great Depressions, war, environmental destruction and the systematic oppression of the poor by the more so-called "credit worthy."
Moreover, our current banking model is an obsolete relic of the inherently corrupt Gold Standard when fiat was too expensive for the entire population to use to a large extent.
So inherently thieving, destructive and obsolete.
Ahmed Fares - I agree, for that just repeats and adds a little to what I said.
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