Pence Vs. Xi at APEC — Trump decides to skip

Is accusing China of using debt as a weapon capitalist chutzpah on the part of Pence, when it's SOP under neoliberalism — "free markets, free trade, and free capital flows" — to put less powerful countries in debt to powerful countries to the degree that they need to go to the IMF for funding to meet debt obligations, the strings attached being giving up control of their institutional arrangements, fiscal policy and national sovereignty? 

I doubt Pence will fool anyone on this, but some countries will "go along to get along" with the US.

Reuters

China says no developing country will fall into debt trap by cooperating with China

For the Chinese idiom, see

Language Log
"China has no intention to touch the cheese of any country"
Victor Mair

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Yahoo!
APEC leaders divided after US, China spat
Ayee Macaraig, Andrew BEATTY | AFP

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The Week
Pence vows more trade war 'until China changes its ways'

Bonnie Kristian

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Sputnik International
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit Reveals Depth of US-China Division

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"We suggest a certain country matches its words with its deeds, rather than wag the finger at others," [Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying] said in the statement. "The country should treat all countries on an equal footing no matter big or small, respect other countries' right of following a development path that accords with their own national conditions and make real contributions to developing countries."
Ecns
China urges U.S. to stop wagging finger at others

Xinhua

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Full text of Xi's remarks at 26th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting

Ecns
Xi calls for inclusive, rule-based world economy at APEC meeting

Xinhua

Also

Zero Hedge
"It Will Be A Cold War": APEC Summit Ends In Unprecedented Chaos After Dramatic US-China Showdown

Tyler Durden

also

SouthFront
US-Chinese Trade War Is To Escalate Further As Both Sides Are Not Going To Make Concessions

also

Reuters
APEC fails to reach consensus as U.S.-China divide deepens

also

Sputnik International
APEC Participants Adopt Final Declaration Excluding Some Controversial Issues
Related

Eisenhower's worst nightmare has come true, as defense mega-contractors climb into the cockpit to ensure we stay overextended....

The dependence on the private sector in the Pentagon and the intelligence community had reached such a point that it raised a serious question about whether the workforce was now “obligated to shareholders rather than to the public interest,” as Priest and Arkin reported. And both Gates and Panetta acknowledged to them their concerns about that issue.

Powerfully reinforcing that privatization effect was the familiar revolving door between the Pentagon and arms contractors, which had begun turning with greater rapidity. A 2010 Boston Globe investigation showed that the percentage of three- and four-star generals who left the Pentagon to take jobs as consultants or executives with defense contractors, which was already at 45 percent in 1993, had climbed to 80 percent by 2005—an 83 percent increase in 12 years.... 

Longish historical article putting things in perspective.

The American Conservative
America’s Permanent-War Complex

Gareth Porter

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Did "we" get our money's worth? It all depends on the meaning of "we."

Military Times
Price tag of the ‘war on terror’ will top $6 trillion soon
Leo Shane III

Mina Hamilton — Keep Your Eyes on Pence

They're baaack! The Koch brothers, that is.

Back in July, 2016 there was a big, splashy announcement. The Koch brothers, who are famously rich (about $84 billion between the two), said they would not be supporting Donald Trump for President. Instead, they’d focus on down-the-ticket races.
Clearly, the Kochs (pronounced COKE) wanted to distance themselves from an apparently reckless and bizarre candidate. Still how much of that distance was/is real? And how much superficial damage control?

The Kochs are tied-in very closely to Trump — through the back-door. Just think Pence. Mike Pence, Vice-President-elect of the United States.

Pence has long been a favorite of the Kochs. Pence received substantial support from Koch for his run for Governor of Indiana in 2011. Before that he’d received support for his aggressive and sustained battle in the US Congress to de-fund Planned Parenthood and for his tax-slashing agenda in Indiana. In fact, Pence was so happy about the Koch support that a 2014 headline in Politico said “Pence Grateful Koch, AFP.” AFP stands for Americans for Prosperity one of the Koch brothers’ political action groups.

There’s more. According to Politico, as of January 2016, Pence was the Koch brothers’ pick for a presidential run.…

Dissident Voice
Keep Your Eyes on Pence
Mina Hamilton

Andrei — Three new names on Trump’s potential VPs list

According to CNN Politics, Joni Ernst appeared on the VP shortlist this weekend, alongside Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Arkansas Senator Tom Cottom, both of them praised by the Republican nominee.

Voter alert: Tom Cotton, Joni Ernst and Mick Pence are war hawks.

Tom Cotton Becomes Right’s Leading Hawk. This is the guy who told Iran that the nuclear agreement would be repealed as soon as possible after the 2016 election when the GOP takes over.  He also wants to increase domestic surveillance.

Pence is a sidekick of John McCain and accompanied McCain to Iraq. He opposed US withdrawal from Iraq. Pence also co-sponsored a spending limit bill for Congress.

Joni Ernst has been compared to Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachman. She was so much of a wild card that her handlers would not let her meet with the press during her Senate campaign and she just read prepared statements without taking questions.

As a female Republican candidate with extreme, far right-wing views and a love for guns, Iowa’s U.S. Senate hopeful Joni Ernst is a lot like Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann. In fact, Ernst’s top campaign strategist, David Polyansky, was Bachmann’s deputy campaign manager during her 2012 presidential campaign.

Joni Ernst is different because she’s more dangerous. Unlike those other two faded Tea Party stars, Ernst comes across as slightly less unhinged, and thus more electable. And she has worked tirelessly since her June primary victory to distance herself from the hard right positions she had previously taken on most issues.

But although she’s done a good job of hiding them, Ernst’s ideas are as far outside the mainstream as any of the nonsense that spews from Palin or Bachmann’s Twitter accounts. An ad released over the summer by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee featured Ernst calling Palin the “type of people that we need in our federal government,” and that she was “just absolutely ecstatic to have her endorsement” after Palin backed her in the Republican primary. — 12 Reasons Why Joni Ernst Is 2014’s Most Extreme GOP Senate Candidate. [Read the reasons. This lady is really unhinged.]

Combined with Trump's SCOTUS shortlist and his selection of political advisors, Trump's revealed preferences so far show him to on extreme right wing of the GOP in spite of the hype that this time it's different. The peace candidate? Really?

Who runs Gov
Three new names on Trump’s potential VPs list
Andrei

See also

[CNN's political analyst Errol] Lewis continued, "I think everybody, everybody who's not a complete partisan understands exactly what his campaign is doing. They understand that it is deliberate. They understand that they're playing footsie with some very dangerous radical, disgusting elements of this country and that they hope to ride in the White House based on that support, and it's disgraceful."
Crooks & Liars
CNN Commentator Errol Lewis Destroys Trump For 'Playing Footsie' With Extremists
John Amato

Playing with matches in the hayloft.