Here are the full comments that I gave to The Epoch Times’ Nalova Akua about Africa’s role in the New Cold War, excerpts of which were included in his article titled “South Korean Government Gives Export Boost to Companies Trading in Africa”.
Whichever of the bickering pack of great/so-so powers bothers to successfully diversify their expenditures on securing natural resources to OFF WORLD, asteroid mining, dispatching unmanned autonomous spacecraft for actual HARVESTING OF RESOURCES will win. All the neoliberal/zero sum game/"Earth is all and we are willing to destroy it in our drive to own it all" petty rulership will LOSE as soon as the first country or block which deploys orbital solar energy collection and asteroid mining AI directed robot factory craft gets the "high ground", because NOBODY CAN FIGHT AN ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGICAL PEER OPPONENT ALREADY AT TOP OF THE GRAVITY WELL FROM BELOW AND WIN. Why can't anyone with some pull in my countries shite excuse for a government stand back 1 pace and SEE WHAT I SEE?!
Goddamit, you thick fucks. You surveil the whole net for tactical advantage but your management level understand jack shit about the CONCEPTS easily synthesized from the myriad data you're collecting.
One finer detail supplemental to Andrew's post: China actually owns very little rare earth minerals or lithium INSIDE its national border. The notable exception is antimony, but its main location and development work had been known and started even before 1949. How much is left is hard to say. In comparison, USA has the largest rare earth reserve with almost every kind, including some lithium. USA simply have not invested heavily in those minerals. If one can loot by using suppressed prices (through financialmarket manipulation) why bother with the real work ? China cannot really CONTROL minerals in Africa. At best, China can negotiate good deals. At worst, China may run out of hard currency or cannot break through blockade. In addition, China needs not just rare minerals, China also need huge amount of coal and iron ore, and the necessary raw materials to produce alal kinds of steel, and surely China needs aluminum, but has very little. Same can be said about South Korea. If one wants to suppress China by cutting off raw materials access, the routes are many. The CURRENT focus on Africa has more to do that the west want those easy to access minerals themselves, instead of developing the minerals WITHIN USA.
USA is well endowed with natural resources. Russia, is perhaps the only other country which can somewhat match. Russia devlop its natural resource and export to the world. USA exploits all over the world and loot resources from all over the world while keeping domestic resources untapped. And USA achieved this by USD hegemony and lighting fires all around the world.
Finally, the fact that large countries are now fighting for resources thousands of miles from home shows one thing: the total resource is finite, and untapped resource reservoirs are quickly depleted. Unless we can recycle resources, the limit of growth is on the horizon, if not yet clearly in sight.
Whichever of the bickering pack of great/so-so powers bothers to successfully diversify their expenditures on securing natural resources to OFF WORLD, asteroid mining, dispatching unmanned autonomous spacecraft for actual HARVESTING OF RESOURCES will win. All the neoliberal/zero sum game/"Earth is all and we are willing to destroy it in our drive to own it all" petty rulership will LOSE as soon as the first country or block which deploys orbital solar energy collection and asteroid mining AI directed robot factory craft gets the "high ground", because NOBODY CAN FIGHT AN ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGICAL PEER OPPONENT ALREADY AT TOP OF THE GRAVITY WELL FROM BELOW AND WIN. Why can't anyone with some pull in my countries shite excuse for a government stand back 1 pace and SEE WHAT I SEE?!
Goddamit, you thick fucks. You surveil the whole net for tactical advantage but your management level understand jack shit about the CONCEPTS easily synthesized from the myriad data you're collecting.
One finer detail supplemental to Andrew's post: China actually owns very little rare earth minerals or lithium INSIDE its national border. The notable exception is antimony, but its main location and development work had been known and started even before 1949. How much is left is hard to say. In comparison, USA has the largest rare earth reserve with almost every kind, including some lithium. USA simply have not invested heavily in those minerals. If one can loot by using suppressed prices (through financialmarket manipulation) why bother with the real work ? China cannot really CONTROL minerals in Africa. At best, China can negotiate good deals. At worst, China may run out of hard currency or cannot break through blockade. In addition, China needs not just rare minerals, China also need huge amount of coal and iron ore, and the necessary raw materials to produce alal kinds of steel, and surely China needs aluminum, but has very little. Same can be said about South Korea. If one wants to suppress China by cutting off raw materials access, the routes are many. The CURRENT focus on Africa has more to do that the west want those easy to access minerals themselves, instead of developing the minerals WITHIN USA.
USA is well endowed with natural resources. Russia, is perhaps the only other country which can somewhat match. Russia devlop its natural resource and export to the world. USA exploits all over the world and loot resources from all over the world while keeping domestic resources untapped. And USA achieved this by USD hegemony and lighting fires all around the world.
Finally, the fact that large countries are now fighting for resources thousands of miles from home shows one thing: the total resource is finite, and untapped resource reservoirs are quickly depleted. Unless we can recycle resources, the limit of growth is on the horizon, if not yet clearly in sight.