Panda Reacts To Finding Lion Tracks Amid Shrinking Bamboo Forest !

A Chinese central planner, Zhang Yong, the vice-head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), made a statement today (during the communist party congress) that carries much more significance than most people recognize.

The statement was made on behalf of communist China’s central planners and is directed toward what sectors of their economy they will focus investment (emphasis mine).

BEIJING (Reuters) – China will introduce measures aimed at guiding private investment into areas that have a higher growth potential, a senior official with the state planning agency said on Saturday.
China also would take steps to lower the investment threshold for private investors, said Zhang Yong, the vice-head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), during a briefing on the sidelines of China’s Communist Party Congress.
The manufacturing industry as well as the property market, which have been driving private investment, are now quite weak, Zhang said.
“Now we want to attract investment in sectors with growth potential such as subway projects.” (link)

Notice two key points: #1 forecast growth in manufacturing is seen as “quite weak”, and #2 they are shifting toward building their own domestic transportation infrastructure.
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Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears with Mari Bartiromo to discuss the Iranian nuclear agreement and specifically President Trump’s call for revised security terms.
For those who travel through the deep geopolitical grass, this interview is particularly important as Netanyahu outlines the ‘why now’ aspect.  Note specifically how the Prime Minister frames the economic leverage strategy we have discussed –Backstory Here– and how the regional allies President Trump has assembled are all in concert with the larger objectives.  It’s actually a little surprising to see Netanyahu ‘out’ the Big picture.

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In the background, and as a direct counter to how President Trump is using the Trump Doctrine of economic leverage, you will note that China, Russia, Iran and other state adversaries are creating a financial network to avoid their exposure to U.S. trade currency leverage.  Their strategic action is what’s driving up the value of crypto-currencies like Bitcoin as tools to avoid Trump’s leverage and Secretary Mnuchin’s aligned economic policy influence.
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Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appears on CBS Face The Nation with John Dickerson to discuss the Iran Nuclear Deal (JCPOA).  The ideology of Dickerson puts him in a defensive posture on behalf of Iran.  Meanwhile T-Rex talks common sense.
The interview also encompasses the strategy to denuclearize North Korea and China’s role therein.  The value in this interview comes toward the latter half where the relationship of Secretary Tillerson and President Trump is discussed and how the interplay is part of the larger strategic objectives.  “It’s a strategy we’re not going to share with anyone, as the president has said”… etc.

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears with Face the Nation host John Dickerson to discuss the Iran nuclear deal.
Dickerson lives a life amid a professional and social network of ideological allies who are opposed to both Israel and President Trump.  Dickerson has to retain his bona fides with his community of fellow travelers.  Meanwhile Netanyahu outlines the economic leverage held by President Trump and the regional allies.    [Pay attention to the last minute]

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One of the more anticipated interviews this weekend is Secretary of State Rex Tillerson discussing the Iran Nuclear Agreement (JCPOA) with the insufferable Jake Tapper.
One of the things noted from both Trump’s national speech on Iran, and Tillerson’s statements this morning, is open and unusually visible public support for the “Green Movement” (political opposition) in Iran.

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Just because western media doesn’t understand how President Trump executes a geopolitical strategy based on economic leverage, that doesn’t mean adversaries are not fully aware of the effectiveness of the approach.
The Trump Doctrine has two avenues toward dealing with national security adversaries.
The first route is direct assignment of responsibility toward the enablers: see China for North Korea; The Gulf States for Qatar (Sunni extremism); Russia for Syrian terrorism (Assad); and Pakistan for Afghanistan (Taliban); as recent examples.

However, when the geopolitical threat stems directly from the enabler, and not the enabled, the Trump Doctrine has a distinctly different and far more encompassing, approach.  Route two goes through leveraging regional allies and partners: See ASEAN and India for ¹China; and France, Poland, Baltic States for ²Russia.  And now President Trump is beginning to shift toward ³Iran.
In each case: China, Russia and Iran, unlike Western media, these powers assemble volumes of research to assist them in understanding the most likely sequence of events President Trump will take.
When we say volumes of research, we indeed mean hundreds of people researching and drafting position documents based upon every scintilla of every deal Donald J Trump has engaged in.  No expenses are spared as these state actors assemble information toward their own strategy to counter the most unpredictable adversary they have faced.
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On August 22nd, 2017, President Trump began a very familiar process toward Pakistan within the foreign policy approach known as the “Trump Doctine”: the accurate ownership of responsibility by honestly calling out the historic nature of the relationship.
The approach toward the Taliban through the enablers in Pakistan followed an identical pattern: ♦noted in the Muslim Brotherhood’s enabling via Qatar; ♦noted in Assad’s enabling via Russia; ♦noted in North Korea’s enabling via China.
In each example President Trump positions his chosen policy leverage toward the enabler, toward the root cause, and not direct confrontation with the symptom.  The results from this approach are quite remarkable.
Well, today:

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President Trump delivers remarks from the White House discussing Iran and the ongoing certification process for the Iranian Nuclear Deal.
One of the key aspects in the outlined policy is the definition of Iran’s Republican Guard as an official terrorist organization.  This designation positions the official military of a Nation State as terrorist groups.

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At 5:00am on Friday the media will be allowed to discuss the White House Iran Policy Fact Sheet (below).  At approximately 11:30am U.S. media will begin reporting on a previously on-the-record, off camera (no audio), briefing on Iran policy with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor McMaster .  At 12:45pm President Trump will deliver public remarks outlining the Iran Policy.
PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMPS NEW STRATEGY ON IRAN

“It is time for the entire world to join us in demanding that Iran’s government end its pursuit of death and destruction.”
~ President Donald J. Trump”

President Donald J. Trump, in consultation with his national security team, has approved a new strategy for Iran. It is the culmination of nine months of deliberation with Congress and our allies on how to best protect American security.
HIGHLIGHTS: Core Elements of the Presidents New Iran Strategy
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There is a myriad of complexity within the Iran issue that extends beyond the substantive issue of whether or not President Trump should again certify compliance with the Iran Nuclear Deal.
For clarity, President Trump would not be ending the deal or ending the agreement.  The President is required (every 90 days) to certify if Iran is upholding the terms of the nuclear agreement.  The next certification is due on October 15th.  If President Trump does not, because he cannot, certify compliance – he notifies congress.  It’s up to congress to decide what to do from there.
Therefore President Trump would not be “tearing up” the agreement, nor would he be “ending the agreement”, he would simply be notifying congress of the compliance of Iran, or lack thereof, according to the monitoring agencies that report to the President.  That’s it.  Now to Senator Tom Cotton.  Watch:

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Senator Cotton can be an ally for MAGA (see immigration), or he can be a concern for MAGA (see aggressive military intervention), depending on the issue.  It is also important to understand how lobbying efforts impact policy positions as they relate to military intervention.  There are interests in DC pushing us toward military conflict with Iran.
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