This is pretty insane: the U.S. just tried to literally re-colonize part of the Philippines.
They did so under the so-called "Pax Silica" initiative, the brainchild of - surprise, surprise - an ex-Palantir guy named Jacob Helberg who now runs U.S. economic "diplomacy" from the State Department.
It's causing a big outcry in the Philippines, which is quite a feat given this is by far the most US-friendly country in Southeast Asia.
If you're the US and you're getting the Marcos administration - of all governments - to push back on sovereignty, you've really overplayed your hand.
What is the "Pax Silica" initiative? In a nutshell it's about the US getting other countries to commit to restructuring their AI tech infrastructure around a US-led stack. It's basically vendor lock-in: you hand over your critical minerals, align your export controls with Washington's, regulate AI the way America wants, and in return you get to be a US "trusted partner," whatever that means these days.
In essence, let's not kid ourselves, it's all about China: this is the US's initiative to "win the AI race" by getting other countries to contractually commit to keeping China out of their tech supply chains. When you can't preserve your lead through innovation, you seek to lock countries in contractually.
For instance as a country, this would mean telling Huawei they can't sell you AI chips, and telling Chinese firms they can't invest in your data centers - even if they're better and cheaper. It's not about choosing the best technology, it's about choosing the right flag.
But in this instance, the US went much further still: they literally tried to carve out 4,000 acres of Philippine territory (in New Clark City, 60 miles north of Manila) to be governed under US common law with diplomatic immunity - the first arrangement of its kind anywhere in the modern world.
This is according to the WSJ who ran the story last month (https://t.co/kydhIQfo2A) as if it was a done deal (it wasn't).
Heard about the "French concession" or "British concession" in China during the century of humiliation? Same thing: the US basically asked for an "American concession" in the Philippines.
Unsurprisingly, there was quite a bit of backlash in the country with for instance the Peasant Movement of the Philippines (KMP) calling it a “massive sellout” of the country’s land, minerals, and sovereignty (https://t.co/nkXSajH2Q7).
So much so that the Philippines' government - namely Joshua Bingcang, president and chief executive of the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) - issued a statement saying that the Philippines had rejected US proposals that would place the project beyond local jurisdiction (https://t.co/ZmNWJB03eH).
Note, by the way, this delicious irony: the BCDA is the government agency that was created in 1992 specifically to convert former US military bases at Clark and Subic Bay after the Philippines spent decades negotiating their closure. New Clark City - where the Pax Silica's hub would go - is built on the old Clark Air Base.
So the agency whose entire reason for existing is to turn former American colonial territory (i.e. US military bases) into sovereign Philippine land is the one now being asked to hand part of that very same land back under US jurisdiction (and, apparently, declined).
Of course though, blocking this specific jurisdiction grab doesn't change the bigger picture. The Philippines is still a Pax Silica signatory, and Pax Silica itself is structurally neocolonial: you supply the cheap labor and raw materials, align your export controls and regulations with Washington's, cut yourself off from the world's rising technological powerhouse - and in exchange you get assembly jobs and the privilege of getting a pat on the head and being called a "trusted partner."
They dropped the most cartoonishly colonial demand - governing Philippine soil under US law - but the underlying architecture is the same: you serve America's supply chain, on America's terms, and you relinquish your sovereign right to trade with whoever offers the best deal.
Bill Clinton has a random run-in with Loretta Lynch at an airport in 2016 - MASSIVE, WEEKS LONG SCANDAL
JD Vance attends a private dinner with Chief Justice Roberts while the Court considers multiple Trump Admin lawsuits - "social call" ... "friendly pop-by"
OnlyFans is Hacked 🚨
Apparently OnlyFans has been hacked and they're selling the complete database of 340 million users
including data of content creators and consumers.
The leaked data includes
- Usernames and profile names
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Account creation dates
- Follower/subscriber metrics
- Creator/fan rankings
- Linked social media profiles
- Partial payment card metadata (last 4 digits of the card)
The result of this is going to be a massive wave of extortion attempts against users
Acting like “Epstein class” is some radical concept when the Epstein scandal itself showed a world where wealthy people weren’t just protected individually, but protected institutionally through interconnected networks of wealth, influence, and mutual self-preservation.
Trump’s new green card policy could create a military family crisis nobody in Washington seems prepared to discuss.
Under the newly announced rule, many immigrants seeking green cards may now be forced to leave the U.S. and apply from abroad instead of adjusting status while remaining here.[1][2]
Now picture the consequences:
An active-duty U.S. soldier deploys to a combat zone.
His wife, a foreign national married to him legally, is suddenly required to leave the country during the immigration process.
Their children are American citizens.
So what happens?
The deployed soldier can’t care for two infants from a war zone.
The mother may be forced overseas for months or longer.
And American children could effectively lose both parents at the same time.
This isn’t “strong national security.”
It’s a policy that risks creating distracted troops, broken military families, and readiness problems entirely by our own hand.
The Pentagon has understood for decades that stable families are part of combat effectiveness. A soldier worrying about abandoned children and an exiled spouse is not fully focused on the mission.
America is now drifting toward a system where service members may have to choose between:
• serving their country
• obeying immigration rules
• or keeping their family together
That isn’t strength.
That’s bureaucratic self-sabotage dressed up as enforcement.
The theory going around is that the ICE warehouse purchases (way above market value) were nothing more than payoffs to Trump cronies who owned the properties and needed to unload them. Paid for by us, of course.
“It’s never happened like that, and I’ve been here 30 years!”
Data Center construction causes severe flooding in Mason County, residents to be reimbursed for damages
Look at the timeline.
Trump announces a possible deal with Iran yesterday.
About 2 hours later, a man with a long history of mental illness somehow appears armed outside the White House and opens fire.
Netanyahu makes a public post focusing on the shooting before even addressing the Iran deal.
Netanyahu posts again as reports say a peace deal with Iran was CLOSE.
And within HOURS, the deal appears to be collapsing again.
This new North Carolina House bill would jail or authorize the murder of women due to their personal use of birth control, such as an IUD, or for having or attempting to have an abortion.
Call your legislators. #NCpol HB1232 https://t.co/GuflWuUy03
BREAKING: Two sources close to Trump's negotiation team say Trump is now completely backing away from the US-Iran deal, under "extreme internal pressure from Israel and its US domestic allies," urging him not to accept Iran‘s terms. After this, Trump posted an image of Mark 84 bomb on a fighter jet, with his signature "Thank you for your attention to this matter" catchphrase stenciled directly on the bomb, on Truth Social.
Iran earlier warned already that the agreement "will be completely cancelled" due to ongoing US obstruction on key clauses.
The deal that never existed is now publicly collapsing.
Thomas Massie was straightforward on Meet the Press this morning. He said he WILL publicly read names of Epstein clients before he leaves office. He blasted Blanche (and Patel) and Melania too - saying she knows Epstein had associates who were full-on co-conspirators.
🚨VANISHED: I went to the Capitol to find missing Republican Congressman Tom Kean and the story keeps getting weirder.
Over 50 missed votes since March. Staff dodging questions. Even reporters can’t figure out where he’s been.
What the hell is going on?
Its wild that Scott DesJarlais (R-TN) doesn’t get more coverage. He’s admitted to multiple affairs with patients while working as a doctor, encouraged a mistress to get an abortion despite being pro-life, and threatened his first ex-wife with a gun multiple times
He’s still been in Congress since 2011
There was something so strange about this rally. It was capacity at Madison Square Garden but it was like a MAGA victory rally and it was two weeks before the election so they knew they were gonna win. Harris was ahead in the polls
Dearest Friends, may you all be blessed,
According to Ashley St. Claire, Elon Musk talked about starlink “space lasers“ which gave him the info that Mr. Trump had won.
Space lasers makes sense because of Starlink Satellite to Cellphone service. Brendan Carr, the current head of the FCC is in the grift and appears to be an Elon Musk fan. Brendan Carr also wrote the Project2025 chapter on overhauling the FCC and utilizing Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Amazon Kuiper’s Low Orbit satellites.
SMH. All of this is connected.
I’ve learned with these peoplem there are no coincidences.