Ever since Joe Biden sat down in the White House a great many people, myself included, have been talking about the possible dire consequences down the road of a Biden Presidency. Putting a mentally incompetent Chinese puppet in the Oval Office seemed calculated to turn out badly. “Eventually, we will pay the price” has been the standard refrain.

“Eventually” is today.

The Iranians, via their Houthi surrogates, have closed the Red Sea. Ninety-five percent of the commercial shipping that would have normally transited the Red Sea and the Suez Canal is now taking the long way around Africa instead. Shipping costs have skyrocketed by 60% already. Insurance costs are up 20%.

You will pay the price for that at the pump, the grocery store, and in all your purchases. Orders of merchandise will be delayed by weeks in delivery.

The U.S. Navy is conducting a pointless and toothless exercise called Operation Prosperity Guardian.  It accomplishes nothing. We shoot down cheap throwaway drones that cost less than $2000 and junk missiles with 2 million dollar interceptors. The Houthi missile batteries on shore remain untouched and intact.

Our forces across the Middle East are under almost continuous attack by other Iranian surrogates. Every once in a great while we strike a target of no real significance. Mostly, we pretend like it is not happening. We are at war. We are under continuous assault. We take no meaningful action to defend ourselves.

The Communist Chinese are ramping up for action against Taiwan. At least twenty Chinese spy balloons have passed over Taiwan in the last week. The CCP just launched a “satellite” directly over Taiwan. That launch was initially mistaken for a missile attack on the island. Chinese officials are making almost continuous statements regarding the inevitability of “reunification” between the mainland and Taipei.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK ABOVE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AND TO VIEW THE NUMEROUS VIDEOS IN THE ARTICLE

Your Smartphone Is Powered by Child Labor at Cobalt Mines in Africa. Human rights watchdog Amnesty International has accused several tech and auto industry giants of turning a blind eye to child labor. In a damning report released on Tuesday, the organization found that major brands, including Apple, Samsung, Sony, and Volkswagen, were allowing cobalt mined by children into their products. Cobalt — a metallic element that is found mostly in minerals — is a key component in the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electronic devices such as laptops, smartphones, and electric cars.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in central Africa, is the world’s top cobalt producer, accounting for more than half of the planet’s supply. According to the DRC’s government, 20 percent of the cobalt exported by country is extracted from mines in the southern province of Katanga.

(more…)