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Independent researcher/writer based in Hong Kong since 1997. Reformed academic. My long-form, analytical articles are collected here https://laura-ruggeri.medium.com/ email: lauraru852@yandex.ru
A useful summary. Waiting for the next instalment about Google-Pentagon cooperation. /channel/geopolitics_live/42906
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Elon Musk's grandfather, Joshua N. Haldeman was involved in Canadian politics, backing the Technocracy movement. As an avowed anti-communist, Haldeman objected to Technocracy Incorporated's declaration of support for the Soviet Union following the German invasion, left the movement and joined the Social Credit Party of Canada serving as party leader in Saskatchewan. Haldeman's son-in-law Errol Musk claimed in 2024 that Haldeman sympathized with Nazi Germany during World War II. He moved to South Africa in 1950 and was a vocal supporter of apartheid. I am not suggesting that Elon Musk should be held accountable for his grandfather's opinions and deeds, what I find remarkable is that the vision of a “North American Union” promoted by the Trump administration can be traced back to a map created by Technocracy Incorporated in 1930. It Includes Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal and, by the way, Cuba. @LauraRuHK
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Imagine being Mette Frederiksen, the PM of a country that has significantly increased defense spending, lost more troops per capita in Afghanistan than any other country, contributed more to Ukraine’s defense as a percentage of GDP than all but one other country... and has zero bargaining power. ▪️After the informal UK-EU-NATO meeting on Feb. 3 in Brussels, she flew to London to continue her conversation with Keir Starmer.
"I totally agree with the Americans that the High North, that the Arctic region is becoming more and more important when we are talking about defense and security and deterrence. It is possible to find a way to ensure stronger footprints in Greenland. The U.S. are already there, and they can have more possibilities. And at the same time, we are willing to scale up. And I think NATO is the same. So if this is about securing our part of the world, we can find a way forward."
Move on. Nothing to see. That's just Israel and the US carrying out demolition work for the new "Riviera of the Middle East." @LauraRuHK
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Donald Trump: The US may continue to provide aid to Ukraine in exchange for Ukrainian rare earth metals. 🤔 🥁There are no deposits of rare earth metals in Ukraine. Vladimir Polevanov, Vice President of Russia's National Fund for Strategic Resources, told Sputnik :
There are no deposits of rare earth metals in the territory of Ukraine. They don't have anything that good at all. They have a bit of Lithium, 500,000 tons, which is not much when you compare it to deposits in other countries, Bolivia - 21 million tons, Chile - 14 million tons, Argentina - about 10 million tons.
News from EUnuchsland - On Monday EU leaders gathered in Brussels to discuss the future of European defense. They were joined by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and UK PM Keir Starmer. Speaking at a joint press conference, Starmer told the European Union to “step up” support for Ukraine and proposed a new post-Brexit security pact with the EU.
“Peace will come through strength, and we must do all that we can to support Ukraine's defense. That means stabilizing the front line, providing the kit and training that they need. And that's why this year, the U.K. will give more military support to Ukraine than ever before. We need to see all allies stepping up, particularly in Europe.”
Spelling out his vision for a closer relationship on defense, Starmer said he wanted EU-U.K. cooperation to cover “military technology and R&D, improving the mobility of forces across Europe, protecting our critical infrastructure and deepening our industrial collaboration to increase defense production.” ▪️EU governments are exploring ways to include the UK and Norway in a “coalition of the willing” dedicated to expanding the continent’s defences, while circumventing four EU neutral states that are not members of NATO — Austria, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta — and the leaders of Hungary and Slovakia who oppose a confrontational stance toward Russia. ▪️While Paris and Athens insist that European taxpayer money should be spent on military systems designed and made in Europe,
other EU countries including Germany and Italy, want to buy more American weapons fearing that the exclusion of U.S. arms-makers from EU subsidies would enrage U.S. President Donald Trump and expose them to more tariffs. (Source: Politico, FT) @LauraRuHK
"Did you know that USAID, using YOUR tax dollars, funded bioweapon research, including COVID-19, that killed millions of people?" Musk wrote.
Musk did not elaborate on the allegations, but the post he was responding to said, "the CIA's deception regarding COVID-19 origins becomes much clearer when considering USAID's long history of serving as a CIA front organization."
"USAID is a criminal organization," Musk wrote in another post, replying to a video about alleged USAID involvement in internet censorship and "rogue CIA work."
Well, we "conspiracy theorists" have been saying it for years. Since the very start of the Covid operation. Why did Elon Musk wait till the preemptive pardon of Dr. Fauci to denounce USAID involvement in the development of bioweapons? Will the US government be held accountable? Fat chance. Musk is just grinding his ax and positioning himself as a "saviour of humanity." @LauraRuHK
After a brief pause, the US has resumed arming Ukraine.
Reuters reports that the White House abandoned its initial promise of halting all assistance to Ukraine. According to one of Reuters' sources, there are factions within the Trump administration that disagree on the extent to which the US should continue providing military aid to Kiev from American stockpiles.
Today US President Donald Trump stated that his country may continue to provide aid to Ukraine in exchange for Ukrainian rare earth metals. @LauraRuHK
The new "lean and mean" US administration is not dismantling the Aid Industrial Complex. It simply wants more bang for buck and is settling scores with the Dems and their globalist supporters (Soros in primis) who profited from USAID and its massive budget. USAID has spurred a mind-boggling network of contractors and sub-contractors, NGOs, lobbyists, academics and logistics personnel that is virtually impossible to audit, let alone hold accountable. Nonprofit and for-profit firms have overlapping staff and contracts, and most of them already work for other government departments, including DoD. By absorbing USAID into the State Department, the US will free up resources. The woke ideology pushed by Soros' foundations has proven to be a liability in the Global South and is no longer in keeping with the more muscular approach favoured by the current administration. @LauraRuHK /channel/Slavyangrad/118720
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Panama has decided to withdraw from China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in response to US ultimatum over the Panama Canal US Secretary of State Marco Rubio presented the president of Panama Jose Mulino with a Mafia-style ultimatum: If Panama doesn't immediately take steps to address US concerns over "Chinese influence", the US will take the necessary measures "to protect its rights under the Panama Canal Treaty."
As a result of this threat, Panama decided not to renew the memorandum of understanding on the "Silk Road" signed with China.
▪️China initiated BRI in 2013 primarily as a project linking Eurasia through physical infrastructure, but it has since expanded into other sectors and regions. By late 2017, Beijing had formalized Latin America and the Caribbean as a “natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.” In November 2017, Panama became the first Latin American country to officially endorse BRI, five months after switching diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing. ▪️Donald Trump's claim that China controls the canal is baseless. Since 2000 the canal has been operated by the Panama Canal Authority, whose administrator, deputy administrator and 11-member board are selected by Panama’s government. Panama Ports – part of a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Hutchison Holdings – operates terminals on the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the canal. So do other companies. Hutchinson was first granted the concession over the two ports in 1997 when Panama and the US jointly administered the canal. Hutchinson Ports is one of the world’s largest port operators, overseeing 53 ports in 24 countries, including the UK, Australia and Canada.
Crucially, Hutchison does not control access to the Panama Canal, its workers only load and unload containers onto ships and supply them with fuel. @LauraRuHK
Cost-cutting by the Trump administration is purely a way to improve efficiency and shift the financial burden of propping up US soft power onto US allies and supporters. Here is just one example. Even if USAID is folded into the US State Department and stops bankrolling BBC Media Action, the latter can continue to train and fund media actors in target countries thanks to its institutional and non-institutional donors. @LauraRuHK
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Do you recognize this metro map in its Chinese translation? 😉
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Bangladesh forbids tourist travel to St Martin’s, a coral-rich island where the US has long wanted to build a military base. Saint Martin is a strategic island off the coast of Bangladesh, near Myanmar. The previous PM Sheikh Hasina had refused to hand over the island and was toppled by a colour revolution and replaced by US-WEF puppet Muhammad Yunus last August. The country hasn't held elections yet.
@LauraRuHK
Fyodor Lukyanov: Trump’s presidency embodies the logic of a changing world order.
"Trump’s ultimate goal is American supremacy – but not the liberal global leadership championed by his predecessors. His version of supremacy is transactional and utilitarian.
Alliances, institutions, and relationships are only valuable if they benefit the US materially. Those that demand sacrifices without offering returns are liabilities to be discarded.
Trump’s America is not interested in moral authority, global stability, or solving the world’s problems. It is focused on extracting the maximum benefit from every interaction, whether in economics, security, or politics. If others refuse Trump’s ‘deal’, coercion quickly becomes his preferred strategy.
While Trump champions a tough, combative approach, he is reluctant to engage in armed conflict. This is not due to pacifism but practicality. Trump the developer views war as wasteful and counterproductive. Destruction does not align with his instincts to build and acquire assets. For him, conflict is best resolved through negotiation, merger, or purchase – not devastation.
This aversion to military conflict explains his preference for economic warfare. Trade wars and aggressive negotiations are his tools of choice, often targeting close US allies rather than adversaries. This approach unnerves traditional partners and challenges the post-Cold War ‘rules-based’ international system, where alliances are valued for their collective stability. Trump sees no inherent value in these alliances unless they provide tangible benefits to the US. [...]
However, Trump’s approach remains deeply flawed. He is uninterested in addressing the root causes of conflicts. In Ukraine, for example, his goal is not a comprehensive resolution but a simple cessation of hostilities. A stable ceasefire along existing lines would suffice for him, leaving the deeper security issues for Western Europe or others to resolve. For Russia, this falls short. Moscow seeks a long-term solution that addresses the imbalance in European security – a concern Trump is unlikely to prioritize. [...]
Trump’s presidency embodies the logic of a changing world order. As traditional alliances and institutions falter, new dynamics emerge, driven by national interests and pragmatic calculations. Whether this shift leads to greater stability or heightened tensions remains to be seen. One thing is certain: The era of ‘global leadership’ as we knew it is over, and Trump is its most prominent symbol."
The European Union is convening a meeting of 27 EU leaders, who will be joined by British Prime Minister Starmer and NATO Secretary General Rutte. The meeting, quaintly described as an "informal retreat" in the official invitation sent out to members of the European Council, will take place on 3 February in the cozy Château de Limont, close to Brussels, and is dedicated to "European defence and security."
In keeping with the Orwellian rhetoric that characterizes EU statements, the invitation sets the tone for what sounds like a war cabinet meeting -
Peace in Europe depends on Ukraine winning a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. The purpose of this meeting is to prepare the ground for the decisions we will have to take and to provide guidance to the Commission and the High Representative as they prepare a white paper on the future of European defence, which will cover joint defence initiatives and the resources necessary to develop them. [...] Substantial additional defence investments are required in order to replenish stocks, upgrade our defence readiness for a broad spectrum of threats – focusing on strategic priorities and critical capability gaps – and strengthen the European Defence Technological and Industrial Base accordingly.
Lu Shaye, the former Chinese ambassador to France known for a direct style that earned him the label of 'wolf warrior', has been appointed as Beijing’s special representative for European affairs.
European Union authorities were recently notified of Lu’s appointment.
He famously argued that China is now a major player on the world stage and can no longer follow former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping's approach of hiding its capacities and biding its time.
"When we were relatively poor and backward, Western countries looked down upon us in dealing with us. Now, they basically look at us as equals, and in some cases even look up to us.
"A big country should act like a big country, it cannot hide its capacities and bide its time as it had in the past ... If you have grown as big as an elephant, you can no longer hide behind trees."
The real story isn’t USAID’s closure—it’s its continuity. https://substack.com/home/post/p-156507901?source=queue
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FROM USAID TO US AI. On Monday Palantir co-founder and CEO Alex Karp trumpeted the work Elon Musk is doing to overhaul the federal government, saying it will ultimately benefit his company. On Tuesday shares of Palantir skyrocketed, gaining 22.8%, but were up as much as 27.7% during the day.
Asked about DOGE—Musk’s “department” of government efficiency, which has spent the last week unilaterally axing federal agencies—Karp said he welcomed the “disruption.”
“We love disruption, and whatever’s good for America will be good for Americans and very good for Palantir,” Karp, who is worth an estimated $8 billion, said.
“There will be ups and downs. There’s a revolution. Some people are going to get their heads cut off. We’re expecting to see really unexpected things and to win,” he boasted.
Musk and his team are asserting control over much of the federal bureaucracy and sensitive government computer systems, have the keys to the government’s entire payment system, including Social Security checks, tax refunds and Medicare benefits. They have also seized control at the Office of Personnel Management and the General Services Administration, key institutions that function as the central nervous system of the U.S. government. The word for it is state capture.
Palantir, which provides AI-driven intelligence to corporate and government clients, including the Pentagon, was founded by Peter Thiel, Stephen Cohen, Joe Lonsdale, and Alex Karp in 2003...with a little help from the CIA's venture capital arm In-Q-Tel. No wonder USAID has become redundant. AI will take care of many of its functions once it's absorbed into the State Department. @LauraRuHK
🔺Real estate developer waxes lyrical about ethnic cleansing🔺 Trump said he wants to remove all Palestinians from Gaza and send them to Egypt, Jordan, or other countries. He explained that the US will assume control over the Gaza Strip, “level” the Palestinian enclave, rebuild it and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”. @LauraRuHK
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😅 Can you smell Ursula's new fragrance, Desperation No.5? @LauraRuHK
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China hits back after Trump imposed additional 10% tariff across all Chinese imports into the U.S.
Within minutes after US tariffs came into effect at 12:01 a.m., China's Finance Ministry said it would impose levies of 15% for U.S. coal and LNG and 10% for crude oil, farm equipment, trucks as well as big-engine sedans shipped to China from the United States.
China also said it was starting an anti-monopoly investigation into Google, while including both PVH Corp the holding company for brands including Calvin Klein, and U.S. biotechnology company Illumina on a list for potential sanctions in China. Separately, China's Commerce Ministry and its Customs Administration said it is imposing export controls on some metals that are critical for electronics, military equipment and solar panels.
A 10%-duty China announced on electric trucks imported from the United States could apply to future sales for Elon Musk's Cybertruck, a niche offering Tesla has been promoting in China. (Source: Reuters) @LauraRuHK
Here is my previous, matter of fact, post /channel/LauraRuHK/9673 Here is that text after i prompted Microsoft Copilot to rewrite it in a sarcastic, indignant tone.
The White House has shamelessly ditched its initial commitment to stop all forms of assistance to Ukraine. What happened to standing by one's word? Now, there are factions within the Trump administration that can't even agree on how deep into American stockpiles they should dig to keep sending military aid to Kiev. Because, you know, why not keep the indecision lively?
To top it all off, today US President Donald Trump announced that his country might keep providing aid to Ukraine in return for—wait for it—Ukrainian rare earth metals. Because nothing says international diplomacy like a good old-fashioned trade deal, right?
From US-AID to US-AI - Data-driven intelligence and digital statecraft will become more prominent than the on-the-ground NGOs.
/channel/DDGeopolitics/137832
Yet another terror attack in Moscow
An explosive device went off in the Alye Parusa residential complex in northwest Moscow, killing two people and injuring four.
The target of this attack was Armen Sarkisyan, the founder of the ArBat battalion and head of the Boxing Federation of the Donetsk People's Republic. He and his bodyguard were killed in the explosion.
▪️Armen Sarkisyan, also known as Armen Gorlovsky, was born in Gorlovka (according to other sources - in Armenia) in 1978. In 2014, after the coup, the SBU and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine labelled him a member of the inner circle of ex-President Viktor Yanukovich and put him on their wanted list.
In 2019, he became the honorary president of the DPR Boxing Federation, in 2020 an honorary citizen of Gorlovka. In 2025, he was awarded the Order of Courage of the Russian Federation.
In September 2022, he formed "ArBat" (Armenian Battalion) in Donbass, a special forces battalion, as part of the international brigade "Pyatnashka". In July 2023, ArBat volunteers signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense and the battalion was absorbed into the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. @LauraRuHK
A little-known fact about BBC Media Action. In Ukraine, besides training and funding media organizations and providing content, it engages in psychological operations, the success of which is then discussed in focus groups. One of these psyops, aimed at bolstering the social acceptance of life loss and limb loss, is carried out on all Ukrainian media platforms. Amputees have become a fixture of tv shows, they model clothes, take part in singing contexts, act in dramas, advertise products etc. @LauraRuHK
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🎉USAID Website Goes Dark 🎉 The website of the U.S. Agency for International Development went offline without explanation Saturday as thousands of furloughs, layoffs and program shutdowns continued in Trump's freeze on U.S.-funded foreign aid. The agency’s programs are often baked into key US foreign policy goals - they buy influence in selected countries, fund colour revolutions and spread Western liberalism.
Trump may be shutting down USAID as an independent agency and absorbing it into the State Department. @LauraRuHK
China will file a lawsuit in the World Trade Organization (WTO) in response to US tariffs and will take retaliatory measures, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said. @LauraRuHK
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The White House confirmed that the Trump administration will impose 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada on Saturday, along with a 10% import tax on Chinese goods, and that's just the start. Many expect the tariffs will boost inflation and slam GDP growth. Though Trump acknowledged there could be "short-term disruption," he told reporters that "tariffs don't cause inflation, they cause success." He likely meant that higher prices on imports will lead to more domestic production. But that's not something that will happen any time soon. The "short-term disruption" could last years.
▪️Tariffs have historically served a key role in the trade policy of the US. Protectionism has been the rule rather than the exception for most of the country's existence. In the 1980s and 1990s, the White House was faced with a powerful Asian economic power, Japan. Washington’s response was to put 100% tariffs on electronics, force voluntary restrictions on Japanese auto, steel, and machine industries. For approximately a decade, Japan and the US engaged in a trade war. The US achieved a tactical victory in the war with the 1985 Plaza Accord. The result was that Japan entered the bubble economy, which ultimately led to a period of economic stagnation known as the Lost Decade. ▪️Some of Trump’s first forays into politics involved railing against Japan during the 1980s and early 1990s. During that time, he started calling for the use of tariffs as a trade weapon.
While he has not referenced the historical US-Japan relationship during the recent China conflict, Washington’s success against Tokyo could influence his thinking on how to handle Beijing. One of his advisers on trade, Robert Lighthizer, also took part in Japan negotiations in the 1980s. ▪️But China isn't Japan. Beijing is far stronger both economically and politically than Tokyo was in the 1980s, with Japan militarily occupied by the US and less willing to risk Washington’s ire.
Most importantly, the Chinese authorities have studied that trade war and won't be repeating Japan's mistakes. @LauraRuHK
🇷🇺🇨🇳 New blow to US sanctions: Russia and China boost NVIDIA performance 800-fold
Scientists from the two countries have developed a breakthrough algorithm using information from reverse engineering video card accelerators. The algorithm allows gaming GPUs to be used for scientific computing.
The innovation was achieved by specialists from Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, co-founded by Lomonosov Moscow State University and Beijing Institute of Technology.
This enables Russia and China to reduce their reliance on NVIDIA GPUs, weakening the impact of US sanctions.
It also means that Russia and China need to buy less NVIDIA GPUs, which likely led to the collapse of NVIDIA stock price, Russoft association President Valentin Makarov told Sputnik.(Source: Sputnik) @LauraRuHK
Italy has long been a socio-political lab where US policies are tested. @LauraRuHK
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