Posted on Jan 22, 2022
China's rare earth metal monopoly is a threat to the US
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Edited >1 y ago
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And —> Welcome to the Heartland
https://fortisanalysis.substack.com/p/belt-and-road-comes-to-the-heartland
https://fortisanalysis.substack.com/p/belt-and-road-comes-to-the-heartland
Belt and Road Comes to the Heartland
The Peculiar Story of Fufeng Group and Grand Forks
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Joe has already sold us out to China!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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No, it is not.
It is a challenge, not a threat.
We built our technology on a false assumption that we could take whatever we wanted, when we wanted it. Regardless of who actually owns it. That's our own fault, not China's.
The challenge is difficult to complete, but VERY easy to identify and state. But our politicians (and, it would seem, our scientists / tech sector, as well) do not want to face the difficult challenge. So they will pretend that the challenge - which they KNOW is there, and anyone with half a brain can see - doesn't exist. Instead, they will cry and whine that they aren't getting what they want whenever they want it. Even if it belongs to someone else.
The challenge for our tech sector, of course, is to build our tech around what we DO have, instead of what we don't.
It is a challenge, not a threat.
We built our technology on a false assumption that we could take whatever we wanted, when we wanted it. Regardless of who actually owns it. That's our own fault, not China's.
The challenge is difficult to complete, but VERY easy to identify and state. But our politicians (and, it would seem, our scientists / tech sector, as well) do not want to face the difficult challenge. So they will pretend that the challenge - which they KNOW is there, and anyone with half a brain can see - doesn't exist. Instead, they will cry and whine that they aren't getting what they want whenever they want it. Even if it belongs to someone else.
The challenge for our tech sector, of course, is to build our tech around what we DO have, instead of what we don't.
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MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D.
An interesting idea, but can we get the requisite performance out of lesser quality metals compared to what is possible with RE metals. Therein lies the rub. . . .
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SFC Casey O'Mally
MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. Not with our current tech.
But each individual element - and most compounds - has unique properties which can be exploited. In a perfect world, science would have access to ALL elements and compounds that exist. But we do not live in a perfect world. Once science and tech wakes up to the reality that the world is not perfect they can pursue alternative solutions; ones which are possible in our imperfect world.
And if it is earth-saving technology we are talking about, and the concern is global destruction or something like that, then we should be sharing with the people who have the materials. If the TRUE concern is the planet (and not profits) then we GIVE China (or whoever has the raw materials) the tech and let them build it. But that will never happen, because it is ALWAYS about profits. Look at the COVID vaccines, and how (and to who) they are being distributed. Poor countries have a remarkably low vax rate, rich countries have a remarkably high (comparatively) vax rate. That ain't a coincidence.
I am not saying we shouldn't care about profits. I am not saying we shouldn't WANT profits. But if we want to pursue profit, we need to pursue the possible rather than whining that China won't share. Because they are pursuing profit, too. And the law of supply and demand says they have the supply, so they can demand whatever they want. If they are a "threat" for acting in their own national interest, well, pretty much every nation on Earth is. If they are a "threat" for seeking tech independence or tech dominance, then America is 2x the threat. And if they are a "threat" for pursuing profit, America is 10x the threat.
But each individual element - and most compounds - has unique properties which can be exploited. In a perfect world, science would have access to ALL elements and compounds that exist. But we do not live in a perfect world. Once science and tech wakes up to the reality that the world is not perfect they can pursue alternative solutions; ones which are possible in our imperfect world.
And if it is earth-saving technology we are talking about, and the concern is global destruction or something like that, then we should be sharing with the people who have the materials. If the TRUE concern is the planet (and not profits) then we GIVE China (or whoever has the raw materials) the tech and let them build it. But that will never happen, because it is ALWAYS about profits. Look at the COVID vaccines, and how (and to who) they are being distributed. Poor countries have a remarkably low vax rate, rich countries have a remarkably high (comparatively) vax rate. That ain't a coincidence.
I am not saying we shouldn't care about profits. I am not saying we shouldn't WANT profits. But if we want to pursue profit, we need to pursue the possible rather than whining that China won't share. Because they are pursuing profit, too. And the law of supply and demand says they have the supply, so they can demand whatever they want. If they are a "threat" for acting in their own national interest, well, pretty much every nation on Earth is. If they are a "threat" for seeking tech independence or tech dominance, then America is 2x the threat. And if they are a "threat" for pursuing profit, America is 10x the threat.
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