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Reposted by Karl Friedhoff

BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 15h

rare earths are an exercise in American inability to govern. the problem of Chinese dominance in the sector has been known for over a decade. there was a broad bipartisan consensus that it was a problem in DC, at least among anyone who knew even a little about it, and constant discussion of ...

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 15h

Under a different admin., this report would have looked much different. It would have been "partner with allies here, coordinate with allies there," but with the current US foreign policy overall, I am skeptical of US appetite for that and allied/partner willingness. US cash is driving.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 15h

5a. In short-term, labor force policy should include establishing special visas to recruit foreign talent. That won't happen under this admin, of course.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 15h

5. Labor force! Mining workforce is in steep decline and the industry has a serious image problem--see radioactive runoff in earlier skeet. More Congressional funding to expand mining program, recruit new students, and reshape perceptions of the industry.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 15h

4. Undermining clean energy/EV markets is really dumb policy. It is putting US even further behind cutting-edge technologies that will drive future growth. US should spearhead international research consortium that brings together upstream to end-use manufacturers to develop/reduce new materials.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 15h

3. Free market already solved this problem and we're now trying to bifurcate that. It's going to require government support, offtake agreements, and setting floor prices. Not only on producer side, but on end-good manufacturing side. That's the price of entry if this is the policy direction.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 15h

2. Mining is important, yes. But midstream processing is more important to build a secure supply chain. Again, that is highly expensive, so how government support gets directed needs to be highly focused.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 15h

Anyway, main thrust of the report is) 1. we should be narrowing the critical minerals list, not expanding it. These lists are going to guide government largesse and every company will have its hand out. We should restrict that to only the most important areas of critical minerals/rare earths.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 15h

I haven't seen specific reporting on the wastewater issue, but I'd guess that it is at least partially related to radioactive runoff. To be clear, the levels are low and are naturally occurring in the feedstock. But no community wants to hear the word "radioactive runoff."

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 16h

DOD is in for at least $258 million on the Seadrift refinery. In April Lynas was in talks with DOD about increased funding due to wastewater. By October, Lynas was raising doubts about the feasibility of the project.

www.reuters.com

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 16h

So far the US has thrown out numbers like $1 billion here, $1 billion there, but that is small ball. The rare earth refinery being built in Seadrift, TX by Lynas (Australian) is already at something like $500 million. And it is facing increased costs and delays due to the handling of wastewater.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 16h

Trump is focused on getting more minerals out of the ground, Great. But raw minerals still have to be processed. And virtually no processing of any kind takes place in the US. Most likely has to go to China, making the US more dependent, not less, on China.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 16h

With new export controls from China on rare earths, feels like a good time to push out my new report from the Chicago Council. The US is already years behind, the Trump admin. is focused on the wrong "stream", and there is no short- or medium-term solution.

Critical Minerals, Rare Earth Elements, and the Challenges Ahead for the United States

Washington is already behind in the race to secure critical minerals and rare earth elements. This report presents a path forward.

globalaffairs.org

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 1d

"Brutalism is recognizable through the transfer of battlefield techniques to the civilian sphere...to blunt feeling of revulsion at killing, to break the prohibition on murder....naturalizing social war."

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 1d

Currently reading Achille Mbembe's Brutalism, and I'm not sure anything else comes close to capturing our current moment. Highly recommend.

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 1d

Coming up in about an hour.

Rapid Response Live Stream: Israel-Hamas Phase One Deal

Daniel Byman, Sanam Vakil, and Leslie Vinjamuri discuss the Israel and Hamas ceasefire deal and a potential end to the conflict in Gaza.

globalaffairs.org

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 2d

Look, if we find this Mr. Corpus and it turns out he's a bad guy, bad intentions for our country, we'll throw him into Stephen Miller's casket. But maybe not. Maybe he's a good guy. We'll see.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 2d

Q: Have you given any more thought to possibly suspending habeas corpus?

TRUMP: Suspending who?

Q: Habeas corpus

TRUMP: I don't know. I'd rather leave that to Kristi.

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Reposted by Karl Friedhoff

Chicago Council on Global Affairs @global-affairs.bsky.social · 2d

The United States is falling behind China in the race to secure critical minerals and rare earth elements. Can Washington and its allies close the gap?

Council Fellow @kfriedhoff.bsky.social presents a path forward ⛏️➡️ brnw.ch/21wWsoS

a graphic of a mining operation and text that says critical minerals, rare earth elements, and the challenges ahead for the United States by Karl Friedhoff

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Reposted by Karl Friedhoff

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 2d

So this is funny.
The administration just issued a rule slashing foreign agricultural worker wages. And to justify it, in a public filing, Trump's Labor Department alleges that Trump's immigration enforcement has devastated the Ag workforce and caused a "risk of supply shock-induced food shortages."

Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis

In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a lack of migrant agricultural workers.

prospect.org

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 7d

Oh great. Thanks WSJ.

Five Best: Books on the Ends of Civilizations

Selected by Johan Norberg, the author of “Peak Human: What We Can Learn From History’s Greatest Civilizations.”

share.google

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Reposted by Karl Friedhoff

John Gramlich @johngramlich.bsky.social · 8d

% of US men under 30 who say legal sports betting is a *bad thing* for society

22% in 2022
47% in 2025

No other demographic group has seen a bigger increase.

Americans increasingly see legal sports betting as a bad thing for society and sports

Today, 43% of U.S. adults say the fact that sports betting is now legal in much of the country is a bad thing for society, up from 34% in 2022.

www.pewresearch.org

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 8d

Recommended reading. Comes from largest conservative paper in ROK. It ends by targeting Lee admin. and its policies, but between the lines it is calling for much broader re-think of relations with US. Elements of this could have come straight from the Hankyoreh.

Dr. Mark P. Barry ☯︎ @drmarkpbarry.bsky.social · 8d

The Illusion of 'The America We Knew' www.chosun.com/english/opin...

The Illusion of 'The America We Knew'

The Illusion of The America We Knew Economic Focus Fatal Misunderstanding in Tariff Talks Exposes South Koreas Weakness, Demanding Self-Strengthening

www.chosun.com

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Karl Friedhoff @kfriedhoff.bsky.social · 8d

The unwillingness of political reporters to lean their head out the window to tell if it's raining has never been more damning.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse @whitehouse.senate.gov · 8d

“I have no idea what Project 2025 is.”
- Trump, October 31, 2024

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d

Trump: "I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of which are a political SCAM, he recommends to be cut ... I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity."

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Reposted by Karl Friedhoff

Jeffrey Lewis @armscontrolwonk.bsky.social · 14d

This is pure cope by the ROK prez. The US IC concluded in 2017 (per @nktpnd.bsky.social) that a North Korean nuclear warhead would survive reentry. Every country that figured out how to build an ICBM also figured out reentry. WE SHOULD STOP DARING KIM TO PROVE IT.

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Reposted by Karl Friedhoff

Jinwoo Park @jinwoo-park.com · 15d

The year I was born, 1990, was the year when tens of thousands of girls were aborted for no other reason than being girls.

This is the story of the Year of the White Horse.

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