Tobita Chow
@tobitac.bsky.social
US-China, climate, politics, imperialism and world economy
Chicagoland | immigrant | he/him
Chicagoland | immigrant | he/him
Reposted by Tobita Chow
I'm sorry but if you are a public commentator and your line in 2024 was like "pro-worker Republicans like Josh Hawley and JD Vance are building an interesting new labor-friendly lane for the second Trump administration" you are both dumb and dangerous and should retire
February 12, 2026 at 8:49 PM
I'm sorry but if you are a public commentator and your line in 2024 was like "pro-worker Republicans like Josh Hawley and JD Vance are building an interesting new labor-friendly lane for the second Trump administration" you are both dumb and dangerous and should retire
Reposted by Tobita Chow
According to multiple NYT sources, it wasn’t even military personnel at Fort Bliss that fired an anti-drone laser at alleged cartel drones. It was CBP who used the weapon on loan from DoD against a child’s party balloon they mistook for a drone. The Pentagon gave CBP an anti-aircraft weapon.
February 12, 2026 at 3:28 AM
According to multiple NYT sources, it wasn’t even military personnel at Fort Bliss that fired an anti-drone laser at alleged cartel drones. It was CBP who used the weapon on loan from DoD against a child’s party balloon they mistook for a drone. The Pentagon gave CBP an anti-aircraft weapon.
"A century earlier, it was precisely this layer of second-generation immigrant youth that led the era’s mass strikes and unionization efforts during the Great Depression."
It is a recurring pattern that immigrants form the vanguard of struggle for the whole working class
jacobin.com/2026/02/immi...
It is a recurring pattern that immigrants form the vanguard of struggle for the whole working class
jacobin.com/2026/02/immi...
The Blueprint for a Nationwide Immigrant Strike
The 2006 “Day Without an Immigrant” mobilized millions and killed a draconian anti-immigrant bill. With ICE waging war on immigrant communities, the playbook for a mass strike already exists — we just...
jacobin.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:49 PM
"A century earlier, it was precisely this layer of second-generation immigrant youth that led the era’s mass strikes and unionization efforts during the Great Depression."
It is a recurring pattern that immigrants form the vanguard of struggle for the whole working class
jacobin.com/2026/02/immi...
It is a recurring pattern that immigrants form the vanguard of struggle for the whole working class
jacobin.com/2026/02/immi...
Reposted by Tobita Chow
NEW – Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions have now been ‘flat or falling’ for 21 months | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social @creacleanair.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/wC1nbXO
Read here: buff.ly/wC1nbXO
February 12, 2026 at 12:01 AM
NEW – Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions have now been ‘flat or falling’ for 21 months | @laurimyllyvirta.bsky.social @creacleanair.bsky.social
Read here: buff.ly/wC1nbXO
Read here: buff.ly/wC1nbXO
'Governments outside the US would need extreme amnesia to feel confident betting their economic security on Congress or any US administration continuing to send money abroad after America’s immediate needs had been met — or refraining from using stockpiles for political leverage.'
Trade Secrets today. Building a critical minerals network ex-China: good idea. But if you think the Trump admin will public-spiritedly run a rules-based international rare earths coalition, I’ve got prospecting rights for deposits of Imaginium in the mineral-rich territory of Delusionia to sell you.
The US cannot be trusted to lead a critical minerals coalition
[FREE TO READ] A worthy goal of creating rare earths independence from China needs a more reliable anchor
as.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 5:11 PM
'Governments outside the US would need extreme amnesia to feel confident betting their economic security on Congress or any US administration continuing to send money abroad after America’s immediate needs had been met — or refraining from using stockpiles for political leverage.'
Reposted by Tobita Chow
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Idaho families sue over immigration raid that swept up hundreds, including U.S. citizens — NBC News
About 400 people, including children and U.S. citizens, were detained for four hours while they were denied food and water in the raid, according to the lawsuit.
apple.news
February 12, 2026 at 1:35 AM
More than 400 people, including hundreds of citizens, were “sorted” at gun point into racial and ethnic groups by 200 ICE agents who fired flash-bang grenades into cars with people inside, pointed guns at children & demanded their zip tied parents not comfort them. apple.news/Ausdx6kWtT0e...
Reposted by Tobita Chow
Biden administration: We’re going to engage in some ridiculous balloon shoot down shenanigans.
Trump 2.0: Hold my beer.
Trump 2.0: Hold my beer.
February 12, 2026 at 1:27 AM
Biden administration: We’re going to engage in some ridiculous balloon shoot down shenanigans.
Trump 2.0: Hold my beer.
Trump 2.0: Hold my beer.
Reposted by Tobita Chow
I'm just a historian here noting that the US has a long history of playing up supposed incursions to justify the invasion of Mexico...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
FAA reopens El Paso airport hours after saying it was grounding flights for 10 days
A White House official told NBC News that Mexican cartel drones had breached American airspace, and the Defense Department had disabled them.
www.nbcnews.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:25 PM
I'm just a historian here noting that the US has a long history of playing up supposed incursions to justify the invasion of Mexico...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Reposted by Tobita Chow
This is a huge deal. After years of leading in fundraising, Dem small donors are (rightly) pissed off at the spam texts and emails, as well as at congressional leadership. Meanwhile, GOP billionaire money is hitting record levels. Perfect storm.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
February 11, 2026 at 5:54 PM
This is a huge deal. After years of leading in fundraising, Dem small donors are (rightly) pissed off at the spam texts and emails, as well as at congressional leadership. Meanwhile, GOP billionaire money is hitting record levels. Perfect storm.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...
"The percentage of U.S. adults who anticipate high-quality lives in five years declined to 59.2% in 2025, the lowest level since measurement began nearly two decades ago" news.gallup.com/poll/702125/...
American Optimism Slumps to Record Low
The percentage of U.S. adults who anticipate high-quality lives in five years declined to 59.2% in 2025, the lowest level since measurement began in 2008.
news.gallup.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:28 PM
"The percentage of U.S. adults who anticipate high-quality lives in five years declined to 59.2% in 2025, the lowest level since measurement began nearly two decades ago" news.gallup.com/poll/702125/...
Reposted by Tobita Chow
Japan's electoral system produced a highly unequal result in Sunday's election.
The right-wing Liberal Democratic Party won a historic 2/3 supermajority with just 37% of proportional rep votes & 49% of district votes. The LDP+Ishin coalition won 76% of seats with 45% of PR & 56% of district votes
The right-wing Liberal Democratic Party won a historic 2/3 supermajority with just 37% of proportional rep votes & 49% of district votes. The LDP+Ishin coalition won 76% of seats with 45% of PR & 56% of district votes
February 10, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Japan's electoral system produced a highly unequal result in Sunday's election.
The right-wing Liberal Democratic Party won a historic 2/3 supermajority with just 37% of proportional rep votes & 49% of district votes. The LDP+Ishin coalition won 76% of seats with 45% of PR & 56% of district votes
The right-wing Liberal Democratic Party won a historic 2/3 supermajority with just 37% of proportional rep votes & 49% of district votes. The LDP+Ishin coalition won 76% of seats with 45% of PR & 56% of district votes
Reposted by Tobita Chow
This is the second time an ICE employee has been arrested in in a Bloomington, MN underage sex trafficking sting www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...
Police in Bloomington, MN just announced that one of the guys they arrested in an underage sex trafficking sting was a **background checker for ICE agents.**
He had a high security clearance in the Trump administration... and he was caught trying to abuse children. Sickening.
He had a high security clearance in the Trump administration... and he was caught trying to abuse children. Sickening.
February 10, 2026 at 9:26 PM
This is the second time an ICE employee has been arrested in in a Bloomington, MN underage sex trafficking sting www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...
Reposted by Tobita Chow
the wet market narrative is *bad for the Chinese government* and they have actively suppressed it at every turn! these people are incapable of the most basic understanding of the world.
Redfield is a Trump appointee and known crank. If COVID was circulating in summer of 2019, the entire timeline of the pandemic would be different. Chinese authorities were not "pushing the wet market narrative," they actively covered it up.
What is happening to people's brains over there
What is happening to people's brains over there
February 10, 2026 at 3:17 PM
the wet market narrative is *bad for the Chinese government* and they have actively suppressed it at every turn! these people are incapable of the most basic understanding of the world.
Reposted by Tobita Chow
Reposted by Tobita Chow
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
February 10, 2026 at 10:09 AM
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
Reposted by Tobita Chow
Cuban government has informed airlines that they only have about 24 hours worth of fuel left for planes.
Beyond the obvious damage that suddenly shutting down any country's air travel would have, a not at all small % of food and medicine in Cuba comes by luggage on airlines
efe.com/economia/202...
Beyond the obvious damage that suddenly shutting down any country's air travel would have, a not at all small % of food and medicine in Cuba comes by luggage on airlines
efe.com/economia/202...
Cuba comunica a las aerolíneas que en 24 horas se queda sin combustible para aviones - EFE
El Gobierno de Cuba advirtió a las aerolíneas internacionales que operan en la isla que a partir de este lunes el país se queda sin combustible para aviación.
efe.com
February 8, 2026 at 11:36 PM
Cuban government has informed airlines that they only have about 24 hours worth of fuel left for planes.
Beyond the obvious damage that suddenly shutting down any country's air travel would have, a not at all small % of food and medicine in Cuba comes by luggage on airlines
efe.com/economia/202...
Beyond the obvious damage that suddenly shutting down any country's air travel would have, a not at all small % of food and medicine in Cuba comes by luggage on airlines
efe.com/economia/202...
Reposted by Tobita Chow
Tuberculosis has been circulating in ICE prisons for months. I wrote it back in August and there is no doubt in my mind that there are way more outbreaks than we're aware of. We have to get people out of these camps.
Tuberculosis Spawning in Crowded, Dirty ICE Detention Centers - The American Prospect
Doctors and medical researchers expect more outbreaks of infectious disease as the Trump administration crams thousands more people into miserable conditions.
prospect.org
February 6, 2026 at 11:17 PM
Tuberculosis has been circulating in ICE prisons for months. I wrote it back in August and there is no doubt in my mind that there are way more outbreaks than we're aware of. We have to get people out of these camps.
Reposted by Tobita Chow
国際社会からどう見られるか以前に、人権が守られる保証のない国で暮らす際限のない不安感について訴えていきたい。
あのバカの憲法を進めるのか…。国民には自衛戦争を憲法で認めるためだとウソをついて（自衛戦争は現行憲法でもできます）、人権天賦説をやめるとか人権は公の秩序によって制限できるとかいうバカの憲法を。本当にやったら国際的に日本は近代国家とみなされなくなるよ。
【速報】憲法改正の具体案審議をと首相
February 8, 2026 at 4:35 PM
国際社会からどう見られるか以前に、人権が守られる保証のない国で暮らす際限のない不安感について訴えていきたい。
The only thing they have left to offer their base is the promise of freedom from the despised inhibitions of liberal society
February 7, 2026 at 6:08 AM
The only thing they have left to offer their base is the promise of freedom from the despised inhibitions of liberal society
Reposted by Tobita Chow
“I would rather you vote for what is morally correct,” Davidson said.
“Don’t talk to me about my own morality,” DeLauro shot back.
“Don’t tell your constituents what they can and can’t talk to you about,” replied Rev. Nathan Empsall. “What you are voting for is not moral.”
“Don’t talk to me about my own morality,” DeLauro shot back.
“Don’t tell your constituents what they can and can’t talk to you about,” replied Rev. Nathan Empsall. “What you are voting for is not moral.”
DeLauro to pressing clergy: 'I will not vote to abolish ICE'
The Connecticut U.S. representative found herself at odds with faith leaders.
www.ctpublic.org
February 6, 2026 at 11:29 PM
“I would rather you vote for what is morally correct,” Davidson said.
“Don’t talk to me about my own morality,” DeLauro shot back.
“Don’t tell your constituents what they can and can’t talk to you about,” replied Rev. Nathan Empsall. “What you are voting for is not moral.”
“Don’t talk to me about my own morality,” DeLauro shot back.
“Don’t tell your constituents what they can and can’t talk to you about,” replied Rev. Nathan Empsall. “What you are voting for is not moral.”
"A growing number of Chinese international student organizers are taking on leadership roles within their union locals, shaping the political consciousness of their peers and helping to bridge unions and their largely unengaged Chinese membership" spectrejournal.com/knowledge-wi...
Knowledge Without Fear – Spectre Journal
Sandy Shan analyzes the complicity between the neoliberal university and the security state in a call for solidarity with Chinese academics in the United States.
spectrejournal.com
February 7, 2026 at 1:56 AM
"A growing number of Chinese international student organizers are taking on leadership roles within their union locals, shaping the political consciousness of their peers and helping to bridge unions and their largely unengaged Chinese membership" spectrejournal.com/knowledge-wi...
Reposted by Tobita Chow
Damn axios has an accurate headline for once.
The left smells blood after shocking Democratic primary result
"I definitely think this points to progressive anti-establishment energy," one centrist Democrat acknowledged.
www.axios.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:40 AM
Damn axios has an accurate headline for once.
Reposted by Tobita Chow
The US seeks price floors with allies to build ex-China mineral supply chains.
If US allies and trading partners start pricing US political risk alongside Chinese leverage, Western minerals coordination will get much harder to sustain.
My latest at @piie.com.
www.piie.com/blogs/realti...
If US allies and trading partners start pricing US political risk alongside Chinese leverage, Western minerals coordination will get much harder to sustain.
My latest at @piie.com.
www.piie.com/blogs/realti...
Is the US posing a hidden risk in the West’s critical minerals strategy?
The Trump administration’s recent official guidance on supply chain vulnerabilities related to critical minerals reached a striking conclusion. US policymakers are acknowledging that the United States...
www.piie.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:26 PM
The US seeks price floors with allies to build ex-China mineral supply chains.
If US allies and trading partners start pricing US political risk alongside Chinese leverage, Western minerals coordination will get much harder to sustain.
My latest at @piie.com.
www.piie.com/blogs/realti...
If US allies and trading partners start pricing US political risk alongside Chinese leverage, Western minerals coordination will get much harder to sustain.
My latest at @piie.com.
www.piie.com/blogs/realti...
incredible day for sickos
February 6, 2026 at 10:22 PM
incredible day for sickos
"Beneath the headline numbers lies a global economy that is fragile, uneven, and increasingly ill‑equipped to deliver sustained and inclusive growth." unctad.org/news/mirage-...
The mirage of global economic resilience
By Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs
unctad.org
February 6, 2026 at 9:19 PM
"Beneath the headline numbers lies a global economy that is fragile, uneven, and increasingly ill‑equipped to deliver sustained and inclusive growth." unctad.org/news/mirage-...