ArmchairAsia
@armchairasia.bsky.social
Washington, DC based observer of US-Japan and US-Northeast Asia relations.
Trump's is the DEATH Presidency. Every decision, every act he pursues does and will end in someone's death. From cutting the weather service and park rangers to ending after school program and famine relief, all result in the eventual death of someone if not millions.
July 6, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Trump's is the DEATH Presidency. Every decision, every act he pursues does and will end in someone's death. From cutting the weather service and park rangers to ending after school program and famine relief, all result in the eventual death of someone if not millions.
Reposted by ArmchairAsia
"With the passage of Trump's death bill, we face the prospect of many great harms, including an archipelago of concentration camps across the United States."
snyder.substack.com/p/concentrat...
snyder.substack.com/p/concentrat...
Concentration Camp Labor
Cannot Become Normal
snyder.substack.com
July 4, 2025 at 4:07 PM
"With the passage of Trump's death bill, we face the prospect of many great harms, including an archipelago of concentration camps across the United States."
snyder.substack.com/p/concentrat...
snyder.substack.com/p/concentrat...
The #KEVINHASSETT quote missed on #FaceTheNation, is "we've seen lots of deals that have been finalized by our negotiators, and then the President finds things that could make them better." In other words, Trump finds where to grift for himself before a deal can be made.
July 6, 2025 at 8:59 PM
The #KEVINHASSETT quote missed on #FaceTheNation, is "we've seen lots of deals that have been finalized by our negotiators, and then the President finds things that could make them better." In other words, Trump finds where to grift for himself before a deal can be made.
Hang Tough Japan. Keep saying NO! Trump will learn that ALL supplies chains run through Japan. Your leverage is great. China will soon look like a minor problem.
Trump Said Trade Deals Would Come Easy. Japan Is Proving Him Wrong.
Difficult talks with many nations cast doubt on next week’s deadline. “We can do whatever we want,” Trump said.
www.wsj.com
July 2, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Hang Tough Japan. Keep saying NO! Trump will learn that ALL supplies chains run through Japan. Your leverage is great. China will soon look like a minor problem.
Karma. If Japan had honestly addressed their aggressive trade policies with autos, auto parts, and steel, as well s excessive tariffs on rice decades ago, Mr. Japan would not have found himself in today's huge national economic problem. The bill has come due.
Trump plans to slap Japan with new tariffs amid stalled negotiations
“We’ll just be sending them a letter,” Trump said, after suggesting Japan wouldn’t agree to boost U.S. rice imports.
www.politico.com
July 1, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Karma. If Japan had honestly addressed their aggressive trade policies with autos, auto parts, and steel, as well s excessive tariffs on rice decades ago, Mr. Japan would not have found himself in today's huge national economic problem. The bill has come due.
It’s looking increasingly likely that the world’s richest man got played and DOGE was a scam meant to destroy American institutions. Actually, it was obvious from the start.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/14/e...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/14/e...
Elon Musk Was Donald Trump’s Useful Idiot
It’s looking increasingly likely that the world’s richest man got played.
foreignpolicy.com
May 15, 2025 at 5:59 PM
It’s looking increasingly likely that the world’s richest man got played and DOGE was a scam meant to destroy American institutions. Actually, it was obvious from the start.
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/14/e...
foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/14/e...
Congress has allowed Trump to rip up the fundamentals of American intelligence gathering to the benefit of all our foes. Foreign and development aid generates goodwill, strong ties, and good intelligence. on.ft.com/44F6Cfc
Xi and Putin are the greatest beneficiaries of Trump’s chaos
Russia and China are unlikely to remain bystanders as America sorts out its own mess
on.ft.com
May 14, 2025 at 4:53 PM
Congress has allowed Trump to rip up the fundamentals of American intelligence gathering to the benefit of all our foes. Foreign and development aid generates goodwill, strong ties, and good intelligence. on.ft.com/44F6Cfc
“We concluded that we have a shared interest,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in Geneva following talks with senior Chinese officials over the weekend. “The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling.” Well that will disappoint the China Hawks.
May 13, 2025 at 12:10 AM
“We concluded that we have a shared interest,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in Geneva following talks with senior Chinese officials over the weekend. “The consensus from both delegations is that neither side wanted a decoupling.” Well that will disappoint the China Hawks.
Reposted by ArmchairAsia
Journalists are trying to understand Trump’s irrational behavior, and are generally unwilling to consider the possibility that it's not some grand strategy, but a madman with increasingly diminished mental faculties.
There Is No Method to Trump’s Madness. He’s Simply Insane.
His defenders try to apply reason to his erratic, nonsensical decisions. That’s a fool’s errand—but fools abound in this administration.
newrepublic.com
March 22, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Journalists are trying to understand Trump’s irrational behavior, and are generally unwilling to consider the possibility that it's not some grand strategy, but a madman with increasingly diminished mental faculties.
Trump Sec of Transportation Duffy, on March 19, 2025 shows clip of TOKYO subway while talking about the scourge of NYC's subways...the viewer is supposed to believe the clip is of NYC...
www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bxy...
www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bxy...
March 22, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Trump Sec of Transportation Duffy, on March 19, 2025 shows clip of TOKYO subway while talking about the scourge of NYC's subways...the viewer is supposed to believe the clip is of NYC...
www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bxy...
www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bxy...
Outrageous. But now we will know exactly where this information came from when our assets tell us that the briefing has turned up on Putin's and Xi's desks. Which slide will give it away...
Musk Set to Get Access to Top-Secret U.S. Plan for Potential War With China
Giving Elon Musk access to some of the nation’s most closely guarded military secrets is a major expansion of his role as an adviser to President Trump and highlights his conflicts of interest.
www.nytimes.com
March 21, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Outrageous. But now we will know exactly where this information came from when our assets tell us that the briefing has turned up on Putin's and Xi's desks. Which slide will give it away...
Reposted by ArmchairAsia
People need to be crystal clear about something: The requirement that the government ANSWER to a court on the legal basis for detaining someone is literally the core liberty right (habeas corpus). If the government says they don’t have to do that bc “national security,” YOU can be disappeared.
March 18, 2025 at 4:51 AM
People need to be crystal clear about something: The requirement that the government ANSWER to a court on the legal basis for detaining someone is literally the core liberty right (habeas corpus). If the government says they don’t have to do that bc “national security,” YOU can be disappeared.
Trump's attack on the American mind
His dismantling of America's intellectual and cultural infrastructure also destroys American global supremacy and knowledge leadership. He is a Vandal.
His dismantling of America's intellectual and cultural infrastructure also destroys American global supremacy and knowledge leadership. He is a Vandal.
Trump's attack on the American mind
Behind his closure of the Education Department, his assault on higher education, on science, and on libraries and museums, lie the oligarchs of the techno-state.
open.substack.com
March 20, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Trump's attack on the American mind
His dismantling of America's intellectual and cultural infrastructure also destroys American global supremacy and knowledge leadership. He is a Vandal.
His dismantling of America's intellectual and cultural infrastructure also destroys American global supremacy and knowledge leadership. He is a Vandal.
Europeans reaching out to take in American scientists and researchers defunded and dismissed by Trump. A Union of Skills.
Europe scrambles to help researchers escape Trump
EU science ministers are calling on the European Commission to stand ready to welcome US researchers threatened by Donald Trump’s ongoing tightening of restrictions on US science and provide them with...
sciencebusiness.net
March 20, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Europeans reaching out to take in American scientists and researchers defunded and dismissed by Trump. A Union of Skills.
When will the Republicans see what a loser and sucker Trump is? Putin is taking him to the cleaners.
The trap Vladimir Putin has set for Donald Trump
The Russian president wants to suggest that Ukraine is just a detail in a wider relationship
www.economist.com
March 20, 2025 at 6:15 PM
When will the Republicans see what a loser and sucker Trump is? Putin is taking him to the cleaners.
We should have read this the first time about Vought and his plan to vandalize American.
“Put Them in Trauma”: Inside a Key MAGA Leader’s Plans for a New Trump Agenda
Private videos reveal Trump adviser Russ Vought’s “shadow” plans for using the military on protesters, defunding the EPA and villainizing civil servants.
www.propublica.org
March 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
We should have read this the first time about Vought and his plan to vandalize American.
Everyday you ask what is wrong with these Trump people?
www.cbsnews.com/news/playing...
www.cbsnews.com/news/playing...
Playing in harmony, despite the president's DEI executive order
Veteran military musicians stepped in after President Trump's executive order banning DEI programs throughout the government forced the cancellation of a planned Marine Band collaboration with teens.
www.cbsnews.com
March 17, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Everyday you ask what is wrong with these Trump people?
www.cbsnews.com/news/playing...
www.cbsnews.com/news/playing...
How can this erasure of words be legal in the U.S.?
The Words Federal Agencies Are Removing From Their Sites Under Trump
Federal agencies have issued guidance to employees on hundreds of terms to limit or avoid using. An analysis of government websites shows many of the same words being removed.
www.nytimes.com
March 7, 2025 at 7:19 PM
How can this erasure of words be legal in the U.S.?
“When you see important societal actors — be it university presidents, media outlets, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors — changing their behavior in order to avoid the wrath of the government, that’s a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism,” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...
Fearing Retribution, Trump Critics Muzzle Themselves
People say they are intimidated by online attacks from the president, concerned about harm to their businesses or worried about the safety of their families.
www.nytimes.com
March 6, 2025 at 9:45 PM
“When you see important societal actors — be it university presidents, media outlets, C.E.O.s, mayors, governors — changing their behavior in order to avoid the wrath of the government, that’s a sign that we’ve crossed the line into some form of authoritarianism,” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...
Pentagon removes the word "history."
Every history should raise their voice on this.
Every history should raise their voice on this.
U.S. military removes words 'history,' 'respect,' 'dignity' from digital presence as part of DEI review
The Department of Defense issued a Digital Content Refresh document to comply with DEI removal from the armed services. TPR obtained a document laying out the guidance of what to remove.
www.tpr.org
March 5, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Pentagon removes the word "history."
Every history should raise their voice on this.
Every history should raise their voice on this.
Trump's war on history pervades many of his cuts to government funding and personnel. The brutality and senselessness of this policy--and it is a policy to erase history, denigrate expertise, and to stop knowledge creation--is highlighted by this fired Archeologist Park Ranger in Washington, DC.
Terminated NPS Archeologist: Historic Sites in NPS In Peril After DOGE Cuts
Erin Cagney was an archeologist with the National Park Service. She was one of thousands terminated by DOGE. Here she is in her own words.
www.dcreport.org
March 5, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Trump's war on history pervades many of his cuts to government funding and personnel. The brutality and senselessness of this policy--and it is a policy to erase history, denigrate expertise, and to stop knowledge creation--is highlighted by this fired Archeologist Park Ranger in Washington, DC.
U.S. State Department Shuts Down Pollution Monitoring Abroad
Another big win for our adversaries, especially China.
Trump is good at tearing apart things, can be build anything?
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/c...
Another big win for our adversaries, especially China.
Trump is good at tearing apart things, can be build anything?
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/c...
U.S. Embassies Halt Air Quality Monitoring Abroad
Since 2008, embassies and other diplomatic posts had been publishing data about local air quality. In many countries, it was the only reliable source of such information.
www.nytimes.com
March 4, 2025 at 11:30 PM
U.S. State Department Shuts Down Pollution Monitoring Abroad
Another big win for our adversaries, especially China.
Trump is good at tearing apart things, can be build anything?
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/c...
Another big win for our adversaries, especially China.
Trump is good at tearing apart things, can be build anything?
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/c...
Trump's war on science continues. He is kneecapping NOAA by ending the leases to their labs and workspace.
www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
MSN
www.msn.com
March 4, 2025 at 6:24 AM
Trump's war on science continues. He is kneecapping NOAA by ending the leases to their labs and workspace.
www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
www.msn.com/en-us/money/...
The must read.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Trump’s Disgrace
David Remnick on the temper of Trump’s Presidency—the threats and firings, the multiple DOGE fiascoes, the proposal to cleanse the Gaza Strip of two million Palestinians, and his showdown with Volodym...
www.newyorker.com
March 3, 2025 at 10:24 PM
The must read.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Last week, the dean of the Yale Divinity School commented on Trump's war on empathy.
"Trump’s USAID cuts are anti-Christian at the core"
By Gregory E. Sterling, dean, Yale Divinity School
MSNBC, Feb. 23, 2025
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
"Trump’s USAID cuts are anti-Christian at the core"
By Gregory E. Sterling, dean, Yale Divinity School
MSNBC, Feb. 23, 2025
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
March 3, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Last week, the dean of the Yale Divinity School commented on Trump's war on empathy.
"Trump’s USAID cuts are anti-Christian at the core"
By Gregory E. Sterling, dean, Yale Divinity School
MSNBC, Feb. 23, 2025
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
"Trump’s USAID cuts are anti-Christian at the core"
By Gregory E. Sterling, dean, Yale Divinity School
MSNBC, Feb. 23, 2025
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...