left globalist | immigrant | Chicagoland | he/him
Illinois, USA
Joined January 2011
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Tobita Chow retweeted
State Department's top economic official alleges "resurgence of FAR-LEFT POLITICAL TERRORISM," adding: "We will dismantle terrorist networks that threaten our people, disrupt their financing, and bring their perpetrators to justice."
Tobita Chow retweeted
To clarify, I still think Chinese FDI can offer tech benefits to the US through two channels:
1. Older tech: China's export controls put limits on transferring cutting-edge tech. But ironically I see this as enabling greater transfer of older generation tech. Beijing is encouraging Chinese companies to invest overseas while setting some boundaries on what can be shared rather than leaving this up to private firms.
2. Informal know-how: Arguably much if not most of China's gains from foreign tech were not in formal IP transfer, which foreign firms guarded closely, but from informal know-how. When you build a new plant and train a bunch of local staff and work with local suppliers, this can have huge positive spillovers far beyond engineering blueprints and design patents. For example, a lot of China's edge in LFP batteries is knowing how to reliably and efficiently scale production.
China will not make tech transfer easy. But neither did the US or other countries when they invested in China. Ultimately it boils down to how hard the host country bargains and what forms of leverage they can bring to bear. And the US has tremendous leverage, particularly at a time when Chinese firms are desperate for overseas markets.
Re-upping my piece on how China did this with FDI: highcapacity.org/p/chinas-fa…
Tobita Chow retweeted
Hate to defend Slotkin of all people, but if you're involved in illegal activities while in government you should face consequences.
By the same token, members of the military leadership need to be put in prison for the extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean.
ON UCHICAGO CAMPUS: U.S. Senator from Michigan Elissa Slotkin hopes planned political prosecutions of republican leaders will scare young conservatives from getting involved in politics.
@ElissaSlotkin
Tobita Chow retweeted
xi's china has been probably the single largest implementation of "law" and legal institutions ever in human history. it's just objective reality whether or not one is happy with the results
Huang exposes a major flaw in the China Model: why an economic boom under Deng but a retreat under Xi? Deng moved China away from Mao's totalitarianism toward the rule of law; Xi is moving backward. Dynamic movement, not static systems, determines growth. 2/3
ALT Excerpt from "Statism with Chinese Characteristics" (2nd ed. 2026) by Yasheng Huang. Screenshot taken from Yasheng Huang's Substack article: https://yashenghuang.substack.com/p/a-true-of-story-of-how-china-took?r=16uub&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Tobita Chow retweeted
Bari Weiss pushed CBS to link Abdul El-Sayed to the September 11 attacks and place James Talarico at a mental health center in Ohio when he was sick with the flu
Link in following post
A rotting tree can look superficially robust and then collapse without warning but also the way this works in the Pacific Northwest is that sometimes by the time this happens a new tree has already started growing on and through the decaying remnants of the old
Tobita Chow retweeted
bulwark host bill kristol offers no pushback in this clip of james carville saying he would rather the republicans keep the house by 5, so that democrats aren't "hostage to the dsa."
and at the end of the interview, carville says he isn't voting himself! you can't make this up!
Tobita Chow retweeted
Investors have lost faith in the reported financials of AI companies, regulators have been bled dry, and the big four audit firms are captured. Just a “another casualty of deregulation.” Almost as if there’s a role for government in supporting the healthy functioning of markets!
Tobita Chow retweeted
This is the same “guilty until proven innocent” racism that led to Japanese American incarceration during WWII. Presuming they held dual loyalty, the gov’t then required incarcerated US citizens to “forswear allegiance to the Japanese Emperor” before they could be released.
Unless Abdul El-Sayed can unequivocally condemn the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, SJP, the IRGC, and Hasan Piker, Barack Obama should absolutely not campaign with him.
I understand and support the drive to win majorities in Congress, but we Democrats will be doing immeasurable harm to ourselves if we drop all standards and violate our best principles in pursuit of that goal.
Tobita Chow retweeted
Truly unhinged
Apoiadores de Flávio Bolsonaro levam míssil inflável com pedido para Trump bombardear o Brasil a ato na Paulista oglobo.globo.com/politica/el…
Tobita Chow retweeted
Europe has caved to the fossil lobbies because it cannot get its act together for state-driven structural transformation.
this is an admission of defeat to Made in China 2025 industrial policy.
it is also terrible climate policy.
Tobita Chow retweeted
“Hit Iran to hit China” was the dumbest theory that very real wonks and active duty troops said to my face and put in writing. Guys at the war colleges--colonels--had close to a consensus about the China theory of it all in spite of all evidence and reason to the contrary
One of my favorite popular theories from early in the war was the notion that attacking Iran was part of Trump's grand strategy to deprive China of its sources of oil--moving against Venezuela and then Iran in sequence.
Anyway, China's response to the war was to cut its oil imports, which it did with little trouble. Meanwhile, the US will be buying diesel from Russia.
'the United States is sending upwards of 600 soldiers to Latin America to train local forces.... There is a long history of U.S. troops being sent to the region under the guise of the “war on drugs” but playing a much larger, destructive role'
Check out this week's newsletter for original reporting on the struggle for education in Chile. Read as well about U.S. arms for Guatemala, Colombia's embassy in Jerusalem, Costa Rica's mega-prison, and more.
nacla.salsalabs.org/oct_16_2…
Today, I received a threatening letter at my Grand Rapids, Michigan office that contained unidentified white powder. The letter, which claimed to be from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), made a direct and specific reference to an impending “civil war” beginning after the election. The letter sent to my office is similar to those received at other congressional offices across the country. The DSA has not yet addressed the attacks, either to condemn them or to take or deny responsibility. The Grand Rapids Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) responded immediately.
Threats and extremism are not signs of strength—they are signs of a weak mind and weak character. Political intimidation has no place in our democracy, and leaders must condemn it, not excuse it. I’ll keep standing up to bullies on the right and the left.
Tobita Chow retweeted
Truly disgusting what the Republican Party and parts of our media have normalized on this country. Just open naked racism and bigotry and mockery of minorities. Can you imagine a Muhammad or Abdullah in the schoolground getting bullied by kids who heard the president do it first?
Chicago, this Sunday I'm on a panel with @mattduss, @shaghdoosti and @jwdwerner discussing Matt's new book on progressive foreign policy eventbrite.com/e/what-would-…
