
Budgie Smuggler
2.6K posts




US intelligence indicates that China is preparing to provide Iran with air defense systems in a matter of weeks, CNN reported. Beijing is expected to ship shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles known as Man-Portable Air Defense Systems. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…











When Poland began its post-communist reforms in 1992, its GDP per capita was roughly where South Africa's is today. Twenty years later, Polish living standards had doubled. South Africa, over the past decade, has averaged near-zero per capita growth. I compared five countries that faced critical junctures: Chile, Poland, India, Germany and Argentina. I investigated the political conditions that enabled sustained growth. The pattern is consistent: crises open windows, but only credible political settlements turn them into lasting prosperity. South Africa's reform window has perhaps two to three years. The GNU must deliver visible improvements before that window closes. We really are at the fork. One path leads to doubled living standards in a generation. The other leads to Argentina's pattern of fleeting hope followed by reversal. Full article: ourlongwalk.com/p/mind-the-gap…





NATO collective defense obligation under Article 5 applies to help US in the event it needs help.

















