Tobita Chow
@tobitac.bsky.social
2.6K followers 760 following 1.6K posts
US-China, climate, politics, imperialism and world economy "feeds concerns about dual loyalties" Chicagoland | he/him
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Tobita Chow
unraveledpress.com
This is real. Chicago today.
donmoyn.bsky.social
Yeah, that is a tear gas canister being fired toward the retreating couple holding the baby
Reposted by Tobita Chow
fortune.com
U.S. GDP growth in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely driven by investment in data centers and information processing technology, according to Harvard economist Jason Furman. trib.al/uuOwM9w
Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says | Fortune
Is a U.S. without data centers a country without GDP growth?
trib.al
Reposted by Tobita Chow
oregonian.com
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson calls Sunday's naked bike ride in protest of the Portland ICE facility and and Trump troop deployment "the most threatening thing I’ve seen yet"

www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...
tobitac.bsky.social
Could the quoted official be stupid enough to actually believe this argument? Any competent government in this situation is going to prepare retaliatory measures ahead of time so they're ready to respond to actions they anticipate from the other side. But maybe this is beyond the current US govt
gwbstr.com
(quoted image from this seemingly well-sourced piece www.ft.com/content/fbc5...)
A second senior US official said Beijing was using the US commerce department action, which was introduced in late September, as a "total pretext"
to proceed with a policy that had been in the works for some time. "They could not pull something so elaborate together in two weeks," he said, referring to Beijing's rare-earth export controls. "The thing that was surprising is that they would do something that was so disproportionate. We are trying to
stay proportional. They are not."
tobitac.bsky.social
Indeed some US commentators like to point to China's export controls as evidence of the "China threat" that necessitates US export controls, which is a lot of fun
Reposted by Tobita Chow
gwbstr.com
More pointedly, I think they might be satisfied not to use this chokepoint if the United States were not trying to progressively choke Chinese tech-industrial advancement through export controls. I'm pretty mind-blown at US commentators' non-recognition of the parallelism here.
tobitac.bsky.social
This somewhat reminds me of fears that China might collapse the US economy by dumping US treasury bonds. I think they would do so only if they felt the relationship were unsalvageable and we were basically already on the brink of war. Or maybe if some desperate internal crisis forced them to do so
tobitac.bsky.social
This articles considers a scenario in which China intentionally pops the AI bubble and thereby collapses the US economy. I suppose that is part of the leverage they're wielding, but I think it's important to clarify that they don't want to actually do this. They want renewed access to the US market
ddayen.bsky.social
From me: China's threat to restrict rare earth minerals exports shows who really holds the cards in the trade war. We invented rare earth magnets and gave the production away; decades of bad ideas handed another country the ability to determine our economic future.
prospect.org/world/2025-1...
Why China Can Collapse the U.S. With One Decree
China holds a virtual monopoly over a product needed to produce the only thing holding up our economy right now. And it’s preparing to use that leverage.
prospect.org
Reposted by Tobita Chow
alexhan.bsky.social
Grateful to have outlets like @thetriibe.com on the ground and reporting the facts. ICE and federal agents are not deploying tear gas at "protesters" in Chicago. They are wantonly tear gassing entire neighborhoods and communities.
thetriibe.com
NEW — For the second time in less than a week, militarized federal agents deployed tear gas in a Chicago residential area.

Members of the media, Chicago police officers on the scene for crowd control, and the broader nearby community were also exposed to the tear gas.

thetriibe.com/2025/10/fede...
Federal agents gas Chicago’s East Side • The TRiiBE
For the second time in less than a week, militarized federal agents deployed tear gas in Chicago residential neighborhoods.
thetriibe.com
tobitac.bsky.social
The action is in the reaction. A shortcoming of the mass rally/march as a tactic is that it often fails to raise significant tension, allowing the enemy to just ignore it, which can be demoralizing. Luckily Stephen Miller, a zealous but incompetent authoritarian, has solved this problem for No Kings
Reposted by Tobita Chow
josephpolitano.bsky.social
Trump intermittently rediscovers that China is a large country that manufactures many things so a trade war with them has much larger economic costs than with e.g Brazil, so he keeps retreating from infinity tariffs to limited symbolic fights
tobitac.bsky.social
That was gonna be my suggestion
Reposted by Tobita Chow
crampell.bsky.social
Report examining the employment history data of more than 3m finance & tech workers at companies that rolled out office mandates found that turnover among women is almost three times as high as that of their male co-workers, and that women are more likely to take a lower position if they leave
Women are taking pay cuts as companies mandate return to office
Researchers are identifying several key factors behind why gender pay gap – which had narrowed steadily over the years – has suddenly widened.
www.washingtonpost.com
tobitac.bsky.social
‘“And I can tell you, trying to get leverage in front of a meeting with Donald Trump is a bad idea,” Bessent said.’

How odd that China’s leaders have gotten a very different impression from the events of the year so far, what’s up with that www.politico.com/newsletters/...
Operation De-escalation
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused China of making a major trade “miscalculation” last week, but he also said he was “optimistic” the two sides can resolve their disagreement through talks rathe...
www.politico.com
tobitac.bsky.social
The wishcasting by China hawks over the weekend got pretty intense
Reposted by Tobita Chow
70sbachchan.bsky.social
Argentina edition of Libertarian bible
Reposted by Tobita Chow
Reposted by Tobita Chow
thatguywasfly.bsky.social
One thing I want you to take from videos like this is the absolute cacophony of whistles and screams of "GET THE FUCK OUT OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD" from people in the streets and in buildings. And more and more people are at that point every day.
royalpratt.bsky.social
ICE/Border Patrol held a weapon on a guy who was demanding they show him their face in Rogers Park today
Reposted by Tobita Chow
radleybalko.bsky.social
See below for the incredible way Meta’s AI tool describes this video.
thetnholler.bsky.social
“YOU hit HER.”

CHICAGO - Trump’s ICE goons ram into a passing car after snatching someone, then brutally drag the female driver of the car they hit out of her car with guns drawn and arrest her too. (Her brother says she’s a citizen)
Reposted by Tobita Chow
thebulwark.com
George was just trying to get to work.

ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.

This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.
thebulwark.com
"They put me on suicide watch and they put me in the cell, I'm naked, in like a hospital dress and just a concrete bed with like a mattress, like a thin mattress and, they leave the light on 24/7."

@timmiller.bsky.social talked to a veteran who ICE wrongly detained and brutalized
tobitac.bsky.social
They don't want to do that, tho, this was pretty obviously meant to increase their leverage in negotiations
tobitac.bsky.social
So they really hate it when you follow them around and honk huh
realjakebroe.bsky.social
This is fascism. This is a police state. Masked men with guns in unmarked cars are driving through residential neighborhoods during the daytime looking to kidnap women and children.

Resist this. Never normalize this or else these fascists thugs will some day be used against you and your family.
Reposted by Tobita Chow
ashtonpittman.bsky.social
ICE left David, a 17-year-old boy, stranded on the side of Interstate 20 after pulling over his immigrant father, Hector, in Mississippi.

David began running in the scorching sun after the car and watched as it disappeared from sight—soon headed to a Louisiana ICE prison.

Here's their story.
ICE Stranded a 17-Year-Old on I-20 After Arresting His Father. The Mississippi Dad Now Faces Deportation.
A 17-year-old watched as ICE arrested his immigrant father, Hector, on I-20 in June. The family faces mounting legal fees and the risk of deportation.
www.mississippifreepress.org
Reposted by Tobita Chow
slackermom.bsky.social
Was just at a neighborhood school at dismissal. Hundreds of people with whistles surrounding the school and stationed down every block making sure ICE doesn’t snatch anyone. The same is happening at all the schools around here. I love my neighborhood and I love Chicago.
Reposted by Tobita Chow
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
My first thought was “wow I hope this guy didn’t give out his name because he could absolutely be charged” and yup, he is correct to stay anonymous.

This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.
On the other side was a mom and her 7-year-old daughter, pleading for his help.
"I wasn't planning on letting her stay, but I didn't know what the hell was going on," the man said of his Venezuelan migrant neighbors. But he quickly relented. The little girl was inconsolable and hid under his bed.
"I didn't want them to take her," said the man, who didn't want to be named because he fears he'll be targeted by federal authorities for his actions.
"I gave her my bedroom, and I just told her,
'Just stay there. Don't open, don't, shh, just stay quiet," he recalled telling the mom and daughter as he choked back tears.