Wait, China Is Gonna Buy Oil From WHERE?

"They're looking to explore Alaska" is the latest word on how Communist China might reduce its dependence on uncertain Persian Gulf oil imports, according to a Fox News report on Thursday. 

As you must know by now, President Donald Trump and his impressive entourage are in Beijing for a two-day summit with Chinese Communist Party boss Xi Jinping, which always makes for great TV. I grew up watching presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George H.W. Bush meet with an accelerating array of Soviet party bosses, usually so that they could agree that neither side would build more nuclear missiles than it takes to blow up the world 30 times, instead of the previously agreed-to 25 times.

Then there was that time in 1986 at Reykjavik when the Soviets were so close to being flat on their backs that Mikhail Gorbachev proposed that both sides give up their entire nuclear arsenals — "Nuke Free in '93!" or some drivel like that — if Reagan would just give up his silly notions about missile defense.

Nyet, comrade. 

The point is that back then, these things were tense because one bad summit might mean the end of the world.

Nuclear Armageddon isn't on the table with China — or at least not quite yet — but both sides wage Cold War II along parameters like trade where the Soviets were basically a nonentity, or in fields like AI that didn't exist during the first Cold War.

While modern summits lack the nuclear drama, the stakes and the tension still run high. Heck, Chinese journalists — government scribes just like our own but without the moral preening — trampled a White House aide on Thursday. The New York Post reported that one member of the U.S. delegation called the whole thing a “s—tshow."

Still, better than last year.

2025 was a tough one for Trump's China policy. Trump wanted yuge tariffs (among other policies) to incentivize further decoupling from China, but Xi yanked his chain by playing the rare earths card.

Both sides backed off a bit, avoiding a full-fledged trade war, but developments in 2026 rearranged the chessboard.

Trump moved China-aligned Venezuela into the American camp, and he's still in the prolooooonged process of at least neutralizing Beijing's Middle East source of discounted oil, Iran. Also, the rare earths card can only be played once. Last year, the entire West let out a collective, "Oh hell, we really did deindustrialize the strategic supply chain," and began the long process of re-shoring and friend-shoring production.

Everyone understands that it'll take years to eliminate our dependence on Chinese rare earths. What's less appreciated, however, is Xi actually showed a weak hand when Trump forced him to play his biggest, um, trump card so early in the game.

But while the rest of the world (including Yours Truly) is starting to get a little anxious over what happens to the Islamic Republic and the ongoing struggle for the Strait of Hormuz, Beijing needs a reliable source of oil and gas.

We're on Day One of the summit, and China already agreed to buy 200 American commercial jets from Boeing — take that, Euroweenies and your silly Airbus planes — and discussions are reportedly going well on increased purchases of American farm products. 

As one Fox New commentator just put it, "I'm encouraged that we're talking about selling them oil and gas, and I spoke to the senator from Alaska yesterday, and he was telling me that [China] was looking to explore Alaska." 

As I said, it's better than last year. Much better.

Now if we could just get their reporters to trample our reporters, that would be the best. 

https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2026/05/14/wait-china-is-gonna-buy-oil-from-where-n4952868

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham Launches His Bid for Labour Party Leadership and British Premiership, as Multiple MPs Are Gunning for Keir Starmer’s Job

Manchester Mayor Andy Brunham

Burnham throws his hat on the ring.

Now that it’s become clear that failing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer won’t ever resign, things are in motion with multiple MPs angling to challenge his leadership.

After the ‘Blairite’ Health Secretary Wes Streeting, from the ‘right wing’ of the party, a leader of the hard left is also joining the fray.

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has made his move to replace Starmer within weeks, as he launches a campaign to return to Parliament in a by-election.

The Telegraph reported:

“The Mayor of Greater Manchester announced his intention to run in a by-election for the Makerfield seat on Thursday, after Josh Simons, a scandal-hit Labour MP, said he would resign to make way.

Mr. Burnham’s gambit came just hours after Wes Streeting resigned as health secretary decrying the ‘vacuum’ and lack of “vision” of Sir Keir’s leadership and demanding the Prime Minister set a timetable for his departure.”

But the election may turn out not to be so easy. Reform UK has surged in popularity in Makerfield, and leader Nigel Farage pledged to ‘throw absolutely everything’ at the race.

“Announcing he would be requesting permission from the NEC to run in the by-election, Mr Burnham made a coded reference to his leadership ambitions, saying that he hoped to ‘change Labour for the better’ and ‘make it a party you can believe in again’.

He pledged to deploy his own brand of Labour politics, dubbed ‘Manchesterism’, countrywide. Mr Burnham added: ‘There is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people’.”

“I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election.

I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.

Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic.

Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures.

However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.

Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place.

I want to recognize the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that.

Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.

Read more:

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/05/manchester-mayor-andy-burnham-launches-his-bid-labour/

The Democrat-Created Crime Wave

America has a crime problem. That's no secret.

That, in itself, is not exactly unprecedented. We have had crime waves before, with the 1970s being the worst that I personally remember, when everything seemed to be falling apart. 

Other crime waves have been driven by particular problems, especially the spread of crack or gang violence related to drug sales. 

The 70s crime wave was driven by many things, but the underlying issue was a bulge in the teen and early 20s population—the demographic most likely to commit crimes. 

What makes this crime wave special is its concentration. In fact, crime is, overall, nearing historic lows in some ways, likely driven by the decline in the birth rate. 

The new crime wave results entirely from government policies, especially immigration and "criminal justice reform." 

In other words, this crime wave is not the result of natural phenomena: it is the result of a set of policy choices made by radicals who seem to want certain kinds of crime to explode. 

🚨 HOLD ROGUE JUDGES ACCOUNTABLE: Calls are exploding to impeach and hold liable the Chicago judge who released a known dangerous criminal, who then went on to murder Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew.

“The judge said NO!”

Alphanso Talley had prior convictions for armed robbery and using a gun in a carjacking. Blood is on this judge’s hands.

This is the deadly result of activist judges and the insane no-cash-bail policies destroying Chicago. Enough is enough.

Time to end the madness.

When I say that we have a crime wave at the same time that many crime statistics have moved in the right direction, it seems contradictory. But it really isn't, because there is a category of crimes that stands out: repeat offenders, whom the criminal justice system keeps putting out on the streets, escalating their criminal activity until they commit some crime so horrendous that they finally get incarcerated. 

🚨 WTF?! Deep-blue Cook County, Illinois authorities have just LOST TRACK of *21 MURDERERS*, 13 attempted murderers, and 29 sexual assaulters

A total of 243 criminals were on electric monitors such as ankle bracelets — and it failed

Democrats are literally putting American LIVES at risk. These criminals could go wreak havoc! 

ILLINOIS IS A FAILED STATE UNDER JB PRITZKER

These criminals should be BEHIND BARS.

So while overall, murders are down, a certain category of murders has become almost epidemic. Crazy people shoving old men and women down in subways, schizophrenics attacking people on the street, blinding or killing them. Random people getting killed on light rail cars, as happened twice in Charlotte. 

NEW: Repeat offender who had already been arrested several times this year, including for two assaults, killed an elderly man in an unprovoked attack in NYC. 

Hours before the attack, the NYPD had taken Rhamell Burke to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation after he was reportedly acting irrationally on a Penn Station platform. Mysteriously, he was released just one hour later.

A few hours later  Burke shoved 76-year-old Ross Falzone, a retired teacher, to his death down subway stairs in Manhattan.

Burke was arrested three times in February for assaulting a police officer, burglary, and resisting arrest.

In April, he was arrested again for assaulting a stranger. He was later granted supervised release at arraignment.

There is a large group of "known wolves" who commit the vast majority of violent crimes, and the only reason they have remained on the streets is that some judge or prosecutor actively decided to release them back onto the streets. 

It's not just Soros prosecutors, who are bad enough. But at least they can often be removed and replaced at the ballot box. Judges are now talking about expressing their true selves on the bench by letting criminals go. 

How does a criminal justice system "lose" murderers and rapists who were let back out onto the streets? Easy: the system is no longer designed to protect citizens from predators. 

A system's purpose is what it does. Our welfare system is designed to maximize fraud. Our homeless industrial complex is designed to maximize homelessness and harvest money from their suffering. And our criminal justice system is designed to release violent criminals into society, at least in places like Cook County or Fairfax, Virginia. 

When government agencies started doing "harm reduction" for drug addicts, the point wasn't to help drug addicts on the street, but to fund NGOs that could monetize their suffering. Who distributes all those needles and crack pipes? How much money gets funneled to the NGOs? How many addicts are suddenly registered to vote, and who casts those votes for them?

The system is what it does. And what our criminal justice system does is release criminals and chaos, with the intent of destroying social trust, which is, in many ways, the enemy of technocratic rule and rampant corruption. 

https://hotair.com/david-strom/2026/05/14/hows-that-decarceration-push-going-n3814941