Discern Report is the fastest growing America First news aggregator in the nation.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, the Oklahoma Republican who is the ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is warning the Biden administration that America’s antagonists, including China and Russia, are moving ahead of the U.S. in defense spending.
Article by Bob Unruh from WND.
And that could end up with a bad result.
“We can’t spend our way out of our national security problems, but we can certainly spend too little to give ourselves a chance,” he warned, in a commentary at Real Clear Defense.
“The fact is, maintaining deterrence is about both how much money we spend and how well we spend that money – measured against the spending of our adversaries. What’s clear is that we’re lacking – and President Biden’s insufficient budget topline this year will only put China and Russia further ahead. We have to rectify this before it’s too late for us to catch up.”
He explained a “myth” that often is repeated that the U.S. defense budget is larger than the next 10 countries combined.
“You hear it all the time from progressives, led by the Senate Budget Committee chairman, in their arguments to cut funding for our military. It’s time to remove this false talking point from our vernacular. Here’s the truth: our defense budget is almost certainly smaller than the combined Chinese and Russian military budgets after you adjust for basic economic realities,” he said.
The first problem is that Chinese and Russian officials both manipulate their defense budgets, so actual spending is difficult to determine.
And, he pointed out, “Both Beijing and Moscow lie about just about everything—the coronavirus, genocide, poisoning political opponents—so it should be no surprise they intentionally hide significant parts of their defense spending.”
He noted, for example, the Chinese don’t report any research and development spending, and major parts of their space program and basing costs are absent.
Dr. Joseph Mercola said, “Synthetic meat is the epitome of ultraprocessed food, and it seems naïve to think it won’t have health effects similar to other ultraprocessed junk foods.” For All-American REAL beef raised in pastures, sous vide, then freeze-dried for long-term storage, visit Whole Cows and use promo code “no junk” at checkout.
The lack of information has been an ongoing problem, he said, but last year’s National Defense Authorization Act tasked the Pentagon and a research center to develop better tools.
He said those who “parrot” the “10 countries” claim often cite the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s results, but its measures are “not a good metric for measuring non-traded goods – like military equipment.”
“Here’s what that picture looks like using the more accurate purchasing power comparison: the SIPRI-reported 2017 Chinese defense budget of $228 billion actually equates to $467 billion, according to Heritage research. If you adjust that 2017 number to reflect four years of consistent and significant growth of the Chinese defense budget, as has been reported, that puts China’s defense budget at about $604 billion in 2021.”
He said, “Using the SIPRI market exchange rate data, Russia spends roughly the same amount on defense as the United Kingdom or France (about $55-60 billion USD each). Yet as two Russia experts, Michael Kofman and Richard Connolly, wrote, ‘One need not be a Russian military analyst to have a general appreciation for the fact that the Russian armed forces, including conventional and nuclear components, are vastly larger in size, greater in fielded capability, and in a higher state of readiness than those of France or the United Kingdom.’ They concluded that actual Russian expenditures likely top $200 billion in adjusted dollars and are sustainable in the long term.”
The bottom line is that China’s approximate $604 billion and Russia’s more than $200 billion surpasses America’s $741 billion budget.
And that doesn’t even account for “off-the-books” spending by America’s opponents.
“The United States needs to increase its defense spending to keep up with China and Russia in competition—and we need to innovate and out-think our adversaries, too,” he said. “This competition will require a whole-of-government national security approach with a strong military at its core.”
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
‘The Purge’ by Big Tech targets conservatives, including us
Just when we thought the Covid-19 lockdowns were ending and our ability to stay afloat was improving, censorship reared its ugly head.
For the last few months, NOQ Report, Conservative Playbook, and the American Conservative Movement have appealed to our readers for assistance in staying afloat through Covid-19 lockdowns. The downturn in the economy has limited our ability to generate proper ad revenue just as our traffic was skyrocketing. We had our first sustained stretch of three months with over a million visitors in November, December, and January, but February saw a dip.
It wasn’t just the shortened month. We expected that. We also expected the continuation of dropping traffic from “woke” Big Tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter, but it has actually been much worse than anticipated. Our Twitter account was banned. Both of our YouTube accounts were banned. Facebook “fact-checks” everything we post. Spotify canceled us. Medium canceled us. Apple canceled us. Why? Because we believe in the truth prevailing, and that means we will continue to discuss “taboo” topics.
The 2020 presidential election was stolen. You can’t say that on Big Tech platforms without risking cancellation, but we’d rather get cancelled for telling the truth rather than staying around to repeat mainstream media’s lies. They have been covering it up since before the election and they’ve convinced the vast majority of conservative news outlets that they will be harmed if they continue to discuss voter fraud. We refuse to back down. The truth is the truth.
The lies associated with Covid-19 are only slightly more prevalent than the suppression of valid scientific information that runs counter to the prescribed narrative. We should be allowed to ask questions about the vaccines, for example, as there is ample evidence for concern. One does not have to be an “anti-vaxxer” in order to want answers about vaccines that are still considered experimental and that have a track record in a short period of time of having side-effects, including death. One of our stories about the Johnson & Johnson “vaccine” causing blood clots was “fact-checked” and removed one day before the government hit the brakes on it. These questions and news items are not allowed on Big Tech which is just another reason we are getting canceled.
There are more topics that they refuse to allow. In turn, we refuse to stop discussing them. This is why we desperately need your help. The best way NOQ, CP, and ACM readers can help is to donate. Our Giving Fuel page makes it easy to donate one-time or monthly. Alternatively, you can donate through PayPal as well. We are on track to be short by about $4100 per month in order to maintain operations.
The second way to help is to become a partner. We’ve strongly considered seeking angel investors in the past but because we were paying the bills, it didn’t seem necessary. Now, we’re struggling to pay the bills. We had 5,657,724 sessions on our website from November, 2020, through February, 2021. Our intention is to elevate that to higher levels this year by focusing on a strategy that relies on free speech rather than being beholden to progressive Big Tech companies.
During that four-month stretch, Twitter and Facebook accounted for about 20% of our traffic. We are actively working on operating as if that traffic is zero, replacing it with platforms that operate more freely such as Gab, Parler, and others. While we were never as dependent on Big Tech as most conservative sites, we’d like to be completely free from them. That doesn’t mean we will block them, but we refuse to be beholden to companies that absolutely despise us simply because of our political ideology.
We’re heading in the right direction and we believe we’re ready talk to patriotic investors who want to not only “get in on the action” but more importantly who want to help America hear the truth. Interested investors should contact me directly with the contact button above.
Preparedness Resources for “Late Preppers”
* Subscribe to The Late Prepper newsletter
* Purchase preparedness supplies
* Inquire about precious metals
As the world spirals towards radical progressivism, the need for truthful journalism has never been greater. But in these times, we need as many conservative media voices as possible. Please help keep NOQ Report going.
Bitcoin: 32SeW2Ajn86g4dATWtWreABhEkiqxsKUGn
Covid variant BA.5 is spreading. It appears milder but much more contagious and evades natural immunity. Best to boost your immune system with new Z-Dtox and Z-Stack nutraceuticals from our dear friend, the late Dr. Vladimir Zelenko.