When it comes to being an international superpower, perhaps the most important asset that a nation can harbor is leverage…with or without good will.

For the United States, there are plenty of factors that combine to make us the world stage’s premier actor:  Our economy, our military, and our culture, all of which are exported to other nations in one way or another.

For Russia, it’s their shamelessness and ruthlessness, combined with their willingness to exert their potent military assets in places where they know that they’ll be ostracized for it.

But for China, it’s the exploitation of their population.  Not only does the Communist regime allow for the labor force to work for pennies in dangerously under-regulated industries, but the buying power of the Chinese people has long been one of the most potent weapons in Beijing’s arsenal.

Of course, to keep the Chinese people happy, their leaders censor and distort reality, in an effort to further hone the ability to exploit them for influence around the world. This means that those under Chinese rule may not have any idea about the atrocities that the CCP regularly commits against them.

More worrisome still is the fact that China seems to be exporting this exploitation to locales that do not pledge allegiance to Beijing.

An episode of The Simpsons in which the cartoon American family visit Tiananmen Square is missing from the Disney+ streaming service in Hong Kong, adding to concerns about mainland China-style censorship in the city.

The Hong Kong version started streaming earlier this month and eagle-eyed customers soon noticed the conspicuous absence of The Simpsons episode 12 of season 16.

First airing in 2005, the episode features the family’s trip to China in which matriarch Marge Simpson’s sister tries to adopt a baby.

In one scene, the Simpsons are at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, the site of a deadly 1989 crackdown against democracy protesters. The cartoon shows a sign there that reads “On this site, in 1989, nothing happened” — a satirical nod to China’s campaign to purge memories of what happened.

It then shows Marge’s sister standing before a tank, referencing the famous photo from the Tiananmen crackdown of a lone man standing in front of a tank.

Later in the episode, the subject of Tibet was broached as well, which is undoubtedly something that China doesn’t wish to speak about publicly.

This is far from the first time that China has used their population’s economic power as a deterrent against criticism, having briefly, (but effectively), boycotted the NBA after staff for one of the teams made a social media post in support of Hong Kong’s independence.

When it comes to being an international superpower, perhaps the most important asset that a nation can harbor is leverage…with or without good will. For the United States, there are plenty of factors that combine to make us the world stage’s premier actor:  Our economy, our military, and our culture, all of which are exported to other nations in one way or another. For Russia, it’s their shamelessness and ruthlessness, combined with their willingness to exert their potent military assets in places where they know that they’ll be ostracized for it. But for China, it’s the exploitation of their population.  Not only does the Communist regime allow for the labor force to work for pennies in dangerously under-regulated industries, but the buying power of the Chinese people has long been one of the most potent weapons in Beijing’s arsenal. Of course, to keep the Chinese people happy, their leaders censor and distort reality, in an effort to further hone the ability to exploit them for influence around the world. This means that those under Chinese rule may not have any idea about the atrocities that the CCP regularly commits against them. More worrisome still is the fact that China seems to be exporting this exploitation to locales that do not pledge allegiance to Beijing. An episode of The Simpsons in which the cartoon American family visit Tiananmen Square is missing from the Disney+ streaming service in Hong Kong, adding to concerns about mainland China-style censorship in the city. The Hong Kong version started streaming earlier this month and eagle-eyed customers soon noticed the conspicuous absence of The Simpsons episode 12 of season 16. First airing in 2005, the episode features the family’s trip to China in which matriarch Marge Simpson’s sister tries to adopt a baby. In one scene, the Simpsons…

While this particular time of year has traditionally been celebrated with gift-giving and spending time around the dinner table with loved ones, there are serious concerns about the viability of that visage in Joe Biden’s America.

The largely-ineffective President, (who appeared reluctant to run for office in the first place), has been struggling to juggle a number of compounding crises of late.  Of particular importance during these last weeks of the year is the economy – an issue that Joe Biden has been simply unable to wrangle.  Inflation continues to defy the “experts” who’ve proclaimed it to be transitory, and there are serious supply chain issues that threaten to leave plenty of empty space both under the Christmas tree and in the kitchen.

Now, to make matters worse, American farmers are growing alarmed over a new supply shortage. 

Nitrogen fertilizer is in short supply, and its cost is skyrocketing as a result. This could not only translate into higher prices in everything from bread to meat in the coming months, but the shortage is forcing farmers to make dicey gambles about the fall and upcoming spring planting season. A slew of factors are behind the shortage, including record low temperatures in Texas earlier this year and Hurricane Ida’s slamming of production facilities in Louisiana in August, per the Weather Channel. A post at Ag Week, meanwhile, blames “a rare combination of supply chain issues that have tightened supplies,” including high prices for natural gas, a key component in the fertilizer.

The trouble could easily spill over into the new year.

“There’s going to be a lot of people who wait and see,” Daren Coppock of the Agricultural Retailers Association tells Reuters. “(But) if everybody’s scrambling in the spring to get enough, somebody’s corn isn’t going to get covered.”

Given Joe Biden’s record on easing economic burdens on America, there are many throughout rural America who are not anticipating much help from Washington.

While this particular time of year has traditionally been celebrated with gift-giving and spending time around the dinner table with loved ones, there are serious concerns about the viability of that visage in Joe Biden’s America. The largely-ineffective President, (who appeared reluctant to run for office in the first place), has been struggling to juggle a number of compounding crises of late.  Of particular importance during these last weeks of the year is the economy – an issue that Joe Biden has been simply unable to wrangle.  Inflation continues to defy the “experts” who’ve proclaimed it to be transitory, and there are serious supply chain issues that threaten to leave plenty of empty space both under the Christmas tree and in the kitchen. Now, to make matters worse, American farmers are growing alarmed over a new supply shortage.  Nitrogen fertilizer is in short supply, and its cost is skyrocketing as a result. This could not only translate into higher prices in everything from bread to meat in the coming months, but the shortage is forcing farmers to make dicey gambles about the fall and upcoming spring planting season. A slew of factors are behind the shortage, including record low temperatures in Texas earlier this year and Hurricane Ida’s slamming of production facilities in Louisiana in August, per the Weather Channel. A post at Ag Week, meanwhile, blames “a rare combination of supply chain issues that have tightened supplies,” including high prices for natural gas, a key component in the fertilizer. The trouble could easily spill over into the new year. “There’s going to be a lot of people who wait and see,” Daren Coppock of the Agricultural Retailers Association tells Reuters. “(But) if everybody’s scrambling in the spring to get enough, somebody’s corn isn’t going to get covered.” Given Joe…