Jamaica is a global producer of bauxite, a critical material used to produce aluminum. The Caribbean island, most well-known globally for its vibrant tourism industry, has exploited this red dirt for decades. While the industry remains profitable, there has been significant push-back recently, including a recent landmark Supreme Court ruling against a new mining project.

The importance of Red Dirt

In 2022, Jamaicas bauxite production totaled 7,048kt, up 22% from 2021, and the Caribbean island accounts for 2% of global bauxite production. The major global producers are Australia, China, Guinea, Brazil, and India; Jamaica hovers around the 10th place according to Statista, though other outlets put Jamaica in the seventh spot.

The top mining projects on the island are the St. Ann Bauxite Mine (owned by the government of Jamaica and New Day Aluminium), Windalco Mine (owned by United Company Rusal), and Alpart Project (owned by Jiuquan Iron and Steel: JISCO). In late 2021, United Company RUSAL (UC RUSAL) began making payments towards the US$35 million Bauxite Production Levy owed for the April 2018 to September 2021 period. In early June 2023, Mining Minister Floyd Green met with JISCO Alpart to discuss the companys plans for the reopening and resumption of plant operations, which has been stalled since 2019.

The post Bauxite: Jamaicas Lucrative Red Dirt appeared first on Geopolitical Monitor.

• China has been operating a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019 as part of its global intelligence-gathering efforts, according to a Biden administration official.
• The U.S. intelligence community has been aware of Chinas spying activities in Cuba and its broader expansion of intelligence operations worldwide.
• The Biden administration has intensified efforts to counter Chinas spying operations and claims to have made progress through diplomacy and other actions.
• The existence of the Chinese spy base was confirmed after reports that China and Cuba had reached an agreement to build an electronic eavesdropping station on the island, although the White House called the report inaccurate. Read More

The post US Confirms Chinese Spy Base in Cuba appeared first on The Clarion Project.

Bi-khim Hsiao, Taiwans Representative in the United States, is a familiar figure in the halls of power but she does not often make public speeches. So a recent talk and press conference by Ms. Hsiao deserve some attention.

The One China Policy, endorsed by the US and UN, does not recognize Taiwan Island as an independent country but as part of China, with the government in Beijing providing the official ambassadors to the US and UN. Hence Hsiao is not an ambassador but a representative, and her organization is known as the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO). Her presence and activities in the US are sensitive points in the US-China relationship, which is why she does not often make public appearances.

We might expect therefore that Hsiao had something of considerable consequence to communicate to an American audience. And so she did, but her message did not center exclusively on Taiwan. Hsiao and the reporters in attendance wished to discuss a country over 8000 km away from Taiwan, almost at the opposite end of Eurasia Ukraine.

The Tragedy of Ukraine in the eyes of Taipeis Representative

In her opening remarks, Hsiao stated: The Ukraine war has actually generated a lot more attention and interest in Taiwans defense needs. And so there has been an increase in initiatives to find ways to support Taiwan so that that tragedy will not be repeated in our scenario.

Tragedy indeed. Hsiao, like everyone else in the world, is well aware of the devastation that has been visited on Ukraine as a result of Bidens cruel proxy war on Russia using Ukrainians as cannon fodder. The tragedy of Ukraine has focused not only Hsiaos mind but mightily distressed all the people of Taiwan Island. This led to the landslide defeat in the 2022 local elections of Hsiaos Party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which is the home of secessionist sentiment and hostility to Beijing. The DPP was soundly thrashed by the Kuomintang (KMT), the Party that wishes to maintain the status quo with the mainland, leave in place the strategic ambiguity of the One China Policy and take a peaceful approach to Beijing.

The first thing that struck me about the press conference was the unreality of Hsiaos purpose, bordering on insanity. Here we had Taiwans envoy discussing war with Mainland China which has the largest PPP-GDP in the world and 18% of all of humanity. Taiwans population is 24 million, and it is the size of Maryland.

The bureau chief of the Christian Science Monitor, and host of the event, expressed a similar incredulity, asking in the opening question: Russia versus Ukraine is one thing, but China versus Taiwan is a much more extreme exampl......

Press TV June 15, 2023

A recently inked defense agreement has granted the US military an unimpeded access to Papua New Guinea (PNG) military bases, as part of Washingtons push to increase its military footprints in the Pacific to counter the influence of China.

The full text of the 15-year agreement was tabled in Papua New Guineas parliament on Wednesday evening and obtained by AFP for the first time, elucidating the details that have been closely guarded since the pact was signed in May.

The defense cooperation was drafted by the United States and Papua New Guinea as equals and sovereign partners, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in the signing ceremony last month.

With Papua New Guineas agreement, the United States will be able to station troops and vessels at six key ports and airports, including Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island and facilities in the capital Port Moresby, PNGs capital.

Access to Lombrum could be used to reinforce US facilities on Guam to the north, which could be a key base in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.

The agreement grants Washington unimpeded access to the sites to pre-position equipment, supplies and materiel, and have exclusive use of some base zones, where development and construction activities could be carried out.

Another contentious section of the agreement gives US authorities the exclusive right to exercise criminal jurisdiction over US personnel. however Papua New Guinea officials have denied this section in the contract.

Prime Minister James Marape has been forced to defend the deal against a wave of protests and criticism in the countrys universities, with some opponents questioning whether Papua New Guinea was signing away its sovereignty.

We have allowed our military to be eroded in the last 48 years, Marape said to the parliament on Wednesday evening. Sovereignty is defined by the robustness and strength of your military.

Former Prime Minister Peter ONeill slammed the deal with the Americans and warned that the United States is only considering their own interests, which do not align with PNGs security as it will become stuck in the middle of a war between two superpowers.

America is doing it for the protection of its own national interest, we all understand the geopolitics happening within our region, he said.

The Oceania country, which sits on an abundance of natural resources, is located in a key geopolitical zone near critical shipping routes and now is set at the center of a diplomatic tug-of-war between Washington and Beijing. PNG was the site of fierce battles during World War II.

China has repeatedly warned...

Egypt has 'applied' to join Brics, says Russian ambassador

By Ted Snider | The Libertarian Institute | June 14, 2023

There is a revealing difference between the peace proposals for the Russo-Ukrainian War that come from the Global South and peace proposals that come from the NATO-aligned West. For starters, no peace proposals have come from the West, while several have come from the Global South. But when the West talks of a negotiated settlement, they insist on Russia losing the war, granting the essential concessions first and only then negotiating the enforcement. The Global South just wants the killing to stop: first stop the war, then negotiate the settlement.

The West has made its position clear at every stage: dont call for a ceasefire or negotiate during the war. First defeat Russia, then hold talks to impose a settlement. In the early days of the war, when Ukraine was willing to negotiate an end to the fighting, then-United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson was quick to scold Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky that Russian President Vladimir Putin should be pressured, not negotiated with. He added that, even if Ukraine was ready to sign some agreements with Russia, the West was not.

The West refuses to negotiate during the war. Now we see Moscow suggesting that diplomacy take place at the barrel of a gun or as Moscows rockets, mortars, artillery target the Ukrainian people. This is not real diplomacy, State Department spokesperson Ned Price explained. Those are not the conditions for real diplomacy. Dont stop the war by negotiating peace, first win the war, then negotiate. If President Putin is serious about diplomacy, Price said, he knows what he can do. He should immediately stop the bombing campaign against civilians [and] order the withdrawal of his forces from Ukraine.

When China put forward a twelve point peace proposal, the United States dismissed points two through twelve and insisted that the proposal should stop at point one. Point one said that [t]he sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld. The American script was clear: first Russia concedes and gives into Western demands, then discuss the peace proposal. My first reaction to it, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan ......

By Bakhtiar Urusov New Eastern Outlook 14.06.2023

The US and the EU have now developed the closest positions on the PRC for the past three decades, according to the US Department of State.

On Tuesday, May 30, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was visiting Sweden, made a very ambiguous statement regarding China. At a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in the port Lulea, the head of the US Department of State said that the countries of the Collective West have developed the closest positions on the PRC in recent decades.

In about 30 years of my work, I really havent seen a time when there has been greater overlap in approaches to China between the United States and Europe and key partners in Asia, said Antony Blinken.

According to the Secretary of State, the US and the EU do not support economic separation from Beijing, but are in favor of neutralizing risks in relations with China. As you may recall, the Western interpretation of risk and threat is anything that contradicts its unconditional dominance and the reign of the rule-based order.

In this light, Blinkens further exhortations that the West is applying various restrictive measures against Beijing not to stop Chinese investment or sever ties, but to ensure its own security, stop Chinas non-market economic practices and that the West does not seek to contain China sound completely unconvincing and are unlikely to deceive the sophisticated reader.

I believe that unity in approach to Beijing is deeply in our common interests Europe, the United States and key Asian countries, the head of the State Department stresses. It should be understood that the approach of the Collective West can be called neocolonial rather than friendly to the PRC.

Recall that earlier, during the G7 summit in Hiroshima that ended on May 21 this year, the heads of the most developed countries of the world have already demonstrated their common approach to China, which resulted in outright attacks on Beijing in the spirit of the Cold War. The communiqu issued after the summit focused heavily on the G7s concerns about Taiwan, the South China Sea, as well as human rights and the PRCs non-market practices. In response, the Chinese Foreign Ministry strongly protested to Tokyo for denigrating the PRC and interfering in the countrys internal affairs. Beijing noted that the G7 has a confrontational and Cold War mentality, and the biggest source of risk to the international order and the functioning of the world economy at the moment is the United States itself.

Sputnik 14.06.2023

BEIJING Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday put forward a three-point proposal to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas.

First, the basis for settling the Palestinian issue is the establishment of an independent state of Palestine with full sovereignty within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, Xi Jinping was quoted as saying by the Chinese national broadcaster.

Second, the Chinese president pointed out that the needs of the Palestinian economy should be met and the international community should increase humanitarian and development assistance to Palestine.

Third, the right course of peace negotiations should be followed. Respect the historical status quo of Jerusalems religious shrines, refrain from radical and provocative statements and actions, promote a larger, more authoritative and more influential international peace conference, create conditions for the resumption of peaceful talks and make concrete efforts to help Palestine and Israel coexist...

RT | June 14, 2023

Washington should reveal what it knows about last years attack on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines, China has said, responding to recent claims that US intelligence agencies were aware of the plot months in advance.

At a Tuesday press briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was asked to comment on reports published in German and Dutch media suggesting that a Ukrainian plan to destroy the pipelines was known to the CIA in June of 2022, well before a similar scheme allegedly went forward in September.

Eight months have passed since the explosion, yet the investigation process has been going slow. It is surprising that the US has remained silent [all] this time, Wang said, adding that the US owes the international community an explanation.

The spokesman called for an objective, impartial and professional investigation into the explosions in order to hold those responsible to account. He voiced suspicion over Washingtons refusal to respond to international doubts and concerns.

German and Dutch outlets have reported that the Netherlands intelligence service initially uncovered the plan to destroy the Nord Stream pipelines last summer and later relayed the information to its American counterpart. While the original plot was reportedly called off, they claimed a nearly identical attack was carried out soon after.

The Washington Post published a similar report last week, citing European intelligence documents that were part of a trove of classified material allegedly shared online by a US National Guard airman earlier this year. The newspaper stated the US government had learned from a close ally that the Ukrainian military had planned a covert attack on the pipelines, which were built to deliver Russian gas to Germany.

US officials have so far declined to respond to the claims but have insisted that Washington had no part in the sabotage. Ukraine, too, has repeatedly denied any involvement in the bombings.

Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported in February that US President Joe Biden had ordered the CIA to disable the Nord Stream pipelines using NATO military drills as cover.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that he fully agrees with Hershs conclusions, arguing that the US in particular benefited from the attack due to its position as a competing gas supplier to Europe.

A hawk and an eagle sat in a tree overlooking the Potomac River, watching an astounding starling murmuration involving tens of thousands of birds.

That is amazing! said the eagle.

I never saw anything as harmonious as these murmurations, said the hawk. A murmuration makes the best case for God.

I always wanted to be part of something like that, agreed the eagle. It seems to be done out of pure joy.

I wonder if we could join them, said the hawk. Or would we disrupt their perfection?

Would we even know what to do? wondered the eagle. Would they be afraid of us and scatter?

Well, lets find out, said the hawk and they flew directly into the murmuration as it swooped, swirled, dove, soared, turned directions over and over and continued its monumentally coordinated marvelous performance.

The trouble was, it wasnt a starling murmuration, like the eagle and hawk thought, but a CIA mockingbird murmuration. So as soon as the hawk and eagle got closer they were bombarded by thousands of loud incessant screams and squawks:

Putins a madman! Assad gassed his own people! The vaccines are safe and effective! Russia made an unprovoked attack on Ukraine! China is provoking our aircraft carriers and fighter jets in the South China Sea! Vaccines do not cause autism! Aluminum has nothing to do with Alzheimers! Fluoridated water makes children smarter! Cuba sponsors terrorism! Trump colluded with Putin! Nicaragua oppresses its people! North Korea is run by a madman! There are no Nazis in Ukraine! Theyre nationalists, not Nazis! Ukraine is winning! BDS is antisemitic! Criticizing Israel is antisemitic! Palestinian olive groves are antisemitic!

Eventually, the mockingbirds stopped using complete sentences and just shouted single words which they all could focus on and, through repetition, everyone knew exactly who to hate and how hard to hate: Gassed! Madman! Safe! Colluded! Buy! Trumpster! Communist! Effective! Unprovoked! Authoritarian! Antisemite! Booster! Buy! Buy!...

Britain Poses as Uncle Sams War Enforcer in Return for Much-Needed Trade Deal

Finian Cunningham Strategic Culture Jan 11, 2023

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak went to Washington last week cap-in-hand hawking a nefarious deal. Post-Brexit Britain is seeking a much-coveted bilateral trade pact with the United States, and to avail of Uncle Sams favor the British are offering to step up its role as provocateur-in-chief in the proxy war against Russia.

U.S. President Joe Biden and Sunak hailed the usual platitudes about their nations special relationship during the British premiers two-day trip to Washington. Sunak added a new unctuous epithet, referring to the U.S. and Britain as the worlds indispensable alliance.

Topping their agenda in the White House summit was the conflict in Ukraine, Russia, China and trade issues.

Biden and Sunak unveiled an Atlantic Declaration promising closer cooperation on economics, security, military and artificial intelligence between the United States and Britain.

But crucially missing from the U.S. side was any concrete commitment to a new bilateral trade deal. When Britain left the European Union in 2020, the historic departure from that trade bloc was calculatedly made with the aspiration of securing an alternative special trading arrangement with the United States.

The Conservative government made the securing of a U.S.-UK trade pact a commitment to British voters at the last general election in 2019. Nearly four years on, however, London is no closer to tying itself to the American raft after cutting itself loose from the EU. That drifting situation has caused unprecedented economic and political turmoil in Britain.

Sunak is the third British prime minister that Biden has had dealings with as president, reflecting the unstable politics in Britain provoked by its post-Brexit tribulations.

Securing a trade agreement with the United States is a priority need for London. As Washington under the Biden administration adopts more pro...

End Times Headlines June 2023

While America has been distracted by the circus in Washington regarding the Trump indictment, and Biden has kept himself busy with celebrating Pride Month at the White House, Chinas President Xi is actively preparing China for war with the West.

According to the WSJ, Since late last month, the Chinese leader has twice urged the nation to prepare for what he described as extreme scenarios or conditionstrotting out a phraseology implying the possibilities of escalating tensions as the competition between the U.S. and China intensifies.

Xi Jinping knows very well that Joe Biden is a weak leader and would never resort to using nuclear weapons if the Chinese move against Taiwan.

At a top-level meeting focused on national security on May 30, the Chinese leader said, We must be prepared for worst-case and extreme scenarios, and be ready to withstand the major test of high winds, choppy waters, and even dangerous storms.

A week later, Xi extended that concept to the economic arena. While inspecting an industrial park in Inner Mongolia, Xi said efforts to build up the domestic market are aimed at ensuring normal operation of the national economy under extreme circumstances.

This comes as China has continued to send large numbers of military aircraft into Taiwans air defense zone Taiwans air force scrambled into action on Sunday after spotting 10 Chinese warplanes crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait, as the islands defence ministry said four Chinese warships also carried out combat patrols.

This is the second time in less than a week that Taiwan has reported renewed Chinese military activity, after 37 Chinese military aircraft on Thursday flew into the islands air defence zone, some of which then flew into the western Pacific. They are probing Taiwans defenses.

In fact, tensions have escalated to a level so extreme that the US government is reported to be currently organizing the evacuation of Americans living in Taiwan.

According to a senior US intelligence person who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the strategy, reported this evacuation planning has been ongoing for at least six months and has significantly increased over the last few months.

The official explained to the US outlet that the preparations have been prompted by a heightened level of tension, citing factors such as the visible build-up of...

<h1 style="text-align: center;"><strong>Visible Origami June 13, 2023</strong></h1> <p>God Poet Transmitting.</p> <p>If it walks like AIDS. If it talks like AIDS, and it kills like AIDS, <a href= "https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/green-monkey-dna-found-in-covid-19-shots_5317587.html"> it must be AIDS</a>. <em>Yes visible that is a tad misleading.</em> Back in the day the usual disinformation specialists were saying how HIV came from green monkeys when we can now assume it was some kind of pre-COVID Dr. Strangelove early days underground laboratory thing done up by the people who now head The World Health Organization The WEF and The CDC poison-mind-meld rubber-stamp people.</p> <p>So its official. Its been official for years now in the minds of those who can put two and two together without furrowing their brows. They are officially trying to kill everyone too stupid to catch on and smarter people who cant run very fast. They are doing this. Its official.</p> <p>As the nation stands transfixed by all the wanna-be Buffalo Bills (Silence of the Lambs character) shaking their prosthetic flotation devices on The White House lawn, we SHOULD remind ourselves that everything we see in The World around us is what has been thought-into-being by minds so disposed to it. Everything you used to see that has been replaced by what you presently see was thought-into-being.</p> <p>It should then be a reasonable assumption that everything yet to precipitate into form will be thought-into-being.</p> <p>All the mass collectives that comprise the populations of Chicago (a Hell of a town) LA and New Yawk Kiev and Shanghai; all those metropolitan melting pots they got thought-into-being by the people resident there. The people who were there, but are now presently somewhere else, even if you cant see them anymore, thought themselves out of there to somewhere else. Its all thought-born.</p> <p>The World entire is The Field and The Knower. The Field is a mental projection of The Knower. This is what you get when a whole lot of different people play God, and have a different take on how that is supposed to go.</p> <p>Here is the unfortunate factor concerning this dynamic; you cant tell anyone anything. It would be the same as speaking to them in a foreign language. <em>Whaaaat?</em> However some of you reading this know (by now) that this is so. We all live in a world of our own creation. It is the mind that performs the magic Shake & Bake ritual that arranges the external furniture according to its own desire.

Its all dependent on whether we are operating out of The Carnal Mind or above and behind A Mind in righteous harness. You have a menagerie&#...</p>

Full Transcript:

The Biden Administration arrested Donald Trump this afternoon. They had him arraigned and fingerprinted in a Miami Courthouse, like the accused felon he now technically is.

These were the first steps in a process that is designed to put Donald Trump behind bars for the rest of his life.

Cable news carried every moment of it live its unprecedented they told us with what looked like shock. But they werent shocked they knew this was coming. Everyone whos paid attention knew it was what just happened was always going to happen.

Its been inevitable since February 16 2016. thats the day Donald Trump made a blood enemy of the largest and most powerful organization in human history which would be the federal government.

Despite what you may remember it wasnt anything that Trump had said about immigration, or trade with China, or rapists from Mexico those are the stories that dominated the headlines that year Trumps a racist they scream stop him.

But inside Washington that was just noise none of it really rated identity politics doesnt mean much to permanent Washington what matters then and now is foreign policy the invasions and occupations and proxy wars: the decisions that determine which global populations will thrive and which will die. The policies that come with trillion dollar price tags, the ones that over time have made the counties around DC the richest suburbs in the world.

In Washington thats what actually matters and its obvious when you look carefully. When theres a debate about anything else for example the debt ceiling, both sides take their assigned positions and they start yelling. But when Congress decides to start a war no matter how foolish or counterproductive or obviously disconnected from Americas core interests that war may be when that happens the leaders of both parties automatically jump behind it like circus clowns.

And then they stay there, sometimes for decades. They defend that war relentlessly against all evidence, until somebody finally Rings the all clear Bell and they can begin to admit that actually maybe it wasnt such a great idea. We meant well but it just didnt work out the good news is weve learned a lot of important lessons.

In the end they usually do say something l...

The NDP is supporting the intelligence agencies/arms industry/US empire faction of Canadas ruling class that is stoking tensions with China. The historically left-wing party has amplified childish Conservative attacks, ignored the views of party backers and supported provocative naval missions. 

The NDP responded to the Liberals special rapporteur on foreign interference report by amplifying Conservative leader Pierre Poilievres attacks against the former Governor General David Johnston. (When Stephen Harper appointed Johnson to lead a public inquiry in 2007 Poilievre called him very credible and very qualified.) The party presented a motion in the House of Commons urging Johnston to step aside as special rapporteur and Jagmeet Singh raised the issue repeatedly. The NDP leader personally questioned Johnston during a recent parliamentary committee hearing and has boasted they helped prompt the special rapporteur to resign.

The NDP is angry Johnston poured cold water on CSIS fear mongering over Chinese interference and rejected a call for a public inquiry. The party leadership has been aggressively pushing for an inquiry for months. Still, NDP backers are ambivalent, according to an Angus Reid poll released May 26. Asked Which of the two statements below is closer to your own point of view regarding a formal public inquiry? 39% of NDP supporters said, A public inquiry is NOT needed, it wont tell us anything more while 37% said, A public inquiry is needed, theres more to learn.

Thats distinct from Conservatives. Supporters of that party backed an inquiry by 6 to 1. For their part, Liberal voters were 2 to 1 against holding an inquiry. So, is the NDP strategy to peel off Conservative supporters with their push for an inquiry or is it just a matter of getting sympathetic coverage from a pro-US empire Canadian press? 

Unless there are clear electoral gains, why would a social democratic party hype a theme that strengthens the credibility of odious inte...

It doesnt look good for balance or evidence when the Covid-19 inquiry is asking for lateral flow tests and masks

BY LAURA DODSWORTH | JUNE 13, 2023

These walls are funny. First you hate em, then you get used to em. Nuff time passes, you get so you depend on em. Thats institutionalised. From The Shawshank Redemption

The first Covid-19 inquiry public hearing will be held today, following the preliminary hearings which began in February. The inquiry will call witnesses to give evidence under oath and they will then be questioned by barristers and the chair, Baroness Hallett.

There is no deadline for the inquirys conclusion. It is an eye-wateringly expensive investigation, currently estimated to cost 114 million, but it will potentially run to more than the Bloody Sunday inquiry which was nearly 200 million. 63 lawyers are working directly for the inquiry and a further 100 are named as representatives. MP Graham Stringer has commented that this is a very expensive and very bloated inquiry and it may be used to kick things into [the] very long grass.

It is important not to pre-judge the outcome of the inquiry, but it has been increasingly difficult to be hopeful for the inquirys fairness and value for money. After the imbalance of the modules and core participants, the first serious dark cloud to descend was the lamentable list of 150 questions put by Baroness Hallett to Boris Johnson. Now, they are only questions and we dont have the answers yet, but to give you an idea, question 45 was particularly chilling:

45. To what extent did the UK Government have regard during the period January to March 2020 to the response of other countries to Covid-19? Did you consider taking more stringent measures in response to Covid-19 such as those seen in, for example, Taiwan, Singapore, New Zealand etc? What, if any, assumptions were made about how such measures would (or would not) work in the UK?

Why not Sweden? It did not impose strict lockdowns, or close schools for under 16s and currently has the one of the worlds lowest excess mortality figures. This inquiry appears to favour stringency above existing pandemic planning, minimum economic an...