Tag: china

What’s Really Going On In the South China Sea Between the Philippines and China

Maritime clashes between the Philippines and China had been mostly over the Philippines’ military outpost, BRP (BRP – Barko ng Republika ng Pilipinas, which translates to “Ship of the Republic of the Philippines” – the ship prefix for the Philippines) Sierra Madre, in the Spratly Islands, which is disputed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan (a province of China, as recognized by the United Nations’ Resolution No. 2758), and Vietnam. The BRP Sierra Madre was intentionally run aground on a reef near the Second Thomas Shoal in the disputed Spratly Islands, in 1997, so that the Philippines could stake their territorial claim.

The WWII-era ship is rusted out and on its way to disintegrating.  In December 2023, the Philippines allocated funds to replace the ship with a permanent structure. Coincidentally, in September 2023, Blake Herzinger, a research fellow at the United States Studies Centre of the University of Sydney, penned an article titled, “It’s Time to Build Combined Forward Operating Base Sierra Madre.” This outpost would be “manned by combined rotational forces from both the Philippines and the U.S. Marine Corps,” according to Herzinger.  In it, he admits that doing so, “would be a provocative move, and it would not be without significant risk.”

In October 2023, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFU) admitted that their resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre were carrying materials that were used in the maintenance and repair of the ship. China had been accusing the Philippines of using its resupply missions to send “illegal building materials” to reinforce the dilapidated ship on several occasions.  In June of this year, The Financial Times revealed that the Philippines had “secretly” reinforced the BRP Sierra Madre at the Second Thomas Shoal.

On March 5, 2024, in response to an incident at the Second Thomas Shoal, U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that “Article IV of the 1951 U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty extends to armed attacks on Philippine armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft, including those of its coast guard, anywhere in the South China Sea.”  At the time, the crash was “not the time or reason to invoke a Mutual Defense Treaty with the United States,” according to Philippine President Bongbong Marcos. Invoking the Mutual Defense Treaty by the Philippines could lead to an armed conflict between China and the U.S. Military.

Recently, these clashes have been occurring at the Sabina Shoal, another disputed atoll in the Spratly Islands. In May, the Philippines claimed that China was carrying out “small-scale reclamation” and anchored the BRP Teresa Magbanua at Sabina Shoal to “catch and document the dumping of crushed corals over the sandbars” (China denied this).  The Philippines had been using the BRP Teresa Magbanua as a staging area for their resupply missions to the BRP Sierra Madre at Second Thomas Shoal. A new Philippine Coast Guard vessel was sent to Sabina Shoal, according to Jonathan Malaya, the spokesperson for the National Security Council of the Philippines, on September 26. However, he declined to comment on the specifics of their intentions or plans, citing operational security concerns.

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Massive Chinese Anti-Drone High-Power Microwave Weapon Emerges

Ahuge truck-mounted system is one of at least three large mobile ground-based high-power microwave directed energy weapons, primarily intended to down drones, at this year’s Zhuhai Airshow. This underscores a global explosion of demand for counter-drone capabilities, as well as China’s steady progress in the development, fielding, and exporting of microwave and laser directed energy weapons.

Officially known as the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition, the Zhuhai Airshow also provides an opportunity for Chinese and foreign companies to showcase ground-based and maritime offerings. Pictures and videos of various aircraft and other systems have been steadily emerging ahead of the event’s formal opening next week.

The imagery that has appeared online already amid the Zhuhai preparations includes a promotional video from state-run firms China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC) and Norinco that features footage of two high-power microwave directed energy weapons, as well as other air defense systems.

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FDA Knows That China and India Drug Quality Is Poor, But Independently Collects and Tests Only about 0.001%

Quality control errors during pharmaceutical manufacturing are unfortunately common occurrences. The majority (around 50%) of employees that work in pharmaceutical manufacturing tend to have duties which are safety/quality-control related, but apparently even that isn’t enough. 

Even with a major focus on quality, there is still an estimated 2-3σ (sigma) level of imprecision when it comes to pharmaceutical manufacturing. That corresponds to 66,807 to 308,537 defects per 1,000,000 opportunities. But with pharmaceutical development being so complicated, there could be more than 1,000,000 “opportunities” for error. 

The above listed error calculation – while alarming enough – was referenced in small-molecule pharmacology. However, increasingly complex pharmaceuticals (such as today’s widely used biotechnological products, including GLP-1 diabetes/weight loss or mRNA products for Covid-19) have molecular weights that can be thousands times larger than small molecule compounds. That could mean an even greater opportunity for error. 

The FDA is abundantly aware of pharmaceutical fragility and potential quality shortcomings, including at the highest levels of its leadership. 

In fact, Dr. Michael Kopcha, the current Director of the FDA’s Office of Pharmaceutical Quality (OPQ), wrote and published the above published Six Sigma calculation, lamenting the imprecise nature of pharmaceutical manufacturing – back in 2017. 

Any alteration in structure that occurs during manufacturing has the potential to vastly change a compound’s clinical activity, including a change from therapeutic drug into a poison.

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The Biden-Harris Govt Is Helping China Buy Land Near U.S. Bases.

The Biden-Harris government’s Department of Agriculture is quietly reclassifying numerous property developers and other companies in what appears to be an effort to work around restrictions on Chinese land ownership near U.S. military bases and installations. The move comes despite continued warnings from the U.S. intelligence community and other agencies in the Biden-Harris government that China poses an increasing national security risk and is actively opposing U.S. interests through domestic and foreign counter-intelligence actions.

At the center of the Department of Agriculture controversy is the recent change in designation for Walton Global, a property developer that has been considered one of the top Chinese-controlled U.S. land owners for years. The company has expanded its footprint in China since 2018 and was—until recently—listed by the U.S. government as one of the five top Chinese owners of U.S. agricultural land.

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Halloween Is a Middle Finger to Communists

Halloween, by its nature, is the one holiday that can essentially be about anything: fairy tales and storybook characters, movies and celebrities, robots and aliens, pizza and M&Ms, or, one of my new personal favorites, Mrs. Doubtfire and her hot flashes. That there are far more variables than constants on Halloween is a reminder that it is defined, above all, by freedom.

For another reminder, consider that police in China recently cracked down on costumed revelers because of the supposed threat they pose to the Communist government.

Indeed, law enforcement in Shanghai last weekend set their sights on celebrants who had the audacity to dress up, for example, as a poop emoji and as Kim Kardashian, the latter of whom can be seen on video waving goodbye to the group behind her as she was forced into a police van.

Before the parties began this month, police saturated the city. Those not in costume were reportedly left alone, while individuals were taken into custody for dressing up and were sometimes made to remove them. When law enforcement dispersed Zhongshan Park, the cops conditioned their freedom on decostuming. Private businesses were also allegedly ordered not to advertise or host Halloween events. The scrutiny was not limited to Shanghai.

In other words, this was not about crowd control.

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Putin Brings Peace Between China And India – Violent Himalayan Border Region May Be Quieted

This year’s BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia has produced more than expected, beyond the trade and reserve currency foreshadowed developments, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has begun the process of implementing a peace deal on the Himalayan border, long a violently contested area.

The deal was put together on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

India and China have begun implementing an agreement to end a military standoff on their disputed Himalayan border, the two sides said on Friday, in the biggest thaw between the Asian giants since deadly clashes between their armies four years ago, reported Reuters.

Troops who were eyeball-to-eyeball at two points on the frontier in India’s Ladakh region in the western Himalayas had begun pulling back, an Indian government source said, heralding an end to the standoff.

The process began on Wednesday and is expected to conclude by the end of the month, a senior Indian army official said.

“According to the recently agreed solution between India and China … their frontline armies are implementing relevant work, with smooth progress so far,” Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said.

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Russian Foreign Minister – “If Ukraine Joins NATO Eeither Ukraine Disappears, Or NATO Does.”

Important quotes from the BRICS Summit where the other ‘new world order’ is shaping against Western hegemony.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia declared that if Ukraine joins NATO, Russia would destroy Ukraine as a nation, or even NATO itself.

President Putin also said he hoped NATO heard his warning about the consequences of allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to strike inside Russia.

Russian President Putin warned failure to recognize a state of Palestine will fuel “permanent crisis and inevitable large-scale violence.”

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared, “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Taiwan question is not about freedom of navigation but about China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

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Chinese Hackers Breach US Telecoms Network

Chinese hackers have breached the US telecoms network and appear to have targeted Donald Trump and his running-mate JD Vance.

In a joint statement issued on Friday, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said they are “aggressively” investigating and attempting to mitigate a breach linked to the Chinese Communist Party.

“Agencies across the U.S. Government are collaborating to aggressively mitigate this threat and are coordinating with our industry partners to strengthen cyber defenses across the commercial communications sector,” CISA and the FBI stated.

The two agencies said that affected companies have been notified and provided with technical assistance.

No group has yet come forward to claim responsibility for the attack, and specific details of its nature have not been made public.

In response to reports that Donald Trump and JD Vance may have been targets of this latest hack, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung issued a statement.

“This is the continuation of election interference by Kamala Harris and Democrats who will stop at nothing, including emboldening China and Iran attacking critical American infrastructure, to prevent President Trump from returning to the White House,“ Cheung told The Epoch Times.

”Their dangerous and violent rhetoric has given permission to those who wish to harm President Trump.”

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Attorney General Liz Murrill Sues DHS Over Release of Illegal Chinese National in Louisiana with Rare, Aggressive, Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Louisiana has filed an emergency lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and other federal entities.

This complaint is a reaction to ICE’s handling of a Chinese national carrying a severe, drug-resistant form of tuberculosis (TB) – pre-extensively drug-resistant TB (pre-XDR TB) – which was transported through various Louisiana detention facilities without sufficient medical isolation.

The federal government’s actions have exposed hundreds of detainees and potentially the broader Louisiana public to a significant health threat.

The lawsuit highlights the incompetence and disregard of ICE for state-mandated health safety measures. Louisiana’s Surgeon General, Ralph Abraham, alongside Attorney General Liz Murrill, has demanded that all detainees be medically cleared by the Louisiana Department of Health before being released.

According to Louisiana officials, this case underscores a critical public health emergency that places the state’s citizens in jeopardy.

The complaint calls for an immediate restraining order to prevent ICE from releasing detainees unless medically cleared.

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Have We Ever Seen A Time When 4 Major Global Wars Are All Percolating Simultaneously?

We have reached a moment in history that none of us will forget.  We are literally standing on the precipice of the unthinkable, and most people don’t even realize it.  Of course horrific wars have a way of erupting when most people are not expecting them.  Hardly anyone expected a global war to erupt in 1914, but then tens of millions of precious souls died over the next four years.  Hardly anyone expected a global war to erupt in 1939, but then tens of millions of precious souls died over the next six years.  This time around, what is happening should be glaringly obvious to everyone.  Personally, I have been specifically warning about what is taking place right now for more than a decade.  If we do not change course, billions of precious souls could die during the nightmarish global wars that are rapidly approaching.

At this moment, most Americans have no idea that a war between the United States and China is coming.

Just a few days ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping boldly talked about “preparation for war” as he was dressed in military fatigues…

On Thursday Chinese Communist Dictator Xi Jinping commanded troops to strengthen their preparedness for war while visiting his People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force following last week’s drills of surrounding the sovereign country of Taiwan.

“Xi said the military should ‘comprehensively strengthen training and preparation for war, (and) ensure troops have solid combat capabilities,’ CCTV reported,” according to the AFP and reported on Barrons Saturday.

Why would China need to prepare for war?

Needless to say, nobody is planning to attack China.

The truth is that the only reason that China would need to prepare for war is if it was planning to invade Taiwan.

Because the moment that China invades Taiwan, the U.S. and China will be at war.

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