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Cardboard Box

Emperor has no clothes: Chinese media mocks US push to project itself as Asia hegemon

Ilya Tsukanov
Sputnik
Sun, 05 Mar 2023 00:00 UTC
ships
© Greg Gibson/AP
In a television appearance this week, US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns assured that America's position in Asia is "stronger" today "than it was five or ten years ago," and that Beijing will simply have to accept that Washington "is staying in this region" and is "the leader in this region in many ways."

Chinese media has brushed off the US ambassador's "powerless and ridiculous" claims that the US is still the undisputed leader in Asia and that China will just have to deal with it.

The Global Times' wrote an editorial response to Burns' "leadership" comments:
"What the US politician said implies two messages. First, he seems to criticize China for not understanding US' presence in the Asia-Pacific. Second, Burns wants Beijing to acknowledge Washington's leadership in the region. Yet, both are far from the truth."
The outlet explained that Washington's "strategic miscalculation" has always been to believe that China would like to push the US out of Asia. The reality, GT suggested, is that China not only recognizes the US presence, but would like to see "peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation" with its neighbor across the Pacific. "What Beijing refuses is to be led by anyone else, including Washington."

Comment: What are the chances the US will back off? Answer: 0% The US is on 'the wrong side of history', as they say, and too stubborn to know it.

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Stop

US to ban investment in Chinese high tech - WSJ


RT
Sat, 04 Mar 2023 13:40 UTC
technology
© Mick Ryan/Getty Images
Washington plans to prohibit American investment in the high-tech sectors of rival economies, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing sources and reports on the proposed regulation from the US Treasury and Commerce Department.

The restrictions will likely target private and venture capital investments in the production of semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing, and will mostly be aimed against China, sources close to the discussions about the new regulations told the news outlet.

The WSJ notes, however, that the reports do not name specific countries that will be affected by the measures nor the economic sectors seen as posing a risk to US national security. However, the outlet notes that the focus will be on sectors that could increase the military capabilities of US rivals.

The Treasury report, for instance, said:
"The new foreign investment rules will focus on preventing US capital and expertise from being exploited in ways that threaten our national security while not placing an undue burden on US investors and businesses."

Comment: Characteristic US approach: Self-interest restrictions cripple the flow of business so less is achieved.

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Arrow Up

China boosts defense spending


RT
Sun, 05 Mar 2023 14:54 UTC
Keqiang
© Lintao Zhang/Getty ImagesChinese Premier Li Keqiang (bottom) delivers a speech during the first session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) at The Great Hall of People on March 5, 2023 in Beijing
China's defense spending will rise by 7.2% to $230 billion this year, according to information contained in Beijing's national budget, released on Sunday. Premier Li Keqiang also called upon the country's armed forces to "boost combat preparedness" as they expand their military capabilities amid tensions with Taiwan.

The 7.2% increase is the sharpest surge in China's defense spending since 2019. It follows a 6.8% uptick in 2021 and 6.6% in 2020. In 2019, Asia's leading military power oversaw a 7.5% increase in its defense budget to 1.19 trillion yuan - around $172 billion. The latest hike is the eighth consecutive single-digit annual increase in Beijing's military budget.

Comment: What if all countries refused to spend for 'combat', 'defense', 'arms', 'military structure' and the myriad of expenses that embellish or support these endeavors? Imagine humanity.

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Bomb

Kari Lake files petition for review for historic election lawsuit in the Arizona Supreme Court

Jordan Conradson
Gateway Pundit
Wed, 01 Mar 2023 19:00 UTC
kari lake
© LM Otero/AP PhotoKari Lake
Kari Lake filed new paperwork and 779 pages of evidence in the Arizona Supreme Court today, appealing the lower courts' decisions to dismiss her lawsuit contesting the rigged 2022 Election.

Lake also filed a 'Motion To Expedite' her case, arguing that "expeditious action to resolve these issues is needed to safeguard Arizona voters' right to free and equal elections."

The Maricopa County Superior Court and Arizona Court of appeals disregarded the evidence, "ignored this Court's precedents for reviewing election contests and ratified Maricopa officials' decision to ignore Arizona's ballot chain-of-custody ("COC") and logic and accuracy testing ("L&A testing") requirements set forth in Arizona's Election Procedures Manual ("EPM"), and A.R.S. §§16-621(E), 16-449, 16-452(C)," argues Lake's attorneys in their 'Petition for Review.'

Comment: See also: Kari Lake's election lawsuit: A view from Maricopa County

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Light Saber

Best of the Web: Viktor Orban: "Americans have final word on all major decisions EU takes in Brussels"

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Sun, 05 Mar 2023 19:06 UTC
viktor orban hungary
© GettyViktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has said in a fresh interview with Swiss weekly Weltwoche that his country's leadership is "strong enough to keep the war away from our country" while also stressing that Washington has become prime the decision-maker over the conflict in Ukraine.

He further addressed the proxy war nature of the conflict in saying, "There are some who want to force Hungary into the war, and they are not picky about the means with which to achieve that goal."

"Ukraine is our neighbor where Hungarians live as well," he continued. "They are being conscripted and are dying by the hundreds on the front." The Hungarian government has long protested this practice and presented its complaints to Kiev.

Comment: Considering Hungary' size and marginal influence in the world, Orban has shown remarkable courage in standing up to Washington's bullying. Hungary is fortunate in its leader. And when the dust finally settles, Russia may find itself with another ally in the bid to create the multi-polar world.

In the meantime, however, the EU as a whole is completely hitched to the USA, in a way not even we realized until this war in Ukraine started.

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Brick Wall

Rada MP issues new warnings about online censorship in Ukraine


RT
Sun, 05 Mar 2023 18:50 UTC
internet email graphic
© Getty Images / Just_Super
A platform being rolled out to target scammers has triggered fears of more state control over the web

Ukrainian authorities have rolled out an automatic system to "filter out" malicious websites, used for online scamming and phishing schemes. The system was introduced on January 30 and enforced on Thursday, with all Internet providers in the country obliged to use it.

The new platform is expected to provide a list of malicious websites for providers to block, every 15 minutes. Its creator, Ukraine's National Center for Operating and Management of Telecommunication Networks, insists it is designed to only target scammers.
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Bad Guys

Best of the Web: MSM information control: CNN ex-boss Jeff Zucker told staff not to probe 'lab leak' theory because it was 'Trump talking point'

Ariel Zilber
New York Post
Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:08 UTC
jeff zucker cnn
© Getty Images for CNNJeff Zucker helmed CNN for more than a decade until he was forced to quit last year under a cloud of scandal.
CNN's then-president Jeff Zucker told his staffers not to investigate the "lab leak theory" behind the origins of COVID-19 because he thought it was a "Trump talking point," according to a report.

A "well-placed" CNN insider told Fox News Digital on Monday that Zucker gave the order in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic.

"People are slowly waking up from the fog," the insider told Fox News Digital.

"It is kind of crazy that we didn't chase it harder."

Mainstream news organizations including CNN, The New York Times, MSNBC, and others have been pilloried in recent days following a recent government report which concluded that an accidental leak from a Chinese laboratory is the most likely explanation for the COVID outbreak.

Comment: Another very clear sign that the health and wellness of the masses is not as important as controlling the narrative.

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Handcuffs

Pakistani police say Khan not at residence but arrest warrant issued through PTI leaders


RFE/RL
Sun, 05 Mar 2023 00:01 UTC
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Pakistani authorities say they have served an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Imran Khan at his Lahore residence, ordering him to appear in court on March 7 or face being forced to do so through police actions.

Police arrived early on March 5 at the home of the 70-year-old critic of the current government but said they were thwarted in efforts to seize Khan on the spot after finding his residence surrounded by supporters.

Islamabad police later said that following a room-by-room search of the site, Khan could not be found and that they were told by leaders of Khan's Tehrik-e Insaf party (PTI) "that Imran Khan is not present at the residence."

Comment: See also:

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Dollars

Business daily Kommersant reports Yuan squeezing out dollar on Russian market


RT
Mon, 06 Mar 2023 15:55 UTC
yuan dollar ruble
© Kevkhiev Yury / Alamy Stock Photo
The Chinese currency has outperformed the greenback by volume of trading on the Moscow Exchange for the first time on record

The Chinese yuan has overtaken the US dollar as the most traded currency on the Russian stock market for the first time ever, business daily Kommersant reported on Monday.

According to the outlet's estimates, based on data from the Moscow Exchange (MOEX), the yuan was the most traded currency in February, displacing the US dollar from the top spot.

Statistics showed that, over the month, the volume of Chinese currency trading exceeded 1.48 trillion rubles ($19.6 billion), which is one-third higher than in January. The volume of transactions with the dollar also increased in February, but only by 8% to 1.42 trillion rubles ($18.8 billion). As a result, the yuan accounted for almost 40% of the total volume of trading in major currencies, the dollar's share was just over 38%, while the euro stood at 21.2%. To compare, the greenback's trading volume a year ago accounted for 87.6%, the euro for 11.9%, while the yuan for just 0.32%.
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Nuke

Iran and our rotten foreign policy debates

Daniel Larison
Eunomia / Substack
Mon, 06 Mar 2023 01:38 UTC
Twenty years after the illegal invasion of Iraq, it is depressing that we are still debating the "merits" of criminal aggression against another Middle Eastern country.
Israel Thugs
© Matt Chase / The Atlantic; Getty
Dennis Ross just can't get enough saber-rattling against Iran:
Instead, Blinken or President Joe Biden should announce that although the U.S. favors diplomacy for resolving the threat of the Iranian nuclear program, the Iranians continue to demonstrate that they don't; instead, their actions are drawing them closer and closer to a bomb, something that the U.S. has pledged to prevent, and Iran must understand that its actions jeopardize its entire nuclear infrastructure, including parts that could in theory be used for civilian energy purposes. Declaring this would signal that the U.S. is beginning to prepare the American public and the international community for possible military action against Iran's nuclear program.
Ross has been banging the war drums against Iran for years, and his latest call for threatening an illegal attack is the least subtle one yet. He still bizarrely assumes that the Iranian government doesn't believe that the U.S. will attack them, and he thinks that the key is convincing Iran of Washington's determination to strike. Ross never explains why this would lead them to do anything other than hasten towards developing nuclear weapons, and he simply takes for granted that threatening Iran with completely unjustified aggression is the solution. What would make a deterrent more attractive to their leaders than repeated threats to wage illegal war on their country?
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