Recent Appearances...

Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !
Recent Appearances...

-Lurid Crime Tales-

Colorado funeral home owner sentenced to 20 years after stashing nearly 190 decaying bodies

2025-06-30

[FoxNews] 'This is not an ordinary fraud case,' Judge Nina Wang said, adding that the details warranted the maximum sentence

The owner of a Colorado funeral home received the maximum prison sentence after he was found guilty of stashing nearly 190 bodies in a decrepit building and sending families fake ashes instead of their loved ones.

Jon Hallford, owner of Return to Nature Funeral Home, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday for cheating customers and defrauding the federal government out of nearly $900,000 in COVID-19 aid. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in federal court last year.

Separately, Hallford pleaded guilty to 191 counts of corpse abuse in state court and will be sentenced in August.

During Friday's hearing, federal prosecutors asked for a 15-year sentence while Hallford’s attorney requested 10 years.

Judge Nina Wang said that despite the case only focusing on a single fraud charge, the circumstances and scale of Hallford's crime, as well as the emotional impact on the families, warranted the maximum sentence.

"This is not an ordinary fraud case," she said.

Ahead of the sentencing, Hallford told the judge that he opened the funeral home to make a positive impact on people's lives before "everything got completely out of control, especially me."

"I am so deeply sorry for my actions," he said. "I still hate myself for what I’ve done."

Hallford and his wife, Carie, were accused of storing the bodies between 2019 and 2023 and sending families fake ashes. Investigators found the bodies in 2023 stacked on top of each other throughout a squat, bug-infested building in Penrose, Colorado.

Investigators could not move into some rooms because the bodies were piled so high and in various states of decay. FBI agents had to put boards down so they could walk above the fluid.

Many families learned after the discovery that their loved ones were not cremated and that the ashes they had received were fake. In two cases, the wrong body was buried.

Federal prosecutors accused both Hallfords of pandemic aid fraud, siphoning the money and spending it and customers' payments on a GMC Yukon and Infiniti worth over $120,000 combined, as well as $31,000 in cryptocurrency, luxury items from stores such as Gucci and Tiffany & Co., and laser body sculpting.

Carie Hallford is scheduled to go to trial in the federal case in September, the same month as her next hearing in the state case in which she is also charged with 191 counts of corpse abuse.

Link

China-Japan-Koreas

Is Chinese President Xi Jinping on his way out?

2025-06-29

[NY Post] Over the past few months, unprecedented developments point to the potential, and potentially imminent, fall of China’s "Chairman of Everything" Xi Jinping. Chinese Communist Party elders — including Hu Jintao, Xi’s immediate predecessor, whom Xi humiliated at the 20th Party Congress in 2022 — are now running things behind the scenes.

Xi is in poor health and likely to retire at the CCP Plenary Session this August or take a purely ceremonial position.

Xi’s downfall has been rumored before. But never have we seen the recent purges (and mysterious deaths) of dozens of People’s Liberation Army generals loyal to Xi; all replaced by non-Xi loyalists.

Zhang Youxia, with whom Xi had a major falling out after helping Xi secure an unprecedented third five-year term, is now the de facto leader of the PLA.

Also, the "un-naming" of Xi’s father’s mausoleum last month was unprecedented. The mausoleum, which Xi has built to honor his late father, was larger than the mausoleums of either Mao’s or Deng’s.

Meanwhile, Xi’s personal protective detail has recently been halved. What world leader cuts his own security?

There was no explanation for Xi’s disappearance for almost two weeks in late May and early June while foreign dignitaries were hosted in Beijing by other CCP Leaders. Xi has also been conspicuously missing from the pages of the People’s Daily, the CCP organ that until recently ran fawning front-page stories on Xi daily.

Xi reappeared to host Belarus dictator/Russian puppet Alexander Lukashenko in early June. Xi looked tired, uninterested — even defeated.

The meeting location was a low-key family-style area of the CCP leaders’ compound (Zhongnanhai) in Beijing that had never before hosted a state visit. Stripped of the pomp and circumstance that used to accompany every Xi gathering, the entire entourage was a mere handful. None of Xi’s translators or senior aides were present.

Compare that to the state visits recently hosted by other CCP leaders; large, extravagant affairs in prestigious CCP conference halls. And following his recent call with President Trump, Chinese state media, including state TV, referred to Xi without any formal title at all. This has never happened before.

While this was later partially corrected, it is inconceivable that such a glaring oversight was an accident. Recently, professors at some of China’s most prestigious universities have published articles directly criticizing Xi, which was unthinkable previously.

These are just a few of many unusual signs from Beijing that signal major changes in the CCP power structure. Although not yet certain, it appears that Zhang Youxia and CCP elders have chosen Wang Yang, whom Deng Xiaoping lifted out of obscurity and who served as a successful technocrat until his forced retirement in 2023, to be the next CCP chairman.

He is known as a soft-spoken reformer who supports more free-market policies, more decentralized decision making, and a much less confrontational foreign policy.

Now is not a good time to be confrontational with Donald Trump in the White House, as Iran and its allies have learnt to their sorrow.

To paraphrase Churchill, China is a riddle wrapped in an enigma surrounded by a mystery. So no one can know anything with absolute certainty. But given the disastrous results of Xi’s one-man rule, his ouster would be no surprise.

With over $50 trillion in total debt (national, local and private sector debt is larger than the combined economies of the US and EU),

…to be fair, the debt is the result of stupid CCP ideas since the Clinton era….

well over 50 million unused (and mostly unusable) apartments due to government policy failures (enough for all of Germany), wealthy Chinese emigrating en masse with their assets and an unemployment rate in depression territory... it is not surprising that local riots, factory arsons and anti-government protests have flared all over China.

CCP elders understand China needs a new pragmatic leader to have any chance of escaping the disaster now unfolding.

Such a change will have huge positive implications for the US and our democratic allies if handled correctly. Trump can win the Cold War with China without firing a shot. But Russia, North Korea, and Iran could be devastated by this momentous change.

In fact, Iran’s rapid defeat by Israel and the US has underscored the weakness of Xi’s foreign policy. One CCP elder recently lamented China’s complete isolation on the world stage under Xi, except for a handful of countries that are "good for nothing."

Vladimir Putin, take note: You lost Syria last year, you are on the brink of losing Iran, and you may soon lose China. Excellent news for all democracies, and especially for Israel, America, and the brave people of Ukraine.

Xi Jinping once again proved the adage that "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." May his replacement learn from the success of the global West (including Asia’s most successful countries) and lead his nation onto the oftentimes messy but ultimately rewarding path of free markets, free people, real democracy, and the rule of law.

Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong (before the CCP takeover), and the tens of millions of successful Chinese people outside China make it clear that this is the best, and indeed the only sustainable path forward for China.

Link

Afghanistan

Taliban begin crackdown on Pakistan-linked militants operating from Afghanistan: Express Tribune

2025-05-27

[KhaamaPress] The Taliban
Taliban

...mindless ferocity in a turban...
have started cracking down on hard boyz in Afghanistan who encourage attacks in Pakistain, signaling a shift in policy.
Rewriting 1998
Recent closed-door talks between a Pak delegation led by Muhammad Sadiq Khan, Pakistain’s Special Representative, and Amir Khan Muttaqi, Taliban Foreign Minister, marked a significant shift in Taliban policy. For the first time since their return to power, the Taliban have begun cracking down on individuals encouraging attacks inside Pakistain.

According to Express Tribune sources, over 70 murderous Moslems, primarily Afghan nationals linked to plans following the Pahalgam attack in Kashmir
...a disputed territory lying between India and Pakistain. After partition, the Paks grabbed half of it and call it Azad (Free) Kashmir. The remainder they refer to as "Indian Occupied Kashmir". They have fought four wars with India over it, the score currently 4-0 in New Delhi's favor. After 72 years of this nonsense, India cut the Gordian knot in 2019, removing the area's special status, breaking off Ladakh as a separate state, and allowing people from other areas to settle (or in the case of the Pandits, to resettle) there....
, have been detained, earning Islamabad’s tentative trust.

China is believed to be playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in facilitating dialogue between Pakistain and Afghanistan. On May 21, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi hosted an informal trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Pakistain and Afghanistan in Beijing. The Chinese Foreign Ministry announced that Pakistain and Afghanistan agreed in principle to exchange ambassadors, signaling a normalization of diplomatic ties.

For years, Pakistain struggled to convince the Taliban to take decisive action against terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan soil. However,
it was a brave man who first ate an oyster...
during the March talks in Kabul, Pak officials, including military and intelligence representatives, sensed a genuine change in Taliban approach. Islamabad now believes the Taliban are primarily focused on "business" and appear serious about addressing Pakistain’s security concerns.

Sources confirmed that many Afghans under Taliban rule who were recruiting or supporting Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) hard boyz are now imprisoned and facing legal actions. These developments followed growing evidence presented by Islamabad showing increased involvement of Afghan nationals in TTP-backed attacks within Pakistain, which heightened tensions and prompted Islamabad’s demands for accountability.

Since the crackdown began, Pakistain has witnessed a noticeable drop in suicide kabooms and terrorist attacks, particularly in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. These efforts have helped improve diplomatic relations between Pakistain and the Taliban government. The positive momentum paved the way for Pakistain’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Muhammad Ishaq Dar, to visit Kabul on April 19—the first such high-level Pak visit since the Taliban takeover.

Both sides agreed on several confidence-building measures during the visit, including Taliban assurances not to allow Afghanistan soil to be used against Pakistain. Pakistain reciprocated by easing some trade restrictions, such as removing banking guarantee requirements for Afghan importers. Islamabad has expressed cautious optimism but insists the Taliban take irreversible steps toward lasting peace.

Meanwhile,
...back at the wreckage, Captain Poindexter wished he had thought to pack sun block...
India continues to emphasize expanding ties with the Taliban, despite its tense relationship with Pakistain. Following the April 22 Pahalgam incident and subsequent cross-border exchanges with Pakistain, India recently resumed visa issuance to Afghan citizens after a four-year hiatus. New Delhi insists it will not allow Pakistain to hinder its relations with the Taliban, intensifying the regional diplomatic competition.

Pakistain has previously accused India of involvement in terrorist attacks on its soil, including in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, though Indian officials deny such claims. The evolving dynamics between Pakistain, Afghanistan, India, and China highlight the complex geopolitical contest shaping South Asia’s security landscape.

Link

China-Japan-Koreas

China is exhibiting ‘end-of-regime conduct,' expert warns of ‘perplexing' behavior

2025-04-30

[FoxNews] China’s political system has become ‘intransigent and inflexible,’ Gordon Chang says

Something is "very, very wrong" in Beijing right now, according to foreign policy expert Gordon Chang, who is signaling more "end-of-regime conduct" coming out of Xi Jinping’s China.

"At a time when China needs friends because it's not selling goods to the U.S., it is going out of its way to antagonize not just the Philippines, not just Taiwan, but also South Korea and Australia," Chang, a senior fellow with the Gatestone Institute, said on "Mornings with Maria" Monday.

"This shows that... this is end-of-regime conduct, because Xi Jinping, he can't appear to be giving in to the U.S.," he added.

On Friday, President Donald Trump told reporters from the White House lawn that he’s spoken to Jinping "many times" now, before responding to a question about what exactly the two leaders discussed: "I’ll let you know at the appropriate time. Let's see if we can make a deal."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday that Beijing backs international rules when it comes to tariffs imposed by Trump and that the U.S. levies show "extreme egoism." He explained that China would look for solidarity with other countries regarding the tariffs, noting that Beijing would uphold multilateralism to "inject stability into the world."

Beijing has publicly denied any ongoing negotiations with the Trump administration to bring down America’s 145% tariff and China’s 125% tariff.

"[Jinping] has configured the Chinese political system so that it is hostile. And also, because he's been making the claim that China has surpassed the U.S., he can't look dependent on trade with the U.S.," Chang explained. "And he certainly can't look like he's talking to the U.S. under pressure."

Link

Government Corruption

Chinese Professor of Cryptography in Indiana AWOL - Feebs (and probably FISA) Curious

2025-04-01

[ArsTechnica] FBI raids home of prominent computer scientist who has gone incommunicado.

Indiana University quietly removes profile of tenured professor and refuses to say why.

A prominent computer scientist who has spent 20 years publishing academic papers on cryptography, privacy, and cybersecurity has gone incommunicado, had his professor profile, email account, and phone number removed by his employer, Indiana University, and had his homes raided by the FBI. No one knows why.

Xiaofeng Wang has a long list of prestigious titles. He was the associate dean for research at Indiana University's Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering, a fellow at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a tenured professor at Indiana University at Bloomington. According to his employer, he has served as principal investigator on research projects totaling nearly $23 million over his 21 years there.

He has also co-authored scores of academic papers on a diverse range of research fields, including cryptography, systems security, and data privacy, including the protection of human genomic data. I have personally spoken to him on three occasions for articles here, here, and here.

“NONE OF THIS IS IN ANY WAY NORMAL”
In recent weeks, Wang's email account, phone number, and profile page at the Luddy School were quietly erased by his employer. Over the same time, Indiana University also removed a profile for his wife, Nianli Ma, who was listed as a Lead Systems Analyst and Programmer at the university's Library Technologies division.

As reported by the Bloomingtonian and later the Herald-Times in Bloomington, a small fleet of unmarked cars driven by government agents descended on the Bloomington home of Wang and Ma on Friday. They spent most of the day going in and out of the house and occasionally transferred boxes from their vehicles. TV station WTHR, meanwhile, reported that a second home owned by Wang and Ma and located in Carmel, Indiana, was also searched. The station said that both a resident and an attorney for the resident were on scene during at least part of the search.

Attempts to locate Wang and Ma have so far been unsuccessful. An Indiana University spokesman didn't answer emailed questions asking if the couple was still employed by the university and why their profile pages, email addresses, and phone numbers had been removed. The spokesman provided the contact information for a spokeswoman at the FBI's field office in Indianapolis. In an email, the spokeswoman wrote: "The FBI conducted court authorized law enforcement activity at homes in Bloomington and Carmel Friday. We have no further comment at this time."

Searches of federal court dockets turned up no documents related to Wang, Ma, or any searches of their residences. The FBI spokeswoman didn't answer questions seeking which US district court issued the warrant and when, and whether either Wang or Ma is being detained by authorities. Justice Department representatives didn't return an email seeking the same information. An email sent to a personal email address belonging to Wang went unanswered at the time this post went live. Their resident status (e.g. US citizens or green card holders) is currently unknown.

Fellow researchers took to social media over the weekend to register their concern over the series of events.

"None of this is in any way normal," Matthew Green, a professor specializing in cryptography at Johns Hopkins University, wrote on Mastodon. He continued: "Has anyone been in contact? I hear he’s been missing for two weeks and his students can’t reach him. How does this not get noticed for two weeks???"

In the same thread, Matt Blaze, a McDevitt professor of computer science and law at Georgetown University, said: "It's hard to imagine what reason there could be for the university to scrub its website as if he never worked there. And while there's a process for removing tenured faculty, it takes more than an afternoon to do it."

Local news outlets reported the agents spent several hours moving boxes in an out of the residences. WTHR provided the following details about the raid on the Carmel home:

Neighbors say the agents announced "FBI, come out!" over a megaphone.

A woman came out of the house holding a phone. A video from a neighbor shows an agent taking that phone from her. She was then questioned in the driveway before agents began searching the home, collecting evidence and taking photos.

A car was pulled out of the garage slightly to allow investigators to access the attic.

The woman left the house before 13News arrived. She returned just after noon accompanied by a lawyer. The group of ten or so investigators left a few minutes later.

The FBI would not say what they were looking for or who is under investigation. A bureau spokesperson issued a statement: “I can confirm we conducted court-authorized activity at the address in Carmel today. We have no further comment at this time.”

Investigators were at the house for about four hours before leaving with several boxes of evidence. 13News rang the doorbell when the agents were gone. A lawyer representing the family who answered the door told us they're not sure yet what the investigation is about.

The Indiana Daily Student adds:

Indiana University terminated professor Xiaofeng Wang on Friday, the same day that two of his homes were searched by the FBI, according to a document sent by the American Association of University Professors’ IU Bloomington chapter.

The document, IU Provost Rahul Shrivastav’s email informing Wang of his termination, said it was Shrivastav’s understanding that Wang had accepted a faculty position with a university in Singapore.

Odd that he hadn’t informed IU management…

Shrivastav said in the email that Wang would not be eligible to be hired again at IU.

The email also told Wang he needed to return all IU property to the IU Police Department as soon as possible. IUPD did not respond to a request for comment by publication.

The Indiana Daily Student reached out to IU to confirm the document’s veracity, to which a spokesperson responded that IU will not comment on the investigation.

"Indiana University was recently made aware of a federal investigation of an Indiana University faculty member," an IU spokesperson told the IDS on Monday. "At the direction of the FBI, Indiana University will not make any public comments regarding this investigation. In accordance with Indiana University practices, Indiana University will also not make any public comments regarding the status of this individual."

Wang had been a director at IU’s center for Security and Privacy in Informatics, Computing, and Engineering. The center's co-director, L. Jean Camp, confirmed details first reported by the South China Morning Post that Wang is still in the United States, and that to her knowledge he has not been charged with anything.

Link

China-Japan-Koreas

The purge saga in the People’s Liberation Army continues

2025-03-27

[X] Hattip Thing from Snowy Mountain.

The purge saga in the People's Liberation Army continues!

The latest names on the list are:

Commander of the Western Theater Command, Wang Haijiang (汪海江)

Minister of the Training and Administration Department of the Central Military Commission, Wang Peng (王鹏)

Commander… https://t.co/Cei7etXlEF pic.twitter.com/ejne1wKVxO
— Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng (@jenniferzeng97) March 26, 2025

Commander of the Eastern Theater Command Navy, Wang Zhongcai (王仲才)

Commander of the 73rd Group Army, Ding Laifu (丁来富)

The above senior military officials have been removed from their posts and taken away.

In addition, two important political figures have also been taken away. They are:

Xiao Pei (肖培) , Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and Deputy Director of the National Supervisory Commission

Wang Huimin (王会民), Head of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection’s Discipline Inspection Team stationed at the China Securities Regulatory Commission

These individuals are the latest targets of investigation, and their purge is directly related to the escalation of political struggles.

The above information comes from Zhao Lanjian
@uyunistar
, a former Chinese journalist who was the first to report the arrest of He Weidong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Before the military restructuring in 2017, the 73rd Group Army was the 31st Army, which had long been stationed in Xiamen City, where Xi Jinping once served as deputy mayor. Therefore, it is considered Xi Jinping’s “direct-line troop.” Due to its proximity to Taiwan, it has also been regarded as the main force for attacking Taiwan.

Recently fallen or rumored-to-have-fallen key military figures, including He Weidong, Director of the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission Miao Hua, Commander of the Eastern Theater Command Lin Xiangyang, and former Commander of the Southern Theater Command Wang Xiubin, all came from the 31st Army.

Meanwhile, Rocket Force Commander Wang Houbin was transferred from the navy to the Rocket Force as commander by Miao Hua in 2023, following the downfall of the previous commander. Thus, it can be said that all these individuals are Xi Jinping’s close confidants in the military.

I believe that the downfall of these people signifies that Xi Jinping’s power base in the military has been fundamentally shaken, increasing the likelihood of Xi Jinping stepping down at or before the Fourth Plenary Session of the CCP.

Link

China-Japan-Koreas

China pledges more resources to support employment

2025-03-09

[Jpost] China will step up resources and funding to support employment and unveil new policies to help college graduates get jobs, as the external environment could become more complex and severe, human resources minister said on Sunday.

China faces an arduous task to stabilize and expand employment in 2025, minister Wang Xiaoping said, estimating this year's employment will be generally stable.
Trouble in Paradise?

Link

China-Japan-Koreas

Fentanyl Wars: Why Trump Blames China for Million American Deaths

2025-03-07

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Kirill Novikov

[REGNUM] On March 4, 2025, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order in which he noted that the 10% tariffs imposed on China would be increased to 20%; he justified his actions with completely non-economic arguments.

Trump accuses China of not taking any measures to combat the spread of synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl).

Tariffs were also imposed on imports from Mexico and Canada. Both of these countries had previously demonstrated their willingness to give in to American pressure. However, China is not going to make concessions, for its part it has imposed duties of 10% and 15% on agricultural products from America, and 15 companies from this country have been added to the Chinese government's "export control" list.

Donald Trump has made drug abuse a major issue during his first term, declaring opioid overdoses a public health emergency in 2017.

“In 2016 alone, nearly 64,000 Americans died from drug overdoses. During that time, the number of overdoses specifically from opioids exceeded 42,000, more than in any previous year.”

According to the latest statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 87,000 people died from overdoses in 2023–2024, which is 24% less than in 2022–2023. However, Donald Trump is sure that these figures are wrong. At a cabinet meeting, the US President said that in recent years, 300,000 people a year have died in the country because of fentanyl. Thus, the total number of victims, according to Trump, has already exceeded a million.

Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid that is widely used as a painkiller; it was developed to help patients after major surgeries. The drug gained popularity due to its low cost (since the 2010s, control over opioid turnover has been tightened in America) and high effectiveness in relieving pain (it is 50 times stronger than heroin).

Restrictions during the coronavirus epidemic played a role, when the transportation of large quantities of drugs was difficult. Fentanyl, on the other hand, could be delivered covertly in small quantities.

In 2019, the Chinese government tightened controls on its production, but could not ban the production of precursors - the chemical elements needed to synthesize the substance, since they have already become drugs of daily demand.

Therefore, the ban had almost no effect: Mexican cartels purchased precursors from China, synthesized fentanyl from them, and shipped them to the United States.

Western media paid special attention to the Chinese company Yuancheng Group — from their point of view, it is engaged in the supply of precursors. It is worth noting that another source of fentanyl is India, but Donald Trump talks about this much less often.

China initially expressed its willingness to cooperate with the United States in the fight against the spread of the terrible drug, but after the visit of former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in 2022, China refused to coordinate its actions with America in this matter.

The United States is convinced that China is deliberately ignoring the problem, directly or indirectly encouraging the export of fentanyl. For example, it was noted that the Chinese government provided tax breaks for companies that exported fentanyl precursors abroad, and some chemical companies even received state grants.

To confirm their suspicions, the Americans like to refer to the book “Unrestricted Warfare” (published in 1999), written by retired Major General Qiao Liang and Professor of Beihang University (Beijing), former Colonel of the Chinese Army Wang Xiansuya. The authors pointed to the transformation of forms of warfare that can already be observed today, for example, the emergence of such phenomena as “information warfare” or “trade war”.

The book, in particular, briefly mentions drug warfare, defining it as “ the receipt of superprofits through the illegal distribution of prohibited substances abroad.”

The purpose of publishing Unrestricted Warfare was to formulate a strategy to counter the unipolar hegemony of the United States. The new US administration is convinced that today the Chinese government has moved from words to action.

CHINA DENIES ITS OWN GUILT.
On the day Trump issued his decree, China's State Council published a white paper on fentanyl, outlining its own contribution to combating the drug's spread. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian noted at a briefing that the US was denigrating his country for propaganda purposes.

It should be understood that the problem of the spread of fentanyl is only an episode in the escalating confrontation between China and America.

Despite the fact that the US is currently experiencing an ideological and value split, both parties – Republicans and Democrats – are convinced of the need to combat Chinese influence. The sanctions imposed by Donald Trump during his first term were not lifted by Joseph Biden. Moreover, in some areas they were even tightened – for example, 100% tariffs were imposed on Chinese electric cars.

And this has brought results: according to statistics for 2023, trade turnover between the countries decreased by 11.6%, and from 2018 to 2024, China’s share in the total volume of US trade decreased from 15.7% to 10.9%.

Both countries are trying to identify each other's weak points and strike at them without hurting themselves.

For example, China has effectively become a monopolist in the rare earth minerals market. Any restrictions in this area will hit not only the American economy, but also the leading supporter of its president, Elon Musk, whose companies actively use titanium and lithium.

This explains why the US is confidently trying to impose an unequal agreement on rare earth mining on Ukraine.

Donald Trump's core constituency, farmers whose prosperity was largely based on exporting their own produce to China, is suffering from higher tariffs in agriculture. China is ready to switch to the agricultural market in South America - for example, it already buys soybeans from Brazil.

The US, in turn, is trying to find other markets. For example, Canada has become one. However, this has not helped to cover the losses from the trade war. Will farmers then continue to support the Republicans?

But China is also suffering from US sanctions: the tariff standoff has slowed economic growth. China already faced difficulties - for example, the housing crisis led to a decrease in purchasing power. And the government has to inject new money into the economy to solve this problem.

But on the other hand, the trade war allows the Chinese government to attribute the slowdown to negative influence from the United States and to unite the people around opposing this threat.

The trade war is hitting both sides equally, but each side is determined to achieve its own goals. America is seeking to maintain its leading position, while China is seeking to increase its influence through its status as the new “workshop of the world.”

In general, tariff wars clearly indicate a weakening of economic globalization and a return to the concept of “national interest.”

Link

China-Japan-Koreas

Taiwan dispatches navy, air force after China launches live-fire drills with no warning

2025-02-27

[FoxNews] A top ranking Chinese official called for more 'reunification' efforts against Taiwan

Taiwan dispatched naval, land and air forces on Wednesday after China launched a live-fire exercise zone just 40 nautical miles off of Taiwan's coast.

Taiwan's defense ministry says it only became aware of the exercise when local Taiwanese vessels were warned to stay out of the area after the drills had begun. The drills are centered off the coast of the Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwanese officials say China "blatantly violated international norms" by unilaterally designating the drill zone.

"This move not only poses a high risk to the navigation safety of international flights and ships at sea, but is also a blatant provocation to regional security and stability," the defense ministry said in a statement.

As part of the drill, Taiwan says it detected 32 Chinese military aircraft carrying out joint exercises with warships. Chinese officials have so far not acknowledged Taiwan's complaints.

The drills around Taiwan are only the latest example of Chinese aggression this month. The country's military has also launched live-fire drills off the coast of Vietnam as well as between New Zealand and Australia, forcing commercial flights between the two countries to be diverted.

Wednesday's exercise came just days after the Chinese Communist Party’s fourth-ranked leader, Wang Huning, called for greater "reunification" efforts. China has long maintained that Taiwan is a rebel territory belonging to Beijing.

China must "firmly grasp the right to dominate and take the initiative in cross-strait relations, and unswervingly push forward the cause of reunification of the motherland," Huning said, according to a translation by Chinese state media.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has repeatedly said in recent years that he is willing to take over Taiwan by force.

China's drills come one day after Taiwan's coast guard (CGA) detained the Chinese crew of a Togolese-registered vessel suspected of severing an undersea fiber optic cable connecting the islands of Taiwan and Penghu on Tuesday.

The CGA says the vessel, the Hong Tai 168, had been loitering within roughly 925 meters of the cable since 7 p.m. local time on Feb. 22. A coast guard vessel was dispatched to the ship at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, demanding that the vessel leave the area, Taiwan's state-owned media said.

Coast guard officials received confirmation that the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 undersea cable had been cut at 3 a.m. Tuesday, and they began efforts to detain the ship's Chinese crew. All eight crew members were Chinese nationals, according to the coast guard.

Link

Africa Horn

Trump announces US airstrikes on terrorist locations in Somalia

2025-02-02

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] On February 1, US President Donald Trump announced that he had ordered airstrikes on targets in Somalia where one of the commanders of the terrorist group Islamic State (IS, a terrorist organization banned in Russia) was located.

“This morning, I ordered precision military airstrikes against a senior ISIS attack planner and other terrorists he recruited and led in Somalia,” the American leader wrote on the social media site Truth Social.

The head of the White House added that the terrorists posed a threat to the United States. According to him, the airstrikes destroyed the caves in which the terrorists were hiding. At the same time, as Trump noted, this happened without causing harm to civilians.

Earlier, NBC, citing the US Africa Command, said that the US military had struck the leader of the ISIS terrorist group in Somalia. The US government publicly named the target of the strike as the head of the group's branch in Somalia, Abdulkadir Mumin, who had secretly become the world leader of the terrorist organization.

ISIS world leader? Impressive.
Garowe adds:

American President Donald Trump
...The Hero of Butler, Pennsylvania...
confirmed multiple ~~Arclight~~ airstrikes
...KABOOM!...

s against the ISIS gunnies in the Bari region of Somalia, noting that the bombardments targeted a senior 'planner' who has been on the run in deep caves within the mountainous areas of Puntland
...a region in northeastern Somalia, centered on Garowe in the Nugaal province. Its leaders declared the territory an autonomous state in 1998. Puntland and the equally autonomous Somaliland seem to have avoided the clan rivalries and warlordism that have typified the rest of Somalia, which puts both places high on the list for Islamic subversion...
Without disclosing the identity of the planner, Trump said the airstrikes destroyed several caves killing 'many terrorists' in the process. No non-combatants were killed or armed during the operations on Saturday, he said in a tweet.

"This morning I ordered precision Military air strikes on the Senior ISIS Attack Planner and other snuffies he recruited and led in Somalia. These killers, who we found hiding in caves, threatened the United States and our Allies," Trump said in a shocking statement.

"The strikes destroyed the caves they live in, and killed many snuffies without, in any way, harming civilians," he added.

Traditionally, such announcement comes from the US Africa Command, which has bases in Djibouti and trains the Danab Special Forces of the Somali National Army (SNA). Trump blames his predecessor — Joe The Big Guy Biden
Joe <q>The Big Guy</q> Biden

...46th president of the U.S. Sleazy Dem machine politician, paterfamilias of the Biden Crime Family...
, for failing to take action against ISIS gunnies in Somalia.

"Our military has targeted this ISIS Attack Planner for years, but Biden and his cronies wouldn’t act quickly enough to get the job done. I did! The message to ISIS and all others who would attack Americans is that "WE WILL FIND YOU, AND WE WILL KILL YOU," he said.

Pete Hegseth, the Defence Secretary, said the airstrikes were undertaken by the US Africa Command following the order by President Trump, but the government of Somalia was in charge of coordination.

In its assessment, the Pentagon said multiple operatives were killed, adding that no civilians were maimed. The statement corroborated Trump’s assessment.

Multiple sources confirmed to Garowe Online that approximately six airstrikes hit various locations in the al-Miskaad mountains, causing significant impact, particularly in the Qurac, Buqo, Wangable, and Dhasaan areas. The strikes have been part of ongoing military operations targeting ISIS bases in the Bari region, officials said.

For the last one month, Puntland security forces, bolstered by support from local communities, have escalated their campaign against the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear western pols talk they're not really Moslems....
, launching what they describe as an all-out offensive against the IS-Somalia murderous Moslems.

The operations aim to dismantle ISIS positions nestled in the rugged terrain, and authorities report significant territorial gains in their fight against the murderous Moslems. Last year, the State Department raised concerns about the capabilities of the ISIS murderous Moslems, terming them 'dangerous'.

While cautioning Somalia, the State Department warned that if actions are not taken, the group could expand territories in Somalia, consequently, affecting the fight against terrorism. In southern regions, Somalia is battling al-Shabaab
... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia attempting to metastasize into Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and similar places, all ofwhich have enough problems without them...
murderous Moslems.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud asked Trump to assist the country in the fight against terrorism, noting that 'we need your support in this war as we endeavour to stabilise Somalia'.

Trump’s direct involvement in Saturday's airstrikes showcases his commitment to assist the Horn of Africa nation in effectively fighting both al-Shabaab and ISIS.

…or his determination to push this thing to closure by winning the war. It remains to be seen whether he is actually interested in supporting either Somalia or Puntland beyond the short term.

America has close to 500 soldiers in Somalia whose primary duty is to train and equip local troops.

More from Garowe:

ISIS is based in Puntland, where it was established in 2015 by former Al-Shabaab leader Abdulkadir Mumin,

…that’s Somali-British ex-Al-Shabaab preacher Sheikh Abdulkadir Mumin or sometimes Abdul Qadir Mumin to you, bub. Show some respect! Born in Puntland in the early 1950s, he spent his forties in Sweden before moving to England in 2005. He preached to eager audiences (including Michael Adebolajo, involved in the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby) at Masjid Quba in Leicester and the Greenwich Islamic Centre in London, but it was in 2010 when he joined a press conference with Guantanamo Bay prisoner Moazzam Begg for the charity CAGE that MI-5 took an interest, driving his return to Puntland, where he joined Al Shabaab. Then in 2015 he and a mere two dozen followers pledged to Al Baghdadi and ISIS, growing tenfold within a year thanks to the romantic viciousness demonstrated by the Iraq/Syria caliphate and material support and training from ISIS in Yemen across the way…

and the group has now been under an offensive for two months by the troops of Somali Federal State, which saw the capture of dozens of its bases and murder of many fighters, including foreigners, according to local authorities.

And from Shabelle Media:

The Pentagon’s counterterrorism strategy in Africa has been strained as two key partners, Chad and Niger, ousted U.S. forces last year and took over key bases that the U.S. military had used to train and conduct missions against terrorist groups across the Sahel, the vast arid expanse south of the Sahara Desert.

U.S. military officials have warned that IS cells have received increasing direction from the group’s leadership that relocated to northern Somalia. That has included how to kidnap Westerners for ransom, how to learn better military tactics, how to hide from drones and how to build their own small quadcopters.

A U.S. military airstrike in Somalia last May targeted IS militants and killed three, according to U.S. Africa Command.

The number of IS militants in the country are estimated to be in the hundreds, mostly scattered in the Cal Miskaat mountains in Puntland’s Bari region, according to the International Crisis Group.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Iranian foreign minister warns of ‘large-scale war’ if Israel attacks again

2025-01-05

[IsraelTimes] In week-old comments aired Saturday, Araghchi tells Chinese broadcaster that Tehran is prepared for an Israeli strike, says Iran will pursue diplomacy and ‘reason will prevail’

Iran’s top diplomat said Tehran is ready for any future Israeli attacks on the country, warning that such action could spark a wider conflagration, in comments aired Saturday.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s remarks to Chinese state-run media come amid rising concern that Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate ~~Jews~~ ~~Zionists~~ Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
could move toward pursuing a nuclear weapon as it is increasingly pushed into the corner following a series of devastating blows, coupled with the looming inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump
...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...
, who maintained a hawkish stance toward Tehran his last time in office.

Donald Trump’s fault? Was it Donald Trump’s fault that Iran has been pursuing the nuclear bomb since the 1990s, and Donald Trump’s fault Iran signed President Obama’s stupid 2015 deal? Riiiight.

Speculation has also arisen that Israel may strike Iran in response to recurring ballistic missile attacks launched against Israel by Yemen
...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of...
’s Iran's Houthi sock puppets

...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The legitimate Yemeni government has accused the them of having ties to the Iranian government. Honest they did. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews They like shooting off... ummm... missiles that they would have us believe they make at home in their basements. On the plus side, they did murder Ali Abdullah Saleh, which was the only way the country was ever going to be rid of him...
rebels, which receive arms and other support from the Islamic Theocratic Republic"We are fully prepared for the possibility of further Israeli attacks," Araghchi said to China’s state-run CCTV, according to a translation provided by the broadcaster. "I hope Israel will refrain from taking such reckless action, as it could lead to a large-scale war."

Or Israel could play Hamas & Hezbollah all over the former imamate of Iran…

Israel has carried out two direct attacks on Iran over the past year in response to unprecedented drone and missile attacks, including an October 1 barrage of some 200 ballistic missiles, most of which were intercepted.

Israeli warplanes carried out a counterstrike on October 26, hitting military facilities and air defenses protecting other key sites.

In April, Israel hit an air defense battery near a nuclear site in response to a volley of some 300 drones and missiles fired at Israel by Iran.

In contrast to bombastic rhetoric often utilized by Tehran to threaten Israel, however, Araghchi said Iran would pursue a "diplomatic approach" and would consult with allies, including China.

That’s nice. Why China?

"We believe that reason will ultimately prevail and prevent actions that could have serious consequences," Araghchi said.

Do remember those words when the time comes, mkay?

The interview with Araghchi was conducted on December 28, during a two-day state visit by the Iranian diplomat to Beijing last month seeking to cement bilateral ties. It was only aired a week later.

During a meeting on December 28, Araghchi and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed Iran’s nuclear program, with Araghchi telling a presser following the meeting that "2025 will be an important year regarding Iran’s nuclear issue."

Link

-Land of the Free

Staffer for California Dem city council candidate charged with acting as agent for CCP

2024-12-22

[THEPOSTMILLENNIAL] A Chinese national has been charged with acting as an illegal agent of the Chinese Communist Party as he was serving on the campaign of Democratic candidate who ran for an Arcadia City Council in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,.

On Thursday, Yaoning ''Mike'' Sun, 64, was arrested and accused of conspiring with Chen Jun, another defendant who was convicted last month and sentenced to 20 months in prison for acting as an agent for the Chinese government, according to the News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

Although the candidate for which Sun worked for is not named in the court documents, the New York Times

...which still proudly claims Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
reported that the candidate named as "Individual 1" in the documents is Eileen Wang, a Chinese American who ran for Arcadia City Council in 2022. Sun worked as Wang's treasurer for the 2022 run.

Wang is still on the city council and is identified as a Democrat in her campagin filings during her 2022 run, but has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The 71-year-old Chen, who is also a foreign national of China, pleaded guilty to using money to bribe federal agents in an effort to undermine Falun Gong, spiritual group that is built around anti-CCP values. Sun as well as Chen are also charged with conspiring to impact elections.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday claimed that the country ''never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries" and was not familiar with the case. According to charging documents, Chen told Sun to report in 2023 on how they got an elected official in office in California. The report detailed that the politician that was pushed by the pair was a "new political star" in the state.

"This case is yet another example of a very disturbing trend: the People's Republic of China is seeking to influence foreign and domestic policy in the United States,'' US Attorney Martin Estrada told news hounds. "To do so, government officials in China are seeking to help get elected individuals who they see as being friendly to Chinese foreign policy.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More