Report: China Moves to Surpass U.S. in Economics, Technology, Diplomacy and Military

/0 Comments/in , /by

China is poised to overtake the United States in key economic and security areas, a development that could forever change the dynamic between the world’s two premier powers, according to a report released Tuesday by a congressionally mandated commission.

The United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission, founded two decades ago to mark the beginning of “The American Century,” produces an annual report to Congress, detailing challenges to the bilateral ties between the two countries.

The 2020 report, obtained early by Newsweek, took a definitive turn, even for an already historic year, calling on Congress to take action as the international playing field was redefined based on steps taken by Beijing and Washington.

“This year, a lot of our focus was on China moving beyond catching up and moving to surpass [the United States] in the economic field, [as well as in] technology, diplomacy and military,” Carolyn Bartholomew, vice chair to the U.S.-China Commission, said during a press call Monday. (Read more from “Report: China Moves to Surpass U.S. in Economics, Technology, Diplomacy and Military” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

A Hungarian Official Compared Billionaire George Soros To Adolf Hitler

/0 Comments/in , /by

A Hungarian ministerial commissioner has been condemned after comparing billionaire George Soros, who is a Holocaust survivor, to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

Szilard Demeter, who is the head of the Petofi Literary Museum in Budapest, wrote in an opinion piece for pro-government outlet Origo that Soros was “the liberal Führer” and that Europe was his “gas chamber,” according to the Associated Press.

“Europe is George Soros’ gas chamber,” Demeter wrote, according to the AP. “Poison gas flows from the capsule of a multicultural, open society, which is deadly to the European way of life.”

Demeter was writing the article, which was published on Saturday, in defense of Hungary and Poland, who are currently in an ongoing dispute with Brussels over the planned European Union €1.8 trillion budget, linked to standards of democracy in member states.

Hungary and Poland are accused of undermining judicial independence and media freedom and under EU investigation. They are threatening to veto the EU budget over provisions that could block payments to countries that do not uphold democratic standards, Politico reported this week. (Read more from “A Hungarian Official Compared Billionaire George Soros To Adolf Hitler” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Biden’s Security Picks a Worrisome Sign for Iran Policy

/0 Comments/in , /by

Why on Earth would the United States rush to rejoin the unreformed 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear accord?

. . .One key failing is the accord’s inability to restrain Iran’s rampant research of ballistic missile technology. Cloaked under the absurd pretense of civilian satellite research, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has spent the past five years steadily improving its means to deliver a nuclear warhead. Considering the severe economic pressure Tehran is suffering, the fact that it continues to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at its ballistic missile program is good evidence for the regime’s desire to be able to wage nuclear war.

Former Secretary of State John Kerry’s diplomatic masterpiece also retains totally inadequate inspection protocols. Iran has a 30 days’ notice grace period before it must give international inspectors access to a site. Helpfully for Iran’s warhead weaponization research, military sites are off-limits.

Perhaps most important of all, the accord’s so-called “snapback” sanctions mechanisms have been proved impotent. The International Atomic Energy Agency recently reported that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is now 12 times the level that is allowed under the accord. In addition, Iran has installed new centrifuges and is enriching uranium up to a 4.5% purity, beyond the 3.67% cap imposed under the deal. Iran has accomplished these patent breaches of its pledges in the open, proudly proclaiming its disdain for the remaining members of the accord it once solemnly signed.

Astonishingly, President-elect Joe Biden, his State Department nominee Antony Blinken, and his national security adviser Jake Sullivan don’t seem terribly concerned about this reality. Instead, they present the speedy return to the nuclear accord as an exigent requirement of regional stability and restored confidence with our European allies. (Read more from “Biden’s Security Picks a Worrisome Sign for Iran Policy” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Brazilian President: There Is Widespread Evidence of Voting Fraud in U.S.

/1 Comment/in , /by

The president of Brazil said he plans to wait “a bit longer” to recognize a winner of the U.S. presidential election.

On Sunday, Jair Bolsonaro told reporters he thinks it’s wise to allow President Trump’s legal arguments to go through in court before congratulating a winner. . .

“It is one of those countries that is the ‘mother of democracy,’” Bolsonaro stated. “Now, the media does not report on this but I have my sources of information. It’s no use talking to you, they won’t disclose it, but there was a lot of fraud there.” (Read more from “Brazilian President: There Is Widespread Evidence of Voting Fraud in U.S.” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola Lobby To Preserve Slavery of Uighurs by Communist China

/0 Comments/in , /by

Major American corporations are flexing their Washington influence to fight legislation reeling towards the president’s desk that curbs their ability to profit off Chinese slave labor.

According to the New York Times on Sunday, Nike, Coca-Cola, and Apple have deployed their teams of lobbyists to push back on a bill prohibiting product imports manufactured in China using forced labor. The bill, Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, passed overwhelmingly in the House with bipartisan support 406-3, is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump or a President Biden next year if approved by the Senate.

Company lobbyists, the Times reported based on discussions with congressional staff and lobbying records, have been working Capitol Hill to weaken the legislation arguing that if passed, it could put excessive stress on supply chains. Targeted provisions include mandates to prove at customs products were made without forced labor and public disclosure requirements documenting ties to Xinjiang, where millions of Uyghur Muslims have been subject to religious persecution, including slavery.

“China’s detainment of Uyghur Muslims and their use of forced labor is an absolute travesty,” Colorado Republican Congressman Ken Buck told The Federalist. “No American company should be lobbying against a bill to end slave labor or relying on slave labor to make their products, no less.”

(Read more from “Apple, Nike, Coca-Cola Lobby To Preserve Slavery of Uighurs by Communist China” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

195 Million Chinese Students Are in School. Why Aren’t Our Kids?

/0 Comments/in , /by

Right now in China, 195 million students K-12 are learning in-person in Chinese public schools. Meanwhile, millions of American public school students are learning in a failed remote system that can’t even keep track of thousands of students who haven’t shown up for class all year. . .

Most parents and students already know that online learning is not working. A look at recent headlines says it all: “Coronavirus: Failing grades spike in Bay Area schools with distance learning,” “25% of Wake middle and high school students failed a class during remote learning,” “Remote learning increases failing grades by 83 percent in Fairfax county,” and “5000 Alabama students haven’t shown up for any sort of class.”

Yes, the way China manages in-person schooling is authoritarian. The Communist Party keeps watch, making sure teachers are following a detailed hygiene protocol. Local officials routinely inspect classrooms, and the government uses apps and other technology to monitor students and staff, and restrict their movements. It has even instructed parents to stay away from their children.

But Americans have also been very compliant with overreaching COVID regulations. When school was open, singing was banned and kids were forced to wear masks while playing basketball or attending outdoor football practices, until finally many were shut down entirely. Americans have for too long put up with hypocritical governors and public health officials who violate their own rules.

The difference between us and the Chinese is what we value. The Chinese Communist government understands that an educated population is key to global economic dominance, so they have prioritized keeping schools open, which the science has proven can be done safely. Meanwhile, in the U.S. we have closed our schools, but have deemed pot dispensaries, liquor stores, abortion clinics, and strip clubs “essential.” (Read more from “195 Million Chinese Students Are in School. Why Aren’t Our Kids?” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Judge Jails 6 Americans Who Were Lured to Venezuela

/0 Comments/in , /by

A Venezuela judge convicted and immediately sentenced six U.S. oil executives who had been charged with corruption and have been detained for more than three years.

The judge sentenced each of the six executives to eight years imprisonment on Thursday evening, The Associated Press reported. The executives, who work for Houston-based and Venezuela state-owned oil company Citgo, had been lured to the South American country in November 2017 for a business meeting, but were jailed instead.

“During the trial, the truth has proven undeniable,” one of the executives, Tomeu Vadell wrote prior to the verdict in a letter provided to The AP. “It proves that I am innocent.”

However, Venezuela’s chief prosecutor told The AP before Thursday’s verdict that investigators had discovered “serious evidence” of wrongdoing.

“The Citgo case has developed normally during all the stages established by the Venezuelan criminal process,” the chief prosecutor said in a statement, according to The AP.

(Read more from “Judge Jails 6 Americans Who Were Lured to Venezuela” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

UK Govt: Lockdown Likely to Last 12+ Months, ‘Hard Winter’ Coming, Repeated Vaccinations May Be Required

/0 Comments/in , /by

Lockdowns won’t end until anticipated vaccines “come to our aid” in the future and the country can expect a “hard winter”, the Prime Minister has said, as the government’s science advisor warned it is quite possible the coronavirus will simply mutate to outperform vaccinations.

Speaking at the Downing Street press conference hours after the details of the new post-lockdown-lockdown were revealed to the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson made clear to the nation that there was no reasonable hope of lockdown ending soon, saying merely that there was “reason to hope” that spring would see an end of “this era of restrictions”.

Given the United Kingdom’s regime of lockdowns began in March 2020, it stands to reason that the Prime Ministers remarks confirm that the nation’s lockdown will be in place with varying degrees of intensity for at least a full calendar year.

As England emerges from the so-called second lockdown running into early December and heads straight into tighter-than-before tiered regional lockdowns, the Prime Minister also teased that things stand to get worse before they improve. Johnson said: “to get there we must first navigate a hard winter, when the burden on our NHS is heaviest, and cold weather favours the virus… If we ease off now, we risk losing control all over again.” . . .

Yet subsequent comments by the science experts flanking the Prime Minister at Thursday’s conference made clear that the arrival of a vaccine would not necessarily herald the end of Covid-19 as repeat vaccinations may, in the eyes of the government, be required in return for allowing society to re-establish itself. (Read more from “UK Govt: Lockdown Likely to Last 12+ Months, ‘Hard Winter’ Coming, Repeated Vaccinations May Be Required” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Chinese President Pushes for Global Tracking System

/0 Comments/in , /by

Chinese President Xi Jinping is pushing for a global tracking system using QR codes to monitor people and any potential exposure to the coronavirus, which originated in China.

“China mandated the widespread use of QR-based health certificates earlier this year. The system, which uses an electronic barcode to store a person’s travel and health history, has been credited with helping to curb the spread of the virus,” CNN reported. “The code issues users with a color code based on their potential exposure to the novel coronavirus. The colors are like traffic lights — green is safest, then amber and finally red.”

Xi, who has religious minorities locked up in concentration camps, made the remarks at the virtual G20 leaders’ meeting on Saturday, saying [emphasis added]:

While containing the virus, we need to restore the secure and smooth operation of global industrial and supply chains. We need to reduce tariffs and barriers, and explore the liberalization of trade of key medical supplies. We need to further harmonize policies and standards and establish “fast tracks” to facilitate the orderly flow of personnel. China has proposed a global mechanism on the mutual recognition of health certificates based on nucleic acid test results in the form of internationally accepted QR codes. We hope more countries will join this mechanism. We also support the G20 in carrying out institutionalized cooperation and building global cooperation networks to facilitate the flow of personnel and goods.

(Read more from “Chinese President Pushes for Global Tracking System” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

State Department Says Anti-American Educators Undermine U.S. Efforts to Counter China

/0 Comments/in , /by

The United States’ ability to counter the rise of China is being undermined by anti-American attitudes in the education system, according to a new State Department report outlining a longterm strategy to compete with China.

The agency said Americans need to be educated about the strategic threat that Beijing poses to U.S. interests and called for government officials and the public to have access to English translations of Chinese Communist Party speeches. Such an effort, according to the State Department, could be undermined by high school and college systems that are hostile to America’s founding principles and history.

“America’s grade schools, middle schools, high schools, and colleges and universities have to a dismaying degree abandoned well-rounded presentations of America’s founding ideas and constitutional traditions in favor of propaganda aimed at vilifying the nation,” the paper reads. “In the face of these polarizing forces, the United States must reclaim its own legacy of liberty.”

Rachelle Peterson, a senior fellow at the National Association of Scholars, called the State Department’s assessment of American education “spot on.” Young people raised with a “biased, disfigured teaching of our own history” will be “receptive to Chinese propaganda,” according to Peterson.

“For years, students have been taught American history as an unbroken chain of violated promises, ignoring the groundbreaking work Americans have done to advance the cause of personal liberty and individual responsibility,” Peterson said. “Is it any wonder that students, convinced America is inherently bigoted, find Chinese propaganda persuasive?” (Read more from “State Department Says Anti-American Educators Undermine U.S. Efforts to Counter China” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE