Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is currently in China where she does her best to further piss off her host. Yellen, in Beijing, Criticizes Chinas Treatment of U.S. Companies - NY Times, Jul 7, 2023 The concerns of Treasury Secretary Janet...

Over the course of the past century, substantial changes have taken place in debates about social development. Dossier no. 66, The World Needs a New Socialist Development Theory, examines the historical evolution of development theory over four distinct eras, analyses the obstacles that stand in the way of development today, identifies processes that have the potential to advance genuine alternatives, and offers an outline of a new socialist development theory.

Enduring neocolonial structures in the world economy have made it difficult for countries in the Global South to pursue viable development agendas. However, following the 20072008 Western financial crisis, large developing states have begun to contemplate the revival of a South-South development agenda. The emergence of South-South institutions, as well as the rapid expansion of Chinas trade policy and regional initiatives, have provided developing states with more choices than have been available to them in decades and have reduced their dependence on Western-controlled institutions. These new realities demand the formulation of new development theories, new assessments of the possibilities of, and pathways to, transcending the obstinate facts of social despair. In other words, what has been put back on the table is the necessity for national planning and regional cooperation as well as the fight to produce a better external environment for finance and trade.

The emergence of institutions of South-South cooperation and Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project provides new opportunities for socialist movements and governmental projects to work together to formulate a new socialist development theory. This theory must engage with what Samir Amin termed the five controls that constrain the development agenda the Wests monopoly control over natural resources, financial flows, science and technology, military power, and i...

By Fantine Gardinier Sputnik 07.07.2023

Numerous regional governments have for years protested Japans plans to release the wastewater from Fukushima Daiichi into the Pacific Ocean, including South Korea, China, and numerous Pacific Island nations, whose fishing fleets work the vast ocean waters.

The Japanese government has moved to begin the gradual release of 1.3 million tons of treated wastewater from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Okuma. The water, which is radioactive from having been used to keep molten spent nuclear fuel cool in the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Sendai plain, has been filtered through the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). The planned release will take place over 30 to 40 years.

Kevin Kamps, the radioactive waste watchdog at Beyond Nuclear, told Sputnik on Friday that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is caught in a vise between its advocacy for nuclear power and the reality of the detrimental effects of improper storage of its waste, which is a key problem with the Japanese governments plan since 2011 to store that waste at the site of the damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

I think its just an industry public relations campaign to kind of say, look, the oceans a big place, its just going to disappear into nothingness. And its not true, he told Radio Sputnik. In fact, its going to concentrate the radioactivity in the food chain. And thats going to be the main pathway for human exposure as people eating Fukushima contaminated fish from the Pacific Ocean.

Theres so many options that are better than dumping it in the ocean. One option is what theyve been doing for the past 12 years, since this catastrophe began: storing it in tanks. It has not gone perfectly, but their rationale for not continuing with the tank storage is that theyve run out of room, theyve run out of physical space. And all I can say is, would you please give me a break? They have turned that region into a radioactive sacrifice zone because of the catastrophe, Kamps said, adding that the area has already been rendered inhospitable by the radiation.

Theres an option to expand the site perimeter, continue with the tank storage. A problem with that, though, is that site, as shown by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, its not a stable site, so storage there may not be the best idea, he noted.

A colleague of mine, Dr. Arjan Nakatani, is actually serving on the Pacific Islands Forum, reviewing this insane scheme on behalf of Pacific Island nations and opposing it. H...

Will the worlds major coastal cities, such as NYC, survive escalating global heat conditions in Greenland? And what if both Greenland and Antarctica follow the recent very disturbing pattern of the worlds oceans? For the first time that scientists can recall, sea surface temperatures that always recede from annual peaks are failing to do so, staying high.

Climate change is getting dangerously worse, which is becoming a more common statement among scientists. Ecosystems are starting to fail right before our eyes. For example, in 2022 Europe experienced a big scare with temporary loss of full service for navigable commercial waterways, like the Rhine, and loss of potable water in regions of France and Italy, necessitating water delivery by truck to over 100 communities, with much of Asia experiencing similar issues, especially China and India.

Suddenly, the world is a different place, a description that fits Greenland, especially August 14, 2021, when it rained at Summit Station, 10,551 feet elevation. Theres no previous record of rainfall at the 2-mile summit. It was one more unprecedented climate event. More on Greenland and coastal cities follows herein.

According to the IPCC 6th Assessment Report: There is high confidence that climate change has already caused irreversible losses in terrestrial, freshwater and coastal and open ocean marine ecosystems. Still, climate scientists continue pumping out reports about those same irreversible losses, but frustration mounts as reports pile on top of reports in the face of negligible efforts by the 195 signatories to Paris 15.

Its not surprising that climate scientists are becoming street protestors.

Scientists Rebel

In December 2021 an offbeat science article called for scientists to stop feeding research into a bottomless pit of inaction: The science-society contract is broken. The climate is changing The tragedy of climate change science is that at the same time as compelling evidence is gathered, fresh warnings issued, and novel methodologies developed, indicators of adverse global change rise year upon year.¹

Furthermore: We therefore call for a halt to further IPCC assessments. We call for a moratorium on climate change research until governments are willing to fulfil their responsibilities in good faith and urgently mobilize coordinated action from the local to global levels. This third option is the only effective way to arrest the tragedy of climate change science....

Via: ZeroHedge: According to a Pentagon spokesperson cited by Reuters, the US Defense Department announced on Friday it is invoking the Defense Production Act to boost the domestic mining and processing capacity of two rare earth metals, gallium and germanium, critical for high-tech chip-making for the US defense industry. Reuters said the Pentagon has a []

Via: The Washington Times: Chinas Peoples Liberation Army is developing high-technology weapons designed to disrupt brain functions and influence government leaders or entire populations, according to a report by three open-source intelligence analysts. The weapons can be used to directly attack or control brains using microwave or other directed energy weapons in handheld guns or []

Social psychosis is widespread.  In the words of the British psychiatrist, R. D. Laing, The condition of alienation, of being asleep, of being unconscious, of being out of ones mind, is the condition of the normal man.

He was not referring to raving, drooling, hitting-your-head-against-the-wall lunacy but a taken-for-granted acceptance of a world long teetering on the edge of nuclear extinction, to take the most extreme example, but surely only one of many.  The insouciant acceptance and support of psychotic rulers who promote first-strike nuclear war is very common.  First strike nuclear policy is United States policy.

I recently wrote an article about the dangers of the fourteen U.S. Trident submarines.  These subs constantly cruise under the oceans carrying 3,360 nuclear warheads equivalent to 134,400 Hiroshima bombs.  All are on first strike triggers.  And, of course, these are supplemented by all the land and air based nukes.  My point was not very complicated: now that the United States government has abrogated all nuclear weapons treaties and continues to escalate its war against Russia in Ukraine, we are closer to nuclear annihilation than ever before.

This conclusion is shared by many esteemed thinkers such as the late Daniel Ellsberg who died  on June 16, 2023 and whose 2017 book The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, makes clear that nuclear war, waged intentionally or by mistake or accident, is very possible. In the months before he died, he warned that this is now especially true with the situation in Ukraine and the U.S. provocations against China.

The Grayzones Max Blumenthal recently addressed the UN Security Council on the danger of U.S. actions in Ukraine and asked:

Will we see another Douma deception, but this time in Zaporizhzhia?

Why are we doing this? Why are we tempting nuclear annihilation by flooding Ukraine with advanced weapons and sabotaging negotiations at every turn?

Finian Cunningham has just raised the specter of a thermonuclear catastrophe initiated by a U.S./Ukrainian false flag attack on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant.

So my article was in no way unusual, except for my concentration on the Trident submarines.

When, against my better judgment, I read some commentators responses to my piece at a few websites where my article was posted, I was taken aback when I read the following [all emphases are mine]:

• Like many other boo...

China, the worlds leading producer of gallium and germanium, announced new export controls on these critical materials used primarily in the semiconductor industry. The restrictions came in response to trade war escalations with the US and Europe, following moves to limit Chinas access to vital chipmaking technology. The new rules will require Chinese companies to obtain an export license for these metals, marking a significant change in the dynamics of global technology manufacturing.

Gallium and germanium are two critical materials used extensively in high-tech industries. They are typically extracted as byproducts from the processing of other minerals. Gallium is primarily extracted during the refining of bauxite, an aluminum ore, and to a lesser extent, from sphalerite, a zinc ore. Germanium is also primarily derived from zinc ore, in addition to coal and silver ores.

The post Chinas Export Ban on Semiconductor Inputs appeared first on Geopolitical Monitor.

JUL 06, 2023 Discussions at the recent SCO Summit in New Delhi now point to the inevitable: The merging of new multipolar organizations and their collective reorganization of global finance. Pepe Escobar The 23rd summit of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), held virtually in New Delhi, represented History in the []

• A federal investigation has found that China used American technology in a spy balloon that conducted surveillance on U.S. military bases earlier this year.
• The balloon carried a combination of commercial products, including some available online, as well as specialized Chinese sensors and equipment for capturing photos, videos, and other information to transmit to Beijing.
• While the Defense Department believes the spy balloon did not collect data while flying over U.S. territory, the debris collected from the balloons remnants included various components, including sensors, solar panels, and devices for capturing imagery and radar data.  Read More

The post Chinese Balloon Used American Tech to Spy on US appeared first on The Clarion Project.

Discussions at the recent SCO Summit in New Delhi now point to the inevitable: The merging of new multipolar organizations and their collective reorganization of global finance. The 23rd summit of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), held virtually in New Delhi, represented History in the making: three BRICS (Russia, India, Continue reading Finance, Power, Integration: The SCO Welcomes A New Global Globe

Jerry Grey To coin a sporting phrase, its all happening here; here, of course is China. And theres little doubt that things are happening on a global scale. Perhaps more than a casual observer might notice, so heres a rundown on some of the things which are happening, have happened or are about to happen....

Sputnik 06.07.2023

WASHINGTON A majority of likely voters in the United States believe that US President Joe Biden was involved in his son Hunter Bidens foreign business dealings, which are under investigation by US House lawmakers, a Rasmussen Reports poll revealed on Thursday.

More than half of respondents, 58%, said that it was likely that Biden was involved in his sons foreign business deals, with 44% believing it very likely, the poll said.

One-third of respondents said it was unlikely Biden was involved in the foreign business deals, and 10% are unsure.

The poll comes amid an investigation by the US House Oversight Committee into alleged criminal acts committed by the Biden family, including corruption and influence peddling. Earlier this month, panel chairman James Comer characterized the alleged actions as organized crime.

The committees probe is partially based on accusations from a confidential FBI informant, who alleges that Joe and Hunter Biden received millions of dollars from a Ukrainian energy company. Lawmakers are also investigating deals tied to China.

However, Biden has denied ever speaking to his son about his business deals, contradicting testimony from an IRS whistleblower involved in matters related to Hunter Biden.

The survey polled 1,054 likely US voters on June 28-29 and July 2. The poll maintains a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points with a 95% confidence level.

Fan Wennan (China), 2098: (China 2098: The Sun Rises Just the Same), 20192022.

At the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), member states decided to replace the Millennium Development Goals (established in 2000) with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first SDG was to end poverty in all its forms everywhere. Despite the enthusiastic verbiage, it was clear that poverty was simply not going to be ended across the world. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the data showed that poverty had become intractable.

In October 2022, the UN Development Programme and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative released its 2022 Global Multidimensional Poverty Index...

A 2-inch (50.8 mm) gallium oxide wafer is displayed at Hangzhou International Science and Technology Innovation Center of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province on May 30, 2022. Photo: VCG

The measures taken by China in recent years to safeguard national security and interests have often been subjected to excessive interpretation and reaction from the US and Western countries. The recent decision by China to implement export controls on gallium and germanium-related items is no exception. Although Chinese authorities have said this is a common international practice and not targeted at any specific country, certain countries have felt targeted, leading to a series of doubts, questions, and even accusations.

There are mainly two points that these people are criticizing about. First, they believe that China is indeed targeting specific countries by precisely counterattacking the semiconductor equipment export controls imposed by the US, Japan and the Netherlands. Does this contradict Chinas consistent opposition to the abuse of export controls? Second, they claim Chinas actions may violate regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and are detrimental to the stability of the semiconductor supply chain. Both of these points are baseless.

Whether it is a precise counterattack against the discriminatory policies of the US, Japan, and the Netherlands toward China can be left for them to ponder. It is nothing wrong to make those who have done bad things to China feel uneasy and unsettled. Gallium and germanium are key raw materials used in the production of semiconductors, missile systems, solar cells, and other high-tech products. If China exports them to these countries, but they prohibit the export of high-tech products made from these materials to China, this is clearly unfair in terms of trade. If the US uses them to produce high-end military equipment, it may even pose a threat to Chinas national security. Chinas export control is justifiable in terms of reason and law. It needs to be emphasized that this is entirely different from the US abuse of export controls.

Chinas export control measures have always adhered to the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and non-discrimination, and are committed to maintaining the security and stability of the global production and supply chains. As for whether these measures violate WTO regulations this time, it is more of a technical issue. China is recognized as an exemplary member of the WTO, in sharp contrast w...

By Salman Rafi Sheikh New Eastern Outlook 06.07.2023 

Following active US diplomacy over the past few years, Europe seems to have now decided to say no to the US geopolitics of decoupling from China. This is nothing short of a major diplomatic blow for the US, although this blow has not received as much attention in the mainstream Western media due to its overt focus on events related to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The recent visit of Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Europe, where Li not only met the German Chancellor but also addressed a conference on development financing organised by French President Macron. More than that, the fact that two of the European Unions most powerful states received and interacted with Chinas number two became possible, first and foremost, because of the available space for continuing trade partnership with China. That is one key reason why the EU now favours the politics of de-risking rather than de-coupling.

While the idea of de-risking would literally mean reducing dependence on China which some might see as a good sign de-risking mainly means better management of trade and economic ties with China. After all, the EU sees China as an economic competitor. Therefore, devising new strategies to manage this competition makes perfect sense not only for the EU but also for China. As a leading US media outlet said in one of its reports, the EU has basically decided not to piss China off.

The real question is: Why is the EU, despite Chinas overall pro-Russia position on Ukraine, devising a strategy that does not involve the kind of decoupling that the EU has effected vis--vis Russia in terms of energy supplies? There are several crucial reasons for the ongoing strategic rethinking in the EU vis--vis China.

First of all, the EU leaders tend to believe that China itself is eager to maintain stable economic ties with the EU. As opposed to Beijings estranged ties with the US, China intends to maintain a healthy, although competitive, environment with the EU. Doing this is very much possible since the EU is not as deeply entangled with China in geopolitical flashpoints, such as Taiwan and the South China Sea, as the US is. For the EU, therefore, continuing trade ties with China present an opportunity that should be exploited to the best possible extent, even if this continuation does not fit very well with the nature of the US-China ties.

Secondly, the EU is a 27-member bloc, which can be in fact, it is internally very diverse, with many EU countries following o...

Global Times | July 6, 2023

The measures taken by China in recent years to safeguard national security and interests have often been subjected to excessive interpretation and reaction from the US and Western countries. The recent decision by China to implement export controls on gallium and germanium-related items is no exception. Although Chinese authorities have said this is a common international practice and not targeted at any specific country, certain countries have felt targeted, leading to a series of doubts, questions, and even accusations.

There are mainly two points that these people are criticizing about. First, they believe that China is indeed targeting specific countries by precisely counterattacking the semiconductor equipment export controls imposed by the US, Japan and the Netherlands. Does this contradict Chinas consistent opposition to the abuse of export controls? Second, they claim Chinas actions may violate regulations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and are detrimental to the stability of the semiconductor supply chain. Both of these points are baseless.

Whether it is a precise counterattack against the discriminatory policies of the US, Japan, and the Netherlands toward China can be left for them to ponder. It is nothing wrong to make those who have done bad things to China feel uneasy and unsettled. Gallium and germanium are key raw materials used in the production of semiconductors, missile systems, solar cells, and other high-tech products. If China exports them to these countries, but they prohibit the export of high-tech products made from these materials to China, this is clearly unfair in terms of trade. If the US uses them to produce high-end military equipment, it may even pose a threat to Chinas national security. Chinas export control is justifiable in terms of reason and law. It needs to be emphasized that this is entirely different from the US abuse of export controls.

Chinas export control measures have always adhered to the principles of fairness, reasonableness, and non-discrimination, and are committed to maintaining the security and stability of the global production and supply chains. As for whether these measures violate WTO regulations this time, it is more of a technical issue. China is recognized as an exemplary member of the WTO, in sharp contrast with the US, who has trampled on WTO rules and principles. Despite having larger reserves of germanium than China, the US has protected germanium as a defense reserve resource since 1984 and has hardly conducted any mining activities. In a sense, Chinas implementation of export controls on gallium and germanium may have come a bit late. China has no reason to excessively deplete its strat...

M. K. Bhadrakumar The virtual summit meeting of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation on July 4 welcomed Iran as its tenth member To be out of sync with the contemporary life anywhere at anytime becomes indeed a despairing situation. That was the tragic predicament of the Austrian writer of the inter-war period, Stefan Zweig, who once wrote,...

Dnyanesh Kamat Saudi Arabia is in talks on joining BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), a precursor to inclusion in a club that comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Extending membership to Riyadh would signal the banks interest in challenging the Wests monopoly over global financial institutions and represent a counterweight to rich-country clubs...

Pepe Escobar Discussions at the recent SCO Summit in New Delhi now point to the inevitable: The merging of new multipolar organizations and their collective reorganization of global finance. The 23rd summit of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), held virtually in New Delhi, represented History in the making: three BRICS (Russia, India,...