GenZedong darkcalling • 5d ago • 100%

Trust in US news media hits record low

https://www.rt.com/news/605764-us-media-trust-drops/ > Only 31% of Americans say they have confidence that the press reports news fairly and accurately > For the third consecutive year, the number of Americans who claim to completely distrust the media remained higher than those who trust it. The new poll, however, demonstrated a slight drop, with 36% of respondents expressing complete distrust versus 39% in 2023. > A large gap remains between Republicans and Democrats, with only 12% of the former expressing trust in media reporting against 54% of the latter. However, the partisan gap has actually been narrowing in the last couple of years. According to data aggregated by Gallup, in 2022, for instance, some 70% of Democrats expressed confidence in the media. We must continue our efforts to educate the masses, increasing numbers of Democrats are becoming aware of the propaganda because of the water carrying for the zionist genocide of the Palestinian people.

World News darkcalling • 5d ago • 98%

Musk spent $1bn on coup attempt – Maduro

www.rt.com

> The billionaire distributed the money to “fascists” through opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan leader has claimed > Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has accused tech tycoon Elon Musk of “investing” at least $1 billion in inciting violence in the South American country after the presidential election earlier this year. > > Maduro was declared the winner of the July 28 poll by the national election authorities, though the US claimed that victory had been stolen from opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez. > During his weekly television program on Monday, Maduro alleged to have direct knowledge that Musk – with whom he has been engaged in a long-running public feud – had spent “no less than $1 billion” on “the coup d’etat, the fascist outbreak, the violence against the electoral process in Venezuela.” > > The Venezuelan leader named his political opponent, businesswoman Maria Corina Machado, as the distributor of the alleged funding to “fascist” groups, claiming that the US government was ultimately behind attempts to oust him from power. > Following the vote in July, Musk accused Maduro of “major election fraud,” while the Venezuelan president declared the South African-born billionaire his “arch enemy” who “controls the virtual reality” created by social media. The two agreed to settle their differences in a fistfight, which never happened. > Musk has previously expressed support for removing foreign governments in pursuit of his corporate interests. In July 2020, he was challenged online with a claim that Washington had orchestrated a coup against Bolivian President Evo Morales so that his electric car company, Tesla, could secure access to the country’s rich lithium reserves. Musk responded with a post: “We will coup whoever we want! Deal with it.”

This is significant in that many people assume because some US businesses profit from China they will consequently never allow the US to sever ties. This is a direct historical example of corporate profits being sabotaged in the name of harming and isolating the USSR. And I believe a reason why we should expect decoupling to only continue and grow more severe. It's also illustrative because many liberals like to believe Jimmy Carter was some sort of dove against war and confrontation when actions like this show he and the Democratic party that was just embracing fully neo-liberalism and purging old keynesian elements in fact were all too happy to embrace sanctions and economic warfare and antagonism. [(archive link)](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/WbBLe) > Washington threatened to revoke military contracts if companies didn’t stop cooperating with the Soviet state, according to a newly released file > Major American corporations were heavily pressured to cut ties with the USSR during the arms race in the late 1970s, according to a declassified document published by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). > > Jimmy Carter, who was US president from 1977 to 1981, is known for intensifying the nuclear arms race and pushing to distance his administration from the Soviet Union. The policy decisions made during this time included postponing work on the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty, freezing economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries, limiting trade and banning licenses for the sale of sophisticated technologies to the USSR. > > The declassified report, which is dated June 1980 and signed by KGB head Yury Andropov, is devoted to the state of Soviet-American relations. The report cites alleged confidential statements made by a General Electric vice president, as well as the heads of US aircraft manufacturer Northrop and petroleum corporation Atlantic Richfield Company. > > According to the report, the Carter administration threatened to revoke the military contracts of companies that did not cut ties with Soviet organizations. It states that representatives of many large US corporations “expressed dissatisfaction” that politics were meddling in business affairs, which they said impeded on traditional economic ties, limited the scope for business, and forced companies to miss out on profitable deals. It's the same gangster-ism we've seen from the US before. They've destroyed smaller companies for refusing to play ball with illegal wiretapping and electronic surveillance (Qwest telco I believe was one) and they will do it again. Many major companies have valuable contracts with the US government they can't give up and as we've seen with the NVIDIA chips sanctions on China even those that don't want to play ball and stand to make more in China than from the US government are coerced anyways. > Moreover, US business titans were hoping for change, the document stated, noting that “even the Rockefellers,” the American industrial and banking family that still owns one of the world’s largest fortunes and which heavily invested in Carter’s presidential campaign, was “beginning to get worried.” > > The report claimed that some within the US State Department and Carter’s Democratic Party understood that “the business world is not happy with the unbridled escalation of tensions,” and unofficially signaled that companies should “maintain certain connections” with their Soviet counterparts.

Palestine darkcalling • 1w ago • 100%

Nicaragua severs relations with Israel

www.rt.com

> Nicaragua has formally severed diplomatic relations with Israel, accusing it of “genocide” and military aggression in the Palestinian territories. > > According to a resolution passed by the National Assembly on Friday, the break in relations is a response to the “brutal genocide that the fascist and war criminal government of Israel continues to commit against the Palestinian people.” > > President Daniel Ortega has instructed the Foreign Ministry to “abide” by parliament’s request and cut diplomatic relations with Israel, according to Vice President Rosario Murillo. > “We respect the Israeli people who demand the cessation of this massacre, barbarism, and crimes committed by the nefarious Zionist government and army,” the Nicaraguan parliamentary resolution said, calling the Israeli government “an enemy of humanity, which intends to spread its barbarism throughout the Middle East, endangering world peace and security.” [(archive link)](https://archive.ph/vYSW9)

www.rt.com

Despite the title this piece is far more interesting not for its speculation on whether an earthquake was a nuclear test but for thoughts on why it is an imperative for every country against the west to acquire nuclear weapons and why Iran should do so specifically given how it has been cheated and lied to. [(archive link)](https://archive.ph/dRKAY) > By Tarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul > In the late evening of October 5, seismic tremors of a magnitude of 4.6 on the Richter Scale were detected in Iran’s Semnan region. Although they could be felt even in the capital Tehran, over a hundred kilometers away from the epicenter, as earthquakes go this was not a major event: It was not terribly strong and caused no casualties. And yet it has attracted global attention. The reason is that we are not sure that it really was an earthquake. > [...] > Yet it is at least equally realistic to assume that there really was no test. Those discussions of the Semnan tremors that are publicly available seem inconclusive to the non-expert at least, turning on points such as the exact nature of the seismic wave and the location of the epicenter. > Let’s take a step back: Instead of assessing arguments for one or the other version of what exactly happened at Semnan in Iran on October 5, let’s ask two simple questions: Why is it so important and what would it mean if a nuclear test did really occur? > In some regards, it is obvious why the tremors have reverberated globally: Iran is already embroiled in a de facto war with Israel that is on the verge of escalating further, from increasingly destructive missile attacks into an even larger regional and possibly global war. > Beyond the longstanding hostility between the two countries, this escalation is underway for two reasons: > > First, Israel has already completed a year of committing genocide against the Palestinians and there is no end in sight, while it has also been assaulting multiple countries around it with terror attacks, indiscriminate bombings and, now in Lebanon, also a land invasion. > > Second, the West has sided with Israel. In a hypothetical world, one in which the West would not have trampled all over international law and elementary ethics and, instead, would have stopped Israel, the current escalation could not have occurred. > > For these two reasons – Israel’s complete descent into mass killings and all-round aggression and the West’s helping it along – Iran’s regional “Axis of Resistance” has become the key, indeed the one and only international actor that is in the way of the Zionist regime. Given the way Western mainstream media propaganda vilifies this “axis” as “rogue” and “terrorist,” it is ironic that its members are the only ones at least trying to implement the UN 1948 Genocide Convention against the Israeli perpetrators, thus obeying a fundamental obligation of post-World War II international law. The true, monstrous rogue actors are the West and Israel. > > Without the “Axis of Resistance” under Iran’s loose hegemony, the Palestinian resistance would be entirely alone. For Israel, this means that destroying or at least neutralizing Iran is the greatest possible strategic prize. Without Tehran, the “axis” would not simply disappear. For that, its various elements – for instance, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement (‘Houthis’) are too autonomous, not mere proxies. But there is no doubt that they would be gravely, perhaps fatally weakened. > Against this background, Iran’s military capabilities are a crucial factor. While Tehran has a much less modern air force than Israel’s, Iran’s missile forces are formidable. > If it ever were to launch an assault really meant to be devastating – by targeting Israel’s economic and political infrastructure – Israel would have to absorb damage as never before in its history. The fact that Israelis have the option of leaving makes this threat all the more powerful: Their country has deliberately sought to make Gaza uninhabitable. As a civilized country, Iran would not resort to the same genocidal cruelty. But it could make it much less comfortable or safe for Israelis to stay in Israel. > And that is where we get back to the question of why it would be so important if a nuclear test really took place in Iran on October 5: On one side, Israel has threatened to target the country’s many nuclear facilities, if not in the next round of strikes then in the one after that. Yet, since the more important ones are deep underground, that is technically difficult, as an American general formerly involved in pertinent planning has just confirmed to the New York Times. But, still, Israel has US support. Even if Washington has mumbled some objections to that particular Israeli insanity, this means very little because the US tends to lie and Israel tends to do what it wants anyhow and then drag the US along, unwillingly or very willingly, as the case may be. > > On the other side, Iran has, of course, been developing its own nuclear program. While its leaders insist that it’s entirely non-military, if that were true, they would be idiots neglecting their duty to protect their country. And they are neither idiots nor neglecting their duty. >What adds a wrinkle of complication is that the possibility of Iran crossing the threshold to possessing nuclear weapons has been exaggerated again and again by Western politicians and media with an obvious intention to create a pretext for yet another Western war of aggression in the Middle East. > So, whenever you hear – at least in the West – that Tehran is close to having nukes, keep in mind that you may well be looking at war propaganda. And yet, there also is a real possibility of Iran acquiring – or perhaps already having acquired – nuclear bombs. > One way or the other, notwithstanding an earlier Iranian religious injunction – fatwa – against weapons of mass destruction often cited in the West, Tehran is likely to become a nuclear-armed power in the near future. In that case, the fatwa will be altered or superseded. If and when that happens, the West and Israel will have only themselves to blame, for three reasons. > First, we have long known that the West uses the foggy notion of “rules” and a “rules-based order” to evade international law and a meaningful role for the United Nations. The rules-based order is a cheap sham for those who prefer that laws do not apply to them. What the Gaza genocide and Israel’s other recent crimes have made unmistakably clear is that the “rules-based order” includes a very special privilege for Israel and the West, namely that of committing crimes against humanity. In such a world, every self-respecting government that takes its elementary duty to defend country and people seriously must think in the-very-worst-case terms. In such a world, in short, you better have nukes. Many people have said this, anti-imperialist Marxists most of all understand this. > Secondly, we have not only learned what exactly the “rules-based order” is capable of. We have also learned that the alternative norms and institutions of international law cannot stop the “rules-based” crowd once it has made up its mind: By the findings of the highest court of the UN, the International Court of Justice, also called the World Court, Israel stands as a plausible perpetrator of genocide even now; a full sentencing is likely to follow. Its prime minister and minister of defense have arrest-warrant applications pending at the International Criminal Court. And what is the result? Nothing. > Again, in such a world, you better arm yourself as well as you can. > Thirdly, Iran itself has, of course, been through a long-drawn-out attempt to find a compromise with the West and, de facto, Israel. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – aka the Iran Nuclear Deal – was concluded in 2015. [This was sabotaged by Trump and Biden did nothing to revive it] > In sum, in the West’s “rules-based order” the rules include that Israel and the West may commit genocide, and then some; international law and other laws have no countervailing power and have been discredited; and individual negotiations and compromises lead to being cheated. > > Responsible leaders in Iran, and in other states, have to conclude that their countries must have nuclear weapons as well as the means to deliver them. And, in the case of Iran, this actually means enough to deter Israel and the US. The latter especially must, in the future, face the possibility – as it does already with North Korea – of Iranian nuclear retaliation on its own homeland if Washington either attacks Iran directly or helps Israel attack it. That is the stark logic of deterrence. It is sad that nothing else remains. But, by their outrageous violence and, literally, lawlessness, the West and Israel have left Iran – and others – no choice but to adopt this harsh logic to the full. Not good in the sense that if Iran gets nukes it means a strong possibility that the US/NATO vassal gulf states get nukes and some of them are truly unhinged and will become unliveable in the coming decades thanks to climate change, what might they do to blackmail others with nuclear weapons in such a scenario? What might the west get them to use their nukes for in exchange for evacuating their entire leadership and wealth to a safe zone (hitting China, Russia, Iran, etc?). It's interesting that the author doesn't point out one big reason to get nukes is that the zionists have them and could very well use them.

GenZedong darkcalling • 2w ago • 100%

Something I noticed: A lot of talk of health issues/regulation of smartphones seems to revolve around loss of productivity

The WHO has recently declared Smartphones a public health problem. It's interesting that the real problem here seems to be addictive and abusive algorithms deployed by social media and gaming companies but that's not mentioned because those are where the capitalists make their money and it's forbidden to interfere with their profit generation or point that out. Instead they paint it as this vague addiction of which social media is depicted as merely a small part but the real problem is the hardware, the Smartphones and too much use and access to them. And the real issue is people are distracted at work (and school) and productivity is suffering.  And the solution is bans on use of smartphones at schools and crackdowns on use at work because we can't have the proles enjoying the addictive treats we've made to distract them from their horrible lives while they're supposed to be earning us money, those are for while they're taking 2 hours in their commute to get to work or for while they're at home too exhausted to cook or get up off the couch. Just an interesting observation I had. I will be the opposite of shocked when they try and make smartphone lockers at work a thing or implement AI in cameras that detects smartphone usage outside of breaks and applies penalties.

World News darkcalling • 2w ago • 100%

US teams up with India to explore critical minerals in third countries

www.rt.com

Filed under: Decoupling is real and happening AND India is not really a friend to the global south but happy to join with the US to backstab China for some very limited gain of its own > New Delhi and Washington are seeking to reduce their dependence on China, which dominates the lithium supply chain > India and the US have signed an agreement to “expand and diversify” critical supply chains for lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals, New Delhi announced on Friday. > > Both countries are seeking to overcome their reliance on China, which dominates the global supply of lithium, a mineral essential for electric vehicle manufacture and the clean energy economy. > > The pact, signed on Thursday by Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who is visiting Washington this week, and his US counterpart Gina Raimondo, will “leverage complementary strengths to ensure greater resilience in the critical minerals sector.” > > The two countries are focusing on “identifying equipment, services, policies, and best practices” to explore, extract, process, and refine critical minerals.” > > According to Reuters, Goyal described the partnership as multi-dimensional, encompassing open supply chains for materials, technology development, and investment flows to promote green energy. He noted that the US and India will need to engage with third countries, including mineral-rich nations in Africa and South America. > > India has been exploring ways to boost lithium production, both domestically and in third countries. New Delhi is particularly looking to Africa to meet its mineral demands, especially Zambia, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana, and Mozambique. Several African nations have approached the Indian government, offering access to their resources in exchange for repayment of part of their development loans. > [...] > China currently controls nearly 70% of the global lithium supply, and larger shares of cobalt, graphite, and manganese – other minerals vital for green technology. India recently discovered lithium reserves in Jharkhand, Rajasthan, and Jammu and Kashmir, but does not yet produce lithium domestically, relying entirely on imports. This comes off the back of the EU signaling it has the votes and has agreed to implement tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles in the bloc. China's electric vehicle makers are doomed to be excluded from the core west (population 750 million - 1 billion depending on if all countries eventually are pulled in or just EU+US) and confined to China and limited sales in various developed and semi-developed regions in the global. [(Archive link)](https://archive.ph/0iacj)

Palestine darkcalling • 3w ago • 100%

In the middle of a genocide Blizzard games has partnered with the zionist intelligence linked Waze app

Not surprising from the company that had a rampant culture of sexual abuse and harassment, drunken "cube crawls", a "cosby suite" at their annual convention, protected sexual abusers for years and hired a former Bush administration torture apologist lawyer to defend them in a PR and legal campaign that ultimately led to them beating any legal consequences on technicalities. Waze is owned by Google but was founded by people linked to the infamous isn'treali intelligence unit 8200 and is still developed in occupied Palestine by settlers. Google as has been previously reported is on its own deeply in bed with the zionist intelligence and repression apparatus and its occupation military. In this case they're licensed one of their key characters from their World of Warcraft franchise as a voice assistant in the navigation app as we near the 1-year-anniversary of the completely legal action by the resistance on Oct 7th to use violence to resist. As well as the 1 year anniversary of the start of a genocide against the Palestinian people and outsized aggression against sovereign states in violation of international law and acts against civilians outside of Palestine which violate international law. https://www.wowhead.com/news/new-waze-world-of-warcraft-voice-pack-let-thrall-guide-your-path-to-work-347160

World News darkcalling • 3w ago • 100%

Massive Israeli attack levels entire residential block in Beirut in reported assassination attempt on Hasan Nasrallah

mondoweiss.net

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/20775855 > > Israel conducted an unprecedented airstrike on Beirut’s southern Dahiya district on Friday evening in what Israeli media described as an attempt to assassinate Hezbollah’s Secretary General, Hasan Nasrallah. > > > The strike targeted and leveled six residential buildings. The Israeli army’s spokesperson, Daniel Hagari, released a video statement shortly after the strike claiming that the buildings contained Hezbollah’s “Central Headquarters.” Lebanese media reported that over 10 Israeli missiles were dropped in less than three minutes on the complex, situated in the Haret Hreik area in Dahiya. The Israeli army’s radio said that Israeli F-35 fighter jets dropped 2000-pound bunker-buster bombs on the residential buildings. > > > Lebanese first responders continue rescue efforts to pull out survivors from under the rubble. As of the time of writing, the number of civilians killed has not been specified. > > > The Israeli army’s radio quoted a military source saying that any person who was present in the targeted buildings “will not come out alive.” The Lebanese Health Minister, Firas al-Abyad, said that some of the buildings targeted were “full of civilian residents.”

World News darkcalling • 4w ago • 95%

TikTok bans RT’s Arabic and Spanish accounts

www.rt.com

> The video-sharing platform TikTok has deleted three Arabic-language accounts of RT, without explanation. The measure comes as the Israel-Hezbollah conflict has spurred fears of a regional escalation. > > RT Arabic, RT Online and RT Newsroom accounts vanished on Tuesday evening. The Spanish-language Actualidad RT account has also been blocked without explanation. > > They had survived last Saturday’s purge of accounts belonging to RT International, Sputnik Afrique, Sputnik Africa, Sputnik International, Sputnik Brasil, Sputnik Mundo, Sputnik Indonesia and Sputnik Serbia. TikTok has not yet commented on the latest development. > [...] > TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which has come under intense pressure from US authorities in recent months. Under a law enacted in April, the social network could be banned if ByteDance does not sell it to a US owner within a year. I don't get this. Why give in to pressure from the US when they've already passed a law to kick you out? It's not like currying favor with a ban coming from an executive branch organization that can be reversed with the stroke of one person's pen, this is not something that will be reversed because it can be trivially blocked in congress. This is not good. I know Bytedance /=/ China or the CPC but this is exactly why the US wants control of Tiktok in the first place, to control global narratives, to ban who they want, to alter algorithms to push US state dept propaganda, this is just a few steps short of that. And they're functionally giving it to them by going through with these bans which would seem to impact users outside the US. So at this rate they might as well sell to the US. At this rate I hope they do get forcibly shut down and removed from the US so they have no reason at all to do this kind of censorship. (I mean ideally I'd prefer they win at the SCOTUS and get to continue operating and give the US the finger on censoring global operations). At the very least they should split operations off and make the US/NATO operations one distinct legal entity, then another entity that operates outside those regions that the west have no plausible control over which wouldn't have any reason to ban these non-western counter-narrative sources.

World News darkcalling • 1mo ago • 96%

India has been supplying Ukraine with shells via European Intermediaries

www.rt.com

> Italian and Czech customers of Indian ammunition makers were diverting their shipments to the government Kiev, and Moscow has protested this to New Delhi at least twice. The article is strangely written, it's a non-denial-denial on the part of India, they're acting offended but saying they've broken no agreements with Russia and didn't do anything wrong but they're not denying that they're shipping the Ukrainians shells. [The Reuters article in question via archive](https://archive.ph/G40OI)

GenZedong darkcalling • 1mo ago • 96%

Top Headlines: "Ukrainian military keeps Russian civilians in ‘concentration camps’", "Elite US SEAL unit training against China", "Western firms pulling back from China"

https://www.rt.com/russia/603929-ukraine-concentration-camps-kursk/ > Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk Region have rounded up local civilians and placed them in “something like concentration camps,” RIA Novosti reported on Thursday, citing a Russian Foreign Ministry report. > > When Ukrainian forces launched an incursion into Kursk Region last month, thousands of civilians were evacuated or themselves fled deeper into the Russian heartland. Some however, including elderly people and those with disabilities, were unable to leave, and their settlements fell under Ukrainian control. > > According to a new report seen by RIA Novosti, those left behind were subjected to detention methods synonymous with World War II. > > “In a number of territories controlled by militants, something like ‘concentration camps’ were created, which civilians who did not want or were unable to leave the territory captured by the enemy were forcibly driven into,” the report said, according to RIA Novosti. These claims were based on eyewitness accounts collected by the Russian Red Cross in Kursk. > > Of those detained, between 70 and 100 were taken to a school in Sudzha, where some of the fiercest fighting took place. Once there, they were subjected to psychological abuse and presented to foreign journalists, RIA Novosti claimed. ***** https://www.rt.com/news/603943-taiwan-beijing-navy-seal/ > The US Navy’s elite special operations unit, SEAL Team Six, has been training to “help Taiwan” in case of a “Chinese invasion,” according to the Financial Times. The unit is most famous for the 2011 mission that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. > > SEAL Team Six “has been planning and training for a Taiwan conflict for more than a year at Dam Neck, its headquarters at Virginia Beach about 250km south-east of Washington,” FT reported on Thursday, citing anonymous sources familiar with the matter. > > So far, the only hints of US plans for a potential conflict around Taiwan have come from Admiral Samuel Paparo, the head of the Indo-Pacific Command, in an interview in June. > > “I want to turn the Taiwan Strait into an unmanned hellscape using a number of classified capabilities so I can make their lives utterly miserable for a month, which buys me the time for the rest of everything,” Paparo told the Washington Post. ***** https://www.rt.com/business/603925-china-western-investment-drop/ > Western firms pulling back from China > Declining economic growth and the rise of other manufacturing centers in Asia are slowing investment, lobby groups claim > China is gradually losing its appeal as an investment destination for Western companies, according to reports released this week by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China and the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. > > The two lobby groups conducted surveys among investors and owners of businesses in China. According to their findings, many respondents have been consolidating their operations in the country and no longer see the Chinese market as a primary investment destination. > > An annual poll by the American Chamber of Commerce shows that the number of businesses considering China as their top investment destination has dropped to 47%, the lowest in 25 years. A survey by the EU chamber shows that only 15% of respondents named China as their top investment destination, while previously the figure stood at 20%. > > “Some European Chamber members have begun both siloing their China supply chains and operations, and shifting investments previously planned for China to other markets to increase supply chain resilience, take advantage of comparatively lower labor costs and hedge against future geopolitical shocks,” the EU lobby group stated in its report. > > Experts from both lobbies suggest that one of the main drivers behind the trend is the slump in China’s economic growth. According to official figures, China’s growth slowed to the worst pace in five quarters in April-June this year, at 4.7%. Other factors are intensifying competition from local companies and the appearance of alternative manufacturing centers in Asia. > > For instance, around 20% of the businesses surveyed by the US business lobby said they would be slashing investment in China this year, while 40% stated they would be redirecting it to countries such as India and Vietnam. > > Many of those surveyed said China’s trade tensions with the US were also affecting investor confidence. Washington has been tightening economic restrictions and hiking tariffs on Chinese goods since 2018, when then-President Donald Trump launched a trade war with Beijing. Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, has taken a similarly hostile approach, despite Beijing’s repeated warnings that these measures violate the principles of fair trade. Around 70% of respondents in the survey by the American chamber called US measures targeting China the greatest challenge to the country’s economic growth.

China darkcalling • 1mo ago • 96%

My personal journey to Xizang defies Western narratives

www.globaltimes.cn

Another westerner in China admits the west is full of lies on Xizang and that the people there and their culture, language, etc are flourishing. Here are some bits I found personally a bit interesting: > They call me a liar because I was with the government and only saw what the government wanted me to see. But the government didn't stop me looking out the bus window, nor did they stop me going for long walks into downtown Lhasa, or downtown Linzhi. They didn't stop me interacting, and even dancing, with thousands of people in a village fair in Maizhokunggar. > Oppression exists in many places, I've seen it, and I even helped deliver it as a police officer in the UK, fighting miners who wanted a better life, fighting colored migrants who wanted equality, fighting white supremacists who want their country back. I was one of Margaret Thatcher's thin blue line, keeping "ordinary" people safe from those that in today's world would labeled extremists. > > I know what oppression looks like and here's the thing, after extensive travel in China, I've never seen it anywhere. I didn't see it in Xinjiang and I certainly didn't see it in Xizang. > > I saw kids who speak, read and write their local language. I saw adults dressed in their local styles. I saw ordinary people shopping, visiting temples and serving food in the streets and in restaurants.

US News darkcalling • 1mo ago • 100%

TSMC's $65 billion Arizona facility can now match Taiwan production yields according to early trials

www.techspot.com

I have some thoughts on this I'll post as a comment. But basically the predictions of their re-shoring being a total bust were nonsense. It doesn't matter at the end of the day if their efficiency is only 80% of that of their fabs on the island, if it's enough to be part of what supplies the entire west with all they need for laptops and smartphones and gaming consoles then it's enough to no longer need that occupied part of China or care what their actions taken against China result in as far as consequences.

www.rt.com

[(archive link)](https://archive.ph/5UG3a) Yes they have to some great degree. Russia is not in danger of collapsing or being unable to trade but the difficulties are mounting as the Chinese continue to be averse to directly standing up to US sanctions. This article is quite good and goes into a bit of the details but I'm not sure how I feel about the conclusion that all is alright and this is doomed not to succeed and that this is a sign of decline which the author hastily inserts at the end without any real supporting evidence compared to the rest of the article. It feels not exactly supported, like putting a rosy spin on bad news. > The resilience of the Russian economy in the face of harsh Western sanctions sent those cheering the rise of multipolarity into victory laps. And it has been a huge embarrassment to the West. But Russia’s burgeoning problem settling payments with China demonstrates that this resilience isn’t without setbacks. > > This past June, the US Treasury put the local banks of countries that trade with Russia in the crosshairs for secondary sanctions. The legal foundation for measures against companies or individuals found trading with sanctioned entities was originally implemented back in December, but it was in June that Washington expanded this framework and sent strong signals that this time it was serious. These threats were felt particularly acutely in China, Russia’s largest trade partner. > **What happened and when** > It started with the big state-owned Chinese banks, which began shying away from dealing with Russia at the beginning of the year. But there were always smaller, regional banks, which were seen as less exposed to the Western financial system, which would take their place. For a while, it seemed these banks would carry the day. But now even these institutions have followed suit. > > By the summer, Chinese banks were rejecting and returning about 80% of Russian payments made in Chinese yuan, Kommersant reported in late July. An article in Izvestia from mid-August claimed that things were even worse: 98% of Chinese banks were refusing to take direct yuan payments from Russia. > > The result has been delayed and disrupted payments for many Russian importers. A Reuters report from last week discusses how transactions with Russia are being shut down “en masse” and billions of yuan worth of payments are being held up, according to a government source. > > “At that moment, all cross-border payments to China stopped. We found solutions, but it took about three weeks, which is a very long time, trade volumes fell drastically during that time,” the government source told Reuters. > [...] > Meanwhile, the tighter restrictions have led to a drying up of yuan liquidity in the Russian market. In other words, it has become harder and more expensive for Russian companies needing yuan to get ahold of the currency. Given how much of Russia’s trade now takes place in the Chinese currency, this is certainly an issue. > As a result of the squeeze, more and more firms are having to turn on a regular basis to a channel previously used as a last resort – expensive swaps with the Russian central bank (whereby entities post rubles as collateral in exchange for yuan). At the start of September, Russian banks raised a record 35 billion yuan through this facility, well up from the 20 billion daily average in August and 10 billion average in June. Essentially, the Bank of Russia is being forced to fill the gap left by Chinese private banks operating in Russia. > The Russian central bank will almost certainly have to play a larger role, and exporters will probably also step in to provide liquidity. But there is no quick and easy fix. > In making sense of these issues, first of all, it is important to note that this problem is well understood in Russia and is freely discussed, including at the highest levels of government and in the media. No façade is being erected; there is no attempt to suppress this story. It’s been on the front pages of the Russian financial press. > > It also bears keeping in mind that Russia-China trade is not exactly collapsing. In fact, despite the problems, turnover actually grew overall by 1.6% in the first half of this year. More importantly, the experience of the last few years has shown that whatever headwinds emerge end up being a strong driver of change. Central banks are proposed as a solution including CBDCs (central bank backed digital currencies) but the question then is would the US sanction central banks of partner countries like China and India? In China's case without knowing more or being an expert in these financial systems I'm tempted to say yes because they have it out for China anyways and really want to create friction between China and Russia by forcing China to choose either the US or Russia and if they choose Russia they use that as evidence and ammo to ramp up decoupling and sanctions on China and if they choose the US then it weakens Russia to encourage a US push to finish them off before taking on China or at least they hope pushes Russia away from helping China when the US takes them on.

Palestine darkcalling • 2mo ago • 100%

Israel treating Gaza negotiations as ‘smokescreen’, Russia tells UN

[Original source (RT):](https://www.rt.com/news/603535-israel-negotiations-smokescreen-gaza/) > West Jerusalem has been sidelining diplomacy in favor of a “military solution” to the Gaza war, Moscow said > Israel has been using peace negotiations to mislead the international community and hide its true intentions in Gaza, Russia’s deputy envoy to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky has said. > > Speaking at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Polyansky accused West Jerusalem of “stubbornly seeking a military solution to the problem, while attempting to ignore the decisions of the UNSC.” > > “The Security Council is united in the understanding that the rescue of the remaining Israelis and foreigners by military methods is impossible and that there is no alternative to negotiations. The Israeli society understands and recognizes this as well,” the diplomat said. > > “However, the Israeli leadership, unfortunately, continues to treat the negotiations only as a ‘smokescreen’ designed to distract the international community.”

www.rt.com

[(archive link)](https://archive.ph/nUTsm) I have excerpted some of the most interesting parts, to read the full article which is worthwhile please follow the link. > As allies continue to pressure Tehran, the Islamic Republic is wondering who will benefit from a possible war in the region > By Farhad Ibragimov – expert, lecturer at the Faculty of Economics of RUDN University, visiting lecturer at the Institute of Social Sciences of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. > The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh [Hamas leadership and chief negotiator] in Tehran at the end of July has dramatically escalated the tension between Iran and Israel, which have been on the brink of a full-scale war for several decades. > > In 2024, Iran faced a series of major challenges: a large terrorist attack in Kerman at the grave of General Qasem Soleimani; an attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus which killed 11 diplomats and two high-ranking Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) generals; the tragic deaths of President Ibrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a helicopter crash; and finally, the assassination of the leader of the radical Hamas movement Ismail Haniyeh in the center of Tehran. > > All of this forces Iran’s political leadership to take tougher and more radical measures in order to prove both to its own people and to the world that this is not the way to “talk” with Iran. Apparently Iran is delaying taking any action and frustration is growing with its allies such as Hezbollah and other militias. > On the one hand, by its ominous silence, Iran has forced Israel to resort to extreme security measures and close its airspace. Tehran believes that the expectation of a response is also part of the punishment, because tension in Israel continues to rise. > On the other hand, the White House has reassured itself, insisting that through intermediaries, it has convinced Tehran to abandon the idea of attacking Israel. In its usual manner full of pathos, the Biden administration has declared that Iran would face serious consequences if it decided to strike Israel. In fact, Washington does not benefit from the escalation of the conflict – in light of the upcoming US elections, it does not want to give Donald Trump a chance to accuse the Democrats of having failed to prevent an attack on their main ally in the region. Therefore, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan are ready to negotiate with anyone, even Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in order to prevent a scenario that would be unfavorable for them. But as we know this won't bring an end to the genocide in Gaza, the peace talks are a smoke-screen and short of the US somehow using leverage on isn'treali intelligence to force them to coup Netanyahu there will be no peace this year that involves good terms that Hamas finds acceptable and which give any breathing room to the Palestinian people. > A few days ago, the Kuwaiti edition of Al-Jarida reported that Iran’s relations with its allies have deteriorated because of Israel. The media notes that Tehran has provoked the anger of Hezbollah by saying that it’s necessary to be patient about avenging Israel for the murders of Ismail Haniyeh and Fuad Shukr – one of the senior military officials of Hezbollah. At a meeting of the representatives of pro-Iranian forces in Tehran, representatives of the IRGC demanded their allies demonstrate restraint regarding Israel – at least while negotiations on a ceasefire in Gaza are ongoing. > >The disagreement turned into an argument, and some delegates allegedly left the meeting quite angry. The meeting was attended by representatives of Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Yemen’s Houthis (the Ansar Allah movement), and some smaller Iraqi groups. > > Hezbollah believes that the only way to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza and peace in the entire region is to use force against Israel. They believe it is time to open all fronts, directly attack Israel and confront anyone who decides to defend it, including US troops and the Arab countries. Tehran’s allies speak in favor of large-scale and long-term military operations aimed at destroying Israeli infrastructure, security systems, military and economic facilities, as well as Israel’s civilian and residential areas. In their opinion, this will force Israelis to live in shelters for a long time, and they will experience the same challenges as the residents of Gaza. > > Moreover, representatives of Hezbollah stated that the current situation cannot be ignored, and that they can independently decide to attack Israel without coordinating their actions with Iran. Hezbollah also said that after the Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut, it should attack Haifa and Tel Aviv. Moreover, Hezbollah is considering expanding the goals of its possible military operation and attacking other Israeli cities, even if this leads to casualties among civilians. Yemen’s Houthis supported Hezbollah’s position. > A source in the IRGC said that the Iranian side made it clear that such a scenario is quite risky and will only serve the interests of Israel. > > He noted that the Iranians offered to negotiate with Israel on the principle of “an eye for an eye” – i.e., if one of the leaders of the Axis of Resistance is killed, an Israeli official must be killed in return. To this, Hamas representatives who were at the meeting in Tehran allegedly replied, “If Iran is ready to accept the consequences of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in exchange for the murder of Haniyeh, then Hamas will support this policy, but if Iran’s goal is to kill lower-level figures, the movement will not agree with this.” **** What does everyone think? Should Iran continue avoiding escalation that may draw in the US? Is this foolish and likely to embolden Netanyahu who after all is desperately trying to escalate in order to extend his own rule at home and avoid an election or consequences for his failure to get the hostages back that has made him unpopular even within the settler-colonial occupation? Can a death blow be delivered to the occupation without Iran and other nations suffering serious devastation from US retaliation?

World News darkcalling • 2mo ago • 98%

US seizes Maduro’s plane – CNN

www.rt.com

[(archive link)]([https://archive.ph/HssgC](https://web.archive.org/web/20240902172423/https://www.rt.com/news/603411-venezuela-president-plane-seized/)) > The US government has confiscated an airplane reportedly used by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, claiming it violates Washington’s sanctions against Caracas, CNN reported on Monday. > > The US has charged Maduro with drug trafficking and refused to recognize his victory in the last two Venezuelan presidential elections. > > “Seizing the foreign head of state’s plane is unheard-of for criminal matters. We’re sending a clear message here that no one is above the law, no one is above the reach of US sanctions,” an unnamed Washington official told CNN, which first reported the story on Monday. > > According to CNN, the plane is worth around $13 million and was seized in cooperation with Dominican authorities.

China darkcalling • 2mo ago • 100%

Uygur women hit hardest by U.S. sanctions on Xinjiang

> Instead of "protecting human rights," the unilateral sanctions have severely undermined the rights of Uygurs, particularly young Uygur women. > The U.S. sanctions had nothing to do with the alleged human rights concerns. The purpose, he said, is to crush Xinjiang's economy, cause mass unemployment and undermine social stability, said an expert who grew up in Xinjiang. This article goes over the human cost of the US's illegal, coercive sanctions on China and how they fall primarily on women and set back women's rights in Xinjiang. This is probably in keeping with what the US wants as they want to foster a traditionalist, conservative, reactionary culture and religious extremist movement in Xinjiang to attack China with, to destabilize the region and China as a whole and of course to grow into a large separatist movement as part of the goal of balkanizing China.

World News darkcalling • 2mo ago • 100%

Ukraine ‘abducting’ civilians in Kursk – Moscow

www.rt.com

[(archive link)](https://archive.ph/0n2zw) > Russia often loses all contact with local residents forcibly taken by Kiev troops, the Foreign Ministry has said > Ukrainian troops occupying part of Russia’s Kursk Region have been abducting and sexually abusing local residents, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s special mission to investigate alleged Ukrainian war crimes, Rodion Miroshnik, has claimed. > > In an interview with RIA Novosti on Thursday, Miroshnik confirmed numerous earlier reports alleging that Ukrainian forces – including foreign mercenaries – have engaged in numerous atrocities against the civilian population since the start of the large-scale incursion on August 6. > > “We have evidence of sexual violence committed by both foreign mercenaries and Ukrainian radicals,” he stated, suggesting that the Ukrainian leadership had deployed “all of its scum” to Kursk Region in an apparent effort to get them out of the country and “dispose” of them. > Other apparent crimes by Kiev’s forces include abductions, Miroshnik claimed. “We have data that Ukrainian militants are taking action to kidnap people. They are snatching civilians and taking them away to an unknown location. We often lose contact with them. Where are they taken? To Ukrainian territory, or to secret prisons?” he asked.