Pakistan Closes Due To Market Crisis

Pakistan’s government has ordered measures to conserve energy, including closing all malls and markets by 8:30pm (15:30 GMT), as the country grapples with a crippling power and economic crisis.

The cabinet-approved measures are expected to save the country about 62 billion Pakistani rupees ($273m), Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told journalists on Tuesday.

Pakistan finds itself strapped for cash as money expected to come in under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme has been delayed. Its foreign exchange reserves now barely cover a month of imports, most of which are for energy purchases.

The defence minister said additional measures that will take immediate effect include shutting restaurants and wedding halls by 10pm (17:00 GMT). He said some market representatives had pushed for longer hours, but the government decided that an earlier closure was needed.

Asif also said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered all government departments to reduce electricity consumption by 30 percent.

The measures are being implemented as Pakistan struggles to quell fears of a default after the $1.1bn in IMF funding was delayed. Islamabad has differences with the IMF over a review the agency is conducting of policy and reforms it is requiring in Pakistan. The review should have been completed in November.  READ MORE...

China - Pakistan & Kashmir

China and Pakistan on Sunday said they opposed “unilateral actions that complicate” the Kashmir issue, as they pledged closer ties following a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

A joint statement released following their meeting in Beijing said “both sides reiterated their support on issues concerning each other’s core interests” and “underscored that stronger defence and security cooperation between Pakistan and China was an important factor of peace and stability in the region.”

Mr. Khan attended the opening of the Winter Olympics on Friday, which India has boycotted following the use of a PLA commander in the torch relay, and also held talks with Premier and second-ranked leader Li Keqiang prior to his meeting with Mr. Xi.

The joint statement following Sunday’s talks said Pakistan was committed to a “One-China Policy and support for China on Taiwan, South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.” China, for its part, “reaffirmed its support for Pakistan in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and security, as well as promoting its socio-economic development and prosperity.”  READ MORE...

Jailed for Praising Wrong Cricket Team

An Indian student has now spent nearly two months in jail for celebrating Pakistan’s victory in a cricket match. The BBC’s Rajini Vaidyanathan went to the northern Indian city of Agra to meet his family, and find out why lawyers are refusing to represent him. Produced by Shalu Yadav Filmed by Syed Shahryar & Ajay Bedi Edited by Aakriti Thapar.

The Roof of the World

If it wasn't for an extinct relative of modern humans known as the Denisovans, some researchers suspect our own species might never have made their home on the highest and largest plateau in the world.

The Tibetan Plateau, sometimes called the Himalayan Plateau, is nicknamed 'the roof of the world' because it sits, on average, 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) above sea level.

This vast sweep of elevated land, which covers most of Tibet, along with parts of China, India, Pakistan, and several other countries in the region, is usually considered one of the last places that Homo sapiens settled permanently. Studies suggest there have been periods of occupation by various ancestors taking place over the past 160,000 years, but gaps in the record are hard to interpret.

Have there always been people up on the roof of the world, or is each period a resettlement by a new community?

A geneticist and an archaeologist have now suggested another timeline that works just as well with the limited evidence we have on hand.

The researchers incorporated both archaeological and genetic evidence to develop two, contrasting models of occupation: one continuous and one divided up over time. Crucially, the two models can be tested, potentially telling us one day how far back modern populations stretch.

In the discontinuous model, humans visited on and off for tens of thousands of years, until finally staying put around 9,000 years ago.

Alternatively, current evidence could also support permanent colonization that began on the plateau between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago. If so, the long genetic lineage might have passed on some helpful tricks for living up where the air is thin.

According to recent DNA analyses, a single crossbreeding event between Denisovans and H. sapiens in East Asia, no sooner than 46,000 years ago, might have infused our species with the genes they needed to make their home in such a low oxygen environment.  READ MORE...

2021: Global Threats to America

Russia remains the primary threat to American interests in Europe as well as the most pressing threat to the United States. Moscow remains committed to massive pro-Russia propaganda campaigns in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries, has continued its active support of separatist forces in Ukraine, regularly performs provocative military exercises and training missions, and continues to sell and export arms to countries that are hostile to U.S. interests (its sale of the S-400 air defense system to Turkey is a prime example). It also has increased its investment in the modernization of its military and has gained significant combat experience while continuing to sabotage U.S. and Western policy in Syria and Ukraine.

China, the most comprehensive threat the U.S. faces, remained “aggressive” in the scope of its provocative behavior and earns the score of “formidable” for its capability because of its continued investment in the modernization and expansion of its military and the particular attention it has paid to its space, cyber, and artificial intelligence capabilities. The People’s Liberation Army continues to extend its reach and military activity beyond its immediate region and engages in larger and more comprehensive exercises, including live-fire exercises in the East China Sea near Taiwan and aggressive naval and air patrols in the South China Sea. 

Iran represents by far the most significant security challenge to the United States, its allies, and its interests in the greater Middle East. Its open hostility to the United States and Israel, sponsorship of terrorist groups like Hezbollah, and history of threatening the commons underscore the problem it could pose. Today, Iran’s provocations are of primary concern to the region and America’s allies, friends, and assets there. Iran relies heavily on irregular (to include political) warfare against others in the region and fields more ballistic missiles than any of its neighbors. Its development of ballistic missiles and its potential nuclear capability also make it a long-term threat to the security of the U.S. homeland. 

North Korea’s military poses a security challenge for American allies South Korea and Japan, as well as for U.S. bases in those countries and on Guam. North Korean officials are belligerent toward the United States, often issuing military and diplomatic threats. Pyongyang also has engaged in a range of provocative behavior that includes nuclear and missile tests and tactical-level attacks on South Korea.

In the Afghanistan–Pakistan (AfPak) region, non-state terrorist groups pose the greatest threat to the U.S. homeland and the overall stability of the South/Southwest Asia region. Pakistan represents a paradox: It is both a security partner and a security challenge. Islamabad provides a home and support to terrorist groups that are hostile to the U.S., to other U.S. partners in South Asia like India, and to the government in Afghanistan, which is particularly vulnerable to destabilization efforts. Both Pakistan and Afghanistan are already among the world’s most unstable states, and the instability of the former, given its nuclear arsenal, has a direct bearing on U.S. security. 

A broad array of terrorist groups remain the most hostile of any of the threats to America examined in the Index. The primary terrorist groups of concern to the U.S. homeland and to Americans abroad are the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda and its branches remain active and effective in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, and the Sahel of Northern Africa.  SOURCE:  Heritage Foundation, November 2020

COMMENT:  I am curious as to what our current administration is going to do/not do when it comes to dealing  with these global threats...

• Will they try to appease them through negotiations?
• Will they take a strong stand?
• Will they attempt to ignore their influences?

My ongoing concern is that as we rob peter to pay paul so that we can have a vast array of social programs, will that defer monies away from what is really needed to make this country economically strong again....

The wealthy are not STUPID...  and, knowing that they face increase in taxes will shelter their money accordingly so that their taxes increase very minorly instead of substantially...

So, how does that help the US of A?

• Medical for All will be costly
• Open borders and increased immigration will be costly
• Redistributing Law Enforcement Funds will be costly
• Free College Education for All will be costly
• The green New Deal will be costly
• Increasing the National Debt will be costly

I am not that SMART nor am I that IGNORANT...  but, I do believe that a strong global presence to protect our democracy can only be accomplished with a STRONG MILITARY...

...and, I also believe that substantial business growth can only happen when government regulations are removed, otherwise we will have slow growth and quite possibly inflation when there are shortfalls of demand within the marketplace...

ONLY   WHEN   WE   FLOUNDER

WILL   OUR   ENEMIES   SUCCEED