Wednesday, February 7
Tuesday, February 6
Beijing's Bubble Bursts
February 1, 2024
China suffered major setbacks in 2024. On January 13, the much-anticipated election in Taiwan was won by William Lai who had been dubbed by Beijing as “a separatist troublemaker”. His victory was a rebuke: The Taiwanese landed a you-don’t-scare-us punch at the giant panda next door and China simply took it on the chin. Throughout January, mainland China's stock exchanges declined 6 or 7 percent, and Hong Kong’s fell 12 percent — the lowest levels in years. Then, on January 29, the country’s high-wire financial/real estate saga ended when a Hong Kong judge said “enough is enough” and ordered the liquidation of Evergrande Group with $300-billion loans, equivalent to Singapore’s national debt. The property developer defaulted in 2021 and at that time owned 30 million unsold units across China, enough to house the population of Germany. Another 100 million units, capable of housing 260 million people, had been “bought on spec” with small deposits invested by working-class Chinese in smaller urban centers. The bubble occurred after Beijing allowed people to own more than one home and turned the country into a casino. Bejing so far has been able to duck a “Lehman Brothers” moment, but its debt debacle has taken a toll and is why China has lost prestige and its mojo.
China is no longer a get-rich-quick destination, nor is it user friendly to foreign capital or even to many of its own tycoons. President Xi Jinping also handled COVID poorly, and further damaged the country’s reputation and prospects by not denouncing Vladimir Putin and his genocidal war against Ukraine. The pandemic and war upset the West which has pivoted trade and capital away from China, and repatriated jobs or created them in other parts of Asia. To many, a diminished Beijing is not a bad outcome because weak countries don’t invade their neighbors. But the world’s economies are affected by its troubles and, as economist Paul Krugman wrote recently: “Let’s not gloat about China’s economic stumble, which may become everyone’s problem.”
Frankly, Beijing’s bluster and attention toward Taiwan never made much sense for either country. For China it’s unproductive. Xi’s sabre-rattling frightens away foreign investment from its own economy. For Taiwan, it’s business as usual for 23.9 million people. They ignore it and prosper, enjoying the 14th highest income per capita in the world. By contrast, China’s incomes rank 72nd. The Taiwanese have also become distinct. In 1945, opponents of Mao Tse Tung’s communist regime left the mainland for the island, then known as Formosa. In the 1980s, the island evolved from a one-party state to a democracy and successfully adopted Japan’s export-oriented business model. And world’s beating businesses evolved.
The island’s delicate balancing act has worked despite China’s threats to swallow it whole and punish those who recognize it as an independent nation. Only 12 countries officially recognize Taiwan, but Washington and Europe have played their diplomatic cards carefully and do not support a formal declaration of independence. But America is Taiwan’s biggest backer and arms supplier, and in September 2022, after Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, President Joe Biden explicitly stated for the first time that U.S. Forces would defend Taiwan from a Chinese invasion.
Taiwan’s President-elect William Lai
Taiwan’s newly-elected President Lai also plays the politics astutely. In his victory speech, he averted tweaking Beijing and merely said “Taiwan will continue to walk side by side with democracies around the world.” By contrast, China responded by resuming combat exercises around Taiwan to intimidate its populace and Russia said it viewed Taiwan as an integral part of China. But the other Asian tigers, Japan and South Korea, were supportive and rebuild their military forces as a counterbalance in the region. The QUAD (Asia’s fledgling NATO) was launched a few years ago by Japan, India, and the US and now includes a dozen other nations as members.
Beijing’s is preoccupation is internal: A major military corruption scandal, the existence of hundreds of zombie cities with empty buildings, and a Generation Z sociological phenomenon labelled in China as the “lying flat movement”. China’s current generation disdains the work ethic of its parents and grandparents, partly because they were indulged “only children” as a result of its one-only child edict. But they are also unimpressed by their government’s real estate and other economic fumbles and discouraged by the economic slowdown. Youth unemployment in the country is so excessive that the government refuses to publish the figures, and Beijing censors now block any economic “negativity” comments that appear online.
In recent years, President Xi publicly warned against the danger of “lying flat” and began imposing athletic requirements in schools and restricting video game usage. But many are idle because of the economic downturn. A “laying flat” student protest
A Chinese “zombie” city: New and vacant
Another sociological trend sweeping the country is called the “runolution” — or the unprecedented desire of young Chinese people to immigrate and live in more interesting and prosperous countries. And reports of discontent also dog the military, said an official on Chinese social media. “Many of China's officers don't want to fight, and so we really have a force led by an officer corps that is ambivalent about going to war.”
China’s slump points to a safer Taiwan, region, and world. Beijing’s bubble has burst and its middle class and younger generation appear to be uninterested in economic superiority or military conquest. They seek security and comfort.
Ancient Roman Concrete Lasts a Long Time
The ancient Romans were masters of building and engineering, perhaps most famously represented by the aqueducts. And those still functional marvels rely on a unique construction material: pozzolanic concrete, a spectacularly durable concrete that gave Roman structures their incredible strength.
Even today, one of their structures – the Pantheon, still intact and nearly 2,000 years old – holds the record for the world's largest dome of unreinforced concrete.
The properties of this concrete have generally been attributed to its ingredients: pozzolana, a mix of volcanic ash – named after the Italian city of Pozzuoli, where a significant deposit of it can be found – and lime. When mixed with water, the two materials can react to produce strong concrete. READ MORE...
America is No Longer Great
Obviously, IRAN remembers the BOTCHED withdrawal of American troops in Afghanistan by the Biden administration soon after he took office.
HOW DOES THE REST OF THE WORLD PERCEIVE AMERICANS???
It does not matter how they perceive us because we don't GIVE A DAMN what they think.
Americans don't care what other Americans think about America because America is one hell of a divided country right now.
OUR ENEMIES want Biden to win the presidency again in 2024...
Why do you think that is???
What's that?
YOU DON'T BELIEVE ME...
If that's the case then you should vote for BIDEN...
The state of TEXAS is defying a Supreme Court Ruling and Biden is doing nothing about it.
Republican governors from 25 other states are supporting Texas defiance.
The governor of Florida is sending 1000 national guard troops to Texas to help Texas defy the Supreme Court ruling.
BIDEN is doing nothing to stop Florida.
By the end of 2024, EXPERTS predict that both Iran and North Korea will have nuclear bomb capabilities.
Biden is doing nothing to stop those countries.
Over 100 countries have decided not to use the American dollar when they are conducting trade agreements with other countries.
Biden is doing nothing.
But what can he do?
Absolutely NOTHING.
Illegal Immigrants are in NYC and have attacked the police there. They were arrested and a Democrat Judge released them without bail. In defiance they presented their middle finger to the media that was covering their release.
Biden says and does nothing.
AMERICA MAY BE FULL OF MILLIONAIRES AND BILLIONAIRES BUT SHE IS NO LONGER THE GREAT COUNTRY SHE ONCE WAS.
Sea Otters Preventing Coastal Erosion
Sea otters are proving to be Mother Nature's solution to the prevention of coastal erosion, a recent discovery that further demonstrates how conservation efforts can help to restore an ecosystem as a whole.
Sea otters were nearly hunted to extinction in the 18th and 19th centuries for their pelts. But as populations begin to recover in California after decades of conservation efforts there, the marine mammals are helping to fortify the environment as they expand their range, according to a paper published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. READ MORE...
Monday, February 5
An Electronics Free Circuit Robot
Researchers have developed an ingenious air-powered soft valve circuit system devoid of electronics, showcasing its utility in a drink dispenser and its durability as a car drives over it.
The 3D-printed valve system showcases how well soft devices without electronics can work, even when facing challenges that could turn off regular robots.
According to reseachers at the University of Freiburg, its integration into everyday applications heralds a new era in robust and adaptable robotics. Soft circuit devices, which are flexible and don't use metal, can handle damage much better than those with delicate electronics. They can survive being crushed or exposed to harsh chemicals without breaking. READ MORE...
Do We Know our Middle Eastern ENEMIES?
- DEATH TO AMERICANS
- DEATH TO JEWS
- DEATH TO CHRISTIANITY
most American believe and perceive that words and money will placate them and convince them to retract their threats...
Arabs, Muslims, Jihadists, and Terrorists DO NOT LIKE AMERICANS, nor do they like America.
WHY?
- Because of our arrogance
- Because of our wealth
- Because of our desire to change them
By now, one would think that our government would realize this... BUT NO... Democrats believe that they can calm the Middle East down with words of friendship.
Have we forgotten 9/11?
What is even more disturbing is the GROWING PRO PALESTINE MOVEMENT that is not just in the USA but is spreading throughout Europe.
China is supporting IRAN and its PROXIES against the USA because they are against the USA and if other countries can do the DIRTY WORK for them, they keep their hands clean.
But, if the truth be known, neither Russia nor China like MUSLIM because the belief in their Islamic Faith is more radical than the belief of Christians.
THE ENEMY OF MY ENEMY IS MY FRIEND
A New Type of Magnetism
ALL THE MAGNETS you have ever interacted with, such as the tchotchkes stuck to your refrigerator door, are magnetic for the same reason. But what if there were another, stranger way to make a material magnetic?
In 1966, the Japanese physicist Yosuke Nagaoka conceived of a type of magnetism produced by a seemingly unnatural dance of electrons within a hypothetical material. Now, a team of physicists has spotted a version of Nagaoka’s predictions playing out within an engineered material only six atoms thick. READ MORE...
Sunday, February 4
American Eduction
Over the last 50 years (going back to 1974) the average GPA for college graduates was C+/B- and now it is B+/A-...
- Have Americans gotten smarter?
- Are high schools doing a better job of teaching and helping student retain information?
Two interesting questions...
FIFTY YEARS AGO (1974) American education was rated NUMBER ONE in the world. Today, that same education is rated 15th/17th depending upon which study you read.
If American education is declining in high school then how can the grades of college graduates be increasing?
Logically, this should not be happening and yet it is which means that today's college education is being WATERED DOWN to accommodate these weak performing students. In many cases, college professors are not assigning grades (pass/fail) or they have lowered their standards.
Consequently, these college graduates are being hired by our businesses and industries and have no retention or very little retention of knowledge.
- What does this mean for our economy?
- Will America be able to compete in the global marketplace?
Again, two interesting questions...
But, here is a more interesting question:
- If you owned a company, who would you hire, an American college graduate or a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence?
My guess is that you would hire the robot, especially since they do not smoke, drink alcohol, take illegal drugs, need vacation leave or sick leave and do not get pregnant, have heart attacks or contract cancer.
So, one would suspect that a college education costs $30,000 a year and just getting a bachelor's degree is not enough, so now one needs a master's degree or another 1-2 years.
Therefore, student loans (on average) are going to be around $150,000...
It does not take a rocket scientist to see that going to college may not be what high school graduates should do.
Humanoid Robots in South Carolina
Shiny, silver human-shaped robots the size of lightweight boxers are getting ready to start shuffling their way through BMW’s US factory floors. The carmaker recently reached a commercial agreement with the robotics startup Figure to bring its eponymously named “general purpose” humanoid robot to BMW’s manufacturing facilities, starting with its Spartanburg, South Carolina location.
The agreement puts BMW in a race with Tesla and other automakers who’ve embraced a vision of humanoid robots in an effort to further automate their already tech-filled facilities. It’s clear the robots are coming, but nobody really seems to know exactly what to do with them just yet. READ MORE...
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