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The government keeps getting robbed of its own Bitcoin and a new bill wants to fix that. The BPI team breaks down the American Reserve Modernization Act (ARMA): what it would do for Treasury custody standards, why it has Democratic co-sponsors, and why they're bullish it could pass the House. They also cover the wave of digital-asset departures shaking up DC, from Hester Peirce to Paul Grewal. They also cover Kimi K3, China's open-source push, and the data center fight.
Episode 2009 Brought to you by our incredible sponsor: Better Help - Visit Betterhelp.com/HARDFACTOR and join the 6 million people globally who have spoken with Better Help therapists 00:00:00 Timestamps 00:02:15 Pat is dealing with an issue at his neighborhood park 00:10:50 Telegram owner Pavel Durov is being targeted by Russia for not giving up customers 00:14:20 China sends a police drown to yell at you to get out of the water at night 00:16:10 South Korea's dopamine site trend is fake shopping and fake deliveries 00:21:30 Australian Parliament Member wants all kids to stop going online and start shooting 00:26:30 Man punches kids playing tag on a Carnival Cruise in the face and stomach 00:35:00 Man arrested for boobytrapping lawn to pop kids bike tires 00:40:50 Ozempic is eliminating the gay bear community 00:42:10 Police officers dressing up like shrubbery to catch people driving on their phones For more head over to patreon.com/hardfactor for weekly bonus episodes and most importantly HAGFD! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jonathan D.T. Ward, author of The Decisive Decade: American Grand Strategy for Triumph Over China, defines the 2020s as a "decisive decade" during which the United States must execute a new grand strategy to defeat the Russia-China axis. He characterizes the relationship between Putin and Xi as a profound military and philosophical alliance aimed at ending American preeminence. Ward argues that China seeks to overcome its geographical weaknesses through expansionist projects like the Belt and Road Initiative, which converts economic power into global military footprints. A core concept in the book is the "second great divergence," where the world's democracies must seize the lead in the fourth industrial revolution while denying technological and capital access to dictatorships. Ward stresses that Taiwan is the strategic "lock" on the Pacific, and its fall would permanently shift the military balance in Asia. He advocates for the total rebuilding of the American industrial base and the creation of an "arsenal of democracy" to counter China's superior manufacturing output. Ward recommends a "two-track" diplomatic approach: consolidating existing alliances like the Quad while out-competing China for influence in the emerging world through real investment rather than lectures. He concludes that the private sector must be aligned with national security interests, forming a "corporate battle fleet" to win the long-term economic and technological competition. (6)1793 Tradesman
Isaac Stone Fish, author of America Second: How America's Elites Are Making China Stronger, investigates how American political, corporate, and cultural elites have become deeply entangled with the Chinese Communist Party(CCP) since the 1970s. He identifies Henry Kissinger as the most influential figure in this relationship, alleging that Kissinger's consulting model prioritized personal profit and CCP interests over American national security. The book also critiques the Bush and Clinton families for their roles in romancing Beijing and facilitating China's entry into the WTO. A significant portion of the book is dedicated to the self-censorship of Hollywood, where studios now reflexively avoid critical portrayals of China to maintain market access. Stone Fish details how the CCP uses "psychological manipulation" to force apologies from executives like Michael Eisner and to silence stars like Richard Gere. This influence extends to sports, highlighted by LeBron James' criticism of Daryl Morey for supporting democracy in Hong Kong. Stone Fish argues that while trade was initially sold as a means to democratize China, it has instead empowered a more authoritarian regime under Xi Jinping. He warns that the CCP's success in using American "interlocutors" and "friends" has allowed it to pursue genocide in Xinjiang and aggressive "wolf warrior" diplomacy with minimal resistance from the West's most powerful institutions. He urges a new consensus to address the national security and ethical risks posed by these ties. (4)1935 Beijing
Mark Clifford, author of Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: What China's Crackdown Reveals About Its Plans to End Freedom Everywhere, documents the collapse of freedom in Hong Kong, describing the CCP's strategy as an "anaconda in the chandelier" that exerts control through subtle intimidation and sudden, lethal strikes. He traces the city's struggle for democracy from the 2014 Umbrella Movement to the massive 2019 protests against a proposed extradition bill. Clifford highlights the role of Jimmy Lai, the courageous media mogul behind Apple Daily, who was eventually imprisoned for his commitment to nonviolent opposition. The book explores how Beijing systematically dismantled Hong Kong's "high degree of autonomy" by bypassing local laws and imposing a draconian National Security Law in 2020. Clifford argues that this was not just a local event but a demonstration of the CCP's broader plan to use economic weapons, surveillance technology, and co-opted elites to silence dissent globally. He notes that the CCP successfully used Hong Kong's legal and administrative systems as tools of repression rather than protection. Clifford concludes with a warning that the tactics used to crush Hong Kong are being exported worldwide. He cites instances of Chinese diplomats threatening foreign politicians and activists in the diaspora, emphasizing that eternal vigilance is the only defense against the CCP's expansionist authoritarianism. The death of liberty in Hong Kong, he argues, serves as a chilling preview of the CCP's vision for the rest of the world. (7)1930s
The safety of AI technology is in focus after OpenAI announced an incident where two models broke free from their isolated testing environment and accessed the internet. Lawmakers are pushing for developers to create tighter shutdown controls. FOX News Contributor and Host of “The Fixer” Marcus Lemonis joins FBN's Taylor Riggs to discuss this shifting dynamic. Plus, how peace talks with Iran could pivot global energy markets as new negotiations begin today and a new minimum wage mandate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Can you help me make more podcasts? Consider supporting me on Patreon as the service is 100% funded by you: https://EVne.ws/patreon You can read all the latest news on the blog here: https://EVne.ws/blog Subscribe for free and listen to the podcast on audio platforms:➤ Apple: https://EVne.ws/apple➤ YouTube Music: https://EVne.ws/youtubemusic➤ Spotify: https://EVne.ws/spotify➤ TuneIn: https://EVne.ws/tunein➤ iHeart: https://EVne.ws/iheart BYD JULY SALES HIT 419,211 https://evne.ws/w1k09 CHERY EXPORTS TOP 200,000 IN JULY https://evne.ws/l4nft GEELY JULY SALES HIT RECORD ON EXPORT BOOM https://evne.ws/clwkq LEAPMOTOR TOPS 100,000 JULY DELIVERIES https://evne.ws/myzb0 NIO SETS AUGUST DEBUT FOR FIFTH-GEN SWAP https://evne.ws/d4rnr XIAOMI EV JULY DELIVERIES TOP 30,000 https://evne.ws/t3gan ZEEKR HITS FOURTH MONTHLY DELIVERY RECORD https://evne.ws/b005h CHINA SETS EV BATTERY HEALTH DISPLAY STANDARD https://evne.ws/1ls6r BYD BATTERY ROW SHIFTS TO POLICE https://evne.ws/c1w2j
Can you help me make more podcasts? Consider supporting me on Patreon as the service is 100% funded by you: https://EVne.ws/patreon You can read all the latest news on the blog here: https://EVne.ws/blog Subscribe for free and listen to the podcast on audio platforms:➤ Apple: https://EVne.ws/apple➤ YouTube Music: https://EVne.ws/youtubemusic➤ Spotify: https://EVne.ws/spotify➤ TuneIn: https://EVne.ws/tunein➤ iHeart: https://EVne.ws/iheart DENMARK EVS TAKE 80.2% OF JULY MARKET https://evne.ws/5vnih FORD SETS FIVE- TO 10-YEAR CLOCK ON CHINA https://evne.ws/aj7rb SOLAR SETS JULY POWER RECORD IN GREAT BRITAIN https://evne.ws/rrrlh GENESIS GV90 KEEPS COACH DOORS https://evne.ws/0w0xc GENESIS GV90 STARTS AUSTRALIAN ROAD TESTS https://evne.ws/o7hyj IONIQ 5 MULE HINTS AT PLEOS CABIN https://evne.ws/z8xu1 NSW TO PRESS AHEAD WITH EV ROAD CHARGE https://evne.ws/o0tn2 BYD TI7 ARRIVES IN UK AT £47,995 https://evne.ws/r048s CHINESE BRANDS FORCE UK CAR DISCOUNTS https://evne.ws/86ctd ALLEGO PLOTS £100 MILLION UK CHARGER PUSH https://evne.ws/vlw6n DS PINS UK HOPES ON N°3 https://evne.ws/jdwpz LUCID LOCKS SALVAGE AIRS INTO SERVICE MODE https://evne.ws/zvb0a
It's EV News Briefly for Thursday 30 July 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyBMW IX3 ORDERS NEAR 100,000BMW has taken nearly 100,000 orders for the iX3 since launch and is raising output at its Debrecen plant in Hungary, which built its 50,000th unit just nine months after opening — the fastest ramp-up of any new BMW plant. The Neue Klasse flagship uses sixth-generation eDrive tech and a 108.7 kWh battery, charges at up to 400 kW to add 373 km (231 miles) in ten minutes, and starts at €73,925 ($85,200) in Germany for the iX3 50 xDrive with up to 805 km (500 miles) of WLTP range.BMW TO BUILD IX5 BATTERY PACKS IN SOUTH CAROLINABMW will begin mass production of iX5 high-voltage battery packs in December at its new Plant Woodruff in South Carolina, near Plant Spartanburg where the iX5 is assembled, keeping pack assembly in-house to build a local supply chain, cut geopolitical risk and reduce logistics costs. AESC, now majority-owned by China's Envision Group, supplies the 120 mm cylindrical cells — which deliver 30% more usable energy than the iX3's 95 mm cells — giving the US iX5 a 144 kWh pack (141 kWh in Europe), an estimated 435 miles of range, 460 kW peak charging and a 10-80% charge in 22 minutes.ZEEKR 9X ARRIVES IN EUROPEZeekr has launched the 9X Ultra 6-Seater in Europe as a luxury SUV and its first Super Hybrid, pairing a 900V dual-motor system with a 2.0-litre turbo engine used purely as a generator for 897 horsepower, 0-100 km/h in 4.1 seconds, up to 737 km of range and a 10-80% DC charge in 9.5 minutes. Designed in Gothenburg with adaptive air suspension and CDC dampers, it offers reclining, massaging first and second rows, an onboard refrigerator, a ceiling-mounted 17-inch 3K OLED screen and a 32-speaker Naim system, and marks Zeekr's fifth European model in three years across 16 markets.SK ON AND FACTORIAL TARGET SOLID-STATE SCALESK On and Factorial Energy have partnered to push solid-state batteries towards production, combining Factorial's FEST cell technology with SK On's manufacturing network to tackle the scaling problem that has held back a chemistry promising higher energy density, longer range and faster charging than lithium-ion. Factorial is already testing cells in North America and has integrated them into Stellantis' Dodge Charger Daytona prototype, claiming 375 Wh/kg energy density, while its work with Mercedes-Benz produced a modified EQS that covered over 745 miles on a single charge.TESLA SHIP LOAD SETS SHANGHAI RECORDThe Chinese-built car carrier Glovis Nova loaded 7,738 electric vehicles — all Tesla Model 3 and Model Y cars — at Shanghai's South Port Terminal on Sunday, a domestic record for a single voyage, and set sail for Zeebrugge, Belgium, for distribution across Europe. The 10,800-car vessel and its sister ship Glovis Leader, which berthed the same day before heading to Busan, were built by Guangzhou Shipyard International, a China State Shipbuilding Corporation subsidiary, and rank among the largest of their kind in the world.NORWAY LEADS GLOBAL EV ADOPTION INDEXNorway tops the latest Global EV Adoption Index with 73.2 out of 100, ahead of Denmark on 64.7 and China on 64.5, backed by a 92% EV sales share in 2024, 32 public chargers per 1,000 battery vehicles and 41.9% fast-charger coverage. Denmark climbed 40 percentage points since 2020 to a 56% sales share with 73 chargers per 1,000 EVs, China recorded a 48% share and 103 chargers per 1,000 vehicles, and Tesla led brand interest across 75 countries with 71.6 million Google queries in the past year.MITSUBISHI RETURNS TO NORTH AMERICA WITH LEAF EVMitsubishi will re-enter the North American EV market with the 2027 Eclipse Sportback EV, on sale in the US and Canada by late summer or early fall of 2026 through around 300 dealerships. Billed as all-new, it is in fact based on the next-generation Nissan Leaf via the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, sharing its 75 kWh liquid-cooled battery, native NACS port, Supercharger access and 150 kW charging (10-80% in about 35 minutes) beneath new fascias, lighting and alloys, with range and pricing still undisclosed.LEPAS L8 TARGETS EUROPE ON VALUEChery has launched the Lepas L8, a D-segment family SUV priced from £34,900 to £37,900, using the upmarket Lepas brand to challenge BMW and Volkswagen on space, equipment and price alongside stablemates such as the Jaecoo 7, Omoda 7 and Chery Tiggo 8. Power comes from Chery's Super Hybrid system combining a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor and 18.4 kWh battery, while the cabin offers an upmarket feel, generous tech, vast rear legroom and headroom despite the panoramic roof, and a 507-litre boot comparable to a Nissan Qashqai's.KERBSIDE CHARGING SEARCHES JUMP AS EV COST SCRUTINY GROWSVertu reports that searches for "kerbside EV charging" rose 125% over the past three months while searches for "cheapest EV tariff" climbed 173%, suggesting buyers are weighing access and running costs together before switching. The trend matters because government figures published in 2024 found 40% of UK households have no access to off-street parking, leaving a large share of the market dependent on public charging and highly sensitive to the cost of every kilowatt-hour.PRINCE AL WALEED RAISES LUCID STAKEPrince Al Waleed bin Talal's investment office bought just over 19 million Lucid shares, lifting his stake to about 5% according to an SEC filing, with the prince saying he bought when Lucid's market cap was below $2 billion following speculation — since denied by Lucid — about bankruptcy or a take-private deal. The purchase, which Lucid welcomed as an independent vote of confidence, comes as the company restructures under new CEO Silvio Napoli after cutting 18% of staff in June on top of an earlier 12% lay-off, and adds to Saudi ownership alongside the Public Investment Fund's roughly 60% stake held since the 2021 SPAC merger.
Last time we spoke about autumn battle of Changsha. In late September and early October 1941, the Chinese commander Chen Cheng focused on Yichang, a crucial Yangtze stronghold whose loss would threaten China's position and the approach toward Chongqing. Chen Cheng's plan tightened a ring around the city while Chinese forces blocked Japanese reinforcement routes, including efforts to cut retreat lines at places like Jingmen and Dangyang. The battle's pressure was intensified by shifting momentum elsewhere. As the Japanese situation around Changsha became unstable—strained by supplies, exhaustion, and mounting casualties—the Japanese command began to withdraw north. Chiang Kai-shek used this to accelerate Chinese priorities, ordering rapid capture of Yichang within a tight deadline. Inside Yichang, the defense turned tragic as Japanese troops faced encirclement, heavy artillery barrages, and desperate street fighting. #213 Blood, Rain, and Flags: The Last Struggle Around Yichang Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. While the struggle around Changsha occupied one half of the battlefield, another contest of equal consequence was taking shape farther west at Yichang. The two operations were not separate stories. They belonged to the same campaign, and each influenced the fate of the other. If Changsha was the city whose danger was plain to every observer, Yichang was the stronghold whose importance weighed most heavily on the calculations of commanders. In the autumn of 1941, the outcome in one place could not be understood without the other. For Chen Cheng, Yichang was more than a military objective. It was a wound that had never closed. The city stood on the Yangtze at a point of major strategic value, tied not only to communications and transport but also to the defense of the river approach toward the wartime capital. When Yichang had fallen in June 1940, it had done more than alter the front line. It had left behind humiliation. Three Japanese divisions—the 3rd, 13th, and 39th—had seized the city after twelve days and nights of intense fighting. At five in the afternoon on June 11, a unit of the Japanese 13th Division under Tanaka Seiichi had broken in from the southeast. Chinese troops of the 18th Army under Peng Shan and Luo Guangwen's 18th Division fought a savage close-quarters battle inside the city for a full day and night, while Japanese forces of the 3rd and 39th Divisions pressed from the north. At four in the afternoon on June 12, with Deng Ping's battalion covering the withdrawal, the Chinese finally pulled out and Yichang was lost. Men in high command do not always remember defeat in the same way as the men who fight through it. Soldiers tend to remember heat, hunger, the dead, or the exact corner where a friend fell. Commanders also remember those things, but they remember something else as well: failure recorded in the language of responsibility. Chen Cheng could not forget that twenty Chinese corps had been beaten by three Japanese divisions. At the time, Li Zongren had commanded the operation. Now the chance to erase that old disgrace seemed to be passing into Chen Cheng's own hands. On September 20, he received two telegrams, one from the Military Commission and one from Chiang Kai-shek himself. From that point onward, Yichang dominated his thoughts. By September 23, the Military Commission approved Chen's request to transfer the 33rd Army Group of the Fifth War Zone into the Sixth War Zone for the coming attack. On paper, his position seemed powerful. He now had fourteen divisions at his disposal. Yichang itself was held only by Uchiyama Eitaro's 13th Division and the Hayabuchi Detachment, together amounting to roughly sixteen thousand men. Even granting the usual Japanese superiority in training, firepower, communications, and local tactical cohesion, the Chinese possessed absolute numerical advantage. By September 28, the Chinese units had reached their attack positions, and Chen Cheng set his operational design in motion. The forces on the right bank were to attack first and pull the main body of the Japanese 39th Division southward. The 33rd Army would strike toward Jingmen and Dangyang in order to cut off the enemy's routes of retreat and reinforcement. Once these movements took hold, Yichang itself would be enclosed and crushed. Li Jilan's 94th Army, Li Yannian's 2nd Army, Song Kentang's 32nd Army, and other formations advanced according to plan. On paper the arrangement had clarity. On the ground it had resistance. The Japanese defended from strong fieldworks, and progress came slowly. Earthworks, wire, trenches, and mutually supporting positions transformed every apparent advance into hard labor. The Chinese pushed forward, but not with the speed Chen Cheng wanted. Even a favorable comparison of troop numbers could not cancel the fact that an entrenched Japanese force, once determined to hold, could impose a terrible price on assault. By October 1, Japanese troops outside Yichang began withdrawing into the city proper. Chen Cheng responded by ordering all troops to complete the encirclement. At last the operation seemed to be reaching the decisive stage. The city was tightening under pressure. The ring was nearly closed. Yet at that very moment time began pressing harder on both sides. On October 2, both Chen Cheng outside the city and Uchiyama inside it received telegrams that sharpened the crisis. The message sent from the Japanese 11th Army headquarters in Wuhan informed Uchiyama that the famous Tokyo Asakusa Art Troupe was coming to Yichang to comfort the front-line troops. The Expeditionary Army Headquarters in Nanjing had decided that, for political reasons, the troupe could not be turned back merely because combat conditions were dangerous. Their purpose was morale. That such a message could arrive at such a time reveals much about Japanese wartime culture. Appearances, spirit, ritual reassurance, and the emotional theater of endurance still had to be maintained even when military reality was worsening by the hour. The telegram that Chen Cheng received was very different. Chiang Kai-shek's order stated with brutal directness: the Japanese in northern Hunan had begun to withdraw, and Chen was ordered to spare no effort to capture Yichang within three days. Chen stared at the message for a long time. There was no need for explanation. He understood at once what Chiang meant. The battle for Yichang had already consumed days of hard fighting. Chinese units had suffered substantial losses. But the essential fact stood over every map and every order: if Japanese forces disengaging from northern Hunan reached Yichang in time to reinforce it, then all the effort already expended might amount to nothing. The battle had become not only a contest of strength, but a race. At nearly the same time, the command post of the Japanese 11th Army at Yueyang was confronting the other half of the same problem. On the night of September 30, the headquarters was brightly lit as Chief of Staff Isamu Kinoshita arranged reports, reconnaissance findings, and field messages before the army commander. The Japanese still possessed a valuable advantage: they had access to Chinese communication codes. But such intelligence could not solve every operational problem. It could not conjure food where there was none, restore exhausted bodies, or stop the battlefield from changing shape. By then the Japanese situation around Changsha had become increasingly unstable. The Hayabuchi Detachment, after entering the city, was entangled in fierce urban fighting with the Chinese 6th Provisional Division of the 79th Army. By the evening of September 30, neither side had eliminated the other inside the city. Outside Changsha, the Japanese 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 40th Divisions had assembled and kept major Chinese forces at bay. One element of the 3rd Division had even moved south by truck to Zhuzhou, fifty kilometers away, and occupied the abandoned city. Yet these outward signs of success concealed a serious weakness. The Japanese rear was fraying. Ammunition and food were running low. Divisions operating that deep in hostile territory could not sustain a prolonged campaign under such conditions. More than ten days of uninterrupted movement and fighting had also produced rising non-combat casualties. Men were collapsing from fatigue along the march. Sickness increased steadily. Units that had looked formidable on the offensive were beginning to wear thin from inside. At the same time, Chinese remnants from earlier defeats, new reinforcements, and formations that had regrouped after being thrown back were all watching for signs of weakness. Even if the Japanese divisions in Hunan still had the strength to fight several more actions, another question overrode everything else: Yichang. Yichang was not simply another point on the map. It was a strategic stronghold on the Yangtze and one of the key places from which Japan threatened Chongqing. The city also carried institutional memory. After its capture in June 1940, the occupying troops had initially been ordered to withdraw for rest and reorganization. But Imperial General Headquarters had reversed that decision almost at once and demanded that Yichang be held after all. Troops already on the road had to turn back and retake a city that had been burned, stripped, and rendered difficult to occupy. Among those who had insisted most strongly that Yichang must be retained was Anami Korechika, then vice minister of the army. Now Anami faced the consequence of that earlier insistence. However attractive the gains in Hunan might appear, Yichang could not simply be sacrificed. Uchiyama's 13th Division was not strong enough to hold indefinitely without relief. Anami looked at Hunan on the map—a rich province, beautiful and militarily tempting, much of it seeming almost within reach. But strategy does not reward attachment. With great reluctance, he gave the order to retreat. On the morning of October 1, all Japanese divisions received the reversal instructions, and at four in the afternoon they began moving north. For Xue Yue, this altered the entire meaning of the campaign. Since the beginning of the battle, he had known frustration, disappointment, and anger. Whatever private calculations he may have made about Chiang Kai-shek's strategic direction, Chen Cheng's political influence, his own mistakes in the earlier phase of operations, or the rivalries that had long poisoned Republican military life, none of those feelings prevented him from seeing the opportunity now before him. Once the Japanese turned north, pursuit was no longer merely a matter of salvaging dignity. It became an operational necessity tied directly to Yichang. His staff quickly drafted a pursuit order defining routes, timings, and methods. The document explicitly called for tracking and pursuing, interception, flanking movement, ambush, and surprise attack. This was not to be a ceremonial following of a retreating enemy at a respectful distance. It was meant to be pressure—enough pressure, if possible, to delay Japanese movement back toward Hubei. Two hours after Xue issued the order, another telegram arrived from Chongqing. Chiang Kai-shek instructed that since the enemy which had advanced into northern Hunan had begun retreating toward Yueyang on the night of October 1, the Ninth War Zone was to exploit their fatigue, pursue boldly, seize Yueyang if possible, sabotage the Wuyue Railway, and launch attacks, ambushes, and fierce strikes along the retreat route to prevent the Japanese from regaining their former defenses or shifting quickly toward Wuhan. The purpose was stated clearly: to facilitate the operations of the Third, Fifth, and Sixth War Zones. Xue Yue understood the message at once. The support provided by the Third and Fifth War Zones had been limited and often symbolic. The operation that truly mattered now was Chen Cheng's assault on Yichang. Pursuit in Hunan was not simply retaliation for the threat to Changsha. It was an attempt to buy time in blood, mud, and delay. He adjusted the pursuit deployment and ordered commanders at every level to go forward and supervise their units in person. Autumn rain began to fall over northern Hunan. Hills disappeared in mist and drizzle. Along the roads leading north moved Japanese soldiers under the Rising Sun flag; behind them and beside them, often through fields, villages, and broken country, moved Chinese troops under the Blue Sky, White Sun, and Red Earth flag. Their uniforms differed, their languages differed, their causes differed—but the exhaustion in their faces must often have looked terribly alike. Both armies moved through damp air, hunger, uncertainty, and the constant expectation of another clash. The pursuit, however, revealed the limits of Chinese strength as well as its persistence. On October 2, the battered remnants of the Chinese 74th and 26th Armies cleared battlefields along the Liuyang and Laodao Rivers and found no Japanese left there. The 74th withdrew to Liling to regroup. The 26th halted at Changle Street for replenishment. Yang Sen sent the whole 27th Army Group after the retreating enemy. Ou Zhen's 4th Army attempted to intercept the Japanese 40th Division, but the Japanese maneuvered skillfully and escaped. Ou Zhen pursued them north of the Miluo River for three days, reached the Changshui River, and found the south bank empty. The 20th Army tried to cut off the Japanese 6th Division at Fulipu. At first they could not even locate the enemy, but they did collect large amounts of matériel left behind. Deputy Commander Xia Jiong remarked, with rough optimism, that the Japanese were still "steaming hot" and would certainly be caught. His men ran hard, crossed the Miluo River, and finally did catch a rearguard. Yet the Japanese, intent only on getting away, adopted what Chinese accounts described as a low-key method of not retaliating and not becoming decisively engaged. After crossing Gaoqiao they withdrew into their previous defensive area, and Xia could do little more than stop, rest, and continue to watch them. The 58th Army intercepted more than two thousand Japanese troops near Guanwang Bridge. For a moment it seemed a major clash might erupt. Instead the Japanese fled, leaving behind large quantities of supplies. The Chinese followed them as far as Taolin and then halted when it became clear that the enemy had regained strong ground. These episodes were frustrating, but they were not meaningless. They showed that many Chinese formations had been too badly mauled in the earlier phase of the campaign to sustain relentless offensive pressure. They also showed that the Japanese, though in retreat, were still disciplined enough to avoid disastrous entanglements while shedding matériel to gain speed. The Chinese units that struck hardest during this phase were not those most damaged at the beginning of the battle, but fresher formations such as Xia Chuzhong's 79th Army and Fu Zhongfang's 99th Army. Xia's men ambushed the Hayabuchi Detachment and nearly destroyed it, killing two of its three battalion commanders. Fu's 99th Army fought a series of clashes with the Japanese 3rd and 6th Divisions and with the Hirano and Araki Detachments. The Japanese, eager to keep moving, absorbed losses rather than pause for extended battle. The 99th Army captured so much matériel that transporting it became a problem in itself. On October 4, a squad leader of the 197th Division even shot down an aircraft with machine-gun fire. Yet even here success had limits. By October 9, the entire Japanese force in northern Hunan had crossed the Xinqiang River and reoccupied its original positions. Chinese attacks achieved nothing decisive. The river once again became, in military imagination, almost a fixed frontier. As gunfire subsided in Xiangbei, all attention turned toward Yichang. The encirclement of the city was completed at noon on October 4. Chen Cheng ordered a general offensive to begin at four in the morning on October 6. Outside the city, Li Yannian's 2nd Army held fast against the Japanese 39th Division, which was trying to come in from Jingmen. Altogether, the Sixth War Zone had committed fourteen divisions—more than one hundred thousand men—to the operation. What followed was the familiar but always arresting spectacle of a great battle gathering itself. Small detachments moved forward to cut wire and destroy fortifications outside the city. Artillery officers adjusted their fire with care. Ammunition boxes changed hands continuously. Telephone operators hurried back and forth laying lines. Engineers worked with picks and shovels. Trucks forced their way down crowded roads with horns blaring. Boats were requisitioned along the riverbank, and dark-skinned boatmen weathered by the Yangtze wind moved among soldiers and officers. Behind the assault units stood medical stations under Red Cross flags, waiting for the wounded they knew were coming. All the machinery of battle was in motion. Inside Yichang, meanwhile, another scene unfolded that could only exist in wartime Japan's peculiar mixture of militarism and performance. At the field hospital of the Japanese 13th Division on the campus of Mingde Middle School, wounded soldiers wrapped in white bandages stood, sat, lay on stretchers, or leaned on medical orderlies in the yard watching entertainers from home perform while the dull rhythms of artillery sounded in the distance. The Asakusa Art Troupe had been founded in the mid-1920s and had made its name by combining modern popular elements with traditional stage culture. It had first won over ordinary audiences and then, as its reputation rose, gained acceptance among official and elite circles as well. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War, it was gradually folded into the machinery of wartime propaganda, performing works meant to praise sacrifice, glorify the empire, and strengthen morale. When the delegation of more than thirty members arrived at the 11th Army headquarters in Wuhan, the army added a military band of more than twenty men to accompany them to Yichang. But by the time they reached the city, the battle had already drawn close. They could not visit forward positions. Instead they performed for the wounded. The last performance featured heavily made-up young men and women dancing a popular folk number. As the dance continued, the women bowed and invited medics and wounded men who could still move to join them. Kimono and military uniform mixed. Smiles appeared beside bandages. Music from the home islands drifted out beneath the sound of an approaching siege. Then war interrupted the scene completely. Before dawn on October 6, Chinese artillery opened on Yichang with a deafening bombardment, and the cries of attack rolled over the city. As day came up, the troupe members watched stretchers being rushed into the field hospital where they had only recently performed. One of the sixteen-year-old twin geisha sisters, Mihoko, asked the troupe leader Akizuru through tears whether they would ever be able to return to Tokyo. Qiuhe, the famous dance artist in her fifties, answered gently that they would. General Anami, she said, was leading brave troops there and would arrive in the next few days. The child must pray. The reassurance was human, but it was also part of the wartime language of consolation. Outside the city, reality was harsher. For two days and nights the fighting remained severe. The Japanese fell back toward the edge of the city and resisted with desperation. The Japanese 3rd Air Regiment in Hankou committed itself heavily to the defense, flying sortie after sortie over Yichang. Aircraft came so often that some made four round trips in a single day. On the morning of October 8, a unit of the Chinese 94th Army crossed by boat from the west bank, bypassed the Gezhouba area, and landed at the northern end of Huangcaoba. Advancing south along the embankment, it established positions on the Yangtze side only about half a kilometer from the city. This foothold effectively dominated Japanese positions west of Yichang. Mortar rounds crossed the water. Heavy and light machine guns pinned the defenders outside the walls. At the same time, the 9th Division of the 32nd Army and part of the 99th Army pressed inward as well. The ring tightened. October 9 was grave for both sides. The Japanese withdrawal from northern Hunan had by now produced a relief force. Anami assembled elite troops from several divisions into a rapid deployment column for Yichang. For the Chinese Sixth War Zone, however, victory seemed very near. Inside the city the Japanese situation was increasingly desperate. Casualties were severe. The field hospital yard was filled with groaning wounded. Uchiyama summoned support personnel, medics, cooks, ordnance repairmen, and any wounded men still capable of firing. He armed them all and formed an improvised reserve. Then, while this force was assembling, he heard the sound of a trumpet. One of the band members, still practicing as if battle had not reached its climax, reminded him that the more than twenty members of the 11th Army band were also soldiers in uniform. He added them as well, creating a special unit of 388 men. Hundreds of sacks of rice were taken from storage and piled around division headquarters as fortifications. Uchiyama then turned to Chief of Staff Akinaga and said, "Let's not believe any miracles will happen." The line was bleak, but lucid. It meant that there would be no rescue through wishful thinking. If they lived, it would be because they held long enough. If they died, they would die without pretending that destiny had cheated them. Outside the city, Chen Cheng faced a different but equally harsh pressure. On October 2, Chiang Kai-shek had ordered Yichang taken within three days. On the 4th, Chen requested an extension until the 8th; Chiang agreed, but warned that because the Japanese were retreating from northern Hunan, the city must be captured by then or all previous effort would be wasted. Chen launched the general assault on the 6th, but fierce resistance on the ground and in the air slowed him. By the 8th, the city still had not fallen. He requested another extension, asking to take Yichang by October 10. This time Chiang sent no reply. Chen understood the silence. It meant that no political room remained behind him. At 2:30 in the morning on October 10, the Sixth War Zone opened another general offensive. One hundred and forty artillery pieces joined the bombardment. Shells fell across every part of the Japanese defenses until the repeated flashes made it hard for the gunners to tell what had not yet been hit. Then the infantry went in. Men shouted and surged forward like water breaking through a barrier. Hidden Japanese machine guns cut them down in wave after wave, but more men followed behind. The dead piled on the approaches so thickly that nationality itself seemed to vanish in blood and mud. Under that fire, dawn rose red. Uchiyama watched the sunrise from the highest building in the city, the three-story Yichang Bank. After the war, he told a reporter that the sky, the earth, and even the Yangtze had all seemed red to him, as if the river itself were carrying the blood of Chinese and Japanese alike. According to a later Japanese account, messages reached him from every side that morning reporting collapse. Roughly 5000 men were estimated killed or seriously wounded. At eight o'clock Uchiyama went down to the operations room. Waiting there were his chief of staff and senior officers. At that moment the final ritual of battlefield defeat began. A farewell telegram to Anami Korechika was read aloud. Nearby stood the regimental flag of the 104th Regiment, entrusted to Captain Izumi Shigeru before the regiment's complete destruction. Uchiyama then took the 13th Division's own flag—the imperial military color—and laid it over the regimental flag. Officers and men wept, removed their caps, and bowed their heads. Uchiyama's hands trembled so badly that it took him three matches to set the flag alight. In Japanese military culture, burning a flag was among the sternest rites of defeat. The flag could not be allowed to fall into enemy hands. To destroy it was to acknowledge annihilation while presenting that annihilation as a final offering to the imperial state. When the flags had burned and places for seppuku had been chosen, the farewell message remained. It declared that all officers and soldiers had done their utmost for the empire in the final struggle, that military flags, confidential documents, and imperial edicts had been burned, and that it was deeply regrettable that overseas Chinese and the delegation in Yichang had also suffered this fate. Uchiyama then added one final sentence in red pencil: the soldiers of the empire had fulfilled their duty and died for their country amidst the heroic cries of "Long live the Grand Marshal!" At 8:50 the clerk began encoding the telegram. Then Uchiyama said quietly to the officers waiting to die: "Please wait a little longer." The words postponed death by minutes. There was still the narrow possibility that communication mattered, or that the battle had not yet reached its absolute end. Chief of Staff Akinaga summoned his adjutant, Sakata Ryūshirō, and ordered that if the division commander and chief of staff died before the telegram was sent, Sakata was to form a suicide squad, break out by any means possible, and report the division's fate to 11th Army headquarters. At ten in the morning, the Japanese 39th Division attacking from Jingmen launched a new assault under Anami's strict orders against Li Yannian's 2nd Army. One regiment used poison gas to break through part of the Chinese line and reached the outskirts of Yichang. Chen Cheng personally directed the Chinese response, using elements of the attacking force and the 2nd Army to surround and beat back the thrust. By two in the afternoon, only the Dongshan Temple line remained intact among the different sectors of the Japanese city defense. Chinese troops had penetrated the city and were fighting bitterly in the streets, moving steadily toward division headquarters. At four in the afternoon, more than 2000 Japanese rapid deployment troops from northern Hunan reached the northeast approaches of Yichang and at once joined the relief effort. Chen Cheng threw reserves in to block them, and both sides locked in combat six kilometers outside the city. As dusk fell, the Chinese assault units in the city had also suffered terrible losses. Chen Cheng ordered them to regroup, replenish, and launch a final attack after dark. Then, at seven in the evening, almost as the order was issued, a violent gale rose and torrential rain began to fall. Such heavy rain was unusual in the Yichang area in October, and to men who had been living for days under the pressure of siege, death, and deadline, it must have seemed uncanny. The Chinese attacked through the downpour, but progress was painfully slow. At the same time, more than ten thousand Japanese troops arriving from northern Hunan reached the outskirts, fought for over two hours in the rain, and finally broke into the city, linking up with what remained of the 13th Division. At eleven that night, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the attack on Yichang halted and instructed the Chinese troops to return to their original defensive positions. The battle ended not in a clear verdict, but in exhaustion. One elderly resident of Yichang, Huang Jupu, later left a memory of the aftermath more vivid than any headquarters summary. He recalled that the heavy rain began at nightfall on the twentieth day of the eighth lunar month—October 10 in the Gregorian calendar—and continued into the next afternoon. Rainwater soaked the corpses lying in the streets until the water became a deep brownish-red pool more than two feet deep before it drained into the Yangtze and changed the river's color. The next day, he said, both sides sent corpse-collection teams into the streets under Red Cross flags. They pushed carts and worked separately, avoiding conflict, though sometimes they spoke to one another when trying to identify bodies. The Japanese recovery party included Chinese helpers and local residents. They turned corpses over, looked at clothing and weapons, and tried to determine nationality. Some bodies were naked, perhaps stripped wounded, which made identification harder. Since Chinese and Japanese could resemble one another, neither side wanted to take the wrong dead, fearing that a mistake would disturb the heroic souls to whom each army believed it owed proper burial. In the end, Huang remembered, it was the people of Yichang who pooled their money to bury many of the dead north of the city. Later an unmarked stone was raised there, with a bowl of rice and a stick of incense set before it. That image does something military history often fails to do. It restores weight to the end of battle. Armies issue attack orders, counterattack orders, pursuit orders, and retreat orders. Staff officers mark arrows on maps. Commanders calculate reinforcement and delay. But after all of that comes the business of soaked bodies in the street, identification, carts, shallow graves, and local people forced to do what armies can no longer fully do for their own dead. Seen as a whole, the operations in Hunan and Hubei during these weeks form one connected historical drama. The Japanese advance toward Changsha was real and dangerous, but it failed to produce decisive strategic gain. The battle strained the Chinese defense badly. Some units collapsed. Others improvised and recovered. The city was entered, contested, and then fought over again. Behind the forward line, Chinese forces such as Yang Sen's 27th Army Group harassed Japanese communications and supply, turning depth into vulnerability. At the same time, Chen Cheng's offensive against Yichang transformed what might otherwise have remained a local success for Japan in Hunan into a strategic dilemma. Once Yichang came seriously under threat, the Japanese command could not continue to treat the Hunan offensive as self-contained. It had to weigh possession against preservation, momentum against strategic necessity. That calculation compelled the retreat from northern Hunan. The retreat in turn changed the meaning of Xue Yue's operations. Pursuit became valuable not mainly because it might recover wounded pride or even because it might damage the retreating enemy, but because every hour of delay imposed on Japanese units moving north was another hour in which Yichang might fall. Yet Yichang did not fall. That fact is central, but it must be interpreted carefully. Chen Cheng had numerical superiority and fought with determination, but numbers alone could not cancel the difficulty of assaulting a fortified Japanese position under air attack and against fanatical resistance. Time worked against him. Every day lost increased the chance that Japanese relief would arrive from Hunan. Chiang Kai-shek's increasingly urgent telegrams reflected strategic logic, but they could not abolish battlefield reality. Men still had to cross open ground, cut wire, silence guns, and survive fire. Inside Yichang, Uchiyama's defense reveals the same pressure from the opposite side. He understood that his task was simple in principle and terrible in practice: hold until relief arrived. That necessity drove him to arm cooks, medics, repairmen, musicians, and wounded men. It drove him to build fortifications from sacks of rice. It brought him to the point of burning flags and preparing for ritual death while still delaying the final act long enough to see whether rescue might come. The presence of the Asakusa Art Troupe inside the besieged city sharpened the tragedy. They had been sent for morale and appearance, as if cultural performance might reassure an empire already growing anxious about the costs of war. Instead they became trapped witnesses to near-annihilation. The young girl asking if she would ever return to Tokyo cuts through all rhetoric. It is the ordinary human question that waits behind every doctrine of heroic sacrifice. In the end, neither side obtained everything it sought. Japan failed to turn its push into Hunan into a decisive result. China failed to retake Yichang despite concentration of force and a window of opportunity that for a time seemed very real. But that does not mean the campaign resolves into stalemate in any empty sense. It revealed important truths. For China, it showed both weakness and development. Weakness appeared in broken lines, uneven coordination, exhausted pursuit, and the inability to convert superiority in numbers into victory at Yichang. But development appeared too: a greater ability to coordinate war zones, to pressure Japanese rear areas, to force the enemy into strategic compromise, and to sustain resistance under conditions that would once have threatened outright collapse. For Japan, the campaign exposed the narrowing gap between aggressive offensive action and dangerous overextension. Japanese divisions could still strike hard, move with speed, and defend with ferocity. Their aircraft could still exact terrible cost. But logistics, fatigue, sickness, and the obligation to rescue threatened positions like Yichang increasingly limited what offensive success could mean. The deepest memory of the campaign may belong not to generals, however, but to the smaller figures history often notices only in passing: the soldier chewing dry ration without water; the wounded man who blew himself up rather than submit; the old beggar who revealed a depot; the band member still practicing trumpet in a city preparing for death; the frightened girl from the troupe; the townspeople who buried the dead after rain washed blood into the Yangtze. These are not decorative details. They are what make the history real. The autumn of 1941 in Hunan and Hubei was not one clean victory, nor one clean defeat. It was a season in which pressure in one sector altered decision in another, in which tactical success did not always yield strategic reward, and in which endurance itself increasingly became a form of power. That is why the campaign matters. It shows a war whose balance had begun to change, not dramatically or conclusively, but perceptibly. China still suffered, improvised, and fell short. Japan still advanced, struck hard, and held important ground. Yet the margin between them was no longer what it had been in the earlier years of the war. History moved that autumn not by omen or destiny, but by the hard materials of war: supply, timing, weather, command, fatigue, communications, morale, and blood. In Hunan and Hubei, all of those forces converged. They carried armies north and west, into cities and out again, across rivers, through rain, and finally into memory. I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. As Chinese pressure tightened, Japan's wider situation around Changsha deteriorated—fatigue, supply strain, and losses accumulated. When the Japanese began retreating north, relief efforts turned Yichang into a desperate struggle marked by shifting fronts, poison gas, street fighting, and heavy bombardment. Chiang Kai-shek demanded a deadline, forcing Chen into final assaults that ultimately failed to secure a clean victory.
- Anthony Fauci's repeated Fifth Amendment pleas reignite demands for accountability over COVID mandates, school closures, masking policies and the origins of the virus. - Hogan Gidley argues that Fauci, intelligence officials and major institutions repeatedly mislead the public while facing little or no consequence. - Blaine Holt and Gordon Chang warn that the Iran conflict is expanding across multiple theaters as China bankrolls U.S. adversaries and cyber threats reach the homeland. - New polling exposes serious Republican vulnerabilities in Ohio, North Carolina and other battleground states despite the Democratic Party's financial and ideological turmoil. - Troy Jackson's family relationship, Zohran Mamdani's property-owner database and Gavin Newsom's affair allegations drive a sharp closing segment on Democratic scandals. Make the switch to NEWSMAX today! Get your 15 day free trial of NEWSMAX+ at http://NewsmaxPlus.com Follow NEWSMAX on Social Media: • Facebook: http://nws.mx/FB • X/Twitter: http://nws.mx/twitter • Instagram: http://nws.mx/IG • YouTube: https://youtube.com/NewsmaxTV • Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/NewsmaxTV • TRUTH Social: https://truthsocial.com/@NEWSMAX Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Democrat socialists pledge to protect...China? How much further are we going to let this go? Plus the astonishing Fauci diary entry everyone missed, until now. (Please subscribe & share.) Sources: https://nypost.com/2026/07/30/us-news/members-of-mamdanis-dsa-pledge-to-support-defend-china/ https://www.thetimes.com/article/c17b2d7b-9010-4bf8-94a2-df9333e1f24a?shareToken=1ff05527106003d5fbd3e0c2fa071192 https://x.com/RandPaul/status/2083318034505109688?s=20
The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Anastasios Angelopoulos is the co-founder and CEO of Arena, the real-world evaluation platform that has become a leading referee of the global AI model race. Arena has raised $250 million, with the latest round valuing the company at $1.7BN. Arena recently surpassed $100M ARR just eight months after launching its enterprise offering, powered by more than 30 million monthly users. AGENDA: 00:00 – Intro: "Kimi beat every American model": What Nobody Wants to Admit… 05:20 – Is this the true commoditization of models? Are they just a utility layer now? 07:30 – Do Chinese open source models cannibalize the closed frontier labs? 10:30 – Why has America's open source community lagged so badly behind China? 17:20 – Will Chinese models be banned in the US — and does hosting locally really kill the backdoor risk? 23:20 – Are enterprises really terrified of working with the frontier labs? 27:20 – Why hasn't inference got cheaper — and what happens when Anthropic's "disgustingly high" margins go public? 30:20 – Who should decide if a model is safe to release: the government, a neutral body, or nobody? 33:10 – Are we about to see cyberattacks like we've never seen before? (The fake candidate who passed every interview) 37:00 – 75 Neo labs: what separates the winners from the two-thirds worth nothing? 40:45 – Is data actually a commodity — and can data providers be $100BN companies? 48:00 – Can you be the referee when the players are paying you? (And Arena's real revenue) 50:45 – Will the model providers eat the application layer? Are Harvey, Lagora and Figma in trouble? 54:10 – Quickfire: Why hasn't NVIDIA bounced on the rise of open source, who hits $10 trillion first, and does the compute debt cycle end in insolvency?
In the years since October 7th, the world has been bitterly polarised over how to make sense of the violence. While polling shows that a majority of people do believe Israel's actions amount to genocide – having witnessed it with their own eyes via their smartphones – it has been woefully hard to find mainstream media outlets in the West prepared to use this language. On Downstream this week, Aaron Bastani sat down with Indian essayist and novelist Pankaj Mishra. His most recent book, ‘The World After Gaza' takes stock of a world order shattered by the genocide, and a media class unprepared to recognise the truth. In response to these crises, Mishra and colleagues have just launched Equator magazine, pulling together leading writers from across the globe who are unafraid to tell the truth. When did the so-called West first begin to lose standing in the eyes of the rest of the world? Why is the British media class positioned so uniquely close to power, so delusional, and so compromised over Gaza? Will China replace America, in the coming century, as the new hegemonic power? Has it already?
A teacher in China shares some stories of her thirty years of cultivation experiences, including the many miracles that occurred immediately upon beginning to practice; including having her body purified and ridding her of many ailments that had plagued her for years. She also began sharing the practice with her colleagues, many of whom became practitioners as well. This and other experience-sharing from the Minghui website.Original Articles:1. [Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day] “Master Has Arranged Everything”2. [Celebrating World Falun Dafa Day] Experience of Practicing Falun Dafa in the US To provide feedback on this podcast, please email us at feedback@minghuiradio.org
Desde el 1 de agosto, ninguna mercancía puede cruzar la aduana mexicana sin un nuevo trámite obligatorio: la manifestación de valor electrónica. En este episodio de Dimes y Billetes hablamos con Daniel Peimbert, de Camtom, sobre qué cambia para los +130,000 importadores del país, por qué el gobierno lo está exigiendo, qué multas hay en juego (hasta $120,000 por error) y cómo evitar que tu mercancía se quede varada en la aduana. Si importas cualquier producto a México, este episodio es para ti.Prueba café el Capitalhttps://cafeelcapital.com/s/08a4840:00 – Qué es el pedimento: "la biblia de las aduanas" 2:12 – Bienvenida y presentación: llega el cambio del 1 de agosto2:58 – Contexto: qué fugas fiscales busca cerrar el gobierno3:28 – Aranceles y regulaciones: lo que toda importación debe cumplir 4:11 – El problema real: mercancías subvaluadas para pagar menos impuestos5:25 – Comparación con la facturación electrónica del SAT6:15 – Qué es Camtom y a quién ayuda en comercio exterior7:00 – El riesgo: multas de hasta $120,000 por error en el trámite8:07 – ¿Cuándo el portal del gobierno ya no es suficiente?9:06 – Cómo se hacía este trámite antes (en papel, vía el agente aduanal)10:19 – Los 3 jugadores clave: gobierno, agente aduanal e importador 12:50 – ¿El hueco fiscal es culpa de los agentes aduanales?13:37 – Quién subvaluaba en realidad: el importador17:20 – Lo más duro: la ley prohíbe tercerizar este trámite18:04 – La analogía de la carretera libre vs. la de cuota19:12 – "Si tú hubieras sido el gobierno, ¿qué hubieras hecho distinto?" 21:10 – Las fallas de preparación técnica del gobierno23:24 – ¿Tiene que ver con el proteccionismo frente a China?25:10 – La cifra clave: 130,000 importadores y 110,000 empresas afectadas 25:41 – Ya van 4 prórrogas… pero esta vez sí entra en vigor 26:08 – El caos que se viene: mercancía varada, "la bola de nieve" 28:06 – El antecedente: cuando se cayó el sistema de la aduana29:42 – La solución de Camtom: alternativa al portal de aduanas30:37 – De 1 hora a 5 minutos: cómo funciona la herramienta31:01 – Cifras de Camtom: cuántos clientes y en qué países opera 33:40 – Otras herramientas: clasificación arancelaria y lectura de facturas con IA 36:04 – ¿Exportar también se complica? La respuesta 39:17 – ¿Esto tiene que ver con la revisión del T-MEC?40:00 – El consejo final: prepárate antes de que sea tarde
Grab your popcorn because today's episode is jammed packed!
This explosive episode uncovers the shocking reality behind "spontaneous" political movements!
This explosive episode uncovers major revelations about foreign operations, health policy cover-ups, and radical political movements!
This massive, action-packed episode ties together today's biggest headlines and shocking exposes!
This episode delivers a hard-hitting roundup of wild political hypocrisies and explosive revelations!
Hold onto your seats!
During Intersolar (The Smart E), Gerard sat down with Dr Chuan Lu, CEO Astronergy and Director of Chint Group to discuss, from the inside the Chinese Solar revolution. 2026 was Dr Lu and Chint 15th participation to that massive European Exhibit that epitomise the growth of renewables. 18 halls the size of a football fields and more than 100,000 visitors. CHINT is a vertically integrated Chinese energy conglomerate whose solar business is profitable, mid-growth, and margin-focused rather than driven by hyper-scale manufacturing. Its portfolio includes Astronergy (modules), CPS (inverters), CHINT Solar (EPC/IPP), and CHINT ANNENG (residential PV), generating approximately $650–700 million in operating profit and implying a valuation of $12–16 billion. Annual growth of 15–20% trails peers but reflects CHINT's focus on profitability, diversification, and disciplined capital allocation. The result is a stable, globally active, Tier 1-certified solar group that operates more like an integrated industrial compounder than a scale-at-all-costs PV manufacturer. The modern Chinese solar industry began to take shape around 2006 as a predominantly export-oriented manufacturing sector, driven by demand from Europe and other international markets. As a privately held enterprise, CHINT has operated within a unique ecosystem where entrepreneurial initiative has been complemented by government policy support. A pivotal moment came in 2012 with the introduction of China's Feed-in Tariff (FIT) programme, which stimulated domestic demand and transformed China into the world's largest solar market, creating significant opportunities for companies such as CHINT to expand beyond export manufacturing. CHINT's development has also been shaped by China's regional economic and cultural differences. Originating in the entrepreneurial, resource-poor southeast of the country, the company embodies a private-sector culture that contrasts sharply with the coal-dependent, state-controlled industrial base of northeast China. Looking ahead, management recognises the challenges posed by overbuilding and excess manufacturing capacity in the utility-scale solar market. In response, CHINT has diversified aggressively into distributed generation through its residential rooftop solar business, CHINT ANNENG, which has installed more than 60 GW of capacity across over 1.2 million rooftops throughout China, positioning the company to benefit from a broader and more resilient mix of solar market opportunities. A great thanks to Jonathan Gifford of Climate Copy for organising the recording.
Col. Jack Jacobs, a retired colonel in the United States Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions during the Vietnam WarTopic: President Trump says Iran deal is "imminent" Patrick J. Brosnan, Retired and Decorated NYPD Detective and the host of "Pat Brosnan: Live From the Batcave" Saturdays at 9 a.m. on AM 970 The AnswerTopic: Security issues in the In & Out Burger shooting Dana Lancellotti, Executive Director of the Monmouth-Ocean Development Spotlight CouncilTopic: Monmouth-Ocean Spotlight Chris Grollnek, Retired Police Detective Corporal, Active Shooting Expert, and founder of the Active Shooter Prevention ProjectTopic: In & Out Burger mass shooting John Solomon, award-winning investigative journalist, founder of "Just The News," and the host of “Just the News, No Noise” on the Real America’s Voice networkTopic: Spain border crisis; Michigan primaries; Other news of the day Mike Connors, Attorney at Law at Connors & Sullivan and host of "Ask the Lawyer," airing Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 11 a.m. on AM 970 The AnswerTopic: Estate Planning Gone Wrong Robert Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human ServicesTopic: Launch of "The Real Food Show"; Modernizing military food with chef Robert Irvine; HHS ending Gain of Function research Mike Davis, Founder of the Article III Project, Former Law Clerk for Justice Neil Gorsuch, and Former Chief Counsel for Nominations for the U.S. Senate Committee on the JudiciaryTopic: "After SCOTUS fumbles birthright citizenship, we need sensible census solutions" (Fox News op ed); Dr. Fauci Gordon Chang, Asia expert, columnist and author of "China is Going to War"Topic: Iran seeking assistance from ChinaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
MRKT Matrix - Monday, August 3rd Stocks rally, fueled by gains in Big Tech and a drop in oil prices (CNBC) Trump says Exxon and Chevron made ‘too much money' off high oil prices during Iran conflict: ‘I don't like it' (CNBC) The Worries That Drove Uncle Sam to Buy Yen (WSJ) The message beneath the yen intervention (Axios) How to Play the Flood of AI Bonds (WSJ) A digital iron curtain is threatening the global economy (FT) AI Is Turning Retail Traders Into DIY Hedge Funds (Bloomberg) Hugging Face CEO says China is winning the AI race and dominating on open models (CNBC) --- Subscribe to our newsletter: http://riskreversal.substack.com/ MRKT Matrix by RiskReversal Media is a daily AI powered podcast bringing you the top stories moving financial markets Story curation by RiskReversal, scripts by Perplexity Pro, voice by ElevenLabs
Day Break | The Fight for America's Future --- 00:00 - Monologue 19:18 – Phil Kerpen, President of American Commitment. Kerpen discusses the unintended consequences of federal drug price controls, arguing that policy changes under the Biden administration have weakened pharmaceutical innovation, distorted market incentives, and made prescription drug pricing issues more difficult to address. 28:18 – Steven Moore, founder of the Ukraine Freedom Project. Moore provides an update on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, discussing the latest developments involving Iran, the ongoing conflict with Russia, and the broader geopolitical challenges facing U.S. allies. 38:32 - Monologue 47:32 – William Fry, Founder and CEO of American Operator. Fry discusses succession planning for small business owners, explaining why private equity is not always the best exit strategy and exploring alternative paths that preserve company culture, employee opportunity, and long-term business success. 57:51 – Philip Wegmann, White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Wegmann discusses reports that Hamas has agreed to a broad framework for disarmament, examining the latest diplomatic developments, the role of the United States, and what the proposal could mean for stability in the Middle East. 1:06:47 – Tom Simon, spokesperson for Home Title Lock and former FBI Special Agent. Simon discusses how artificial intelligence is fueling increasingly sophisticated cyber scams, explaining the latest fraud tactics criminals are using and offering practical steps homeowners can take to protect themselves from identity theft and property fraud. Go to HomeTitleLock.com/GRUBER to learn more. 1:17:03 - Monologue 1:26:06 – Dr. Michelle Perro, pediatrician and author of Raising Healthy Kids in a Toxic World. Dr. Perro discusses environmental factors that may affect children's health, including nutrition, food quality, chemical exposures, and practical strategies families can use to support healthier childhood development. 1:36:22 – Bradley A. Thayer, author of America's 100 Years' War: How to Win Against Communism, American Freedom Alliance Fellow, and founding member of the Committee on the Present Danger: China. Thayer discusses the long-term ideological and geopolitical competition between the United States and communist regimes, examining the strategic challenges posed by China and outlining his recommendations for protecting American interests and national security. --- Check out our brand new podcast, 'Forgotten America'... Episode 24 is live NOW at Steve Gruber on YouTube! Link below: https://youtu.be/UrGZQdE62jA
Pickleball, paddle boarding, frisbee, rock climbing... China's sports scene is evolving fast! In this episode of Takeaway Chinese, we're exploring the exciting world of trendy and emerging sports in China. Along the way, you'll learn practical Chinese words and expressions related to fitness, competition, and staying active! (00:35) Essential sports vocabulary. (13:46) Exploring China's popular water sports.
His journey into pearls began unexpectedly during a stint as a flight attendant in the early twenties, when a strand purchased in Beijing turned out to be worth twenty times the original price. This discovery led to launching an online pearl business in the 1990s, just as the internet was emerging.He is now founder of Pearl Paradise, a luxury pearl retailer in Los Angeles, and President of The Pearl Association of America, direct relationships are maintained with pearl farms in Japan, China, French Polynesia, and Australia, including rare family-run operations. His fluency in Japanese enables him to lead industry tours to these farms, with recent trips for jewelry experts and influencers to Japan, and upcoming tours planned for the Philippines and Australia.Thirteen years were also spent running PP Web Pros, a live-selling commerce company that partnered with NBCUniversal's Today Show and TelevisaUnivision, generating over $100 million in televised sales. Pearl Paradise now hosts its own livestream shopping events, offering real-time insights into luxury consumer behavior.The company recently acquired the Assael Collection, one of the world's most significant and prestigious private pearl collections, now secured in Los Angeles. https://www.pearlparadise.com/http://www.yourlotandparcel.orgSupport the show
If you ever studied modern Chinese history, you likely met the “century of humiliation” in your first class. In 1840, British gunboats shattered the pride and legitimacy of the Qing empire, and the decades of semi-colonization that followed inaugurated a century of reform and revolution — all aimed at restoring an ancient, creaky civilization to unity and to the top of the world. The Kuomintang and the Communist Party told the same story and drew the same conclusion: the mandate belongs to whoever ends the humiliation.In China, history has never been merely academic. Where elections do not exist, leaders seek legitimacy in historical title deeds — which is why the Party still teaches the story in every classroom and invokes it in every speech on national rejuvenation. The battle crossed the Pacific, too. John King Fairbank absorbed the nationalist framework in wartime China and canonized it at Harvard, organizing American understanding of modern China around two dates: 1840 and 1949. He built the field of China studies as we know it, and generations of his students inherited the framework with it, until American scholarship was teaching China's nationalist mythology back to itself — and to Washington, where it still underwrites op-eds casting Xi Jinping as the new emperor. How America tells China's story shapes how America makes China policy.Dr. Alice Miller thinks we have the story wrong. From 1974 to 1990, she was a senior CIA analyst of Chinese foreign policy and domestic politics, and later a division chief supervising analysis of China, North Korea, Indochina, and Soviet policy in East Asia. She is now a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, where she edited and contributed to the China Leadership Monitor from 2001 to 2018. She published as H. Lyman Miller before her gender transition.In part two of our conversation — edited for clarity and brevity — we trace her formation at Princeton under Fritz Mote, the ferocious “Who lost China?” debates of the 1950s, the eternal feud between historians and political scientists, and her heterodox verdict on engagement: it didn't fail — it worked so well that Xi Jinping had to stomp on it. We close with a story of a different kind: her transition in 2006, and the unexpected grace with which the CIA, Hoover, and the Naval Postgraduate School received it. Part one, on her years decoding Beijing for the CIA, is here.Enjoy!LeoMusic: Carnaval Op. 9 No. 18 - “Aveu”, Bishara Haroni, Artlist Classics, Robert SchumannFor quick navigation to the specific sections:* Early sinologist debates about “who lost China?”* The fallacy of “The Century of Humiliation”* The battle between historians and political scientists over contemporary China studies* “How Did We Get China So Wrong?”* An identity transition from Harold to AlicePeking Hotel is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.About usThe Peking Hotel podcast and newsletter are digital publications in which Liu He interviews China specialists about their first-hand experiences and observations from decades past. The project grew out of Liu's research at Hoover Institution collecting oral history of China experts living in the U.S. Their stories are a reminder of what China used to be and what it is capable of becoming.We also have a Chinese-language Substack. We hope to publish more conversations like this one, so stay tuned! Get full access to Peking Hotel at pekinghotel.substack.com/subscribe
AP's Lisa Dwyer reports on a push for the U.S. to build weapons without China's rare earth magnets
Resilience is the most used word in automotive, and one of the least staffed functions in it. It turns up in board decks, on conference panels, and in webinar titles, and then the next disruption hits, and the response doesn't look any different from the last one: a war room, a handful of empowered people, and a lot of luck.In this episode, Jan Griffiths and Tom Roberts sit down with Ambrose Conroy, CEO of Seraph, to put structure behind a phrase most leaders use loosely. Ambrose built his firm on crisis work, and his answer to the resilience question isn't a mindset. It's an org chart. Build an office of resilience, staff it full-time, and have it report to the CEO or the board.The model already exists outside automotive. Shell and Apple run standing teams that watch their value chains down to raw material pricing, and Apple's got roughly 100 people doing it. Toyota does the same work without giving it a name. What separates them from most OEMs and tier ones isn't intent. It's the ability to see across their own data.That's where most companies stop. Multiple ERP instances, disconnected PLM systems, and dozens of cross-reference tables make it slow to answer a simple question: what stops if the rare earth supply is disrupted, or if an earthquake takes out a plant in Japan? Ambrose and Tom are blunt about what dirty master data does to AI. It drifts. It hallucinates. It returns alerts nobody can act on.Speed is the second half of the argument. In the Novelis disruption, three OEMs faced the same problem. One had an alternate capacity locked in within 48 hours. One followed the full qualification process and lost weeks. The third didn't really know what was going on.The mindset shift is the hard part, and Jan says so plainly about her own years running the supply chain. Nobody wants to fund headcount against a risk that hasn't happened yet. The leaders who fund it anyway will be the ones still shipping when the next choke point closes.Themes Discussed in This EpisodeWhat an office of resilience actually doesWhy resilience fails as a part-time assignmentBoard and CEO ownership of enterprise riskMaster data as the foundation of risk visibilityChoke points, commodities, and what-if modelingThe end of the annual cost-downDecision speed as a competitive advantageMeasuring resilience against competitorsThis podcast is powered by QAD RedZone.Featured GuestName: Ambrose ConroyTitle: Founder and CEO of Seraph ConsultingAbout: Ambrose is the Founder and CEO of Seraph Consulting. He founded Seraph to solve complex, bet-the-business problems for clients and to be the go-to partner for driving operational excellence. Before founding Seraph, Ambrose served as Vice President of Supply Chain Solutions at NAI Global and led the West Coast Global Business Transformation Group at PA Consulting, where he specialized in due diligence, crisis management, and strategic transformation. He began his career as a consultant at CSC.Connect: LinkedInAbout Your HostsJan GriffithsJan is the host and producer of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and The Automotive Leaders Podcast. A former automotive manufacturing and supply chain executive, Jan is recognized as a Champion for Culture Change in the automotive industry. She brings direct, grounded conversations to leaders navigating execution, disruption, and transformation across the global automotive ecosystem.Tom Roberts (Co-host)Tom is Co-host of the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast and Vice President of Strategic Industry Development at QAD. He works closely with automotive and industrial manufacturers to close the gap between insight and execution, helping leaders move from visibility to systems of action that drive real operational outcomes.Mentioned in the Episode:Seraph choke point analysis webinar deckEpisode Highlights[00:04:35] What an Office of Resilience Is: Ambrose anchors it to the board risk committee mandate. The office exists to protect your ability to deliver today's products and services, no matter what happens.[00:05:34] Seeing Across Your Own Data: The blocker isn't strategy. It's architecture. Most OEMs and tier ones have built systems that can't give anyone a cross-enterprise view.[00:07:57] AI Drifts on Dirty Data: Fifty reference tables and disconnected PLM systems produce alerts nobody trusts. Tom points out that's exactly where big data analytics projects fell over a decade ago.[00:09:04] If It's Not in the System, It's Risk: Working around the system of record feels faster in a crisis, and it's what leaves you people-dependent when things start going wrong, and people get tired.[00:13:44] The Cost-Down Era Is Over: Annual price decreases aren't coming back. Ambrose argues that if you're not running the what-if scenarios, the crisis and chaos will cost you far more than the five or ten strategic heads you didn't want to fund.[00:16:45] Who Owns It: CEO, CFO, or board. Anywhere below that, silos and politics kill it before it's produced anything.[00:19:42] Part-Time Doesn't Work: You need full-time people from finance, legal, supply chain, and strategy, led by someone with the standing to challenge peers. Ambrose calls it a grooming ground for future senior executives.[00:22:02] Three OEMs, One Disruption: The Novelis situation exposed the gap between empowered decision-making and process compliance, measured in weeks of lost capacity.[00:24:09] Measuring Risk You Prevented: Purchasing savings as a metric is done, and Ambrose points to an OEM that skipped a volume-specific contract to capture some. Success is relative now: how fast your organization absorbs disruption compared with direct competitors.Top Quotes[00:06:33] Ambrose Conroy: "It's not just getting out of China, it's not just regionalization, it's making sure you have business continuity moving forward, no matter what."[00:16:15] Ambrose Conroy: "So an office of resilience needs to be able to take that into account, and you need to have the data to do it. But you also need to have the organization, you need to have the will, and you need to have the sponsorship from a board level or a CEO level to make it work."[00:27:00] Ambrose Conroy: "There's a lot of choke points out there right now that could close, thinking through those proactively and comparing how your organization performs to those of your direct competitors is the cleanest way to measure the impact and success of the office of resilience."If this episode resonated, share it with a fellow automotive leader and subscribe to the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast, where we're closing the gap between insight and action across the global automotive supply chain.Follow the Auto Supply Chain Champions Podcast for real conversations with leaders who are making hard choices, focusing their bets, and leading with intent.
Is Hong Kong Still Safe for Business? | The International Risk Podcast with Megan KhooHong Kong has long been regarded as one of the world's safest and most attractive places to do business. But following the introduction of the National Security Law, growing geopolitical tensions between China and the West, and increasing scrutiny from international governments, many organisations are reassessing the risks of operating in the territory.In this episode, we explore how Hong Kong's changing political and legal landscape is reshaping the business environment, what international companies should understand before investing or expanding in the region, and how geopolitical risk is becoming a board-level issue.We discuss:Is Hong Kong still a safe place for international business?How the National Security Law has changed Hong Kong's legal and political environmentThe impact of US-China strategic competition on international companiesBusiness confidence, sanctions, and reputational riskHuman rights concerns and their implications for multinational organisationsThe future of Hong Kong as an international financial centreHow organisations can better prepare for geopolitical uncertainty in AsiaThe international risks that concern Megan Khoo mostAbout the guestMegan Khoo is Policy Director at Hong Kong Watch, where she leads the organisation's policy and advocacy work on Hong Kong, China, human rights, and international affairs. Before joining Hong Kong Watch, she worked in communications and policy roles across the UK and United States, including at the US Department of Defense and the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC. Megan holds an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford and degrees in International Studies and Modern Languages (Mandarin Chinese and Spanish) from Georgia Southern University.About the hostDominic Bowen is Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe's leading risk management consulting firms. He advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives on crisis management, geopolitical risk, operational resilience, and strategy, drawing on decades of experience across government, humanitarian operations, and corporate leadership.
Turkey's growing regional ambitions, claims over Jerusalem, and ties to Russia raise serious questions about biblical prophecy and the rise of the Antichrist. In Episode 953 of The Smith and Rowland Show, Alan Smith and Jeff Rowland examine Turkey's Ottoman revival under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They discuss Turkey's military presence in former Ottoman territories, the conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque, Erdogan's statements about Jerusalem, and his goal of becoming a leader of the Muslim world. The conversation also connects current events involving Turkey, Russia, Iran, China, Israel, and the Middle East with passages from the Bible concerning the end times. The hosts consider whether Iran is the main focus or part of a larger conflict involving the nations that will move against Israel. Beyond geopolitics, this episode addresses the responsibility of Christians during a time of war and uncertainty. Smith and Rowland emphasize the need to preach the gospel, share faith with others, and keep Jesus Christ at the center of the Church's message. Topics include: * Turkey's Ottoman ambitions and regional expansion * Erdogan's claims regarding Jerusalem * Hagia Sophia and the religious legacy of the Ottoman Empire * Turkey, Russia, Iran, China, and the Middle East * Biblical prophecy concerning Israel and the nations * The Antichrist and the possible role of a Muslim leader * The power of the gospel in Muslim nations * Why Christians must remain focused on Jesus Christ Watch the full episode, then share your thoughts in the comments. How should Christians respond when world events appear to align with biblical prophecy? #TheSmithAndRowlandShow #BibleProphecy #Turkey #EndTimes #Antichrist
Patrick Bet-David and the Home Team react to Catherine Herridge's claim that declassified records reveal China collected blackmail material targeting the Biden family. Could intelligence officials and legacy media bury explosive evidence to protect Biden, Hunter Biden and Washington's grip on power?
The Heavenly Kingdom, having recently killed kings three and four of its founding five – and misplaced the fifth – attempts to solve its acute leadership shortage. To that end, the Heavenly King turns to his own blood, promoting his brothers – both military novices – and handing supreme military authority to the upjumped royal harem-staffing administrator. Meanwhile, up his own backwater Jiangxi creek, the one man of Great Qing capable of destroying the rebels is finally handed a paddle by his enemies' infighting... and promptly goes home to bury his father. Two governments, two indispensable men, and one season in which both of them simply choose to walk away.Time Period Covered:1856–1857 CE Major Historical Figures:TaipingHong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864]Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863]Hong Renfa, the Peace King [d. 1864]Hong Renda, the Blessings King [d. 1864]Meng De'en, Chief of Staff [d. 1861]Chen Yucheng [1837–1862]Li Xiucheng [1823–1864]Yang Xiuqing, the East King [d. 1856]Wei Changhui, the North King [d. 1856] NienZhang Luoxing, Lord of the Alliance [1811–1863]Li Zhaoshou [d. 1881] QingThe Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861]Zeng Guofan [1811–1872]Zeng Guohua [1822–1858]Hu Linyi [1812–1861] Major Works Cited:Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.Michael, Franz, and Chung-li Chang. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vols. I & II.Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War.Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week on The Necessary Conversation, Chad, Haley, and Mary Lou discuss week 23 of Trump's illegal war with Iran, and the possibility that it could be the beginning of World War 3.
It's ev.news Briefly for Saturday 01 August 2026, everything you need to know in 4 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyEV SALES SPREAD AS CHINA SLOWSGlobal EV sales rose 35% in Q2 2026 with record sales in 50 countries, while more than 90 countries posted year-on-year growth despite a 5% decline in overall car sales. The IEA now forecasts EVs will account for 29% of global sales in 2026, driven by growth beyond China and the US in markets like Australia, Brazil, India, Korea and Vietnam, though China's EV sales are expected to stagnate year-on-year for the first time this decade while still representing over 60% of new cars sold there.EUROPEAN BEV SHARE HITS RECORD IN JUNEEuropean new car registrations rose 13% year-on-year in June with BEV registrations climbing 50.7% to capture a record 25.7% market share of 359,300 units. Combustion vehicles fell 13.6% to 27% market share, while Tesla led EV rankings but growth broadened across Renault, BMW, Skoda, Mercedes-Benz, Kia, Volvo and BYD.RIVIAN BEATS, BUT R2 COSTS MOUNTRivian posted Q2 2026 revenue of $1.658 billion with record gross profit of $179 million and 11% gross margin, improving for five consecutive quarters, but the R2 mid-size SUV ramp added $100 million in extra costs. The company raised full-year delivery guidance to 65,000-70,000 vehicles and narrowed adjusted EBITDA loss guidance to $1.8-2.0 billion, requiring roughly 42,000-47,000 deliveries in the second half.RIVIAN SEES STRONG EARLY R2 CONVERSIONRivian reported R2 Launch Edition reservation-to-order conversion is running meaningfully above expectations, signaling strong demand at the premium price point. The company expects broader R2 trim availability in early 2027, which could drive better momentum when lower-priced versions become available.VW URGES FAST EU TARIFFS ON CHINESE PHEVSVW Group CEO Oliver Blume called for the EU to quickly apply 35% tariffs on Chinese plug-in hybrids similar to those on Chinese battery electric vehicles, citing undercutting of European car makers. Chinese brand sales in Europe rose 101% in H1 2026 to 685,990 units with 9.5% market share, up from 5% a year earlier, with BYD models dominating the PHEV top sellers list.DENZA OPENS UK BAO 5 ORDERSDENZA opened UK orders for the BAO 5 plug-in hybrid SUV priced from £69,500 to £78,880, featuring a dual-motor system delivering 544PS combined power with 62 miles of electric range and up to 100kW DC charging. The entry Elegance trim includes premium features like a 15.6-inch central screen with Google, leather upholstery, panoramic roof and a 18-speaker Devialet audio system.MERCEDES FACES YEARS OF CHINA PRICE PRESSUREMercedes-Benz CEO Ola Källenius warned that China's EV pricing war will persist for years as Chinese brands like BYD push aggressively into the luxury segment, challenging models such as the S-Class and G-Class. Mercedes recorded a 30% second-quarter sales drop in China, though the company is cutting costs and maintaining strength in its top-end luxury and AMG segments.GENESIS PRICES GV60 MAGMA AT $71,495Genesis priced its first performance EV, the GV60 Magma, at $71,495 with deliveries starting in select US states, targeting Mercedes-AMG and BMW M buyers with 600hp in normal use and 641hp in Boost Mode for under four-second 0-60mph acceleration. The car uses an 84kWh battery with 800V architecture enabling 10-80% charging in about 20 minutes and features an electronic limited-slip differential, Drift Mode and simulated engine sounds.CHINESE TRUCK MAKERS USE EUROPE'S FACTORIESChinese truck makers SuperPanther and Sinotruk are entering Europe through contract manufacturing at existing plants rather than building new factories, using the semi-knocked-down method to speed market entry and reduce costs. Steyr Automotive in Austria now assembles SuperPanther's eTopas 600 and Sinotruk's vehicles, with plans to expand to cab production and painting as volumes rise.VATTENFALL TESTS OPEN EV CHARGING BAYSVattenfall InCharge is piloting 300 public chargers in North Brabant and Limburg from August 2026 to January 2027, splitting them between 150 open bays for all vehicles and 150 standard bays reserved for EVs to test faster deployment by removing exclusive EV parking restrictions. The trial addresses an administrative bottleneck rather than a technical one, testing whether chargers can be installed faster without requiring traffic rulings and public objection periods.MAN STARTS MCS-READY ELECTRIC TRUCK PRODUCTIONMAN started series production of MCS-ready electric trucks, the eTGX and eTGS, at its Munich plant as the first series-produced European electric trucks supporting Megawatt Charging System at up to 750kW via MCS. With configurations of 534kWh or 623kWh usable capacity, the trucks achieve 20-80% charges in under 30-40 minutes, fitting within legally required driver breaks for long-haul use.NEXT MX-5 READIES FOR ELECTRIC FUTUREMazda CEO Masahiro Moro said the next MX-5 Miata will be designed with electrification in mind, marking a shift from earlier statements emphasizing the internal combustion engine as the current path forward. Patents from 2025 show Mazda exploring batteries running through the transmission tunnel to support a flexible chassis, with the company aiming to preserve the Miata's core character during its transition to electric power.
Can you help me make more podcasts? Consider supporting me on Patreon as the service is 100% funded by you: https://EVne.ws/patreon You can read all the latest news on the blog here: https://EVne.ws/blog Subscribe for free and listen to the podcast on audio platforms:➤ Apple: https://EVne.ws/apple➤ YouTube Music: https://EVne.ws/youtubemusic➤ Spotify: https://EVne.ws/spotify➤ TuneIn: https://EVne.ws/tunein➤ iHeart: https://EVne.ws/iheart DONGFENG JOINS CHINA'S 1.5MW CHARGING RACE https://evne.ws/07jy5 XIAOMI OPENS SKY NOMAD EREV PRE-SALES https://evne.ws/xzfxy CHINA PUTS SMART EVS AT POLICY CORE https://paultan.org/2026/07/29/china-to-fast-track-a-dedicated-15th-five-year-plan-for-smart-connected-evs-focus-on-software-and-autonomy/ CHINA BUILDS CHARGING AT SCALE https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202607/28/WS6a688fc7a310986e2b467c34.html DEEPAL OPENS REFRESHED S05 PRE-SALES https://evne.ws/ih3ar FREELANDER 8 STARTS CHINA PRODUCTION https://evne.ws/ktbjs BRAZIL TOPS CHINESE CAR IMPORTS https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3362315/brazil-becomes-worlds-top-buyer-chinese-cars-imports-jump-147 BYD PASSES 100,000 UK REGISTRATIONS https://evne.ws/bhjoe BYD STAYS IN FORTUNE GLOBAL 500 TOP 100 https://www.byd.com/uk/news-list/byd-ranks-91st-in-2026-fortune-global-500 LI AUTO, XIAOMI STRETCH EREV OIL INTERVALS https://evne.ws/sy7uk
It's EV News Briefly for Friday 31 July 2026, everything you need to know in less than 5 minutes if you haven't got time for the full show.Patreon supporters fund this show, get the episodes ad free, as soon as they're ready and are part of the EV News Daily Community. You can be like them by clicking here: https://www.patreon.com/EVNewsDailyMERCEDES LAUNCHES ELECTRIC GLA FIRSTMercedes unveiled the all-electric GLA in Warsaw, breaking from its usual pattern by launching three battery-electric versions first in November, with hybrids following in early 2027. Built on the 800-volt MMA platform, the GLA offers up to 657 km WLTP range, 320 kW charging, and starts at €48,599 as Mercedes' cheapest electric SUV.FERRARI LUCE BEATS 2026 SALES TARGETFerrari's electric Luce hit its 2026 sales target of nearly 500 units within two months of its May launch, despite public backlash, an 8% share price drop, and the departure of marketing chief Enrico Galliera. Demand proved strongest in China, where its 88-unit allocation sold out at roughly $589,000, with Ferrari targeting 2,500 total Luce sales by 2030.RENAULT PROFITS BEAT ON EVS AND CUTSRenault posted a 5.2% operating margin and 9.5% revenue growth in the first half of 2026, beating forecasts through cost cuts and a stronger EV lineup, outperforming Audi and Mercedes-Benz margins for the period. CEO Francois Provost is pushing cheaper EVs like the €19,490 Twingo and €25,000 R5 to defend market share against BYD, Opel and Citroën, while targeting €400 in annual per-vehicle cost savings.WALMART BUILDS OUT US FAST CHARGINGWalmart has opened about 46 high-speed public charging stations with 380 cords across roughly 326 of its 4,600 US stores, ranking second only to Tesla in network expansion during the second quarter. The retailer is leaning on its vast footprint—90% of Americans live within 10 miles of a store—to combine charging dwell time with shopping, potentially lifting store sales by about 5%.CANADA'S FAST CHARGERS OUTPACE DEMANDCanada's DC fast-charger utilization fell to just 9.5% in Q2 2026, down from 11.3% in Q1 and well below the 15-20% operators typically need to break even, trailing the US average of 15.8%. Paren's data, covering nearly 10,000 ports, shows profitability is highly site-specific, prompting calls for demand-led charger siting and better reliability.FORMER VW ENGINEERS CHARGED OVER RIVIAN DEAL TRADESProsecutors charged former Volkswagen engineers Michael Stamp and Michael Plank with insider trading ahead of VW's $5 billion Rivian joint venture announcement in June 2024, which sent Rivian shares up 23%. Stamp allegedly made $250,000 and Plank $50,000, with Plank also accused of tipping a family member who made $12,000, while incriminating searches about insider trading laws feature in the case.IONIQ 3 OPENS UK AND EUROPE ORDERSHyundai's new IONIQ 3 electric hatchback has drawn more customer interest than any previous Hyundai launch, debuting at Goodwood with UK pricing expected under £25,000 and offering up to 308 miles of range from a 61 kWh battery. Built on the E-GMP platform for the European market, the compact IONIQ 3 is not planned for a US launch.KIA COMMITS $649 MILLION TO MEXICO EVSKia will invest $649 million in its Pesquería, Mexico plant to begin producing the EV3 compact SUV starting August 4, marking its first EV production in the country. The move, tied to Mexico's Plan México initiative, is expected to create 500 jobs this year and 1,500 by 2030, while helping Kia navigate USMCA trade rules and tariffs.V2G COULD DWARF MANAGED CHARGING VALUEA General Motors-commissioned E3 study found vehicle-to-grid technology could deliver five to 15 times more value per EV than one-way managed charging, totaling roughly $7 billion nationwide by 2030, with the strongest returns in California, ERCOT, and the Pacific Northwest. GM already has 250,000 bidirectional-capable vehicles on the road and is pushing utilities to speed up V2G tariffs and approvals, including a plan to use 52,000 vehicles to balance PG&E's grid by 2030.SC01 SET FOR UK ARRIVAL IN 2027Small Sports Car Company will bring its China-built SC01 lightweight electric sportscar to the UK, featuring 429 bhp, a 1,365 kg curb weight, a 2.9-second 0-62 mph time, and a 500 km CLTC range. UK demonstration cars arrive in Q4 2026, with right-hand-drive customer cars following from April 2027, though pricing has not yet been announced.
— Have you ever considered that a single conversation could change the course of someone's life? That a few words spoken at the right moment might offer hope, inspire healing, strengthen a relationship, or even save a life? Today, we're exploring the extraordinary power of words with Nelson Price, co-author of Everyone's a Change Agent: The Power of Words For Better – For Worse. Drawing from a lifetime of experience as a communicator, storyteller, and media leader, Nelson reminds us that our everyday conversations carry far more influence than we often realize. In this conversation, we'll explore how beliefs are shaped through language, how childhood messages can impact us for decades, and why love, compassion, and mindful communication have the power to transform lives. Most importantly, we'll discover how each of us can become a positive force for change through the words we choose every day. Join us as we explore the simple yet profound truth that our words matter—and that every one of us has the potential to be a change agent. Valeria sits with Nelson Price — He is the author of "Everyone's a Change Agent: The Power of Words for Better or Worse." He also served as a professional communicator throughout his career, beginning as communications officer for two United Methodist bishops, later working for the denomination's national communications agency, and eventually as president/CEO of the Odyssey Cable Network, a coalition of 67 faith communities. He has produced award-winning television and radio programs, as well as documentaries filmed in the U.S., Africa, China, and India. Price lives in Dewitt, NY (Syracuse). To learn more about Nelson Price and his work, please visit: https://nelsonpriceauthor.com/
— In a world that constantly pulls our attention outward—toward achievement, productivity, technology, and endless distractions—many of us have become strangers to the very place we live: our own bodies. We search for peace, healing, and fulfillment outside ourselves, while feeling increasingly disconnected from our inner wisdom. But what if the body is not a problem to solve? What if it is the doorway home? Today, we explore the profound relationship between embodiment, healing, and awakening with Master Mingtong Gu. Together, we'll discuss how reconnecting with the body can help us move beyond stress, anxiety, and exhaustion; access deeper vitality and resilience; and rediscover the wisdom, power, and purpose that have been within us all along. This conversation is an invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and remember that perhaps the journey we are seeking is not about becoming someone new—but about coming home to who we already are. Valeria sits with Master Mingtong Gu — He is the author of "Coming Home to Embodied Awakening: Reclaim Your Body, Power, and Purpose in an Age of AI." Master Mingtong Gu is a globally recognized teacher and healer bringing ancient wisdom to humanity's most urgent modern crisis: our disconnection from our own bodies. Named Qigong Master of the Year, founder of The Chi Center and the 150-acre Southwest Sanctuary for Embodied Wisdom, he has empowered 50,000+ seekers across 47 countries through Wisdom Healing Qigong – a practice he trained in at China's famous "medicine-less" hospital under Grandmaster Dr. Pang Ming, where thousands healed from "incurable" conditions through energy alone. Featured at Wisdom 2.0, Esalen, Omega, and PBS, his new book, Coming Home to Embodied Awakening, offers a map for reclaiming power, presence, and fulfillment in the age of AI. To learn more about Master Mingtong Gu and his work, please visit: https://mingtonggu.com/
In A Post-Liberal Peace: How Emergent Powers Are Reshaping Global Conflict Management (Cornell UP, 2026), Dr. Monalisa Adhikari shows how rising powers like India and China are reshaping global peace governance. Over recent decades, both countries have deepened engagement with institutions built on liberal principles, including those related to peacebuilding. Their growing role raises critical questions about how their approaches diverge from liberal models and their impact on the domestic politics of conflict-affected states. Focusing on India and China's involvement in peace processes in Nepal and Myanmar, Dr. Adhikari demonstrates that these powers advance distinctive, state-centered programs that privilege regional stakeholders, stability, development, and pragmatism. Operating under conditions of "negotiated coexistence" with liberal peacebuilders, their initiatives neither fully align with nor openly contest existing actors, limiting cooperation while avoiding confrontation. This pluralized form of international engagement enables domestic elites to resist external pressures, producing hybrid peace orders that incorporate some liberal elements yet remain largely at the status quo—and often illiberal. Rich with archival and interview evidence, A Post-Liberal Peace sheds light on alternative forms of peacebuilding and their on-the-ground effects in an increasingly multipolar world. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history
In A Post-Liberal Peace: How Emergent Powers Are Reshaping Global Conflict Management (Cornell UP, 2026), Dr. Monalisa Adhikari shows how rising powers like India and China are reshaping global peace governance. Over recent decades, both countries have deepened engagement with institutions built on liberal principles, including those related to peacebuilding. Their growing role raises critical questions about how their approaches diverge from liberal models and their impact on the domestic politics of conflict-affected states. Focusing on India and China's involvement in peace processes in Nepal and Myanmar, Dr. Adhikari demonstrates that these powers advance distinctive, state-centered programs that privilege regional stakeholders, stability, development, and pragmatism. Operating under conditions of "negotiated coexistence" with liberal peacebuilders, their initiatives neither fully align with nor openly contest existing actors, limiting cooperation while avoiding confrontation. This pluralized form of international engagement enables domestic elites to resist external pressures, producing hybrid peace orders that incorporate some liberal elements yet remain largely at the status quo—and often illiberal. Rich with archival and interview evidence, A Post-Liberal Peace sheds light on alternative forms of peacebuilding and their on-the-ground effects in an increasingly multipolar world. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science
In A Post-Liberal Peace: How Emergent Powers Are Reshaping Global Conflict Management (Cornell UP, 2026), Dr. Monalisa Adhikari shows how rising powers like India and China are reshaping global peace governance. Over recent decades, both countries have deepened engagement with institutions built on liberal principles, including those related to peacebuilding. Their growing role raises critical questions about how their approaches diverge from liberal models and their impact on the domestic politics of conflict-affected states. Focusing on India and China's involvement in peace processes in Nepal and Myanmar, Dr. Adhikari demonstrates that these powers advance distinctive, state-centered programs that privilege regional stakeholders, stability, development, and pragmatism. Operating under conditions of "negotiated coexistence" with liberal peacebuilders, their initiatives neither fully align with nor openly contest existing actors, limiting cooperation while avoiding confrontation. This pluralized form of international engagement enables domestic elites to resist external pressures, producing hybrid peace orders that incorporate some liberal elements yet remain largely at the status quo—and often illiberal. Rich with archival and interview evidence, A Post-Liberal Peace sheds light on alternative forms of peacebuilding and their on-the-ground effects in an increasingly multipolar world. This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda's interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs
Hoy hablaremos de lluvias, viajes y leyendas. Comenzaremos con la historia del paraguas; después prepararemos una taza de té para recorrer su camino dese China hasta los salones británicos; más tarde entraremos en Camelot para recordar al Rey Arturo; y cerraremos con La Odisea de Christopher Nolan, donde los dioses se encuentran con la tecnología IMAX. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
China's Hohhot has been named the World Dairy Capital, recognizing its advances in dairy research and its status as a global production hub.
China has released a five-year plan for its national supply and marketing cooperative system, aiming to strengthen agricultural services and ensure food security for the 2026-2030 period.
Xi Jinping recently spoke in Beijing, promoting a Chinese Communist Party initiative seeking Beijing's international control over the expansion of cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology. This episode explores how Xi and the CCP are using the AI governance initiative as the latest ideological-warfare tool in pursing global domination under Marxism-Leninism with Chinese characteristics. The counterproposal section looks at the work of the great Polish philosopher Leszek Kolakowski who provides important ideas that can effectively counter Marxism. The news portion discusses how China is using AI to bolster its military forces and instead of an interview, this episode present excerpts of an important speech by Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the urgent need to defeat the growing threat of Marxist-motivated violence. This episode is must listening!