Podcasts about East China

Fans of record-breaking blockbuster Chinese movie Ne Zha 2 are making significant waves in the derivatives market, clearing out retailer inventories and even creating DIY character-shaped dolls and food items. 中国破纪录票房大片《哪吒2》的粉丝们在衍生品市场掀起巨大波澜，清空了零售商的库存，甚至自制角色玩偶和食品。 Since the film's debut on the first day of the Chinese New Year, which was Jan 29 this year, sales of its collectibles, ranging from mystery toy boxes and cards to fridge magnets and badges, have reportedly topped 50 million yuan ($6.97 million) on Taobao, a leading e-commerce platform in China. 自今年1月29日（农历新年第一天）上映以来，据报道，其衍生品在淘宝（中国领先的电商平台）上的销售额已突破5000万元人民币（约合697万美元），包括盲盒玩具、卡片、冰箱贴和徽章等。 This sequel to the 2019 hit Ne Zha, with inspirations derived from Chinese mythological tales, has already drawn over 200 million cinema-goers, the highest number in the country's film history. 作为2019年爆款电影《哪吒》的续集，这部取材于中国神话故事的影片已吸引超过2亿观影人次，创下中国电影史上的最高纪录。 The film became an instant holiday box office hit thanks to its contemporary re-imagination of Ne Zha, a well-known mythical figure with extraordinary powers, and via its intriguing plot twists. 这部电影通过对哪吒这一拥有非凡力量的著名神话人物的现代重塑以及引人入胜的剧情转折，迅速成为春节档票房爆款。 Customers inquiring about toys featuring characters from the film are often left disappointed at stores across China. A salesperson at a trendy toy store in downtown Nanjing in East China's Jiangsu province said even display samples were sold out. "We expect to restock items like laser cards later." 在中国各地的商店，询问电影角色玩具的顾客常常失望而归。江苏省南京市市中心一家潮流玩具店的销售人员表示，甚至连展示样品都已售罄。“我们预计稍后会补货激光卡片等商品。” Notably, Hunan Sunny & Sandy Toys Manufacturer Co Ltd, the film's sole licensed manufacturer of 3D food-grade plastic toys in China, reported sales of over 450,000 mystery toy box sets through live-streaming in just 11 days -- ranking first in terms of the sales of board-game merchandise on the video platform. In addition, more than 10 million of these sets have been sold through offline partnerships. 值得注意的是，湖南阳光与沙地玩具制造有限公司（该片在中国唯一授权的3D食品级塑料玩具制造商）报告称，仅11天通过直播销售了超过45万套盲盒玩具，在视频平台的桌游类商品销售中排名第一。此外，通过线下合作伙伴销售了超过1000万套。 Yang Zhenlin, assistant to the company's chairman, said their factory workshops had to resume operations ahead of schedule after the Spring Festival holiday, with their hundreds of staff members working tirelessly to replenish inventory. "We had great confidence in the film even before its release, so we promptly secured the copyright," Yang told Xinhua. 该公司董事长助理杨振林表示，春节假期后，工厂车间不得不提前复工，数百名员工加班加点补充库存。“我们在电影上映前就对其充满信心，因此迅速获得了版权。”杨振林对新华社表示。 This week, on e-commerce platforms, some stores have gradually restored supplies. Businesses in the second-hand market have remained brisk. 本周，在电商平台上，部分商店已逐步恢复供应。二手市场的交易依然活跃。 Fans have also discovered that the gold bracelets they had purchased after the first Ne Zha film came out in 2019, with designs inspired by the "universe ring" on Ne zha's arm, have tripled in value on the second-hand market, thanks to both the success of Ne Zha 2 and a higher gold price. 粉丝们还发现，他们在2019年第一部《哪吒》电影上映后购买的金手镯，其设计灵感来自哪吒手臂上的“乾坤圈”，由于《哪吒2》的成功和金价上涨，在二手市场上的价值已翻了三倍。 Some fans have gone so far as to make their own versions of it, using wood, plasticine, flour and even thread. Coinciding with the Lantern Festival on Feb 12, netizens shared creative improvisations of Ne Zha-shaped glutinous rice dumplings, a festive food. 一些粉丝甚至用木头、橡皮泥、面粉甚至线自制了哪吒角色。2月12日元宵节当天，网友们分享了以哪吒为灵感的创意汤圆，这是一种节日食品。 Miao Lingyi, a 10-year-old girl living in East China's Shanghai, expressed her admiration for the character Ao Bing, the son of the Dragon King, stating her desire to use her pocket money to buy a collectible featuring him. "I really love the character and I don't mind waiting a while for the collectible," she said. 居住在上海市的10岁女孩缪灵怡（音译）表达了对龙王之子敖丙这一角色的喜爱，并表示希望用零花钱购买相关收藏品。“我真的很喜欢这个角色，我不介意等一段时间再买到收藏品。”她说。 According to experts, the film's huge success stemming from its captivating plot and stunning special effects, has evoked emotional attachment and resonance with characters among its audiences, while some related products feature limited edition designs -- thereby enhancing their value as collectibles and stimulating consumer purchasing enthusiasm. 专家表示，这部电影的巨大成功源于其引人入胜的剧情和震撼的特效，激发了观众对角色的情感共鸣，而一些相关产品采用限量版设计，从而提升了其收藏价值，刺激了消费者的购买热情。 Ye Guofu, founder of MINISO, a Chinese retailer known for its fashionable but affordable household products, said that Chinese consumers' growing focus on emotional value attached to commodities, particularly among the younger generations, is expected to further drive the consumption of IP-featured products, such as those related to domestic animated films and games. 名创优品（以时尚且价格实惠的家居产品闻名的中国零售商）创始人叶国富表示，中国消费者对商品情感价值的日益关注，尤其是在年轻一代中，预计将进一步推动IP衍生品的消费，例如与国产动画电影和游戏相关的产品。 With this lucrative market rapidly expanding, experts have stressed the importance of both IP innovation and product quality, while warning against risks of market irregularities and intellectual property rights violations. 随着这一利润丰厚的市场迅速扩张，专家强调了IP创新和产品质量的重要性，同时警告市场乱象和知识产权侵权的风险。 Law professor Zheng Ning with Communication University of China suggested that market regulators strengthen oversight to combat potential price gouging and the sale of substandard products -- thereby ensuring a more orderly market environment. 中国传媒大学法学教授郑宁建议，市场监管部门应加强监管，打击哄抬价格和销售劣质产品的行为，从而确保更有序的市场环境。 Zhao Liangshan, a lawyer in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, cautioned that handcrafted items made for personal use are not allowed for commercial purposes. 陕西省律师赵良山（音译）提醒，个人手工制作的物品不得用于商业用途。 As Ne Zha 2 enters international markets, Hunan Sunny & Sandy Toys Manufacturer Co Ltd aims to target global markets -- particularly in Asia, North America and Europe. 随着《哪吒2》进入国际市场，湖南阳光与沙地玩具制造有限公司计划瞄准全球市场，特别是亚洲、北美和欧洲。 The film is set to be screened in various countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Egypt, Singapore, Japan and the Republic of Korea, with premieres in Los Angeles and Sydney having received positive responses from professionals and fans alike. 该片将在多个国家上映，包括美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰、南非、埃及、新加坡、日本和韩国，洛杉矶和悉尼的首映式已获得专业人士和粉丝的积极反响。

If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, this is the show for you. This is your host Leonardo, welcome to the international business podcast.   Today, we dive into the world of HR, exploring it from both a recruitment and company culture perspective. Automation and AI are ubiquitous in today's business landscape. What should job seekers be wary of? Companies are facing significant challenges in China, with layoffs continuing to occur. What is driving these changes? Furthermore, what are the most significant challenges and opportunities for HR professionals as businesses transition to digital operations? This and more will be discussed.   Use the promo code 8D1E2 to get 50% off your first month on Patreon. This offer is valid until February 28th. Join Leonardo on Patreon for:⁠⁠⁠⁠ Podcast Archive: 102 episodes (40+ hours). Podcast Bonus Episodes: New exclusive content. Early Access: Upcoming YouTube videos and newsletters. Thinking Process Journal: Insights into Leonardo's content preparation, including a curated reading list and personal reflections. Q&A: Submit questions for future episodes, and receive a shoutout when they are answered. Miriam Wickertsheim is a German national and holds a double degree in Asia Studies and Economics from Germany and Tsinghua University. She is General Manager at Direct HR, one of China's largest German speaking recruitment firms. She has spent a decade and a half living and working in China. She is a well-recognized senior leader in the HR Service industry and a frequent speaker at various prestigious organizations here in China. She speaks German, English and Chinese. She also wrote the book “Overcoming Superwoman Syndrome: a 10 step guide to inner peace and success”. You can purchase her book (Amazon) here. Ben Eden is an international bestselling author of "How We See Ourselves" and a sought-after leadership coach, speaker, and HR strategist. With over a decade of experience in organizational development, employee retention, and executive coaching, Ben has guided leaders across industries to overcome challenges, build high-performing teams, and achieve transformational success. As the creator of the Eden Model for personal and professional fulfillment, Ben empowers HR professionals to align their self-perception with their goals, unlocking their full potential as leaders. Known for delivering engaging presentations and actionable insights, Ben inspires audiences to cultivate impactful relationships, foster trust, and lead with authenticity. His work is grounded in a deep understanding of the evolving HR landscape and a passion for helping others succeed. You can purchase Ben's book (Amazon) here. Chloris Liu is an experienced International Executive Headhunter with over a decade of expertise. She recruits senior to executive-level positions in the general manufacturing and consumer technology sectors across East China for Michael Page, a UK-listed company. Her notable achievements include successfully placing over 30 senior positions (from manager to VP) for local and multinational companies such as Walmart, Alipay, Samsung, IKEA, and others, primarily in the APAC region.   Chloris has over six years of experience with a Singapore-listed recruitment agency, focusing on commercial function placements in the tech and industrial sectors. Her international experience spans five years in Guangzhou, four years in Europe and the US, and she currently resides in Shanghai. If you work across time zones, borders, and cultures, come on the show to share your story. ⁠Connect with the host Leonardo Marra

This episode we are taking a trip down the Silk Road--or perhaps even the Spice Road--as we investigate references in this reign to individuals from "Tukara" who seem to have arrived in Yamato and stayed for a while. For photos and more, see our podcast webpage:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-119 Rough Transcript   Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  This is episode 119: The Question of “Tukara”   Traveling upon the ocean was never exactly safe.  Squalls and storms could arise at any time, and there was always a chance that high winds and high waves could capsize a vessel.  Most people who found themselves at the mercy of the ocean could do little but hold on and hope that they could ride out whatever adverse conditions they met with.  Many ships were lost without any explanation or understanding of what happened to them.  They simply left the port and never came back home. And so when the people saw the boat pulling up on the shores of Himuka, on the island of Tsukushi, they no doubt empathized with the voyagers' plight.  The crew looked bedraggled, and their clothing was unfamiliar.  There were both men and women, and this didn't look like your average fishing party.  If anything was clear it was this:  These folk weren't from around here. The locals brought out water and food.  Meanwhile, runners were sent with a message:  foreigners had arrived from a distant place.  They then waited to see what the government was going to do.     We are still in the second reign of Takara Hime, aka Saimei Tenno.  Last episode we talked about the palaces constructed in Asuka, as well as some of the stone works that have been found from the period, and which appear to be referenced in the Nihon Shoki—at least tangentially.   The episodes before that, we looked at the expeditions the court sent to the far north of Honshu and even past Honshu to Hokkaido. This episode we'll again be looking past the main islands of the archipelago to lands beyond.  Specifically, we are going to focus on particularly intriguing references to people from a place called “Tukara”.  We'll talk about some of the ideas about where that might be, even if they're a bit  far-fetched. That's because Tukara touches on the state of the larger world that Yamato was a part of, given its situation on the far eastern edge of what we know today as the Silk Road.  And is this just an excuse for me to take a detour into some of the more interesting things going on outside the archipelago?  No comment. The first mention of a man from Tukara actually comes at the end of the reign of Karu, aka Koutoku Tennou.  We are told that in the fourth month of 654 two men and two women of “Tukara” and one woman of “Sha'e” were driven by a storm to Hiuga.  Then, three years later, the story apparently picks up again, though possibly referring to a different group of people.  On the 3rd day of the 7th month of 657, so during the second reign of Takara Hime, we now hear about two men and four women of the Land of Tukara—no mention of Sha'e—who drifted to Tsukushi, aka Kyushu.  The Chronicles mention that these wayfarers first drifted to the island of Amami, and we'll talk about that in a bit, but let's get these puzzle pieces on the table, first.  After those six people show up, the court sent for them by post-horse.  They must have arrived by the 15th of that same month, because we are told that a model of Mt. Sumi was erected and they—the people from Tukara—were entertained, although there is another account that says they were from “Tora”. The next mention is the 10th day of the 3rd month of 659, when a Man of Tukara and his wife, again woman of Sha'e, arrived.  Then, on the 16th day of the 7th month of 660, we are told that the man of Tukara, Kenzuhashi Tatsuna, desired to return home and asked for an escort.  He planned to pay his respects at the Great Country, i.e. the Tang court, and so he left his wife behind, taking tens of men with him. All of these entries might refer to people regularly reaching Yamato from the south, from a place called “Tukara”.  Alternately, this is a single event whose story has gotten distributed over several years, as we've seen happen before with the Chronicles.  .  One of the oddities of these entries is that the terms used are not consistent.  “Tukara” is spelled at least two different ways, suggesting that it wasn't a common placename like Silla or Baekje, or even the Mishihase.  That does seem to suggest that the Chronicles were phonetically trying to find kanji, or the Sinitic characters, to match with the name they were hearing.   I would also note that “Tukara” is given the status of a “kuni”—a land, country, or state—while “sha'e”, where some of the women are said to come from, is just that, “Sha'e”. As for the name of at least one person from Tokara, Kenzuhashi Tatsuna, that certainly sounds like someone trying to fit a non-Japanese name into the orthography of the time.  “Tatsuna” seems plausibly Japanese, but “Kenzuhashi” doesn't fit quite as well into the naming structures we've seen to this point. The location of “Tukara” and “Sha'e” are not clear in any way, and as such there has been a lot of speculation about them.  While today there are placenames that fit those characters, whether or not these were the places being referenced at the time is hard to say. I'll actually start with “Sha'e”, which Aston translates as Shravasti, the capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Kosala, in modern Uttar Pradesh.  It is also where the Buddha, Siddartha Gautama, is said to have lived most of his life after his enlightenment.  In Japanese this is “Sha'e-jou”, and like many Buddhist terms it likely comes through Sanskrit to Middle Chinese to Japanese.  One—or possibly two—women from Shravasti making the journey to Yamato in the company of a man (or men) from Tukara seems quite the feat.  But then, where is “Tukara”? Well, we have at least three possible locations that I've seen bandied about.  I'll address them from the most distant to the closest option.  These three options were Tokharistan, Dvaravati, and the Tokara islands. We'll start with Tokharistan on the far end of the Silk Road.  And to start, let's define what that “Silk Road” means.  We've talked in past episodes about the “Western Regions”, past the Han-controlled territories of the Yellow River.   The ancient Tang capital of Chang'an was built near to the home of the Qin dynasty, and even today you can go and see both the Tang tombs and the tomb of Qin Shihuangdi and his terracotta warriors, all within a short distance of Xi'an, the modern city built on the site of Chang'an.  That city sits on a tributary of the Yellow River, but the main branch turns north around the border of modern Henan and the similarly sounding provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi.  Following it upstream, the river heads north into modern Mongolia, turns west, and then heads south again, creating what is known as the Ordos loop.  Inside is the Ordos plateau, also known as the Ordos Basin.  Continuing to follow the Yellow river south, on the western edge of the Ordos, you travel through Ningxia and Gansu—home of the Hexi, or Gansu, Corridor.  That route eventually takes to Yumenguan, the Jade Gate, and Dunhuang.  From there roads head north or south along the edge of the Taklamakan desert in the Tarim basin.  The southern route travels along the edge of the Tibetan plateau, while the northern route traversed various oasis cities through Turpan, Kucha, to the city of Kashgar.  Both routes made their way across the Pamirs and the Hindu Kush into South Asia. We've brought up the Tarim Basin and the Silk Road a few times.  This is the path that Buddhism appears to have taken to get to the Yellow River Basin and eventually to the Korean Peninsula and eastward to the Japanese archipelago.  But I want to go a bit more into detail on things here, as there is an interesting side note about “Tukara” that I personally find rather fascinating, and thought this would be a fun time to share. Back in Episode 79 we talked about how the Tarim basin used to be the home to a vast inland sea, which was fed by the meltwater from the Tianshan and Kunlun mountains.  This sea eventually dwindled, though it was still large enough to be known to the Tang as the Puchang Sea.  Today it has largely dried up, and it is mostly just the salt marshes of Lop Nur that remain.  Evidence for this larger sea, however, can be observed in some of the burials found around the Tarim basin.  These burials include the use of boat-shaped structures—a rather curious feature to be found out in the middle of the desert. And it is the desert that was left behind as the waters receded that is key to much of what we know about life in the Tarim basin, as it has proven to be quite excellent at preserving organic material.  This includes bodies, which dried out and naturally turned into mummies, including not only the wool clothing they were wearing, but also features such as hair and even decoration. These “Tarim mummies”, as they have been collectively called, date from as early as 2100 BCE all the way up through the period of time we're currently talking about, and have been found in several desert sites: Xiaohe, the earliest yet discovered; Loulan, near Lop Nur on the east of the Tarim Basin, dating from around 1800 BCE; Cherchen, on the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, dating from roughly 1000 BCE; and too many others to go into in huge detail. The intriguing thing about these burials is that  many of them don't have features typically associated with people of ethnic Han—which is to say traditional Chinese—ancestry, nor do they necessarily have the features associated with the Xiongnu and other steppe nomads.  In addition they have colorful clothing  made from wool and leather, with vivid designs.  Some bodies near Hami, just east of the basin, were reported to have blonde to light brown hair, and their cloth showed radically different patterns from that found at Cherchen and Loulan, with patterns that could reasonably be compared with the plaids now common in places like Scotland and Ireland, and previously found in the Hallstadt salt mine in Central Europe from around 3500 BCE, from which it is thought the Celtic people may have originated. At the same time that people—largely Westerners— were studying these mummies, another discovery in the Tarim basin was also making waves.  This was the discovery of a brand new language.  Actually, it was two languages—or possibly two dialects of a language—in many manuscripts, preserved in Kucha and Turpan.  Once again, the dry desert conditions proved invaluable to maintain these manuscripts, which date from between the late 4th or early 5th century to the 8th century.  They are written with a Brahmic script, similar to that used for Sanskrit, which appears in the Tarim Basin l by about the 2nd century, and we were able to translate them because many of the texts were copies of Buddhist scripture, which greatly helped scholars in deciphering the languages.  These two languages were fascinating because they represented an as-yet undiscovered branch of the Indo-European language family.  Furthermore, when compared to other Indo-European languages, they did not show nearly as much similarity with their neighbors as with languages on the far western end of the Indo-European language family.  That is to say they were thought to be closer to Celtic and Italic languages than something like Indo-Iranian.  And now for a quick diversion within the diversion:  “Centum” and “Satem” are general divisions of the Indo-European language families that was once thought to indicate a geographic divide in the languages.  At its most basic, as Indo-European words changed over time, a labiovelar sound, something like “kw”,  tended to evolve in one of two ways.  In the Celtic and Italic languages, the “kw” went to a hard “k” sound, as represented in the classical pronunciation of the Latin word for 100:  Centum.  That same word, in the Avestan language—of the Indo-Iranian tree—is pronounced as “Satem”, with an “S” sound.  So, you can look at Indo-European languages and divide them generally into “centum” languages, which preserve the hard “k”, or “Satem” languages that preserve the S. With me so far? Getting back to these two newly-found languages in the Tarim Basin, the weird thing is that they were “Centum” languages. Most Centum languages are from pretty far away, though: they are generally found in western Europe or around the Mediterranean, as opposed to the Satem languages, such as Indo-Aryan, Iranian, Armernian, or even Baltic Slavic languages, which are much closer to the Tarim Basin.  So if the theory were true that the “Centum” family of Indo-European languages developed in the West and “Satem” languages developed in the East, then that would seem to indicate that a group of a “Centum” speaking people must have migrated eastward, through the various Satem speaking people, and settled in the Tarim Basin many thousands of years ago. And what evidence do we have of people who look very different from the modern population, living in the Tarim Basin area long before, and wearing clothing similar to what we associated with the progenitors of the Celts?  For many, it seemed to be somewhat obvious, if still incredible, that the speakers of this language were likely the descendants of the mummies who, in the terminology of the time, had been identified as being of Caucasoid ancestry.  A theory developed that these people were an offshoot of a group called the Yamnaya culture, which may have arisen around modern Ukraine as an admixture between the European Hunter Gatherers and the Caucasian Hunter Gatherers, around 3300-2600 BCE.  This was challenged in 2021 when a genetic study was performed on some of the mummies in the Tarim basin, as well as several from the Dzungarian basin, to the northeast.  That study suggested that the people of the Dzungarian basin had genetic ties to the people of the Afanasievo people, from Southern Siberia.  The Afanasievo people are connected to the Yamnayan culture. It should be noted that there has long been a fascination in Western anthropology and related sciences with racial identification—and often not in a healthy way.  As you may recall, the Ainu were identified as “Caucasoid” by some people largely because of things like the men's beards and lighter colored hair, which differ greatly from a large part of the Japanese population.  However, that claim has been repeatedly refuted and debunked. And similarly, the truth is, none of these Tarim mummy burials were in a period of written anything, so we can't conclusively associated them with these fascinating Indo-European languages.  There are thousands of years between the various burials and the manuscripts. These people  left no notes stashed in pockets that give us their life story.   And Language is not Genetics is not Culture.  Any group may adopt a given language for a variety of reasons.  .  Still, given what we know, it is possible that the ancient people of the Tarim basin spoke some form of “Proto-Kuchean”, but it is just as likely that this language was brought in by people from Dzungaria at some point. So why does all this matter to us?  Well, remember how we were talking about someone from Tukara?  The Kuchean language, at least, is referred to in an ancient Turkic source as belonging to “Twgry”, which led several scholars to draw a link between this and the kingdom and people called Tukara and the Tokharoi.  This leads us on another bit of a chase through history. Now if you recall, back in Episode 79, we talked about Zhang Qian.  In 128 BCE, he attempted to cross the Silk Road through the territory of the Xiongnu on a mission for the Han court.  Some fifty years earlier, the Xiongnu had defeated the Yuezhi.  They held territory in the oasis towns along the north of the Taklamakan dessert, from about the Turpan basin west to the Pamirs. The Xiongnu were causing problems for the Han, who thought that if they could contact the remaining Yuezhi they could make common cause with them and harass the Xiongnu from both sides.  Zhang Qian's story is quite remarkable: he started out with an escort of some 99 men and a translator.  Unfortunately, he was captured and enslaved by the Xiongnu during his journey, and he is even said to have had a wife and fathered a child.  He remained a captive for thirteen years, but nonetheless, he was able to escape with his family and he made it to the Great Yuezhi on the far side of the Pamirs, but apparently the Yuezhi weren't interested in a treaty against the Xiongnu.  The Pamirs were apparently enough of a barrier and they were thriving in their new land.  And so Zhang Qian crossed back again through Xiongnu territory, this time taking the southern route around the Tarim basin.  He was still captured by the Xiongnu, who spared his life.  He escaped, again, two years later, returning to the Han court.  Of the original 100 explorers, only two returned: Zhang Qian and his translator.  While he hadn't obtained an alliance, he was able to detail the cultures of the area of the Yuezhi. Many feel that the Kushan Empire, which is generally said to have existed from about 30 to 375 CE,was formed from the Kushana people who were part of the Yuezhi who fled the Xiongnu. In other words, they were originally from further north, around the Tarim Basin, and had been chased out and settled down in regions that included Bactria (as in the Bactrian camel).  Zhang Qian describes reaching the Dayuan Kingdom in the Ferghana valley, then traveling south to an area that was the home of the Great Yuezhi or Da Yuezhi.  And after the Kushan empire fell, we know there was a state in the upper regions of the Oxus river, centered on the city of Balkh, in the former territory of the Kushan empire. known as “Tokara”.  Geographically, this matches up how Zhang Qian described the home of the Da Yuezhi.  Furthermore, some scholars reconstruct the reading of the Sinic characters used for “Yuezhi” as originally having an optional reading of something like “Togwar”, but that is certainly not the most common reconstructed reading of those characters.  Greek sources describe this area as the home of the Tokharoi, or the Tokaran People.  The term “Tukhara” is also found in Sanskrit, and this kingdom  was also said to have sent ambassadors to the Southern Liang and Tang dynasties. We aren't exactly certain of where these Tokharan people came from, but as we've just described, there's a prevailing theory that they were the remnants of the Yuezhi and Kushana people originally from the Tarim Basin.  We know that in the 6th century they came under the rule of the Gokturk Khaganate, which once spanned from the Liao river basin to the Black Sea.  In the 7th and 8th centuries they came under the rule of the Tang Empire, where they were known by very similar characters as those used to write “Tukara” in the Nihon Shoki.  On top of this, we see Tokharans traveling the Silk Road, all the way to the Tang court.  Furthermore, Tokharans that settled in Chang'an took the surname “Zhi” from the ethnonym “Yuezhi”, seemingly laying claim to and giving validation to the identity used back in the Han dynasty.   So, we have a Turkic record describing the Kuchean people (as in, from Kucha in the Tarim Basin) as “Twgry”, and we have a kingdom in Bactria called Tokara and populated (according to the Greeks) by people called Tokharoi.  You can see how this one term has been a fascinating rabbit hole in the study of the Silk Roads and their history.  And some scholars understandably suggested that perhaps the Indo-European languags found in Kucha and Turpan  were actually related to this “Tokhara” – and therefore  should be called “Tocharian”, specifically Tocharian A (Kuchean) or Tocharian B (Turfanian). The problem is that if the Tokharans were speaking “Tocharian” then you wouldn't expect to just see it at Kucha and Turpan, which are about the middle of the road between Tokhara and the Tang dynasty, and which had long been under Gokturk rule.  You would also expect to see it in the areas of Bactria associated with Tokhara.  However, that isn't what we see.  Instead, we see that Bactria was the home of local Bactrian language—an Eastern Iranian language, which, though it is part of the Indo European language family, it is not closely related to Tocharian as far as we can tell. It is possible that the people of Kucha referred to themselves as something similar to “Twgry”, or “Tochari”, but we should also remember that comes from a Turkic source, and it could have been an exonym not related to what they called themselves.  I should also note that language is not people.  It is also possible that a particular ethnonym was maintained separately by two groups that may have been connected politically but which came to speak different languages for whatever reason.   There could be a connection between the names, or it could even be that the same or similar exonym was used for different groups. So, that was a lot and a bit of a ramble, but a lot of things that I find interesting—even if they aren't as connected as they may appear.  We have the Tarim mummies, which are, today, held at a museum in modern Urumqi.  Whether they had any connection with Europe or not, they remain a fascinating study for the wealth of material items found in and around the Tarim basin and similar locations.  And then there is the saga of the Tocharian languages—or perhaps more appropriately the Kuchean-Turfanian languages: Indo-European languages that seem to be well outside of where we would expect to find them. Finally, just past the Pamirs, we get to the land of Tokhara or Tokharistan.  Even without anything else, we know that they had contact with the court.  Perhaps our castaways were from this land?  The name is certainly similar to what we see in the Nihon Shoki, using some of the same characters. All in all, art and other information suggest that the area of the Tarim basin and the Silk Road in general were quite cosmopolitan, with many different people from different regions of the world.  Bactria retained Hellenic influences ever since the conquests of Alexander of Macedonia, aka Alexander the Great, and Sogdian and Persian traders regularly brought their caravans through the region to trade.  And once the Tang dynasty controlled all of the routes, that just made travel that much easier, and many people traveled back and forth. So from that perspective, it is possible that one or more people from Tukhara may have made the crossing from their home all the way to the Tang court, but if they did so, the question still remains: why would they be in a boat? Utilizing overland routes, they would have hit Chang'an or Louyang, the dual capitals of the Tang empire, well before they hit the ocean.  However, the Nihon Shoki says that these voyagers first came ashore at Amami and then later says that they were trying to get to the Tang court. Now there was another “Silk Road” that isn't as often mentioned: the sea route, following the coast of south Asia, around through the Malacca strait and north along the Asian coast.  This route is sometimes viewed more in terms of the “spice” road If these voyagers set out to get to the Tang court by boat, they would have to have traveled south to the Indian Ocean—possibly traveling through Shravasti or Sha'e, depending on the route they chose to take—and then around the Malacca strait—unless they made it on foot all the way to Southeast Asia.  And then they would have taken a boat up the coast. Why do that instead of taking the overland route?  They could likely have traveled directly to the Tang court over the overland silk road.  Even the from Southeast Asia could have traveled up through Yunnan and made their way to the Tang court that way.  In fact, Zhang Qian had wondered something similar when he made it to the site of the new home of the Yuezhi, in Bactria.  Even then, in the 2nd century, he saw products in the marketplace that he identified as coming from around Szechuan.  That would mean south of the Han dynasty, and he couldn't figure out how those trade routes might exist and they weren't already known to the court.  Merchants would have had to traverse the dangerous mountains if they wanted to avoid being caught by the Xiongnu, who controlled the entire region. After returning to the Han court, Zhang Qian actually went out on another expedition to the south, trying to find the southern trade routes, but apparently was not able to do so.  That said, we do see, in later centuries, the trade routes open up between the area of the Sichuan basin and South Asia.  We also see the migrations of people further south, and there may have even been some Roman merchants who traveled up this route to find their way to the Han court, though those accounts are not without their own controversy. In either case, whether by land or sea, these trade routes were not always open.  In some cases, seasonal weather, such as monsoons, might dictate movement back and forth, while political realities were also a factor.  Still, it is worth remembering that even though most people were largely concerned with affairs in their own backyard, the world was still more connected than people give it credit for.  Tang dynasty pottery made its way to the east coast of Africa, and ostriches were brought all the way to Chang'an. As for the travelers from Tukhara and why they would take this long and very round-about method of travel, it is possible that they were just explorers, seeking new routes, or even on some kind of pilgrimage.  Either way, they would have been way off course. But if they did pass through Southeast Asia, that would match up with another theory about what “Tukara” meant: that it actually refers to the Dvaravati kingdom in what is now modern Thailand.  The Dvaravati Kingdom was a Mon political entity that rose up around the 6th century.  It even sent embassies to the Sui and Tang courts.  This is even before the temple complexes in Siem Reap, such as Preah Ko and the more famous Angkor Wat.  And it was during this time that the ethnic Tai people are thought to have started migrating south from Yunnan, possibly due to pressures from the expanding Sui and Tang empires.  Today, most of what remains of the Dvaravati kingdom are the ruins of ancient stone temples, showing a heavy Indic influence, and even early Buddhist practices as well.  “Dvaravati” may not actually be the name of the kingdom but it comes from an inscription on a coin found from about that time.  The Chinese refer to it as  “To-lo-po-ti” in contemporary records.  It may not even have been a kingdom, but  more of a confederation of city-states—it is hard to piece everything together.  That it was well connected, though, is clear from the archaeological record.  In Dvaravati sites, we see coins from as far as Rome, and we even have a lamp found in modern Pong Tuk that appears to match similar examples from the Byzantine Empire in the 6th century.  Note that this doesn't mean it arrived in the 6th century—similarly with the coins—but the Dvaravati state lasted until the 12th century. If that was the case, perhaps there were some women from a place called “Shravasti” or similar, especially given the Indic influence in the region. Now, given the location of the Dvaravati, it wouldn't be so farfetched to think that someone might sail up from the Gulf of Thailand and end up off-course, though it does mean sailing up the entire Ryukyuan chain or really running off course and finding yourself adrift on the East China sea.  And if they were headed to the Tang court, perhaps they did have translators or knew Chinese, since Yamato was unlikely to know the Mon language of Dvaravati and people from Dvaravati probably wouldn't know the Japonic language.  Unless, perhaps, they were communicating through Buddhist priests via Sanskrit. We've now heard two possibilities for Tukara, both pretty far afield: the region of Tokara in Bactria, and the Dvaravati kingdom in Southeast Asia.  That said, the third and simplest explanation—and the one favored by Aston in his translation of the Nihon Shoki—is that Tukara is actually referring to a place in the Ryukyu island chain.  Specifically, there is a “Tokara” archipelago, which spans between Yakushima and Amami-Oshima.  This is part of the Nansei islands, and the closest part of the Ryukyuan island chain to the main Japanese archipelago.  This is the most likely theory, and could account for the entry talking about Amami.  It is easy to see how sailors could end up adrift, too far north, and come to shore in Hyuga, aka Himuka, on the east side of Kyushu.  It certainly would make more sense for them to be from this area of the Ryukyuan archipelago than from anywhere else.  From Yakushima to Amami-Oshima is the closest part of the island chain to Kyushu, and as we see in the entry from the Shoku Nihongi, those three places seem to have been connected as being near to Japan.  So what was going on down there, anyway? Well, first off, let's remember that the Ryukyuan archipelago is not just the island of Okinawa, but a series of islands that go from Kyushu all the way to the island of Taiwan.  Geographically speaking, they are all part of the same volcanic ridge extending southward.  The size of the islands and their distance from each other does vary, however, creating some natural barriers in the form of large stretches of open water, which have shaped how various groups developed on the islands. Humans came to the islands around the same time they were reaching the Japanese mainland.  In fact, some of our only early skeletal remains for early humans in Japan actually come from either the Ryukyuan peninsula in the south or around Hokkaido to the north, and that has to do with the acidity of the soil in much of mainland Japan. Based on genetic studies, we know that at least two groups appear to have inhabited the islands from early times.  One group appears to be related to the Jomon people of Japan, while the other appears to be more related to the indigenous people of Taiwan, who, themselves, appear to have been the ancestors of many Austronesian people.  Just as some groups followed islands to the south of Taiwan, some appear to have headed north.  However, they only made it so far.  As far as I know there is no evidence they made it past Miyakoshima, the northernmost island in the Sakishima islands.  Miyako island is separated from the next large island, Okinawa, by a large strait, known as the Miyako Strait, though sometimes called the Kerama gap in English.  It is a 250km wide stretch of open ocean, which is quite the distance for anyone to travel, even for Austronesian people of Taiwan, who had likely not developed the extraordinary navigational technologies that the people who would become the Pacific Islanders would discover. People on the Ryukyu island chain appear to have been in contact with the people of the Japanese archipelago since at least the Jomon period, and some of the material artifacts demonstrate a cultural connection.  That was likely impacted by the Akahoya eruption, about 3500 years ago, and then re-established at a later date.  We certainly see sea shells and corals trade to the people of the Japanese islands from fairly early on. Unlike the people on the Japanese archipelago, the people of the Ryukyuan archipelago did not really adopt the Yayoi and later Kofun culture.  They weren't building large, mounded tombs, and they retained the character of a hunter-gatherer society, rather than transitioning to a largely agricultural way of life.  The pottery does change in parts of Okinawa, which makes sense given the connections between the regions.  Unfortunately, there is a lot we don't know about life in the islands around this time.  We don't exactly have written records, other than things like the entries in the Nihon Shoki, and those are hardly the most detailed of accounts.  In the reign of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tennou, we see people from Yakushima, which is, along with Tanegashima, one of the largest islands at the northern end of the Ryukyu chain, just before you hit Kagoshima and the Osumi peninsula on the southern tip of Kyushu.  The islands past that would be the Tokara islands, until you hit the large island of Amami. So you can see how it would make sense that the people from “Tokara” would make sense to be from the area between Yakushima and Amami, and in many ways this explanation seems too good to be true.  There are a only a few things that make this a bit peculiar. First, this doesn't really explain the woman from “Sha'e” in any compelling way that I can see.  Second, the name, Kenzuhashi Tatsuna doesn't seem to fit with what we generally know about early Japonic names, and the modern Ryukyuan language certainly is a Japonic language, but there are still plenty of possible explanations.  There is also the connection of Tokara with “Tokan”, which is mentioned in an entry in 699 in the Shoku Nihongi, the Chronicle that follows on, quite literally to the Nihon Shoki.  Why would they call it “Tokan” instead of “Tokara” so soon after?  Also, why would these voyagers go back to their country by way of the Tang court?  Unless, of course, that is where they were headed in the first place.  In which case, did the Man from Tukara intentionally leave his wife in Yamato, or was she something of a hostage while they continued on their mission?   And so those are the theories.  The man from “Tukara” could be from Tokhara, or Tokharistan, at the far end of the Silk Road.  Or it could have been referring to the Dvaravati Kingdom, in modern Thailand.  Still, in the end, Occam's razor suggests that the simplest answer is that these were actually individuals from the Tokara islands in the Ryukyuan archipelago.  It is possible that they were from Amami, not that they drifted there.  More likely, a group from Amami drifted ashore in Kyushu as they were trying to find a route to the Tang court, as they claimed.  Instead they found themselves taking a detour to the court of Yamato, instead. And we could have stuck with that story, but I thought that maybe, just maybe, this would be a good time to reflect once again on how connected everything was.  Because even if they weren't from Dvaravati, that Kingdom was still trading with Rome and with the Tang.  And the Tang controlled the majority of the overland silk road through the Tarim basin.  We even know that someone from Tukhara made it to Chang'an, because they were mentioned on a stele that talked about an Asian sect of Christianity, the “Shining Religion”, that was praised and allowed to set up shop in the Tang capital, along with Persian Manicheans and Zoroastrians.  Regardless of where these specific people may have been from, the world was clearly growing only more connected, and prospering, as well. Next episode we'll continue to look at how things were faring between the archipelago and the continent. Until then thank you for listening and for all of your support. If you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

Ep. #1156 Preparing for World War III – Are We Sleepwalking Into Global Catastrophe? The world is hurtling toward an all-domain conflict unlike anything humanity has ever seen. Are we prepared? Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, author of Preparing for World War III: A Global Conflict That Redefines Tomorrow, joins Strange Planet to break down the chilling realities of an impending showdown between the West and a rapidly forming “axis of evil” – China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. In this gripping episode, Maginnis exposes how the deadly skirmishes in Ukraine and the Middle East are merely a prelude to a much larger and far more destructive war. He warns that while our adversaries are stockpiling terrifying, cutting-edge technologies, America remains dangerously unprepared. GUEST: Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Maginnis U.S. Army (Ret.) is a seasoned military strategist with decades of experience in the U.S. Army and the Pentagon. Having served in key leadership roles across multiple continents, Maginnis brings unparalleled expertise to the conversation on global security. His insights on national defense and international relations have made him a sought-after commentator, regularly appearing on major outlets like Fox News and CNN. In his book, Preparing for World War III, Maginnis dives deep into the rising threats from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, offering a stark warning about the future of global conflict. LINK: https://www.facebook.com/RLMaginnis BOOKS: Preparing for World War III: A Global Conflict That Redefines Tomorrow Out of this World: Are UFOs Aliens, Spirits, or Pure Hokum? Kings of the East: China's Plan to Eliminate America and Impose a Communist World Order Give Me Liberty, Not Marxism Progressive Evil: How Radicals Are Redefining America's Rights, Institutions, and Ideals, Making Her Globally Irrelevant for the End Times SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! SHIP STICKS Skip airport stress and costly airline fees with complimentary insurance, real-time tracking, dedicated support, and on-time delivery. ShipSticks is offering our listeners 20% off your first shipment when you go to Shipskicks.com and use the code STRANGE. Go to https://www.shipsticks.com and use the code STRANGE to get 20% off your first shipment and save yourself the hassle this ski season. That's S-H-I-P-S-T-I-C-K-S.com. Make sure you use the code STRANGE so they know we sent you. HIMS - Making Healthy and Happy Easy to Achieve Sexual Health, Hair Loss, Mental Health, Weight Management START YOUR FREE ONLINE VISIT TODAY - HIMS dot com slash STRANGE https://www.HIMS.com/strange BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER!!! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm Three monthly subscriptions to choose from. Commercial Free Listening, Bonus Episodes and a Subscription to my monthly newsletter, InnerSanctum. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm/

With Christmas and year-end sales approaching in many Western countries, Chinese manufacturers are ramping up shipments to these markets via both air cargo and maritime container services, while experiencing a surge in sales on cross-border e-commerce platforms.随着许多西方国家圣诞节和年终促销季的临近，中国制造商正通过航空货运和海运集装箱服务，加大对这些市场的发货力度。同时，跨境电商平台的销售额也迎来激增。December and January are peak shopping seasons in Europe and the United States, and China's cross-border e-commerce exports to these markets—especially Christmas-themed products and small electronic products—have shown strong growth in recent weeks.12月和1月是欧美地区的购物高峰期。最近几周，中国对这些市场的跨境电商出口，尤其是圣诞主题产品和小型电子产品的出口，呈现出强劲增长态势。Christmas-themed products encompass a wide range of festive items that are popular during the holiday season. These include Christmas decorations like artificial trees, ornaments and lights, as well as figurines of Santa, reindeer and snowmen. They also cover gifts, Christmas cards, specialty food items and holiday-themed apparel such as sweaters and Santa hats.圣诞主题产品包括一系列节日期间广受欢迎的节庆用品，包括人造圣诞树、装饰品、灯具等圣诞装饰，以及圣诞老人、驯鹿和雪人等雕像。此外，还有礼物、圣诞贺卡、特色食品和节日主题服饰，如毛衣和圣诞帽等。To meet the soaring demand from Chinese exporters shipping Christmas-themed goods and other high-value items ordered through cross-border e-commerce platforms to global markets, Nanjing Lukou International Airport, located in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, boosted its freighter routes by adding 48 extra flights between November and December.为满足中国出口商通过跨境电商平台向全球市场运输圣诞主题商品和其他高价值商品的激增需求，南京禄口国际机场（位于中国东部江苏省省会南京）在11月至12月间增加了48个航班，以扩大其货运航线。Customs authorities at the airport supervised foreign trade cargo volume of 67,200 metric tons during the January-November period, a year-on-year increase of 29.3 percent. Among this, exports of cross-border e-commerce goods amounted to 18,000 tons, jumping 51.8 percent on a yearly basis, statistics from Nanjing Customs show.据南京海关统计，今年1月至11月，京禄口机场海关监管进出口货运量6.72万吨，同比增长29.3%。其中，出口跨境电商商品1.8万吨，同比增长51.80%。Jiangsu Changxin Weaving Co Ltd, a Changzhou, Jiangsu province-based textile manufacturer, has been shipping about 10 containers abroad daily via containerships over the past two weeks.江苏常信纺织有限公司（位于江苏省常州市）在过去两周里每天通过集装箱船向国外运送约10个集装箱的货物。In addition to exporting Christmas-themed products, such as pillows, socks, blankets and carpets, the Chinese company has introduced Christmas tree sets with innovative designs this year to enhance the competitiveness of its products in overseas markets.除了出口圣诞主题的枕头、袜子、毯子和地毯等产品外，这家中国公司今年还推出了充满创意设计的圣诞树套装，以提升其产品在海外市场的竞争力。"In the past, our exported Christmas products were relatively simple and had low added value. However, this year, we established a dedicated design team for Christmas items. From traditional Santa Claus and reindeer designs to modern cartoon styles, we now offer a diverse range of products that are popular in many countries," said Chen Lin, head of the export unit at the company.“过去，我们出口的圣诞产品相对简单且附加值低。但今年，我们为圣诞商品成立了一个专门的设计团队。从传统的圣诞老人和驯鹿设计到现代的卡通风格，我们现在提供多种产品，并在多个国家广受欢迎，”该公司出口部门负责人陈林表示。Liaoning Creative Arts and Crafts Co Ltd, a handicrafts manufacturer in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, secured over 4 million yuan ($549,018) worth of export orders to the US this year, mainly for various handicrafts made from bamboo, wood and grass weaving.手工艺品制造商辽宁创意工艺品有限公司（位于中国东北部辽宁省省会沈阳）今年获得了超过400万元人民币（549,018美元）的美国出口订单，主要涉及竹、木和草编的各种手工艺品。Demand for Christmas and other holiday decorations has been strong in the second half of this year, said Xie Pengfei, the company's general manager.公司总经理谢鹏飞表示，今年下半年，圣诞和其他节日装饰的需求一直很强劲。Shenyang Customs has supervised the export of Christmas-themed products, primarily made of bamboo, wood, rattan and grass weaving within its Customs territory in the first 11 months of this year, amounting to 350 million yuan, with exports covering 50 countries, including the US, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Australia.据沈阳海关统计，今年前11个月，该海关监管出口的圣诞主题产品主要以竹、木、藤和草编材料制成，货值达3.5亿元人民币，出口至包括美国、墨西哥、英国和澳大利亚在内的50个国家。"Instead of sea and air transportation, some Christmas goods bound for Europe can be exported via China-Europe freight train services," Xie said.“除了海运和空运，一些运往欧洲的圣诞商品还可以通过中欧班列服务出口，”谢鹏飞表示。containern.集装箱;货箱

When recalling the visit made by President Xi Jinping to the Premier School Affiliated to Hou Kong Middle School in Macao, Chao Lin-chai said she didn't realize that it had already been five years.Chao was then giving an open class in history to first graders at the school auditorium, ahead of the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland.The topic was to explore the reasons behind the strong vitality of the "one country, two systems "principle, an institutional arrangement for ensuring sustained prosperity and stability in the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions after their return to the motherland."I remember President Xi walked up to the students and said that history is the best subject, because by knowing our history, we can understand where we started from, what path we have taken, where we are now, where we are headed for and what the future holds," Chao said.Xi also praised the students for being quick-witted, and expressed his confidence that the young people of Macao will mature into "a capable generation of which we are proud of" and serve as the backbone of both Macao and the country, Chao said.Starting on Wednesday, Xi will be in Macao again to attend a gathering marking the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland. He will also conduct an inspection tour during his three-day stay."We are all very happy about President Xi's visit, which reflects his care and support for Macao. We also look forward to more opportunities for cooperation with the mainland that this trip might bring," Chao said, adding that local residents believe that Macao will continue to develop further and their quality of life will continue to improve.This is the seventh time in 25 years that Xi will set foot on Macao, which has a total area of 33.3 square kilometers.On June 10, 2000, less than half a year after the establishment of the Macao Special Administrative Region, Xi, then governor of East China's Fujian province, visited Macao to hold discussions on further strengthening the economic and trade cooperation between the province and the SAR.A year later, on Oct 23, Xi led a delegation to visit Macao and reached broad consensus with Ho Hau-wah, then chief executive of the SAR, on in-depth cooperation between Fujian and Macao.On Jan 19, 2005, Xi, then secretary of the Communist Party of China Zhejiang provincial committee, led a delegation to visit Macao for an event on economic and trade cooperation.Amid the global financial crisis in 2009, Xi, who was then Chinese vice-president, made a visit to Macao with the purpose of inspiring local people and helping them tide over the situation. During that trip, he announced that the central government had decided to commence the official development of Hengqin Island, Guangdong province, located less than 200 meters from Macao at its closest point.In 2014 and 2019, Xi attended gatherings marking the anniversaries of Macao's return to the motherland as Chinese president.Five years ago, in his speech marking the 20th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland and the inauguration of the fifth-term government of the Macao SAR, Xi said that over the past two decades, the SAR government and the region's people had worked closely to usher in Macao's best period of development in history.Noting that the world is undergoing changes unseen in a century and Macao is facing new internal and external dynamics, Xi urged the SAR government and all sections of society to "build on what Macao has accomplished and take all undertakings in the SAR to the next level".New accomplishmentIn the past five years, the SAR government has received strong support from the central government to overcome challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, and launched a series of innovative measures to promote economic development, social stability and cultural inheritance, achieving remarkable results.Last year, as the robust resurgence in tourism propelled Macao's economy to grow 80.5 percent year-on-year, the SAR was ranked fifth-wealthiest among regions globally, according to a report published by Global Finance magazine in May.In the first three quarters of this year, Macao's GDP increased 11.5 percent year-on-year to reach 301 billion patacas ($38 billion), data from the Statistics and Census Service showed.Macao was primarily relying on its casino industry to drive economic growth. However, the SAR government is now making dedicated and determined efforts to diversify Macao's industrial structure to reduce its dependence on the gaming sector.Xu Chang, a professor with the "One Country Two Systems "Research Centre at Macao Polytechnic University, said that Macao has revised its gaming law and regulations to strengthen supervision of casino operations and tackle gambling-related crimes in recent years."Such efforts are of great significance for guiding this traditional lifeline industry toward legal, orderly and healthy development," he said.Last year, the SAR government released a development plan for Macao's economic diversification from 2024 through 2028. It is the first such plan drafted for Macao.The document outlines the"1+4"appropriate diversification development strategy that aims to enhance Macao's function as "One Centre "for integrated tourism and leisure, while facilitating the development of "four emerging industries", namely the traditional Chinese medicine and the health sector, modern financial services, high-tech industries, and cultural, sports and convention services.According to Xu, a series of public service facilities to improve people's well-being, such as government housing units for the elderly and low-income residents, in addition to convenient traveling options between Macao and Zhuhai, Guangdong, via new ports and a light railway link, have substantially enhanced the quality of life for Macao residents."All these will help carry forward the fine tradition of loving the motherland and loving Macao, and speed up the SAR's integration into the modernization process of the motherland, thereby ensuring the steady implementation of the 'one country, two systems' principle," Xu said.When meeting with Sam Hou-fai, Macao's incoming chief executive, in Beijing last month, President Xi said the central authorities will stay committed to fully and faithfully implementing the "one country, two systems" principle and ensure there is no deviation or distortion in its implementation.The principle has proved to be the best answer to the question of Macao left by history and the best institutional guarantee for the long-term prosperity and stability of Macao after its return to the motherland.Wang Yu, a professor with the Faculty of Law at the University of Macau, said it is necessary to have a clear understanding of the principle as an unprecedented pioneering cause."That's why President Xi has once and again emphasized that it must be applied without deviation or distortion to ensure Macao's steady and long-term progress," Wang said.Xu, from Macao Polytechnic University, said the fact that fellow compatriots in Macao can truly feel the care and concern of the motherland serves as the fundamental foundation for implementing the "one country, two systems "principle without deviation or distortion.Guarantee of progressIn recent years, the central government has launched a series of policies and measures that benefit Macao and its people, continuously injecting new impetus into the SAR's long-term prosperity and stability and fully demonstrating the central government's care and love for Macao.In 2021, the central authorities decided to build the Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone in Hengqin, making the island an important new growth point for Macao's economy.As the nation moves to advance Chinese modernization, it was outlined in the resolution adopted at the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee in July that efforts need to be made to improve relevant mechanisms to see Hong Kong and Macao playing greater roles in China's opening-up to the outside world.During their meeting in Beijing, Xi told Sam that this expression has pointed out the direction for Macao to integrate into Chinese modernization and achieve better development, creating a new historical opportunity for the SAR's development.Xu, from the polytechnic university, said that Macao should leverage its advantages in terms of location to advance China's reform and opening-up.The region should also use its traditional relations with Portuguese-speaking countries, convenient customs clearance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the unique policy advantages of "one country, two systems" to make pioneering contributions to exploring the successful path toward Chinese modernization, he added.

①Quirky science award celebrates the power of curiosity②New site of Natural History Museum of China to open in 2029③Olive seeds from China's space station germinate on Earth④East China province poised to build bulk commodity hub⑤South China metropolis plans more gender-neutral toilets to ease long waits for women⑥A Thousand Whys: Did ancient Chinese build snowmen?

Prof Owen Fenton, Research Officer & Wenxuan Shi, Post Doc, Teagasc Johnstown Castle, joined Mark Gibson on the latest podcast version of the Signpost Series, to discuss Agricultural Environmental Research in East China. A questions and answers session took place at the end of the webinar which was facilitated by Teagasc's Cathal Somers. To register for future webinars visit:https://www.teagasc.ie/corporate-events/sustainable-agriculture-webinars/                        For more podcasts from the Signpost Series go to: https://www.teagasc.ie/signpostpodcast/ 

The world Americans face today is more complicated—and dangerous—than it has been for decades. Yet there is a growing, and in many ways understandable, desire to turn inward—a sense that there is little U.S. foreign policy can do to solve problems abroad and lots it can do to make them worse. Condoleezza Rice, director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, argues against this impulse in a new essay in Foreign Affairs. Great powers, she writes, don't get to just mind their own business.  Rice served as national security adviser and secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration. Much of what she grappled with then—Russia's invasion of a neighbor, military collisions with China, the last major clash between Israel and Hezbollah—has worrying echoes now, especially as conflict in the Middle East threatens to spiral into a wider war. You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview. 

China is working on serving a more diverse range of food options for future deep-space exploration missions, according to the Second Frontier Forum of Space Medicine held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province in East China.中国东部浙江省杭州市举行的“第二届航天医学前沿论坛”透露，中国正在努力为未来深空探测任务提供更多样化的食物选择。During the recently concluded Mid-Autumn Festival, a cherished tradition symbolizing family reunion, the Shenzhou XVIII crew aboard China's orbiting space station enjoyed "space mooncakes" stuffed with lotus paste as well as their personal favourites such as spicy lamb and braised pork chops, which had been prepared in advance by the ground support team.中秋节刚刚过去，在这个象征家庭团圆的传统节日里，神舟十八号飞行乘组在中国空间站内品尝了莲蓉馅的“太空月饼”，和地面支持团队提前准备好的香辣羊肉、红烩猪排等个性化大餐。"We have developed technologies to bring Chinese cuisine to the 'space dining table', allowing astronauts to enjoy 'home-cooked flavors'," said Li Yinghui, a researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.“我们已经研发出能将中国菜搬上‘太空餐桌'的技术，让航天员远在太空也能享受到‘家的味道'。”中国航天员科研训练中心研究员李莹辉说。Li added that China has advanced precision nutrition control technology and built accurate standards for space flight nutritional supplies that can help astronauts address physiological issues caused by weightlessness and radiation and stay healthy during missions lasting over 180 days.李莹辉介绍，中国还提升了精准营养调控技术，研制出精准的飞行营养供给量标准，以应对太空失重和辐射等引起的人体生理问题，全力保障航天员开展180天以上的健康飞行。"Various functional space foods featuring antioxidant effects, immune support, fatigue relief and gut microbiome regulation have been developed to enhance astronauts'in-orbit adaptability," said Li.“我们还研制了抗氧化、增强免疫力、缓解体力疲劳、调节肠道菌群等多种功能性航天食品，助力提升航天员在轨适应能力。”李莹辉补充道。With an eye on future deep space missions, China is also working on technologies such as in-orbit cooking that can sustain long-term living beyond Earth, said Zang Peng, another researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.中国航天员科研训练中心的另一位研究员臧鹏表示，着眼未来深空探测任务，中国也在研究在轨烹饪等技术，为未来长期地外生存提供保障。deep-space exploration深空探测lotus paste莲蓉馅in-orbitadj.在轨的，在轨道上运行的antioxidant effect抗氧化作用

Chinese people have shown strong spending power during the Mid-Autumn Festival, with many sectors such as tourism and postal services marking vigorous growth during the three-day vacation.今年中秋假期，居民表现出强劲的消费能力。旅游、邮政服务等诸多行业在三天假期内出现强劲增长。The latest figures from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism show that domestic tourism spots received about 107 million visits over the holiday, up 6.3 percent from that of 2019—before the COVID-19 epidemic.文化和旅游部最新数据显示，中秋节假期，全国国内出游1.07亿人次，比新冠疫情发生前的2019年同期增长6.3%。The celebrations that lasted for three days, from Sunday to Tuesday, was one of China's major four traditional festivals, while the other three are Spring Festival, Tomb-sweeping Day and Dragon Boat Festival.从15日至17日，为期三天的庆中秋活动是中国四大传统节日之一，其他三个节日分别是春节、清明节和端午节。Diversified celebrations including making and eating mooncakes, guessing lantern riddles and watching the full moon are organized by families for amusement during the festival that concluded on Tuesday.在17日结束的中秋节期间，家家户户都组织了丰富多彩的庆祝活动，包括做月饼、吃月饼、猜灯谜和赏月。Among the industries closely related to people's livelihood, tourism shows tremendous performance though Typhoon Bebinca landed in Shanghai on Monday, and disrupted travel plans of some travelers.尽管台风“贝碧嘉”于16日登陆上海，打乱了部分游客的出行计划，但在与民生密切相关的行业中，旅游业表现抢眼。Travelers' expenses reached over 51 billion yuan ($7.19 billion), rising by 8 percent compared with 2019 when the holiday was celebrated in mid-September. Last year, the holiday coincided with the National Holiday.国内游客出游总花费超过510亿元（约71.9亿美元），较2019年9月中旬庆祝假期时增长8%，而去年的假期恰逢中秋和国庆“双节”。Travelers opted for short-distance or night tour events considering the shorter duration of the holiday and as the main activity of the celebration is enjoying the full moon in the company of loved ones. East China's Fujian province said that the tourist visits to its scenic spots per night was around 2.06 million over the holiday, with the number increasing by 19.5 percent compared with that in 2019.考虑到假期时间较短，且主要庆祝活动是陪伴亲人共赏圆月，短途游、夜间游成为游客们的选择。据福建省统计，假日期间，该省景区每晚游客量约为206万人次，与2019年相比增长了19.5%。Domestically, destinations with heavy Chinese cultural vibes and various folk amusement events marked "travel craze", such as lantern fairs and Chinese opera performance, said the ministry.有关部门表示，在国内，中国文化氛围浓厚的旅游目的地和各种民间娱乐活动也掀起了“旅游热”，比如灯会和中国戏曲表演。The inbound and outbound tourism market is not inferior to the domestic market in any respect. The National Immigration Administration announced on Wednesday that mainland's border inspection offices recorded about 5.25 million entries and exits for both Chinese and foreign individuals over the three-day holiday, marking a year-on-year rise of 18.6 percent.出入境旅游市场毫不逊色于国内市场。国家移民管理局18日通报，今年中秋节期间，全国边检机关共查验出入境中外人员约525万人次，同比增长 18.6%。Among them, mainland residents made around 2.63 million entries and exits, up 15.1 percent year-on-year, while the number of foreign individuals jumped by 62.2 percent year-on-year to 554,000. Residents from Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan totaled 2.07 million entries and exits over the holiday, marking a 7.3 percent year-on-year increase.其中，内地居民出入境约263万人次，同比增长15.1%；外国人出入境55.4万人次，同比增长62.2%；港澳台居民出入境207万人次，同比增长7.3%。Residents' strong spending power also spilled over to other sectors during the holiday. Beijing, one of the nation's major cities with dense population and strong consumption power, recorded the sales volume reached around 4.7 billion yuan over the holiday, including shopping malls, supermarkets, restaurants and online sales, the China Central Television said citing figures from the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau.假日期间，居民旺盛的消费能力也蔓延到其他行业。中国中央电视台援引北京市商务局的数据称，北京作为人口密集、消费能力强的全国主要城市之一，百货、超市、餐饮和电商等行业在此次假期的销售额达到约47 亿元。The postal and courier industry also saw a surge in parcel deliveries across China during the holiday.同时，节日期间，邮政快递业在全国各地的包裹投递量激增。The State Post Bureau of China said on Wednesday that courier companies collected approximately 1.31 billion packages during this year's three-day holiday, marking a 35.4 percent increase in daily collections compared to last year's Mid-Autumn Festival. Meanwhile, deliveries surged to around 1.407 billion packages, reflecting a remarkable 45.7 percent year-on-year growth.国家邮政局18日表示，今年中秋节放假期间，快递公司共揽收约 13.1 亿件快递包裹，比去年中秋假期日均增长35.4%。与此同时，快递包裹投递量激增至约14.07 亿件，同比大幅增长 45.7%。spending powern.消费能力guess lantern riddles猜灯谜Typhoon Bebinca台风“贝碧嘉”coincidev.一致，符合；同时发生enjoy the full moon赏圆月courier companyn.快递公司

A secondary school in East China's Hangzhou city recently held a unique parent-teacher meeting where fathers were required to attend. The school also drafted and issued a ten-point MOU outlining the responsibilities of good fathers. This inspired a discussion about a father's role in parenting. / Heart to Heart - please send your audio questions to roundtablepodcast@qq.com (20:21). On the show: Laiming, Niu Honglin & Steve Hatherly

Typhoon Bebinca has weakened to a tropical storm and continues to affect many parts of east China.

EPISODE #1099 UFOS AND ALIENS: SCIENCE, SPIRIT, OR FAKERY? Richard welcomes Lt. Col. Bob Maginnis back to the podcast to discuss his own open eyed and detailed analysis of the science and theology brought to our doorsteps by the real possibility that unidentified flying objects are manned by extraterrestrial beings that are likely much smarter and far more spiritual than earthlings. Are they a threat to our national security and to our faith in God? Do they come peacefully or as conquers? GUEST: Lt. Col Bob Maginnis (U.S. Army Retired) graduated from the U.S. Military Academy, the Naval Postgraduate School, the Command & General Staff College, the Defense Language School and the Army War College's strategy course. He is an Airborne-Ranger infantry officer with service in four infantry divisions on three continents. Colonel Maginnis has decades of media experience as a columnist, a Fox News military analyst and as an on-air commentator for multiple radio programs and networks. He is the author of nearly a thousand articles and about ten published books, including , Kings of the East, Give Me Liberty, Not Marxism, The Deeper State, Alliance of Evil and his latest, Out of this World: Are UFO's Aliens, Spirits, or pure Hokum? WEBSITE/LINKS: https://www.facebook.com/RLMaginnis BOOKS: Out of this World: Are UFOs Aliens, Spirits, or Pure Hokum? Kings of the East: China's Plan to Eliminate America and Impose a Communist World Order Give Me Liberty, Not Marxism Progressive Evil: How Radicals Are Redefining America's Rights, Institutions, and Ideals, Making Her Globally Irrelevant for the End Collision Course: The Fight to Reclaim Our Moral Compass Before It Is Too Late Alliance of Evil The Deeper State: Inside the War on Trump by Corrupt Elites, Secret Societies, and the Builders of An Imminent Final Empire Saboteurs SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!!! HIMS - Making Healthy and Happy Easy to Achieve Sexual Health, Hair Loss, Mental Health, Weight Management START YOUR FREE ONLINE VISIT TODAY - HIMS dot com slash STRANGE https://www.HIMS.com/strange BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER!!! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm Three monthly subscriptions to choose from. Commercial Free Listening, Bonus Episodes and a Subscription to my monthly newsletter, InnerSanctum. We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. By using our website and services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://strangeplanet.supportingcast.fm/

Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui are on alert for floods as Typhoon Bebinca is approaching east China.

The Senate recently received testimony from the bipartisan co-chairs of the Commission on the National Defense Strategy, who were tasked with creating a report to Congress with recommendations needed to adapt our National Defense Strategy to current threats. In this episode, hear the testimony about that completed report during which they discuss preparations for a possible world war and the need for more American kids to fight and die in it. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via Support Congressional Dish via (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish Episodes The Report Jane Harman et al. July 2024. Senate Committee on Armed Services. Jane Harman: Warmonger Open Secrets. October 10, 2002. Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. September 14, 2001. GovTrack. Iridium Communications April 2, 2024. wallmine. GuruFocus Research. March 8, 2024. Yahoo Finance. December 29, 2023. Market Screener. Bing. Iridium. Iridium. Iridium. Retrieved from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine version archived November 11, 2022. Axis of Aggression or Axis of Resistance? Angela Skujins. June 8, 2024. euronews. Nikita Smagin. June 15, 2023. Carnegie Politika. Defense Innovation Unit Defense Innovation Unit. Military Service Kristy N. Kamarck. December 13, 2016. Congressional Research Service. Christopher Hitchens. October 3, 2007. Vanity Fair. Mark Daily. Feb. 14, 2007. Los Angeles Times. Israel-Palestine Shay Fogelman. August 16, 2024. Haaretz. Steven Scheer and Ali Sawafta. August 14, 2024. Reuters. July 2, 2024. Al Mayadeen English. Steve Crawshaw. January 26, 2024. The Guardian. Patreon August 12, 2024. Patreon. C-SPAN Fundraiser C-SPAN. Bills: NDAA 2025 Audio Sources July 30, 2024 Senate Committee on Armed Services Witnesses: Jane M. Harman, Chair, Commission on the National Defense Strategy Eric S. Edelman, Vice Chair, Commission on the National Defense Strategy Clips 26:20 Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS): The document details the way in which the 2022 National Defense Strategy and Assessment, completed just two years ago, did not adequately account for the threat of simultaneous and increasingly coordinated military action by our four primary adversaries. A group which I have come to call the Axis of Aggressors. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS): I appreciate the Commission's recommendation that national security spending must return to late Cold War levels — a goal which matches my plan to spend 5%, eventually, of GDP on defense. That level of investment would be temporary. It would be a down-payment on the rebuilding of our national defense tools for a generation. Tools that have sharpened can reduce the risk that our adversaries will use military force against US interests. 33:10 Jane Harman: The threats to US national security and our interests are greater than any time since World War II, and more complex than any threats during the Cold War. 34:00 Jane Harman: Sadly, we think, and I'm sure you agree, that the public has no idea how great the threats are and is not mobilized to meet them. Public support is critical to implement the changes we need to make. Leaders on both sides of the aisle and across government need to make the case to the public and get their support. Eric Edelman: There is potential for near-term war and a potential that we might lose such a conflict. The partnership that's emerged among China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea is a major strategic shift that we have not completely accounted for in our defense planning. It makes each of those countries potentially stronger militarily, economically, and diplomatically, and potentially can weaken the tools we have at our disposal to deal with them. And it makes it more likely that a future conflict, for instance, in the Indo-Pacific, would expand across other theaters and that we would find ourselves in a global war that is on the scale of the Second World War. Eric Edelman: The 2022 NDS identified China as the pacing challenge. We found that China is, in many ways, outpacing the US. While we still have the strongest military in the world with the farthest global reach, when we get to a thousand miles of China's shore, we start to lose our military dominance and could find ourselves on the losing end of a conflict. China's cyber capabilities, space assets, growing strategic forces, and fully modernized conventional forces are designed to keep us from engaging in the Taiwan Strait or the South or East China seas. China, as has been testified to before Congress, has infiltrated our critical infrastructure networks to prevent or deter US action by contesting our logistics, disrupting American power and water, and otherwise removing the sanctuary of the homeland that we have long enjoyed. 38:00 Eric Edelman: For its part, Russia has reconstituted its own defense industrial base after its invasion of Ukraine much more rapidly than people anticipated. Vladimir Putin seeks to reassert Russia as a great power and is happy to destabilize the world in order to do so. 38:15 Eric Edelman: Our report describes the threats posed by Iran, North Korea, and terrorism as well. Clearly, Iran and North Korea both feel emboldened by the current environment, and terrorism remains a potent threat fueled by the proliferation of technology. As the DNI has said, the current war in the Middle East is likely to have a generational impact on terrorism. 39:20 Jane Harman: First finding: DoD cannot and should not provide for the national defense by itself. The NDS calls for an integrated deterrence that is not reflected in practice today. A truly all elements of national power approach is required to coordinate and leverage resources across DoD, the rest of the Executive branch, the private sector, civil society, and US allies and partners. We agree with the NDS on the importance of allies, and we commend the administration for expanding and strengthening NATO and building up relationships and capabilities across Asia. We also point out ways for the United States to be better partners ourselves, including by maintaining a more stable presence globally and in key organizations like NATO. We call for reducing barriers to intelligence sharing, joint production, and military exports so we can better support and prepare to fight with our closest allies. 40:25 Jane Harman: Second recommendation is fundamental shifts in threats and technology require fundamental change in how DoD functions. This is particularly true of how DoD works with the tech sector, where most of our innovation happens. We say that DoD is operating at the speed of bureaucracy when the threat is approaching wartime urgency. DoD structure is optimized for research and development for exquisite, irreplaceable platforms when the future is autonomy, AI and large numbers of cheaper and attritable systems. I know this because I represented the Aerospace Center of Los Angeles in Congress for so many years, where exquisite, irreplaceable satellite platforms were built. And now we know that there is a plethora of commercial platforms that can do many of the same things and offer redundancy. DoD programs like Replicator and the Defense Innovation Unit and the Office of Strategic Capital are great, but they're essentially efforts to work around the larger Pentagon system. 42:00 Eric Edelman: Mr. Wicker, you raised the issue of the foresizing construct in your opening statement, and we, as you noted, found that it is inadequate. I mean, it was written actually before the invasion of Ukraine and before the emergence of this tightening alliance between Russia and China. And we propose that the force needs to be sized, the joint force, in conjunction with US allies and partners, to defend the homeland, but simultaneously be able to deal with threats in the Indo-Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. These are not all the same fights, so different elements of the force would be required in different parts of the globe, but US global responsibilities require a global military response as well as a diplomatic and economic one. 43:20 Eric Edelman: The DoD workforce and the all-volunteer force provide us with a kind of unmatched advantage, but recruiting failures have shrunk the force and have raised serious questions about the sustainability of the all-volunteer force in peacetime, let alone if we had to mobilize for a major conflict or a protracted conflict. 44:30 Jane Harman: Additionally, we think that Congress should revoke the 2023 spending caps and provide real growth — I know Senator Wicker loves this one — for fiscal year 2025 defense and non-defense national security spending that, at a bare minimum, falls within the range recommended by the 2018 NDS Commission. That range was never achieved. Subsequent budgets will require spending that puts defense and other components of national security, other components jointly across government and the tech sector and partners and allies, on a glide path to support efforts commensurate with the US national efforts seen during the Cold War. Jane Harman: We agree on a unanimous basis that the national debt is its own national security challenge. If we want to approach Cold War levels of spending, we need to increase resources and reform entitlement spending. 45:40 Jane Harman: During the Cold War, top marginal income tax rates were above 70% and corporate tax rates averaged 50%. We don't call for those numbers, but we are calling for an increase in resources and point out that interest on the debt is higher than our total top line of defense spending. 49:55 Jane Harman: The notion of public service isn't new as you know, Mr. Chairman, it's been around for years. It was around when I served in Congress, and Congress did not act on any of the proposals that I saw. It is still a way to get all of the public, at the proper age, engaged in understanding the requirements of citizenship. A lot of our young people have no earthly idea, sadly, because they have no civic education, what our government really is and what are the ways to serve. And surely one of the most honorable ways to serve is as a member of the military, you did it, and other members of this committee have done this. And I think that is the way to revive a kind of sense of coherence and patriotism that we are lacking right now. Eric Edelman: We have not really, as a society, talked about the need for national mobilization, but if the worst were to happen and some of the worst scenarios we discuss in our report were to come to pass and were we to face a global conflict, it would require mobilization on the scale of what we did as a nation during World War II. And we haven't done that in a long time. We haven't thought about that in a long time. There are a lot of elements to it, including stockpiling strategic materials, but being able to rapidly bring people into the military, et cetera, I just don't think we are prepared to do it. I think we have to have a national discussion about this, and I think it goes hand in hand with the earlier discussion you had with my colleague about public service and serving the nation. 52:05 Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI): We had in World War II, two years, essentially from September 1st, 1939 to December 7th, 1941, to prepare. And I doubt we'll have two years to prepare in this environment. Eric Edelman: President Putin, in some ways, has done us a bit of a favor by having invaded Ukraine and exposed, as a result, some of the limitations of US defense industrial production, and shown that it's grossly inadequate to provide the equipment, technology, and munitions that the US military and our allies and partners need today, let alone given the demands of a potential future conflict, which might be even more taxing. Jane Harman: I remember being a member of the Defense Policy Board when Jim Mattis was Secretary of Defense, and his piece of advice to us was, let's do everything we can to keep Russia and China apart. Well, oops, that has not happened. And there is this close friendship and collaboration between them. You asked how is it manifested? Well, we see it most at the moment in Ukraine, where Russia was the aggressor violating international law and invading Ukraine, and China is a huge help to Russia in evading our sanctions by buying Russian gas and by its efforts to ship into China material for the war. And then you add in, as you mentioned, Iran and North Korea, which are suppliers of drones and other lethal material to Russia. And this unholy alliance, or I think you call it Alliance of Aggression, is extremely dangerous. Let's remember that both North Korea has nuclear weapons, Iran is at breakout for nuclear weapons, and the other two countries are nuclear countries. And where this goes is, it seems to me, terrifying. And that is, again, why we need to leverage all elements of national power to make sure we deter these countries from acting against us. Eric Edelman: Ukraine offered to give up, and I was involved in some of the diplomacy of this back in the nineties, the nuclear weapons that were left on its territory after the end of the Soviet Union. As a result of that, Ukraine gave them up, but in exchange for assurances from the United States, Russia, Great Britain and France, that its territorial integrity would be recognized along the borderlines that existed before the 2014 seizure of Crimea by Putin, which was a violation of those undertakings. If our assurances in the non-proliferation realm in this instance are shown to be hollow, it will raise questions in the minds of all of our allies about the assurances we've given them, our extended deterrent assurances, whether it's for our allies in Europe, part of our multilateral NATO alliance, or our bilateral allies in East Asia, or our partners, parts of special relationships we've developed in Middle East with Israel, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt and others. So the whole fabric, frankly, of the international order is at risk here, depending on the outcome in Ukraine. And to your point, if Putin is successful in Ukraine, the lesson that Xi Jinping is likely to draw is that he too can be successful in Taiwan or in the East China Sea or the South China Sea. Eric Edelman: Nuclear deterrence, Senator Fisher, is the fundamental on which everything else is built in terms of our national security. It's operating every day. It's not visible to American citizens, but the fact of our nuclear deterrent force, all three legs of the triad being available is the most powerful deterrent that we have to conflict. It's not sufficient, but it is the absolute basis, and we really, I think, agreed with the conclusion our colleagues on the Strategic Posture Commission reached, which is that we have to move forward with alacrity on all the elements of modernization of the nuclear triad. That's the GBSD Sentinel Program, that is the B-21, that is the Ohio replacement class. All of those things have to be accomplished and there are problems. One of the reasons we highlighted education is that some of the problems that GBSD are running into have to do with lack of skilled workers to be able to pour the kind of special reinforced concrete that you need for the new silos for missiles, the new control systems for missiles. We lack welders in the submarine industrial base, as Senator Wicker knows well. So there's a lot that has to be done across the board in order to move forward with nuclear modernization, but it is absolutely fundamental to our ability to deter aggression against our allies and of course against the homeland. Eric Edelman: The force right now is too small, and so we have to grow the force, and that's in the face of the recruiting challenges that we've highlighted in the report that the Army in particular, but also the Navy and the Air Force have faced. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE): And I'm going to interrupt you. Please. Why is it too small? Can you explain in this setting the threats that we are facing when we look at the adversaries that we face and how that has changed over the last decade? Eric Edelman: It's too small, in part because the Department was sizing itself for one conflict. But if you have to be present in three theaters, as we are now, we've got conflicts in two theaters now, if we have a third conflict in the third theater, it's going to require a lot more forces. People talk, for instance, about the Indo-Pacific being largely a Navy and Air Force fight. That's correct, but the logistics that support the Navy and the Air Force will largely be manned by the Army. And so we have to have an Army that is sufficiently large that it can operate in all of these places, potentially simultaneously, because honestly, it is very hard to imagine today a conflict in the Indo-Pacific that doesn't become a global conflict very quickly. Someone asked earlier in the hearing about cooperation between Russia and China. The last time I testified before this committee was two years ago about the so-called "Three Body Problem," Russia and China being both nuclear peers of the United States. And one of the criticisms that was leveled at my colleague, Frank Miller and me, was that, well, there's no evidence that Russia and China are collaborating in the nuclear area. Well, we just saw them flying strategic bombers together up near Alaska, so I don't know what more evidence you want that they're beginning to collaborate in that strategic area. Eric Edelman: If we got into some kind of conflict in the Indo-Pacific, whether it be over Taiwan or the South China Sea or East China Sea, what might Russia do? One thing that comes to mind is take advantage of the separatist movement in Moldova to move on Moldova, a country that's trying to move closer to the European Union and to the West, which would then precipitate additional conflict in Europe, or take advantage of the ethnic Russian speaking minorities in the Baltic states, say Latvia, to initiate a conflict there. How would we manage that? When you raise that question with Department [of Defense] leaders, they basically say, well, that — to go back to the chairman's point earlier — well that would be sort of like World War II or would require national mobilization, and that's correct, but we haven't really taken the next steps to really focus on what that and what a protracted conflict would actually look like. We're optimized to fight very short wars. 1:21:00 Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): There are five different domains in which our country will be attacked in the future. Air, land, and sea, most people would understand, but space and cyberspace are the new domains, which will precede any attack on the first three. Jane Harman: On cyber, it's a huge threat and I don't think we minimize it in any way. One of the things we might anticipate, for example, is if China decides to annex Taiwan, or whatever euphemism they might use, they might engage in a major cyber attack here first, for which we are under-prepared, a cyber attack of our infrastructure. When I was in Congress, I represented the Port of Los Angeles, which with the Port of Long Beach is the largest container port complex in the country. 50% of our container traffic enters and exits through those ports. There are cranes on the port to move the cargo, and those cranes have Chinese technology. So guess what? Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): All of which are subject to the possibilities of cyber attack. Jane Harman: Absolutely. We should anticipate that our ports could go down. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): Throughout our entire society, we find that to be the case though. Jane Harman: I'm agreeing with you and this is devastating. Does the American public understand this? No. Jane Harman: You also mentioned space. Again, something I know something about, since I used to call my district the aerospace center of the universe, where most of our intelligence satellites were made. We are more dependent on space as a country and more vulnerable in space because of that dependency than any other country. Shoring up space, which is one of the threats we address, is absolutely crucial. And it's not just military space, but commercial space. You talked about communication. A lot of how we communicate is through commercial space and think how inconvenienced the public would be if all of a sudden their little devices, which we're all dependent on, didn't work. Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL): What's hurting us too is a lot of our government schools, I call 'em government schools because I went in thousands of them while I was coaching, recruiting, and the problem we have is hate that's being taught in a lot of our government schools, towards our country. Why would any young man or woman want to fight for a country that they don't believe in, that they're being taught to hate? It's absolutely amazing to me the direction this country is going. So is there any agreement there, Representative Harman? Jane Harman: There is agreement there. I think hate on both sides is totally destructive. I think the absence of civics education and the absence of institutions that help people understand what patriotism means. We had a conversation about national service, which might be a way to get all of our youth back together. I mean, this country sadly, is in a point where many people say our biggest enemy is us fighting each other. 1:33:35 Jane Harman: One of the problems is the kind of deployments the military does every two years. Moving somewhere where in many cases the spouse works and having to change his or her job every two years is very burdensome. It's also hard on kids, and so that could change. 1:36:20 Eric Edelman: The BRICS was actually kind of an invention of Goldman Sachs. It's not really a serious military organization. Jane Harman: But I think that Congress is somewhat complicit in the way the budget process doesn't work, and this insistence on requirements and oversight rather than on what is the problem set we are solving for, which is how the tech sector thinks. I've been making a comment about DIU, the Defense Innovation Unit, that was set up by the late Secretary Ash Carter, that maybe we should outsource the Pentagon to DIU, which is ably headed by someone named Doug Beck, who had 11 years experience in the private sector, because they know how to think about this. I couldn't agree with you more. The budget of DIU is $1 billion out of $850 billion. Doug Beck says he can leverage that. Sen. Angus King (I-ME): It's technologies that win wars, new technology, right? Jane Harman: I'm in violent agreement with you. He says he can leverage that into $50 billion of commercial investment, but that's still a pittance compared to the kind of change we need to undergo. Not just at the Pentagon, but at the Pentagon lashed up with other government agencies, with the tech sector, and with partners and allies. That is our point about all elements of national power, which will win the next war. 1:42:55 Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): Ambassador Edelman, you spoke with Senator Fischer about the multiple theater force construct. Basically the kind of threats we're planning for, and there's a time when this nation planned to fight two major wars at a time, and I think now we're down to a force that can fight one conflict and protect our homeland, and hopefully scare bad guys everywhere else around the world and not starting war. Is that right? Eric Edelman: That is correct. That's what the 2022 NDS describes. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR): So that's what our national Defense Strategy says. Is the current force even capable of doing that, in your opinion? Putting aside what it should be capable of doing, which I'll come to momentarily. Can it even do that? Eric Edelman: I think there are very serious questions about whether the force in being could actually execute the strategy. Jane Harman: The word pivot probably should be retired. I don't think we can leave anywhere. I think we have to have an understanding of the threats against us, not just against regions, everywhere. The whole idea of this multiple force construct is flexibility and having an adequate deterrence so we don't engage in more wars. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV): In your report you talked about the current force structure that we have, and I think you had identified that the Marines are only ones meeting that. We agree with that. What you failed to do is basically identify why we have not, or why you all did not, take up women being in selective service or joining selective service, because women make up 74% of the healthcare and education industry, 52% of financial activities. They're a tremendously strong force. And there's a lot of women I don't want to go up against. I can tell you that in so many ways. I guess my question is simple. Does the commission support women registering for selective service? Jane Harman: Well, I'll speak for myself. I do. I think that women are, a majority of our population, a majority of the talent pool, many of the most talented women serve on this committee. So yes, they should be. We should be. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV): I'll make it clear that what we talked about does not require women to participate in military draft. Jane Harman: I understand. It's registering. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV): Yeah, registering, that's all. Jane Harman: And my answer to that is yes. Eric Edelman: Our view was that you have to be able to deter and potentially defeat adversaries in all three of the main theaters that we have been engaged in since the end of the Second World War, and which we repeatedly engaged in. I mean, there's been no shortage of efforts to try and extricate the United States from the Middle East. The last NDS in 2018 said we should be willing to run risk in the Middle East. I think on October 7th we got a sense, and then again on April 13th, of what running additional risk means in the Middle East. So it's our view that we have to be able to manage to do all of those things. Eric Edelman: The homeland, if there's a conflict, is not going to be a sanctuary anymore. And the first attacks will likely be in the cyber domain, and they will be incredibly disabling for our society, but also for the department. But getting all of the agencies of government that would have a role in all this, because it goes beyond just DoD, it goes beyond just DHS, I mean, it goes to the Department of Transportation, it goes to Commerce. I mean, it's an unbelievably complex issue. And we're only now wrapping our minds around it and it needs a lot more work and attention from the department. Jane Harman: The public is essentially clueless about the massive cyber attacks that could be launched any day by our adversaries, not just nation states, but rogue actors as well. Music by Editing Production Assistance

PREVIEW: VPOTUS: HARRIS: Conversation with colleeague Josh Rogin of Washington Post re the Harris foreign policy in Ukraine, Middle East, China. More tonight. 1938 Lemberg

Fujian Province in East China has relocated over 150,000 residents as Typhoon Gaemi approaches.

After a doctor in East China was stabbed to death at work on Friday, China's top health authority said on Saturday that it has joined public security efforts to strengthen a crackdown on medical-related crimes and has urged hospitals to implement security measures.7月19日，一名男子在温州医科大学附属第一医院伤害一名医生；国家卫健委于7月20日表示，已加入公安工作，将加强对于伤害医护人员的打击，并敦促医院实施安全措施。Li Sheng, a cardiologist at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, was attacked by a knife-wielding man around noon Friday when seeing patients and died that evening due to critical injuries.温州医科大学附属第一医院心血管内科李晟医生于7月19日中午在看望病人时遭到一名持刀男子的袭击，当晚因伤势严重，抢救无效后死亡。The man who carried out the attack jumped off the building, the hospital and police said. Police said late on Friday that the attacker was receiving treatment but have not provided any subsequent updates on his condition.医院表示，持刀男子已跳楼自杀。7月19日，警方表示，该男子正在接受治疗，但并未提供后续情况跟进。The National Health Commission expressed deep condolences for Li's death and extended its sympathies to his family in a statement released on Saturday night.The commission said it strongly condemns violence against medical personnel and pledges a zero-tolerance policy toward any form of harm to them.It stressed that attacking medical personnel is a serious criminal act.国家卫健委对李晟的去世表示深切哀悼，并在7月20日晚上发布的声明中向李晟医生的家属表示关心和安慰。卫健委强调，暴力伤害医务人员，是严重的违法犯罪行为，必须受到最强烈的谴责，最严厉的打击。"The commission has worked with the Ministry of Public Security to guide localities to improve hospital security and severely crack down on medical-related crimes to protect the safety of patients and medical staff," it said.卫健委将联同公安等部门，严厉打击涉医违法犯罪行为，切实保护患者和医务人员安全。The commission added that hospitals should strengthen security systems, fully implement security measures and deepen collaboration with police.加强平安医院建设，完善医院安全防范系统，切实落实安检措施，强化警医联动。The Chinese Medical Doctor Association said on Saturday afternoon that it was deeply shocked and saddened by the incident.7月20日下午，中华医师协会表示，对此事件深感震惊和悲痛。The association reiterated its unwavering commitment to defending the dignity of healthcare workers and condemning violence against them.中华医师协会重申：坚决反对任何形式的暴力伤医行为。坚定不移地捍卫医务人员尊严。It urged authorities to take effective measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and called on the whole of society to work together to create a harmonious and orderly healthcare environment.强烈呼吁有关单位采取有力措施保障医务人员生命安全。强烈呼吁社会各界齐心协力营造和谐有序的良好医疗环境。The association added that it has initiated a physician rights protection and assistance program and provided support to Li's family.目前中华医师协会已积极启动医师维权救助程序，对李晟医师家属提供援助。The incident has drawn a wave of condolences and condemnation from the public and authorities. The National Healthcare Security Administration and the Chinese Hospital Association also released statements expressing outrage at the violence and appealing for better protection of medical workers and a harmonious healthcare environment.这一事件引起了公众和地方当局的哀悼和谴责。国家医保局和中国医院协会也发表声明，对暴力事件表示愤慨，并呼吁加强对医务人员的保护，营造和谐的医疗环境。The strengthening of protection of doctors and the rolling out of tougher security measures at hospitals have long been a societal consensus, with reports of assaults against doctors drawing widespread attention and outrage.长期以来，加强对医护人员的保护，实施严格的安全措施，一直是社会的共识。The Basic Healthcare and Health Promotion Law, which took effect in June 2020, stipulates that the personal safety and dignity of healthcare personnel shall not be infringed upon, and their legitimate rights and interests shall be protected by law.2020年6月1日起施行的《中华人民共和国基本医疗卫生与健康促进法》明确规定，医疗卫生人员的人身安全、人格尊严不受侵犯，其合法权益受法律保护。Any organization or individual is prohibited from threatening or endangering the personal safety of healthcare personnel or violating their dignity, it says.禁止任何组织或者个人威胁、危害医疗卫生人员人身安全，侵犯医疗卫生人员人格尊严。In July 2020, Beijing's municipal government adopted a guideline for hospital security that mandates checks at entrances and the installation of surveillance cameras inside hospitals.2020 年 7 月，北京市政府通过《北京市医院安全秩序管理规定》，要求在入口处进行安检，并在医院内安装监控摄像头。A guideline released by the National Health Commission in September 2021 says that public security authorities should set up police offices at major hospitals.国家卫健委在2021年9月发布的关于推进医院安全秩序管理工作的指导意见中指出，公安机关应当在三级医院和有条件的二级医院设立警务室。Hospitals with a daily outpatient volume of more than 5,000 visits or more than 1,000 beds should enforce security checks at entrances to prevent visitors from bringing in knives, explosives or other dangerous items.日均门诊量5000人次以上或者床位1000张以上的大型医院应当在主要出入口实施安检，防止人员携带刀具、爆炸物品、危险物品进入医院。First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical Universityn.温州大学附属第一医院The National Health Commissionn.国家卫健委The Chinese Medical Doctor Association n.中国医师协会The National Healthcare Security Administration n.国家医保局Chinese Hospital Associationn.中国医院协会

A consumer selects tomatoes at a supermarket in Linyi city, East China's Shandong province on June 12.6月12日，一名消费者在山东临沂的一家超市挑选西红柿。China's consumer prices increased modestly in June while factory-gate prices saw a slowdown in annual declines, official data showed on Wednesday.7月10日的官方数据显示，中国6月份居民消费价格指数（CPI）小幅上涨，而工业生产者出厂价格指数（PPI）的年度跌幅有所放缓。The country's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose by 0.2 percent year-on-year in June after a 0.3 percent rise in May, the National Bureau of Statistics said.国家统计局表示，衡量通货膨胀的主要指标——CPI继5月份上涨0.3%之后，6月份同比上涨0.2%。Within the CPI, food prices dropped 2.1 percent year-on-year in June versus a 2 percent annual contraction in May. Notably, the price of fresh vegetables declined 7.3 percent in June, following a 2.3 percent rise in May. Pork, a staple in Chinese cuisine, saw prices go up by 18.1 percent in June after a 4.6 percent growth in May. 6月份食品价格同比下降2.1%，而5月份同比降低2%；继5月份上涨2.3%之后，6月份新鲜蔬菜价格下降了7.3%。猪肉作为家庭主菜，在5月份增长4.6%之后，其6月份价格上涨了18.1%。Meanwhile, non-food prices posted a 0.8 percent rise compared with a year earlier in June, flat with the rise in May. The growth in energy narrowed from 3.4 percent in May to 3.1 percent in June. Prices of gas-powered cars and new energy vehicles declined 6 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively.6月份，非食品价格同比上涨0.8%，涨幅与上月相同。非食品中，能源价格上涨3.1%，涨幅回落0.3个百分点；扣除能源的PPI上涨0.1%，涨幅与上月相同，其中燃油小汽车和新能源小汽车价格分别下降6.0%和7.4%。On a month-on-month basis, the CPI dropped 0.2 percent in June versus a 0.1 percent decline in May. 按月来看，6月份CPI下降0.2%，而5月份下降0.1%。The growth in core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices and is deemed a better gauge of the supply-demand relationship in the economy, rose by 0.6 percent year-on-year in June, unchanged from the growth in May.扣除食品和能源价格的核心CPI同比上涨0.6%，涨幅与上月相同，继续保持温和上涨。Dong Lijuan, an NBS statistician, attributed the year-on-year CPI growth to a well-stocked market, while the PPI declined due to factors including the international commodity price fluctuations and insufficient demand for some industrial products in the domestic market. 国家统计局统计师董莉娟表示，CPI同比增长是由于市场储备充足，而PPI下降则受国际大宗商品价格波动和国内市场部分工业产品需求不足等因素影响。China's producer price index, which gauges factory-gate prices, dropped by 0.8 percent from a year ago in June, narrowing from a 1.4 percent fall in May, the NBS said. 国家统计局表示，全国PPI在6月份同比下降0.8%，较5月份1.4%的降幅有所收窄。On a month-on-month basis, the PPI dropped 0.2 percent in June after a 0.2 percent rise in May, according to the NBS.环比由上月上涨0.2%转为下降0.2%。ConsumerPriceIndex (CPI)n.居民消费价格指数Producer Price Index(PPI)n.工业生产者出厂价格指数

The tenth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations kicks off in Qufu, the hometown of Confucius in East China's Shandong Province. And it comes at the right time: Chinese classics, poetry, sci-fi novels have made quite a splash abroad in recent years thanks to dedicated translators. How can Chinese literature further help East-West communication? How do the literary works reflect the evolving social fabric and its ever-increasing role on the global stage?

Last time we spoke about the second Zhili-Fengtian War.  After the first Zhili-Fengtian War of 1922, the Zhili warlords took control of Beijing. Cao Kun bribed his way into the presidency as Zhang Zuolin retreated to Manchuria to rebuild his army. Zhang appointed key officials and boosted military production, significantly enhancing his army, navy, and air force. The catalyst for the second Zhili-Fengtian War in 1924 was the First Jiangsu-Zhejiang War. Zhang Zuolin declared war on the Zhili clique, accusing them of corruption and oppression. The war saw battles at Rehe, Shanhaiguan, and other locations, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. However, the Zhili forces were plagued by internal betrayal and logistical challenges. Feng Yuxiang's unexpected coup in Beijing further weakened the Zhili's position. Ultimately, the Fengtian army's superior strategy and coordination led to their victory, capturing key cities and forcing Zhili leaders to flee.   #106 the First United Front 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. The second Zhili-Fengtian war was by far the most intense war to date for China's Warlord Era. Perhaps up to 450,000 troops participated in battles stretching along the Great Wall Line from Shanhaiguan to Beijing. The casualties were reported to be around 30,000, but estimates for China's Warlord Era are notoriously flimsy. Ultimately it was won by Feng Yuxiang's betrayal against Wu Peifu. Feng Yuxiang's Beijing coup certainly turned the tide, and now he had emerged a major player on the scene. Feng Yuxiang went to work, expelling the former Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Puyi from the Forbidden city and placed Cao Kun under house arrest. Now immediately after Feng Yuxiang had taken Beijing, he began reorganizing his forces into the 1st National Army or better known as the Guominjun. Feng Yuxiang acted as its commander in chief with his co-conspirators Hu Qingyi and Sun Yueh as commanders of the 2nd and 3rd Armies. Now the Guominjun wer certainly an odd motley crew. The Guominjun's ideology was a blend of Chinese nationalism, progressive social reforms, military modernization, and ethical governance influenced by Christianity. Feng Yuxiang's leadership and vision shaped the faction into quite a unique force, striving to create a unified, modern, and moral China. Feng took care of his men's well being, he educated them, promoted their sense of nationalism. Within his territory Feng promoted education, built schools, and established social welfare programs. He believed that improving the living standards of the common people was essential for national strength and stability. He implemented a series of social reforms in the areas he controlled. These included land reforms aimed at reducing the power of landlords and distributing land more equitably among peasants. His Guominjun would become known for its efforts to combat corruption and inefficiency within its ranks and in the administration of its territories. Feng Yuxiang sought to create a more ethical and efficient government. Feng supported the modernization of China's infrastructure and industry. This included building railways, improving communications, and promoting technological advancements. The Guominjun was driven by a strong sense of Chinese nationalism, emphasizing the need to unify China and end the fragmentation caused by warlordism. They aimed to establish a central government that could restore national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Guominjun placed a high emphasis on military discipline and modern training methods. Feng Yuxiang's background in the Beiyang Army influenced his approach to building a modern, professional military force. The Guominjun's ideological alignment with nationalism and reform brought them into close cooperation with the Kuomintang. The alliance with the KMT was based on shared goals of unification and modernization, though it was sometimes strained by ideological and strategic differences. Because of the geographical distance between their spheres of influence they would be more or less isolated from each other and thus it made it difficult to coordinate actions. Feng Yuxiang had hoped by imprisoning Cao Kun and exiling Puyi he would gain popular support amongst the Republican and anti-Manchu in the Beiyang government. Feng Yuxiang also proclaimed the Guominjun troops to be the first in the history of the Republic to serve as a national military establishment rather than a personal army. However no one forget his acts of treachery, the coup d'etat certainly gave him a bad rep. One of the few successes he would have was persuading Dr Sun Yat-Sen to come over to Beijing to take part in the new government. With the collapse of the Zhili clique, a more tenuous balance of power emerged in Beijing. Feng Yuxiang's position in Beijing was weakened each day, because of the maneuvers of Zhang Zuolin. He had moved the Fengtian forces south of Manchuria, proceeding south of the Tientsin-Pukou railway. This effectively gave Zhang Zuolin control over East China from Manchuria down to the Yangtze Valley. Alongside this Zhang Zuolin reached an agreement with Duan Qirui to bring him into the new fold. A 5 day conference took place at Tientsin from November 11th to 16th, including the new triumvirate of Zhang Zuolin, Feng Yuxiang and Duan Qirui. They discussed the future of the Beiyang government. Feng Yuxiang quickly discovered he had little negotiating power beyond his dominance in Beijing and even that was tenuous as Zhang Zuolin pretty much surrounded them all. Feng Yuxiang found out his trump card, the promise from Dr Sun Yat-Sen that he would come participate in the new Beiyang government was useless as both Zhang Zuolin and Duan Qirui had likewise received the same promise from him. During the conference the new triumvirate agreed Duan Qirui would become a figurehead of the new government with a position called the chief executive. Despite Duan Qirui's status as the leader of the practically non-existant Anhui Clique, he was more palatable to the surviving Zhili clique warlords than Zhang Zuolin or Feng Yuxiang. They made sure not to make Duan Qirui a president or premier, his role was specifically meant to be temporary, this was done to lure Dr Sun Yat-Sen over to Beijing. Meanwhile Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin retained their territories and became the military leaders of the new regime.  On November 24th, Duan Qirui arrived to Beijing and assumed his new office. On December 9th the foreign powers recognized Duan Qirui's new government on the basis he did not alter their pre-existing unequal treaties. This was inevitable as Japan was the leading imperial power in asia and backed both Zhang Zuoli and Duan Qirui. He formed a cabinet without any Guominjun members. It would seem no one had forgotten Feng Yuxiangs treachery, but then again, his Guominjun had no officers with sufficient prestige to be nominated to any posts. Feng Yuxiang had little hope of exerting any control in the new government.  Feng Yuxiang responded the dire situation by resigning his post as inspector general and retired, stating he would spending his future in study and travel. Yet his Guominjun forces still controlled Beijing. Zhang Zuolin took a cue from his move by also resigning his titles, heading over to Tientsin. Thus Duan Qirui with no military power, personally under threat of Feng Yuxiang's forces in Beijing was facing a daunting situation. He had to try and maintain the peace between the two warlords while forming a government acceptable to the foreign powers. His government then decided to make Feng Yuxiang and Zhang Zuolin defense commissioners of the northwest and northeast respectively. Feng Yuxiang now would control Suiyuan and Chahar, setting up new headquarters in Kalgan. Feng Yuxiang's new position did not prove lucrative and it was not an adequate power base. His only real ally was the KMT, but he was far to isolated from them, thus he turned to the Soviet Union.Feng Yuxiangs socialist actions had attracted the attention of communists and indeed within his entourage were many communists. The Soviets were enemies with the Empire of Japan. The Empire of Japan backed Zhang Zuolin, so the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Soviets basically saw Feng Yuxiang as a possible balance against the Japanese who were continuing to expand their influence in Manchuria. Dr Sun Yat-Sen came to the north alongside the Soviet Michael Borodin. Dr Sun Yat-Sen had pleaded with western nations for a long time to support his government with finance and arms, but none offered anything tangible.  Dr Sun Yat-Sen ‘s problem was his hard stance against the unequal treaties. All of the western powers knew, it was Dr Sun Yat-Sen's priority to get rid of the unequal treaties, thus they all refused to support his efforts. However there was a new nation that did not support the unequal treaties, in fact they even publicly stated so, the Soviet Union. Back in Autumn of 1920, Sun Yat-Sen met with representatives of the Commuturn in Shanghai. Sun Yat-Sen told them he believed Lenin wanted him to be the founder of the CCP, because Chen Duxiu did not have much influence with the people of China, unlike him, he was after all kind of a rockstar. After numerous attempts to gain support from Japan or the West, Sun Yat-Sen began to seriously consider cooperating with the CCP who were being supported by the Soviet Union.  In December of 1921, Sun Yat-Sen met with Hendriks Josephs Franciscus Marie Sneevliet, known as Marin, because why is his name that long haha, in Guilin. Marin was a official representative of the Commiturn, Sun Yat-Sen came to him expressing his admiration for the Russian Revolution and for Lenin. He stated that he wanted to learn more about the Soviet achievement, especially their new economic policies. In August of 1922, the soviet diplomat to China, Adolf Joffe was trying to settle issues regarding Outer Mongolia and the Chinese Far Eastern Railway, to which he had little to no success, but during the process he also met with Dr Sun Yat-Sen. Sun Yat-Sen brought up the idea of cooperating with the CCP, it sounded promising. For a few months the Soviets brainstormed and by the 4th congress of the Communist international decided to get the CCP to agree to such a thing. In July of 1922 the CCP accepted Marin's proposal to join the Kuomintang in an alliance. This became known as the Sun-Joffe Manifesto and what it resulted in was the First United Front.  In July the Soviets instructed the CCP to join the alliance, but there was a ton of push back. In Hanzhou, Marin met with Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, Cai Hesen , Zhang Guotao, Gao Junyu , Maring , and Zhang Tailei. Marin pointed out to them that the Kuomintang was a party of all classes who were trying to promote democratic revolution. The CCP joining the KMT would be in line with Lenin's outline on the international communist revolution. Many of the CCP leadership pointed out issues, like anti-communist elements in the KMT, but ultimately they all decided it was a good idea as the reality was, the CCP was only 300 members, they needed help to grow. Thus it was decided, some of the CCP leading figures would join the KMT, with the secret intention of persuading KMT members to join the CCP.  According to testimony from Zhou Fohai, a CCP member at the time who would later join Wang Jingwei's collaborationist government "At that time, the Soviets wanted to collude with Wu Peifu, so it first gave Wu Peifu the honorific title of 'enlightened warlord'. At that time, Sun Hongyi was close to Wu Peifu, while Li Dazhao was close to Sun Hongyi. They took advantage of this relationship and had a secret relationship with Wu Peifu. Li Dazhao went to Luoyang several times, and it seems that there were records in the newspapers at that time. His methods were really clever. Wu Peifu ordered Gao Enhong to appoint Communists as the chief inspectors of the four lines of Beijing-Hankou, Beijing-Fengtian, Jinpu and Longhai. The inspector of Beijing-Hankou was Bao Huicai, and the inspector of Jinpu seemed to be Li Minzhi... Before the Soviets was abandoned by Wu Peifu, it once had an affair with Chen Jiongming. Chen Jiongming... specially summoned Chen Duxiu to Guangdong as its education committee member Chairman of the National People's Congress. At that time, Chen Jiongming's rebellious deeds were already well known, and Guangdong was clearly divided into two factions, Sun and Chen. The Soviets naturally used its strength to shift the situation. So the Soviets colluded with him. Chen Jiongming paid 500 yuan a month to Chen Gongbo to publish the "Qun Bao", which was a result of their collusion. Later, when Chen Jiongming was hiding in Huizhou, Ma Lin and Tan Pingshan went to Huizhou twice to discuss the terms of cooperation. Who would have thought that Chen Jiongming would dare to bombard Guanyin Mountain and endanger Premier Sun. After this rebellious act, Chen Jiongming was despised by the Chinese people. The Soviets was afraid of the attack of public opinion, so it did not dare to openly ally with him. Abandoned by Wu Peifu in the north and isolated from Chen Jiongming in the south, the Soviets, in 1923, followed the orders of the Third International and tried to infiltrate the Kuomintang and carried out its conspiracy to destroy the Kuomintang. " On January 12th of 1923, the Soviets passed a resolution recognizing the First United Front. Sun Yat-Sen accepted the alliance, but with two reservations; number 1, China would not become a communist nation; number 2 that the Soviets would give up the unequal treaties the Russian Empire previously held over China. On January 26th Sun Yat-Sen and Joffe issued a joint statement, declaring the cooperation between the KMT, CCP and Soviet Union. Now its important to note, Sun Yat-Sen did not believe the Soviet system could or would be functional for China. He believed China's largest problem was reunification under national independence. The Soviets abolished the unequal treaties that the Russian Empire had made with China and declared Outer Mongolia was part of China resolving that debacle. The Soviets even stated they promised not to carry out a communist revolution within China. Sun Yat-Sen stated publicly he was willing to accept CCP members into the KMT. Now this was clearly only done in order to receive Soviet finances and arms, but secondly, he truly believed their membership would help strengthen the nationalist movement.  Many in the KMT were concerned with this venture. On February 9th of 1924, at Tsinghua University, Sun Yat-Sen was answering questions about the issue where he stated “Russia is Russia, and China is China. Russia has its own ideology, and China has its own ideology. In my previous speech, I mentioned Russia everywhere. I was talking about the organization of its revolutionary party, not its revolutionary ideology.” Now here comes Mr. Borodin. In September of 1923, Borodin was sent to serve as Dr Sun Yat-Sens political advisor, specifically responsible for facilitating the First United Front. Borodin spoke no Chinese, thus he conversed in English. He had a heavy midwestern American accent, which masked his Russian origin, helping him communicate with the largely anglophone and American educated leadership within the KMT. He was accompanied by Ho Chi Minh, yes the future leader of communist Vietnam.  Borodin showed up in early October to Guangzhou where he held some private talks with the CCP. The CCP had been complaining about how the KMT were quite anti-communist in general, how the alliance made no sense if it was agreed there would be no Communist Revolution pushed by the Soviet Union within China. Borodin told them the real purpose of the alliance was actually a reorganization effort and to infiltrate the KMT. "In the newspapers, I talked about the Kuomintang, but for us, what I said was actually the increase in the influence of the CCP... We must never forget that what we are actually doing is to stabilize the CCP. This goal should be remembered forever."  Now despite the new alliance with the Soviets, Sun Yat-Sen did not stop reaching out to the US and Japan causing Borodin headaches. In his report to Stalin, Borodin mentioned that on January 23, 1924, he talked with Sun Yat-Sen "I asked Sun Yat-sen again and again: How long will he hold on to the fantasy that the Chinese people may get some help from the United States, Britain or Japan? Hasn't he been waiting for such help for too long? Isn't it time to sum up the past full of illusions and failures and turn to a new path?" Then in late January of 1924, during the First Congress of the Kuomintang, Sun Yat-Sen expanded upon the Three Principles of the Peoples and this deeply concerned Borodin who reported to Stalin "Sun agreed to the revolutionary program formulated for the Kuomintang, which catered to us; but he disagreed to publicly say that he would establish a united front with us. For this reason, he did not fully trust us." Borodin also came to Sun Yat-Sen about his program stating “You are facing a choice. Do you want to move forward with the 1.5 billion people in the imperialist camp? Or do you want to move forward with the 1.25 billion people who are oppressed by imperialism? You should make a decision”. Although Sun Yat-Sen would accept many of Borodin's suggestions, ultimately it was Sun Yat-Sen calling the shots, and he butted heads often with Borodin. Borodin stated at one point to those around him "the American spirit was deeply rooted in his mind. Generally speaking, it was difficult to make Sun Yat-sen change his mind." By the end of 1923, Chiang Kai-Shek led Dr Sun Yat-Sen's delegation to the Soviet Union. Chiang Kai-Shek reported back to Sun Yat-Sen “The strategy and purpose of the Soviet Union's so-called ‘world revolution' is more dangerous to the independence movement of Eastern nations than Western colonialism.” Sun Yat-Sen replied that he believed Chiang Kai-Shek was over-worrying and that he “deeply believed that only by allowing the Chinese Communist Party members to be under the leadership of our party and under the unified command of our party can we prevent them from creating class struggles and hindering the progress of our national revolution. If our Northern Expedition is victorious, the Three Principles of the People can be implemented as scheduled. By then, even if the Soviet wants to sabotage our national revolution, it will be impossible. Moreover, the Soviet Union only recognizes our party as the only party leading the revolution in China, and strongly urges its CCP members to join our party and obey its leadership, but does not deny that China has no possibility of implementing its communism. Therefore, it still insists on its decision to ally with Russia and tolerate the CCP” Trouble soon brewed in June of 1924, many leading KMT figures wrote to Sun Yat-Sen accusing the CCP of raising the banner of anti-imperialism and anti-militarism causing the KMT to suffer scorn from western powers and Chinese nationalist scorn. Sun Yat-Sen knew of the problem, it was largely CCP students led by Chen Duxiu making a scene. He explained  "The Chinese young students headed by Chen Duxiu are self-righteous. They initially wanted to monopolize Russian relations and prevent Russia from interacting with our party. Peter used Russia's help to establish his own faction and compete with our party. If I suspect Chen Duxiu and implicate Russia, it will be exactly what Chen Duxiu is planning and help him succeed. If (Chen Duxiu and others) do not obey our party, I will abandon them." Sun Yat-Sen also tried his best to restrict the CCP to be in his own direct orbit. Chen Duxiu had been repeatedly criticizing Sun Yat-Sen's policies in his newspapers, so Sun Yat-Sen went to Borodin to correct the issue. “Since the CCP have joined the KMT, they should obey party discipline and should not publicly criticize the KMT. If the CCP do not obey the KMT, I will expel them; if the Soviet Union protects the Chinese Communist Party, I will oppose the Soviet Union.” Sun Yat-Sen honestly failed to see the threat that the CCP really posed. He truly believed the CCP joined the KMT was not a cooperation between two equal parties. He believed the KMT was China's only revolutionary party while the CCP were just a group of scholars who supported Leninism. He never really took them seriously, but he also made sure never to give them arms when they continuously demanded them.  As for the CCP, they regarded the KMT as quite backwards, many leaders in the CCP thought Dr Sun Yat-Sen was no different than the warlords. When Marin proposed to the CCP that they join the KMT, Chen Duxiu raised opposition arguing "the purpose and foundation of the revolution of the CCP and the KMT are different. The KMT's policies of alliance with the United States, Zhang Zuolin and Duan Qirui are too incompatible with communism. Outside Guangdong Province, it is still regarded as a political party fighting for power and profit. The Sun Yat-sen faction of the KMT has always been absolutely intolerant of the opinions of new members and cannot give them power". A lot of the CCP resented what they saw as Sun Yat-Sen appeasing the right while disenfranchising them. Once the First United Front was established, the Soviets took over management of the Chinese Eastern Railway and began occupying Outer Mongolia. Then money and arms began pouring in, military advisors came to help create Sun Yat-Sens Northern expedition. Sun Yat-Sen dispatched Chiang Kai-Shek to Moscow to investigate their politics and military, while Borodin was made the KMT's organization trainer.  In May of 1924 Borodin helped found the Whampoa Military Academy. There officers of the National Revolutionary Army were trained, the backbone of the KMT. They would all under the leadership of Dr Sun Yat-Sen's number two, Chiang Kai-Shek. The quality of the education was guaranteed by regular visits from Soviet Officers. Many future big names would graduate from the academy, such as Lin Biao and Zhou Enlai. Borodin also established the Peasant Training institute, where a young Mao Zedong would serve. Things were not at all rainbows and sunshine. On May 1st of 1924, a large celebration was held in Guangzhou for the Peasant department. Sun Yat-Sen gave a speech calling on everyone to fight for national liberation and to put the theme of class struggle in a secondary position. This certainly did not sit well with the CCP, whose members began calling for breaking the alliance and arguing the KMT would lose the support of the Soviet Union. Borodin happened to be away at the time, and when prompted, Sun Yat-Sen kept saying they would resolve the matter when he returned. Frantic telegrams were sent and by June 20th Borodin returned. On June 25th a meeting was held with the leaders of the KMT and CCP. Borodin agreed with the point that the CCP was a party within the party of the KMT, but also stated the KMT had to give some ground to the CCP if they wanted to keep favor with the Soviet Union. Suddenly a wave of anti communist statements were lobbed from prominent KMT members, such as Wang Jingwei. They further launched a petition to expel certain communists. On July 15th in retaliation, Chinese workers in Shamian went on strike. Despite these setbacks the First United Front remained firm. Mao Zedong would see an appointment as Minister of Propaganda of the KMT. His job entailed hunting down newspapers and anyone who distributed leaflets, demanding they come to the Propaganda Department for review prior. In the next episode, if not a future one, Mao Zedong's propaganda department would have a lot of work ahead of them. Now all the way back to when I mentioned Sun Yat-Sen and Borodin visited Feng Yuxiang. Borodin came bearing a similar deal to what the KMT/CCP had with the Soviet Union and at first Feng Yuxiang was uncooperative. Yet cooped up in his Kalgan HQ, Feng Yuxiang had no backers, he was very low on funds. Most importantly he lacked arsenal facilities. Feng Yuxiang had struggled to cope, hunting everyone for backers, but the Northwest was not easily accessible. When he made orders with private traders bound for coastal ports, they were simply seized by local warlords who controlled coastal areas. Without domestic capabilities or access to the sea, Feng Yuxiang was pretty much screwed. Thus he caved into the Soviets  An agreement was bought for Soviet financial aid and munitions by February of 1925, brokered by Borodin. From April to August, war materials began to pour into Feng Yuxiangs camp. The cargo was divided into two shipments, traveling over the trans siberian railway from Moscow to Verkhne Udinsk, then south over caravan trade routes to Maimaicheng. In 1925 it took 500 mongol carts to move the small arms, ammunition, rifles and field guns from Maimaicheng to Ulaan Baater, then over motor vehicles to Pingdichuan, to a station on the Beijing-Suiyuan railway all the way over to Fengzheng. It was a heavy haul to be sure: 5,000 cases of petroleum, 1,000 boxes of ammunition, 15,000 rifles, 15 million rounds of rifle ammunition, 27 colt machine guns, 630,000 machine gun ammunition, 1,000 entrenching tools, 30.000 hand grenades, and 100 poods of explosives. Another haul in 1925 included 64,000 rifles, 15.000 carbines, 72 million rounds of rifle and carbine ammunition, 189 machine guns, 6.45 million rounds of machine gun ammunition, 66 field guns, 18,000 revolvers, 5 million rounds of revolver ammunition, 50 field kitchens, 150 twowheel carts, and 16,000 swords. With a new supply line, Feng Yuxiang would distance himself from Zhang Zuolin. The triumvirate was becoming undone and a new war was looming. 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. While it seemed a decent compromise had been established with the triumvirate of Zhang Zuolin, Duan Qirui and Feng Yuxiang, dark clouds were emerging. The Guominjun and Kuomintang were both getting in bed with the Reds and soon everyone would be mobilizing for another grand war. 

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By taking the lead among major cities in scrapping all restrictions on homebuying, Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, and Xi'an of Shaanxi province have set the tone in terms of effecting measures that boost market confidence and help the market to stabilize, property experts said on Thursday.5月9日，房地产专家周四表示，在主要城市中，华东地区浙江省省会杭州和陕西省西安市率先取消了所有购房限制措施，为提振市场信心、帮助市场稳定的措施定下了基调。All the previous limits on home purchases in Hangzhou were canceled on Thursday. Non-locals who own residential properties in the city can apply for permanent resident status, said a seven-item notice published on the website of the local bureau of housing security and real estate management on Thursday.此前杭州的所有购房限制均于5月9日被取消了。5月9日，杭州市住房保障和房产管理局网站上发布了一则通知，包括在杭州拥有住宅房产的非本地人可以申请永久居民身份等七条措施。"Hangzhou is the first Chinese city to lift all existing curbs posed on homebuying after April 30, when the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held a tone-setting conference calling for measures to digest housing inventories and optimize new supplies," said Yan Yuejin, director of Shanghai-based E-house China Research and Development Institution.位于上海的易居研究院研究总监严跃进说：“4月30日，中共中央政治局召开会议，为房地产政策定调，要求采取措施消化住房库存，优化新增供应，杭州是4月30日之后第一个取消所有现有购房限制措施的中国城市。”"Behind the easing policies are visible home price drops and withered transactions," said Li Yujia, chief researcher at the Guangdong Planning Institute's residential policy research center.广东省住房政策研究中心首席研究员李宇嘉说：“宽松政策的背后是明显的房价下跌和成交萎缩。”"All of the city's 10 districts reported declines on their average trading prices of pre-owned homes in April, ranging from 2 percent to 21 percent," said Li, citing data from the Beike Research Institute in Hangzhou.李宇嘉援引杭州贝壳研究院的数据说：“4月份，全市10个区的二手房平均交易价格都出现了下降，降幅从2%到21%不等。”Data from the China Index Academy showed a transaction downturn in the new homes market, suggesting similar measures are needed to activate potential demand.中指研究院的数据显示，新房市场交易低迷，这表明需要采取类似措施来激活潜在需求。Hangzhou's bold move may inspire easing in other cities or their districts, especially second-tier cities, that have tight restrictions on home purchases, said Gao Yuansheng, executive vice-president of the China Index Academy's East China region.中指研究院华东大区常务副总高院生表示，杭州的大胆举措可能会激励其他城市或其所在区域，尤其是二线城市，继续优化限购政策。Citing data from the China Index Academy, Gao said strict limits are still in place in housing markets across cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen of Guangdong province as well as some core districts of cities like Guangzhou of Guangdong province, Tianjin.高院生援引中指研究院的数据说，北京市、上海市、广东省深圳市等城市以及广东省广州市、天津市等城市的一些核心区仍对住房市场实行严格限制。Like Hangzhou, Xi'an lifted all its homebuying requirements on Thursday afternoon. The new policy is expected to ease pressure on the city in Northwest China to destock its housing inventories, said Zhang Hongwei, founder of Jingjian Consulting.与杭州一样，西安也在5月9日下午取消了所有购房要求。镜鉴咨询创始人张宏伟说，新政策有望缓解中国西北部城市的住房库存压力。set the tone定调housing inventories房产库存

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①Harvest of renowned Longjing tea begins in east China②Beijing's Olympic venues thrive year-round after bustling winter season③China's online senior university launches new open classes④Shanghai has over 2,000 km of roads allowing autonomous driving tests⑤China Hospitality Association urges greater convenience for global travelers⑥New Zealand glaciers continuously shrinking: snowline survey⑧North China's Hebei releases first all-season birdwatching map

Professor Gary Saul Morson of Northwestern University joins the podcast to discuss his recent article in The New York Review of Books about “Russian exceptionalism.” Gary explains what Eurasianism is, to what extent it motivates the decisions and ideology of the Kremlin, and how to think about the history of Russia's ideas about the Westin the context of Russia and Ukraine's futures.--Timestamps:(00:00) - Intro (02:00) – Eurasianism(17:00) – What does Putin think/believe(28:06) – Russia's views of the East/China(32:32) - Russian exceptionalism--Referenced in the Show:Link to Gary's piece: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/02/22/russian-exceptionalism-foundations-of-eurasianism/--CI Site: cognitive.investmentsJacob Site: jacobshapiro.comJacob Twitter: x.com/JacobShapSubscribe to the Newsletter: bit.ly/weekly-sitrep--Cognitive Investments is an investment advisory firm, founded in 2019 that provides clients with a nuanced array of financial planning, investment advisory and wealth management services. We aim to grow both our clients' material wealth (i.e. their existing financial assets) and their human wealth (i.e. their ability to make good strategic decisions for their business, family, and career).--Disclaimer: Cognitive Investments LLC (“Cognitive Investments”) is a registered investment advisor. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Cognitive Investments and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure.The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and it should not be relied on as such. It should not be considered a solicitation to buy or an offer to sell a security. It does not take into account any investor's particular investment objectives, strategies, tax status or investment horizon. You should consult your attorney or tax advisorThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacyPodtrac - https://analytics.podtrac.com/privacy-policy-gdrp

"Indonesia is not of the scale of China and India. And some people argue that India and China are so vast that you can almost consider: North China, South China, East China and different parts of the world. But because Indonesia normally gets lumped into ASEAN, right? People think about, well, I don't want single country risk with a country of this size. And so that's where the differentiation came out. Nonetheless, this is our thesis. And we believe that the last 10 years have proven that thesis. So we continue to double down on that thesis. Again, we've invested in companies that are regional that come into Indonesia." - Adrian Li Fresh out of the studio, Adrian Li, founder and managing partner of AC Ventures joined us in a conversation to delve into the dynamics of the venture capital scene in Indonesia. He commenced by tracing his entrepreneurial journey, which spanned from the United States to China, and ultimately to Southeast Asia, culminating in his transition to venture capitalist. From there, he shed light on the investment thesis of AC Ventures, their decade of investing that led to their recent successful raise of US$210m to their 5th fund. He provided an in-depth analysis of the entire venture capital landscape in Indonesia, discussing its evolution over time. To conclude, Adrian shared his vision for AC Ventures, focusing on their intensified commitment to nurturing startups in Indonesia and across the broader Southeast Asian region. Episode Highlights: [0:44] Quote of the Day from Adrian Li #QOTD [1:16] Introduction: Adrian Li, Founder & Managing Partner, AC Ventures. [2:27] How did Adrian start his career? [4:36] Adrian's first entrepreneurial pursuit till his move to China & then Southeast Asia. [8:13] The origin story of AC Ventures. [10:10] The three key things he looks for when evaluating investment opportunities. [13:52] AC Ventures, their perspective on the Indonesian market and their investment thesis. [17:35] Typical day for a VC like Adrian Li [19:23] The red flags that Adrian Li watched out for in founders & startup teams. [21:14] The startup class of 2021 vs the class of 2023. [24:40] The Indonesia Venture Capital Report 2023 by AC Ventures and Bain & Co. [25:22] How investors are adjusting their strategies to the Indonesian market. [27:24] Investor preferences, unit economics and valuations on the Indonesian market. [29:11] The challenges that the Indonesian startups face and how they are adapting to them. [32:00] The verticals that are working in the Indonesian market. [34:43] Indonesia's regulatory environment is supportive of startups. [37:01] The exit landscape for startups in Indonesia. [41:48] The Indonesia startup landscape after the ZIRP era. [45:12] The one thing that Adrian Li knows that very few do about VC in Indonesia. [47:38] In-country VCs vs regional VCs in Southeast Asia. [49:43] How should investors perceive Indonesia as a single market like China & India? [51:29] Can foreign entrepreneurs thrive in the Indonesia startup ecosystem? [53:22] What does great look like for AC Ventures? [54:24] Closing Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.

Dr. Zhao Ma, Associate Professor of Modern Chinese History and Culture, Head of the Chinese Section Washington University St. Louis joins Tom and Megan in studio discussing the new World's Fair exhibit opening and the focus of the Chinese at the fair. 

This week on the show, Fareed speaks with London School of Economics professor of international relations Fawaz Gerges on fears of a widening war in the Middle East after U.S. & Britain strike the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen and as the strife heats up between Israel and Hezbollah (who are also Iran-backed). Next, Bonny Lin of the Center for Strategic & International Studies talks to Fareed about this weekend's Taiwanese national election and China's response to it. Then, how to escape from North Korea. Fareed sits down to discuss "Beyond Utopia", a film about one family's treacherous journey out of North Korea, with the director Madeleine Gavin and producer Sue Mi Terry. Finally, Ukraine's Minister for Digital Transformation Mikhail Fedorov explains to Fareed how his government is making it so Ukrainians can pay their taxes, report war damage, cross national borders and much more - all on an app on their phone. GUESTS:Fawaz Gerges@FawazGerges; Bonny Lin; Sue Mi Terry @SueMiTerry; Madeleine Gavin; Mykhailo Fedorov. Air date: 01/14/24 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shanghai is determined to consolidate its leading position in intelligent manufacturing by building 70 new intelligent factories this year, and 200 new intelligent factories and 20 benchmark factories by the end of 2025, official sources said on Thursday.官方人士周四表示，上海决心巩固智能制造领先地位，今年将新建智能工厂70个，到2025年底新建智能工厂200个，标杆工厂20个。Some 70 new intelligent factories covering key industries, including automotive, high-end equipment and electronic information, will be built this year in an effort to achieve systematic optimization and overall enhancement in products' full life-cycles, manufacturing procedures and various supply-chain processes, said Zhang Ying, director of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization, during a smart factory construction promotion conference in Shanghai on Wednesday.1月3日，智能工厂建设推进会在上海举办，上海市经济和信息化委员会主任张颖在会上表示，今年将新建70家左右智能工厂，覆盖汽车、高端装备、电子信息等重点行业，实现产品全生命周期、制造流程、各供应链的系统优化和全面提升。The East China cosmopolis is the nation's largest integrated solutions provider for intelligent manufacturing systems and one of the core equipment industrial clusters of intelligent manufacturing.坐落在华东地区的上海是全国最大的智能制造系统综合解决方案提供商，也是智能制造核心装备产业集群之一。As manufacturing is critical for China's overall development, intelligent manufacturing is vital in enhancing core competitiveness of the nation's industries. It also plays an important role in accelerating new industrialization, said Chen Jie, vice-mayor of Shanghai.制造业是我国发展全局的关键，智能制造对于提升国家产业核心竞争力至关重要。上海市副市长陈杰表示，智能制造对加快新型工业化也发挥着重要作用。"Therefore, it is an inevitable choice for megacities like Shanghai to take smart factories as a key area for the digital transformation of the manufacturing sector, and to accelerate the construction of smart factories," Chen said.陈杰说：“因此，对于上海这样的特大城市来说，把智能工厂作为制造业数字化转型的重点领域，加快智能工厂建设是必然选择。”In the past few years, Shanghai has consolidated its development of intelligent factories, expanding the ecosystem of intelligent manufacturing. It has also gradually improved the toolbox of innovative development policies.With equal focus on both quantity and quality, Shanghai's intelligent manufacturing has developed well with all-around achievements to show for it, Zhang said.近年来，上海巩固智能工厂发展，拓展智能制造生态圈。创新发展政策工具箱逐步完善。张颖说，上海智能制造数量与质量并重，发展良好，各项成果有目共睹。"Shanghai has so far built 19 national-level smart factories, 100 municipal-level smart factories and more than 1,000 intelligent manufacturing applications. More than 70 percent of the city's industrial enterprises above the designated size, or with an annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($2.79 million) or above each, have conducted intelligent factory evaluation," said Zhang.张颖表示：“上海迄今已建成国家级智能工厂19家、市级智能工厂100家、智能制造应用1000多个。全市规模以上工业企业70%以上或年收入达2000万元以上或以上，已进行智能工厂评估。”According to Zhang, the construction of intelligent factories has improved industrial enterprises' quality and efficiency. Production efficiency of Shanghai's intelligent factories has increased by more than 50 percent on average, while operational costs fell by more than 30 percent and energy consumption was down by nearly 14 percent.张颖提到，智能工厂建设提升了工业企业质量和效益。上海智能工厂生产效率平均提升50%以上，运营成本下降30%以上，能耗下降近14%。"With support and help from various government divisions, we have constantly improved our intelligent manufacturing, and finally reached a high level of automation," said Xu Xiaoying, director of operations at Aptiv Electrical Centers (Shanghai) Co. According to Xu, enterprises are increasingly benefiting from the integrated resources and industrial chain created by the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization.安波福电气中心（上海）有限公司运营总监徐小英表示：“在政府各部门的支持和帮助下，我们不断提升智能制造水平，最终达到了较高的自动化水平，市经信委打造的整合资源和产业链惠及越来越多企业。”。Through accelerated cultivation of a batch of world-class intelligent manufacturing system integration businesses, Shanghai has seen this segment's output value exceed 60 billion yuan, while the industrial scale of intelligent manufacturing equipment sector has surpassed 100 billion yuan, Zhang said. For example, Shanghai's current robot density in key industries is 383 units per 10,000 people, the highest worldwide, said Zhang.张颖表示，通过加快培育一批世界一流的智能制造系统集成企业，上海智能制造系统集成产业产值突破600亿元，智能制造装备产业规模突破1000亿元。例如，目前上海重点行业机器人密度为每万人383台，为世界第一。Robot density is a key gauge to measure the adoption of automation in manufacturing, and is expressed by the number of robots per 10,000 people working in the manufacturing industry.机器人密度是衡量制造业自动化程度的关键指标，以制造业中每万名员工拥有的机器人数量来表示。"By laying out detailed plans for advanced manufacturing and modern services, Shanghai looks to strengthen in-depth integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation, promote a new model of industrialization and the high-quality development of key industrial chains, thereby serving as a role model for a modern industrial system led by technological innovation," said Qian Feng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.中国工程院院士钱峰表示：“上海通过制定先进制造业和现代服务业详细规划，加强了科技创新和产业创新深度融合，在推动新型工业化模式和重点产业链高质量发展过程中发挥了引领作用。manufacturer英/ˌmæn.jəˈfæk.tʃər.ər/美/ˌmæn.jəˈfæk.tʃɚ.ɚ/noun 制造商megacity英 /ˈmeɡ.ə.sɪt.i/ 美 /ˈmeɡ.ə.sɪt̬.i/noun 超大城市

Three new high-speed train routes became operational on Tuesday, promoting social and economic development, improving the quality of people's lives and showcasing China's expertise in building high-speed railways in varied and difficult terrain, according to the operator, China State Railway Group.据中国国家铁路集团，三条新的高速列车路线已于周二投入运营，促进了社会和经济发展，提高了人民生活质量，并展示中国在多变复杂地形中建设高速铁路的专业知识。A sleek new bullet train tore through the rugged terrain of southwestern China's Sichuan province at 350 kilometers per hour on Tuesday, completing a high-speed loop in the southern part of the province.周二，一列闪亮的高铁列车以每小时350公里的速度穿过四川省崎岖的地形，完成了四川省南部的高铁环路。The 261-km line will boost tourism, linking the provincial capital of Chengdu with Zigong, which is famed for its dinosaur fossils, and the white spirits brewing city of Yibin.这条全长261公里的高铁将促进旅游业的发展，将省会成都与以恐龙化石闻名的自贡和以五粮液出名的宜宾连接起来。In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of southern China, another high-speed route, designed for speeds up to 350 km/h, also began operations on Tuesday.在中国南部的粤港澳大湾区，另一条设计时速高达350公里的高速路线也于周二开始运营。The 162-km line connecting Shantou and Shanwei in Guangdong province is significant as a coastal route within China's expansive high-speed rail network.这条全长162公里的线路连接广东省汕头市和汕尾市，是中国庞大的高铁网络中重要的沿海线。On Tuesday, a substantial section of the line, linking Shantou South with Shanwei, was inaugurated. The final 20 km of the entire route, incorporating an undersea tunnel in Shantou Coastal Bay, is currently under construction. The timetable for its full opening has not been undisclosed.周二，连接汕头南和汕尾铁路的大部分沿线站点开通。整条铁路的最后20公里，包括汕头海湾的海底隧道，目前正在建设中。全面开放的时间尚未公布。The third high-speed rail line inaugurated on Tuesday is located in East China's Fujian province. The 92-km line, designed for speeds up to 250 km/h, connects Longyan and Wuping in Fujian. It is a pivotal segment of a larger railway network linking Fujian with Guangdong.周二开通的第三条高铁线路位于中国东部的福建省。这条全长92公里的线路设计时速高达250公里/小时，连接福建龙岩和武平，是连接福建和广东的大型铁路网的关键部分。The three lines, though located in different parts of China, all involved construction under challenging conditions.这三条线路虽然位于中国不同地区，但在建设时，都克服了在极具挑战性的条件限制。According to China State Railway Group, the country now has trains running at the highest commercial speeds and boasts the greatest variety of operational scenarios, thus transforming the nation from a follower of high-speed rail development to a true leader in technologies.据中国国家铁路集团，中国现存的高速列车的运行速度是最高商业速度，运营场景最为多样化，中国已经从高铁发展的追随者，转变为真正的技术领导者。China has developed the most comprehensive technologies and gained the richest railway management experience and operational know-how in the world, according to the company.据该公司称，中国已经研发了世界上最全面的技术，拥有世界上最丰富的铁路管理经验和运营知识。Zhao Xianghong, deputy director of the science, technology and information research institute of the China Academy of Railway Sciences, said, "China is a world leader in some aspects of high-speed railway development."铁道科学研究院科学技术信息研究所副所长赵向红表示：“中国的高速铁路发展在某些方面已经处于世界领先地位。”In Sichuan, the engineering feat involved tackling the notoriously challenging topography, featuring treacherous mountains, deep valleys and snaking rivers. As Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai once wrote, traversing Sichuan's roads was akin to "scaling the heavens".在四川，这项浩荡的工程需要应对具有挑战性的地形，包括险峻的山脉、深谷和蜿蜒的河流。正如唐代诗人李白曾经写过的那样，进入四川的道路“难于上青天”。But engineers conquered the terrain, building 231 bridges and 29 tunnels along the new line, surpassing past global challenges in high-speed rail construction in the mountains, China State Railway Group said.但中国国家铁路集团表示，工程师们克服了地形造成的困难，在新线路沿线建造了231座桥梁、29条隧道，解决了过去全球在山区建设高铁的挑战。In Fujian, the new line passes through a national park, along gas pipelines and through the karst area, which made construction challenging. Engineers tackled the problems by adopting innovative methods, said Li Hongbin, a senior engineer at China Railway Design Corp.在福建，新线路穿过国家公园、天然气管道和喀斯特地貌，施工极具挑战性。工程师们通过创新，采取新方法，解决了这些问题，中国铁路设计公司高级工程师李洪斌（音译）说。Tunnels and bridges account for about 83 percent of the newly opened section, he said.他说，隧道和桥梁约占新开通路段的83%。The construction of the line in Guangdong also presented challenges due to the coastal environment, characterized by high salinity and humidity. Overcoming these difficulties in the complex hydrogeological setting was crucial. Technical hurdles were addressed through the construction of key infrastructure elements, including the Aojiang River Mega Bridge and the Huilai Tunnel, according to China State Railway Group.由于铁路沿海，具有高盐度和高湿度的特征，这给广东线的建设也带来了挑战。在复杂的水文地质环境中克服这些困难至关重要。据中国国家铁路集团称，通过建设包括鳌江特大桥、惠来隧道在内的关键基础设施，建筑团队解决了技术障碍。The expanding network of China's high-speed railway has greatly benefited people living along the route. Luo Dan, a Chengdu native, is planning a holiday by train over the New Year.中国高铁网络不断扩大，使沿线人民受益匪浅。成都本地人罗丹（音译）正计划在新年期间乘火车度假。"The new line in Sichuan forms a high-speed loop linking several tourism attractions in the province, such as Zigong and Leshan. I won't be driving to the places, since the train service is so fast and convenient now," said the 33-year-old. “四川的新线路形成了一条高速环线，连接了自贡和乐山等省内多个旅游景点。我不会开车去这些地方，因为现在的火车服务非常方便快捷，”这位33岁的乘客表示。Four trains will run daily on the route starting on Jan 1, according to China State Railway Group.据中国国家铁路集团，从1月1日开始，每天将有四列火车在这条路线上运行。Karst arean. 喀斯特溶岩地区

Snow: Transportation, water supply services face pressure雨雪天气：交通、供水服务面临压力China's northern and central regions are experiencing heavy snowfall and plummeting temperatures, which are posing serious challenges for public transportation and water supply services, and have prompted many schools to suspend classes.华北地区和中部地区正在经历一轮降雪和降温过程，给公共交通和供水服务带来严峻挑战，多所学校宣布停课。The National Meteorological Center on Monday renewed its blue warning — the lowest level of alert in a four-tier system — for cold waves across the country.中国国家气象局周一继续发布寒潮蓝色预警，该预警为四级气象预警中的最低一级。From Wednesday through Friday, blizzards are forecast in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, with some areas expected to see more than 10 centimeters of snow cover on Sunday, the center said.气象局预报，周三到周五，山西、陕西、河南等省份将出现暴雪天气，周日，局部地区积雪厚度将超过10厘米。The weather will bring a significant drop in temperatures across several regions, including Northwest and Southwest China and parts of South China. Some areas may see temperatures plummet by more than 14 C.寒潮将引起全国多地大幅降温，包括西北、西南以及局部南方地区。一些地区的气温下降幅度将超过14℃。Beijing's first snowfall this winter arrived early on Monday, covering the Chinese capital in a mantle of white overnight and plunging the city into freezing temperatures, with even colder weather looming this week.周一凌晨，北京迎来了今年冬天的初雪，一夜之间，首都银装素裹，地冻天寒。而本周内，北京的气温还会继续下降。The city typically sees its first snow of the season between late November and February. More snowfall is expected this week, with temperatures forecast to plummet as low as -20 C.北京的冬季初雪一般在每年的11月底到次年的2月出现。本周内北京还将降雪，预计温度将降至-20℃。The Chinese capital last saw similarly frigid weather on Jan 7, 2021, when the mercury dropped to -19.6 C. Beijing's all-time low of -27.4 C — a record set on Feb 22, 1966 — remains unbroken.北京上一次出现类似的寒冷天气还是在2021年1月7日，当时的温度低至-19.6℃。而有史以来，北京的最低温度是1966年2月22日的-27.4℃。On Monday, Beijing's weather bureau warned of road icing in large parts of the city, with authorities restricting traffic on some expressways or partially closing sections.周一，北京市气象台发布道路预警信号，对部分高速公路采取交通管制措施，同时封闭部分路段。By 10 am, more than 60 flights had been canceled at the Beijing Capital International Airport. Railway authorities enforced speed limits on lines connecting Beijing and Guangzhou, Guangdong province, causing delays in train arrival and departure schedules. Services on more than 180 bus routes in the city were also suspended in the morning.截至上午10点，北京首都国际机场已有60多个航班被取消。铁路部门对京广高铁上下行列车采取限速运行措施，导致途经该区段的部分旅客列车晚点运行。北京近180条公交线路停运。Beijing's subway ran additional trains during peak hours on Monday, and extend the duration of its services on urban lines by 40 minutes and on suburban lines by one hour in anticipation of traffic disruptions caused by the heavy snowfall.为应对大雪造成的交通中断，北京地铁在周一高峰时段增开列车，延长市区线路高峰运力40分钟，郊区线路高峰运力1小时。In Central China's Henan province, schools suspended classes for the day in the provincial capital of Zhengzhou, which recorded 14.2 millimeters of precipitation with a snow depth of 10 cm, as well as in Anyang.在中部地区的河南省，郑州和安阳的学校采取临时停课措施。郑州降雪量为14.2毫米，积雪深度10厘米。Lyu Xiaona, chief forecaster at the provincial meteorological office, warned of road icing, frozen power lines, low temperatures and strong winds. "Henan was expected to see two rounds of snowfall. The first spell happened on Sunday. The second is expected to start on Tuesday night," Lyu said.河南省气象台首席预报员吕晓娜提醒，预计将出现道路结冰、电线结冰、低温和强风现象。“预计河南将出现两轮降雪。周日将出现第一轮降雪。第二轮预计将于周二晚上开始。” 吕晓娜说。In Jinan, the capital of East China's Shandong province, authorities issued an advisory recommending off-peak working schedule to alleviate traffic pressure on the roads. Government departments and other organizations were urged to implement flexible working hours, except for essential services. Many schools held classes online on Monday.山东省济南市发布“应对强降雪天气实行错峰上下班倡议书”，建议错峰上班，缓解道路交通压力。除保障城市正常运转和便民服务岗位外，其他机关及企事业单位人员实行错峰上下班。周一，多校实施线上教学。Northeast China's Heilongjiang province was hit particularly hard over the weekend, with temperatures dropping between -25 C and -30 C in some areas on Sunday. The frigid weather is expected to last the whole week.本周末，黑龙江省受到极寒天气的严重影响，周日部分地区的气温降至-25℃至-30℃。未来一周，极寒天气预计将持续。Plummeting temperatures are posing serious challenges to water supply services. Emergency repair teams have been dispatched to areas where water pipes have been reported frozen, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.气温骤降给供水服务带来了严峻挑战。据中国中央电视台报道，紧急维修队已派往出现水管冻结的地点。In North China's Shanxi province, heavy snowfall and low temperatures have disrupted public transportation services. Special traffic control measures have been implemented on highways covered in snow, CCTV reported.在山西省，大雪和低温影响了公共交通服务。据中央电视台报道，交警对积雪路段以及结冰路段实施交通管控措施。Blizzard英/'blɪzəd/ 美/'blɪzɚd/n. 暴风雪

Rep. Austin Scott says Biden administration needs to have an honest conversation with Americans about who they've allowed to come across the southern border freely for last three years, as border centers filled with people from Middle East, China, “not just the Western Hemisphere”. The Georgia Congressman says, Vice-President “Kamala Harris is the one that made the borders how they are and then Secretary Mayorkas refuses to acknowledge the problems down there. And if you go down there and you go through and you see the detention centers, people think that these are people that are coming from Mexico, and certainly some of them are, but I'm telling you, when you get down there, and you see who's who's actually in detention, I mean, they're coming from the Middle East, they're coming from China, they're coming from all over the world. Not not just the Western Hemisphere.”See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The National Security Hour with Col. John Mills Ret. – In this discussion with Brigadier General (Retired) Blaine Holt, we delve into the current state of military and geopolitical affairs. We examine Israel's tactics against Hamas, the impact of Houthi missiles in Yemen, and China's strategic maneuvers. Additionally, I explore the influence of "wokeness" on the U.S. Military and its implications for our constitutional values. Join us for a...

The National Security Hour with Col. John Mills Ret. – In this discussion with Brigadier General (Retired) Blaine Holt, we delve into the current state of military and geopolitical affairs. We examine Israel's tactics against Hamas, the impact of Houthi missiles in Yemen, and China's strategic maneuvers. Additionally, I explore the influence of "wokeness" on the U.S. Military and its implications for our constitutional values. Join us for a...

The 2023 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit began Wednesday with a video speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the opening address, the Chinese leader highlighted the importance of creating a shared digital future.

The 19th Asian Games Village officially opened on Saturday morning, welcoming the first batch of Chinese delegates to Hangzhou, the capital of East China's Zhejiang province.9月16日上午，第19届亚运村正式对外开放，首批中国代表团来到中国东部浙江省省会杭州市。Speaking before the opening ceremony, Ng Ser Miang, vice-president of the International Olympic Committee, said the slogan of the Hangzhou Games, “Heart to Heart, @Future”, is a very appropriate one. He added that this is the place where at least 12,000 athletes from all over Asia will compete very seriously and keenly.国际奥委会副主席Ng Ser Miang在亚运村对外开放仪式举行前说道，杭州亚运会口号，“心心相融，@未来”，取的非常恰当。他还说，全亚洲超过12000名运动员将齐聚这里，严肃而热情地进行比赛。According to him, the upcoming Hangzhou Asian Games will further enhance global collaboration and cooperation. “This Games will provide a great opportunity, in this beautiful city of Hangzhou, for these athletes to share experiences, their culture and diversity, heart to heart and under the same roof,” he added.他认为，即将到来的杭州亚运会将进一步促进全球合作。他说，“杭州是一个美丽的地方。这次盛会将为运动员提供绝佳的机会，在同一片天空下坦诚相待，互相分享经验、文化与多样性。”“We are standing here together in a truly magnificent Asian Games Village,” said Vinod Kumar Tiwari, acting director general of the Olympic Council of Asia, at the opening ceremony. “I regard this Asian Games Village as Olympic-standard and even more so,” he said.亚奥理事会代理总干事Vinod Kumar Tiwari说道，“我们目前所在的杭州亚运村棒极了，我认为它至少达到了奥运会的水准。”Tiwari said he has been visiting Hangzhou for the past eight years, and has been impressed by the plans and preparations made for the 19th Asian Games, especially the Games Village.Tiwari表示，自己在过去的八年里多次到访杭州，杭州为此次亚运会所做的筹划和准备让他印象深刻，尤其是亚运村的建设。Made up of the Athletes' Village, the Technical Officials' Village and the Media Village, the Asian Games Village will welcome and play host to more than 20,000 people, providing accommodation, catering, transportation, cultural, technological, medical and commercial services, among others, for them.杭州亚运村由运动员村、技术官员村、媒体村组成。本届亚运会举办期间，亚运村将迎接并为20000余人提供住宿、餐饮、交通、文化、科技、医疗、商业等全方位服务。Such innovative concepts and arrangements have never before been seen in the history of the Asian Games or even the Olympic Games, Tiwari said.Tiwari认为，此次杭州亚运会的创新性理念和安排在亚运会甚至奥运会的历史上都是前所未有的。“It highlights the unity and solidarity of the Olympic movement in Asia,” he added.“这彰显了亚洲奥林匹克运动的统一和团结。”China is sending 886 athletes to the Asian Games, which opens on Saturday. During the Games, the Chinese athletes, 437 women and 449 men, will compete in 407 events in 38 sports.中国将派出886名运动员参加本周六开幕的亚运会。亚运会期间，中国运动员将参加38个项目的407场比赛，其中女子437人，男子449人。Chen Yufei, Olympic badminton champion, said she is looking forward to her stay in the Asian Games Village.羽毛球奥运冠军陈雨菲表示，她非常期待住进奥运村。“Competing on home turf will be very exciting for me,” said Chen, who is a Hangzhou native. “It will mean pressure, but it will also serve as motivation.”陈雨菲是杭州本地人。她说，“我很兴奋能在家乡参加。这意味着压力，但也将成为我的动力。”“My goal is to see the national flag raised and the national anthem played on the athletics field,” said Zhu Yaming, men's Olympic triple jump medalist, who is aiming for a gold in the upcoming competition.男子三级跳奥运奖牌获得者朱亚明的目标是在即将到来的比赛中获得金牌。他说，“我的目标是看到运动场上升起中国国旗，奏响中国国歌。”Apart from the Asian Games Village in Hangzhou, five sub-villages in the cities of Ningbo, Wenzhou, Jinhua, Tonglu county and Chun'an county also opened on the same day.除了杭州亚运村，位于浙江省宁波市、温州市、金华市、桐庐县、淳安县的5个分村也在同一天正式开放。Over 12,000 athletes from 45 Asian countries and regions will participate in the 19th Asian Games, the largest ever in the event's history, in terms of the number of participants.本届杭州亚运会将是亚运会历史上参赛人数最多的一届，将有来自亚洲45个国家和地区的12000多名运动员参加比赛。Asian Games Villagen.亚运村Athletes' Villagen.运动员村Technical Officials' Villagen.技术官员村Media Villagen.媒体村

The country is not just facing record-high levels of youth unemployment - more than 20% of 16-24 year olds in urban areas at the latest count. It is also facing growing discontent among many young people about the type of work they can find, often involving long hours, no overtime pay, and insecure contracts. It is prompting some to opt out of the rat race altogether. And many experts think the current problems aren't just prompted by the global slowdown. They're structural. Even the government's economic advisors think it may be time for a new economic plan if China is to avoid years of stagnation. That change could slow and painful though. Will Xi Jinping and the country's other Communist Party leaders go for it? Produced and presented by Ed Butler. (Image: College students choose jobs at a job fair for 2023 graduates in Huai 'an City, East China's Jiangsu Province. 01/07/23. Photo credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Image)

笔记： make landfall in 登陆landfall 是一个名词，表示到达陆地，make landfall 可以用来表示台风登陆，in 后面接登陆的地点。 Typhoon Doksuri made landfall in East China's Fujian province.台风杜苏芮在中国东部的福建省登陆。 The typhoon is expected to make landfall early on Friday. 预期该台风将在周五早些时候登陆。 获取节目完整音频、笔记和片尾的歌曲名，请关注微信公众号「早安英文」，回复“笔记”即可。更多有意思的英语干货等着你！

Typhoon Doksuri has made landfall in east China's Fujian Province, bringing with it powerful winds and heavy rain.

The Crimean bridge is broken and the Black Sea Grain Deal was blown up! Ukraine needs more Drones according to a Google nerd. Finland joins team "good guys". The mainstream media furiously shits its pants over RFK. Voting for No Labels is a vote for or against or inspite of your preferred candidate. The East China theater is heating up faster than the Coastal waters of Florida. Little tiny men inside an American's pants forced him to cross the North Korean border. Finally, Tik Tok coins a new term for depression and it's good for you!PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING ON PAYPAL! WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO KEEP GOINGHuge Thanks to our Fiat Fun Coupon gifting Producers: Millennial Bookkeeper Emily the Sorta Fed HempressEmilyM These fine folks found our donation link!We are also on Cashapp, $mmoshow, and Venmo @mmoshow.The Dirty Jersey Whore strikes a again with his explosive art Victory! Can you beat him? Please send your art to dan@mmo.show & john@mmo.show. Ryle Davis (EPISODE NUMBER BOOOOOOOSTER CLUB, Founder & Participant!) ClipCustodian headloon Dame TrailChicken (Bock Bock Baby) Mr. Robot dag ditchingdollars Ericpp Dirty Jersey Whore billybon3s Boo-bury Jasper89 MaryKateUltra & MakeHeroism (Fun Games live at 7pm Eastern on Sunday 7.23.23) Wiirdo Mr. H Clip Custodian Phifer Cbrooklyn112 This Fed Free group sent in boosts, which are little bits of bitcoin donation, which allows for comments as well. These are read live on the show! For more information on boostagrams, Check out this post. Prove you're not a fed by donating to mmo.show/donate! Still listening on Apple Podcasts or Spotify? Gross. Get yourself a better and more masculine podcast app at NewPodcastApps.comProve you're not a fed by donating to mmo.show/donate!  ..........FRONTLINE BATTLE PLANS...........  Shownotes Ep 81 Tuesday, July 18, 2023  TITLES             Wine Bag             Putinologist             World War Pre            Rest and Be Soft  Openings             “Yes, sir. I’ll do it.”             “Sorry I wasn’t in the background going ah ah ah ah ah ah”            Ukraine             CNN Drone War w/ Eric Schmidt, fmr Google CEO  China             Pacific Military DrillExport Control Follow Up North Korea             Jake Sullivan on North KoreaCNN on Defector to North Korea CNN on Disciplinary Action  No Labels             CNN on No Labels Party  Climate             Heat Seekers Cash Bail             Illinois Cash Bail                       Michigan Harassment Bill             FOX Soul on Michigan Harassment Bill Michigan House Bill 4474  TikTok Trends             BedrottingSTAY ON THE OFFENSIVE!

 It's time for the Comic Talk Headlines with Generally Nerdy! This last week we have been graced with ALL THE GAMES! Seriously this is the most gaming heavy episode I have ever done. This is a good time to be a gamer it would seem... unless you are a Sony or Capcom fan perhaps. AND other news too.Tune in Wednesdays for the regular show and Saturdays for the re-post of the Friday night LIVE SHOW. Plus, don't forget to subscribe for more fresh content.    MusicNew Music/VideoKim Dracula - Death Before Designer https://youtu.be/DGxl9bH34Ps Slipknot - Memories (Adderall Rough Cut) https://youtu.be/eftIr13jFUo NEW EP FROM SLIPKNOT!! https://slipknot1.lnk.to/AdderallEP Blackbraid - The Spirit Returns https://youtu.be/OVwLojBW4Wc King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - https://youtu.be/IpUKO-WKaqo DragonTours/FestivalsBotch - Converge and Cave In have been added to 2 of the reunion shows. Boston MA show and Sayreville NJ shows. https://www.stubhub.com/botch-tickets/performer/150035280/ Static-X - Another US tour. Support from Sevendust and Dope. Starts Oct. 6 in Houston TX through Nov 1 in LA.https://www.stubhub.com/static-x-tickets/performer/150042085/ Pantera - The LoG tour JUST announced the openers for the US leg. S.N.A.F.U, Child Bite, Flesh Hoarder, Spirit in the Room, King Parrot, all set to be openers for different chunks of the tour. https://www.stubhub.com/lamb-of-god-tickets/performer/133425 New England Metal and Hardcore Fest - Back for the first time since 2016. Sept 15 & 16. Notable acts: LoG, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Vein.fm, 200 Stab Wounds, Undeath, and TONS more. https://metalinjection.net/tour-dates/new-england-metal-and-hardcore-festival-returns-feat-lamb-of-god-hatebreed-shadows-fall-more Tenacious D - Sept 6th in Charlotte NC through Sept 15 in Austin TX. https://www.stubhub.com/tenacious-d-tickets/performer/130929 Jinjer - North american off dates from their trek with Disturbed. Sept 7th in Huntsville AL through Sept 25 in Vancouver. https://www.stubhub.com/jinjer-tickets/performer/100296673 Reg ‘ol NewsSlipknot - Craig has left the band… no official reason why, but he already has a replacement. That and clown is currently not on tour. Staying at home to take care of his wife.Blackbraid - Blackbraid II To be self-released on July 7th, 2023. Blackbraid is a Native American Black Metal solo project hailing from the Adirondack Mountains. SuggestsBlackbraid I - Blackbraid's debut album, Blackbraid I, was released on August 26, 2022. Krieger, a multi-instrumentalist, wrote and tracked the entire album apart from the drums, which were tracked by his friend Neil Schneider. Schneider also recorded, mixed, and mastered Blackbraid I. The cover art was done by Adrian Baxter.Gaming/TechFollow-ups/CorrectionsSpider-Man 2 - Release date of Oct 20. Pre-order starts June 16th. Pre-order bonuses are Arachknight suit for Peter, Shadow Spider suit for Miles, web grabber gadget and 3 extra skill points. Collector's edition will feature a Venom VS Spider-Men statue amongst other bits. https://cosmicbook.news/marvels-spider-man-2-gets-release-october-20-on-ps5 Microsoft/Activision - FTC (federal Trade Commission) has filed an injunction to stop Microsoft's purchase of Activision https://www.engadget.com/ftc-expected-to-file-injunction-to-block-microsofts-purchase-of-activision-blizzard-165738788.html Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Sept 26. DLC for one of the most infamous releases of the modern gaming era.Injustice 3 - In all the madness Boon has reassured the community that Injustice 3 is not off the table.https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/injustice-3-netherrealm-ed-boon-tease/ Flight Simulator - DUNE EXPANSION!!! https://youtu.be/YkZj0xbVSkw Mortal Kombat 1 - According to the official MK Discord MK1 will be playable at EVO 2023. https://www.evo.gg/news/mortal-kombat-1-playable-at-evo-2023 TrailersTMNT: Shredder's Revenge - Dimension Shellshock https://youtu.be/DvmwcSyHqu4 Usagi Yojimbo!! Later this year.Sonic Superstars - https://youtu.be/hIGP7Zy9Bx0 classic 2D platforming on switch!!Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - https://youtu.be/6veUl98it9c Squirrel with a Gun - https://youtu.be/hRiRyopVm6Q WTF did I just watch?Star Wars: Outlaws - https://youtu.be/5Gbi7VXeFow definite Serenity vibes.Brawlhalla - https://youtu.be/u_lS6bbp2H8 Master Chief and the Arbiter are joining the cast. Both as full on characters.Clockwork Revolution - https://youtu.be/DDFuhaYxeMU inXile's first outing for parent company microsoft seems to be heavily shaded by fan outcry for a BioShock sequel.Avowed - https://youtu.be/ULsF7B6bFuU Obsidian seems to not be able to do wrong.Lies of P - https://youtu.be/hPOdeLE6d6I goth pinocchio? Sept 19.Reg ‘ol NewsCall of Duty - Nickmercs, Tatman, and Dr Disrespect.Summer Game Fest - - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is coming in early 2024.- Spider-Man 2 gets an October 20, 2023 release date.- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is coming next year.- Mortal Kombat 1 gets a bone-crushing gameplay trailer.- Fortnite Wilds reveals a Transformers crossover.- Sonic Superstars is a new 2D classic Sonic game coming this year.- Alan Wake 2 gets a huge gameplay reveal.- Like a Dragon: Gaiden is coming this November.- Star Trek Infinite is announced.- John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is revealed.- SandLand is a new action game from Akira Toriyama and Bandai Namco.- Palworld is a game like Pokemon but with guns.- The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is coming this fall.- Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is getting a closed beta.- Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a new action RPG.- Baldur's Gate 3 introduces Jason Isaacs as a major villain.- Twisted Metal debuts on Peacock on July 27.- Marvel Snap is getting a new competitive mode.- New trailer for Season 4 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.- Path of Exile 2 gets a gameplay trailer.- Exoprimal is getting a Street Fighter 6 crossover.- Lies of P gets a demo and new release date.- Netflix shares The Witcher Season 3 trailer.- Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 reveals co-op.- Nicolas Cage is coming to Dead By Daylight.- Yes, Your Grace sequel is announced.- Witchfire comes to early access in September.- Remnant 2 release date is revealed.- Immortals of Aveum gets an extended gameplay clip.- Under the Waves gets an August release date.- Honkai Star Rail gets a PS5 release window.- Black Desert Online expansion gets a new trailer.- Lysfanga: The Time-Shift Warrior is a new hack-and-slash game.- FaeFarm gets a release date and PC reveal.- Throne and Liberty gets a new trailer.- Party Animals gets a release date.Ubisoft Forward - Here are the major announcements from the given text:- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora:  - Release date: December 7.  - First story trailer revealed.  - First-person, single-player adventure with optional two-player co-op.- The Crew Motorfest:  - Location: Oahu.  - Release date: September 14.  - Race in cars from different eras.  - Closed beta: July 21 to 23.- Assassin's Creed Nexus VR:  - Play as Ezio, Kassandra, and Connor in VR.  - Release window: Holiday 2023.  - Available on Meta Quest.- Assassin's Creed Codename Jade:  - Mobile game based in China.  - Closed beta registration open.- Assassin's Creed Mirage:  - Story and gameplay deep dive.  - Release date: October 12.  - Focus on stealth-focused combat.- Star Wars: Outlaws:  - Open-world game.  - Story and extended gameplay revealed.  - Release date: Next year.Other announcements include:- Just Dance 2024 release date: October 24.- XDefiant open session from June 21 to 23.- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown deep dive.- Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix release on Netflix in fall.- The Division Resurgence release on Android and iOS in fall.- Skull and Bones closed beta: August 25 to 28.- Jet Set Radio crossover into Roller Champions.- Brawlhalla Master Chief, Combat Evolved crossover.- Free trial of Rocksmith+ on PC and new mobile app.- Riders Republic skateboard add-on release: September 26.- Final Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope DLC with Rayman release in late 2023.Capcom Showcase - Dragon's Dogma 2:Gameplay deep dive trailer.Larger fantasy world and new Pawn system.Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.Pragmata:Delayed indefinitely.Action adventure game.Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy:HD remasters of Ace Attorney 4, 5, and 6.Coming to Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC in early 2024.Exoprimal:New trailer and roadmap revealed.Dino hunting game.Release date: July 14, 2023.Second open beta test from June 16 to June 18.Ghost Trick:Remaster of the game.Demo available now.Coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess:Unveiled at the Xbox showcase.Action and strategy gameplay.Coming to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.Mega Man X DiVE Offline:New mobile and PC game.Play as Mega Man X and other franchise characters.Coming this year to Steam, iOS, and Android.Xbox Showcase and Extended - - Fable reboot: First trailer revealed, Richard Ayoade introduced, available on Xbox Game Pass, no release date announced.- South of Midnight: Compulsion Games' new game, third-person action-adventure in the Bayou, play as Hazel, mythical creatures featured.- Star Wars: Outlaws: Ubisoft's open-world Star Wars game, starring Kay Vess, release date: 2024.- Persona 3 remake and Persona 5 tactics spinoff: Persona 3 Reload (early 2024), Persona 5 Tactica (November 17).- Avowed: First-person RPG by Obsidian Entertainment, Living Lands of Eora showcased, release date: 2024.- Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2: Release window announced (next year), new footage highlighting motion-capture.- Forza Motorsport: Releasing on October 10, Turn 10 Studios rebooting.- Starfield: New trailer showcased.- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty: First major story expansion, release date: September 26, features Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba.- Clockwork Revolution: InXile Entertainment's new game, first-person shooter RPG, steampunk-inspired with time travel, Xbox first-party exclusive.- New Xbox Series S model: Carbon Black color variant, 1TB SSD storage, release date: September 1.Other announcements include:-33 Immortals: Co-op action game for 33 players, releasing in 2024 -Payday 3: Releasing on September 21, 2023, available on Xbox Game Pass.-Sea of Thieves: Crossing over with The Legend of Monkey Island on July 20.-Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: New career opportunities for pilots, landing in 2024.-Fallout 76: New DLC set in Atlantic City, release date not announced.-Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess: Japanese-inspired game, announcement trailer.-The Elder Scrolls Online: Journey to Necrom: Expansion for the MMO, releasing on June 20.-Overwatch 2: Invasion: New story missions and cosmetics, releasing on August 10.-Jusant: Magical climbing puzzle game, releasing in fall 2023.-Still Wakes the Deep: Eerie game about an offshore oil rig worker, releasing in early 2024.-Dungeons of Hinterberg: Cozy RPG with monster fighting and skating, releasing in 2024.-Cities: Skylines II: City-building game, releasing on October 24.-Metaphor: ReFantazio: Atlus' fantasy RPG, releasing in 2024.-Towerborne: New game by Stoic, releasing next year, available on Game Pass.EXTENDED- High on Knife DLC for High on Life: Revealed, horror-themed, story set two years after the game, new weapons, release later this year (purchase required).- The First Descendant crossplay beta: Xbox Series X gameplay showcased, co-op sci-fi shooter, August 22-28 beta, full game release before end of the year.- Hi-Fi Rush - Arcade Challenge update: Meaty update for rhythm action game, new modes (BPM Rush and Power Up! Tower Up!), new photo mode and character customization, release on July 5.- Another Crab's Treasure and more ID@Xbox games on Game Pass: 10 indie games coming to Game Pass at release, including Another Crab's Treasure, Techtonica, Sea of Stars, Harold Halibut, and more.- CD Projekt Red details Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion: Black Market walkthrough, overhauled police system, air dash ability, Keanu Reeves interview.- The Lamplighters League release date: October 3.- Avowed details from game director Carrie Patel: Breakdown of the trailer, premise, characters, combat, size comparison to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and The Outer Worlds.- Towerborne developer diary and post-launch support tease from Stoic Studio.- Fallout 76 Once in a Blue Moon update: June 20 release, glimpse of Atlantic City expansion.- The Elder Scrolls Online - Necrom expansion: Details and June 20 release.- Phasmophobia coming to Xbox Series X: Early access with cross-platform play in August.- Capcom details PvE content for Exoprimal in Exosuit variants and Savage Gauntlet.- ID@Xbox developer acceleration program sizzle reel: Drag Her!, Stray Gods, Sonzai, Slime Heroes, and more featured.- Microsoft Flight Simulator - Dune Expansion creation process detailed: November 3 release.- Go Mecha Ball revealed: Release in 2024.- Lies of P details: Various weapons, bosses, and upgrade systems, September 19 release.- Behind-the-scenes video for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2: Motion capture process showcased.- Xbox FanFest celebrations and tease for 2024 Xbox games.- Lightyear: Frontier multiplayer features showcased, early 2024 release.- Phil Spencer plays 33 Immortals with developers and interviews them.SuggestsNon-E3 showcasesComic Books/BooksReg ‘ol NewsAvengers Inc. - Marvel announced a new Noir-Inspired series. written by Al Ewing with art by Leonard Kirk, and set for a September release. The series is said to pay homage to the 60s roots of the team, and specifically the role that Janet Van Dyne/Wasp had in founding the group.https://comicbook.com/comics/news/marvel-announces-noir-series-avengers-inc-wasp-vision/ Marvel Ultimate Universe - Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch together will be rebooting the Ultimate universe at Marvel. This is a direct sequel to the events of Ultimate Invasion. First time since 2015.https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/marvel-relaunch-ultimate-universe-jonathan-hickman-stefano-caselli/ Predator V Wolverine - Marvel announced a crossover series with their newly acquired fox property. written by Benjamin Percy, the acclaimed writer known for taking Wolverine's ferocious spirit to its limits in the character's current ongoing solo series. Percy will be joined by a host of all-star artistic talent including Greg Land, Andrea Di Vito, Ken Lashley, Kei Zama, and many more. The series will reveal a bitter rivalry between Wolverine and a Yautja who's been stalking him since his earliest days… Set for a September release.https://comicbook.com/comics/news/predator-vs-wolverine-marvel-comics-release-date/ SuggestsBatman Versus Predator is a comic book crossover featuring a duel between Batman and members of the titular extraterrestrial race from the Predator film franchise. It was written by Dave Gibbons with art by Andy and Adam Kubert, and was published by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics in 1991. Adam Kubert won an Eisner Award in 1992 for his contribution.In 1995, a sequel was published called Batman Versus Predator II: Bloodmatch. It was written by Doug Moench, with art by Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin. A third series, Batman Versus Predator III: Blood Ties, was published in 1997. Written by Chuck Dixon with art by Rodolfo Damaggio and Robert Campanella, it features Mr. Freeze and a Catwoman cameoTV ShowsFollow-ups/CorrectionsSuperman & Lois - Renewed for a 4th season after all. https://cosmicbook.news/superman-lois-renewed-for-season-4 Gotham Knights - Canceled after one season. Surprising NO ONE. https://comicbook.com/dc/news/gotham-knights-canceled-one-season-the-cw/ TrailersTwisted Metal - https://youtu.be/-Mn4RBWv03A July 27th on Peacock.Sweet Tooth and John Doe scene teaser… this might be worth watching.The Boys - https://youtu.be/WoyzCDeuDaY Homelander teaserFoundation - https://youtu.be/2t0BGkVQMuQ proper season 2 trailer. July 14th. Season 3 is already filming.Reg ‘ol NewsWheel of Fortune - Pat Sajak is retiring after the end of the upcoming season.41 seasons. 76 years old. https://twitter.com/patsajak/status/1668392746787418114 SuggestsGremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is an American computer-animated fantasy comedy television series. Serving as a prequel to the 1984 film Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2:The New Batch, the series is set in 1920s Shanghai, East China and tells the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing met Gizmo, a young Mogwai. It was written and executive produced by Tze Chun. Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sam Register, and Brendan Hay also serve as executive producers, with Joe Dante (the director of the Gremlins films) as consulting producer. In February 2021, ahead of the series premiere, the series was renewed for a second season.MoviesFollow-ups/CorrectionsAlien - the new movie now has a release date. August 16, 2024. https://comicbook.com/horror/news/alien-movie-new-release-date-confirmed-fede-alvarez/ MCU - Marvel Studios has delayed the release of two upcoming films, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. The films were originally scheduled to be released in 2024, but have now been pushed back to 2026 and 2027, respectively. The delay has caused some fans to express disappointment and frustration, but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has explained that the decision was made in order to give the filmmakers more time to work on the films and ensure that they are of the highest quality. Feige has also said that the studio is planning to slow down the pace of its output in order to allow each project to "stand out and stand above."Fast X: Pt 2 - Release date April 4, 2025.https://www.instagram.com/p/CtQAuTuJxDK/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading TrailersExpendables 4 - https://youtu.be/DhlaBO-SwVE Sept 22 in theaters… Megan Fox and 50 Cent join the fray… is this needed?Justice League: Warworld - https://youtu.be/IPDLodUE9gg July 25. R ratingThe Venture Bros - https://youtu.be/jxkGUWRJV24 July 21st digital release and 25th for physical. And HOW did i miss this? https://youtu.be/DF_7mqtgV1o RADIANT IS THE BLOOD OF THE BABOON HEARTSpider-verse: The Spider Within - https://youtu.be/gT0aqknRkms Horror spidey?SuggestsJohnny Mnemonic is a 1995 cyberpunk film directed by Robert Longo in his directorial debut. William Gibson, who wrote the 1981 short story, wrote the screenplay. Keanu Reeves plays Johnny, a data courier with an overloaded brain implant designed to securely store confidential information. The film, set in 2021, portrays a dystopian future wracked by a tech-induced plague, awash with conspiracies, and dominated by megacorporations. Takeshi Kitano portrays the CEO of a megacorporation attempting to suppress the data; he hires a psychopathic assassin played by Dolph Lundgren to do so. Ice-T and Dina Meyer co-star as Johnny's allies, a freedom fighter and a bodyguard, respectively.Rumor MillNew SourcesMortal Kombat 1 - Havik, Reiko, Nitara, Li Mei, Ashrah, Sub Zero, Scorpion, Smoke, Reptile, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Raiden, Shang Tsung, Kitana, Mileena, Tanya, Sindel, Johnny Cage, KenshiStar Wars - Selling Lucasfilm back to GEORGE LUCAS??New RumorsSuperman: Legacy - Said to be our introduction to The Authority before the movie for the group launches.Lucasfilm - Foreign Oil tycoon said to be interested in the purchase of the Star Wars production house.The Batman 2 - Josh Hartnett and Joel Edgerton reportedly the front runners for Two Face role.Legend of Zelda - Movie reportedly nearing a final deal with universal.Wheel of Fortune - Ryan Seacrest said to be in talks to replace Sajak.You can support this show by visiting our merch store, or by leaving us an Apple Podcasts review.

 It's time for the Comic Talk Headlines with Generally Nerdy! This last week we have been graced with ALL THE GAMES! Seriously this is the most gaming heavy episode I have ever done. This is a good time to be a gamer it would seem... unless you are a Sony or Capcom fan perhaps. AND other news too.Tune in Wednesdays for the regular show and Saturdays for the re-post of the Friday night LIVE SHOW. Plus, don't forget to subscribe for more fresh content.    MusicNew Music/VideoKim Dracula - Death Before Designer https://youtu.be/DGxl9bH34Ps Slipknot - Memories (Adderall Rough Cut) https://youtu.be/eftIr13jFUo NEW EP FROM SLIPKNOT!! https://slipknot1.lnk.to/AdderallEP Blackbraid - The Spirit Returns https://youtu.be/OVwLojBW4Wc King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - https://youtu.be/IpUKO-WKaqo DragonTours/FestivalsBotch - Converge and Cave In have been added to 2 of the reunion shows. Boston MA show and Sayreville NJ shows. https://www.stubhub.com/botch-tickets/performer/150035280/ Static-X - Another US tour. Support from Sevendust and Dope. Starts Oct. 6 in Houston TX through Nov 1 in LA.https://www.stubhub.com/static-x-tickets/performer/150042085/ Pantera - The LoG tour JUST announced the openers for the US leg. S.N.A.F.U, Child Bite, Flesh Hoarder, Spirit in the Room, King Parrot, all set to be openers for different chunks of the tour. https://www.stubhub.com/lamb-of-god-tickets/performer/133425 New England Metal and Hardcore Fest - Back for the first time since 2016. Sept 15 & 16. Notable acts: LoG, Hatebreed, Shadows Fall, Vein.fm, 200 Stab Wounds, Undeath, and TONS more. https://metalinjection.net/tour-dates/new-england-metal-and-hardcore-festival-returns-feat-lamb-of-god-hatebreed-shadows-fall-more Tenacious D - Sept 6th in Charlotte NC through Sept 15 in Austin TX. https://www.stubhub.com/tenacious-d-tickets/performer/130929 Jinjer - North american off dates from their trek with Disturbed. Sept 7th in Huntsville AL through Sept 25 in Vancouver. https://www.stubhub.com/jinjer-tickets/performer/100296673 Reg ‘ol NewsSlipknot - Craig has left the band… no official reason why, but he already has a replacement. That and clown is currently not on tour. Staying at home to take care of his wife.Blackbraid - Blackbraid II To be self-released on July 7th, 2023. Blackbraid is a Native American Black Metal solo project hailing from the Adirondack Mountains. SuggestsBlackbraid I - Blackbraid's debut album, Blackbraid I, was released on August 26, 2022. Krieger, a multi-instrumentalist, wrote and tracked the entire album apart from the drums, which were tracked by his friend Neil Schneider. Schneider also recorded, mixed, and mastered Blackbraid I. The cover art was done by Adrian Baxter.Gaming/TechFollow-ups/CorrectionsSpider-Man 2 - Release date of Oct 20. Pre-order starts June 16th. Pre-order bonuses are Arachknight suit for Peter, Shadow Spider suit for Miles, web grabber gadget and 3 extra skill points. Collector's edition will feature a Venom VS Spider-Men statue amongst other bits. https://cosmicbook.news/marvels-spider-man-2-gets-release-october-20-on-ps5 Microsoft/Activision - FTC (federal Trade Commission) has filed an injunction to stop Microsoft's purchase of Activision https://www.engadget.com/ftc-expected-to-file-injunction-to-block-microsofts-purchase-of-activision-blizzard-165738788.html Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty - Sept 26. DLC for one of the most infamous releases of the modern gaming era.Injustice 3 - In all the madness Boon has reassured the community that Injustice 3 is not off the table.https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/injustice-3-netherrealm-ed-boon-tease/ Flight Simulator - DUNE EXPANSION!!! https://youtu.be/YkZj0xbVSkw Mortal Kombat 1 - According to the official MK Discord MK1 will be playable at EVO 2023. https://www.evo.gg/news/mortal-kombat-1-playable-at-evo-2023 TrailersTMNT: Shredder's Revenge - Dimension Shellshock https://youtu.be/DvmwcSyHqu4 Usagi Yojimbo!! Later this year.Sonic Superstars - https://youtu.be/hIGP7Zy9Bx0 classic 2D platforming on switch!!Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown - https://youtu.be/6veUl98it9c Squirrel with a Gun - https://youtu.be/hRiRyopVm6Q WTF did I just watch?Star Wars: Outlaws - https://youtu.be/5Gbi7VXeFow definite Serenity vibes.Brawlhalla - https://youtu.be/u_lS6bbp2H8 Master Chief and the Arbiter are joining the cast. Both as full on characters.Clockwork Revolution - https://youtu.be/DDFuhaYxeMU inXile's first outing for parent company microsoft seems to be heavily shaded by fan outcry for a BioShock sequel.Avowed - https://youtu.be/ULsF7B6bFuU Obsidian seems to not be able to do wrong.Lies of P - https://youtu.be/hPOdeLE6d6I goth pinocchio? Sept 19.Reg ‘ol NewsCall of Duty - Nickmercs, Tatman, and Dr Disrespect.Summer Game Fest - - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is coming in early 2024.- Spider-Man 2 gets an October 20, 2023 release date.- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown is coming next year.- Mortal Kombat 1 gets a bone-crushing gameplay trailer.- Fortnite Wilds reveals a Transformers crossover.- Sonic Superstars is a new 2D classic Sonic game coming this year.- Alan Wake 2 gets a huge gameplay reveal.- Like a Dragon: Gaiden is coming this November.- Star Trek Infinite is announced.- John Carpenter's Toxic Commando is revealed.- SandLand is a new action game from Akira Toriyama and Bandai Namco.- Palworld is a game like Pokemon but with guns.- The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria is coming this fall.- Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is getting a closed beta.- Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden is a new action RPG.- Baldur's Gate 3 introduces Jason Isaacs as a major villain.- Twisted Metal debuts on Peacock on July 27.- Marvel Snap is getting a new competitive mode.- New trailer for Season 4 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.- Path of Exile 2 gets a gameplay trailer.- Exoprimal is getting a Street Fighter 6 crossover.- Lies of P gets a demo and new release date.- Netflix shares The Witcher Season 3 trailer.- Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 reveals co-op.- Nicolas Cage is coming to Dead By Daylight.- Yes, Your Grace sequel is announced.- Witchfire comes to early access in September.- Remnant 2 release date is revealed.- Immortals of Aveum gets an extended gameplay clip.- Under the Waves gets an August release date.- Honkai Star Rail gets a PS5 release window.- Black Desert Online expansion gets a new trailer.- Lysfanga: The Time-Shift Warrior is a new hack-and-slash game.- FaeFarm gets a release date and PC reveal.- Throne and Liberty gets a new trailer.- Party Animals gets a release date.Ubisoft Forward - Here are the major announcements from the given text:- Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora:  - Release date: December 7.  - First story trailer revealed.  - First-person, single-player adventure with optional two-player co-op.- The Crew Motorfest:  - Location: Oahu.  - Release date: September 14.  - Race in cars from different eras.  - Closed beta: July 21 to 23.- Assassin's Creed Nexus VR:  - Play as Ezio, Kassandra, and Connor in VR.  - Release window: Holiday 2023.  - Available on Meta Quest.- Assassin's Creed Codename Jade:  - Mobile game based in China.  - Closed beta registration open.- Assassin's Creed Mirage:  - Story and gameplay deep dive.  - Release date: October 12.  - Focus on stealth-focused combat.- Star Wars: Outlaws:  - Open-world game.  - Story and extended gameplay revealed.  - Release date: Next year.Other announcements include:- Just Dance 2024 release date: October 24.- XDefiant open session from June 21 to 23.- Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown deep dive.- Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix release on Netflix in fall.- The Division Resurgence release on Android and iOS in fall.- Skull and Bones closed beta: August 25 to 28.- Jet Set Radio crossover into Roller Champions.- Brawlhalla Master Chief, Combat Evolved crossover.- Free trial of Rocksmith+ on PC and new mobile app.- Riders Republic skateboard add-on release: September 26.- Final Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope DLC with Rayman release in late 2023.Capcom Showcase - Dragon's Dogma 2:Gameplay deep dive trailer.Larger fantasy world and new Pawn system.Coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.Pragmata:Delayed indefinitely.Action adventure game.Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy:HD remasters of Ace Attorney 4, 5, and 6.Coming to Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC in early 2024.Exoprimal:New trailer and roadmap revealed.Dino hunting game.Release date: July 14, 2023.Second open beta test from June 16 to June 18.Ghost Trick:Remaster of the game.Demo available now.Coming to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess:Unveiled at the Xbox showcase.Action and strategy gameplay.Coming to Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.Mega Man X DiVE Offline:New mobile and PC game.Play as Mega Man X and other franchise characters.Coming this year to Steam, iOS, and Android.Xbox Showcase and Extended - - Fable reboot: First trailer revealed, Richard Ayoade introduced, available on Xbox Game Pass, no release date announced.- South of Midnight: Compulsion Games' new game, third-person action-adventure in the Bayou, play as Hazel, mythical creatures featured.- Star Wars: Outlaws: Ubisoft's open-world Star Wars game, starring Kay Vess, release date: 2024.- Persona 3 remake and Persona 5 tactics spinoff: Persona 3 Reload (early 2024), Persona 5 Tactica (November 17).- Avowed: First-person RPG by Obsidian Entertainment, Living Lands of Eora showcased, release date: 2024.- Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2: Release window announced (next year), new footage highlighting motion-capture.- Forza Motorsport: Releasing on October 10, Turn 10 Studios rebooting.- Starfield: New trailer showcased.- Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty: First major story expansion, release date: September 26, features Keanu Reeves and Idris Elba.- Clockwork Revolution: InXile Entertainment's new game, first-person shooter RPG, steampunk-inspired with time travel, Xbox first-party exclusive.- New Xbox Series S model: Carbon Black color variant, 1TB SSD storage, release date: September 1.Other announcements include:-33 Immortals: Co-op action game for 33 players, releasing in 2024 -Payday 3: Releasing on September 21, 2023, available on Xbox Game Pass.-Sea of Thieves: Crossing over with The Legend of Monkey Island on July 20.-Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024: New career opportunities for pilots, landing in 2024.-Fallout 76: New DLC set in Atlantic City, release date not announced.-Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess: Japanese-inspired game, announcement trailer.-The Elder Scrolls Online: Journey to Necrom: Expansion for the MMO, releasing on June 20.-Overwatch 2: Invasion: New story missions and cosmetics, releasing on August 10.-Jusant: Magical climbing puzzle game, releasing in fall 2023.-Still Wakes the Deep: Eerie game about an offshore oil rig worker, releasing in early 2024.-Dungeons of Hinterberg: Cozy RPG with monster fighting and skating, releasing in 2024.-Cities: Skylines II: City-building game, releasing on October 24.-Metaphor: ReFantazio: Atlus' fantasy RPG, releasing in 2024.-Towerborne: New game by Stoic, releasing next year, available on Game Pass.EXTENDED- High on Knife DLC for High on Life: Revealed, horror-themed, story set two years after the game, new weapons, release later this year (purchase required).- The First Descendant crossplay beta: Xbox Series X gameplay showcased, co-op sci-fi shooter, August 22-28 beta, full game release before end of the year.- Hi-Fi Rush - Arcade Challenge update: Meaty update for rhythm action game, new modes (BPM Rush and Power Up! Tower Up!), new photo mode and character customization, release on July 5.- Another Crab's Treasure and more ID@Xbox games on Game Pass: 10 indie games coming to Game Pass at release, including Another Crab's Treasure, Techtonica, Sea of Stars, Harold Halibut, and more.- CD Projekt Red details Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty expansion: Black Market walkthrough, overhauled police system, air dash ability, Keanu Reeves interview.- The Lamplighters League release date: October 3.- Avowed details from game director Carrie Patel: Breakdown of the trailer, premise, characters, combat, size comparison to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II and The Outer Worlds.- Towerborne developer diary and post-launch support tease from Stoic Studio.- Fallout 76 Once in a Blue Moon update: June 20 release, glimpse of Atlantic City expansion.- The Elder Scrolls Online - Necrom expansion: Details and June 20 release.- Phasmophobia coming to Xbox Series X: Early access with cross-platform play in August.- Capcom details PvE content for Exoprimal in Exosuit variants and Savage Gauntlet.- ID@Xbox developer acceleration program sizzle reel: Drag Her!, Stray Gods, Sonzai, Slime Heroes, and more featured.- Microsoft Flight Simulator - Dune Expansion creation process detailed: November 3 release.- Go Mecha Ball revealed: Release in 2024.- Lies of P details: Various weapons, bosses, and upgrade systems, September 19 release.- Behind-the-scenes video for Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2: Motion capture process showcased.- Xbox FanFest celebrations and tease for 2024 Xbox games.- Lightyear: Frontier multiplayer features showcased, early 2024 release.- Phil Spencer plays 33 Immortals with developers and interviews them.SuggestsNon-E3 showcasesComic Books/BooksReg ‘ol NewsAvengers Inc. - Marvel announced a new Noir-Inspired series. written by Al Ewing with art by Leonard Kirk, and set for a September release. The series is said to pay homage to the 60s roots of the team, and specifically the role that Janet Van Dyne/Wasp had in founding the group.https://comicbook.com/comics/news/marvel-announces-noir-series-avengers-inc-wasp-vision/ Marvel Ultimate Universe - Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch together will be rebooting the Ultimate universe at Marvel. This is a direct sequel to the events of Ultimate Invasion. First time since 2015.https://comicbook.com/marvel/news/marvel-relaunch-ultimate-universe-jonathan-hickman-stefano-caselli/ Predator V Wolverine - Marvel announced a crossover series with their newly acquired fox property. written by Benjamin Percy, the acclaimed writer known for taking Wolverine's ferocious spirit to its limits in the character's current ongoing solo series. Percy will be joined by a host of all-star artistic talent including Greg Land, Andrea Di Vito, Ken Lashley, Kei Zama, and many more. The series will reveal a bitter rivalry between Wolverine and a Yautja who's been stalking him since his earliest days… Set for a September release.https://comicbook.com/comics/news/predator-vs-wolverine-marvel-comics-release-date/ SuggestsBatman Versus Predator is a comic book crossover featuring a duel between Batman and members of the titular extraterrestrial race from the Predator film franchise. It was written by Dave Gibbons with art by Andy and Adam Kubert, and was published by DC Comics and Dark Horse Comics in 1991. Adam Kubert won an Eisner Award in 1992 for his contribution.In 1995, a sequel was published called Batman Versus Predator II: Bloodmatch. It was written by Doug Moench, with art by Paul Gulacy and Terry Austin. A third series, Batman Versus Predator III: Blood Ties, was published in 1997. Written by Chuck Dixon with art by Rodolfo Damaggio and Robert Campanella, it features Mr. Freeze and a Catwoman cameoTV ShowsFollow-ups/CorrectionsSuperman & Lois - Renewed for a 4th season after all. https://cosmicbook.news/superman-lois-renewed-for-season-4 Gotham Knights - Canceled after one season. Surprising NO ONE. https://comicbook.com/dc/news/gotham-knights-canceled-one-season-the-cw/ TrailersTwisted Metal - https://youtu.be/-Mn4RBWv03A July 27th on Peacock.Sweet Tooth and John Doe scene teaser… this might be worth watching.The Boys - https://youtu.be/WoyzCDeuDaY Homelander teaserFoundation - https://youtu.be/2t0BGkVQMuQ proper season 2 trailer. July 14th. Season 3 is already filming.Reg ‘ol NewsWheel of Fortune - Pat Sajak is retiring after the end of the upcoming season.41 seasons. 76 years old. https://twitter.com/patsajak/status/1668392746787418114 SuggestsGremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is an American computer-animated fantasy comedy television series. Serving as a prequel to the 1984 film Gremlins and its 1990 sequel Gremlins 2:The New Batch, the series is set in 1920s Shanghai, East China and tells the story of how 10-year-old Sam Wing met Gizmo, a young Mogwai. It was written and executive produced by Tze Chun. Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, Sam Register, and Brendan Hay also serve as executive producers, with Joe Dante (the director of the Gremlins films) as consulting producer. In February 2021, ahead of the series premiere, the series was renewed for a second season.MoviesFollow-ups/CorrectionsAlien - the new movie now has a release date. August 16, 2024. https://comicbook.com/horror/news/alien-movie-new-release-date-confirmed-fede-alvarez/ MCU - Marvel Studios has delayed the release of two upcoming films, Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. The films were originally scheduled to be released in 2024, but have now been pushed back to 2026 and 2027, respectively. The delay has caused some fans to express disappointment and frustration, but Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has explained that the decision was made in order to give the filmmakers more time to work on the films and ensure that they are of the highest quality. Feige has also said that the studio is planning to slow down the pace of its output in order to allow each project to "stand out and stand above."Fast X: Pt 2 - Release date April 4, 2025.https://www.instagram.com/p/CtQAuTuJxDK/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading TrailersExpendables 4 - https://youtu.be/DhlaBO-SwVE Sept 22 in theaters… Megan Fox and 50 Cent join the fray… is this needed?Justice League: Warworld - https://youtu.be/IPDLodUE9gg July 25. R ratingThe Venture Bros - https://youtu.be/jxkGUWRJV24 July 21st digital release and 25th for physical. And HOW did i miss this? https://youtu.be/DF_7mqtgV1o RADIANT IS THE BLOOD OF THE BABOON HEARTSpider-verse: The Spider Within - https://youtu.be/gT0aqknRkms Horror spidey?SuggestsJohnny Mnemonic is a 1995 cyberpunk film directed by Robert Longo in his directorial debut. William Gibson, who wrote the 1981 short story, wrote the screenplay. Keanu Reeves plays Johnny, a data courier with an overloaded brain implant designed to securely store confidential information. The film, set in 2021, portrays a dystopian future wracked by a tech-induced plague, awash with conspiracies, and dominated by megacorporations. Takeshi Kitano portrays the CEO of a megacorporation attempting to suppress the data; he hires a psychopathic assassin played by Dolph Lundgren to do so. Ice-T and Dina Meyer co-star as Johnny's allies, a freedom fighter and a bodyguard, respectively.Rumor MillNew SourcesMortal Kombat 1 - Havik, Reiko, Nitara, Li Mei, Ashrah, Sub Zero, Scorpion, Smoke, Reptile, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Raiden, Shang Tsung, Kitana, Mileena, Tanya, Sindel, Johnny Cage, KenshiStar Wars - Selling Lucasfilm back to GEORGE LUCAS??New RumorsSuperman: Legacy - Said to be our introduction to The Authority before the movie for the group launches.Lucasfilm - Foreign Oil tycoon said to be interested in the purchase of the Star Wars production house.The Batman 2 - Josh Hartnett and Joel Edgerton reportedly the front runners for Two Face role.Legend of Zelda - Movie reportedly nearing a final deal with universal.Wheel of Fortune - Ryan Seacrest said to be in talks to replace Sajak.You can support this show by visiting our merch store, or by leaving us an Apple Podcasts review.

Large sums of donations from alumni have gone to more universities in east China, than any other parts of the country. We discuss giving back to your Alma Mater, and how generous donations are spent and managed? (01:40) / Chinese food gains popularity overseas. (27:56)/ The drawback of being highly self-disciplined. (45:23) On the show: Heyang, Huang Shan & Josh Cotterill

Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis, a retired U.S. Army officer and an experienced military analyst with on-the-ground experience inside Russia and Ukraine and the author of "Kings of the East: China's Plan to Eliminate America and Impose a Communist World Order"Topic: Russia launches air attack on KyivSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dr. Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton University and Director, Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, returns to Kopi Time. Recorded in New York City on April 15, the discussion begins with the war in Ukraine and the Middle East's complex relationship with Russia. Prof Haykel then elaborates on China's role in the region, especially the recent mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Ongoing strife in Israel is yet again adding tension to the region; Prof Haykel sheds light on the difficulty this poses to the region's leaders. We go over Opec's recent decision to cut production, which appears to be divergent from US interests. The region clearly has a lot going on as it manoeuvres through domestic development imperatives and brewing great power rivalry. Prof Haykel also gives a preview of his forthcoming book on contemporary changes in Saudi Arabia, which we're sure will be a must-read.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has begun to reshape realities in the Middle East. Both China and Turkey are playing more prominent roles in the region, while Iran has been afforded a dangerous path to achieving its Islamist goals. How will this impact demographics and geopolitics? Is there any pushback by the West?

Tuesday, January 17, 2023 On today's show, our host is Kerby Anderson. After a review of today's headlines, our first-hour guest is author and speaker, Lt. Col.Robert Maginnis. Maginnis discusses his book, Kings of the East: China's Plan to Eliminate America and Impose a Communist World Order.In the second hour, Kerby welcomes back long-time friend Michael Youssef. Michael […]

CHINA IS an imminent threat to our way of life. That may sound like a return to a 1950s way of thinking, but it's true. LTC Robert Maginnis, author of the new book Kings of the East: China's Plan to Eliminate America and Impose a Communist World Order, explains how China's history, economic power and coming military superiority are being deployed to make China the world's leading power and impose a communist order on the entire planet. Subscribe and share our YouTube channel at www.YouTube.com/GilbertHouse! Get all of our video and audio content on our new mobile app: www.gilberthouse.org/app/!——My new book, The Second Coming of Saturn, is available in paperback and Kindle! Check out free chapters of the book by clicking here (https://www.derekpgilbert.com/category/second-coming-of-saturn/).——Read my novels for free! Iron Dragons and The God Conspiracy are part of Amazon's Kindle Unlimited program, and they're linked at my author page: Amazon.com/author/derekpgilbert.——Please join Derek and Sharon Gilbert each Sunday for the Gilbert House Fellowship, our weekly Bible study podcast. Log on to www.GilbertHouse.org for more details. Get all of our podcasts — VFTB, P.I.D. Radio, and the Gilbert House Fellowship — at Spreaker: www.spreaker.com/user/gilberthouse. That's more than 1,400 hours of free archived audio going back to 2005! Check out our weekly video programs: SciFriday (www.scifriday.tv) and Unraveling Revelation (www.unravelingrevelation.tv), and subscribe to the YouTube channels: YouTube.com/UnravelingRevelation and YouTube.com/SciFridayTV.——Please visit our online store for special offers on our books and DVDs: www.gilberthouse.org/store.——Discuss these topics at the VFTB Facebook page (www.facebook.com/viewfromthebunker) and check out the great podcasters at the Fringe Radio Network (www.spreaker.com/user/mxpw)!