Podcasts about Pla

El real decreto-ley de medidas extraordinarias para hacer frente a las consecuencias de la guerra en Irán, aprobado ayer por el Consejo de Ministros y publicado esta mañana en el BOE, contempla líneas de apoyo específicas para los sectores agrario y pesquero. Se trata de un potente paquete de ayudas por un valor superior a 877 millones de euros. Principalmente, se establece una ayuda directa a agricultores para la compra de fertilizantes Y una subvención de 20 céntimos por litro para la compra de gasóleo de uso agrícola.El acuerdo de libre comercio que en estos momentos están a punto de firmar la Unión Europea (UE) y Australia ha encendido las alertas en el sector ovino. Interovic, la Organización Interprofesional Agroalimentaria del Ovino y el Caprino de Carne, advierte de que el volumen de importaciones solicitado por Australia va a tener un impacto significativo sobre la producción nacional.El Gobierno de Aragón ya tiene perfiladas las indemnizaciones a las que tendrán derecho los ganaderos que se han visto obligados a sacrificar sus reses después de que se detectara un brote de dermatosis nodular en sus explotaciones. Son dos los productores afectados, por el momento, ambos en Borrastre, una pedanía de la localidad oscense de Fiscal, que han perdido toda su cabaña, un total (entre ambos) de 281 animales. Para ello, el Departamento de Agricultura aprobará la próxima semana una orden que fija los baremos de indemnización, que establecen compensaciones, como ha adelantado el Gobierno de Aragón, de hasta 4.200 euros por cabeza de vacuno de carne.El Sistema de Bardenas daba comienzo el pasado jueves la campaña de riego 2025-2026 sin asignación de dotaciones o cupos.El Gobierno de Aragón ha reafirmado a los regantes del Matarraña su compromiso para reactivar las balsas laterales pendientes. Para acelerar su tramitación ha destinado una partida de 300.000 euros procedentes del Fondo de Inversiones de Teruel con el objetivo de impulsar los estudios de viabilidad necesarios para avanzar en estos proyectos contemplados en el Pacto del Agua de Aragón, concretamente en las balsas de Los Comellares y Pla de Serrat, y dirigidos a mejorar la regulación de los recursos hídricos en la cuenca.La Comunidad General de Riegos del Alto Aragón mantiene su posición de liderazgo en la gestión del agua al alcanzar un montante total de 8,6 millones de euros en fondos captados para la digitalización de su sistema regable. Estamos es Bruselas porque lo que pasa en el campo pasa por Bruselas. En ‘La traza' hoy repasamos la trazabilidad de los quesos ‘La Pardina'; hacemos balance de la campaña de trufa negra en la provincia de Teruel y felicitamos a la Asociación para la Recuperación de Olivos Yermos de Oliete, que ha elaborado esta campaña el mejor Aceite del Bajo Aragón con Denominación de Origen, según se dio a conocer este jueves en la gala anual que el consejo regulador celebra con el sector.

On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with the frenzy surrounding OpenClaw in China, including Beijing's response, security concerns, liability questions, an object lesson in the Chinese market, and why Tencent looks like a potential winner as regulatory issues are sorted in the months to come. From there: Reports that Beijing is unhappy with the limited preparation in advance of Trump's visit to China, news that pieces of the THAAD system have been relocated from South Korea to the Middle East, Trump's promised gift to China at the Strait of Hormuz, and fentanyl tension as March 31st looms. At the end: Reactions to the Two Sessions, why the “Iron Rooster” budgeting approach is consistent with the past few years of planning, missing PLA generals, and Sharp China Sports news as BYD mulls an entry to F1 and Lewis Hamilton tours China.

Andrew Billingsly, CEO at Plaswire, joins to discuss how the company recycles wind turbine blades into construction materials, timber replacements, and utility products. Plus carbon fiber recovery, zero-dust cutting technology, and plans to license blueprint factories worldwide. Sign up now for Uptime Tech News, our weekly newsletter on all things wind technology. This episode is sponsored by Weather Guard Lightning Tech. Learn more about Weather Guard’s StrikeTape Wind Turbine LPS retrofit. Follow the show on YouTube, Linkedin and visit Weather Guard on the web. And subscribe to Rosemary’s “Engineering with Rosie” YouTube channel here. Have a question we can answer on the show? Email us! Andrew Billingsly: Exactly.  Allen Hall: Are we good?  Andrew Billingsly: I’m truly impressed with this great operation you’ve got. You really moved this forward, isn’t it? That’s great. We try. Yeah.  Allen Hall: Yeah, we try. We’re not  Andrew Billingsly: trying. You do.  Allen Hall: So I, I will put an intro to this episode when we get back to the states. So I’m just gonna say, Andrew, welcome to the show. And then we will start talking.  Andrew Billingsly: Where do I look  Allen Hall: here?  Andrew Billingsly: Right? Just, just here.  Allen Hall: Yeah. Don’t worry about those. We’ll figure that out later. That’s,  Andrew Billingsly: yeah. A bit of AI in that. Yeah.  Allen Hall: Yeah.  Andrew Billingsly: And you’ll see as well. Andrew, welcome to the program. Thank you very much, Alan. Joe, really great pleasure to be here today.  Allen Hall: So we’re here to learn about PLA wire and all the great things you’re doing in Northern Ireland because you’re involved in a lot of recycling efforts in wind, outside of wind. You’re doing very novel things, which I think the world needs to hear about. Let’s just back up a minute, because not everybody. And particularly [00:01:00]in North America has heard of PLA wire, even though you, you’re all over LinkedIn. What does PLA wire do? What is this basic fundamental of PLA wire?  Andrew Billingsly: Basically, we’re a processor of polymers. Okay?  Andrew Billingsly: So that’s how we see ourselves, that’s how we frame ourselves. We’re a polymer processor with a waste management license. Uh,  Joel Saxum: I think the important thing here, and this is why I wanted to have this conversation, you and I have been talking in the background for a few years, is. The rhetoric around a lot of the world is we have this problem with recycling blades. We can’t figure it out. Nobody’s got any solutions. Um, and if they do, it’s very agricultural as we say, right? They’re just grinding them up, using ’em in this, that, and what I tell people is like, no, no, you’re incorrect here. There are people doing this. There is, there is solutions out there. It just needs to be, we need, we need to talk about it. We need to put it out there.  Andrew Billingsly: Absolutely. Uh, I fight very hard to tell the true story. Of course, there’s a [00:02:00] lot of greenwashing in every sector of every industry in the world, and those who do it right have to defend themselves. I mean, unfortunately, that’s what we have to do. Fortunately, mostly we’re able to do that if we work hard at it. For us, we do not have a problem in general, dealing with wind farm waste. Wind farm waste is for us blades. Because we’ve taken a pragmatic approach to it. We have to look at how we deal with any waste coming into our, uh, process to ensure it’s environmentally handled, that it’s handled correctly, environmentally, that it meets a price point so that whatever we do with it, we can sell that product, ensure that it’s sustainable in how we operate, and it’s fully circular. So that’s how we’ve addressed wind blades. We were invited into the industry and we worked out what was needed in the industry. But [00:03:00] before we went all full on with it, we had to make sure we could make products that was saleable, that was usable, and could be utilized within the industry wherever possible. But you thought outside of the box  Allen Hall: quite a bit because the way I think the wind turbine blade recycling efforts have gone is to say, well, we’ll, just like Joel was saying, we’ll just grind them up. You’re taking polymer outside of the wind blade world that you’ve been using in aerospace and other industries and saying the valuable part of the wind turbine blade is the fiber and the resin, whatever remains there. If I combine that with other polymers, I can create products with a lifetime that can replace other more expensive items, metal items, cement items. That is the, the, the wisdom that went into what you have done. How did you come up with that?  Andrew Billingsly: I think I was born outta the box. Frankly. I’ve been told that several times.[00:04:00] We’re a solution orientated company. Uh, I was talking recently to somebody about how we built our first factory in Northern Ireland that went up in 10 weeks. That’s 20,000 square feet. And because the pressure we were under, we had that factory erected and in operation in 10 weeks. And that’s just a fact. That’s a recorded fact. And I looked back only two years later and said, heck, what did we do there? Yeah, because we had to do it. So we did it. Yeah. We looked at the problem with the wind blade and we thought, we’ve gotta get a good solution for this. And we’d done that years before with aviation. We were presented with the challenge to deal with plastics arising from the manufacturer’s seating. Now the US produces all the plastics for that sector. It comes into Europe for manufacturing seats, a lot of it local to where our factory is, but nobody had a solution. I have to put my hands up now. I broke a few rules here. I filled two [00:05:00] barn up with this material chopped up and ready to sell, but I actually couldn’t sell it, but I knew there was a solution. So I worked on that for perhaps 18 months and then it worked. And today we are the main, uh, processor of this plastic that comes out of aircraft seating manufacturing, possibly. We still are the only one doing that.  Allen Hall: So you actually take the plastics from the manufacturer of seating and there’s a lot of scrap that’s involved in that. Andrew Billingsly: Yep.  Allen Hall: You take all that plastic waste, you bring it back into your facility, you recombine and pelletize it again so that it can be reused somewhere else.  Andrew Billingsly: Yes, that material goes into, uh, an extrusion process with another company now. Okay. Wow.  Joel Saxum: But, but that’s the same thing you’re doing in wind right now, right? The making it circular, but you’re adding or you’re, you’re adding other second use plastics to it.  Andrew Billingsly: Yeah. So our outta the box thinking was looking back in 2018, how do we grow our business [00:06:00] because recycling plastics within the extrusion world and the injection molding world. What’s getting more internal companies getting better at dealing with their own waste and putting it back into the circuit. So what’s the waste? Nobody wants. It’s the really mucky stuff. It’s this material that comes out of, for example, bio digesters that take the supermarket garbage, the yellow label food that people don’t buy because it’s really is in a bad state. And that goes for digestion and they pull outta those biodigester 10% plastic waste. Hmm. That is a really difficult product to deal with. And not only that, you also find a similar volume of waste coming maybe 24 tons a day, in some cases, sometimes more from the municipal waste processing centers as well. All this waste plastic goes for incineration. Nobody knows how to economically recycle that. So we took on that challenge and produced what we call [00:07:00] RX polymer, which is. Hm, going through pattern now. I got the number only yesterday incidentally for it. And, uh, this enables us then to combine plastics that would not normally combine. So think about polyethylene, polypropylene. Yeah, they mix, but then add in nylon, adding polyester. PET, add in styrene, adding up to 8%, uh, PVC materials. It’s an unknown for a polymer engineer, but we did that. And we cooperated with the university in Ireland to prove it. Uh, this is the technology Uni University in Shannon, and we still have an extremely good relationship with them. So we have this polymer. Along comes COVID, we worked with it. We did the deep dive. We went out to find out could we make product with it, could we make a product people wanted, and could we sell that product because what’s the point otherwise? And then after COVID. [00:08:00] We went out into the market, met with aviation, had a very substantial and transformative almost meeting with Paul Bella, director at Boeing. So by the end of the year we’d worked out along with some discussions with Air Airbus and with Tarmac Aero serve, how we could help them with their composite wastes as part of our RX polymer January, 2023. We got sucked into a, into the wind sector.  Allen Hall: Mm-hmm.  Andrew Billingsly: January, 2023. We got sucked into the wind sector with a significant phone call from Ted. We had a meeting and agreed to take their first blades. We went out bo more land and that was start of a journey.  Allen Hall: Okay. So it just calls you up and says, Andrew, I need you to start recycling our offshore, mostly offshore or all offshore blades.  Andrew Billingsly: These were initially on shore blades. On  Allen Hall: shore blades. Okay. Andrew Billingsly: And they said, did we know how to do it? Could [00:09:00]we do it?  Allen Hall: Okay?  Andrew Billingsly: And we said, yes.  Allen Hall: You said that? Yes. Without really knowing if the answer is yes.  Andrew Billingsly: Yes.  Allen Hall: Okay. I, I think that one of the things, I’m gonna back up just for a minute here. One of the things about Northern Ireland that people in the states don’t really realize is plastics and ejection molding are a focal point for Northern Ireland. Roy, which is the big plastic comb. Brush manufacturer is based in Northern Ireland, so there’s a tremendous amount of plastic knowledge, injection molding knowledge sitting right in the same area. So hearing your story just makes me think, yes, this all starts to make sense now that, that the whole region is a, uh, epicenter in it, so to speak, of how to think about plastics working with shorts and bombardier and all the now Airbus and Boeing. Those people are brilliant and you’re cut off the same limb of the tree. Right. [00:10:00] Where are these products now being used? So you now you’re getting blade from Wared and you, well, let’s talk first.  Andrew Billingsly: You have other customers besides Wared now you have some big names there. Oh, absolutely. So we do work with Airbus. We do work with Boeing on the aviation side, but we’re talking wind today. Uh, so we have Sted, we work with Eola, Scottish Power Renewables, work with GE Verona. RWE uh, a host of them actually just goes on and on, you know, and it’s very important to serve these companies as best we can. Uh, we’ve recently started working with EDF and taking first fleets from a lot of these first fleets of blades from these companies. We have a contract with BNM, which is in partnership with Ocean Wind for the future. BNM is B and Owner one of those great stories of a dirty company in the sense of producing. Fuel for, uh, households from Pete, which is extremely smoky and so forth, transforming to being the best [00:11:00] when it comes to, uh, renewables in Ireland. Wow. Wow. Yeah,  Joel Saxum: I didn’t even know you could do that. Make fuel out of Pete. I just knew you made whiskey out of it. My knowledge is not as good as your, your knowledge. Uh, but so questions for you. Then you have all these other customers coming in. You’re bringing in plastics from other areas and other sectors. How many right now as it sits, how many wind blades can you guys run through, you think? What does a yearly put throughput look like? So  Andrew Billingsly: when we get to capacity as we grow the business, we’ll be able to process up to 11,000 tons of blades on our site.  Joel Saxum: Okay.  Andrew Billingsly: Whoa. Which is a good size capacity. Yeah. Uh, far, far in excess of what we expected, but that was to do with development. We moved from putting 10% blade into our finished product to 30%. Joel Saxum: Yeah.  Andrew Billingsly: It was a big step. We achieved that in March this year, and it was just a. Happy days. And,  Joel Saxum: and when we talk product, right, we’re talking the RX polymer, but what is the end product? What can that be used for?  Andrew Billingsly: So the end product, uh, we can directly [00:12:00] replace virgin plastics in certain situations in the construction industry. Things like protection board, shuttering board and that type of thing. For, uh, precast concrete, there’s a lot of precast concrete products are manufactured because it’s easy to do with, uh, concrete and to use virgin plastics. It’s just not even thought of doing that. But with our RX polymer and the combination of a fiber base in it, we can produce precast concrete products, which outperform concrete versions. We’ve now got a polymer version, which won’t crack through temperature, variation through vibration, through wet and dry cycling, that type of thing. Wow. It’s kind of no brainer in a sense. And then on the timber replacement,  Joel Saxum: scour protection, offshore wind.  Allen Hall: There’s certain, well being in Northern Ireland, there’s a lot of wind and rain and sea and all the above. Oh yeah. It’s  Andrew Billingsly: plenty of all of those. There it is. Definitely. It’s just wet and a bit like Glasgow, plenty of rain, you [00:13:00] know, and or Seattle’s not so different actually. It’s sure. Very similar. It could be quite similar. Yeah. So, and timber replacement is a big thing because the supply of timber cannot meet demand. Yeah. To try and accelerate the supply of timber. They accelerate the growth of the trees using hydrocarbons in the form of fertilizers. And it’s not really gonna go anywhere in the right way. But to be able to put out product now, which outperforms timber for the utilities is a logical step for us. And that’s what we’ve done. Producing poles and posts, which are fiber reinforced, which outperformed timber for the utility companies. Just one design by one utility in the UK consumes 33,000 tons a year. It is madness. I know. But we can offer them a product which lasts a minimum of 30 years certified versus a timber version that because of the regulations regarding, uh, preservatives, it could only last between eight and 10 years. Allen Hall: Oh, [00:14:00] sure. Well that makes a lot of sense. So you’ve, you’ve broken through the barrier of blade recycling into now almost consumer products, industrial products, construction products. Uh. What’s next? Where are you going next? You gonna start making airplanes and cars out of this material or  Andrew Billingsly: no? That I fell outta the box actually bumping my head so I can’t go any further. Um, where do we go from this Look, we are always going to be looking to be better at what we do, so on the blade side, we have great cutting technology that everybody should look at and consider doing something at least similar. So no dust. Very important, and we are moving sometime next year. We haven’t got a date for this yet, where we’ll have a robotic cutting system with absolutely no ze, no dust at all. Zero dust. That’s amazing. Yeah.  Joel Saxum: That’s a, that is a, that’s a big problem in like the states for plane recycling. The, the [00:15:00] regulations around dust and um, and how close you can be to residential areas and siding and all those kind of things.  Andrew Billingsly: If you’re making dust and it’s landing on the ground, it’s gonna be there forever. So don’t make it.  Joel Saxum: There you go.  Andrew Billingsly: That’s the fact. Um, the idea of the robotics is also to be able to recover the carbon fiber, stay in the center of the blade.  Joel Saxum: Yeah. ‘ Andrew Billingsly: cause carbon fiber is heading towards being a shortage product. And we have the opportunity to preserve that and re reuse that product effectively. If you see the carbon fiber in a blade and the big blades, 70 meters and so forth, you go, wow, it’s pencil thickness. You don’t want to see that getting weight.  Allen Hall: Right.  Andrew Billingsly: So using expensive  Allen Hall: too. Yeah.  Andrew Billingsly: Using, yeah, it’s very expensive. Get more so, you know, we are using carbon fiber for novelty. Things like fass in cars and so forth, right. Or wrongs and other matter. But it’s utilizing a product that needs to be going into better applications. No doubt about it. So we’re going in that way to improve the cutting technology. And then [00:16:00] another area is a recyclable blade. So we are talking with the developers of the original recyclable Blade technology about should we be working with them to operate a facility to enable that future technology to become operable. It’s okay to sell the product, but are you recycling it afterwards?  Allen Hall: Right. Can you break it down and get the fiber out of it? Yeah.  Andrew Billingsly: So they’re early discussions and we’d like to progress those over time and achieve a success for everybody there.  Joel Saxum: So Audi, the, the, the facility in Ireland, you’re doing a lot of process improvement. You’re getting better and better and better, but you can, you can process a certain amount of tons there per year. Are you looking at mainland Europe, US South America? Are you, are you moving around yet or,  Andrew Billingsly: yeah. You are a mind reader, aren’t you? I think. Come on now. Look. So we are working with the crown estate. I don’t know, how do you know about the crown estate? Very, uh, influential party, uh, regarding offshore wind [00:17:00] and onshore wind. Okay. And we are working on a feasibility study with them to create a blueprint factory and put up a new facility in the United Kingdom in Scotland. Where we put, that is still under negotiation at the moment because it depends whether or not there’s gonna be a blade manufacturing facility there. Blade manufacturing waste has to be dealt with. Oh yes, it has to. And it’s been ignored and it has to be dealt with and we align to be doing that.  Allen Hall: So you would set up shop next door to the blade manufacturing facility.  Andrew Billingsly: That’s the optimal thing to do.  Allen Hall: Sure it  is.  Andrew Billingsly: Yep. And there’s various discussions taking place with more than one manufacturer about putting a facility into Scotland, but I’m not privy to discuss those things. And then in England, working with a consortium to put up a facility there which will support the offshore wind as it decommissions.  Allen Hall: Oh sure. Wow. See, we have a lot of plans. Yeah. For  Andrew Billingsly: the future. Yeah. And we real, we will realize them. Uh, the beauty of all of this [00:18:00] is the carbon saving because we are diverting products away from incineration. And if you take a blade and put into cement kilt, you’re still producing CO2.  Allen Hall: Sure. It  Andrew Billingsly: has to. And we know that’s not a long term solution because when you melt glass, glass sinks to the bottom of the furnace and one by one cement kiln say, we’ve had enough of this and it seems to affect the refractory bricks as well. Which causes deterioration and another cost for the cement companies. So we can prevent between 2.7 and 2.9 tons of CO2 production. For every ton of waste we divert from this generation.  Allen Hall: Wow. That’s tremendous.  Andrew Billingsly: That’s tremendous. Yeah. And then the products we replace in the market, the virgin plastics, the precast concrete replacements, the, the timber replacements all have high carbon numbers, but now that’s finished. Right. Yeah. So we can net up to 1.7 tons of CO2 offset saving, [00:19:00]whatever way you want to put it, for every time we process. That’s quite fantastic. Well, now we never knew these numbers. As I say, we were pulled into this industry and then we started to look at what are we doing here? And whoa, we didn’t realize. Joel Saxum: Fantastic.  Allen Hall: Well, for, for everybody who’s listening today that deals with blades and that, that’s a vast majority of our relationship has to do with blades somewhat during their life cycle. And I’m wondering what the next generation of recycling actually looks like. It’s PLA wire and they need to get a hold of you, Andrew. How would they do that? To learn more?  Andrew Billingsly: Yes. Well, we are talking with potential partners. Our way to grow is really through a licensing system.  Allen Hall: Okay.  Andrew Billingsly: A reasonable licensing system. So our intention is to put out this blueprint factory, which can be manipulated to suit the market. It can be smaller, it can be larger. The equipment for it is standard. It’s a lot of standard machines joined together in a particular way. The keys and the process and so forth. [00:20:00] So for example, we can offer a blueprint to a company and they equip it with US machinery or Mexican machinery or whatever, machinery. Sure. Yep. So they can control the cost of that. So we sell that design, sell them the engineering work to it. Work with ’em on their market surveys in advance to make sure they’re not going into a world that’s not gonna produce revenue for them. Everything has to be profitable. Assure them of the markets for the finished products, and then work on a license fee with them. Allen Hall: Okay. And they can do that by going to the website PLA wire. You can just Google PLAs Wire,  Andrew Billingsly: Google. Yeah. So you’ll find me at andrew@plaswire.com, which is easy enough for everybody, I believe. Yeah.  Allen Hall: P-L-A-S-W-I-R-E. Dot com.  Andrew Billingsly: That’s correct, Alan. Yeah. Thank you.  Allen Hall: Yeah, it’s a, it’s a really interesting website and Andrew, I’m really glad we had the time to sit down and to discuss your business because it is fascinating. It’s next generation on recycling, and it’s good to spread the word a little bit. So thank you for [00:21:00] joining us today,  Andrew Billingsly: Alan. Joel. It’s been really good for me too. It. I’m so pleased to be able to do this. Yes. And you know what you want the most fantastic podcast to listen to, I have to tell you that. Yeah. Allen Hall: Well we need to have Yon Moore. So  Andrew Billingsly: yeah, I’ll be very happy and love to be able to share our progress as we develop and just, we are always gonna be a changing organization, but always for the better. And you’re gonna understand, I guess we’re quite passionate about what we do.  Allen Hall: Yes.  Andrew Billingsly: Yeah.  Allen Hall: Yes. Congratulations and thank you for joining us.  Andrew Billingsly: Thank you very much. Yep. Perfect. Cool. Wonderful. Wow. So easy now.

The first quarter of 2026 still has three weeks to go, but the assumptions and friend group of the People's Republic of China has changed dramatically.Recent changes in the assumptions concerning Venezuela, Iran, Japan, and other nations will impact the national security concerns of the West's greatest challenger on the world stage.Returning to the Midrats Podcast today from 5-6 PM Eastern to discuss will be Dean Cheng.Dean is a Non-resident Senior Fellow, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and Non-resident Fellow, George Washington University Space Policy Institute.He recently retired after 14 years with the Heritage Foundation, where he was a senior research fellow on Chinese political and security affairs, and wrote on various aspects of Chinese foreign and defense policy.Prior to joining the Heritage Foundation, he was a senior analyst with the China Studies Division (previously, Project Asia) at CNA from 2001-2009. Before joining CNA, he was a senior analyst with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) from 1996-2001. From 1993-1995, he was an analyst with the US Congress' Office of Technology Assessment in the International Security and Space Division, where he studied the Chinese defense industrial complex.He is the author of the book Cyber Dragon: Inside China's Information Warfare and Cyber Operations (NY: Praeger Publishing, 2016), as well as a number of papers and book chapters examining various aspects of Chinese security affairs.Show LinksDean Cheng's article on Chinese military purgesAn Army at Dawn, by Rick AtkinsonChina's HQ‑9B Defense System Under ScrutinySummaryIn this episode, Dean Cheng discusses China's strategic posture, military reforms, cyber capabilities, and the implications of recent global events on China's long-term plans. We explore China's economic outlook, military modernization, regional influence, and the impact of purges within the PLA.Chapters00:00: Introduction and Context of Global Tensions03:01: China's Strategic Position and Five-Year Plan07:07: Defense Spending and Global Security Concerns10:05: China's Vulnerabilities and Energy Security11:44: Military Purges and Leadership Control18:22: Military Readiness and Combat Experience23:27: Testing Chinese Military Equipment in Conflicts28:45: Global Arms Market and Strategic Alliances30:24: Military Culture and Learning from Underperformance32:57: Training and Realistic Combat Experience35:40: Cyber Warfare and Electronic Warfare Concerns38:05: Regional Conflicts and China's Diplomatic Stance40:46: China's Image and Political Warfare44:48: Shifts in Global Alliances and Economic Influence47:34: The Importance of Economic Engagement50:25: China's Diplomatic Approach to Neighbors54:16: Cyber Threats and Infrastructure Vulnerabilities

Hi, It's Michele! Send me a text with who you want as a guest!This episode was recorded at the KBIS Podcast Studio sponsored by AJ Madison and Neal Pann and Apple for Architecture.Laurinda H. Spear, FAIA, PLA, LEED AP, IIDAPrincipal of Arquitectonica As a founding principal of Arquitectonica and ArquitectonicaGEO, Ms. Spear has been active from the beginning, and has participated in the design of many projects undertaken by both firms. She studied fine arts at Brown University, received her Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University and later a Master of Landscape Architecture from Florida International University. She has taught at Harvard and the University of Miami. Ms. Spear is interested in educating others in design excellence, she has lectured around the world, and her work has been exhibited in many prestigious museums.Laurinda has designed many of the firm's signature projects, and her designs have won over a hundred design awards.  Many of Ms. Spear's projects have been featured in books, as well as prominent magazines and professional journals. She was also instrumental in the expansion of Arquitectonica into design fields beyond architecture and planning.  She first established the interior design practice, Arquitectonica Interiors, which earned the firm its place in the Interior Design Hall of Fame.  She also created the design products group, Laurinda Spear Products, which has over 150 products on the market under dozens of global brands. In 2005, Laurinda established the landscape architecture practice ArquitectonicaGEO, focusing on environmental land planning, sustainability, innovation, and landscape design.Laurinda is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a Registered Landscape Architect, a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects, and a LEED Accredited Professional.  She is a recipient of the AIA Silver Medal, the Rome Prize in Architecture and the ULI Lifetime Achievement Award.  Cecilia E. Ramos of LutronCecilia leads Architecture & Design at Lutron where she drives strategy, creative direction, and design engagement globally. She holds degrees in architecture from MIT and Princeton and has traveled the world as a lighting designer for luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, and Dior Parfums. A frequent international speaker and co-author of the book Architectural Lighting: Designing with Light and Space (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011) she finds creative energy though hiking the world's stunning landscapes, painting, and designing jewelry for her own brand. Link to MGHarchitect: MIchele Grace Hottel, Architect website for scheduling a consultation for an architecture and design project and guest and podcast sponsorship opportunities:https://www.mgharchitect.com/

Po kelerių metų pertraukos Rusijos paviljonas atvers duris Venecijos Bienalėje. Toks sprendimas priimtas tebevykstant karui Ukrainoje. Rusijos atstovai teigia, kad kultūra neturėtų būti izoliuojama, o menas – priklausomas nuo politinių konfliktų. Lietuva šį sprendimą sutinka itin kritiškai.Plačiajai publikai atviras festivalio atidarymas su raudonuoju kilimu, kino seansas baseine, slapto filmo peržiūra slaptoje vietoje, seansai, kuriuos lydi ekskursijos gamtoje... Jau pirmadienį prasidedantis festivalis „Kino pavasaris“ ne pirmus metus auditorijai siūlo netradicines patirtis. Ar jos iš tiesų reikalingos?Nacionalinės svarbos krovinys, matyt, taip galėtume įvardinti supakuotus ir į Japoniją keliaujančius Mikalojaus Konstantino Čiurlionio darbus, kurie bus eksponuojami Vakarų meno muziejuje Tokijuje. Kuo ypatingas meno kūrinių gabenimas iš vienos šalies į kitą?Pasaulio kultūros įvykių apžvalgoje apie olandų menotyrininkų naujai atrastą Rembrandto paveikslą, su juo susijusias lietuviškas detales bei į Kambodžą restitucijos būdu sugrąžintas kultūrines vertybes.„Šiandien jau galime tvirtinti: mums pavyko. Nebesame sovietinės sistemos aukos, ką tik paleistos iš kalėjimo ir nesuprantančios, kaip gyventi laisvėje“, – komentare svarsto menotyrininkė Agnė Narušytė.Aktyvią veiklą pradeda penkerius metus rekonstruotas istorinis kino teatras „Daina“. Tiesa, kinas jame rodomas bus tik ypatingomis progomis. Viena jų – 90-ojo gimtadienio savaitė kovo 9-14 dienomis.Piktos moters monologas – taip savo knygą „Ukrainietiško sekso lauko tyrimai“ vadina rašytoja Oksana Zabužko. Prieš 30 metų Ukrainoje pasirodžiusi knyga, pasak rašytojos, sukėlė tikrą revoliuciją jos šalyje: moterims atvėrė akis ir parodė, kad seksas gali būti ne tik romantiškas, bet ir traumuojantis, o vyrams padėjo suprasti savo pažeidžiamumą, visai ukrainiečių tautai parodė, kaip totalitarinio režimo paliktos traumos veikia jų asmeninius, intymius gyvenimus.

„Nors konklavoje dalyvavę kardinolai popiežiaus Leono XIV-ojo išrinkimą pavadino Šventosios Dvasios valia, nauja knyga rodo, kad kardinolo Roberto Prevosto kelią į popiežystę lydėjo ir trapūs tarpusavio aljansai bei žmogiškieji momentai, kurie paveikė įvykių tėkmę Siksto koplyčioje ir galiausiai lėmė pirmojo amerikiečio popiežiaus išrinkimą." Plačiau - vedamojo skiltyje.Naują „Kelionės“ numerį pristato žurnalo redaktorė s. Faustina Elena Andrulytė.Apie vadinamąją „manosferą“ ir jaunų vyrų krizę - Augmino Petronio komentaras.„Krikščioniškos minties puslapis“: Tomaš Halik „Velykų paradoksas ir tikėjimo krizė“.Kun. Mozė Mitkevičius apie Gavėnią ir sukūrimą (1 dalis).Užsklanda: Massimo Borghesi „Išgelbėti grožio“.Redaktoriai Rūta Tumėnaitė ir Julius Sasnauskas.

In this Hobosode I see what's left on the car ding voicemails and call all of the numbers, just to see who will pick up. In the end I don't fool any new people, but I have a nice reunion with a few of the old ones and I'm able to completely empty all of the voicemails from last Dingtember. Thanks, Raising Kane, for sponsoring this one. The opening song is by Henrik. The background music is Switch Lanes by Emergency Pizza Party. The end song is yamiga69 by Jeff.LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHOW: To find out more about the music you hear on this show, visit our page of artists. For a bit of history and a studio tour, this is a good starting page. Request a prank call and find links related to shows at snowplowshow.com. If you're searching for a specific thing said in a show, shitbradsays.com is a great resource for that.SUPPORT THE PLA: For extra weekly shows, subscribe on Patreon, Spotify, or Apple. Get our t-shirts and stickers at our TeePublic store. Get coins, vinyl records, CDs, and more on our Bandcamp page. We also have thing in our Zazzle store in our Spreadshirt store. Buy important things for us at PLA's wishlist or Brad's wishlist, but most importantly, please tell your friends, family, and strangers about all about us.JOIN THE COMMUNITY: Add PLA on Prankcast for live shows, add PLA on Facebook, add Snow Plow Show on Facebook, add PLA on X, add PLA on Tik Tok, add PLA on Bluesky, add PLA on Tumblr, add PLA on YouTube, add Snow Plow Show on YouTube, PLA on Twitch, PLA on Instagram, join a Prank Call Discord, the PLA Reddit, add RBCP on Instagram, add RBCP on X, add RBCP on YouTube, and leave a voice message for the show at 814-422-5309.PLA FRIENDS AND STAFF: Nik Caesar from scary-art.com is the unofficial PLA artist.  Buy PLA designs from Nik's Spreadshirt store.  You might also like the cactus and PLA designs in Laugh Track Matt's store.  Clownsec does a lot of cool things for PLA so go honk the PLAnet.  Watch JIAD's Calls of Mass Confusion and listen to a few of the prank call shows over at World of Prank Calls. Joe DiVita and Vista Blue do lots of music for us, but so do lots of other people, so visit the SPS music page for a very incomplete list.GAME WITH PLA Join us Animal Crossing addicts by becoming our friends on Switch. If you're into GTA5, join the PLA Radio crew.

Host Ken Miller is first joined by USAF Col. (Ret.) Jeffrey Fischer, author and now CEO of Fischer Aerospace, to discuss the breaking news of the US and Israel's attack on Iran and what it could mean for the region. Then, Ken sits down with Dean Cheng, a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies and Non-Resident Fellow at the George Washington University Space Policy Institute. They take a deep dive into the modernization of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) and the evolving security dynamics across the Indo-Pacific, with a focus on China's pursuit of information dominance. The conversation explores how the PLA is adapting its doctrine and capabilities in the EMS, and what that means for the US and its allies.We invite you to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future episodes by emailing host Ken Miller at host@fromthecrowsnest.org or visit us on our Instagram @fromthecrowsnestpodcast.To learn more about today's topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage.

On this episode of the America's Work Force Union Podcast, we celebrate Women in Construction Week with a deep dive into the intersection of public policy, labor power, and gender equity. Our guest, Carol Kim, Business Manager of the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council, shares the "San Diego Story"—a blueprint for how labor can reverse anti-union legislation to build a massive, stable pipeline of work. Key Topics Covered: The Long Game in San Diego: Carol details the strategic campaign to "flip" the city council and pass a ballot measure with 58% voter support to overturn the region's long-standing ban on Project Labor Agreements (PLAs). The $1B Pipeline: How a citywide PLA covering the capital improvements program is creating economic stability for more than 30,000 union workers and expanding apprenticeship slots. Women in the Trades: A candid assessment of why women's participation has climbed from 2.5% to nearly 10% in the region and the cultural shifts still required to reach equity. Childcare as Workforce Development: Why California's ERICA program (Equal Representation in Construction Apprenticeships) is a game-changer for retaining women who are primary caregivers. From Teacher to Labor Leader: Carol reflects on how her background in education and HIV prevention shaped her approach to organizing and why she views labor as the most effective tool for fighting structural poverty. What You'll Learn: Why the nature of construction makes citywide PLAs essential for worker stability, and how intentional mentorship is transforming the face of the San Diego job site. For more information on the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council, visit sdbuildingtrades.com.

Radio klausās arī vājdzirdīgi cilvēki, un tas nav jādara, uzgriežot radio uz "pilnu klapi". Pasaules dzirdes dienā runājam par iespējām uzlabot dzirdi, arī izmantojot mehāniskis līdzekļus. Plašāk stāsta Surdotehniskās palīdzības centra audioloģe Rita Legzdiņa un P.Stradiņa klīniskās universitātes slimnīcas otolaringologs Arturs Barščevskis. Ko nozīmē būt cilvēkam ar vāju dzirdi? Ierakstā uzklausām Ineses Immures pieredzes stāstu. - 3. martā, Pasaules dzirdes dienā, Surdocentrs plāno izglītojošas aktivitātes, lai atbalstītu cilvēkus ar dzirdes traucējumiem un veicinātu sabiedrības izpratni par dzirdes veselību. Bet par bērnu dzirdes problēmām saruna raidījumā "Ģimenes studija".

Preview for later today: Captain James Fanell discusses PLA intelligence operations in Iran, focusing on targeting cells, satellite links, and Chinese naval activity in the Hormuz Strait.1936 RANGER LEXINGTON SARATOGA

The American Radicals Podcast covers DOJ resistance to transparency, Kash Patel drama, hackers stealing Epstein files, and a federal judge who forgot the 1st Amendment. Check us out on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1u3i91czJlGmjnwCKe3bZi?si=22482bf06e0c44a3 https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/feb/28/turmoil-fbi-amid-firings-patel-whistleblower-action-olympics-visit/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=socialnetwork https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/28/us/politics/kash-patel-girlfriend.html?unlocked_article_code=1.PlA.V0-Z.RqIM7IinUjX_&smid=nytcore-ios-share https://dailycallernewsfoundation.org/2026/02/27/trumps-doj-still-refusing-to-disclose-govt-payments-to-twitter-during-peak-censorship/ https://headlineusa.com/hacker-gained-access-to-epstein-files-during-super-bowl-sunday-in-2023/ https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00173569.pdf https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/24/us/minnesota-gun-case-dismissed.html https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/24/politics/washington-post-hannah-natanson-fbi-devices-seized https://www.thisweekinthetriangle.com/p/they-are-destroying-the-planet-raleigh https://headlineusa.com/fbi-informant-in-trump-assassination-case-previously-worked-for-u-s-army-in-afghanistan/

Dimecres passat es va presentar el nou Pla d'Accessibilitat dels Museus de Sitges, un document que estableix fins a 39 punts a millorar en un termini de fins a tres anys i que respon a la necessitat d'adequar-se al marc legal que marca el codi d'accessibilitat de Catalunya. El document ha estat redactat per la doctora en psicologia i màster en Producció i Comunicació Cultural Andrea Granell i s'ha realitzat conjuntament amb l'equip dels Museus i amb una amplia col·laboració d'entitats i col·lectius del territori que han visibilitzat les necessitats en matèria d'accessibilitat actuals als Museus. Fins el 2029 s'aniran implementant aquestes modificacions que acabaran d'eliminar possibles barreres físiques però també aquelles relatives a la comunicació en matèria sensitiva o aquelles de caire cognitiu. Principalment el Pla incideix en el Museu de Maricel i en el Cau Ferrat i la Casa Rocamora i passa, entre d'altres, per la formació del personal per tal d'eliminar barres actitudinals i garantir una accessibilitat universal i uns Museus inclusius per a tothom. N'hem parlat amb Andrea Granell i amb Marta Torrijos, responsable d'accessibilitat dels Museus de Sitges. L'entrada Els Museus de Sitges avancen cap a l’accessibilitat universal ha aparegut primer a Radio Maricel.

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: Rekindling Stories: A Reunion at Barcelona's Heart Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-03-01-08-38-20-ca Story Transcript:Ca: La primavera a Barcelona és màgica.En: Spring in Barcelona is magical.Ca: Els colors són vius, l'aire és fresc i l'ambient a la ciutat sembla ple d'energia i noves oportunitats.En: The colors are vibrant, the air is fresh, and the atmosphere in the city seems full of energy and new opportunities.Ca: A la Plaça del Rei, el sol escalfa les pedres antigues i els turistes passegen amb càmeres i ulls curiosos.En: At Plaça del Rei, the sun warms the ancient stones and tourists stroll with cameras and curious eyes.Ca: Els coloms volen amunt i avall, fent companyia als que descansen als bancs.En: The pigeons fly up and down, keeping company with those resting on the benches.Ca: Júlia havia tornat a Barcelona després de molts anys vivint a l'estranger.En: Júlia had returned to Barcelona after many years living abroad.Ca: Caminava per la plaça amb un somriure lleu, recordant els temps passats.En: She walked through the square with a slight smile, remembering past times.Ca: Tot semblava igual, però alhora tan diferent.En: Everything seemed the same, yet so different at the same time.Ca: Desitjava connectar de nou amb aquells que havia deixat enrere.En: She wished to reconnect with those she had left behind.Ca: Pau, mentrestant, estava assegut en un racó de la plaça.En: Pau, meanwhile, was seated in a corner of the square.Ca: Reflexionava sobre els canvis de la seva vida.En: He was reflecting on the changes in his life.Ca: Els últims anys havien estat plens de decisions difícils i cercava un punt d'anclatge enmig de tanta confusió.En: The past few years had been full of difficult decisions, and he was searching for an anchor point amidst so much confusion.Ca: El seu pensament va ser interromput per una silueta familiar.En: His thoughts were interrupted by a familiar silhouette.Ca: Júlia el va veure des de lluny.En: Júlia saw him from afar.Ca: El cor li va fer un salt.En: Her heart skipped a beat.Ca: Pau havia estat un amic especial.En: Pau had been a special friend.Ca: Durant un instant va dubtar, sentint aquella vella por de no ser benvinguda.En: For a moment, she hesitated, feeling that old fear of not being welcome.Ca: Però va decidir deixar enrere la inseguretat.En: But she decided to leave the insecurity behind.Ca: Amb decisió, es va apropar.En: With determination, she approached.Ca: “Hola, Pau,” va dir amb un somriure.En: “Hello, Pau,” she said with a smile.Ca: Pau la va mirar, i els seus ulls es van obrir de sorpresa.En: Pau looked at her, and his eyes widened in surprise.Ca: Els records dels anys viscuts van sorgir com una onada.En: The memories of the years lived surged like a wave.Ca: “Júlia, quant de temps!” va exclamar amb una barreja de sorpresa i alegria.En: “Júlia, how long it has been!” he exclaimed with a mix of surprise and joy.Ca: Van parlar del passat, de les decisions que els havien portat a aquell moment.En: They talked about the past, about the decisions that had brought them to that moment.Ca: Júlia va explicar la seva necessitat de reconectar, mentre Pau expressava les seves pròpies lluites.En: Júlia explained her need to reconnect, while Pau expressed his own struggles.Ca: La conversa va fluir amb sinceritat.En: The conversation flowed with sincerity.Ca: Sobre les decepcions, les alegries, els canvis.En: About the disappointments, the joys, the changes.Ca: La tensió es va fondre sota el sol de primavera.En: The tension melted away under the spring sun.Ca: Amb cada paraula, les muralles invisibles es desintegraven.En: With each word, the invisible walls disintegrated.Ca: Fins que, finalment, Pau va somriure.En: Until, finally, Pau smiled.Ca: "Potser és hora de començar de nou, no creus?" va dir.En: "Maybe it's time to start anew, don't you think?" he said.Ca: Júlia va assentir.En: Júlia nodded.Ca: “Sí, crec que aquesta ciutat encara té molt a oferir-nos.”En: “Yes, I believe this city still has much to offer us.”Ca: El dia va acabar amb un acord tàcit de reprendre la seva amistat.En: The day ended with a tacit agreement to resume their friendship.Ca: Van decidir trobar-se regularment, per relatar noves aventures i descobrir junts els racons de Barcelona.En: They decided to meet regularly, to share new adventures and discover the corners of Barcelona together.Ca: A la Plaça del Rei, entre ombres medievals i la llum del demà, Júlia va trobar el seu lloc.En: At Plaça del Rei, between medieval shadows and the light of tomorrow, Júlia found her place.Ca: Pau va aprendre a deixar enrere les cadenes del passat i abraçar el present.En: Pau learned to leave behind the chains of the past and embrace the present.Ca: I així, en aquell racó vibrant de la ciutat, dos cors es van reunir, redescobrint la màgia d'una amistat renovada.En: And so, in that vibrant corner of the city, two hearts reunited, rediscovering the magic of a renewed friendship.Ca: La primavera havia teixit el seu encanteri una vegada més.En: Spring had woven its spell once more. Vocabulary Words:magical: màgicavibrant: viusatmosphere: l'ambientstroll: passegenpigeon: el colombench: el bancslight: lleuforeign: l'estrangercorner: el racóanchor point: punt d'anclatgesilhouette: la siluetato hesitate: dubtarinsecurity: la inseguretatdetermination: la decisiósincerity: la sinceritatdisappointment: les decepcionsinvisible: invisiblesto melt: fondrewalls: les murallesmedieval: medievalschains: les cadenespresent: el presentcorner: el racórenewed: renovadato weave a spell: teixir un encanterienergy: l'energiaopportunities: les oportunitatsto interrupt: interromputreconnect: reconnectarto offer: oferir

How to tell if it's PLA or PETG, Ars Moriendi 3D, EFSA Article about micro plastics

In this special episode of the China Power Podcast, listen to our recent event assessing Xi Jinping's widespread purges of China's military and what they reveal about China's priorities, dynamics within the PLA, and China's overall military readiness. To discuss these issues, our event brought together six leading experts on China: Dr. Sheena Chestnut Greitens (Associate Professor at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin), Mr. John Culver (Nonresident Senior Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings), Mr. Jon Czin (Michael H. Armacost Chair in Foreign Policy Studies and Fellow in the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings), Dr. Taylor Fravel (Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and Dr. Bonny Lin (Director, China Power Project and Senior Adviser at CSIS). Mr. Brian Hart (Deputy Director and Fellow of the China Power Project at CSIS). For more on the topic, access the China Power dataset and full report here and read our compilation of expert commentaries here.

La canal central de Cambra d'Ase brillarà aquest vespre amb la llum de les torxes. Seran una trentena de professionals dels CRS rescats de muntanya, la gendarmeria d'alta muntanya, pisters i guies, que faran baixar les flames per aquesta pendent, creant un espectacle de llum que serà visible des del Pla de Cambra. L'estació ofereix avui un forfait de 5€ per pujar a partir de les 17h i anar a l'après-ski o esquiar una estona abans de veure aquesta baixada, que serà a les 19h. En acabat, el públic podrà agafar també una torxa i baixar esquiant fins a Eina o a Sant Pere dels Forcats. Galdric Bes, director de restauració de les estacions Trio Pyrénées

As promised, I'm re-airing one of the most requested interviews from the archives: my conversation with Nate Berkus, originally recorded in 2015—ten years ago.A lot has changed for Nate since then, but when I listened back, I was struck by how timeless this episode is—especially right now. My mother-in-law and I are huge fans, and for my birthday she gave me Nate's latest book, Foundations: Timeless Design That Feels Personal. And that's exactly the theme you'll hear in today's conversation: your home should tell your story—and your money should support a life that feels authentic.We talk about money fear versus abundance, building a business, learning when to ask for help, and Nate's surprisingly great financial habits—including his rule about keeping your wallet organized as a form of respecting money. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Co zrobisz, gdy stracisz dosłownie wszystko – w środku oceanu?W tym odcinku Kościuszko opuszcza Europę z marzeniem i… prawie nie dociera do celu.Czeka Cię:  Rejs, o którym nie piszą w podręcznikach Plaża, na której zaczyna się prawdziwa historia Spotkanie, które zmieniło losy wojny o niepodległość Ameryki Od zera do pułkownika – w 2 miesiąceMyślisz, że Ci w życiu trudno?Posłuchaj tego odcinka. Wesprzyj mój podcast: Będę wdzięczny za postawienie mi kawy → suppi.pl/lepiejteraz Zostań Mecenasem odcinka→ patronite.pl/podcastlepiejterazŹRÓDŁA ODCINKAŹródła główne:Alex Storożynski, The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution (2009) – porwanie Sosnowskiej, ucieczka, spotkanie z FranklinemTadeusz Korzon, Kościuszko: Biografia z dokumentów wysnuta (1894/1896) – stanowisko sceptyczne wobec relacji o porwaniu, cytat: „Jest wiele opowiadań o tej miłości…”Monica Gardner, Kościuszko: A Biography (1920, Project Gutenberg) – wersja ataku w domuGottlieb Mittelberger, Journey to Pennsylvania (1750/1756) – relacja z rejsu transatlantyckiego: warunki na statku, śmierć dzieci, jakość wody i jedzeniaSmithsonian Magazine, 2017 – rekonstrukcja spotkania z Franklinem: „Kręcone brązowe włosy młodego mężczyzny…”Źródła uzupełniające:„Nowiny” (gazeta pijarów), 16 kwietnia 1777 – list Kościuszki do Czartoryskiego, jedyne zachowane świadectwo rozbicia statkuHektoen International – artykuł akademicki o warunkach zdrowotnych na statkach XVIII w.Ludwik-Sebastian Mercier, Tableau de Paris – rytm dnia w Paryżu lat 70. XVIII w.William Coxe, Travels in Poland, Russia, Sweden and Denmark – drogi w RzeczypospolitejPublishers Weekly – recenzja The Peasant Prince, wzmianka o misji Beaumarchais'aUSNI Proceedings – ocena skuteczności blokady brytyjskiej 1775–1778Chronicles of America – opis nabrzeży FiladelfiiEncyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia – dźwięki i atmosfera miasta 1776polishhistory.pl – wywiad ze StorozynskimCiekawostkiHistoryczne.pl – relacja Kościuszki o pierwszych krokach w Amerycebreedshill.org – wersja z listami polecającymi od Lee i CzartoryskiegoLRT (Lithuanian Radio and Television) – wersja litewska o tajnym ślubieCytaty źródłowe:„Wzdłuż przystani leżały masywne…” – Chronicles of America„Synogarlice nie dla wróbli…” – Storożynski, The Peasant Prince, rozdz. 1; potw. prof. P. Ugniewski, dzieje.pl„Trzej mężczyźni, którzy znali Kościuszkę…” – Storożynski, The Peasant Prince, przypis 6 w rozdziale 1„Jest wiele opowiadań o tej miłości…” – Tadeusz Korzon, Kościuszko„Kilku jeźdźców dogania ich galopem…” / „Zamiast walczyć z ojcem ukochanej…” – Storozżynski, The Peasant Prince, rozdz. 1„Nie śmiejąc liczyć na zgodę ojca…” – Gardner, Kościuszko: A Biography (1920)„Losy szczęścia dziwnej Opatrzności Bożej zrządziły…” – „Nowiny”, 16 kwietnia 1777„Smród tak obrzydliwy, że nie sposób go sobie wyobrazić” – Hektoen International, cytujące relacje z epoki„Często bardzo czarna, gęsta i pełna robaków…” – Mittelberger, Journey to Pennsylvania„Przerżnięte czerwonymi robakami i pajęczymi gniazdami” – Mittelberger, Journey to Pennsylvania„Statek jest nieustannie rzucany z boku na bok…” – Mittelberger, Journey to Pennsylvania„Dzieci w wieku od jednego do siedmiu lat…” – Mittelberger, Journey to Pennsylvania„Kręcone brązowe włosy młodego mężczyzny…” – Smithsonian Magazine, 2017„Kto miałby przeprowadzić taki egzamin…” – Storożynski via NPR

Valsts prezidents nodevis Saeimai otrreizējai caurlūkošanai tiesnešu speciālo pensiju likumu, kas maina šo pensiju aprēķināšanas un saņemšanas kārtību. Prezidents norāda uz riskiem mazināt tiesu neatkarību. Plašāk par to diskutējam arī raidījumā Krustpunktā. Vērtē Valsts prezidenta padomniece likumdošanas un starptautisko tiesību jautājumos Kristīne Līce, Tieslietu ministrijas Valsts sekretāra vietniece tiesu jautājumos Inita Ilgaža, Tieslietu padomes priekšsēdētājs un Augstākās tiesas priekšsēdētājs Aigars Strupišs un Latvijas Darba devēju konfederācijas Sociālās drošības un veselības aprūpes eksperts Pēteris Leiškalns. Kad pirms vairākiem gadiem tika nolemts, ka pensionēšanās vecums tiek paaugstināts līdz 65 gadiem, izdienas pensijām tolaik neiznāca pievērsties. Pēc tam politiķiem ilgi nepietika drosmes rīkoties. Daudzu gadu garumā cilvēki ir zvanījuši Brīvajā mikrofonā un teikuši, ka tas ir negodīgi, kāpēc visiem pensionēšanās vecums palielinās, bet atsevišķām kategorijām nē? Bet pagājušā gadā arī droši vien pieaugušā finansiālā spiediena dēļ valdība un Saeima bija nobriedusi rīkoties. Šķita, ka jautājums beidzot kaut daļēji būs sakārtots. Bet pagājušā nedēļā Valsts prezidents vienu no likumiem tomēr atgrieza atpakaļ parlamentam neparakstītu. Tiesneši un prokurori nav parasti cilvēki, un viņiem tāpat vienas sociālās garantijas pasliktināt nedrīkst. Tā mēs nolasījām prezidenta vēstījumu, runājot par šīm divām kategorijām. Kāpēc tā, kā to saprast, ko tas nozīmē attiecībā pret pārējo sabiedrību un vai tiešām tas ir pareizi?   

Part 4 of reuploading classic history episodes in the run up to our book club review of Serve the People! by Yan Lianke.In episode 4 of the Cultural Revolution series, we look at how the party began to rebuild itself in the period 1968-1972 through a series of internal meetings, some last-minute purges, and a few devastating mass campaigns that would end up having a much higher impact than anything the Red Guards had carried out in previous years.Though much had happened in China during the last few years, to many people it seemed like nothing had fundamentally changed. Though the people running the government were different, the structure of the party-state itself had remained the same. If anything, the only real difference was the preeminence that Mao Zedong Thought gained during this period, largely thanks to the support of the PLA.Songs: Long Live Chairman Mao and March of the Revolutionary Youth0:00 Introduction ("Long live Chairman Mao")3:18 Rebuilding the system14:45 "March of the revolutionay youth"15:05 The dismissal of Liu Shaoqi25:40 The 9th plenum28:20 The final campaigns43:00 Lessons learned50:22 OutroBuy bookclub books hereBuy me a coffeeLinks to everythingSupport the showSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod

Part 3 of reuploading classic history episodes in the run up to our book club review of Serve the People! by Yan Lianke.In this episode, we look at how Mao reversed the course of the Cultural Revolution, bringing in the army to end the violence and destruction caused by the factionalism between the Red Guards and other mass organisations. We discuss the much vaunted revolutionary committees, temporary governments made up of a triple alliance between the mass organisations, the Cultural Revolution Group, and the People's Liberation Army.The original aim of the revolution to promote the masses to positions of power in place of corrupt cadres was replaced by the singular quest to restore the country to order. To do this, Mao relied heavily on the PLA, as well as the cadres who not too long ago were seen as public enemy #1.Music clips are from "Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman" and "The People of the World Will Surely be Victorious"00:00 Song "Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman"00:25 Introduction06:23 January Revolution11:50 Song "The People of the World Will Surely be Victorious"12:05 The Triple Alliance14:10 The February adverse current23:20 The Wuhan incident26:24 The 516 purge29:30 Resitance to demobilisation38:10 The failure of the revolutionBuy bookclub books hereBuy me a coffeeLinks to everythingSupport the showSign up for Buzzsprout to launch your podcasting journey: https://www.buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=162442Subscribe to the Sinobabble Newsletter: https://sinobabble.substack.com/Support Sinobabble on Buy me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Sinobabblepod

Is 2026 China's window to “reunite” Taiwan? With Trump's muted position on Taiwan and focus on the Western Hemisphere, China experts see a "perfect storm" of opportunity. Yun Sun, Ph.D., Director of the China Program at the Stimson Center, explains why Beijing believes this may be a now-or-never moment.  Dr. Sun unpacks her arguments and warnings from her recent Foreign Affairs essay. In this episode: The People's Liberation Army's military readiness  If the United States won't intervene, would Japan or South Korea?  Decoding the signals from the purge of PLA generals Xi Jinping's legacy ambitions Warning signs to watch in 2026 Show Notes:  A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026? | Foreign Affairs   Yun Sun | Stimson Center Yun Sun | Brookings  Hosted by Sir Richard Dearlove (former MI6 Chief) and guest co-host Rosanna Lockwood iInternational journalist). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode is the third in a series of three that examine the potential consequences for China if a military operation against Taiwan were to fail. In each of these episodes, we're speaking with authors of a recently published German Marshall Fund study of the possible costs that China would incur across four different, but interrelated areas: the Chinese economy, the military, Chinese social stability, and international costs. The report is titled, “If China Attacks Taiwan” and it is posted on GMFUS.org.  Our podcast today focuses on the potential costs for the Chinese economy.To recap, the study considered two scenarios that could take place in the next five years. In the first scenario, a minor skirmish escalates into a multi-week maritime blockade of Taiwan by China. Although several dozen members of the Chinese and Taiwanese military are killed, U.S. intervention eventually forces China to de-escalate.  In the second scenario, a conflict escalates into a full-fledged invasion, with Chinese strikes on not only Taiwan but also U.S. forces in Japan and Guam. After several months of heavy fighting, Chinese forces are degraded and eventually withdraw after suffering many tens of thousands of casualties.Our guests today are Charlie Vest and Logan Wright, who co-authored the chapter on the implications for the Chinese economy of a failed operation against Taiwan. Logan is a partner at Rhodium Group and leads the firm's work on China's economy and its global impact. Charlie is an associate director at Rhodium Group, where he manages corporate research and advisory work on China.Timestamps:[00:00] Introduction[02:34] Key Takeaways: China's Ambitions vs. Economic Realities [05:41] The Escalation Dilemma in China's Decisionmaking[09:56] Immediate Disruptions to Trade and FDI[13:52] Gray-Zone Military Engagement and Political Pressures[16:48] Could Beijing Underestimate the Costs of US Intervention? [24:12] Policy Tools and Limitations for Economic Stabilization and Recovery[27:19] Long-Term Economic Effects[29:24] Impact of Social Instability

Check out host Bidemi Ologunde's new show: The Work Ethic Podcast, available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Email: bidemiologunde@gmail.comIn this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde takes listeners inside a rare moment when Beijing's usually sealed-off security apparatus is leaking signals to the outside world: a run of espionage-linked detentions and purges touching the PLA command pipeline, and even the state-finance sphere, including the reported downfall of Bank of China executive Lin Jingzhen. What does it mean when China's leadership allows public visibility into cases that would normally be buried? Are these arrests a sign of genuine counterintelligence panic, a political loyalty sweep, or both at once? And if some of the targets include high-ranking officers with real warfighting experience, how does that reshape risk calculations around Taiwan: deterrence, timing, and the chance of miscalculation? Bidemi also maps the second-order ripple effects: crisis communications with the U.S., signals to allies and rivals, procurement and readiness shocks, and the way "anti-espionage" politics can tighten across finance, tech, and society.On the Bid Picture Podcast, I talk about big ideas, and Lembrih is one of them. Born from Ghanaian roots, Lembrih is building an ethical marketplace for Black and African artisans: makers of heritage-rich products often overlooked online. The vision is simple: shop consciously, empower communities, and share the stories behind the craft. Lembrih is live on Kickstarter now, and your pledge helps build the platform. Visit lembrih.com, or search “Lembrih” on Kickstarter.Support the show

Fluent Fiction - Catalan: A Valentine's Night: When Love Meets Unforeseen Magic Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ca/episode/2026-02-14-08-38-20-ca Story Transcript:Ca: És un dia d'hivern a Barcelona i el fred és viu a La Rambla, plena de vida.En: It's a winter day in Barcelona and the cold is lively on La Rambla, bustling with life.Ca: Marcel passeja nerviosament.En: Marcel walks nervously.Ca: Avui és Sant Valentí, i vol sorprendre la seva parella, la Clàudia.En: Today is Valentine's Day, and he wants to surprise his partner, Clàudia.Ca: Ella és una dona pràctica, una mica escèptica, però Marcel vol demostrar-li que l'amor pot ser màgic i inesperat.En: She is a practical woman, a bit skeptical, but Marcel wants to show her that love can be magical and unexpected.Ca: Ha preparat tota una sèrie de sorpreses: un sopar en un petit restaurant amagat, una caminada pels indrets preferits de l'Eixample, i una visita inesperada a un grup de música a la Plaça Reial.En: He has prepared a series of surprises: a dinner at a small hidden restaurant, a walk through the favorite spots of l'Eixample, and an unexpected visit to a band at Plaça Reial.Ca: Ell somia amb una nit perfecta, plena de rialles i moments inoblidables.En: He dreams of a perfect night, full of laughter and unforgettable moments.Ca: Mentre caminen, les rambles bullen d'activitat.En: As they walk, les Rambles are teeming with activity.Ca: Els artistes de carrer fan acrobàcies, la música sona a tot arreu i les parades de flors estan plenes de roses vermelles.En: Street performers are doing acrobatics, music plays everywhere, and the flower stalls are filled with red roses.Ca: L'aire és fred, però ple de la dolça olor de xurros acabats de fer.En: The air is cold, but it is filled with the sweet smell of freshly made xurros.Ca: Clàudia es frega les mans per entrar en calor, però un somriure es dibuixa al seu rostre.En: Clàudia rubs her hands together to warm up, but a smile spreads across her face.Ca: De sobte, sense avisar, Clàudia s'atura.En: Suddenly, without warning, Clàudia stops.Ca: Els seus ulls s'han ampliat, intenta respirar però no pot.En: Her eyes have widened, she tries to breathe but can't.Ca: Marcel s'assusta; sap que ella té asma, però mai ha estat tan greu.En: Marcel panics; he knows she has asthma, but it's never been this severe.Ca: Sense pensar dues vegades, l'agafa amb suavitat, buscant un lloc tranquil per apartar-se del bullici.En: Without thinking twice, he gently takes her, looking for a quiet place away from the commotion.Ca: Troben un banc, a costat d'una petita font, lluny del soroll.En: They find a bench by a small fountain, away from the noise.Ca: Marcel treu el seu telèfon i truca als serveis d'emergència, mentre parla amb Clàudia, calmant-la, agafant-li la mà.En: Marcel takes out his phone and calls emergency services, while he talks to Clàudia, calming her, holding her hand.Ca: La veu d'ell és tranquil·la, però el cor li batega amb força dins del pit.En: His voice is calm, but his heart is pounding hard in his chest.Ca: Mentre esperen l'ajuda, Marcel li diu: "No importa el que havia planejat. La teva salut és més important."En: While they wait for help, Marcel tells her, "It doesn't matter what I had planned. Your health is more important."Ca: La Clàudia li somriu, encara una mica feble, però amb brillantor als ulls.En: Clàudia smiles at him, still a bit weak, but with a brightness in her eyes.Ca: "Gràcies, Marcel. Mai no havia valorat tant la teva presència com ara," diu ella, mentre recupera l'alè i la serenor.En: "Thank you, Marcel. I have never valued your presence as much as I do now," she says, as she regains her breath and composure.Ca: Quan arriben els socorristes, Clàudia ja està més calmada, gràcies a la preocupació i l'amor de Marcel.En: When the paramedics arrive, Clàudia is already calmer, thanks to Marcel's concern and love.Ca: Amb els primers auxilis, Clàudia es recupera i tots dos es queden una estona mirant-se, sense necessitat de més paraules.En: With first aid, Clàudia recovers and the two of them stay for a while looking at each other, with no need for more words.Ca: La nit no va ser com Marcel havia planejat, però va ser més significativa.En: The night did not go as Marcel had planned, but it was more meaningful.Ca: Després de l'incident, s'asseuen junts, mirant les llums de la ciutat.En: After the incident, they sit together, looking at the city lights.Ca: Saben que l'amor no necessita grans gestes, sinó petites accions diàries, moments de cura i comprensió.En: They know that love doesn't need grand gestures, but rather small daily actions, moments of care and understanding.Ca: La Rambla continua vivint, amb el seu bullici i els seus encants, però per a Marcel i Clàudia, aquest Sant Valentí és d'un silenci ple i un amor sincer que els unirà més que qualsevol pla perfecte.En: La Rambla continues its liveliness, with its bustle and charms, but for Marcel and Clàudia, this Valentine's Day is one of filled silence and a sincere love that will unite them more than any perfect plan.Ca: Junts, aprenen que l'amor veritable es troba en el compromís de cuidar-se mútuament, sempre.En: Together, they learn that true love is found in the commitment to care for each other, always. Vocabulary Words:the winter: l'hivernthe rambla: la ramblathe partner: la parellathe skepticism: l'escepticismethe surprise: la sorpresathe dinner: el soparthe restaurant: el restaurantthe laughter: les riallesthe acrobatics: les acrobàciesthe flower stall: la parada de florsthe roses: les rosesthe bench: el bancthe fountain: la fontthe noise: el sorollthe emergency services: els serveis d'emergènciathe heart: el corthe breath: l'alèthe incident: l'incidentthe gifts: els regalsthe commitment: el compromísthe asthma: l'asmathe crowd: la gentthe excitement: l'emocióthe paramedics: els socorristesthe presence: la presènciathe aid: els auxiliisthe sweetness: la dolçorthe warmth: la calorthe brightness: la brillantorthe happiness: la felicitat

Putin coup fears grow as he activates 'kill switch' on security forces Iran's attempt to intimidate Trump backfired Something bizarre is unfolding on Jupiter and it's no longer acting like a planet Homeland Security filmed a UFO over Puerto Rico - then it hit the ocean SpaceX and NASA launch astronauts to relieve bare-bones crew at ISS Chinese rocket falls on their own city! Navy fires commanding officer of destroyer USS Mason Gleisa 710: The Passing Star That Will Stir the Solar System Morning brief: Trump signals Iran deal, CIA targets PLA, Ukraine disrupts Russian Starlink US troops blasted through steel doors 'like it was like papier-mache' to snatch Maduro, Trump says Japan angers China by seizing fishing boat Doomsday fish washes ashore in California, is a massive earthquake coming? Why this asteroid feels wrong and scientists say something is off Russia warns of military response if Greenland becomes US base This rocket could reach Mars in 10 days Venezuela oil sales top $1 billion, funds won't go to Qatar account anymore, Energy Secretary says Ilia Malinin Olympics catastrophe: 'Quad God' falls twice, doesn't medal Russian SA-17 missile makes mid-air U-turn and destroys its own launcher Trump prepares imminent military strike in second country within a month Russia just laid out its Ukraine war endgame — here's what Moscow actually wants

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:  First—President Trump is sending the largest warship in the world toward Iran. The USS Gerald R. Ford will join another carrier already operating in the region as nuclear negotiations remain unresolved. We'll break down what the deployment signals, and what it could mean if talks collapse. Later in the show—The CIA is making a rare public move, releasing a recruitment video designed to turn disaffected officers inside China's military into potential informants. The campaign comes as Xi Jinping's sweeping purge exposes instability within the PLA's leadership. I'll have the details. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief BUBS Naturals: Live Better Longer with BUBS Naturals. For A limited time get 20% Off your entire order with code PDB at https://Bubsnaturals.com Nobl Travel: NOBL gives you real travel peace of mind — security, design, and convenience all in one. Head to https://NOBLTravel.com for 46% off your entire order! #NOBL #ad DeleteMe: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to https://joindeleteme.com/PDB and use promo code PDB at checkout. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China is rapidly expanding its military engagement with African countries through a combination of joint exercises, growing arms sales, officer training programs, and deeper security cooperation under its Global Security Initiative. This widening footprint is generating unease in the United States, where policymakers and analysts are particularly worried about unsubstantiated claims that the PLA is seeking to build a base somewhere along Africa's Atlantic coast. Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, and Paa Kwesi Wolseley Prah, a post-doctoral fellow at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, join Eric & Géraud to explain why Chinese security outreach is getting so much traction across Africa.

In the latest episode of the Hackaday Podcast, editors Elliot Williams and Tom Nardi start things off by discussing the game of lunar hide-and-seek that has researchers searching for the lost Luna 9 probe, and drop a few hints about the upcoming Hackaday Europe conference. From there they'll marvel over a miniature operating system for the ESP32, examine the re-use of iPad displays, and find out about homebrew software development for an obscure Nintendo handheld. You'll also hear about a gorgeous RGB 14-segment display, a robot that plays chess, and a custom 3D printed turntable for all your rotational needs. The episode wraps up with a sobering look at the dangers of industrial robotics, and some fascinating experiments to determine if a decade-old roll of PLA filament is worth keeping or not. Check out the links over on Hackaday if you want to follow along, and as always, tell us what you think about this episode in the comments!

On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with the reports that the PRC is threatening to scuttle Trump's visit to Beijing over a second arms package from the U.S. to Taiwan, including thoughts on next moves from the U.S., how this arms shipment happened, and the PLA's dangerous aerial maneuvers around Taiwan. From there: Reactions to the news that Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in Hong Kong prison, a State Council white paper on “One Country, Two Systems,” and Sanae Takaichi's party secures a supermajority in Japan three months after the PRC's pressure campaign over her Taiwan comments. At the end: The propaganda value of AI models, and a word about hockey and the Winter Olympics.

Honkongas tiesa piespriedusi 20 gadus cietumā demokrātijas aizstāvim Džimijam Lai. Japānas parlamenta apakšpalātas vēlēšanās pārliecinoši uzvar premjeres Takaiči vadītā partija. Irānas un Savienoto Valstu pretstāve un dialogs. Aktualitātes analizē Latvijas Ārpolitikas institūta pētnieks un LATO valdes loceklis Sandis Šrāders, Latvijas Radio Ziņu dienesta ārzemju ziņu žurnālists Rihards Millers un Latvijas institūta valdes locekle, Tuvo Austrumu pētniecības programmas vadītāja Sintija Broka-Kovalevska. Sana-čan – Japānas politikas uzlēkusī saule Japānas politika nav domājama bez Liberāldemokrātiskās partijas. Kopš šī politiskā spēka nodibināšanas 1955. gadā ir bijuši vien divusi trīs gadus ilgi periodi, kad tas nav bijis pie varas. Tā tiek raksturota kā t.s. „jumta” jeb „lietussarga” partija – tāda, kas apvieno dažādu nokrāsu novirzienus, taču kopumā ir ar labēji centrisku, konservatīvu un nacionālistisku ievirzi. Tomēr pēdējie gadi japāņu liberāldemokrātiem nav bijuši viegli. Partijas reitingus deldējušas sociālekonomiskās problēmas – dzīves dārdzība un neiepriecinošā demogrāfiskā situācija, tāpat vairāki skandāli. Jaunākās paaudzes vēlētāju acīs tā ieguvusi „onkuļu partijas” reputāciju – pārāk tradicionāla, pārāk remdena, uz pagātnes lauriem dusoša. Kopš 2024. gada parlamenta vēlēšanām liberāldemokrāti un viņu tradicionālie koalīcijas partneri – centriskā partija „Kōmeitō” – veidoja mazākuma valdību, līdz pagājušā gada oktobrī koalīcija pajuka, premjers Išiba atkāpās un Liberāldemokrātiskās partijas stūri pārņēma tās jaunā līdere Sanaje Takaiči, kļūstot par pirmo premjerministri sievieti Japānas vēsturē. Viņas personā liberāldemokrāti ieguva jaunu seju un elpu. No vienas puses, premjerministre ir uzskatos konservatīva – viendzimuma laulību pretiniece un patriotiskas audzināšanas piekritēja; no otras – savā uzvedībā un manierēs vienkārša, atvērta un demokrātiska. Sevišķi pamanāma ir viņas prasme komunicēt sociālajos tīklos un uzrunāt jauniešu auditoriju, kuras vidū viņa tiek dēvēta par Sana-čan – pievārds ‘čan' japāņu valodā apzīmē tuvas draudzības attiecības ar nosaukto personu. Par koalīcijas partneriem Takaiči izvēlējās nevis līdzšinējos centristus, bet gan krietni labējāko un populistiskāko Japānas Inovāciju partiju. Vēl viens zīmīgs moments ir premjeres prasme atrast kopīgu valodu ar Savienoto Valstu līderi Donaldu Trampu. 13. janvārī Takaiči izsludināja ārkārtas parlamenta vēlēšanas. Šis solis ar mērķi konvertēt personīgos reitingus konkrētā partijas politiskajā ietekmē tika vērtēts kā riskants, taču attaisnojās ar uzviju. Svētdien, 8. februārī, notikušajās vēlēšanās liberāldemokrāti svinēja grandiozu uzvaru, iegūstot vēsturiski lielāko pārstāvniecību parlamentā ar 316 vietām no 465. Koalīcijas partneri Inovāciju partija gan pāris vietas zaudējusi, taču tas nozīmīgi nemaina viņu frakcijas lielumu. Savukārt partijas „Kōmeitō” un lielākā opozīcijas spēka Konstitucionāli demokrātiskās partijas izveidotais bloks Centriski reformistiskā alianse piedzīvojis smagu sagrāvi un vairāk nekā divu trešdaļu mandātu zaudējumu. Jaunā situācija Japānas parlamenta apakšpalātā dod premjerministrei Takaiči lielākas iespējas mainīt Japānas konstitūciju, ko viņa iezīmējusi kā politisku mērķi. Tai skaitā, iespējams, varētu tikt mazināts pamatlikuma izteiktais akcents uz militāras darbības ierobežošanu ārpus valsts robežām. Pēc nākšanas pie varas Japānas līdere paziņoja, ka gadījumā, ja Ķīnas tautas republika mēģinātu ar militāru spēku sagrābt Taivānu, ir iespējama Japānas militāra iejaukšanās. Tas izraisījis krasu attiecību pasliktināšanos starp Pekinu un Tokio ar ekonomiskām sankcijām no Ķīnas puses. „Drednautu diplomātija” un piemirstās cilvēktiesības 6. februārī Omānas galvaspilsēta Maskata kļuva par sarunu vietu starp Savienoto Valstu un Irānas pārstāvjiem, izmēģinot diplomātiju, pirms tiek liktas lietā raķetes un bumbas. Tas ir pirmais šāds abu valstu dialoga precedents kopš pagājušā gada jūnija, kad Izraēla un Savienotās Valstis vērsa gaisa triecienus pret Irānu, tai skaitā tās kodolobjektiem. Arī tagad no Savienoto Valstu puses tā ir „drednautu diplomātija” – janvāra nogalē Arābijas jūrā ieradās amerikāņu jūras spēku kaujas grupa ar aviācijas bāzes kuģi „Ābrahams Linkolns” priekšgalā. Uz „Linkolna” klāja ir modernākās daudzfunkcionālās kaujas lidmašīnas, iznīcinātāji un elektroniskās karadarbības un izlūkošanas lidaparāti. Kaujas grupas kuģi aprīkoti arī ar spārnotajām raķetēm „Tomahawk” un pretraķešu aizsardzības sistēmām. Kā svētdien savā publikācijā izteicās kanāla „Al Jazeera” Dohas institūta politoloģijas asistējošais profesors Muhanads Selūns, svarīgākais rādītājs neesot tas, kas tiek teikts par sarunām, bet gan tie, kas sēdušies pie sarunu galda. No Savienoto Valstu puses tas ir vispārzināmais sarunvedēju pāris Stīvens Vitkofs un Džareds Kušners, kā arī ASV Centrālās pavēlniecības komandieris admirālis Breds Kūpers. Šis vīrs ar uzplečiem esot dzīvs atgādinājums Irānas pusei, ka nepiekāpībai var būt smagas un ātras sekas. Tomēr draudīgais tonis pagaidām nav darījis Teherānu piekāpīgāku, ciktāl runa ir par sarunu priekšmetu kā tādu. Irāna uzstāj, ka ir gatava runāt par savu kodolprogrammu, piekrītot pārtraukt urāna bagātināšanu apmaiņā pret sankciju atcelšanu, bet nekādā ziņā ne par ko citu – ne raķešu ieroču attīstības programmu, ne atbalstu teroristiskajām organizācijām „Hamas” un „Hezbollah” un hutiešu nemierniekiem Jemenā, ne, protams, par cilvēktiesību situāciju Irānas iekšienē. Plašākajā sarunu tvērumā ir īpaši ieinteresēta Izraēla, un tiek spriests, ka premjerministra Netanjahu šodienas visai pēkšņā vizīte Vašingtonā varētu būt saistīta ar vēlmi ietekmēt amerikāņu pozīciju. Katrā ziņā Irānas ārlietu ministrs Abāss Arāgči jau brīdinājis Vašingtonu nepaļauties Izraēlas premjera destruktīvajiem centieniem. Pie tam Irānas iekšpolitiskā situācija šajā diplomātiskajā izspēlē acīmredzami atstumta otrajā plānā, un pasaule turpina noskatīties, kā režīms, noslīcinājis asinīs nesenos protestus, turpina piegriezt skrūves. No Teherānas pienāk ziņas, ka arestēti vairāki prominenti reformistiskas ievirzes politiķi, tāpat ārsti, kas snieguši palīdzību ievainotiem janvāra protestu dalībniekiem. Cilvēktiesību aktīvisti pauž bažas, ka cietumos notiek arestēto protestu dalībnieku slepkavošana. Pekina demonstrē totalitārisma tvērienu Honkongā Pirmdien, 9. februārī, tiesa Honkongā pasludināja spriedumu mediju magnāta Laja Čī-jina, plašāk pazīstama kā Džimija Lai, lietā. Septiņdesmit astoņus gadus vecajam apsūdzētajam piespriesti divdesmit gadi cietumā. Tagad slēgtā laikraksta „Apple Daily” dibinātājs tika apcietināts 2020. gada augustā un pēc apmēram piecus gadus ilgušā procesa atzīts par vainīgu sazvērestībā ar ārzemju spēkiem un musinošu tekstu publicēšanā. Kā paziņoja tiesa, apsūdzētā vainu pastiprina tas, ka viņš esot bijis ārvalstu inspirētas sazvērestības galvenais plānotājs un virzītājspēks. Ar publikācijām savā izdevumā viņš esot aģitējis par ārvalstu sankciju ieviešanu pret Ķīnu. Savu biznesa karjeru sācis apģērbu ražošanas un mazumtirdzniecības jomā, Lai vēlāk pievērsās mediju jomai, izveidojot lielāko Honkongas mediju kompāniju „Next Digital” un jau pieminēto laikrakstu „Apple Daily”. Konfrontācijā ar Ķīnas totalitāro režīmu viņu noveda 2019. – 2020. gada Honkongas protesti, kad Džimijs Lai nostājās demokrātisko spēku pusē, gan personiski kritizēdams Pekinas režīma rīcību, gan uzturēdams attiecīgu ievirzi savos preses izdevumos, gan sniegdams demokrātiskajiem spēkiem finansiālu atbalstu. Ar šo cietumsodu Ķīnas vara nepārprotami demonstrē, ka ikvienam, kas stāsies ceļā tās plāniem pēc iespējas drīz iedabūt Honkongu totalitārās valsts tiesiskajā un politiskajā rāmī, nav ko cerēt uz žēlastību. Kā norādījis Lielbritānijā dzīvojošais notiesātā dēls Sebastjens Lai, ievērojot viņa tēva sirds stāvokli un to, ka pērngad vien viņš zaudējis desmit kilogramus svara, faktiski šis uzlūkojams kā nāves spriedums. Džimijs Lai kopš 1994. gada ir arī Lielbritānijas pavalstnieks, un britu ārlietu ministre Iveta Kūpere paziņojusi, ka valdība darīs visu iespējamo, lai panāktu viņa atbrīvošanu. Tikām skarbu opozīcijas kritiku izpelnījies britu premjerministrs Kīrs Stārmers, kurš pirms pāris nedēļām viesojās Pekinā, vienojās par vīzu režīma atvieglojumiem britu tūristiem un mazāku ievedmuitu viskijam, taču, kā šķiet, nepratās neko darīt tiesājamā demokrātijas aizstāvja labā. Šīs ir vēl viens pārmetums leiboristu valdības galvam, kura kabineta prestižs pēdējā laikā krietni pabojāts arī t.s. „Epstīna failu” sakarā. Sagatavoja Eduards Liniņš.

Mike joins I-Chung Lai, President of The Prospect Foundation. Prior to current role, he held several prominent positions within Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, serving as Executive Director of the DPP Mission to the United States and as the Director General of the Department of International Affairs. They discuss the PLA's increasing operational abilities and Taiwan's potential response to counter a blockade, how Taipei is interpreting the evolution of Chinese foreign policy towards Taiwan and the purge of Chinese general Zhang Youxia, Taipei's assessment of U.S. foreign policy and posture in the Indo-Pacific, and much more.

Back in April 2021 we covered news about a record breaking 25 Chinese air force aircraft including fighters and nuclear-capable bombers that entered Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ). At the time 25 seemed like an alarming number. It was the largest incursion by Chinese military planes into Taiwan's ADIZ to date.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/chinas-alarming-gray-zone-tactics-around-taiwan-and-its-neighboring-nations-in-asia-ep-340/   To be clear these sorts of activities had been going on long before this and long before September of 2020 which about the time that Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense started to publicly report China's incursions.   The China's People's Liberation Army has shown no signs of letting up. The PLA's gray zone tactics, have also included the use of drones and balloons. Incursions by warplanes and naval ships into the airspace and waters surrounding Taiwan are now a daily occurrence.. And they have completely shattered the record 25 aircraft in Taiwan's ADIZ many times over.   Major military exercises have included the Joint Sword-2024A. Three days after Taiwan's President Lai Ching-te's inauguration in May 20 of 2024, China's PLA conducted two days of military exercises in the air and sea space around Taiwan.   More recently, at the end of 2025 on December 29 and 30, People's Republic of China (PRC) military forces carried out a large-scale exercise in the air and ocean areas around Taiwan called "Justice Mission-2025."  This two days of PLA military exercises involved at least 200 warplanes.   Unfortunately these types of gray zone tactics by China have become commonplace and while they have been more widely reported on, even more troubling are the other gray zone tactics that the PRC has been levying on Taiwan, which include the presence of Chinese owned and operated oil rigs in Taiwan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and on January 16th the New York Times reported that China quietly mobilized thousands of fishing boats twice already, most recently in the first few weeks of this new year.   Quoting from the New York Times, "By January 11, they had assembled into a rectangle stretching more than 200 miles. Maritime and military experts said the maneuvers suggested that China was strengthening its maritime militia, which is made up of civilian fishing boats trained to join in military operations."   This was not the first time, a month earlier on December 25th the Times reported that "about 2,000 Chinese fishing boats assembled in two long, parallel formations on Christmas Day in the East China Sea. Each stretched 290 miles long, about the distance from New York City to Buffalo, forming a reverse L shape"   According to the New York Times, "The unusual formations were spotted by Jason Wang, the chief operating officer of ingeniSPACE, a company that analyzes data, and were independently confirmed by The Times using ship location data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence."   In this episode of Talking Taiwan we will be speaking to Marvin Bernado, Maritime Domain Awareness Analyst at ingeniSPACE and Elva Wu, National Security Researcher / Imagery Analyst at ingeniSPACE.   About ingeniSPACE:   ingeniSPACE is a geospatial intelligence company integrating remote sensing data across multiple phenomenologies. We are an insight-as-a-service platform delivering all weather day-night multi-temporal understanding around the world. Our intelligence extends the "executive decision making time" that public sector and commercial leaders need to make well-informed decisions.   Related Links: https://talkingtaiwan.com/chinas-alarming-gray-zone-tactics-around-taiwan-and-its-neighboring-nations-in-asia-ep-340/  

Guest: Grant Newsham. Newsham discusses the PLA purge of leadership, analyzing the implications of Xi Jinping'sremoval of top military officials and what it signals about internal instability within China's armed forces. Guest: Grant Newsham. Newsham critiques the weaknesses of national security studies that expect Chinese attack only at Taiwan, arguing this narrow focus leaves the U.S. vulnerable to broader PRC strategic threats. Guest: John Cochrane. Cochrane analyzes the inadequacy of tariffs as an economic tool, explaining why they fail to achieve their intended goals and often harm domestic consumers and businesses. Guest: John Cochrane. Cochrane discusses the demand for foreign investment, examining how capital flows impact the U.S. economy and the complexities of managing trade imbalances. Guest: Rebecca Grant. Grant compares U.S. carrier capabilities into the future against China's naval expansion plans, assessing the shifting balance of power in the Pacific. Guest: Rick Fisher. Fisher details China's century-long plan for space supremacy, warning that Beijing's strategic investments in space technology pose a significant threat to American dominance. Guest: Steve Yates. Yates examines how allies Australia, Canada, and the UK are seeking favorable trade deals with China, raising concerns about alliance cohesion amid PRC economic pressure. Guest: Steve Yates. Yates discusses strategies for dealing with the PRC as an adversary seeking supremacy, emphasizing the need for coordinated Western responses to Chinese ambitions. Guest: Sinan Ciddi. Ciddi analyzes Erdogan succession prospects in Turkey, examining potential successors and the implications for Turkish domestic and foreign policy. Guest: Sinan Ciddi. Ciddi assesses the possibility of democracy in Turkey, discussing the structural obstacles and political dynamics that shape the country's democratic trajectory. Guest: Sadanand Dhume. Dhume reports on the India-EU trade deal after 21 years of negotiation, analyzing the significance of this agreement for both economies and regional geopolitics. Guest: Michael Bernstam. Bernstam examines Russia's budget gap widening with the sinking price of oil, detailing the fiscal pressures facing Moscow as energy revenues decline. Guest: Simon Constable. Constable reports from France with a resident European pine marten, offering observations on rural life and wildlife in the French countryside. Guest: Simon Constable. Constable discusses the Labour scandal with the Epstein revelations, analyzing the political fallout affecting Britain's governing party. Guest: Bob Zimmerman. Zimmerman reports on Artemis plans for a launch in March, detailing NASA's progress toward returning American astronauts to the Moon. Guest: Bob Zimmerman. Zimmerman analyzes the failing Roscosmos, describing Russia's declining space program and its inability to compete with American and Chinese advancements.

Kremlinology has made its way east as analysts try to make sense of dramatic PLA purges under Xi Jinping. The CCP regime appears to be clearing house, but what does it all mean? Should there be a reconsideration of a Taiwan contingency for China? Is China even equipped to make threats against its neighbors? At […]

Kremlinology has made its way east as analysts try to make sense of dramatic PLA purges under Xi Jinping. The CCP regime appears to be clearing house, but what does it all mean? Should there be a reconsideration of a Taiwan contingency for China? Is China even equipped to make threats against its neighbors? At a moment of global turbulence, why reduce military expertise? What does it all mean for the United States? Is Xi going the way of Stalin? So many questions; join us for the answers.John Garnaut is the founder of Garnaut Global, where he provides strategic advice and risk management services to global finance and corporate clients as an authority on Chinese elite politics and Chinese Communist Party interference. John was previously Fairfax's China correspondent and Asia-Pacific Editor, Senior Advisor to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and Principal Advisor at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, where he led the government's analysis and policy response to authoritarian interference. He regularly presents to departments and agencies in Australia and the United States and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.Read the transcript here.Subscribe to our Substack here.

On today's show Andrew and Bill begin with follow-up thoughts on the purges at the top of the PLA, including reactions to a New York Times piece on Xi's “paranoia,” answers that have yet to materialize, He Weidong suicide rumors, and various theories on what any of this might signal. From there: Keir Starmer's trip to Beijing, caution before drawing too many conclusions from the recent steps from Canada and the U.K., and a flurry of stories about Xi's ambitions for the RMB as a global reserve currency. At the end: Parsing the readouts from a surprise Trump-Xi call Wednesday, why Taiwan arms sales may have been at issue, the U.S. gets serious about critical minerals, Panama deals a blow to China, and Nvidia's H200 adventures head to the State Department.

Guest: Grant Newsham. Newsham discusses the PLA purge of leadership, analyzing the implications of Xi Jinping'sremoval of top military officials and what it signals about internal instability within China's armed forces.1903

In this week's episode of China Insider, Miles Yu covers the increase of PLA naval and air patrols around Scarborough Shoal in response to US-Philippine joint military exercises, and what this development indicates about China's evolving maritime strategy in the Indo-Pacific. Second, Miles unpacks the decision by the Chinese Football Association to issue 73 lifetime bans to coaches and players for match fixing and details the larger network of corruption across professional sports in China. Finally, Miles reviews the executions of eleven Ming mafia family members related to scam centers based in Myanmar, and what this judicial process reveals about the current state of bilateral relations between China and Myanmar.China Insider is a weekly podcast project from Hudson Institute's China Center, hosted by China Center Director and Senior Fellow, Dr. Miles Yu, who provides weekly news that mainstream American outlets often miss, as well as in-depth commentary and analysis on the China challenge and the free world's future. 

Today's episode is the second in a three-part series that examines the potential consequences for China if a military operation against Taiwan were to fail. In each of these episodes, we're speaking with authors of a recently published German Marshall Fund study of the possible costs that China would incur across four different, but interrelated areas: the Chinese economy, the military, Chinese social stability, and international costs. Our podcast today focuses on the potential costs for domestic social stability. To recap, the study considered two scenarios occurring in the next five years. In the first scenario, a minor skirmish escalated into a multi-week maritime blockade of Taiwan by China. Although several dozen members of the Chinese and Taiwanese military were killed, US intervention eventually forced China to de-escalate.  In the second scenario, a conflict escalated into a full-fledged invasion, with Chinese strikes on not only Taiwan but also US forces in Japan and Guam. After several months of heavy fighting, Chinese forces were degraded and eventually withdrew after suffering many tens of thousands of casualties. Joining us today are Sheena Chestnut Greitens and Jake Rinaldi. Sheena is an associate professor at the University of Texas at Austin and visiting research faculty at the US Army War College. Jake is an associate political scientist at the RAND Corporation.Timestamps: [00:00] Introduction  [02:11] Why This Matters to US Policymakers [04:37] Managing Social Stability During Conflict with Taiwan  [08:01] How the CCP Identifies and Suppresses Sources of Instability[10:44] Social Stability Organizations and Institutions  [15:06] Domestic Pressures & Potential Party Responses [19:00] Estimating Public Support for Reunification [23:09] Scenario 3: Protracted Conventional Conflict [26:55] Lessons Learned from COVID Lockdowns [31:28] Long-Term Implications for Stability Post-Conflict 

Subscribe now to skip the ads. While Danny looks after his gold assets, Always at War's Alex Jordan once again helps Derek bring you headlines from around the globe. This week: the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moves the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight (0:54); the Trump administration renews threats against Iran while demanding a new deal that would eliminate uranium enrichment, missile programs, and regional proxies (3:47); Syria's government and the SDF agree to a ceasefire extension following more violence in the northeast (12:58); in Gaza, Israel recovers the remains of the final Israeli captive tied to Phase One of the ceasefire, partially reopens the Rafah crossing, and advances plans for large camps in Rafah (16:28); Myanmar's military completes a staged election delivering the expected victory for the junta-backed party (27:24); China faces fresh turbulence in its military leadership as a senior PLA figure is investigated (30:07); Sudan sees reported new fighting in Blue Nile and claimed gains in Kordofan (34:28); the government of South Sudan launches a campaign against rebels (38:04); there are reports of clashes between government and Tigrayan forces in Ethiopia (40:53); talks involving the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine fail to produce progress (44:02); the EU and India announce a major free trade agreement (47:00); Trump threatens sweeping tariffs against Canada over trade and China policy, amid diplomatic friction and reports of contacts with Alberta separatists (49:32); the U.S. moves toward reopening its embassy in Venezuela as reporting points to CIA interest in establishing a permanent presence (54:07); and a new U.S. National Defense Strategy emphasizes dominance in the Western Hemisphere while maintaining preparations for potential conflict with China (58:20). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Danny looks after his gold assets, Always at War's Alex Jordan once again helps Derek bring you headlines from around the globe. This week: the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moves the Doomsday Clock to 85 seconds to midnight (0:54); the Trump administration renews threats against Iran while demanding a new deal that would eliminate uranium enrichment, missile programs, and regional proxies (3:47); Syria's government and the SDF agree to a ceasefire extension following more violence in the northeast (12:58); in Gaza, Israel recovers the remains of the final Israeli captive tied to Phase One of the ceasefire, partially reopens the Rafah crossing, and advances plans for large camps in Rafah (16:28); Myanmar's military completes a staged election delivering the expected victory for the junta-backed party (27:24); China faces fresh turbulence in its military leadership as a senior PLA figure is investigated (30:07); Sudan sees reported new fighting in Blue Nile and claimed gains in Kordofan (34:28); the government of South Sudan launches a campaign against rebels (38:04); there are reports of clashes between government and Tigrayan forces in Ethiopia (40:53); talks involving the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine fail to produce progress (44:02); the EU and India announce a major free trade agreement (47:00); Trump threatens sweeping tariffs against Canada over trade and China policy, amid diplomatic friction and reports of contacts with Alberta separatists (49:32); the U.S. moves toward reopening its embassy in Venezuela as reporting points to CIA interest in establishing a permanent presence (54:07); and a new U.S. National Defense Strategy emphasizes dominance in the Western Hemisphere while maintaining preparations for potential conflict with China (58:20).Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

In this episode of The Diplomat's Asia Geopolitics podcast, Ankit Panda and Katie Putz discuss the recent downfall of General Zhang Youxia, a significant figure in China's military leadership. They explore the implications of his removal, the allegations of corruption and espionage, and how this reflects broader trends in Chinese politics under Xi Jinping. For more on the intrigues of China's military purges, check out Zi Yang's recent article for The Diplomat, “The Purge of Zhang Youxia and Liu Zhenli: Why and What's Next for China's Military” and his October 2025 article, “What Does the Fall of He Weidong Mean for the PLA?”

Jon Czin, former CIA analyst and NSC staffer, returns to talk purges. We have far too much fun. The disney take on PLA purges: https://suno.com/s/Wv1yQyxdUhWBzyA0 08:50 Deep read into the WSJ nuke traitor allegations 22:10 Xi getting paranoid? 26:13 Taiwan implications 32:38 Succession implications 45:55 It must really suck to work in Chinese politics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of China Decode, Alice Han and James Kynge break down a seismic week in Beijing. China has effectively blown up the top of its military command, sidelining Xi Jinping's most trusted lieutenant and raising questions about loyalty, readiness, and how secure Xi really is at the apex of power. They explain what this unprecedented purge inside the PLA means—not just for China's military, but for regional stability and markets. They also unpack the post-China future of TikTok. After years of bans, lawsuits, and security concerns, a last-minute deal keeps the app alive in the U.S.—but does it truly sever Beijing's influence, or just repackage it? With 180 million American users and a generation getting its news from TikTok, we explain why this deal matters far beyond social media. And finally, Alice sits down with economist Houze Song to cut through the spin on China's economy—from headline growth numbers and export dependence to the long shadow of the property collapse and what Beijing may (or may not) do next.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's episode of China Insider, Miles Yu covers the recent CCP investigations into the vice chair of China's Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, and the chief of staff of the commission's Joint Staff Department, Liu Zhenli, and what these purges mean for PLA operations and effectiveness. Next, Miles reviews the authorization of President Trump's Board of Peace, the international actors that have joined so far, and the significance of the board to China. Finally, Miles unpacks China's demographic crisis and declining birthrate, and how the CCP plans to respond to the crisis.China Insider is a weekly podcast project from Hudson Institute's China Center, hosted by China Center Director and Senior Fellow, Dr. Miles Yu, who provides weekly news that mainstream American outlets often miss, as well as in-depth commentary and analysis on the China challenge and the free world's future. 

Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureChina & Canada are trying to bypass Trump trade tariffs. This has already failed, and Trump calls out Carney.EU economy is weak and it is getting weaker, there are two paths, one that follows the [CB] agenda the other is Trump economic agenda. Inflation declines again, Gold and Silver are up, Trump’s plan is working, its time to end the endless.The [DS] is now calling for the insurgency to accelerate. Clinton and Obama are now calling on their foot soldiers to push the insurrection against Trump. Trump has put a message to all D’s, lets work together, the optics are very good, the D’s will do this for a short period of time but in the end they will push the insurrection. Once they do this, they lost the people. Timing and optics are very important.   Economy  Carney Cracks: Canada Has ‘No Intention’ Of Pursuing Free Trade Deal With China After Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs To review: right before Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney returned from a trip to Beijing and announced a new 5-point ‘strategic partnership’ to ‘diversify our trade partnerships.’ The agreements included slashing tariffs on Chinese EV imports from 100 percent to 6.1 percent for the first 49,000 units, in exchange for China cutting tariffs on Canadian canola from 85 percent to 15 percent until at least the end of the year. Other exports, including Canadian canola meal, lobsters, crabs, and peas will also not be subject to Chinese anti-discrimination tariffs until at least the end of 2026. A week later, Carney told the global elite at Davos resort that the “rules-based order” established by the United States and its allies following WW2 was fraying amid the current rivalry between China and America, so the “middle powers must act together because if we’re not on the table, we’re on the menu.”  Carney said that for their survival, nations should no longer “go along to get along” with Trump.   Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has “no intention” of pursuing a free trade deal with China, after Donald Trump threatened to slap a 100% tariff on Canadian exports if Ottawa “makes a deal” with Beijing.   Source: zerohedge.com Trump Is Right About Europe's Weak Economy: U.S. vs. EU Compared  President Trump argued that Europe's economic stagnation is the result of a self-inflicted “civilizational erasure” driven by reliance on what he calls the “Green New Scam,” which he says has replaced affordable energy with costly and unreliable wind power. He further asserted that unchecked mass migration has strained social infrastructure and altered the continent's cultural identity, while a stifling regulatory environment and excessive government spending have suppressed the innovation needed to compete with the United States. Finally, he accused European nations of freeloading on American security, arguing that their failure to meet NATO defense spending targets over the past 70 years has allowed them to avoid the true costs of national sovereignty at the expense of the American taxpayer. Based on current economic data as of January 2026, the comparison supports Trump's critique. While the United States is experiencing aggressive growth alongside widespread deregulation, Europe remains mired in what can best be described as stabilized stagnation. The United States enters 2026 with inflation at 2.7%, steadily returning toward the 2% target. As in President Trump's first term, strong GDP growth has been paired with relatively modest inflation. Fourth-quarter GDP growth is projected at 5.4%, dwarfing Europe's stagnant 0.2%. For the full year, U.S. growth is expected to reach between 4.3% and 5%, while Europe is projected to manage only about 1.3% to 1.6%. On the labor front, the United States maintains its historical advantage, with unemployment at 4.4% compared to 6.3% in the Eurozone. This low level of unemployment has been achieved despite deep government job cuts that reduced taxpayer costs. While the United States reduced federal spending by $100 billion, European fiscal policy has moved in the opposite direction. The U.S. has moved 1.2 million people off food stamps, while European social safety nets are coming under increased strain from rising living costs. In 2024, the most recent data available, EU social protection spending rose by 7%, far outpacing nominal GDP growth. This imbalance pushed the social expenditure-to-GDP ratio to 27.3% across the bloc, with countries such as France and Austria exceeding 31%, reinforcing the strain caused by rising demand for social welfare. Energy remains far cheaper in the United States, particularly electricity and natural gas, due to abundant domestic production, lower taxes and levies, and reduced reliance on imports, with overall prices about half of Europe's and industrial electricity often as little as one-third. Source: thegatewaypundit.com (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2015764155580756471?s=20 https://twitter.com/truflation/status/2015770236105138602?s=20 https://twitter.com/WallStreetMav/status/2015647917441183786?s=20 spending problems. Gold is at record highs against every currency, not just the dollar Political/Rights DOGE https://twitter.com/WallStreetMav/status/2015553600106164548?s=20 Geopolitical https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2015729194270154997?s=20   supply before then. More LNG, more U.S. gas, more renewables… Higher costs baked in. For Brussels this is an irreversible line. After 2027, there's no “going back to normal.” The EU has indeed been importing refined petroleum products from India that originate from Russian crude oil, creating an indirect pathway for Russian oil to enter the European market despite sanctions on direct imports from Russia since December 2022.  This circumvention became prominent after the EU and G7 imposed a price cap on Russian oil, prompting Russia to redirect exports to countries like India and China, where the crude is refined and then resold.    EU officials and analysts have long acknowledged the loophole, which is why recent sanctions packages have targeted it directly. For instance, the EU’s 18th sanctions package in July 2025 banned the import of petroleum products derived from Russian crude processed in third countries, and specifically sanctioned Nayara Energy, an Indian refinery partly owned by Russia’s Rosneft.  The 19th package in October 2025 further tightened measures by sanctioning additional third-country entities, including three in India, for supporting Russia’s circumvention efforts. As a result, major Indian refiners like Reliance Industries have stopped importing Russian crude for certain facilities to comply with these rules and maintain access to EU markets. Russia, meanwhile, continues to adapt by using new middlemen exporters to supply India, aiming to sustain the flow despite the crackdown.  India has not fully stopped importing Russian oil since then, but imports have significantly declined. In 2025, Russia’s share of India’s crude oil imports fell to 33.3% from 36% the previous year, while OPEC’s share rose slightly to 50%.  By December 2025, India dropped to the third-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels overall, importing €2.3 billion worth that month, with major refiners like Reliance Industries scaling back or halting purchases.    This reduction appears driven by a mix of U.S. tariff pressures, steeper discounts on Russian crude drawing buyers back selectively, and India’s strategic diversification to ensure energy security without fully alienating Russia—a key defense and trade partner. https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2015527595975033161?s=20   the CMC Joint Staff Dept: Under investigation for violations 5. Director of CMC Political Work Dept: Removed in 2025 over corruption The US-China rivalry has gone well beyond trade.   The purges depicted in the image of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) stem from an escalating anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping, which has targeted the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) extensively since 2023. This drive is officially framed as rooting out graft, bribery, and disciplinary violations, but analysts widely interpret it as a mechanism for Xi to consolidate power, enforce unwavering loyalty among military leaders, and address systemic issues like incompetence or factional rivalries that could undermine PLA readiness.  The campaign has intensified in 2025-2026, affecting nearly the entire top echelon of the CMC—China’s highest military decision-making body, chaired by Xi himself—leaving it in significant disarray  War/Peace Report: Iran's Khamenei Flees to ‘Fortified' Bunker, Fearing U.S. Strike Following rising concerns over a possible U.S. military strike, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has relocated to a heavily fortified underground compound in Tehran, according to reports, which cited sources close to the regime who revealed his son now oversees day-to-day operations. Source: breitbart.com https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2015828196273303756?s=20 calling it a dream disconnected from reality. The US covers about 68% of NATO defense spending while Europe still misses its 2% commitments. Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2015559098847428717?s=20 https://twitter.com/JoeConchaTV/status/2015519543846703552?s=20 If you are preparing a city for an insurrection is this what you do to lower morale, have police quit and this way there is no one to stop the insurgency     In 2024 Minnesota AG Keith Ellison Argued No Right to Carry a Gun at ‘Political Rallies and Protests' In 2024, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) was among 17 AGs who contended there is no right to carry a gun at “political rallies and protests.” The AGs did this in a January 26, 2024, filing in support of upholding California's gun controls for “sensitive places” in a Ninth Circuit case. In the filing, Ellison and the other AGs expressed support for banning the possession of firearms “in crowded places.” The AGs wrote: “Without the power to institute such restrictions, California and other states would be left unable effectively to prevent gun violence in crowded places, around vulnerable populations, or where individuals are exercising other constitutionally protected rights, putting the public at risk.” They emphasized, “Even the perceived risk of gun violence could cause repercussions, as individuals may be discouraged from visiting crowded or confined locations where they know others may be armed.” Source: breitbart.com https://twitter.com/BillClinton/status/2015562744993350135?s=20 Didn’t Bill and Hiliary Violate a Supeona to testify in front of congress, they broke the law, shouldn’t he be in jail. Barack Obama Urges More Street Protests, Blames Trump for Minneapolis Shooting https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/2015479691147149747?s=20 4700 Q !!Hs1Jq13jV6 ID: a54ff9 No.10644532 Sep 14 2020 11:34:31 (EST) Worth remembering [think what you see today]. https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/119629.pdf

2026-01-26 | UPDATES #113 | “Treason” in the PLA? Xi's unprecedented purge — corruption, loyalty, and coup rumours. Today's story is not “just another corruption scandal” in China. This is the Chinese Communist Party reaching up into the absolute top of the People's Liberation Army — right into the room where war plans live — and yanking out two senior figures in one move. Top figures in fact. Beijing's official language is clipped. The implications are not. China's defence ministry says it has opened investigations into General Zhang Youxia — a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, effectively the uniformed number two under Xi Jinping — and General Liu Zhenli, a CMC member and chief of the Joint Staff Department. The stated reason: “suspected serious violations of discipline and law.” (Reuters)----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------SOURCES: Xinhua: Defence ministry announcement (Jan 24, 2026). Xinhua / PLA Daily editorial summary (Jan 24, 2026). Reuters: Investigation details and context on PLA purges (Jan 24, 2026). Associated Press: Overview and recent purge timeline (Jan 24, 2026).Financial Times: Loyalty framing and “authority” angle (Jan 25, 2026). Washington Post: Scale of upheaval and command implications (Jan 25, 2026).Wall Street Journal: Reported additional allegations (unconfirmed by PRC statement) South China Morning Post: “Party purity” framing and political timing (Jan 25, 2026). Official explainer of the “CMC Chairperson Responsibility System” (SCIO, background).Reuters (background): Li Shangfu/Wei Fenghe expulsions (Jun 2024) and 2027 readiness reporting (Feb 2023). German Marshall Fund (background): Rocket Force shakeup (Aug 2023). Andrew Erickson (analysis aggregation; includes translated/linked primary text). Sinocism (analysis; discussion of messaging speed and implications). ----------SILICON CURTAIN LIVE EVENTS - FUNDRAISER CAMPAIGN Events in 2025 - Advocacy for a Ukrainian victory with Silicon Curtainhttps://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extrasOur events of the first half of the year in Lviv, Kyiv and Odesa were a huge success. Now we need to maintain this momentum, and change the tide towards a Ukrainian victory. The Silicon Curtain Roadshow is an ambitious campaign to run a minimum of 12 events in 2025, and potentially many more. Any support you can provide for the fundraising campaign would be gratefully appreciated. https://buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtain/extras----------