Podcasts about South China Sea

The Space Show Presents Rick Fisher, Tuesday, June 9, 2026Quick SummaryThe Space Show featured a discussion with national security consultant Rick Fisher about China's space program and its implications for national security. Rick explained that space has become a major component of American global national security considerations, with China positioning itself either as a major antagonist or cooperative partner depending on Earth-based conflicts. He detailed China's lunar program, including their Lanyue lunar lander and their manned capsule, while warning that Chinese dual-use systems on the moon could potentially extend Earth conflicts to lunar territory. The conversation covered China's energy independence efforts through nuclear fission, space solar power, and fusion energy development, as well as their reusable rocket capabilities with 20-25 Chinese companies developing reusable launch vehicles similar to SpaceX's approach. Rick also discussed the Artemis program's goals of establishing a semi-permanent presence on the moon by 2036, requiring 79-81 space launches and approximately $30 billion in total investment. The discussion concluded with analysis of Taiwan's potential response to Chinese aggression and the role of other Asian countries like India and Japan in balancing Chinese space ambitions.Detailed SummaryDavid and Rick discussed the role of space in national security, particularly regarding China's lunar program and its implications for Taiwan and the South China Sea. They also touched on UAPs (Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena), with John contributing insights about China's interest in UAPs and the government's handling of the topic. The conversation highlighted differing perspectives on the significance of UAPs and the potential motivations behind government secrecy regarding the subject.David, Rick, and John discussed concerns about Chinese influence and espionage in the United States, including allegations against politicians like Feinstein and a California politician. They questioned why such activities are tolerated despite being known. The conversation then shifted to SpaceX's upcoming IPO and its performance. The conversation continued with the guest continuing to discuss China's space program and its broader implications for national security.Rick discussed the increasing importance of space in American national security, particularly in relation to China's space activities. He explained that space has become a determinant factor in global security, with both countries positioning themselves as either antagonists or cooperative partners. He praised President Trump's focus on returning to the moon through the Artemis program as a way to deter conflict and secure American access to space. He noted that Trump's second-term goal of establishing a permanent presence on the moon could help prevent conflicts not only on the moon but also in low Earth orbit and potentially on Earth.Rick was asked about China's energy strategies and vulnerabilities, explaining that China's reliance on oil passing through the Straits of Hormuz presents a strategic weakness. He detailed China's multi-pronged energy approach including nuclear fission plants, space solar power research, and fusion energy development. When asked about space-based data centers, he indicated China is following the American trend with plans to launch such facilities in the near future, potentially on a large scale to support AI functions on Earth. The discussion was cut off before John's question about potential lunar conflict could be addressed.Our guest discussed the potential risks and challenges associated with China's lunar lander program, particularly regarding the Lanyue lunar lander and its propulsion stage, which could pose hazards to other lunar missions or bases. He highlighted the need for deconfliction and transparency from China regarding their lunar lander operations. Rick also mentioned the deployment of hopper drones by both the United States and China around the moon, noting the potential for these to be modified for combat purposes if tensions escalate on Earth.China's potential space ambitions were brought to our attention, noting that if China were willing to use technology for political intimidation in low Earth orbit, they might extend similar activities to lunar or Martian environments. John suggested that getting to space first could provide an advantage in staking territorial claims. Dr. Kothari asked three questions about China's plans: circumnavigating the moon with astronauts in 2027, deploying thorium molten salt reactors for terrestrial use, and developing reusable rockets. Rick acknowledged limited knowledge about China's reactor plans but noted that China has 20-25 companies working on reusable space vehicles, with the potential for first stage recovery this year.Rick discussed China's space launch vehicle developments, focusing on the Long March 12, Long March 10, and the proposed Long March 9. He explained that Long March 10 could become a popular reusable launch vehicle, while the three-stage Long March 9, if developed, would be the world's most powerful space launch vehicle with a massive 19-meter payload fairing. Rick speculated that China might be developing the three-stage Long March 9 to avoid the complexity of low Earth orbit refueling required for Elon Musk's Starship, though he acknowledged that many technical details about its feasibility remain unknown.Rick discussed the potential impact of China's Long March 9 rocket on SpaceX's Starship, noting that while the first stage would be reusable, it remained unclear whether China would pursue reusability for the second stage. When asked about credible resistance movements in China, Richard explained that while there is a will among some people to resist the government, the Chinese Communist Party effectively prevents such movements through extensive digital surveillance and control systems. He compared China's digital surveillance capabilities to Iran's and highlighted how Israel's ability to take control of Iran's digital systems and use them against the regime should serve as a warning to China about potential threats from Taiwan and Israel.Ajay asked Rick about Taiwanese opinions on potential reunification with China. Rick explained that while many Taiwanese benefit economically from China relations, over 90% of the population values their democratic freedoms and would not willing give them up to become part of a Chinese communist dictatorship. He noted that the Chinese Communist Party's failure to acknowledge historical atrocities under Mao, including the deaths of 50-70 million people, undermines their historical appeals to Taiwanese people.Rick talked about the potential for Asian and oceanic countries like India and Australia to balance China's space activities through collaboration with the United States and the Artemis program. He noted that as these countries develop their own heavy launch vehicles, they will gain more autonomy to pursue lunar and Mars programs independently of potential Chinese-American conflicts. Richard also praised NASA's Artemis program revealed on March 23, which aims to establish a semi-permanent presence on the moon by 2036 through 79-81 space launches and $30 billion total investment, describing it as essential for winning the race to the moon and potentially deterring Chinese aggression.Our guest also discussed the relationship between China's space program and the US, noting that while competition exists, cooperation could follow a similar path to Cold War-era US-Soviet relations. He expressed confidence that the Artemis program would continue regardless of political party in power, though funding levels might vary. Richard believed the program would maintain strategic importance in the Earth-Moon-Mars system and would only be disrupted by major global conflicts.The conversation ended with David thanking Rick for his participation and discussing upcoming shows featuring Chris Carberry from Explore Mars and guests from Peruvian satellite systems and Luxembourg.Special thanks to our sponsors:American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Helix Space in Luxembourg, Celestis Memorial Spaceflights, Astrox Corporation, Dr. Haym Benaroya of Rutgers University, The Space Settlement Progress Blog by John Jossy, The Atlantis Project, and Artless EntertainmentOur Toll Free Line for Live Broadcasts: 1-866-687-7223 (Not in service at this time)For real time program participation, email Dr. Space at: drspace@thespaceshow.com for instructions and access.The Space Show is a non-profit 501C3 through its parent, One Giant Leap Foundation, Inc. To donate via Pay Pal, use:To donate with Zelle, use the email address: david@onegiantleapfoundation.org.If you prefer donating with a check, please make the check payable to One Giant Leap Foundation and mail to:One Giant Leap Foundation, 11035 Lavender Hill Drive Ste. 160-306 Las Vegas, NV 89135Upcoming Programs:Broadcast 4548: Zoom: Chris Carberry | Friday 12 Jun 2026 930AM PTGuests: Chris CarberryZoom: Chris Carberry of Explore Mars, see discussion details on blog and Substack later this week.Broadcast 4549 Zoom: Manuel Cuba & Cesar Santisteban | Sunday 14 Jun 2026 1200PM PTGuests: Manuel Cuba, Cesar Sa SantistebanZoom: Manuel and Cesar or Peru space and more, Details to follow Get full access to The Space Show-One Giant Leap Foundation at doctorspace.substack.com/subscribe

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Norwegian teen was in UK to undertake a hit, court hears Natalie McNally How fake YouTube alibi exposed killer Stephen McCullagh Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg as Putins flagship economic forum opens Royal Navy helicopter crashes into field near Okehampton in Devon BBCs Matt Chorley apologises for misquoting Nigel Farage on Newsnight Grab what you can while you can The new reality in the South China Sea Crazy phone call between Trump and Netanyahu complicates Iran talks Chinese spies using job websites to target government workers, MI5 warns US House votes to halt Iran war, in rebuke to Trump Police chief apologises to Henry Nowaks family over handcuffing and arrest

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Police chief apologises to Henry Nowaks family over handcuffing and arrest Royal Navy helicopter crashes into field near Okehampton in Devon Norwegian teen was in UK to undertake a hit, court hears Crazy phone call between Trump and Netanyahu complicates Iran talks Chinese spies using job websites to target government workers, MI5 warns US House votes to halt Iran war, in rebuke to Trump BBCs Matt Chorley apologises for misquoting Nigel Farage on Newsnight Grab what you can while you can The new reality in the South China Sea Natalie McNally How fake YouTube alibi exposed killer Stephen McCullagh Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg as Putins flagship economic forum opens

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg as Putins flagship economic forum opens BBCs Matt Chorley apologises for misquoting Nigel Farage on Newsnight US House votes to halt Iran war, in rebuke to Trump Royal Navy helicopter crashes into field near Okehampton in Devon Police chief apologises to Henry Nowaks family over handcuffing and arrest Norwegian teen was in UK to undertake a hit, court hears Grab what you can while you can The new reality in the South China Sea Chinese spies using job websites to target government workers, MI5 warns Natalie McNally How fake YouTube alibi exposed killer Stephen McCullagh Crazy phone call between Trump and Netanyahu complicates Iran talks

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv BBCs Matt Chorley apologises for misquoting Nigel Farage on Newsnight Royal Navy helicopter crashes into field near Okehampton in Devon Grab what you can while you can The new reality in the South China Sea US House votes to halt Iran war, in rebuke to Trump Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg as Putins flagship economic forum opens Chinese spies using job websites to target government workers, MI5 warns Norwegian teen was in UK to undertake a hit, court hears Natalie McNally How fake YouTube alibi exposed killer Stephen McCullagh Police chief apologises to Henry Nowaks family over handcuffing and arrest Crazy phone call between Trump and Netanyahu complicates Iran talks

Ørsted closes its European offshore sale to CIP and weighs a $1 billion exit from the US market. Plus MingYang commissions a 20 MW offshore turbine, and ZF’s plain bearings log 36 GW with no measurable wear. 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! [00:00:00] The Uptime Wind Energy podcast, brought to you by StrikeTape, protecting thousands of wind turbines from lightning damage worldwide. Visit StrikeTape.com. And now, your hosts Allen Hall: Welcome to the Uptime Wind Energy podcast. I’m your host for today, Allen Hall, along with Matthew Stead, Rosemary Barnes, and Yolanda Padron. If you’re going to be in Houston for Clean Power 2026, mark Wednesday, June 3rd on your calendar. The Australian American Chamber of Commerce, Texas is hosting an invitation-only panel and networking reception with cocktails from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at the Houston Club, and I’ll be moderating. We’re bringing together Australian and US wind energy experts to compare notes on how two markets handle O&M, lightning risks, blade inspections, remote monitoring, and where operational gaps [00:01:00] are. The evening also marks the North American commercial launch of EOLOGIX-PING’s satellite-based lightning monitoring system, developed with Adelaide-based satellite IoT company, Myriota. So in joining me on the panel, our own Matt Stead, co-founder of EOLOGIX-PING, and Mark Norman, VP of Edge Solutions at Myriota, and Weather Guard’s Yolanda Padron. EOLOGIX-PING and Myriota have systems already deployed in Japan and Australia, and a little bit in the US here at Weather Guard, and they’re stepping into the North American market at American Clean Power with this advanced lightning monitoring product. So you’ll want to be there and see this new product introduced. It is an invitation-only event, so if you’re at Clean Power and want to be in the room, reach out to us on LinkedIn so we can get you on the list. Orsted finished selling off its European offshore wind business to Copenhagen [00:02:00]Infrastructure Partners, better known as CIP or as it’s a-affectionately called CIP. Now, Bloomberg reports the Danish company is exploring a sale of its US portfolio also, which includes a whole bunch of wind. It’s a decent amount of solar and battery storage in a deal that could bring more than about a billion dollars. Uh, the business generated more than one-fifth of Orsted’s total operating income just last year. Uh, meanwhile, uh, more than 50 US organizers are urging RWE CEO, Markus Kroeker, not to hand back over $1 billion in US offshore wind leases as part of a reported deal with the Trump administration. Uh, so the, the pattern is clear, everybody. European developers are being pushed towards the exit in the American market. The Ørsted situation’s been going on several months now. I, I think it’s pretty much common [00:03:00] knowledge, I would assume at this point. W- we’ve known for months, and I th- think a lot of people we’ve talked to have been saying Ørsted is prepping for a sale. The question is who? And the, the RWE getting rid of their offshore leases in the United States would be a little bit of a odd move. However, a billion dollars back in your bank account is probably a smart move today. So are the, the Germans and the Danish leaving America?  Yolanda Padron: Ørsted’s still keeping their offshore in the US, right?  Allen Hall: Yeah, I don’t know if they’ll be able to sell it off. They own it 100% at this point, right? All the partners have pulled out But I wonder if that’s on the auction block also. That it could be  Matthew Stead: So why? Why are they, why are they selling? I mean, there has to be a reason. I mean, do they have better use for the money elsewhere, or do they just have lost faith in the, the USA?  Allen Hall: It could be a combination of both, right? Both can be true at the same time. I do think the cash flow is an issue [00:04:00] for renewable energy companies at the minute, so if they can get some money back into the coffers and to get ready for the next big run of development, they probably should do it now. But things, especially it does seem a little bit on the slow side on the re- renewable development, except in the UK where it’s going crazy.  Do you think then that they’re looking for American people to sell it to?  Allen Hall: Or Canadian. If Ørsted sells their onshore business, uh, to CIP, it still remains in Danish hands, so it wouldn’t necessarily be a, uh, removal of the Danes from America, not, not quite. Matthew Stead: Yeah. I’m just a bit confused why, you know, why, you know, why would it, um, attract a good price at the moment? So I would’ve thought, you know, if it was me, I would’ve take the long-term view and just hang onto it.  Allen Hall: Well, the, the tax credit’s already built into those businesses, right? I, I at least that’s what I would assume, that the, the tax credits are still [00:05:00] available on a number of the Ørsted sites. They’re not that old. A lot of the wind sites are not that old, so you could gain that tax advantage. It may make sense. It may be a, a Berkshire Hathaway or somebody like that may, may jump into the mix.  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah, and maybe because there’s not so much opportunity for new developments at the moment, that might be maybe it’s appealing for that reason, that there’s, yeah, not, not so many wind opportunities around, and companies want wind in their portfolios, so. Allen Hall: Or data centers like we just saw with NextEra and Dominion. The, the drive for, for data centers, uh, is pushing the, the power demand, and if you could buy wind, solar, and battery all together, most of it kind of co-located, you could put some data centers in Texas ’cause a vast majority of that Ørsted fleet is in a place where you could plant a data center right next to it. Maybe that’s, maybe that’s the thought. Uh, if they saw NextEra and Dominion join hands, maybe there’s another partnership in the mix. That would be really interesting. Maybe it’s Elon. Maybe [00:06:00] SpaceX or, uh, Tesla could just buy Ørsted’s onshore wind business. That would be a- amazing.  Matthew Stead: I thought they were going into space. Why would they be bothering with the Earth?  Allen Hall: You gotta power the rockets before you launch them, right? You get so-  Matthew Stead: gotta get some power from somewhere. Allen Hall: Delamination and bondline failures in blades are difficult problems to detect early. These hidden issues can cost you millions in repairs and lost energy production. CIC-NDT are specialists to detect these critical flaws before they become expensive burdens. Their nondestructive test technology penetrates deep into blade materials to find voids and cracks traditional inspections completely miss. CIC-NDT maps every critical defect, delivers actionable reports, and provides support to get your blades back in service. So visit cicndt.com because catching blade problems early will save you millions[00:07:00] China has commissioned what is being called the world’s largest offshore wind turbine. It’s a 20-megawatt machine built by MingYang Smart Energy, installed off the coast of China in the South China Sea. The structure stands about 240 meters tall with blades around 128 meters long. That’s a pretty good-sized blade. And it’s rated to survive gusts up to 80 meters per second. But the real story is what researchers are watching after the turbine starts up. Early reports say that the rotor that is massively big will create measurable changes in local air currents and temperature distribution. At this scale, offshore wind creating a physical footprint that scientists want to measure and We have seen this effect here at Weather Guard Lightning Tech, watching storms go through the big wind farms [00:08:00] in the United States. So you can actually see storm behaviors change because of the quantity of turbines, and the turbines are getting to be high enough with the hub heights approaching 100 meters. But nothing as big as a 20 megawatt machine out on the ocean. It’s mixing the t- the, the air quite a bit, changing the temperature. Uh, is this something that climatologists are looking at, Rosemary, or, or, or watching closely, particularly with the, uh, fish life and sea life around the wind turbines?  Rosemary Barnes: I don’t know. My thing with MingYang is that they’re always, like, you only ever hear about them ’cause they’re announcing the biggest something, right? Um, that’s like the extent of it. It’s not like you hear about, oh, there’s a wind farm near you and it’s gonna have MingYang turbines in it. You never hear that. You only hear about they’ve got the biggest, and now next year they’ve got the new biggest, the biggest, the biggest, the biggest. And, uh, it’s like I know that they do actually make some, like, a lot of turbines. I think they’re in the, we mentioned last week, they’re in the top five manufacturers, um, mostly or maybe [00:09:00] pretty much entirely for the Chinese market. Um, so it’s not like I think they don’t make anything. But I do think it’s quite easy to announce the biggest something. This announcement is also like, yeah, okay, but is it real? Like it’s the, it’s a big, it’s a really big turbine. It’s going pretty high, but like offshore, um, there are, I think, onshore turbines being announced that are gonna go as high or higher because, you know, onshore, um, turbines have much taller towers than, than offshore. So I actually don’t think that it probably is a record for the tallest, like, tip that’s scraping. This is a thing that’s always happened, and sure, that’s interesting to have a look at and see if it has any local impact. It’s not like it’s, it’s not creating energy, right? It’s not gonna warm up, um, the, the planet. I mean, it’s, yeah, taking energy out of the, the air and then converting it to electricity. Um, so overall you’re gonna end up with the same amount of, of energy. But yeah, could be interesting to study, study what’s happening specifically.  Matthew Stead: I think it’s a so what question. You know, so what? I mean, I can sneeze and [00:10:00] I’d change the local environment, but who cares if I sneeze and change the local environment? You know, the, you know, the weather is inherently turbulent and, you know- There’s mixing and there’s all sorts of stuff naturally occurring. Yeah, my question is, so what?  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. I mean, it’s interesting in terms of, like, wakes of wind turbines and, you know, there’s, uh, people are researching that more because it’s not well enough understood, I think, for some of the really big offshore wind regions where there’s heaps of different wind farms and, you know, like, you’re gonna wanna know if you’ve got a win- an existing wind farm or you’re planning one, and then they sell, um, rights to build one immediately upstream of you, then, you know, you’re gonna wanna understand how, how all that local atmospheric stuff is, is happening exactly. Um, but yeah, like, it’s not, it’s not quite new and it’s not, yeah, like you said, it’s not unique to wind turbines. Um, so yeah, it is, like, slightly interesting, I would say. 5 out of 10 interesting.  Allen Hall: How much time should we spend on contrails? [00:11:00] Because we spent a good 20 minutes before we started this podcast talking about contrails, which is a one or maybe a negative one on the scale of should I follow this? Rosemary Barnes: How interesting is the fact that air travel is contributing to climate change? How interesting is that on a scale of one to 10?  Allen Hall: Zero.  Matthew Stead: Eight.  Allen Hall: It’s like the, it’s like the cow argument, right?  Rosemary Barnes: Allen doesn’t care about climate change. That’s okay.  Allen Hall: You asked me to put it on a ranking of where it is in importance. It’s, it’s nowhere near m- even a five.  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. So Yves said zero. Matt said eight. What about you, Yolanda? How, how interesting is the fact that air travel impacts climate change?  Yolanda Padron: I think it’s, like, a six.  Rosemary Barnes: Six. Okay. And so did you know that, um, airplanes are 2.5% of the world’s emissions, um, come from air, air travel? And did you know that I think it’s [00:12:00] 4% of the world’s warming comes from air travel? Of the warming, two-thirds of the warming that is caused by air travel or airplanes, uh, could be freight as well, it’s not to do with CO2. So some of that is, you know, like other, um, gases like NOx is a pretty potent greenhouse gas. Contrails are the biggest single component, the single biggest factor causing warming from, um, from air travel. And it’s not, it’s not necessary. You know, every airplane doesn’t create contrails in every trip. It’s, it’s a small number. Like, it’s a pretty small number of trips that are making contrails, and if we can better understand how like, what are the factors that lead to a contrail being formed or not, then we can avoid them and, you know, get rid of a, a percent or two of the world’s global warming. I think that’s just really huge.  Matthew Stead: What would you do about it, Rosie?  Rosemary Barnes: There’s a couple of solutions I know that other people are working on that sound very interesting to me. So the first is that if you change the fuel, like, [00:13:00] um, to sustainable aviation fuel, like a, a biofuel, some of those that have been tested also produce less contrails. I don’t know the exact reason why. Would be interesting to find out. That’s one thing. But secondly, um, if you can get good data about, like, very local atmospheric conditions and, you know, let the world’s airplane fleet can communicate with each other and some AI processing in real time, you can make small changes to your flight path to avoid making contrails, and yeah, you get, um, a small increase in, in f- fuel burn, I guess, from deviating from the most efficient route, but a big, big inc- um, decrease in contrails. Uh, so I think both of those are really promising solutions.  Allen Hall: It’s not that easy It isn’t like every airplane’s out there changing its altitude to keep away from creating contrails. There’s whole systems, thousands of people working at any one moment to keep airplanes up in the air. So it, it’s not something you just willy-nilly say, [00:14:00] “AI can adjust my altitude or my flight plan to deviate so I can prevent contrails.” It’s not that easy. It’s actually a huge undertaking, and it may end up burning more fuel.  Rosemary Barnes: Oh, I mean, it’s an incredibly complex system to keep airplanes up and not colliding. Um, I believe it’s not centrally planned. It’s not like you’re not logging your whole flight path any- anymore. I, I listened to a podcast about this the other day, and in the past you used to log your entire flight plan and not deviate from it, but now it, it’s done a bit on the fly. So I’m sure that there are already hundreds or thousands of factors that an aircraft computer is taking into account, um, when it’s figuring out exactly where it’s gonna go, and this would be another bit of complexity. I don’t, I don’t think it’s easy, otherwise we’d already be doing it. But I think it’s, it’s promising. And I think it’s easier than making hydrogen airplanes, for example. I think it’s easier than electrifying airplanes. And the fact of it is that even if you do [00:15:00] have sustainable aviation fuel, if it’s still making contrails, it’s still causing warming. So if you wanna actually s- solve, uh, you know, heating from flying, then you have to, you have to tackle the contrail part of the problem. It’s the biggest, it’s the biggest chunk on its own, bigger than CO2.  Matthew Stead: So did we get here by talking about possible contrails from wind turbines? Is that what we were talking about?  Rosemary Barnes: No. It was because Allen was saying before that we were gonna go off the rails, and he’s like, “Oh, you know what? In no time we’ll be talking about contrails,” like using it as an example of a tinfoil hat-wearing person. And I’m like, “Actually, that is a tinfoil hat that I do like to wear,” the contrails one. Um, not because I think the government is controlling me, uh, with with, you know, targeted hor- hormone or chemical releases via contrails, but because of the global warming potential.  Matthew Stead: Could a, a really tall wind turbine create contrails? What, what’s the physics behind that?  Allen Hall: [00:16:00] It’s just, um, water, right? So you’re just condensing water and shoving it out the back. When you’re burning hydrocarbons, it’s one of the byproducts, right? It’s like in, when, in an internal combustion engine, you see water dripping out the tailpipe. It’s this very similar kind of thing. Uh, so how much water comes out is dependent upon somewhat the fuel, as Rosie’s pointed out, so you can slightly change it, but a lot of it has to do with the temperature, altitude, pressure moisture content of the air, all those different factors play into it. So you’d have to have, in order to go look at it, you’d have to have a bunch of sensors on the airplane, which, which the aircraft may have some of them, but probably not enough to determine if they’re creating contrails besides looking out the window to see what’s coming out on the backside of the engine. Matthew Stead: A wind turbine could not create contrails. The pressure differential and the, the vapor pressure-  Allen Hall: Yeah, it’s not enough to, you’re, you’re not, you’re not changing temperatures enough, [00:17:00] right? So you, you basically have to change the dew point. That’s the way I would think about it. You have to change the dew point somehow, which I guess you could do maybe by a degree or so locally, you may be able to, to change it, and maybe you could. Um, well, we have seen tip vortices, right? So tip vortices, you have seen these contrails off the, the tips of, of, of aircraft wings.  Rosemary Barnes: But are they durable? You know, ’cause like, yeah, you see tip vortices off, yeah, off wing, wingtips, off wind turbine tips as well. But I don’t think they stay in the air after, you know, they, um, you can see them, and then they dissipate usually. Allen Hall: Yeah, it, it depends. You’ll see it when aircraft land quite a bit. Depends on what the temperature, humidity is at that particular moment, but th- those will, those will hang around a little bit  Rosemary Barnes: But I mean, certainly you can, you can, um, cause droplets to freeze from a wind turbine being there. That’s how they get iced up, is that their… Or either their water was super cooled to begin with and it just needs a, a surface to latch onto so that the crystal can, [00:18:00] um, form or also, yeah, like, I mean, in the aerodynamics there is that point between where the air goes over and under and you, um, sta- stagnation or-  Allen Hall: Stagnation point?  Rosemary Barnes: Yeah. So you can, um, you, you could get some freezing there. Allen Hall: You can create cold zones.  Rosemary Barnes: I, as far as I know, all that stuff is just causing ice to build up on the blade. I don’t think that it’s, um… Yeah. And anyway, even if it did, like even if you did affect the, um, you know, have some ice particles forming in the, um, the wake then it’s just going to, or I don’t know, get hit the next time the, the, the blade goes through or, yeah, fa- fall out I would think ’cause it’s quite close to the ground  Allen Hall: but- Just to tie into what Rosemary’s saying, although I think wasting time on contrails is not worth the effort, I do think meteorologists do not do enough work on big changes that are happening to the planet in regards to, like, renewable energy is one of them, like wind turbines. I [00:19:00] haven’t seen a lot of work done about are wind turbines changing the temperature locally or not. I mean, they- I’ve seen some top level things, solar panels, but the same thing could be seen about shipping.  Rosemary Barnes: Oh, I mean shipping, shipping was, shipping was, um, cooling the planet until we, um, brought in restrictions on how much, um, sulfur emissions that you could, you could make. But can I use this to actually plug a, um, a, a pro- a collaborative project that we’re about to start where actually, uh, this is quite specific to Australia, to Queensland and Northern New South Wales. We’ve got a study, uh, collaborative study from a bunch of wind farms in that area and getting some academic researchers involved to look at how, like very detailed how lightning is in that region. And one of the questions that we’re gonna look at is what, h- how has the, um, the presence of wind farms, like when wind farms are built, how has that affected the local lightning, um, area? [00:20:00] So we’re gonna be able to answer, uh, you know, like to what extent have these wind farms caused increases in In lightning  Allen Hall: Or decreases  Rosemary Barnes: Or decreases. I’d, I, oof, yeah. I, I’d be surprised if it was decreases, and I will say, like, yeah, that area of Queensland, northern New South Wales, um, you know, they get kind of tropical storms, um, heaps and heaps of lightning, you know, hundreds hundreds of, um, strikes in a single storm sometimes, you know, and, you know, in one wind farm. But even if you think, like, uh, down in Victoria, New South Wales and Victoria, where you look at a lightning map and there should be very little lightning there, there are certain sites that are actually having huge problems with lightning, like way more strikes than you would expect based on the map, and I think that partly that’s also ’cause it just varies locally. But the other thing is, like, a l- a lot more of really damaging strikes. It is something that’s the world needs to do more of, is looking into, like, really local lightning, understanding how the wind farm is interacting with the lightning, causing lightning, how it differs from place to place. [00:21:00] I’m really hoping that, yeah, this, this one study that we’re working on now, and anyone who has a wind farm in that area, Queensland, northern New South Wales, if you wanna be involved, get in touch. The more people involved, the cheaper it is. But I think that that’s definitely something that can improve how lightning protection systems are, are designed, if we just know, like, what’s, what’s happening. ‘Cause there aren’t great links between OEMs doing the design and people in the field experiencing damage. Like, they don’t talk. Even when it’s the same company, you know, if it’s Vestas or GE that designed the turbine and is now servicing the turbines, they, they don’t necessarily talk to each other as much as, um, would be ideal.  Allen Hall: Using the EOLOGIX-PING lightning sensors, we just completed a study over a five-year period, uh, just about that subject. Rosemary Barnes: Where, where did you do that?  Allen Hall: In the States.  Rosemary Barnes: And will you be publishing the results and sending a, a letter to Vestas and GE and Siemens and whoever else and send them a letter, “Attention lightning expert”? [00:22:00] Matthew Stead: We’re probably just gonna put it on the website.  Rosemary Barnes: But is there even a, a, a conference, a, a conference for wind turbines and lightning? Con- considering it’s, like, one of the number one O&M things, like we’re-  Matthew Stead: There’s one in Melbourne next year in February.  Rosemary Barnes: I wasn’t attempting to, um, set the stage for, uh, this is why everyone has to come to our event. I mean, it, it, it’s so strange to me that there isn’t just, you know, like, a big conference every year. I mean, it could be every two years where all of the univ- like there’s heaps of people researching it, heaps of people working on designing on it, heaps of people working on operating it, repairing it when it doesn’t work, and, um-  Allen Hall: I think they’re looking at it from a very, uh, local scale And looking at a turbine taking a lightning strike and the things you can do to reduce damage or what the, the physics are locally, ’cause we don’t understand all that much about lightning, honestly. However, on a, on a larger scale, which is what the effort we’re working on right now, is that we’re looking at several states that are right in the thunderstorm alley and where [00:23:00] there’s a lot of wind turbines, thousands and thousands of wind turbines. What you see is, uh, a real change in the, in the weather patterns and in lightning, but it depends on the time of year. And having the EOLOGIX-PING lightning sensors on gives us a better sense of the number of strikes that are occurring, where they’re occurring on the wind farms. Uh, o- otherwise, all the other services that you could use wouldn’t be nearly as accurate. A lot of false positives.  Rosemary Barnes: But I wanna say, like, I think you’re so right that lightning it- it’s very local, like, and s- lightning behaves differently depending where you are. It dep- dep- behaves differently or it affects your turbine differently depending on what kind of LPS you’ve got. But the problem is that it’s not like there’s, um, you know, a catalog of LPSs and you’re like, “This one suits the lightning in Japan, and this one suits the lightning in Queensland.” It’s one– Y- if you want a GE turbine, this is the, it comes with a certain type of LPS, and the same with, with Vestas and, you know, ev- every other manufacturer. And they’ve all, I’m sure, got types of lightning that [00:24:00] they are better or worse suited to, but the information is, is certainly not out there for someone who’s choosing a turbine, and I don’t think that it’s actually properly understood by, by anyone. Because, like, who’s measuring all of the characteristics that you would need to know to design the LPS better? Almost no one. Most of the people doing that in the world are probably, yeah, on this podcast today. Um, but it’s, uh… And, and when they are being measured, is it being communicated back to every OEM so they can know? Like, of course it’s, it’s not.  Allen Hall: I’ll give you a good example because it happened over the past week or two. Looking at a wind turbine blade that had some damage to it, and the question was, was it caused by lightning? That was the question. And that’s a really good question. So I thought, “Oh, this will be easy,” because there’s gonna be a plethora of- lightning test data reports talking about testing of this particular kind of aluminum mesh on fiberglass surfaces, and [00:25:00] there really is not much. I was shocked by it. So I always think like if, if I can’t put my fingers on it readily, then what is a blade engineer or a site supervisor or someone who owns an asset’s gonna do?  Rosemary Barnes: I saw a presentation at Wind Europe last year or whenever I went, when I met with, with you both, probably both of you there, um, uh, that Polytech did where they had done some fatigue testing, um, of copper mesh and its lightning, um, protecting capabilities. And they did f- they, so they, you know, put some mesh into, um, fatigue testing, I, I think, or they, they damaged it a bit with a bit fatigue, some micro cracks and stuff. And they just did find that it heated up a lot after that. Um, you know, after it was a bit damaged, they were getting like real hot spots. And so then you’re gonna start to see laminate damage, um, in the, the area underneath that. So yeah, I, I think that more, more, like it’s a, it’s a good step that we’re now thinking [00:26:00] of, you know, protecting better than what we used to do with just, you know, one receptor in the, the tip and a cable, especially, you know, throw in carbon fiber and you, you know, make a second electrically conductive path and have flashover and stuff. It’s really great that, you know, we’ve evolved beyond that design, but it’s not finished yet. Like th- all those designs are new. There’s a lot of them out there. It sound like everyone’s like, “Oh, it’s, you know, we don’t have to worry if it’s got mesh over the whole blade.” It’s like, okay, maybe you don’t have to worry. Maybe, maybe you do. We, we kind of have to, have to keep on monitoring those for a few years and sharing the information.  Allen Hall: As wind energy professionals, staying informed is crucial, and let’s face it, difficult. That’s why the Uptime Podcast recommends PES Wind Magazine. PES Wind offers a diverse range of in-depth articles and expert insights that dive into the most pressing issues facing our energy future. Whether you’re an industry veteran or new to wind, PES Wind has the high-quality content you need. Don’t miss out. Visit [00:27:00] peswind.com today. In the current issue of PES Wind Magazine, there are a number of great articles. If you haven’t received your copy, you should just go to peswind.com and where you can read it and download a copy. Well, uh, this issue has an article from ZF and talking about gearboxes. And as we all know, inside every gearbox there are bearings and surfaces. Those tend to be the weak links when things break. And for decades, the industry has used roller bearings and, uh, the same kind basically you find in other machines. Uh, they work, but they do wear out. And how many times have you seen bearings, roller bearings wear out inside of gearboxes? Quite a bit. So– And they, they, they break down, they go offline. It’s, it’s a big problem. But ZF Wind Power says it has cracked the code with its hydrodynamic plain bearings. The company has already installed 36 gigawatts of gearboxes [00:28:00] using this technology, and they say field inspections show no measurable wear. Uh, the next generation, uh, which is a single film design, is heading to production in 2027. So ZF uses a different technique to keep their gearboxes running for a long time, which is, uh, it’s a simple device mechanically, but it is quite complicated in the way you have to design materials. Uh, basically plain bearings are what’s used in, in internal combustion engine around camshafts and things of that sort. But designing those and making sure you have the right materials is the trick, Matthew, and you’ve been around cars for quite a while. It’s, it’s the right approach if you can make it work, and it looks like ZF has done a really good job of making these, uh, bearing services work.  Matthew Stead: Yeah, it sounds like a, a perfect, uh, innovation. I, I heard about this the first time, I think it was a couple of years ago. And, and like you said, Allen, um, you know, cars for the [00:29:00] last 100 years or so have, have been using journal bearings. I probably need to fact check that one. It may not be 100 years yet, but definitely cars from a long time ago have been using these, um, these bearings. Um, I, I think, uh, one question is, though, around condition monitoring. You know, how do you actually monitor the condition of the, the s- the surfaces? Um, you know, with a traditional roller bearing, you can use, you know, vibration techniques. I’m not aware of as many condition monitoring techniques for, for the journal bearings. Um, perhaps, um, obviously the oil, oil particle and, you know, checking the oil quality, et cetera, et cetera. But, um, that might be where the gap might occur. But You know, if they’re lasting, if they’re not degrading, um, there’s no moving parts, um, yeah, great  Allen Hall: The issue is lubrication, right? Because you’ve got basically two well-designed flat metal surfaces that you have to provide lubrication to, and those two surfaces are moving relative to one another. The lubrication [00:30:00] matters ’cause you’re literally riding on a very, very thin layer of lubricant. So making sure the lubricant gets in there, that it’s, it’s clean, and it’s always available, uh, is the trick. That’s why in today’s world, a lot of internal combustion engines can go several hundred thousand miles in a vehicle because the lubrication systems have gotten so much better over the last 50, 60 years. And ZF is probably using something very similar, where the, the technology has gotten better and the metallurg- the metallurgy has gotten way better, and control of that. Because the, the bearing surface really matters, and there’s two pieces to it, right? You got this rotating– To simplify it, you got a rotating shaft, and then you have this bearing surface that that shaft sits on. The, the rotating shaft is gonna be made out of something relatively hard, where the bearing surface is gonna be made out of a mixture of metals that is a little bit soft. So if anything goes wrong, that bearing surface, that little race right there, uh, will wear, [00:31:00] and you can replace it. But if kept lubricated and cleaned and proper, that will run dang near forever, as ZF has proven. Matthew Stead: I think it’s the starting load. I think it’s when it’s at stationary and then starts. So I’m getting that initial lubrication. From my understanding, that’s where the, where the challenge lies. And, you know, obviously in a combustion engine in a vehicle, it’s starting and stopping all the time. So, um, but I just wonder, are the loads higher? Um, how does that occur in a, in a actual, um, gearbox on a, a turbine?  Allen Hall: Right. It’s not like a main, uh, shaft bearing, right? The– It’s, it’s in a gearbox. You have a lot of planetary gears and a lot of rotating com- pieces there But the, I think the trick is, one, understanding what’s happening load-wise, and hydrodynamic bearings can have some issues if things are twisting in weird ways. So a gearbox is probably the right place to do this technique because of it’s a [00:32:00] controlled environment necessarily.  Matthew Stead: Alignment.  Allen Hall: Yeah. So you can, you can control how the, the loads are carried internally to it, which would make it last a lot longer. S- because roller bearings and, and all of the complexities around that, uh, we’ve seen those fail so many times inside of wind turbines because it’s hard to control everything about that. Al- although they, they can be extremely durable, I would say ZF is onto something in, in terms of delivering a gearbox that can actually run longer using, uh, good engineering. That’s what it is. It’s just really good engineering. So if you haven’t seen this issue of PES Wind, you should download it today. Go to peswind.com. That wraps up another episode of the Uptime Wind Energy podcast. If today’s discussion sparked any questions or ideas, we’d love to hear from you. Reach out to us on LinkedIn. And don’t forget to subscribe so you [00:33:00] never miss an episode. And if you found value in today’s conversation, please leave us a review. It really helps other wind energy professionals discover the show. So for Rosie, Yolanda, and Matthew, I’m Allen Hall, and we’ll see you here next week on the Uptime Wind Energy podcast.

From about the middle of the first millennium of the Common Era through to the fifteenth century, Southeast Asian societies underwent a political transformation that produced the first, early states that were the forerunners of the countries we know today as Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Dougald O'Reilly's Empires of the Southern Ocean: Early Civilizations of Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026), tells the complicated story of the development of these earlier polities from ‘chiefdoms' to more complex states. The book highlights the role of local factors in the rise of these states, as well as the influence of early Southeast Asia's participation in long-distance trade networks in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

From about the middle of the first millennium of the Common Era through to the fifteenth century, Southeast Asian societies underwent a political transformation that produced the first, early states that were the forerunners of the countries we know today as Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Dougald O'Reilly's Empires of the Southern Ocean: Early Civilizations of Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026), tells the complicated story of the development of these earlier polities from ‘chiefdoms' to more complex states. The book highlights the role of local factors in the rise of these states, as well as the influence of early Southeast Asia's participation in long-distance trade networks in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/southeast-asian-studies

From about the middle of the first millennium of the Common Era through to the fifteenth century, Southeast Asian societies underwent a political transformation that produced the first, early states that were the forerunners of the countries we know today as Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Dougald O'Reilly's Empires of the Southern Ocean: Early Civilizations of Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026), tells the complicated story of the development of these earlier polities from ‘chiefdoms' to more complex states. The book highlights the role of local factors in the rise of these states, as well as the influence of early Southeast Asia's participation in long-distance trade networks in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

From about the middle of the first millennium of the Common Era through to the fifteenth century, Southeast Asian societies underwent a political transformation that produced the first, early states that were the forerunners of the countries we know today as Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Dougald O'Reilly's Empires of the Southern Ocean: Early Civilizations of Mainland and Insular Southeast Asia (Bloomsbury Academic, 2026), tells the complicated story of the development of these earlier polities from ‘chiefdoms' to more complex states. The book highlights the role of local factors in the rise of these states, as well as the influence of early Southeast Asia's participation in long-distance trade networks in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/archaeology

In 2026, the risk engineer in Asia faces a fractured reality. Geopolitical decoupling has splintered supply chains across Southeast Asia, while simmering South China Sea tensions directly threaten subsea cables—the region's digital arteries. Concurrently, climate-driven heatwaves stress power grids, collapsing OT systems in manufacturing hubs. The core dilemma is no longer single-peril analysis but the "poly-crisis": ransomware demands spiking as a grid fails, or a sovereign cyber operation triggering an insurance exclusion. For Asian risk engineers, resilience means stress-testing for layered shocks—where a trade war, a flood, and a data exfiltration all arrive on the same Tuesday.Vivien Bilquez, global head of Cyber at Zurich Resilience Solutions, answers the following questions on resilience imperatives as the region faces its most challenging crises to date. 1.       To set the context for our dialogue, please briefly provide a state of resilience for organisations in Asia today?2.       With global trade splitting into US and China-centric blocs, which regulatory regime (export controls, data localization) costs/is costing/will cost businesses in Asia the most to operate under?3.       Are existing power/electricity backups designed for simultaneous crises (e.g., heatwave blackout plus ransomware), and can we recover in milliseconds rather than minutes?4.       How much do businesses rely on subsea cables through the South China Sea or Strait of Malacca, and what is the backup route if a cable is cut? 5.       If a nation-state or hacktivist group shuts down existing OT systems (e.g., cooling or chemical delivery), what is the financial loss per hour of halted production?6.       Do prevailing insurance policies exclude "sovereign cyber operations" (Stryker clauses), and have organisations moved from relying on insurance to building quantified self-resilience?7.       When an AI-driven disinformation campaign targets an organisation's brand or a climate event shuts plants/production facilities, do organisations have a playbook that unites engineering, the CISO, and the CFO within ten minutes? (If not, can you suggest such a playbook?)8.       State the resilience posture of organisations in Asia9.       What questions do I ask to put my organisation on the track to resilience?10.   What do I need to do to put my organisation on the path towards resilience?

This episode with Dr. Emma Salisbury explores how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz exposed the vulnerabilities of the global maritime system, revealing how a regional conflict can rapidly become a global economic and security crisis. The conversation examines why critical maritime chokepoints remain central to international trade, energy security, and geopolitical competition, and what recent disruptions tell us about the resilience of the modern global economy.We discuss the challenges of reopening contested waterways, the balance between disruption and protection at sea, and why freedom of navigation is becoming increasingly contested from the Persian Gulf to the South China Sea. The episode also considers the state of Western naval readiness, the growing importance of maritime resilience, and what a more fragmented and competitive international order could mean for global trade, critical infrastructure, and security.Dr. Emma Salisbury is a maritime security specialist and Non-Resident Senior Fellow in the National Security Program at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. Her work focuses on naval strategy, maritime power, defence policy, and the role of sea power in contemporary geopolitics.The International Risk Podcast brings you conversations with global experts, frontline practitioners, and senior decision-makers who are shaping how we understand and respond to international risk. From geopolitical instability and organised crime to cybersecurity threats and hybrid warfare, each episode explores the forces transforming our world and what smart leaders must do to navigate them. Whether you're a board member, policymaker, or risk professional, The International Risk Podcast delivers actionable insights, sharp analysis, and real-world stories that matter.Dominic Bowen is the host of The International Risk Podcast and Europe's leading expert on international risk and crisis management. As Head of Strategic Advisory and Partner at one of Europe's leading risk management consulting firms, Dominic advises CEOs, boards, and senior executives across the continent on how to prepare for uncertainty and act with intent. He has spent decades working in war zones, advising multinational companies, and supporting Europe's business leaders. Dominic is the go-to business advisor for leaders navigating risk, crisis, and strategy; trusted for his clarity, calmness under pressure, and ability to turn volatility into competitive advantage. Dominic equips today's business leaders with the insight and confidence to lead through disruption and deliver sustained strategic advantage.Subscribe for all our updates!Tell us what you liked!

Is wholesale distribution entering its most disruptive era yet?In this episode of Around the Horn in Wholesale Distribution, Kevin Brown, Tom Burton, and Mark  Gilham of Enable unpack the forces reshaping the B2B supply chain: inflation measurement debates, Federal Reserve strategy, tariff refund accounting risks, buying group consolidation, maritime trade choke points, and the growing influence of AI on distributor–manufacturer relationships. This episode explores how data-driven decision making is shifting the industry from relationship-based instinct to AI-powered commercial intelligence, and what that means for distributors, manufacturers, CFOs, and industry leaders.What You'll Learn:The difference between core inflation vs trimmed average inflation, and why the metric matters for CFO planning, pricing strategy, and capital investment decisionsHow a more flexible Federal Reserve approach impacts interest rate modeling, debt refinancing, and working capital strategy in wholesale distributionWhy tariff refunds create accounting, tax, and downstream pricing pressure, and how distributors and manufacturers should prepareThe real impact of global maritime choke points like the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal, Panama Canal, and South China Sea on supply chain resilienceWhy buying groups like Evergreen are consolidating, and how rebate economics drive churn and competitive pressureHow AI could disrupt traditional distributor–manufacturer relationships by prioritizing margin analytics, pricing optimization, and product substitution models over loyaltyEpisode Highlights:03:22 – Mark  Gilham explains how Enable connects manufacturers and distributors through rebate and pricing intelligence11:45 – Core inflation vs trimmed average inflation: what's the difference and why does it matter for distributors?24:41 – A Greenspan-style Fed strategy: how rate uncertainty changes business forecasting42:30 – Tariff refund accounting risks and downstream pricing pressure across the supply chain57:45 – The six global maritime choke points and why “just-in-time” models increase fragility1:00:41 – Why Evergreen shut down and what buying group consolidation means for distributors1:14:42 – Manufacturers' growing concern: will AI override decades of channel relationships?1:23:48 – “It all depends on the brief the AI has.” How AI configuration shapes profitability and channel outcomesMeet the Guest:Mark  Gilham is a former distributor CFO and now a leader at Enable, a pricing and rebate management platform focused on helping manufacturers and distributors trade more intelligently in the B2B ecosystem. His expertise bridges finance, pricing strategy, rebate optimization, and AI-driven commercial execution.Tools, Frameworks, and Strategies Mentioned:Enable Rebate Management and Pricing IntelligenceLeadSmart Enterprise Growth PlatformRevenue Expander white space analyticsPrediction market data modeling for interest rate forecastingAI-driven commercial optimization and margin normalization modelsClosing Insight:“Future decisions are not going to be made based on a relationship. They're going to be made based on what the AI model tells the distributor.”As wholesale distribution evolves, the competitive edge will belong to organizations that combine trusted relationships with structured data, commercial intelligence, and AI-ready infrastructure.Leave a Review: Help us grow by sharing your thoughts on the show.Learn more about the LeadSmart AI B2B Sales Platform: https://www.leadsmarttech.com/Join the conversation each week on LinkedIn Live.Want even more insight to the stories we discuss each week? Subscribe to the Around The Horn Newsletter.You can also hear the podcast and other excellent content on our YouTube Channel.Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok.

Preview for Later Today: Jim Fanell analyzes the Balikatan military exercises, highlighting Japan's historic participation alongside the Philippines. This collective demonstration of regional resolve aims to counter China's naval dominance and daily bullying tactics within the South China Sea.1921 MANILA

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 64-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 43,708 on turnover of 16.2-billion N-T. The market closed sharply higher on Monday as the main board registered its fifth ever largest point gain amid continuing investor interest in A-I development related stocks and decreasing concerns over the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Lawmakers set to visit Dongsha Island A group of lawmakers are set to visit the Dongsha Island in the South China Sea this summer. If the trip takes place, it will mark the first visit the island by lawmakers in eight years. K-M-T lawmaker Liao Hsien-hsiang says the trip is scheduled for July 9 and lawmakers will inspect Coast Guard personnel stationed on the island and facilities at Dongsha National Park. The group will receive a briefing on the government's latest conservation (保護) and management efforts on the island, visit a water treatment plant and the Dongsha Post Office, and have a guided tour of Dongsha Wharf. Dongsha Island is located about 450 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiung. Jensen Huang to attend employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow Visiting Nvidia C-E-O Jensen Huang will be attending an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company's Taiwan headquarters project. According to Nvidia, the event will be taking place at the the site of the company's planned headquarters at the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park. Known as the Nvidia Constellation, the headquarters will be located on the T-17 and T-18 plots in the technology park, which is located the Taipei's Beitou District. Nvidia has reportedly not yet applied for a construction permit for the site, but the Taipei City Construction Management Office says landowners or developers can still hold ceremonial (儀式的) groundbreaking events without formal approval. Pope calls for regulation of AI Pope Leo the fourteenth is calling for the robust (強壯的) regulation of AI in a manifesto that touches on the future of humanity. AP correspondent Paolo Santalucia reports. That was Paolo Santalucia. Brazil Commits Funds for Ecological Investment The Brazilian government has committed $617.5 million to boost ecological investment in the Amazon. Eight banks have pledged an additional $2 billion. Announced Monday, this funding supports sustainable tourism, infrastructure and the bioeconomy. The Eco Invest program, designed to reduce investment risks, has already committed $28 billion. Brazil aims for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. However, recent legislative moves threaten (威脅) environmental policies. The lower house approved bills that weaken efforts against illegal deforestation. These measures still need Senate approval. Despite setbacks, Brazil's environment minister insists the country remains committed to reducing deforestation. That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. －－－－以下為 SoundOn 動態廣告－－－－ 找工作不再焦慮！ 參加YS鋼鐵人職場體驗計畫，讓你在職場脫穎而出！ 專為18-29歲青年打造的免費職涯資源： 1.職涯導師陪伴精準求職 2.60小時實戰工作坊 3.知名企業3-5天職場體驗 6/14前報名迎戰三大職場試煉，煉就鋼鐵通才：https://sofm.pse.is/954797 -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: The United States and Iran reportedly agree in principle to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, potentially easing pressure on global oil markets and reducing fears of a wider Middle East war. But while the White House is signaling progress, many of the toughest questions surrounding Iran's nuclear program remain unresolved.  New details emerge from CIA Director John Ratcliffe's trip to Havana, including reports he brought along a paramilitary operator involved in the capture of Nicolás Maduro as the administration ramps up pressure on Cuba and warns about growing Russian and Chinese intelligence activity on the island. Russia launches one of its largest aerial assaults on Kyiv since the start of the war, reportedly deploying its nuclear-capable Oreshnik hypersonic missile during the massive overnight barrage against the Ukrainian capital. And in today's Back of the Brief—a tense maritime standoff erupts between Chinese and Taiwanese coast guard ships near the strategically sensitive Pratas Islands in the South China Sea. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Chapter: Compare every medicare plan call 915-671-5252 today! Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan's contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don't directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact https://Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. ZBiotics: Go to https://zbiotics.com/PDB and use PDB at checkout for 15% off any first time orders of ZBiotics probiotics. AmmoSquared: Secure your supply and take control of your preparedness at https://AmmoSquared.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso sit down with retired U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson, who led America's embassy in Manila from July 2022 to January 2026, one of the most consequential periods in the modern history of the U.S.-Philippine alliance.Ambassador Carlson takes us inside the alliance at a moment of dramatic transformation: the 75th anniversary of the U.S.-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty, the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations, the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Arbitral Award on the South China Sea, and the Philippines' year as ASEAN Chair under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.. She walks us through the most dangerous flashpoints in the West Philippine Sea: the June 2024 ramming at Second Thomas Shoal (Ayungin) that cost a Filipino sailor his thumb, and the August 2025 Scarborough Shoal incident in which a Chinese Coast Guard cutter collided with its own PLA Navy destroyer while chasing a Philippine vessel.We dig into the strategic geography that makes the Philippines irreplaceable to America's Indo-Pacific strategy; the largest Balikatan exercise in history; the expansion of EDCA sites; the new $2.5 billion Philippine Enhanced Resilience Act; the new Luzon Economic Corridor (with Japan); the U.S.-Philippines 123 civil nuclear agreement; and the 19% Trump tariff Carlson openly wishes had been much lower. She offers a candid read on China's Ambassador Huang Xilian's successor, Jing Quan, the limits of the ASEAN Code of Conduct, and what actually deters Beijing's gray-zone aggression in the South China Sea.If you follow U.S.-China competition, the U.S.-Philippines alliance, ASEAN, Philippine politics, the Marcos administration, Indo-Pacific strategy, the South China Sea, or U.S. foreign policy under the second Trump administration, this is essential listening from someone who lived it up close.

On Thursday's Mark Levin Show, Mayor Mamdani has yet to come out with a forceful emotional condemnation of Islamo-Nazis brutalizing and harassing Jews in New York communities and synagogues. He is deliberately pushing Jews, businesses, and the middle class out of New York through high property taxes and a phony budget involving wealth redistribution - aiming to transform the city into an Islamist capital. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris called for a “no bad ideas” brainstorm targeting the Electoral College, Supreme Court “reform,” statehood for Puerto Rico and D.C., and blue states expanding maps. Democrats believe the Constitution itself is up for grabs if they control Congress and the presidency, and they intend to bulldoze through its protections rather than amend it properly. The Democrat Party the most radicalized and destructive in American history, a Marxist offspring determined to destroy the republic's constitutional framework. Later, China has billions poured into U.S. colleges to destroy them, land purchases near military bases, technology theft, cyber operations, massive military buildup aimed at the U.S. and allies, support for Iran's regime, artificial islands and territorial claims in the South China Sea. This doesn't sound like a country that wants to work with us. Gordon Chang calls in and describes Xi Jinping as arrogant for invoking the Thucydides Trap during his conversation with President Trump at the Great Hall ceremony, signaling that a rising China is challenging a United States in terminal decline. Xi reinforced this by referring to a “new era” in which China rules the world, delivering a double-barreled insult to the U.S. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China (Cornell UP, 2025), Charles L. Glaser advances a thought-provoking strategy for securing vital US interests in the face of China's rise. Many believe China's ascent will drive it to war with the United States. Yet this is far from inevitable; geography and nuclear weapons should ensure US security. The real danger, Glaser contends, lies in East Asia's territorial disputes, especially over Taiwan. To reduce the risk of war, Glaser makes a bold case for ending US security commitments to Taiwan and carefully calibrating its policies on protecting South China Sea maritime features. The United States should also strengthen its alliances with Japan and South Korea and eliminate unnecessarily provocative nuclear and conventional weapons policies. These measures, Glaser argues, would defuse China's biggest security concerns while preserving America's core strategic interests. Fusing theoretical insights with policy analysis, Retrench, Defend, Compete lays out a distinctive and compelling approach for managing the world's most consequential geopolitical rivalry—before it's too late. Our guest is Professor Charles Glaser, who is a Senior Fellow in the MIT Security Studies Program. His research focuses on international relations theory and international security policy, including U.S. policy toward China, nuclear weapons policy, and U.S. energy security. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In sixty years, China has moved from catastrophic famine to now feeding one in six people on the planet. Following three foods - pork, rice, and fish - this series traces a transformation that has emptied the Chinese countryside, reshaped ecosystems from Brazil to the South China Sea, and produced the high-rise hog farm model that is being exported across the world. We examine the competing priorities driving this transformation, the distributed costs and benefits, and what it means for the rest of the world."Feeding 1 in 6: China and the future of food" arrives in this feed on 21 May 2026.More info here

In Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China (Cornell UP, 2025), Charles L. Glaser advances a thought-provoking strategy for securing vital US interests in the face of China's rise. Many believe China's ascent will drive it to war with the United States. Yet this is far from inevitable; geography and nuclear weapons should ensure US security. The real danger, Glaser contends, lies in East Asia's territorial disputes, especially over Taiwan. To reduce the risk of war, Glaser makes a bold case for ending US security commitments to Taiwan and carefully calibrating its policies on protecting South China Sea maritime features. The United States should also strengthen its alliances with Japan and South Korea and eliminate unnecessarily provocative nuclear and conventional weapons policies. These measures, Glaser argues, would defuse China's biggest security concerns while preserving America's core strategic interests. Fusing theoretical insights with policy analysis, Retrench, Defend, Compete lays out a distinctive and compelling approach for managing the world's most consequential geopolitical rivalry—before it's too late. Our guest is Professor Charles Glaser, who is a Senior Fellow in the MIT Security Studies Program. His research focuses on international relations theory and international security policy, including U.S. policy toward China, nuclear weapons policy, and U.S. energy security. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

In Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China (Cornell UP, 2025), Charles L. Glaser advances a thought-provoking strategy for securing vital US interests in the face of China's rise. Many believe China's ascent will drive it to war with the United States. Yet this is far from inevitable; geography and nuclear weapons should ensure US security. The real danger, Glaser contends, lies in East Asia's territorial disputes, especially over Taiwan. To reduce the risk of war, Glaser makes a bold case for ending US security commitments to Taiwan and carefully calibrating its policies on protecting South China Sea maritime features. The United States should also strengthen its alliances with Japan and South Korea and eliminate unnecessarily provocative nuclear and conventional weapons policies. These measures, Glaser argues, would defuse China's biggest security concerns while preserving America's core strategic interests. Fusing theoretical insights with policy analysis, Retrench, Defend, Compete lays out a distinctive and compelling approach for managing the world's most consequential geopolitical rivalry—before it's too late. Our guest is Professor Charles Glaser, who is a Senior Fellow in the MIT Security Studies Program. His research focuses on international relations theory and international security policy, including U.S. policy toward China, nuclear weapons policy, and U.S. energy security. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

In Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China (Cornell UP, 2025), Charles L. Glaser advances a thought-provoking strategy for securing vital US interests in the face of China's rise. Many believe China's ascent will drive it to war with the United States. Yet this is far from inevitable; geography and nuclear weapons should ensure US security. The real danger, Glaser contends, lies in East Asia's territorial disputes, especially over Taiwan. To reduce the risk of war, Glaser makes a bold case for ending US security commitments to Taiwan and carefully calibrating its policies on protecting South China Sea maritime features. The United States should also strengthen its alliances with Japan and South Korea and eliminate unnecessarily provocative nuclear and conventional weapons policies. These measures, Glaser argues, would defuse China's biggest security concerns while preserving America's core strategic interests. Fusing theoretical insights with policy analysis, Retrench, Defend, Compete lays out a distinctive and compelling approach for managing the world's most consequential geopolitical rivalry—before it's too late. Our guest is Professor Charles Glaser, who is a Senior Fellow in the MIT Security Studies Program. His research focuses on international relations theory and international security policy, including U.S. policy toward China, nuclear weapons policy, and U.S. energy security. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies

In Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China (Cornell UP, 2025), Charles L. Glaser advances a thought-provoking strategy for securing vital US interests in the face of China's rise. Many believe China's ascent will drive it to war with the United States. Yet this is far from inevitable; geography and nuclear weapons should ensure US security. The real danger, Glaser contends, lies in East Asia's territorial disputes, especially over Taiwan. To reduce the risk of war, Glaser makes a bold case for ending US security commitments to Taiwan and carefully calibrating its policies on protecting South China Sea maritime features. The United States should also strengthen its alliances with Japan and South Korea and eliminate unnecessarily provocative nuclear and conventional weapons policies. These measures, Glaser argues, would defuse China's biggest security concerns while preserving America's core strategic interests. Fusing theoretical insights with policy analysis, Retrench, Defend, Compete lays out a distinctive and compelling approach for managing the world's most consequential geopolitical rivalry—before it's too late. Our guest is Professor Charles Glaser, who is a Senior Fellow in the MIT Security Studies Program. His research focuses on international relations theory and international security policy, including U.S. policy toward China, nuclear weapons policy, and U.S. energy security. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

In Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China (Cornell UP, 2025), Charles L. Glaser advances a thought-provoking strategy for securing vital US interests in the face of China's rise. Many believe China's ascent will drive it to war with the United States. Yet this is far from inevitable; geography and nuclear weapons should ensure US security. The real danger, Glaser contends, lies in East Asia's territorial disputes, especially over Taiwan. To reduce the risk of war, Glaser makes a bold case for ending US security commitments to Taiwan and carefully calibrating its policies on protecting South China Sea maritime features. The United States should also strengthen its alliances with Japan and South Korea and eliminate unnecessarily provocative nuclear and conventional weapons policies. These measures, Glaser argues, would defuse China's biggest security concerns while preserving America's core strategic interests. Fusing theoretical insights with policy analysis, Retrench, Defend, Compete lays out a distinctive and compelling approach for managing the world's most consequential geopolitical rivalry—before it's too late. Our guest is Professor Charles Glaser, who is a Senior Fellow in the MIT Security Studies Program. His research focuses on international relations theory and international security policy, including U.S. policy toward China, nuclear weapons policy, and U.S. energy security. Our host is Eleonora Mattiacci, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Amherst College. She is the author of "Volatile States in International Politics" (Oxford University Press, 2023). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this powerful episode of The Aisling School's Dream Interpretation Podcast, Michael and Sandy explore dreams revealing the connection between the Divine Feminine, higher consciousness, healing, and spiritual awakening.   The episode begins with a stunning dream about deep sea fishing in the South China Sea where a woman reels a massive rainbow "Overmind" from the depths — symbolizing direct access to higher spiritual intelligence through feminine energy.   Michael explains how the feminine aspect is the pathway to the spirit world, emotional expansion, healing, and higher consciousness. The discussion dives into masculine vs feminine energetic balance, manifestation, channeling, spiritual receptivity, and why many people block their own connection to the divine. The second dream introduces Shakti — the primordial feminine cosmic force — appearing symbolically through magnolia petals mysteriously left inside a car. Michael explains how feminine energy guides healing, expansion, and transformation throughout a spiritual journey.   The final dream shifts into physical healing as a woman dreams of talking lizards attacking insects hidden in dirt. Michael interprets the dream as the body's immune system communicating directly through dream symbolism, revealing how dreams can warn us about physical imbalances years before illness manifests. This episode is a deep exploration of: Divine feminine awakening Spiritual receptivity The Overmind and higher consciousness Channeling and dream interpretation Healing trauma through feminine energy Dreams revealing physical health issues The connection between emotions and disease Why your dreams may already know what your conscious mind does not Chapters 00:00 – The Divine Feminine & Your Connection to the Spirit World 00:22 – Deep Sea Fishing Dream 02:15 – The Meaning of the South China Sea 02:46 – Healing Through the Feminine Energy 03:11 – What the "Overmind" Really Represents 04:38 – "28 Days to Glory" Explained 05:48 – Why the Feminine Is the Path to Higher Consciousness 06:24 – Magnolia Petals Dream 07:59 – Who (or What) Is Shakti? 08:47 – Masculine vs Feminine Energy in Manifestation 10:00 – The Supernatural Meaning of the Magnolia Petals 11:03 – How Feminine Energy Expands the Logical Mind 12:21 – The Hidden Connection Between Channeling & Feminine Energy 13:15 – The 3 Pillars Michael Watches For in Channeling 14:06 – How Feminine Energy Accelerates Healing 14:27 – Signal vs Noise: Why Most People Miss Their Purpose 15:15 – Dreams About Death, Funerals & Personal Transformation 16:40 – The Talking Lizard Dream 17:17 – Bugs, Dirt & The Reproductive System Symbolism 18:36 – Lizards as the Immune System 19:05 – The Dangerous Meaning of Translucent Bugs 20:22 – The White Lizard Finds the Root Cause 21:11 – Why Mice in Dreams Can Warn About Cancer 22:14 – Hearing Lizards Speak: Communicating With the Body 23:21 – Discovering a Forgotten Spiritual Gift 24:37 – How Food & Emotions Affect the Body 25:12 – Why Certain Foods Become Toxic for Specific People 26:13 – Emotional Trauma Stored Inside Food Associations 26:38 – Mentorship Announcement & Spiritual Transformation Journey   For a very brief time use this link to get free access to our summit recordings:  https://hub-lkx8j1p308.membership.io/register   Get Our Free App with Dictionary & Journal iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aisling-dreams/id6753309760  Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dream_analysis.aisling_dreams    Talk to Sandy about our courses https://bookings.theaislingschool.com/sandy/got-questions

What happens when you publish an investigation that an authoritarian superpower doesn't want the world to see? Journalist Regine Cabato found out.A contributor at the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and former Washington Post correspondent in Manila, Regine published an explainer exposing how pro-China disinformation networks have taken root in Filipino social media feeds. The Chinese Embassy in Manila responded by attacking PCIJ online and putting her face on its social media posts - unleashing a torrent of harassment, sexist abuse, and smears labeling her a "CIA plant" and a tool of U.S. interests.In this episode, Ray Powell and Jim Carouso sit down with Regine to unpack what happened and why it matters far beyond the Philippines. She walks us through how she identified the red flags of pro-Beijing propaganda, why participation in China-sponsored journalist programs isn't automatically disqualifying but the rhetoric that follows often is, and how influence operations exploit the overlap between pro-Duterte networks and pro-China narratives without ever being overtly traceable to the Chinese state.Regine also reveals the personal toll: the midnight moment her phone lit up with the embassy's post, watching the hate campaign build in real time, and why she says the attacks are actually a sign her reporting is landing. She reflects on the solidarity she received from the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders and Philippine press organizations - and why the Philippines remains one of the last places in the region where journalists can still report critically on China.The conversation ranges across transnational repression, U.S. credibility under the Trump administration, the weaponization of foreign-funding smears, and the broader chilling effect on Filipino newsrooms. Regine closes with a message for young reporters weighing whether to take on a powerful government: it's not for everyone, but any project that defends democratic discussion is worth it.If you care about press freedom, Chinese political warfare, the South China Sea, or the future of democracy in the Indo-Pacific, this is an essential listen.

In this episode of The President's Daily Brief: First up — officially, Project Freedom was paused to give negotiations with Iran a chance. Unofficially? New reporting suggests key Gulf allies may have pushed back hard against the operation behind closed doors, raising questions about fractures inside the coalition confronting Tehran. Later in the show — the IDF says it killed a top Hezbollah Radwan commander in a precision strike on Beirut, marking Israel's first attack on the Lebanese capital in weeks. Also later in the show — Ukraine launches a massive drone assault ahead of Russia's Victory Day celebrations, reportedly striking a logistics hub near Moscow and targeting a Russian missile warship capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles. And in today's Back of the Brief — Japan fires an anti-ship missile during joint military drills with the United States and regional allies near the South China Sea, as tensions with China continue simmering across the Indo-Pacific. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting https://PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Tax Relief Advocates: End your tax nightmare today by visiting us online at https://TRA.com or call 800-583-6515 QUO: Make this the season where no opportunity slips away. Try QUO for free PLUS get 20% off your first 6 months when you go to https://Quo.com/PDB Chapter: Compare every medicare plan call 915-671-5252 today! Chapter and its affiliates are not connected with or endorsed by any government entity or the federal Medicare program. Chapter Advisory, LLC represents Medicare Advantage HMO, PPO, and PFFS organizations and stand alone prescription drug plans that have a Medicare contract. Enrollment depends on the plan's contract renewal. While we have a database of every Medicare plan nationwide and can help you to search among all plans, we have contracts with many but not all plans. As a result, we do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent 50 organizations which offer 18,160 products nationwide. We search and recommend all plans, even those we don't directly offer. You can contact a licensed Chapter agent to find out the number of products available in your specific area. Please contact https://Medicare.gov, 1-800-Medicare, or your local State Health Insurance Program (SHIP) to get information on all of your options. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

STREAMING MAKING JBS, FEATURING REBECCA GRANT, CHARLES BURTON, SCOTT HAROLD, GORDON CHANG, 5-6-26. 1720 MAPThis transcript captures a discussion from The John Bachelor Show featuring experts Gordon Chang, Rebecca Grant, and Charles Burton regarding global security and geopolitical rivalries. The initial segment highlights the US Navy'scritical role in maintaining stability within the Persian Gulf and the South China Sea, emphasizing its capability to counter Iranian aggression and signal strength to China. Shifting focus to technological competition, the panel critiques Bernie Sanders' proposal for AI collaboration with Beijing, arguing that such cooperation often leads to predatory technology transfers rather than mutual benefit. The participants cite historical examples of industrial espionage in Canada and the collapse of Nortel as warnings against trusting Chinese strategic intentions. Finally, the dialogue touches upon Japan's evolving diplomatic and security presence in Southeast Asia and Australia, positioning it as a vital democratic partner in regional defense.

Ties between China and Vietnam appear to be improving across every front. Vietnam is selling more to China, while China is investing more in its southern neighbor. Even on thorny territorial issues in the South China Sea, the two sides said they're talking through their differences. And last month, Vietnamese leader To Lam traveled to China in his capacity as both General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of the country, a model many say was inspired by the Chinese political structure. All of this has prompted discussion among some Vietnamese analysts that Hanoi is swinging in Beijing's direction. But Khang Vu, a visiting scholar in Vietnamese political science at Boston College, strongly disagrees. Khang joins Eric to discuss why Hanoi's longstanding commitment to non-alignment among the major powers remains the bedrock of Vietnamese foreign policy. Show Notes: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: Why Vietnam Is Swinging in China's Direction by Nguyen Khac Giang The Diplomat: The Myth of Vietnam's Tilt Toward China by Khang Vu The Diplomat: Interpreting the Future of Vietnam-China Relations Through the 2026 Joint Statement by Hai Hong Nguyen and Vu Quy Son

An island nation only one-third the size of Virginia, Taiwan produces more than 90 percent of the world's most advanced chips and more than 90 percent of the servers powering the AI revolution. And last year, Taiwan became the United States' fourth-largest trading partner—after Mexico, Canada, and China.More than one-fifth of global maritime trade goes through the Taiwan Strait, according to a Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis, and any conflict over Taiwan would be devastating for the global economy—and likely far worse than the economic disruptions caused by the Iran War.Chinese leader Xi Jinping has told the People's Liberation Army (PLA) to be ready for a successful Taiwan invasion by 2027, the PLA's 100th anniversary.In this episode, I sit down with Taiwan's representative to the United States, Ambassador Alexander Yui, to understand why Taiwan matters and what's at stake as the Chinese Communist Party has ramped up its campaign to isolate, intimidate, and encircle Taiwan in recent years.Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's recent visit to Eswatini—Taiwan's only African ally—had to be abruptly postponed when Seychelles, Madagascar, and Mauritius revoked overflight permissions—presumably due to pressure from Beijing.“They are constantly harassing our naval and air surroundings, trying to create panic and uneasiness,” Yui says.Since 2013, Beijing has built more than two dozen militarized outposts in disputed waters in the South China Sea and has recently been militarizing yet another artificial island known as Antelope Reef.Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.

This week we talk about the Strait of Hormuz, oil, and Russia.We also discuss Patriot missiles, expensive weapons, and peer rivals.Recommended Book: Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le CunffTranscriptDuring 2025 and early 2026, about 20 million barrels of crude oil and other petroleum products was shipped through the Strait of Hormuz every day. That's about a quarter of the world's total seaborne oil, and essentially all of that oil, and gas, and those other energy products that pass through this strait are from Middle Eastern suppliers like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Iran.Beginning at the tail-end of February 2026, however, the Iranian military has shut down the Strait by threatening to take out or capture any vessels that attempt to pass through it. This has had the practical effect of initially reducing tanker traffic through the Strait by about 70%, but in recent weeks traffic has dropped to nearly zero. As of April 2026, about 2,000 ships are stranded in the area as a result of this closure.As a result of this shutdown, though, other energy product suppliers have seen demand for their oil and gas and the like increase, and that's led to higher prices for these products.Russia, for instance, which doesn't rely on the Strait to get its oil and gas out to its customers, has seen its oil tax revenue double in April, and the price of one grade of oil that it sells increased by 73% from February, alone.That's a big windfall for Russia, which has had trouble selling its oil and gas at a significant profit, due in part to heavy sanctions that have resulted from its invasion of Ukraine. It's continued to sell to countries like China and India, but those customers have been able to pay lower prices due to the lessened demand for what Russia is selling.This increased demand has thus goosed profits for Russia at a moment in which it could really use those sorts of profits—its economy is not doing terribly well, again because of its invasion of Ukraine, which has also not been going terribly well—so while inflation caused by this gas price-spike has been near-universally not great for much of the world, because energy cost increases tend to increase the price of just about everything, Russia's government, at least, has been pretty happy with the shutdown of the Strait, and would probably love to see it continue.Another moderate benefactor of this shutdown has been the United States government. The US is the number one exporter of liquified natural gas, and one of the top exporters of oil and petroleum products. US export numbers are poised to hit new records with the closure of the Strait, too, because, just like with Russia, fewer products of this kind available on the global market means those who have such products to sell can charge higher prices for them.There's a good chance this disruption, even if it ended today, for good, will have permanently rewired at least some of the global petroleum industry, as companies and countries that have been left in the lurch have adjusted their risks analyses and determined that it makes more sense to buy from different suppliers, to sell to different customers, or, in some cases, to use fewer of these products and invest more enthusiastically in renewables, like solar and wind—so while the US and Russia and a few other players are somewhat pleased with how things are going, oil and gas price-wise at least, long term this could actually harm them, the most, as more of their customers decide to stop paying irregular prices for what they're selling and to opt for less turbulent solar and wind power, instead.What I'd like to talk about today is another knock-on effect of the war in Iran that could have significant international, possibly even military implications.—Since Trump first stepped into office, winning the US presidency back in 2016, allies have openly wondered whether the US could be relied upon as a military ally, should push come to shove.Trump has repeated said that he thinks NATO is a rip-off for the US, as the US has long provided the vast majority of funding and weapons for the alliance, and he's pushed European NATO members to step up their own investment, lest he decide to just led Russia or whomever else attack them; he's openly speculated that he might do exactly that.As a result of the US's pivot away from happily playing the role of world police and invasion deterrent, European governments have been hastily putting together contingency plans that don't include the US: if Russia turns its attention away from Ukraine and starts attacking the Baltics or Poland, they want to be ready, and they don't want to have to rely on the unreliable Trump administration for their survival.Other governments that have long assumed they would be protected, at least in part, by the overwhelming force of the US military, have also been rethinking things, based on Trump's stated, if not always practiced, isolationism.Taiwan, for instance, which is persistently menaced by China, which considers Taiwan to be a rebel asset that it will someday reclaim, has also been investing in its own defenses, no longer certain that the US will step up and help them out at their moment of greatest need, despite historical assumptions.Adding to that uncertainty, though, is the increasingly depleted state of the US military following its attack on Iran, which began in earnest in late February of this year.Since February, the US has expended around 1,100 long-range stealth cruise missiles, more than a thousand Tomahawk cruise missiles, more than 1,200 Patriot interceptor missiles, and more than a thousand Precision Strike and ATACMS ground-base missiles.For context, those Patriot missiles cost $4 million apiece, and again, 1,200 of them have been used since February, and the US military only buys about 100 Tomahawks a year, so the military has spent 10-years worth of them already during this new conflict in Iran. And those 1,100 stealth cruise missiles were built for a potential war with China, but now they're gone.This rapid depletion of armaments, weapons that take a long time to make and which are very expensive to procure, has required that stockpiles from elsewhere around the world be quickly packed up and shipped to the Middle East; and while the majority of what's been fired so far by the US have been missiles, these shipments include all sorts of bombs, vehicles, and personnel equipment like guns and bullets, too, because they have to be ready for anything.The military has also redirected assets, like missile systems and carrier strike groups, from other theaters, like the Pacific Ocean, to the Middle East, which leaves allies, like Taiwan and South Korea, less well-defended against potential incursions.The US has refused to release any estimates as to the cost of the attack on Iran so far, but a pair of independent groups have estimated that price tag to be somewhere between $28 and $35 billion, which is about a billion dollars a day.What's more, it's estimated that it will take about six years just to get armament stores back up to where they were in February, before this attack; it's not just costly, it also takes a long time to produce that many missiles and rockets. And notably, a lot of these weapons were already considered to be in short supply before this conflict, at levels not suitable for a full-on shootout with an enemy like China, according to military experts. So six years plus whatever would be necessary to get up to more suitable levels.This shortfall is partly the result of how the US military deals with defense contractors, and there are efforts by new military startups to remedy this sort of situation, making manufacturing a lot more nimble, while also shifting to cheaper weapons, like drones and inexpensive interceptors, to replace the pricy, conventional ones that the country has long relied on.This expanded production hasn't begun in earnest, though, and conventional military hardware suppliers have been slow to spin up new production because new funding hasn't yet been confirmed by the Pentagon.So the US military is currently low on the weapons it would need to defend its allies in Europe or the South China Sea against attacks by rival, near-peer nations, at a moment in which such nations are making big moves, like China's persistent expansion into the South China Sea, and Russia's adventurism in Ukraine.What's more, these stockpiles are unlikely to be resupplied any time soon, the capacity to produce what's needed simply doesn't exist, not in the US, anyway, and next-step options, like mass-scale drone production, also haven't kicked off in earnest, yet, and might not arrive for another 5 or 10 years.This already precarious moment has been made all the more precarious by the US government's decision to attack Iran, then, and that decision still hasn't been fully explained, the actual end-goal unknown. Consequently, there also doesn't seem to be a clear end-point to aim and plan for.Show Noteshttps://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/iran-war-complicates-contingency-plans-to-defend-taiwan-some-u-s-officials-say-4384f7c1http://nytimes.com/2026/04/16/world/middleeast/iran-war-cost-congress.htmlhttps://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/epic-fury-costs-as-of-the-april-8-cease-fire/https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/us/politics/iran-war-cost-military.htmlhttps://gulfnews.com/world/mena/is-the-iran-war-depleting-us-weapons-too-fast-1.500517800https://www.moneycontrol.com/world/iran-war-drains-us-munitions-raises-taiwan-defence-concerns-report-article-13898019.htmlhttps://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-rearms-iran-ceasefire-advanced-munitions-supplies/https://www.ft.com/content/1a5a2502-a45a-40c1-af6f-b30ecc34bacbhttps://archive.is/20260424042150/https://www.ft.com/content/1a5a2502-a45a-40c1-af6f-b30ecc34bacbhttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/24/world/europe/europe-defense-nato-trump-eu.htmlhttps://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/04/23/aircraft-carrier-bush-iran/https://archive.md/T9tD1https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-03-31/trump-s-iran-war-is-accelerating-the-global-energy-transitionhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/18/fossil-fuel-trump-green-revolution-us-iran-renewable-energyhttps://www.axios.com/2026/04/24/trump-oil-export-ceiling-iran-strait-hormuz This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

Is “China” as we understand it today really a continuous civilization — or a modern political construction? In this episode of The China Desk, host Steve Yates sits down with Bill Hayton, journalist and author of The Invention of China, to unpack one of the most provocative ideas in China studies: that many core concepts of modern China — including its identity, history, and territorial claims — are far more recent than commonly believed. Drawing on his research, Hayton explains how ideas like Chinese nationalism, sovereignty, and even the concept of “China” itself were shaped in the late 19th and early 20th centuries — often influenced by foreign thinkers, political pressures, and the collapse of the imperial system. A major focus of the conversation is how these constructed narratives continue to shape modern Chinese policy, propaganda, and global strategy. The discussion covers: • Why the term “China” was not historically used by Chinese rulers • How modern Chinese identity emerged in the late imperial and early republican periods • The origins of the “5,000 years of history” narrative • How nationalism was constructed to unify diverse populations • The invention and political use of Han ethnic identity • Why historical narratives are used to legitimize CCP authority • The concept of “national humiliation” and its political function • How myths about history influence modern Chinese foreign policy • The South China Sea and the origins of China's maritime claims • Why many widely accepted historical claims lack solid evidence • Taiwan's complex historical relationship with mainland China • Why Taiwan has only been governed alongside China for brief periods • How WWII decisions shaped modern territorial claims • Xi Jinping's consolidation of power and rise of hardline nationalism • The role of ideology in shaping CCP domestic and foreign policy • Reciprocity and how the U.S. should approach China strategically Hayton also explains how these narratives are actively reinforced today — from education campaigns to political messaging — to create cohesion, justify policy, and shape how both Chinese citizens and the outside world understand China. The conversation highlights a critical takeaway: without questioning these foundational assumptions, policymakers risk misunderstanding China's intentions, overestimating historical inevitabilities, and limiting strategic flexibility. 00:00 — Intro + Bill Hayton joins the China Desk 00:33 — Background and journalism career 05:04 — How The Invention of China came together 06:06 — South China Sea research and historical gaps 07:09 — Questioning accepted historical narratives 08:20 — The invention of “China” as a concept 10:59 — Why “China” wasn't historically a unified nation 12:16 — Dynasties vs modern nation-state thinking 14:01 — Foreign influence on Chinese nationalism 16:23 — The “5,000 years of history” narrative explained 17:18 — Race, identity, and the Yellow Emperor myth 19:25 — National humiliation as a unifying tool 21:28 — Why historical narratives bind populations 24:19 — The invention of Han ethnicity 26:39 — Political motivations behind ethnic identity 28:55 — Reception and backlash to the book 32:34 — Taiwan: history vs modern claims 34:17 — Why Taiwan wasn't central to China historically 36:37 — WWII and shifting territorial narratives 37:50 — Modern CCP narratives on Taiwan 39:34 — Xi Jinping and rising nationalism 41:17 — Ideology, control, and state power 42:10 — Reciprocity and U.S.–China strategy 45:43 — Final thoughts + where to follow Bill   Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@ChinaDeskFNW

STREAMING THE MAKING OF THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, FEATURING JAMES HOLMES, RICK FISHER,ALAN TONELSON, GORDON CHANG,4-22-2026.1922The current global geopolitical landscape is defined by two primary theaters of tension: the maritime standoff in the Strait of Hormuz and the strategic "land grab" occurring in the Earth-Moon system. These conflicts are further complicated by a deepening economic rift between the United States and China regarding manufacturing, intellectual property, and the forced "decoupling" of supply chains.In the Strait of Hormuz, a 21st-century standoff exists between the US Navy and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This waterway is exceptionally narrow and shallow, bordered by Iran, the UAE, and Oman. Professor Jim Holmes suggests the US holds the advantage because it can theoretically sustain economic "pain" longer; Iran'seconomy is nearly 90% dependent on shipping hydrocarbons through the strait to survive. However, the IRGC employs "fast movers" and irregular tactics that challenge the US Navy, which currently lacks comparable small, shallow-draft vessels after withdrawing its Littoral Combat Ships from the region. The true contest is psychological and financial, centered on the willingness of insurers like Lloyd's of London to provide voyage insurance. If insurance companies refuse to cover merchant ships due to the risk of IRGC attacks, the waterway is effectively blocked without a shot being fired.Simultaneously, the contest for the moon is characterized by "dual-use" capabilities that blur the line between civilian and military intent. China's lunar landing strategy involves a propulsion module that separates and crashes onto the moon's surface. Rick Fischer warns that this crashing trajectory could be precisely aimed at US moon bases, effectively weaponizing space debris. Furthermore, China is deploying satellite constellations for surveillance and navigation that can double as targeting systems for military operations. While the US promotes the Artemis Accords to demilitarize the moon, China has not signed them, leading observers to view their lunar ambitions as a territorial land grab similar to their expansionist behavior in the South China Sea.This broader conflict is underpinned by an economic war. China is implementing new regulations to penalize multinational corporations and executives who attempt to shift supply chains away from the country. Alan Tonelson notes that Beijing is alarmed by the transfer of production to countries like India or back to the US, a trend driven by US tariffs and Chinese policies that favor self-reliance over global trade. For example, Apple has already moved significant production to India, demonstrating that decoupling is possible despite the risk of Beijing holding foreign executives "hostage" in retaliation. Historically, the US has been "complicit" in its own predicament by transferring critical technology to China for decades, a mistake exemplified by the failure of Solyndra, which was crushed by cheap, state-subsidized Chinese solar panels.Ultimately, these disparate issues—from the shallow waters of Hormuz to the craters of the lunar south pole—reflect a world shifting toward a "1941" state of mobilization. The challenge for US leadership is navigating these high-stakes standoffs while facing an adversary that treats manufacturing, insurance, and space exploration as coordinated weapons of war.

Who was THE most sucessful pirate ever? Blackbeard? Captain Kidd? Jack Sparrow? No, it's Ching Shih - a pirate queen who held the whole of China to ransom. Dr Smash and Dr Craken talk about this famous historical figure who was the terror of the South China Sea. Contact info@absolutelysmashingllc.com for more information about sponsoring MCHH episodes  Music and intro credits By News Talk 1040 WHBO Dr Scarlett Smash Instagram Dr Scarlett Smash TikTok  Dr Craken MacCraic Instagram MCHH Instagram MCHH Facebook Dr Scarlett Smash YouTube

China is ramping up pressure on its neighbors, expanding its presence, and testing U.S. alliances — all while the world looks away. In this episode, naval warfare expert Brent Sadler explains what's happening, why it matters, and how this slow-moving crisis could become a major global conflict. Get the facts first with Morning Wire.- - -Ep. 2741- - -Wake up with new Morning Wire merch: https://bit.ly/4lIubt3- - -Today's Sponsors:Alliance Defending Freedom - Visit https://JoinADF.com/WIRE or text 'WIRE' to 83848 to learn more.Hello Fresh - Go to https://HelloFresh.com/morningwire10fm now to Get 10 Free meals + Free Nutribullet® Ultra Plus+ 2-in-1 Compact Kitchen System ($189.99 value) on your 3rd box.- - -Privacy Policy: https://www.dailywire.com/privacymorning wire,morning wire podcast,the morning wire podcast,Georgia Howe,John Bickley,daily wire podcast,podcast,news podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

From October 25, 2024: Hunter Marston, PhD candidate at the Australian National University and Southeast Asia Associate at 9DashLine, joins Kevin Frazier, Assistant Professor at St. Thomas University College of Law and a Tarbell Fellow at Lawfare, to explore the economic and geopolitical significance of the South China Sea. Hunter leans on his extensive knowledge of Southeast Asian politics and history to paint a comprehensive picture of why the next Administration should pay close attention to this geographical hotbed of political tension.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on the Mark Levin Show, Rep. Eric Swalwell is resigning from the House of Representatives and dropped out of his race for Governor amid mounting sexual assault allegations. Reporters say that Swalwell's behavior was known – if that's the case why wasn't it reported? This points to a long-standing cover-up by elected Democrats, party operatives, and elements of the media, who continued to support and promote Swalwell despite the allegations. Later, by order of President Trump, the Strait of Hormuz has been blockaded. Of course, thanks to Democrats, the U.S. Navy is trying to do more with less. And the Woke Reich, neo-fascists, and Islamists are teaming up to work against Trump. But this is bigger than Iran. China claims the South China Sea and has artificial islands there. If Iran gets away with closing the Strait and charging fees for passage, would China do the same in the South China Sea? But the woke right and Islamists don't care. They hate Trump and they hate Benjamin Netanyahu, the two men who are clear about the goal of the Iran war: no nukes. Period. House Democrats have filed articles of impeachment against Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. These are baseless lies against him and it's all political theater designed to create controversy and stir up the Democratic base for the November midterms. It doesn't help when we have figures like Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon, Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, and others who are damaging the Republican Party and conservative movement by trashing it, wanting it and Trump to fail, which could help hand Democrats the House or Senate. The reporting of a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon is perplexing because Israel is not at war with the Lebanese government or army but is instead trying to destroy Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is effectively an extension of Iran. There is concern is that Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Iranian regime may survive by the time President Trump leaves office, though there is no reason for Hezbollah to survive at all given its history of attacks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

US Middle East tensions are worsening as China mobilizes its navy to block South China Sea shipping lanes carrying 30% of global trade. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is pushing full-scale war for Israel, expanding FISA surveillance, and covering up the Epstein files. Trump supporters, including Christians, now compare him to Jesus and his critics to Pharisees, led by Lindsey Graham and Pete Hegseth. The author's father has cut ties with him and his grandchildren over blind loyalty to Trump, whom he calls a war-criminal pedophile.   Stew drops bombs on the Charlie Kirk assassination as a high-level military hit out of Fort Huachuca to silence a man who broke from the Zionist war machine and the pedophile protection racket. From Pete Hegseth's Gulfstream making SAM flights into the base the exact days Erica Kirk and Cabot Phillips were spotted there, to the same plane circling the exploding AES facility while the 10th Mountain Division was quietly purged, the cover-up runs straight to the top of the Trump administration and the Zionist-occupied government. This April only: $3 off your first month on Locals ✝️ A reminder of the 3rd day and the power of resurrection. Join here:

Geopower, Energy Realpolitik with Todd Royal – What we are witnessing today—whether in Ukraine, the Middle East, or the South China Sea—is not a break from history, but an evolution of it. Warfare is no longer defined by mass troop movements alone. It is now asymmetrical, decentralized, and technologically enabled. Drones, cyber operations, and proxy militias have replaced...

China is out building sand castles again in the South China Sea, and I bet you can guess how it's going to end.Join the Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/PeterZeihanFull Newsletter: https://bit.ly/4ekeF5W

Philippine marines living aboard a rusting World War II ship grounded at Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea have been eating fish from waters laced with cyanide, and their spokesman says an October 2025 incident may have gone further, with Chinese “fishermen” potentially attempting to introduce the toxin directly into the ship's desalination system. In this episode, hosts Ray Powell and James Carouso sit down with Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad, the Philippine Navy's spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea, to examine one of the most alarming accusations yet in the South China Sea dispute between the Philippines and China.Trinidad explains how the Armed Forces of the Philippines seized bottles from Chinese fishermen on four separate occasions between February 2025 and March 2026, and how recently concluded forensic testing has confirmed that the contents had contained cyanide. Was it a matter of destructive fishing techniques or something more sinister?He also discusses the July 2024 “provisional arrangement” on resupply missions to BRP Sierra Madre and why its ambiguity may be both a stabilizing asset and a long-term vulnerability for Philippine maritime security. He also walks through China's massive military buildup at Second Thomas Shoal after the embarrassing Chinese ship-on-ship collision at Scarborough Shoal, and how Manila's transparency strategy helped force a partial de-escalation.The conversation then turns to information warfare. Trinidad explains why he pointedly refers not to “China” but to the “Chinese Communist Party”, in order to distinguish between the people of the Middle Kingdom and its government in Beijing. He also shares why being personally targeted by the Chinese Embassy in Manila - and being recently caricatured in a state-run Global Times political cartoon - is, in his view, a badge of honor for standing up to Beijing's narrative campaigns. Admiral Trinidad then talks about espionage, revealing how Chinese intelligence handlers recruited young Filipino defense workers via social media to gather information specifically about troops at Second Thomas Shoal and the resupply missions, and why he is urging Congress to replace the Philippines' 1941-era anti-espionage law and pass new legislation on foreign malign influence.Trinidad closes with a message to Chinese officials he says he knows will be listening: their reaction to Philippine transparency shows exactly where their vulnerabilities lie. He finally announces that he is now days away from retirement from his active duty service in the Philippine Navy - but intends to keep speaking out about the West Philippine Sea.

Happy Friday! Today we are talking about the most successful pirate in history, and I don't mean Jack Sparrow or Blackbeard - I'm talking about Ching Shih, the former sex worker turned pirate queen who controlled the South China Sea to such an extent the Qing dynasty paid her to retire! As an Asian woman she defies all the pirate stereotypes toted by historians and western sources alike, and had one hell of a career both on the sea and land!If you're wanting more Hot History you can follow along on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and of course, right here!Til next week, Ainslie x

On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show, by order of President Trump, the Strait of Hormuz has been blockaded. Of course, thanks to Democrats, the U.S. Navy is trying to do more with less. And the Woke Reich, neo-fascists, and Islamists are teaming up to work against Trump. But this is bigger than Iran. China claims the South China Sea and has artificial islands there. If Iran gets away with closing the Strait and charging fees for passage, would China do the same in the South China Sea? But the woke right and Islamists don't care. They hate Trump and they hate Benjamin Netanyahu, the two men who are clear about the goal of the Iran war: no nukes. Period. Also, Jihadi Islamists are now embedded in the U.S., including a mayor in Paterson, NJ, an imam in Dearborn, Michigan, and figures like podcaster Hasan Piker. While the overall Muslim population in America is not yet massive, it is growing rapidly, and communities are concentrating in specific towns and cities. These groups form segregated communities where Sharia law exerts control, either openly or discreetly. Later, Mediaite's founding editor Colby Hall, has reportedly been suspended for alleged and “completely unacceptable errors.” It appears Mediaite has lost confidence in him. Afterward, Josh Hammer calls in and argues that the fake conservatives in the podcast space are motivated purely by self-interest and metrics, not by altruism or concern for the country, and their incentives harm the conservative movement and the United States. We should ignore these self-serving voices and seek out those in it for the right reasons - good people still exist in broadcasting and podcasting, though they are fewer than before. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At the start of 2025, Antelope Reef was little more than a sandbar in the Paracel Islands. Months later, it's on track to become China's largest artificial island in the South China Sea. In this episode, we sit down with Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at CSIS and author of On Dangerous Ground: America's Century in the South China Sea, to unpack what China is building, why it's building it now, and what it means for the region – and especially Vietnam.Greg walks us through the latest satellite imagery, explains why the scale and speed of construction caught even seasoned analysts off guard, and lays out the military implications of a potential new airstrip in the western Paracels – the first in an area where Vietnamese fishermen have operated for generations.We explore why both China and Vietnam claim the Paracel Islands, how Vietnam's own massive island-building campaign in the Spratly Islands complicates the narrative, and why Hanoi's response to Antelope Reef has been surprisingly restrained. The conversation turns to the broader geopolitical landscape: Vietnam's strategic rebalancing between Washington and Beijing, the Philippines' recalibration during its ASEAN chairmanship, and whether a South China Sea Code of Conduct can ever be more than symbolic.With the 10th anniversary of the landmark 2016 Hague arbitral ruling approaching in July, we assess whether it has been a net positive or negative for the Philippines and the rules-based order. We also discuss middle-power alignment, the expanding Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, and what countries like the United States, Japan, and Australia should and shouldn't do in response.Whether you follow South China Sea tensions closely or are just trying to understand why a reef you've never heard of will soon be ready to receive combat aircraft and navy destroyers, this episode connects the dots between island-building, international law, great power competition and the future of the Indo-Pacific.

Today, Les, Morgan, Algene, and Marc examine China's accelerating base construction in the South China Sea, with new activity at Antelope Reef in the Paracel Islands drawing fresh scrutiny. Beijing has been building artificial islands since launching a major dredging campaign in 2013, insisting the infrastructure is civilian while expanding its military footprint across waterways that carry roughly 30% of global oil trade. International courts have ruled against China's claims, but Beijing has largely ignored those rulings — and few are pressing the point.Is China's construction at Antelope Reef part of a deliberate strategy to deny the U.S. the ability to come to Taiwan's aid? With the U.S. already depleting munitions and military assets at a significant rate, how dangerous is a moment of softening toward Beijing? What investments must the United States make now to restore deterrence before China's position becomes unassailable?Check out the answers to these questions and more in this episode of Fault Lines.@lestermunson@morganlroach@algenesajery@washingtonflackLike what we're doing here? Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe. And don't forget to follow @faultlines_pod and @masonnatsec on Twitter!We are also on YouTube; watch today's episode here: https://youtu.be/yuiNj-goMoY Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China prepared in advance for a US attack on Iran. But many of its Asian neighbours have been hit hard because their economies were heavily reliant on energy imports from the Gulf.    In the short-term, the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz has triggered rationing, and shortages of diesel, gas and fertiliser. Does that set a negative precedent for other choke points across the world?    In the longer-term the war may force Asian nations into deeper reckonings: to reassess supply chains, economic strategies and whether the US can be trusted as a stable ally.    Why hasn't China supported Iran more? Will the standoff over Hormuz tempt Beijing to flex its muscles over the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea? How will Pakistan leverage its status as negotiator? Will the countries of southeast Asia follow through on calls for more regional integration of energy supplies?    To discuss these issues, and more, Ben Bland, Director of the Asia-Pacific Programme, hosts this week's Independent Thinking podcast, standing in for Bronwen Maddox. He is joined by two of his Chatham House colleagues: Yu Jie, Senior Research Fellow for China; and Chietigj Bajpaee, Senior Research Fellow for South Asia. Read our latest: News release | Syrian President al-Sharaa on Iran war: 'Syria will remain outside this conflict' Comment | The Iran war risks triggering a new wave of nuclear proliferation Comment | Spectator, beneficiary, player: Russia's strategy in the Iran war, from oil to drones Comment | Iraqi civilians are paying the price of the Iran war  Produced by Stephen Farrell.  Read the Spring issue of The World Today Listen to The Climate Briefing podcast

This one's heavy.We've heard a lot of military stories over the years… but this one stuck with us.Rick served in the U.S. Navy during the late 80s, and during a deployment in the South China Sea, they got a call about a stranded refugee boat.What they found when they got there… was nothing like they expected.There were bodies everywhere. Survivors that couldn't even stand. People so far gone they had to be carried onto the ship.And the part that really messes with you… what those people had to do to stay alive.It's the kind of story you don't forget.But what hit us just as hard wasn't just what happened out there. It's what came after.We talk about the transition out of the military, losing that sense of purpose, and how moments like this don't just disappear when you come home.A lot of guys carry this stuff for years… and never say a word.

STREAMING THEMAKING OF THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW, INCLUDING REBECCA GRANT, RICK FISHER, STEVE YATS AND GORDON CHANG, 3-25-2026.1903Rick Fisher and Gordon Chang. China's Strategic Undersea Mapping and Submarine Expansion. Rick Fisher discusses China's long-term effort to map the ocean floor as part of a drive for global maritime hegemony. This mapping is essential for preparing for submarine warfare, with China projected to match or exceed US submarine numbers within a decade. Fisher highlights the development of advanced undersea sensor networks and the stealthy Type 095 nuclear submarine, which utilizes sophisticated noise-reduction technology. He also notes China's strategy of weaponizing its commercial fishing and cargo fleets for espionage. By the late 2030s, China could achieve unacceptable naval parity. (1)Rebecca Grant and Gordon Chang. The USS Gerald R. Ford's Combat Success and Technical Innovations. Rebecca Grant evaluates the USS Gerald R. Ford's recent combat operations in the Middle East, noting its ability to sustain power despite a minor laundry fire. She emphasizes technical upgrades, specifically the electromagnetic launch system, which allows for more sensitive launches of both heavy aircraft and light drones. The Ford features a redesigned deck and high-capacity weapons elevators that can lift 24,000 pounds, more than double the capacity of previous carriers. Grant asserts that the US maintains a significant advantage due to superior operational experience and advanced weaponry. (2)Steve Yates and Gordon Chang. China's Strategic Energy Concerns and the Post-Conflict Iran Landscape. Steve Yates examines the impact of the Iran conflict on US-China relations, noting the postponement of the Trump-Xi summit. China is assisting Iran with drone components and missiles while remaining heavily dependent on Iranian energy imports. Yates explains that Beijing's post-conflict priority is maintaining privileged, discounted access to energy resources without US-imposed sanctions. He also discusses China's increasing pressure on the Philippines regarding South China Sea energy development. Ultimately, China's export-driven economy remains vulnerable to US leverage and energy supply disruptions. (3)

STREAMING THE MAKING OF THE JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW WITH GORDON CHANG, STEVE YATES, JIM FANELL AND CHARLES BURTON.1920 BRECKENRIDGE TEXASThe provided transcript from The John Batchelor Show explores the geopolitical complexities surrounding President Trump's postponed trip to Beijing amidst escalating tensions in the Middle East. Gordon Chang and Steve Yatesdiscuss how China leverages diplomatic ambiguity to project power, noting that the Chinese government never officially confirmed the summit dates. The dialogue shifts to maritime security, where Captain James Fanell evaluates the People's Liberation Army Navy's use of new drone technology as a propaganda tool in the South China Sea. Additionally, Charles Burton analyzes Canada's controversial shift toward Chinese electric vehicles, describing it as "maple washing" to bypass North American trade policies. The participants collectively argue that Western nations remain vulnerable to Chinese influence operations and unreliable trade commitments. Through these various lenses, the source highlights a global landscape defined by strategic uncertainty and the fraying of traditional alliances.