Podcasts about Taiwan

01:00:51 – Trump's Drone Strike: Murder or Self-Defense?Trump orders a drone strike on a Venezuelan “drug boat,” killing 11. Critics across the legal spectrum say it violated U.S. and international law, crossing into assassination and setting a dangerous precedent. 01:05:49 – Culture of Hate & Political ViolenceDiscussion pivots to Charlie Kirk's assassination and America's growing culture of hate. The point is made that censorship, not speech, breeds hate—and hate ultimately leads to violence and murder. 01:13:48 – Venezuela, Oil & Trump's Strongman BoastingTrump brags about frightening fishermen after the drone strike. Commentators argue this is cover for a Venezuela oil grab, comparing Trump to past “strongmen” and condemning J.D. Vance for glorifying extrajudicial killings. 01:25:28 – China War ScenariosHeritage Foundation “war games” on Taiwan are dissected. The host warns that war with China could devastate America through asymmetric attacks—supply chain collapse, cyberattacks, even infrastructure sabotage. 01:33:31 – Corrupt Courts & Charlotte KillerRevelations that the magistrate who freed a repeat offender—who went on to murder a young woman—never passed the bar. Blame is placed not just on her but on the systemic corruption of the courts that put her in place. 01:45:55 – Kirk Assassination ConspiraciesSpeculation emerges about AI-generated books and manipulated Amazon listings tied to the Kirk shooting. The hosts caution against clickbait “evidence,” stressing the fog of war makes conspiracies easy to spread. 01:55:55 – Distrust & Media ManipulationDiscussion closes with suspicion of both government and influencers like Alex Jones. The assassination narrative is portrayed as confused and potentially weaponized, feeding calls for tighter security and control. 02:01:04 – 9/11 Truth & Building 7Building 7's collapse is revisited, framed as controlled demolition. 9/11 is tied to the launch of endless wars and the surveillance state. 02:06:43 – Tucker Carlson & Movement Co-optionCarlson is blasted for once suppressing 9/11 discussion but now stepping in to lead the narrative, raising fears of establishment takeover of the truth movement. 02:16:12 – COVID Shots & Hidden Safety DataEvidence of scrubbed vaccine safety signals emerges, with thousands of adverse events concealed. The “Trump shot” is portrayed as a deliberate bioweapon program. 02:24:10 – Charlie Kirk Assassination TheoriesSpeculation swirls about Mossad, the Trump administration, and Ukraine's hit lists. AI-generated books and rumors of pre-reporting are debated as potential misdirection. 02:38:06 – Reactions to Kirk's DeathLeftist academics and media figures face backlash for celebrating Kirk's assassination. Firings at universities and DC Comics highlight a culture justifying political violence. 02:52:22 – Prayer vs. Silence in CongressHouse Republicans honor Kirk with prayer and silence, while Democrats jeer, fueling claims of open hostility to Christianity in politics. 03:14:06 – Jack Lawson JoinsIntroduction of Jack Lawson, author of the Civil Defense Manual. He frames the U.S. as entering a dangerous cycle of civil unrest and stresses that people must prepare before crises hit. 03:16:48 – Schools & RadicalizationLawson argues universities and schools are radicalizing youth into violence through Marxist and gender ideology, destabilizing society and priming people for unrest. 03:21:36 – Violence & Civil War WarningsDrawing on his experience in Africa, Lawson warns that once civil conflict starts, it spirals uncontrollably. He compares America's trajectory to Spain before its civil war. 03:32:39 – Survival Priorities: Food & WaterDiscussion turns to survival basics. Lawson emphasizes that food and water storage are more critical than weapons. He provides tools and free resources to calculate supplies. 03:38:21 – Fourth Turning & Global War RisksConversation shifts to the “Fourth Turning” cycle. Lawson and Knight warn that elites may accelerate toward war by 2030, with NATO and France stirring escalation to cover economic collapse. 03:44:07 – Faith, Forgiveness & End TimesLawson stresses that survival also requires faith. He shares passages from Plus Nothing, emphasizing forgiveness and compassion as essential alongside practical preparation. 03:54:23 – Survival Mindset & CommunityMental resilience is described as the decisive factor in surviving crises. Lawson stresses community defense, neighborhood cooperation, and avoiding denial as the key to survival. Follow the show on Kick and watch live every weekday 9:00am EST – 12:00pm EST https://kick.com/davidknightshow Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code KNIGHTFind out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-david-knight-show--2653468/support.

01:00:51 – Trump's Drone Strike: Murder or Self-Defense?Trump orders a drone strike on a Venezuelan “drug boat,” killing 11. Critics across the legal spectrum say it violated U.S. and international law, crossing into assassination and setting a dangerous precedent. 01:05:49 – Culture of Hate & Political ViolenceDiscussion pivots to Charlie Kirk's assassination and America's growing culture of hate. The point is made that censorship, not speech, breeds hate—and hate ultimately leads to violence and murder. 01:13:48 – Venezuela, Oil & Trump's Strongman BoastingTrump brags about frightening fishermen after the drone strike. Commentators argue this is cover for a Venezuela oil grab, comparing Trump to past “strongmen” and condemning J.D. Vance for glorifying extrajudicial killings. 01:25:28 – China War ScenariosHeritage Foundation “war games” on Taiwan are dissected. The host warns that war with China could devastate America through asymmetric attacks—supply chain collapse, cyberattacks, even infrastructure sabotage. 01:33:31 – Corrupt Courts & Charlotte KillerRevelations that the magistrate who freed a repeat offender—who went on to murder a young woman—never passed the bar. Blame is placed not just on her but on the systemic corruption of the courts that put her in place. 01:45:55 – Kirk Assassination ConspiraciesSpeculation emerges about AI-generated books and manipulated Amazon listings tied to the Kirk shooting. The hosts caution against clickbait “evidence,” stressing the fog of war makes conspiracies easy to spread. 01:55:55 – Distrust & Media ManipulationDiscussion closes with suspicion of both government and influencers like Alex Jones. The assassination narrative is portrayed as confused and potentially weaponized, feeding calls for tighter security and control. 02:01:04 – 9/11 Truth & Building 7Building 7's collapse is revisited, framed as controlled demolition. 9/11 is tied to the launch of endless wars and the surveillance state. 02:06:43 – Tucker Carlson & Movement Co-optionCarlson is blasted for once suppressing 9/11 discussion but now stepping in to lead the narrative, raising fears of establishment takeover of the truth movement. 02:16:12 – COVID Shots & Hidden Safety DataEvidence of scrubbed vaccine safety signals emerges, with thousands of adverse events concealed. The “Trump shot” is portrayed as a deliberate bioweapon program. 02:24:10 – Charlie Kirk Assassination TheoriesSpeculation swirls about Mossad, the Trump administration, and Ukraine's hit lists. AI-generated books and rumors of pre-reporting are debated as potential misdirection. 02:38:06 – Reactions to Kirk's DeathLeftist academics and media figures face backlash for celebrating Kirk's assassination. Firings at universities and DC Comics highlight a culture justifying political violence. 02:52:22 – Prayer vs. Silence in CongressHouse Republicans honor Kirk with prayer and silence, while Democrats jeer, fueling claims of open hostility to Christianity in politics. 03:14:06 – Jack Lawson JoinsIntroduction of Jack Lawson, author of the Civil Defense Manual. He frames the U.S. as entering a dangerous cycle of civil unrest and stresses that people must prepare before crises hit. 03:16:48 – Schools & RadicalizationLawson argues universities and schools are radicalizing youth into violence through Marxist and gender ideology, destabilizing society and priming people for unrest. 03:21:36 – Violence & Civil War WarningsDrawing on his experience in Africa, Lawson warns that once civil conflict starts, it spirals uncontrollably. He compares America's trajectory to Spain before its civil war. 03:32:39 – Survival Priorities: Food & WaterDiscussion turns to survival basics. Lawson emphasizes that food and water storage are more critical than weapons. He provides tools and free resources to calculate supplies. 03:38:21 – Fourth Turning & Global War RisksConversation shifts to the “Fourth Turning” cycle. Lawson and Knight warn that elites may accelerate toward war by 2030, with NATO and France stirring escalation to cover economic collapse. 03:44:07 – Faith, Forgiveness & End TimesLawson stresses that survival also requires faith. He shares passages from Plus Nothing, emphasizing forgiveness and compassion as essential alongside practical preparation. 03:54:23 – Survival Mindset & CommunityMental resilience is described as the decisive factor in surviving crises. Lawson stresses community defense, neighborhood cooperation, and avoiding denial as the key to survival. Follow the show on Kick and watch live every weekday 9:00am EST – 12:00pm EST https://kick.com/davidknightshow Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to https://davidknight.gold/ for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to https://trendsjournal.com/ and enter the code KNIGHTFind out more about the show and where you can watch it at TheDavidKnightShow.com If you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-showOr you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-david-knight-show--5282736/support.

US equity futures are flat. Asia ended broadly higher, and European equities opened mostly firmer. Focus remains on US monetary policy as August CPI showed a hotter headline but core inflation in line, reinforcing expectations for a 25 bp rate cut at next week's Fed meeting; Weekly jobless claims rose to their highest since 2021, adding to signs of labor market softening and helping markets price ~70 bp of cuts through year-end; On trade, the EU is unlikely to impose new tariffs on China and India over Russian crude purchases despite US pressure, though talks continue with Switzerland, Taiwan, and India; Overseas, ECB left rates unchanged, and political headlines included UK PM Starmer facing scrutiny after sacking US ambassador Mandelson, and French opposition leader Le Pen signaling willingness to work with PM Lecornu.Companies Mentioned: PepsiCo, ITC Ltd, +OpenAI, Nvidia, Microsoft

攀樹趣-Climbing Treehttps://www.facebook.com/FunClimbTree攀樹 pānshù – tree climbing身體協調 shēntǐ xiétiáo – body coordination繩子 shéngzi – rope攀 pān – to climb教練 jiàoliàn – coach; instructor繩結 shéngjié – knot (made with rope)扣具 kòujù – fastening device; buckle吊帶 diàodài – harness (for safety)確保 quèbǎo – to ensure; to guarantee懼高症 jùgāo zhèng – acrophobia; fear of heights指導 zhǐdǎo – to guide; guidance靜靜地 jìngjìng de – quietly陽光穿過樹葉 yángguāng chuānguò shùyè – sunlight shining through the leaves近距離 jìn jùlí – at close range生態 shēngtài – ecology愛護自然 àihù zìrán – to protect and cherish nature單純 dānchún – simple; pure三種層次的結合 sān zhǒng céngcì de jiéhé – combination of three levels/aspects雲霄飛車 yúnxiāo fēichē – roller coaster梯子 tīzi – ladder安全帽 ānquán mào – safety helmet繩索 shéngsuǒ – rope; cord器材 qìcái – equipment; gear檢查 jiǎnchá – to check; to inspect裝備 zhuāngbèi – equipment; gear高血壓 gāoxiěyā – high blood pressure延期 yánqí – to postpone; to delayPlanning to travel or move to Taiwan? If you'd like to improve your Chinese before you go, feel free to book a one-on-one lesson with me.I'll help you improve your Chinese so you can settle in more comfortably when you arrive.Book a one-on-one trial lesson with me !

We are tracking seven central bank meetings next week, and expect rate cuts from three. The Fed policy meeting next week is in full focus, against a highly unusual backdrop. This week we discuss an expected rate cut in the US and Canada. Across Europe, we forecast a rate cut in Norway, but not in the UK. Meanwhile in in Asia, we examine China activity data, the Bank of Japan and the latest political developments, and preview central bank meetings in Indonesia and Taiwan next week. Darren Shames, Head of Global Rates Sales, joins us as a guest speaker to give an update on the latest trends driving Global Markets. Chapters: US: 01:42, Markets Special: 07:14, Europe: 13:13, Japan: 17:23, Asia: 21:32. 

Grant Newsham  Japan chooses a new PM. When China Attacks is a fire bell in the night—a warning about a war that we are already losing. It offers a frightening, and well-founded, blow-by-blow account of what might happen next. China poses an existential threat to America, warns a veteran intelligence officer, and the window for an effective response is closing fast. Col. Grant Newsham, a former reserve head of intelligence for Marine Forces Pacific, delivers a blow-by-blow account of how the threat has developed, from the growing skill and belligerence of the Chinese military to gray-zone campaigns to hollow out America's will to resist. These efforts that have now reached fruition. You can see the war damage in Baltimore, Erie, Buffalo, and countless other communities across the United States. With decades of experience in Asia, including as a U.S. Marine, a diplomat, and an executive with Morgan Stanley and Motorola in Japan, Col. Newsham brings together the military, political, economic and social to provide insights into how far along we already are, and what needs to be done. Now. The question is not whether the Chinese will attack. They already have. It is trying to kill our economy, our institutions, our way of life, our people. It is dominant in the world economy. It is a master of intellectual property theft. It shows strategic genius at cornering essential markets. It has been staggeringly successful in buying influence among American elites. It is killing us with Fentanyl. And its military buildup is astonishing. So far, China has been waging a mostly covert war on the United States and its allies. But, emboldened by American weakness and perceived decline, the war could soon explode into the open. The flashpoint will be Taiwan—but the war will extend over the entire Pacific Theater and beyond. The results—as Col. Newsham paints in stark detail—will be devastating. America risks a humiliating retreat, with almost unimaginable costs to our economy and security. Will America fight back before the cold war that Communist China is waging against America and its allies goes hot? The conflict is coming. We're not ready. China is already attacking America. Is American defeat inevitable? No, but we must change course immediately. And to do that, we must wake up and heed the sobering message of When China Attacks.   1946 ROYAL AIR FORCE

CONTINUED Grant Newsham  Japan chooses a new PM. When China Attacks is a fire bell in the night—a warning about a war that we are already losing. It offers a frightening, and well-founded, blow-by-blow account of what might happen next. China poses an existential threat to America, warns a veteran intelligence officer, and the window for an effective response is closing fast. Col. Grant Newsham, a former reserve head of intelligence for Marine Forces Pacific, delivers a blow-by-blow account of how the threat has developed, from the growing skill and belligerence of the Chinese military to gray-zone campaigns to hollow out America's will to resist. These efforts that have now reached fruition. You can see the war damage in Baltimore, Erie, Buffalo, and countless other communities across the United States. With decades of experience in Asia, including as a U.S. Marine, a diplomat, and an executive with Morgan Stanley and Motorola in Japan, Col. Newsham brings together the military, political, economic and social to provide insights into how far along we already are, and what needs to be done. Now. The question is not whether the Chinese will attack. They already have. It is trying to kill our economy, our institutions, our way of life, our people. It is dominant in the world economy. It is a master of intellectual property theft. It shows strategic genius at cornering essential markets. It has been staggeringly successful in buying influence among American elites. It is killing us with Fentanyl. And its military buildup is astonishing. So far, China has been waging a mostly covert war on the United States and its allies. But, emboldened by American weakness and perceived decline, the war could soon explode into the open. The flashpoint will be Taiwan—but the war will extend over the entire Pacific Theater and beyond. The results—as Col. Newsham paints in stark detail—will be devastating. America risks a humiliating retreat, with almost unimaginable costs to our economy and security. Will America fight back before the cold war that Communist China is waging against America and its allies goes hot? The conflict is coming. We're not ready. China is already attacking America. Is American defeat inevitable? No, but we must change course immediately. And to do that, we must wake up and heed the sobering message of When China Attacks.  

There is a new treatment option available now that can precisely target prostate lesions with electrical pulses, while helping preserve sexual function and urinary control. Whether you or a loved one has prostate disease, or you are a urologist considering this technology for your practice, you will not want to miss today's discussion on this innovative new option. September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, so we have a special episode today to kick it off. We are excited to welcome the distinguished urologist, Dr. Spencer Krane, to the Prostate Health Podcast. Dr. Krane is the Chief of Urology at the US Department of Veterans Affairs in New Orleans, Louisiana. He specializes in personalized medicine for patients with urologic malignancies, aiming to use new biomarkers, genomic classifications, epigenetic signatures, and advanced imaging modalities, including MRI-guided prostate biopsies, to offer his patients individualized care that improves cancer outcomes while minimizing therapy side effects. Dr. Krane has published extensively in urologic journals, and his work was selected to provide guidelines for urologic care. He has 50 peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals and has presented his work internationally, from Chile and Rome to Taiwan, as well as across the United States. We are excited to welcome him today to share his experience with the innovative new NanoKnife system as a treatment option for men with prostate tumors.  It is exciting to see ongoing innovation in the technology we have available for men with prostate tumors. For the appropriate candidates, this minimally invasive option offers precise targeting of the lesion while helping preserve both sexual function and urinary control.  Pertinent disclosure for today's episode – Dr. Krane is a paid consultant for AngioDynamics, Inc., which manufactures and sells the NanoKnife System. The views, information, and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of Dr. Krane, and does not necessarily represent those of AngioDynamics, Inc., its affiliates, or subsidiaries.  Show Highlights: Dr. Krane reviews the concept of targeted focal therapy and explains what  the NanoKnife system is Who is an ideal candidate for irreversible electroporation with the NanoKnife system? The advantages and features of the NanoKnife system   Does prostate size or shape limit the candidacy for IRE with the NanoKnife system? Would prostate anatomies on the MRI or biopsy exclude a patient from NanoKnife therapy? Dr. Krane explains how long it takes to resolve the initial decrease in sexual ability after NanoKnife therapy.   Why many patients experience improved urinary function in the long term after having NanoKnife therapy Dr. Krane clarifies the time it takes to resolve the initial decrease in sexual ability after being treated with NanoKnife therapy.   Links:  Follow Dr. Pohlman on Twitter and Instagram - @gpohlmanmd.  Get your free What To Expect Guide (or find the link on our podcast website)   Join our Facebook group  Follow Dr. Pohlman on X and Instagram  Sign up for the Prostate Health Academy   You can access Dr. Pohlman's free mini-webinar, where he discusses his top three tips to promote men's prostate health, longevity, and quality of life here.  

Bargirls, bar fights, beer, and bong hits – yes, those topics are covered, but this interview features much more than salacious tales. TC Brown, who first came here at the age of 18, served in the U.S. Air Force as a police officer – or “Sky Cop” – at the famous CCK Air Base in Taichung during the Vietnam War era. Brown's recent book, Made in Taiwan, is a wonderfully honest memoir; an important first-hand account of his five-year deployment and a glimpse into a radically different Taiwan, and he's a great storyteller… as you will hear. Please rate or review the program! It helps people find the show.

This Day in Legal History: Certiorari Granted in WindsorOn September 11, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a petition for certiorari in United States v. Windsor, setting the stage for one of the most consequential civil rights decisions of the decade. The case challenged Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage for federal purposes as between one man and one woman. Edith Windsor, the plaintiff, had been legally married to her same-sex partner, Thea Spyer, in Canada. When Spyer died, Windsor was denied the federal estate tax exemption for surviving spouses, resulting in a tax bill exceeding $350,000.Windsor argued that DOMA violated the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection as applied to the federal government. The Obama administration, though initially defending DOMA, reversed course and declined to continue doing so, prompting the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group (BLAG) of the House of Representatives to intervene. The DOJ's September 11 petition reflected the administration's desire to have the Supreme Court resolve the constitutional question as quickly as possible.In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in favor of Windsor, striking down Section 3 of DOMA as unconstitutional. Justice Kennedy, writing for the majority, held that the federal government could not single out same-sex marriages for unequal treatment under the law. The ruling granted same-sex couples access to hundreds of federal benefits and marked a turning point in the legal recognition of LGBTQ+ rights.The Windsor decision laid the constitutional groundwork for Obergefell v. Hodges two years later, which legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. The filing on September 11, 2012, was a procedural but critical moment that pushed the case toward the highest court in the land. It also signaled a shift in the federal government's posture toward LGBTQ+ equality—moving from defense of discriminatory laws to active legal opposition.The trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate then former President Donald Trump, begins this week in Fort Pierce, Florida. Routh, 59, is facing five federal charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, and has chosen to represent himself. Prosecutors allege that Routh hid with a rifle near the sixth hole of Trump's golf course in West Palm Beach last September, intending to kill Trump. He fled after a Secret Service agent spotted him before any shots were fired and was arrested the same day.The trial opens amid rising concerns about political violence in the U.S., underscored by the recent killing of Trump ally Charlie Kirk in Utah. Trump himself has been targeted multiple times, including a shooting in Pennsylvania in July 2024 that left him wounded. Routh, a former roofing contractor with a history of erratic behavior, had expressed political views supporting Taiwan and Ukraine and previously outlined a bizarre plan involving Afghan refugees.The case is being heard by Judge Aileen Cannon, the same judge who previously dismissed a separate criminal case against Trump involving classified documents. Cannon has already expressed frustration with Routh during jury selection, rejecting several of his proposed questions as irrelevant. The jury consists of seven women and five men. The trial is expected to spotlight the ongoing increase in politically motivated violence in the U.S.,Trial begins for man accused of trying to assassinate Trump, spotlighting US political violence | ReutersFive former federal employees have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC), alleging the agency unlawfully dismissed their complaints after being fired early in President Trump's second term. Represented by Democracy Forward, the plaintiffs claim OSC failed to investigate over 2,000 complaints from probationary employees terminated en masse in February 2025, despite earlier findings that the firings may have violated federal law. The lawsuit, filed in D.C. federal court, seeks a ruling that OSC's blanket dismissal of the complaints was arbitrary and violated the Administrative Procedure Act.Probationary federal employees—often in their first year or newly assigned roles—have fewer job protections, making them vulnerable to politically motivated purges. In this case, the Trump administration dismissed roughly 25,000 such employees, sparking multiple legal challenges. Some courts briefly reinstated the workers, but appeals courts ruled that plaintiffs lacked standing or needed to exhaust administrative remedies before going to court.OSC, under former Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger, had suggested the mass terminations were unlawful. However, after Trump fired Dellinger, his replacement, Jamieson Greer, dismissed all the pending complaints, citing alignment with new administrative priorities. The plaintiffs argue this abrupt shift was politically driven and undermined OSC's duty to safeguard merit-based civil service protections.The lawsuit aims to compel OSC to reopen investigations into the firings and reassert that probationary employees still retain legal protections from unlawful dismissals.US Special Counsel sued for dismissing fired federal workers' complaints | ReutersThe Trump administration has appealed a federal judge's decision blocking the removal of Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, aiming to fire her before the central bank's next interest rate meeting on September 16. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that President Trump's claim—alleging Cook committed mortgage fraud before taking office—likely does not meet the legal threshold to justify her dismissal. The administration's brief appeal to the D.C. Circuit did not include arguments, but signaled urgency given the upcoming monetary policy meeting.Cook, who has denied any wrongdoing, filed suit in August claiming that the fraud allegations were a pretext for removing her due to her policy positions. She argues that the law governing the Federal Reserve allows a governor to be removed only “for cause,” a term not clearly defined in the statute and never previously tested in court. Cobb agreed that the case raises new and important legal questions, emphasizing the public interest in shielding the Fed from political pressure.The DOJ has opened a criminal investigation into the alleged mortgage fraud, with grand jury subpoenas issued in Georgia and Michigan. The case could have broader implications for the independence of federal agencies, especially those like the Fed that have traditionally operated free from executive interference. This follows other high-profile cases in which courts have temporarily blocked Trump from firing leaders of independent agencies, including the U.S. Copyright Office.Trump has pressured the Fed to lower interest rates and criticized Chair Jerome Powell, though Cook has consistently voted with the Fed majority on rate decisions. Her continued presence at the Fed could influence upcoming policy moves.Trump administration appeals ruling blocking removal of Fed Governor Cook | ReutersA federal appeals court has upheld most provisions of a New Jersey law restricting firearms in designated “sensitive places,” such as parks, hospitals, beaches, libraries, and casinos. The 2-1 decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that found the law violated the Second Amendment. The appeals court concluded the restrictions aligned with historical firearm regulations in places traditionally considered sensitive due to their civic or public safety function.The ruling is a setback for gun rights advocates, following similar decisions by appeals courts in California, Hawaii, and New York. These rulings come in the wake of the Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which established a new framework for evaluating gun laws—requiring that modern regulations be consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm control. While Bruen expanded gun rights, it also acknowledged the legitimacy of restrictions in sensitive locations.Judge Cheryl Ann Krause, writing for the majority, emphasized that U.S. history supports limiting firearms in specific public areas to preserve peace and safety. Judge Cindy Chung concurred, while Judge David Porter dissented, arguing the government shouldn't be able to arbitrarily declare places “sensitive” to limit gun rights.The New Jersey Attorney General praised the decision, while gun rights groups criticized it as an overly deferential interpretation of the Second Amendment.US appeals court largely upholds New Jersey gun restrictions | Reuters This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.minimumcomp.com/subscribe

Friend of the Pod Malcom Kyeyune is back, and he's got that late empire feeling. After the Chinese Military staged an extraordinary parade in Beijing, Washington is worried. The top dog question has resurfaced. In the same week, Elbridge Colby released a new strategic document effectively telling Washington it needs to be far more selective in military affairs. After they spent a quarter of their entire interceptor missile stocks shoring up Israel, and with the Abrams tanks proving ineffectively heavy in Ukraine, US procurement is looking shoddy in a way it never has before. No wonder Colby increasingly senses the Taiwan question must be gently settled. As Malcom puts it: “Times were when the US could just pick up a small country and smack it against a wall in order to show who's boss.” Are recent manoeuvres off the Venezuelan coast a last gasp of smack-it-against-the-wall hegemonic diplomacy?In this typically ranging hour long special, The Lads look into the abyss called Kyeyune – and he stares back. You can get special paywalled premium episodes of Multipolarity every month on Patreon: https://patreon.com/multipolarity

On this episode of the Chuck Toddcast, Chuck reflects on the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk and what it reveals about the tinderbox state of American politics. He explores how escalating rhetoric, dehumanization, and the amplification of fringe anger online have fueled a culture where violence replaces politics—and where children are left grieving the consequences. From the role of algorithms in supercharging extremism to the failure of leaders and tech companies to meet the moment, Chuck asks whether this tragedy can finally serve as the wake-up call for Americans to step back, recommit to the democratic process, and demand a safer political climate.Then, Congressman Greg Landsman joins Chuck for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with the shocking shooting of Charlie Kirk at an event on the Utah Valley University campus. (This conversation was recorded prior to the news of Charlie Kirk's death) The two dig into how political rhetoric has spiraled out of control, the role of social media algorithms in fueling polarization, and why platforms shouldn't be shielded from accountability. Landsman argues that leaders who cross the line with their rhetoric must be called out and stresses the urgent need to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people before the U.S. slips further into a dangerous cycle of political violence.From there, the discussion shifts to governing—what Landsman learned on Cincinnati's city council, why Congress has become dysfunctional since 9/11, and the frustrating reality that most bills are more about messaging than legislating. They also tackle foreign policy, including the stakes of defending Taiwan, the risks of Trump's trade war with China, and whether an “Asian NATO” could prevent a wider conflict. Plus, Landsman reflects on Kamala Harris's book, the pressures from party leadership, and the uncertainty of his own political future as redistricting looms.Finally, he reacts to the newly released excerpts from Kamala Harris's book and answers listeners' questions in the “Ask Chuck” segment.Timeline:(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements)00:00 Chuck Todd's Introduction - Charlie Kirk assassinated01:30 We're in a tinderbox of our own making02:30 Political rhetoric has escalated out of control03:00 Young kids lost their father over a political dispute03:45 When you resort to violence, you are no longer practicing politics05:00 Dehumanizing rhetoric leads to violence07:15 We collectively need to step back in this movement09:00 The way politics has been conducted won't lead us to a better place10:15 We have underreacted to political violence in recent years11:30 Unity doesn't mean agreeing, it means agreeing to the process12:45 The super online angry fringe whips people up13:45 Hopefully this is the “enough is enough” moment15:45 Algorithms incentive and feed into the extremist rhetoric16:45 Hoping our leaders can rise up and meet the moment19:15 The tech companies have created this environment21:15 Congressman Greg Landsman joins the Chuck Toddcast 21:30 Charlie Kirk shot at event on UVU campus 24:15 We need to turn down the temperature on political rhetoric 25:30 Social media algorithms have accelerated polarization 28:00 Being super online warps your brain 29:15 Political leadership that crosses the line needs to be called out 29:45 Social media companies shouldn't be shielded from litigation 30:45 Algorithms turn social media platforms into publishers 32:15 Need to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people 33:45 We're likely to slide into a "which side is more violent" debate 35:30 Why no committee investigation into Trump assassination attempt?37:45 The country is a tinderbox, the president needs to calm the waters 40:30 Democrats have been chasing Trump for 10 years 41:30 Democrats need to offer solutions and not just opposition to Trump 43:30 What did Greg do before entering politics? 44:30 What was the experience like on the city council? 48:15 Local government teaches you the basics of governing 52:15 After 9/11, congressional leaders ruined congress 53:30 700 bills made it out of committee, 50 made it to the floor 54:30 Most bills on the floor are messaging bills 55:45 America is only united when we have a common external enemy 56:45 We could be in World War 3 within a couple years 57:45 U.S. needs to make clear that it will defend allies 59:00 How do you sell defending Taiwan to the American people? 1:00:00 Should we have an Asian NATO? 1:01:15 We have to increase the cost to China for messing with Taiwan 1:02:30 Trump's trade war increases the likelihood of a hot war 1:04:50 Thoughts on the excerpts from Kamala Harris's book? 1:06:15 Were you pressured by the administration into not saying anything? 1:08:45 Will your seat be redistricted?1:09:15 Thoughts on interview with Greg Landsman 1:10:00 Excerpts from Kamala Harris's book released, are very direct 1:10:45 Harris was set up for failure as the "border czar" 1:11:45 Surprising that Biden staff treated Harris like Obama's treated him 1:13:45 Harris is cautious by nature 1:16:00 Harris likely to run again out of Biden's shadow 1:17:30 Dean Phillips is owed an apology, party needed an open debate 1:18:45 Ask Chuck 1:19:00 Importance of Michigan politics? 1:22:30 Could the energy Detroit sports teams provide could impact politics? 1:25:30 How should Democrats call out corruption & unfavorables on their side? 1:30:15 Should Democrats invite the national guard, then highlight crime in red states? 1:33:45 If the media hounded Trump about Kennedy, would he be more reactive? 1:36:15 College football games to keep an eye on 1:41:15 Find your way to do your part to de-escalate

On this episode of The Chuck Toddcast, Congressman Greg Landsman joins Chuck for a wide-ranging conversation that begins with the shocking shooting of Charlie Kirk at an event on the Utah Valley University campus. The two dig into how political rhetoric has spiraled out of control, the role of social media algorithms in fueling polarization, and why platforms shouldn't be shielded from accountability. Landsman argues that leaders who cross the line with their rhetoric must be called out and stresses the urgent need to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people before the U.S. slips further into a dangerous cycle of political violence.From there, the discussion shifts to governing—what Landsman learned on Cincinnati's city council, why Congress has become dysfunctional since 9/11, and the frustrating reality that most bills are more about messaging than legislating. They also tackle foreign policy, including the stakes of defending Taiwan, the risks of Trump's trade war with China, and whether an “Asian NATO” could prevent a wider conflict. Plus, Landsman reflects on Kamala Harris's book, the pressures from party leadership, and the uncertainty of his own political future as redistricting looms.(This conversation was recorded prior to the news of Charlie Kirk's death)Timeline:00:00 Congressman Greg Landsman joins the Chuck Toddcast00:15 Charlie Kirk shot at event on UVU campus03:00 We need to turn down the temperature on political rhetoric04:15 Social media algorithms have accelerated polarization06:45 Being super online warps your brain08:00 Political leadership that crosses the line needs to be called out08:30 Social media companies shouldn't be shielded from litigation09:30 Algorithms turn social media platforms into publishers11:00 Need to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people12:30 We're likely to slide into a “which side is more violent” debate14:15 Why no committee investigation into Trump assassination attempt?16:30 The country is a tinderbox, the president needs to calm the waters19:15 Democrats have been chasing Trump for 10 years20:15 Democrats need to offer solutions and not just opposition to Trump22:15 What did Greg do before entering politics?23:15 What was the experience like on the city council?27:00 Local government teaches you the basics of governing31:00 After 9/11, congressional leaders ruined congress32:15 700 bills made it out of committee, 50 made it to the floor33:15 Most bills on the floor are messaging bills34:30 America is only united when we have a common external enemy35:30 We could be in World War 3 within a couple years36:30 U.S. needs to make clear that it will defend allies37:45 How do you sell defending Taiwan to the American people?38:45 Should we have an Asian NATO?40:00 We have to increase the cost to China for messing with Taiwan41:15 Trump's trade war increases the likelihood of a hot war43:35 Thoughts on the excerpts from Kamala Harris's book?45:00 Were you pressured by the administration into not saying anything?47:30 Will your seat be redistricted?

Join myself and the Mises Institute's own, Marcel Gautreau, for a most enlightening conversation on Murray Rothbard, Leo Strauss and how their ideas influence (or don't) the current pillars of power. Marcel Dumas Gautreau is an Economics PhD Graduate from George Mason University. His fields are Austrian Economics, Public Choice Economics, and Development Economics. His research primarily revolves around authoritarian regimes, particularly "developmental states" like Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Find Marcel: Website: ⁠https://mgautreau.com/⁠ X: ⁠https://x.com/anarchyinblack/⁠ Substack: ⁠https://mgautreau.substack.com/⁠B Book Club: ⁠https://discord.gg/3AwBkQrCuC⁠ Books Mentioned:  The Mystery of Banking, by Murray Rothbard (Right Wing Reading Rainbow Review: ⁠https://mgautreau.substack.com/p/right-wing-reading-rainbow-ii-the⁠) Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War, by Pat Buchanan (RWRR: ⁠https://mgautreau.substack.com/p/right-wing-reading-rainbow-iii-churchill⁠) Reclaiming the American Right, by Justin Raimondo (RWRR: ⁠https://mgautreau.substack.com/p/right-wing-reading-rainbow-v-reclaiming⁠) The Ten Thousand Year Explosion, by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending (RWRR: ⁠https://mgautreau.substack.com/p/right-wing-reading-rainbow-viii-the⁠) Blacklisted by History, by M. Stnaton EvansThe Radio Right, by Paul Matzko Poisoner in Chief, by Stephen KinzerRise Kill First, by Ronen Bergman Cronyism, by Patrick Newman The Great Napoleon for Children, by J. de Marthold Videos Mentioned: Joe McCarthy: Martyred by Marxism | Razorfist: ⁠https://youtu.be/BgUVL5v1aAc⁠ A Rothbardian Analysis of the Constitutional Convention | Patrick Newman: ⁠https://youtu.be/ap3A8Wo9mNQ⁠ Exclusive Content and Ways to Support: Support me on Substack for ad-free content, bonus material, personal chatting and more! https://substack.com/@monicaperezshow Become a PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER on Apple Podcasts for AD FREE episodes and exclusive content! True Hemp Science: ⁠https://truehempscience.com/⁠ PROMO CODE: MONICA Find, Follow, Subscribe & Rate on your favorite podcasting platform AND for video and social & more... Website: ⁠https://monicaperezshow.com/⁠ Substack: ⁠https://substack.com/@monicaperezshow⁠ Rumble: ⁠https://rumble.com/user/monicaperezshow⁠ Youtube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/MonicaPerez⁠ Twitter/X: @monicaperezshow Instagram: @monicaperezshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of Healthy Mind, Healthy Life, host Avik Chakraborty sits down with Katharina Huang—a former machine learning data scientist who left behind the corporate grind to create a slower, happier, and more intentional life. Katharina shares her journey of navigating burnout, caring for her family after her father's stroke, and ultimately reinventing herself as an indie author and puzzle-book creator. Together, they unpack what it means to pivot with purpose, the challenges of third-culture identity, and why joy, play, and presence are more important than the pursuit of endless success. This is a powerful conversation for anyone questioning the cost of hustle culture and searching for ways to reclaim autonomy, creativity, and well-being. About the Guest   Katharina Huang is the creator of Vegout Voyage, an adventure puzzle book series that blends travel, creativity, and play. Born in Germany, raised between the U.S. and Taiwan, and with research experience in Uganda and Tibet in exile, her multicultural background deeply informs her storytelling. After over a decade in tech, Katharina transitioned into authorship and entrepreneurship, championing mental health for third-culture kids and those navigating burnout. Learn more: vegoutvoyage.com Key Takeaways   Burnout can be a turning point, not the end of the story—Katharina rebuilt her life after leaving tech. Her father's stroke became a wake-up call about the fragility of waiting for “someday” to enjoy life. Success on paper doesn't always mean well-being; redefining success means prioritizing quality of life. Third-culture kids often carry silent struggles, but those experiences can also fuel empathy and creativity. Building a “lifestyle business” allows for autonomy, balance, and alignment between work and personal values. Humor and perspective—even in setbacks like Amazon blocking her Kindle version—help her keep moving forward. Slowing down is not giving up; it's a choice to live more fully and intentionally.   Connect with Katharina   Website: vegoutvoyage.com Want to be a guest on Healthy Mind, Healthy Life? DM on PodMatch. DM Me Here: https://www.podmatch.com/hostdetailpreview/avik Disclaimer: This video is for educational and informational purposes only. The views expressed are the personal opinions of the guest and do not reflect the views of the host or Healthy Mind By Avik™️. We do not intend to harm, defame, or discredit any person, organization, brand, product, country, or profession mentioned. All third-party media used remain the property of their respective owners and are used under fair use for informational purposes. By watching, you acknowledge and accept this disclaimer. About Healthy Mind By Avik™️Healthy Mind By Avik™️ is a global platform redefining mental health as a necessity, not a luxury. Born during the pandemic, it has become a sanctuary for healing, growth, and mindful living. Hosted by Avik Chakraborty—storyteller, survivor, and wellness advocate—this channel shares powerful podcasts and conversations on mental health, mindfulness, holistic healing, trauma recovery, and conscious living. With 4,400+ episodes and 168.4K+ global listeners, it unites voices to break stigma and build a world where every story matters. Subscribe and join this journey of healing and transformation. Contact

寶雅狂粉注意了！結帳刷玉山寶雅聯名卡賺更多第一重好康：新卡友選擇週末首刷，最高直接回饋58%第二重好康：每月累積消費$1,688，次月13號還可以搶專屬來店禮！線上申辦超快速，馬上揪親朋好友辦起來！ https://fstry.pse.is/83qh8e —— 以上為 Firstory Podcast 廣告 —— 當外國客戶/老闆/朋友問台灣熱門新聞或景點時，你該怎麼簡單有力地回覆，同時加深雙方關係呢？ 為了幫助你強化英文社交力，新單元「三句話聊台灣 Taiwan in 3 Sentences」誕生了

Originally from Belgium, Catherine Wycoff is a physical therapist for humans and for horses, with an undergraduate degree from Liege University (Belgium) and a doctorate from Des Moines University (US). Kinetic Balance, her private practice, is situated in Lovettsville, with a satellite office in Middleburg, Virginia. She is a certified Feldenkrais, Anat Baniel Method for Children and kinesiotaping practitioner as well as a Hippotherapy Clinical Specialist and a Certified Equine Rehabilitation Practitioner. She is training to become a paradressage classifier for the USEF. Catherine is a lifelong horse lover and rider and has been learning from Wendy Murdoch since 2007. She has volunteered and setup private practices in Laos, Taiwan, China, Burma and Austria in addition to the US.

In Season 6, Episode 4 of Global Taiwan Insights, Ben Sando interviews Sze-Fung Lee, an independent researcher specializing in hybrid warfare. In December 2024, the Taiwanese YouTuber "Ba Jiong" (八炯) made the explosive claim that some 200,000 Taiwanese citizens possess People's Republic of China (PRC) ID cards – an activity that is illegal under Taiwanese law. The report sparked an uproar in Taiwan, and led to an investigation by Taiwan's National Immigration Agency. Lee explains the PRC hybrid warfare tactics behind issuing ID cards to Taiwanese citizens, why cracking down on this activity has proven so controversial, and how this issue connects to broader efforts by Taiwan's government to push back against PRC subversion.

二手書 èr shǒu shū – second-hand book; used book環保 huán bǎo – environmental protection; eco-friendly省錢 shěng qián – to save money划算 huá suàn – cost-effective; worth the price紙張浪費 zhǐ zhāng làng fèi – paper waste碳排放 tàn pái fàng – carbon emissions為地球出一份力 wèi dì qiú chū yí fèn lì – to do one's part for the planet雜誌 zá zhì – magazine絕版書 jué bǎn shū – out-of-print book版本 bǎn běn – edition; version封面 fēng miàn – cover (of a book or magazine)讀冊 dú cè – a Taiwanese online second-hand book marketplace (https://www.taaze.tw/)博客來 bó kè lái – a large Taiwanese online bookstore (https://www.books.com.tw/)匯錢 huì qián – to transfer money; to remit money積灰塵 jī huī chén – to gather dustFeeling stuck or frustrated with your Chinese progress? Book a one-on-one trial lesson with me

Lecture nineteen, the final lecture, of a series on the 'Doctrine of Atonement', delivered by Dr. Mildred Bangs Wynkoop during the fall of 1979 at Nazarene Theological Seminary. Dr. Wynkoop was a remarkable voice in the Church of the Nazarene—a writer, pastor, missionary, and theologian whose influence still resonates today. Her most celebrated works are Foundations of Wesleyan-Arminian Theology and A Theology of Love: The Dynamic of Wesleyanism, both of which continue to shape contemporary Wesleyan thought. Her ministry journey spanned the globe and the academy. She pastored churches in California and Oregon, taught at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, and served as the founding president of Japan Nazarene Theological Seminary. She also taught in Taiwan before returning to the United States to serve as Professor of Theology at Trevecca Nazarene College (1966–1976) and later at Nazarene Theological Seminary (1976–1979). Throughout her century-long life and ministry, Dr. Wynkoop met Phineas Bresee, studied under H. Orton Wiley and Olive Winchester left a profound impact on generations of students and colleagues across four Nazarene institutions—having studied at Point Loma Nazarene University and Northwest Nazarene University, and having taught at Trevecca Nazarene University and Nazarene Theological Seminary. *These recordings, captured initially in 1979, have been substantially restored. While Dr. Wynkoop's voice has been clarified, student questions during Q&A segments may be difficult to discern. Her responses, however, remain clear and impactful.*   Lifelong Learning Code: 80890 Click here to learn about Lifelong Learning

This week we talk about cyberespionage, China, and asymmetrical leverage.We also discuss political firings, hardware infiltration, and Five Eyes.Recommended Book: The Fourth Turning Is Here by Neil HoweTranscriptIn the year 2000, then-General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Jiang Zemin (jong ZEM-in), approved a plan to develop so-called “cyber coercive capabilities”—the infrastructure for offensive hacking—partly as a consequence of aggressive actions by the US, which among other things had recently bombed the Chinese embassy in Belgrade as part of the NATO campaign in Yugoslavia.The US was a nuclear power with immense military capabilities that far outshone those of China, and the idea was that the Chinese government needed some kind of asymmetrical means of achieving leverage against the US and its allies to counter that. Personal tech and the internet were still relatively young in 2000—the first iPhone wouldn't be released for another seven years, for context—but there was enough going on in the cyber-intelligence world that it seemed like a good point of leverage to aim for.The early 2000s Chairman of the CCP, Hu Jintao, backed this ambition, citing the burgeoning threat of instability-inducing online variables, like those that sparked the color revolutions across Europe and Asia, and attack strategies similar to Israel's Stuxnet cyberattack on Iran as justification, though China's growing economic dependence on its technological know-how was also part of the equation; it could evolve its capacity in this space relatively quickly, and it had valuable stuff that was targetable by foreign cyberattacks, so it was probably a good idea to increase their defenses, while also increasing their ability to hit foreign targets in this way—that was the logic here.The next CCP Chairman, Xi Jinping, doubled-down on this effort, saying that in the cyber world, everyone else was using air strikes and China was still using swords and spears, so they needed to up their game substantially and rapidly.That ambition seems to have been realized: though China is still reportedly regularly infiltrated by foreign entities like the US's CIA, China's cybersecurity firms and state-affiliated hacker groups have become serious players on the international stage, pulling off incredibly complex hacks of foreign governments and infrastructure, including a campaign called Volt Typhoon, which seems to have started sometime in or before 2021, but which wasn't discovered by US entities until 2024. This campaign saw Chinese hackers infiltrating all sorts of US agencies and infrastructure, initially using malware, and then entwining themselves with the operating systems used by their targets, quietly syphoning off data, credentials, and other useful bits of information, slowly but surely becoming even more interwoven with the fabric of these systems, and doing so stealthily in order to remain undetected for years.This effort allowed hackers to glean information about the US's defenses in the continental US and in Guam, while also helping them breach public infrastructure, like Singapore's telecommunications company, Singtel. It's been suggested that, as with many Chinese cyberattacks, this incursion was a long-game play, meant to give the Chinese government the option of both using private data about private US citizens, soldiers, and people in government for manipulation or blackmail purposes, or to shut down important infrastructure, like communications channels or electrical grids, in the event of a future military conflict.What I'd like to talk about today is another, even bigger and reportedly more successful long-term hack by the Chinese government, and one that might be even more disruptive, should there ever be a military conflict between China and one of the impacted governments, or their allies.—Salt Typhoon is the name that's been given to a so-called '“advanced persistent threat actor,” which is a formal way of saying hacker or hacker group, by Microsoft, which plays a big role in the cybersecurity world, especially at this scale, a scale involving not just independent hackers, but government-level cyberespionage groups.This group is generally understood to be run out of the Chinese Ministry of State Security, or MSS, and though it's not usually possible to say something like that for certain, hence the “generally understood” component of that statement, often everyone kind of knows who's doing what, but it's imprudent to say so with 100% certainty, as cyberespionage, like many other sorts of spy stuff, is meant to be a gray area where governments can knock each other around without leading to a shooting war. If anyone were to say with absolute certainty, yes, China is hacking us, and it's definitely the government, and they're doing a really good job of it, stealing all our stuff and putting us at risk, that would either require the targeted government to launch some sort of counterstrike against China, or would leave that targeted government looking weak, and thus prone to more such incursions and attacks, alongside any loss of face they might suffer.So there's a lot of hand-waving and alluding in this sphere of diplomacy and security, but it's basically understood that Salt Typhoon is run by China, and it's thought that they've been operating since at least 2020.Their prime function seems to be stealing as much classified data as they can from governments around the world, and scooping up all sorts of intellectual property from corporations, too.China's notorious for collecting this kind of IP and then giving it to Chinese companies, which have become really good at using such IP, copying it, making it cheaper, and sometimes improving upon it in other ways, as well. This government-corporation collaboration model is fundamental to the operation of China's economy, and the dynamic between its government, it's military, its intelligence services, and its companies, all of which work together in various ways.It's estimated that Salt Typhoon has infiltrated more than 200 targets in more than 80 countries, and alongside corporate entities like AT&T and Verizon, they also managed to scoop up private text messages from Kamala Harris' and Donald Trump's presidential campaigns in 2024, using hacks against phone services to do so.Three main Chinese tech companies allegedly helped Salt Typhoon infiltrate foreign telecommunications companies and internet service providers, alongside hotel, transportation, and other sorts of entities, which allowed them to not just grab text messages, but also track people, keeping tabs on their movements, which again, might be helpful in future blackmail or even assassination operations.Those three companies seem to be real-deal, actual companies, not just fronts for Chinese intelligence, but the government was able to use them, and the services and products they provide, to sneak malicious code into all kinds of vital infrastructure and all sorts of foreign corporations and agencies—which seems to support concerns from several years ago about dealing with Chinese tech companies like Huawei; some governments decided not to work with them, especially in building-out their 5G communications infrastructure, due to the possibility that the Chinese government might use these ostensibly private companies as a means of getting espionage software or devices into these communications channels or energy grids. The low prices Huawei offered just wasn't worth the risk.The US government announced back in 2024 that Salt Typhoon had infiltrated a bunch of US telecommunications companies and broadband networks, and that routers manufactured by Cisco were also compromised by this group. The group was also able to get into ISP services that US law enforcement and intelligence services use to conduct court-authorized wiretaps; so they weren't just spying on individuals, they were also spying on other government's spies and those they were spying on.Despite all these pretty alarming findings, in the midst of the investigation into these hacks, the second US Trump administration fired the government's Cyber Safety Review Board, which was thus unable to complete its investigation into Salt Typhoon's intrusion.The FBI has since issued a large bounty for information about those involved in Salt Typhoon, but that only addresses the issue indirectly, and there's still a lot we don't know about this group, the extent of their hacking, and where else they might still be embedded, in part because the administration fired those looking into it, reportedly because the administration didn't like this group also looking into Moscow's alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election, and Salt Typhoon's potential interference with the 2024 presidential election, both of which Trump won.The US government has denied these firings are in any way political, saying they intend to focus on cyber offense rather than defense, and pointing out that the current approach to investigating these sorts of things was imperfect; which is something that most outside organizations would agree on.That said, there are concerns that these firings, and other actions against the US's cyberthreat defensive capabilities, are revenge moves against people and groups that have said the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost to Joe Biden, was the most secure and best-run election in US history; which flies in the face of Trump's preferred narrative that he won in 2020—something he's fond of repeating, though without evidence, and with a vast body of evidence against his claim.The US has also begun pulling away from long-time allies that it has previously collaborated with in the cyberespionage and cyberdefense sphere, including its Five Eyes partners, the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.Since Tulsi Gabbard was installed as the Director of National Intelligence by Trump's new administration, US intelligence services have been instructed to withhold information about negotiations with Russia and Ukraine from these allies; something that's worrying intelligence experts, partly because this move seems to mostly favor Russia, and partly because it represents one more wall, of many, that the administration seems to be erecting between the US and these allies. Gabbard herself is also said to be incredibly pro-Russian, so while that may not be influencing this decision, it's easy to understand why many allies and analysts are concerned that her loyalties might be divided in this matter.So what we have is a situation in which political considerations and concerns, alongside divided priorities and loyalties within several governments, but the US in particular right now, might be changing the layout of, and perhaps even weakening, cybersecurity and cyberespionage services at the very moment these services might be most necessary, because a foreign government has managed to install itself in all kinds of agencies, infrastructure, and corporations.That presence could allow China to milk these entities for information and stolen intellectual property, but it could also put the Chinese government in a very favorable position, should some kind of conflict break out, including but not limited to an invasion of Taiwan; if the US's electrical grids or telecommunications services go down, or the country's military is unable to coordinate with itself, or with its allies in the Pacific, at the moment China invades, there's a non-zero chance that would impact the success of that invasion in China's favor.Again, this is a pretty shadowy playing field even at the best of times, but right now there seems to be a lot happening in the cyberespionage space, and many of the foundations that were in place until just recently, are also being shaken, shattered, or replaced, which makes this an even more tumultuous, uncertain moment, with heightened risks for everybody, though maybe the opposite for those attacking these now more-vulnerable bits of infrastructure and vital entities.Show Noteshttps://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/china-used-three-private-companies-hack-global-telecoms-us-says-rcna227543https://media.defense.gov/2025/Aug/22/2003786665/-1/-1/0/CSA_COUNTERING_CHINA_STATE_ACTORS_COMPROMISE_OF_NETWORKS.PDFhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/05/us/politics/trump-loomer-haugh-cyberattacks-elections.htmlhttps://www.france24.com/en/americas/20250826-has-the-us-shut-its-five-eyes-allies-out-of-intelligence-on-ukraine-russia-peace-talkshttps://www.axios.com/2025/09/04/china-salt-typhoon-fbi-advisory-us-datahttps://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/chinese-spies-hit-more-than-80-countries-in-salt-typhoon-breach-fbi-reveals-59b2108fhttp://axios.com/2025/08/02/china-usa-cyberattacks-microsoft-sharepointhttps://www.axios.com/2024/12/03/salt-typhoon-china-phone-hackshttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/04/world/asia/china-hack-salt-typhoon.htmlhttps://www.euronews.com/2025/09/04/trump-and-jd-vance-among-targets-of-major-chinese-cyberattack-investigators-sayhttps://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF12798https://www.fcc.gov/document/implications-salt-typhoon-attack-and-fcc-responsehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salt_Typhoonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_global_telecommunications_hackhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_interference_in_the_2024_United_States_electionshttps://www.theregister.com/2025/08/28/how_does_china_keep_stealing/https://www.nsa.gov/Press-Room/Press-Releases-Statements/Press-Release-View/Article/4287371/nsa-and-others-provide-guidance-to-counter-china-state-sponsored-actors-targeti/https://chooser.crossref.org/?doi=10.2307%2Fjj.16040335https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberwarfare_and_Chinahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volt_Typhoon This is a public episode. 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Last time we spoke about the surrender of Japan. Emperor Hirohito announced the surrender on August 15, prompting mixed public reactions: grief, shock, and sympathy for the Emperor, tempered by fear of hardship and occupation. The government's response included resignations and suicide as new leadership was brought in under Prime Minister Higashikuni, with Mamoru Shigemitsu as Foreign Minister and Kawabe Torashiro heading a delegation to Manila. General MacArthur directed the occupation plan, “Blacklist,” prioritizing rapid, phased entry into key Japanese areas and Korea, while demobilizing enemy forces. The surrender ceremony occurred aboard the Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, with Wainwright, Percival, Nimitz, and UN representatives in attendance. Civilians and soldiers across Asia began surrendering, and postwar rehabilitation, Indochina and Vietnam's independence movements, and Southeast Asian transitions rapidly unfolded as Allied forces established control. This episode is the Aftermath of the Pacific War Welcome to the Pacific War Podcast Week by Week, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about world war two? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on world war two and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel you can find a few videos all the way from the Opium Wars of the 1800's until the end of the Pacific War in 1945.  The Pacific War has ended. Peace has been restored by the Allies and most of the places conquered by the Japanese Empire have been liberated. In this post-war period, new challenges would be faced for those who won the war; and from the ashes of an empire, a defeated nation was also seeking to rebuild. As the Japanese demobilized their armed forces, many young boys were set to return to their homeland, even if they had previously thought that they wouldn't survive the ordeal. And yet, there were some cases of isolated men that would continue to fight for decades even, unaware that the war had already ended.  As we last saw, after the Japanese surrender, General MacArthur's forces began the occupation of the Japanese home islands, while their overseas empire was being dismantled by the Allies. To handle civil administration, MacArthur established the Military Government Section, commanded by Brigadier-General William Crist, staffed by hundreds of US experts trained in civil governance who were reassigned from Okinawa and the Philippines. As the occupation began, Americans dispatched tactical units and Military Government Teams to each prefecture to ensure that policies were faithfully carried out. By mid-September, General Eichelberger's 8th Army had taken over the Tokyo Bay region and began deploying to occupy Hokkaido and the northern half of Honshu. Then General Krueger's 6th Army arrived in late September, taking southern Honshu and Shikoku, with its base in Kyoto. In December, 6th Army was relieved of its occupation duties; in January 1946, it was deactivated, leaving the 8th Army as the main garrison force. By late 1945, about 430,000 American soldiers were garrisoned across Japan. President Truman approved inviting Allied involvement on American terms, with occupation armies integrated into a US command structure. Yet with the Chinese civil war and Russia's reluctance to place its forces under MacArthur's control, only Australia, Britain, India, and New Zealand sent brigades, more than 40,000 troops in southwestern Japan. Japanese troops were gradually disarmed by order of their own commanders, so the stigma of surrender would be less keenly felt by the individual soldier. In the homeland, about 1.5 million men were discharged and returned home by the end of August. Demobilization overseas, however, proceeded, not quickly, but as a long, difficult process of repatriation. In compliance with General Order No. 1, the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters disbanded on September 13 and was superseded by the Japanese War Department to manage demobilization. By November 1, the homeland had demobilized 2,228,761 personnel, roughly 97% of the Homeland Army. Yet some 6,413,215 men remained to be repatriated from overseas. On December 1, the Japanese War Ministry dissolved, and the First Demobilization Ministry took its place. The Second Demobilization Ministry was established to handle IJN demobilization, with 1,299,868 sailors, 81% of the Navy, demobilized by December 17. Japanese warships and merchant ships had their weapons rendered inoperative, and suicide craft were destroyed. Forty percent of naval vessels were allocated to evacuations in the Philippines, and 60% to evacuations of other Pacific islands. This effort eventually repatriated about 823,984 men to Japan by February 15, 1946. As repatriation accelerated, by October 15 only 1,909,401 men remained to be repatriated, most of them in the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the Higashikuni Cabinet and Foreign Minister Shigemitsu Mamoru managed to persuade MacArthur not to impose direct military rule or martial law over all of Japan. Instead, the occupation would be indirect, guided by the Japanese government under the Emperor's direction. An early decision to feed occupation forces from American supplies, and to allow the Japanese to use their own limited food stores, helped ease a core fear: that Imperial forces would impose forced deliveries on the people they conquered. On September 17, MacArthur transferred his headquarters from Yokohama to Tokyo, setting up primary offices on the sixth floor of the Dai-Ichi Mutual Life Insurance Building, an imposing edifice overlooking the moat and the Imperial palace grounds in Hibiya, a symbolic heart of the nation.  While the average soldier did not fit the rapacious image of wartime Japanese propagandists, occupation personnel often behaved like neo-colonial overlords. The conquerors claimed privileges unimaginable to most Japanese. Entire trains and train compartments, fitted with dining cars, were set aside for the exclusive use of occupation forces. These silenced, half-empty trains sped past crowded platforms, provoking ire as Japanese passengers were forced to enter and exit packed cars through punched-out windows, or perch on carriage roofs, couplings, and running boards, often with tragic consequences. The luxury express coaches became irresistible targets for anonymous stone-throwers. During the war, retrenchment measures had closed restaurants, cabarets, beer halls, geisha houses, and theatres in Tokyo and other large cities. Now, a vast leisure industry sprang up to cater to the needs of the foreign occupants. Reopened restaurants and theatres, along with train stations, buses, and streetcars, were sometimes kept off limits to Allied personnel, partly for security, partly to avoid burdening Japanese resources, but a costly service infrastructure was built to the occupiers' specifications. Facilities reserved for occupation troops bore large signs reading “Japanese Keep Out” or “For Allied Personnel Only.” In downtown Tokyo, important public buildings requisitioned for occupation use had separate entrances for Americans and Japanese. The effect? A subtle but clear colour bar between the predominantly white conquerors and the conquered “Asiatic” Japanese. Although MacArthur was ready to work through the Japanese government, he lacked the organizational infrastructure to administer a nation of 74 million. Consequently, on October 2, MacArthur dissolved the Military Government Section and inaugurated General Headquarters, Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, a separate headquarters focused on civil affairs and operating in tandem with the Army high command. SCAP immediately assumed responsibility for administering the Japanese home islands. It commandeered every large building not burned down to house thousands of civilians and requisitioned vast tracts of prime real estate to quarter several hundred thousand troops in the Tokyo–Yokohama area alone. Amidst the rise of American privilege, entire buildings were refurbished as officers' clubs, replete with slot machines and gambling parlours installed at occupation expense. The Stars and Stripes were hoisted over Tokyo, while the display of the Rising Sun was banned; and the downtown area, known as “Little America,” was transformed into a US enclave. The enclave mentality of this cocooned existence was reinforced by the arrival within the first six months of roughly 700 American families. At the peak of the occupation, about 14,800 families employed some 25,000 Japanese servants to ease the “rigours” of overseas duty. Even enlisted men in the sparse quonset-hut towns around the city lived like kings compared with ordinary Japanese. Japanese workers cleaned barracks, did kitchen chores, and handled other base duties. The lowest private earned a 25% hardship bonus until these special allotments were discontinued in 1949. Most military families quickly adjusted to a pampered lifestyle that went beyond maids and “boys,” including cooks, laundresses, babysitters, gardeners, and masseuses. Perks included spacious quarters with swimming pools, central heating, hot running water, and modern plumbing. Two observers compared GHQ to the British Raj at its height. George F. Kennan, head of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, warned during his 1948 mission to Japan that Americans had monopolized “everything that smacks of comfort or elegance or luxury,” criticizing what he called the “American brand of philistinism” and the “monumental imperviousness” of MacArthur's staff to the Japanese suffering. This conqueror's mentality also showed in the bullying attitudes many top occupation officials displayed toward the Japanese with whom they dealt. Major Faubion Bowers, MacArthur's military secretary, later said, “I and nearly all the occupation people I knew were extremely conceited and extremely arrogant and used our power every inch of the way.” Initially, there were spasms of defiance against the occupation forces, such as anonymous stone-throwing, while armed robbery and minor assaults against occupation personnel were rife in the weeks and months after capitulation. Yet active resistance was neither widespread nor organized. The Americans successfully completed their initial deployment without violence, an astonishing feat given a heavily armed and vastly superior enemy operating on home terrain. The average citizen regarded the occupation as akin to force majeure, the unfortunate but inevitable aftermath of a natural calamity. Japan lay prostrate. Industrial output had fallen to about 10% of pre-war levels, and as late as 1946, more than 13 million remained unemployed. Nearly 40% of Japan's urban areas had been turned to rubble, and some 9 million people were homeless. The war-displaced, many of them orphans, slept in doorways and hallways, in bombed-out ruins, dugouts and packing crates, under bridges or on pavements, and crowded the hallways of train and subway stations. As winter 1945 descended, with food, fuel, and clothing scarce, people froze to death. Bonfires lit the streets to ward off the chill. "The only warm hands I have shaken thus far in Japan belonged to Americans," Mark Gayn noted in December 1945. "The Japanese do not have much of a chance to thaw out, and their hands are cold and red." Unable to afford shoes, many wore straw sandals; those with geta felt themselves privileged. The sight of a man wearing a woman's high-buttoned shoes in winter epitomized the daily struggle to stay dry and warm. Shantytowns built of scrap wood, rusted metal, and scavenged odds and ends sprang up everywhere, resembling vast junk yards. The poorest searched smouldering refuse heaps for castoffs that might be bartered for a scrap to eat or wear. Black markets (yami'ichi) run by Japanese, Koreans, and For-mosans mushroomed to replace collapsed distribution channels and cash in on inflated prices. Tokyo became "a world of scarcity in which every nail, every rag, and even a tangerine peel [had a] market value." Psychologically numbed, disoriented, and disillusioned with their leaders, demobilized veterans and civilians alike struggled to get their bearings, shed militaristic ideologies, and begin to embrace new values. In the vacuum of defeat, the Japanese people appeared ready to reject the past and grasp at the straw held out by the former enemy. Relations between occupier and occupied were not smooth, however. American troops comported themselves like conquerors, especially in the early weeks and months of occupation. Much of the violence was directed against women, with the first attacks beginning within hours after the landing of advance units. When US paratroopers landed in Sapporo, an orgy of looting, sexual violence, and drunken brawling ensued. Newspaper accounts reported 931 serious offences by GIs in the Yokohama area during the first week of occupation, including 487 armed robberies, 411 thefts of currency or goods, 9 rapes, 5 break-ins, 3 cases of assault and battery, and 16 other acts of lawlessness. In the first 10 days of occupation, there were 1,336 reported rapes by US soldiers in Kanagawa Prefecture alone. Americans were not the only perpetrators. A former prostitute recalled that when Australian troops arrived in Kure in early 1946, they “dragged young women into their jeeps, took them to the mountain, and then raped them. I heard them screaming for help nearly every night.” Such behaviour was commonplace, but news of criminal activity by occupation forces was quickly suppressed. On September 10, 1945, SCAP issued press and pre-censorship codes outlawing the publication of reports and statistics "inimical to the objectives of the occupation." In the sole instance of self-help General Eichelberger records in his memoirs, when locals formed a vigilante group and retaliated against off-duty GIs, 8th Army ordered armored vehicles into the streets and arrested the ringleaders, who received lengthy prison terms. Misbehavior ranged from black-market activity, petty theft, reckless driving, and disorderly conduct to vandalism, arson, murder, and rape. Soldiers and sailors often broke the law with impunity, and incidents of robbery, rape, and even murder were widely reported. Gang rapes and other sex atrocities were not infrequent; victims, shunned as outcasts, sometimes turned to prostitution in desperation, while others took their own lives to avoid bringing shame to their families. Military courts arrested relatively few soldiers for these offenses and convicted even fewer; Japanese attempts at self-defense were punished severely, and restitution for victims was rare. Fearing the worst, Japanese authorities had already prepared countermeasures against the supposed rapacity of foreign soldiers. Imperial troops in East Asia and the Pacific had behaved brutally toward women, so the government established “sexual comfort-stations” manned by geisha, bar hostesses, and prostitutes to “satisfy the lust of the Occupation forces,” as the Higashikuni Cabinet put it. A budget of 100 million yen was set aside for these Recreation and Amusement Associations, financed initially with public funds but run as private enterprises under police supervision. Through these, the government hoped to protect the daughters of the well-born and middle class by turning to lower-class women to satisfy the soldiers' sexual appetites. By the end of 1945, brothel operators had rounded up an estimated 20,000 young women and herded them into RAA establishments nationwide. Eventually, as many as 70,000 are said to have ended up in the state-run sex industry. Thankfully, as military discipline took hold and fresh troops replaced the Allied veterans responsible for the early crime wave, violence subsided and the occupier's patronising behavior and the ugly misdeeds of a lawless few were gradually overlooked. However, fraternisation was frowned upon by both sides, and segregation was practiced in principle, with the Japanese excluded from areas reserved for Allied personnel until September 1949, when MacArthur lifted virtually all restrictions on friendly association, stating that he was “establishing the same relations between occupation personnel and the Japanese population as exists between troops stationed in the United States and the American people.” In principle, the Occupation's administrative structure was highly complex. The Far Eastern Commission, based in Washington, included representatives from all 13 countries that had fought against Japan and was established in 1946 to formulate basic principles. The Allied Council for Japan was created in the same year to assist in developing and implementing surrender terms and in administering the country. It consisted of representatives from the USA, the USSR, Nationalist China, and the British Commonwealth. Although both bodies were active at first, they were largely ineffectual due to unwieldy decision-making, disagreements between the national delegations (especially the USA and USSR), and the obstructionism of General Douglas MacArthur. In practice, SCAP, the executive authority of the occupation, effectively ruled Japan from 1945 to 1952. And since it took orders only from the US government, the Occupation became primarily an American affair. The US occupation program, effectively carried out by SCAP, was revolutionary and rested on a two-pronged approach. To ensure Japan would never again become a menace to the United States or to world peace, SCAP pursued disarmament and demilitarization, with continuing control over Japan's capacity to make war. This involved destroying military supplies and installations, demobilizing more than five million Japanese soldiers, and thoroughly discrediting the military establishment. Accordingly, SCAP ordered the purge of tens of thousands of designated persons from public service positions, including accused war criminals, military officers, leaders of ultranationalist societies, leaders in the Imperial Rule Assistance Association, business leaders tied to overseas expansion, governors of former Japanese colonies, and national leaders who had steered Japan into war. In addition, MacArthur's International Military Tribunal for the Far East established a military court in Tokyo. It had jurisdiction over those charged with Class A crimes, top leaders who had planned and directed the war. Also considered were Class B charges, covering conventional war crimes, and Class C charges, covering crimes against humanity. Yet the military court in Tokyo wouldn't be the only one. More than 5,700 lower-ranking personnel were charged with conventional war crimes in separate trials convened by Australia, China, France, the Dutch East Indies, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Of the 5,700 Japanese individuals indicted for Class B war crimes, 984 were sentenced to death; 475 received life sentences; 2,944 were given more limited prison terms; 1,018 were acquitted; and 279 were never brought to trial or not sentenced. Among these, many, like General Ando Rikichi and Lieutenant-General Nomi Toshio, chose to commit suicide before facing prosecution. Notable cases include Lieutenant-General Tani Hisao, who was sentenced to death by the Nanjing War Crimes Tribunal for his role in the Nanjing Massacre; Lieutenant-General Sakai Takashi, who was executed in Nanjing for the murder of British and Chinese civilians during the occupation of Hong Kong. General Okamura Yasuji was convicted of war crimes by the Tribunal, yet he was immediately protected by the personal order of Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-Shek, who kept him as a military adviser for the Kuomintang. In the Manila trials, General Yamashita Tomoyuki was sentenced to death as he was in overall command during the Sook Ching massacre, the Rape of Manila, and other atrocities. Lieutenant-General Homma Masaharu was likewise executed in Manila for atrocities committed by troops under his command during the Bataan Death March. General Imamura Hitoshi was sentenced to ten years in prison, but he considered the punishment too light and even had a replica of the prison built in his garden, remaining there until his death in 1968. Lieutenant-General Kanda Masatane received a 14-year sentence for war crimes on Bougainville, though he served only four years. Lieutenant-General Adachi Hatazo was sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes in New Guinea and subsequently committed suicide on September 10, 1947. Lieutenant-General Teshima Fusataro received three years of forced labour for using a hospital ship to transport troops. Lieutenant-General Baba Masao was sentenced to death for ordering the Sandakan Death Marches, during which over 2,200 Australian and British prisoners of war perished. Lieutenant-General Tanabe Moritake was sentenced to death by a Dutch military tribunal for unspecified war crimes. Rear-Admiral Sakaibara Shigematsu was executed in Guam for ordering the Wake Island massacre, in which 98 American civilians were murdered. Lieutenant-General Inoue Sadae was condemned to death in Guam for permitting subordinates to execute three downed American airmen captured in Palau, though his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1951 and he was released in 1953. Lieutenant-General Tachibana Yoshio was sentenced to death in Guam for his role in the Chichijima Incident, in which eight American airmen were cannibalized. By mid-1945, due to the Allied naval blockade, the 25,000 Japanese troops on Chichijima had run low on supplies. However, although the daily rice ration had been reduced from 400 grams per person per day to 240 grams, the troops were not at risk of starvation. In February and March 1945, in what would later be called the Chichijima incident, Tachibana Yoshio's senior staff turned to cannibalism. Nine American airmen had escaped from their planes after being shot down during bombing raids on Chichijima, eight of whom were captured. The ninth, the only one to evade capture, was future US President George H. W. Bush, then a 20-year-old pilot. Over several months, the prisoners were executed, and reportedly by the order of Major Matoba Sueyo, their bodies were butchered by the division's medical orderlies, with the livers and other organs consumed by the senior staff, including Matoba's superior Tachibana. In the Yokohama War Crimes Trials, Lieutenant-Generals Inada Masazumi and Yokoyama Isamu were convicted for their complicity in vivisection and other human medical experiments performed at Kyushu Imperial University on downed Allied airmen. The Tokyo War Crimes Trial, which began in May 1946 and lasted two and a half years, resulted in the execution by hanging of Generals Doihara Kenji and Itagaki Seishiro, and former Prime Ministers Hirota Koki and Tojo Hideki, for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes against peace, specifically for the escalation of the Pacific War and for permitting the inhumane treatment of prisoners of war. Also sentenced to death were Lieutenant-General Muto Akira for his role in the Nanjing and Manila massacres; General Kimura Heitaro for planning the war strategy in China and Southeast Asia and for laxity in preventing atrocities against prisoners of war in Burma; and General Matsui Iwane for his involvement in the Rape of Nanjing. The seven defendants who were sentenced to death were executed at Sugamo Prison in Ikebukuro on December 23, 1948. Sixteen others were sentenced to life imprisonment, including the last Field Marshal Hata Shunroku, Generals Araki Sadao, Minami Hiro, and Umezu Shojiro, Admiral Shimada Shigetaro, former Prime Ministers Hiranuma Kiichiro and Koiso Kuniaki, Marquis Kido Koichi, and Colonel Hashimoto Kingoro, a major instigator of the second Sino-Japanese War. Additionally, former Foreign Ministers Togo Shigenori and Shigemitsu Mamoru received seven- and twenty-year sentences, respectively. The Soviet Union and Chinese Communist forces also held trials of Japanese war criminals, including the Khabarovsk War Crime Trials, which tried and found guilty some members of Japan's bacteriological and chemical warfare unit known as Unit 731. However, those who surrendered to the Americans were never brought to trial, as MacArthur granted immunity to Lieutenant-General Ishii Shiro and all members of the bacteriological research units in exchange for germ-w warfare data derived from human experimentation. If you would like to learn more about what I like to call Japan's Operation Paper clip, whereupon the US grabbed many scientists from Unit 731, check out my exclusive podcast. The SCAP-turn to democratization began with the drafting of a new constitution in 1947, addressing Japan's enduring feudal social structure. In the charter, sovereignty was vested in the people, and the emperor was designated a “symbol of the state and the unity of the people, deriving his position from the will of the people in whom resides sovereign power.” Because the emperor now possessed fewer powers than European constitutional monarchs, some have gone so far as to say that Japan became “a republic in fact if not in name.” Yet the retention of the emperor was, in fact, a compromise that suited both those who wanted to preserve the essence of the nation for stability and those who demanded that the emperor system, though not necessarily the emperor, should be expunged. In line with the democratic spirit of the new constitution, the peerage was abolished and the two-chamber Diet, to which the cabinet was now responsible, became the highest organ of state. The judiciary was made independent and local autonomy was granted in vital areas of jurisdiction such as education and the police. Moreover, the constitution stipulated that “the people shall not be prevented from enjoying any of the fundamental human rights,” that they “shall be respected as individuals,” and that “their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness shall … be the supreme consideration in legislation.” Its 29 articles guaranteed basic human rights: equality, freedom from discrimination on the basis of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. Finally, in its most controversial section, Article 9, the “peace clause,” Japan “renounce[d] war as a sovereign right of the nation” and vowed not to maintain any military forces and “other war potential.” To instill a thoroughly democratic ethos, reforms touched every facet of society. The dissolution of the zaibatsu decentralised economic power; the 1945 Labour Union Law and the 1946 Labour Relations Act guaranteed workers the right to collective action; the 1947 Labour Standards Law established basic working standards for men and women; and the revised Civil Code of 1948 abolished the patriarchal household and enshrined sexual equality. Reflecting core American principles, SCAP introduced a 6-3-3 schooling system, six years of compulsory elementary education, three years of junior high, and an optional three years of senior high, along with the aim of secular, locally controlled education. More crucially, ideological reform followed: censorship of feudal material in media, revision of textbooks, and prohibition of ideas glorifying war, dying for the emperor, or venerating war heroes. With women enfranchised and young people shaped to counter militarism and ultranationalism, rural Japan was transformed to undermine lingering class divisions. The land reform program provided for the purchase of all land held by absentee landlords, allowed resident landlords and owner-farmers to retain a set amount of land, and required that the remaining land be sold to the government so it could be offered to existing tenants. In 1948, amid the intensifying tensions of the Cold War that would soon culminate in the Korean War, the occupation's focus shifted from demilitarization and democratization toward economic rehabilitation and, ultimately, the remilitarization of Japan, an shift now known as the “Reverse Course.” The country was thus rebuilt as the Pacific region's primary bulwark against the spread of Communism. An Economic Stabilisation Programme was introduced, including a five-year plan to coordinate production and target capital through the Reconstruction Finance Bank. In 1949, the anti-inflationary Dodge Plan was adopted, advocating balanced budgets, fixing the exchange rate at 360 yen to the dollar, and ending broad government intervention. Additionally, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry was formed and supported the formation of conglomerates centered around banks, which encouraged the reemergence of a somewhat weakened set of zaibatsu, including Mitsui and Mitsubishi. By the end of the Occupation era, Japan was on the verge of surpassing its 1934–1936 levels of economic growth. Equally important was Japan's rearmament in alignment with American foreign policy: a National Police Reserve of about 75,000 was created with the outbreak of the Korean War; by 1952 it had expanded to 110,000 and was renamed the Self-Defense Force after the inclusion of an air force. However, the Reverse Course also facilitated the reestablishment of conservative politics and the rollback of gains made by women and the reforms of local autonomy and education. As the Occupation progressed, the Americans permitted greater Japanese initiative, and power gradually shifted from the reformers to the moderates. By 1949, the purge of the right came under review, and many who had been condemned began returning to influence, if not to the Diet, then to behind-the-scenes power. At the same time, Japanese authorities, with MacArthur's support, began purging left-wing activists. In June 1950, for example, the central office of the Japan Communist Party and the editorial board of The Red Flag were purged. The gains made by women also seemed to be reversed. Women were elected to 8% of available seats in the first lower-house election in 1946, but to only 2% in 1952, a trend not reversed until the so-called Madonna Boom of the 1980s. Although the number of women voting continued to rise, female politicisation remained more superficial than might be imagined. Women's employment also appeared little affected by labour legislation: though women formed nearly 40% of the labor force in 1952, they earned only 45% as much as men. Indeed, women's attitudes toward labor were influenced less by the new ethos of fulfilling individual potential than by traditional views of family and workplace responsibilities. In the areas of local autonomy and education, substantial modifications were made to the reforms. Because local authorities lacked sufficient power to tax, they were unable to realise their extensive powers, and, as a result, key responsibilities were transferred back to national jurisdiction. In 1951, for example, 90% of villages and towns placed their police forces under the control of the newly formed National Police Agency. Central control over education was also gradually reasserted; in 1951, the Yoshida government attempted to reintroduce ethics classes, proposed tighter central oversight of textbooks, and recommended abolishing local school board elections. By the end of the decade, all these changes had been implemented. The Soviet occupation of the Kurile Islands and the Habomai Islets was completed with Russian troops fully deployed by September 5. Immediately after the onset of the occupation, amid a climate of insecurity and fear marked by reports of sporadic rape and physical assault and widespread looting by occupying troops, an estimated 4,000 islanders fled to Hokkaido rather than face an uncertain repatriation. As Soviet forces moved in, they seized or destroyed telephone and telegraph installations and halted ship movements into and out of the islands, leaving residents without adequate food and other winter provisions. Yet, unlike Manchuria, where Japanese civilians faced widespread sexual violence and pillage, systematic violence against the civilian population on the Kuriles appears to have been exceptional. A series of military government proclamations assured islanders of safety so long as they did not resist Soviet rule and carried on normally; however, these orders also prohibited activities not explicitly authorized by the Red Army, which imposed many hardships on civilians. Residents endured harsh conditions under Soviet rule until late 1948, when Japanese repatriation out of the Kurils was completed. The Kuriles posed a special diplomatic problem, as the occupation of the southernmost islands—the Northern Territories—ignited a long-standing dispute between Tokyo and Moscow that continues to impede the normalisation of relations today. Although the Kuriles were promised to the Soviet Union in the Yalta agreement, Japan and the United States argued that this did not apply to the Northern Territories, since they were not part of the Kurile Islands. A substantial dispute regarding the status of the Kurile Islands arose between the United States and the Soviet Union during the preparation of the Treaty of San Francisco, which was intended as a permanent peace treaty between Japan and the Allied Powers of World War II. The treaty was ultimately signed by 49 nations in San Francisco on September 8, 1951, and came into force on April 28, 1952. It ended Japan's role as an imperial power, allocated compensation to Allied nations and former prisoners of war who had suffered Japanese war crimes, ended the Allied post-war occupation of Japan, and returned full sovereignty to Japan. Effectively, the document officially renounced Japan's treaty rights derived from the Boxer Protocol of 1901 and its rights to Korea, Formosa and the Pescadores, the Kurile Islands, the Spratly Islands, Antarctica, and South Sakhalin. Japan's South Seas Mandate, namely the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, and Caroline Islands, had already been formally revoked by the United Nations on July 18, 1947, making the United States responsible for administration of those islands under a UN trusteeship agreement that established the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In turn, the Bonin, Volcano, and Ryukyu Islands were progressively restored to Japan between 1953 and 1972, along with the Senkaku Islands, which were disputed by both Communist and Nationalist China. In addition, alongside the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan and the United States signed a Security Treaty that established a long-lasting military alliance between them. Although Japan renounced its rights to the Kuriles, the U.S. State Department later clarified that “the Habomai Islands and Shikotan ... are properly part of Hokkaido and that Japan is entitled to sovereignty over them,” hence why the Soviets refused to sign the treaty. Britain and the United States agreed that territorial rights would not be granted to nations that did not sign the Treaty of San Francisco, and as a result the Kurile Islands were not formally recognized as Soviet territory. A separate peace treaty, the Treaty of Taipei (formally the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty), was signed in Taipei on April 28, 1952 between Japan and the Kuomintang, and on June 9 of that year the Treaty of Peace Between Japan and India followed. Finally, Japan and the Soviet Union ended their formal state of war with the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, though this did not settle the Kurile Islands dispute. Even after these formal steps, Japan as a nation was not in a formal state of war, and many Japanese continued to believe the war was ongoing; those who held out after the surrender came to be known as Japanese holdouts.  Captain Oba Sakae and his medical company participated in the Saipan campaign beginning on July 7, 1944, and took part in what would become the largest banzai charge of the Pacific War. After 15 hours of intense hand-to-hand combat, almost 4,300 Japanese soldiers were dead, and Oba and his men were presumed among them. In reality, however, he survived the battle and gradually assumed command of over a hundred additional soldiers. Only five men from his original unit survived the battle, two of whom died in the following months. Oba then led over 200 Japanese civilians deeper into the jungles to evade capture, organizing them into mountain caves and hidden jungle villages. When the soldiers were not assisting the civilians with survival tasks, Oba and his men continued their battle against the garrison of US Marines. He used the 1,552‑ft Mount Tapochau as their primary base, which offered an unobstructed 360-degree view of the island. From their base camp on the western slope of the mountain, Oba and his men occasionally conducted guerrilla-style raids on American positions. Due to the speed and stealth of these operations, and the Marines' frustrated attempts to find him, the Saipan Marines eventually referred to Oba as “The Fox.” Oba and his men held out on the island for 512 days, or about 16 months. On November 27, 1945, former Major-General Amo Umahachi was able to draw out some of the Japanese in hiding by singing the anthem of the Japanese infantry branch. Amo was then able to present documents from the defunct IGHQ to Oba ordering him and his 46 remaining men to surrender themselves to the Americans. On December 1, the Japanese soldiers gathered on Tapochau and sang a song of departure to the spirits of the war dead; Oba led his people out of the jungle and they presented themselves to the Marines of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Company. With great formality and commensurate dignity, Oba surrendered his sword to Lieutenant Colonel Howard G. Kirgis, and his men surrendered their arms and colors. On January 2, 1946, 20 Japanese soldiers hiding in a tunnel at Corregidor Island surrendered after learning the war had ended from a newspaper found while collecting water. In that same month, 120 Japanese were routed after a battle in the mountains 150 miles south of Manila. In April, during a seven-week campaign to clear Lubang Island, 41 more Japanese emerged from the jungle, unaware that the war had ended; however, a group of four Japanese continued to resist. In early 1947, Lieutenant Yamaguchi Ei and his band of 33 soldiers renewed fighting with the small Marine garrison on Peleliu, prompting reinforcements under Rear-Admiral Charles Pownall to be brought to the island to hunt down the guerrilla group. Along with them came former Rear-Admiral Sumikawa Michio, who ultimately convinced Yamaguchi to surrender in April after almost three years of guerrilla warfare. Also in April, seven Japanese emerged from Palawan Island and fifteen armed stragglers emerged from Luzon. In January 1948, 200 troops surrendered on Mindanao; and on May 12, the Associated Press reported that two unnamed Japanese soldiers had surrendered to civilian policemen in Guam the day before. On January 6, 1949, two former IJN soldiers, machine gunners Matsudo Rikio and Yamakage Kufuku, were discovered on Iwo Jima and surrendered peacefully. In March 1950, Private Akatsu Yūichi surrendered in the village of Looc, leaving only three Japanese still resisting on Lubang. By 1951 a group of Japanese on Anatahan Island refused to believe that the war was over and resisted every attempt by the Navy to remove them. This group was first discovered in February 1945, when several Chamorros from Saipan were sent to the island to recover the bodies of a Saipan-based B-29. The Chamorros reported that there were about thirty Japanese survivors from three ships sunk in June 1944, one of which was an Okinawan woman. Personal aggravations developed from the close confines of a small group on a small island and from tuba drinking; among the holdouts, 6 of 11 deaths were the result of violence, and one man displayed 13 knife wounds. The presence of only one woman, Higa Kazuko, caused considerable difficulty as she would transfer her affections among at least four men after each of them mysteriously disappeared, purportedly “swallowed by the waves while fishing.” According to the more sensational versions of the Anatahan tale, 11 of the 30 navy sailors stranded on the island died due to violent struggles over her affections. In July 1950, Higa went to the beach when an American vessel appeared offshore and finally asked to be removed from the island. She was taken to Saipan aboard the Miss Susie and, upon arrival, told authorities that the men on the island did not believe the war was over. As the Japanese government showed interest in the situation on Anatahan, the families of the holdouts were contacted in Japan and urged by the Navy to write letters stating that the war was over and that the holdouts should surrender. The letters were dropped by air on June 26 and ultimately convinced the holdouts to give themselves up. Thus, six years after the end of World War II, “Operation Removal” commenced from Saipan under the command of Lt. Commander James B. Johnson, USNR, aboard the Navy Tug USS Cocopa. Johnson and an interpreter went ashore by rubber boat and formally accepted the surrender on the morning of June 30, 1951. The Anatahan femme fatale story later inspired the 1953 Japanese film Anatahan and the 1998 novel Cage on the Sea. In 1953, Murata Susumu, the last holdout on Tinian, was finally captured. The next year, on May 7, Corporal Sumada Shoichi was killed in a clash with Filipino soldiers, leaving only two Japanese still resisting on Lubang. In November 1955, Seaman Kinoshita Noboru was captured in the Luzon jungle but soon after committed suicide rather than “return to Japan in defeat.” That same year, four Japanese airmen surrendered at Hollandia in Dutch New Guinea; and in 1956, nine soldiers were located and sent home from Morotai, while four men surrendered on Mindoro. In May 1960, Sergeant Ito Masashi became one of the last Japanese to surrender at Guam after the capture of his comrade Private Minagawa Bunzo, but the final surrender at Guam would come later with Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi. Sergeant Yokoi Shoichi survived in the jungles of Guam by living for years in an elaborately dug hole, subsisting on snails and lizards, a fate that, while undignified, showcased his ingenuity and resilience and earned him a warm welcome on his return to Japan. His capture was not heroic in the traditional sense: he was found half-starving by a group of villagers while foraging for shrimp in a stream, and the broader context included his awareness as early as 1952 that the war had ended. He explained that the wartime bushido code, emphasizing self-sacrifice or suicide rather than self-preservation, had left him fearing that repatriation would label him a deserter and likely lead to execution. Emerging from the jungle, Yokoi also became a vocal critic of Japan's wartime leadership, including Emperor Hirohito, which fits a view of him as a product of, and a prisoner within, his own education, military training, and the censorship and propaganda of the era. When asked by a young nephew how he survived so long on an island just a short distance from a major American airbase, he replied simply, “I was really good at hide and seek.”  That same year, Private Kozuka Kinshichi was killed in a shootout with Philippine police in October, leaving Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo still resisting on Lubang. Lieutenant Onoda Hiroo had been on Lubang since 1944, a few months before the Americans retook the Philippines. The last instructions he had received from his immediate superior ordered him to retreat to the interior of the island and harass the Allied occupying forces until the IJA eventually returned. Despite efforts by the Philippine Army, letters and newspapers left for him, radio broadcasts, and even a plea from Onoda's brother, he did not believe the war was over. On February 20, 1974, Onoda encountered a young Japanese university dropout named Suzuki Norio, who was traveling the world and had told friends that he planned to “look for Lieutenant Onoda, a panda, and the abominable snowman, in that order.” The two became friends, but Onoda stated that he was waiting for orders from one of his commanders. On March 9, 1974, Onoda went to an agreed-upon place and found a note left by Suzuki. Suzuki had brought along Onoda's former commander, Major Taniguchi, who delivered the oral orders for Onoda to surrender. Intelligence Officer 2nd Lt. Onoda Hiroo thus emerged from Lubang's jungle with his .25 caliber rifle, 500 rounds of ammunition, and several hand grenades. He surrendered 29 years after Japan's formal surrender, and 15 years after being declared legally dead in Japan. When he accepted that the war was over, he wept openly. He received a hero's welcome upon his return to Japan in 1974. The Japanese government offered him a large sum of money in back pay, which he refused. When money was pressed on him by well-wishers, he donated it to Yasukuni Shrine. Onoda was reportedly unhappy with the attention and what he saw as the withering of traditional Japanese values. He wrote No Surrender: My Thirty-Year War, a best-selling autobiography published in 1974. Yet the last Japanese to surrender would be Private Nakamura Teruo, an Amis aborigine from Formosa and a member of the Takasago Volunteers. Private Nakamura Teruo spent the tail end of World War II with a dwindling band on Morotai, repeatedly dispersing and reassembling in the jungle as they hunted for food. The group suffered continuous losses to starvation and disease, and survivors described Nakamura as highly self-sufficient. He left to live alone somewhere in the Morotai highlands between 1946 and 1947, rejoined the main group in 1950, and then disappeared again a few years later. Nakamura hinted in print that he fled into the jungle because he feared the other holdouts might murder him. He survives for decades beyond the war, eventually being found by 11 Indonesian soldiers. The emergence of an indigenous Taiwanese soldier among the search party embarrassed Japan as it sought to move past its imperial past. Many Japanese felt Nakamura deserved compensation for decades of loyalty, only to learn that his back pay for three decades of service amounted to 68,000 yen.   Nakamura's experience of peace was complex. When a journalist asked how he felt about “wasting” three decades of his life on Morotai, he replied that the years had not been wasted; he had been serving his country. Yet the country he returned to was Taiwan, and upon disembarking in Taipei in early January 1975, he learned that his wife had a son he had never met and that she had remarried a decade after his official death. Nakamura eventually lived with a daughter, and his story concluded with a bittersweet note when his wife reconsidered and reconciled with him. Several Japanese soldiers joined local Communist and insurgent groups after the war to avoid surrender. Notably, in 1956 and 1958, two soldiers returned to Japan after service in China's People's Liberation Army. Two others who defected with a larger group to the Malayan Communist Party around 1945 laid down their arms in 1989 and repatriated the next year, becoming among the last to return home. That is all for today, but fear not I will provide a few more goodies over the next few weeks. I will be releasing some of my exclusive podcast episodes from my youtube membership and patreon that are about pacific war subjects. Like I promised the first one will be on why Emperor Hirohito surrendered. Until then if you need your fix you know where to find me: eastern front week by week, fall and rise of china, echoes of war or on my Youtube membership of patreon at www.patreon.com/pacificwarchannel.

In the milestone 100th episode of "Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?", co-hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso celebrate their podcast's century mark with a fast-paced, insightful, and at times humorous look back at some of their most memorable moments, guests, and listener interactions. Without a guest this week, Ray and Jim turn the spotlight on themselves, their audience, their incredible slate of past guests, and a region that keeps changing the strategic map.The hosts set the tone for a reflective and dynamic show, diving into listener emails and social media comments that illustrate the podcast's loyal following from locations across the globe. Ray and Jim revisit some of the most interesting, provocative, quirky and timely lines from prior guests--including former US National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, U.S. Pacific Air Forces Commander General Kevin Schneider, former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, President Surangel Whipps of Palau, former U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander Admiral Phil Davidson, and sitting Philippine Secretary of Defense Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro--challenging each other to recall who said what and why those remarks matter in today's Indo-Pacific landscape.A central theme is the evolving nature of U.S. strategy, from discussions of "spheres of influence" and the shift in national security focus to debates over U.S. credibility and engagement in regions beyond the Indo-Pacific. The hosts analyze how once-standard priorities such as the rules-based order and extended U.S. presence are now questioned domestically and abroad. Listener comments prompt discussion of perceptions of America across the region, concerns over interference, and the shifting balance of great power influence. The episode highlights President Whipps' steadfast support for Taiwan in the face of Chinese economic inducements--a striking example of Indo-Pacific agency and risk-taking in the current geopolitical climate.Memorable moments include insights from Secretary Teodoro on the critical role of the rules-based order for smaller states, self-deprecating tales of military karaoke anxiety from General Schneider, and a glancing critique of U.S. foreign policy “whiplash,” recalling both Afghanistan and Vietnam withdrawals. The podcast's ability to draw high-profile guests and engage in candid, sometimes irreverent dialogue is evident as the hosts reminisce. Woven through the humor and storytelling is a serious undercurrent about U.S. credibility, PRC aggression, alliance management, and the centrality of the Indo-Pacific in global affairs.The hosts close with tributes to listeners, their inimitable producer, Ian Ellis-Jones, and their gratitude for reaching 100 episodes amidst rapidly growing listenership--now surpassing 40,000 subscribers across all platforms. As always, we encourage feedback and celebrate our incredible audience, and promise to continue featuring the perspectives and stories that matter most to Indo-Pacific watchers.

當外國客戶/老闆/朋友問台灣熱門新聞或景點時，你該怎麼簡單有力地回覆，同時加深雙方關係呢？ 為了幫助你強化英文社交力，新單元「三句話聊台灣 Taiwan in 3 Sentences」誕生了

Missionary Letter - Taiwan

In episode 93 of the Summits Podcast, co-hosts Vince Todd, Jr. and Daniel Abdallah are joined by Dr. Nur Damayanti, cancer researcher at IU School of Medicine. Tune in as Dr. Damayanti shares the personal cancer diagnosis that changed the trajectory of her career and the Heroes Foundation funding that is supporting her project to study new treatment methods for children with rare brain cancers. Learn more about recent Heroes Foundation gifts: https://www.heroesfoundation.org/the-heroes-foundation-has-awarded-nine-exciting-indiana-cancer-projects-with-223500-in-funding/

聽說每三個男生就會有一位是美食獵人，今天這集就跟著直男們一起吃翻全世界！開局馬上進入食物戰爭，究竟台北最強涼麵是哪間？誰才配得上台北夜市王的稱號？為何台灣人這麼愛火鍋？你的火鍋特調沾醬是什麼？吃到飽餐廳的戰術、最難忘的一餐等等諸如此類令人垂涎三尺的話題，還是頭一次錄節目錄到被口水嗆到 :p 隨著這趟美食之旅，你會發現豆腐對 Kai 造成的童年創傷、Sean 對雞翅的熱愛以及三位臭直男們如果面臨死刑會想要什麼食物來作為人生最後一餐！ This week, the boys are hungry

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. Tai-Ex opening The Tai-Ex opened up 103-points this morning from yesterday's close, at 24,650 on turnover of 7.2-billion N-T. The market closed at a new high on Monday - with buying focused on the semiconductor sector as investors remain upbeat about global demand ahead of the opening tomorrow of SEMICON Taiwan. VP highlights need to bolster defense as new patrol cutter delivered Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim is underscoring the importance of strengthening national defense in the pursuit of peace and prosperity. Hsiao made the comment while overseeing (監督) the delivery to the Coast Guard Administration of the fourth 1,000-tonne class patrol cutter. Speaking at a handover ceremony at C-S-B-S's Keelung shipyard for the vessel - which has been named the "Hualien" - Hsiao underlined the importance of a modernized Coast Guard fleet amid geopolitical uncertainties. Hsiao also christened the fifth 1,000-tonne patrol cutter the "Penghu," at the ceremony. That vessel will be delivered to the Coast Guard Administration at a later date. Germany debuts at SEMICON Taiwan for stronger chip ties with Taipei And,Germany will be setting up its first ever national pavilion at SEMICON Taiwan - when the event opens tomorrow in Taipei. Semiconductor investment expert at Germany Trade & Invest, Martin Mayer says his country is looking to raise its profile (形象) and strengthen semiconductor ties with Taiwan as global chip demand accelerates. According to Mayer, Taiwan is seen as a crucial (至關重要的) partner in developing Germany's semiconductor ecosystem … … and Germany's first ever appearance at at the international semiconductor exhibition in Taipei is intended to "show presence" and signal its commitment to semiconductors, while building trust with Taiwanese companies, government and industry associations. Israel Strikes on Lebanon Kills Hezbollah Members Israel has launched airstrikes on the outskirts of northeastern Lebanon, killing five people, including four Hezbollah members. An Israeli military spokesperson said the air forces targeted Hezbollah positions and infrastructure. This comes as global pressure mounts to disarm (解除武裝) the Lebanese militant group. Since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire ended a war between Hezbollah and Israel in November, Israel has struck southern Lebanon almost daily, targeting the group. The Lebanese government has recently backed a plan to gradually disarm Hezbollah, which the group opposes. Hezbollah has not fired at Israel since November. It maintains it no longer has an armed presence south of the Litani River, but refuses to discuss disarmament until Israel stops its attacks and withdraws from five hilltop points that it captured during the war. US Supreme Court rules LA immigration raids are legal The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump Administration's immigration agents to resume what critics call indiscriminate sweeps in Los Angeles. The unsigned ruling lifted a lower-court order that had blocked (封鎖，阻止) stops based on race, language, or type of work. Ira Spitzer reports That was the I.C.R.T. EZ News, I'm _____. －－－－以下為 SoundOn 動態廣告－－－－ 中國信託聯手統一集團推出uniopen聯名信用卡 2025年12月31日前消費享最高11%回饋 完成指定任務加碼每月免費跨行轉帳10次，ATM存領外幣各1次免手續費 了解詳情> https://sofm.pse.is/84pk5e 謹慎理財 信用至上 -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

In the summer of 2000, Razor scooters were everywhere—on sidewalks, in schools, even in Silicon Valley offices. At the center of it all was Carlton Calvin, an ex-lawyer turned toy mogul who had already ridden—and crashed—multiple crazes, from Pogs to yo-yos.Carlton knew how to spot what kids wanted before the world caught on. But when Razor went from selling a million scooters a month to zero almost overnight, his business teetered on collapse.This is a story about timing, obsession and instinct: knowing kids would snap up Slammers with scorpions inside, seeing the potential of a sleek new scooter from Taiwan, and learning how to turn a craze into a lasting global brand.In this episode, you'll learn:Why most “overnight successes” collapse as quickly as they riseThe power of partnerships– and trust– in scaling quicklyHow to think like your customer (in Carlton's case, a 10-year-old boy)This episode was produced by Kerry Thompson with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant. Our audio engineers were Patrick Murray and Maggie Luthar.Follow How I Built This:Instagram→ @howibuiltthisX → @HowIBuiltThisFacebook→ How I Built ThisFollow Guy Raz:Instagram→ @guy.razX → @guyrazSubstack→ guyraz.substack.comWebsite→ guyraz.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

BOOK TITLE: The Decisive Decade: American Grand Strategy for Triumph over China AUTHOR: Jonathan DT Ward HEADLINE: Taiwan: The 'Lock on the Island Chain' and a Key to China's Regional Dominance   China's military analysts view Taiwan as the "lock on the island chain," crucial for projecting power into the Western Pacific and throughout Asia's maritime geography. Seizing Taiwan would permanently alter Asia's military balance and enable China to exert significant power, potentially even creating famine in the Japanese islands. Taiwan also represents economic leverage due to its role in semiconductor production and holds ideological significance for Xi Jinping. 1950 PEKING STUDENTS, PLA

We're taking a small summer break so enjoy this previously Patreon-only episode on H Kamen featuring KC Green of Gunshow and Anime Club fame! We'll be back on 9/15 with our first thoughts on Get Away Matsumoto! - 100 Days Escape.   MAL Description:  In the year 2030, the secrets of the universe have been unraveled and visitors from various planets have appeared on Earth. In order to avoid sudden contact with other world civilizations, the Earth Alliance limited the area of trade and built a huge populated island called "Dejima" in the southern part of Okinawa, Japan, bordering Taiwan. The aliens are prohibited from stopping at ports other than Dejima, but various crimes began to occur frequently on Dejima, where different civilizations and values were mixed.   In order to protect the security of the area, the Dejima Police of the Earth Alliance, the Federation Police of the Space Alliance, and a mixed force of aliens and earthlings were established. This was the "Gundragon". Gundragon's investigator, Sigma, stopped a runaway truck carrying smugglers. On the back of the truck, a Mumerian from a water planet, who commits suicide to protect its secret. Sigma sneaks into a tavern in search of his friends, where he finds a Mumerian and a small black hole, which is forbidden by the United Space Federation...    Show Notes: • You can reach us at Twitter @shonenflopcast, Tumblr shonen-flop, or email shonenflop@gmail.com   • You can find our guest at kcgreendotcom.com   • Get Shonen Flop merch, including this episode's cover art, on a shirt, mug, print, or whatever else might catch your 1https://www.teepublic.com/stores/shonen-flop?ref_id=22733   • Become a member of our community by joining our Discord. You can hang out with us, submit your questions or six word summaries! Find it at https://discord.com/invite/4hC3SqRw8r   • Want to be a guest? You can ask to be on a future episode at bit.ly/shonen_flop_guest   Credits: • Manga by Buichi Terasawa   • Shonen Flop is hosted by David Weinberger and Jordan Forbes   • Assistance with pronunciation, translation, and other miscellaneous research done by Tucker Whatley and MaxyBee

Join myself and the Mises Institute's own, Marcel Gautreau, for a most enlightening conversation on Murray Rothbard, Leo Strauss and how their ideas influence (or don't) the current pillars of power. Marcel Dumas Gautreau is an Economics PhD Graduate from George Mason University. His fields are Austrian Economics, Public Choice Economics, and Development Economics. His research primarily revolves around authoritarian regimes, particularly "developmental states" like Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Find Marcel: Website: https://mgautreau.com/ X: https://x.com/anarchyinblack/ Substack: https://mgautreau.substack.com/B Book Club: https://discord.gg/3AwBkQrCuC Books Mentioned:  The Mystery of Banking, by Murray Rothbard (Right Wing Reading Rainbow Review: https://mgautreau.substack.com/p/right-wing-reading-rainbow-ii-the) Churchill, Hitler, and the Unnecessary War, by Pat Buchanan (RWRR: https://mgautreau.substack.com/p/right-wing-reading-rainbow-iii-churchill) Reclaiming the American Right, by Justin Raimondo (RWRR: https://mgautreau.substack.com/p/right-wing-reading-rainbow-v-reclaiming) The Ten Thousand Year Explosion, by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending (RWRR: https://mgautreau.substack.com/p/right-wing-reading-rainbow-viii-the) Blacklisted by History, by M. Stnaton EvansThe Radio Right, by Paul Matzko Poisoner in Chief, by Stephen KinzerRise Kill First, by Ronen Bergman Cronyism, by Patrick Newman The Great Napoleon for Children, by J. de Marthold Videos Mentioned: Joe McCarthy: Martyred by Marxism | Razorfist: https://youtu.be/BgUVL5v1aAc A Rothbardian Analysis of the Constitutional Convention | Patrick Newman: https://youtu.be/ap3A8Wo9mNQ Exclusive Content and Ways to Support: Support me on Substack for ad-free content, bonus material, personal chatting and more! https://substack.com/@monicaperezshow Become a PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER on Apple Podcasts for AD FREE episodes and exclusive content! True Hemp Science: https://truehempscience.com/ PROMO CODE: MONICA Find, Follow, Subscribe & Rate on your favorite podcasting platform AND for video and social & more... Website: https://monicaperezshow.com/ Substack: https://substack.com/@monicaperezshow Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/monicaperezshow Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MonicaPerez Twitter/X: @monicaperezshow Instagram: @monicaperezshow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

這一集我們討論了肌肉量與肌力的關聯、不同訓練方式的優劣、以及重訓常見迷思的深入探討 ﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏ 本集節目由【三得利御瑪卡】贊助播出 ﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋ 大家都知道我喜歡賞鳥 無論是小小鳥、大鳥鳥 三得利「御瑪卡」保養男性健康，讓你說起飛就起飛

We're talking many, many things Taiwanese food with Nancy Jeng and Felicia Liang, the author and illustrator of A Very Asian Guide to Taiwanese Food. We talk about Nancy and Felicia's childhood embarrassment of Taiwanese food, requesting more “American” foods, and finding their way back to Taiwanese food as young adults. We talk about how their author/illustrator collaboration came to be, Nancy's long-con to get her husband to cook Taiwanese classics, the untapped potential of Taiwan's beaches, and the popularity of Trader Joe's scallion pancakes. Find this wonderful beautiful book on Gloo Books or wherever you get your books, and hang out with Nancy and Felicia at their book launch event at On Waverly on Sunday, September 14. Plus themed bites by past guest Jessic Fu and (possible future guest) Henry Hsu. And if you're looking for some recipes, find three great ones in the back of this book, including one for Nancy's Nai Nai's scallion pancakes. We'll be trying these out in our house along with tea eggs.

Mark Carney recently made noises about the future possibility of Canadian boots on the ground as part of an international “coalition of the willing” to help guarantee security in Ukraine. In the 1990s Canada had up to 3,000 peacekeepers around the world at any given time. Today we have less than 30. That's one per cent of what we used to be able to do.So how would Carney get us back in the game? Is it a game we want to play? Or are even capable of playing anymore?Lloyd Axworthy thinks so. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs at the height of our peacekeeping commitments in the late 1990s. But his vision today goes far beyond blue helmets.Credits:Host: Jesse BrownCaleb Thompson (Post Production), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)Fact checking by Julian AbrahamAdditional music by Audio NetworkSponsors: oxio: Head over to canadaland.oxio.ca and use code CANADALAND for your first month free! Squarespace: Check out Squarespace.com/canadaland for a free trial, and when you're ready to launch use code canadaland to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain.BetterHelp: Visit https://BetterHelp.com/canadaland today to get 10% off your first month.Further Reading:Hints at Canada's Return to Peacekeeping - The Globe & Mail Lloyd Axworthy Substack If you value this podcast, support us! You'll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You'll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you'll be a part of the solution to Canada's journalism crisis, you'll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.Can't get enough Canadaland? Follow @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram for clips, announcements, explainers and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Needed: Moral clarity and policy effectiveness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Energy Newsbeat Daily Standup, Michael Tanner and Stu Turley break down Oklo's groundbreaking step toward nuclear fuel recycling, a massive ICE raid on Hyundai's EV battery plant, and Secretary Scott Besson's fiery call for Federal Reserve reform. They also unpack China's illegal oil drilling in Taiwan's EEZ, OPEC's surprising October production bump, and the market's reaction to energy pricing and jobs data. The episode wraps with sharp insights on AI-driven energy demand, rig count trends, and the best plays for 2025 oil & gas tax investing.Subscribe to Our Substack For Daily InsightsWant to Add Oil & Gas To Your Portfolio? Fill Out Our Oil & Gas Portfolio SurveyNeed Power For Your Data Center, Hospital, or Business?Follow Stuart On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stuturley/ and Twitter: https://twitter.com/STUARTTURLEY16Follow Michael On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelta... and Twitter: https://twitter.com/mtanner_1Timestamps:00:00 - Intro00:13 - Oklo Commences First Phase Construction on Nuclear Fuel Recycling Facility02:21 - Hyundai EV Battery Plant Raided by ICE: 475 Detained in Major Immigration Enforcement Action04:44 - Treasury Secretary Bessent Says Fed ‘Must Change Course,' Demands an Entire Review10:22 - China Escalates Taiwan Provocations with Illegal Oil Drilling in EEZ12:30 - OPEC+ Agrees in Principle to Increase Production in October18:05 - Markets Update21:29 - OutroLinks to articles discussed:Oklo Commences First Phase Construction on Nuclear Fuel Recycling FacilityHyundai EV Battery Plant Raided by ICE: 475 Detained in Major Immigration Enforcement ActionTreasury Secretary Bessent Says Fed ‘Must Change Course,' Demands an Entire ReviewChina Escalates Taiwan Provocations with Illegal Oil Drilling in EEZOPEC+ Agrees in Principle to Increase Production in October

週一天下零時差關注以下財經大事： 一、Semicon Taiwan國際半導體展本週登場，今年亮點是什麼？ 二、蘋果本週將發表iPhone 17，有什麼可以期待？ 三、AI需求熱度能否維持，台積電本週公布8月營收告訴你。 文：伍芬婕、辜樹仁、蔡娪嫣 製作團隊：樂祈 ＊閱讀零時差，點這看全文

(Ep: 259) - Celebrating Year of Compassion – Office of Tibet, Taiwan by ctatibettv

This week, we take a closer look at three stories shaping technology, business, and Taiwan's role in the global arena. Chip Tariffs Intensify U.S. President Donald Trump is once again using tariffs to push semiconductor production back to America. This move challenges decades of globalized supply chains and sharpens U.S.–China tech rivalry. We chose this story because Taiwan's central role in chipmaking means the policy could have a direct and lasting impact on its industry and international partnerships. Taiwan Space Startup Breaks Even Tensor Tech, a space startup from Taiwan known for its spherical motors now regularly flying on SpaceX missions, has reached financial break-even in 2025. We highlight this story because it marks a milestone in deep-tech innovation, showing how a young company can carve out a position in the global space economy. Taiwan Expo USA Triumphs The Taiwan Expo USA 2025 in Dallas drew more than ten thousand participants and over a hundred companies, securing multiple cross-border collaborations. We feature this story because it underscores Taiwan's growing presence in the U.S. market and reflects how industry and culture together strengthen Taiwan–U.S. relations. Powered by Firstory Hosting

Lead in gasoline powered cars have killed more people than those that died in World War Two. That's the astonishing claim of David Obst who, in his new Saving Ourselves From Big Car, lays out a strategy to kick our self-destructive automobile addiction. The former investigative reporter, who worked with Seymour Hersh on the My Lai massacre story and represented Woodward and Bernstein for All the President's Men, argues that the auto industry suppressed knowledge about lead's deadly effects for 70 years. More controversially, Obst claims electric vehicles are no better due to the lead in batteries. The only safe future is one without cars, he insists, pointing to car-free communities like Tempe, Arizona and Taipei, Taiwan as models for breaking what he calls our addiction to automobiles.1. Lead in gasoline killed more people than World War II Obst claims that from 1927 to the 1990s, lead additives in gasoline caused more deaths globally than WWII, citing World Health Organization statistics - though interviewer Andrew Keen found this claim conspiratorial.2. Electric vehicles aren't the solution Surprisingly, Obst argues EVs are just as dangerous as gas cars because their batteries contain lead. He points to Tesla fires in the California Palisades spreading lead pollution as evidence of this ongoing problem.3. The auto industry suppressed the truth for 70 years The Ethel Corporation (formed by Standard Oil, DuPont, and GM) allegedly kept lead's deadly effects secret through lobbying and silencing critics, including exiling Caltech scientist Claire Patterson who tried to expose the danger.4. Americans are "addicted" to cars Inspired by his granddaughter telling him "you are the traffic," Obst argues we must treat car dependence like any other addiction - acknowledging that 30% of gasoline is burned just looking for parking spaces.5. Car-free communities are the only answer Obst profiles successful car-free zones from Tempe, Arizona (6,000 residents, no cars allowed) to Taipei's bicycle-centric system, arguing for gradual implementation of car-free neighborhoods rather than overnight transformation.Keen On America is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe

Day 1,290.Today, after another important Coalition of the Willing summit in Paris, we discuss Vladimir Putin's warning that any Western peacekeeping forces deployed to Ukraine would be considered a “legitimate” target. Then, we dive into an investigation on how China is providing drones parts to Russia and effectively sustaining its ability to continue waging its war against Ukraine. Finally, Dom dials in on his last day in Prague attending the International Institute for Strategic Studies Defence Summit. Contributors:Adélie Pojzman-Pontay (Journalist and Producer). @adeliepjz on X.Francis Dearnley (Executive Editor for Audio). @FrancisDearnley on X.Dominic Nicholls (Associate Editor of Defence). @DomNicholls on X.Sophia Yan (Senior Foreign Correspondent). @Sophia_Yan on X.Content Referenced:How China is secretly arming Russia, (Sophia Yan in The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/09/03/how-china-is-secretly-arming-russia/Putin: British troops in Ukraine ‘legitimate' target for Russia (The Telegraph):https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/09/05/putin-western-troops-in-ukraine-legitimate-target-russia/ ‘Battle Lines: Inside the rise of China's military - and what it means for Taiwan':https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/08/08/battle-lines-podcast-inside-the-rise-of-chinas-military/IISS Prague Defence Summit: https://www.iiss.org/events/prague-defence-summit/prague-defence-summit-2025/ SIGN UP TO THE NEW ‘UKRAINE: THE LATEST' WEEKLY NEWSLETTER:https://secure.telegraph.co.uk/customer/secure/newsletter/ukraine/ Each week, Dom Nicholls and Francis Dearnley answer your questions, provide recommended reading, and give exclusive analysis and behind-the-scenes insights – plus maps of the frontlines and diagrams of weapons to complement our daily reporting. It's free for everyone, including non-subscribers.NOW AVAILABLE IN NEW LANGUAGES:The Telegraph has launched translated versions of Ukraine: The Latest in Ukrainian and Russian, making its reporting accessible to audiences on both sides of the battle lines and across the wider region, including Central Asia and the Caucasus. Just search Україна: Останні Новини (Ukr) and Украина: Последние Новости (Ru) on your on your preferred podcast app to find them. Listen here: https://linktr.ee/ukrainethelatestSubscribe: telegraph.co.uk/ukrainethelatestEmail: ukrainepod@telegraph.co.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit andrewsullivan.substack.comNiall is one of my oldest and dearest friends, stretching back to when we were both history majors and renegade rightists at Magdalen, Oxford. He is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a senior faculty fellow of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard. He's also the founder and managing director of Greenmantle LLC, an advisory firm. He's written 16 books, including Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist and Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe (which we discussed on the pod in 2021), and he writes a column for The Free Press.For two clips of our convo — a historical view of Trump's authoritarianism, and the weakness of Putin toward Ukraine — head to our YouTube page.Other topics: attending Niall's 60th birthday party in Wales with an all-male choir; Covid; Cold War II; China's surprisingly potent tech surge; the race for semiconductors and AI; Taiwan; global fertility; Brexit; the explosion of migrants under Boris and Biden; the collapse of the Tories; Reform rising; Yes Minister; assimilation in the UK; grooming gangs; the failure of “crushing” sanctions on Russia; the war's shift toward drones; Putin embraced by Xi and Modi; Trump's charade in Alaska; debating Israel and Gaza; the strike on Iran; the Abraham Accords; the settlements; America becoming less free; Trump's “emergencies”; National Guard in DC; the groveling of the Cabinet; the growth of executive power over many presidents; Trump's pardons; Kissinger; tariffs and McKinley; the coming showdown with SCOTUS; Jack Goldsmith's stellar work; Mamdani; Stephen Miller's fascism; the unseriousness of Hegseth; the gerrymandering crisis; the late republic in Rome; Tom Holland's Rubicon; Niall's X spat with Vance; Harvard's race discrimination; Biden re-electing Trump; wokeness; and South Park saving the republic.Browse the Dishcast archive for an episode you might enjoy. Coming up: Jill Lepore on the history of the Constitution, Karen Hao on artificial intelligence, Katie Herzog on drinking your way sober, Michel Paradis on Eisenhower, Charles Murray on religion, David Ignatius on the Trump effect globally, and Arthur Brooks on the science of happiness. As always, please send any guest recs, dissents, and other comments to dish@andrewsullivan.com.

Original Title:  Milei; Jobs Report; Tech CEOs & Trump; Hawley & AI; Immigration; Drug War; Musk | Yaron Brook Show  | September 5, 2025Why are “pro-capitalist” CEOs kneeling to Trump? Why is Hawley using AI as a new excuse for government control? Why do politicians lie about jobs, immigration, and the drug war? And what does Milei's battle in Argentina tell us about freedom's future?Key Time Stamps:01:35 Milei06:30 Jobs Report15:55 Tech CEOs & Trump27:45 Musk34:30 Hawley & AI40:35 Immigration46:10 Drug WarLive Questions:56:26 Is being passive-aggressive a sign of moral cowardice? 59:55 I'm planning my 1st ever trip to South America! Which cities are a 'must-do'? When I talk about Rio, friends give dire warnings on security. Is it so bad that I should stay away from Rio on my trip?1:03:55 Are you surprised that American businessmen are kneeling to politicians in the year 2025, or does it make sense given the philosophy in the culture?1:05:00 Your comments about the intensification of the Drug War sparked this question: why does the violation of a right beget further violation of rights?1:06:54 Have you ever explored England outside of London? 1:09:55 Is this the modern mixed economy model? Have a few cities where all the wealth and innovation occur, and everyone else in the country lives on benefits?1:10:46 All government attempts to redistribute wealth and income smother productive incentives and lead toward general impoverishment.1:11:09 You really believe the guy making $50k a year can be as happy as the guy making $500k a year?1:15:33 What motivated LP to write DIM? What was he observing in the culture to make him want to put in writing these predictions when things were looking pretty good 15 years ago, when he began writing?1:18:35 What would you do in that situation? How would you deal with Trump as the CEO of a company, knowing he would want to associate with you?1:19:28 Could ARI produce a movie or documentary about Objectivism?1:20:56 This makes a Christian-altruist society very uncomfortable, but isn't the truth that sometimes the strong have to use force against the weak if it's in retaliation for aggression?1:22:06 Is there any hope left for Taiwan? Do you think the world is ready to have TSMC in the hands of the CCP?1:23:13 Aside from health and family issues, I have trouble understanding unhappy wealthy people. Is it value-related? Lack of goals to use the money?1:25:23 We could use a reverse DIM that identifies and celebrates the causes of the Enlightenment. Is there a book out there that does that?

For today's episode, Lawfare Foreign Policy Editor Daniel Byman interviews Mark Cancian, a Senior Adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to assess the impact and implications of a Chinese blockade of Taiwan. Cancian discusses why China might choose blockade over an outright invasion, how the blockade might affect Taiwan, the risks of escalation, and what the United States and Taiwan must do to make a blockade less likely and less risky. For more, take a look at “Lights Out? Wargaming a Chinese Blockade of Taiwan,” a recent CSIS report by Mark F. Cancian, Matthew F. Cancian, and Eric Heginbotham.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.

1. El Salvador’s CECOT Mega-Prison for Gang Members Senator Cruz describes his recent visit to El Salvador, where he toured the CECOT (Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo) prison. The prison was built to house up to 40,000 of the country’s most dangerous gang members (MS-13, Barrio 18). Conditions: Cells hold 100 prisoners each, with bunk beds stacked four levels high. Prisoners are locked in cells 23 hours a day, with 1 hour allowed for exercise and religious instruction (both mandatory). No cellphones—blocked with jammers, with heavy fines for carriers if a call gets through. Monitored constantly by guards with machine guns and 24/7 lighting. Cruz compares it to U.S. prisons, noting it is much harsher and more controlled. He highlights the dramatic drop in El Salvador’s homicide rate (down ~98%), attributing it to President Bukele’s crackdown and mass incarceration of gang members. He even interviews an MS-13 member from Texas who admitted to murder in El Salvador and hinted at crimes in the U.S. The inmate expressed regret about his son possibly joining a gang but acknowledged that El Salvador’s new security situation made that less likely. 2. Panama Canal and Chinese Influence Cruz also traveled to Panama, where he toured the Panama Canal and met with government officials. He emphasizes Panama’s strategic importance to U.S. national security and commerce. Concerns raised: Chinese companies control key infrastructure near the canal, including ports, a bridge under construction, and a metro tunnel project. Cruz warns this could give China leverage to disrupt U.S. military and commercial shipping if conflict arises (e.g., over Taiwan). He pressed Panamanian officials to remove Chinese control and noted ongoing negotiations to transfer two Chinese-run ports to a U.S. consortium. He frames this as a matter of U.S.–Panama shared interest: Panama also risks economic and security harm if China can choke canal operations. Please Hit Subscribe to this podcast Right Now. Also Please Subscribe to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson and The Ben Ferguson Show Podcast Wherever You get You're Podcasts. And don't forget to follow the show on Social Media so you never miss a moment! Thanks for Listening YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruz/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verdictwithtedcruz X: https://x.com/tedcruz X: https://x.com/benfergusonshow YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.