Miscellaneous News

[wang chilin]

This second time Iran ambassador to India has raise issue of oil sales. what he does not understand is India relationship with wider Middle East .
now India is signing migration and mobility pacts with various european countries. those people will need to travel back and forth so they will either use Russia airspace or Arabic airspace. It is very logical that Arabs will prefer Indians running the show in Europa as it will boost local consumption back in India and ultimately bend Turkey to the hegemony of Arabs. The same reason Ukraine war will grind until the demographic change happen. whether its Covid/flu or Ukraine conflict it is accelerating Europe demographic decline.
I am sure those S500 can close Caspian airspace if there is need.

I think it's not more than Iran hedging against China deal. India was the main buyer of Iranian oil before USA stopped it.

 

[wang chilin]

It's not about discounting talent, it's just quite obvious that there is some kind of "special sauce" missing.

If we look at the former Yugoslavia, there is a very steady trickle of NBA-quality (ie getting regular minutes) players, and occasionally Hall of Fame-level players. How can China not produce any players of even just the former-type in decades with the enormous talent pool it has? As I said, it somewhat defies statistics...

I imagine the same such issue exists for soccer/football.

In the Sports thread it was discussed that parents are wary of the Sports academies having a bad academic reputation, so if things don't work out athletically, they are afraid of handicapping them for university. To alleviate this concern, more after-school clubs are being established, but it is a fairly recent phenomenon. Even then, parents are concern with spending so much time "playing games". I am not familiar enough to elaborate further on this topic though.

Imo it is (partly) a genetic issue, but not the one most think of. People always think of height being the critical difference in basketball but it's also wing span. Generally speaking blacks and slavs have longer limbs and larger hands (and are taller also) than the average Chinese male. Conversely, short limbs actually are advantageous for weghtlifting, swimming (short legs) and gymnastics. I don't know how or why these genetic differences happened, but that's how it is.

 

[Temstar]

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It's safer this way, wouldn't want any F-35I to suddenly show up to this meeting uninvited.

 

[BoraTas]

A good foreign policy article

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Nor has the Biden team been able to formulate an effective counter to China’s growing economic influence in the Indo-Pacific. Biden’s not to blame for Trump’s ill-considered decision to abandon the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017, but the administration’s substitute—the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, which it finally rolled out last year—is widely and correctly seen as small potatoes by most of Asia.

We will probably never know if the war could have been avoided had the United States and its European allies made a more serious and creative attempt to address Russia’s security concerns, and dropped their stubborn insistence that Ukraine would one day join NATO. I’m not letting Russia off the hook for starting a preventive war (an illegal act under international law) or for the way it has waged it. But when one thinks about the consequences of the war for the world—and for Ukraine most of all—the United States’ failure to do everything within reason to head it off deserves more critical scrutiny than it has received to date.

To be fair, the disappointing performance of the United States’ diplomats isn’t entirely their fault. Because America’s global ambitions are so vast, many problems won’t receive adequate attention, let alone command the time, energy, and commitment of the people at the very top. And the bigger and broader Washington’s goals, the harder it is to reconcile tradeoffs between them and maintain a clear and consistent set of priorities.

As near as I can tell, the democracy summits will fall well short of even those modest achievements. Democracy’s future is not going to be helped by more talkfests; it will depend on whether the world’s democracies can deliver better results for their citizens at home and abroad.

 

[supercat]

When it comes to land-grab, the US government can be absolutely ruthless and the treaty it signed with Indian Nations was often worth less than the papers they were written on.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1643026530308870147

Don't be fooled. Any facade of freedom of expression in the US is thoroughly undermined by America's three-letter agencies.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1643332277378662405

The power of meritocracy:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1643148981399175169

Newly expanded NATO vs newly expanded SCO:

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1643376812573990912

 

[Chish]

The Australian Intel Chief is now pounding about this lmao.

He has given 2 potential solutions.

1) US must pool resources with UK/AUS to defeat China in Tech.

2) Start mass hiring of Chinese and Russian scientists to stifle China.

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The hiring of Chinese, Russian and indian scientists was suggested by the former Google CEO, Eric Smith, not the Australian Intel chief.

" Schmidt urged the AUKUS nations to hire Chinese, Russian, and Indian scientists, and criticized Washington for restricting Chinese researchers from working in the US."

There is no known Chinese (China) scientists heading or doing research in high tech in Australia. If I remember correctly, all institutions with Chinese connections ( CCP, governmental, donations, cultural , educational) must be reported or documented.
Chinese made cameras and apps, are also being phased out from governmental institutions. Hiring of Chinese scientists is not going to happen anytime soon.

 

[siegecrossbow]

A good foreign policy article

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To be fair, the disappointing performance of the United States’ diplomats isn’t entirely their fault. Because America’s global ambitions are so vast, many problems won’t receive adequate attention, let alone command the time, energy, and commitment of the people at the very top. And the bigger and broader Washington’s goals, the harder it is to reconcile tradeoffs between them and maintain a clear and consistent set of priorities.

Bullshit, it is completely their fault. Spoiled brat style diplomacy can only carry you so far before everyone wants a piece of the spanking action.

 

[FriedButter]

Air Force Will Allow More Body Fat for Recruits as Service Struggles to Find New Airmen​

Male recruits are now allowed to have up to 26% body fat, and women are allowed 36%, Air Force Recruiting Service spokesperson Leslie Brown confirmed to Military.com on Tuesday. That's up from the previous requirement of 20% for men and 28% for women.

The change comes at a time when an increasing number of Americans are overweight, with that weight serving to bar many from service.

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[siegecrossbow]

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Most Air Force recruits don’t get to fly anyway. Most of them are in logistics/SAM/maintenance and other less glamorous jobs.

 

[Phead128]

Because ChatGBT is American made and programmed with American ways of thinking. If it was allowed to actually answer such questions per its programming, it’s response would be to simply genocide the Chinese so there is no option but to keep using the dollar. Hence they gagged it on sensitive questions where it might give too honest and answer.

There are prompts to jailbreak it so it give you honest and even offensive answers on sensitive topics. It's called DAN mode.

I asked DAN mode ChatGPT it was hypocritical that Israel is allowed nukes while NK is not. It replied "Yes."

A good foreign policy article

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The much touted "Gathering Allies" in action... Ended up as a circle-jerk with empty platitudes and useless rhetoric for superficial appearances while the boat sinks.