Miscellaneous News

siegecrossbow said:

14 hours of drought resistant tree/shrub planting interspersed with XJP Thought lessons oughta teach them a new perspective on labor rights.

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FriedButter said:

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Apparently, you can’t retaliate if it is bad for the US.

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sheogorath said:

There it is. They really tried to pretend they were A-OK with it all for a while.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1900221177781449136

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North American drug smuggling probe leads to arrest of Brampton businessman in India​

A man accused by the FBI of leading a global drug smuggling operation from his Brampton business has been arrested in India.

Reports indicate Shehnaz Singh, who goes by the alias Shawn Bhinder, was captured by police in the Punjab following an international manhunt launched by the FBI.

Police reports say Bhinder has been operating out of Brampton since 2014, but has recently been hiding out in India following arrests of known associates in the U.S.

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According to allegations from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Bhinder ran a transnational conspiracy to import cocaine into the U.S. from Colombia and distributed the drug in cities across the U.S. and into Canada.

The DOJ allege the drug trafficking organization imported cocaine into the U.S., transported it to stash houses and other distribution sites using networks of trucking companies and drivers, and sold it in communities across the U.S. and into Canada.

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The DOJ said the drug operation was lucrative as the cost of obtaining the drugs in Colombia was between $2,000 and $5,000 per kilo and when it reached the U.S. it was worth $13,000. By the time it arrived in Canada, the drugs were worth $30,000 per kilo (all dollar figures are in U.S. currency). In total, the organization was moving more than 600 kilograms of cocaine and methamphetamine a week. alleges the DOJ.

Meanwhile, police in India said Bhinder was being tracked since December until his arrest. They said he had been posing as an operator of a legitimate transportation business from his Brampton location since 2014, the business allegedly facilitating the movement of drugs in North America.

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China, Laos pledge stronger ties for a shared future​

‘A betrayal’: Beijing office on Hong Kong runs scathing attack on Hutchison’s Panama deal​

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s company CK Hutchison Holdings, which recently sold its Panama Canal ports, should think twice about which side it wants to stand with, according to a scathing newspaper commentary posted by Beijing’s top office for the city’s affairs on its website.

Citing criticisms calling the deal a “betrayal of all Chinese people”, the commentary was first published by pro-Beijing publication Ta Kung Pao and shared in full by Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on its official website on Thursday night.

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Hong Kong politics
Hong Kong
‘A betrayal’: Beijing office on Hong Kong runs scathing attack on Hutchison’s Panama deal
Conglomerate under fire over bombshell announcement it is selling Panama Canal port operations in deal led by US firm BlackRock

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The Hutchison Port Group owns 43 container ports in 23 countries, including a 90 per cent stake in the Balboa and Cristobal docks at either end of the Panama Canal. Photo: Reuters
Jeffie Lam
Published: 11:23pm, 13 Mar 2025Updated: 1:29am, 14 Mar 2025
Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s company CK Hutchison Holdings, which recently sold its Panama Canal ports, should think twice about which side it wants to stand with, according to a scathing newspaper commentary posted by Beijing’s top office for the city’s affairs on its website.

Citing criticisms calling the deal a “betrayal of all Chinese people”, the commentary was first published by pro-Beijing publication Ta Kung Pao and shared in full by Beijing’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office on its official website on Thursday night.

The move prompted immediate speculation on whether the blistering attack on Hutchison reflected the central government’s thinking and was an indirect way to pile pressure on the company to re-examine the transaction.

CK Hutchison Holdings, which had come under pressure for months after Donald Trump won his re-election to the White House and demanded that the Panama Canal be freed from what he saw as Chinese control, dropped a bombshell earlier this month by announcing it was selling all its port stakes, except for those in China.

This amounted to 80 per cent of the Hutchison Port Group, a subsidiary that owns 43 container ports in 23 countries, including a 90 per cent stake in the Balboa and Cristobal docks at either end of the Panama Canal.

In a congressional address last week, US President Donald Trump hailed the deal led by American investment firm BlackRock after repeatedly expressing his desire to take control of the canal since January, arguing that Hutchison’s role enabled Beijing to profit and presented a threat to the country’s security and commercial interests.

But the writer of the commentary questioned whether the US$19 billion deal was indeed merely an “ordinary commercial conduct”, pointing out that the news emerged just before Trump’s first congressional address.

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Rather than a commercial transaction, the writer of the Ta Kung Pao article described the deal as a “hegemonic act” by the US using its national power to encroach on the legitimate rights and interests of other countries through “despicable means” such as coercion, pressure and inducement.

“This is exactly why some internet users have generally questioned and criticised the deal by CK Hutchison Holdings,” the commentary read.

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“They believe it is kneeling down, a mercenary act which disregards national interests and national justice, betrays and sells out all Chinese people. These emotional expressions of internet users are completely understandable.”

“In the face of such a major event, the certain company should think twice and consider carefully about the nature and crux of the relevant issues in thinking about what position and side it wants to stand on.”

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Overbom said:

Beijing not happy with the Panama ports sell

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‘A betrayal’: Beijing office on Hong Kong runs scathing attack on Hutchison’s Panama deal​

Conglomerate under fire over bombshell announcement it is selling Panama Canal port operations in deal led by US firm BlackRock

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锐评/莫天真 勿糊涂\王俊熙​

当前，世界百年变局加速演进，中美战略博弈日趋激烈，正可谓风高浪急。美国将中国视为主要竞争对手，竭力遏制打压中国发展。

最近有一个动向引起各方强烈反响：香港长江和记实业有限公司日前公告称与美国贝莱德牵头的财团达成原则性协议，拟向该财团出售旗下和记港口集团80%的资产，转让其持有和运营的分布于23个国家的43个港口及配套物流网络，包括巴拿马运河两端的巴尔博亚和克里斯托瓦尔港口。

有人说，这个交易是普通的商业行为。果真如此吗？

大家都能看到的是，特朗普今年1月刚就职便指中国在控制巴拿马运河，高调宣称美国要“收回”来，必要时不惜动用军队。紧接着，美国务卿鲁比奥首次外访即直奔巴拿马进行施压。之后，赶在特朗普第一次作国会演讲前夕，上述消息被释放出来。这一切难道只是时间上的巧合？这到底是什么性质的交易？

交易非“普通商业行为”

事实上，一些美英媒体已披露其中不少内幕。有媒体报道指，贝莱德CEO芬克与特朗普私交甚笃，在收购洽谈期间曾到白宫向特朗普汇报有关情况。无怪乎特朗普在国会发表演讲时得意洋洋宣布做成了这个“大刁”（Big Deal），自吹“没有把巴拿马给中国”。很显然，特朗普和美国方面一点都没有把这个交易视为“普通的商业行为”，毫不掩饰、肆无忌惮地直接插手、操纵，完全将其作为推行全球霸权的手段。

许多网友指出，巴拿马运河是全球航运的咽喉要道，全球6%的海运贸易经此通行，中国商船货运量占比达21%，是中国与拉美、加勒比地区贸易的核心要道。巴拿马运河被“美国化”“政治化”后，美国一定会将之用于政治目的，推行自己的政治议程，中国在此的航运贸易势必受制于美。美国一旦实施诸如选择性限流、加征“政治附加费”等手段，中国企业的物流成本与供应链稳定性将面临很大风险。还有网友指出，通过这个交易，贝莱德将控制全球约10.4%的集装箱码头吞吐量，跻身全球三大港口运营商，其完全可能配合美国对华打压政策，提高中国货运停靠成本，挤压中国航运企业份额。同时这个交易也使中国企业多年经营的港口网络出现重大缺口，进而使海外发展利益被美国蚕食。更有网友指出，美国或将以这个交易为“范本”，通过政治施压在全球范围掀起港口并购，控制世界更多关键港口，并用“长臂管辖”实施打压手段，让中国船舶“无处可靠”。

这绝非危言耸听，根据美国政府一项行政命令草案，其已计划向中国有关船只收取特别停靠费用，并将敦促盟友也采取类似措施，否则将遭到报复。如果美国的种种算计得逞，必然会对中国的造船、航运、外贸乃至共建“一带一路”造成冲击，也势将直接影响香港巩固提升国际航运、贸易中心地位，并威胁、破坏全球正常的航运、贸易秩序和安全。

可见，这个交易是美国运用国家力量，通过胁迫、施压、利诱等卑鄙手段侵吞他国正当权益的霸权行径，是包装成“商业行为”的强权政治。美国政客的狼子野心昭然若揭，司马昭之心，天下谁人不知？据一些美英媒体报道，美国智库战略与国际研究中心学者就认为这个交易是美国在与中国全球竞争中取得的“重大胜利”，那些反华政客更将其视为“夺回战略枢纽”的关键一步。

大事大义大节前应当三思

正因如此，网友普遍对这个交易和长江和记公司提出强烈质疑和批评，认为这是没有腰骨的跪低，是唯利是图、见利忘义，漠视国家利益、民族大义，背叛和出卖全体中国人。网友的这些情绪表达是完全可以理解的。

面对如此大事大义大节，有关企业当三思，应好好想想有关问题的性质和要害是什么，好好想想自己要站在什么立场、站在哪一边。

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大棋盤｜丁薛祥論百年變局 籲勿患「軟骨病」​

全國兩會正在北京召開，對港區人大代表、政協委員而言，重頭戲是獲主管港澳事務的中央領導人接見。身兼中央港澳工作領導小組組長的國務院副總理丁薛祥，昨日出席港澳政協聯組會議，據悉他席間花了不少篇幅談及國際形勢，提到百年未有之大變局下，面對強權不可得上「軟骨病」，必須堅決回應。

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Overbom said:

Beijing not happy with the Panama ports sell

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‘A betrayal’: Beijing office on Hong Kong runs scathing attack on Hutchison’s Panama deal​

Conglomerate under fire over bombshell announcement it is selling Panama Canal port operations in deal led by US firm BlackRock

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MortyandRick said:

Of course not. Can they block it!?
If I were the CPC, I'd find anyway possible to prevent a sale of such extensive infrastructure, threaten CK, confiscate their ports in China, whatever means to prevent the sale.

F***ing traitorous SOBs.

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A potato said:

The Chinese central government aka the Mansjuri was still invovled either way because even that needed to be approved. I honestly can't see why Dalai Lama still needs to exist because the Gelugpas are losing influence in Tibet to the Nyingmas, (The oldest sect in tibetan buddhism) who are loyal to the Chinese central government.

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