Miscellaneous News

tygyg1111

tygyg1111

Captain
Registered Member
56860 said:
Police stations are being liberated by brave Freedom Fighters all over Paris. The people have spoken, and they want democracy.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1675061238189965320

#FreeFrance
#ParisPeople'sRepublic
#FreedomFighters
#RevolutionOfOurTimes
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Rocket launchers courtesy of the AFU purchasing and disbursements division.

Slava Ukraine - You support us, we support you.
 
tygyg1111

tygyg1111

Captain
Registered Member
FairAndUnbiased said:
China ended this sort of thing in the bronze age, before there was a China actually.

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Ximen Bao, based man:

On the day of the ceremony, Ximen arrived at the sacrificial site by the river and met with the shamaness, her disciples, the three elders, the local officials, several village elders, and the maiden; with an estimated over a thousand onlookers also in attendance. Ximen insisted on inspecting the maiden and concluded her beauty would not meet the standard of a God. Declaring that the delivery of an inadequate bride would trigger the wrath of the River God, Ximen ordered the ceremony be postponed until after a suitable bride is found. He had his soldiers threw the shamaness into the river to report to the River God about the postponement and to report back to Ximen on the God's response. Sometime after, as the drowned shamaness had obviously not returned from the river, he tasked each of her disciples with the same mission and to locate the shamaness before submerging each one into the river. After neither of them returned, Ximen tasked each of the three elders with the same mission and threw them into the river. As neither the shamaness, her disciples, nor the elders returned from the river; Ximen ordered the local officials and the village elders to go into the river to fetch them. All of them instead knelt before him in terror and promised not to do the sacrifice again. After that day, bridal sacrifice for the River God became a thing of the past in the County of Ye.

Afterwards, Ximen then surveyed the terrain and saw where the river could pass. He enlisted the common people to divert the river into 12 canals, which not only reduced the water flow, but also irrigated the farmland. At the beginning, the common people complained that opening the canal was tiring and tiring, but after the canals was completed, everyone benefited from the project, there was no more danger of floods, and the crops were doubled. From then on, the people in Ye lived and worked in peace and prosperity.
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tygyg1111

tygyg1111

Captain
Registered Member
Dark Father said:

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PORT MORESBY – As an officer of the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Papua New Guinea government, I have to write anonymously to secure my safety.

I am writing to reveal interference by the United States in PNG’s internal affairs which is undermining the bilateral relationship between Australia and PNG.

As China's influence rises in the Pacific Islands, PNG’s prime minister James Marape is worried that the China-Solomon Islands Security Agreement will lead to the Solomon Islands surpassing PNG's dominant position in Melanesia. So the Marape government decided to negotiate separately with the US and Australia on two separate agreements they wished to conclude.

The US rapidly resolved negotiations and the PNG-US Defence Cooperation Agreement was officially signed before Australia had even concluded its draft Bilateral Security Treaty. Marape has defended the US-PNG agreement several times in parliament, while raising some constitutional concerns on an Australia-PNG treaty during his meeting with Australia’s deputy prime minister Richard Marles.
PNG has chosen the US to be the first defence partner, though Australia is PNG’s closest neighbour and long-time partner.

To its advantage, the US had acquired an advance draft of the Bilateral Security Treaty and knew Australia intended to be PNG's first security partner. The US discovered that PNG would not cooperate with other countries in the Pacific Islands security area without Australia's approval.

So the US then made adjustments to the Defence Cooperation Agreement, revising or deleting articles that concerned PNG in order to settle the agreement ahead of its treaty with Australia. It was planned that the negotiation between Australia and PNG would be finished in April, but the US intervened and asked PNG to pause the talks with Australia and work on its own Defence Cooperation Agreement first.

The US made commitments during the negotiation with PNG to step up its security support and assistance and cover shortfalls in assistance that Australia had not fulfilled. Marape and his cabinet had arrived at the belief that Australia was not fully committed to assisting PNG develop its defence force.

There was apparently an internal report revealing that Australia’s intent was not to enhance and elevate some areas of security cooperation but to ensure PNG continued to rely on Australia for all its security needs. In its negotiation, considering that Australia was trying to prevent US dominance in the Pacific Islands region, the US asked PNG not to share the Defence Cooperation Agreement with Australia.

As a result, Australia's negotiation process with PNG was paused. The PNG government, frustrated by empty promises, considered the PNG Defence Force would never be developed in cooperation with Australia, so decided instead to work with a more powerful partner.
PNG knows that its own geopolitical position is becoming of increasing importance, but believes Australia has never respected its position. So PNG decided to use this opportunity to reduce its dependence on Australia.

It also seems the US has supported the Marape government in stifling opposition in PNG to assure the Defence Cooperation Agreement can be implemented smoothly. For example, Morobe Governor Luther Wenge was initially opposed to the agreement but joined Marape's Pangu Party and supported it after Marape gave K50 million to his electorate development fund.

Wenge later publicly criticised Australia saying it did not want PNG to develop its own defence force. Australia is PNG's long-term partner and closest neighbour and we have a long mutual history in economic, political and security cooperation. My colleagues and I believe that Marape should not betray Australia because it has been tempted by the US, which seems to have intervened to dilute or even ruin our bilateral relationship.

Even though Marape explained to Australia that the Defence Cooperation Agreement would not affect the bilateral relationship, there is no doubt that the relationship with the US will have priority. So Marape has tightened his control over the mainstream media, social media posts have been deleted for no reason and voices opposing the Defence Cooperation Agreement cannot be heard.
We hope some influential media and Australian friends will help us to protect PNG's national interest and our bilateral relationship with Australia.

Source:
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Australia is truly dreaming here:

There was apparently an internal report revealing that Australia’s intent was not to enhance and elevate some areas of security cooperation but to ensure PNG continued to rely on Australia for all its security needs. In its negotiation, considering that Australia was trying to prevent US dominance in the Pacific Islands region, the US asked PNG not to share the Defence Cooperation Agreement with Australia.
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Strangelove

Strangelove

Colonel
Registered Member
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Italians forced to cut back on food – industry report​

The cost-of-living crisis is affecting household finances

Italians forced to cut back on food – industry report

© Getty Images / AlenaPaulus

Soaring inflation is causing Italian households to curb spending on food, according to a report by the General Confederation of Italian Industry (Confindustria).

The report showed household spending on groceries is in “sharp decline.” It dropped by 3.7% in 2022, and by 8.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022 when compared with the first quarter of 2021.

“This has become a burden on overall consumption, given that spending on food accounts for 14% of all expenses, second only to spending on housing, water and energy (23%),” Confindustria wrote.

The head of the National Consumer Union (UNC), Massimiliano Dona, described the report as “alarming” and claimed that “Italians are on a forced diet due to skyrocketing inflation.”

He noted that the situation had a serious negative effect on economic growth, considering that “consumption represents 60% of GDP and that, if Italians don’t buy, then merchants don’t sell and businesses do not produce.”

UNC experts earlier noted that the trend of cutting back on food in Italy had emerged during the pandemic. Analysts found that in January 2023, purchases decreased by 4.4% in physical terms compared to one year previously, and by 6.3% compared to the same month of 2021.
 
A

ACuriousPLAFan

Brigadier
Registered Member
Dark Father said:
As China's influence rises in the Pacific Islands, PNG’s prime minister James Marape is worried that the China-Solomon Islands Security Agreement will lead to the Solomon Islands surpassing PNG's dominant position in Melanesia. So the Marape government decided to negotiate separately with the US and Australia on two separate agreements they wished to conclude.
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That's some dvmba$$ moves lol.

Instead of also seeking closer defense cooperation with Beijing like their Solomon Island neighbor did, Port Moresby instead make Melanesia to become more violent-prone by inviting yet another power into the region that isn't just an arch rival to Beijing, but also well-known for one-upping even their loyal servants too... Truly laughable.

The Pacific Islands stage has been set.

I believe that China should do what she can to make the Solomon Islands into the ultimate central hub of commerce, finance, communication and logistics among the South Pacific island countries. Give Honiara the central position in the region, and let them eclipse Port Moresby to show them who's the real good boss.
 
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