4 Jul, 2023 14:24

China cancels visit by EU’s top diplomat

Beijing has not offered any explanation for the move

China has cancelled a planned visit by the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, a spokesperson for the bloc announced on Tuesday. The diplomat’s trip was reportedly scheduled for next week.

“Unfortunately, we were informedby the Chinese counterparts that the envisaged dates next week areno longer possible and we must now look for alternatives,” spokesperson Nabila Massrali told Reuters in a written statement.

Beijing had not confirmed the visit and has provided no comment on its apparent cancellation, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning stating at a regular press briefing on Tuesday that she did not have any information to share on Borrell’s potential trip.

The visit was announced by the EU’s envoy to China, Jorge Toledo, on the sidelines of the 11th World Peace Forum in Beijing on Sunday. Borrell was to travel to China next Monday, Toledo said, seeking to address all outstanding issues with Beijing, including “partnership,” “competition” and “systemic rivalry.”

“This will be the place to raise all these issues, especially the strategic issues that we have with China,” Toledo stated, adding that Borrell was scheduled to meet Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

Borrell had been due to visit Beijing in April this year, shortly after EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron toured the country. However, the top diplomat tested positive for coronavirus and the trip was rescheduled.

The top EU diplomat has previously given mixed signals on ties with China, calling it a “rival” but also a partner.

He has pointed to two major “strategic security issues” with China – namely its growing alliance with Russia and neutral stance on the Ukraine conflict – and the issue of Taiwan, regarded by Beijing as an integral part of its territory.

(I know why they cancelled, Borrell and the EU leadership is insufferable and China want’s to humiliate them!)

https://www.rt.com/news/579201-china-eu-borrell-visit/

Joe Biden Opposes ‘Privilege’ In Admissions Despite Reportedly Getting Granddaughter Into Ivy League School

James LynchJuly 03, 2023 3:25 PM

Joe Biden reportedly used his friendship with then-University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann toget his granddaughterinto the school in 2018,according to texts reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon, despite the president’s public opposition to “privilege” in college admissions.

Joe Biden worked with Hunter Biden to get Maisy Biden into UPenn, an Ivy League schoolwith a 5.9% admissionsrate and one of America’s most prestigious universities, the Free Beacon reported.

The admissions game: In 2018 Hunter Biden wanted to get his daughter into the highly selective University of Pennsylvania. What did he do? He had his father, at time former VPOTUS, call the president of the university. It worked. From @SaysSimonson: https://t.co/4R5n6gu8Mm

— Byron York (@ByronYork) July 3, 2023

Maisy Biden texted her father, Hunter Biden, on October 31, 2018, about her early application to UPenn. “I applied early decision to Penn today!!” she wrote. Over the following months, Joe and Hunter Biden worked to get Maisy into the school by meeting with Gutmann directly.

“I’m going to try to see Pres GUTMANN tomorrow,” Joe Biden texted Hunter on December 13, 2018. Soon after, Joe Biden texted his son saying that he “had a great talk with Gutmann” and “Maisy still in the game for regular acceptance. But must do well in class this period. It’s real.”

Hunter Biden reportedly told his daughter the positive news and suggested she show interest in playing lacrosse at the school. “I also think it would help if you had lax coach talk to their lax coach,” he said.

“Bottom line is thatGuttman made clear that in order for her to explain the 11th grade you had to show improvement in 12th. Which is something I think we would have all liked to know form [sic] the start, but in fairness we were much later in the app process than usual and made it look like we weren’t 100% about Penn,” he added.

In March 2019, Joe Biden reportedly told Hunter that he spoke with the school’s dean of admissions about Maisy’s application. “Spoke with Dean of Admission at PENN yesterday,” Biden said.

“Didn’t tell me but said I’d probably hear from President Guttmann,” Biden continued. “If I hear before 1pm on [March 29, 2019] I’ll call immediately so you can call Maisy.”

Maisy Biden was accepted to UPenn and attended the school from fall 2019 to spring 2023, when Joe Biden attended her commencement ceremony.

The Biden family cultivated a close relationship with Gutmann and UPenn years before Maisy Biden was admitted to the school. Joe Biden and Hunter Biden met with Gutmann on multiple occasions, including a Naval Observatory meeting in April 2016 and a dinner in April 2015, according to emails on Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Joe Biden also worked with UPenn to launchthe Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., after Biden’s vice presidency. Documents found at the location are part of a special counsel probe into whether Biden mishandled classified information.

The president has come out against legacy admissions and “privilege” in education following the Supreme Court’s decision that race-based college admissions are unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.

“Today, I’m directing the Department of Education to analyze what practices help build a more inclusive and diverse student bodies and what practices hold that back, practices likelegacy admissionsand other systems that expand privilege instead of opportunity,” Biden remarked after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The president nominated Gutmann in July 2021 to serve as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany. The Senate confirmed her 54-42 in Jan. 2022 amidRepublican allegations that she had been appointed as part of a “quid pro quo” in relation to Joe Biden’s teaching appointment at the university.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/03/joe-biden-granddaughter-upenn-opposes-privilege-admissions/

Former Anheuser-Busch Exec Calls For Company’s CEO To Quit Over Bud Light Boycott

A former executive of Anheuser-Busch reiterated a call for the company’s CEO to quit Monday, citing an ongoing boycott of Bud Light following controversy over the brand’s endorsement of a transgender influencer.

“We just had 600 workers that one of the Anheuser suppliers […] just laid off,” Anson Frericks, a former president of Anheuser Busch Sales & Distribution Company, told Fox Business host Ashley Webster. “Unfortunately, there’s gonna be more workers laid off [unless] we can find the CEO who is going to successfully and confidently address the situation.”

Conservatives started boycotting Bud Light after Anheuser-Busch sent a commemorative can to transgender social media influencer Dylan Mulvaney. Sales plummeted until Bud Light was no longer the best-selling beer in the United States, and the marketing executives responsible for the promotion no longer work for Anheuser-Busch.

“Whitworth has had three chances to come and clearly articulate that this campaign was not in the best interest of Anheuser-Busch shareholders,” Frericks said about Anheuser-Busch CEO Brendan Whitworth. “The shareholders of Anheuser-Busch are those firefighters, doctors, police officers, et cetera, and to make sure that their retirement accounts and 401k accounts are done well, companies develop great products and services, period.Not necessarily to get involved in a lot of different political issues or social issues that are being pushed like Blackrock, State Street, Vanguard. And this CEO has been unable to clearly serve the shareholders and unless he does that, we’re going to have to unfortunately find another CEO who can.”

https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/03/anheuser-busch-ceo-bud-light/

Titanic Submersible CEO Allegedly Used Interns To Design Sub’s Electrical Systems

Brianna LymanJuly 03, 2023 11:19 AM ET

The Titan submersible’s electrical system was allegedly designed by interns, according to old testimony from the students.

The submersible departed off the coast of St. John’s, Newfoundland last Sunday but lost contact with the mother ship less than two hours after it began its descent in search of the Titanic wreckage. The Titan wreckage was found days later near the infamous shipwreck.

Questions about the safety of the submersiblewere raised not only in the immediate aftermath but for years –andthe system was allegedly designed, at least in part, by interns.

“The whole electrical system – that was our design, we implemented it and it works,” 2017 graduate of WSU Everett Mark Walsh said. “We are on the precipice of making history and all of our systems are going down to the Titanic. It is an awesome feeling!”

OceanGate’s then director of engineering, Tony Nissen, described some of the issues the company was facing with the Titan when Walsh and fellow student Nick Nelson offered up solutions.

“Tony said, ‘OK, you’re hired,'” Walsh recounted.

Both Walsh and Nelson were eventually offered full-time jobs.

Oceangate’s CEO Stockton Rush made comments in 2019 about “obscenely safe” regulations. Rush argued the allegedly strict rules prevented innovation within the commercial sub industry. Marine Technology Society member Bart Kemper saidRush was likely able to dodge some regulations by deploying the sub in international waters where U.S. laws aren’t applicable, according to Insider.

Meanwhile, David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former director of marine operations, warned the company in 2018 that there was a “lack of non-destructive testing performed on the hull of the Titan.” Lochridge later sued the company after alleging he was wrongly terminated for raising the concerns.

(This guy is going to be sued into Kingdom Come! Even his insurance companies are going to sue him)

https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/03/titanic-submersible-ceo-allegedly-used-interns-to-design-subs-electrical-systems/

Mexican Mayor Marries Crocodile In Ancient Fertility Ritual

JOHN OYEWALE

July 04, 2023

A Mexican mayor married a crocodile in an ancient earth fertility ritual Friday, according to reports and video.

Victor Sosa, mayor of the southwestern Mexican town of San Pedro Huamelula, described the marriage as “the union of the Huaves and the Chontales,” and “the result of a problem between these two cultures,” according to a video of the ceremony shared by Reuters. Sosa also described it as “the union between the princess and a servant.”

The Huaves and the Chontales are Mesoamerican Indian civilizations with pre-Columbian roots in present-day Oaxaca.

The crocodile is thought to be a deity representing Mother Earth, with the marriage standing as a prayer for nature’s bounty and as the union between the human and the divine, according to Reuters.

The crocodile was dressed in a white wedding dress in the syncretic ceremony, a nod to Catholic influences, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Olivia Perez, who took charge of dressing the crocodile, said the saurian was “important because she is the princess who comes to bring us water, a good harvest, rains, so that God the Almighty Father sends us food, fish, corn, the harvest.”

Other reports, however, described the animal as an alligator or a caiman. The creature is named Alicia Adriana, according to Sky News. Sosa reportedly married a similar saurian around the same time in 2022.

Sosa sealed the union with a kiss on the reptile’s snout,which appeared to be twined shut, video shows.

(They didn’t mention on bandaids on his face! Kek)

https://dailycaller.com/2023/07/04/mayor-marry-crocodile-ritual-mexico/

SICK: Florida Lawyer Deported Back to US After Allegedly Paying to Rape 4 Children in Cambodia

by Anthony Scott Jul. 4, 2023 1:10 pm101

A Florida attorney who has spent the last several years in a Cambodian prison for sexually abusing minors has now been deported back to the U.S. where he will face six federal charges.

The DOJ have charged Rugh James Cline, 40, with six Federal charges which include “Five counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of possessing child sex abuse materials.”

Each count of illicit sexual conduct carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and the maximum penalty for possession of child sex abuse materials is 20 years.

Cline is currently out on a $100,000 signature bond and is not allowed to have access to the internet or have contact with children.

Per The DOJ:

United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return from Cambodia of Rugh James Cline (40, Tampa) for his first appearance after being charged in a federal indictment with five counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place and one count of possessing child sex abuse materials. If convicted, Cline faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison for each count of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place, and up to 20 years’ imprisonment for possessing child sex abuse materials. Cline made his initial appearance in federal court on June 7, 2023, in Tampa.

On June 26, 2023, a bond hearing was held, and Cline was released on GPS monitoring, home detention, and a $100,000 signature bond. Cline is also not allowed to have access to the internet or to minors while on home detention.

According to the indictment, in February and May 2019, Cline, a U.S. citizen and Florida-licensed attorney living in Tampa, traveled to Cambodia. While in Cambodia, he paid to engage in sexual conduct on multiple occasions with four minors. The indictment also charges Cline with having traveled from the Middle District of Florida to Cambodia while knowingly possessing materials depicting the sexual abuse of young children.

The charges go on to read that the disgraced lawyer flew to Cambodia in February and May of 2019 and allegedly paid to sexually abuse four children who were all under the age of 15.

On June 7th, Cline plead not guilty to all charges filed against him.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/sick-florida-lawyer-deported-back-us-after-allegedly/

What Will NATO Do About Ukraine?

by Larry Johnson Jul. 4, 2023 7:00

The NATO Summit in Vilnius is one week away and the situation in Ukraine grows worse with each passing day. One indicator that things are grim is the confirmation today, by the usually effervescent Volodymyr Zelensky, that Russia launched a successful strike on the Ukrainian Intelligence Service (SBU) headquarters in Sumy.

In the past Zelensky has insisted that Ukraine’s air defense system defeated all Russian missiles and drones.Not today. Reality intruded and the fact that he is confirming that there are dead and wounded SBU officers is a strong indicator that he is worried about an uncertain future.

Zelensky is not the only one signaling a shift in the attitude towards the reality of the war. Richard Haass, the soon to be former President of the Council on Foreign Relations, recently told a NY Times reporter who is the real threat. As Pogo once remarked, “I have met the enemy and he is us.”

Everywhere he has gone as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Dr Richard Haass has been asked the same question: What keeps him up at night? He has had no shortage of options over the years: Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, climate change, international terrorism, food insecurity, the Covid-19 pandemic.

But as he steps down after two decades running America’s most storied private organisation focused on international affairs, Dr Haass has come to a disturbing conclusion. The most serious danger to the security of the world right now?The threat that costs him sleep? The United States itself.

NATO is no longer unified. Several European leaders are noting quietly that Europe cannot prosper without a relationship with Russia. In other words, isolating and shunning Moscow is no longer seen as a viable strategy. Latvia, albeit an insignificant military power, announced a change in its policy of issuing visas:

Embassies and consulates of Latvia will resume accepting applications for issuing visas to certain categories of Russian citizens from July 4th. This was reported by the Delfi portal.

Relatives of Latvian citizens and persons with the status of non-citizens of the republic (spouses, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, as well as dependents) will be able to apply for a visa. Exceptions will also affect relatives of citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland.

So what will NATO do? The United States and the United Kingdom still appear wedded to trying to put more military pressure on Russia and are likely to confirm the intention to provide Ukraine with ATACM missiles, F-16s and cluster munitions. If they follow through with these measures thenRussia is likelyto step up itsattacks on decision making centersin Ukraine, which means hitting major military command posts that arestaffed by NATO officers.

I think the NATO Summit is unlikely to produce a strong, joint communiquere-committing NATO to fighting to the last Ukrainian. Some members will certainly push for that outcome, but others show waning enthusiasm for that policy.

Between now and next Tuesday I expect Ukraine to launch some desperate attacksin hopes of creating a public relations victorythat can be celebrated at the Summit. But Russia is not sitting on its heels in a defensive crouch. It is carefully monitoring the build up of Ukrainian forces along the line of contact and hitting those assembly points with rockets, missiles and bombs delivered by combat air.

It still boils down to a simple math problem — Ukraine lacks sufficient manpower, equipment and air power to launch a sustained attack and the losses suffered in those attacks cannot be quickly replaced with competent soldiers. This is especially true at the senior command level. The attrition of Ukrainian Colonels and Generals is forcing the Ukrainian General Staff to promote inexperienced officers to command positions they are not qualified to execute.The world is witnessing the death spiral of the Ukrainian military. What remains to be seen is whether NATO is ready to acknowledge this reality.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/07/what-will-nato-do-about-ukraine/

Scott Ritter: Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Loses Momentum as Logistics Falters

posted by INTEL-DROP June 21, 2023 1

The Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russia has been largely futile due to a mismatch between political objectives and military capabilities to achieve them, leading to a political endgame favoring Russia, Scott Ritter, an ex-intel officer and former UN weapons inspector, told Sputnik.

With Ukraine’s current military condition desperate and dire, the political leadership in Kiev may be planning to target Crimea with Western-supplied HIMARS and Storm Shadow missiles, Sergey Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister, said. Speaking at the Russian Defense Ministry Board Session, he warned, the “[d]eployment of these particular missiles outside the special military operation zone will be regarded as direct involvement of the US and UK in the conflict and will result in immediate retaliatory strikes on decision-making centers in Ukraine’s territory.”

Scott Ritter believes that the rationale forUkraine’s move is to provoke an intervention by the West, stressing, however, “they’ve lost this war.”

Despite a seemingly impressive army on paper, Ritter explained to Sputnik that theUkrainian forces cannot penetrate Russia’s fortified defenses, which he describes as “one of the most heavily fortified defensive positions in the history of modern warfare.” As the Ukrainian Armed Forces falter and stand at the precipice of collapse in their counter-offensive, Ritter’s view of the Russian military stands in stark contrast, as he believes they have managed to quietly amass a significant force, maintaining a notable numerical advantage and demonstrate strategic prudence in their operations.

Ritter underlined the chaotic and disorganized nature of Ukraine’s defense logistics system, asserting thatlarge quantities of military aid are being mismanaged or lost in transit. Furthermore, he pointed out that Ukraine has a notorious reputation for corruption, which may exacerbate the issue. According to him, accountability for this military aid is being overlooked mainly by the West due to the intensity of the ongoing conflict. A recent US media report says Ukrainian government documents show that over $800 million have been spent by Ukraine since 2022 on partially or completely unfulfilled arms supply contracts.

“That’s the Ukrainian defense logistics system right now. Totally haphazard, totally chaotic. And if I were, you know, an inspector general going at it, I’d have to be honest and say, guys, we’re not going to be too strict on the accounting right now because this is war.”

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230621/scott-ritter-ukraines-counter-offensive-loses-momentum-as-logistics-falters-1111363622.html

>>19122800

Agreed

>>19122785

He makes a very good point!

>>19122746

If you want to bring out patriots, bring in UN to our country. Just saying

>>19122670

No your debt to society is not paid. You are not forgiven, you participated in the greatest sin of all!

Message from God

4 Jul, 2023 15:36

Robot conducts orchestra

Although South Korea’s EveR 6 android can’t hear, it’s capable of memorizing and replicating the movements of a human conductor

A robot has debuted as an orchestra conductor in South Korea, emulating the success of several predecessors elsewhere around the world. The developers of EveR 6 said they planned to enable the machine to improvise as opposed to merely replicating what it has learned.

Last Friday, EveR 6 conducted a performance by more than 60 musicians of the National Orchestra of Korea before an audience of nearly 1,000 people.

The Android robot worked both independently and collectivelywith a human colleague. (They are calling a robot a colleague? We are doomed by stupidity!)

Friday’s performance marked the first time in South Korea’s history that a robot had been used as a conductor. However, several other models have done it elsewhere in recent years.

Developed by South Korea’s Institute of Industrial Technology, the android is programmed to memorize andreplicate the movements of a human conductorwith the help of motion capture technology.

While at present EveR 6 is ‘deaf’ and cannot improvise, its creators have revealed that they are working on adding these features.

Song Joo-ho, a music columnist who attended the performance, was cited by media claiming that non-programmed gestures and reacting to possible mistakes by musicians would constitute the next big step for the technology.

Speaking during a press conference after one of EveR 6’s rehearsals late last month, one of the men behind the project, Lee Dong-wook, expressed hope that in the future the robot would reach a stage “where a conductor can use it as an auxiliary tool requesting a specific beat.”

Conductor Soo-Yeoul Choi, who rehearsed with the android, has told media that he does envisage scenarios where such robots could be utilized as an aide going forward. He noted, however, that,in his opinion, machines were unlikely to replace human conductors. (The human conductor is a big part of the show!)

https://www.rt.com/news/579204-south-korea-robot-conducts-orchestra/

I’m watching “Sully” from 2016 it looks really good. The pilot that saved a whole planeload in NY, landing on the river.

I don’t think I ever knew what a miracle that was!