News of the World

[kyonides]

Indignant China (Again) Lashes U.S. for Shooting Down Balloon

An indignant China on Monday used diplomatic channels to accuse the U.S. of indiscriminate use of force when the American military shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon, saying the act had “seriously impacted and damaged both sides’ efforts and progress in stabilizing Sino-U.S. relations.”

It was the second time in just over 48-hours Beijing proclaimed its innocence and denied any foul play was involved in the balloon flyover entering U.S. air space before being shot down.

China repeated the assertion it was a harmless, non-military weather research “airship.”

Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng said he lodged a formal complaint with the U.S. Embassy hours earlier to set out Beijing’s distress over the “U.S. attack on a Chinese civilian unmanned airship by military force.”
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“However, the United States turned a deaf ear and insisted on indiscriminate use of force against the civilian airship that was about to leave the United States airspace, obviously overreacted and seriously violated the spirit of international law and international practice,” Xie said, according to the Associated Press.

China would “resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies, resolutely safeguard China’s interests and dignity and reserve the right to make further necessary responses,” he said.

China has already said it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning provided no fresh details, repeating China’s insistence the object was a civilian balloon intended for meteorological research, had little ability to steer and entered over the U.S. by accidentally diverging from its course.
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Elsewhere a Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the official Global Times news outlet, “This is like shooting a mosquito with a cannon, which is not only overreacting but also impractical.”

Huh?  Who had violated another country's sovereign airspace first?
They forced the Air Force to fly around the balloon to jam its communications as much as possible!

Chinese Corn Mill Project in North Dakota
to Be Terminated Over National Security Concerns

A Chinese corn mill proposal in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on land that’s located within 15 miles of the Grand Forks Air Force Base, is set to be terminated after the U.S. Air Force warned that the project poses a “significant threat to national security.”

Grand Forks Mayor Brandon Bochenski announced on Jan. 31 that he plans to stop the project by Fufeng Group, a large Chinese agribusiness, in response to a request from U.S. authorities.
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The move came not long after Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) shared a Jan. 27 letter (pdf) from the Air Force stating that the branch has an “unambiguous” view that the “the proposed project presents a significant threat to national security with both near- and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area.”

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum issued a statement on Jan. 31 supporting the decision.
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Ben Grzadzielewski, a Grand Forks resident who has been leading a grassroots campaign against the project, said that the project’s termination “goes to show you that the people still have the ability to rise up and overcome.”
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Fufeng USA, the U.S. subsidiary of Fufeng Group, will still own the 370-acre farmland they purchased in Grand Forks in the fall of 2021.

We could say it just was a partial victory.

US Firms Investing Billions of Dollars in China’s AI Sector

U.S. companies were involved in at least 37 percent of the total investment transactions in China’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector between 2015 and 2021, according to a new report.

The report (pdf), published by the Georgetown University Center for Security and Emerging Technology, found that $40.2 billion in investment transactions into Chinese AI companies had U.S. backing, although it was unclear what percentage of that amount was made by U.S. investors or their overseas counterparts.

The venture capital (VC) was given to 251 Chinese AI companies, primarily at angel, seed, and pre-seed stages of investment.
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“Earlier stage VC investments in particular can provide intangible benefits beyond capital, including mentorship and coaching, name recognition, and networking opportunities. As such, U.S. outbound investment in Chinese technology, and particularly AI, merits additional attention and tracking.”
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This means that any data or technologies developed by China-based companies with U.S. backing could be directly used by the CCP to improve upon its military capabilities, in line with the regime’s “military-civil fusion” strategy.
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The U.S. investments also include major funding for Chinese companies whose research could tangibly benefit the Chinese military’s pursuit of AI and autonomous systems.

“Some of the largest investments include Goldman Sachs’s solo investment in 1KMXC, an AI-enabled robotics company, as well as an investment by three U.S.-based VC firms in Geek+, an autonomous mobile robot company,” the report states.

US Extends Protection for Hong Kong Residents, Citing Chinese Repression

On Jan. 26, President Joe Biden announced the extension of Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) for eligible Hong Kong residents for two years. The DED had been set to expire on Feb. 5.
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“By unilaterally imposing on Hong Kong the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (NSL) in June 2020, the PRC has undermined the enjoyment of rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, including those protected under the Basic Law and the Sino-British Joint Declaration,” it added.

The memorandum noted that at least 150 opposition politicians, activists, and protesters have been detained on politically motivated NSL-related charges since June of 2020, including secession, subversion, terrorist activities, and collusion with a foreign state or external power. More than 1,200 political prisoners are now behind bars on the island, and more than 10,000 have been arrested on other charges related to anti-government protests.

The White House stressed that The United States “will continue to stand firm in our support of the people in Hong Kong.”

Australian PM Cites Jan. 6 Riots in Bid to Win Support for Changing the Constitution

Avoiding an incident like the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in Australia is one reason why voters should support a major alteration to the country’s Constitution, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

In his latest bid to win over the public for The Voice to Parliament proposal, the prime minister claimed such a “sensible” change would protect Australia’s democracy against “poisonous conspiracy theories.”

Albanese also alluded to the controversy around the 2020 U.S. presidential election result, as well as the more recent Brazilian uprisings, saying “we must also heed the warning they carry.”
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Also, in a salvo aimed at critics of his Labor government’s proposal, the prime minister said there were people pushing “misinformation on social media” about The Voice.

“Drumming up outrage, trying to start a culture war. That’s an inevitable consequence of trying to achieve change,” he said.
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The main thrust of the Voice to Parliament campaign is to embed an advisory body into the Constitution that “would enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide advice to the Parliament on policies and projects that impact their lives.”

However, the proposal has raised a swathe of questions over the extent of the powers of such a body, with critics pondering if the body, for example, would have the power to veto legislation. Could it hold up bills already passed by the existing houses of Parliament? Who would decide who sits on the new advisory body? And why does it need to be enshrined into the Constitution instead of just legislated via Parliament?

And that's exactly how you instaurate a tyranny in Australia.  
Who made any specific group the experts on policies?  
Are they trying to subvert the system by avoiding having to respond for their decisions as lawmakers?

Iranian Regime Acknowledges ‘Tens of Thousands’ Detained in Protests

Iran’s supreme leader on Sunday reportedly ordered an amnesty or reduction in prison sentences for “tens of thousands” of people detained amid nationwide anti-government protests shaking the country, acknowledging for the first time the scale of the rebellion.

The decree by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, part of a yearly pardoning the supreme leader does before the anniversary of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, comes as authorities have yet to say how many people they detained in the demonstrations. State media also published a list of caveats over the order that would disqualify those with ties abroad or facing spying charges—allegations which have been met with wide international criticism.

Khamenei “agreed to offer amnesty and reduce the sentences of tens of thousands accused and convicted in the recent incidents,” the state-run IRNA news agency said in a Farsi report. A later IRNA report carried by its English-language service said the pardons and commuted sentences were for “tens of thousands of convicts, including the arrestees of the recent riots in Iran.” Authorities did not immediately acknowledge the discrepancy in the reports.
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“Khamenei’s hypocritical pardon doesn’t change anything,” wrote Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights. “Not only all protesters must be released unconditionally, but also it is a public right that those who ordered the bloody repression and their agents are held accountable.”
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Meanwhile, a long-detained opposition leader and the former prime minister of the Islamic republic in 1981 to 1989 called for a nationwide referendum about whether to write a new constitution.

Former Israeli Prime Minister: Putin Promised Not to Kill Zelenskyy

Former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emerged as an unlikely intermediary in the war’s first weeks, becoming one of the few Western leaders to meet President Vladimir Putin during the war in a snap trip to Moscow last March.
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“I asked ‘what’s with this? Are you planning to kill Zelenskyy?’ He said ‘I won’t kill Zelenskyy.’ I then said to him ‘I have to understand that you’re giving me your word that you won’t kill Zelenskyy.’ He said ‘I’m not going to kill Zelenskyy.’”

Bennett said he then called Zelenskyy to inform him of Putin’s pledge.
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Bennett said that during his mediation, Putin dropped his vow to seek Ukraine’s disarmament and Zelenskyy promised not to join NATO.
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Reacting to Bennett’s comments in his widely reported interview, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote Sunday on Twitter that Putin was not to be trusted.
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Bennett stepped away from politics and is now a private citizen.

 Isn't that like asking your dad or mom if Santa really exists and will drop by to leave you some presents this Christmas? Just saying.