The US is facing grave risks in the wake of rising global geopolitical tensions and the nation’s domestic political polarization, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase chief executive, has warned.
In an annual shareholder letter on Monday the CEO of the largest US bank cited large amounts of government spending and efforts by the Federal Reserve to shrink its balance sheet, as well as the Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Hamas war, as creating an environment that “may very well be creating risks that could eclipse anything since World War II.” _______________________________________ The share of the Chinese yuan on Russia’s foreign exchange market hit an all-time high in March, the Bank of Russia (CBR) reported in its financial risk review on Monday.
Russia’s shift away from major Western currencies started with the US and EU sanctions imposed on the country over the Ukraine conflict. The financial restrictions made cross-border trade in euros and dollars more difficult and their presence on the domestic foreign exchange market less important. _______________________________________ Vietnam is actively working on a bid to join the BRICS economic group, the Izvestia newspaper has reported, citing Hanoi’s embassy in Russia.
BRICS members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa were joined by four more countries at the start of this year, when Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates formed part of a major expansion. Saudi Arabia has also been approved as a member but is reportedly considering final ratification of its accession. _______________________________________ Gold price hits historic high The rally has been attributed to rising tensions in the Middle East that have spurred safe-haven demand ___________________________________ China’s ‘incredible’ growth threatens American and EU economies – US trade chief Beijing’s “non-market” policies should be rebuffed through appropriate “countermeasures,” Katherine Tai has said
She pointed to China’s high production of steel, aluminum, solar panels, and electric vehicles as specific causes of concern.
US officials have repeatedly labeled China as America’s top “competitor,” while tightening economic restrictions against the country. US tariffs on Chinese goods were hiked significantly under President Donald Trump, who launched the first volley in a tit-for-tat trade war that began in 2018. A similarly hostile approach has continued under his successor, Joe Biden, who has adopted several policies aimed at the Chinese economy.
A GOOD READ The gold price has risen to a series of new all-time highs of late, a development that has received only cursory attention in the mainstream financial media. But as is the case with so much else these days, there is much more going on than meets the eye. In fact, the rise in the dollar price of gold is almost the least interesting aspect to this story.
For thousands of years, gold was the ultimate store of value and was synonymous with the concept of ‘money’. Trade was often settled either in gold itself or in bank notes backed by gold and directly exchangeable for it. Currencies backed by nothing but government decree – called 'fiat' currencies – have tended to eventually fail.
However, in 1971, gold found itself cast out of this ancient role when the US unilaterally suspended dollar convertibility into gold as enshrined in the Bretton Woods agreement that established the framework for the post-war economy. Shortly thereafter, in an act that medieval alchemists only dreamed of, gold was created out of thin air in the form of futures contracts, meaning bullion could be bought and sold without any metal changing hands – or even existing.
The collapse of Bretton Woods in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s – culminating in the gold window being shut in 1971 – was a messy period of transition, uncertainty, and instability. The dollar devalued and a fixed-rate system was negotiated and soon thereafter abandoned. But what was clear was that the US was steering the world away from gold and toward a dollar standard.
According to the World Gold Council, which attempts to track these covert purchases, central banks bought an all-time record 1,082 tonnes in 2022 and nearly matched that figure the following year. By far the largest buyer has been the People’s Bank of China, which as of this past February had added to its reserves for 16 straight months.
Nieuwenhuijs estimates that the People’s Bank of China bought a record 735 tonnes of gold in 2023, about two-thirds of which were purchased covertly. Meanwhile, according to his figures, Chinese private sector net imports totaled 1,411 tonnes in 2023 and a whopping 228 tonnes just in January of 2024.
Another aspect to this is that as BRICS countries increasingly trade in local currencies, a neutral reserve asset is needed to settle trade imbalances. In lieu of a BRICS currency, which may or not be forthcoming in the near future, Luke Gromen believes this role is already starting to be performed by physical gold. If this is the case, it marks the return of gold to a place of prominence in the financial system, both as a store of value and a means of settlement. This, too, represents a hugely important step.
The destruction of Iranian missiles and drones cost billions of dollars, so Israel and the US will not be able to repel attacks of such intensity for several days in a row, former US intelligence officer and UN weapons inspector to Iraq Scott Ritter told Al Mayadeen TV channel.
"First of all, when we talk about Israel's defense, Israel cannot defend itself. There has been proof of that: Iranian missiles hit Israeli bases," he opined. "What we also have to understand is the amount of money that is spent to defend Israel against drones and cruise missiles. It's billions of dollars. This is an unrepeatable event," Ritter added. ______________________________________________ The U.N. Security Council was set to meet at 4 p.m. on Sunday after Israel requested it condemn Iran's attack and designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization, according to a schedule released late on Saturday.
Russian Deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said on the Telegram social media app that in addition to a letter from Israel, the Security Council had received one from Iran asserting its attack was within the U.N. Charter framework governing the right to self-defense.
"The latter warns that if Israel responds, Iran will respond in a more powerful and decisive manner," Polyanskiy said.
Syria, an ally of Iran, said it was putting its ground-to-air defense systems around the capital and major bases on high alert, army sources there said. ______________________________________________________________ Israel's Iron Dome air defense system cannot fully protect the defending side from a comprehensive attack by numerous drones and ballistic missiles, Chinese military expert Wei Dongxu has told the Global Times newspaper in the wake of Iran's strike on Israel.
"Israel's air defense and missile defense systems are unable to fully deflect saturation attacks by ballistic missiles and suicide drones," the analyst said. "Drones fly in low-altitude areas, using swarm tactics to overwhelm the opponent's air defense system, allowing for saturation attacks on targets within the region."
Iran has no intention of continuing its military operation against Israel, which included massive drone and missile strikes over the weekend, the chief of staff of the Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, has said.
The US military in the Middle East intercepted dozens of missiles and drones, fired towards Israel from Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said.
Iran sent at least 185 drones and 36 cruise missiles in response to the Israeli military’s deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, The New York Times wrote citing Israeli officials.
According to the report, the majority of launches were carried out from the territory of Iran, although some drones took off from Iraq and Yemen.
Besides, Iran also fired 110 surface-to-surface missiles.
The Iranian response appeared to begin at midday on Saturday when IRGC commandos seized an Israeli-linked container ship in the Strait of Hormuz.
13 April 2024 22:58 GMT
More than 100 Iranian drones have been downed outside of Israel by the US and UK, an unnamed Israeli defense official told the country’s Army Radio. ___________________________________________ Israel getting punished with ‘Operation Truthful Promise’
Israeli reports say Iran has already fired three waves of drones at Israeli positions, as well as a number of cruise missiles. Footage captured by citizens in Iraq, suggests Iran's famous Shahed-136 drones are among the UAVs launched at the occupied territories.
ABC News has quoted American officials claiming that 400 to 500 drones are currently making their way towards Israel after being launched from Iran's territory.
Before the direct Iranian attack on Israeli targets, Hezbollah initiated a significant rocket barrage targeting the northern areas of occupied Palestine and the Golan Heights.
A cyber attack also plunged vast areas of the occupied territories, including Tel Aviv, into darkness.
Further Information indicates that both the Lebanese group and the Ansarullah movement in Yemen have initiated drone attacks on the occupied territories concurrently with Iranian strikes. _______________________________-- TEHRAN- The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a statement announcing the firing of dozens of drones and missiles against targets inside Israel in response to its "numerous crimes" including its air raids on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, on April 1 in which seven Iranian military officers were martyred.
"In response to the numerous crimes of the Zionist regime, including the attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus and the martyrdom of a group of our military commanders and advisors in Syria, the aerospace force of the IRGC targeted specific positions inside the occupied territories by firing dozens of missiles and drones," the statement reads. ________________________________________ “Definitely these insane operations will be the last struggles of the Zionist regime,” Major General Qassem Soleimani said, according to a Twitter account attributed to him.
It came days after Israel said it had launched air raids against Iranian targets near the Syrian capital city of Damascus. The Israeli military claimed its raids had prevented an attack on the Israeli-occupied territories “using killer drones.”
In a statement issued after the Israeli army announced its attack, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Israeli military for its “major operational effort.”
The value of the trade exchanges between Iran and the other 56 member states of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) reached $61 billion in the past Iranian calendar year (ended March 19, 2024), registering a 0.19 percent hike compared to a year earlier.
Iran exported $29 billion of products to these countries and imported $32 billion worth of products from them, Mohammad Rezvanifar added, IRNA reported.
Among the OIC member states, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, Oman, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Indonesia were Iran’s major trade partners, the IRICA chief added. Three sons and four grandchildren of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh killed on Wednesday in Israeli air attack on Gaza refugee camp, relatives and official Hamas media said. ________________________________________________ Russia: Switzerland's Ukraine conference 'road to nowhere'
Holding a conference on Ukraine in Switzerland is a "road to nowhere," as Moscow does not see that the West is sincerely ready to engage in fair negotiations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. _____________________________________ Six killed, several injured after knife attack in Sydney shopping centre
Suspect is shot dead as police say he acted alone and there was ‘no continuing threat’.
American ships and troops in the Middle East prepared for a likely Iranian attack on Israel on Friday, Biden “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help to defend Israel. ________________________________________ The price of gold reached an all-time high on Friday, soaring above $2,400 per ounce as a global safe-haven rush continues. Spot gold prices rose 2.4% to a record high of $2,431.52 per ounce before pairing some gains. _____________________________________ Beijing slams US and allies for ‘attacking China’ The US, Japan, and the Philippines released a statement rejecting China’s maritime claims __________________________________________________ French Navy preparing for war – admiral The Marine Nationale is training to face an adversary “who wants to destroy us,” a senior officer has said _______________________________________________ ‘Time to prepare for war’ North Korean leader Pyongyang must be ready to fight and win against all enemies, Kim Jong-un has said _________________________________________________ Russia advises citizens against travel to Middle East as Iranian threat stokes tensions ______________________________________________ Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were invited to become members with effect from 1 January 2024.1 Feb 2024
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will meet with heads of parliamentary committees on foreign affairs from BRICS member states on April 11, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
According to her, the heads of BRICS parliamentary committees will arrive in Moscow to take part in such a meeting for the first time. They will also meet with the chairs of both chambers of the Russian Federal Assembly (parliament), the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added. __________________________________________________ Russia’s top diplomat is on a trip to China ahead of a potential visit by President Vladimir Putin; Israel and Hamas continue efforts to achieve a ceasefire amid contradictory reports from the Cairo talks; and a wildcard emerges that may take votes away from both Joe Biden and Donald Trump in the upcoming US election. These stories topped Tuesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.
__________________________________________________ Türkiye becomes 10th nation to join Chinese-Russian led International Lunar Research Station program ____________________________________ SL looking to enter BRICS to expand economy
Would you please stop engaging in the usual dishonesty you persist in uttering. Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio who's parents were Italian immigrants. Jorge Bergoglio was head of the Jesuit order in the 1970s when the church backed the military government that overthrew the lawful Argentina's government during the "dirty war" of murders and abductions carried out by the junta that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983 when thousands of people were disappeared. It is estimated that between 22,000 and 30,000 people were killed or disappeared, many of whom were impossible to formally document. The Argentine Catholic church itself made a public apology for its failure to take a stand against the generals. In February, a court noted during the sentencing of three former military men to life imprisonment for the killings of two priests that the church hierarchy had "closed its eyes" to the killing of progressive priests. As head of the Jesuit order from 1973 to 1979, Jorge Bergoglio was a member of the hierarachy during the period when the wider Catholic church backed the military government. Bergoglio twice refused to testify in court about his role as head of the Jesuit order. When he eventually appeared in front of a judge in 2010, he was accused by lawyers of being evasive. The main charge against Bergoglio involves the kidnapping of two Jesuit priests, Orland Yorio and Francisco Jalics, who were taken by Navy officers in May 1976 and held under inhumane conditions for the missionary work they conducted in the country's slums, a politically risky activity at the time.
I have already posted true copy of evidence in this thread, that Trumps legal council put together, that evidence has not been put before a credible court. What one person e.g. Ken Block who founded the Rhode Island's Moderate Political Party and ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010. Who then switched to the Republican Party in 2013 and made an unsuccessful run for Rhode Island Governor in 2014. Says or alleges is a complete nonsense in my opinion
Trump’s speech that ‘incited’ Capitol violence: However Conrad I of course can't post it as the full transcript is 21 pages long.emmmmmm oh well.
Donald Trump is facing the imminent prospect of becoming the first US president to be impeached twice following an extraordinary breach of the country’s Capitol in Washington, DC, by his supporters.
Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi are pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to strip Trump of his power by declaring him unable to fulfil his duties. If Pence refuses, as expected, the group will move forward bringing the impeachment case to the floor as soon as Monday.
Trump is accused of “incitement of insurrection” after giving an incendiary speech on January 6 in Washington DC before a mob violently attacked the heart of the US government. At least five people were killed in the assault.
The media will not show the magnitude of this crowd. Even I, when I turned on today, I looked, and I saw thousands of people here, but you don’t see hundreds of thousands of people behind you because they don’t want to show that. We have hundreds of thousands of people here, and I just want them to be recognised by the fake news media. Turn your cameras please and show what’s really happening out here because these people are not going to take it any longer.
They’re not going to take it any longer. Go ahead. Turn your cameras, please. Would you show? They came from all over the world, actually, but they came from all over our country. I just really want to see what they do. I just want to see how they covered. I’ve never seen anything like it. But it would be really great if we could be covered fairly by the media. The media is the biggest problem we have as far as I’m concerned, single biggest problem, the fake news and the big tech. Big tech is now coming into their own. We beat them four years ago. We surprised them. We took them by surprise and this year, they rigged an election.
They rigged it like they’ve never rigged an election before. By the way, last night, they didn’t do a bad job either, if you notice. I’m honest. I just, again, I want to thank you. It’s just a great honour to have this kind of crowd and to be before you. Hundreds of thousands of American patriots are committed to the honesty of our elections and the integrity of our glorious republic. All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical left Democrats, which is what they’re doing and stolen by the fake news media. That’s what they’ve done and what they’re doing. We will never give up. We will never concede, it doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved.
Was collected at the time, and to best my knowledge, it is what Trump attempted to have heard when he legally supported by Giuliani who played a key role in Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 election results. Giuliani was indicted alongside the former president gagging Donald & Giuliani , ti is much like Australia the judicatory is bent the politicians are bent. We have a Head of State King Charlies III a Constitution, both are been sidelined. The posted information I lodged with an honest Australian Federal Minister. I understand others got other views.
you might be right but maybe not so. China is mindfully implementing non-violence in this region, however mean while Australian's trade with China is being undermined previous large Chinese investments in example Indonesia who is selling cheaper than Australia was. Australian exports have greatly suffered in direct consequence. China's NPI producers started building processing capacity in Indonesia itself. China's nickel matte imports have exploded from 10,8000 tons in 2020 to 300,500 tons in 2023, with Indonesia accounting for 93% of the total. 4 Mar 2024
Indonesia currently without mobilizing have something like 750,000 armed personnel that figure includes police & police militia. There are currently 21,000 commando's sitting around in Irian Jaya, 450km from Cape York Australia. China has fostered good relationships with most of the 150 Belt & Road Initiative including Russia and is no more likely to back down over Ukraine than Russia. Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, as well as North Korea, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, South Africa other nations including nations in South America etc etc. Lots of deployments listed in blog could shut down international trade sooner than later whether we like it or not, take looksie at Red Sea, Panama Carnal, Strait of Hormuz e.g. oil, no oil, no food in supper market
Australia just withdrew 100 troops and aircraft from active service in Poland monitoring Russian planes on behalf the Jewish lead Nazi's in west Ukraine. In response, the UK prime minister, Rishi Sunak, confirmed that there are a “small number” of British army personnel “supporting the armed forces of Ukraine”. But he added that “we haven't got any plans for large-scale deployment”.5 Mar 2024 A total of 160 members of the Florida National Guard have been deployed to Ukraine since late November, training and advising and mentoring Ukrainian armed forces. The troops, assigned to the 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, are part of the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine. Australia ADF personnel are providing critical skills to Ukrainian recruits as part of Operation Kudu to support Ukraine, Over the next 12 months, the number of ADF members deployed on each rotation will increase to 90.14 Dec 2023.
On first February 1968 early a.m. 27 Vietcong popped up 50,000 American troops were confined to there billets and for few days VC took large part of Saigon, entered US Embassy and held it for three days, took most major cities in South Vietnam and so Kissinger attempted to find a face saving exit out of Vietnam that didn't occur until 1975 after 18 Marines were killed in an ambush in Cambodia. America has been creating war after war more or less since its federation, according to president Carter. America has been engaged in wars whole time except for twenty three years since its federation is what President Carter stated. America is controlled by the filthy rich at the expense of there bairn washed kids. By my reckoning Russia lost 28 million people during WW2, Putin stated 22 million, millions died in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and so forth. Obama Clinton and Biden engorged the protesters on the streets of Ukraine after the formation of Democratic Russian Federation Constitution was ratified 11th December 1993. You might remember Biden stated he would put troops into Ukraine in 1971. In my opinion having at least tried to comprehend the subject matter, my opinion is President Putin & China + others nations wont back down...be just another lost course that made profits for a few
Over 10,300 ballots in Georgia were cast by individuals whose names and dates of birth match Georgia residents who died in 2020 and prior to the election. More than 2,500 ballots were cast by individuals whose names and dates of birth match incarcerated felons in Georgia prison. People who are not allowed to vote. More than 4,500 illegal ballots were cast by individuals who do not appear on the state’s own voter rolls. Over 18,000 illegal ballots were cast by individuals who registered to vote using an address listed as vacant, according to the postal service. At least 88,000 ballots in Georgia were cast by people whose registrations were illegally backdated. In the State of Arizona, over 36,000 ballots were illegally cast by non-citizens. 2,000 ballots were returned with no address. More than 22,000 ballots were returned before they were ever supposedly mailed out. They returned, but we haven’t mailed them yet. 11,600 more ballots and votes were counted more than there were actual voters. You see that? 150,000 people registered in Maya Copa County after the registration deadline. 103,000 ballots in the county were sent for electronic adjudication with no Republican observers. In Clark County, Nevada, the accuracy settings on signature verification machines were purposely lowered before they were used to count over 130,000 ballots. If you signed your name as Santa Claus, it would go through. There were also more than 42,000 double votes in Nevada. Over 150,000 people were hurt so badly by what took place. And 1,500 ballots were cast by individuals whose names and dates of birth match Nevada residents who died in 2020, prior to November 3rd election. More than 8,000 votes were cast by individuals who had no address and probably didn’t live there. In Michigan quickly, the secretary of state, a real great one, flooded the state with unsolicited mail-in ballot applications, sent to every person on the rolls, in direct violation of state law. More than 17,000 Michigan ballots were cast by individuals whose names and dates of birth matched people who were deceased. In Wayne County, that’s a great one. That’s Detroit. 174,000 ballots were counted without being tied to an actual registered voter. Nobody knows where they came from.
I'll try to post more detail, in advance no offense intended however sorry is quite large amount... Please find few extracts copied from a copy of transcript of Trump’s speech outlining his part brief of evidence being full of transcript President Donald Trump is alleging considerable abnormalities during the recent elections. E.g. it is now up to Congress!!
Democrats led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi are pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to strip Trump of his power by declaring him unable to fulfil his duties. If Pence refuses, as expected, the group will move forward bringing the impeachment case to the floor as soon as Monday.
Hundreds of thousands of American patriots are committed to the honesty of our elections and the integrity of our glorious republic. Almost 75 million people voted for our campaign, the most of any incumbent president by far in the history of our country, 12 million more people than four years ago. I was told by the real pollsters, we do have real pollsters. They know that we were going to do well, and we were going to win. What I was told, if I went from 63 million, which we had four years ago to 66 million, there was no chance of losing. Well, we didn’t go to 66. We went to 75 million and they say we lost. We didn’t lose. By the way, does anybody believe that Joe had 80 million votes? Does anybody believe that? He had 80 million computer votes. It’s a disgrace. Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy. Today, for the sake of our democracy, for the sake of our constitution, and for the sake of our children, we lay out the case for the entire world to hear. You want to hear it? Crowd: Yes! In every single swing state, local officials, state officials, almost all Democrats made illegal and unconstitutional changes to election procedures without the mandated approvals by the state legislatures, that these changes paved the way for fraud on a scale never seen before. And I think we’d go a long way outside of our country when I say that. There were over 205,000 more ballots counted in Pennsylvania. Now think of this. You had 205,000 more ballots than you had voters. That means you had 200 …Where did they come from? You know where they came from? Somebody’s imagination. Whatever they needed. So in Pennsylvania you had 205,000 more votes than you had voters! And it’s the number is actually much greater than that now. That was as of a week ago. And this is a mathematical impossibility, unless you want to say it’s a total fraud. So Pennsylvania was defrauded. Over 8,000 ballots in Pennsylvania were cast by people whose names and dates of birth match individuals who died in 2020 and prior to the election. Over 14,000 ballots were cast by out-of-state voters. So these are voters that don’t live in the state. And by the way, these numbers are what they call outcome determinative. Meaning these numbers far surpass … I lost by a very little bit. These numbers are massive. Massive. More than 10,000 votes in Pennsylvania were illegally counted, even though they were received after Election Day. In other words, “They were received after Election Day, let’s count them anyway!” And what they did in many cases is they did fraud. They took the date and they moved it back, so that it no longer is after Election Day. And more than 60,000 ballots in Pennsylvania were reported received back. They got back before they were ever supposedly mailed out. In other words, you got the ballot back before you mailed it! Now that’s many, many times what it would take to overthrow the state. Just that one element. 400,000 ballots appeared from nowhere, right after the election. continued
Elections Expert Releases FULL Voter Fraud Report for 2020 Election, Indicates 8.1M Excess Votes Wednesday, August 4, 2021 12:41 REAKING: Elections Expert Releases FULL Voter Fraud Report for 2020 Election, Suggests 8.1M Excess Votes By: Renaissance Pundit, August 4, 2021 Former baseball analyst and Retired Army Intelligence Captain Seth Keshel has announced his 2020 Election audit, the Gateway Pundit reports. The results are staggering. Trump won: PA, MI, WI, NV, AZ, GA, MN Likely/Possible Trump if cyber flipping occurring: NM, VA, CO, NJ, NH Closer than you thought: WA, OR, RI, CT, HI
Here is rough data uncovered by Keshel:
While most mainstream media sources claim the election was 100% valid, evidence continues to mount that suggests otherwise. Whether or not the extent of fraud would change the outcome, many Americans are looking for their elected officials to audit the 2020 Election.
_____________________________________________________ Pence’s refusal to reject the 2020 election results on Jan. 6, 2021,
Pence never intended to introduce the fake electors — and in fact understood that he was legally prohibited from doing so, his chief of staff Marc Short said in an interview. But Pence wanted to clearly communicate his rationale for that decision to Trump supporters, who had been led to believe it was possible.
Days before Jan. 6, 2021, Short said, Pence took an active role in crafting the specific language he used during the session of Congress that was later disrupted by a pro-Trump mob intent on preventing the election from being finalized.
Pence said that he’d begun election night in 2020 confident, but things changed later in the evening, he wrote, when results in states with large shares of mail-in ballots “began to shift” and the Trump-Pence ticket’s lead “started to vanish.”
“The mood in the White House, initially ebullient, began to sour,” Pence wrote.
He described watching Trump claim in an early Wednesday morning speech that the election process had been “a fraud on the American public” and said the days that followed the election were “a little like the twilight zone,” as Trump’s team challenged states’ results.
Pence wrote that in 2018, when he was representing the United States at the ASEAN conference in Singapore – the type of meeting he says Trump “was never big on” – he was approached at a plenary session with a tap on the shoulder by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I noticed that Putin projected a familiarity toward me. It came, I concluded, from his friendly meeting with Trump earlier in the year. It was as if we were old acquaintances,” Pence wrote. “I didn’t return the favor. I kept my expression firm and fixed, and the photo of me looking down at him with a furrowed brow and a grim expression was published around the world, just as I’d hoped it would be.” At the end of the session, during a brief meeting requested by the Russians, Pence said Putin “was just inches from me, expecting a friendly chat.” When Putin wrapped up his comments about restarting nuclear nonproliferation negotiations, Pence said he told the Russian leader: “Mr. President, we know what happened in 2016, and it can’t happen again.”
The UN on Friday announced the appointment of former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ personal envoy on Myanmar.
"Ms. Bishop succeeds Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for her dedicated service. Ms. Bishop brings extensive political, legal, management and senior leadership experience to the role," a UN statement said.
Jakarta. Air Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono was sworn in as the new chief of staff of the Indonesian Air Force on Friday, succeeding Air Chief Marshal Fadjar Prasetyo, who is set to retire next week.
The inauguration ceremony, led by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo at the State Palace in Jakarta, was attended by key cabinet members, including Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, the winner of the Feb. 14 presidential election.
Tonny, 52, is a former combat pilot with experience flying American fighter jet the F-16, as well as Russian jets like the Su-27 and Su-30.
According to the Antara news agency, Tonny was one of the four pilots who scrambled to intercept two American fighter jets that had trespassed into Indonesian airspace during an incident in July 2003. This incident led to an apology from the US Embassy in Jakarta to the Indonesian government.
Antarctica Cruises Up To 65% Off: See Deals And Last-Minute Offers Below
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Mike Pence was never in the military, his father was in the Army and served in the Korean War (1950-1953) and his son is in the Marines. Due to his politics and family background, Pence considers himself a supporter of the US military and he most certainly stabbed Trump in the back...
You mentioned history rizlared yeah right what history are you on about?
Donald Trump wants to change the world from the White House. Here's what he's said he'd do in a second term "If Trump is elected in 2024, he will surround himself with people who adhere to his worldview and are therefore less hostile to Russia and more sympathetic to Putin." Despite persistent rocky relations between their two countries over issues ranging from human rights to spy balloons, Trump has no issue praising China's president, Xi Jinping. "I like President Xi a lot," Trump told Fox News this week. "He was a very good friend of mine during my term."
________________________________________ Donald: Frederick Christ Trump Sr was Donald Trump father, Frederick was an honest person who aquired considerable finacil gains by assisting the worlds oldest honest ladies profession. Early life and career. Trump's father, the German American Friedrich Trump, amassed considerable wealth during the Klondike Gold Rush by running a restaurant and brothel for the miners. Friedrich returned to Kallstadt in 1901, and, by the next year, met and married Elizabeth Christ.
At age Donald entered the New York Military Academy, a private boarding school. In 1964, he enrolled at Fordham University. Two years later, he transferred to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in May 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in economics. President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the United States is foolish enough to want one and that his country currently has the edge when it comes to a first nuclear strike.
The Cuban Missile crisis erupted in 1962 when Moscow responded to a US missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba, sparking a standoff that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.
More than five decades on, tensions are rising again over Russian fears that the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe as a landmark cold war-era arms control treaty unravels.
It is my opinion Putin is doing his duty lawfully defending the Democratic Russian Federation according to their Constitution, which includes all of Ukraine. Putin worked for KGB prior the ending of communist Russia; he acquired single pointed concentration from his interest in marital arts and in my opinion has mindfully been tracking Biden for a very long long time. Remember Biden first appeared in US House Committee in 1969 and in 1971 declared he would put troops in Ukraine in 1971, fives years before current pope nominated Argentinean general with support CIA overthrow Argentinean government the same general who disappeared 31,000 people.
New tech's potential to significantly reduce energy storage costs
Researchers are hoping that a new, low-cost battery which holds four times the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries and is far cheaper to produce will significantly reduce the cost of transitioning to a decarbonised economy.
Led by Dr Shenlong Zhao from the University’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, the battery has been made using sodium-sulphur – a type of molten salt that can be processed from sea water – costing much less to produce than lithium-ion.
Although sodium-sulphur (Na-S) batteries have existed for more than half a century, they have been an inferior alternative and their widespread use has been limited by low energy capacity and short life cycles.
Using a simple pyrolysis process and carbon-based electrodes to improve the reactivity of sulphur and the reversibility of reactions between sulphur and sodium, the researchers’ battery has shaken off its formerly sluggish reputation, exhibiting super-high capacity and ultra-long life at room temperature. _________________________________________________ Australia alone produces 52% of the world's lithium. Unlike Chile, where lithium is extracted from brines, Australian lithium comes from hard-rock mines for the mineral spodumene. China, the third-largest producer, has a strong foothold in the lithium supply. In Australia, Talison Lithium Ltd (51% owned by the Chengdu Tianqui Industry Group and 49% by US-based Albemarle Corporation), is the world's largest producer of hard-rock spodumene, from the Greenbushes Lithium Operations, 250 km southeast of Perth.
Chile has the largest lithium reserves worldwide by a large margin. Australia comes in second, with reserves estimated at 6.2 million metric tons in 2023.
With 22 million metric tonnes of global lithium reserves and a single EV requiring an estimated eight kilograms of lithium, global lithium reserves may be exhausted by 2030 for EV use alone. Not only the limited volume but the limited concentration of reserves pose supply chain risks for manufacturers and governments.
AS Above Sodium-ion batteries simply replace lithium ions as charge carriers with sodium. This single change has a big impact on battery production as sodium is far more abundant than lithium. In fact, you can use salt from the oceans to extract sodium just about anywhere in the world.
10 years after the announcement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), cumulative BRI engagement breached the USD 1 trillion mark (USD1.053 trillion), with about USD634 billion in construction contracts, and USD419 billion in non-financial investments China’s energy related engagement in 2023 were the greenest in absolute and relative terms in any period since the BRI’s inception reaching USD7.9 billion; China is increasingly investing in electricity transmission (over USD7 billion); BRI finance and investments has picked up in 2023 with about 212 deals worth USD92.4 billion compared to about USD74.5 billion in 2022; Investments as a share of BRI engagement reached record levels at over 52%, indicating higher ownership and risk taking of Chinese enterprises; In 2023, particularly the technology (+1046%) and metals and mining (+158%) grew. Chinese companies strongly invest in metals and mining, which are particularly relevant to the green transition (e.g., lithium) and batteries for electric vehicles. Engagement related to batteries reached about USD8 billion; Africa became the largest recipient of Chinese engagement, overtaking Middle Eastern countries; 19 countries saw a 100% drop in BRI engagement, including Turkey, and Kenya; Russia saw one deal in 2023, after no engagements in 2022; BRI investments in 2023 continue to be dominated by private sector enterprises, including Huayao Cobalt and CATL, while construction contracts were dominated by state-owned enterprises (SOEs); In global comparison, Chinese overseas engagement grew, while global FDI into emerging economies in 2023 dropped significantly; For 2024, we see further growth of Chinese BRI engagement with a strong focus on BRI country partnerships in renewable energy, mining and related technologies; Potential future engagements can be expected in six project types: manufacturing in new technologies (e.g., batteries), renewable energy, trade-enabling infrastructure (including pipelines, roads), ICT (e.g., data centers), resource-backed deals (e.g., mining, oil, gas), high visibility or strategic projects (e.g., railway).
I've a friend who purchased Toyota Hybrid Electric Vehicle, he likes its, ( I don't know much about it) however I think I understand the deisel motor more or less only chargers the battery so its super fuel efficient. Due to health I am unable to pull start a petrol saw and purchased a bigger 56v electric chainsaw (a EGO) that uses efficient 10 AH that is charged by Turbo Battery Charger that cools battery and fully recharges in 60 minutes.
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One Belt and Road Initiative growing stronger
Australia unveils new defence strategy, with eye on 'coercive' China: