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WASHINGTON - A U.S. official said Russia asked China for military equipment to use in its invasion of Ukraine, a request that heightened tensions about the ongoing war ahead of a Monday meeting in Rome between top aides for the U.S. and Chinese governments. In advance of the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan bluntly warned China to avoid helping Russia evade punishment from global sanctions that have hammered the Russian economy. "We will not allow that to go forward," he said. The prospect of China offering Russia financial help is one of several concerns for President Joe...

Yes, it is the much anticipated Fed Week! The Fed Open Market Committee (FOMC) will announce it decision (probably the first rate hike under Biden of 25 basis points). This morning, the 10-year Treasury yield rose by 11.1 basis points and the Bankrate 30Y mortgage rate rose to 4.33%. Actually, sovereign yields are up around 10 basis points in the US, Canada, and across the pond. Fed Funds Futures are pointing to 7 rate hikes over the next year with 1.114 rate hikes on Wednesday. That means The FOMC may raise rates MORE than the 25 basis points expected my...

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As Iranian terrorists attack an American consulate in Iraq and threaten former American officials, the Biden administration is scrambling in what appears to be a last-ditch attempt to revive the Iran appeasement — and might even be prepared to delist Iran from its terrorist list. The attack in Iraq involved at least 12 ballistic missiles. They were launched from Iran overnight and landed near the American consulate at Erbil, Iraq. The State Department reported there was no damage to the consulate and no casualties, but it condemned the attack as “outrageous.” Yet America is declining to call off negotiations in...

The lightweight, foam-like material could reduce fuel consumption in vehicles and make protective gear more comfortable ================================================================================= A team of Johns Hopkins University researchers created shock-absorbing material that protects like a metal, but is lighter, stronger, and reusable. The new foam-like material could be a game-changer for helmets, body armor, and automobile and aerospace parts. "We are excited about our findings on the extreme energy absorption capability of the new material," said senior author Sung Hoon Kang, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering. "The material offers more protection from a wide range of impacts, but being lighter could reduce fuel...

Chinese technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd. has mainly been unscathed in Beijing's sweeping crackdown on big technology companies that began in late 2020 -- until just recently. According to Wall Street Journal, the People's Bank of China is preparing to slap a potential record fine on Tencent's WeChat Pay mobile network for violating anti-money laundering regulations. Financial regulators found that WeChat Pay had lapses in compliance with "know your customer" and "know your business" regulations. They also discovered the mobile payments network had evidence of money laundering. An investigation into money laundering would be a new chapter in Beijing's tech...

Industry experts say US and European economic sanctions against Russia for military action against Ukraine could create economic opportunities for the Indian space sector, rather than burden it with economic costs. He also felt that to seize the opportunity, India should accelerate its satellite launching capabilities, and announce Productivity Concessions (PLI) schemes for the aerospace sector. "All countries that are feeling the pinch due to the absence of Russian rockets for launching satellites may consider alternatives. While the bulk of the satellite launch agreement will be taken up by the United States and Europe, there There will be others who...

Brandon has been undermining the US as a superpower from day one. Mis-steps in Afghanistan, with pipelines and energy, and Russia are all strategic. General starts at 9:30 on video. Disregard title, which is BS. You Tube keeps doing that with titles to insult our intelligence.

@MittRomney you have called me a ‘treasonous liar’ for stating the fact that “there are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world” and therefore must be secured in order to prevent new pandemics. Bizarrely, you claim that securing these labs (or even calling for securing these labs) is treasonous and will lead to a loss of life, when the exact opposite is obviously true. The spread of pathogens is what will cause the loss of life, not the prevention of such spread. Senator Romney, please provide evidence that what I said...

The Chips are DownA Chinese invasion of Taiwan would crater American tech dominance and military readiness.Russia’s nuclear arsenal is the principal reason given by the United States and NATO for refusing to engage Russia directly in Ukraine. Nuclear war also will be a risk if China invades Taiwan.There are, of course, differences in an analysis of the U.S. response to a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. For one, without NATO, the U.S. would largely face China on its own. Also, China has a stronger claim on Taiwan than Russia does on Ukraine. On the other hand, much more importantly to...

Beijing's decision to lock down 17.5 million people in China's de facto 'tech capital' of Shenzhen is already creating serious problems for global supply chains.Now, it appears that among the earliest casualties of this latest lockdown is the perennially popular iPhone. Because, as Bloomberg reports, Apple supplier Foxconn has been forced to scale back production at two sites used to make iPhones due to the lockdowns.The firm is shifting production away from two campuses in the area to try and reduce the impact from the lockdown.The Taiwanese company, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., has its China headquarters...

U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, in an exclusive interview with Israel’s Channel 12, said that Jerusalem should get on board with financial sanctions against Moscow. “What we are asking, 'among things', is for every democracy around to join us in the financial and export control sanctions that we have put on (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,”..In that context we are asking as many countries as we can to join us. We are asking that of Israel as well. Among other things, you [Israel] don’t want to become the last haven for dirty money that is fueling Putin's...

Croatia's defense minister says a military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over three European NATO-member states before crashing in an urban zone of the Croatian capital was armed with an explosive device. ZAGREB, Croatia -- A military drone that apparently flew all the way from the Ukrainian war zone over three European NATO-member states before crashing in an urban zone of the Croatian capital was armed with an explosive device, Croatia’s defense minister said Sunday. The Soviet-made aircraft crossed Romania and Hungary before entering Croatia, slamming into a field near a student dormitory...

Race has arguably become the single most important defining characteristic of a person in today’s society. Rather than concerning itself with scholarship, character, personality, or work ethic, today’s universities now treat students and faculty as if their race supersedes all of their other qualities. One example of this is UNC-Chapel Hill’s Race, Racism and Racial Equity (R3) Symposium. According to the UNC Office for Diversity and Inclusion, the symposium is “a series of virtual events that bring together scholars and researchers from across campus to share their work with Carolina and the broader community.” The events are co-hosted by the...

Washington — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will deliver a virtual address to members of Congress on Wednesday as he continues to urge the West to send fighter jets and more weapons to help his forces defend against Russian aggression. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his upcoming address in a letter to members of the House and Senate on Monday. Pelosi and Schumer said Congress "remains unwavering in our commitment to supporting Ukraine as they face Putin's cruel and diabolical aggression, and to passing legislation to cripple and isolate the Russian economy as well as...

@ggreenwald As we discussed, @TulsiGabbard didn't say *anything* that the US Govt. itself didn't say. She didn't say there were bio *weapons* in Ukraine. She warned there were unsecured dangerous pathogens there: what the US and its media loyalists say. That Mitt Romney -- who avoided Vietnam and then had his 5 sons avoid military service -- can descend into the sewer to accuse Lt. Col. Gabbard of ***treason*** shows how sick and repressive US liberal discourse is now. She's been accused of being a Kremlin agent for years.

America, in these halcyon days of Old Joe Biden’s foundering regime, is in free fall, and the whole world knows it. As PJM’s inimitable Stephen Green put it recently, “The alleged American president’s response to the Ukraine War has been so detrimental to America’s own interests that everyone sees him as weak. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that two of the Middle East’s richest petrostates wouldn’t even take Biden’s call,” that is, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The reasons for the unprecedented snub are clear: the Saudis and the UAE know that Biden is not a...

We've been beating the drum on the Biden administration's reportedly imminent and shocking giveaway to Iran for days -- harping on the appalling substance of the rumored capitulation, as well as the humiliating reality that the US delegation relied on Kremlin diplomats as intermediaries. The Iranians, Russians and even the Chinese were apparently quite pleased by what the United States was willing to surrender, which was said to be so outrageous that several members of Biden's own team quit in protest, mid-talks. Congress, meanwhile, has been kept in the dark on specifics, by design. Would the legislative branch even have...

Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-NJ), a Democrat who has consistently opposed measures to make America energy independent again, took thousands in donations from a lobbyist for the Russian Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Gas prices surged 22 percent in the last two weeks to hit the most expensive ever recorded, $4.43 per gallon, which exceeded the record from July 2008, the prior all-time high, by 32 cents per gallon. So the discovery of Malinowski accepting thousands in donations from a Russian pipeline lobbyist could have severe repercussions for the vulnerable Democrat, who has opposed American energy independence. As Breitbart News reported in...