Free Republic

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ transition advisory team enlisted two Chinese intelligence-tied bankers who have fundraised for her and a nonprofit she helps lead, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation discovered. Bass appointed Dominic Ng, CEO of East West Bank, and Simon Pang, co-founder of Royal Business Bank, to her mayoral transition advisory team in December 2022, according to the City of Los Angeles. In total, Ng, East West Bank and Pang have donated upwards of $1 million to Bass’ mayoral campaign and the Mayor’s Fund For Los Angeles, where Bass serves as an advisor to the board of directors,...

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ transition advisory team enlisted two Chinese intelligence-tied bankers who have fundraised for her and a nonprofit she helps lead, a Daily Caller News Foundation investigation discovered.Bass appointed Dominic Ng, CEO of East West Bank, and Simon Pang, co-founder of Royal Business Bank, to her mayoral transition advisory team in December 2022, according to the City of Los Angeles. In total, Ng, East West Bank and Pang have donated upwards of $1 million to Bass’ mayoral campaign and the Mayor’s Fund For Los Angeles, where Bass serves as an advisor to the board of directors, according...

The latest records provide more details about the internal Homeland Security discussions of Walz’s history with China. Newly released internal memos confirm the Department of Homeland Security and FBI had longstanding concerns about Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his connections to the Chinese Communist Party, especially after he was selected by Vice President Kamala Harris as her presidential running mate last year. Homeland Security turned over the documents to watchdog group Judicial Watch, which had filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request and sued the government earlier this year, seeking communications in an agency group chat that allegedly referenced...

The Trump administration is reportedly weighing two proposals to remove China from critical U.S. supply chains. One option involves negotiating a rare earth mineral trade deal directly with the Myanmar junta. The other, and potentially more strategic, approach is to bypass the junta entirely and engage with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), a powerful ethnic armed group that controls resource-rich territory and has been fighting the junta since it nullified Myanmar’s democratic election and seized power in 2021. Engaging with the junta risks legitimizing a brutal regime responsible for widespread atrocities, including airstrikes and ground assaults on civilians, hospitals, schools,...

U.S. and Chinese officials may be able to settle many of their differences to reach a trade deal and avert punishing tariffs, but they remain far apart on one issue: the U.S. demand that China stop purchasing oil from Iran and Russia. "China will always ensure its energy supply in ways that serve our national interests," China's Foreign Ministry posted on X on Wednesday following two days of trade negotiations in Stockholm, responding to the U.S. threat of a 100% tariff. "Coercion and pressuring will not achieve anything. China will firmly defend its sovereignty, security and development interests," the ministry...

Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), opens new tab has bought 7 million barrels of crude from the United States, Canada and the Middle East, four trade sources said on Monday, as U.S. President Donald Trump ramped up his criticism of the country over its purchases of Russian oil. India is the biggest buyer of seaborne crude from Russia, which is under Western-led sanctions over its war in Ukraine. Its main refiners paused buying Russian oil last week as discounts to other suppliers narrowed after Trump threatened hefty tariffs on imports from countries that make any such purchases, Reuters reported last week....

Many in New Delhi welcomed President Donald Trump’s return to power, expecting him to take the Indo-US relationship to new heights. They must wonder where it all went wrong, given that Trump launched an unprecedented broadside against India this week – threatening tariffs of 25 per cent and warning that a surcharge would be added unless India stops buying Russian oil and weapons. He even expressed dissatisfaction with the nation’s participation in the “anti-US” BRICS grouping. Normally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi might just overlook a few social media posts. It may be humiliating to wind up with higher tariff rates...

China’s leadership, including Xi Jinping, is now openly admitting to a crisis of industrial “overcapacity,” a problem they have termed “involution.” This counterproductive and “disorderly competition” is causing destructive price wars, particularly in the massive auto industry. While Beijing is attempting to use dictatorial measures, such as price controls, to address the issue, experts argue that this approach will fail.

“ Chinese researchers are exploring radical methods to undermine Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite network, viewing the sprawling constellation as both a security threat and a strategic challenge. -Shadow satellites to trail Starlink craft and deploy interference measures. -Targeted sabotage aimed at weaknesses in the supply chain of more than 140 primary suppliers. -Directed-energy attacks using high-powered lasers to disable or destroy -equipment. -Orbital interference involving corrosive materials or kinetic strikes on ion thrusters and solar panels.“

Donald Trump recently announced that the United States would help Pakistan develop its "massive oil reserves," suggesting it could export oil to India in the future. In response, Baloch leader Mir Yar Baloch has written an open letter to the US president, highlighting how encouraging the exploitation of Balochistan's oil reserves would make the US complicit in enabling ISI to enhance its global terror networks. In his letter, the Baloch leader warned against allowing Pakistan's radicalised military and rogue ISI, long accused of sponsoring Al-Qaeda and various proxy groups responsible for the deaths of thousands of US soldiers in Afghanistan,...

Evidence outlined in a Pentagon contractor report suggests that financial subversion carried out by unknown parties, such as terrorists or hostile nations, contributed to the 2008 economic crash by covertly using vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system. The unclassified 2009 report “Economic Warfare: Risks and Responses” by financial analyst Kevin D. Freeman, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Times, states that “a three-phased attack was planned and is in the process against the United States economy.” While economic analysts and a final report from the federal government's Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission blame the crash on such economic...

"This trade generated as much as $70 billion for Iran, propping up the regime and its nuclear weapons program." China is reportedly using a “dark fleet” to conduct secret ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil in an effort to evade U.S. sanctions on Tehran’s tankers. CBS News sent a crew to scout an area roughly 80 nautical miles from Singapore and found four ship-to-ship transfers occurring; all the “dark fleet” tankers had their transponders switched off, and “clearly do not want to be identified,” the outlet reported. “Both ships have a net or something, a tarp, deployed over the stern, covering...

Let’s set the stage: Imagine Fort Knox, doors flung wide open, while a tour group from the Chinese Communist Party strolls through the vault with full access badges. Ridiculous? Sure. But swap out gold for data, and you're not far off from what just happened with Microsoft, China-based engineers, and -- wait for it -- the U.S. military. According to reports, we now know that Microsoft, the federal government’s longtime tech golden child, may have handed China a backstage pass to America’s most sensitive defense systems. Not through hacking or espionage -- but through corporate hubris, off-the-books programming, and a...

The move to develop the Amu Darya field aligns with the Taliban’s goal of self-sufficiency, but can the cash-strapped regime go it alone?In late July, Afghanistan’s Taliban-run government decided to pursue unilateral development of the Amu Darya oil field, at least for the time being. It seems unlikely the cash-strapped regime will be able to maximize the potential of the oil field without foreign investment, but it will still be able to collect millions of dollars in revenue by going it alone. The move aligns with the Taliban’s oft stated goal of self-sufficiency. However, international investors may be troubled by...

The party is hoping to move on from its losses and look to the future — but its central figures from the last election keep stepping back into the spotlight.Former vice president Kamala Harris is promoting a book about her losing 2024 presidential campaign, leaving the door open to another White House bid in 2028 and building a group that would enable her to hit the trail for fellow Democrats in the midterms.Former president Joe Biden is set to deliver a speech in Chicago Thursday night as campaign books, congressional hearings and occasional sparring with President Donald Trump have kept...

Nvidia chips do not contain "backdoors" allowing remote access, the US tech giant has said, after Beijing summoned company representatives to discuss "serious security issues". The California-based company is a world-leading producer of AI semiconductors, and this month became the first company to hit US$4 trillion in market value. But it has become entangled in trade tensions between China and the United States, and Washington effectively restricts which chips Nvidia can export to China on national security grounds. "Cybersecurity is critically important to us. Nvidia does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to...

https://t.me/beholdisraelchannel/60676 Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister warns: “China is preparing to invade Taiwan.” Taiwan urges readiness as PLA activity intensifies near the Strait. (Source: Sky News)

President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on Indian goods will do little to slow the role of the Asian country as a key hub for manufacturing iPhones, even when it means more expensive smartphones for U.S. consumers, analysts and industry executives said. Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the U.S. market, with nearly all the $3.2 billion-worth iPhones exported by Foxconn from India going to the United States between March and May. It's "too early to say" if recent events or future changes in Trump's stance will alter Apple's manufacturing plans in India, an industry executive familiar...

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Thursday that TikTok will go dark for Americans unless China agrees to give the U.S. more control over the popular short-form video app. "We've made the decision. You can't have Chinese control and have something on 100 million American phones," Lutnick told CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" on Thursday. TikTok's future in the U.S. has been uncertain since 2024, when Congress passed a bill that would ban the platform unless its Chinese owner, ByteDance, divested from it. Lawmakers had grown concerned that the Chinese government could access sensitive data from American users or manipulate content...

Donald Trump’s administration has denied permission for Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te to stop in New York en route to Central America, after China raised objections with Washington about the visit. Lai planned to transit the US in August en route to Paraguay, Guatemala and Belize, which recognise Taiwan as a country. But the US told Lai he could not visit New York on the way, according to three people familiar with the decision. ***** The White House’s decision will deepen concerns among Taiwan’s supporters in Washington that Trump is taking a softer stance on China as he pushes to hold...