The MoA Week In Review – OT 2025-059

UWDude ( Mar 27 2025 5:43 utc | 198 ):
No worries, your general point remains valid either way (while away from the computer I realized I should have pointed that out) and I’ve made worse mistakes here on MoA before 🙂 (mine was about pipelines in the North Sea and Norwegian (I think it was) helpfully corrected me).
And… (to Exile and all): this is based on a US PBS TV program and the tentative explanation of a very biased US federal agency that could be up to all sorts of things*, plenty of salt is required 🙂
* they make/take part in a TV program but password lock the file which is supposed to have the same information? Weird and/or stupid.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Mar 27 2025 10:43 utc | 201

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Mar 27 2025 10:43 utc | 201
i appreciate you putting the edfort into my post i should haveput in before posting.

Posted by: UWDude | Mar 27 2025 11:02 utc | 202

The United States will build the largest diplomatic mission in Central Asia in Almaty (EurAsia Daily, March 26, 2025 — in Russian)

The U.S. will build the largest diplomatic mission in Central Asia in Almaty. The area of the land allocated for the construction of the American Consulate General exceeds 70 thousand square meters. The corresponding agreement was ratified by deputies of the lower house of the parliament of Kazakhstan.
…
The American diplomatic mission in Almaty will be the largest in Central Asia and the second in the post-Soviet space after the U.S. Embassy in Armenia.

Posted by: S | Mar 27 2025 11:37 utc | 203

You know, basic reasoning.
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 27 2025 3:14 utc | 192
Not saying using the S1 spike was a good idea (it wasn’t and likely caused a lot of damage and even deaths)
But to answer your question about excess mortality, discounting infant mortality , your chance of dying at a given age is an exponential function.
Covid basically worked as a tariff , if your chance was x it became xy. Negligible for younger ages with very low ex ante probabilities (as you have in developing countries) huge for older people.

Posted by: Newbie | Mar 27 2025 11:48 utc | 204

Posted by: Newbie | Mar 27 2025 11:48 utc | 204
##########
I’m starting to wonder if my rhetorical questions are a kind of Turing test.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 27 2025 13:33 utc | 205

When the US government is committing genocide flagrantly, do military officers have any duty to obey its orders?

Posted by: Lysias | Mar 27 2025 14:51 utc | 206

Election 2025: Ruling Class Promotes ‘Nation Building’
https://cpcml.ca/ITN2025/TI5546.HTM#1
“…It is significant Carney started his March 21 speech by saying, ‘We are in a crisis.’ He repeated that many times. For the cartel parties in service of private interests, this kind of talk only means ‘we need special powers.”
Yves Engler: Foreign Policy Hour (March 24)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wsd4cXSyx3w
“I discussed militarists abandoning the US while doubling down on militarism, NATO simp Charlie Angus, and Dahlia Kurtz and Jeremy Levi being sued for defamation.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Mar 27 2025 15:29 utc | 207

Just your typical day in the garden of absurd
Pale faced with their knotted tongue.
HInt
Put every words thru an inverter and you are fine

Trade war, look, China started it, they are decoupling !
Our defense eqpt !
Our euro ‘allies’ [sic] green energy BS is enriching the Chinese !
We need a supplementary supply chain, just in case China retaliate [sic]
China boycotted 20b of our exports despite a free trade deal, just cuz we had the temerity to call for an investigation on wuflu
We want capable partners , not client states, its not about keeping people down but lifting people up [sic]
There’s a jungle out there, we all should share the burden with US to police the world
Whats a girl like you doing in the company of Xi, you should be with us, India should lead the free world !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jL9SNCD9yT8

Posted by: denk | Mar 27 2025 18:42 utc | 208

China: Reporters Without Borders condemn online attacks …
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
https://www.business-humanrights.org › latest-news › c…
3 days ago — On 16 March, RSF observed that Chinese state-controlled entities, including the Xinhua news agency, began relaying the online campaign’s rhetoric, discrediting …[the frenchie expose’ of Xinjiang forced labor]
Reporters Without Borders – RSF Asia-Pacific Bureau – …
Facebook · Reporters Without Borders – RSF Asia-Pacific Bur
——————–
Error 404 – Page not found!
—————————

Posted by: denk | Mar 27 2025 18:49 utc | 209

Game Changer ?
https://tinyurl.com/53ud8bk3

Posted by: denk | Mar 27 2025 19:08 utc | 210

The “world’s first robots to experience skiing and snow play …
Facebook · Daily Bae
2 reactions · 3 days ago
These robotic skiers from China’s Greater Bay Area effortlessly glided through the snow, executing precise stops with smooth, flawless movements .
Thats all folks !

Posted by: denk | Mar 27 2025 19:27 utc | 211

Nuclear Fusion as a practical power source.
Yesterday, Xinhua announced that China is expecting to complete the construction of a 100 Mw power plant based on hybrid fission/fusion technology in 2030.
If they manage to pull it off it will provide the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), presently under construction, with a huge incentive to finally decide on a final cost and a firm completion date for that potential White Elephant.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 28 2025 4:38 utc | 212

Having zero expertise in Nuclear Physics or Advanced Mathematics, I wonder why the promoters of Nuclear Fusion haven’t explored the possibility of inventing a type of Nuclear Reaction which would directly emit large quantities of electrical energy which could then be collected and piped into the power grid?

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 28 2025 4:51 utc | 213

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 28 2025 4:51 utc | 213
################
The future is coming fast.
To think it feels like just a few years ago that “Clean Energy” was all the rage, and now we’re on the cusp of massive clean energy.
The best thing about the Chinese is that they won’t hide this tech behind patents and monopolies. Sure, they will cut deals, but I think they would be happy to see more lighting in Africa, where electricity rationing is the norm.
After all, can’t sell Chinese EVs and phones to people without reliable access to power.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 28 2025 5:04 utc | 214

Re: Kazakhstan
The War Party has failed 2 times to color revolution Kazakhstan, guess they want to try a 3rd time.

Posted by: Exile | Mar 28 2025 5:31 utc | 215

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 28 2025 4:51 utc | 213
They have been trying to develop nuclear fusion reactors for the last 60 years but so far have not got far. I think very, very recent;ly some may be functional. It is of course an inherently risky process and much less controllable than a fission reaction

Posted by: watcher | Mar 28 2025 6:17 utc | 216

I am reading that King Chuck’s cancer recovery is suffering and that Pope Frank seems to have failing health.
How is the transition of leadership of their institutions at this time of humanity going to effect the civilization war we are in over dominant forms of social organization?….public/private finance, colonialism, usury, religion, ???
Does their titular leadership of the God Of Mammon cult mean anything at this point to the RoW? Will it in the future?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Mar 28 2025 6:24 utc | 217

Speaking of Mammon…
Richard D Wolff & Michael Hudson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3psU2nfuNo
“Russia has no choice. Defend Iran or lose big.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Mar 28 2025 6:46 utc | 218

BUSINESS INSIDER
Experts warned USAID’s gutting would give China room to replace the US. Now, it’s happening.
By Huileng Tan Business Insider
Mar 27, 2025, 7:52 PM AEDT

China is filling gaps left by the USAID shutdown in developing countries.
The US pulled billions of dollars out of such countries in programs including health and education.
China’s development aid is likely to go toward regions and sectors that align with its interests.

The effective shutdown of the US Agency for International Development has already created openings for China to fill.
China appears to be launching new programs across several developing countries where USAID has left — as analysts forecast to Business Insider in February.
In Cambodia, one of the countries most hit by USAID’s pullout, China has announced new funding programs for a variety of causes, including child healthcare, nutrition, sanitation, and land mine clearing.
In Nepal, Chinese Communist Party officials have told the country’s leaders that Beijing is willing to provide funding, according to The Annapurna Express.
Tai Wei Lim, a professor at Japan’s Soka University, told BI that it’s not surprising that China stepped in so fast to fill the US’s shoes for specific projects.
President Donald Trump flagged his intention to shut USAID well in advance, so China — a strategic competitor — had time to strategize, said Lim, who specializes in the political economy of Northeast Asia.
“As China is an economic superpower with a unique highly centralized state, it can mobilize its enormous resources relatively easily to spaces where it sees opportunities in furthering its goals and objectives aligned with national interests,” Lim said.
China has long focused on infrastructure and construction projects in other countries. Beijing could also look to other sectors that China already leads, like agriculture and public health. That could boost the country’s bottom line and its publicity efforts, said Jeremy Chan, a senior analyst on the China and Northeast Asia team at the risk consultancy Eurasia Group.
Beijing is also likely to target locations in its sphere of influence, including Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia.
Chan said even though China was opportunistically filling in the gaps in some USAID programs, there’s no broader trend yet of Beijing stepping into the US’s big shoes.
Chinese media has not reported higher foreign aid plans, “or the triumphalist propaganda that we would expect to accompany a broader strategic shift in Beijing’s approach to development assistance,” Chan said.
He said that it’s unlikely China would be able to fill most of the void left by USAID’s withdrawal and that other countries from Northeast Asia and Europe would step up their funding where doing so would suit their interests.
USAID spent $32.5 billion in the 2024 fiscal year. Exact figures for China’s foreign aid spending aren’t fully public, but estimates from Japanese academics put the country’s 2022 spend as high as $7.9 billion.
“The world has crumbled around us,” Phil Robertson, the director of the nonprofit Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, said last week at a panel discussion in Bangkok, “at least as far as foreign assistance to development in Southeast Asia goes.”
https://www.businessinsider.com/china-replace-usaid-shutdown-humanitarian-aid-funding-development-assistance-2025-3?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=insider-futurology-sub-post

Posted by: Menz | Mar 28 2025 11:19 utc | 219

The latest about democracy in Germany…
A coalition government of CDU and SPD is expected. The good news is, Armin Laschet (CDU) is being considered for the ministery of foreign affairs. He has a reasonable attitude towards Russia and Putin, standing in utter contrast to the russophobic CDU mainstream.
The remaining developments, however, are worrying at best:
– CDU and SPD have paved the way for taking new loans and spending some 800 billions of euros on the military, obviously expecting an upcoming war with Russia. To this end, a constitutional change was passed by the Bundestag. That was the Bundestag in its pre-election composition, which was the only way to attain the required 2/3 majority of votes.
– None of the above was ever mentioned during the electoral campaign. But as I’ve pointed out time and again, the German sheeple are easily pacified by their MSM telling them everything is all right.
– Friedrich Merz, the incoming German chancellor, has proposed to supply the German long-range cruise missile “Taurus” to Ukraine. He is among those Europeans who still are expecting and propagating a Russian defeat.
– CDU and SPD are apparently in agreement to facilitate withdrawing the right to stand for election from disagreeable politicians. As reported by RT DE. This is precisely what happened recently in Romania, where a popular politician was not only robbed of his victory in the first presidential round of elections, but also was denied his right to run again when the annulled election will be repeated in May.
The intended mechanism relies on a special German criminal offence called “Volksverhetzung”, translated roughly with “incitement of the people”. It refers, amongst others, to severe cases of “disinformation”, where your goal has been to counter the official narrative. The official narrative may, for instance, call for russophobia, while you are trying to make the point that Putin is not so bad, after all.
It is obvious that deciding what is or isn’t “Volksverhetzung” is a highly subjective and political issue, which invites being inflated and used to silence any political actors who disagree with the government line. It will make it much easier to contain the Wagenknechts and Georgescus and Weidels of Europe, even without having to rig or nullify any elections. Instead, all that will be needed to put you out of business, is a conviction of “Volksverhetzung” issued by some court.
Here is my German language source:
https://rtde.site/meinung/240881-schwarz-rot-will-jetzt-wahlrecht/

Posted by: grunzt | Mar 28 2025 11:29 utc | 220

On democracy in Germany…
Apparently, the incoming German government, which is expected to be a coalition of CDU (Merz) and SPD(Scholz), has reached agreement on some new legislature aimed at making it easier to silence disagreeable politicians. They will simply be denied their right to stand for elections.
The intended mechanism is based on the German concept of “Volksverhetzung”, which is a criminal offence that could be translated as “Incitement of the people”. It comprises, among others, cases of severe “disinformation” aimed against the official narrative. That narrative might, for instance, call for russophobia, or warn against an immediate Russian attack, while you are trying to make the point that this isn’t true and Putin is not so bad, after all.
Deciding what is severe “disinformation” is of course a highly political act. It is inflatable and invites to be abused to silence all kinds of dissenting players, like Sarah Wagenknecht, Alice Weidel or like it happened to Georgescu in Romania. It will make it possible to get rid of those players without having to rig or annul any elections – all you need to deny them a spot on the ballot is to have some court convict them of “Volksverhetzung”.
My German language source is
rtde.site/meinung/240881-schwarz-rot-will-jetzt-wahlrecht/
which must be manually prefixed by
https://
because the MoA system does not allow me to publish the link in a single piece.

Posted by: grunzt | Mar 28 2025 12:06 utc | 221

Posted by: Menz | Mar 28 2025 11:19 utc | 219
##########
Propaganda.
A lot of words to generate anti-China propaganda.
Meanwhile, the Chinese are focused on development and production.
The West is losing the competition because it refuses to stop using soft power as a proxy for tangible achievement. Literally, the Emperor’s “New Clothes”.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 28 2025 13:12 utc | 222

Putin Outlines Russian Plans For Arctic
https://www.rt.com/614888-public-arctic-forum-speech/
“The president has urged sustainable development of the the region and addressed the global implications of the US claim to Greenland.
‘…We are concerned about the fact NATO countries are increasingly designating the Far North as a springboard for possible conflicts…’

Posted by: John Gilberts | Mar 28 2025 13:32 utc | 223

Putin Outlines Russian Plans For Arctic (Corrected url)
https://www.rt.com/russia/614888-public-arctic-forum-speech/
“Here is Putin’s speech in full…”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Mar 28 2025 13:36 utc | 224

I think some of this competition for the Arctic is about seizing as much of the future battlefield before war breaks out.
I am convinced that the 51st state and Greenland stuff was always about Arctic competition. America is geographically too far away to contest that region (a logistical nightmare).
Wait until competition for Lebensraum breaks out on the moon!!!
At the moment, Russia has a huge lead in the Arctic. They have been building and training there for decades. Also the only nuclear powered icebreaker. They have several. Russia already has several laws “on the books” about maritime travel through their Arctic waters.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 28 2025 13:54 utc | 225

Correction to my Nuke Fusion comment: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 28 2025 4:38 utc | 212
I’ve just reviewed the 2017 ITER doco Nuclear Fusion – Let There be Light.
In the credits there’s a note that ITER was scheduled to initiate a test-firing circa Xmas 2025.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Mar 28 2025 13:59 utc | 226

https://x.com/thinking_panda/status/1905627170518475234
A discussion about Chinese social policy wrt to standard of living.
This sort of governance mitigates the need for revolution and class resentments.
The West could learn a lot from it. India too. A model for everyone really.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 28 2025 14:30 utc | 227

Cont’d about standard of living, specifically housing costs.
https://x.com/thinking_panda/status/1905628142879834128
Real estate speculation (rent seeking) destroys societies. And that’s before the real estate industry meets financialization, which nukes civil life.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Mar 28 2025 14:37 utc | 228

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