Helter-Skelter

[DKG]

Kamala Harris on Wednesday actually explained to a group of labor and civil rights leaders — you know, adults — that AI is "kind of a fancy thing," has "two letters," and "means artificial intelligence."



Phew! Good thing she cleared that up.

[DKG]

An American was detained Tuesday after crossing from South into North Korea, United Nations Command said.



The organization that oversees security in the so-called Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas said in a tweet that the U.S. national was on an "orientation tour" of the area and "crossed without authorization."



It said the American was in North Korean custody and it was working to "resolve the incident."

[DKG]

The United States is sending fighter jets as well as a Navy destroyer to the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman in order to bolster security and deter threats to commercial ships, the Defense Department announced on July 17.



Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing that the F-35 fighters and F-16 fighters and the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which was previously in the Red Sea, will be deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.



This, she said, will help "defend U.S. interests and safeguard freedom of navigation in the region."



The increased presence is in response to a "number of recent, alarming events in the Strait of Hormuz," Ms. Singh said, pointing to two separate incidents earlier this month during which the Iranian navy attempted to illegally seize two oil tankers in waters between Iran and Oman.



One of those ships—the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss—was initially approached by an Iranian naval vessel on July 5 and harassed, according to a statement from U.S. Naval Forces.



However, the Iranian ship left after a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS McFaul, arrived on scene, the Navy said.



Approximately three hours later, the oil tanker Richmond Voyager—which was flying under the flag of the Bahamas—was also approached by an Iranian naval vessel while it was more than 20 miles off the coast of Muscat in Oman and transiting international waters toward the Arabian Sea, officials said.

[Lokmar]

An American was detained Tuesday after crossing from South into North Korea, United Nations Command said.



The organization that oversees security in the so-called Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas said in a tweet that the U.S. national was on an "orientation tour" of the area and "crossed without authorization."



It said the American was in North Korean custody and it was working to "resolve the incident."

Fuk that! Leave that cunt over there! If he comes back, put him in front of a firing squad!!!

[Lokmar]

The United States is sending fighter jets as well as a Navy destroyer to the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman in order to bolster security and deter threats to commercial ships, the Defense Department announced on July 17.



Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing that the F-35 fighters and F-16 fighters and the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, which was previously in the Red Sea, will be deployed to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.



This, she said, will help "defend U.S. interests and safeguard freedom of navigation in the region."



The increased presence is in response to a "number of recent, alarming events in the Strait of Hormuz," Ms. Singh said, pointing to two separate incidents earlier this month during which the Iranian navy attempted to illegally seize two oil tankers in waters between Iran and Oman.



One of those ships—the Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker TRF Moss—was initially approached by an Iranian naval vessel on July 5 and harassed, according to a statement from U.S. Naval Forces.



However, the Iranian ship left after a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer, the USS McFaul, arrived on scene, the Navy said.



Approximately three hours later, the oil tanker Richmond Voyager—which was flying under the flag of the Bahamas—was also approached by an Iranian naval vessel while it was more than 20 miles off the coast of Muscat in Oman and transiting international waters toward the Arabian Sea, officials said.

We should blast every Iranian boat out of the water.......should have been doing this for 20+ years.

[DKG]

An American was detained Tuesday after crossing from South into North Korea, United Nations Command said.



The organization that oversees security in the so-called Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas said in a tweet that the U.S. national was on an "orientation tour" of the area and "crossed without authorization."



It said the American was in North Korean custody and it was working to "resolve the incident."

Fuk that! Leave that cunt over there! If he comes back, put him in front of a firing squad!!!

He is either an immature thrill seeker or mentally unstable. Perhaps both.

[Lokmar]

Fuk that! Leave that cunt over there! If he comes back, put him in front of a firing squad!!!

He is either an immature thrill seeker or mentally unstable. Perhaps both.

I think I heard he had done some shit that was going to get him tossed from the military plus some time in the clink. Lil Rocket Slant should strap his ass to the next ballistic missile he shoots off!

[DKG]

He is either an immature thrill seeker or mentally unstable. Perhaps both.

I think I heard he had done some shit that was going to get him tossed from the military plus some time in the clink. Lil Rocket Slant should strap his ass to the next ballistic missile he shoots off!

Disgruntled employee syndrome.

[Shen Li]

In the 2023 Passport Index, Singapore is now officially the most powerful passport in the world, with the country's citizens able to visit 192 travel destinations visa-free out of the 227 across the globe.



This is a major changeup from previous years. For five years, Japan was the country with the most powerful passport in the world, giving holders access to 193 destinations without a visa.



Now, Japan has fallen to third place, giving passport holders access to 189 countries and tying with Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Sweden and South Korea.



Her are the top ten.



Singapore, 192

Germany, Italy, Spain, 190

Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Sweden, South Korea, Japan, 189

Denmark, Ireland, Netherlands, U.K., 188

Czech Republic, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Switzerland, 187

Australia, Hungary, Poland, 186

Canada, Greece, 185

Lithuania, United States, 184

Latvia, Slovakia, Slovenia, 183

Estonia, Iceland, 182

[DKG]

Jason Aldean's song "Try That in a Small Town" and the accompanying music video rocketed to the top of the iTunes charts in less than 24 hours as outlets began reporting that the video had been pulled from country music channel CMT.



Louder with Crowder reported that the song had reached the top spot on the iTunes all-genre charts, beating out the massively popular Korean pop stars from the group BTS as well as fellow country artist Luke Combs.



In addition, Aldean's visuals made their way to the top of the music video chart, passing artist Taylor Swift, who is also a vocal left-wing activist.



The video, which was pulled by CMT on Monday, July 17, 2023, showed familiar clips of Antifa and BLM rioting. News coverage of looting, violent protests, and spitting on police were all featured in the video.

[DKG]

As Australia continues to navigate its influenza season, experts are warning about a surge in pediatric hospital visits caused by severe flu symptoms among children, signalling a cautionary forecast for Canada in the months ahead.



Since the flu season started in the southern hemisphere in late April, children have made up almost 75 per cent of those admitted to hospital, according to Australian health data.

[DKG]

Take this with a grain of salt. It is interesting in a scary way.



China Is in Default on a Trillion Dollars in Debt to U.S. Bondholders. Will the U.S. Force Repayment?



  Copied

Every country should pay its sovereign debt. Default, we are told, is not an option. But has anyone told China?



The United States pays interest on approximately $850 billion in debt held by the People's Republic of China. China, however, is currently in default on its sovereign debt held by American bondholders.



Successive U.S. administrations have chosen to sidestep this fact, allowing business and trade with China to proceed as normal. Now that the relationship with China has soured and the People's Republic of China has become the greatest adversarial threat to the U.S. and Western security, policymakers should revisit this appalling failure of justice.



Some history is in order. Before 1949, the government of the Republic of China (ROC) issued a large volume of long-term sovereign gold-denominated bonds, secured by Chinese tax revenues, to private investors and governments for the construction of infrastructure and financing of governmental activities. Put simply, the China we know today would not have been possible absent these bond offerings.



In 1938, during its conflict with Japan, the ROC defaulted on its sovereign debt. After the military victory of the communists, the ROC government fled to Taiwan. The People's Republic of China was eventually recognized internationally as the successor government of China. Under well-established international law, the "successor government" doctrine holds that the current government of China, led by the Chinese Communist Party, is responsible for repayment of the defaulted bonds.



A private group of American citizens holds a large quantity of these gold-denominated bonds. This citizen-led group, the American Bondholders Foundation (ABF), serves as trustee with power of attorney for some 20,000 bondholders, whose bonds are valued at well more than $1 trillion.



Then-U.K. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's tough negotiation stance on the return of Hong Kong to China led to a British settlement agreement on these same Chinese bonds in 1987. Thatcher said that for China to have access to U.K. capital markets, it had to honor the defaulted Chinese sovereign debt held by British subjects. Faced with that stark choice, China agreed.



Unfortunately, the U.S. failed to take such a common-sense stance. To this day, China has had access to U.S. capital markets while openly rejecting its sovereign debt obligations to American bondholders.



Lest anyone wonder about the age of these bonds, it is irrelevant. What matters is that this is a sovereign obligation. As recently as 2010, the German government made its last payment for reparations from World War I. In 2015 Great Britain made payments on bonds issuances that dated from the 18th century.



The Biden administration and the U.S. Congress have a unique opportunity to enforce the well-established international rule that governments must honor their debts. Like the U.K. did in 1987, the U.S. must view the repayment of China's sovereign debt as essential to its national security interests. In doing so, the U.S. government should undertake one or both of two actions currently being discussed by members of Congress.



The first would be to acquire the Chinese bonds held by the ABF and utilize them to offset (partially or in whole) the $850 billion-plus of U.S. Treasurys owned by China (reducing up to $95 million in daily interest paid to China). This would lower the national debt and put the U.S. in a better financial position globally.



KEY TAKEAWAYS

Every country should pay its sovereign debt. Default, we are told, is not an option. But has anyone told China?



China has had access to U.S. capital markets while openly rejecting its sovereign debt obligations to American bondholders.



Getting settlement on this defaulted debt is not only right and just for the bondholders but, if done correctly, could also be a huge win for the U.S. taxpayer.

https://www.heritage.org/debt/commentary/china-default-trillion-dollars-debt-us-bondholders-will-the-us-force-repayment?fbclid=IwAR1y4FwUIsvacKo31IRnTZZ6YuWhBscdDlI0LemOLBeEtuhHUJfuGWGrf-Q">https://www.heritage.org/debt/commentar ... JfuGWGrf-Q">https://www.heritage.org/debt/commentary/china-default-trillion-dollars-debt-us-bondholders-will-the-us-force-repayment?fbclid=IwAR1y4FwUIsvacKo31IRnTZZ6YuWhBscdDlI0LemOLBeEtuhHUJfuGWGrf-Q#

[DKG]

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis ("Halloween," "True Lies") made expletive remarks regarding climate change during an appearance at San Diego Comic-Con, when she said that society is "f**king the world," along with claims that the United States is the "hottest" it's "ever been."

Curtis was featured on a panel to promote her horror, environment-themed graphic novel called "Mother Nature" and wasted no time promoting the project's ecological message, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

In March 2023, Curtis announced to the "Today" show that she was using they/them pronouns to refer to her Oscar trophy.

"Here they are," Curtis said, stroking the statue. "In support of my daughter Ruby," the actress said, "I'm having them be a they/them."

"I'm gonna just call them them they/them," she said, adding, "They are doing great." She also added that "they're settling in."

Curtis referred to her "daughter Ruby," who is actually her son Thomas. Curtis said she and her husband "have watched in wonder and pride as our son became our daughter Ruby."

[Shen Li]

I'm downtown for a meeting. This is the first time in about 6 years I have been downtown for anything other than an Oilers game. There are more crazy homeless people than ever before.

[Herman.]

Greta Thunberg was convicted by a Swedish court for some kind of mischief charge at an oil facility.