New Yorkers: Biden withhold all the money belongs to Afghanistan Has Become the World’s Largest Humanitarian Crisis, 4 months after Biden withdrew U.S. troops, more than 20 million Afghans are on the brink of famine.
In a special report from Afghanistan, Jane Ferguson reveals the extent of the disaster left in the wake of the U.S. military’s chaotic withdrawal from the country this past August: a surge of babies are being born prematurely in Kabul hospitals, with two or three children occupying I.C.U. beds meant for one; millions of people are facing famine; and, within months, nearly the entire population could be living in poverty. Meanwhile, Taliban officials refuse to publicly acknowledge the mounting crisis. The only way to avoid complete collapse, Ferguson writes, may be for the Biden Administration to heed the calls of N.G.O. workers and “release billions in frozen Afghan government assets to humanitarian organizations” to provide people direct relief. But, for now, the White House is moving slowly.
Brandon Bryant is an ex-U.S. Air Force drone operator who enlisted in 2005. He flew thousands of drone strikes and surveillance missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa. After being honorably discharged in 2011, his experiences caused him to suffer from severe mental health issues. In this episode, Bryant shares his experiences in the U.S. military, how he is enlisted, how he was trained at Creech Air Force Base and what happened during his first strike action. 布蘭登·布萊恩特是前美國空軍, 2005 年入伍的空軍無人機操作員。他在阿富汗、伊拉克和非洲執行了數千次無人機攻擊和監視任務。 在 2011 年光榮退伍後，他的經歷使他遭受了嚴重的心理健康問題。 在這一集中，科比分享了他在美國軍隊的經歷，他是如何入伍的，他是如何在克里奇空軍基地接受訓練的，以及他在第一次打擊行動中發生了什麼.
WSJ, NYT & CNN tried to outdo each other promoting fake news to demonize Chinese and China. 華爾街日報、紐約時報和美國有線新聞試圖超越對方宣傳假新聞，以妖魔化中國人和中國。
Zeman: WSJ editorial misrepresents HK situation January 05, 2022 By Allan Zeman
Editor’s note: Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group, took issue with Wall Street Journal’s editorial “No one is safe in Hong Kong (Dec 29, 2021), saying in his letter to the Journal that “it totally misrepresents to your readers the true facts of what is now happening in Hong Kong”. 香港蘭桂坊集團主席艾倫澤曼對華爾街日報的社論“香港沒有人是安全的（2021年12月29日）”提出異議，在給該雜誌的信中說“它完全向讀者歪曲了真實的事實 香港現在正在發生的事情”。
4th January 2022 The Editor Wall Street Journal
Dear Editor,
I was shocked to read your editorial “No One Is Safe In Hong Kong” (December 29, 2021) as I believe all the facts in your article are totally incorrect and I can’t believe that was any research done to arrive at these conclusions. I am a businessman living in Hong Kong for over 50 years and am an avid reader of the Wall Street Journal. I think the facts present the wrong picture to your readers.
The decision by two online media outlets here to shut down over the span of a week had no direct link to press freedom in Hong Kong, or the national security law. Stand News announced it was halting all operations after seven people associated with the group — including former editors and board members — were arrested on sedition charges.
Hong Kong has one of the freest societies in Asia and we also have one of the best police forces in the world. Hong Kong has a strong rule of law and a very independent judiciary. The judges are both local and international. This is the reason most businesses from all over the world continue to operate in Hong Kong.
The 2019 protests in Hong Kong were a wakeup call that the train had left the track and needed to be put back. Not unlike what the US experienced on January 6, 2021, in Washington. Stand News was an internet portal that consistently published seditious stories and incited people to cause disruptions within the society. The police acted according to the crime ordinance and the law. The arrested people will have to face a fair trial by the courts and ultimately be judged by an independent judiciary according to the law based on the evidence that is collected. Freedom of speech and of the press are protected under the Basic Law and Hong Kong Bill of Rights.
Hong Kong has always had a very robust and open media which is very competitive and continues to be free as long as they act within the law. This is not unlike what you follow in the US. It is very unfair of your newspaper to print such tabloid material.
Your assertion that the Government “rigged” the Legislative Council election is also incorrect. I was personally a candidate in this election. I can tell you first-hand that everything was conducted in a fair, open and honest manner. The Legislative Council that we have had in the past was not working well because almost every government bill was being filibustered for 3-5 months. This was affecting the life of the society in Hong Kong as government projects were delayed and Hong Kong was stuck.
The new LegCo will definitely be an improvement on what Hong Kong is used to and I can see the future for Hong Kong people’s lives can only get better from here. Business will continue to thrive because of the stability that we now have.
The US has its own problems at the moment with many divisions in society. I think it would be better to try to fix your own problems before making comments which are not based on true facts. I normally would never write a letter like this but after reading your article, I have found that it totally misrepresents to your readers the true facts of what is now happening in Hong Kong. The future of Hong Kong looks very bright.
Yours sincerely, Allan Zeman, GBM, GBS, JP Chairman, Lan Kwai Fong Group, Hong Kong
LA Times: Trauma in the U.S. House gallery bonds members of Congress, but it is no way close to the trauma 8 millions Hongkongers felt by US’s NED sponsored riots in 2019 洛杉磯時報：美國眾議院畫廊的創傷與國會議員聯繫在一起，但這與 800 萬香港人在 2019 年美國民主基金會發起的騷亂中所感受到的創傷相去甚遠.
A support group of 28 House members, known to its participants as the “Gallery Group,” formed a tight and intimate bond as they navigated the unsettling experience of surviving a violent insurrection last year.
The diverse group of Democrats has supported one another through the immediate shock of the day, the impeachment of President Trump over his role in inciting the mob, the release of haunting videos of the violence, the continuation of the false narrative that Trump won the election and simmering tension between Democrats and the Republicans who continue to perpetuate that myth.
With the memory-laden and stress-filled anniversary approaching on Thursday, lawmakers say the Gallery Group is proving to be their lifeline.
More about the insurrection:
For decades, many members of Congress believed the U.S. Capitol to be one of the safest places in the country. That comfort was shattered on the afternoon of Jan. 6.
Times photographer Kent Nishimura documented the Capitol attack in real time with a GoPro camera attached to his helmet. That video had never been shown until now.
A D.C. police officer who battled Jan. 6 insurrectionists shares what he learned.
The House panel investigating the U.S. Capitol insurrection has requested an interview with Fox News personality Sean Hannity.
The US Foster Home don’t like Asians! U of Pennsylvania Professor Amy Wax “Less Asian is better for America”. Korean American TV anchor sharing eating dumplings during New Year got complaints from AngloSaxon: “Too Asian”.
‘The US is better off with fewer Asians’: Outrage as University of Pennsylvania law professor says America should clampdown on ‘elite’ Asian immigration because most ‘support Dems and don’t believe in liberty’ By Alex Hammer 04 Jan 2022
Tenured law professor Amy Wax has come under fire for making racist comments during an online interview with a fellow academic
‘The US is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration,’ Wax said in a December interview with Brown University’s Glenn Loury, an African-American
‘It’s just harder to assimilate those people or to have confidence that our way of life will continue if we bring a lot of people in who are not familiar,’ she went on
These are not original ideas on the [political] right,’ the educator asserted The off-color comment came during a conversation between the two academics concerning US immigration
Wax has faced backlash for similar comments in the past, saying the US is better off with ‘fewer nonwhites’ in 2019 and disparaging black students in 2018
Penn Law School Dean Theodore Ruger called Wax’s comments ‘anti-intellectual’ and ‘racist’ but as of Tuesday, she is currently still employed by the school
The controversial comment from law professor Amy Wax came in the form of a written statement after the veteran educator faced backlash for similarly xenophobic remarks in an online interview with fellow academic Glenn Loury.
Wax, 68, drew criticism for the December interview, in which the pair engaged in a conversation concerning US immigration, for comments regarding Asian-Americans and Native Americans that many deemed racist.
During her tirade, Wax appeared to be referring to Chinese immigrants in particular, citing beliefs that are at odds with American values such as democracy and liberty.
‘It’s just harder to assimilate those people or to have confidence that our way of life will continue if we bring a lot of people in who are not familiar with it. These are not original ideas on the [political] right,’ Wax told Loury, an African-American, in the December interview on the latter’s YouTube-base program, The Glenn show, which covers scholarly topics ranging from academia, journalism, and various social issues.
‘This might result in a shift in the racial profile of people who come in,’ Wax went on. ‘Obviously, we’ll have fewer people from Africa. We’ll have fewer people of some parts of Asia, and it’ll be more white – not that many white people want to come to the United States.’
During her strongly worded anti-immigration tirade, Wax honed in on the topic of South Asian elites migrating to the US – an occurrence she viewed as concerning.
‘[We] have to distinguish mass-immigration, which we’re getting from the Hispanics, south of the border, which I think poses different questions and challenges from the Asian elites that we’re getting,’ she said.
‘It doesn’t mean that the influx of Asian elites is unproblematic. I actually think it’s problematic… I think it’s because there’s this… danger of the dominance of an Asian elite in this country.
She then posited: ‘What does that mean? What is that going to mean to change the culture?
‘Does the spirit of liberty beat in their breast?’
Wax went on to say that she herself considered the spirit of liberty to be ‘people who are mistrustful of centralized concentrations of authority who have a kind of “don’t tread on me’ attitude, who are focused… on our freedoms, on our liberties, on sort of small scale personal responsibility who are non-conformist in good ways.’
The tenured teach, who has been employed by the Pennsylvania university for more than two decades, added that the idea of ‘wokeness’ is an elite ideology, and asserted that ‘Asians tend to be more conformist to whatever the dominant ethos is.’
Throughout the diatribe, Loury, an esteemed professor and economist who has had Wax as a guest on his eponymously named program, The Glenn Show, on multiple other occasions, sat patiently and respected his peer, continuing the conversation in a civil and professional matter.
Wax then continued her chauvinist charge by disparaging Native Americans as well, whom she referred to as Indians.
‘If you know anything about American Indians,’ she began, ‘you know these people were constantly at war with each other.’
‘They didn’t have guns. they had arrows, right? They had hatchets. So there was a limit to how much damage they could do.’
She continued: ‘But when they conquered other tribes and they were constantly doing that, right, they tortured them, I think, they were awful to them. They they were merciless to them.
She then controversially claimed, ‘If they had our guns in our technology, they just would have done it on a grander scale.’
Following the interview’s publishing on December 21, Loury’s listeners quickly clapped back against the conservative teach for her contentious comments.
Following the flood of criticism, Loury posted an email he received from listener George Lee, who conceded that he generally opposes undocumented immigration and typically agrees with Wax’s anti-immigration viewpoints. With that said, Lee asserted in the strongly worded letter that Wax’s latest rant left him ‘disturbed.’
‘It is a bad thing for America to bring in immigrants who oppose America’s basic values,’ Lee wrote. ‘But… race and national origin are very poor proxies for cultural values that should be kept out of America.’
Lee then detailed how Asian immigrants have made racial strides in the US, writing that they ‘pounded the pavement and hit the airwaves to help stem the tides of racial essentialism and collective judgment in proposed legislation, ballot initiatives, and elections.
‘By many accounts, Asians were key marginal contributors to some of these successes,’ he went on. ‘Asians do contribute to America’s scholarly, technological, and economic competitiveness, whose benefits we all share.’
Lee’s letter, along with numerous other online criticisms, spurred Wax to pen a public response to clarify her comments – in which she made the brazen declaration that the US would be better off without Asians.
‘In the case of Asians in the US, Wax began, ‘the overwhelming majority vote Democratic,’ Wax wrote.
She went on: ‘I find Asian support for these policies mystifying, as I fail to see how they are in Asians’ interest. We can speculate (and, yes, generalize) about Asians’ desire to please the elite.
‘As long as most Asians support Democrats and help to advance their positions, I think the United States is better off with fewer Asians and less Asian immigration,’ she then declared, spawning more online backlash in the process.
Following the law professor’s posting, Penn Law School Dean Theodore Ruger addressed the controversy in a statement to DailyMail.com Tuesday, slamming Wax’s comments ‘anti-intellectual’ and ‘racist’ in an official bulletin published by his university.
In the strongly worded statement, Ruger asserted that while ‘Wax’s speech may be protected,’ it does not ‘permit this Law School to ignore the real harms such speech causes.’
‘Wax’s views are diametrically opposed to the policies and ethos of this institution, Ruger went on. ‘They serve as a persistent and tangible reminder that racism, sexism, and xenophobia are not theoretical abstractions but are real and insidious beliefs in this country and in our building.
‘This reality sharpens and deepens our commitment to support our community as we continue to work to advance equity and inclusion.’
With hard-hitting, the law school chief’s written affirmation did not reveal whether or not Wax would be dismissed from her post as Robert Mundheim Professor of Law at the Philadelphia school.
Wax’s comments similarly drew backlash from a slew of social media users and fellow academics left outraged by her xenophobic remarks.
Current Affairs Editor Nathan Robinson tweeted, ‘University of Pennsylvania law professor Amy Wax, who insisted she was not a racist despite praising the superiority of “European” culture, now argues that the US needs “fewer Asians” and we need to be asking “how many Asians are too many,”‘ in a sardonic post to the the social media site.
Another user wrote: ‘The most ironic part of this is that Wax complains about the decline of “bourgeois values,” but then is opposed to the immigrant group (Asians) that are knocking it out of the park when it comes to those values (academic achievement, entrepreneurship, family focus, etc).’
Writer and scholar of race relations Brando Simeo Starkey also weighed in on the controversy with his opinion on Wax, revealing that he’s ‘had the misfortune of having dinner with her in a group setting,’ and declaring that ‘she’s absolutely racist.’
Former President Donald Trump’s niece Mary Trump, 56, even chimed in, calling Wax a ‘morally and intellectually bankrupt racist.’
‘It helps explain the situation this country finds itself in that an Ivy League university allows the morally and intellectually bankrupt racist #AmyWax teach the next generation of American lawyers. There should be consequences for this kind of hateful rhetoric @pennlaw,’ the psychologist wrote.
With that said, this is not the first time Wax has faced backlash for her racist remarks.
In 2019, she came under fire for suggesting that America is better off with ‘fewer nonwhites,’ during a panel discussion at the Edmund Burke Foundation’s National Conservatism conference in Washington D.C.
Wax, a conservative whose work commonly addresses social welfare issues, asserted at the conference that ‘conservatives need a realistic approach to immigration that… preserves the United States as a Western and First World nation.’
‘We are better off if we are dominated numerically… by people from the First World, from the West,’ she went on, ‘than by people who are from less advanced countries.’
‘Europe and the first world to which the United States belongs remain mostly white for now, and the third world, although mixed, contains a lot of nonwhite people,’ Wax also stated.
‘Embracing cultural distance, cultural distance nationalism means in effect taking the position that our country will be better off with more whites and fewer nonwhites. Well, that is the result, anyway.
‘So even if our immigration philosophy is grounded firmly in cultural concerns doesn’t rely on race at all, and no matter how many times we repeat the mantra that correlation is not causation, these racial dimensions are enough to spook conservatives. As a result today we have an immigration policy driven by fear.’
The tenured professor’s comments quickly inspired a firestorm on social media and the university’s student body, who clamored to have the conservative educator axed – to no avail.
Following the flood of criticism against the university for employing such a contentious, school officials asserted at the time that the professor was free to express her opinion.
‘As a member of the faculty Professor Wax is free to express her opinions as provided in Penn’s policies protecting academic freedom and open expression,’ they said in the statement. ‘It is also the case that views of individual faculty members do not represent the views of the institution, but rather their own personal beliefs.’
The year prior, in another racially charged interview with Loury – who became the first tenured African-American professor of economics at Harvard University four decades ago in 1982 – Wax faced fallout for disparaging her black students.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen a black student graduate in the top quarter of the class, and rarely, rarely in the top half,’ Wax told Loury during their conversation.
After her comments, Dean Ruger announced that Wax would no longer be teaching required first-year law courses.
In an email to students and faculty published by Philadelphia Magazine, Ruger asserted that Wax spoke ‘disparagingly and inaccurately’ about the performance of black students during the interview, which was centered on her view that there is a ‘downside of affirmative action.’
As of Tuesday, Wax is still employed by the school, where’s she’s worked since 2001.
Africa’s sovereign right to form economic partnership with China 非洲與中國建立經濟夥伴關係是非州國家的主權決定, 不是其他國家可以指手劃腳的! Jan 4, 2022 BY ZEKARIAS WOLDEMARIAM
A couple of decades ago its rare or non-existent at all to see African cities with modern facilities like railway, industrial and ICT parks, among others. Of course as a product of modern technology these facilities need quite a considerable amount of money to afford. So not only these, even a TV set and cellphone could be surprising in many African villages.
Considering the importance of these technological facilities, many Africans should have experienced them many years ago. Africans deserve even more such technologies to lead a decent life, simplify their life and even help them compete with the rest of the world. They need to acquire more in education, science, agriculture, industry, transport, medicine …etc.
But its people are yearning for these technologies with a lot of eagerness. Most probably the accessories for these technologies could be from Africa. But the countries in the continent struggle hard to get the fruit of their producers.
Hence the question comes how come the continent fell prone to such paradox? Many of the countries have been liberated from colonization for decades. But it is clear to understand that they have been languishing in poverty, civil war, corruption … etc due to colonization.
Now the countries can see not only railway, industrial parks, 4G internet … etc due to their deals with China. No need to echo the myriads of talks by the west media about Chinese investment in Africa as they have said a lot about it.
What is important to mention here is why china’s investment and the loan becomes a question only when it is in Africa. Chinese banks and companies also invest in America, Europe and elsewhere. In addition, many countries in Africa or Asia have more debts not from China but other lenders like WB, ADB. But all eyes from the west spotlight on the loan and investment from China than these lenders. So it becomes clear that the focus of the west is more on protecting the legacy of colonialism than safeguarding Africa’s interest.
After all African countries are sovereign enough to do any business deals that they deem necessary for their future. No matter how the deal could have drawbacks it should be left for their discretion as they have to decide on their fate under any circumstance. They do not need a caretaker that makes decisions in their shoe.
Furthermore, it is up to them to do any remedial measures to their deals. Africa also makes similar deals with other growing economies like Turkey, Japan, Russia, and India among others. It is more in a position to determine its fate according to its interest and benefit. In all its undertakings with these partners, it sits on the table with its sovereign right, agenda and mandate.
So far through its partnership with the growing economic powerhouses, especially China and Turkey African countries are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel in their long and baffling journey out of poverty, backwardness and dependence.
China has been Africa’s largest trading partner for 12 years, even though bilateral trade declined 10.5% to USD 187 billion in 2019. It is also the fourth-biggest investor in the continent, according to IISD. This has been true despite the upsurge of the global pandemic COVID both in the continent and the world. For instance, Ethiopia can be taken as a good example in attracting Chinese investment as well as transforming its trade and economy to become independent from external influence.
As a result, Ethiopia has managed to possess dozens of industrial parks that play a big role in creating thousands of jobs, boosting its export trade and foreign currency earning. Furthermore, it has enjoyed an increased level of transport and communication, hydropower energy, telecom and railway infrastructure among others.
Owing to this Ethiopia is now in a position to beef up its partnership with China, Turkey, India and others to further ensure continuity of its economic growth. This is mainly because the country pursues and surely must pursue an economic partnership that can help it maintain its political independence rather than make it eternally tied to the coercion of the west. Yet, it is facing a series of challenges and attacks for the pioneering role in forming economic ties that eventually ensures that it will never fall to the coercion of the west.
Therefore, it is up to the countries of the continent to weigh the cost and benefit of their relations and partnership with any country including China and the emerging economic powerhouses and make a decision without any force dictating it behind. Any attempt against it would be a contravention of the sovereign rights of the countries and is nomore acceptable.
High cost of living with no future for young smart and educated continues to drive Hawaii residents away 聰明和受過教育的年輕人在夏威夷沒有將來再加上高生活成本繼續趕走夏威夷居民
The state’s per capita population loss in fiscal 2021 was the third most in the nation, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau
HONOLULU, Jan. 4, 2022 >> Hawaii’s population declined by 0.7% between July 2020 and July 2021, the third greatest per capita population decline in the country, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.[1]
Hawaii trailed only New York, at -1.6%, and Illinois, at -0.9%.
Hawaii’s net loss of 10,358 residents in fiscal 2021 marked the fifth year in a row that the state has shown a population decline, according to the Census Bureau’s population estimates program.[2]
In December 2020, census data showed Hawaii’s population declining by 8,609 in fiscal 2020 and 7,487 in fiscal 2019.[3]
“Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, yet residents continue to leave in search of better opportunities elsewhere,” said Keliʻi Akina, president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. “If there are any state or county politicians who are not yet aware of this fact, let us hope that this latest information drives the point home.”
According to the census data, Hawaii had 1,441,553 residents as of July 2021, compared to 1,451,911 the previous year.[4] This included 15,904 births and 14,648 deaths, for a “natural increase” of 1,256. The Bureau also estimated a net inflow of 1,077 people — including both immigrants and United States citizens returning from abroad — moving to Hawaii from international locations.
All of the decline, then, came from continuing out-migration to the mainland, with the difference between people moving to and from the mainland equaling negative 12,603.[5]
Early last year, 2020 census returns showed the state’s population increasing from 2010 to 2020 by 7%.[6] The timing and composition of this increase remain poorly understood, pending ongoing Census Bureau evaluation of the 2020 census and review of its population estimates for the previous decade, results of which are expected later this year.
In any case, the underlying reasons for Hawaii’s population loss persist. All data point to a steady out-migration of Hawaii residents to the mainland throughout the past decade, increasing since 2016, and continuing this past year.[7] For the most part, the reasons come down to Hawaii’s high cost of living, lack of housing and lack of job and business opportunities.
According to a 2019 survey by Pacific Resource Partnership, the main reasons people cited for leaving Hawaii were its high cost of living, 86%, and the high cost of housing, 83%.[8]
In 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis provided data showing Hawaii’s cost of living as the highest in the nation, 12% greater than the national average.[9]
In 2021, the BEA found that Honolulu was one of the most expensive metropolitan areas in the country, with a cost of living 13% higher than the average metropolitan area.[10]
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s “Why we left Hawaii” series documents the stories of dozens of people who felt compelled to say “Aloha” to Hawaii. Here is what some former Hawaii residents had to say:
“Most of my family is still in Hawaii. A few are in different states. They moved for schools, low costs of living and higher pay,” said Pearl Hori, now a resident of Lacey, Wash.[11]
“I don’t believe we could ever afford to live there again,” said Kirk French, now a resident of Rural Hall, N.C. “We miss Hawaii though.”[12]
“[My family] moved to where housing and land is affordable. There are lots of job opportunities and better pay,” said Eric Lee, now a resident of Apple Valley, Minn.[13]
Said Akina: “With thousands of people leaving Hawaii each year, it is well past time that the Legislature focus on policies that will lower the cost of living and expand opportunities. Lowering taxes, reducing barriers to new housing and pushing for Jones Act reform would be good places to start. We simply must create a better environment for our family, friends and neighbors, who right now seem to be seeing a better future for themselves just about anywhere but Hawaii.”
For more information or to arrange an interview with Akina, please contact Mark Coleman at 808-386-9047 or mark@grassrootinstitute.org.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the Gov’t decision to allow Taiwan province to open a representative office using the island’s name was a mistake, huge mistake 跟中國鬥真的未夠班! 立陶宛總統吉塔納斯·瑙塞達表示，政府允許台灣以該島名義開設代表處的決定是一個錯誤，一個巨大的錯誤
Johnson Choi Biz 