THE RISE OF CHINA in the 21st CENTURY .

July 1st . China is set to Celebrate 100 years
of its Communist Party .
Already the Propaganda machine is at work,
but the West ( the U.S.) is really 
falling behind ?

(Disclaimer  note . This is not exactly a "praise " of the CCP or endorsement , its for educational purposes to discuss China emerging into the 21st Century ... with American help of course )

CHINA was so ignored by the west before the Coronavirus outbreak . While the focus under Trump's administration was Russia , a wasteful investigation under the Democrats. The specter of China was looming . Over the last 40 years China has demonstrated a shrewd pattern of economic and financial decisions that have positioned the country very well on the world stage. Chinese leadership has been cautious and successful in managing the internal nationalism and American unilateralism, to some degree , now China is a rising star . (1)>>This year China will celebrate it's 100 years under it's Communist Party , to top it off , China has sent astronauts to it's new space station.The year 2020 was the year that China emerged onto the world. A new China like anyone has ever known .If, back in the 1980s and 1990s, the U.S. government, rather than arguing for Chinese economic opening, had prohibited any U.S. company from investing there, China’s rise would have been significantly delayed.  (2)>>BUT America created this new China in a arguable way . While China has retained it's one party system under the CCP it has crafted a new kind of Capitalism , economy that would make Karl Marx roll over twice .Ideology is nothing in China. The people there respect power and wealth, not your Marxist credentials. The Chinese are proud of being Chinese, not of being hardcore Marxists or Freedom-fighters. They want to restore their rightful place under the sun. (3)>>Any reference to socialism et cetera in their vocabulary is just lip-service to a bygone past.  The U.S. and China have been involved in an escalating trade war over the past 15 months under Trump.The U.S. depends heavily on China for providing the low-cost goods that enable income-constrained American consumers to make ends meet. The U.S. also depends on China to support its own exports; next to Mexico and Canada, China is America’s third largest and by far its most rapidly growing major export market. And, of course, the U.S. depends on China to provide funding for its budget deficits. It is the largest foreign holder of U.S. Treasury securities – some $1.3 trillion in direct ownership and at least another $250 billion of quasi-government paper. A lack of Chinese buying could turn the next Treasury auction into a rout. (4)>>China’s rise has often been presented as a historical inevitability: A decadent America, stretched to the breaking point by its global commitments, and weary of its superpower burdens, will give way to the more focused, organized, and motivated up-and-comer. Pax Americana will join Pax Britannica and Pax Romana in the dustbin of history.  (5)>>The Chinese propaganda machine enjoys reinforcing this perception of American decline. Amid the pandemic and protests, Chinese media have contrasted Beijing’s (supposedly) superior virus-fighting techniques with the enfeebled response of the Trump administration, claiming that Chinese governance is superior to American democracy. Adding in the tumult caused by the death of George Floyd, the Global Times, a Communist Party–run newspaper, wrote that (6)>>“Chinese analysts” were warning that “the U.S. has become a ‘failed state.’”The Chinese government has made innovation a top priority in its economic planning through a number of high-profile initiatives, such as (7)>>“Made in China 2025,” a plan announced in 2015 to upgrade and modernize China’s manufacturing in 10 key sectors through extensive government assistance in order to make China a major global player in these sectors. However, such measures have increasingly raised concerns that China intends to use industrial policies to decrease the country’s reliance on foreign technology (including by locking out foreign firms in China) and eventually dominate global markets.China’s growing global economic influence and the economic and trade policies it maintains have significant implications for the United States and hence are of major interest to Congress. While China is a large and growing market for U.S. firms, its incomplete transition to a free-market economy has resulted in economic policies deemed harmful to U.S. economic interests, such as industrial policies and theft of U.S. intellectual property. This report provides background on China’s economic rise; describes its current economic structure; identifies the challenges China faces to maintain economic growth; and discusses the challenges, opportunities, and implications of China’s economic rise for the United States.There is the simplest example - the Western media and government tried to collapse China by belittling and bashing China, which actually not only accelerated the Chinese relationship towards leaning in, but also solidified Chinese support for the government - (8)>>after Trump started a trade war to try to crush China, all Chinese believe that China must develop a supply chain that is completely independent of the U.S. - not that China hasn't made concessions, remember ZTE? Remember when Huawei started with a 20% restriction on U.S. technology, and then a 10% restriction until it had to use no U.S. technology at all?If China expected its future bargaining power to rise, it would have every incentive to keep a low profile, the  (9)>>tao guang yang hui policy advised by Deng Xiaoping. It wouldn't need to increase its present bargaining power via signaling aggression. It did this for a while until about 2009. Which makes sense, because until then China was seen as a rising power and the US as a declining power.This century may be the Asian century, but I doubt (10)>>China's century will last past 2050ish. China's economy can continue to grow until 2030, and it may even be able to become a regional leader (in an increasingly multi-polar world) by then.If China's economic growth continues its environmental quality will degrade to the point where China’s youth today will be sicker and less productive in 2030 than today’s young workers. The two main necessary resources that people need, water and air, will be stressed to the point that the Chinese government will have to offshore most of its manufacturing (probably to African nations, and countries in South/S.E Asia) to mitigate against local pollution. Let’s say this happens around 2025. China will need to count on its remaining workers having access to enough capital to sustain a decent consumer market, engaging in end of production cycle manufacturing and complimentary services, and consuming and exporting those goods and services. Everyone in China thinks the US is an extremely bad rule maker, a country that completely ignores the rules of fairness and is using its full power to hinder china development. I’m American, and I think my own country is headed for dark times before China is. I think that there’s a better chance in the future that Chinese military cargo planes will be making humanitarian aid drops onto US soil than there is of China collapsing any time soon.

CHINA IN SPACE !

The Shenzhou-12, or “Divine Boat” 
rocket to Tianhe Space Station is
one example of how far Chinese technology
has advanced .

So, what should we expect from (10.1)>>China in outer space over the next 30 years?China’s space ambitions far exceed any other space faring nation in both range and long-term strategy. This includes an incremental strategy of developing space capacity in sequence. First, build space capacity for cost effective launch and access. "Space is hard". Progress is often full of delays, seeming failures, and changes to plans. China's government tries to minimize the hype until after success, rather than risk giving the people more reason to look badly at them. China has been a civilized nation state for upwards of 5000 or so years now. The borders of the west have fractured and formed and balkanized a million times over within that same time period.It's absolutely silly to think that China wouldn't develop and meet the standards of the west.The Shenzhou-12, or “Divine Boat” mission, is the seventh crewed Chinese spaceflight in history and  (11)>>China's first space manned mission since 2016. Three astronauts, Commander Nie Haisheng, Liu Boming and Tang Hongbo, took off aboard a Long March 2F rocket launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Inner Mongolia on June 17. Seven hours after launch, the crew successfully docked with the Tianhe module in low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of around 236 miles.  The Chinese astronauts will spend three months aboard the Tianhe bringing the module online and conducting tests of its systems ahead of other planned manned missions. Other modules will be added to the Tianhe and expanded into the full Tiangong space station in subsequent launches planned for later this year.Building its own space station is a logical step for China, a country that has not been shy about its space ambitions in recent years. It especially makes sense considering that (12)>>China is barred from boarding the International Space Station after Congress passed a law in 2011. However, that does not mean that China’s space station will always be for its own exclusive use, country officials said during a news conference. Ji Qiming, an assistant director with the Shenzhou program, said that China “welcome[s] co-operation in this regard in general,” the BBC reported. “It is believed that, in the near future, after the completion of the Chinese space station, we will see Chinese and foreign astronauts fly and work together,” he said.As part of its burgeoning space program, (13)>>the Chinese rover Zhurong touched down on Mars last month, making China the only country besides the United States to land a robot on the planet.China’s goal to establish a leading position in the economic and military use of outer space, or what Beijing calls its “space dream,” is a core component of its aim to realize the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” In pursuit of this goal, China has dedicated high-level attention and ample funding to catch up to and eventually surpass other spacefaring countries in terms of space-related industry, technology, diplomacy, and military power. If plans hold to launch its first long-term space station module in 2020, it will have matched the United States’ nearly 40-year progression from first human spaceflight to first space station module in less than 20 years.  ALSO China plans to send its first crewed mission to Mars in 2033, the country’s lead rocket maker announced. part of the country’s ambitious plan to begin large-scale development of the Red Planet and ratcheting up tensions with the U.S. as the two race to become the Earth’s dominant power in space.  China intends to send crewed missions to Mars in 2033, 2035, 2037, 2041 and 2043, said Wang Xiaojun, the head of state-owned China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology during a conference.  Ultimately, Wang said, China envisages building a permanent presence on Mars and large-scale development of its resources, with a fleet of vessels running between it and Earth.

LAST WORD A CENTURY OF CHINA .

The years ahead 2021-2030 could be the China decade . There is nothing that our nation can do about it.China has invested more in energy and buying up African resources than America and continues to do so because it's growing so crazily. Keeping up with China is going to be a difficult choice for America . Am saying that starting any cold war with China is dangerous , like Russia before . Unlike Russia Countries, including China, invest in U.S. debt because they have faith in the staying power of the United States economy for as long as it lasts . I am not getting out my crystal  ball , but the decade ahead there could be confrontations between the U.S. and China over Taiwan . IT"S ALSO Kind of funny. If China's future is so bright and America's future is in the toilet, why are so many rich Chinese people laundering their grafted money through Macau in order to emigrate to America?These are the people most enriched by China's rise, and the people who have the most insider knowledge about the workings of the economy and the country's financial and political development. So why are they banging down the doors of Anglo countries who will accept them and their piles of grey money in ever increasing numbers? You can't just blame Hollywood.Times are changing. Many Chinese are watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report, Breaking Bad, House of Cards, and the children know all about the Marvel superheroes. This is the cultural supremacy of the United States that can and should be utilized for establishing peace among nations. These cultural bastions promote the ideology of democratic values that the US feels is inherent in a peaceful world.This leaves either diplomatic dialogue to grow in a symbiotic relationship, or, eventual war. China is fighting dependence on Western nations by mimicking historical American foreign policy ~ buying African resources and votes. The ultimate end game is language. If China adopts the English language for business, then, eventually the west will win. If they do not, then, you have a competing ideology and competing ideologies are historically remarkably intolerant.

**********************

Lamsa  BIBLE  on Ezekiel 38: 2-3

2. Son of man, set your face against China, and against the land of Mongolia, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say,

3. Thus say the LORD God: Behold I am against you, O China, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal

Gog and Magog are the Aramaic names for China and Mongolia. The prince of Magog was the chief prince of Meshech (Moscow). And Tubal (Tobolsk) is a city in Siberia.

Most of the Russians are of Mongolian origin. In Biblical days, the Mongols. Moscovites, and the people of Tubal w ere nomads who preyed on agricultural communities and, at times, fought against the civilized nations.

These powerful tribes were known to Babylonians, Persians, and the remnant of Israel who were scattered east of Persia. Moreover, the Syrians and the Babylonians traded with these nations in the Far East.

These nations from the Far East invaded Persia and Palestine in the twelfth century, but at last were defeated near Jerusalem. They may again under the leadership of China or Russia, try to conquer the world as they did in the reign of Kublai Khan and his grandson, Hulago Khan, and other Mongol overlords. The battle between the Asiatic powers and the European powers may be called the Battle of Armageddon and the advent of the kingdom of God [Rev. 16: 12].

These nations are the descendant of Japheth, the third son of Noah [Gen. 10: 2], and are a warlike people like their brethren, the early teutonic tribes.

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

 (1)>>This year China will celebrate it's 100 years under it's Communist Party .On its 100th anniversary, the Chinese Communist Party under President Xi Jinping is all powerful, and with 90 million members, is the biggest political party in the world. But in spite of the outward celebrations, the screws are tightening under anybody in China who wants to create, write or think. In fact, some dissidents believe Xi Jinping has taken China back to 1978, the period before the economic opening up of China, where repression, paranoia and fear are the daily diet for Chinese who do not choose to follow propaganda. The Communist Party, which on July 1 will mark the 100th anniversary of its founding, states in its constitution that it "is the vanguard of the Chinese working class." Article 1 of the national constitution says the "People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants."At the time, the Communist Party feared that it would not be able to maintain the basis of its rule without bringing in entrepreneurs during China's transition toward a market economy. The party that once represented the working class has now has 91.91 million members from nearly all walks of life.While much of the focus will be on the past, the party’s centenary will have significant repercussions for China’s future. The celebrations will give China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, a forum to present himself as a transformative figure on par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping. Mr. Xi, 67, is maneuvering to stay in power indefinitely. Basically, the CCP has brilliantly turned their economy into a very powerful weapon AND managed to keep a very close handle on all that power. And they’re currently colonizing Africa and trying to build a modern Silk Road to Europe. Once they have their own supply line secured, they won’t depend on bretton woods to keep their trade safe. The USA will be truly #2. The greatest country in the world will be a dystopian dictatorship with Russia (one of the most advanced military engineering countries who is simply too poor to afford her own weapons designs) as her closest ally and Africa as her pet to siphon resources from. If that doesn’t at least sort of worry you, you’re missing something. (2)>>BUT America created this new China in a arguable way . First, we should understand why China's economy rose.The economic rise of China happened initially because the US government wanted to incorporate China into the modern trade system, against the Soviet Union. Businesses then saw an opportunity to turn a huge profit by moving manufacturing and related tasks to China to be done cheaply.I'm fine with that because the USA was able to remove China as a big factor in the late-cold war conflict with the Soviet Union. The USA was then able to win the Cold War without a shooting war. Allowing the PRC government to gain more power and credibility in its people's eyes was not desirable, but it was all very much under the control of the USA.No trade protection from the USA means economic disaster for China. Now the Cold War is over and USA can turn its attention to its new number one threat (as a nation-state). These tariffs we've seen are just the beginning of the economic stagnation and possible demise of China. Trump may not be very eloquent, but this was the correct move. The U.S.-China economic relationship delivers more benefits to the U.S. than is commonly understood. For example, recent data shows that U.S. exports to China support around 1.8 million jobs in sectors such as services, agriculture, and capital goods. It’s time for China to pay the U.S. back for the help its received over the last 40 years, billionaire and longtime GOP supporter Ken Langone told CNBC. “Remember where we started at, we did everything we should’ve done to help a nation that large and that significant get on their feet,” said Langone, also co-founder of The Home Depot. “Now it’s time to pay the bill.”Langone, also founder of investment bank Invemed Associates, added on “Squawk Box” that President Donald Trump is right in thinking that China is taking advantage of the U.S. If anything, it’s an issue the U.S. government should have dealt with 15 to 20 years ago, Langone said.    (3)>>Any reference to socialism et cetera in their vocabulary is just lip-service to a bygone past.  According to Wiki-pedia : The socialist market economy (SME) is the economic system and model of economic development employed in the People's Republic of China. China responds that its economy meets the generally accepted definition of a market economy in most antidumping cases. It also argues that the United States and other major trading nations agreed when China entered the WTO in 2001 that the NME label would no longer be applied to China after 2016.After four decades of reform, China today falls far short of a free-market economy—but it has also come a long way from central planning where the government controls prices and production. The European Union is China’s number one trading partner. The European Union is sensitive to causing harm to its domestic industry but wants to ensure full WTO compliance and maintain a good relationship with China. The European Commission must come to a decision and propose a directive that would then have to be ratified by the European Parliament and the European Council. While the exact voting mechanism in the European Council (composed of heads of state from EU member nations) will not be known until the commission has proposed the law, it will likely require a majority rather than unanimity, pitting major commodity producing members against others that favor granting China MES.At the same time, Chinese state-controlled banks and the People’s Bank of China have been aggressively purchasing foreign assets, almost certainly to manage the exchange rate. Since April, the big banks have bought $137 billion of foreign assets and repaid $20 billion in foreign debts, while the PBOC itself has added $234 billion in foreign exchange assets. In other words, Chinese government-connected entities have bought nearly $400 billion in foreign currency in the space of eight months, or almost $600 billion at an annual rate. That’s substantially higher than the rate of reserve accumulation the PBOC reported in the peak manipulation years from 2006 to 2011.(4)>>China’s rise has often been presented as a historical inevitability. The middle of the 21st Century came to be known as the "Century of China" . With the example of the new space race with China now capable to launch rockets into space the latest technological achievements have made China already a super power in par with the U.S. and Russia . China appears to be gaining strength. Its gross domestic product expanded 4.9% in the third quarter, an astounding rebound in a world still mostly mired in a pandemic-induced paralysis.But before the U.S. and its allies can move forward, they have to look back to figure out how the world got to this point with China in the first place. The consensus holds that Washington’s policy of engagement was a grave error that created a dangerous adversary to the U.S.The combination of stunning economic growth and unpredictable political governance causes deep concerns about China among the nations in the world. The Chinese leadership has realized the urgency to calm down these concerns and to build a supportive international environment for its ascendancy. To make its rise less a threat, the Chinese government has sponsored many PR events, such as exhibitions in foreign countries, promoting Chinese language programs, and so on.Under the guiding principle of "China's peaceful rise," the Chinese government has conducted actively diplomacy at four (at least) different levels: (1) Creating strategic partnerships with the second-tier powers. China has signed strategic partnership treaties with the EU, Russia and India to strengthen their relationships as well as to balance the American power. (2) Promoting "good neighbor policy" in the Asian Pacific region. By increasing trade with the Asian-Pacific region and also let these countries enjoy trade surplus with China, China has positioned as an important trading partner with these countries. (5)>>The Chinese propaganda machine enjoys reinforcing this perception of American decline. This is a bizarre salvo in China’s propaganda war with the United States.   Chinese experts noted that US society has become divergent and polarized, and regardless of their opinions on the Trump administration, most agreed on one thing - they had lost faith in their country.     Seven decades ago, Mao Zedong publicly embraced a benevolent view of propaganda, as if he were a latter-day prophet spreading the communist gospel: “We should carry on constant propaganda among the people on the facts of world progress and the bright future ahead so that they will build their confidence in victory,” he mused in 1945. Just a few months ago, Xi Jinping urged state journalists to spread “positive propaganda” for the “correct guidance of public opinion.” Indeed, Beijing’s global propaganda efforts in recent years have been more about promoting China’s virtues than about spreading acrimony and confusion, à la Russian information ops and election meddling.   (6)>>“Chinese analysts” were warning that “the U.S. has become a ‘failed state.’”  The Chinese propaganda machine enjoys reinforcing this perception of American decline. Amid the pandemic and protests, Chinese media have contrasted Beijing’s (supposedly) superior virus-fighting techniques with the enfeebled response of the Trump administration, claiming that Chinese governance is superior to American democracy. Adding in the tumult caused by the death of George Floyd, the Global Times, a Communist Party–run newspaper, wrote that “Chinese analysts” were warning that “the U.S. has become a ‘failed state.’” (7)>>“Made in China 2025,”The Chinese government has launched “Made in China 2025,” a state-led industrial policy that seeks to make China dominant in global high-tech manufacturing. The program aims to use government subsidies, mobilize state-owned enterprises, and pursue intellectual property acquisition to catch up with—and then surpass—Western technological prowess in advanced industries.  Since launching his trade war with China, Trump and his team, backed by the US Congress, have repeatedly claimed forced technology transfers by China (as a price for its market access) is at the crux of its ambitious MIC 2025 plans.In addition, China’s subsidies and financing for state-owned or favored enterprises continue to be seen as creating an uneven playing field for foreign investors and the private sector.Under sustained pressure from heightened tariffs, and an ‘all bets are off’ US attitude, which has also emboldened European critics, China may have finally begun to address these fears.(8)>>after Trump started a trade war to try to crush China, all Chinese believe that China must develop a supply chain that is completely independent of the U.S.  Before Trump's tariffs, companies were already starting to move their factories to other parts of Asia with cheaper labor because in the last ten years, Chinese labor has become (relatively) expensive. Trump's tariffs only accelerated this trend. Most of those companies represent a very tiny fraction of the manufacturing in China and just seems like confirmation bias to me like most opinion pieces that keep saying "maybe", "thinking about" etc.The trade war helps China to diversify their economy into more developing countries, and Europe, which is likely a better long term strategy as doing business with the US comes with a bunch of annoying and constantly changing political conditions This is because the US describes the tariffs as ‘negotiating ploys’ for getting a trade deal which implies that they are temporary. Because the tariffs are temporary, US importers will tend to pass the price rises on to their customers rather than going to the expense of setting up new manufacturing contracts outside of China. In other words, businesses will only go to the trouble of changing a manufacturing source if they decide that the tariffs are long term - and US politics is too divided to describe any foreign policy as ‘long-term’. (9)>>tao guang yang hui Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), literally translated as "Hide brightness, nourish obscurity" .  Since the 19th Party Congress in 2017, Xi’s “new” narratives have seemingly dominated Chinese foreign policy. However, old principles, particularly that of “non-interference” or “no hegemony”, are still alive, albeit in a different form.However, it is noteworthy that Chinese foreign policy objectives have fallen into two schools of thought: “韜光養晦 (taoguang yanghui)” vs. “有所作爲 (yousuo zuowei).Outside of the mainstream, a variety of arguments are offered in favour of abandonment of taoguang yanghui. Some critics argue that with China’s increasing power and economic muscle in the international system, it should adopt a more responsible and outspoken foreign policy. Others argue for the maintenance of the policy in practice, but the avoidance of making this policy known. Advocates of this view argue that once the continued existence of the strategy is known, the strategy loses its efficacy. A third school of thought on the matter suggests that China has already abandoned taoguang yanghui. Its increasingly active participation in international groupings such as the G20 is used as evidence in support of this claim. Further, China’s particularly assertive approach to foreign policy in 2010 –including a vociferous stance on the South China Sea Issue, the fishing boat incident and The US’s arms sales to Taiwan– lends credence to this claim.(10)>>China's century will last past 2050ish. For all its talk of a “peaceful rise”, China , we may have to a back seat for the long years ahead .  how will China emerge as a leader to end world conflicts , take the place of the U.S ?  Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz claims that the “Chinese century” has begun and that Americans should take China’s new status as the number one economy as a wake-up call. Before crowning China as the new world leader, however, we should consider three questions. First, is China really the world’s largest economy – and if so, why is China so uneasy about the reports that make that claim? Second, has the “Chinese century” really come? To use international relations (IR) jargon, have we seen the beginning of a true power transition between the U.S. and China? Third, does China mean to challenge the U.S. through its recent diplomatic and military moves? A related, though broader, question is simply what kind of international role does China truly seek?(10.1)>>China in outer space over the next 30 years? Outer space is an integral part of Xi’s China dream of broadcasting Chinese power and influence, and a critical component of his Civil-Military Integration Strategy. Consequently, by October 1, 2049, when China celebrates its 100th year of existence, outer space presence and military space capacity will play a key role.(11)>>China's first space manned mission since 2016. At the highest levels of policy, the Chinese government is determined to meet ambitious goals for space leadership, and it has connected its space program with its broader ambitions to become a terrestrial leader in political, economic, and military power. Beijing aims to establish a leading position in the future space-based economy and capture important sectors of the global commercial space industry through the use of subsidies to undercut foreign competitors, including promoting its space industry through partnerships under what it has termed the “Space Silk Road.” Some of these initiatives are already challenging the U.S. space industry and U.S. leadership on international space cooperation. (12)>>China is barred from boarding the International Space Station after Congress passed a law in 2011. Principally built and operated by the U.S., the ISS has welcomed aboard astronauts from 15 different countries, including such space newbies as South Africa, Brazil, The Netherlands and Malaysia. But China? Nuh-uh. Never has happened, never gonna’ happen.China has been barred from the ISS since 2011, when Congress passed a law prohibiting official American contact with the Chinese space program due to concerns about national security. “National security,” of course, is the lingua franca excuse for any country to do anything it jolly well wants to do even if it has nothing to do with, you know, the security of the nation. But never mind.Few people in the U.S. paid much attention to the no-Chinese law, but it’s at last taking deserved heat, thanks to a CNN interview with the three Chinese astronauts—or taikonauts—who flew China’s Shenzhou 10 mission in 2013. but other space agencies apart form NASA have expressed how they wouldn’t mind having China onboard. After all, it’s international collaboration that conceived the International Space Station in the first place, and with more brilliant minds in outer space, humanity could spring forward into the next era of technological advancements in space.(13)>>the Chinese rover Zhurong touched down on Mars last month. The robot looks a lot like the American space agency's (Nasa) Spirit and Opportunity vehicles from the 2000s.It weighs some 240kg. A tall mast carries cameras to take pictures and aid navigation; five additional instruments will investigate the mineralogy of local rocks and the general nature of the environment, including the weather.Like the current American rovers (Curiosity and Perseverance), Zhurong has a laser tool to zap rocks to assess their chemistry. It also has a radar to look for sub-surface water-ice - a capability it shares with Perseverance.The landing follows China’s launch last month of the core module of a new orbiting space station, as well as a successful mission in December that collected nearly four pounds of rocks and soil from the moon and brought it to Earth. Next month, the country plans to send three astronauts into space, inaugurating what could become a regular Chinese presence in Earth’s orbit.

Review of Putin - Biden Summit.

It had to happen . Post Trump attempt to
restore relations with Russia .
Will Biden and Putin create a new 
Reset , reestablish diplomacy ?

I HAVE TO ADMIT . But  (1)>>Biden just pulled one off on Putin that made Trump look really bad when he was dealing with the Russians in the four years of the Russia Hoax investigations. Biden’s meeting with President  (1.2)>>Vladimir V. Putin in Geneva touched off celebrations on Russia’s often over-the-top political talk shows as well as quieter expressions of cautious optimism in Moscow’s foreign policy establishment.On one point there seemed to be broad agreement:  (2)>>Mr. Biden was a new sort of counterpart, more predictable and professional than President Donald J. Trump and more inclined to reckon with Russian interests than other recent predecessors, like President Barack Obama.“The earlier doctrine, put forward by President Obama, which dismissed Russia as just a regional power, has been rejected,” said  (3)>>Konstantin Remchukov, editor of the influential Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper, appearing on state-run Channel One. It LOOKED vary positive at restoring relations with Russia, When asked whether the meeting had helped build trust between the leaders, Putin turned philosophical."There's no happiness in life," Putin said. "There's only a mirage on the horizon, so we'll cherish that."He added, "but I believe there's a spark of hope in [Biden's] eyes." (4)>>For myself I was waiting for this kind of dialog between the Russians and Americans under Donald Trump who was publicly the most pro-Putin President we ever had, remember he said that "getting along with Russia could be a good thing" . But Trump failed to do anything with relations with Russia . IN fact under Trump relations with Russia were at a dangerously low point , that one of the factors was the Russia hoax which was a political too to put a wedge to any negotiations on arms talks .But there was hope that the relationship’s downward spiral, which many fear could at some point swerve toward military confrontation, could at least be halted if Moscow and Washington re-engaged in talks. Russian analysts and officials who have long been fiercely critical of the United States for, they say, seeking to weaken Russia, said they saw in (5)>>Mr. Biden a recognition that he had to contend with Russian interests.As an aside, it is really funny to me how many people in the media do not realize what happened here. I saw Anderson Cooper dismissively commenting, oh well, nothing came out of this summit. Well, first of all, that's not true, but that's not the point: the summit itself was the point. Biden proposed it at a time when Russia had troops on the Ukrainian border and  (6)>>Alexei Navalny was starving himself and getting sicker by the minute in a jail cell. Biden slapped sanctions on Russia for SolarWinds and proposed a summit in the same speech. Biden knew that Vladimir would never say no to a summit - Vlad knows that the world media would treat it like the Superbowl. Joe gave Putin an off-ramp to back down and deescalate - Russia drew down its troops from the border and allowed Navalny to visit a hospital and Navalny later ended his hunger strike.  (7)>>Joe got Ukraine out of a sticky situation and literally saved Navalny's life, or, at least, forestalled his death - there is a way for Biden to save Navalny's life but Navalny is unlikely to accept it. All Putin wants is to be treated as an equal. Biden doesn't want a reset with Russia.if Biden can deliver that - follow Minsk agreements, continue nuclear disarmament, restore embassies and free travel, he will be liked by the Russians, despite the vicious language your media is trying to put on this. BUT The praise of Mr. Biden from the pro-Kremlin commentariat was significant because the Russian elite has long seen Democrats as part of a “Russophobic” American establishment for which democracy and human rights are simply code words to justify attacks on Mr. Putin. But in Mr. Biden, some Russians see an experienced leader focused clearly on his priorities — (8)>>such as domestic affairs and competition with China — for whom confrontation with Russia is not an end in itself. Putin want's to be seen as a equal .The easiest way to put him in the place ,is to treat him like an equal - sure, he will continue his malicious activities but if you draw some red lines and treat him like he is important, he might - might - stay out of your hair.

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

 (1)>>Biden just pulled one off on Putin that made  Trump look really bad .  I don't like Biden but I have to give him some merit on his summit with Putin. Donald Trump failed to deal or make a deal with Putin because he was caught in the middle of the Democrats Russian-phobia witch hunt , which prevented any of rational diplomacy . Even the Helsinki meeting between Trump and Putin was tainted. President Trump was meeting him in the first place.But while Mr Putin came over as the seasoned professional, eager to present his country as an equivalent to the US in terms of being a nuclear superpower; an energy provider; and a key actor in the Middle East, Mr Trump seemed more intent on castigating his opponents back home. The Trump approach with Putin was a bit comical . Later it seemed vary clear that Putin was not happy with Trump after his administration kicked out Russian diplomats , closed down embassies . Trump even pulled out of nuclear treaties that were signed by both Ronald Reagan and Gorbachev . As Trump has repeatedly and openly cozied up to Putin, his administration has imposed harsh  sanctions and penalties on Russia.The dizzying, often contradictory, paths followed by Trump on the one hand and his hawkish but constantly changing cast of national security aides on the other have created confusion in Congress and among allies and enemies alike. To an observer, Russia is at once a mortal enemy and a misunderstood friend in U.S. eyes.(1.2)>>Vladimir V. Putin in Geneva. Enter Vladimir Putin as the reaction to Yeltsin and a decade of turmoil and crisis for the Russians. Putin is not a communist, despite confused liberals failing to grasp this, but the chief administrator of these same Russian Bourgeoisie, who ultimately realize that they are in a better position with a strong and united Russia opposing NATO expansion, rather than one where NATO is allowed to balkanize Russia, carving them up into smaller countries, to have their assets stripped and sold off to the West ala Yugoslavia. Putin is the heavy hand keeping them in line, basically saying 'you can keep getting rich off of the Russian proletariat and Russian industry, but if you sell out Russia to NATO I will fucking end you.'This is how Russia exists today, and why Putin has such strong, consistent support within Russia. To Russians, Putin is clearly not great, but it was obvious how preferable and better for their lives that Putin has been than Yeltsin. Putin is a far right wing capitalist dictator, but one that prioritizes a strong and functional Russia over one that collapses to be strip-mined and sold off by NATO. Given the lack of real alternatives (the Communist party was outlawed for a time), Putin has clearly been the only real option for Russians for most of the past two decades.    (2)>>Mr. Biden was a new sort of counterpart.While Biden stressed that he did not make threats during the three-hour meeting, he said he outlined U.S. interests, including cybersecurity, and made clear to Putin that the United States would respond if Russia infringed on those concerns.Both men used careful pleasantries to describe their talks in a lakeside Swiss villa, with Putin calling them constructive and without hostility and Biden saying there was no substitute for face-to-face discussions.Back in 2018, on a lovely summer day in Helsinki, in a press conference that will long be remembered as a most bizarre sellout of American interests, Trump had alternately praised his Russian counterpart and cowered to him. He said that he accepted Putin’s word over that of his own intelligence agencies about Russia’s election interference in 2016. He blamed the United States for bad relations with Russia. Putin stood smirking alongside him as he said all of these things.Biden’s summit was carefully orchestrated to send a very different message. Most significantly, given Helsinki, there would be no joint press conference, no side-by-side appearance at which Putin could upstage Biden or provoke or taunt him. Biden would not meet alone with Putin, without a note-taker, as Trump had insisted on doing—who knows why—in 2018. And there would be no chatty lunch or informal socializing, as is often scheduled during such superpower summits.(3)>>Konstantin Remchukov. It has been revealed, Remchukov said, that Russia is an indispensable power that the United States “needs to talk with” and that Putin is “no longer demonized” as a pariah.Both Biden and Putin said they shared a responsibility, however, for nuclear stability, and would hold talks on possible changes to their recently extended New START arms limitation treaty.In February, Russia and the United States extended New START for five years. The treaty caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads they can deploy and limits the land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them.(4)>>For myself I was waiting for this kind of dialog between the Russians and Americans under Donald Trump . Former President Obama pretty much gutted relations with Russia over the issue of Ukraine , beefed up military support the Ukrainian regime which started a unilateral conflict with Russia . Though Trump made overtures to Putin which always looked like he was going to lift sanctions . It seemed like double talk on Trump's part. After Trump touted the plan to collaborate with Russia on Internet security issues, he was criticized by fellow Republicans, including his former rivals for the presidency.. "It's not the dumbest idea I've ever heard, but it's pretty close," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on NBC's Meet the Press.Graham called the meeting with Putin "disastrous," and said that while he sees Trump having success in other foreign policy areas, "when it comes to Russia, he's got a blind spot." ( 5)>>Mr. Biden a recognition that he had to contend with Russian interests. Mr. Biden announced that the United States will propose to Russia a five-year extension of the New START accord limiting strategic nuclear weapons, which expires Feb. 5 and has a provision for such an extension. This is the last remaining bilateral treaty limiting nuclear weapons after the collapse of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty under President Donald Trump, whose policies toward Russia veered between his own affinity for President Vladimir Putin and more skeptical approaches in his administration. Extension of the New START accord, which limits both sides to 1,550 nuclear warheads on 700 launchers and has effective verification, is in the interest of both nations. Mr. Trump’s administration dithered on seeking an extension while trying unsuccessfully to lasso China into a multilateral negotiation, a worthwhile long-term goal that can be pursued later.Mr. Biden should not fail to take advantage of the five-year extension to take stock of future threats, both nuclear and conventional, from Russia, China and elsewhere. Where it is in the interests of the United States, he ought to look for new arms control opportunities.(6)>>Alexei Navalny.  The anti-Putin opposition leader made a mistake ,Vladimir Putin said that jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny ignored Russian law when he went to Germany for treatment after a near-fatal poisoning attack last year. "This person knew that he was breaking the law in Russia," Putin said after a summit meeting with US President Joe Biden in Geneva, in reference to Navalny violating the conditions of a suspended sentence."Consciously ignoring the requirements of the law, he went abroad for treatment," Putin said, accusing Navalny of having "deliberately acted to be detained".Navalny was subsequently jailed for two-and-a-half years on old fraud charges and his organisations banned as "extremist", barring members and sponsors from running in parliamentary elections in September.Putin said Navalny's anti-graft group "publicly called for riots, involved minors in riots" and "publicly described how to make Molotov cocktails". When Navalny announced he would finally return to Russia, after recovering from Novichok poisoning in a German hospital, it begged the question: why? The Kremlin had made it clear for months it did not want President Vladimir Putin’s most outspoken opponent to return, and was willing to play dirty to discourage it .  Navalny is another Yeltsin, a far right neoliberal stooge, looking to carve up and sell off Russia to NATO, hence the tremendous popular support for this figure from the West and Western media. It's also worth remembering that Navalny is not the opposition in most parts of Russia, but actually a distant third (and sometime fourth) place, but because he's a Western stooge, they present this information to you as if he is some sort of rival to Putin or the legitimate opposition. A poll conducted by the reputable Levada Center revealed that one in four Russians even have a negative view of Navalny's endeavors. The center quizzed over 1,600 Russian adults in both rural and urban environments in late October, according to the Interfax news agency.(7)>>Joe got Ukraine. Biden affirmed US's commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.Putin said Russia is acting appropriately to counter threats emerging against them. He also said that Ukraine joining NATO would be a "red line." Ukraine said afterwards that they were pleased that America kept their promise and didn't try to make some sort of deal without Ukraine present. As Russia mounted 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border in March, the White House and the Department of Defense readied a $100 million military assistance package that was frozen once President Joe Biden announced a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to reports.In a statement after this article was published, White House press secretary Jen Psaki took issue with the characterization that aid to Ukraine was lacking: "The idea that we have held back security assistance to Ukraine is nonsense. Just last week—in the run-up to the U.S.-Russia Summit—we provided a $150 million package of security assistance, including lethal assistance."Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says he learned through the press — not any direct heads-up — that President Biden had decided to stop trying to block a Russian pipeline that Ukraine sees as a dire national security threat.(8)>>such as domestic affairs and competition with China.    Russia fears China ? Putin actually understands that China is becoming more powerful than Russia, but sees it as better for Moscow to be subordinate to Beijing than to Washington.  When it comes to Russia’s relations with China, Putin has been remarkably deferential and respectful. Putin has even described Chinese President Xi Jinping as “a good and reliable friend.” An important reason for this, of course, is Russia’s increasing economic dependence on China, which has partly been brought about by Western economic sanctions on Russia over Crimea and other issues. But being the hard-headed realist that he is, Putin must surely see that China has been growing more and more powerful economically while Russia has been stagnating, and that China’s greater economic strength as well as population size could soon result in Beijing becoming stronger than Moscow militarily. And a China that Russia is increasingly dependent on could serve to limit Moscow’s — indeed, Putin’s own — freedom of action internationally.

JUNE's OPINIONS & BITS .

 Game show host Governor Gavin Newsom holds a lottery ball at the California Lottery Headquarters on Friday, June 4, 2021, in Sacramento, while drawing numbers for California’s new $116.5 million Vax for the Win program –

 1. Newsom's EXTENDED STAY of EMERGENCY .

California's Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying a big gamble as the loom of a recall election is around the corner .  (1)>>Gov. Newsom stunned a few reporters regarding the re- opening date of June 15th. Amid a parade of fanfare surrounding California’s vaccine lottery last Friday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom revealed he will not lift the state of emergency when California reopens its economy on June 15. That apparently Gov. Newsom's state of emergency is not over .  On Friday Newsom was asked if he would lift the state of emergency that has given him the extraordinary powers to mandate Covid restrictions. The governor answered, “The emergency remains in effect after June 15.” That date is Newsom’s own self-declared deadline to lift most Covid restrictions. BUT REALLY ???? . It seems to me that Sly Newsom, wants the Covid "emergency " to go on forever . Asked to explain the reasoning behind the decision Newsom said on Friday, “Because we’re still in a state of emergency. This disease is still in effect. It is not taking the summer off.”  The recall election in California is to important , we just have to get rid of him .  (2)>>If we DON"T CALIFORNIA will move back into a LOCK DOWN. Not being satirical here but With new CRAZY Covid variant, that might be just the common cold , but mistaken to be Covid-19 under the Newsom regulations .   Rep. James Gallagher, a Republican who represents much of the northern Sacramento Valley, including Chico, wrote on

Twitter: The Governor loves to get BIG headlines, but then fails to deliver on his promises. The latest example of his bait & switch is when he said CA would open on June 15th. Meanwhile, his Cal/OSHA is saying something different and he refuses to call off the State of Emergency.That prompted Gallagher and fellow Republicans Kevin Kiley and Melissa Melendez to send the governor a letter on Monday telling him that, if he would not lift the state of emergency, “the legislator is considering exercising its power to do so with Assembly Concurrent Resolution 46 and Senate Concurrent Resolution 5.” The Republican legislators point out, among other things, that  (3)>>California now has extremely low Covid numbers — in fact, Newsom himself points out that the state has the lowest test positivity rate in the nation ? on a near-daily basis. Ok, so the Governor’s only interest is protecting the people, how long should he keep the state of emergency? Should it go for another year, 5 years, 20 years? Because the threat of the virus will be present for quite some time and we will never have total compliance with the vaccinations as they mentioned in the article. The problem I see is the Governor has extraordinary power during a state of emergency which allows him to take actions he would not normally have the authority to impose. As was done in the last election the Governor can change how ballots are cast and collected which may be advantageous for some. Indeed, the crisis that gripped the state just a few months ago is gone.  (4)>>PERHAPS THERE WAS NO REAL CRISIS . BUT Just like that, the main takeaway from Last Friday’s event went from “cash prizes for getting vaccinated” to “Newsom doesn’t plan to end the state of emergency.” The rapidly shifting narrative underscores the extent to which the outcome of the almost-certain recall election may depend on timing.

 2. Lifting Mask Restrictions ???

This announcement makes California, along with New Jersey and Hawaii, one of the final holdouts to revise its mask policy after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly announced Thursday that fully vaccinated people can go without masks in most situations.   (5)>>CalOSHA’s rule for masks is really going to be problematic. What are they trying to do by creating rules that could cause people to be publicly shamed or bullied into doing something they don’t want to do or can’t do. I don’t agree with the mask mandate, but if they have to make the rules apply to everyone as in when the state reaches 75% vaccinations. Making a rule that states a company with 100 employees must require all 100 to wear masks even if only one person is not vaccinated. How will that one person feel. Also I have never seen any legislation that states after any date everyone is ordered to stop wearing masks. So using common sense if you want to wear a mask you are free to do so as long as you like.The Governor [NEWSOM] also explained that the mask mandate may not be ending in full, breaking the promise he made last month of all mask mandates ending on June 15th. Instead, he will be following new Cal/OSHA recommendations requiring masks in many workplaces until at least the end of July. He did note that the Cal/OSHA board currently has a subcommittee to study the extended mask requirements and hinted that he would likely follow what they recommend.

3. Kamala Harris & The Border Crisis .

Here is my own opinion regards to  (6)>>The Border Crisis

Is Kamala ready for serious foreign policy ?

.First of all I was a bit impressed with Kamala Harris speech in Mexico & Guatemala . But there are a lot of awkward things about it . NOW the border crisis long ignored by the Democrats is now a SERIOUS ISSUE ??? Remember that Vice President Kamala Harris received a swath of criticism Tuesday following her awkward response to questions about the ongoing border crisis. Harris was asked by NBC's Lester Holt when she would be visiting the border, a question asked since she took over management of the border crisis for the Biden administration in March. Like I said I was a bit impressed what (6.1)>>Mrs. Harris said during the Guatemala visit she bascially pointed out Harris visited  on Monday. At a press conference with Guatemala’s president, Alejandro Giammattei, the former California senator spoke about investigating corruption and human trafficking in Central America and described a future where Guatemalans could find “hope at home”.But she also had a clear message that undocumented Guatemalan migrants would not find solace at the US border under the Biden administration. “I want to be clear to folks in the region who are thinking about making that dangerous trek to the United States-Mexico border,” she said. “Do not come. Do not come.”  New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has criticized Vice-President Kamala Harris for saying undocumented migrants from Guatemala should not come to the US. So FAR AOC has not given a "answer" on how to deal with the immigrant crisis.  (7)>>BUT HYPOCRISY runs deep in the Democratic Party . For four years Donald Trump was slammed for trying the fix the border problem and deal with immigration with a border wall . It's so strange , uncanny that during the Covid Crisis so many illegals came through , many of them having tested positive for Covid . (7.1)>>While people like AOC take a rather dangerous liberal view of immigration . Open borders have been linked to crime as we have seen. BUT  Both parties are crap on immigration. I'm waiting for someone to speak some sense and mention cutting off the incentive to hire illegal labor at the source: by punishing businesses that do so.Harris delivered this “new era” immigration language — which goes against asylum law and President Joe Biden’s promise to both restore the asylum-processing system at our border and bring about long-overdue immigration reform — with as much compassion as the "I really don’t care. Do U?" jacket that former first lady Melania Trump wore on her ride to visit migrant children in a detention camp.

4. Biden -Russia-US summit.

Joe Biden can be a deal breaker with Russia,
end the new cold war 
restart , new treaties . OR WILL IT BE 
SINKING SHIP?

 Biden to Putin " What I want him to know" 

President Joe Biden on this Wednesday began his first trip abroad since taking office by hailing America’s unwavering commitment to the  (8)>>NATO alliance and warning Russia it faced “robust and meaningful” consequences if it engaged in harmful activities.Biden, speaking to about 1,000 troops and their families at a British air base, said he would deliver a clear message to Russian President Vladimir Putin when they meet next week after separate summits with NATO, G7 and European leaders. (9)>>"We're not seeking conflict with Russia," the Democratic president said at the start of his eight-day visit to Europe. "We want a stable and predictable relationship ... but I've been clear: The United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way if the Russian government engages in harmful activities."Asked about his aim for the foreign trip, Biden said it was “strengthening the alliance”, probably referring to both the Group of Seven powers (G7) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato).That aim, he said was to “make it clear to Putin and China that Europe and the US are tight”. He said he did not know if talking to Putin about harbouring cybercriminals in Russia would produce an agreement, against a backdrop of the US facing an increasing threat from foreign ransomware attacks.   (10)>>BUT Former President Donald Trump on Thursday wished President Biden luck in his upcoming meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin — and also encouraged him to stay awake. “Good luck to Biden in dealing with President Putin—don’t fall asleep during the meeting, and please give him my warmest regards!” Trump said in an emailed statement.Biden will meet Putin on Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland, after meeting Queen Elizabeth II this weekend at Windsor Castle and then attending a NATO summit in Belgium. Ambassador John Bolton, former National Security Advisor in the Trump administration, joins Andrea Mitchell ahead of President Biden's first foreign trip, which will include a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva.  (11)>>Bolton says that meeting is "premature," but when asked if Donald Trump was ready when he met with Putin, Bolton says "of course not." He also discusses the "Havana-Syndrome" illness, and what might have caused it, which he says is "something the US government has to come to a conclusion on." Biden is not a “reward” for Putin but instead the most effective way to hear directly from him to understand and manage the differences between Washington and Moscow, is to go back to a situation much calmer to a open dialog between the two nations. Biden has to find a way to work with Russia . I think this crucial , This is high-stakes summit is held in Geneva next week as relations between the two nations hit new lows in the first few months of the Biden administration. Russian Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, was recalled from Washington after Biden called Putin a murderer in March. US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan left Moscow after Russia proposed returning to Washington for consultations.Biden told a US troop hangar on Wednesday that he was in Europe to defend the concept of democracy and warned his Russian counterparts that he intended to bring up sensitive issues during their conversation. “I’m going to the G7, then to the NATO ministerial conference and then to a meeting with Mr Putin to tell him what I want to tell him,” said Biden. For this reason, the summit will be  (12)>>“a very good opportunity” to voice the concerns of both countries, Peskov said .In an interview with NBC News, Putin described Biden as a "career man" who has spent his life in politics.Though he described relations with the United States as having "deteriorated to its lowest point in recent years," Putin said he expects he can work with Biden."It is my great hope that, yes, there are some advantages, some disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse-based movements on behalf of the sitting US president," he said, according to a translation by NBC News.

5. Concluding Thoughts .

Well there you have it . Personally it's is all connected . From California politics to the Biden -Putin summit if it ever happens ? To start California Gov. Newsom extending the state of Emergency past June 15th is troubling . But the Newsom madness is starting , Gov. Gavin Newsom said this Friday that California is on the cusp of releasing an electronic system that will allow businesses to confirm that their customers have received their shots.Trying to stay away from the phrase “vaccine passport”. During a news conference held at Vista Community Clinic, after completing the second of three vaccine lottery drawings, the governor said that such a system is very much in the works when asked about verification language included in the state’s latest masking guidance released Wednesday. When the state’s tiered reopening system sunsets on Tuesday, California will adopt federal masking guidelines which state that those who remain unvaccinated must continue wearing face coverings indoors. Businesses are given three different options when interacting with unmasked customers and patrons: Just trust them when they say they’re vaccinated, “implement vaccine verification” or require everyone to wear a mask. Secondly, VP Kamala Harris contradicting her self about the border calling a post Trump hypocrisy saying " don't come" And liberals have been furious that she gave tough warnings to Central Americans not to make the journey north, even as she was acknowledging the conditions driving many to flee.The comments from Harris did not represent a change in administration policy; President Biden has said much the same thing. But for Harris to say it in the region, as she talked mostly about alleviating poverty and violence, was different — jarringly so. MEANWHILE Biden's G-7 summit to be with PUTIN is extremely important in perhaps shifting American attitudes towards Russia , to a new reset . Biden has to undue a whole policy numbers that began under Obama a decade ago, regards to mutual understanding regarding Ukraine . President Joe Biden agreed Sunday that U.S.-Russian relations are at a “low point” and said he was open to a prisoner exchange with Moscow in an effort to clamp down on cyber crimes. Biden will meet with Putin Wednesday at a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland — neutral territory for two leaders who do not want to show any deference to the other — 

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

 (1)>>Gov. Newsom stunned a few reporters regarding the re- opening date of June 15th. What word does he  EVER go back on? Restrictions will still be lifted as promised. He’s just keeping the state of emergency in case of a flare-up.California has been under a state of emergency since March 4, 2020. Since then, Newsom has authorized billions of dollars in emergency spending and issued at least 47 executive orders to alter or suspend 200 state laws and regulations because of the virus, according to a resolution authored by Republican state senators. Gov. Newsom was on stage  — literally — Many were hoping  for a positive announcement. Newsom, standing in front of shimmery gold and red curtains and a Wheel of Fortune-style gizmo in the California Lottery Building in Sacramento, randomly selected the first 15 winners of a $50,000 cash prize from the state’s vaccine lottery program. Confetti rained down on the governor as he held up a supersized check emblazoned with “Vax for the Win” and “FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS.”But other wise In his State of the State speech this  March, Newsom vowed that California is “not going back to normal.” Now we are seeing the mechanism he had in mind. California will remain in a state of emergency, under one-man rule, until the disease has “vanished,” a goal that may well be unattainable. (2)>>If we DON"T CALIFORNIA will move back into a LOCK DOWN. What a mess. It is apparent Gov. Newsom’s revised “plan to reopen” is designed to keep the state in lockdown forever. Because he continues to focus on the number of positive “cases,” which is 99% people who are healthy, not sick and even asymptomatic. These are not “cases.” Actual “cases” of COVID patients are in the ICU or have died from it.It will be next to impossible to reopen the state under this latest plan.If you can’t see that you’re willfully ignorant. Follow the draconian rules like California followed the law on July 4th to not fire off fireworks under penalty of arrest? The WHOLE State lit up. He’s about to raise taxes and lock us down again and you folks on the left still want this guy? Meanwhile, the latest Covid surge continues to shine a harsh light on inequality. California has seen record levels of unemployment and countless businesses have been shuttered for good, yet some sectors – notably the tech industry – have continued to rake in revenue. Economists are predicting that post-pandemic, California could see a so-called “K-shaped recovery”, where the incomes of the highest earners continue to rise just as quickly as they plummet for those who are struggling. (3)>>California now has extremely low Covid numbers — in fact, Newsom himself points out that the state has the lowest test positivity rate in the nation ? WE really have to take these numbers with a "grain" of caution . News sources point to a steady increases daily .Can we just auto-delete any news article that uses absolute numbers instead of per capita? It's so stupid. It's entirely possible to have the largest number of cases and yet the smallest positivity rate. If that's what they were trying to imply, they would have said, "Despite having 11m fewer people, Texas now tied with California for most Covid-19 cases in country" A lot of people, especially non-Americans, don't know how ridiculously massive California is compared to the other states. he most informative and least prone to misunderstanding would be to either simply state positivity rates or say "texas now ties California for cases despite having only roughly three-quarters of it's population" Simply ranking by positivity rates or a new index of cases weighted by state population would be best though, as these methods let you meaningfully compare all states regardless of population rather than just two at a time as the above proportion would do. We will not know true Covid levels for a decade and it will show areas that rebelled against mask and social distancing did much worse, and it will show that Covid levels are much larger than reported partially due to some of these states supressing tests and results for political gains. .(4)>>PERHAPS THERE WAS NO REAL CRISIS .  An article shared online has claimed to give “ultimate proof” that the novel coronavirus pandemic was planned to create a new world order. The text lists a large number of false and unsubstantiated claims as evidence of this, a selection of which will be discussed in this fact check. The article (here) was published on the blogging website TapNewsWire, with the disclaimer that: “No purported facts have been verified”. In October 2019, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security with partners, the World Economic Forum and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, hosted a pandemic tabletop exercise called “Event 201”.The event simulated an outbreak of a novel zoonotic coronavirus transmitted from bats to pigs to people and that leads to a severe pandemic (here) .The exercise served to “highlight preparedness and response challenges” that would likely arise in a very severe pandemic (here) .(5)>>CalOSHA’s rule for masks is really going to be problematic. The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board's revised rule, adopted last week after it was initially rejected, would have allowed workers to forego masks only if every employee in a room is fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. That contrasts with the state's broader plan to do away with virtually all masking and social distancing requirements for vaccinated people in concert with the latest recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of the two-hour public comment period Wednesday was filled with commenters using their 2 minutes to make a plea to the board that it retire the Emergency Temporary Standards."California is supposed to be roaring back, and a confusing, difficult regulation for employers to implement — pitting workers against each other — is really going to significantly delete that roar," said Bruce Wick from the Housing Contractors of California.A vocal opponent to completely doing away with mask regulations was a California Nurses Association representative who argued California is where it is — with high vaccination rates and low rates of infection — because of its aggressive protective measures.Requiring masks unless all are vaccinated in a workplace would "create yet another barrier to rehiring and reopening" at a time when "we need to be providing incentives to bring people back," they said. Moreover, they said requiring masks for people who are fully inoculated could lead the public to believe the vaccine isn't really effective. (6)>>The Border Crisis . The president of Guatemala says he places blame for the US’ border crisis on President Biden and the Democrats’ “lukewarm” rhetoric on illegal immigration — adding that he urged Vice President Kamala Harris during their meeting to impose harsher penalties on human smuggling.President Alejandro Giammattei made the comments in an interview Wednesday with Fox News after his summit with Harris, who visited his Central American nation as part of her first foreign visit in office.“Well, humanitarian messages were used here by the coyotes in a distorted manner because what they said over there was that they will promote family reunification,” Giammattei explained, appearing to refer to Biden’s messaging on immigration during the campaign.More than 180,000 migrants were encountered attempting to get into the U.S. via the southern border in May alone, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced Wednesday -- the latest sign of a continued and unrelenting crisis at the southern border.CBP said that 180,034 migrants were encountered along the border, an increase over the 178,000 encountered in April and 173,000 were encountered in March – all representing the highest numbers in years. March saw a big increase from the 100,000 migrants encountered in February.The numbers are even more staggering compared to previous years. May 2020 saw just over 23,000 migrant encounters, with approximately 144,000 in May 2019. (6.1)>>Mrs. Harris said during the Guatemala visit. Ms. Harris’s comments came after Republicans criticized her for not yet visiting the border. Asked about the topic in an interview with NBC News, Ms. Harris said, “and I haven’t been to Europe.” She added: “I’m not discounting the importance of the border.”  “The reality is that we need to prioritize what’s happening at the border, and we have to prioritize why people are going to the border, and so let’s talk about what’s going on in the places that are causing the issue at the border,” Ms. Harris said in a press conference Tuesday during her first trip abroad in office. “I think it’s short-sighted for any of us who are in the business of problem-solving to suggest we’re only going to respond to the reaction as opposed to addressing the cause.” “Do not come,” Ms. Harris repeated during a joint press conference Monday in Guatemala, adding, “The United States will continue to enforce our laws and secure our border.”That statement itself is a little confusing, because as a senator, she sat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (in which she would have been regularly briefed on global developments) and the Senate Committee on the Judiciary (which has jurisdiction over immigration, a big issue in Central America).And way back in March 2014, then-California state Attorney General Kamala Harris authored a 118-page report captioned “Gangs Beyond Borders, California and the Fight Against Transnational Organized Crime”. That report went into detail about Mexican-based drug cartels, transnational gangs (including MS-13 and the 18th Street gang), and “the trafficking of drugs, weapons and human beings”.Given that most of the migrants claiming asylum at the Southwest border allege that they are fleeing corruption and gang violence (and that smuggling is facilitated by Mexican drug cartels), you would figure that Harris would have sufficient familiarity with the situation in Mexico and the Northern Triangle to jump right in to her new position.I hear a lot of complaining, but short on offering solutions to an issue caused by a departure of legal immigration from the last administration. What is execpted of this administration to do differently while staying within the law? What good is it going to do to have her at the border? Pandering to the base and visits to the border for a photo op is not a policy it's an attempt to build a narrative. Nor does attacking her for looking at the root cause in their home counmtry that are sendng them to our border. (7)>>BUT HYPOCRISY runs deep in the Democratic Party . Hey wasn't this exact policy the same policy Trump was enforcing? And the policy they campaigned against and ostracized him for...for years?It's almost as if everything they say is just political theater to get your votes. Who would have thunk?Some day  people will realize that Presidential administrations have less control then they think they do. It's why Obama continued many of Bush's policies, and why Trump continued a few of Obama's policies.What makes people mad is the hypocrisy and lack of accountability.Perhaps she was nervous that leaders of those countries would echo criticisms lodged by Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei. He claimed Biden’s “confusing” messages that migrant children would be welcomed by the U.S. encouraged the caravans. Or that reporters would hear comments like those delivered by Mexican President Obrador, who said that Biden had raised expectations that people would be let into the U.S. (7.1)>>While people like AOC take a rather dangerous liberal view of immigration . Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., for instance, called Harris' statement "disappointing."“First, seeking asylum at any US border is a 100% legal method of arrival,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. “Second, the US spent decades contributing to regime change and destabilization in Latin America. We can’t help set someone’s house on fire and then blame them for fleeing.” AS CRAZY AS THE DEMOCRATS can get on the immigration thing, like talking from both sides of the mouth , double speak California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who endorsed Harris early in her 2020 presidential bid, is taking the side of Ocasio-Cortez. Like a Comedy of Errors .Despite agreeing with Ocasio-Cortez on the issue of asylum, Newsom said he was working closely with the Biden administration on handling the surge. (8)>>NATO alliance and warning Russia it faced “robust and meaningful” consequences. Hostility towards Russia is never going to work for American interests . The US Anti-Russia ball game during the Trump and Obama eras put the US in a corner politically  . Subsequently Russia and China formed a alliance , but American leaders fail to see this . Biden has told his aides he believes Putin responds to signs of strength, something he feels is better conveyed in person rather than over the phone, according to people familiar with the conversation. He has held two phone calls with the Russian President that officials describe as direct -- but without the type of personal interaction and body language derived from an in-person meeting. Olive branch for what exactly? This is not some misunderstanding that dialog can solve. Some deterrent is needed first, then diplomacy.(9)>>"We're not seeking conflict with Russia. Phone call summary by White House:President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia. They discussed a number of regional and global issues, including the intent of the United States and Russia to pursue a strategic stability dialogue on a range of arms control and emerging security issues, building on the extension of the New START Treaty. President Biden also made clear that the United States will act firmly in defense of its national interests in response to Russia’s actions, such as cyber intrusions and election interference. President Biden emphasized the United States’ unwavering commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The President voiced our concerns over the sudden Russian military build-up in occupied Crimea and on Ukraine’s borders, and called on Russia to de-escalate tensions. President Biden reaffirmed his goal of building a stable and predictable relationship with Russia consistent with U.S. interests, and proposed a summit meeting in a third country in the coming months to discuss the full range of issues facing the United States and Russia. (10)>>BUT Former President Donald Trump. Donald Trump had in my view to pursue a new rest with Russia . Had Trump managed to not jump on the sanction Russia band wagon that was being pushed by the military industrial complex mindset among the Democrats who were pushing the Russian meddling hoax , which pretty much was the main reason why both nations relations had crumbled in just four years to pre cold war levels . The collapse in relations with Russia and China has increased the dangers of war. Personally Trump may have been cozy to Putin , in a way a political way it would have been a good thing if Trump would have succeeded in reestablishing relations with Russia . It would have prevented so much that is going on right now in this world. (11)>>Bolton says that meeting is "premature,".Russian readers will also note information that confirms what they have known for some time. Chiefly, that while there is a strong consensus within the administration — and indeed within the U.S. body politic as a whole — that Russia is an adversary alongside China, Iran, and North Korea, Trump’s main obsession is with China. So his outreach to Russia, from the early days of his administration to the recent invitation to Putin to attend the G7 summit as a guest, stems from his ambition to create an anti-Beijing coalition and draw Russia into it.   (12)>>“a very good opportunity” to voice the concerns of both countries.      The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin and Biden will discuss “the current state and prospects for further development of Russian-American relations, issues of strategic stability” in addition to cooperation in the fight against coronavirus and regional conflicts.