Author: Blazingcatfur

Did Hunter Biden influence Obama-era China policy?

He and John Kerry’s stepson both had dealings while their fathers were in office

“Fighting corruption is not just good governance,” Joe Biden once said. “It is self-defense. It is patriotism, and it’s essential to the preservation of our democracy and our future.”

Going into the first term of his presidency, President Obama gave then-Vice President Biden one of the most important foreign policy portfolios: managing the US relationship with China. However, there is precious little to show for this prodigious assignment. During the eight years of the Obama presidency in which Vice President Biden was entrusted with this portfolio, China stole the personal information of the nearly 20 million Americans who sought a security clearance, militarized the South China Sea under our nose, harassed and removed countless foreign journalists from their soil, began a genocide in Xinjiang and stole trillions of dollars of American intellectual property. The Obama-Biden administration responded with no sanctions, no trade embargoes or tariffs, no real scrutiny of their business acquisitions, no pushback against their high-tech espionage and no restrictions against their foreign propagandists.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Joe Sleazebag Biden"

They’re Melting! They’re Melting!

The Post-Roe Era Has Begun And not particularly well for the Left.

We don’t need to launch into a recitation of examples to prove the reaction by the pro-abortion crowd to the publication of the Dobbs decision has been less than the traditional standard expected of a loser in the realm of law and public policy, do we?

Bombing care pregnancy centers. Holding Arizona legislators hostage. Riots. Incendiary speech by political “leaders.” The Babylon Bee summed up the moment with a perfect headline: “Dems Pause January 6 Hearings To Call For Insurrection.”

If you’re foolish enough to get engaged in a social media debate with one of the anti-Dobbs sky-screamers, you might well run into an argument which looks like this…

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inAbortion debate

Heartland Manufacturing Renaissance

Why Middle America is poised to lead an industrial comeback

Out in the rolling country just east of Columbus, Ohio, a new—and potentially brighter—American future is emerging. New factories are springing up, and, amid a severe labor shortage, companies are recruiting in the inner city and among communities of new immigrants and high schoolers to keep their plants running. Two new Intel plants, costing $20 billion, will employ 3,000 workers, generate thousands of jobs, and help make the Midwest an integral part of the high-tech economy.

The technology may be new, but what’s drawing these manufacturers to Ohio is something more traditional: its central location, business-friendly atmosphere, and long-standing industrial culture. “We are still at the edge of the farming areas, and people have a strong work ethic,” suggests Jay McCloy, who runs a plant for Mount Vernon, Ohio–based Ariel Corporation, a maker of natural-gas compressors that employs 1,400. “People here think building stuff is better than selling insurance. On a decent salary, you can live a good life in central Ohio.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inUSA

This Toronto company vowed to buy $1 billion in single-family homes to rent out. Here’s what it’s been up to since

There’s a century home on Water Street in Peterborough that was, until recently, an affordable place to rent — about $1,000 apiece for a three-bedroom or a four-bedroom unit.

For more than a decade, it was owned by a family who rented it to university students and others. But over the years, the house wore down — and the owners decided to sell.

In came the Avanew Single Family Rental company, the only bidder, who snapped up the home for close to $550,000. They put in new hardwood floors and spruced up the dated kitchens. When it was put back on the rental market, one of the units was listed for $2,500 — more than double the original rate.

This seems grotesque. It probably is.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Bread and Circuses"

Ukraine war: What Severodonetsk’s fall means for the conflict

It may have felt like an inevitability, but that does not make the fall of Severodonetsk any less painful for Ukraine.

For weeks it had been the main focus of Russia’s invasion, huge artillery barrages and air strikes reducing much of the old industrial city to rubble.

In the end, Ukrainian commanders said defending the ruins would cost too many lives.

In his Saturday night address after Russia had confirmed complete control of Severodonetsk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a difficult day, “morally and emotionally” for his country.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"

Paris attacks trial: accused given last chance to speak before sentencing

The sole surviving member of a cell alleged to have carried out the November 2015 terrorist bombings and shootings across Paris insisted he was not a killer, as the nine-month trial drew to a close.

“I’ve made mistakes, but I’m not an assassin. I’m not a killer. If you convict me for murder you will be committing an injustice,” Salah Abdeslam told the special court in Paris on Monday.

“My first words are for the victims. I have already said sorry. Some of you will say I am insincere, that this is a strategy … as if apologies could be insincere given so much suffering,” Abdeslam, 32, added.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Islamophobia", France, Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West

Jussie Smollett roasted for BET Awards appearance: ‘Who let him in?’

Fallen “Empire” star Jussie Smollett has defiantly declared he’s “not a piece of s–t” after “gaining clarity” during his recent mini-prison stint — but many viewers of the 2022 BET Awards aren’t ready to let him off the hook just yet.

Smollett, 40, made his controversial return to the red carpet at Sunday Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater — after being sprung in March when he served only six days of his 150-day sentence in March for five counts of felony disorderly conduct at Cook County Jail in Chicago.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inHate crime hoax

Feds would hand border agents free pass to your digital life

You’re returning home after a long trip. You’re exhausted, jetlagged, and perhaps irritated because of the lineup at border control. If it’s an overseas flight, you probably slept in your seat – and it shows.

If the federal government gets its way, your fatigue could give border agents a “reasonable general concern” – a made-up standard allowing them to pull you aside without cause and search your emails, browsing and search history, banking, legal or health records and anything else stored or accessible on your phone, tablet or laptop.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Surveillance Society"

The CBC’s Motto: Leave No Batshit Crazy Crank Unplatformed

Activists hold ‘Abolitionist Pride’ march to call for dismantling of police and prisons

About 500 people marched in downtown Toronto before the Pride parade on Sunday to call for the abolition of police and the prison system in Ontario.

The No Pride in Policing Coalition gathered at Nathan Phillips Square at 11 a.m. for an event it called “Abolitionist Pride,” then marched to various sites that the coalition says represent queer and trans oppression.

An online poster for the event said demonstrators were “reclaiming our radical histories and creating liveable futures without police and prisons.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Depolicing", Batshit Crazy Progressives, CBC

Twitter Is Just Fine With Calls to Assassinate Justice Thomas

Shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned, a Twitter user with the handle @redfrnn, who has since deleted his or her or xis account, tweeted: “i’m going to assassinate supreme court justice Clarence Thomas.” The same Twitter user had just before that tweeted a photo of a gun, saying: “im considering buying a mac mini.” Twitter, however, did not find this murderous psychopath to be in violation of their rules, despite the fact that those rules say, “You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inAbortion debate, Batshit Crazy Homicidal Progressives, Twitter, Twitter is Evil

France: Public Must Cut Energy Usage to Curb Threat to ‘Political Cohesion‘

Energy companies in France have told the public that they must “immediately” reduce their energy usage as a result of Europe’s sanction war with Russia.

As a result of a sanctions war between Russia and Europe, the French public must now “immediately” cut back on the amount of energy they use, the heads of three major energy providers in the country have now said.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"

Taiwan’s Message for China: We Have a Nuke-Like Weapon

On June 21, China’s People’s Daily reported that the United States and Taiwan were about to participate in the annual Monterey Talks. The U.S. side, China’s most authoritative publication stated, was expected to offer 20 types of weapons for sale to Taiwan, “with emphasis on building ‘asymmetric capability.'”

Taiwan, which the People’s Republic of China claims as its 34th province, already has asymmetric capabilities, and one of them could be as powerful as a nuclear weapon.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"China - Communist Slave State", Taiwan

The SCOTUS Abortion Leak Backfired

The shock of the ruling doesn’t seem to be there. Because it wasn’t a surprise.

Now that the Opinion overruling Roe v. Wade is out, the reaction while furious, seems like resignation. That’s not to say someone else won’t try to physically attack Justices or otherwise commit violence. It’s also not to say that Democrats won’t try to make it into an electoral issue, though I don’t think that will work (people angered at the opinion likely vote Democrat anyway).

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inAbortion debate

‘I’m very worried’: Former Tory Senate leader on Poilievre, convoys and the party’s future

A former Conservative Senate leader is expressing concern about the direction Pierre Poilievre is taking the party, worrying the Tories might be reaching the point of “fracturing beyond repair.”

In an exclusive interview with The West Block’s Mercedes Stephenson, Marjory LeBreton said Conservative leadership candidates jumping on the “grievance brigade” is doing a “disservice” not only to the party but to the country.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inConservative Party

Zelenskiy meets G7 leaders as US plans to give air defence system to Ukraine

Good pic. It cut Justin out.

The Ukrainian president has met G7 leaders via video as US government sources briefed that Washington plans to announce as soon as this week that it has bought a Norwegian advanced surface-to-air missile defence system for Ukraine.

The announcement of the Nasams purchase will meet one of the key requests from Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has been warning his key cities are defenceless against Russian missile strikes including those that rained down on the capital, Kyiv, on Sunday.

Tracking where Russia is taking Ukraine’s stolen grain

Russian forces have been repeatedly accused of stealing grain from Ukrainian farmers in occupied areas as well as other crops such as sunflower seeds, along with fertiliser and agricultural equipment. The BBC has spoken to farmers, analysed satellite images and followed tracking data to look for evidence of where stolen grain is going.

A few dozen miles from the frontline, Ukrainian farmer Dmytro describes how the business he nurtured over 25 years was lost in four months of Russian occupation.

The BBC tried to contact more than 200 farmers whose land is now in Russian-occupied territory. Dmytro – we are not using his real name to protect him from reprisals – was one of the few willing to meet us.

Russia is shipping Ukraine grain, the EU is buying gas direct from Putin, and Russian Oil is had via India, everything is going to plan.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia"