Chinese graphite dominance threatens electric car ambitions

Ripples of last year’s power crunch in China are still being felt by global battery and electric-car makers.

A shortage of coal supplies caused by an Indonesian export ban, a trade war with major supplier Australia and a steep rise in post-COVID-19 domestic demand prompted local Chinese authorities to ration power to energy-intensive industries, including graphite.

The rolling power blackouts as well as the suspension of graphite production in winter further squeezed global graphite supply, already struggling to keep up with strong demand for lithium-ion batteries as global electric vehicle sales went through the roof.

As a result, the mineral, which has often been overlooked when it comes to battery materials, has added to the troubles of battery and car manufacturers, who have been scouring the planet to secure supplies of other battery constituents like lithium, nickel and cobalt.

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

German woman ‘ran ISIS fund-raising operation’ from Syria refugee camp

A German woman faces terrorism charges after allegedly running a secret ISIS fund-raising operation for extremists detained at Syria’s Al Hol refugee camp.

The woman, named only as Monika K, is accused of running the donation network via messenger services, while being held at the camp for most of 2019, before she was smuggled out to marry another ISIS member.

She continued to operate the fund-raising campaign while the pair lived at Idlib, 500 kilometres to the west, German prosecutors say.

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

Canadian Military Begins NORAD Arctic Air Defence Operation

After a string of military exercises in northern Canada and the United States in recent days, the Canadian military will conduct a NORAD-specific exercise this week aimed at strengthening the continent’s defence against a variety of threats, including those originating from Russia.

The Arctic air defence operation, dubbed Operation Noble Defender (NB), involves Canadian and U.S. personnel and equipment and stretches from the Yukon to Newfoundland and Labrador, and also covers Alaska and areas off the coast of Greenland.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, USA

Doug Ford says neither he nor caucus members will endorse anyone for federal Tory race

BRAMPTON, Ont. — Ontario Premier Doug Ford says neither he nor his Progressive Conservative caucus members will be endorsing anyone for the leadership of the federal Conservative party.

When asked about it Tuesday at an unrelated announcement in Brampton, Ont., Ford said both he and the people in his caucus have their hands full supporting the people of Ontario.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Conservative Party

Transport Canada investigating whether Freedom Convoy supporters aboard flight were screened for vaccination

Transport Canada is looking into a chartered flight that brought supporters of the so-called Freedom Convoy from Western Canada to Ottawa last month, to ensure passengers were properly screened for COVID-19 vaccination.

According to one of the passengers on the flight, some of those aboard were not vaccinated, an apparent violation of the federal government mandate requiring most air and rail passengers to produce proof of vaccination before travel.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inWTF?

Zelensky ‘realized’ Ukraine cannot join NATO

After three weeks of brutal fighting, Ukraine has acknowledged that joining NATO is off the table.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday that he “realized” his country would not become a member of the defensive alliance.

“Ukraine realized that it would not become a member of NATO,” Zelensky said, according to an English translation from Ukrainian news outlet Trukha. “We understand this. We are adequate people. For years, we’ve heard the opposite — open doors. However, it is not.”

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

Black Lives Matter Co-Founder: Call the Jail to Demand Jussie Smollett Be Freed

Black Lives Matter co-founder and “trained Marxist” Patrisse Cullors — who resigned from BLM amid controversy about her personal wealth — says she has visited hate crime hoaxer and disgraced actor Jussie Smollett in jail, where she found that he has been “sleeping on a restraint bed,” which she called “unacceptable.” Cullors is now urging the public to call the jail and demand that Smollett be freed.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in#BlackLivesMatter

Has Russia Been Financing Western Environmentalism?

Have Western environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), movements and parties been possible, even unwitting, collaborators with the Russian government for the last ten years?

This question arises from a recent report by the Foundation for Political Innovation (Fondapol) in Paris. Fondapol’s director, Dominique Reynié, said in a recent interview:

“We have found Gazprom funding in particular environmental NGOs, which furnished certain European countries with ministers — Belgium for example — who then evidently embarked on a sort of return of favor by defending an exit from nuclear power.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inGreen-Scam

Why China thinks the West is to blame for Russia’s war in Ukraine

From the beginning of the war in Ukraine, it was clear that China would not condemn Russia’s invasion. On February 25, Beijing abstained from a vote on a UN Security Council draft resolution condemning the attack. China also abstained from a condemnation of the war by 141 countries in the UN General Assembly.

And Beijing’s implicit support of Russia continues despite Moscow’s continued escalation of the war.

Last week, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China’s friendship with Russia was “solid as a rock,” and constituted the “most important bilateral relationship” in the world contributing to “peace, stability and development.”

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

London attack suspect may have accessed ‘Dark Web’, documents show

Days after a Muslim family was killed on June 6, digital forensic investigators with London police sought access to a laptop, cellphones, USB devices and an external hard drive belonging to the alleged attacker, Nathaniel Veltman.

In newly-unsealed court documents, police said they were seeking to search the devices for internet browsing data, communications, documents, videos, and pictures in a bid to learn more about the motivations of the alleged attacker and evidence of advanced planning.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inTerrorism - Domestic

Minnesota Somali community on edge over FBI fraud allegations

… “This is hitting the community really hard,” said Bashir Garad Dahir, who later described the meeting. “We need crystal clear answers from the government. At some point we will come out and demand it because we’re concerned about the way the FBI is conducting its investigation. It is terrorizing the community.”

The FBI is investigating an alleged broad scheme to defraud the U.S. Department of Agriculture of tens of millions of dollars in child nutrition spending. Instead of feeding children, court documents allege an array of entities used the money to buy real estate, cars and other luxury items. According to FBI documents unsealed so far, many of the subcontractors under investigation are from the Somali community.

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