A posting place for news from places around the globe, outside of the US/Europe.
Well the protesters went and shut down Hong Kong Airport, causing untold millions of damages to the regional economy, and it seems they don't intend on vacating it, either. China is not going to let that sort of disruption continue unabated. I read somewhere there are something like 10-15,000 PRC troops already stationed in or around HK who have not come out of their barracks yet. So if this large convoy of infantry are one bridge away from HK it may well mark a very dark chapter in history for the people of HK.
I would steer clear of any travel to HK for the foreseeable future. Our department of foreign affairs and trading fairly recently escalated travel advice for HK as "high degree of caution".
Something is going to go down in Hong Kong based on the news I have been seeing. Lots of Chinese military vehicles massing nearby etc.
I just hope it doesn't turn into a blood bath.
It probably wont end well. Best scenario was CPC allowing Hong Kong to be a "democratization" experiment for mainland China. But any such notion is probably pushed back decades with how quickly they lost control over the situation.
NPR reports that in Mainland China the news shows a wee bit of bias, the coverage going from describing small gangs of hoodlums to an "almost mafia-like" group of people and activity. They edit footage heavily to portray the police as overwhelmed. I'm envisioning something like the Axe Gang dance.
Mainland China news - Fox news what is the difference?
Russia and the U.S. have proven that no one is going to do anything real to interfere in this type of thing, so China can do whatever it wants. What is Britain going to do since China is violating their 50 year agreement? Nothing. What is the U.N. going to do? Nothing. They could mow down 50,000 protestors with machine guns and release official video evidence and they might get a strongly worded letter and a slap on the wrist sanction designed to be trivial to evade.
Plus this is a nice distraction for China from the economic problems they have bubbling.
Mainland China news - Fox news what is the difference?
One likes Trump more?
I think questions about "public support" for the protesters are kind of settled when a quarter of the public itself is actively participating in the protest.
At least it is quite positive the Chinese government has not interfered, yet. There was a time where I doubt they would have shown this much restraint.
Also really positive that todays event seemed mostly non-violent, as there has been some indications in recent days that some small violent groups, had started to abuse the marches, kinda similar to what seemed to happen with the Yellow vest protests in France.
Give it time. Chinese authority is nothing if not patient. I suspect they are just waiting for one of any number of scenarios to eventuate that will give them the internal and external diplomatic cover to strike. I suspect they learned a great deal from Tiananmen square and this is their chance to apply that knowledge (hint - it won't result in a free and democratic Hong Kong).
No that is probably the only guaranteed outcome in all of this. At best they get to keep most of what they have now.
More a question of whether it ends in a massacre or not.
The Amazon rain forest has been burning for weeks and seems to be getting worse. The smoke from it is bloating out the sun miles away. Seems odd I just found out about it a minute ago. What is going to happen if it is completely destroyed.
On China, Hong Kong and possible reactions, there is unconfirmed reports that what actually happened was that there was almost a civil war sparked off with actual army units trading fire. It's impossible to say as the Chinese government suppresses all information coming from the incident.
Some do claim that other army groups were so enraged at the 27th Combined Group who killed some of their own men, that they went back to their barracks, armed themselves and sought blood. We've no idea what happened after that.
I will say this, why does the Chinese government get so worried about people talking about Tiananmen Square? Is it because they massacred a few thousand civilians or is it because they very nearly lost control? Which would it fear the most?
So, as far as Hong Kong goes, I remained convinced how far the Chinese government is prepared to go and how far their army is will to go for them. I really hope I'm right.
The Amazon rain forest has been burning for weeks and seems to be getting worse. The smoke from it is bloating out the sun miles away. Seems odd I just found out about it a minute ago. What is going to happen if it is completely destroyed.
Looks like a lot of the fires may have been deliberately started to clear the land.
BBC: Amazon fires: Brazilian rainforest burning at record rate, space agency warns
Brazil's Amazon rainforest has seen a record number of fires this year, according to new data from the country's space research agency.
The National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) said its satellite data showed an 83% increase on the same period in 2018.
It comes weeks after President Jair Bolsonaro fired the head of the agency amid rows over its deforestation data.
Smoke from the fires caused a blackout in the city of Sao Paulo on Monday.
The daytime blackout, which lasted for about an hour, came after strong winds brought in smoke from forest fires burning in the states of Amazonas and Rondonia, more than 2,700km (1,700 miles) away.
The largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon is a vital carbon store that slows down the pace of global warming.
Conservationists have blamed Mr Bolsonaro, saying he has encouraged loggers and farmers to clear the land.
I think a month or so back I read the Amazon tribes won a court battle that prevented portions of the Amazon from being used for whatever big business. I guess this could be a attempt to burn them out and take their land.
The problem is the comparison with 2018. Go further back and you'll have a different idea. The 2000's were devastating.
It's good that people are becoming aware of the Amazon yearly fires and deforestation but a lot of disinformation is being passed like it produces 20% of our oxygen and that Bolsonaro, as much of an awful person he is, is to blame for it all. And this disinformation problem I put squarely on the feet of influential people who are disseminated this like wildfire (I won't expect someone like Cristiano Ronaldo to investigate this stuff, but Macron has an environment minister).
After months of protests, Hong Kong leader withdraws controversial extradition bill
Hong Kong's embattled leader Carrie Lam has finally fully withdrawn a controversial bill that allowed extradition to mainland China and sparked three months of dramatic protests in the financial hub.The decision to cave in to one of protesters' five core demands marked a dramatic U-turn for Lam, who for months has refused to withdraw the bill.
"We must find ways to address the discontent in society and look for solutions," Lam said in a a video statement Wednesday evening. "After more than two months of social unrest, it is obvious to many that this discontentment extends far beyond the bill."
But Lam refused to give ground on protesters' four other demands, including greater democracy for the city and an independent commission into police conduct, saying all investigations would be carried out by the existing Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC).
I've been working in South Africa for the last year and it's true that illegal immigration is a real problem in this country.
Absolutely! The damage he caused...
That said, I feel like you cannot be a rapper and also be out her on some "Help the Police" stuff.
We'll have to see how it turns out for Jay-Z.
Prederick wrote:That said, I feel like you cannot be a rapper and also be out her on some "Help the Police" stuff.
We'll have to see how it turns out for Beyonce’s husband.
ftfy
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