Beijing has vowed to safeguard its interests and ties with Moscow following a warning from US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen

Beijing has dismissed a warning from Washington to Chinese companies that allegedly support the Russian military amid its conflict with Ukraine. China will resolutely protect its interests from “foreign interference,” the Foreign Ministry has said in response.

Over the weekend, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen threatened Chinese firms with “significant consequences” if they “provide material support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.”

Yellen’s warning came as anonymous US officials told Bloomberg that Chinese companies were supplying microelectronics and machine tools to Russia to produce tanks, as well as optics and propellants for use in missiles.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning responded to Yellen’s statement during a press conference on Monday.

“China-Russia relations should not be attacked or smeared, and the legitimate rights and interests of China and Chinese companies should not be harmed,” Mao said. “China will take resolute measures to safeguard our legitimate rights and interests.”

The comments come as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Beijing on Monday for a two-day visit.

”The normal cooperation between China and Russia should not be subject to foreign interference or restriction,” Mao added in response to a follow-up question regarding Washington’s warning to Beijing over its ties with Moscow.

American officials have repeatedly warned Chinese companies against doing business with the Russian military since Moscow began its operation in Ukraine in 2022. Moscow and Beijing have repeatedly denied American claims that the Russian military has bought ammunition and ‘dual-use’ technology (with both military and civilian applications) from China.

According to Mao, Beijing is “committed to playing a constructive role in promoting ceasefire and political settlement of the crisis” between Moscow and Kiev.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have deepened their military and diplomatic cooperation over the past two years, with both leaders declaring a “no limits” partnership in February 2022. That partnership has seen Russia become China’s largest supplier of oil, while the Russian space agency Roscosmos announced last month that it could work with China to build an automated nuclear reactor on the Moon by 2035.

America Has a Third World Economy

Paul Craig Roberts

Friday’s jobs report, the financial press tells us, “blew past projections,” with a monthly jobs gain of 303,000 compared to the 231,000 average over the past year. The Biden economy is gathering steam. https://www.barrons.com/livecoverage/march-jobs-report-today

In actual fact the jobs report shows that the United States is continuing its collapse into third worldism.

A first world economy is characterized by high productivity, high value-added manufacturing and industrial jobs. A third world economy is characterized by low productivity service and government jobs. As I have reported for 30 years, the US has transitioned from the first to the third world.

The jobs report shows that. In March America lost jobs in primary metal manufacturing, fabricated metal product manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, computer and electronic product manufacturing, computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing, communications equipment manufacturing, semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing, electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing, furniture and related product manufacturing, food manufacturing, textile product manufacturing, apparel manufacturing, plastics and rubber products manufacturing, leather and allied product manufacturing.

190,000 of the jobs are in services, and 71,000 are in government. In other words, 86% of the jobs gain reflect the third world pattern. The service jobs are in wholesale and retail trade, health care and social assistance, and waitresses and bartenders.

The high tech jobs we were promised in exchange for offshoring US manufacturing industry are hardly visible and certainly did not provide opportunities for displaced manufacturing workers. Moreover, most tech jobs–AI, robotics, software programs–are aimed at displacing humans from the work force.

The offshoring of US manufacturing destroyed the middle class, state and local government budgets, the ladders of upward mobility, and concentrated the wealth of the country in one percent of the population.

That one percent itself is a massively wide wealth range from $11 million to 200,000 million, which are certainly not comparable wealth positions. The difference is the same as between $11 and $200,000. American wealth is concentrated in the hands of multi-billionaires who comprise one-tenth of one percent or less of the population.

The tell-tale sign of a third world economy is the concentration of wealth in the hands of a tiny minority. In the United States this is called “democracy.” And an increase in third world jobs is misrepresented as economic progress.

They will never stop lying to us.

Third World America

For decades I have emphasized in books and articles that Wall Street, corporations and their political puppets have the US on the road to the third world. It looks like we have arrived:
https://www.rt.com/news/595530-poll-americans-struggle-rising-housing-costs/

The typical American household income is $30,000 less than the income required to afford a median-priced home. 22% of Americans skip meals in order to pay the mortgage and medical bills. 45% of Americans 18-29 years of age are living at home with parents. And on top of this 3.6 million immigrant-invaders are arriving annually who require various forms of public assistance.

The transformation of America from an opportunity society to a shithole country is almost complete.

The Ukrainian president’s failure to keep his election promises has contributed to public disenchantment, Tagesspiegel claims

Public support for Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky is declining as he is increasingly perceived as an authoritarian ruler, German newspaper Tagesspiegel has claimed.

In an article on Saturday, Tagesspiegel reported that approval ratings for Zelensky “have recently sunk to 61%,” citing fresh opinion polls by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology. The Ukrainian leader had enjoyed the support of more than 80% of citizens in the initial months after the conflict with Russia broke out in 2022, the German outlet noted.

In January, the New York Times reported that Ukrainians were growing weary of government narratives being pushed on TV, accusing them of painting an unrealistic picture of frontline developments.

In early March, Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko openly criticized Zelensky’s decision to fire the country’s top military commander, Valery Zaluzhny, in the previous month. Klitschko has also repeatedly accused the Ukrainian president of authoritarian tendencies.

Tagesspiegel quoted Stefan Meister, an Eastern Europe expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations research institute, as saying that Ukrainian society has become increasingly critical of authoritarian tendencies within Zelensky’s government.

According to Meister, Ukrainians are disillusioned with the president’s failure to fulfill the promises he made on the campaign trail five years ago, including bringing peace to the country and eradicating corruption.

Vladimir Paniotto, the head of the Kiev International Institute of Sociology, told German reporters that public trust in Zelensky’s team as a whole has also declined markedly.

Zelensky’s first five-year term is due to end on May 20, although he has ruled out holding presidential elections, citing martial law. He has nonetheless been busy reshuffling his administration, seeking to remove figures who enjoy any significant public support and replacing them with those “loyal to the president [and] without political ambitions,” Tagesspiegel reported.

The newspaper cited the sacking of Zaluzhny as a prime example, adding that the general remains more popular among Ukrainians than Zelensky.

The Ukrainian president “is trying to shunt possible rivals so that they won’t become politically dangerous for him,” Meister alleged.

A version of this article first appeared as a regular RPI Update. Subscribe for free here.

Last week the Israelis scored a bloody “hat trick” – slaughtering seven international food aid workers, demolishing the last major hospital operating in Gaza, and – perhaps most dangerous – attacking an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, Syria, in which several senior Iranian military figures were killed.

There is a very good reason diplomatic facilities are off limits even in times of war. It has been mutually beneficial for thousands of years for all parties to know that they may continue to communicate and conduct diplomacy even during crises and war with messengers and diplomats able to fulfil their duties unmolested. Attacks on diplomatic facilities are so rare that when they do occur even the most apology-averse regimes find themselves obligated to break out the ashes and sackcloth. When the US bombed the Chinese Embassy in Yugoslavia in 1999, for example, there were moments when a US war with China was suddenly not beyond imagination. It was extremely tense – until the US government offered profuse apologies and compensation to the families of the victims.

The Israeli attack on an Iranian embassy complex in Syria – a country Israel has been habitually bombing for years with impunity including in a separate case just days before the Iran embassy attack where 53 Syrians were killed in Aleppo under Israeli bombs – is thus a serious and boldfaced threat to the existing world order. When all the rules and customs are thrown aside, doors are suddenly opened for previously unimaginable actions and consequences.

Why would Israel risk a direct confrontation with an Iran that is strong and well-armed – including reportedly with hypersonic missiles – at this point in its ongoing bloodbath in Gaza? It seems by calculation.

Many observers believe that, six months into its operation in Gaza with no discernible degrading of the strength of Hamas as a political or fighting force – and with some 33,000 Palestinian civilians killed in the process – Israel is looking to get out by going further in. In other words, Tel Aviv is looking to extricate itself from a growing crisis by escalating its war to Iran and Lebanon (and perhaps Syria) with the idea that its dedicated supporters among the US political elites of both parties will join together to pull Israel’s chestnuts out of the fire.

Already at home, tens of thousands are taking to the Israeli streets to demand new elections and negotiations to get the Israeli hostages released. While polls suggest most Israelis favor Israel’s assault on Palestinians in Gaza, they are frustrated with the lack of any result and the continued specter of Israelis being held by Hamas.

Opposition to the Netanyahu regime’s total war against Palestinians in Gaza is not limited to Israel itself or what is called the “global south” or the “global majority” (meaning Russia, China, India, and the rest of the BRICS countries), but even inside the United States, where unquestioning support for Israel was once nearly automatic and opposition to US/Israel being joined at the hip only came from what were dismissed as “the fringes.”

According to a new poll from the Gallup organization, the “Majority in U.S. Now Disapprove of Israeli Action in Gaza.” The numbers from their recent poll are devastating not only to Tel Aviv but to our political class at home: “approval has dropped from 50% to 36% since November,” reports Gallup.

That means for the first time in recent memory, the people of the United States are fed up with backing Israel’s endless aggression in the Middle East. The numbers are worse for Biden voters – hence the desperation in his re-election camp – but even among Israel’s stalwart supporters in the US Republican Party, support for Israel has slipped from 71 percent to just 64 percent just since November. 

That number is sure to sink further, as GOP dinosaurs like Mitch McConnell are being supplanted by a Republican Party that appears to be – slowly – waking up to the disaster created by US foreign policy interventionism. So when McConnell warns that even as his short-circuiting brain has caused him to step down from Republican leadership in the Senate, he is determined to finish his term with the singular goal of defeating growing “isolationism” among his GOP Senate colleagues…well, would you want to advertise “Glitch Mitch” as your poster child for foreign policy? The guy who eagerly lent his face to each of the disastrous wars of the 21st century?

His attacks on his fellow Kentucky Senator, Rand Paul, as someone who “would be the first one to say that he’s an isolationist” just seem increasingly wince-inducing and out-of-touch.

So what will Iran do to respond to Israel’s attack on its embassy in Syria? The US is reportedly on “high alert” for an Iranian response in the Middle East, but also has reportedly assured Iran it would not respond to any Iranian retaliation against Israeli aggression. Washington reportedly informed Iran that Israel did not give it a heads up before hitting its embassy in Damascus.

Is it a trap? I have suspicions, but no information beyond that.

For its part, a senior Israeli official hinted that the country may use nuclear weapons against Iran if Iran retaliates and the US does not jump in on Israel’s side: “In the event of a conflict with Iran, if we do not receive American ammunition – we will have to use everything we have…”

These are the woes an interventionist foreign policy brings to Americans. Which is why we do not support getting involved in the affairs of any country overseas. Yes, that goes for Israel too. And we are happy that finally the rest of the country is coming in our direction. Hopefully it is not too late.

Despite the ongoing hostilities in Gaza, a record number of Arab soldiers are currently serving in the Israeli army

Israeli Arabs are normally exempt from the military service that is compulsory for all. However, throughout the years hundreds have enrolled in the IDF, albeit their numbers have been insignificant. In recent years, this tendency has shifted, and in 2021 more than a thousand Muslim Arabs served in its ranks.

With Israel’s operation in Gaza hitting the six-month mark, the international community is putting pressure on officials in West Jerusalem to end the war.

Mass demonstrations against the war have become common in such states as the US, UK, France, Germany, and Netherlands. The positive perception of Israel in the US has gone down from the previous 68% of 2023 to the current 58%, the lowest rating in over two decades.

A similar trend has also been registered in Arab states, where Israel's reputation has dropped, with 89% rejecting the idea of normalizing relations with Israel because of its bloody military campaign in Gaza.

Interestingly, though, this was not the case inside Israel within its own Arab population. In November 2023, shortly after the bloody attacks of Hamas on the country’s southern communities, where at least 1,400 people were slaughtered, a poll revealed that 70% of Arab Israelis felt a connection to the state and that the problems of Israel concerned them too. In comparison, in June of 2023, only 48% of Israeli Arabs had expressed such a view.

This sentiment has also translated into a boost in the number of Israeli Arabs who enrolled for military service.

Israeli law doesn’t impose service in the IDF on Israeli Arabs, who make up some 20% of the total population. Yet, throughout the years, some members of the community have served.

In recent years, however, more and more Israeli Arabs have opted for the military. While in 2018 and 2019, only 436 and 489 Arabs served in the IDF, respectively, in 2020 more than 600 wore the uniform. 

By 2021, the number of Arab soldiers had reached over a thousand, including in combat units, while the raging war in Gaza has given another boost to the numbers.

Yusef Hadad, an Israeli Arab from the city of Nazareth in northern Israel, is also one of those who decided to stand with Israel. 

In 2003, when he was 18, he went to serve in an elite combat unit called Golani, and three years later, he was sent to Lebanon, where Israel was waging a war in retaliation for the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by militants of Hezbollah, a Shiite militia linked to Iran. 

While fighting in the ranks of the IDF, he was wounded and lost a foot but says he has never regretted serving the State of Israel.

“The reason I decided to go and serve was because our army is called the IDF, meaning Israel Defence Forces, not JDF, Jewish Defence Forces. This military is for everyone and it protects us all, Jews and Arabs alike. So by serving there, I am serving not only my community but also all the peoples of Israel.”

Recalling his days in uniform, Hadad says he faced mixed reactions. He was bullied at times, harassed, and called a traitor for neglecting the Palestinian cause and for siding with whom many saw as an occupier. But such people, he says, have never managed to break his determination and spirit.

“I was never ashamed of my decision, and every time I went back home from the base, I made sure to wear my uniform, and I remember that children used to approach me to ask questions,” he said over the phone.

“Back in those days my deed was unique. In my own family I was the first one to do it. But I paved that path for many. My sister enrolled straight after me,” he added.

Today, due to his injury in the Second Lebanon War, Hadad is not able to serve in the reserves, but he dedicates his time to advocating for Israel. He has been seen in studios debating pro-Palestinian activists, often clashing with them without mincing his words. He is touring the world with lectures promoting Israel, for which he is often slammed and rebuked.

But the more the war in Gaza goes on, the more difficult it becomes to justify it. The number of casualties in Gaza has already surpassed 30,000 people. Thousands of others are wounded, many others are unaccounted for, while 80% of buildings have been partially or totally destroyed. More than a million Gazans have become internally displaced. 

The actions of some IDF soldiers are not helping Hadad’s advocacy efforts either. Since the beginning of the war on October 7, 2023 social media has been packed with viral videos of Israeli fighters ruining furniture, looting property and humiliating civilians – actions that have caused an international uproar. Hadad condemns the actions of these individuals, who “go against the morals of the IDF” and is certain they will be prosecuted and punished for their actions. 

“We are a small country of nine million people and almost every family in Israel was affected by the events of October 7. So some soldiers are acting out of anger and the desire to revenge. It is unfortunate but a rather natural reaction,” he explained.

“Yet, it is important to remember that the spirit of the IDF – from the lowest ranking soldier and to the highest ranking officer – is different. We are considered to be one of the most moral armies in the world and we do our best not to harm civilians.”

The statistics, however, show a different picture. Of the 30,000 people dead in Gaza, 10,000 were terrorists as per the IDF. The remaining 20,000 were civilians, including women and children.

But Hadad says the media – which is generally hostile to Israel – is misguided by information fed by Hamas.

“When I tell them that the IDF killed 10,000 terrorists, they don’t believe me. But they go on and quote the numbers of the Palestinian health ministry that’s controlled by the terror group Hamas. What does that mean? Do they rather believe a terror group than one of the most moral armies in the world? This is hypocrisy,” reasoned the activist.

Hadad believes that this biased approach towards Israel harms the credibility of news networks that “don’t give their viewers credible information” about the reality on the ground. They don’t speak about the co-existence between Jews and Arabs that exists in Israel. Neither do they mention that the majority of Israeli Arabs speak against Hamas and its horrendous crimes.

For his advocacy efforts Hadad has already been branded as Israel’s de-facto minister of public diplomacy. But he says he is far from politics, especially at a time when the war is still raging and 134 Israeli hostages are still captive in Gaza.

“Now we need to concentrate on supporting the IDF and bringing the hostages back. Whatever happens next... all possibilities are open.”

Approved by ‘Pope’ Francis…

Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Declaration Dignitas Infinita
on Human Dignity

April 2, 2024

The Vatican’s text factory has just released another ‘magisterial’ document: Jorge Bergoglio (a.k.a. ‘Pope Francis’) has approved the publication of another declaration issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). It bears the name Dignitas Infinita (“Infinite Dignity”) and concerns itself with the topic of human dignity, specifically in view of various moral issues of our time. The last declaration issued by the DDF was Fiducia Supplicans, which permitted the administering of blessings on same-sex ‘couples’.… READ MORE

Blessed Feast, everyone!

DOUBLE, FIRST CLASS / WHITE
Every year this feast recalls anew Mary’s reply to God’s angelic messenger: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word.” Every work of the Creator is called to perfection, and perfection consists in obedience. The heavens and the earth inevitably announce the glory of God, but to human beings alone God granted a free will to serve Him. At the Annunciation, the obedience of Mary brought Christ down on earth to save fallen humanity. we, too, are called upon to co-operate with the Creator. The glory of God awaits our human word of obedient consent.

https://tridentine-mass.blogspot.com/

(Today is one of the very few days of the year that the Gospel reading is exactly the same in the TLM and the Novus Ordo. -nvp)

GOSPEL (Luke 1:26-38)
At that time, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David: and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” Who having heard, was troubled at his saying and thought with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: “Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great and shall be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
And Mary said to the angel: “How shall this be done, because I know not man?” And the angel answering, said to her: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her that is called barren. Because no word shall be impossible with God.” And Mary said: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.””

Folks, get right with God. Do what it takes to assume the bearing of “be it done to me according to thy word.” And then live every breath knowing  it might be your last. Love of the Law is the key to knowing and loving God.

For those of you getting stink eye from certain people, simply for noting the fact of the X eclipse today, take note that the Creator of the Universe, in the 14th verse of Scripture, told us why He created the Sun and the Moon:

“And God said: Let there be lights made in the firmament of heaven, to divide the day and the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years.” – Gen 1:14

To know Him is to love Him.

My wife recently discovered a video featuring an audio recording of Bishop Fulton Sheen reciting the 15-decade rosary. Sheen’s riveting prose, coupled with his commanding voice and bejeweled with a slide show of some of the finest sacred art ever produced, makes for a thoroughly engaging experience. When I first viewed this recording and contemplated the mysteries of the Annunciation and the…

Source

The tech billionaire slammed the ruling as “the most draconian demands of any country on Earth”

Elon Musk has demanded the resignation of a Brazilian Supreme Court justice. Judge Alexandre de Moraes had ordered an investigation of Elon Musk on Sunday, after the tech mogul defied an order to suspend social media accounts, claiming that they were spreading disinformation.

Musk was accused of the “criminal instrumentalization of the platform” and was threatened with a fine equivalent to $20,000 for each reactivated account that the judge ordered to be blocked. 

 ”The social network X must refrain from disobeying judicial orders, including by reactivating an account that the Supreme Court ordered blocked,” Judge Alexandre de Moraes wrote in the order reviewed by AFP agency. “Social networks are not lands without laws,” the judge added in capital letters. 

It has not been revealed which accounts were affected. 

Following the development, the billionaire, who is known for his free speech advocacy, took to his platform, calling the ruling the “the most draconian demands of any country on Earth” and accusing Moraes of “brazenly and repeatedly” betraying the constitution and people of Brazil.  

“This judge has applied massive fines, threatened to arrest our employees and cut off access to X in Brazil,” he said in a post on his network on Sunday, calling on Moraes to resign. 

“As a result, we will probably lose all revenue in Brazil and have to shut down our office there. But principles matter more than profit,” he added. 

Moraes has ordered the suspension of multiple accounts belonging to influential people supporting former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently being investigated amid allegations that he attempted to launch a coup in 2022. So-called “digital militias” have been accused of spreading defamatory claims and threats against members of Brazil’s Supreme Court.

Those who approve of the crackdown say supporters of the right-wing former president threaten Brazil’s democracy. They cite mass protests against his election loss, which culminated in January 2023 with the storming of the Supreme Court building, the national parliament and the presidential palace. Online agitation allegedly served as a key trigger of the violence.

Following Musk’s retort, Brazil’s Attorney General Jorge Messias called for the urgent regulation of social networks, saying “we cannot live in a society where billionaires who live abroad control social networks and show themselves willing to violate the rule of law, disobeying judicial orders and threatening our authorities.”

The politician was detained in Avallon following an anti-narcotics raid on Sunday

French police have arrested the mayor of the town of Avallon after 70kg of cannabis was found at her home on Sunday, AFP and BFM TV have reported, citing law enforcement sources.

Jamilah Habsaoui has been mayor of Avallon, a town of about 6,000 people approximately 250km southeast of Paris in Bourgogne-Franche-Comte region, since 2021 and is also a regional councilor. Her home was raided as part of a preliminary investigation into drug trafficking.

The 46-year-old politician bought the property three years ago but does not reside there, L’Yonne Republicaine, a local newspaper, reported. It added that Avallon's town hall had also been searched.

A total of seven people were detained in the operation, including two of Habsaoui’s brothers, AFP reported, citing Auxerre's public prosecutor, Hugues de Phily. He added that 983 grams of cocaine, €7,000 ($7,600) in cash, and around 20 gold bars were seized in several locations.

READ MORE: 15-year-old rapper arrested during St Petersburg concert

The raid was part of a wider anti-narcotics campaign dubbed ‘Place nette XXL’ that was launched earlier this year. Some 473 raids have been carried out, leading to the arrest of over 7,000 suspects and the confiscation of 3.6 metric tons of drugs, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.