Social Credit Scoring
It's already in place in much of China and based upon discussions that I've had with people in major cities in China, the coercion is in place and it depending on where you stand, it works. The system ranks everyone based on their social credit. If you marry somebody that is not Han Chinese, your ranking drops. If you criticize the local or national government, that all-important ranking drops. And so forth.
As with private credit scores, a person's social score can move up and down depending on their behavior. The exact methodology is a secret. However playing games on the Internet too long, buying luxury items in excess (unless you're elite), a bad driving record, posting on social media, etc. will spike your score. And everyone knows that if you're part of the party elite, the rules do not apply.
Naturally. A bad social credit score can keep you from traveling on a train, restricting your travel outside of China, reducing your internet speed, banning you and your family from attending good schools, 17 people who refused to carry out military service last year were barred from enrolling in higher education, applying for high school, or continuing their studies,
Beijing News. You can't register to stay in a nice hotel, can't get better paying jobs, and being black listed publicly/socially shamed. There are also incidents reported where the government will take your dog from you because of your low score. Want a credit card, so sorry. Orwellian tactics are alive and well. Yet, it's the Red China blues for those who are not elite, and are subject to the often subjective social score.
Intentional Ramming
On June 9, a Chinese fishing boat struck and sank a Philippine fishing boat in the Spratly Islands. The Philippine boat sank off Reed Bank in the Spratly Islands, and the Chinese boat left the area without attempting to rescue 22 fishermen in the water. Typical behavior of the Navy of the People's Republic of China (all "civilian" Chinese fishing boats are part of the Chinese Navy).
A Vietnamese ship operating nearby rescued the Philippine crew.
The action most annoying to the Manila government is the Chinese abandonment of the Filipino fisherman in the sea. That establishes a preliminary basis for culpability, if not deliberation.
This year Chinese boats, coast guard ships and navy ships have become more aggressive in the Spratly Islands as US and allied ships have increased their freedom of navigation and other operations.
The Chinese fishing boats backed by coast guard or naval ships have driven Philippine fishing boats from Scarborough Shoal and other fishing grounds. A deliberate ramming is certainly not unprecedented.
The Philippines are learning the disconnect between Chinese diplomatic entreaties and maritime practices. It's all part of the Long March, to make the world China.
Hong Kong
The Chief Executive closed Hong Kong government offices for the rest of the week. The Legislative Council has not yet announced when it will next attempt to convene a session to debate the extradition amendments.
Some demonstrators said they will return to the streeets to prevent that from taking place. The Civil Human Rights Front, one of the organizers, said it has applied for a demonstration permit for another mass rally on Sunday, the 16th.
China - Helping to Make Japan Great Again
A US and Japanese naval task group is operating in the South China Sea. The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force’s (JMSDF’s) aircraft-carrying destroyer, JS Izumo (DH-183), held a joint naval exercise in the South China Sea from 10 to 12 June.
The USS Ronald Reagan, JS Izumo, JS Akebono (DD-108), and JS Murasame (DD-101) conducted communication checks, tactical maneuvering drills and liaison officer exchanges designed to address common maritime security priorities and enhance interoperability at sea.
An open source naval locator map placed the USS Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group in the South China Sea, south of the Paracels, east of central Vietnam. The Chinese have not yet commented on this show of force.
The JS Izumo, at 27,000 tons, is the largest naval combatant in the JMSDF for now. However, the Japanese government has approved the construction of two full-size aircraft carriers.
For most of the post-World War II era, no Asians, including the Japanese, sought the reconstitution of Japanese naval power. Chinese leaders were in the forefront in denouncing any Japanese military activity outside Japan, regularly reminding Japanese leaders to review their recent history and its outcome. But China is working hard now to convince the Japanese that they need to build a navy to halt China's imperialism.
For a time, North Korea seemed like a primary driver in Japanese military development, after it test launched a ballistic missile over Japan in 1998. Despite Kim Jong Un’s aggressive missile test program in 2016 and 2017, the Chinese naval threat emerged to eclipse the North Koreans.
China is a bad neighbor, unless you want to be folded into the worker's paradise and ship your money along the Belt Road to China.
For now, she's not enough of a collectivist to gain the imagination of the progs. It's true that she's a woman, but she's not a lesbian. She was born in American Samoa, but liberals claim that she's not Samoan enough -- and most of them have no idea where Samoa is. Clearly there aren't enough Samoans out there voting to make a difference, so she represents an insignificant grievance group, unlike Obama, who was famous for being half white - or half negro, depending on how you look at it. She served in the US Army in a combat theater, which puts her in the same lane as Mayor ButtGuy - claiming that it has prepared her to be commander-in-chief.
Politicians are proud to offer to pay for votes using other people's money.
Many inside and particularly outside the US look at our policy toward the murder of viable babies both born and unborn with horror. "What sort of people would do that?" Maybe Nazis, obsessed with the slaughter of Jews? Maybe the Red Chinese after the Cultural Revolution when they were trying to thin the population out? Pol Pot would have done it in Cambodia for shits and giggles. But we (and the world) heard legislatures CHEER the decision to kill living babies if parents somehow decided that the child was inconvenient.
It's common knowledge that the most dangerous place for a black person to be in many parts of the US is in the womb.
There I was, last night, without much to watch on tv and I defaulted to Netflix and landed on Bright. I approached the movie with a great deal of skepticism. Elves, orcs, fairies and so forth in the modern world didn't sound that interesting, but the principal cast of Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, Noomi Rapace, and Lucy Fry and the production team led by David Ayer intrigued me. And I'm glad that I viewed the film. It was good. And I found that there is a sequel in the works, which will be a MUST SEE. Many critics had a different opinion, but I don't care much what they write.
For those of you who have been asleep, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) downed a US RQ-4A Global Hawk intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drone over the Strait of Hormuz. The commander of the IRGC Guard said Thursday that the shooting down of a US drone had sent “a clear message” to America.
Iran judges that if they can entice the US to overreact or to not react at all, we will look either like a bully or weak and helpless in the face of the turbans.
US military options are limited for deterring, much less preventing, the harassment campaign without making Iran look like a victim. Congress wants a hand in this and is pushing for a new authorization to use military force - one that they, rather than President Trump, the Commander-in-Chief, can manage. It's not a bad political ploy. If the trolly jumps the rails, they blame President Trump. If things go well, they take the credit.
I'm going to list the top accomplishments of the Trump administration. It's my list. You may have favorites that I miss.
Monsoon comes to Arizona in July and August, cooling the desert, driving up the relative humidity and killing the odd fool who doesn't understand what a flash flood is and camps in a dry wash. Some people attribute this weather pattern to something sinister. Others just counsel that one should get used to it since it happens every year.
Imagery showed one ship, the Front Altair, on fire, drifting and in danger of sinking. The other ship is the Kokuka Courageous, which is reported to be drifting.
And that applies to all nations that would rather not have their ships damaged/sunk by Iran. Just boycott Iranian oil. Buy from the USA. That will solve the problem and the US doesn't need to worry about a crazy, costly war.
The protest gathered slowly and peacefully in the morning. The apparent trigger for more aggressive action was the arrival around noon of legislators at the Legislative Council building to debate the amendments to the Fugitive Offenses Ordinance and a related ordinance. Then things got nasty and the Hong Kong Police fired more than 150 tear gas canisters to disburse the protesters.
Chairman Kim and his strategists have made preparations for a major change in strategy in 2020. North Korean statements indicate Kim personally is responsible for maintaining the outreach and conciliatory policy. The recent exchange of personal correspondence between Kim and the US President reinforces that judgment. President Trump recently reported that he received a "beautiful letter" from the fat little dictator.
Tension is rising offshore in Cyprus. Turkey's foreign ministry vowed a strong response to the issuance by Greek Cyprus of arrest warrants against the 25-member crew of a Turkish oil drilling ship off western Cyprus.
How courageous is that?
And Tucker seemed to agree?