Chip war - worse than 'killing the goose that laid the golden eggs'

 The Chip Alliance and Chip War is just like the proverbial saying of 'killing the goose that laid the golden eggs'. The USA and its allies can stifle China on Chip technology, but now it looks like the USA cannot help its own domestic not to mention allies in the chip industry without China's unrestricted supply of rare earth elements.

China had been fueling the demand by the global chip manufacturing industry with their rare earth elements for decades and is breaking that tradition going forward. As China's own priority is now extending into being self sufficient in domestic chip manufacturing, it is therefore timely and logical for it to keep rare earth elements sufficient for its own use. That is killing two birds with one stone - restricting supplies to others and conserving it to serve rising domestic demand.

The days of China not retaliating are over, starting from Trump's trade war. Every action now will meet with a reaction that is going to be more devastating than expected. The irony is that it is those countries that followed the USA blindly eg in the Ukraine War that are suffering the most, while the USA is benefiting from the misery of Europe.

Just wait for the winter of discontent coming into focus soon, if it is severe and not mild like in 2022. 

Anonymous

US bioengineered mice to spread coronavirus

 https://sg.yahoo.com/news/dangerous-diseases-found-illegal-california-170555788.html


Dangerous diseases found in illegal California medical lab with nearly 1,000 bioengineered mice
Graig Graziosi

Authorities uncovered an illegal lab inside a California warehouse containing nearly 1,000 mice bioengineered to catch and spread the coronavirus.

Infectious agents including HIV, Hepatitis, E Coli, malaria, herpes, and coronavirus were found inside the lab, according to SFist.

The lab was discovered near Fresno, California, in the city of Reedley. The Reedley City Manager, Nicole Zieba, told local broadcaster KRON4 that she'd never experienced such a discovery in more than two decades of civil service.

"This is an unusual situation. I've been in government for 25 years. I've never seen anything like this," she said.

The lab contained approximately 30 refrigerators and freezers, though some had ceased to function by the time they were discovered. Incubators and medical testing devices were also found at the lab, alongside the disease samples and mice.

Authorities determined that the lab was operated by Prestige Biotech, based in Las Vegas. Court records show the company previously had a lab in Fresno, but it burned down. The company then re-opened a lab in Reedley.

Prestige Biotech previously funded another company, Universal Meditech Inc, which produced medical equipment. That company was based in Fresno, but eventually declared bankruptcy. Prestige reportedly took over Universal's operations despite not having a license to do so, according to the San Joaquin Valley Sun.

Wang Zhaolin, a spokesperson for Prestige, told investigators that the facility was used to manufacture Covid-19 tests, and that the mice — which had been engineered to catch and carry the virus — were used to test the tests.

Investigators also discovered a room in the facility where pregnancy tests were manufactured.

The investigation into the lab began in early March when a city code enforcement officer spotted a garden hose attached to the back wall of the facility. Officials searched the site and discovered the lab.

"Certain rooms of the warehouse were found to contain several vessels of liquid and various apparatus," NBC News reported. "Fresno County Public Health staff also observed blood, tissue and other bodily fluid samples and serums; and thousands of vials of unlabeled fluids and suspected biological material."

Once investigators realised an illegal lab was operating in the warehouse, county officials notified the CDC, the FBI, and the California Department of Public Health

Approximately 800 of the recovered mice were euthanised on a veterinarian's recommendation. Another approximately 175 were dead when they were discovered by police.

Joe Prado, the Fresno County Department of Public Health, said the site was also filled with bottles of "unknown chemicals."

"There was over 800 different chemicals on site in different bottles of different acids," Mr Prado told KRON 4. "Unfortunately, a lot of these are being categorised under unknown chemicals."

All of the biohazards present in the lab have been destroyed as of 7 July, according to the county. An investigation into the labs origins is ongoing.

Ravi

China’s Rare Earths Export Curbs Will Sink US’ Microchip Manufacturing

Chinese export controls on germanium and gallium have stepped into effect amid fears that this will mean more expensive microchips, solar panels, cars, and even weapons. More significantly, the restrictions threaten to sink the Biden administration’s ambitious domestic microchip manufacturing goals, says China-US trade expert Thomas Pauken II.

China’s rare earths restrictions officially stepped into force on Tuesday, with the measures, announced last month after Beijing said it needed to protect its “national security and interests,” expected to cause a sharp jump in the cost of an array of advanced manufactured goods, particularly electronics.

The export controls, which will require companies seeking to export the pair of rare earth metals to apply for licenses, come in retaliation to a long list of US hostile measures, including restrictions on the import of Chinese high-tech goods.
“This is just the beginning,” former Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Wei Jianguo said last month, warning that “China’s tool box has many more types of measures available” should Washington try to retaliate to the rare earths semi-ban.

“Obviously, these consequences are going to be devastating to US efforts to promote their manufacturing industry, to create these factories where they’re reshoring back home,” said Thomas Pauken II, a veteran consultant and commentator on Asia-Pacific affairs, referring to the $50+ billion push announced by the Biden administration last year to restore the US’ domestic electronics component manufacturing capabilities. “The thing is, you need these ingredients that are necessary for the chips and the semiconductors,” he said.

“So now I’m hearing that TSMC," the Taiwan-based semiconductor giant, “is now having a rethink about doing their fab or semiconductor foundry that they were thinking about opening in Arizona. Also, there's another story about Intel. They were going to open up this major chip manufacturing plant in Ohio, and now suddenly they're saying, 'Well, maybe we won't open up this factory in Ohio because we lost all our Chinese customers. And because of these export controls we don't have the ability to create all these chips,'” Pauken said.

Pauken believes the US and its allies may not have expected Beijing to go through with its rare earths export restriction threats, judging by the limited reporting on the matter, apart from specialized Washington-based think tanks warning about the “devastating impact” such export controls could have on the US, Europe, Japan, “and much of the world.”

“I think the real story is that the West maybe thought China was bluffing. Maybe they thought that China wasn’t being serious about these export controls. And now that they are starting to go into effect, they are realizing how destructive they can be. The fact of the matter is that the US has not done proper preparations to deal with the counter-sanctions or the counter-attacks led by China…They just thought that if they made all these announcements that they were going after China and all these other countries were following them, then somehow, China was going to wimp out, look scared, and then change their mind under the pressure. But in reality, what China has learned is that you cannot back down under peer pressure coming from Washington,” the observer said.

Pauken expects the export restrictions to put a “big hurt” on the global economy, but not so much on Beijing, which could even receive a boost to its domestic manufacturing industry as rare earths that once went to other countries will stay in China.

“So basically it's a case of if you're tough to China, China will fight back just as tough. If you're nice to China, then China will be nice. Right now, Europe decided they want to support the US and want to push back against China. So, of course, China is not only going after the US, but they're also hitting Europe,” the observer said.

Anonymous

USA recreating WW2 to revive its dying economy and control of the world

 

How U.S. Sanctions On Russia Caused De-Dollarization

Professor Richard Wolff used 15 minutes to decipher what the Americans are doing in Europe and the Ukraine War. Wolff recounted how the Americans recovered from the American Depression in the 1930s because of WW2. WW2 was the catalyst that helped the Americans to rebuild its collapsed economy, revived its manufacturing base, provided employment and a huge market for weapons followed up by the rebuilding of Europe under the Marshall Plan, when practically everything was provided and imported from America. A war torn Europe, with everything destroyed, depended heavily on the Americans to rebuild their economies and infrastructure. 

War had and has been good for the Americans to the point that the Americans have transformed their main economy into a war economy, building weapons for sale to warring states fighting wars created by the Americans. Think how many million iPhones needed to be sold to pay for a single F35 aircraft. Then there are tanks, artillery, warships, missiles, bombs etc etc. Why would be the Americans be interested in selling cheap consumer items?

The Korean and Vietnam Wars also contributed to a boom in the American economy and other supporting economies of the American Empire. But since then, the Afghan and Iraq Wars did not have the same result. And the American war economy went into a tailspin. The Americans need another big prolong war like in Vietnam. And Ukraine is the answer. Ukraine is the panacea of American economic slowdown. It is better than that if it goes according to the plans of the Americans. Ukraine would be destroyed and so would be Europe. A broken and devastated Europe like in WW2 would be a blessing for the Americans. 

The Americans have Marshall Plan 2.0 all ready to roll out to rebuild a new Europe and rekindle a new vibrancy into the dying American economy. There would be jobs everywhere for every American. All the factories would be roaring to life again.

That is the basic plan and objective of the Ukraine War. And the dollar would be saved and the Americans can continue to print as many dollars as they want for a life of abundance, from the labour and toil of the rest of the world.

China's success is testament to its political system

 As I always say, the USA and the West hates strong leaders, because it would be difficult for them to destabilise the country to install a stooge. That is why throughout history, they could not stomach communist ruled countries and will find ways and means to bring them down.

The USA and the West hates China, Russia, North Korea, Iran for the one and only reason of being unable to bring them down without being able to interfere in elections, like what they did in Ukraine. And they keep on chipping away at this point. They professed not to deal with dictators, but could not do the same to the Saudis perpetual monarchy. Now the Saudis do not even think it necessary to deal with the USA. Mohammed bin Salman probably understood and took Kissinger's advice and is staying far away from being a friend of the USA. It is nothing but a fatal infactuation to remain as a friend of the USA.

The fact that Communism under China is able to progress exceedingly well, and bring so much benefits to the people, just as well or even better than a democractic system, is another reason for the USA and the West wanting to demonise communist countries at all cost, particularly China. China's ability to progress so fast under Communism is contrary to the adage that communism is inferior to democracy, and perennially touted as backward and a stifling system.

The reality, however, proved otherwise and the USA and the West are paranoid and have no answer to explain the oddity. Even communist Vietnam outperformed many democratic countries, eg India, touted to be the biggest democracy in the world, but having little to show for it.

And I may even suggest that North Korea could have given the South a run for its money if not for all the sanctions imposed by the rest of the world. And of course, isolated and friendless Communist Russia as described by the West, is doing economically better than the EU itself. Numbers don't lie, propagandas are predominantly lies.

Anonymous