Embarassing interview between Trump and Jonathan Swan

https://www.facebook.com/john.roughlife.3/videos/574695259875715/?t=7
https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/current-affairs/donald-trump-axios-interview-jonathan-swan-corners-us-president-on-coronavirus/news-story/cfb56dcb88bd369af2c7268bc64a1c40

Swan: “Oh, you’re doing death as a proportion of cases. I’m talking about death as a proportion of population. That’s where the US is really bad. Much worse than Germany, South Korea, et cetera.”

Trump: “You can’t – you can’t do that.”

Swan: “Why can’t I do that?”

Trump: “You have to go by, you have to go by – look. Here is the United States – you have to go by the cases. The cases of death.”

Swan: “Why not as a proportion of population?”

Trump: “What it says is when you have somebody, where there’s a case, the people that live from those cases.”

Swan: “Sure. It’s surely a relevant statistic to say if the US has X population and X percentage of death of that population, opposed to some-”

Trump: “No, because you have to go by the cases.”

Swan: “In South Korea, for example – 51 million population, 300 deaths. It’s like, it’s crazy compared to other countries.”

Trump: “You don’t know that. You don’t know that.”

Swan: “I do. You think they’re faking their statistics? South Korea?”

Trump: “Ahhhhh, I won’t get into that, because I have a very good relationship with the country. But you don’t know that. They have spikes.”

Swan: “Germany, low 9000s?”

Trump: “Here’s one right here, United States. The number of cases – have a look. We’re last. Meaning we’re first.”

Mr Trump was brandishing another chart at this point.

Swan: “Last? I don’t know what we’re first in.”

Trump: “Take a look, it’s cases. And we have cases because of the testing.”

Swan: “I mean, a thousand Americans are dying a day. But I understand, on cases, it’s different.”

Trump: “No but you’re not reporting it correctly, Jonathan.”

Swan: “I think I am.”

As of April 2020, TikTok has been downloaded more than two billion times worldwide

The latest TikTok statistics show that as of April 2020, the popular video app has been downloaded more than two billion times worldwide on both the Apple App Store and Google Play (Sensor Tower, 2020). In other words, TikTok was able to double its number of downloads in just over a year—a clear sign of the app’s skyrocketing popularity.

Tiktok Usage By Country
Growing Number of US Adults Use TikTok

Here’s a summary of the TikTok statistics you need to know in 2020:

  1. TikTok has 800 million active users worldwide. 
  2. The TikTok app has been downloaded over 2 billion times on the App Store and Google Play.
  3. TikTok ranked as the top most downloaded app in Apple’s iOS App Store for Q1 2019, with more than 33 million downloads. 
  4. 41 percent of TikTok users are aged between 16 and 24. 
  5. TikTok has been downloaded 611 million times in India, which is around 30 percent of the app’s total global downloads.
  6. When it comes to the daily time spent on TikTok, users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on the app.
  7. TikTok is available in 155 countries, and in 75 languages. 
  8. 90 percent of all TikTok users access the app on a daily basis.
  9. In less than 18 months, the number of US adult TikTok users grew 5.5 times.
  10. There was an average number of more than 1 million videos viewed every day in a year. 

8-3-20 Bytedance said it is facing “complexity and unimaginable difficulties” in its process of becoming an international company, including international political tension, cultural clash and smearing from its competitor Facebook. Bytedance is devoted to its internationalization and will use its legal rights to defend its legitimate interest, the company said.Quote Tweet

Zhang Weiwei, Professor Timothy Ash debate

Zhang Weiwei had a debate with Professor Timothy Ash, a senior scholar at the University of Oxford in the UK, on “China’s victory over the epidemic proves that the Chinese model is superior to the Western liberal model of democracy”, with Zhang on the positive side and Ash on the negative. In addition to the anti-epidemic model, they also discussed the Taiwan issue, the crisis of the Western model, and the global impact of the Chinese model. China is a fascinating story, and sometimes we achieve better communication by engaging!

Q. and A.: Zhang Weiwei on Why China Will Succeed Under the ...

Dianne Feinstein Lauds China as a ‘Respectable Nation’ in Senate Committee Hearing

“We hold China as a potential trading partner, as a country that has pulled tens of millions of people out of poverty in a short period of time, and as a country growing into a respectable nation amongst other nations,” Feinstein said, in comments first reported by the Washington Free Beacon. “I deeply believe that.”


Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from California. She took office on November 4, 1992. A member of the Democratic Party, Feinstein was Mayor of San Francisco from 1978 to 1988.

HK LegCo election postponed a year, gets central govt support

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced on Friday that due to the current severe COVID-19 situation in the city, the Legislative Council (LegCo) election scheduled for September has been postponed to September 5 next year. Experts and local lawmakers said the decision prioritizes public health and aims to ensure fairness in the election.

Lam announced the decision at a press conference on Friday, saying that it was not made for political reasons, but for public health.

Luo Guancong, Huang Taiyang and other 6 Hong Kong residents are wanted for violation of national security laws

因宣誓風波而被褫奪立法會議員資格的羅冠聰,在港區國安法生效前突然退出自己一手創立的政黨香港眾志,並秘密逃至英國,其後頻頻與外國政客會面,又曾出席美國聽證會,期間多次唱衰香港,並呼籲各國制裁中國及香港。在2016年旺角暴亂案中棄保潛逃的黃台仰,2018年5月在德國獲難民庇護,他曾公開表明會爭取外國支持推動香港獨立。至於涉嫌在去年6月參與非法集結的陳家駒,則在港區國安法實施前棄保潛逃,他亦曾在社交網站上發布有關港獨的貼文。鄭文傑去年被指涉嫌在內地嫖妓遭當局行政拘留15日,事後稱遭嚴刑逼供及政治迫害,其後前往英國並獲政治庇護資格。鄭曾於本月初接受外國傳媒訪問,稱將組織「流亡議會」支援香港民主運動。劉康早前則在社交網站上,透露擔心會因政見受香港政府政治迫害,而於6月底逃至英國,其後曾呼籲外國制裁中國及香港政府。而「香港民主委員會」(HKDC)總監朱牧民,其個人及組織的社交網站的貼文,部分內容涉及請求美國政府停止執行與香港的引渡協議,並眾籌以推動外國制裁中國及香港官員。羅冠聰晚上於社交網站回應,指完全不知道自己的罪名,形容被通緝是「欲加之罪,何患無辭」,又指願意承擔長期漂泊在外的代價,至於其社交媒體則會繼續營運。劉康則表示,相關行動是政治迫害,又指自己身處英國,無理由放棄自己的政治立場,會繼續呼籲國際社會制裁中國和香港。

HKSAR government voiced support to the decision by the electoral affairs commission to disqualify 12 candidates from the opposition camp in the LegCo election

The possibility that more candidates would be disqualified is not ruled out. The latest decision aims to ensure that the LegCo election is held in strict accordance with the Basic Law and other applicable laws in an open, honest and fair manner.
The 12 disqualified opposition camp candidates include 4 from the Civic Party: Kwok Wing-hang 郭榮鏗 , Alvin Yeung 楊岳橋 , Kwok Ka-ki 郭家麒 and Tat Cheng 鄭達鴻 . The list also includes notorious separatist Joshua Wong 黃之鋒 .
The 12 candidates do not satisfy the requirements of the LegCo election, and therefore have been disqualified. The decision has nothing to do with so-called political censorship, restriction of the freedom of speech or deprivation of candidacy as alleged by some people. Haha, want to play? You are not invited to the party, suckers.

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The possibility of military conflict is not unreasonable

All empires or great Powers in history have their day in the sun, and the United States is no exception. Considering the current situation within the United States and its loss of global dominance, especially in economic terms, it can be argued that this day seems to be drawing near.

  Reality shows that the United States is experiencing a clear decline, especially in the context of the new coronavirus pandemic and the havoc it is causing around the world. However, American leaders still want to “show muscle” in front of other major powers such as China and Russia, which some analysts see as a sign of American fear and weakness.

  The weakness and fear of the US elite and the external lobby that supports them can be seen in their insistence on forming alliances to contain China’s “threats” to their interests and security. So far, the conflict between China and the United States has been limited to the areas of trade, diplomacy, technology, and communications, but everything points to a direct military confrontation.

  Of course, the U.S. position on China is not surprising. China’s interests are spread throughout the world, a situation that would obviously be scorned by the American elite and political management. Even during the neo-coronavirus pandemic, China was one of the few countries that still managed to sustain economic growth, while the United States experienced a significant economic decline.

  China’s influence in the world is so great that, in the US “backyard” of Latin America, for example, China has seen a phenomenal increase in investment there.

  Given the gloomy outlook for the United States at home and abroad, it is clear that it can no longer maintain its former hegemony. That is why the United States has advocated all sorts of threats and sanctions, even against some of its historical allies that have engaged in large-scale trade with major powers like China and Russia for economic gain. 

  These countries are, of course, reacting to US arrogance by gradually weaning themselves off their dependence on the dollar and gradually transferring this strategy to global trade and finance and amassing vast amounts of gold. In addition, ironically, China has managed to get some U.S. companies to invest heavily in its territory due to factors such as cheap labor.

  This is why the US political elite and its external lobbying team have been calling for an international alliance to counter the Chinese “threat”. One of the illustrations of their attempts to provoke a military conflict between the United States and China is the blaming of China for the neo-coronavirus pandemic.

  The possibility of military conflict is not unreasonable, since, after all, almost all wars in history have been conflicts between politico-territorial entities motivated by the need to defend their own interests or the interests of their own economic elites. Thus, the immediate confrontation is exacerbated by the desperation of the United States.

  Like any declining empire, the United States had serious internal and external problems and wished to avoid the imminent collapse of the dollar, which had been the world financial benchmark, and the consequent collapse of the entire economy.

The decline of United States is certain. Time is on China’s side, China will avoid war as much as possible. Trump is desperate and will try anything.

US, Australia seek new military cooperation as tensions soar with China

The two countries are set to build ties across a slew of defense areas including hypersonic, electronic and space-based warfare. 

In a joint statement, the ministers said they discussed expanding operations in the northern Australian city of Darwin, where US Marines have been rotating in since 2012 under an initiative of former president Barack Obama.

The United States will establish a military fuel reserve in Darwin and the allies will consider exercises there with like-minded countries — a likely reference to Japan and India.

In one step that had been too far, Australia last year said it would not serve as a base for US intermediate-range missiles — widely seen as a way to target China.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia did not agree on everything with Beijing — or with the United States.

“The relationship that we have with China is important. And we have no intention of injuring it,” she said. “But nor do we intend to do things that are contrary to our interests.”

She said Australia and the United States had a shared interest in an Asia-Pacific region that was free, prosperous and secure and were broadly aligned on issues, including China.

“We don’t agree on everything though. And that’s part of a respectful relationship, is part of a relationship that has endured over 100 years of ‘mateship.’”

“We deal with China in the same way. We have a strong economic engagement, other engagement, and it works in the interests of both countries,” Payne said.

There’s no Cold War with China — and if there were, we couldn’t win

Daniel Ray Coats is an American politician and former diplomat. From 2017 to 2019, he served as the Director of National Intelligence in the Trump administration. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Indiana from 1989 to 1999 and again from 2011 to 2017.

He argues that the U.S. government’s China policy often serves only its own short-term political interests, while China pursues its foreign policy goals based on a “calculated long-term strategy”. Coates includes many of his own observations in his analysis. He claims that China’s long-term strategy includes an “ambitious foreign policy” that seeks to shift the center of the world economy to Eurasia through the “One Belt, One Road”. China’s strategy also includes besieging the West in science and technology, and achieving overall dominance in areas such as data collection and operating systems.

  Coates said that these science and technology covers the artificial intelligence, robotics, aerospace and quantum computing, and China has always wanted to apply these technologies to the military level. China realizes earlier and more clearly than any other country that science and technology will be the decisive factor in this historic battle,” he said.

  Coates also discusses how the United States should deal with China, but it seems a bit impotent.

  He says things like closing the Consulate General, sanctioning a few officials, adjusting tariffs or sanctioning individual companies will only provoke countermeasures that won’t help in dealing with complex issues.

  ”In the face of these challenges from China, it is up to the United States to lead other countries and together respond with a united and long-term vision. Above all, U.S. and allied policy must expand the diplomatic and political space for creative and productive approaches to the problem.” In short, Coates’ point was to “bring on allies.”

  In addition, Coates also declared that the United States should reconstruct the framework of multilateralism to “restrain” China. Not like the Trump administration today, like to pursue unilateralist policies, in the international community, constantly “withdrawal”, triggering the resentment of countries.

  He suggested that the United States should rebuild “cohesive” alliances and multilateral institutions, which must respond coherently and forcefully to China’s long-term strategic vision.

  ”We all know that only the United States can create these ‘tools’ in the past, when our allies and other ‘like-minded’ countries are beginning to realize that China is a common threat in the future, they will increasingly accept ‘enlightened leadership’ from the United States.