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Making The North of Myanmar Safe For China
KACHIN – China has sent more troops to its side of the border to try and stop the movement of more Kachin refugees fleeting the renewed fighting there. Last month the government began another offensive against Kachin rebels in the north and has been using artillery and air strikes to force the rebels and their families to flee the area. The Myanmar Air Force is using Chinese armed K-8 jet trainers in the north. There are now over 100,000 Kachin refugees from the renewed fighting in the north.
There are now over 100,000 Kachin refugees from the renewed fighting in the north.The Christian Kachin are quite different from Buddhist Burmese from the south and have never considered themselves part of Myanmar. The Kachin are the only tribal rebels in the north who have not made peace with the government. The Kachin and other tribal rebels have been trying to permanently shut down Chinese hydroelectric dam projects in their territory. The electricity from the dams goes to China, the profits go to the Burmese generals and local Kachin people pay for it all with their land and way-of-life.
The government has halted, but not cancelled, the dam construction because of armed opposition by the Kachin. But the government (still largely controlled by the generals) waited for the media attention to die down so dam construction can resume. The government also tried to starve the Kachin into submission. This process began in June 2011 when the army attacked. First, civilians in rebel areas were driven out of their villages. Then the troops blocked the roads going into rebel territory, preventing food and other air from getting in. The rebels attacked the checkpoints and army patrols, but not enough to break the blockade. The government eventually allowed some UN sponsored aid through, but frequently halted the aid in response to rebel attacks on troops.
The government ordered the army to halt its attacks in December 2011, but the army apparently said it would but didn’t. The army still carries on like it is running the government, feeling free to disobey orders it disagrees with. Part of this has to do with corruption and deals army generals have made with China concerning Chinese economic projects in the north, especially in Kachin territory. The current attacks are apparently taking place in seven different areas, including an advance on the Kachin rebel headquarters near the Chinese border.
For over a year China has paid Burmese soldiers in the north to provide additional security for natural gas and petroleum pipeline construction, as well as hydroelectric dams and copper mines being built in the north.For over a year China has paid Myanmar soldiers in the north to provide additional security for natural gas and petroleum pipeline construction, as well as hydroelectric dams and copper mines being built in the north. This was not sufficient to force the rebels back. The Kachin tribal rebels up there shut down the $3.6 billion dam project two years ago but the pipelines (going from China to the Bay of Bengal coast) continued to be built. This is partly because the Chinese paid Myanmar soldiers are being particularly brutal with any tribal peoples who get close to the Chinese workers and equipment. Meanwhile, work on Chinese hydroelectric dams is still halted and much construction equipment is still out in the bush, waiting for orders to resume work. That is costing the Chinese a lot of money.
The government tried to negotiate a new peace deal with the Kachin rebels, but that effort failed. The government has screwed the Kachin so many times in the past that it was difficult to generate sufficient trust to make a deal. The Chinese are also unhappy because the renewed fighting in 2011 sent over 10,000 Kachin fleeting into China to avoid the Burmese troops. Myanmar in general are angry about the Chinese hydroelectric dams because all the electricity will go to China. There is a serious shortage of electricity in Myanmar, and the Myanmar people wonder why the Chinese are allowed to build these dams and export all the electricity. In addition, the Kachin have been blowing up electricity transmission lines from the north, in an attempt to get the government’s attention about the Kachin rebellion and the Chinese dam projects. The Kachin attacks make the power shortages in the south worse.
It’s not just pipelines, dams and illegal timber deals. Most any large-scale economic deal in the tribal north is negotiated with the government. The Chinese pay off Myanmar government officials and then move in to start operations. A recent effort to build a copper mine ran into problems when locals, who were not consulted, or compensated, were confronted by police demanding they vacate their property so the Chinese can use it for the mine. The locals, most of them tribal, resisted. This became a political issue down south, as it resonated with corruption and Chinese payoffs that the new democratic government promised to eliminate. But lots of these deals are still in force and that is proving to be an embarrassment for the officials who negotiated the terms and got paid off.
January 11, 2013: In the north a military helicopter crashed in an area where Kachin rebels are active. The rebels claim they shot the chopper down. The three man crew of the helicopter died in the crash. The army uses Russian helicopters for reconnaissance and to attack rebels with machine-guns and rockets.
China announced that it had sent more troops to its side of the Burmese border in response to artillery and air strikes inside Burma that could be heard just across the border in China.
January 9, 2013: Kachin rebels report renewed army artillery attacks on them, more civilians cross into China to avoid the shelling.
January 7, 2013: Kachin rebels report more K-8 and helicopter attacks on military positions and villages.
January 4, 2013: In the far north a tribal militia, the Shan State Army–South (SSA-S) reports that the army has invaded its territory in violation of a December 2011 peace deal. The SSA-S is allied with the neighboring United Wa State Army (UWSA) militia and these two groups are making a lot of money in the drug business. Opium and heroin production have been revived in the past few years. Production of methamphetamine is huge. Called “yaba” (“crazy drug”) locally, most of it is smuggled out via Thailand. Over the last few years, production of yaba tablets has soared. The meth labs are easier to conceal than poppy fields (opium is the sap of poppy plants) and these labs are believed to produce several hundred million tablets a year. The tribal rebels, especially the United Wa State Army use the profits to buy more weapons for their army, and run their own government. The government has been in a weak bargaining position here but always had the option to declare the militias in violation of the 2011 peace deal and renew fighting. The government has made no official announcement about the state of the peace deal with SSA-S and UWSA and this is apparently another case of the army acting on its own. The army says it is merely providing security for a road building project and that the SSA-S has delayed working out details of the peace deal.
January 2, 2013: The U.S. and the UN have called on Myanmar to halt military operations in the north. Officially, theMyanmar government says there are no military operations in the north, just troops defending themselves from Kachin rebel attacks. Unofficially some government officials admit that the army is acting on its own to force the Kachin to make a peace deal and allow the Chinese dam and pipeline projects to proceed unhindered.
December 28, 2012: Kachin rebels in the north refused army demands to stop blocking a road (needed to supply an army base) and the army responded with more artillery and air attacks against Kachin targets throughout the north. The army is seeking to drive Kachin rebels away from Chinese dam construction sites.
December 26, 2012: The government admitted that corruption and inept officials were slowing the pace of reforms in the government and economy. The military group that had ruled Myanmar for decades may have peacefully handed over control of the government and allowed elections two years ago, but many pro-military officials still held senior government jobs and these men are the most corrupt and uncooperative. Removing these officials has to be done carefully, to avoid another military takeover.
December 24, 2012: Kachin rebels report the army is using artillery and air strikes against military and civilian targets. Thousands of Kachin civilians head for the Chinese border to get away from the violence. The government denied that there were air strikes and that aircraft were only being used to help detect Kachin rebels trying to ambush advancing troops. Artillery was only to be used to defend troops against rebel attacks. The army says that the Kachin rebels have been blocking supply convoys trying to reach remote army bases. The rebels believe the supplies include more rocket and artillery munitions to be used against Kachin villages and armed rebels.
December 21, 2012: In the north explosives and gunfire were used to attack a Mandalay-Myitkyina freight train. Myitkyina is the capital of Kachin state in the north and the center of army power in the region.
December 13, 2012: The army began attacking Kachin targets in the north, complaining about rebels blocking the movement of army supply convoys and firing on troops.
A recent report indicates that since Trudeau’s announcement of his gun buyback program four years ago, almost none of the banned firearms have been surrendered.
The federal government plans to purchase 2,063 firearm models from retailers following the enactment of Bill C-21, which amends various Acts and introduces certain consequential changes related to firearms. It was granted royal assent on December 15 of last year.
This ban immediately criminalized the actions of federally-licensed firearms owners regarding the purchase, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, or use of hundreds of thousands of rifles and shotguns that were previously legal.
The gun ban focused on what it termed ‘assault-style weapons,’ which are, in reality, traditional semi-automatic rifles and shotguns that have enjoyed popularity among hunters and sport shooters for over a century.
In May 2020, the federal government enacted an Order-in-Council that prohibited 1,500 types of “assault-style” firearms and outlined specific components of the newly banned firearms. Property owners must adhere to the law by October 2023.
Trudeau’s Buyback Hasn’t Happened
“In the announcement regarding the ban, the prime minister stated that the government would seize the prohibited firearms, assuring that their lawful owners would be ‘grandfathered’ or compensated fairly.” “That hasn’t happened,” criminologist Gary Mauser told Rebel News.
Mauser projected expenses ranging from $2.6 billion to $6.7 billion. The figure reflects the compensation costs amounting to $756 million, as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO).
“The projected expenses for gathering the illegal firearms are estimated to range from $1.6 billion to $7 billion.” “This range estimate increases to between $2.647 billion and $7 billion when compensation costs to owners are factored in,” Mauser stated.
Figures requested by Conservative MP Shannon Stubbs concerning firearms prohibited due to the May 1, 2020 Order In Council reveal that $72 million has been allocated to the firearm “buyback” program, yet not a single firearm has been confiscated to date.
In a recent revelation, Public Safety Canada disclosed that the federal government allocated a staggering $41,094,556, as prompted by an order paper question from Conservative Senator Don Plett last September, yet yielded no tangible outcomes.
An internal memo from late 2019 revealed that the Liberals projected their politically motivated harassment would incur a cost of $1.8 billion.
Enforcement efforts Questioned
By December 2023, estimates from TheGunBlog.ca indicate that the Liberals and RCMP had incurred or were responsible for approximately $30 million in personnel expenses related to the enforcement efforts. The union representing the police service previously stated that the effort to confiscate firearms is a “misdirected effort” aimed at ensuring public safety.
“This action diverts crucial personnel, resources, and funding from tackling the more pressing and escalating issue of criminal use of illegal firearms,” stated the National Police Federation (NPF).
The Canadian Sporting Arms & Ammunition Association (CSAAA), representing firearms retailers, has stated it will have “zero involvement” in the confiscation of these firearms. Even Canada Post held back from providing assistance due to safety concerns.
The consultant previously assessed that retailers are sitting on almost $1 billion worth of inventory that cannot be sold or returned to suppliers because of the Order-In-Council.
“Despite the ongoing confusion surrounding the ban, after four years, we ought to be able to address one crucial question.” Has the prohibition enhanced safety for Canadians? Mauser asks.
Illegally Obtained Firearms are the Problem
Statistics Canada reports a 10% increase in firearm-related violent crime between 2020 and 2022, rising from 12,614 incidents to 13,937 incidents. In that timeframe, the incidence of firearm-related violent crime increased from 33.7 incidents per 100,000 population in 2021 to 36.7 incidents the subsequent year.
“This marks the highest rate documented since the collection of comparable data began in 2009,” the criminologist explains.
Supplementary DataData indicates that firearm homicides have risen since 2020. “The issue lies not with lawfully-held firearms,” Mauser stated.
Firearms that have been banned under the Order-in-Council continue to be securely stored in the safes of their lawful owners. The individuals underwent a thorough vetting process by the RCMP and are subject to nightly monitoring to ensure there are no infractions that could pose a risk to public safety.
“The firearms involved in homicides were seldom legally owned weapons wielded by their rightful owners,” Mauser continues. The number of offenses linked to organized crime has surged from 4,810 in 2016 to a staggering 13,056 in 2020.
“If those in power … aim to diminish crime and enhance public safety, they ought to implement strategies that effectively focus on offenders and utilize our limited tax resources judiciously to reach these objectives,” he stated.
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Google is so closely associated with its key product that its name is a verb that signifies “search.” However, Google’s dominance in that sector is dwindling.
According to eMarketer, Google will lose control of the US search industry for the first time in decades next year.
Google will remain the dominant search player, accounting for 48% of American search advertising revenue. And, remarkably, Google is still increasing its sales in the field, despite being the dominating player in search since the early days of the George W. Bush administration. However, Amazon is growing at a quicker rate.
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
Amazon will hold over a quarter of US search ad dollars next year, rising to 27% by 2026, while Google will fall even more, according to eMarketer.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the forecast.
Lest you think you’ll have to switch to Bing or Yahoo, this isn’t the end of Google or anything really near.
Google is the fourth-most valued public firm in the world. Its market worth is $2.1 trillion, trailing just Apple, Microsoft, and the AI chip darling Nvidia. It also maintains its dominance in other industries, such as display advertisements, where it dominates alongside Facebook’s parent firm Meta, and video ads on YouTube.
To put those “other” firms in context, each is worth more than Delta Air Lines’ total market value. So, yeah, Google is not going anywhere.
Nonetheless, Google faces numerous dangers to its operations, particularly from antitrust regulators.
On Monday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Google must open up its Google Play Store to competitors, dealing a significant blow to the firm in its long-running battle with Fortnite creator Epic Games. Google announced that it would appeal the verdict.
In August, a federal judge ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on search. That verdict could lead to the dissolution of the company’s search operation. Another antitrust lawsuit filed last month accuses Google of abusing its dominance in the online advertising business.
Meanwhile, European regulators have compelled Google to follow tough new standards, which have resulted in multiple $1 billion-plus fines.
Pixa Bay
Google’s Search Dominance Is Unwinding
On top of that, the marketplace is becoming more difficult on its own.
TikTok, the fastest-growing social network, is expanding into the search market. And Amazon has accomplished something few other digital titans have done to date: it has established a habit.
When you want to buy anything, you usually go to Amazon, not Google. Amazon then buys adverts to push companies’ products to the top of your search results, increasing sales and earning Amazon a greater portion of the revenue. According to eMarketer, it is expected to generate $27.8 billion in search revenue in the United States next year, trailing only Google’s $62.9 billion total.
And then there’s AI, the technology that (supposedly) will change everything.
Why search in stilted language for “kendall jenner why bad bunny breakup” or “police moving violation driver rights no stop sign” when you can just ask OpenAI’s ChatGPT, “What’s going on with Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny?” in “I need help fighting a moving violation involving a stop sign that wasn’t visible.” Google is working on exactly this technology with its Gemini product, but its success is far from guaranteed, especially with Apple collaborating with OpenAI and other businesses rapidly joining the market.
A Google spokeswoman referred to a blog post from last week in which the company unveiled ads in its AI overviews (the AI-generated text that appears at the top of search results). It’s Google’s way of expressing its ability to profit on a changing marketplace while retaining its business, even as its consumers steadily transition to ask-and-answer AI and away from search.
Google has long used a single catchphrase to defend itself against opponents who claim it is a monopoly abusing its power: competition is only a click away. Until recently, that seemed comically obtuse. Really? We are going to switch to Bing? Or Duck Duck Go? Give me a break.
But today, it feels more like reality.
Google is in no danger of disappearing. However, every highly dominating company faces some type of reckoning over time. GE, a Dow mainstay for more than a century, was broken up last year and is now a shell of its previous dominance. Sears declared bankruptcy in 2022 and is virtually out of business. US Steel, long the foundation of American manufacturing, is attempting to sell itself to a Japanese corporation.
SOURCE | CNN
(VOR News) – A ruling that prohibits emergency abortions that contravene the Supreme Court law in the state of Texas, which has one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the country, has been upheld by the Supreme Court of the United States. The United States Supreme Court upheld this decision.
The justices did not provide any specifics regarding the underlying reasons for their decision to uphold an order from a lower court that declared hospitals cannot be legally obligated to administer abortions if doing so would violate the law in the state of Texas.
Institutions are not required to perform abortions, as stipulated in the decree. The common populace did not investigate any opposing viewpoints. The decision was made just weeks before a presidential election that brought abortion to the forefront of the political agenda.
This decision follows the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that ended abortion nationwide.
In response to a request from the administration of Vice President Joe Biden to overturn the lower court’s decision, the justices expressed their disapproval.
The government contends that hospitals are obligated to perform abortions in compliance with federal legislation when the health or life of an expectant patient is in an exceedingly precarious condition.
This is the case in regions where the procedure is prohibited. The difficulty hospitals in Texas and other states are experiencing in determining whether or not routine care could be in violation of stringent state laws that prohibit abortion has resulted in an increase in the number of complaints concerning pregnant women who are experiencing medical distress being turned away from emergency rooms.
The administration cited the Supreme Court’s ruling in a case that bore a striking resemblance to the one that was presented to it in Idaho at the beginning of the year. The justices took a limited decision in that case to allow the continuation of emergency abortions without interruption while a lawsuit was still being heard.
In contrast, Texas has been a vocal proponent of the injunction’s continued enforcement. Texas has argued that its circumstances are distinct from those of Idaho, as the state does have an exemption for situations that pose a significant hazard to the health of an expectant patient.
According to the state, the discrepancy is the result of this exemption. The state of Idaho had a provision that safeguarded a woman’s life when the issue was first broached; however, it did not include protection for her health.
Certified medical practitioners are not obligated to wait until a woman’s life is in imminent peril before they are legally permitted to perform an abortion, as determined by the state supreme court.
The state of Texas highlighted this to the Supreme Court.
Nevertheless, medical professionals have criticized the Texas statute as being perilously ambiguous, and a medical board has declined to provide a list of all the disorders that are eligible for an exception. Furthermore, the statute has been criticized for its hazardous ambiguity.
For an extended period, termination of pregnancies has been a standard procedure in medical treatment for individuals who have been experiencing significant issues. It is implemented in this manner to prevent catastrophic outcomes, such as sepsis, organ failure, and other severe scenarios.
Nevertheless, medical professionals and hospitals in Texas and other states with strict abortion laws have noted that it is uncertain whether or not these terminations could be in violation of abortion prohibitions that include the possibility of a prison sentence. This is the case in regions where abortion prohibitions are exceedingly restrictive.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which resulted in restrictions on the rights of women to have abortions in several Republican-ruled states, the Texas case was revisited in 2022.
As per the orders that were disclosed by the administration of Vice President Joe Biden, hospitals are still required to provide abortions in cases that are classified as dire emergency.
As stipulated in a piece of health care legislation, the majority of hospitals are obligated to provide medical assistance to patients who are experiencing medical distress. This is in accordance with the law.
The state of Texas maintained that hospitals should not be obligated to provide abortions throughout the litigation, as doing so would violate the state’s constitutional prohibition on abortions. In its January judgment, the 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals concurred with the state and acknowledged that the administration had exceeded its authority.
SOURCE: AP
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