I mean… They have to do something with it. But this is also the issue environment activists have with nuclear energy. We don’t have a good way or dealing with the byproducts yet. If we didn’t it could be a great “green” energy until we develop something better.
It would be nice to have some info on how radioactive it is. I’m assuming it’s a whole load of water that is probably less radioactive than a banana or something?
It’s mostly tritium anyways. It’s got a half life of 12 years. I’m not entirely sure if some reactions are still going on, but tritium is generally only created when a nuclear reaction is active. So it already has been at least 10 years.
But the Counter Offensive hasn’t started in real anger yet.
Ukraine forces are still conducting counter battery and creating toeholds in the defence lines where they can use as a spring board for the actual breakthrough.
They’re trying to get the Russians to commit their reserves across many parts of the front, I image. Then when they do start their offensive in force they’ll be able to get some immediate momentum.
Hopefully they're not run by autocoratic dinosaurs that dream about restoring an ancient empire for ego reasons while oppressing and lying to billions of people.
Historically industrialisation led to wealth long term. Maybe we're in too nice of a position to judge those who strive for a better life in a globalised world.
Escorts our of south was Asia were over 70% from China a few years ago and we’re only 50% from China last year. These numbers are from my memory so probably not exact but close enough.
Decoupling/derisking is happening quickly with all major players moving to a china +1 policy for manufacturing.
About 22% of Taiwan’s imports last year came from mainland China and Hong Kong, versus 10% from the U.S. That doesn’t quite match up with most people use Chinese products every day. Current relations with China are so bad that most of that trade has dried up.
Listen, I literally lived there for years, I have family there, and I visit all the time. People buy and use Chinese goods every day. Xiaomi smart phones and gadgets are super popular. Chinese phone brands like realme and oppo outcompete local brands. People buy Chinese groceries all the time, especially flavorings and hot sauces. People import Chinese books, watch Tencent TV, and listen to Chinese music. They speak the same language so of course people will buy goods and media content from China.
Even though virtually everyone hates the Chinese government, most people still interact with Chinese people, media, or goods on a daily basis. And this isn’t even getting into business supply chains; Taiwan’s dirty secret is that most Taiwanese businesses are very pro-China, even though your average person is worried about China having too much influence.
Where do you think TSMC buys the concrete for their facilities comes from? The copper wiring? What about the rare earth minerals that are used in the production process to make chips? Where do they source their steel from? There are thousands and thousands of components that go into building the capital that makes chips, or just into making the buildings that make up their facilities, or even just the materials for the dormitories for their workers. There is inevitably a ton of Chinese products being used at different points in the TSMC supply chain. The most advanced components are from the US, Europe, and Japan, but numerous other components will be made in China.
I thought I’d read something recently that China is in danger of defaulting on like a trillion dollars of debt, to a bunch of US bondholders. Dunno what that means here, but
The former Chinese government (now kmt in taiwan) took a loan like 80 years ago. after the war, the PRC and the USA both just kinda assumed China wasn’t ever going to pay.
For a while there USA maintained that the KMT was the government in exile, but with normalization with the PRC, that all kinda got swept under the carpet.
The US debt held by China today, is the same as other countries are holding. People need to believe this will be one day repaid and profitable.
reuters.com
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