There have been multiple accounts created with the sole purpose of posting advertisement posts or replies containing unsolicited advertising.

Accounts which solely post advertisements, or persistently post them may be terminated.

reuters.com

FiniteBanjo OP , to world in China issues rare earth regulations to further protect domestic supply

This effectively makes all minerals the state’s property and prevents commerce with other nations who specialize in heavy machinery or electronics including: USA, UK, EU, SK, and Japan.

sunzu ,

prevents commerce with other nations who specialize in heavy machinery or electronics

how

FiniteBanjo OP ,

Previously, Beijing already started enforcing a ban on exports of REE and related technology exports.

The new regulations include a strict database on REEs outlining when and where they were extracted all the way to where they’re exported. The laws stipulate that “no organization or person may encroach on or destroy rare-earth resources.”

sunzu ,

So they limited supply to our industrial base?

Aint this something that WTO would handle?

FiniteBanjo OP ,

A bit off topic about who is supposed to handle it, but tbh I don’t expect trade relations can get any worse with China even as a result of them banning exports of these. Certainly isn’t going to get better.

sunzu ,

I don't see how that is off-topic. If we are having a trade issue, WTO should rule on it so every body knows what is "right"

More preferable to this escalation circle jerk IMHO.

Either way, if do chose this route, then we should call out people who blundered decades of industrial policy that got us here then.

FiniteBanjo OP ,

I explained what China was doing, you asked for elaboration, I elaborated, and then you responded “but but but what about all those other countries?”

That’s off topic.

sunzu ,

This is a discussion. China behavior is part of the bigger picture.

Are you here just to plug a specific narrative?

My point mainly is why US allowed this to happened, how US got here, and is this not WTO issue, which you are very carefully tip toeing around tho

partial_accumen , to world in China issues rare earth regulations to further protect domestic supply

And just to remind people. “Rare Earth” materials aren’t actually rare. They’re common. However, they are distributed in very very low concentrations, so you have to go throw mountains worth of material to extract measurable amounts of Rare Earth materials. This is typically energy intensive and ecologically destructive, which in most of the work equals “expensive” which is why the nations of the world have been happy to shut down their own Rare Earth extractions facilities any paying China to destroy its ecology instead.

China is free to set up its restrictions on exports. Other nations are free to restart their own extraction operations (with the costs that come with it).

FiniteBanjo OP ,

Well, China hasn’t been the only producer in recent decades.

partial_accumen ,

That is a true statement. However, as the article points out they produce 90% of the world’s supply of Rare Earth materials.

FiniteBanjo OP ,

Sales aren’t everything. China has ~44M Metric Tons of REE reserves, Vietnam 22M, Russia 21M, Brazil 21M, India 6.9M, Australia 4.2M, USA 2.4M, Greenland 1.5M.

However, specific metals out of the 17 have wildly different graphs, such as Palladium commonly used in military armored plating being produced mostly in Russia and South Africa. USA produces many times over as much Palladium as China reports.

If China’s domestic use concerns are actually for military use then that’s troublesome because the metals they have are more useful for automation and electronics than anything else.

user134450 ,

Palladium

since when is Palladium a REE?

FiniteBanjo OP ,

You’re right mb, I was confusing it with another element starting with P, like Pr or Pm, lol

kevindqc , to technology in Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks

How can they get anything done? 1.44MB is very little nowadays. Imagine having to split up a word document into dozens of floppy disks.

lemmyvore ,

What would they use Word for? This is about submitting data in their own standard formats in tiny files.

The real crime is that they’re not switching to online. Using optical discs is going to be even more ridiculous for those tiny files.

kevindqc ,

Ah that makes more sense, the article didn’t mention what was stored on them unless I missed it

RippleEffect ,

The game is security isn’t it? No online means you must have physical access to some systems

lemmyvore ,

Sure, but forcing an entire country to go through physical handling of each and every request is crazy. I really don’t understand how they managed for so long.

RippleEffect ,

Do we know what the scale was? I would assume it’s only for the systems that are required to be air gapped.

lemmyvore ,

No, unfortunately. 🙂 They’re not talking about secure paths inside the office, they’re taking about having all their processes using the floppy disks. They have a common format which is proprietary and can only be made with a proprietary PC program and can only be submitted on floppy disks.

motor_spirit ,

I’ve got .rar file parts of FRIENDS episodes strewn across thousands of floppies, it’s a way to give your life meaning during the end times

freagle , to worldnews in Ukrainian drones injure Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant workers, say Russian-backed officials

Oh boy, Zelensky and his generals are getting desperate

sunzu , to world in China issues rare earth regulations to further protect domestic supply

Well, looks like they are trying to feed their own industry first.

I don't see this either shocking or surprising. China will do what is best for China, we do what is best for ...

FiniteBanjo OP ,

What is best for China is peaceful coexistence and small concessions to incentivize trade and development of the world.

What China is doing is maliciously taking everything they can get their hands on until every bridge is burned, and by the looks of it they’re ramping up military production to cross the river and keep taking.

Exactly the sort of shortsighted belligerent actions you would expect from a dictatorship.

sunzu ,

I am not here to excuse China's behavior but this action appears to be part of the trade war that US and EU started... for valid reasons.

We do a lot to make other countries "uncomfortable", there is nothing special about Chinese behavior here per se.

Let's not forget that we enabled China's rise. People within western governments who committed this crime are not held accountable for this blunder.

Now they are gearing us for what appears to be at very least economic conflict but likely a war. This is very concerning.

small concessions to incentivize trade and development of the world.

FYI we don't do this btw

FiniteBanjo OP ,

LMAO, China has been playing games with currency values and undercutting electronics manufacturers for decades.

FYI we don’t do this btw

In 1979, President Carter proposed a Trade Agreement that changed China to favored trader status with much lower tariffs across the board, and in return China agreed to a cap on textile output so as not to flood the market with cheaper goods than the USA was producing.

The 1980s saw even more favorable deals in exchange for similar restrictions as Reagan was eager to work with China.

Trade broke down in the 1990s over China committing crimes against their own people, broadcasted live across the entire world.

In 2000 President Clinton helped China enter the WTO to renew trade again.

And in return they spent the last 24 years shitting the bed, doing everything in their power to mess with any market they can, like sharks drawn to blood.

sunzu ,

From my perspective it looks like US "spent the last 24 years shitting the bed" while enabling this behavior. Again, people who made these decisions are not held accountable.

Fuck china and all but poor leadership is primary reason why we are here... with china being a bad faith actor being no 2.

TheBronko , to news in Bird flu human case is reported in Colorado
Fester ,

“Pandemic ‘24 Remastered: Election Year Edition”, now featuring all-new Pink Eye^TM^ non-optional cosmetics

queermunist , to worldnews in Biden rejects growing pressure to abandon his campaign, vows to stay 'to the end'
@queermunist@lemmy.ml avatar

“Some of you may die, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make Jack!”

nekandro , to worldnews in Biden rejects growing pressure to abandon his campaign, vows to stay 'to the end'

ITS HER TURN

ArcticAmphibian ,

I don’t think she has as good a chance as he does. Biden’s policy has always been on the moderate side of the democratic spectrum, whereas Harris’s has trended true-left or even far-left. Biden will pull more moderates and centrists, the key group in this election (MAGA folks are already decided and anyone who’s even vaguely left is too).

themoonisacheese ,
@themoonisacheese@sh.itjust.works avatar

The Overton window has shifted so far right that Biden is considered moderate-left and Harris far left.

In any sensible country Harris’s ideas are center-right at best.

LarkinDePark ,

Genocide is a far right thing if anything.

kurcatovium ,

When you go either of directions far enough, you’ll eventually meet woth people going the other way.

OurToothbrush ,

Hey, please refrain from horse shoe theory stuff in this community

kurcatovium ,

Ah, sorry, I forgot where I post…

Tangentism ,

Biden’s policy has always been on the moderate side of the democratic spectrum

This is the guy who was calling for restricting social welfare programs 25 years ago while wholeheartedly supporting Israeli expansion.

He has been anything but moderate

Zaktor ,

Biden will pull more moderates and centrists, the key group in this election

Says fucking who?

timewarp ,
@timewarp@lemmy.world avatar

If you listen to the Biden press conferences, it is like listening to a preacher try to gaslight you that an imaginary being will come down out of the sky. It’s like… “Biden has accomplished more than any President in the last 100 years, you know he has, we all know he has. Just as I said, and you’ve all seen for yourself. It’s true and you can’t deny it.”

ArcticAmphibian ,

Says an analysis done by me in 15 minutes on a train ride. I should have looked at polling data - despite Harris being further left, Biden is old as dirt. Apparently in ABC and Pew polls she beats him. Should have researched that one better.

thesporkeffect ,

I have yet to meet someone who is analytically deficient enough to think Harris is far left, who’s not also racist enough to think that she’s definitionally far-left due to her skin color.

Prove me wrong

ArcticAmphibian ,

Calling me a racist is harsh and uncalled for. She is indeed, compared to most US politicians, far left. Not talking about global scale. Attached is data from nonpartisan and nonprofit GovTrack regarding her time as a senator. www.govtrack.us/congress/members/…/2019

muad_dibber ,
@muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml avatar

Kamala Harris

Much credit to this post.

muad_dibber ,
@muad_dibber@lemmygrad.ml avatar

Continued…

atro_city ,

Biden's alter ego is female?

brown567 ,

His VP is?

atro_city ,

So is Hillary. I guess only OP knows who they mean.

sudo ,

It legitimately should be Kamala’s turn but “It’s Her Turn” was a 2016 slogan of Hillary.

sudo ,

He joking that they’ll run Hillary again.

atro_city ,

Other people are guessing the reference is Harris. No idea.

ShinkanTrain ,

She might be the only person on Earth capable of doing worse than Biden if nominated except maaaaaybe Jeb! Bush

nekandro , to worldnews in Sierra Leone outlaws child marriage with new bill

Only 10 US states have banned child marriage.

cerement ,
@cerement@slrpnk.net avatar

don’t worry, the Republicans are trying to change that

rando895 ,

And the Democrats are fighting to outlaw it too right?

LaGG_3 ,
@LaGG_3@hexbear.net avatar

I was going to say: “Sierra Leone: more progressive than most US states”

nekandro , to worldnews in Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks

Japan is not a serious country

HootinNHollerin ,

China shill much?

Wanderer , to world in Conservatives say Labour rivals heading for record-breaking UK election win

The UK is a pressure cooker about to go off. If nothing meaningful changes in the next 5 it’s going to explode.

I think AI will be the petrol that’s going to take the whole thing up. It won’t change the world entirely in 5 years but it will do enough.

gravitas_deficiency ,

For real, I expect the troubles to become a thing again if the elections get weird again this time.

I expect similar things in a lot of places if the rise of authoritarianism and fascism doesn’t stop.

zakobjoa , to nottheonion in Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks
@zakobjoa@lemmy.world avatar

We’ve successfully moved on to CDs!

Dipbeneaththelasers ,

They skipped tape!?

sanpo ,

Tape is actually doing pretty well.

Not the little cassette tapes, but tape storage tends to be used in big companies for backup long-term storage, and it doesn’t seem currently like it’s going anywhere.

ZealousSealion ,

The successor to tape seams likely to be internally engraved pieces of glass. Could be commercialised in a few years. But at least for the next decade, there will be a market for tape.

pastermil ,

It would be nice if they actually release this to production. Been hearing about it since last decade.

flamingo_pinyata ,

It’s insane how much write-only documentation is produced by big companies. Usually there is some kind of regulatory reason - like some documents have to be preserved for 40 years. Luckily it’s not mandatory to keep paper archives any more (if you live in a sane jurisdiction of course) .

kbal ,
@kbal@fedia.io avatar

Well, at least they didn't go with the Sony Minidisc.

yggstyle ,

I’m quite certain they tried.

jballs , to worldnews in Biden rejects growing pressure to abandon his campaign, vows to stay 'to the end'
@jballs@sh.itjust.works avatar

Biden had a bad debate: faces calls to withdraw from the race.

Trump convicted of 34 felonies: record fund raising.

velox_vulnus ,

“Was real world a Monty Python show?”

“Always has been.”

timewarp ,
@timewarp@lemmy.world avatar

Biden didn’t have a bad debate. He and his team showed America that he’s had a significant decline in mental capacity and instead gaslit the public and media about it.

charles ,
@charles@lemmy.world avatar

Seriously. Can NYT Op-Ed run 100% “Trump should drop out” articles every time he does something far more disqualifying? They’ll never run another opinion again.

sudo ,

They tried that back in 2016 and it just made him stronger.

macabrett ,

You’re being willfully obtuse. It wasn’t a bad debate, it was 90 minutes of confirmation that Biden was unfit for office. It was a 90 minute confirmation of what had been dubbed “right-wing propaganda” until that very moment.

agamemnonymous ,
@agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works avatar

It was likewise 90 minutes of confirmation that Trump is unfair for office: a non-stop steam of rambling nonsense and lies. A vote for Biden is a vote for a capable administration to do the actual work while grandpa sunsets. A vote for Trump is a vote for an administration of lackeys and con-man champing at the bit to turn the loot the country and turn it into a Christo-fascist kleptocracy.

If you think a Commander in Chief who is definitely going to betray the country for personal gain is an acceptance alternative to one who might make a mistake because he’s old, you deserve the hellscape you’ll get. The rest of us don’t though.

CherenkovBlue ,

We know that already, though, about Trump. We have known for years, and people either will or will not vote for Trump - their mind is already made up on kt. The Biden debate performance is a big deal because now we know Biden is not fit for the Presidency any more either, not because he did a bad job at it but simply because he is too old to go on. So now we need to talk about it and process it.

agamemnonymous ,
@agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works avatar

And an old sleepy man with a competent administration is still preferable to an old corrupt man with a Christo-fascist administration. It’s a sucky choice, but an extremely easy one.

CherenkovBlue ,

It’s true, but it’s not good.

agamemnonymous ,
@agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works avatar

Oh absolutely agreed, but the more discouraged apathetic voters, the more likely the Christo-fascists win. I have no interest in exacerbating that right now.

goferking0 ,

Well yeah. That’s just a drop in the long of things that trump supporters think makes him good.

Biden’s facing calls because it’s obvious he’s at the elderly stage where he shouldn’t be leading the country.

eran_morad , (edited )

Congratulations, you seem to have realized that republicans are backward degenerate wastes-of-carbon.

Lucidlethargy ,

Biden dropping out could actually lead to Trump’s, defeat is the right person is chosen. If he dies of old age before the election, however, then we may see a landslide defeat.

That said, Trump is just as likely to die of old age at this point, if not moreso due to his propensity to indulge in hamburders and rage-fueled rants.

I guess stay I’m saying is fuck all of this. I’ve never felt less patriotic on the fourth of July than this year… What a fucking shitshow.

Edit: But hey, maybe Biden is right. Stubbornness and self-aggrandizing behavior worked out great for RBG, right?

Pyr_Pressure ,

It’s because Democrats don’t worship Biden as some Jesus reborn patriot whereas Republicans worship a literally prideful, envious, slothly, wrathful, greedy, gluttonous, and lustful old man as some Jesus reborn candidate.

CyberMonkey404 , to worldnews in Russian oil and gas revenue soars 41% in first half, data shows

And how much of that goes to the country’s budget, let alone to the citizens, and how much gets stuffed into offshore accounts and real estate in western countries?

yogthos OP ,
@yogthos@lemmy.ml avatar

The west solved that problem by effectively doing capital controls for Russia. Now that Russia has been decoupled from SWIFT, moving money out is pretty hard.

CyberMonkey404 ,

From what I understand, Russian companies that are doing business with Europe and USA (such as aforementioned oil corporations) do so via direct exchange at a stock market, no swift required. Likewise, offshoring can be done via cash, precious metals, stocks or other methods

yogthos OP ,
@yogthos@lemmy.ml avatar

There are always ways to try and get money out of a country, but the west made it as difficult as possible to do so. And the result has been that money is indeed staying in Russia which resulted in a big increase in business activity as IMF now openly admits.

Greyghoster , to worldnews in Japan declares victory in effort to end government use of floppy disks

Surprising as new hardware hasn’t had a floppy disk drive for years and old equipment is probably running a non supported operating system which is totally vulnerable.

Senseless ,

You might be surprised (or not) by the amount of fax machines still being used in germany. It’s not quite the same but also an ancient technology that just refuses to die here. As IT guy it drives me crazy.

Greyghoster ,

When it comes to faxes, doctors and lawyers seem to be the main supporters in Australia. They have secure messaging available but cling to the insecure and antiquated fax. I’ve integrated fax into medical practice management apps and they thought it was such a step forward (after a while).

threeduck ,
@threeduck@aussie.zone avatar

We turned off our fax number at our lab, to force doctors to send via email. They weren’t happy, but what was the alternative.

Greyghoster ,

Wow, activists! Well done!

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • random
  • lifeLocal
  • goranko
  • All magazines