Dan

@ok6ixx I doubt this story is true. It's not typical Japanese behavior. It's not even typical asian behavior.

I was waiting at a crosswalk in Tokyo. The traffic light was red but no cars were coming. A bunch of people were waiting anyway. The tourist next to me said to his friend "why is everyone waiting? There's no cars." He started to cross. An old woman said something to him in Japanese. He didn't understand and ignored her. She stepped in front of him, blocking his path. Said more firmly in Japanese, pointing at the light. A Japanese guy nearby translated for the tourist: "She says you must wait for the green light. Even if there are no cars. That is the rule." Tourists got annoyed. "That's a stupid rule. There's literally no cars." The translator told the old woman what he said. She responded in Japanese. The translator said: "She says rules are not about cars. Rules are about respect for order. If everyone follows rules only when convenient, society breaks down. You wait for the green light because that is what civilized people do. Not because of cars. Because of civilization." The tourist kind of scoffed but stopped trying to cross. The light turned green. The old woman smiled at him, gestured for him to go ahead of her. As we all crossed, the translator said to me quietly "she is right, you know. We follow small rules so we can trust each other with big rules." That stuck with me. The idea that waiting at an empty crosswalk isn't about traffic. It's about proving to each other that we're all willing to follow rules even when no one would know if we didn't.

China has been telling the world it is abandoning the dollar. The Council on Foreign Relations just published a detailed analysis showing that China may actually hold more dollars off its official books than on them. The de-dollarization story is largely a magic trick. Here is how it works in plain terms. China's official foreign exchange reserve, managed by an agency called SAFE, used to hold about 79% of its assets in US dollars back in 2005. By 2019, that number had dropped to 55%. That is the number that gets reported. That is the number that generates headlines about China dumping the dollar. But while China was reducing the dollar share of its official reserves, it quietly stopped growing those official reserves altogether. They have been stuck at roughly $3.3 trillion for eight years. All the new money China accumulated went somewhere else entirely, into the foreign lending of state-owned policy banks like the China Development Bank, into the foreign assets of state commercial banks, and into various state investment funds. None of this is fully disclosed. None of it shows up in the headline de-dollarization numbers. CFR senior fellow Brad Setser ran the math. China's official reserves hold approximately $1.8 trillion in dollars. But Chinese state commercial banks hold an estimated $1 trillion in dollar assets abroad. The policy banks hold close to another $1 trillion in foreign claims, most denominated in dollars. The China Investment Corporation, the country's sovereign wealth fund, holds roughly $450 billion in foreign assets, the majority in dollars. Add it all up and China's total dollar holdings across all state entities likely exceed $4 trillion, more off the official books than on them. Every debt restructuring case where China's policy banks were involved, Zambia, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Angola, involved dollar-denominated loans. Not yuan. Not euros. Dollars. The de-dollarization narrative serves a specific purpose for Beijing. It signals geopolitical independence from the US financial system, which is valuable messaging for domestic audiences and Global South partners. But the actual financial behavior of Chinese state entities tells a different story. China's banks are still borrowing and lending predominantly in dollars. China's investment funds are still holding predominantly dollar assets. The label changed. The exposure did not. China is telling the world it is exiting the dollar while quietly holding more of it than ever. That is not de-dollarization but a very well-executed press release. #China #CCP #Dollar #DeDollarization #Geopolitics #Finance #CFR #Economy #GlobalFinance #SAFE

R.I.P. sushi facebook.com/share/p/1Cspt1…

@train9898 @adamtaggart Yes, only 12 miles so why is Iran taking over the other half which belongs to Oman?

@adamtaggart 12 Miles from Iran's shore is considered their (Iran's) territorial waters. It was completely open before the US and Israel started attacking Iran. So who's fault is it that the strait is shut down?

I'm sure I'm going to regret wading back into the fray, but here goes... I'm hearing a lot of people say, "The US attacked Iran unprovoked, so of course Iran has the right to seize the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is just defending itself." First off, "the shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz...are governed by international maritime law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)" britannica.com/question/Who-o… Second and more important, since when has it ever been acceptable to attack or hold hostage neutral parties, in war or otherwise? Spoiler alert: NEVER Your enemies are fair game in war. But NOT neutral parties. Again, NEVER. If I'm wrong here, please some one show me historical precedent. But Iran's attempted taking hostage of the Strait and the ships of neutral nations held captive there, threatening them with deadly violence should they attempt to transit, flies in the face of this. Honest question: why do so many people see this as acceptable?

If our liders excel only in kayabangan, saan tayo pupulutin?

@Grant2k25 @JewsFightBack Hypocrite.

@JewsFightBack Bibi Netanyahu is a war criminal. He is responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocents. No bullshit PR stories will ever clear his name.

May 8, 1972. A Sabena Airlines plane is hijacked by four jihadists. They demand the release of over 300 convicted terrorists—or they’ll start killing hostages. Ninety passengers sit in terror at Lod Airport. Enter Bibi Netanyahu. Disguised as a technician, Bibi infiltrates the plane with his elite unit, Sayeret Matkal. In overalls and holding tools, they pretend to inspect the landing gear. Then—BOOM. They breach the cabin. In a brutal close-quarters firefight, the two male terrorists are killed, the two females are captured, and every single hostage is rescued. Not a movie. Not a myth. This is Jewish history.

What is Samidoun? facebook.com/share/v/1ExJFa…

@Catsuzuchan_02 Many Muslim countries have the ability to revoke citizenships to people who are security risks. Japan should do likewise.

別府ムスリム教会カーン代表(パキスタン出身・帰化済み)は、ムスリムの会合で『このままいけば2100年に、日本はイスラム国家になるでしょう！これに向けて尽力する勇気をアッラーが与えてくれますように』と、日本でのムスリムの会合でパキスタンの言語ウルドゥー語で語りました。実際にYouTubeでこの発言をしています(怒)。ウルドゥー語が分かる方が、カーン代表のこの動画を見つけて翻訳してくださいました。 これは侵略ではないのか(怒)。 カーン代表は、別府市にある立命館アジア太平洋大学の国際経営学部の教授です。 25年前にパキスタンから､立命館アジア太平洋大学に留学生として来日(右の画像は2021年7月放送なので)。同じパキスタン出身の妻と共に帰化。日本生まれ日本育ちの3人の子どもも、当然日本国籍となります。 カーン代表は、この右の画像のTV番組で『日本の文化と日本人が好きなので日本国籍を取得した』と語っていました。嘘ですね(怒)。日本でイスラム教徒のための土葬墓地建設の活動をガンガンしていますから(怒)。

@IvanAtHome @IT_IS_ME3656 Meron pa siya mining and quarry companies. Paano siya kaya nakakuha ng maraming mining rights? 🤔

The Duterte camp is full of sex pests and perverts. An embattled Duterte camp faces attacks on multiple fronts. Now their failed PR man, Mike Defensor (a failed local candidate), is facing HUMAN TRAFFICKING CHARGES for his family's connected to a recently raided KTV bar / brothel. NBI director Melvin Matibag confirmed to the Inquirer last week that their investigation revealed that Defensor is also directly connected to the Bleu Hotel, which the NBI recently raided, where sexual exploitation was allegedly committed against 54 women victims. The place was a hotel and nightclub. It was a brothel, basically. Mike Defensor's family allegedly helped run it. In face, NBI has filed a complaint against Julie Defensor and several others before Pasig prosecutors for alleged violations of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. Of course, this isn't the first time the Duterte camp has been linked to human trafficking. Former human rights lawyer and Duterte Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque is facing charges of qualified human trafficking in the Philippines, linked to illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). The charges stem from investigations into Lucky South 99, a POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga, which was raided following allegations of torture, kidnapping, and human trafficking. The Dutertes set up the POGO system here as a key part of their economic policy, and they became dens of sex, drugs, trafficking and treason against the Republic. And of course, there's Rep. Paolo Duterte who was caught on video "allegedly" threatening a businessman with a knife, which many women's groups are saying was a dispute between him and the pimp of women he was hiring out. The Duterte clan are full of perverts. They learned well from the lecherous ways of their father, Rodrigo. gmanetwork.com/news/topstorie… newsinfo.inquirer.net/2220750/fwd-ma… newsinfo.inquirer.net/2058374/womens…

In 458 BC, Rome was on the brink of collapse. An invading army had trapped the Roman consul and his legion in a mountain pass. Panic spread through the city. The Senate did the only thing they could think of: They sent messengers to find a 60-year-old farmer plowing his field. His name was Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. He had once been a senator, then lost his fortune paying his son's bail. Now he worked his own four-acre plot just to feed his family. When the Senate's envoys arrived, they found him sweating behind a plow. They asked him to put on his toga so they could deliver an official message. The message: Rome was making him dictator. Absolute power. Total command of the army. No checks. No oversight. No term limit. He accepted. Within 16 days, Cincinnatus had raised an army, marched out, surrounded the enemy, and forced their surrender. The republic was saved. He had legal authority to rule for six months. He could have stayed. He could have expanded his power. He could have done what every other ruler in human history did when handed unlimited control. Instead, he resigned on day 16. He took off the toga, walked back to his farm, and finished plowing the field he'd left half-done. Twenty years later, when Rome faced another crisis, they called him back. He was 80 years old. He took command, crushed the conspiracy, and resigned again, this time after just 21 days. He died poor. On his farm. 2,200 years later, when George Washington was offered a kingship after winning the American Revolution, he refused and went home to Mount Vernon. The reason he was hailed as "the American Cincinnatus" is because Europeans literally could not believe a man who had won would willingly give up power. King George III, on hearing Washington would resign rather than rule, said: "If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world." The lesson isn't that Cincinnatus was humble. The lesson is that for most of human history, the people most qualified to lead were the ones who didn't want to. And the moment a society starts rewarding those who chase power instead of those who flee from it is the moment the republic begins to die. Cincinnati, Ohio is named after him. Most people who live there have no idea why.

@tanpukunokami I also observe some Japanese just saying 'masu'. When can you use that?

You probably learned that "thank you" in Japanese is arigatou gozaimasu. There are 5 levels. Pick the wrong one, and you'll sound rude, weirdly formal, or like you're trying way too hard. Here's how it works. Level 1 — Doumo (どうも) You drop coins on the counter at 7-Eleven. The clerk hands you the receipt. You say doumo. That's it. "Got it. Thanks." Almost no weight. Level 2 — Arigatou (ありがとう) Your friend hands you a beer. You say arigatou. Same energy as "thanks, man." Level 3 — Arigatou gozaimasu (ありがとうございます) A stranger holds the elevator for you. You say arigatou gozaimasu. Polite. Respectful. Neutral. The safest default in Japanese society. Level 4 — Arigatou gozaimashita (ありがとうございました) You finish dinner. As you leave, the staff bows and says arigatou gozaimashita. Past tense. Built into the word: "This is over, and we are grateful for it." Level 5 — Makoto ni arigatou gozaimasu (誠にありがとうございます) A CEO opens his speech at the company's 50th anniversary. Makoto ni arigatou gozaimasu. "Truly, thank you." Used when gratitude has public, formal weight. That's the 5. Beyond them, there's osoreirimasu (恐れ入ります). A thank-you mixed with apology. Used when someone goes out of their way for you, and your gratitude carries: "I'm sorry I made you do that." Five levels. One word, arigatou, branching into five different shades. Each level says something the words themselves don't. Who you are. Who they are. What just happened. Next time someone in Japan thanks you, listen to which level they used. That's where the real message is.

During the Iranian Revolution, leftist students, communists, and Muslims were all united in overthrowing the Shah. The leftists celebrated when Khomeini returned in 1979. They thought they defeated capitalism and imperialism. It didn’t last long. Around 30,000 leftists who helped the Islamic regime consolidate power were soon executed. That’s where the term “useful idiot” originated. They served their purpose and were no longer needed. Muslims had always despised their progressive ideals and couldn’t wait to get rid of them. One of the women celebrating in the picture was killed, the other fled the country for her life. It’s bizarre that almost 50 years later, Western leftists are making the exact same mistake. If they get what they want, they will have the same ending.

This footage exists because Ethiopia stopped paying its loans. Ethiopia defaulted on its Eurobond in December 2023, missing a $33M coupon and joining Ghana and Zambia on Africa's distressed-debt list. China holds roughly $13.7B of the country's $28B external debt. Beijing suspended Ethiopia's bilateral payments through 2024 instead of collecting. Collecting would have ended the BRI story before the cameras arrived. The video is what the story looks like when nobody pays the loans back. Per capita, India sits around $2,700 and Ethiopia around $1,100. The income gap is 2.5x. The 24x figure folds in the population gap, 1.4 billion vs 132 million. India funds its infrastructure from a $4 trillion economy and its own tax base. Ethiopia funds it from suspended Chinese repayments, a $3.4B IMF Extended Credit Facility, and a currency that lost 30% the day the IMF made it float. The corridor in the video has a name: the Corridor Development Project, launched by PM Abiy in December 2022 with a grand palace at its center. The lead contractor is China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation. Amnesty International documented 872 forced evictions from two Addis sub-cities in November 2024 alone. Satellite imagery confirmed 29 hectares of structural clearing in three months. Zero compensation reported by surveyed homeowners. Phase two covers 2,000 hectares. The project is now active in 58 cities. The artist who criticized it, Azeb Worku, was arrested in September 2024. What you're watching is debt-financed footage that nobody can pay for, filmed on land cleared without compensation, in a country whose central bank holds $2.4B in reserves and runs on an IMF program just to keep the lights on. The cooperation worked exactly as designed. For one of the parties.

A Taiwanese TV anchor with hundreds of thousands of followers was secretly submitting his scripts to China for approval before broadcasting them. He was paid in cryptocurrency for every video. And he was using the same bank accounts to bribe military personnel into handing over Taiwan's missile deployment data. Lin Chen-you, known by his screen name "Ma De," worked as a political reporter and anchor at CTiTV, one of Taiwan's major cable news networks, and ran a YouTube channel with a substantial following. On May 6, 2026, Taiwanese prosecutors indicted him on three counts after a four-month investigation. They are seeking 12 years in prison. The charges are specific and documented. First: Lin produced anti-recall propaganda videos during Taiwan's Legislative Yuan recall campaigns while following instructions from an unidentified Chinese contact, submitting his scripts for pre-approval before broadcasting them on television and YouTube. He then sent back viewership statistics and traffic screenshots as proof of impact. He received 4,325 USDT in Tether cryptocurrency for this work, approximately NT$130,000. Second: Lin provided at least five of his personal bank accounts as a money channel, wiring funds to six active and retired military personnel from Taiwan's Army, Navy, Air Force, and missile units. The bribed soldiers were instructed to film pro-CCP "surrender videos" while holding PRC flags and to photograph and transmit classified military documents through messaging apps. The secrets allegedly handed over included drone and missile data, Han Kuang military exercise details, rocket system specifications, missile deployment locations, new missile parameters, and internal operation manuals. From 2023 to 2025, Lin received nearly 50,000 USDT from Chinese sources, totalling over NT$1 million in illegal gains, laundered through Binance and OKX. Third: prosecutors charged him with money laundering for layering the cryptocurrency payments through multiple exchanges to conceal their origin. The lead prosecutor described Lin as a tool for information warfare who handed content control of a mainstream Taiwanese news platform directly to foreign hostile forces, calling his crimes "heinous and unforgivable." The case will not receive a public trial because the evidence involves classified national security material. Lin told investigators he did not know the money came from Chinese forces. Prosecutors noted that he submitted scripts for Chinese approval before every broadcast and sent back viewership data after each one. The evidence includes bank records, crypto transaction logs, chat histories, and confessions from several of his military co-defendants. The CCP did not need to hack Taiwan's military. It found a news anchor who needed money and gave him a script. #Taiwan #CCP #China #Espionage #MediaEspionage #NationalSecurity #Disinformation #CTiTV #Geopolitics #ChinaSpying

Three Belgian police officers try to arrest a man. A mob of Muslims physically attack them trying to free their friend. Enjoy the "Allahu Akbars", the kicking of policemen on the ground, the pushing and throwing punches. These people have zero fear of consequences

Let's consult the historical record to see what the Aztec society was up to when the Spanish conquered it. First, from Cortes: “They have a most horrid and abominable custom which truly ought to be punished and which until now we have seen in no other part, and this is that, whenever they wish to ask something of the idols, in order that their plea may find more acceptance, they take many girls and boys and even adults, and in the presence of the idols they open their chests while they are still alive and take out their hearts and entrails and burn them before the idols, offering the smoke as sacrifice. Some of us have seen this, and they say it is the most terrible and frightful thing they have ever witnessed… not one year passes in which they do not kill and sacrifice some fifty persons in each temple; and this is done and held as customary… not one year has passed… in which three or four thousand souls have not been sacrificed in this manner.” And now Bernal Diaz del Castillo: “The dismal drum of Huichilobos sounded again, accompanied by conches, horns and trumpet-like instruments. It was a terrifying sound, and when we looked at the tall cue [temple] from which it came we saw our comrades who had been captured in Cortes’ defeat being dragged up the steps to be sacrificed. When they had hauled them up to a small platform in front of the shrine where they kept their accursed idols we saw them put plumes on the heads of many of them; and they made them dance with a sort of fan in front of Huichilobos. Then after they had danced the papas [priests] laid them down on their backs on some narrow stones of sacrifice and, cutting open their chests, drew out their palpitating hearts which they offered to the idols before them.” ... “Every day we saw sacrificed before us three, four or five Indians whose hearts were offered to the idols and their blood plastered on the walls, and their feet, arms and legs of the victims were cut off and eaten… Every wall of this chapel and the whole floor, had become almost black with human blood, and… the stench was worse than in a Spanish slaughter-house.” ... “When we arrived at the great market place, called Tlaltelolco, we were astounded at the number of people and the quantity of merchandise that it contained… Let us begin with the dealers in gold, silver, and precious stones, feathers, mantles, and embroidered goods. Then there were other wares consisting of Indian slaves both men and women; and I say that they bring as many of them to that great market for sale as the Portuguese bring negroes from Guinea…. They brought some of them tied to long poles by means of collars around their necks so they would not escape, and others left loose.” ~~ This is what the Spanish conquered in the name of Christendom - a Stone-Age society consumed with ritualistic human sacrifice, cannibalism and slavery.

A man with no working truck convinced Wall Street he had built the next Tesla. His company hit $30 BILLION. All he did was push it down a hill with no engine. > Trevor Milton founded Nikola in 2014, named after the same inventor as Tesla. > The goal was to build hydrogen powered trucks that would make diesel obsolete. He had no trucks. > In 2018 he released a promotional video called Nikola One In Motion. It showed a sleek semi truck accelerating smoothly down an open highway. Investors went wild. > What nobody knew was that the truck had no engine, no fuel cell, and no propulsion system of any kind. > Milton's team towed it to the top of a hill, tilted the camera to hide the slope, and let it roll. > He spent the next four years doing the same thing with words. On podcasts, television and social media. > Investors were told Nikola could produce its own hydrogen. It could not. They were told the trucks were ready for production. They were not. They were told orders were flooding in. They weren't. > In June 2020 Nikola went public. Within days the company was worth $30 BILLION, more than Ford. > Milton's personal stake hit $7.3 BILLION overnight. > A $32.5 MILLION ranch in Utah followed. A record for the state at the time. > In September 2020 Hindenburg Research published a report calling Nikola "an intricate fraud" built on "an ocean of lies." Milton resigned within ten days. > A federal jury convicted him of securities fraud and wire fraud in 2022. Sentenced to four years in prison the following year. > He never went. He was free on $100 MILLION bail pending appeal. > He and his wife donated $3.2 MILLION to Donald Trump's 2024 campaign. > In March 2025 Trump gave him a full pardon. The pardon erased $168 MILLION in restitution to defrauded shareholders. > Nikola filed for bankruptcy the following month, leaving thousands of investors with nothing. The company never had a product. The only thing that was real was the $30 BILLION valuation, the $7 BILLION that landed in his pocket and the pardon that made sure none of it had to be returned.

@harukaawake Japan should do what Muslim countries do. Import labor without possibility of Citizenship. Once their work ends they go home. Once they die, they go home.

🇯🇵 Many foreign people have no idea about the drama that's currently unfolding in conservative circles in Japan so I will update you on this. It mostly involves a TV personality in Japan named Fifi (フィフィ). Fifi is a Muslim lady from Egypt who's lived here for 40+ years but has spoken out against Islamism, Islamic immigration, public praying, etc. I've translated many of her videos before. She's always said that her religion is a private matter and she thinks Muslims should integrate. Recently, there's been some controversy at various airports, train stations, etc. with Muslims demanding separate prayer rooms. Most of us have come out against this as it emboldens Muslims. To the surprise of many, Fifi, who had previously spoken out against these things, in a live stream, strongly advocated for installing prayer rooms in public places like airports and shopping malls. She called it "international common sense" and said every country has them. She insulted opponents as "baka na Nihonjin" (stupid Japanese) and said our heads were "crazy" for resisting. She is currently facing heavy criticism from many conservatives in Japan for her comments. Her comments come across as very rude and her behavior also plays into the idea that Muslims are always Muslims at the end of the day. Also, she is currently involved in an argument with a prominent conservative activist (with whom she allegedly had an affair). A deeply unfortunate situation.

@AsianDawn4 Making friends is not weird.

🇯🇵 It's 2026, Japanese soldiers are back in the Philippines. Weird times

@WILLfindways @dannyarao Napakayabang din kasi ng g@g©.

@dannyarao Sana mabulok or mamatay sa kulungan or sa mental facility yung isa. Apakabata pa niya. Maraming buhay at pag-asa pa ang masisira ng mga kagaya niya. Naka-freeze niya kaya ang assets niya at ni Victoria? ₱350M, mukhang barya lang sa mga nasa Gobyerno yan. ☕️☕️☕️

"GOOD" NEWS? Within 24 hours, a newspaper owner died while a digital outlet founder got arrested. They both give journalism a bad name. One ruined the newspaper's rich history by doing PR work while the other spreads "fake news" while pretending to be neutral. One word: Goodbye!