[Asia/Oceania] Yellen says she hopes China wont mount retaliation against any steps Washington takes

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > [Asia/Oceania] Yellen says she hopes China wont mount retaliation against any steps Washington takes

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(Thread IKs: fart simpson)

tristeham: Jul 31, 2022

lobster shirt posted:

stasi ftw

# ? May 17, 2023 20:52

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# ? May 26, 2024 10:07

Regarde Aduck: Oct 19, 2012; c l o u d k i t t e n; Grimey Drawer

lobster shirt posted:

stasi ftw

# ? May 17, 2023 21:36

Doktor Avalanche: Dec 30, 2008

lobster shirt posted:

stasi ftw

https://twitter.com/Tedist_/status/1425223373295128587

# ? May 17, 2023 22:16

Danann: Aug 4, 2013

https://twitter.com/tphuang/status/1658888454460014606

byd with electric forklifts and busses in the catalog

i wonder if there's elector farm tractors too

# ? May 17, 2023 23:28

Slavvy: Dec 11, 2012

Doktor Avalanche posted:

https://twitter.com/Tedist_/status/1425223373295128587

Dudes rock

# ? May 18, 2023 00:09

this allusion meant: Apr 9, 2006

Danann posted:

https://twitter.com/tphuang/status/1658888454460014606

byd with electric forklifts and busses in the catalog

i wonder if there's elector farm tractors too

i think they started buses before personal cars? or at least that's how i knew about them before they got big

# ? May 18, 2023 01:10

crepeface: Nov 5, 2004; r*p*f*c*

gradenko_2000 posted:

PLAytime is over

# ? May 18, 2023 01:45

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

lobster shirt posted:

stasi ftw

bad news about that

# ? May 18, 2023 01:59

Palladium: May 8, 2012; Very Good
✔️✔️✔️✔️

this allusion meant posted:

i think they started buses before personal cars? or at least that's how i knew about them before they got big

But BYD can never emulate japan's innovation of buying overpriced american weapons

Checkmate chinafailures

# ? May 18, 2023 04:17

Kindest Forums User: Mar 25, 2008; Let me tell you about my opinion about Bernie Sanders and why Donald Trump is his true successor.

You cannot vote Hillary Clinton because she is worse than Trump.

Doktor Avalanche posted:

https://twitter.com/Tedist_/status/1425223373295128587

Dudes rock

# ? May 18, 2023 04:29

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

lobster shirt posted:

stasi ftw

https://twitter.com/nise_yoshimi/status/1658391046957441029?t=INQoWHiTVNWu9gv9QM0u_Q&s=19

# ? May 18, 2023 04:32

Comrade Koba: Jul 2, 2007

huge lol at all the :qq:

-ing libs in the replies

�BUT THEY BUILT A WALL!!! A WALL!!��

# ? May 18, 2023 05:06

Slavvy: Dec 11, 2012

They did shoot people trying to leave tho

# ? May 18, 2023 05:16

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Slavvy posted:

They did shoot people trying to leave tho

I'm the carefree existence under the Stasi.

# ? May 18, 2023 05:18

Comrade Koba: Jul 2, 2007

Slavvy posted:

They did shoot people trying to leave tho

~140 people dead over a period of 40 years is not the holocaust it�s made out to be every time the GDR gets mentioned anywhere

# ? May 18, 2023 05:36

Trabisnikof: Dec 24, 2005

Comrade Koba posted:

~140 people dead over a period of 40 years is not the holocaust it�s made out to be every time the GDR gets mentioned anywhere

Since January 2010, over 265 people have died as the result of an encounter with a US CBP agent.

https://www.southernborder.org/deaths_by_border_patrol

# ? May 18, 2023 05:39

Comrade Koba: Jul 2, 2007

Trabisnikof posted:

Since January 2010, over 265 people have died as the result of an encounter with a US CBP agent.

https://www.southernborder.org/deaths_by_border_patrol

wow, looking forward to visiting a memorial museum dedicated to the victims of the oppressive regime next time i�m in the US. :allears:

# ? May 18, 2023 05:45

Turtle Watch: Jul 30, 2010; by Games Forum

gradenko_2000 posted:

PLAytime is over

# ? May 18, 2023 06:03

Slavvy: Dec 11, 2012

Comrade Koba posted:

~140 people dead over a period of 40 years is not the holocaust it’s made out to be every time the GDR gets mentioned anywhere

But why did they shoot them?

Trabisnikof posted:

Since January 2010, over 265 people have died as the result of an encounter with a US CBP agent.

https://www.southernborder.org/deaths_by_border_patrol

Were those people trying to enter Mexico?

# ? May 18, 2023 07:12

Not So Fast: Dec 27, 2007

no socialist project was perfect and most of them carried over aspects of the state apparatus from the previous regime in order to turn it on capitalists / liberals / whoever is out of favour. This is then used and exaggerated by VoC types to dismiss the whole project

# ? May 18, 2023 07:34

Comrade Koba: Jul 2, 2007

Slavvy posted:

But why did they shoot them?

no idea, but contrary to common belief the usual response of armed border guards to someone trying to force a crossing is not to give them a friendly smile and a thumbs-up.

# ? May 18, 2023 07:55

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

Comrade Koba posted:

no idea, but contrary to common belief the usual response of armed border guards to someone trying to force a crossing is not to give them a friendly smile and a thumbs-up.

"force a crossing" is an "officer involved shooting" level euphemism

# ? May 18, 2023 08:39

exmarx: Feb 18, 2012; The experience over the years
of nothing getting better
only worse.

great read on yeonmi park from 2014

https://thediplomat.com/2014/12/the-strange-tale-of-yeonmi-park/

# ? May 18, 2023 09:21

KomradeX: Oct 29, 2011

Comrade Koba posted:

~140 people dead over a period of 40 years is not the holocaust it’s made out to be every time the GDR gets mentioned anywhere

Itnis deeply funny that Ameircan cops kill 100 times more people than the GDR didz every year but we have freedom apparently

# ? May 18, 2023 09:26

ModernMajorGeneral: Jun 25, 2010

KomradeX posted:

Itnis deeply funny that Ameircan cops kill 100 times more people than the GDR didz every year but we have freedom apparently

Look at all the whaboutism in this thread. Comparing socialist countries to capitalist countries is not allowed, as it keeps making capitalism look bad and is therefore evidence of bias and logical fallacy.

# ? May 18, 2023 09:46

Orange Devil: Oct 1, 2010; Wullie's reign cannae smother the flames o' equality!

Trabisnikof posted:

Since January 2010, over 265 people have died as the result of an encounter with a US CBP agent.

https://www.southernborder.org/deaths_by_border_patrol

It's ok to shoot people trying to get in, but wrong to shoot people trying to get out, is the lib position.

# ? May 18, 2023 09:51

genericnick: Dec 26, 2012

Orange Devil posted:

It's ok to shoot people trying to get in, but wrong to shoot people trying to get out, is the lib position.

Makes sense to me, it's literally the 180� opposite situation!

# ? May 18, 2023 10:35

Hedenius: Aug 23, 2007

https://twitter.com/carlzha/status/1659010235808505858?s=46&t=mzWS2vgSInnU9jlt8C3n_Q

# ? May 18, 2023 12:17

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Orange Devil posted:

It's ok to shoot people trying to get in, but wrong to shoot people trying to get out, is the lib position.

(locks door)

Now youse can't leave.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UBXTC24T8g

# ? May 18, 2023 12:36

tristeham: Jul 31, 2022

gradenko_2000 posted:

https://twitter.com/nise_yoshimi/status/1658391046957441029?t=INQoWHiTVNWu9gv9QM0u_Q&s=19

that book looks pretty good.

e: nice it's already on libgen.

# ? May 18, 2023 13:04

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

How generous military pension is pushing Philippines to fiscal collapse

quote:

A plan to fix the Philippines� unsustainable military pension system is supposedly pushing enlisted soldiers to retire early, leaving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to spend his political capital to address both pressing concerns.

The average monthly pension of a retired military uniformed personnel is around P40,000 a month, which is 8.8 times more than an average pensioner of the Social Security System (SSS) is receiving. It is also 2.9 times higher than the average pension under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

Under the SSS and GSIS, and basically most pension models, people contribute a part of their income for the fund. Military personnel do not contribute a single peso in the current system. In effect, taxpayers contribute for their pension funds through appropriations in the annual budget.

[poster's note: I tend to disagree with "the taxpayers pay for the pensions because it the pensions are funded via appropriations in the national budget", since revenues do not equal appropriations in fiat money economies, but the framing is marginally useful for a layman explanation, if somewhat politicized]

On top of this, military uniformed personnel are automatically granted one rank higher upon retirement. For instance, if an army colonel retires, the pension is equivalent to the pay of a brigadier general.

Their monthly pension is automatically indexed to the salary of personnel in active service. Military pensioners can receive their pension after being in service for 20 years with no minimum pensionable age.

Almost three decades since this system was implemented, the cracks it has caused in the government�s coffers are widening every year and will lead to a fiscal collapse if not patched up.

The pension system was implemented during the final months of 1998, or the presidency of the late Fidel V. Ramos, who himself fought during the Korean War. He did so after the previous military program called the Retirement and Separation Benefit System (RSBS) effectively collapsed.

The RSBS, an initiative of late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, required uniformed personnel to contribute and gave the fund a steady cash flow. It was, however, grossly mismanaged, and its managers invested in risky assets like golf courses. The Asian financial crisis of 1997 further caused the bleeding.

Soldiers, who at the time were dealing with insurgencies and terrorist groups, were not compensated well for their efforts. At the end of their active-duty career, the RSBS only gave them back the total amount they contributed without interest.

While uniformed personnel�s pensions greatly improved under the new system where pension funds are appropriated from the annual budget, the financial impact is felt almost three decades later.

Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno once called it the �most generous pension system for the military in the entire world.�

�While the common practice is to base the pension benefits on the highest salary (usually the last) of the retiree, under the law approved by Mr. Ramos, the pension is based on the salaries of the incumbent. Absurd but true,� Diokno said in a column published way back 2013. His convictions on the issue stand to this day, as he pushes for pension reform under Marcos.

Former president Rodrigo Duterte further strained government finances by doubling the take-home pay of soldiers and police officers. Duterte also recruited more uniformed personnel during his six years in power.
Fiscal impact

The Department of Finance (DOF) has raised the alarm over the urgent need for military pension reform, as pension spending already outpaced spending on maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and capital outlays (CO) of the military.

In 2022, pension spending reached P164 billion, while MOOE and CO stood at P125 billion.

�For 2021 and 2022, military uniformed personnel pension was 82% and 80% of the respective annual personnel services expenditures,� the DOF said.

The DOF estimated that pension expenditures could reach P290 billion by 2028 or the end of Marcos� term. Worse, it could hit a whopping P1.5 trillion by 2040.

DOF figures also revealed that the current share of unfunded military pension liabilities is already at P9.6 trillion, 53% of the Philippines� gross domestic product.

The government is effectively borrowing for pension liabilities, and issuing treasury bills is sensitive to higher interest rates.

The Bureau of the Treasury warned that the current system could increase public debt by 25% by 2030.

...

Military pension reform has been thumbed down many times.

It did not prosper at all during the administration of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who then faced multiple threats of being unseated and needed military backing.

The late Benigno Aquino III once acknowledged the ballooning military pension and its impact on the budget. He mentioned the issue several times in his State of the Nation Addresses but effectively passed the buck to Congress.

There were also talks of military pension reform during the Duterte administration, but those proposals also fell through due to lobbying from former military personnel who were pensioners themselves.

...

Diokno, Marcos� finance secretary and Duterte�s former budget chief, said that Marcos is more than willing to spend his political capital to push for reforms.

Marcos, whose father was ousted through people power that saw the participation of military factions, would have to carefully explain to soldiers the financial impact of their above-average pension.

An estimated 70% to 80% of the military�s enlisted soldiers may opt to retire early if the current plan to fix the pension system pushes through, Department of National Defense officer-in-charge Carlito Galvez Jr. told the Senate on Monday, May 15. Galvez added that the plan has �affected morale.�

...

Galvez said they are seeking a �middle ground� in which new entrants are only covered by the pension reform.

�There�s no problem if the new system will be given to the new entrants. They all unanimously agree,� Galvez said. Otherwise, the military might be deluged with thousands of soldiers opting to retire early, causing bigger organizational problems.

...

Galvez cited one issue that has spawned �adverse reactions� from enlisted men: that the lump sum they are going to receive will be reduced �from 36 months to 18 months.�

�While we fully support the enactment of legislative measures to address the current issues hounding the pension system, the [Department of National Defense] and the [Armed Forces of the Philippines] respectfully appeal that morale and welfare be given due weight in these deliberations, considering that the mere notion of modernizing our pension system already created some sort of apprehension,� Galvez said.

So far, the DOF is proposing that all active personnel and new entrants begin contributions to the pension system. The percentage of the mandatory contribution will be staggered over uniformed personnel�s years of service � from 5% in their first three years to eventually 9% of their salary.

It also seeks to remove the automatic indexation of pension to the salary of active personnel of similar ranks.

The DOF is also proposing for uniformed personnel to get their pension at the age of 57.

Diokno is confident that Marcos will be able to pull it off, citing his landslide win in the 2022 elections.

what if the Third Rail of Politics but it's for the Men With Guns

# ? May 18, 2023 13:14

Oglethorpe: Aug 8, 2005

The G7 is convening in Japan so you know what time it is

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/china-s-loans-pushing-world-s-poorest-countries-to-brink-of-collapse/ar-AA1bkV8V

quote:

A dozen poor countries are facing economic instability and even collapse under the weight of hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign loans, much of them from the world�s biggest and most unforgiving government lender, China.

quote:

An Associated Press analysis of a dozen countries most indebted to China � including Pakistan, Kenya, Zambia, Laos and Mongolia � found paying back that debt is consuming an ever-greater amount of the tax revenue needed to keep schools open, provide electricity and pay for food and fuel. And it�s draining foreign currency reserves these countries use to pay interest on those loans, leaving some with just months before that money is gone.

Behind the scenes is China�s reluctance to forgive debt and its extreme secrecy about how much money it has loaned and on what terms, which has kept other major lenders from stepping in to help. On top of that is the recent discovery that borrowers have been required to put cash in hidden escrow accounts that push China to the front of the line of creditors to be paid.

[. . . ]

A case study of how it has played out is in Zambia, a landlocked country of 20 million people in southern Africa that over the past two decades has borrowed billions of dollars from Chinese state-owned banks to build dams, railways and roads.

The loans boosted Zambia�s economy but also raised foreign interest payments so high there was little left for the government, forcing it to cut spending on healthcare, social services and subsidies to farmers for seed and fertilizer.

In the past under such circumstances, big government lenders such as the U.S., Japan and France would work out deals to forgive some debt, with each lender disclosing clearly what they were owed and on what terms so no one would feel cheated.

But China didn't play by those rules. It refused at first to even join in multinational talks, negotiating separately with Zambia and insisting on confidentiality that barred the country from telling non-Chinese lenders the terms of the loans and whether China had devised a way of muscling to the front of the repayment line.

Amid this confusion in 2020, a group of non-Chinese lenders refused desperate pleas from Zambia to suspend interest payments, even for a few months. That refusal added to the drain on Zambia�s foreign cash reserves, the stash of mostly U.S. dollars that it used to pay interest on loans and to buy major commodities like oil. By November 2020, with little reserves left, Zambia stopped paying the interest and defaulted, locking it out of future borrowing and setting off a vicious cycle of spending cuts and deepening poverty.

i wonder which countries fall under "a group of non-Chinese lenders"

quote:

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement to the AP, disputed the notion that China is an unforgiving lender and echoed previous statements putting the blame on the Federal Reserve. It said that if it is to accede to IMF and World Bank demands to forgive a portion of its loans, so do those multilateral lenders, which it views as U.S. proxies.

oh word?

quote:

In high-level talks in Washington last month, China was considering dropping its demand that the IMF and World Bank forgive loans if the two lenders would make commitments to offer grants and other help to troubled countries, according to various news reports. But in the weeks since there has been no announcement and both lenders have expressed frustration with Beijing.

�My view is that we have to drag them � maybe that�s an impolite word � we need to walk together," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said earlier this month. "Because if we don�t, there will be catastrophe for many, many countries.�

The IMF and World Bank say taking losses on their loans would rip up the traditional playbook of dealing with sovereign crises that accords them special treatment because, unlike Chinese banks, they already finance at low rates to help distressed countries get back on their feet. The Chinese foreign ministry noted, however, that the two multilateral lenders have made an exception to the rules in the past, forgiving loans to many countries in the mid-1990s to save them from collapse.

# ? May 18, 2023 13:51

Cao Ni Ma: May 25, 2010

Yeah was gonna post that. You can probably find a story by AP themselves a few weeks ago about how china is actively preventing the day of IMF reckoning from a lot of countries by giving them more favorable loans

# ? May 18, 2023 14:00

Nix Panicus: Feb 25, 2007

The GDR government actively searched for nazis, no matter how minor they thought themselves to be, while the west German government happily employed nazi officials. There was a lot of incentive for nazis to leave the GDR but, as you can imagine, the GDR wasn't keen on them leaving unpunished

# ? May 18, 2023 14:36

Oglethorpe: Aug 8, 2005

Cao Ni Ma posted:

Yeah was gonna post that. You can probably find a story by AP themselves a few weeks ago about how china is actively preventing the day of IMF reckoning from a lot of countries by giving them more favorable loans

the article goes on to talk about how there's not evidence of a single sinister top-down plot by china, but rather all the banks are acting independently and that's just as dangerous because china isn't being authoritarian enough in controlling them

# ? May 18, 2023 14:45

AnimeIsTrash: Jun 30, 2018

you need a stasi type to keep teh whites in line imo

# ? May 18, 2023 14:47

gradenko_2000: Oct 5, 2010; HELL SERPENT; Lipstick Apathy

Vietnam rebukes China, Philippines over South China Sea conduct

quote:

Vietnam on Thursday, May 18, criticized recent conduct by a Chinese research ship and the Philippine coast guard in the South China Sea, accusing its neighbors of separate actions that were violating its sovereign rights.

Tensions are high in contested parts of the South China Sea, one of the world�s most important trade routes and a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce.

Chinese and Vietnamese vessels confronted each other in recent days on multiple occasions as a Chinese research ship moved within Hanoi�s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which experts said was likely a survey. Such a survey would usually be considered hostile if conducted without notification.

Asked for comment, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang told a press conference those vessels were �violating the sovereign rights and jurisdictions of Vietnam�, which was taking �appropriate measures� to defend its rights.

China has said that scientific research is a normal activity in areas under Chinese jurisdiction.

China claims almost the entire South China Sea as its territory, based on what it says are old maps, including waters that lie within the EEZ of Vietnam and four other Southeast Asian countries.

The Philippines was also rebuked for placing navigational buoys in five areas of its EEZ to assert sovereignty over the hotly disputed Spratly islands, to parts of which Vietnam also lays claim.

Asked about the Philippines� move, Hang said: �Vietnam strongly opposes all acts violating Vietnam�s sovereign rights.�

Philippine Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teresita Daza said Manila�s coast guard�s installation of buoys was consistent with the country�s rights as a coastal state under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

�They are meant to improve safety of navigation in our waters and should be of no cause for concern,� Daza told Reuters in a phone message.

last week it was hailed as a great step to standing up to China that we had planted buoys in the West Philippine Sea

whoops! turns out this isn't just a two-country problem!

people don't understand that if you take a position of "this is our EEZ, absolutely, and China is intruding on it, and bullying us in it, and it's effectively an invasion", that you're forgetting about all the other countries that have claims in the South China Sea, and THEY think the Philippines are the intruders, are the bullies, are the ones violating their sovereignty

# ? May 18, 2023 14:52

StashAugustine: Mar 24, 2013; Do not trust in hope- it will betray you! Only faith and hatred sustain.

AnimeIsTrash posted:

you need a stasi type to keep teh whites in line imo

Germans just aren't civilized enough for self rule

# ? May 18, 2023 15:16

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

AnimeIsTrash posted:

you need a stasi type to keep teh whites in line imo

turns out you need something a lot better

# ? May 18, 2023 15:27

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# ? May 26, 2024 10:07

stephenthinkpad: Jan 2, 2020

https://twitter.com/Rajprasong_News/status/1659051232923877379?s=20

What's the math here? 313 opposition votes. So the pro establishment has 187 lower house and 250 upper house appointed votes?

So Pita guy need to steal 62 votes from the government camp right?

# ? May 18, 2023 15:33

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > [Asia/Oceania] Yellen says she hopes China wont mount retaliation against any steps Washington takes

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