Biden Seeks to Prevent US-China Competition Conflict

US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln said, “The United States has a strong competitive relationship with China,” but “President Joe Biden has a strong determination to ensure that competition with China does not escalate into a conflict.”

Secretary Blincoln appeared on the US CBS broadcast that day and said this in response to a question about what Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on the 2nd to the effect that the possibility of a war between the US and China cannot be ruled out.

Minister Blincoln continued, “The world expects us to manage our relationship with China responsibly.” “I think war is potentially possible because Chinese President Xi Jinping has complete control over China,” Sherman said at an event at American University. “We are working to block it. At the same time, we are supporting Taiwan to have the means to defend itself,” Reuters reported.

In a CNN broadcast interview that day, Secretary Blincoln was asked if he would take a more moderate approach to China’s protests compared to US support for Iran’s anti-government protests. “If any country tries to suppress peaceful protest in any way, we are speaking out against it,” he said.

When asked what he would say to President Xi about protests in China when he visits China early next year in terms of follow-up discussions at the US-China summit held at the G20 summit last month, he said, “President Biden mentioned to President Xi. “President Biden said that human rights and basic civil liberties are fundamental to the United States, and that no US president has been silent on this issue,” he recalled.

“We want to make sure that there are no misunderstandings with China,” he said.

On the other hand, Minister Blincoln said on the CBS broadcast that the Iranian government decided to abolish the police’s guidance patrol due to the spread of protests, saying, “We have to see how it actually goes in the enforcement process.”

“If the Iranian government responded to the protests, it might be positive, but it depends on what the Iranian people think about it,” he said.

Honolulu Government Shortens Building Permit Process Time

The Honolulu city government is preparing to introduce a new system to shorten the lengthy building permit process.
At a press conference on November 15, Acting Director Don Takeuchi-Apuna of the Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) of the Municipal Government prepared a more efficient building permit process through a new system, including automated document review, staff recruitment, and classification of residential and commercial permits. stated that the purpose was to
Currently, DPP’s average building permit period is 298 days, of which 175 days are known to be spent on finding and correcting defects in applications.
Acting Director Takeuchi-Apuna said the goal is to reduce the time it takes to find and correct application defects to less than seven days.
In addition, he pointed out that to operate the automated process more successfully, six employees should be assigned to the task of verifying compliance with the laws and regulations in the residential area.
According to a report by Star Advertiser, DPP’s Residential Compliance Inspector vacancies currently stand at 24 positions in two positions.
DPP is planning to recruit 15 people in addition to 6 inspectors for compliance checks in residential districts, and it is known that they are planning to supply insufficient labor through an internship partnership with Honolulu Community College.
In the Commercial Zone, 17 positions in 6 positions are vacant. The DPP is said to currently have 80 vacancies.
Reportedly, DPP expects it to take six months to a year to prepare for the introduction of automated tasks.
DPP is also seeking to transform the final stage of building permit issuance into automation.
Acting director Takeuchi-Apuna said that the average duration of the final phase is 60 days, with the goal of eventually reducing it to 7 days.
The City Planning and Permitting Bureau has been criticized for taking too long a building permit process.
Long procedural periods have often led to attempts to shorten them illegally.
For example, in 2017, there was an incident in which a compliance inspector in a residential district received $100,000 in black money on condition of shortening the permit process period, and in February of this year, the inspector received a bribe of $1,000 and was charged with meeting with an architect in private. There was an indictment.
Meanwhile, former DPP director Uchida and chief innovation strategist Danet Maruyama left their positions at DPP earlier this year due to differences of opinion with Mayor Rick Blangiad.

The Continuing Eruption of Hawaii’s Mauna Loa

Hawaii’s Mauna Loa is currently the largest active volcano in the world with a mass of over 10 miles. Mauna Loa begun to erupt on November 27, 2022, and continued to pour lava throughout December. This is Mauna Loa’s first eruption since 1984, and due to its lack of historical data, experts anticipate that calculating the trajectory of the lava is going to be much more difficult.

According to Mike Zoeller of the US Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Mauna Loa has been releasing lava at an estimated rate of 21 yards per hour, and if it progresses any further, it creates a major issue by interrupting the major highway that connects the eastern and western parts of the Big Island. It also has the potential to destroy other infrastructure along the way, which causes the situation to be even more detrimental. Although the lava could bring great danger to any person nearby, it seems highly unlikely because the closest town center is about 37 miles northeast. The lava flow didn’t cause any damage to the nearest village even back when the volcano erupted in the 1880s.

Mauna Loa isn’t the only volcano that has been erupting in Hawaii; a second volcano known as Kilauea has been consistently exploding for the past year. Only 21 miles away from Mauna Loa, Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes that attract countless tourists and locals. The volcano has erupted before in 2018, and it led to the destruction of hundreds of homes in the Leilani Estates neighborhood. This incident had an extremely traumatic effect, resulting in the whole summit collapsing into a crater four times its size. However, unlike the past 2018 eruption, the most recent eruption has not been as dangerous as the shooting lava has been staying within the summit crater. Because the explosion isn’t creating any threats to the nearby residents and tourists, the eruptions are deemed to be an exciting experience for many people.

Although the dangerous outcomes from volcano eruptions make these explosions seem abnormal, it is normal for these eruptions to occur on a regular basis. According to the United States Geological Survey, there is an estimation of at least one volcano eruption per week since there are about 50 to 60 eruptions per year. Mauna Loa and Kilauea are not the only active volcanoes; according to the Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, there are still 27 active volcanoes worldwide. Many researchers anticipate that current active volcanoes will continue to erupt.

U.S. Defense “Congress needs to Budget for Nuclear Forces”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin urged the U.S. Congress on the 3rd to process the budget for modernizing nuclear forces necessary to defend South Korea and its allies.

At the Reagan Defense Forum held in Simi Valley, California, on the same day, Secretary Austin explained the U.S. efforts to strengthen war deterrence, saying that the next few years will determine the competitive landscape with China and the security future of Europe.

As one way to ensure deterrence, he said, “deterrence means safe, reliable and effective nuclear weapons as the ultimate defense against strategic aggression against our country and its allies, including NATO, Japan and South Korea.” said.
“That’s why the fiscal year 2023 budget includes a budget of $34 billion (about 44 trillion won) to continue modernizing the three nuclear forces (intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic bombers, and nuclear submarines) and strengthening nuclear command and control communications capabilities,” he said.

“The Department of Defense is focusing more on the Indo-Pacific, which is a major theater of war, and is working to mobilize and deploy US forces more quickly,” Austin said. “We are investing in military construction, logistics and facilities in the region.”

He also said the United States is enjoying a significant increase in combat capability through the alliance, and that Australia is working together to ensure that conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines are available at the earliest possible time.
“China is the only country with the will and increasingly power to reshape regional and international order according to authoritarian tendencies,” he said.
“We will maintain and strengthen our capabilities to wage war advantageously so that China will never conclude that war is the best course of action,” he said. did.
“Great powers must not be reckless, they must act responsibly. They must communicate honestly and respect the systems of international law, alliances, norms, and agreements that have been difficult to build but which have made us all safer and more prosperous,” he said. “He urged.
He also strongly condemned Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and expressed his strong will to continue supporting Ukraine and defending its NATO territory.

US and Europe Criticizes OPEC’s Handling of Crude Oil Supply

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia and other major non-OPEC oil producing countries, ‘OPEC Plus’ (OPEC+), have decided to continue their policy of cutting production by 2 million barrels per day.

In a statement issued after a regular ministerial meeting on the 4th, OPEC+ announced that it would maintain the production cut policy agreed upon at the last meeting.

OPEC+ said in a statement that it “will observe future crude oil markets and respond immediately if necessary to balance supply and demand and stabilize prices.”

In October, OPEC+ held a regular meeting and agreed to reduce crude oil production by 2 million barrels per day from November and keep it until the end of next year.

Currently, oil production by OPEC+ producers stand at 41.85 million barrels per day, down 2 million barrels from October.

OPEC+, which decided to cut production the most since the Corona 19 pandemic, argued that it was an economic decision due to growing market uncertainty, such as heightened concerns about a recession at the time.

The U.S. and European countries, which were trying to contain Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and control inflation, condemned the oil-producing countries’ decision.

Kuwait Energy Minister Bader al-Mullah said that the decision to maintain production cuts was a decision that helped stabilize the market.

The next OPEC+ regular ministerial meeting is scheduled for June 4 next year.

Foreign media such as Reuters reported that the OPEC+ decision came as the European Union (EU), the G7 countries, and Australia agreed to set the price ceiling for Russian crude oil at 60 dollars (about 80,000 won) per barrel.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak argued that “Rather than supplying oil below the price cap, Russia will reduce production, and this action by the West may affect other oil-producing countries.”

Reuters, citing sources, said that during the OPEC+ meeting on the day, ministers from several oil-producing countries expressed concerns about the introduction of the cap on Russian crude oil.

US Calls Measles Outbreak a Super Emergency

As the health care system shook during Corona 19, as many as 40 million children around the world were found to have failed to get the measles vaccine.

“Record numbers of children without immunity to measles show that the defense system has been severely damaged during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said CDC Director Rochelle Wolensky.

Last year, 9 million people were infected with measles worldwide and 128,000 people died.

There is no specific treatment for measles, and two doses of the vaccine can prevent 97% of serious illness or death.

Earlier, the United Nations also said in July that 25 million children had not been vaccinated, including against diphtheria, due to COVID-19.

Currently, the vaccination rate among American infants and toddlers under the age of two is about 90.4%, far below the minimum defense level of 95%.

Earlier, the United States declared measles eradication in 2000, and there were cases of infection of 649 people in unvaccinated areas in New York in 2018 due to local epidemics introduced from abroad.

According to a paper published in July, more than 13% of children are vulnerable to measles as measles vaccination has declined during the pandemic in the United States.

In particular, the fact that about 20 unvaccinated children were infected in Columbus, Ohio, and about half were hospitalized, “could be an ominous sign to come,” a public health professor at Emory University in Atlanta diagnosed.

According to India’s PTI news agency, in Mumbai, the largest economic city, 12 people died of measles this year, including an 8-month-old baby who died on the 22nd. Including this, the number of measles cases in Mumbai this year was 233, a significant increase from last year’s total of 92.

Mumbai’s health authorities said about 20,000 people were not vaccinated against measles in time because of the pandemic.

The federal government’s Ministry of Health has dispatched emergency support and investigation personnel to related areas, saying that measles patients are also appearing in northern Bihar and western Gujarat.

California’s Death Row Inmate Suing to Clear Murder Charges

Even if he did something bad by chance, if he covers it up with a good deed, he will light up the world like the moon escaping a cloud.

Believing in the evil master’s words that only by killing a thousand people and making a necklace of a thousand fingers can one attain perfect spiritual practice, he turned into a murderer and tried to harm even the Buddha, but was influenced by the Buddha, and as a result, he was stoned by the crowd and willingly died. This is the Buddha’s song in honor of Angulimala.

Death row inmate Jarvis Jay (photo source-Tricycle), who is imprisoned at San Quentin Prison at the northern end of Richmond Bridge, Northern California. He did not commit murder like Angulimala, but like Angulimala, he is branded as a murderer and is waiting for death in prison. The story of Jarvis, recently re-introduced in Lion’s Roar and Tricycle, two representative Buddhist media outlets in the United States, begins with his unfortunate childhood.

Born in Long Beach, Southern California in 1962, he grew up as a troubled boy who ran away from home and became violent despite his mother who was a drug addict and the care of his aunt who replaced his mother. He denied the charges but was helpless at the false testimony of his fellow prisoners.

In 1990, he was introduced to his Buddha teachings through a Tibetan Buddhist teacher, Chagdudu Tulku Rinpoche, who visited the prison. He encounters Sasangje and vows to become a Bodhisattva. Meanwhile, his fellow prisoners recanted their false testimony, and in 2001 another prisoner admitted to making the weapon. He has written a book (“That Bird Has My Wings: The Autobiography of an Innocent Man Awaiting Death Penalty” in 2009) showing how Buddhism has changed his life and has given counseling and lectures to inmates several times.

However, his murder was not cleared. The county court has repeatedly dismissed his appeal. He is now preparing a case in federal court.

US Military Secret Spacecraft X-37B Returns to Earth

The US military’s secret unmanned spacecraft, the X-37B, returned to Earth on the 12th after completing an orbital mission for two years and six months.

Boeing, which developed the spacecraft, issued a statement on the same day, and announced that the X-37B had landed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Launched in May 2020, the X-37B set a record by successfully orbiting for 908 days on its sixth mission. The previous record was 780 days achieved during the 5th flight.

The X-37B has increased its flight time each time since its first mission in April 2010.

“The X-37B broke (flight) records, giving the United States an unbeatable ability to rapidly test and integrate new space technologies,” Boeing said.

The X-37B, operated by the U.S. Space Force, is a remotely controlled unmanned aerial vehicle powered by solar power. It has a length of 9m and wings of 4.5m, and resembles the space shuttle retired in 2011, but is about a quarter the size.

The X-37B has flown over 1.3 billion miles in all six missions. It flew in Earth orbit for a total of 3,774 days, exceeding 10 years.

In this flight, X-37B measured what changes occur when seeds are exposed to cosmic radiation for a long time to be used as NASA research data, and the US Air Force Academy’s small research satellite ‘Falconsat-8′ placed

Analysts say that this experiment was related to developing a technology to transmit power to a remote military base by creating a space solar power plant.

“This mission demonstrates the Space Force’s focus on collaborating on space exploration and expanding partner agencies’ low-cost space access capabilities,” said Gen. Chance Saltzman of the U.S. Space Force.

The U.S. military says the X-37B is focused on scientific experiments, but because the spacecraft will fly in Earth orbit for a long time, there are constant observations that the spacecraft will perform secret missions shrouded in mystery.

In fact, apart from the science experiments that are partially disclosed, most of the flight activities and payloads of the X-37B are classified as classified, according to Space.com, a media specializing in space.

The Space Force does not publicize the details of the X-37B’s flight trajectory, nor is it giving advance notice when the mission will end.

Because of this, China and Russia regard the X-37B as a secret US offensive weapon.

Los Angeles Voters Say Homelessness is the Biggest Problem

Ahead of today’s election, 61% of Los Angeles voters cited the issue of homelessness as the city’s top priority. It was followed by crime, security enhancement, and housing problems, accounting for 38% and 36%, respectively.

According to a recent voter survey conducted by the Southern California News Group (SCNG), more than three-quarters of voters in Los Angeles said homelessness had worsened in the past few years. Additionally, a study of Los Angeles voters found that more than a third said they were concerned about the recent surge in the homeless population and that solving homeless problems should be a top priority for the city in the Los Angeles mayoral election.

In the survey, SCNG asked, “Do you think the problem of homelessness in your community today has improved, worsened, or remained the same compared to years ago?” In response, 76.8% of the total respondents answered that the homeless problem had worsened. Of these, 87% Republicans, 74.4% Democrats, and 74.6% independents.

According to the Los Angeles Homeless Services Administration (LAHSA) homeless count as of February 2022, released in September, the number of homeless people in Los Angeles County stood at 69,144, an increase of 4.1% from two years ago. The slower-than-average increase in homelessness has been the result of city, county, and state funding efforts in recent years to provide homeless shelters and permanent homes.

However, in Los Angeles County, only 30% of the homeless population is currently sheltered. The remaining 70% are still without shelter, forced to stay on the streets, under freeway bridges, in parks and rivers, and require proper care. About 30% of the county’s homeless population is black and 44% is Latino.

It also found that around 40% of homeless people are suffering from substance abuse or serious mental illness. This shows that homelessness is disproportionately affecting low-income people of color, such as blacks and Latinos.

A report published by MedicalNet highlighted that a growing number of voters are dissatisfied with their communities because of the ubiquity of homeless tents. It is causing various problems such as deterioration of the living environment of the homeless, the urgency of beautifying the streets, discord with nearby business owners and residents, an increase in crimes against or perpetrating the homeless, and creating anxiety among residents.

Meanwhile, two candidates, Rick Caruso and Karen Beth, who are in a fierce battle in the LA mayoral election, are promising various solutions, citing the problem of homelessness as an immediate task for the city government to solve.

US woman Sentenced to 20 years in Prison for ISIS Training

A woman from Kansas, USA, who trained more than 100 female troops for joining the Islamic State (IS) group was sentenced to a heavy sentence of 20 years in prison, NBC and CBS reported on the 2nd.

According to reports, a federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, sentenced Alison Fluke-Ekron, 42, to 20 years in prison and 25 years of probation on charges of serving as a recruit training instructor for ISIS.

Fluke-Ekron has been charged with training and providing supplies to more than 100 ISIS women in Syria between 2016 and this year. He admitted to her allegations at her trial, stating that he regretted her own choice.

He allegedly forced her daughter to marry an IS agent when she was 13, and encouraged her son to leave the United States and come to Syria to become an IS fighter.

Prosecutors charged him with child abuse, but he denied the charges.

He was arrested in Syria in January of this year and handed over to the FBI.

Fluke-Ekron, who worked as her original teacher in the United States, left for Egypt with her husband in 2008, where she joined IS. Her husband, who accompanied her at the time, became an IS sniper instructor, and was later killed in an airstrike in Syria.

Fluke-Ekron, who is also fluent in Arabic and Turkish, has since stayed in Libya and Iraq before moving to Raqqa in northern Syria in 2016.

Here, he trained female ISIS fighters in the women’s unit known as Kativa Nusaiba, how to use AK-47 rifles, grenades and self-destruct belts.

It was also revealed that he planned an attack on the US mainland.

The plan was even approved by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the then head of the Islamic State, but was thwarted when he was killed in a US surprise attack.