Morning - hope you enjoy today's collection of news.

Did not include any of the Portland drama. It is well covered at The Oregonian with a number of articles. Portland is a good spot for these dramas play out as they do every few years within political cycles. The city is not vital to the US economy, multiple major news organizations have a presence, easy access with an International airport and highways, and plenty of citizens protesting to shield primary instigators. It will probably end as all the others have with violence.

Governments and religious practices are in an infinite dance of which has the most influence and loyalty of a population. Historical look at the different ways the West and China interact with religions. To keep the subject brief is a challenge.

Empires strike back Asia Times Oct 4, 2025 Francesco Sisci

China

The picture in China was very different. The emperor was the son of Heaven in a public religion in which public peace and stability were practical proof of heavenly favor. One didn’t have to die to see if he was in hell or paradise, as was the case with Christians or Muslims. The daily order and the food abundance in the markets were clear evidence of the emperor’s good work. There was no official religion outside this, and thus there were no real clergy. Instead, there were bureaucrats at the service of the state religion and the emperor.
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To try to win over these new areas, the Catholic Church, then far more organized than its Protestant competitors, sent missionaries to the east. They came back with a trove of untapped culture from China that impacted the Western world in the 17th and 18th centuries. It contributed to the labor of modernity.

This culture contributed to the transformation of Europe and the emergence of modern society.
There were three sets of contributions that gave rise to modernity in the West:

From ocean voyages came: a sense of a limitless world, the discovery of discovery, the new as a positive element and no longer as a threat to an established order.
From China came: the concept of revolution, the bureaucracy and backbone of an abstract but personal state, wu wei (no proactive action), a concept that is similar to the capitalist economic theory of the invisible hand of the free market; and an ethic not dependent on religion.
From the European tradition, there was the idea of a res publica, division of powers, and the role of religion in society and the state. The concept of a personal god led to the recognition of the sanctity of each individual person.

Venture Capitalists comprise one of the unseen guiding hands of Western culture by influencing the type of businesses eligible for obtaining funding to grow. They are an alternative funding source when a business is not able to access loans through banks, Small business Administration (SBA) or money needs exceeds ability to self-fund.

The video is an overview of a Bloomberg article on prominent venture capitalists visit to China.

Top Venture Capitalists tour China, declare Western energy firms "uninvestable" (10:54 mjn)

China is showing the WTO who’s in charge Russia Times Oct 13, 2025

When Chinese Premier Li Qiang announced in late September, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, that China would no longer seek new “special and differential treatment” (SDT) in current or future World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations, the statement seemed, at first glance, like a modest policy clarification. Yet beneath the surface, this decision carries profound implications not only for China’s global role but also for the future of multilateral trade governance.

To grasp the significance, one must recall what SDT means. Within the WTO framework, developing members have historically been afforded preferential treatment, ranging from lower levels of obligations to longer transition periods for implementation, technical assistance, and specific provisions to safeguard their trade interests. These flexibilities were designed to level the playing field between advanced and developing economies, acknowledging the disparities in capacity and development.
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China’s accession to the WTO in 2001 was the single most consequential trade event of the early 21st century. WTO membership turbocharged Beijing’s integration into global markets, granting it privileged access to supply chains, boosting exports, and accelerating domestic reforms toward a more market-oriented economy. This transformation was not confined within China’s borders. It reshaped the global economy by expanding the world market, making consumer goods cheaper, lowering inflationary pressures, and creating sophisticated cross-border production networks.
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So why, at this juncture, did Beijing choose to forgo additional SDT privileges? The decision is best understood in three layers.

First, it reflects China’s ambition to position itself as a leader of post-Western globalization. By declining privileges, Beijing signals confidence in its economic strength and its ability to shape, rather than merely benefit from, global trade rules.
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Second, China aims to cement its role as a defender of the Global South. By voluntarily foregoing new special treatment, Beijing elevates itself above narrow national advantage, presenting its decision as an act of solidarity with developing nations.
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Third, the move is also a diplomatic message to the West. ... By playing the role of a cooperative actor, Beijing aims to defuse tensions and demonstrate that confrontation is not inevitable.
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The population of Taiwan carried forward into the future many of the daily and religious traditions of Chinese civilization. As mainland China rediscovers its history and culture Taiwan is adopting more Western cultural ideas.

As ageism evolves, Taipei’s respect for elders fades away Asia Times Oct 14, 2025

Taipei’s population is aging faster than almost any society worldwide. Yet instead of greater respect for elders, a new form of ageism has quietly taken root.

The elderly are no longer cast as weak, quiet or invisible—but as loud, stubborn, and taking up too much space. This shift is subtle but powerful, reshaping how the public imagines aging and how policymakers design urban life.

Scroll through social media and you’ll see complaints that “Taipei is full of retirees who don’t work,” or that “the coffee shops and gyms are occupied by old people.” The sentiment used to be pity; now it’s frustration. In a nation long shaped by Confucian ideals of filial respect, the tone of generational conversation has curdled.
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Ageism in Taipei overlaps with class and geography; working-class elders who rely on public transit are most exposed to stigma. Recognizing these intersections helps policymakers design more equitable interventions.

The danger of Taipei’s evolving ageism is that it hides behind modernity. It sounds pragmatic, even youthful: “We need more space for the next generation.” But when cities frame old age as an obstacle to progress, they risk building environments hostile to their own future selves.

To be sure, tensions around public space are real. Taipei is dense; trains are crowded; housing is expensive. But ageism offers a convenient scapegoat. Blaming retirees for urban stagnation distracts from deeper forces—income inequality, zoning limits, speculative real estate—that constrain both young and old.

In the first half of the video discuss methods and practices of Israeli influence over the decades and current practices to influence public opinion, especially christian. John describes part of an article he read in a suspected Israel publication discussing his work (4.13 min) "shows the rot currently taking place among left wing intellectuals in the United States and that it is up to Israel to stop us. To stop us before we damage Israel." At the every end of his section (51:50 min) mentions CIA taught him about 30 years ago if a vehicle he was driving felt like it was being remote controlled get it to neutral and use the parking brake to slow the vehicle to a stop.

Ex-CIA Spy John Kiriakou EXPOSES Mossad's Terrifying Secrets (w/ Joe Lauria & Ajamu Baraka) Oct 12, 2025

Thoughts on Venezuela as a banking project vs imperialist overreach

Alex Krainer: Iran, Russia & China’s Massive Military Comeback! Oct 16, 25 (start at 56.14 for Venezuela, 113:06 min)