Thread: Eurasia Topics

Originally Posted by OhOh

I think it is evident to most by now that the United States is presently undergoing a crisis that could become a full-blown second civil war.

The bloke who writes this bollocks loves readers like HooHoo. All it takes is a sprinkling of clickbait....

Bastards . . . China revolution?????

Warehouse Explosion in China Kills More than 100 and Disrupts Port Activity

Explosions at a Chinese chemical warehouse near the Port of Tianjin have killed at least 112 and injured hundreds more.

Explosions at a Chinese chemical warehouse near a major seaport have killed at least 112 and injured hundreds more, perhaps as many as 700, according to reports. According to CNN, the warehouse, Tianjin Dongjiang Port Rui Hai International Logistics Co., reportedly stores and transports dangerous chemicals. The warehouse is near the Port of Tianjin, one of the world’s busiest seaports. Company executives at the warehouse have been taken into custody.
An Associated Press report states that ships carrying oil and hazardous materials have been barred from the port. Also, vessels are not being allowed to enter the central port zone, which is near the blast site.
It’s believed but not confirmed that the explosions occurred when a shipment of explosives detonated. According to a Reuters report, more than 6,000 people in the area were evacuated. “Vast areas of the port—the 10th largest in the world—were devastated, crumpled shipping containers were thrown around like match sticks, hundreds of new cars were torched and port buildings left as burnt-out shells.”

Originally Posted by panama hat

Bastards

Happy birthday, oldtimer

Originally Posted by helge

Happy birthday, oldtimer

- thank you, Young Whippersnapper

Originally Posted by panama hat

Young Whippersnapper

Ha !

My birthcertificate is in Gothic

. . . I thought it would be in runic ᛁ ᛗ ᛟᛚᛞ

Are you trying to runic my joke ?

Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train to launch in 2021, connecting Asia with Europe

December 20, 2020

"The Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI) freight train is expected to resume operations in early 2021 to boost Pakistan’s trade with Turkey and Iran.
The railways of Pakistan, Turkey and Iran have mutually agreed to resume regular operations soon, said Turkey’s Transport Minister, Adil Karaismailoğlu, after the 10th edition of the Economic Cooperation Organization’s (ECO) Transport and Communications Ministers Meeting in Istanbul.


The key requirements for the revival of the ITI train, also called the ECO Container train have been fulfilled. The train is expected to resume operations in 2021.

ECO project

The trial run of the ITI train was launched in 2009 as a project under the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) – 10-member Asian trade bloc. The rail route, which is recognized by the UN as an international corridor between the three countries, has so far only been used for test journeys.
Reduce freight time and cost

The railway line intends to greatly reduce the transit route of the goods from Istanbul to Islamabad. During the trial, the freight train from Islamabad to Istanbul took nearly 13 days to make the 6500km journey. The journey was later further reduced to 11.5 days. In comparison, transporting goods from European countries to Pakistan via seaway took almost 45 days. The train has a maximum capacity for twenty 40-feet containers.

Length of rail route

The total length of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul project is 6500 kilometers (km).

• Iran: 2600 km
  
• Turkey: 1950 km
  
• Pakistan: 1990 km

Boost trade

The railway line from Istanbul, through Tehran, all the way to Islamabad has been described as “tremendously beneficial” to all three nations. It aims to boost economic cooperation among Pakistan, Iran and Turkey first and with the other ECO member countries afterward.

Besides Pakistan, Turkey and Iran, these countries will benefit from the ITI project: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Possibility of expansion to Europe


Although the project was launched to promote the economic relations among the ECO founding member countries, however, it offers a short, safe, and affordable route for transportation of goods between Asia and Europe, extending benefits to several regional countries. From Turkey, the corridor can link up with the European rail networks via Istanbul’s 76-km long undersea Marmaray railway tunnel.

Other countries earlier also expressed eagerness to join the project and suggested further expansion to the European and Middle East markets.
Highlights of Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul rail corridor

• Service to facilitate cargo and container transport
  
• Transport capacity: 20 containers of 40 feet
• Estimated travel time is 11 days as compared to 45 days via sea route
• Over 30% reduction in rail fares as opposed to traditional routes"

https://www.islamabadscene.com/islam...sCkKfkYJL2RMwg

Originally Posted by OhOh

China amends national defense law, shows country's sense of global justice

That is quite possibly the funniest thing you have ever posted.

Originally Posted by OhOh

Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul train to launch in 2021, connecting Asia with Europe

Fucking hell imagine how that one is going to honk by the time it pulls into Istanbul station.

^
There's always a seat in the guards van to share a whisky or two whilst playing cards, a la Vietnamese slow trains.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

That is quite possibly the funniest thing you have ever posted.

That's an interesting perspective. China announces its intention to co-opt its citizens into the armed forces, increase it's capacity to wage war overseas, and "actively push for international military exchanges." I thought it was absolutely fucking terrifying.

Originally Posted by TheMadBaron

That's an interesting perspective. China announces its intention to co-opt its citizens into the armed forces, increase it's capacity to wage war overseas, and "actively push for international military exchanges." I thought it was absolutely fucking terrifying.

But hoohoo actually believes it's a good thing. That's what's so fucking hilarious.

To further show what a lovely place it is:

China jails ex-lawyer over her reports on Covid-19 response in Wuhan

China has sentenced a former lawyer to four years in prison over her posts about the coronavirus response in Wuhan, a media report said, the first known conviction of someone who chronicled authorities' early struggle to manage the outbreak.

China jails ex-lawyer over her reports on Covid-19 response in Wuhan | Stuff.co.nz

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

But hoohoo actually believes it's a good thing. That's what's so fucking hilarious.

I get that....
That China would think that anyone would fall for their newspeak is a good set-up;
That someone did fall for it is a helluvva punchline.

It might not be so funny when they invade California....
But wasn't it nice of them to warn us that they're coming?

Originally Posted by panama hat

To further show what a lovely place it is:

Yes, China is, of course, a lovely place, and many people are risking a great deal trying to get in to China: *

Hong Kong democracy activists caught at sea go on trial in China - BBC News

* That's the Republic of China, of course, not the People's Republic of China.

Originally Posted by TheMadBaron

* That's the Republic of China, of course, not the People's Republic of China.

Nice . . .

Originally Posted by TheMadBaron

anyone would fall for their newspeak

As opposed to your preferred "newspeak".

Originally Posted by OhOh

As opposed to your preferred "newspeak".

HooHoo doesn't know what "newspeak" is. So perhaps we should explain the reference:

Newspeak is the fictional language of Oceania, a totalitarian superstate that is the setting of dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell.

And just so he knows what totalitarian means:

totalitarian

/ˌtəʊtalɪˈtɛːrɪən,təˌtalɪˈtɛːrɪən/

adjective

1. relating to a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.
   

You know, like CHINASTAN for example.

And by totalitarian, we mean totally quashing free speech and jailing people for exposing the chinky government as the liars they are. Trials in secret. No independent judiciary. Ludicrous fabricated charges. They don't call him Mr. Shithole for nothing.

Chinese journalist who covered Covid-19 sentenced to four years in jail




Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Chinese regime to immediately release Zhang Zhan, a lawyer-turned-journalist who was recently sentenced to a four-year prison term for reporting on the Covid-19 outbreak.

After a mere three-hour trial, lawyer-turned-journalist Zhang Zhan, 37, was sentenced on 28th December to four years in prison by a Shanghai court on the charge of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” for reporting live from the city of Wuhan during the Covid-19 outbreak in February. Zhang Zhan was arrested in May and has since been protesting by going on a hunger strike for which she has been force-fed through a nasal tube.

“Zhang Zhan was only serving the public interest by reporting on the Covid-19 outbreak and should never have been detained, not to mention receive a four-year prison sentence”, says Cédric Alviani, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) East Asia Bureau head, who calls on the international community “to increase pressure on the Beijing regime so that they immediately release Zhang and all other detained journalists.”

Since the Covid-19 outbreak in February, the Chinese regime has increased efforts to censor the press and social media. At least nine Chinese journalists or press freedom defenders have been arrested for their coverage of Covid-19 related issues, seven of which are still detained.

China ranks 177th out of 180 in the 2020 RSF World Press Freedom Index and is the biggest prison in the world for journalists, with at least 120 detained or missing according to the most recent count made by RSF.

https://rsf.org/en/news/chinese-jour...our-years-jail

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

China ranks 177th out of 180 in the 2020 RSF World Press Freedom Index and is the biggest prison in the world for journalists, with at least 120 detained or missing according to the most recent count made by RSF.

Or in WahWah speak:
"Enemies of the glorious state, CIA stooges . . . anyway: *shiny light*"

And another secret trial to jail the 12 who tried to flee.

China: Trials begin for 10 of the ‘Hong Kong 12’ detained at sea | Hong Kong News | Al Jazeera

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

And another secret trial to jail the 12 who tried to flee.

Or in WahWah speak:
"Enemies of the glorious state, CIA stooges . . . anyway: *shiny light*" (part two)

Four years...

Words really do fail me. How do they rationalize this ?