₦airaland Forum

Except if you look at the bible as a historically accurate document, Jesus couldn't be white, pale, or straight haired. Jesus depicted as an Ethiopian or Moroccan would be more accurate.

Maybe he feels plates are for beta men or soft foreigners.

They'll be replaced with something better.

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People in Vanuatu are cute. Their noses and smiles are adorable.

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/47/8a/a3/478aa346debe5a088286f6fbdb295f0e.jpg

thebosstrevor1:
One question

Is this the only happening place in the whole of lagos?

lol

Australian manufacturers say reshoring by 2023 is likely due to market volatility, according to PROS survey
https://itwire.com/manufacturing-technology/australian-manufacturers-say-reshoring-by-2023-is-likely-due-to-market-volatility,-according-to-pros-survey.html

https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/finance-news/2021/04/13/australian-made-manufacturing/amp/

‘Made in Australia’ is making a post-pandemic comeback as some businesses turn back the clock on decades of offshoring jobs.

Manufacturers looking to avoid supply chain turmoil caused by COVID-19 are leading the charge, cashing in on consumers eager to support local employers in the process.

This ‘reshoring’ trend could be worth billions of dollars to the economy over the next five years if Australia moves beyond just shipping raw commodities overseas and starts adding value to products Down Under.

That’s according to Jens Goennemann, managing director at the Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC), who says the pandemic could deliver a seismic shift in the composition of the Australian economy.

“Manufacturers are seeing the value in doing things better and being globally competitive on home soil,” Dr Goennemann told The New Daily.

“We’ve been a dig-and-ship economy, but if we want to change that we need to add value onshore. If we do that, we turn our country into a smart economy.”

Local production jobs have collapsed over the past two decades as companies cut costs by employing workers overseas.

But Dr Goennemann said AMGC – an initiative supported by the federal government – is now seeing a big increase in companies reshoring their production, research, design, logistics and distribution in Australia.

That’s backed up by a new survey into business intentions by software provider PROS, which found manufacturers were refocusing their attention locally after the pandemic led to volatility in international markets.

The survey of 500 industry employers, published on Tuesday, found 55 per cent intend to reshore part of their business by 2023.

About 22 per cent said they had already brought back work to Australia, with nearly half of their operations expected to be returned by 2023.

Consumers driving Australian-made surge
One business that’s reshored recently is Australian-owned Seabin, which uses filters to clear plastic out of waterways like Sydney Harbour.

The $5.8 million company moved manufacturing of its bins from France to Australia last year, with the help of a $400,000 federal government grant, creating nine new local jobs.

Co-founder and chief executive Pete Ceglinski said making their bins just two hours from headquarters had made their supply chain much more reliable.

“COVID-19 has fast-tracked reshoring,” he told The New Daily.

“We had so many uncertainties, just based on logistics … if you can do the majority of what you do within Australia, it helps a lot.”

Mr Ceglinski said another big driver for companies moving manufacturing back to Australia was changing consumer attitudes.

More than three-quarters of consumers prefer to support Australian-made products, according to Roy Morgan data from 2019.

“Consumers are getting smarter and a lot want to see purpose built into their purchases,” Mr Ceglinski said.

“If you’re offshoring to China or India you won’t have first preference to similar products made locally.”

High-tech manufacturing worth billions
The reshoring trend could be worth billions of dollars to the Australian economy over the next five years, according to Dr Goennemann.

He said although there’s already 1.2 million people employed in manufacturing in Australia, there was an opportunity to create even more jobs.

That’s because while Australia has traditionally been a mine-and-export economy, minerals like lithium – crucial in the development of batteries for electric vehicles – would be more easily available if we manufactured them here.

“We need to rethink our approach and self-disrupt ourselves by adding value to minerals like lithium,” Dr Goennemann said.

Lithium mining is projected to become a $12 billion industry by 2025, according to AMGC data, but the market for the refined mineral is expected to be worth a whopping $41 billion by that time.

And if Australia also starts processing lithium into fuel cells and building batteries, it could get a slice of what’s projected to become a $1.3 trillion global market by 2025.

The PROS survey, which referenced lithium businesses specifically, found South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory were best placed to take advantage of these opportunities.

Three-quarters of employers said that Australia already has the technological capability to develop such an agile manufacturing base.

And 90 per cent of respondents were confident the Australian workforce had the skills required to take advantage of the coming boom.

Reshoring Canada group to advocate for less supply-chain reliance on risky countries

Former Ontario economic development minister Sandra Pupatello and former federal industry minister Tony Clement are launching a new advocacy group to promote returning critical manufacturing to Canada and rebuilding supply chains so they don’t rely on increasingly risky countries such as China.

The venture, Reshoring Canada, aims to be a non-partisan repository and advocate of ideas to refashion supply chains to make them safer and more secure. It’s been in discussions with the U.S.-based Reshoring Initiative, led by retired U.S. industrialist Harry Moser. The term “reshoring” refers to the practice of moving businesses operating abroad back to their original country.

Reshoring Canada is partnering with Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, the Ontario Mining Association and Canada’s Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) to conduct research on the issue. The first order of business, Mr. Clement says, “will be to move from anecdotal evidence of risk to hard data.” The non-profit group is receiving office support from public-affairs firm Wellington Dupont.

Ms. Pupatello said the scramble for critical medical gear at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic helped expose the risk in Canadian supply chains.

Auto-parts makers including Martinrea International last year switched to making medical ventilators and personal protective equipment to help Canada cope. “We can make anything here. It’s a good policy initiative to ensure that we can do that so we are prepared for the next pandemic or any other challenge that may appear,” Martinrea general counsel Kerri Pope said of efforts to make supply chains more secure.

The federal government has been warned against deepening ties with China, which has transformed under President Xi Jinping from a potential partner into more of a strategic rival. In briefing notes released last year, the department of Global Affairs warned then-foreign affairs minister François-Philippe Champagne that things have changed. “While Canada has long framed its China policy through the lens of economic opportunity, it now needs to take account of Beijing’s long-term strategic challenge to Canada’s interests and values,” the briefing note says.

Mr. Clement said Canada’s increasing embrace of a green economy driven by new technology could be at risk if China remains the supplier for many of the critical minerals needed for innovation. “If Canada wants to be part of the green technologies of the future then we have to have control of the supply chain.”

Earlier this year, mining executives warned members of Parliament of China’s stranglehold on strategic minerals.

“For decades, China has held monopoly-like control over critical minerals production and distribution, rendering the rest of the world reliant on procurement and creating a level of risk that deters investors from entering these markets,” Pierre Gratton, president of the Mining Association of Canada, told the Commons standing committee on natural resources in February.

China has made veiled threats to restrict critical minerals as leverage in its trade war with the U.S., as it did against Japan. In 2010, Beijing limited rare-earth exports to Tokyo while the two countries were sparring over disputed islands.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW ADVERTISEMENT


Ms. Pupatello said the aim of Reshoring Canada is to advocate that supply chains for critical industries be refashioned so they cannot be easily disrupted by foreign countries or events. She cited the global shortage of semiconductor chips that forced automakers such as Ford and General Motors to curb production at factories in North America.

APMA president Flavio Volpe said it makes sense to do “an honest assessment of what we could or could not reshore to Canada.” He noted Canada spent 25 years following the signing of the North American free-trade agreement increasingly globalizing its supply chain. “If we honestly reflect: There probably are a few things we should and could look to do locally. It’s not always in our best interest to chase the lowest-cost labour.”

Ontario Mining Association president Chris Hodgson said Ontario alone has deposits of more than a dozen of the minerals that have been identified as critical and he said it would make sense to find ways to more broadly develop these resources.

“We know how important Canadian critical minerals are to the security, clean-tech and manufacturing sectors. Yet foreign-controlled supply chains can mean Canada would remain in the back seat. It is time to prioritize local supply chains more.”

Brian Storseth, a former Conservative MP and another founder of Reshoring Canada, said there are supply-chain risks in industries all over Canada, from oil and gas to mining to manufacturing and food.

Mr. Clement said it will also be important for Canada to ensure it isn’t hurt by the efforts of the new Biden administration to secure American supply chains for critical products including computer chips, electric-vehicle batteries, pharmaceuticals and critical minerals.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-reshoring-canada-group-to-advocate-for-less-supply-chain-reliance-on/

Tunisia and Morocco?

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AbleIndelibleBasilisk-small.gif

Here's how much I care:

[img]https://media./images/e927ecfa402e79ad40d739601709e6c3/tenor.gif[/img]

So they wasted a bunch of money on an ugly business park in a trash state full of Mexicans.

I can think of far better ways to spend that money.

Over soccer? Like, why?

[img]https://media./images/596294c783e94e4ae9bcecc4426ce0d3/tenor.gif[/img]

If anyone actually trusts this guy, I have a bridge to sell you.

...
[img]https://media./images/ec2aa47593dfd74ef1335baed9252f52/tenor.gif[/img]

Cute family.

And shout out to the barbers. Every dude in the pic has that laser precision line up.

You don't stand to gain anything by working with those degenerate m0rons.

https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSKBN2BU0DI

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's once-a-decade census is expected to show a further fall in the percentage of young people in its fast-aging population as high living costs and an aversion to having children among urban couples push China closer to a demographic crunch.

Policymakers are under pressure to come up with family-planning incentives and arrest a falling birth rate, with the world's most populous country at risk of entering an irreversible population slide if effective measures are not found.

China is expected to release the results of its latest census, conducted in late 2020, in coming days. The proportion of elderly people in the population is believed to have risen, but more significant will be the data on its young.

In 2010, the proportion of the population aged 14 or younger plunged to 16.60% from 22.89% in 2000, an effect of a decades-old one-child policy. Citizens aged 60 and older accounted for 13.26%, up from about 10%.

The continuation of those trends will undermine China's working-age population and weigh on productivity. A shrinking pool of working adults will also test its ability to pay and care for an aging nation.

In 2016, China scrapped the one-child policy in the hope of boosting the number of babies. It also set a target to increase its population to about 1.42 billion by 2020, from 1.34 billion in 2010.

But the birth rate has continued to decline.

That is in part because urban couples, despite parental pressure to have babies, value their independence and careers more than raising a family.

Yu Tao, 31, a Beijing-based product designer for a major tech firm, said he was reluctant to make the sacrifice in terms of time that he would have to if he and his wife had a baby.

As is, he usually gets home from work at midnight, at the earliest.

"I like my balance right now, how I balance between my work and personal life, and I don't think I can still be in this good balance once I have a child," Yu said.

IRREVERSIBLE SLIDE?

Yu and his wife have a combined income of more than 700,000 yuan ($106,888) a year but said they did not feel financially secure enough to have a child, even though they earn considerably more than an average household.

Annual urban per capita disposable income was 43,834 yuan in 2020 compared with 19,109 yuan in 2010, official data shows.

"We aren't ready for a child both financially and mentally," said Yu.

Rising living costs in big cities, a major source of babies because of their huge populations, have also put couples off children, particularly housing costs.

Among urban households, annual per capita spending on housing rose to 6,958 yuan in 2020 versus 1,332 yuan in 2010, according to official data, up more than five-fold.

"If the government simply allows people to have children without policy support, it is unlikely to have much impact," said social and labour expert Liu Kaiming.

"In general, the case that people are reluctant to have children, or to have fewer, is irreversible."

State media has been making increasingly dire predictions, saying the population may start to shrink in the next few years - a gloomier forecast than that of the United Nations, which foresees a population peak in 2030, then a decline.

In 2016, China set a 2020 target for its fertility rate to be about 1.8 children per woman, up from 1.5-1.6 in 2015.

If the rate falls below 1.5, many demographers say China is unlikely to ever get out of its so-called fertility trap.

Recent comments by the minister of civil affairs that the fertility rate had already crossed a "warning line" and the population had entered a critical period of transition went viral on social media.

soukous mix
and

Cousin9999:
A mix of stuff like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IogfQFSymvo

...
[img]https://media./images/b4cfc31cc2951e080508ee2f7435edae/tenor.gif[/img]

This is just an ad to convince people to drive for these companies. I've noticed more ads lately.

They also mixed in a STEM job they don't want to pay a proper salary for, so they're trying to saturate the market.

If people were making good money doing deliveries, they wouldn't have to advertise so aggressively.

If the money is decent, maybe they have high turnover because it's not consistent, or it's a stressful pace (or very long hours). If that's not true, then they want more drivers, so they can pay less and treat drivers worse.

But they give visas to:

-Chinese criminals
-women trafficked by Chinese and Filipinos
-Europeans who are part of extremist/racist groups
-Arabs who are part of extremist religions/groups

https://news.sky.com/story/amp/us-climate-envoy-john-kerry-calls-on-china-to-assume-responsibility-for-its-part-in-global-warming-12274520

US climate envoy John Kerry calls on China to 'assume responsibility' for its part in global warming

John Kerry has described the global climate crisis as an "unbelievable monument to the need for multilateralism" and urged China to "assume responsibility" for its part.

Mr Kerry, America's first ever climate envoy, signed the Paris Agreement in 2016 on behalf of the US, and has said that "failure is not an option" when it comes to fulfilling its aims.

The accord is a legally-binding international treaty, then adopted by 197 countries at a summit in the French capital, which has a goal of limiting global warming to well below 2C, and preferably 1.5C, compared to pre-industrial levels.

Donald Trump pulled America out of the agreement when he was president but current commander-in-chief, Joe Biden, re-signed as one of his first acts in office earlier this year.

Speaking to Sky News ahead of a visit to China, Mr Kerry said bluntly: "This is not a moment where any nation cannot step up to raise the ambition that Paris envisioned."

He said he had regular talks with his Chinese counterpart on the issue.

"We recognise that China, with nearly 30% of the world's emissions, is essential to resolving this crisis and our hopes are that China is prepared to assume responsibly - as we are, and as other nations are."

He added: "No one country, no one entity, like the EU, can solve the problem

"This is an unbelievable monument - the climate crisis - to the need for multilateralism."

The already-postponed COP26 climate conference is being hosted by the UK in Glasgow in November and Mr Kerry described the event as the world's "last, best opportunity to get real" on the climate.

Globally, there needs to be a 45% reduction in emissions over the next 10 years to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels but the world is not currently on track to meet that.

lol What!?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-orders-34-tech-firms-074718505.html

(Bloomberg) -- China ordered 34 internet corporations Tuesday to rectify their anti-competitive practices within the next month, signaling that Beijing’s scrutiny of its most powerful firms hasn’t ended with the conclusion of a probe into Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

Shares in Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Meituan extended losses after the State Administration for Market Regulation issued a stern statement emphasizing it will continue to eradicate abuses of information and market dominance among other violations. Also summoned to an ad-hoc meeting with the watchdog on Tuesday were industry leaders including TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd., search giant Baidu Inc. and JD.com Inc.

Regulators warned internet companies to “heed Alibaba’s example,” reaffirming their intent to abolish forced exclusivity among other practices. The meeting -- organized jointly with the cyberspace and tax regulators -- came days after Beijing wrapped up a four-month probe into Alibaba by slapping a record $2.8 billion fine on the e-commerce giant for abuse of market dominance.

The penalty was less severe than many feared and lifted a cloud of uncertainty hanging over founder Jack Ma’s internet empire. It also came after the Chinese central bank ordered an overhaul of his Ant Group Co. fintech titan.

Alibaba’s shares have gained 7% since the start of the week, but its fellow Chinese internet giants have gyrated while investors digest the rapid-fire announcements and concerns grow that Beijing’s scrutiny will extend beyond Alibaba. On Tuesday, Tencent gave up early gains to finish down slightly while Meituan, video service Kuaishou Technology and JD all slid more than 3% in Hong Kong.

“The base line of policies cannot be crossed, the red line of laws cannot be touched,” the market watchdog said in the statement on Tuesday.

The investigation into Alibaba was one of the opening salvos in a campaign seemingly designed to curb the power of China’s internet leaders, which kicked off after Ma infamously rebuked “pawn shop” lenders, regulators who don’t get the internet, and the “old men” of the global banking community. Those comments set in motion an unprecedented regulatory offensive, including scuttling Ant’s $35 billion initial public offering.

The 34 firms summoned Tuesday must now undergo complete rectification after conducting internal checks and inspections over the next month, and make a pledge to society to obey rules and laws, the antitrust watchdog said in its statement. Regulators will organize follow-up inspections and companies that continue to engage in abuses like forced exclusivity -- a practice that “flagrantly trampled and destroyed” market order -- will be dealt with severely.

The regulator also highlighted abuses like acquisitions that squeeze out smaller rivals and burning through cash to grab market share in community group buying, currently the hottest e-commerce arena in China. Firms also need to address issues like counterfeiting, data leaks and tax evasion, according to the statement.

“This is positive because the SAMR is giving the platforms one month to review their practices, rather than dish out fines and penalties without warning,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior analyst Vey-Sern Ling said. “They are using Alibaba as an example to deter misbehavior from the rest of the industry players. If these companies toe the line, industry competition can become healthier. ”

https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/13/fukushima-japan-to-start-dumping-contaminated-water-pacific-ocean

Japan has announced it will release more than 1m tonnes of contaminated water from the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, a decision that has angered neighbouring countries, including China, and local fishers.

Official confirmation of the move, which came more than a decade after the nuclear disaster, will deal a further blow to the fishing industry in Fukushima, which has opposed the measure for years.

The prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, told a meeting of ministers on Tuesday that the government had decided that releasing the water into the Pacific Ocean was the “most realistic” option, and “unavoidable in order to achieve Fukushima’s recovery”.

The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco], and government officials say tritium, a radioactive material that is not harmful in small amounts, cannot be removed from the water, but other radionuclides can be reduced to levels allowed for release.

“The Japanese government has compiled basic policies to release the processed water into the ocean, after ensuring the safety levels of the water … and while the government takes measures to prevent reputational damage,” Suga told reporters.

Work to release the diluted water will begin in about two years, the government said, with the entire process expected to take decades.

“On the premise of strict compliance with regulatory standards that have been established, we select oceanic release,” it said in a statement.

China denounced the plan as “extremely irresponsible”, and accused Japan of reaching the decision “without regard for domestic and foreign doubts and opposition”.

“This approach is extremely irresponsible and will seriously damage international public health and safety and the vital interests of the people of neighbouring countries,” the Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.

South Korea summoned Japan’s ambassador, Koichi Aiboshi, the broadcaster YTN reported, while a high-level government official said Seoul “firmly opposes” the move, a view also expressed by Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council.

The US was supportive, describing Japan’s decision-making process as “transparent”.

“We thank Japan for its transparent efforts in its decision to dispose of the treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi site,” the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, tweeted.

The announcement drew swift condemnation from environmental groups.

Greenpeace Japan said it “strongly condemned” the water’s release, which “completely disregards the human rights and interests of the people in Fukushima, wider Japan and the Asia-Pacific region”.

“The Japanese government has once again failed the people of Fukushima,” said Kazue Suzuki, the group’s climate and energy campaigner.

“The government has taken the wholly unjustified decision to deliberately contaminate the Pacific Ocean with radioactive waste. It has discounted the radiation risks and turned its back on the clear evidence that sufficient storage capacity is available on the nuclear site as well as in surrounding districts.

“The cabinet’s decision failed to protect the environment and neglected the large-scale opposition and concerns of the local Fukushima residents, as well as the neighbouring citizens around Japan.”

About 1.25m tonnes of water has accumulated at the site of the nuclear plant, which was crippled after going into meltdown following a tsunami in 2011.

It includes water used to cool the plant, as well as rain and groundwater that seeps in daily. The water needs to be filtered again to remove harmful isotopes and will be diluted to meet international standards before any release, the government said.

The radioactive water, which increases in quantity by about 140 tonnes a day, is now being stored in more than 1,000 tanks, and space at the site is expected to run out around next autumn. Tepco has argued that it will struggle to make progress on decommissioning the plant if it has to keep building more storage tanks at the site.

The International Atomic Energy Agency supports the decision, since radioactive elements, except tritium, will be removed from the water or reduced to safe levels before it is discharged. The IAEA has also pointed out that nuclear plants around the world use a similar process to dispose of wastewater.

Experts say tritium is only harmful to humans in large doses and with dilution the treated water poses no scientifically detectable risk.

“There is consensus among scientists that the impact on health is minuscule,” Michiaki Kai, an expert on radiation risk assessment at Japan’s Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences, told Agence France-Presse before the decision was announced.

But local fishing communities say the water’s release will undo years of hard work to rebuild consumer confidence in their seafood.

“They told us that they wouldn’t release the water into the sea without the support of fishermen,” Kanji Tachiya, who heads a local fisheries cooperative in Fukushima, told public broadcaster NHK ahead of the announcement. “We can’t back this move to break that promise and release the water into the sea unilaterally.”

The decision comes about three months ahead of the postponed Olympic Games in Tokyo, with some events planned as close as 60km (35 miles) from the plant.

Japanese officials have objected to media descriptions of the water as “contaminated” or “radioactive”, insisting that it be described as “treated”.

Shaun Burnie, senior nuclear specialist with Greenpeace East Asia, said that claim was “clearly false”.

“If it was not contaminated or radioactive they would not need approval (to release the water) from Japan’s nuclear regulator,” he said. “The water in the tanks is indeed treated, but it is also contaminated with radioactivity. The Japanese government has been deliberately seeking to deceive over this issue, at home and abroad.”

I don't think this guy is their biggest problem. India has some of the worst sex crime rates in the world.

Say, "Nah, but I'll twist your locs though."

j/k

Ask your sister/female cousin/friend's wife.

Maybe it has something to do with Russians being ugly, violent racists.

She looks like an albino.

Bleach ≠ Sexy

All I see is bleach and fat.

Foreign-sponsored terrorism.