Lemnos Philoctetes

History is philosophy teaching by example

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

You see Herr Foster, those who must be persuaded to obey are no longer important, for shortly we shall cease to exist. Our liquidation has begun.
E.Ambler, 1951.
@BaldingsWorld

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

Today’s tech wonder.

[Noosheen Hashemi @HashemiNoosheen]

I looked into the U.S. Navy's Corsair drone boat that just rescued two American pilots in the Strait of Hormuz, and the engineering is remarkable.

Built by Texas-based Saronic Technologies, the Corsair is a 24-foot autonomous surface vessel powered by AI. It hits 40 mph, carries 1,000 pounds of payload, and can sail more than 1,000 miles without a human aboard. Each unit costs roughly $1 million to produce, which is a fraction of what comparable manned naval assets cost.

The platform runs on Saronic's autonomy stack, which fuses real-time sensor data, computer vision, and AI decision-making to navigate, identify targets, and execute mission objectives without remote piloting. It's part of the Navy's Task Force 59, the unit dedicated to AI-powered unmanned vessels operating in the Middle East.

Saronic stood this up in 12 months from prototype to production. The company is on track to build more than 20 vessels per year by 2027.

This is what American AI looks like in the field. 🇺🇸

[Andrew A. Michta @andrewmichta]

If unchallenged, it will only get worse. Appeasement breed more aggression.

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@Joel_P_Atkinson 😅

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@BaldingsWorld Ah, so. The debate over “ intent” (long-planned monopoly for leverage vs. primarily industrial/economic policy that later became a tool, akin to was Covid… fill in the blanks.

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

Start the day with the mass of angels, Glória in excélsis Deo.

[Today in History @TodayinHistory]

The choir in the Sagrada Família is putting on the performance of a lifetime.

The vocals perfectly complement the stunning visuals of Gaudí’s cathedral!

[Bill Bishop @niubi]

“The fake consulting company domains seized by the FBI illustrate the lengths the Chinese government’s intelligence services will go to as they try to use AI-generated content to trick, recruit, or coerce current and former U.S. security clearance holders into sharing sensitive information,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “The FBI and our partners have observed China’s intelligence services resort to using AI, professional networking sites, and online payment platforms to target Americans, and we have taken actions to defend the homeland and our national security. The FBI is grateful for all of the assistance provided by our private sector and domestic and international partners.”

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@BaldingsWorld It could be worse.
https://t.co/2xnnGLWbjT

[Lord (David) Alton @DavidAltonHL]

I pressed the Government on reports of the discovery of hidden cameras in a Government office. Is there a link to where private discussions were taking place about the new CCP regime mega embassy? And what of reports of Chinese cellular modules in a former Prime Minister’s car - reported yesterday to the House of Commons Business Select Committee. These are yet more threats to our national security.

[Lord (David) Alton @DavidAltonHL]

I pressed the Government on reports of the discovery of hidden cameras in a Government office. Is there a link to where private discussions were taking place about the new CCP regime mega embassy? And what of reports of Chinese cellular modules in a former Prime Minister’s car - reported yesterday to the House of Commons Business Select Committee. These are yet more threats to our national security.

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@HistorianZhang “Very quietly I take my leave, As quietly as I came here; Quietly I wave good-bye, To the rosy clouds in the western sky”. You may even purchase King’s recording of Ritter’s musical rendition of Xu Zhimo’s poem.
https://t.co/PWScPr1eKV

[Lord (David) Alton @DavidAltonHL]

Chaired the launch tonight of @HJS_Org Report “Still Made In China: the Five Eyes Strategic Dependency on Chinese Supply Chains.” Strategic dependency on the CCP regime - a hostile state - has grown by nearly 60% in a decade, with a trade deficit of more than £42 billion. As UK Governments foolishly deepen our strategic dependency on a state accused of genocide, and of using slave labour, this important and timely report should be required reading by all Government Ministers and Members of both Houses of @UKParliament @UKHouseofLords @HouseofCommons @Keir_Starmer @YvetteCooperMP @FCDOGovUK @JennyChapman @Lord_Collins @Vernon_Coaker @DanJarvisMBE @aliciakearns @TomTugendhat @Jeremy_Hunt @timfarron

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@Intermarket_Dyn @michaelturton Yes, or simply 髻鬃. Lots of photos in archives of Hakka women with this ’high head’ hair style. Married women had more elaborate ‘3 bun styles.

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

🤔😲

[Byron Wan @Byron_Wan]

A fireball burst out and engulfed several firefighters in Hong Kong as they were dousing a smoking container truck carrying lithium batteries in Tsing Yi on June 8 afternoon.

https://t.co/bq4gl1EU0k

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@zhu0588 Nicely balanced and varied menu; lots of fish, pork, doufu and vegetables, steamed, braised dishes and occasional foreign potatoes.😄

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@BaldingsWorld Something like 60% of UK surveillance cameras are from Hikvision and all those gasps of surprise when revealed there was a camera secreted in the room where the 🇨🇳Mega-Spy embassy was negotiated.

[John Hemmings @JohnHemmings2]

Hikvision is part owned by the PRC & supplies 60% of UK public bodies w CCTV cameras. Cameras from Hikvision & Dahua are in 73% of local authorities, 35% of police forces, and 63% of schools in the UK. This is a huge problem which no one is talking about. https://t.co/wEJbOEBavB

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@BaldingsWorld Have to use up last year’s crop of straw for men, and look forward to the new harvest.🙄

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

A standard ‘lips and teeth’ speech as in the last time big brother visited in 2019 except no de-nuke-ing talk and more in line with the Russia-China-DPRK running dogs mutual defence treaty ‘we walk the Marxist line’ chatter.

[Bill Bishop @niubi]

Translation of Xi's Signed Article in DPRK Media https://t.co/L7EwzaB0lt The shared socialist ideal is the defining character of China-DPRK relations. The Communist Party of China and the Workers' Party of Korea are both Marxist ruling parties, and China and the DPRK are fellow travelers on the socialist road. I firmly believe that as the two parties and two countries join hands to push forward each side's party and state cause and continue to strengthen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation, this will powerfully promote national prosperity and strength and the happiness and well-being of the people, and will continuously demonstrate the marked advantages and bright prospects of socialism.

社会主义共同理想是中朝关系的鲜明底色。中国共产党和朝鲜劳动党同为马克思主义执政党，中朝两国是社会主义道路上的同行者。我坚信，两党两国携手推动各自党和国家事业发展，持续加强务实交流合作，必将有力促进国家繁荣富强和人民幸福安康，不断彰显社会主义的显著优势和光明前景。

[UnveiledChina @Unveiled_ChinaX]

Washington just drew a clear battle line through the heart of China’s commercial tech economy.

The Pentagon’s finalized Section 1260H update adds more than 60 additional companies to its military blacklist, bringing the total to 188 flagged firms. This massive expansion turns everyday civilian giants into official national security threats, forcing Western companies to completely audit their technology stacks.

Here is how the new additions break down by sector:

Electric Vehicles & Autonomous Tech
Nio, RoboSense, CALB Group, and EVE Energy: This expands the blacklist far beyond BYD, targeting premium EV manufacturers, lithium-ion battery suppliers, and advanced lidar sensor developers.

Semiconductors & Hardware
YMTC, CXMT, and BOE Technology: Pulls major Chinese memory chipmakers and the world's dominant screen display manufacturers directly into the crosshairs.

TP-Link: Targets consumer networking by blacklisting one of the largest global suppliers of everyday home Wi-Fi routers.

Biotech & Life Sciences
WuXi AppTec and Novogene: Cements restrictions on massive pharmaceutical contract research organizations and genetic sequencing providers over data security anxieties.

Robotics & Clean Energy
Unitree, JA Solar, and Trina Solar: Flags AI-powered robotics pioneers alongside the massive solar energy giants that dominate global green infrastructure.

The corporate countdown is live. Sourcing components or services from these sectors will legally bar companies from securing or renewing US Department of Defense contracts starting June 30, 2026.

#NationalSecurity #TechWar #SupplyChain #Nio #WuXiAppTec #Pentagon #Geopolitics2026

[Jim Chimirie 🇬🇧 @JChimirie66677]

Burnham's China Connection. The Letter. The Investors. The Pattern.

In early 2020, as the world was beginning to understand the scale of what was emerging from China, Andy Burnham wrote a letter. It was produced on official Greater Manchester Combined Authority headed paper. It was signed by him as Mayor. It exists in both English and Chinese versions. It was addressed to Mayor Zhang of Tianjin and classified as Internal Personal and Confidential.

The letter praises the speed at which the Chinese National Government mobilised to contain the virus and states that their timely response policies and the speed of containing the virus spread left a deep impression. The Chinese version is if anything more effusive. This was written at the precise moment the Chinese government was suppressing information about Covid, silencing the doctors who raised the alarm, and withholding data from the World Health Organisation. Burnham was commending their response while the cover-up was underway.

The letter is not an isolated courtesy. It references an ongoing relationship between Greater Manchester and Tianjin described as a continued relationship between our two regions. That relationship matters because it provides the institutional framework within which a pattern of Chinese financial engagement with Manchester has developed on Burnham's watch.

Burnham's Greater Manchester Combined Authority lent £578 million in public money to developer Daren Whitaker of Renaker. The resulting luxury towers were actively marketed to Chinese buy to let investors through Hong Kong estate agents. A marketing event was held in Hong Kong just weeks before the GMCA approved a £69 million loan for one of the developments. Hundreds of flats have been sold to Asian investors according to Telegraph analysis of Companies House filings. Out of 11,000 homes built with that public money, 503 are classed as affordable. Less than five percent.

Meanwhile Manchester City Council, which Burnham's GMCA works alongside, selected Far East Consortium, a Hong Kong company incorporated in the Cayman Islands, as the lead developer for the Northern Gateway, the largest regeneration project in the city's history covering 350 acres and planned to deliver up to 15,000 homes. The construction of the first phase used China Zhejiang Construction Group Hong Kong, a subsidiary of the largest state owned construction enterprise in Zhejiang Province. A Chinese state owned contractor was building luxury towers in Manchester while a Hong Kong developer incorporated in the Cayman Islands was handed a £1 billion regeneration contract.

The pattern that emerges from assembling these documented facts is consistent and directional. A formal relationship with a Chinese city. A bilingual confidential letter praising the Chinese government's Covid response. Public money flowing to a developer whose luxury towers were marketed to Chinese investors. A Hong Kong developer chosen as partner for the city's largest regeneration project. A Chinese state owned contractor building the first phase.

Each element has an explanation available to it. Twinning relationships are routine. The Renaker loans were largely repaid. The FEC selection followed a competitive tender. The letter was a diplomatic courtesy.

But Burnham is not asking to remain Mayor of Greater Manchester. He is asking to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. At that level the pattern of relationships, decisions and correspondence matters in a way it did not when he was managing a regional brief.

The letter exists. The relationship with Tianjin is documented. The Chinese investors are in the Companies House filings. The question of what a Burnham government's relationship with Beijing would look like is visible in Manchester. It has been for years.

"A Chinese state owned contractor was building luxury towers in Manchester while a Hong Kong developer incorporated in the Cayman Islands was handed a £1 billion regeneration contract."

[Lemnos Philoctetes @5Apostate2]

@nickfshort "C'est magnifique, mais ce n'est pas la guerre."
( "C'est de la folie"). Closest cousin is Victoria Terminal in Bombay with added bells and whistles of the grand Victorian Gothic Revival style.