Our Physical Experience Shapes Our Mindset

 In a recent post, I highlighted the role of physical experience in our psychological states.  That post raised a fascinating possibility:

Could it be the case that, just as we read others through their "body language", we process our experiences of ourselves through our bodily states?  What if we are continuously reading our own body language and internalizing what we're reading as our self-image, self-concept, and self-esteem? 

Most of us are familiar with the cognitive framework in which what we think influences how we feel.  There is undeniable importance to this perspective.  If we immerse ourselves in negative self-talk, it's inevitable that we will feel anxious, depressed, frustrated, and resentful.  Equally important is the observation that we are much more likely to lapse into negative self-talk when we lack energy and vitality.  

Suppose we are trying to grow a beautiful garden.  We could select the best flowers and plants and plant the best seeds we can find.  Ultimately, however, the garden will not thrive unless we attend to the soil and water.  What is good for the roots ultimately shapes the beauty of the flowers.

Most psychology is "top-down":  change your behavior by changing your mind.

What if, however, we are more like the garden and need to grow from "bottom-up"?

The important insight in the above quote is that "we are continuously reading our own body language and internalizing" our experience.  Is there a relationship between how we move our bodies and our mood?  Our energy level?  Is there a relationship between how we breathe and how we experience the world?  Is there a relationship between the strength and flexibility of our bodies and our overall energy level and life perspective?

When we are trapped in negative habit patterns, might those be the result of our imprisonment in routine physical states?

Can we expect to have a fresh and energized trading psychology when our bodies are sitting inertly for hours at a time, staring at screens?

If we want to change our mindset, perhaps the most important question is, "What can I be doing right here, right now, to produce the mindset I want?"  We change by doing.  We become our experience:  that is our water and soil.

 Brett Steenbarger, Ph.D

http://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2023/02/our-physical-experience-shapes-our.html

China needs stronger family-focussed policies to spur births- Chinese expert

 China should enhance incentives for people to build families and boost the birth rate as the country's now-falling population could threaten the world's second-biggest economy, a Chinese family planning expert said.

Mainland China's population fell by 850,000 last year, the first decline since 1961, to 1.42 billion, the government said last month, potentially falling behind India's as the world's largest, the start of a likely long decline with profound implications for its economy and the world.

Wang Pei'an, deputy director of the China Family Planning Association, said on Saturday more tax incentives should be created based on the family unit that could encourage births.

Speaking at the third Chinese and Development Forum in Beijing, Wang cited a growing trend among younger generations to forestall having children. He called for more incentives around employment, medical care, social security and housing that could encourage people to build families.

The government imposed a one-child policy on families in much of the country between 1980 and 2015, but with the population now falling, the authorities are scrambling to prop up the birth rate.

In calling for more supportive measures, health officials cite factors such as worries over expenses and younger women focusing on careers.

The average Chinese household shrank to 2.62 people in 2020, a decrease of 0.48 from 2010, according to a survey cited by state broadcaster CCTV.

A 2021 survey found women born in the 1990s felt the ideal number of kids to have was 1.54, while for those born in the 2000s it was just 1.19. The percentage of women who never had children surged to nearly 10% in 2020 from 6.1% in 2015.

"In China, the level of maternity protection is still very low," Wang said, adding that without the effort to cultivate a need for marriage and children, it would be extremely difficult to boost fertility levels.

The average age a woman first marries rose from 22 in the 1980s to 26.3 in 2020, and the age of first childbearing was delayed to 27.2 years, according to CCTV.

https://www.yahoo.com/now/china-needs-stronger-family-focussed-082115570.html

Russia says NATO should hold emergency summit over Nord Stream blasts

 

NATO should hold an emergency meeting to discuss recent findings about September explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said late on Saturday.

Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1970, said in a blog post on Wednesday, citing an unidentified source, that U.S. navy divers had destroyed the pipelines, with explosives on the orders of President Joe Biden.

The White House dismissed as "utterly false and complete fiction" the claim that the United States was behind explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, which send Russian gas to Germany.

Sweden and Denmark, in whose exclusive economic zones the blasts occurred, have concluded the pipelines were blown up deliberately, but have not said who might be responsible.

The United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have called the incident "an act of sabotage." Moscow has blamed the West for the unexplained explosions that caused the ruptures. Neither side has provided evidence.

"There are more than enough facts here: the explosion of the pipeline, the presence of a motive, circumstantial evidence obtained by journalists," Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging platform.

"So when will an emergency NATO summit meet to review the situation?"

NATO did not immediately respond to Reuters request for a comment.

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/GAZPROM-6491735/news/Russia-says-NATO-should-hold-emergency-summit-over-Nord-Stream-blasts-42968133/

Defense officials describe object shot down by US jet over Canada

 The unidentified airborne object shot out of the sky by US military jets over Canada on Saturday was reportedly a small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload.

Pentagon officials said the object was detected over Alaska late Friday and was closely tracked by US and Canadian military aircraft as it crossed into Canadian airspace before it was taken down over the Yukon Territory by an American F-22 fighter jet around 3:41 p.m. ET.

Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand told reporters that the object, which was flying at an altitude of 40,000 feet, “appears to be a small, cylindrical object and smaller than the one that was downed off the coast of [South] Carolina” on Feb. 4. 

No additional details about the object were immediately available, however Anand added that “there is no reason to believe that the impact of the object in Canadian territory is of any public concern.”

US officials familiar with the situation told the Wall Street Journal that the object appeared to be a small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload.

Officials have not said where the object came from, but confirmed that last week’s surveillance balloon came from China.

Tyler Schlitt Photography

A NORAD spokesman, Maj. Olivier Gallant, said the military has determined what it was but would not reveal details.

Anand said that recovery operations for the object were still underway by the Canadian Armed Forces in conjunction with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Hours after the object was shot down, the FAA shut down airspace over Montana after NORAD responded to a “radar anomaly,” but said no “object” was observed.

F-22 fighter jets have now taken out three objects in the airspace above the U.S. and Canada over the past week — an unnerving development that is raising questions on just what, exactly, is hovering overhead and where they came from.

Canadian Prime Minister announced that an object was shot down in the Yukon Territory on Saturday afternoon.

Bloomberg via Getty Images

Recovery efforts are also still underway in Alaska after another high-altitude object was shot down over the waters off Alaska on Friday afternoon.

That object, which was also flying around 40,000 feet, “posed a reasonable threat to the safety of civilian flight,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a White House briefing.

Kirby said that object was also much smaller than the surveillance balloon shot down last Friday — “roughly the size of a small car.”

It also did not appear to have the same “maneuverable capability” and as the spy balloon moving “virtually at the whim of the wind.”

A massive, white Chinese spy balloon after it flew across the entire North American continent from Montana to South Carolina, where it was destroyed last Friday.

The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said. 

It’s not clear if the other objects shot down were Chinese.

https://nypost.com/2023/02/11/defense-officials-describe-object-shot-down-by-us-jet-over-canada/

Hunter Biden just made Republicans' investigation a lot easier

 Hunter Biden’s legal team has been at the center of news coverage this month after it appeared to confirm the authenticity of his laptop in a letter (only to try to backtrack 24 hours later). It was a curious and gratuitous move for Biden and his counsel Abbe Lowell as they called for criminal investigations into his critics, suggested lawsuits against media, and even argued that the tax-exempt status of some groups be rescinded by the IRS. 

Now, however, the team is moving in a far more precarious direction. They seem to be adopting the strategy of Steve Bannon that resulted in his conviction for contempt of Congress. Lowell categorically refused to turn over material to Congress this week, leaving his client open to a subpoena and possible prosecution. The move may have thrilled hardcore Democrats, but it is the Republicans who should be most ecstatic with Hunter's initial position.

Lowell has declared the oversight investigation in the Biden family's alleged influence peddling as illegitimate and has refused to turn over records related to its investigation. In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY), Lowell declared "Peddling your own inaccurate and baseless conclusions under the guise of a real investigation, turns the Committee into ‘Wonderland’ and you into the Queen of Hearts shouting, ‘sentence first, verdict afterwords.’"

The move comes after news reports of a Democratic team forming around Hunter to attack potential witnesses and adopt a scorched earth approach in litigation. Even in personal matters, Hunter appears to be dispensing with his prior cultivation of a tragic and besieged figure. Recently, Hunter moved to block one of his daughters from using his surname.

In this latest matter, Lowell appears to be channeling the same strategy of Steve Bannon who was ultimately charged with contempt and convicted. At the time, I said that Bannon was asking for a contempt charge and Biden appears to be replicating this same ill-considered strategy.

Lowell would have been far smarter to turn over some material to the Committee in good faith while seeking to negotiate on the scope of the inquiry. A categorical refusal gives the Committee ample basis to issue a subpoena. Lowell is simply wrong that there is "no legislative purpose" in seeking information on possible influence peddling by the Biden family that could involve the President himself. Such corruption scandals have been part of congressional inquiries from the XYZ Affair to the Teapot Dome scandal to the investigation of Trump family business interests.

Lowell left open the door to Comer convincing him of some "legitimate legislative purpose" in meetings, but the letter went too far in its categorical rejection of the initial demand. Comer is likely to balk at having to convince Hunter Biden of the "legitimacy" of his investigation. A court would likely support the Committee's right to such evidence for financial and communication records. While the Committee will not necessarily get everything, it is likely to prevail on threshold issue of the right to such evidence.

In the Bannon case, the Democrats spared little time in seeking a contempt order. Just one week after Bannon missed a date to appear, they voted out the contempt sanction of Committee, and it was quickly approved by the House as a whole. It was contempt of Congress, as I said at the time. However, Republicans opposed the sanction on the same grounds now being used by Lowell and some Democratic members.

Lowell could tack back on his letter, as he did his earlier letter on the laptop. However, he may have little time to do so. He just led the foundation for the Oversight Committee to move quickly toward a subpoena and ultimately a contempt sanction, if he maintains this position. Lowell actually expedited the process for the House, shortening the calendar for possible contempt proceedings. If this matter were to go to the courts (either as a criminal contempt matter or an enforcement matter, or both), there is now plenty of time for the Committee to prevail in securing much of this material.

That would place Attorney General Merrick Garland in a tough position. After years of the Justice Department largely ignoring contempt sanctions, Garland moved aggressively to prosecute Trump figures like Bannon. The failure to do so with Hunter Biden would fuel concerns over political bias at the Department.

The bill has come due on the alleged Biden influence peddling operation. While Democrats and pundits have insisted that there is no actual crime raised in such corruption, it is clearly a matter for Congress to investigate. Otherwise, the Democrats will be in a position of arguing that neither the courts nor Congress can pursue allegations of corruption and foreign influence surrounding the President and his family.

That is a fight that the Republicans should relish, and Hunter Biden just made it a lot easier.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and a practicing criminal defense attorney. He is a Fox News contributor.

https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/hunter-biden-just-made-republicans-investigation-easier

Pentagon: US detected 3rd flying 'object' over Alaska a day before shooting down over Canada

 The Pentagon issued a statement Saturday revealing details about how an unidentified object was shot down by the U.S. military over Canada on Saturday.

Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement that President Biden authorized NORAD to work with the Canadian government to shoot down a "high-altitude airborne object" on Saturday after a call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

According to the Pentagon, NORAD detected the object over Alaska late Friday evening and monitored the object over U.S. airspace with the assistance of the Alaska Air National Guard and was "tracking it closely and taking time to characterize the nature of the object. 

"Monitoring continued today as the object crossed into Canadian airspace, with Canadian CF-18 and CP-140 aircraft joining the formation to further assess the object," the statement said. .

A U.S. F-22 Raptor was used to shoot down the object in Canadian airspace using an AIM 9X missile, according to the statement. 

"As Canadian authorities conduct recovery operations to help our countries learn more about the object, the Federal Bureau of Investigation will be working closely with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police," the Pentagon said.

President Joe Biden looks to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a meeting of G7 and NATO leaders in Bali, Indonesia (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)

The White House released a readout of the call between Biden and Trudeau shortly after the Pentagon's statement that said the president "has been continually briefed by his national security team since the object was detected."

"Out of an abundance of caution and at the recommendation of their militaries, President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau authorized it to be taken down," the readout said. "President Biden authorized US fighter aircraft assigned to NORAD to conduct the operation and a US F-22 shot down the object in Canadian territory in close coordination with Canadian authorities."

The statement from the Pentagon came shortly after Trudeau announced on Twitter that he had authorized the object to be shot down and after NORAD confirmed to Fox News Digital it was monitoring the "high-altitude airborne object."

The object of unknown origin became the third object to be shot down by a United States owned F-22 raptor in the last week.

An F-22 Raptor flies in this undated image provided by Lockheed Martin. (Lockheed Martin via Getty Images)

On Friday, the U.S. military shot down an unknown object over the northern coast of Alaska that landed on frozen water and is in the process of being recovered by the military.

The previous Saturday, the United States military shot down a Chinese spy craft off the coast of South Carolina that had floated down from Alaska, into Montana, and across the United States. 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pentagon-says-us-detected-third-flying-object-alaska-day-shooting-canada

US blacklists 6 Chinese entities for supporting spy balloon programs

 The Department of Commerce blacklisted six Chinese entities on Friday for supporting the country’s spy balloon programs, after a Chinese surveillance balloon traversed the U.S. earlier this month.

The companies and organizations, which have allegedly supported China’s aerospace programs that develop airships and balloons for intelligence and reconnaissance efforts, are barred from obtaining U.S. items and technologies with their addition to the U.S. Entity List.

“The Commerce Department will not hesitate to continue to use the Entity List and our other regulatory and enforcement tools to protect U.S. national security and sovereignty,” Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said in a press release. 

“The Entity List is a powerful tool for identifying and cutting off actors that seek to use their access to global markets to do harm and threaten American national security,” he added.

A Chinese spy balloon spent a week traveling over the U.S. earlier this month, before being shot down off the coast of South Carolina last Saturday. 

Beijing has claimed that the balloon was primarily being used for meteorological research and was blown off course. However, the U.S. government has largely rejected these explanations, accusing the balloon of surveilling strategic sites within the U.S.

Another “high-altitude object” crossed into U.S. airspace over Alaska and was shot down on Friday afternoon, although it remains to be seen whether it was operated by a foreign country, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. 

https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3853987-us-blacklists-6-chinese-entities-for-supporting-spy-balloon-programs/