Bullying in China

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This video is appearing today on social media as if it were new, but is actually from an incident in Henan in 2019. Read comments at the link above for a variety of reactions. Bullying is not uncommon in China, though as with everything in China, there are no reliable statistics. In Japan it is widely known that bullying is a serious problem. ABN

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Chinese translation:

  • 「打她！」（多次重複）
  • 「踹她！」
  • 「別錄了！」
  • 受害者哭喊：「不要！」 「啊！」（尖叫與求饒）

English Translation:

Victim’s cries: “No!” “Don’t!” “Ah!” (screams and pleas for mercy)

“Hit her!” (repeated several times)

“Kick her!”

“Stop recording!”

Bullying in China

Bullying in Chinese schools is a significant and complex issue, with research indicating a high prevalence. A 2016 nationwide survey of over 100,000 students across 29 counties found that 33.36% of students experienced bullying, with 4.7% reporting frequent incidents and 28.66% occasional ones. However, reported statistics vary widely; one study cited in a YouTube video claims 75% of children in China have experienced bullying, while another suggests only 11% report being bullied, highlighting inconsistencies in measurement and definition. This discrepancy underscores the difficulty in accurately assessing the scope of the problem.

The nature of bullying in China is often described as more indirect and subtle compared to physical bullying common in Western countries. Tactics frequently involve social exclusion, verbal abuse, and psychological torment, such as mocking a student’s appearance or using symbolic items (e.g., watermelon-themed objects) to humiliate them in a way that may not be immediately obvious to adults. Group dynamics play a central role, with bullying typically involving multiple students ganging up on a single victim, reflecting China’s collectivist culture where group identity can reduce individual accountability.

The causes of bullying are multifaceted. Research identifies factors such as family environment, including authoritarian parenting and corporal punishment, which may model aggressive behavior. The influence of Confucian values and social Darwinism—where success is tied to competition and survival of the fittest—can justify bullying against those perceived as weak, such as students with poor academic performance or social awkwardness. Additionally, the normalization of teacher-led humiliation and physical punishment in schools may contribute to students imitating such behavior.

Bullying in Japan

Bullying in Japan, known as “ijime,” remains a persistent and serious issue across all school levels, with recent data indicating a record high in incidents. In fiscal year 2024, the Japanese education ministry confirmed 769,022 cases of bullying, marking the fourth consecutive year of record-high numbers and an increase of approximately 36,400 from the previous year. The majority of cases occurred at elementary schools (610,612), followed by junior high schools (135,865), with smaller numbers at senior high schools (18,891) and special needs schools (3,654).

The problem is particularly severe in terms of its consequences, with serious cases such as suicide and truancy rising to a record 1,405, an increase of 99 from the previous year. This reflects a broader trend of escalating severity, with incidents often involving group dynamics where a student perceived as “different” is ostracized by peers, sometimes leading to the entire class participating in the bullying. This form of group bullying, or “shūdan ijime,” is deeply rooted in Japanese societal values that emphasize conformity and group harmony, where deviation from the norm is met with social punishment.

Simple test reveals if you are one of the millions who suffer hidden disability aphantasia

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A simple test can reveal whether someone unknowingly lives with a hidden disability known as aphantasia – a condition that leaves people unable to form mental images in their mind.

Often undiagnosed and poorly understood, aphantasia affects the brain’s ability to visualise pictures, scenes or faces, even though eyesight itself is completely normal.

Although estimates suggest between two and five per cent of people have aphantasia, the vast majority are never formally diagnosed. 

Because the condition is invisible and not routinely tested for, experts believe millions are unaware they have it and only discover it later in life by chance. 

…Both groups – 42 people without aphantasia and 18 who reported having it – showed a normal pupil response when actually viewing the images, demonstrating that their eyes and visual pathways were functioning normally.

However, when both groups were then asked to visualise the same light and dark shapes in their mind, a clear difference emerged.

Participants without aphantasia showed the expected pupil response, with their pupils changing size depending on whether they were imagining light or dark objects.

By contrast, the pupils of those with aphantasia did not change at all when they attempted to visualise the images.

While visual aphantasia is the most common form, researchers say the condition can also affect the ability to imagine sounds, touch, smells, tastes and movement.

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Ivanka Trump’s husband presents $112.1 billion plan for beachside luxury resort on shattered ruins of Gaza

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Donald Trump‘s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff have developed a $112.1billion plan to reinvent the Gaza strip into a luxury destination.

The president has promised that Gaza will be rebuilt after brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas following the war in October and has previously suggested it could be turned into ‘the Riviera of the Middle East.’ 

Kushner and Witkoff appear to have a plan to put that idea into practice with ‘Project Sunrise,’ a draft proposal developed over the last six weeks to completely revamp the area.

It pitches expensive ideas like beachside hotel property, high-speed rail and AI-optimized electricity grids, according to WSJ. 

Kushner – a veteran of the real estate industry – and Witkoff worked with fellow senior White House aide Josh Greenbaum and consulted with Israeli officials and private contractors. 

The draft pitches a $112.1billion cost for the project over the span of a decade, with the US supporting about half of that in grants and debt guarantees. 

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This smells to high heaven but may turn out OK or even good. There is no way to end the fighting without Jews playing the dominant role. ABN

Scientists Are Quietly Admitting Something Is Wrong With Our Understanding of Space

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For decades, modern cosmology rested on a reassuring idea: we mostly understand how the universe works. Gravity, expansion, dark matter, dark energy—imperfect, yes, but largely mapped out.

That confidence is now cracking.

Across observatories, research papers, and closed-door scientific meetings, astronomers are confronting a growing realization: key measurements of the universe no longer agree with each other, and the mismatch is getting worse, not better.

Something fundamental may be missing.

The Expansion of the Universe No Longer Adds Up

The problem begins with one of cosmology’s most basic numbers—the Hubble constant, which measures how fast the universe is expanding.

In 2019, two of the most trusted methods of measurement produced conflicting results. Observations using distant supernovae suggested one expansion rate. Measurements of the early universe, based on cosmic microwave background data, suggested another.

The difference was small—but statistically significant.

By 2021, researchers confirmed the discrepancy was not caused by faulty instruments. By 2023, the tension had reached what physicists call “crisis level.”

Both results cannot be correct.

And no existing model explains why.

The James Webb Space Telescope Made Things Worse

When the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) began operations in July 2022, many scientists hoped it would resolve the debate.

Instead, it deepened it.

JWST observed galaxies that appeared too large, too bright, and too mature for the early age of the universe in which they were found. According to established timelines, such structures should not exist so soon after the Big Bang.

Some researchers initially suspected calibration errors.

Those errors did not materialize.

By early 2023, independent teams confirmed the findings. Galaxies were forming faster and earlier than theory allowed.

The universe, it seemed, had skipped steps.

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These are good signs. Scientific paradigms must fall when they not longer work well or are contradicted by too much counterevidence. ABN

Eye movements during REM sleep stage

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I wish videos like this did not play stupid canned music. In some videos (not this one), it appears to be a mind-control device to subliminally alert watchers that the information is bad and wrong; vids of that type often have a growling obnoxious background.

Otherwise, it is good to see these eye movement. If you can’t sleep at night, imitating this or doing some sort of eye movement often induces sleep. That technique works for me fairly well. ABN

Here is another video, which is probably better than the first. Click CC for an explanatory text band: