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Target China

US Vs China


The Biden Administration is implementing a plan to draw Taiwan into a direct military confrontation with the People's Republic of China.
The plan bears many similarities to the strategy that was used in Ukraine where Russia was goaded into invading the country in response to emerging threats to its national security. In this case, Beijing is expected to react to mounting challenges to its territorial integrity by US proxies and their political allies operating in Taiwan. These incitements will inevitably lead to greater material support from the United States which has stealthily worked behind the scenes (and in the media) to create a crisis. The ultimate objective of these machinations, is to arm, train and provide logistical support for Taiwanese separatists who will spearhead Washington's proxy war on China. According to a number of independent reports, there is already growing operational collaboration between the Taiwanese Army and US Armed Forces. That collaboration will undoubtedly deepen after hostilities break out and the island is plunged into war.

Bizarro Earth

Transition to a new global order

António Guterres
United Nations New Agenda for War and Robotocracy

Last week United Nations published the Policy Brief "A New Agenda for Peace". It is the ninth out of the eleven Briefs that has been released to support UNs Our Common Agenda.

In the report the UN Secretary-General António Guterres declares:
We are now at an inflection point. The post-cold war period is over. A transition is under way to a new global order.
This sets the stage for a multipolar order that will replace the one that has been led by the United States since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Now, with a reformed United Nations at the helm to manage world affairs. UN explains that an angrier world is rising from the ashes with the emergence of new "poles of influence". This has been hastened by "the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the war in Ukraine".

Light Sabers

US dispatches warships after China and Russia naval patrol near Alaska

USS Gerald R. Ford  warship
© US NavyFILE PHOTO: USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) departs Naval Station Norfolk on its first deployment, Oct. 4, 2022.
Combined naval patrol appeared to be largest such flotilla to approach US territory and 'highly provocative', expert says

The US dispatched four navy warships as well as a reconnaissance airplane after multiple Chinese and Russian military vessels carried out a joint naval patrol near Alaska last week.

The combined naval patrol, which the Wall Street Journal first reported, appeared to be the largest such flotilla to approach US territory, according to experts that spoke to the outlet.

"It's a historical first," Brent Sadler, a retired Navy captain and senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, told the Journal.

He also said the flotilla's proximity to Alaska was a "highly provocative" maneuver given Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine and political tensions between the US and China over Taiwan. The flotilla has since left.

Comment: When the US does it, it's 'freedom of navigation', when Russia and China do it, it's 'aggressive' and a 'provocation'...


Star of David

RFK Jr staff block Israel-Palestine dialogue after the candidate agreed

Israeliflags
© UnknownUS presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy, Jr.
A day after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed to a public discussion with Max Blumenthal on Israel-Palestine, his campaign walked back his words. RFK Jr. has pledged "unconditional support" to Israel while spouting vitriolic anti-Palestinian rhetoric.

One day after Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. agreed to comedian and podcaster Jimmy Dore's proposal that he engage with The Grayzone's editor-in-chief, Max Blumenthal, in a public dialogue on Israel-Palestine, Kennedy's campaign nixed the discussion.

During an August 1 phone call with Grayzone correspondent Liam Cosgrove, RFK Jr. campaign communications director, Stephanie Spear, declared:
"[Kennedy's] not debating Max Blumenthal... He's not gonna debate anyone. He's running for president. You're not hearing me. We're not gonna do it, okay?"
Hours after her call with Cosgrove, Spear contacted Blumenthal directly to explain that Kennedy would not agree to any public discussion with The Grayzone editor until Spring 2024, once the first five primaries are over.

She offered Blumenthal an off-the-record phone conversation with the candidate as an apparent consolation.

Comment: It's numbing how many US politicians have swallowed Israel's 'kool-aid'. RFK Jr. has cut his support.


Handcuffs

Yielding to temptation: Jack Smith's indictment seeks to bag Donald Trump at any cost

TrumpGavel
© Outside the BeltwayFormer US President Donald Trump
Below is my column in the Daily Beast on the second federal indictment of former president Donald Trump. I remain deeply concerned over the implications of free speech from this prosecution. Indeed, the general dismissal of these concerns by legal experts shows how our current rage politics can blind us to dangers even to our own fundamental rights.

Here is the column:

In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde wrote "the only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." In the second federal indictment against former President Donald Trump, Special Counsel Jack Smith seems to follow that advice in bringing a prosecution that pursues the president at any cost, even the First Amendment.

While the Wilde quote is well known, few ever include the second line:
"Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful."
Smith resolved this struggle by yielding and not worrying about the thing "forbidden to itself." Specifically, he jettisoned First Amendment protections to try to bag the former president for alleged crimes connected to Jan. 6.

While the indictment recognizes that politicians are protected in making false statements in elections, it proceeds to charge Trump for doing precisely that in claiming that the 2020 election was stolen. Smith simply charged that Trump did not really believe it, therefore it is fraud.

Comment: See also: Indicting Trump is the end of US politics


Folder

Jim Jordan releases new 'Facebook Files,' highlights how Biden admin sought to suppress Daily Wire content

JOrdan
© NBCRepresentative Jim Jordan
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) released his third edition of the "Facebook Files," saying the Biden administration pressured the social media giant to stifle speech the White House didn't like, including limiting The Daily Wire's reach on the platform and boosting the reach of legacy media outlets.

In a tweet thread Thursday, Jordan highlighted newly released documents obtained by the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which he chairs. The documents, which were reviewed by The Daily Wire, show that Facebook repeatedly confirmed to the White House that it was working to re-engineer its platform in order to accomplish the administration's directives on suppressing content that clashed with its COVID vaccine agenda.

According to Jordan:
"Newly subpoenaed internal notes of meetings between Facebook executives and Biden Admin officials reveal more about the lengths the Biden White House wanted to go to control true speech on Facebook. In 2021, the White House wanted to control what narratives and true content was posted on Facebook surrounding [COVID-19]. President Biden went so far to say that Facebook was 'killing people' for allowing certain statements to be published on the site."

Comment: Biden administration puts the 'con' in control. One could add that fact checkers and censoring conservative views amounts to 'misstating facts to advance a partisan view'.


Dollars

Austrian chancellor makes cash pledge

ManMoney
© Getty Images/Creativ Studio HeinemannAustrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer • Austrian money
The right to use cash for payments should be enshrined in the Austrian constitution, Chancellor Karl Nehammer believes...

The ability to use cash for payments instead of banking cards or digital currencies should become a constitutional right in Austria, Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said.

The chancellor argued cash remains an extremely popular means of payment in Austria, and the country's people should have a "right to cash."

Nehammer said in a statement on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter:
"Pocket money for the child. The rainy day reserve at home. The money in the wallet just in case. In Austria alone, €47 billion is withdrawn from ATMs every year, and on average, every Austrian carries €102 in cash. Cash plays an important role in our everyday lives. I am committed to "ensuring that cash is constitutionally protected as a means of payment."
Nehammer has already tasked the country's Finance Minister Magnus Brunner to draw up a proposal ahead of a meeting with banks in September, according to news agency APA.

Comment: A good call. Just saying this sends a message of relief.


Pirates

Poland is 'close friend' of Ukraine but that will change when the conflict is over, says top Zelensky adviser

Mikhail Podoliak
Mikhail Podoliak, the top aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky
Zelensky adviser casts doubt on future relations with Poland The "friendship" between Kiev and Warsaw will last only until the end of the conflict with Russia, the top presidential aide says

Poland and Ukraine will begin "competing" after the resolution of hostilities between Kiev and Moscow, Mikhail Podoliak, the top aide to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, has claimed.

The senior official made the remarks on Friday during a live appearance on Ukrainian TV. The existing "friendship" between Poland and Ukraine will not last forever, he warned.

"Today, Poland is the most-close partner and the most close friend for us. And, basically, it will remain as such until the end of the war," Podoliak stated.

Comment: See also: Kiev should 'appreciate' Poland's support: Diplomatic spat erupts as Polish pro-war policy clashes with Ukraine grain ban


Black Magic

Fauci's boss has thrown him under the bus

Kadlec
© UnknownDr. Anthony Fauci (left), Dr. Robert Kadlec (center)
On July 28th, 2023, Weekend Australian Magazine published a bombshell report based on an exclusive interview with Dr. Robert (Bob) Kadlec, the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) who served under Donald Trump. Basically, the subtext of the interview can be summarised as "it was all Tony's fault, not mine". To many readers this may seem like just more Washington DC kabuki theatre with a side order of limited hangout (much like the prior Vanity Fair article in which Kadlec provided a generous scoop of spin with a topping of CYA). Personally, I find this whole 'inside the beltway' rush to deflect blame for the gross 'public health' mismanagement and rampant lying during the Covid crisis slightly amusing, in a twisted sort of way, but definitely popcorn worthy.

Here is the breathless title:
Covid Cover-Up:

How the science was silenced. Anthony Fauci deliberately downplayed suspicions from scientists that COVID-19 came from a lab to protect his reputation and deflect from risky research his agency had funded, his boss says.

By Sharri Markson
Ms. Markson's report on her exclusive can be found here (behind a paywall).

Comment: More on Kadlec, who was happy to let the egomaniac Fauci be the frontman: The Head of the Hydra: Rise of Robert Kadlec


Wolf

Devon Archer testimony: Hunter used Joe Biden as 'defensive leverage' for foreign biz partners

devon archer hunter biden
© Fox NewsDevon Archer, left, and Hunter Biden, right.
Fox News Digital obtained a transcript of Archer's testimony before the House Oversight panel

Devon Archer told congressional investigators that Hunter Biden used then-Vice President Joe Biden as "defensive leverage" to send "the right signals" to his foreign business partners, while selling him as "the brand" that offered "capabilities and reach," as well as a "unique understanding of D.C."

Archer's comments came during a transcribed interview before the House Oversight Committee on Monday. Fox News Digital obtained the more than 140-page transcript of Archer's interview, which took place behind closed doors.

Archer told investigators that Hunter Biden used his "very powerful name" to "add value" in pitching and securing foreign business ventures.

Archer said Hunter Biden "would not be so overt," or "overtly" say "we're going to use my dad for this," but instead, Archer said that he would use the name to "get leverage."

"Defensive leverage that the value is there in his work," Archer said.

Comment: Comment: The Biden Family corruption reeks. There is no excuse for not tossing Hunter in jail post haste, and getting impeachment proceedings going for 'The Big Guy'. One wonders if the footdragging by Congress is because a lot of them would also be roped into the scandal?

Read the Devon Archer transcript here.