We’ve mentioned several times that Xi Jinping is not responding to Zhou’s phone calls. The bad blood between China and the Zhou regime goes back all the way to the beginning, at an initial meeting in Alaska between Tony Blinken and top Chinese diplomats. Blinken at that time accused China of violating the “rules based order” and the Chinese, in turn, exploded on Blinken, accusing him of “condescending” to China. The Global Times—a semi-official English language Chinese outlet—wrote of the exchange:
"My guess is that the increasing alarm on the US side is spurred by the leading role China is taking in the de-dollarization movement, which seems to gain momentum from one day to the next."
I'm not suggesting you're wrong, but I'd point out that there's actually a plethora of panicworthy stuff here. Two things I'd suggest are:
"Getting the Chinese to stay in regular, meaningful communication has been a challenge for the administration since Biden took office on the development of reliable systems that could help prevent an incident in the South China Sea from spiraling into a military crisis."
If China decides to force some sort of a confrontation in the South China Sea, well...in some ways it would be tougher to fight them there than any place else. Our strongest suit is our nuclear submarine fleet, but that's shallow water we're talking about. Not a lot of places to hide.
The other end of it is that if they can't even get their calls returned, maybe they aren't as important as they like to think. These lunatics are used to the idea that nothing in the world can happen without their permission.
As mentioned many times here, and as Mark has pointed out, American diplomacy is a dying, if not dead, art. From “speak softly and carry a big stick” (which two things we are no longer capable of: the first since we no longer have top-level people who are conversant and schooled in history, geography and literature in English, to use the proper terminology; and second, our big stick has become severly depleted through the folly of taking on Russia in a fever-dream of Euro/Ukrainian conquest…). Under blow-dried Blinken, we’ve taken a “bull in a China(!) shop” approach, striking out with sanctions, knocking over friends and allies (India, Saudi), threatening to upset longstanding ties even within Europe, and now Japan is teetering. And after all the damage done, diplomacy, i.e. a salvage operation to pick up the pieces (to get Xi on the phone - Lily Tomlin alone could do justice to that!) kicks in - simply pathetic. And of course Politico does its East Coast prep school best to avoid calling out these obvious US failures, referring to China’s leaders as “thin-skinned.” Staggering.
Mark, I heard your new mayor makes Lori Lightfoot look like a law and order icon. Perhaps it's time to pull up stakes and relocate to some place where sanity reigns, like downstate? Commiserations, my friend!
Having your Supreme Court justice run as a politician instead of a judicial position just reeks. The promises she made to voters made Alvin Bragg’s seem tame.
Not only have the Chinese basically told us to take a “flying f**k”, but they have rubbed the Zhou administration’s nose in it by seizing the initiative in the entire Middle Eastern region! They look like a bunch of pathetic losers who are essentially begging for the big kids to play with them.
Stepped on a rake with the Russian sanctions. Check. Stepped on a rake with threats to China to not make nice with the Russian’s. Check. Stepped on a rake with a proxy war in the Ukraine. Check. Stepped on a rake in international finance by pretty much guaranteeing that the dollar will no longer be the only reserve currency in the world. Check. Has anyone tried to buy a rake lately? I’m expecting to see a major shortage any day now.
These people are just incredible in that they seem to have elevated incompetence to an art form.
Your own neck of the woods being the new looney tunes mayor elect of Chicago? Chicago voters really are a special case. It isn't difficult to understand why the rest of the Land of Lincoln wants to separate itself from this suppurating wound that is destroying this once great state.
Clearly Ronna McDaniel, the RNC and GOP reps are playing pong while Soros and the dems are playing Minecraft.
Liberal groups, Soros and Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois sank millions of dollars into the campaign. Republicans provided far less funding for Kelly, according to campaign finance reports, while UNPAID Conservative GOP Activist Scott Presler ran circles around overpaid RNC Chair Ronna Romney-McDaniel (who TRIPLED her salary in 2023 from $123,000 to a $400,000/year).
Her participation was to retweet a @GOP tweet telling WI residents to “get out and vote today!” Her tweet even failed to mention Dan Kellys name. Elections are being lost because they are being out fundraised, out ground gamed, out-messaged and out maned by our opponents. She talks about messaging and financing as if she has nothing to do with either. Under her leadership the RNC continues her quest to underfunded Republicans. candidates. Ovbserving her past actions, one could wonder if she is paid to lay low and undermine elections.
Speaking of Wisconsin, hence beer, Kari Lake is speaking in Iowa tonight and tweeted:
"I have to share something hilarious with you guys."
"I’m in Iowa with hundreds of voters tonight for a rally. There was an open bar that RAN OUT of beer…"
"Except for one brand…Budlight".
Speaking of Kari Lake: Kari Lake Gets Great News as Legal Challenges Reveal ‘A Systemic Failure’ in Arizona’s Election Process
.Her Attorney Kurt Olsen: "This is not a challenge about simply a few bad signatures. This is about a systemic failure of the ENTIRE signature verification process, which is allowing tens of thousands of ballots with signatures that don’t match the record on file. And this is the only security feature for mail-in voting.”
"There are literally over 100,000 ballots in question because of invalid signatures that were accepted and tabulated,” he continued. It hasn’t happened in over a century, but a legal path clearly exists for Kari Lake to still be sworn in as Arizona’s 25th Governor.
Reading your update on communication with China, I find myself on there side and a little envious, they get to blow them off , while we are trapped here with them.
Correct. Never in fact. Not a joke. You really think living under a totalitarian dictatorship that is using slave labor and controls every aspect of life is better than living here?
This ballsmissin disease is apparently contagious since most Republicans display advanced symptoms in particular when it attacks the spine. :-)
Here in the state of NC I find it telling that the folks who were displaying some intestinal fortitude were both Dems who crossed over after trash talking about what had happened to the Democratic Party. Any chance that THIS is contagious as well? Hey, a guy can dream.
"My guess is that the increasing alarm on the US side is spurred by the leading role China is taking in the de-dollarization movement, which seems to gain momentum from one day to the next."
I'm not suggesting you're wrong, but I'd point out that there's actually a plethora of panicworthy stuff here. Two things I'd suggest are:
"Getting the Chinese to stay in regular, meaningful communication has been a challenge for the administration since Biden took office on the development of reliable systems that could help prevent an incident in the South China Sea from spiraling into a military crisis."
If China decides to force some sort of a confrontation in the South China Sea, well...in some ways it would be tougher to fight them there than any place else. Our strongest suit is our nuclear submarine fleet, but that's shallow water we're talking about. Not a lot of places to hide.
The other end of it is that if they can't even get their calls returned, maybe they aren't as important as they like to think. These lunatics are used to the idea that nothing in the world can happen without their permission.
As mentioned many times here, and as Mark has pointed out, American diplomacy is a dying, if not dead, art. From “speak softly and carry a big stick” (which two things we are no longer capable of: the first since we no longer have top-level people who are conversant and schooled in history, geography and literature in English, to use the proper terminology; and second, our big stick has become severly depleted through the folly of taking on Russia in a fever-dream of Euro/Ukrainian conquest…). Under blow-dried Blinken, we’ve taken a “bull in a China(!) shop” approach, striking out with sanctions, knocking over friends and allies (India, Saudi), threatening to upset longstanding ties even within Europe, and now Japan is teetering. And after all the damage done, diplomacy, i.e. a salvage operation to pick up the pieces (to get Xi on the phone - Lily Tomlin alone could do justice to that!) kicks in - simply pathetic. And of course Politico does its East Coast prep school best to avoid calling out these obvious US failures, referring to China’s leaders as “thin-skinned.” Staggering.
Wi swag:
1. Gop judge got outspent
2. Dem candidate ran on making abortion legal in Wi constitution outlaws it.
3. Gop candidate distanced himself from Trump and his working class voters.
4. Gop candidate focused on tough on crime message.
Ad spending 7 to 1 advantage:
https://twitter.com/Jules31415/status/1643444764610576387?cxt=HHwWhoC2qcuT2M4tAAAA
And he lost before as an incumbent.
https://twitter.com/Redistrict/status/1643445112180035584?
Mark, I heard your new mayor makes Lori Lightfoot look like a law and order icon. Perhaps it's time to pull up stakes and relocate to some place where sanity reigns, like downstate? Commiserations, my friend!
Thank God for Mary Miller, right?
I had to DuckDuckGo the lady, but from what I read, I like the cut of her jib!
Having your Supreme Court justice run as a politician instead of a judicial position just reeks. The promises she made to voters made Alvin Bragg’s seem tame.
Not only have the Chinese basically told us to take a “flying f**k”, but they have rubbed the Zhou administration’s nose in it by seizing the initiative in the entire Middle Eastern region! They look like a bunch of pathetic losers who are essentially begging for the big kids to play with them.
Stepped on a rake with the Russian sanctions. Check. Stepped on a rake with threats to China to not make nice with the Russian’s. Check. Stepped on a rake with a proxy war in the Ukraine. Check. Stepped on a rake in international finance by pretty much guaranteeing that the dollar will no longer be the only reserve currency in the world. Check. Has anyone tried to buy a rake lately? I’m expecting to see a major shortage any day now.
These people are just incredible in that they seem to have elevated incompetence to an art form.
Add the one where they appointed a senile vile racist, etc zombie as president.
Joe you are soooo right, don’t know how I could have overlooked the biggest “rake job” of all!! They have seriously “raked”
the country on that one.
I stand corrected:-)
Your own neck of the woods being the new looney tunes mayor elect of Chicago? Chicago voters really are a special case. It isn't difficult to understand why the rest of the Land of Lincoln wants to separate itself from this suppurating wound that is destroying this once great state.
Worst part is the Chicago teachers union now becomes the most powerful union in Chicago.
That Brandon character is dangerous.
Clearly Ronna McDaniel, the RNC and GOP reps are playing pong while Soros and the dems are playing Minecraft.
Liberal groups, Soros and Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois sank millions of dollars into the campaign. Republicans provided far less funding for Kelly, according to campaign finance reports, while UNPAID Conservative GOP Activist Scott Presler ran circles around overpaid RNC Chair Ronna Romney-McDaniel (who TRIPLED her salary in 2023 from $123,000 to a $400,000/year).
Her participation was to retweet a @GOP tweet telling WI residents to “get out and vote today!” Her tweet even failed to mention Dan Kellys name. Elections are being lost because they are being out fundraised, out ground gamed, out-messaged and out maned by our opponents. She talks about messaging and financing as if she has nothing to do with either. Under her leadership the RNC continues her quest to underfunded Republicans. candidates. Ovbserving her past actions, one could wonder if she is paid to lay low and undermine elections.
Speaking of Wisconsin, hence beer, Kari Lake is speaking in Iowa tonight and tweeted:
"I have to share something hilarious with you guys."
"I’m in Iowa with hundreds of voters tonight for a rally. There was an open bar that RAN OUT of beer…"
"Except for one brand…Budlight".
Speaking of Kari Lake: Kari Lake Gets Great News as Legal Challenges Reveal ‘A Systemic Failure’ in Arizona’s Election Process
.Her Attorney Kurt Olsen: "This is not a challenge about simply a few bad signatures. This is about a systemic failure of the ENTIRE signature verification process, which is allowing tens of thousands of ballots with signatures that don’t match the record on file. And this is the only security feature for mail-in voting.”
"There are literally over 100,000 ballots in question because of invalid signatures that were accepted and tabulated,” he continued. It hasn’t happened in over a century, but a legal path clearly exists for Kari Lake to still be sworn in as Arizona’s 25th Governor.
Reading your update on communication with China, I find myself on there side and a little envious, they get to blow them off , while we are trapped here with them.
As bad as things are looking I have to disagree with last statement. We are infinitely better off than anyone living in China. For now.
That's a joke, right? You haven't been to China in the last 10 years, I assume?
Correct. Never in fact. Not a joke. You really think living under a totalitarian dictatorship that is using slave labor and controls every aspect of life is better than living here?
So very sad and so very true.
If they’re not understanding the Dem/Com threat by now they never will
Right you are Nick!
This ballsmissin disease is apparently contagious since most Republicans display advanced symptoms in particular when it attacks the spine. :-)
Here in the state of NC I find it telling that the folks who were displaying some intestinal fortitude were both Dems who crossed over after trash talking about what had happened to the Democratic Party. Any chance that THIS is contagious as well? Hey, a guy can dream.