Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
August 1, 2022
On The ‘Woke’ Flight To Taiwan

Is this the most 'librul' rubbish headline ever?


bigger

Investing in Real Estate as Self-Care
Many women seeking independence after a breakup or divorce have discovered emotional empowerment and even healing in real estate investment.

What is the definition of 'many'? I wonder at what tiny slice of the market this 'woke' advertisement for buying real estate is targeted.

Anyway – More seriously.

That too old 'woke' lady with the massive freezer full of very expensive ice-cream let it know through Taiwanese media that she wants to arrive in Taipei tomorrow, August 2, at 22:30 local time (14:30 UTC) and stay over night.

Pelosi's trip is a stupid thing to do but she is a politician and stupid things are what they generally do.

Michael D. Swaine @Dalzell60 – 12:26 UTC · Aug 1, 2022

I have been told that Pelosi has said she will only not go 2 TW if Biden publicly discourages her n she can blame him. Anyone else heard this? Sounds like Pelosi. Why can’t they both confer n conclude it’s not a good idea? Why the blame game, if true?
Pelosi expected to visit Taiwan, Taiwanese and US officials say

I can think of several reasons why Pelosi will not arrive in Taiwan. Here flight might, for example, get diverted. But it is also possible that it happens but is followed by huge consequences, likely to the disadvantage of the U.S. and Taiwan.

There is also this thought, by Cynthia Chung, which might become relevant:

In October 2019, Jake Sullivan, who became U.S. National Security Advisor in 2021, stated in an interview that the U.S. needed a clear threat to rally the world and play the role of saviour of mankind and that China could be that organizing principle for U.S. foreign policy. In the 2019 interview, he acknowledges that the problem was that people were not going to believe that China is a global threat, that their view of China is too positive and that the United States would need a “Pearl Harbour moment,” a real focusing event to change their minds, something he calmly stated that “would scare the hell out of the American people.”

She correctly traces such 'Pearl Harbour moment' thinking back to neo-conservative movement. Chung closes with this:

Thus, when Jake Sullivan observes that there is not enough anti-China sentiment to bolster an image of the United States as a “saviour of mankind” against China and that America is in need of a “Pearl Harbour moment” I would be very wary.

The circus around Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan in the coming days, and evident glee that is coming forth from many of these neocons frothing at the mouth over this prospect is a clear sign that something incredibly reckless and stupid is about to happen.

Pelosi’s airplane might indeed be shot down on her completely irrelevant and unnecessary trip to Taiwan, and if it is, don’t be surprised if it was the Americans themselves who are behind it, who have shown they are willing to do anything for that “Pearl Harbour moment.”

I for one surely hope that the above does not happen.

Comments

China’s best response may be to tell the US – “From this moment you pay for all goods in RMB or no goods.”
Creates a lose lose situation for the US and US dollar.
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2022 18:46 utc | 91
I suspect the US will also play the sanctions card. Both sides want it – just like with Russian sanctions – and geopolitical bifurcation will continue except the effects will hit that much harder in the West who are more dependent upon Chinese manufactures than vice versa.

Posted by: Scorpion | Aug 1 2022 19:13 utc | 101

“My prescription: read Reich and act accordingly.”
Posted by: fnord | Aug 1 2022 18:18 utc | 71
you might want to do some of that yourself:
https://archive.org/details/themurderofchrist/page/n191/mode/1up?view=theater “Who is the Enemy”

Posted by: RealBioEnergeticist | Aug 1 2022 19:17 utc | 102

Alessandro,
In fact, your mention of Corsica reminded me something : I lived and worked in China for 10 years. One of the most recurrent argument Chinese had when French were denying Taiwan to be Chinese was indeed Corsica island.

Posted by: xiao pignouf | Aug 1 2022 19:18 utc | 103

“Woke” is this term just too many people like to fill in themselves given that there isn’t a strict definition. The NYT piece is simply feminist. Pelosi is a librul (old fart).
Assuming the Chinese will keep their heads cool and do an asymmetric respond (economic sphere?) I wonder how they would be able to save face. This provocation creep will only intensify if the Chinese are unwilling to halt it.

Posted by: xor | Aug 1 2022 19:21 utc | 104

@Cretani, #32:
I agree with you. Pelosi’s presence in Taiwan doesn’t change the political status of Taiwan one bit. It would just be drama that western MSM loves to write about to attract eyeballs, for vane washed up politicians to gain publicity, and for the sinking empire to exercise a pep rally of chants “US US A! US US A!….”
Status changes (meaning REAL change) only when empire’s military bases begin construction in Taiwan, when colonists Japs and Americanos formally rescind relationship with China and recognizes Taiwan instead, or when Taiwan itself gets over its head and launches military actions in the direction of Fujin/Zhejiang Provinces. When any of these come on stage, I believe China should launch war to preserve its sovereignty.

Posted by: Oriental Voice | Aug 1 2022 19:25 utc | 105

The Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor, September 11th, Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq….
Posted by: ak74 | Aug 1 2022 19:13 utc | 104
With that Menendez bill about to go through, then Pelosi’s visit becomes symbolically far more provocative. And if it passes will indicate that the US is indeed moving off its longstanding One China agreement with PRC.
Maybe I read it elsewhere already and missed the significance or maybe it hasn’t been well covered. Thanks for clarifying.

Posted by: Scorpion | Aug 1 2022 19:25 utc | 106

if China was given “self” determination, Taiwan will be under PRC rule in 1950. Instead, the US 7th fleet carrier and US atomic bombs enforced the separation of Taiwan from mainland. So much about “self” determination.
Posted by: d dan | Aug 1 2022 18:58 utc | 97

I totally agree with that.

Posted by: xiao pignouf | Aug 1 2022 19:27 utc | 107

I assume that Pelosi is not sitting on her own in the aircraft, Air Force 2? There are usually lots of officials, sycophants, hangers on and a press corps. Is that so, especially the latter?
One wonders what their view if their future is as perhaps they read this thread on MoA.

Posted by: JohninMK | Aug 1 2022 19:29 utc | 108

Posted by: mastameta | Aug 1 2022 18:56 utc | 95:

what the Taiwan independence folks aspire to, what they call independence, is to be the lackey of the US. and to be BFF with their former colonial master Japan.

Yes, they are pitiful. And this sentiment permeates the whole island. Both major parties, DPP and KMT are of the same mindset.

Posted by: Oriental Voice | Aug 1 2022 19:30 utc | 109

@109 If and when Taiwan becomes independent a US base there is inevitable. The Taiwanese government will no doubt give assurances not to let it happen but it will be like Ukraine’s assurance not to join NATO i.e meaningless.

Posted by: dh | Aug 1 2022 19:34 utc | 110

The Pelosi Taiwan ploy is “Democrats being tough”. They’re tired of being labelled as weak. Today there are more warmongers among Congressional Democrats than Republicans.
(Though both parties are pro-war overall. They both love the war in Ukraine, for example).
Republican voters, tv watchers, respond to hyperbole from Congressional Republicans and Trump. The message is, “We are just not tough enough because Biden and the Dems are weak. If Trump were in charge, then China and others would be respectful out of fear.”
So the Democrats, Centrist as they are, move further rightward as Idiot America moves further right. Cut the Post Office, cut my Social Security, but be tough!

Posted by: Chaka Khagan | Aug 1 2022 19:42 utc | 111

US “politicians” keep talking about
“Pearl Harbor”
in a way that turns its meaning into
“no Japanese attack against us happened but we managed to fool everyone into war”.
Because that meaning/interpretation is the only way their use of “Pearl Harbor” makes any sense when they themselves are the attackers.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 19:50 utc | 112

This tragicomedy, at once revolting and sad, only demonstrates further the impotence of the US. Defying China on Taiwan this way is childish and pathetic, albeit dangerous and potentially deadly.
Whatever happens, Taiwan is and will remain China; there will be no US bases in Taiwan; the US can no longer present itself to the world as its saviour, the trick worked once (9/11) but will not again; the US demonstrates once again that it says one thing, does another, hence is unrealiable, untrustworthy and reckless.
Soon no one will want to play with it.

Posted by: JB | Aug 1 2022 19:57 utc | 113

We are seeing the best kabuki money is spending to stay in control….are you impressed?
Posted by: psychohistorian | Aug 1 2022 18:50 utc | 92
I might be if a consequence of that plane’s diversion ultimately ends up with the u.s.a. confiscating/repatriating all the farmlands, movie theater chains, etc., the Chicoms have been scooping up in recent years. 😉

Posted by: ERing46Z | Aug 1 2022 19:59 utc | 114

Posted by: d dan | Aug 1 2022 18:58 utc | 97
I totally agree with that.
Posted by: xiao pignouf | Aug 1 2022 19:27 utc | 111
Yes, good point. The situation should never have been left unresolved after end of their civil war but because it was, here we are.
My suspicion is that whilst communist China floundered industrially Taiwan zoomed ahead economically and most likely many in the Taiwanese leadership though they just had to wait a little while until the whole communist playbook turned into dust and ashes. But once China went into hybrid mode a few decades ago then the differences between the two approaches have been steadily narrowing. As an island people they will be loth to surrender autonomy to an overpowering 1.5 billion mainland behemoth, but most likely there will never be a working majority of those who wish to trade being part of China in some fashion for becoming a puppet regime of the gwai lo American Empire.
Which in any case is all moot for the days of that Empire are assuredly numbered. Taiwan may be an island whose people have a typical islander independence streak but it is not a ship: it ain’t moving anywhere so it will never escape being within China’s orbit since China will never accept it becoming part of any other orbit given how close it is.
If the US Congress pass those bills, then China should indeed lower the boom in ways which it can to further stress the West. And like Russia, if necessary they can start destroying any US-made weapons delivered to that nearby territory now acting as a belligerent.

Posted by: Scorpion | Aug 1 2022 19:59 utc | 115

mastameta @95
Very important factor that has not been talked about much in the Western.
DPP and current KMT will become the most compliant lap dog of Japan and strong military bases for US, which means there will be no peace in East and South East Asia. China can NEVER accpet part of its land becomes foreign powers’, esp. Japan, colony again!

Posted by: lulu | Aug 1 2022 20:00 utc | 116

Well, If I ruled Mainland China, I would simply announce that all airfields on Taiwan must be evacuated. Then I would send missiles to blast holes in all of their runways. This would create create a no-land-zone.Well, If I ruled Mainland China, I would simply announce that all airfields on Taiwan must be evacuated. Then I would send missiles to blast holes in all of their runways. This would create create a no-land-zone.

Posted by: RKJoyce | Aug 1 2022 20:10 utc | 117

Double trouble with above post. Dang.

Posted by: RKJoyce | Aug 1 2022 20:12 utc | 118

“And Russia needs to make a “Maidan” color revolution in Canada, establish a dictatorship that cherishes an ideology of hate against USA, and start bombing a zone in the South of Canada near USA border (not under NATO article 5 since its a “civil war”)”
Posted by: José Oliveira | Aug 1 2022 17:32 utc | 49
As a Canadian I support that sentiment. In fact, I’d be happy to “take one for the team” if it insures a future of peace with freedom & liberty for all, for my children & everyone else’s…

Posted by: ianMoone | Aug 1 2022 20:24 utc | 119

“if China was given “self” determination, Taiwan will be under PRC rule in 1950.” — d dan @ 97
“I totally agree with that.” — xiao pignouf @ 111

It is not just the historical problem. If Taiwan is really given the right to “self” determination, all foreign NGO’s should leave Taiwan. Communist Party should be a legally allowed party in Taiwan, and PRC voices should be given full representation.
Instead, what we have in Taiwan today is a total suppression of the unification voices and distortion of communist and PRC points of view. What Taiwan people hear 24/7 are the lies, fake news and regurgitation of the CIA / NED anti-China, anti-communist creeds. Taiwanese political, media, military, and cultural leaders are mostly bought and controlled by US and Japan money.
None of these satisfy even the most generous definition of “self” determination.

Posted by: d dan | Aug 1 2022 20:25 utc | 120

Wow, Joyce Carol Oates is looking good for her age these days. Nancy, not so much. Too much ice cream?

Posted by: James J. O’Meara | Aug 1 2022 20:28 utc | 121

Will the collective West wake up soon and realize that the other side is going to control 70+ of the world’s cheap energy resources? Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Brazil, and many more etc…..all taking the Eastern side.
Is this US provocation a way to lure China into doing something stupid so they can be sanctioned? Take back all Chinese ownership in the US and seize their Fed reserves? Both sides will suffer but could end the China infiltration of the US

Posted by: QuestionMan | Aug 1 2022 20:29 utc | 122

Speaking of Pearl Harbor, who’s the sleeping giant to be awakened rudely this time?

Posted by: hk | Aug 1 2022 20:30 utc | 123

Queen’s Gambit? US Risking ‘Unpopular 82YO Speaker’ to Test China’s Strength, Military Analyst Says
This is a very good military analysis of the real intended purpose of the Witch’s Taiwan visit on Sputnik News:
https://sputniknews.com/20220801/queens-gambit-us-risking-unpopular-82yo-speaker-to-test-chinas-strength-military-analyst-says-1098004753.html

At the reactive end of the spectrum, we could see a Chinese military escort of Pelosi’s aircraft away from Taiwan, or a grounding of her plane in Taiwan — or even a legitimate accident relating to her aircraft. I suspect that the threat of a Pelosi visit to Taiwan is US saber-rattling, aimed at intelligence gathering only, not military engagement or even to show additional support for Taiwan. It is also intended to shift US and world attention from the domestic and political situation in Washington relating to poor military readiness, financial collapse and possible 25th Amendment actions relating to a decrepit and ill Mr Biden. I would not be surprised if Pelosi chooses at the last minute not to visit Taiwan, for logistical or possibly medical reasons.

Posted by: Sam Smith | Aug 1 2022 20:36 utc | 124

White House says ‘we do not support Taiwan independence’ amid reports of Pelosi visit
john kirby speaking at today’s daily press briefing…
“Meanwhile, the White House has said the US position on Taiwan remains what it has been over the last four decades and stressed that any visit to the island by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reflects neither a change in policy or the wishes of the Biden administration.
Speaking at Monday’s White House press briefing, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters that Ms Pelosi had not publicly confirmed any travels plans and said the decision on whether or not to visit the island despite recent sabre-rattling by the Chinese government is hers and hers alone due to the separation of powers laid out in the US constitution.”

Posted by: james | Aug 1 2022 20:38 utc | 125

There was some disagreement about what “woke” means, so fnord stepped up to provide a perfect example.
Censorship by tech corporations is good because “no one wants to see that shit”.
Anti-fascism means the government can force you to submit to unwanted medical treatment (against the Nuremberg Code). Because Reich was a doctor, you see.
Radical feminists are bad because they are picking on the poor transwomen, those men with the autogynephilic fetish that need to be “affirmed” by women pretending they are women and allowing them into their locker rooms and prison cells.
Imagine the AUDACITY of those radical feminist women who insist that women are adult human females and no man becomes one by putting on lipstick and high heels!
Not just Woke, an incel, to boot.

Posted by: wagelaborer | Aug 1 2022 20:38 utc | 126

I get the impression the idea is that will try to act as ‘hands off’ as possible , trying to distance themselves, while Pelosi goes to Taiwan , attempting to keeping it low key. But then as Finch says in V for Vendetta: “It’s just a feeling”.

Posted by: Tuyzentfloot | Aug 1 2022 20:38 utc | 127

Sorry, I mean the White House tries to distance itself.

Posted by: Tuyzentfloot | Aug 1 2022 20:39 utc | 128

My understanding is that Nancy Pelosi, through her position as Speaker of the House of Representatives in the US Congress, comes after US Vice President Kamala Harris in the line of succession to the US Presidency.
At the present time the US President is suffering from a second bout or even a third bout of COVID-19 despite having had three COVID-19 vaccine shots and taking a course of Paxlovid tablets. His cognitive abilities seem to be declining rapidly. Harris seems unable or incapable of stepping up and standing in for Biden: her staff keep resigning and any policies or programs she is in charge of end up in chaos.
At the very least Pelosi should realise the US govt is in a leadership crisis and she should stay in the US. Instead she insists on taking an overseas trip to fulfil a personal fantasy. She appears oblivious to the political consequences of the trip whether or not her plane is detained or diverted, or even shot down in a false flag attack. By her actions Pelosi shows she is not fit for the position she holds.
In the event that the US President, the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are found unfit/unable to lead the US because of their particular circumstances, who would fill the leadership vacuum then?

Posted by: Jen | Aug 1 2022 20:42 utc | 129

Imagine the political capital the Deep State can garner with Pelosi’s demise. Especially if her military transport plane explodes over the strait. I see a week of mourning, with horse drawn carriages clomping down Pennsylvania Ave. and dropping loads with every clomp. Her obit is already scripted and in the sweaty hands of every TV anchor. Will her death be enough to save the mid-terms? A less deserving corpse I can’t imagine. Hell, we sat through 911 and the ensuing lies, and all the war propaganda they extracted from that staged event. This one’s a no brainer. WAR?
Here’s some questions: How far will the deep state neo-cons go to save their sinking ship? How many will the Central Bankers sacrifice to save their Ponzi scheme? Is there such a thing as a “Thucydides Trap? Is the Globalist West willing to die for Agenda 2030?

Posted by: joseph | Aug 1 2022 20:46 utc | 130

Re: Jake Sullivan. He has been Biden’s go-to guy on foreign policy for years. So, it’s safe to assume that his ideas are closely aligned with Biden’s, which makes the US’s belligerence towards Russia and China completely understandable. It’s not just that Biden is demented, he genuinely wants war.

Posted by: Rob | Aug 1 2022 20:49 utc | 131

“Pelosi’s airplane might indeed be shot down on her completely irrelevant and unnecessary trip to Taiwan, and if it is, don’t be surprised if it was the Americans themselves who are behind it, who have shown they are willing to do anything for that ‘Pearl Harbor moment.’ By Cynthia Chung ”
I for one surely hope that the above does not happen.
Posted by b on August 1, 2022 at 15:54 UTC | Permalink
================
Yes, just like before the attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11/01, as stated in the neo-con foreign policy manifesto; the “Project for the New American Century” (PNAC), a neoconservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. founded by William Kristol and Robert Kagan (Victoria Nuland’s wife) in 1997. They made it clear that they were willing to do almost anything (possibly even the murder of over 3000 US citizens), and some people believe they did. The attack on the Twin Towers seems to have been a product of PANC’s call for “a new Pearl Harbor” to get the Americans to “WAKE UP” and accept and support all the wars, the financial burden for these wars, and the restrictions on our human rights and freedoms that come out of the 9/11 (new Pearl Harbor) attack on the Twin Towers. They appear to have gotten away with it by controlling the narrative, much like they are doing today with Ukraine and the SMO.

Posted by: Ed Nelson | Aug 1 2022 20:53 utc | 132

The US government pretends it is not supporting Pelosi however the SPAR19 she flew to Hawaii and Singapore on is a US Air Force plane (in “civil” livery) and the carrier group heading towards Taiwan belongs to the US Navy.
So the US government lies: it does support Pelosi and is spending millions of dollars on her “visit” while also using billions of dollars worth of equipment.
Just in case someone misses the obvious.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 20:53 utc | 133

“Instead, what we have in Taiwan today is a total suppression of the unification voices and distortion of communist and PRC points of view. What Taiwan people hear 24/7 are the lies, fake news and regurgitation of the CIA / NED anti-China, anti-communist creeds. Taiwanese political, media, military, and cultural leaders are mostly bought and controlled by US and Japan money.
None of these satisfy even the most generous definition of “self” determination.”

That is called American Freedom and Democracy in action! LoL.
Seriously though, American freedom in reality means the freedom for America to infiltrate or invade your country and turn it into a glorified American military outpost, vassal, and colony–all while being honored with the “democratic” seal of approval by the USA. See Taiwan, Ukraine, Columbia, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Europe, and indeed much of the world.
Any nation that opposes this American “freedom” is an existential threat, according to the USA’s warped worldview. See Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Syria, Nicaragua, etc.

Posted by: ak74 | Aug 1 2022 20:54 utc | 134

So, it appears that the uber-criminal psychopath Jake Sullivan (National Security Advisor), the creator of Russiagate (as per the Durham investigation), the conspiracy used to demonize President Putin and Russia, and the pusher of the disastrous Ukraine war, is also behind the provocations of China.
Sullivan clearly follows the the principles set forth by the Project for the New American Century for creating a “New Pearl Harbor”. That was the objective of 9/11, as we recall. That Pearl Harbor cost a million lives and EIGHT trillion dollars so far. Let’s see how much a new ‘New Pearl Harbor’ will cost this country and the world.
Can someone PLEASE pull the plug on this and other the pathetic individuals before it is too late.

Posted by: Beverly | Aug 1 2022 20:55 utc | 135

Pearl Harbor?
Nancy Pelosi
@SpeakerPelosi
After a fuel stop in Hawaii, we were honored with a briefing from USINDOPACOM Leadership, as well as a visit to the Pearl Harbor Memorial and the USS Arizona. Our Members paid our respects to the valiant Servicemembers who perished in the brutal attack on Pearl Harbor.
https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2022 21:00 utc | 136

So, if Pelosi actually talks to Taiwanese parliament, any chance that China would actually go big and launch a couple of missiles to level the place? That and sinking the Ronald Reagan carrier at the same time would be a pretty big statement of sovereignty.
Of course, we’d go into major shitstorm and most probably WWIII after that, but well, this would sink Ukraine for good since EU would collapse if trade is cut both with China and Russia, and NATO wouldn’t be able to send any aid anymore to Ukraine.
Then, there’s the true consequence of the sinking of a US carrier group: their rule over the world would be fully over in a heartbeat, because carrier groups are the main reason why people bow to US military power. Remove the threat of carriers, and it’s close to open season in many countries which hate US guts, specially those who actually host some US bases.
Then the real unknown would be if the US actually launches nukes, because it’s basically all that’s left to keep a degree of global influence.
I’m mostly wondering when the Euro idiots will realize that they have to jump ships and to dump the US alliance once and for all. What kind of global calamity or of economic pain and resource crunch will be the wake-up call?

Posted by: Clueless Joe | Aug 1 2022 21:08 utc | 137

In the referred interview, Sullivan does not actually endorse the manufacturing of a “Pearl Harbour” incident but does acknowledge its historic effectiveness in other contexts. He does note that it would require a concerted campaign of negative media coverage to effect changes in public perception of China as a viable “threat” – campaigns which have been engaged but more readily identified with vassal states (Australia / UK) or the political right in the U.S. (Pompeo, FBI programs directed at foreign students, etc). Sullivan (interview was in 2019) identifies with the Obama-era program of the TPP as the preferred method to keep China in check, but that option was torpedoed by Trump. I don’t believe the current State Dept, including Sullivan, really have any plan or solid concept of what to do at the moment.
He did outline the U.S. POV, at least from the Obama period: China has risen to great power status but in a world which is run by the United States i.e. they get a seat at the table but the US owns the table. In contrast, he sees China’s position as preferring the U.S. to mind its own business and stop meddling in Asia. In 2022, the Chinese position remains while the American position is notably somewhat diminished.
The issue with Sullivan is what Peter Lee notices: Sullivan thinks he is far smarter and more wily than he actually is. This is a common problem with the Democrat Party’s foreign policy team. Pelosi is undertaking a political stunt designed for domestic politics (midterms), but either underestimating the seriousness by which the Chinese will respond or hoping to use a perceived over-reaction for domestic purposes with belief that consequences can be managed. There are no actual foreign policies at play with this proposed stunt.

Posted by: jayc | Aug 1 2022 21:11 utc | 138

Hah… maybe this is the beginning of the US military coup?
Thanks Jen.
So yes, who is next? According to Wikipedia:

” if both the president and vice president have left office or are both otherwise unavailable to serve during their terms of office, the presidential line of succession follows the order of: speaker of the House, then, if necessary, the president pro tempore of the Senate, and then if necessary, the eligible heads of federal executive departments who form the president’s cabinet. The cabinet currently has 15 members, of which the secretary of state is first in line; the other Cabinet secretaries follow in the order in which their department (or the department of which their department is the successor) was created. Those individuals who are constitutionally ineligible to be elected to the presidency are also disqualified from assuming the powers and duties of the presidency through succession.”

There is (another) Wikipedia page named “United States presidential line of succession” which has a list, it goes like this (reformatted and edited for clarity):

1 Vice President Kamala Harris
2 Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi
3 President pro tempore of the Senate Patrick Leahy
4 Secretary of State Antony Blinken
5 Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen
6 Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin
7 Attorney General Merrick Garland
8 Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland
9 Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack
10 Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo
11 Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh
12 Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra
13 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge
14 Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
(Not eligible) Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm
15 Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona
16 Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough
(Not eligible) Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas

I guess they’ll all have to go 🙂

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 21:16 utc | 139

Pepe Escobar
The Witch Flying to Taipei caper is the preamble of an already crafted and pre-packaged Atlanticist “strategy”.
EUrocrats are already crafting the first package of sanctions against China – which will be even fiercer than against Russia.
That assumes that the Witch’s provocation will unleash inevitable “Chinese aggression” against Taiwan.
Ergo, sanctions.
Needless to add, this “strategy” was concocted in Stupidistan, not Brussels.
https://t.me/rocknrollgeopolitics/4289

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2022 21:19 utc | 140

Sunny Runny Burger @137–
As I reported upthread, China’s announced that Biden has the onus here as “the obvious” is clear to them. Biden can deny responsibility but in doing so essentially resigns as POTUS–it’s an all military op and he’s CinC.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 1 2022 21:19 utc | 141

I’m confused. Does Pelosi even have a valid reason for going – other than to poke China in the eye?

Posted by: ian | Aug 1 2022 21:21 utc | 142

I would imagine the Chinese have gathered a fair amount of dirt on Pelosi over the years, so what if they just ignore her, then dump it all into world media immediately after she leaves? Along with a lot of other US politicians, starting with our Dear Leader.
Whether correlation, or causation, when Pelosi’s father, Tommy D’elasandro, was mayor of Baltimore, it was colloquially known as Mobtown.

Posted by: John Merryman | Aug 1 2022 21:24 utc | 143

Jose Garcia | Aug 1 2022 16:40 utc | 23
Successor ideology is a theory of moral property. It’s more or less a negation of capitalist values in the same way Ayn Rand’s consumptive individualism negated Enlightenment values: Paradise Lost‘s “Evil, be thou my good”. In SI, the state of having been someone else’s property is a personal property that entitles one to moral capital and the right to exercise it in contests of will with others.
ERing46Z | Aug 1 2022 19:59 utc | 118
Why are you running interference for Bill Gates, the largest landowner in the US?

Posted by: sippy the shot glass | Aug 1 2022 21:27 utc | 144

If China back down from this and do sod all, they are going to be a laughing stock around the world.
Like Putin/Russia called the West’s bluff in Feb, China have to do the same now.
Shit-show incoming!

Posted by: JustCallMeMao | Aug 1 2022 21:31 utc | 145

@140 ‘the brutal attack on Pearl Harbor…’
Somebody slipped up there. They forgot to mention ‘unprovoked’.

Posted by: dh | Aug 1 2022 21:32 utc | 146

Here’s The Onion‘s report:
“BEIJING—Warning the United States that the House Speaker would be spared, China reportedly threatened to retaliate Thursday for Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan by letting her return safely. “Should Nancy Pelosi follow through with her planned trip to Taiwan, China will be forced to take the hostile measure to weaken America by allowing her to return unscathed,” said President Xi Jinping, warning that any move by Pelosi to legitimize the Taiwanese regime would be met with a first class ticket back so that she is well-rested and ready to return to legislative matters. “The folly of America’s intransigence on China’s territorial claims will be be made clear when Ms. Pelosi is permitted to set foot back on U.S. soil and continue to shape national policy. We have the entire might of the Chinese military standing by ready to defend Ms. Pelosi from any possible threat.” At press time, Chinese leadership was tested in their resolve to keep Pelosi alive after hearing her speak.”
Yes! China’s secret weapons within the Outlaw US Empire are its Neoliberalcons who’ve been making China stronger over the last 30 years. And today’s comments by China I provided earlier indicate that Pelosi’s trip will be used to make China even stronger. The Tar Baby policy enacted long ago is now showing very provocative results–Russia, China and Global South grow stronger while the Outlaw US Empire and its vassals grow weaker, yet the Empire keeps doubling-down expecting different results every time but the boomerang keeps hitting them in the head.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 1 2022 21:32 utc | 147

The mastheads that used to cater for the centrist middle-class have really shifted their markets. I notice very similar pieces to this in the Sydney Morning Herald on a daily basis. It’s as though the paper imagines a ‘typical reader’ now as youngish, wealthy, single, often a woman, capable of purchasing an inner-city terrace or apartment (which in Sydney is $2M+). In reality, of course, as b notes, this is about 1% of 30 year olds, and even less as you get younger.
So, a daily broadsheet like the SMH, which, when I was a teenager (around 1982), was a stock standard middle class straight shooting newspaper, now assumes an audience of 1% neo-bourgeoisie and those who aspire to it (another 10%).
The vast majority, who work normal jobs, will never own property and be returned to an emerging new working class. But where is their media? Where is the working class newspaper?
Here’s a headline: massive civil insurrection as self-care.

Posted by: Patroklos | Aug 1 2022 21:34 utc | 148

If the Neocons are seeking a “Pearl Harbor” moment with Pelosi’s visit, why would they leave that to chance and wait for the Chinese to bring her airplane down?

Posted by: RootBier | Aug 1 2022 21:34 utc | 149

There’s got to be a better word than “woke” to describe the NY Times article. We’re they sleeping and they just woke up? Woke up to become what? I think you can use these expressions. Airheadedness? Hippy Liberalism? Disney-like behavior? Dunces? “Woke” just doesn’t do it for me.
Posted by: Jose Garcia | Aug 1 2022 16:40 utc | 23
=========
“We’re they sleeping and they just woke up?” Yes, yes that is exactly what “woke” means, though sleeping is a metaphorical description for a previous unawareness, events can shock people into a new reality, or least something that seems like a new “reality” though it could also be a new false reality. Neo-cons understand this aspect of mass psychology well it would seem.
Like Tojo is reported to have said after the bombing Pearl Harbor: “We have awakened a sleeping giant.”

Posted by: Ed Nelson | Aug 1 2022 21:37 utc | 150

By the way that list also makes an additional argument for why the position of the US government is in effect a lie.
They behave like royalty and Pelosi is 3rd in line to “the throne”, so much for the “separation of powers” (non-)argument of “we can’t tell her not to”. More than most US citizens “her” is supposed to follow US foreign policy, especially in “she’s” (pronounced “cheese”) official capacity (and “her” is not going as a private individual).
(I am assuming it is “her” and not “him” or “toaster” of anything else. New-gram is double-minus easy)

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 21:38 utc | 151

Great post. What’s Going On (title of Marvin Gaye’s famous song; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-kA3UtBj4M) In the case of Joe Biden, not much. As pointed out by Glenn Diesen ‘The collective West is facing an economic calamity, driven by unsustainable debt, runaway inflation, declining competitiveness, and now also an energy crisis on top. (See- https://www.rt.com/russia/558689-glenn-diesen-germanys-developing-economic/)-
Andrei Martyanov provides a good explanation for actions of US ruling elite and their front people- Joe Biden and the Speaker of the House-
‘The reason Pelosi adventurism with the “visit” to Taiwan is so in focus…..[is] to cover up these two things:
1. The economic catastrophe unfolding in the US;
2. The desperate attempt to turn attention away from the lost cause in 404’ (Ukraine).
‘The oldest trick in the book, especially with contemporary US “elites” who are good only at two things: reelecting themselves and PR.’
(See- http://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-oldest-trick-in-book.html)

Posted by: Paul | Aug 1 2022 21:39 utc | 152

@AK74
I agree that US has been “dicks” in foreign policy which has gotten worse since the 90s…. but man, what’s in store for the world if China is the dominant military power? What we should all be rooting for is the American people to wake up and vote the corrupt politicians out – reform – and become a better world leading country.. but we all know that is a dream… just don’t want to live in the nightmare with China being able to do whatever they want… because that alternative will be much worse when they decided they need more elbow room for their population.

Posted by: QuestionMan | Aug 1 2022 21:40 utc | 153

Karlof1: yes but rather than resigning he’s simply lying, or at least trying to lie.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 21:48 utc | 154

It seems to me that if China didn’t intend to take any action against Pelosi’s visit, it shouldn’t have shouted against it.
Either China responds in some aggressive way, or she will have played a sad role and will be the target of more american teasing and laughter.

Posted by: Seyfert | Aug 1 2022 21:50 utc | 155

Here’s brother Marvin live in absolute peak form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPkM8F0sjSw
Also check the Chicago street scenes. The children all look so healthy. And happy.

Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 1 2022 21:51 utc | 156

Karlof1: and thank you for that Onion piece, it was nice and refreshing 🙂

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 21:53 utc | 157

It wasn’t Tojo who said that, it was Yamamoto.

Posted by: Lysias | Aug 1 2022 21:56 utc | 158

Concerning China being cast as “a clear threat to rally the world” in some “Pearl Harbor moment,” this is ridiculous nonsense spouted by fools who dream of imperial rebirth but don’t understand the economics of why their empire needs rebirth” in the first place. They think spurring industrial growth is just a matter of being sufficiently motivated.
What simple-minded fools.
The US will continue their escalatory actions until they get their war, just like they did in the Ukraine. Then the morons who rule the West will find out the hard way that they are even vastly more industrially outclassed by China than they are by Russia.
Unless we are talking an imperial state bullying impoverished goat herders, every war is an “industrial war”. Victory goes to he who can produce the most ships, tanks, and missiles. You cannot expect in a serious “peer conflict” for that conflict to end with the military equipment that it started with. Your ships are going to get sunk and your aircraft shot down and you are going to have to build new ones.
So if the US fully mobilized its industrial capacity for war, how many more ships and fighter aircraft and missiles could the imperial homeland manufacture than it currently is producing?
Answer: zero.
The reason for that is the same as the reason why supply chains fell apart in the West due to the pandemic and still remain a mess. The West has over-optimized the productive (real) aspects of its economy to maximize profits and has no capability to rapidly repurpose any industry.
In a serious conflict China can wipe out dozens of America’s top naval assets in a matter of hours; assets it would literally take decades for America to replace. The sparseness of American shipbuilding is why when Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico all the US had available to ship relief supplies to the island with was freakin` pathetic barges.
China, on the other hand, has immense industrial capacity that can be repurposed in wartime. In a naval slug-fest between the US and China where the US is able to dish out as much damage as it takes, the Chinese will still come out the winners because if need be they can rebuild their navy in a matter of months, while the US will be out of action for many years. In fact, if the Chinese take out the US Seventh Fleet it is unlikely to ever be rebuilt at all.
This notion that all America needs is a good hard punch to reawaken its former industrial might is profoundly delusional nonsense. It is not like the American economy is just a little out of shape and needs to get motivated to do some working out. The American economy is on a gurney in the Intensive Care Unit hooked up to a bunch of machines (Chinese machines) to keep it from rotting. No “Pearl Harbor moment” punch is going to get America to leap off that gurney and run an industrial marathon.
America needs to lose the delusions. One would think that the failure of the empire’s war against Russia would have opened some eyes, but the fools are just doubling down on their cherished delusions.

Posted by: William Gruff | Aug 1 2022 21:56 utc | 159

Posted by: mastameta | Aug 1 2022 18:56 utc | 95
Thank you, you’ve touched upon something virtually unknown in the West, and that is the extent to which Taiwainese separatists will often identify with the Japanese colonizers just to piss off the Mainland. All you Americans with your “plucky Taiwan” narratives, how does it taste to know that many of these people regard the defeat of Imperial Japan as something *bad*? “Why should I celebrate the defeat of Japan? We were on the Japanese side at the time.”
Posted by: Herr Ringbone | Aug 1 2022 19:04 utc | 101
Your comment: “…how does it taste to know that many of these people regard the defeat of Imperial Japan as something *bad*? “Why should I celebrate the defeat of Japan? We were on the Japanese side at the time.”
First, not that many of the Taiwan people supported the war time fascist Japanese Empire, even in WW2 or today. In terms of the Chinese people as a whole, people like you are a nothing burger; a statistical zero. In your comment above you just exposed what you are, a FASCIST. Good to know!

Posted by: Ed Nelson | Aug 1 2022 21:58 utc | 160

Posted by: Scorpion | Aug 1 2022 17:00 utc | 33
No visa needed for Americans to visit Taiwan.

Posted by: RB | Aug 1 2022 22:01 utc | 161

Many barflies here have been discussing this Pelosi saga as if whatever the United States does would cause China to sit up tight and try frantically to steer a course so as to head off any ill consequences upon China’s geopolitical status quo; as if the Empire is all that matters in China’s purview. That is hogwash! China doesn’t revolve around the Empire as the center global affairs anymore; not since the era of Xi commenced in late 2012. When Congress passed the bill allowing visits by US officials to travel to Taiwan, I thought China was going to brow the top and downgrade the diplomatic relationship as was in 1996 when Li Teng-hui visited Cornell, but no, China merely gave a stern tongue lashing and let it be. I learned then that China doesn’t really give a damn how intimately the Empire’s minions and Taiwan clowns are squeezing each other under tables/blankets/ or in the storage room. Let them have their meaningless fun, so long as no Empire’s weaponries are moving onto the islands.
Since 2012, China completed the three islands building in Spratly Islands which serve the outpost defense stances capable of fending off three or more carrier battle groups. The Empire raised concerns early on but China flipped them the fingers. China, in new rounds of military parades showed off DF-21D, DF-26, DF-17, plus high-profile testing of mid-course anti-missile defense systems. The Empire cried wolf and complained about threats, China flipped them the fingers. China’s B&R projects were completed one after another. The Empire tried color Revs and threatened counter measures etc., China ignored the noise. Russia took SMO of late, and the Empire frantically wanted China to jump onto their wagons, China flipped them finger instead. Oh there are many other instances, I’m just citing a few that’s all. Now that 10,000+ freight train deliveries between China, Central Asia, Middle East, and as far west as Spain/Portugal had been completed, it’s clear China’s concept of Belt & Road trade route on land plus seas is a proven success, wtf can the Empire do to counter besides whining and bitching? Wtf is Menendez, Rubio, et all, introducing bills after bills in Congress, high profile voting to pass them and MSM hyping to feed Empire’s public opiate of complacency, going to slow down the Russo/Sino global drive towards multipolarity ? It’s a done deal, baby. The course is set. The Empire is crumbling whether the West likes it or not.
Go puff the $$$Dollar$$$ is the next episode to come, regardless of how many Taiwan pineapples Pelosi gets to indulge in the next few days. Don’t worry barflies, if nuke warfare breaks out, the Empire will end up the losers. They have lost the edge already; just that they don’t know it yet.

Posted by: Oriental Voice | Aug 1 2022 22:02 utc | 162

Canada on the behalf of the yankees arrested Meng Wanzhou. China could do the same with Pelosi. Certainly it is possible to build some charges. Like entering illegally inside China.

Posted by: Olivier | Aug 1 2022 22:08 utc | 163

That’s it! It started. Now, continuous provocation and spitting in China will become fashionable.
****s://sputniknews.com/20220801/uk-lawmakers-intend-to-visit-taiwan-amid-escalating-tensions-in-region–reports-1098010941.html

Posted by: Seyfert | Aug 1 2022 22:14 utc | 164

Near the top of another real estate bubble … Buyers are getting scarce, and I need to sell. I’ll start with emotionally vulnerable, divorced women.

Posted by: Martin Brock | Aug 1 2022 22:16 utc | 165

Patroklos wrote:

“Here’s a headline: massive civil insurrection as self-care.”

And hopefully long before Christmas 🙂
– – –
Ed Nelson: I think you misunderstand him, he was not saying that he himself thinks what at least some people thought at the time.
And of course after someone has lost very few wants to support them or admit it if they did.
About misunderstanding comments I’ve done similar mistakes myself here more than once, it is easy to do both when writing and reading.
And sometimes people end up saying something they never would have if they realized exactly just how it can or was interpreted.

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 22:19 utc | 166

On the history of ‘woke’: it need only be said that the figure of everyday life as being asleep or sleepwalking goes back to the fragments of Heraclitus. The metaphor of ‘wakefulness’ to describe the sage’s insight piercing through the veil of quotidian banality to perceive the true nature of things goes back at least very clearly to him. Since then it has been revived countless times on all sides of politics—a standard Nazi banner was ‘Deutschland erwache!’ and ‘red pilling’ is often described as waking up to the reality of the world. Indeed, we can add common idiomatic expressions in English: ‘wake up to yourself’ ‘you need to wake up to what’s going on around here…’
The specifics of ‘woke’ derive, as we all painfully note, from deliberately bad grammar (correctly, to be awake, to have awoken, etc) in an effort to mimic the speech of the marginalised. As such ‘woke’ is what is currently called a creolised word, or pidgin English, that one might imagine is used as a slang among minorities or by underclasses throughout the English-speaking Americas/Caribbean etc. The unthinking slave cannot see his situation and is therefore unaware, sleeping. One has to get ‘woken’ to become ‘woke’, aware of one’s historical situation. Unfortunately, the term now exclusively means decolonisation and so seems to refer to another kind of ideological mystification. One becomes ‘woke’ and seemingly falls asleep again only into a different stupor.
Interestingly they didn’t choose ‘wake’. Once it was customary to keep watch in a vigil over the body of the deceased all night (and therefore stay ‘awake’) before interment. Eventually the term narrowed referring only to the meal in honour of the deceased, hence to attend a wake.
Perhaps since ‘woke’ seems to herald the vulgar dismantling of our civilization we should start calling the whole affair ‘wake’. To absent friends, Salut.

Posted by: Patroklos | Aug 1 2022 22:21 utc | 167

Martin Brock @171
Go for it. Use a realtor. You do not want to FSBO with that crew.
Realtors absolutely focus on the women when past market peak.

Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 1 2022 22:22 utc | 168

If Pelosi’s plane is downed, what are the chances she was in it?
Anyway, I don’t think the US needs a reason to put China under sanctions. Isn’t China doing this already to itself with the still ongoing massive lockdown?
Not many foreigners (or people at all) entering their country right now.
Normal Chinese people also have less money due to the reduced business going on in the last 2/3 years.

Posted by: C | Aug 1 2022 22:30 utc | 169

Did they define ‘women’ as ‘adult human female’ or anyone with lady feelz?

Posted by: Sabine | Aug 1 2022 22:32 utc | 170

Wiliam Gruff @165–
That’s the prism I interpreted Crooke’s latest two articles through as discussed by me alone on the week in review thread. I also made them into an article.
Sunny Runny Burger @160–
Sorry, I should have specified virtual resignation as POTUS, which is what pleading “there was nothing I could do to stop her” would signal.

Posted by: karlof1 | Aug 1 2022 22:34 utc | 171

Considering that Dallaire and the CIA assisted Kagame in the assassination of Habyarimana, then went on to blame the civilians (baHutu) that he was massacring, the US shooting down Pelosi’s plane and blaming China sounds about right, especially when one considers the reason why the US backed the Ugandan invasion of Rwanda and assisted in said assassination: Mobutu ad signed a mining contract with China, and Habyarimana had declined a US request to use Rwanda as a base for invading Congo Kinshasa/Zaïre.

Posted by: Johan Meyer (2) | Aug 1 2022 22:44 utc | 172

Clueless Joe | Aug 1 2022 17:44 utc | 53
i can see amurkins eager to go to war because China took away from them the opportunity to do something they want to, like collecting the bounty on Nan’s head. seems very amurkin to me. we have zero capacity to influence elected officials by sanctioned means, so why wouldn’t some people be all too glad to see China do what no American will, when/if China “votes” her out of office?
anyway, i’m not advocating China do anything per se because i don’t know what they should do re that hemorrhoid, but like folks calling for escalation in Ukraine by Russia need to chill, other measures than downing a plane should be considered first. it might be time a Chinese delegation to land on Gitmo, doing some “human rights recon” in that US death camp in Cuba.
maybe use a needed public health measure to close down all travel? Nan should be considered a flying bioweapons lab of monkeypox from the wicked US witch and declared a threat of global concern that must be contained at the borders.
(somebody beat me to it…psychohistorian | Aug 1 2022 18:50 utc | 92 and the suggestion of financial measures here Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2022 18:46 utc | 91)

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Aug 1 2022 22:48 utc | 173

sln2002 | Aug 1 2022 18:11 utc | 69
“Sec. 1249. Feasibility briefing on cooperation between the National Guard and Taiwan.”
China might not be quaking in its boots over Sec. 1249. among other things, the US NG might be too busy fighting the fake covid, fake wildfires, fake floods and fake social crises arising from a fake economic crisis. one can only hope.
William Gruff | Aug 1 2022 21:56 utc | 165
but we got our ass handed to us in Afghanistan from our position of strength! when was the last military success…oh right…from Granada to China. nothing prepares for success like decades of failure.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Aug 1 2022 22:51 utc | 174

On trade, inward investment, tourism, cultural exchanges and any other field of co-operation Taiwan in number one for China, and China’s number one for Taiwan. Xi doesn’t have to do anything, the two lands are as one already.
And on Pelosi: She’ll blink first.

Posted by: Baron | Aug 1 2022 22:53 utc | 175

“America is in need of a “Pearl Harbour moment”
That’s exactly what warmonger and neocon Richard Perle told John Pilger before 9/11.
These people are insane, and they never learn a thing.
Pelosi is a fool. The question to be asked: What are they trying to provoke aggressive wars everywhere? It certainly is not working to make people in other countries in the world other than America actually like them more. The Global South has had a gut full of these bullies.

Posted by: George | Aug 1 2022 22:57 utc | 176

Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 1 2022 21:51 utc | 162
Dude is better lying down than pretty much anyone else is standing up:
I Want You

Posted by: Caveman | Aug 1 2022 23:06 utc | 177

Posted by: oldhippie | Aug 1 2022 21:51 utc | 162
Dude is better lying down than pretty much anyone else is standing up:
I Want You

Posted by: Caveman | Aug 1 2022 23:06 utc | 178

Sorry for the double off topic post.

Posted by: Caveman | Aug 1 2022 23:09 utc | 179

If the Neocons are seeking a “Pearl Harbor” moment with Pelosi’s visit, why would they leave that to chance and wait for the Chinese to bring her airplane down?
Posted by: RootBier | Aug 1 2022 21:34 utc | 155
==================
Maybe they are not leaving anything to chance. Neither the US nor China needs to kill Pelosi to archive their goal. All the need is some kind of ruckus from China, which could include a few missiles fired off into the distance for effect by either side. Both sides can claim that the other fired first: Either way it is an escalation.
And that my friend is what you call “false flag” operation.

Posted by: Ed Nelson | Aug 1 2022 23:12 utc | 180

Canada on the behalf of the yankees arrested Meng Wanzhou. China could do the same with Pelosi. Certainly it is possible to build some charges. Like entering illegally inside China.
Posted by: Olivier | Aug 1 2022 22:08 utc | 169

Insider trading would be a no-brainer. The SEC could then outsource all their “tricky” regulatory enforcement to China. 😉

Posted by: Opport Knocks | Aug 1 2022 23:12 utc | 181

@ Charles D No. 14
Try this
https://www.strategic-culture.org/

Posted by: deal | Aug 1 2022 23:23 utc | 182

Taipei local time as I write this – Tue 7:16 am – UTC Mon 11.16 pm.
If Pelosi is intending to visit/provoke I’m guessing arrival would be around or before noon local time or 4 am UTC.
Russia China joint statement? To me, that indicated both Russia and China were ready to make a move against the against hegemony.
Some relevant paragraphs from the joint statement.

The sides are gravely concerned about serious international security challenges and believe that the fates of all nations are interconnected. No State can or should ensure its own security separately from the security of the rest of the world and at the expense of the security of other States. The international community should actively engage in global governance to ensure universal, comprehensive, indivisible and lasting security.
The sides reaffirm their strong mutual support for the protection of their core interests, state sovereignty and territorial integrity, and oppose interference by external forces in their internal affairs.
The Russian side reaffirms its support for the One-China principle, confirms that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and opposes any forms of independence of Taiwan.
Russia and China stand against attempts by external forces to undermine security and stability in their common adjacent regions, intend to counter interference by outside forces in the internal affairs of sovereign countries under any pretext, oppose colour revolutions, and will increase cooperation in the aforementioned areas.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2022 23:26 utc | 183

something incredibly reckless and stupid is about to happen.
Pelosi’s airplane might indeed be shot down on her completely irrelevant and unnecessary trip to Taiwan, <= its probably not without intention that today MSM news spent 3 minutes reminding the audience Ben Laden planned 911 and they killed by Ben Laden.. for doing 911 to them..

Posted by: snake | Aug 1 2022 23:26 utc | 184

We’ve already had the Pearl Harbor moment, it was the reckless US proxy war in Ukraine. That the US would glibly let that situation go to war, indifferent to the risks and insufficiently deterred by Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal was seen by China as proof that the US was now an imminent threat to it too. We’d gone beyond the US stirring up shit or invading small countries, now they were one step away from war with Russia over nothing rational. There wasn’t even anything Russia could give, the US offered nothing but submission or war.
And like Pearl Harbor it was an attack that though displaying huge aggression and being a declaration of war, also failed to hit any strategic targets and merely awakened the sleeping giant, in this case China.
In the proxy war against Russia the US has failed to do any good strategic damage because ultimately the conventional Russian military wasn’t a threat to it. The neocons just flipped the table over the Russians intervening in Syria because the neocons are just Zionists who believe the best who believe that settler-colonial project is best achieved through the hegemonic power of the US military giving it carte blanche and destroying the countries around it that put a check on Israel’s power. This combined with their atavistic ethnic hatred of Russians and ‘Russiagate’ causing the anti-war left to collapse, allowed things to escalate to ridiculous levels.
So in order to myopically focus on Syria, the US just gave away it’s hegemony status by starting a new Cold War against a combined Russia-China strategic alliance. It is very note-worthy that the Chinese have increased their sales of weapons to the Syria government. The neocons and Israelis thought themselves immune from the consequences of their actions, that no level of aggression could ever get them into trouble.
Now the US has placed itself into a situation where it’s hegemony is openly tested and probed by it’s many enemies. They’re not afraid anymore. The US may have thought they were being very clever by offering the Russians what they thought was a no-win scenario of either letting Ukraine being NATO-fied and watch the ethnic civil war in the East or invade and fall into their trap of a long bloody occupation of large parts of Eastern Ukraine. But in enacting their trap, they also basically sat by and let Ukraine get wrecked and looked weak and the Russians weathering of the sanctions made them look stupid and out of touch with how powerful they really were.
I am very scared of what comes next because now with Pelosi the US is placed in a situation of having to back down and have their hegemony shattered or fight China. A game you can’t win either way is a game you don’t play.

Posted by: Altai | Aug 1 2022 23:30 utc | 185

The House Speaker CryptKeeper (Ref: Tales from the Crypt) has “Jumped the Shark” of Foreign Policy Grandstanding.
We KNOW she’s a Schill for the USA_CIA/NED-Funded ColorRevoRiot Racketeer in addition of being a Corrupt Stock Market Insider Trader.
The CryptKeeper may try One Last Stunt before Retiring; but it’s useless.
CHN_PLA can Fly Air Intervention Operations by surrounding TWN with Fighter Jets, declaring a No Fly Zone, divert Intl Civil Air Flights to the Mainland, etc.
USNavy Carriers are spotted and stalked by CHN_PLAN.
Any confrontation will result with the USNavy watching, turning tail, and/or losing Planes+Ships.
Worse yet, CHN are already talking about PLA Combat Air Patrols around TWN, so once they do so “Daily”, it’s over for the “Pyrrhic” Resistance-Victory.
No One likes her, NO ONE wants her as POTUS, NO ONE would want to send one’s Children into Military Confrontations because of this Attention Whore.
The WORLD know that this isn’t a “Struggle for Democracy”.

Posted by: IronForge | Aug 1 2022 23:31 utc | 186

No shots fired and the USA economy DEAD.
Posted by: DEVENS SHARECROPPER | Aug 1 2022 21:30 utc | 150
I can’t imagine China doing this quickly. Dumping T-bills deprives them of major claims on American money for an uncertain medium-term gamble that might be Financialized by Goldman Sachs. Much better to freeze all exports to the West this winter- a disaster that will equal total collapse for many Euro economies.

Posted by: trev006 | Aug 1 2022 23:34 utc | 187

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2022 21:19 utc | 145
“Pepe Escobar
‘The Witch Flying to Taipei caper is the preamble of an already crafted and pre-packaged Atlanticist “strategy”. Eurocrats are already crafting the first package of sanctions against China – which will be even fiercer than against Russia. That assumes that the Witch’s provocation will unleash inevitable “Chinese aggression” against Taiwan.
Ergo, sanctions.’
++++++++++++++++++++++
So: if China is now ready for sanctions too – as Russia has proven – then it will be game on and both sides will get the desired provocation to justify them and both sides can claim to their citizenry that they were forced into it. The damage to the supply chain into the US will be far greater than with Russian sanctions. A massive economic crunch is all but guaranteed. Then we have new disease wave. And promises of upcoming food shortages.
Winter is coming…

Posted by: Scorpion | Aug 1 2022 23:37 utc | 188

George | Aug 1 2022 22:57 utc | 182
That Pearl Harbor thing before 9/11 wasn’t just the words of a neocon to a journalist – It was also part of a congress or senate hearing and is on the record at US gov site. I looked it up a year or so back. Found the actual record.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2022 23:37 utc | 189

what the Taiwan independence folks aspire to, what they call independence, is to be the lackey of the US. and to be BFF with their former colonial master Japan.
when Abe died, Tsai lowered the ROC flag for him as if he were a hero of the Chinese nation. that’s the typical mentality of a comprador. compromised, mentally colonized and corrupted.
I view the apologists for Taiwan separatists no different from white plantation masters celebrating uncle Tom, or praising the merits of a certain house slave.
like HK, Taiwan must be decolonized. mainlanders and proud chinese will fight for that. the taiwanese separatists won’t shed blood for their supposed cause,for their fake independence.true independence has a price. only the mainland Chinese will fight for true independence for Taiwan. that ultimately is what reunification is. the end of colonialism for the Chinese.
Posted by: mastameta | Aug 1 2022 18:56 utc | 95
=================================================
Posted by: mastameta | Aug 1 2022 18:56 utc | 95
Thank you, you’ve touched upon something virtually unknown in the West, and that is the extent to which Taiwainese separatists will often identify with the Japanese colonizers just to piss off the Mainland. All you Americans with your “plucky Taiwan” narratives, how does it taste to know that many of these people regard the defeat of Imperial Japan as something *bad*? “Why should I celebrate the defeat of Japan? We were on the Japanese side at the time.”
Posted by: Herr Ringbone | Aug 1 2022 19:04 utc | 101
=======================================
Your comment: “…how does it taste to know that many of these people regard the defeat of Imperial Japan as something *bad*? “Why should I celebrate the defeat of Japan? We were on the Japanese side at the time.”
First, not that many of the Taiwan people supported the war time fascist Japanese Empire, even in WW2 or today. In terms of the Chinese people as a whole, people like you are a nothing burger; a statistical zero. In your comment above you just exposed what you are, a FASCIST. Good to know!
Posted by: Ed Nelson | Aug 1 2022 21:58 utc | 166
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Ed Nelson: I think you misunderstand him, he was not saying that he himself thinks what at least some people thought at the time.
And of course after someone has lost very few wants to support them or admit it if they did.
About misunderstanding comments I’ve done similar mistakes myself here more than once, it is easy to do both when writing and reading.
And sometimes people end up saying something they never would have if they realized exactly just how it can or was interpreted.
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 22:19 utc | 172
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Thank you for your comment. I am assuming you are referring to my comment to Herr Ringbone on #101.
I have put the whole string of comments together and I stand by my position that Herr Ringbone claims to be a Taiwanese who loves the Japanese fascist of WW2. Therefore, he is what he loves. If I missed something, please point it out and I will offer my apologies.

Posted by: Ed Nelson | Aug 1 2022 23:44 utc | 190

Re: Sunny Runny Burger | Aug 1 2022 21:16 utc | 144
13 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge
14 Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg
Thanks for the list/laugh. Somehow I like the name “President Fudge”, although “President Buttigieg” (President Buttplug”) is a strong contender.

Posted by: Perimetr | Aug 1 2022 23:47 utc | 191

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 1 2022 23:37 utc | 195
I believe ‘that Pearl Harbor’ reference was also in a PNAC document laying out next decade and more foreign policy. They rightly posited a Pearl Harbour type attack as the best way to get the American people to support the sort of aggressions they had in mind to force various countries into their orbit. Seem to recall Ukraine might have been on that list of countries which included Iraq, Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Libya and Yugoslavia (?).
But in your previous post you cited Pepe saying that the US is looking for a good pretext to introduce sanctions on China. I don’t think they need a huge pretext. There is no political opposition in the US to anything involving conflict for any reason against anybody at any time. But they do need to have an ‘it’s because of what they did’ narrative so that subsequent hardships (which are the desired result) are not blamed on them. No, the victims can be united against ‘them’ and thus put up with no end of dysfunction doing their part ‘for the greater good’ just like Good Germans now are foregoing hot showers and saying ‘take that, Putin!’ as if it makes any sense at all!!

Posted by: Scorpion | Aug 1 2022 23:49 utc | 192

posted by Herr Ringbone @16
shooting down Pelosi will
<= trigger an election to appoint a new speaker of the House.. ?

Posted by: haratio | Aug 1 2022 23:50 utc | 193

Scorpion | Aug 1 2022 23:37 utc | 194
It will be interesting to see how China plays it. As I put in a comment above, I think the Russia China joint statement signaled that China was also ready to make a move. China has its own strategy to deal with the US. I think it will be every bit as sophisticated as the Russian strategy which nobody in the alt media world, ex diplomats, ex military ect picked. Even now most that I read haven’t grasp that first phase was primarily aimed at nuclear and biological sites, though the Indian ex diplomat picked up on the strategic significance of the waterways that came under Russian control.
Thinking about it more after putting up that earlier comment on China simply demanding RMB for goods from the US west which would go a long way towards breaking the dollar, China may also be interested in using sanctions against itself to wean its industries off the US dollar.
Whatever China does, I suspect that like Russia, China’s moves will be such the the vast majority of the population approves even if it means some short to medium term hardship.
No doubt the Chinese leadership were aware the US goose would stop laying golden eggs for China at some point. Will be interesting to see what occurs over the next few days.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 2 2022 0:01 utc | 194

“In the event that the US President, the Vice President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are found unfit/unable to lead the US because of their particular circumstances, who would fill the leadership vacuum then?”
Posted by: Jen | Aug 1 2022 20:42 utc | 133
Fear not…I suspect that they can dust off a cigar smoking, unicycle riding chimp, and everything will continue as expected, with no changes in Government policy.

Posted by: AParadiseLost | Aug 2 2022 0:03 utc | 195

If Pelosi’s plane is shot down, it will mean the deaths of not on!y her but another five or six Democratic members of the House. In a House with a Democratic majority of only four.
In other words, there will not be a Democratic majority to appoint Pelosi’s replacement as Speaker.

Posted by: Lysias | Aug 2 2022 0:14 utc | 196

@50
Wonderful. I appreciate the context regarding Unz, etc,… A drinking game,…
@36
I propose the world needs to weaponize gluten; as well as MSG of course. As an example, a gluten bomb could completly irradiate all of the ice cream in the frozen cyrpt that sustains Pelosi. It may be able to save the world by eliminating whole a whole vampire lineage. Maybe China has the gluten bomb already and Pelosi is walking into a trap.

Posted by: Jeff | Aug 2 2022 0:14 utc | 197

@18
This proxy fighting is strategy is what I have problem with.
Why is Russia fighting Ukraine? Why would China fight Taiwan?
The problem will be solved when the instigator feels real pain.
Then proxy problems will disappear automatically.
I hope China looks to address the real cause.
Now about WW3. I highly doubt it. Neocons do not play with their skin in the game.
And that should be the solution – grab their skin

Posted by: Fggh | Aug 2 2022 0:21 utc | 198

Scorpion | Aug 1 2022 23:49 utc | 198
I didn’t see that post until after my previews reply.
When Americans go to wallmart or the pharmicy and there’s nothing there, unless there is a pearl harbor, they would blame their own government.
Australia? We would be hit as hard or harder than Europe by their anti Russian sanctions. We have a trade surplus with China. But still it would be the same throughout the US west that abides by US sanctions.
US required MH17 to force Europe into the first Russia sanctions and the Russian invasion to force Europe into the sanctions from hell.
I think China will have most scenarios gamed out so it will be interesting to see what happens if Pelosi attempts to go to Taiwan. Two bags of popcorn may be required, one for the Russia vs US show and one for the China vs US show.

Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 2 2022 0:22 utc | 199

This is just crazy. Pelosi need to take a trip to Kabul so she could have a Pearl Harbor martyrdom.
They are making a provocation so that convince a public that they need a confrontation becouse China is too powerfull. If Chine would be recieving humanitarian aid the “human rights” (excuse) would be just OK.
This eventualy will have hudge economical consequences for the world. Most of chinese buissness still are pro american. Corrupt chinese buerocrats send their families (and stolen values) to USA. Chinese went to study in mostly USA universities. They store value in american obligations.
With anti-chinese policies eventualy becoming targeted at chinese this will change.
China and USA today leads in innovation. Europe is well behind.
Well, if China would be of size of Japan and if USA would not be losing it’s position they would be accepting China.
(I don’t think China is better than USA. Eventualy becouse of demographics they could become like Japan is now.)

Posted by: Alef | Aug 2 2022 0:26 utc | 200