Connect with us

Politics

Pelosi lands in Taiwan amid China tension

Never Pork

Published

on

Embed from Getty Images

Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, which has become a flashpoint in the escalating conflict between the United States and China on her Asian tour, began on Tuesday when she arrived in Taipei, the capital city.

Pelosi and other members of Congress were greeted by Taiwanese officials on the tarmac when a U.S. military plane landed in Taipei on Tuesday evening. FlightAware tracked the plane’s flight path from Kuala Lumpur, avoiding the South China Sea and China’s mainland.

As a result of the cloud of secrecy surrounding Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, China has threatened to respond militarily. The White House has reiterated that U.S. policy toward Taiwan and the Chinese government has not changed, despite Pelosi’s intention to visit the island.

Pelosi is the highest-ranking American official to visit the island in the last quarter-century. When she defied Chinese authorities in Tiananmen Square in 1991 by displaying a pro-democracy flag, the California Democrat began her career of pushing back against Beijing.

Nancy Pelosi stated her trip to Taiwan was to celebrate “America’s steadfast commitment to supporting Taiwan’s thriving Democracy” shortly after her plane touched down.

“Our discussions with Taiwan leadership will focus on reaffirming our support for our partner and on promoting our shared interests, including advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific region,” she said. “America’s solidarity with the 23 million people of Taiwan is more important today than ever, as the world faces a choice between autocracy and democracy.”

This trip “in no way contradicts longstanding United States policy” toward Taiwan and China, the speaker underscored. The United States “continues to reject unilateral actions to change the status quo,” the speaker added.

China’s “abysmal human rights record and contempt for the rule of law continue, as President Xi Jinping tightens his hold on power,” Pelosi wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post to defend her decision to travel to the country.

An official from the Taiwanese government said that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was anticipated to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen and members of the legislature in Taipei. Prior to departing, the American group is scheduled to spend Tuesday night in the nation’s capital and Wednesday morning in meetings.

The island’s renowned tallest landmark, Taipei 101, lit up with welcome messages for Pelosi before she arrived Tuesday evening.

Beijing regards Taiwan, which is self-ruled, as part of China and has warned that Pelosi’s visit would be seen as a serious provocation by Chinese officials.

According to China’s Ministry of Defense, “long-range live ammunition firing in the Taiwan Strait and staging regular-guided fire testing in the eastern waters of Taipei Island” will soon be conducted by the People’s Liberation Army. It was described as a “solemn deterrent” against the “recent massive escalation of the unfavorable activities of the United States on the Taiwan problem, and a stern warning” to the “Taiwan independence” forces pursuing “independence.”

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping insisted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cancel her travel to TAIWAN during a two-hour phone chat with Vice President Joe Biden. Earlier in the month of July, Vice President Biden stated that US military experts believed Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan at the time was “not a good idea.”

The USS Ronald Reagan, a destroyer, and an amphibious assault ship were all in the waters east of Taiwan on Tuesday conducting routine operations, according to a US Navy officer.

If Pelosi were to visit China, the military would “not sit idly by,” according to a Reuters report by foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhao Lijian. The “No. 3 official of the U.S. government” visiting would “lead to egregious political impact,” Lijan said during a daily briefing.

He said she had been briefed on Taiwan by a National Security Council spokeswoman on Monday, when Pelosi was reported to be flying in a US military plane.

The speaker and her team had “direct talks” before she departed with various levels of the national security establishment, Kirby said, though he did not confirm any plans by her to travel in Taiwan. “The president did not talk to the speaker directly about this trip.” ‘

It was Kirby’s response when asked if the military still thought it was a bad idea for her to go. As Kirby put it: “What we did was give [her] context, analysis, facts, knowledge, so that she could make the best decision possible for every stop for every overseas visit.”

Kirby, on the other hand, warned of China’s “saber rattling,” which might include shooting missiles into the Taiwan Strait or encroaching on Taiwan’s airspace in significant numbers. China’s recent declaration that Taiwan’s Strait is not an international waterway was also mentioned.

According to Kirby, “As we’ve seen in recent years, some of these moves would continue to follow trend lines, but some could be of a different scope and size.” After Beijing reacted provocatively to Taiwan’s president’s visit to deliver an address at his alma mater in 1995 and 1996, Beijing fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait.”

In 1949, Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan as the Chinese Communist Party waged a civil war with the Chinese Nationalist Party. TAIWAN IS THE GOVERNMENT OF CHINA, says Taiwan’s government. In Beijing’s eyes, the island constitutes a rogue state that belongs to it.

Following a strategy of “strategic ambiguity,” the United States acknowledged Beijing as the legitimate Chinese government in 1979 and did not promote Taiwanese independence but maintained informal relations with the government. The Taiwan Travel Act of 2018 made the United States-Taiwan relationship official, but not diplomatic.

It’s not the first time a House Speaker has made a trip to Taiwan. In 1997, Republican Newt Gingrich, then-Speaker of the House, paid a visit. Pelosi’s journey to Taiwan has received significantly more attention than those of other American officials who have made low-profile visits to show support for the island.

What’s Your Take?

Like, Share, Comment, Tweet it Out!

“It’s Your World, You Decide!”

ISTHATPORKS TAKE:

World Peace is a good thing. Peace within different Gov't when a conflict is present is a better thing. Whoever says it's not is PORK! However, the PORK DETECTOR is out to see if and when who's gonna be PORK first.

Continue Reading

Politics

PROSECUTOR KEN STARR OF WHITEWATER
 DEAD AT 76

Never Pork

Published

on

Embed from Getty Images

Former Independent Counsel Ken Starr, who was instrumental in the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton, has passed away.

Starr passed away on Tuesday at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, Texas… owing to postoperative problems… that’s what his relatives say.

Starr led the massive Whitewater investigation of the Clintons in the 1990s and is famous for this. The investigation started with the Clintons’ real estate dealings and widened to encompass the Monica Lewinsky sex scandal.

Starr’s career as an attorney was highly successful… It was Reagan who put him forward for a position on the Supreme Court of the United States. District of Columbia Court of Appeals. Later becoming U.S. Secretary of State under former President George H.W. Bush. State Department’s top lawyer.

Starr was a United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia and argued 36 cases before the Supreme Court. He worked as an associate attorney general under William French Smith and as a law clerk for Warren E. Burger.

Active in the field of higher learning, during his 25 years of teaching, he has held positions at New York University, George Mason University, Pepperdine University, Chapman University, and Baylor University. In addition to his role as President and Chancellor of Baylor, Starr formerly served as Dean of the Pepperdine University School of Law.

Starr attended Sam Houston High School and Trinity University to receive his Bachelor of Arts after he was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He earned an M.P.S. in political science from Brown and a J.D. from Duke.

Ken’s children, Randall, Carolyn, and Cynthia, and his wife of 52 years, Alice Mendell Starr, survive him.

In a statement released in Starr’s son’s honor, the family expressed their “deep sadness at the loss of our dear and loving Father and Grandfather, whom we admired for his prodigious work ethic, but who always put his family first. The love, energy, endearing sense of humor, and fun-loving interest Dad exhibited to each of us was truly special, and we cherish the many wonderful memories we were able to experience with him.”

The visitation will be held on September 23 in Waco, and the burial will take place in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

A 76-year-old Starr in some circles of politics passed away.

Like, Share, Comment, Tweet it Out!

“It’s Your World, You Decide!”

Continue Reading

Politics

After losing, Cheney mulls 2024 run

Never Pork

Published

on

Embed from Getty Images

CHERYENNE, Wyoming.  Following a crushing defeat in the Wyoming Republican primary to an opponent sponsored by former President Donald Trump, Representative Liz Cheney became increasingly outspoken on Wednesday about considering a 2024 presidential candidacy.

The three-term congressman stated on NBC that Trump poses ““a very grave threat and risk to our republic,” adding that she plans to join “a broad and united front of Republicans, Democrats, and independents” to stop him.

She wouldn’t confirm or deny whether or not she was considering a presidential run, but she did admit, “it’s something that I’m thinking about.”

The primary results, especially her loss by more than 35 points, highlighted the swift rightward movement within the Republican Party. Trump’s populist appeal and, more than anything else, his rejection of loss in 2020 have transformed the Republican Party, which was once dominated by national security-focused, business-friendly conservatives like her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The claims have been rejected by federal and state election officials as well as Trump’s own attorney general and judges he selected, turning Cheney from an occasional critic of the former president into the strongest voice within the GOP warning that he constitutes a threat to democratic principles. She alluded to her political future by mentioning that she is the ranking Republican on the House panel looking into the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by a mob of Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

“I have said since Jan. 6 that I will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office — and I mean it,” she said during her concession speech on Tuesday.

Cheney addressed a small group of supporters, including her father, on the edge of a large field framed by mountains and bales of hay on Wednesday morning, and she described her primary loss from Tuesday night as the beginning of a new chapter in her political career.

“Our work is far from over,” she said, evoking Abraham Lincoln, who also lost congressional elections before ascending to the presidency and preserving the union.

Celebratory Hageman supporters, many of whom were dressed in cowboy boots, hats, and blue jeans, congregated for a massive outdoor rodeo and Western cultural celebration in Cheyenne, some 400 miles (645 kilometers) to the east of Cheney’s concession address.

Hageman, an attorney for the ranching business who came in third in a previous run for governor, expressed his gratitude to President Trump for recognizing the importance of Wyoming’s lone congressional representative.

She courted Trump’s supporters by echoing his conspiracy theories and saying the 2020 election was “rigged,” which is demonstrably wrong.

As Trump’s largest political triumph of the primary season, Cheney’s defeat was cause for celebration among Trump and his staff. The former president has described the findings as “a complete condemnation” of the January 6 committee.

He said of Cheney, “Liz Cheney should be ashamed of herself, the way she acted, and her spiteful, sanctimonious words and actions towards others,” he wrote on his social media platform. “Now she can finally disappear into the depths of political oblivion where, I am sure, she will be much happier than she is right now. Thank you WYOMING!”

Meanwhile, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, another major Republican critic of Trump, advanced from her primary in Alaska, which also took place on Tuesday. In the contest for Alaska’s lone U.S. House seat, Sarah Palin, the GOP’s 2008 vice presidential contender and a fervent admirer of Trump, was also headed for the general election in November.

The focus, though, was on Cheney, whose defeat just two years ago seemed impossible. She comes from a prestigious political family in Wyoming, as her father was the state’s vice president. Moreover, she was the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, making her a powerful figure in party politics and policy and ensuring that she had a solidly conservative voting record.

Now that Cheney has reached the end of her third and final term in Congress, she will be compelled to leave office in January. No one will be expecting her to exit Capitol Hill quietly.

She will remain in charge of the congressional group until its dissolution at the end of the year, when the probe into the attack on January 6 will have concluded. She has sworn to do all in her power to combat Trump’s influence in her party, and she is seriously considering a run for the White House in 2024, either as a Republican or as an independent.

What’s Your Take?

Like, Share, Comment, Tweet it Out!

“It’s Your World, You Decide!”

Continue Reading

Politics

Merrick Garland reveals he authorized the FBI’s Mar-a-Lago search.

Never Pork

Published

on

Embed from Getty Images

On Thursday, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he personally approved the search warrant that was used to raid Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

Garland also disclosed that the Department of Justice has submitted a motion to unseal an FBI property receipt and a search warrant.

“Federal law, long-standing department rules, and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time. There are, however, certain points I want you to know,” Garland said.

“First, I personally approved the decision to seek a search warrant in this matter. Second, the department does not take such decisions lightly.”

Given Trump’s “public confirmation of the search,” the circumstances surrounding the search, and the considerable public interest in this subject, Garland said they decided to move to unseal the materials.

The warrant and the FBI’s receipt were “given to the former president’s attorney who was on-site during the search,” Garland added.

We’re getting more information as time goes by. Remember to return for further information.

What’s Your Take?

Like, Share, Comment, Tweet it Out!

“It’s Your World, You Decide!”

Continue Reading

Trending