Taiwan

Oklahoma Senator James Lankford Abandoned By His Own Party On Border Bill

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Oklahoma Republican Senator James Lankford, a certain conservative in his views, has been working with Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Democratic Senator Chris Murphy to create legislation to deal with the border crisis with Mexico, which has led to thousands of migrants daily coming into the nation’s southern border.

The bill they have drawn up is not one that liberals would like, and includes concessions by President Joe Biden, and is connected with legislation to provide support for Ukraine and Israel, and also provide support for Taiwan.

It is a compromise bill far from perfect, but is a real attempt to deal with a number of crucial issues, but Donald Trump wants no action, and the Republican House and many Republicans in the Senate are bowing to him in an outrageous way, and avoiding resolving an issue that cannot safely wait until 2025, when Trump hopes to be back in the White House.

The Republican Party is continuing its decline into the dustbin of history, by their slavish obedience to the twice impeached, four times indicted nightmare of Donald Trump.

But meanwhile, the nation is being put into crisis in both domestic and foreign policy!

Important Diplomatic Meeting Of Biden With China’s President Xi Jinping

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In a world with so many crises, including among others, the Russia-Ukraine War, and the Israel-Hamas conflict, the fact that America has an experienced foreign policy President in office in Joe Biden, is such a positive!

Biden is meeting today with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California, in a time when there are lots of tensions between the two leading economic superpowers.

China’s support of the other side in both the Ukraine and Israel conflicts is a major problem, but there are lots of areas that China and the US need to work together, and overcome suspicions and mistrust.

There are a lot of contentious issues, and both sides will be candid, but it is important for world stability for the two major powers to come to an understanding on many problems and controversies, including the drug Fentanyl issue, the Covid 19 pandemic issue, the development of naval bases in the Pacific on islands created by China, trade controversies, and the ever present potential threat by China to Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Without a doubt, Biden has more experience and background in foreign policy than any post World War II president, except for Richard Nixon and George H. W. Bush, and hopefully, this summit will be productive!

Vivek Ramaswamy: An Arrogant, Cocky, Scary Amateur Running For President!

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Vivek Ramaswamy, the son of Hindu immigrants, who is estimated at age 38 to be a billionaire from his biotechnology industry investments, is an arrogant, cocky, scary amateur running for President, and has succeeded in gaining enough support in public opinion polls to be on the stage tonight at the Republican Presidential debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A graduate of Harvard University and Yale University Law School, he is an extreme right wing candidate, working to be more extreme than Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and promising he would pardon Donald Trump on Day One if he was elected President.

He describes himself as an “anti woke activist”, meaning he looks down upon those who have compassion, empathy, decency, sincerity, and concern for those who are not privileged as he is!

Ramaswamy is utterly brash, cocky, and has tremendous hubris, who thinks he is supremely qualified to be President. He is the person to watch tonight, and it is believed that Ron DeSantis is ready to apply the hatchet to him, at the same time that Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson are also ready to go after DeSantis, who is fast deteriorating as a serious candidate for the Presidency.

Ramaswamy is running as Trump 2.0, and his foreign policy beliefs are totally scary and shocking, as he would reduce or end aid to Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan; and allow Russia to keep the area of Ukraine that he controls at the moment, and prevent Ukraine from being part of NATO.

Domestically, he would work against transgender rights; environmental concerns; dealing with COVID 19’s continued threat even today; is supportive of the National Rifle Assocation; extremely anti abortion; calls to abolish the Department of Education, the FBI, and the IRS; wants to expand presidential power, pledging to rule by executive fiat; and wants to raise the voting age to 25 by constitutional amendment!

If Ramaswamy somehow was elected President, one can imagine as the youngest President that he would wish to remain in power for life, rather than leave office in his mid 40s.

He can be seen as a younger generation Fascist authoritarian, who would be a threat to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, and he should not be ignored, and needs to be observed closely both tonight and in future months, as his fortune and self support means he is not going to withdraw at any point before the battle is over for the Republican nomination.

And even more scary and terrifying is his statement that he would consider lunatic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr as his Vice Presidential running mate!

The US Military And Defense Department Have Daunting Challenges Ahead

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At a time when Climate Change presents overwhelming challenges to the entire planet, the threat of massive war also is a daunting challenge that is faced by the US military and the Defense Department.

The Russian war on Ukraine has led to Vladimir Putin formally annexing four areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, the largest land grab since the end of World War II.

Putin is threatening nuclear war if any of the annexed territories are attacked, and the threat of World War III is real.

President Joe Biden and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) have made clear that an attack on any land of any NATO nation, including those on the border of the Russian Federation, will lead to a unified response.

Additionally, the growing threat of a Chinese attack on Taiwan is alarming, as the US has said they would come to the defense of Taiwan, which could lead to war that could spread to Japan, South Korea, and Australia as well.

And of course, there is always the threat of North Korea and Kim Jong Un.

The US military has had troubles recruiting for volunteers among the younger generation, with many not in physical condition to be accepted, and yet, the thought of a reinstituted military draft after 50 years of no draft would certainly cause a bad political reaction.

Even Russia has learned that, with its decision to mandate forced service in its military in Ukraine, causing widespread fleeing and hiding by Russian men, causing disarray in Russia, and weakening Putin’s hold over his population, with growing opposition to the war effort.

Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy Challenges In Year Two Of His Presidency

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In addition to the uncertainty and tensions domestically, surrounding the danger of Donald Trump and the Republicans striving to end American democracy, Joe Biden faces massive foreign policy challenges in year two of his Presidency.

The Russian Federation and Vladamir Putin seem poised to invade Ukraine, with NATO and the US determined to punish Russia with harsh economic sanctions if that horrible event occurs.

China seems poised to invade Taiwan at some point, with the US stating it would come to the defense of that island, without being specific, but with the reality that a direct military intervention seems unlikely or manageable.

Iran seems resistant to resuming the 2015 nuclear agreement that Donald Trump destroyed during his Presidency, and there is the danger of a Iran-Israel War on the horizon.

North Korea and Kim Jong Un continue to test nuclear weapons, and therefore, represent a clear and present danger to US interests and neighboring nations in Asia.

Other nations have become more autocratic, including Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and Egypt in recent years, and democracy seems clearly to be on the defensive.

How much America can have an impact on these “hot spots” is hard to imagine, but that is not saying that Donald Trump or any other potential President would have any more fortune in world affairs!

The United States Has Become A “Flawed Democracy”!

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Americans want to believe that their nation is a paragon of “democracy”, but by estimates of many experts who watch how governments change in their level of democracy, the United States has become a “flawed democracy”.

The Economist Intelligence Unit, the research division of the publication THE ECONOMIST, has rated the nations of the world as “Full Democracies”, “Flawed Democracies”, “Hybrid Regimes”, and “Authoritarian Regimes”.

The United States is in the “Flawed Democracies” category as Number 25, second on the “Flawed Democracies” list behind France, which also has fallen out of the “Full Democracies” listing!

23 Nations are “Full Democracies”, led by Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada. Finland, Denmark, Ireland, Australia and The Netherlands are the next five, with the latter two actually tied for 9th!

Other major nations in the “Full Democracies” list include, among others, Taiwan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, Spain, and South Korea.

Inspiring is the fact that Taiwan, Chile, and South Korea have become democracies in recent decades, but sadly so many more nations have moved away from democracy, and the fact that the US and France are put at the top of “Flawed Democracies” is troubling! And Israel and Italy are 5 and 6 as “Flawed Democracies”. And Mexico is way down, near the bottom of 52 nations that are “Flawed Democracies”.

“Hybrid Regimes” are the next 35 nations, and “Authoritarian Regimes” were 57 in number, with the total of nations on the list being 167.

Donald Trump Undermines Democracy In Ukraine, South Korea, Middle East, Hong Kong And Elsewhere In Favor Of Russia, North Korea, Turkey, China And Other Authoritarian Governments

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It is now very clear that Donald Trump acts like an authoritarian leader, and is working to undermine democracy and the rule of law everywhere he can, outside the United States.

Trump cozies up to dictators in Russia, China, North Korea, Turkey, Egypt, Brazil, the Philippines, Hungary, Poland, and innumerable other nations, as all he cares about is MONEY and profit and his own aggrandizement of power.

In so doing, Trump endangers Ukraine, the entire Middle East, Hong Kong and Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, the Kurds, and our NATO allies, but he has no conscience or concern about human rights or freedom.

The authoritarian nations are marching forward with the endorsement and support of Donald Trump!

Trump Aiding Russia And China In Suppression Of Ukraine And Hong Kong: A Complete Reversal Of Foreign Policy Of Cold War Years

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The nation is in the midst of a totally unbelievable situation, with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Attorney General William Barr involved deeply in a conspiracy to collaborate with Russia and China, two nations that have been historically rivals in the years since World War II, with both being Communist nations.

Russia may be, technically, no longer Communist, but in actuality, Vladimir Putin was part of the old Soviet Union secret police before 1991, and China has been a Communist nation since 1949.

So now Trump and his cronies are trying to force Ukraine to help in collusion on trying to destroy former Vice President Joe Biden for the 2020 election, and basically, telling Ukraine’s leader that if he is to get military support against Russia, he must come up with “dirt” on Biden. The implication is that Ukraine is endangered, and that Russia, which took away part of that nation in 2014 will have a free hand if Ukraine does not come up with what Trump wants from them.

And now Trump has asked China to help do damage to Joe Biden, with the implication that the United States would stand by and allow China to suppress Hong Kong, and in the future, who can say that Taiwan would not also be threatened by China with no American response?

So in order to win the 2020 election, Trump wants collusion by Ukraine and China, similar to what he had with Russia in 2016, and he is not telling Russia not to collude again, and Putin is now joking about it openly!

And if Ukraine is seized by Russia, and if Hong Kong, and maybe in the future, Taiwan, are seized and end the concept of human rights, so be it in Donald Trump’s unstable brain, as he has abandoned all principle on the significance of basic human freedoms, and historic Republican opposition to Communism in the two biggest nations that have been seen as threats.

Here is a man who keeps on saying he has no intentions on leaving power at any point, so he represent a threat to basic human rights in America, let alone in Ukraine and Hong Kong and maybe Taiwan!

If that is not an impeachable act in itself, then what is impeachable?

Donald Trump’s Love Affair With Authoritarian Leaders In Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, China And Rejection Of Democratic Allies

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One of the most mystifying aspects of the Trump Presidency is his absolute love affair, his “bromance”, not only with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but also with the authoritarian leaders of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, and China.

Russia is a growing threat to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland, along with Ukraine, and one wonder what Trump would do if Putin decided to invade those nations.

Turkey’s leader promoted violence against demonstrators at the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC, and Trump has nary a comment to make.

Egypt’s leader has established a hard line dictatorship, after a brief period of an “Arab Spring” four to six years ago.

Saudi Arabia is the most despicable country when it comes to human rights, including involving women, and there are no free elections.

The Philippines leader has caused the mass murder of thousands of suspected drug dealers and users, but many of them totally innocent, and Trump applauds him.

China clearly is not a democracy, and while we must work with them on North Korea’s threat, Trump has become a cozy “friend” of its government, ignoring their violations of human rights, and their assertions of rights to the waterways off of Taiwan and Japan and South Korea.

Trump embraces human rights violators and threats to world stability, while being rude and disrespectful to the leaders of our major allied nations—Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany,Italy and Japan, as well as Australia and Mexico.

What is going on in the head of Donald Trump?

Why does he seem to worship authoritarianism and show contempt for democratic nations?

In so doing, Donald Trump is creating an unstable world, which the United States will pay for in blood and tears, in the long run, even after Donald Trump is finally out of office!

Diplomatic Crises Arising: Praise For Pakistan And Taiwan By Donald Trump Creates Problems With India And China!

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Donald Trump is proving how much of a total neophyte he is in diplomacy, having had ZERO experience and knowledge of international relations.

To go ahead and communicate in positive terms with Pakistan’s government, with which the US government has many issues, is extremely damaging, and can undermine the relationship with India.

To go ahead and be so cordial and warm with Taiwan’s new government, when China sees Taiwan as a rebel province, is equally damaging, as NO American President from Jimmy Carter to Barack Obama has ever, officially, dealt with Taiwan since the United States recognized mainland China’s government in 1979.

At this rate, Trump will undermine all of America’s foreign policy, cause misunderstandings and anger to rise, and we will end up in diplomatic crises and potential war, when all this could have been avoided, but Trump is a total ignoramus, who endangers any chance of a stable world, or a unified plan with other nations to fight Islamic terorrism.

The feeling is developing that Donald Trump is going to cause such chaos and anarchy in foreign policy, that his remaining in power has to be seriously compromised, as he could cause more damage than any President in modern American history, way more than George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, or Lyndon B. Johnson were able to do in their times in office.