Forbes@Forbes
#BREAKING: Sen. @RandPaul (R-KY) blocks vote on confirmation of Kenneth Wainstein, nominee to be Under Secretary of Homeland Security,over concerns about the new Disinformation Board at DHS.
https://twitter.com/Forbes/status/1521517648340787202?s=20&t=reXuQra6HoBdmbb5e8j0MQ
The Death Cult might be in it’s death throes, the wailing and gnashing teeth is evidence
https://twitter.com/davidharsanyi/status/1521499117956087810?s=20&t=reXuQra6HoBdmbb5e8j0MQ
https://twitter.com/Doc_0/status/1521483169194815495?s=20&t=3WZi0ddTdyYlJQhoSmU0HQ
https://twitter.com/ProfMJCleveland/status/1521301638132211724?s=20&t=3WZi0ddTdyYlJQhoSmU0HQ
I think Sotomayer did it or allowed it, remember she intentionally mistated 1,000s of children are in hospitals due to covid, and the last week “Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote a dissenting opinion arguing that jurors who express familiarity with FBI crime stats should be banned from Capital case juries for “racial bias.”
I think she’s lost her mind and is going crazy, probably from the jab! Kek
https://twitter.com/ProfMJCleveland/status/1521321993857077250?s=20&t=3WZi0ddTdyYlJQhoSmU0HQ
3 May, 2022 18:48
New US strategy seeks to arm Japan against China
With no ally in the region willing to host US missiles, Washington should encourage Japan’s rearmament instead, says a new report
None of the US allies in the Pacific are currently willing to host intermediate-range missiles, says a new report by the RAND corporation, a think-tank tasked with developing strategies for the Pentagon. Instead, its author advises, Washington should encourage Japan to develop a missile arsenal of its own in order to threaten Chinese ships.
Within days of the US pulling out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty in August 2019, the Pentagon revealed it was working on previously banned missiles and wanting to station them somewhere on the Pacific rim. As RAND analyst Jeffrey W. Hornung points out, that seems to be easier said than done.
In the report, which RAND publicized on Monday, Hornung argues that “the likely receptivity to hosting such systems is very low as long as current domestic political conditions and regional security trends hold,” pointing specifically to Thailand, Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and Japan.
So long as Thailand has a “military-backed government” that “shows a propensity to pursue closer ties with China,” the US wouldn’t want to base missiles there – and the Thai would be unlikely to accept if asked – Hornung said.
The Philippines are also “extremely unlikely” to accept US missiles. Even though “the Philippine public and elites generally support the United States and the alliance, President Rodrigo Duterte has pursued policies that negatively affect ties,” Hornung wrote.
According to the report, the government of South Korea (ROK) also has ties to China and is susceptible to Chinese pressure, with Seoul “highly unlikely” to consent to hosting US missiles amid “a general deterioration of US-ROK relations.”
While Australia seems like a good candidate, especially after the 2021 AUKUS submarine pact and other developments, Canberra is known for “historical reluctance to host permanent foreign bases.” Australia is also just too far from China for the ground-based intermediate-range missile systems (GBIRM) to be effective.
Even Japan, which is willing to “bolster its own defense capabilities vis-à-vis China,” is reluctant to accept any increase in the US military presence or “deploying weapons that are explicitly offensive in nature,” the report notes.
Any US strategy that relies on an ally permanently hosting GBIRM “would face serious risks of failure due to aninability to find a willing partner,” Hornung writes.
Instead, he argues the US should “help Japan in its efforts to develop and deploy an arsenal of ground-based, anti-ship standoff missile capabilities,” which could eventually lead to Tokyo being willing to deploy anti-ship cruise missiles with longer ranges.
“Although these missiles still would not be capable of deep strikes into China, if they were deployed on Japan’s southwestern islands or even Kyushu, they would be able to cover ship movements in the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, and some of China’s east coast, thereby extending the range at which Chinese assets could be held at war-planning risk and potentially contributing to a maritime interdiction mission in the Taiwan Strait,” the report concludes.
https://www.rt.com/news/554925-missile-study-pacific-rand/
3 May, 2022 16:39
Taiwan frozen out by US weapon's contractors
Taipei is weighing other options after its howitzer order was left behind on American production lines amid the Ukraine crisis
Taiwanese defense officials have been forced to regroup on plans for artillery forces after being told that the US has pushed back the estimated delivery date for 40 howitzer systems by at least three years as Washington races to supply more weapons to war-torn Ukraine.
Taipei’s $750 million order was “crowded out” of US production lines, delaying delivery to 2026 at the soonest, rather than starting in 2023 as planned, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense said on Monday. As a result, the ministry is looking at other available weapons systems, such as truck-based rocket launchers produced by Lockheed Martin Corp., to fill the void and will submit a budget proposal once a decision has been made.
Taiwan is trying to modernize its military with precision and long-range weaponry to fend off a possible attack by mainland China, which considers the republic to be a breakaway province. The artillery order was approved last year, making it Taiwan’s first arms deal with the US since President Joe Biden took office, and it was to include 40 155mm M109A6 self-propelled “Paladin” howitzer systems. It also covered related equipment, such as support vehicles and precision guidance kits.
Biden’s administration has ramped up the delivery of heavy weapons, including howitzers, to Ukraine to help Kiev repel Russian forces. Washington has pledged 90 howitzers and 140,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition to Kiev as part of about $15 billion in promised weaponry. Biden is seeking lawmaker approval for $33 billion in additional aid to Ukraine.
Last year’s chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the administration’s refusal to send American troops to fight Russians in Ukraine have called into question Washington’s commitment to protecting Taiwan. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week vowed that the administration would make sure Taiwan had “all necessary means to defend itself against any potential aggression.”
Taiwanese officials are watching the Ukraine conflict “very carefully” and are examining “what we can learn from Ukraine in defending ourselves,” the disputed island republic’s foreign minister, Joseph Wu, told CNN on Sunday. He added, “I think the Chinese government must be thinking or calculating how the US or other major countries are going to come to Taiwan’s help or whether they’re going to come to Taiwan’s help. If Taiwan does not have any support, I think that’s going to be a green light to aggression.”
Beijing, which has blamed the US and other NATO members for instigating the Ukraine crisis, has repeatedly warned against US meddling in Taiwan, saying it will take steps to defend China’s territorial integrity.
https://www.rt.com/news/554924-taiwan-us-weapons-order-delayed/
3 May, 2022 16:48
US oil giant declares Russia force majeure
ExxonMobil has been having difficulties with export shipments from the Sakhalin 1 project
ExxonMobil said on Wednesday that its Russian unit Exxon Neftegas has declared force majeure for its Sakhalin 1 operations due to sanctions. It has become increasingly difficult to ship crude to customers, the company explained.
The Sakhalin 1 project produces Sokol crude oil off the coast of Sakhalin Island in Russia’s Far East, exporting about 273,000 barrels per day, mainly to South Korea, as well as other destinations including Japan, Australia, Thailand, and the US.
Exxon announced last month it would exit about $4 billion in assets and discontinue all its Russia operations, including the Sakhalin 1 project. The US oil giant has also significantly phased down its chemical and lubricant businesses in Russia.
The company is taking steps to exit Sakhalin 1, which includes addressing contractual and commercial obligations, Exxon spokesperson Julie King told Reuters. “As operator of Sakhalin 1, we have an obligation to ensure the safety of people, protection of the environment and integrity of operations,” King said.
Project stakeholders, which also include Japan’s Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development consortium and Indian explorer ONGC Videsh, are reportedly having difficulty chartering tankers to ship oil out of the region.
“As a result, Exxon Neftegas Ltd has curtailed crude oil production,” King said.
Refinitiv Eikon data showed that two of the latest tankers to take on crude at Russia’s De Kastri port, where oil from Sakhalin 1 is loaded, are empty and floating near the port.
https://www.rt.com/business/554675-us-declares-russia-force-majeure/
The world is watching and we will not fail.
These people are so stupid, it’s frightening they have anything to do with government
Those are dems right? Why are all of them so ugly?
Well said
Good to know, he’s an agent for Rusdia
The MSM will report this as he meant to say it, its code words
I think all the insane calling for unlimited abortions should get them, and those who revere the life of children should have them. It might balance out in the end.
Convincing a rabid abortion believer of anything but abortion, doesnt work