Acting Navy chief takes over a fleet on the cusp of major changes
As Adm. Mike Gilday handed command of the U.S. Navy over to Adm. Lisa Franchetti — who joins a growing list of acting service chiefs — top Navy and Pentagon leaders said the service is on the verge of a technological and operational overhaul.
https://www.navytimes.com/naval/2023/08/14/acting-navy-chief-takes-over-a-fleet-on-the-cusp-of-major-changes/
Coz you sold out to the CCP Kevin
Australian Ambassador says ‘this ain’t a Cold War’ with China
Relations with China dominated much of the discussion during a Monday appearance by Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd at the Sheraton Waikiki.
Relations with China dominated much of the discussion during a Monday appearance by Australian Ambassador Kevin Rudd at the Sheraton Waikiki.
Honolulu think tank Pacific Forum and the Australian Consulate hosted the event in which Rudd, a diplomat and politician who previously served twice as Australia’s prime minister, discussed his country’s foreign policies and issues in the Pacific. Rudd, who studied in Taiwan as a student and worked as a diplomat at Australia’s embassy in Beijing during the 1980s, acknowledged that tensions are high. But he pushed back on the notion that the U.S. and China are engaged in a new Cold War.
“This ain’t a Cold War, ” Rudd said. “The Cold War against the Soviet Union was daggers drawn everywhere with the nuclear arsenals primed, mutually assured destruction, proxy wars raging around the world, plus zero economic engagement.”
He noted that while Beijing is growing its nuclear arsenal and the U.S. and China are competing for influence around the globe, he argued that competition has been largely bloodless and that “the United States remains China’s largest trading partner and China remains a major trading partner of the United States. So for those reasons, we should be careful about using language which simply creates a trajectory for the future.”
He said that while U.S.-China relations “could degenerate in that direction, ” he doesn’t think “that’s an objective descriptor right now.”
American officials, including U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, have visited China recently in an effort to cool tensions between the two countries. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry visited Beijing this week in an effort to restart climate talks, while former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who played a key role in establishing relations between the U.S. and China during the Cold War, met with Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu.
“We, like the United States, are seeking to stabilize our relationship with Beijing, ” Rudd said. “Obviously, there are vast differences in underpinning values and underpinning national interests, but we have been seeking for some time now to stabilize our relationship with Beijing to the extent that that’s possible.”
A major sticking point in that relationship has been the fate of Taiwan, a self-ruled island dem ocracy that Beijing considers a rogue province.
A visit to Taiwan last summer by then-House Speaker U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi drew swift condemnation from China, which cut off defense and climate talks with the U.S. in response. Since then, several other lawmakers from the U.S. and other countries, have visited Taiwan.
Rudd said that when he first went to Taiwan as a student, it was still a military dictatorship that had been established by exiled Chinese nationalists that lost the Chinese Civil War. Since then, the country has democratized and developed a high-tech economy. It’s currently a top producer of semiconductor chips that many companies rely on to make their products work, and is a key trade partner for the U.S. and Australia.
https://americanmilitarynews.com/2023/08/australian-ambassador-says-this-aint-a-cold-war-with-china/
http://zhwhxy.org.cn/a1/a-XCVZXOBACF0976FE099F9Bhttps://twitter.com/geoff_p_wade/status/1057058656158535680
Hillary Clinton is Laughing with Rachel Maddow as President Trump Faces Another Bogus Indictment in Georgia Political Show Trial
On Monday, the corrupt Fulton County court website briefly posted several charges against Trump – including RICO charges – before the grand jury has even closed!
The charges were briefly posted and taken down without explanation.
Reuters reported:
The Fulton County District Attorney’s office said in a statement that no charges had been filed against Trump.
The document was dated Aug. 14 and named Trump, citing the case as “open,” but is no longer available on the court’s website. Reuters was not immediately able to determine why the item was posted or removed.”The Reuters report that those charges were filed is inaccurate. Beyond that we cannot comment,” a spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office said.
On Monday evening, the grand jury returned 10 indictments in the Georgia 2020 election case but the defendants were not named. The exact charges are unclear at this time.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/08/hillary-clinton-is-laughing-rachel-maddow-as-president/
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews fires up as he rejects allegations of branch stacking against Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio
The Premier was defiant and turned on reporters as his government faced damning new allegations of using dead people to branch stack.
Victoria’s Premier has turned on journalists as he defended one of his most senior ministers against allegations of branch stacking and forging the signatures of dead people on party forms.
The Australian alleged a Victorian Labor branch associated with Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio produced signatures of at least two deceased people multiple times on party membership forms.
Two memberships were also reportedly renewed for two years after their deaths, adding to claims of branch stacking - the process of increasing the membership of a branch to ensure the preselection of a particular candidate.
Daniel Andrews turned the questions on reporters as he stood up for his factional ally Ms D’Ambrosio on Tuesday morning, while appearing alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
“If you want to say a person has done something, just say it and we can go from there… ultimately, what are you alleging?,” he said.
“I know normally you ask the questions but you’ve had a good go this morning so I’m asking what are you alleging? And I’m getting silence.
“So on that basis I’ll take it that there are no allegations against the minister.”
The Premier vehemently defended Ms D’Ambrosio, denying any comparison could be drawn with the 2020 investigation which saw several Labor ministers expelled.
“When it comes to the integrity of Ms D’Ambrosio, and this assertion that she’s somehow not focused on her ministerial duties. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more focused on the ministerial duties,” Mr Andrews said.
https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/victorian-premier-daniel-andrews-fires-up-as-he-rejects-allegations-of-branch-stacking-against-energy-minister-lily-dambrosio/news-story/ff9d813f3cea3eaa3cf9391a897be5ad