Saturday, April 2, 2022

Gen. Keane: Biden pressure for Zelenskyy to compromise shows he 'doesn't want Putin to lose' - Charles Creitz

 

by Charles Creitz

Zelenskyy has the will and strategy to win, but needs proper support, retired general says

 

 

President Biden and his administration are making it clear they are reticent to allow Vladimir Putin to lose his invasion of Ukraine outright, retired Gen. Jack Keane told Fox News on Wednesday.

Keane said it is clear Biden does not want Putin to lose his war against Ukraine and its civilians, in fear of the Russian dictator becoming even more enraged and taking drastic action that directly affects NATO or the United States.

Presidents Biden and Zelenskyy

Presidents Biden and Zelenskyy (Photo by Ukrainian Presidency / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Image)

"They don't want him to lose. And they want a deal. And it's such a lost opportunity," Keane said, adding that he has seen pressure from the U.S. toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cut a deal with Putin, even after the ground-war tide began turning in Kyiv's favor.

"Where is the passion arising out of you watching thousands of people being killed and literally murdered by this barbarism that's on display by the Russian army? Let's go out there and destroy that barbarism once and for all," Keane said. "And Zelenskyy has the will to do it."

HUGH HEWITT PLAYS RUSH LIMBAUGH'S 1992 ‘CLINTON ENDORSEMENT’ TO ILLUSTRATE BIDEN'S WALK-BACKS

Ret. Gen. Jack Keane, Chairman of the Board of the Institute for the Study of War

Ret. Gen. Jack Keane, Chairman of the Board of the Institute for the Study of War  ((Photo By Al Drago/CQ Roll Call))

"And his troops have got the skill and [the aid Zelenskyy is demanding] will give him the means to do it and also give them the moral support."

Keane said Biden needs to understand that wars are a "test of wills" and that facts on the ground show Russia is being decimated even as it destroys Ukrainian cities and civilian centers.

"I had a great source that told me that up to two weeks ago, the [Biden] administration was pressing Zelenskyy to cut a deal when he's doing counterattacks, when he's pushing the Russians back, when whole Russian units are being decimated," Keane told host Martha MacCallum. "We're asking him to cut a deal. Can you imagine his frustration when he got that phone call?"

"We don't want Putin to lose because we're afraid that if he loses, there'll be a provocative reaction on his part. So it explains why we're not all in on helping Zelenskyy win," Keane added.

Zelenskyy, he said is begging for more suitable help from the West, adding that Biden should show leadership and say publicly that the best deterrent of further Russian aggression toward NATO or elsewhere is for the Kremlin's military to be "crushed in Ukraine."

 

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/media/biden-doesnt-want-putin-to-lose-gen-jack-keane-fox-news

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Bill Maher: The 'left-wing media' buried the Hunter Biden scandal because 'it wasn't part of their narrative' - Joseph A. Wulfsohn

 

by Joseph A. Wulfsohn

The HBO star said it shouldn't take 'two years' for NYT, WaPo to verify the New York Post story

 

"Real Time" host Bill Maher blasted the "left-wing media" for failing to report on the Hunter Biden scandal during the 2020 presidential election

During his panel discussion on Friday night, Maher offered a history lesson about how in the "John Adams day" the country had "different newspapers for different parties" and what "brought it home to me" was how The Washington Post as well as The New York Times authenticated the laptop the New York Post first reported on nearly two years ago. 

HUNTER BIDEN SAGA: WASHINGTON POST AUTHENTICATES LAPTOP AFTER DISMISSING ‘FAKE’ SCANDAL IN 2020

"I remember reading about this a couple of years ago, the New York Post came across… Hunter Biden's computer, which he apparently left at a computer repair store. I didn't even know they existed. And if anyone should not leave his computer with other people, it would be Hunter Biden just for the personal stuff," Maher said. "But it also had stuff about how, you know, c'mon, he's a ne'er-do-well. I'm sorry, Hunter Biden, but you are… You made a living being ne'er-do-well who was taking money just because you were the vice president's son and you had influence." 

"He got, I think $4.8, yes, million from Chinese energy companies to sit on the board and consult. Yeah, that was his passion in life," Maher quipped. His exploration, hooker exploration, was his passion."

The New York Times and The Washington Post both verified Hunter Biden's laptop after dismissing the New York Post's bombshell reporting during the 2020 presidential election.

The New York Times and The Washington Post both verified Hunter Biden's laptop after dismissing the New York Post's bombshell reporting during the 2020 presidential election. (Getty images  |  New York Post)

Maher continued, "So the New York Post got a hold of what was in the computer. And, you know, because the New York Post is a Republican paper, and The New York Times and The Washington Post are the Democratic paper[s]…  And the Republican paper, Twitter… canceled their account! They can't even report on this story. And now two years later, The New York Times and The Washington Post have come around and say, ‘Okay, there was something there.'"

HUNTER BIDEN: MSNBC, ABC, CBS SIDESTEP AUTHENTICATED LAPTOP THEY DISMISSED IN 2020 WHILE ADDRESSING DOJ PROBE

The HBO star conceded that the laptop story should have been taken with a "giant thing of salt" since the New York Post retrieved it from Trump allies Rudy Giuliani and Steve Bannon, but "not two years." 

"It looks like the left-wing media just buried the story because it wasn't part of their narrative and that's why people don't trust the media," Maher said. 

(HBO)

Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang agreed, pointing to polling that showed trust in media "falls very sharply along party lines" where 69% of Democrats say they still trust the media while just 15% of Republicans and 36% of independents say the same. 

"This is part of the erosion of institutional trust, where one side feels like the media is on their side," Yang said. "And it does seem like this Hunter Biden laptop story did get buried because of the timing. I mean, it was coming out during the height of the election in 2020. And they did not want that out in the mainstream."

CNN legal analyst Laura Coates attempted to offer a more nuanced rationale to downplay the media's culpability. Notably, Coates' network was caught spiking the Hunter Biden laptop story as it broke according to recordings obtained by Project Veritas released in December 2020. 

"I think it can also be about the idea of you know, one, the priorities that the media has about what stories to put forward. And sometimes it's tied to obviously what is in the national zeitgeist," Coates said. "Other times, it's according to what actually is there to report on? What is the new information that's going to better inform the population? And of course, here we are in the world, as you well know, where not only do we have different slants for different media they are suggesting, but also you've got people who want these silos. They just want echo chambers. We used to say things like… 'You're preaching to the choir.' Well, now it's, 'Why aren't you preaching to the choir? It's all I'm here for.' So you preach to as a member of the choir." 

"And so you've got to balance the idea – this is a consumer-driven business at times more than it can be an information-driven business, which of course, tells a lot about where we are as a society," the CNN star added.

 

Joseph A. Wulfsohn is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to joseph.wulfsohn@fox.com and on Twitter: @JosephWulfsohn.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/media/bill-maher-hunter-biden-left-wing-media

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FLASHBACK: 16% of Biden voters would have voted differently if Hunter Biden laptop story was not suppressed by media, big tech - James Anthony

 

by James Anthony

A poll previously put out by the Media Research Center showed that fully 16 percent of voters who were unaware of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal would have switched their minds and not voted for Joe Biden for president, had they known about it at the time.

 

FLASHBACK: 16% of Biden voters would have voted differently if Hunter Biden laptop story was not suppressed by media, big tech

After the New York Post's reporting on Hunter Biden's laptop was suppressed, a poll was released showing that 16 percent of voters who were unaware of the laptop scandal would have not voted for Biden had they known about it at the time.

"Seems like a good day to remind everyone that 16 precent of Biden voters would NOT have voted for Biden if they had been aware of the Hunter Biden laptop story," said Kyle Martinsen on Twitter, linking to the poll.

 

James Anthony

Source: https://thepostmillennial.com/flashback-16-of-biden-voters

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China carried out massive cyberattack operation on Ukraine - report - Jerusalem Post Staff

 

by Jerusalem Post Staff

Ukraine's security service claimed China coordinated thousands of cyberattacks and hacking attempts on official Ukrainian government sites.

China launched a massive cyber operation against the Ukrainian military and its nuclear facilities before Russia began its invasion, according to UK intelligence reports obtained by The Times.

The British reports were backed up by Ukraine's national security service, the SBU, which claimed China coordinated thousands of cyberattacks and hacking attempts on official Ukrainian government sites.

Some of the sites targeted include over 600 websites belonging to Kyiv's defense ministry, a statement released by SBU claimed.

China's goal in the attacks was to steal data and explore ways to shut down Ukrainian defenses and civilian infrastructure, the SBU further claimed.

The attacks, which allegedly began prior to the end of the Winter Olympics in Beijing, peaked on February 23. Russian forces invaded Ukraine 24 hours later.

The SBU stated it is confident in its attribution of the attacks to China due to the "trademark tools and methods" used by the Chinese military's cyber units.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month.  (credit: Sputnik/Kremlin/Reuters) RUSSIAN PRESIDENT Vladimir Putin meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing earlier this month. (credit: Sputnik/Kremlin/Reuters)

Responding to SBU's claims, the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) told The Times that it is "investigating these allegations with our international partners."

Intelligence reports from the US indicate that the information gathered by British and Ukrainian intelligence is accurate, the report also stated.

 

Jerusalem Post Staff

Source: https://www.jpost.com/international/article-703024

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The Geopolitical Consequences of the Ukraine War - Alexander G. Markovsky

 

by Alexander G. Markovsky

As Yogi Berra observed, "If you don't know where you are going, you will end up someplace else."

 

On March 21, 2022, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, speaking of the Ukraine-Russia war, said: "there's going to be a new world order out there, and we have to lead it." The President did not elaborate on what this “new world order” would look like. What is the United States strategic aspiration, what it seeks to achieve, what it seeks to prevent?

As Yogi Berra observed, "If you don't know where you are going, you will end up someplace else." That is exactly what is happening.

Over the last thirty years, the inability to deal with Russia’s security concerns specifically expressed by Gorbachev, Yeltsin, and Putin eventually exploded into a military conflict. 

Incensed by Putin's audacity, America and the allies, in the collective rush to impose punitive economic sanctions, challenged the cohesion of international order by seeking remedies, which negate the functioning of the global economic system.

The current system is based on respect for contracts, sureness in the banking system, inviolability of private property, and economic interdependency. The scope of economic sanctions violated every aspect of the established order. America has weaponized the dollar as a tool for achieving political ends. The combination of constant threats, freezing foreign assets without a search warrant, and arbitrary expropriation of private properties without due process ostensibly for the global public good invokes memories of Bolshevism and raises the issue of power and legitimacy. 

When existing arrangements are fundamentally altered, a new order must emerge as a practical accommodation to reality.

Regardless how the war ended, the new reality is that the sanctions seriously weakened Russia's economy and greatly enhanced China's geopolitical position. Isolated from the world economy, Putin performed a “reverse Nixon” and played the “China card.” Instead of peeling Russia away from China’s orbit, Biden forced Russia to embrace China.

The unity of objectives drives both countries to form an economic, political, and military alliance. As a result of sanctions, China can acquire a vast natural resource base in Russia. Russia would become an energy and raw materials supplier at prices substantially discounted from the world markets. China can also fulfill the opening left by Western companies that abandoned the Russian market, further magnifying her economic influence. 

Having cheap energy and unlimited access to raw materials, China, which has become the world manufacturing plant, would be in a position to control the global economy and impel any foreign party, including the United States, whose actions are of concern to China.

If sustained, the sanctions on Russia will create a powerful Russia-China alliance that affirms the power of China and gives America a rival that sooner or later will diminish her economic power and lay low her influence over world affairs. 

On the other hand, the United States and Western Europe, without cheap and reliable energy, easy access to raw materials, will face profound and insidious economic and political vulnerabilities.

Furthermore, by forming a coalition against Russia, Biden unintentionally, indeed contrary to his intention, is dividing the world and risking to upend American standing among the countries opposing sanctions or clamming neutrality. At the time of this writing, Russia, China, India, the Arab World, most of Latin America, and Brazil are in this camp. 

China is taking advantage of the division and working to replace the United States as the world's dominant economic and political power. One of the avenues is replacing American petrodollars with yuan.

Saudi Arabia and a few other countries are warming up to the idea. Given that the U.S. economic dominance is built on petro-dollars, if the American dollar is dethroned as the world reserve currency, it would devastate the U.S. economy.

At this juncture, America faces a fundamental strategic choice, though there is no evidence that the Administration is even aware of it. It needs to decide whether keep raising the ante, hoping that Putin blinks and leaves Ukraine, or use a pragmatic approach to make compromises to save whatever is left of Ukraine and harmonize its interests with Russia before  she consummates an alliance with China. The penalty for not doing it will result in shifting the balance of power toward China.

Thus far, as a matter of prudence, China has accepted the world order she had no part in making. However, the recklessness with which America has been using its dominance gave credence to the vitriolic Russian message about American hegemony and offered “moral” justification for China to use her economic might and growing political influence to revise the rules of the game.

It is unclear how China intends to reshape the world order generally and toward the United States specifically. One thing is clear – the world order envisioned by the communists cannot possibly be to our liking.

 

Alexander G. Markovsky

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/04/the_geopolitical_consequences_of_the_ukraine_war.html

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Negev Summit succeeded beyond expectations, Israel envoy tells 'Post' - Lahav Harkov

 

by Lahav Harkov

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS: The gathering of four Arab foreign ministers in Israel was an unprecedented event. Ambassador to Bahrain Eitan Na’eh shares his experiences at the summit.

 

Day 2 of the Negev Summit (photo credit: ASSI EFRATI/GPO)
Day 2 of the Negev Summit
(photo credit: ASSI EFRATI/GPO)


This week’s Negev Summit was the Abraham Accords put into action. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid worked with his counterparts from Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates on addressing their shared challenges and interests, along with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, representing America’s encouragement and support.

The symbolism of four Arab foreign ministers gathering in Israel is hard to miss. It would have been “unthinkable just a few years ago,” Blinken remarked this week. The choice of Sde Boker, home and burial site of first prime minister David Ben-Gurion, as the summit’s site represented inspiration and vision for Lapid, who quoted Ben-Gurion as saying “history isn’t written; history is made.”

Iran was the big topic on the agenda. Israel, the UAE and Bahrain have been especially concerned about the direction of world powers’ talks to revive the nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic, and the way the US has avoided a strong response to Iranian proxy terrorism in the Gulf.

“The shared capabilities we are building intimidates and deters our common enemies, first and foremost Iran and its proxies,” Lapid said at the end of the summit. “They certainly have something to fear.”

But the areas of cooperation were much broader than that. The regional impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a major topic on the agenda, especially when it comes to food security – for example, most of Egypt’s wheat is imported from Ukraine – and changes in the energy market in light of Western sanctions on Russia.

ISRAEL’S AMBASSADOR to Bahrain Eitan Na’eh.  (credit: WIKIPEDIA) ISRAEL’S AMBASSADOR to Bahrain Eitan Na’eh. (credit: WIKIPEDIA)

The foreign ministers established working groups in six different areas, which is what diplomats do when they want to bring about real action on the ground.

Ambassador to Bahrain Eitan Na’eh was at the summit, in the room for Lapid’s meeting with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani and the meeting of all six ministers, and he was also Israel’s interim ambassador to the UAE right after the countries normalized relations.

“For the first time in our history,” Na’eh said, “we have a forum for our foreign ministers, gathering in Israel in Sde Boker, to talk about not just the relations between us, but about regional issues and regional problems, and trying to devise and conceptualize solutions, ways to deal with them.

“I think that was outstanding,” he added.

Na’eh spoke with The Jerusalem Post podcast after the historic event. His remarks have been edited and condensed for clarity.

What do you think was the objective at the outset of the summit? And do you think that the summit succeeded in meeting that objective?

To be honest with you, the summit succeeded above and beyond my expectations. Holding such a summit, and then four foreign ministers agreeing to come with such a short notice, within their busy schedules, to Israel, to Sde Boker, was incredible in and of itself, as was the opportunity to hear all of them voicing some of the very same issues. It wasn’t just security. We spoke about economic prosperity and food security and other issues. That was remarkable itself.

One could actually see that a kind of regional architecture of sorts is starting to be conceptualized. It needs still a lot of work and a lot of thinking, but we have started. And that’s important. As Foreign Minister Lapid said, this is the first leg of the summit, to be repeated, each time in maybe a different capital, a different country.

Defense issues pertaining to Iran were at the top of the agenda, and Lapid talked about a “regional security architecture.” What does that mean?

First of all, I don’t know if that was 50% or 40% [of the discussion]. Of course, security is the main concern for these foreign countries, and the events of last night [the terrorist attack in Hadera] show that the problems are multitude.

It’s not just Iran; it’s terror. Each and every country that was present in the room has suffered from terrorism, and what we did was really the answer, the antidote.

[The attack] only emphasized the need to have a united policy and a united answer to such threats. The way to do it is by sharing – sharing intelligence, sharing information – and early warning systems, everything that can really help us detect a problem and the threat, and respond to it.

Leading up to this conference, there were some tensions between Gulf states – especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia – and the United States. They were not happy with the US response to attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on their lands, on their energy infrastructure especially, and they weren’t taking US President Joe Biden’s calls, among other difficulties. I know Israel sort of tried to get in the middle and bring the sides together again. Do you think that this summit, in which Blinken participated, as did Foreign Minister of the UAE Abdullah bin Zayed, helped repair that relationship?

I can’t talk for the Americans, but I think that the summit allowed for ample time for all foreign ministers to meet with Antony Blinken. They had dinner together. They had the one-on-one meetings with him. You saw them together on the podium.

So I think that Secretary of State Blinken had ample time to listen and to take in some of the things that were said, at least. And what he heard showed that the views were shared by a lot of the foreign ministers. So I would imagine that it was taken in.

Israel has been vocal in recent weeks about the United States considering removing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the list of foreign terrorist organizations as a sort of side deal to the Iran nuclear deal. What was discussed on that issue?

The discussion wasn’t that specific, or at least I’m not aware of it. But again, most of the concerns were shared by all participants. And I think that they were heard loud and clear. That’s my impression; I’m not speaking for the Americans.

Israel’s views were made clear by a joint statement by the prime minister and the foreign minister. But the thing is that when you come to Israel and you meet in Israel the foreign ministers of Egypt, Morocco, the UAE and Bahrain, and you hear similar concerns – I’m sure that is a very clear message.

And the message coming back from the US, with Blinken talking from the podium, is that the US is here to stay, that it’s fully committed, that it’s going to work with its allies and partners in the region. And we all heard the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates thanking Antony Blinken for what he said. So, again, my impression is that the summit helped in that way.

For Israel, this summit was not about the Palestinians. But everyone else who participated talked about the Palestinians in their public remarks. Was that a big issue that was brought up in the meetings? Is that awkward for Lapid and for Israel?

I don’t think it was awkward. I think that the Palestinian issue is here with us. And it’s not just one issue. The Palestinian issue is many things. It is a solution to a long-term conflict, it is economic prosperity. And the Palestinian issue is also food security and trade and commerce. The Palestinians and many countries in the region are welcome to the club.

The Palestinian issue is part of what we are experiencing here. It is part of our life, and nobody forgot about it. It will take time. It’s not going to [be resolved] tomorrow. But I’m sure that the problem will be addressed.

You’re Israel’s ambassador to Bahrain. In the past, Bahraini officials seemed to feel that they were maybe left behind a little bit, and that all of the excitement was about the Emirates. How do you think things are catching up since then?

I think they have caught up. During the conference, we signed an agreement that is a kind of a road map to promote relationships, and to further deepening of the relationships. That was the only agreement that was signed during this conference. We are showing progress on many issues. I think that if you look at the trade balance between Israel and Bahrain next year and the year beforehand, you’ll see a big difference.

As we speak, there are trade delegations heading to Bahrain, more trade, more business, more [research and development] centers that are going to open, more Israeli companies that are thinking of opening up offices in Bahrain.

I briefed the foreign minister, on the way to Israel, on many topics and many trade issues that we have on the table. He was quite happy to hear that.

Another important element of his relationship is that the US Fifth Fleet is based in Bahrain, and I understand that Israel was sending a naval officer to be stationed in Bahrain. Has that happened already?

It will happen soon. They are finalizing the bureaucratic paperwork that is attached to sending a military officer to a foreign country. It’s happening, and it’s exciting because, yes, it is home to the American Fifth Fleet. That’s kind of the center of many coalitions in the Gulf, in the Indian Ocean and in the Red Sea.

We see Israel taking part in the joint training and meeting military officers from many countries. Some of these coalitions are up to 60 members, from Brazil to India and some of our Arab neighbors, the Jordanians and others. Israel takes part in these exercises.

Military officers have a chance to meet, address issues, talk about issues and challenges of cooperation in the changing environment. It’s another exciting area where defense cooperation is made. There is much to talk about and much to do to create a better place.

Another unique thing about Bahrain is that it’s the only country in the Gulf that has a long-standing Jewish community and a synagogue that’s more than a few years old. What has your connection been like with that community as an ambassador from Israel?

The Bahraini Jewish community originally came from Iraq, but also from Iran at the end of the 19th century, in the 1880s. The majority moved to Israel, to the UK and to the US, but there are a few dozen Jews who remained in Bahrain. What we find, time and again, is how deeply rooted they are, and how well-accepted they are by the wider Bahraini community.

And, yes, the synagogue was opened there in 1935, and it is still functioning. We had the Purim reading of the Megillah. Passover is upon us, and we’ll have a Seder in Manama, at the house of one of the Jewish families. So, yes, we have a full Jewish yearly cycle. We celebrated a wedding last autumn. Jewish life is thriving. 

 

Lahav Harkov

Source: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-702907

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'Silent majority' of Disney employees support Florida law, Disney employee running for Congress says - Tyler O'Neil

 

by Tyler O'Neil

Disney employees who support parental rights 'far outnumber' the loud minority, Jose Castillo says

Jose Castillo, a current Walt Disney Company employee who is running for Congress in Florida as a Republican, told Fox News Digital that the "silent majority" of Disney employees support the parental rights law H.B. 1557, despite the loud minority leading Disney to take a stance against the law, which critics have branded the "Don't Say Gay" law.

"There is immense pressure to toe the company line," Castillo told Fox News Digital. "However, the reality is that those drawing attention to this issue are in the minority. The Disney cast members who support the parental rights defended by HB 1557 far outnumber those who are protesting against it."

Castillo claimed that "Disney and similar corporations listen to the loudest voices in the crowd," even though the "silent majority" of employees disagree. "That is why I am standing up for our shared conservative values; to show other conservative cast members like me that we need to speak up and stand strong."

DISNEY HAS BETRAYED THE VERY VALUES THAT WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS SUCCESS, ORTHODOX RABBIS WARN

Jose Castillo

Jose Castillo (Jose Castillo)

LGBTQ employees at Disney staged a protest earlier this month in response to what they regarded as an insufficient condemnation of the Florida bill, which prohibits classroom instruction – not casual discussion – on "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" with children in third grade or younger, "or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."

Despite critics branding it a "Don't Say Gay" bill, H.B. 1557 does not ban the word "gay" in school settings. Neither does it ban casual discussions of topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom. It does not require schools to notify parents if their child identifies as gay or transgender.

FILE PHOTO: Fireworks go off around Cinderella's castle during the grand opening ceremony for Walt Disney World's Fantasyland in Lake Buena Vista, Florida December 6, 2012.

FILE PHOTO: Fireworks go off around Cinderella's castle during the grand opening ceremony for Walt Disney World's Fantasyland in Lake Buena Vista, Florida December 6, 2012.  (REUTERS/Scott Audette/File Photo)

Disney condemned the bill in an official statement Monday.

"Florida's HB 1557, also known as the ‘Don’t Say Gay' bill, should never have passed and should never have been signed into law," the statement, posted on the Walt Disney Company's Twitter page, reads. "Our goal as a company is for this law to be repealed by the legislature or struck down in the courts, and we remain committed to supporting the national and state organizations working to acheive that."

DISNEY'S LEFT-WING ACTIVISM CREATES ‘ENVIRONMENT OF FEAR’ THAT IS ‘DAMAGING MORALE,’ SOME WORKERS SAY

"We are dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country," the statement concluded.

Bob Chapek of Disney talks during the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports on May 8, 2016 in Orlando, Florida.

Bob Chapek of Disney talks during the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games Orlando 2016 at ESPN Wide World of Sports on May 8, 2016 in Orlando, Florida.  (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus)

"I think that is a terrible miscalculation because it's clear that the democratic process produced this law," Castillo told Fox News Digital. "Floridians, including Disney employees, democratically elected Florida's state House representatives and state senators, and those elected officials passed this law; and then, thank God, Governor DeSantis signed it into law."

The Disney employee claimed that the company's attack on the law "has Disney straying far away from the values that made this company the household name all Americans know and love."

He cited The Walt Disney Company's official mission statement, suggesting his employer needs to return to it.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the welcome segment of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S. February 26, 2021.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the welcome segment of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida, U.S. February 26, 2021.  (REUTERS/Joe Skipper/File Photo)

"The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world's premier ‘entertainment’ company," the statement reads.

Perhaps bolstering Castillo's argument that a "silent majority" of employees support the law, a group of employees urged Disney to abandon its stance against the Florida law in an open letter, urging the company to adopt a politically neutral stance. Castillo said he was not part of that effort, but he supports it.

 

Tyler O'Neil is an editor at Fox News. On Twitter: @Tyler2ONeil. News tips can be sent to: tyler.oneil@fox.com

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/silent-majority-of-disney-employees-support-florida-law-disney-employee-running-for-congress-says

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Russia and Iran: The New Axis of Evil - Con Coughlin

 

by Con Coughlin

Why Is the US Bankrolling Them?

  • Now Western security officials believe that Iran and Russia have struck a cooperation deal to work together to evade Western sanctions once a new nuclear deal has been agreed by the Biden administration.

  • Iran is known to have established a clandestine banking and finance system to handle tens of billions of dollars in annual trade banned under U.S.-led sanctions.

  • Iran, according to Western security officials, has offered to provide Russia with access to its illegal sanctions-busting network in return for Moscow's support in getting a new nuclear deal in place.

  • Russia and Iran are in the process of negotiating a multi-billion dollar arms deal, including the purchase of Russian warplanes and submarines, and Moscow is keen that the deal will not be scuppered as a result of Western sanctions.

  • Following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in China this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Moscow would work with Tehran to take steps to evade Western sanctions, the RIA news agency reported.

  • Western security officials believe the outline of a sanctions-busting deal between Moscow and Tehran is already in place, with Iran promising not to enforce Western sanctions against Russia. As part of the deal, Iran has offered to use its existing evasion network to help Russia sell its oil on international markets once the nuclear deal is signed, and sanctions have been lifted against Tehran.

  • The imposition of these measures is certainly a long overdue recognition by the Biden administration that Iran is simply exploiting the nuclear negotiations to further its own regional ambitions. And the fact that Iran and Russia are now actively colluding to evade Western sanctions, thereby forming a new "axis of evil", should finally persuade the White House to end once and for all its involvement in this gross act of diplomatic folly.

Russia and Iran are negotiating a multi-billion dollar arms deal, including the purchase of Russian planes and submarines, and Russia is looking to Iran for support in circumventing Western sanctions. Following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Moscow would work with Tehran to take steps to evade Western sanctions. Pictured: Lavrov (R) and Amir-Abdollahian conduct a joint press conference in Moscow on March 15, 2022. (Photo by Maxim Shemetov/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Thanks to the Biden administration's ill-judged obsession with reviving the flawed nuclear deal with Iran, the world can soon look forward to the creation of a new "axis of evil" between Russia and Iran.

In recent months, as negotiations over reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal's official title, have continued in Vienna, Western negotiators have expressed concern about the negative support Iran is receiving from Russia in the talks.

Instead of concentrating on key issues, such as Iran's enrichment activities that Western intelligence officials believe are part of Tehran's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, the Russians have encouraged the Iranian negotiating team to focus on relatively minor issues, such as the location of monitoring cameras at key Iranian nuclear installations, which are vital for monitoring their enrichment facilities.

Now Western security officials believe that Iran and Russia have struck a cooperation deal to work together to evade Western sanctions once a new nuclear deal has been agreed by the Biden administration.

Iran is known to have established a clandestine banking and finance system to handle tens of billions of dollars in annual trade banned under U.S.-led sanctions.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian system comprises accounts in foreign commercial banks, proxy companies registered outside the country, firms that coordinate the banned trade, and a transaction clearinghouse within Iran.

The Kremlin is desperate to find ways to circumvent Western sanctions that have been imposed in retaliation for Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to launch an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions have had a devastating impact on the Russian economy, with the rouble losing half its value since the start of the year.

To mitigate the impact of the sanctions, which are likely to remain in place for as long as Mr Putin remains in power, the Kremlin is desperately looking for new sanctions-busting opportunities. In secret negotiations conducted between Russian and Iranian officials in recent weeks, Iran, according to Western security officials, has offered to provide Russia with access to its illegal sanctions-busting network in return for Moscow's support in getting a new nuclear deal in place.

Iran is desperate to sign a new agreement in return for the Biden administration agreeing to lift the crippling economic sanctions against Iran which, despite its efforts to evade the measures, has still had a negative impact on the country's economy, prompting widespread anti-regime protests.

Last month, EU officials involved in the talks said that an agreement was "essentially ready and on the table," but the talks stalled after Russia demanded that its existing trading ties with Iran would not be affected as a result of the Western sanctions imposed against Moscow over Ukraine.

Russia and Iran are in the process of negotiating a multi-billion dollar arms deal, including the purchase of Russian warplanes and submarines, and Moscow is keen that the deal will not be scuppered as a result of Western sanctions.

Consequently, Russia is looking to Iran for support in circumventing Western sanctions. Following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in China this week, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov confirmed that Moscow would work with Tehran to take steps to evade Western sanctions, the RIA news agency reported.

Western security officials believe the outline of a sanctions-busting deal between Moscow and Tehran is already in place, with Iran promising not to enforce Western sanctions against Russia. As part of the deal, Iran has offered to use its existing evasion network to help Russia sell its oil on international markets once the nuclear deal is signed, and sanctions have been lifted against Tehran.

Plans by Russia and Iran to cooperate on evading international sanctions certainly provide a strong argument in favour of the Biden administration ending its obsession with concluding a new nuclear deal with Iran.

The White House has already attracted bitter criticism following Iran's latest demand at the Vienna talks that the US agrees to remove Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from its list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).

The prospects of Washington agreeing to that demand may have altered slightly, but not nearly enough, after the US this week imposed new sanctions against Iran and an IRGC unit in response to recent missile attacks launched against Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels and Shia militias.

The imposition of these measures is certainly a long overdue recognition by the Biden administration that Iran is simply exploiting the nuclear negotiations to further its own regional ambitions. And the fact that Iran and Russia are now actively colluding to evade Western sanctions, thereby forming a new "axis of evil", should finally persuade the White House to end once and for all its involvement in this gross act of diplomatic folly.

 

Con Coughlin is the Telegraph's Defence and Foreign Affairs Editor and a Shillman Journalism Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18385/russia-iran-axis-of-evil

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Disney expanding operations to 10 anti-gay countries, regions as they go 'woke' in the US - Cameron Cawthorne

 

by Cameron Cawthorne

Many of the places punish homosexuals with lengthy imprisonments. Others put them to death

 

 

The Walt Disney Company is expanding its media empire into at least ten anti-gay countries and regions as the company takes a left-wing stance in the U.S. that includes denouncing Florida's parental rights bill. 

The entertainment and media titan announced on Tuesday that Disney+, the company's subscription-based streaming service, would make its way into 42 new areas in Europe, Asia and West Africa starting in May with a rollout of launches going through mid-June.

However, nearly a dozen of the announced places where the streaming service will enter have strict anti-gay laws. 

As part of its expansion, Disney+ will make its way into Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia and Yemen – all of which outlaw homosexuality.  

Disney Bob Chapek

Disney is expanding into countries that criminalize homosexuality despite taking a "woke" political stance in the U.S. ((Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images for Invictus) / Getty Images)

In many of those places, same-sex activity is punishable through lengthy imprisonments, hard labor and fines. 

In others, like Saudi Arabia, where there is no criminal code, homosexuals and transgender individuals face an array of punishments, ranging from fines to chemical castrations to death. In Yemen, homosexuality is also punishable by death. 

The announcement of Disney+’s expansion into anti-LGBTQ+ areas comes as Disney positions itself as supportive of the LGBTQ+ community in the United States, saying in a statement earlier this week that they are "dedicated to standing up for the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ members of the Disney family, as well as the LGBTQ+ community in Florida and across the country."

Disney released the statement in opposition to the Republican-backed Parental Rights in Education law that was signed by Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday and said they were "committed to supporting the national and state organizations" working to have the law repealed. The statement included 'Don't Say Gay' bill, which falsely claims it bans any discussion pertaining to being gay in Florida schools. 

DISNEY HAS BEEN OUTSPOKEN ON DESANTIS' PARENTAL RIGHTS BILL BUT SILENT ON UYGHUR GENOCIDE

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks at a press conference at the Eau Gallie High School aviation hangar in Melbourne, Fla., on March 22. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

The law bans teachers from giving classroom instruction on "sexual orientation" or "gender identity" in kindergarten through third grade.

Disney+ isn’t the only Disney brand doing business in countries where homosexuality is illegal. FOX Business reported on Wednesday that Disney Cruise Lines, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company, offers Southern Caribbean cruises starting at $3,870 per person. The cruises sail this summer to Antigua, Dominica and St. Maarten.

All three of these destinations ban gay marriage. Antiqua carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison for same-sex sexual activity and Dominica carries a penalty of up to 10 years for same-sex sexual activity. Antiqua and Dominica both also don’t have any laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

DISNEY BASHES FLORIDA'S PARENTAL RIGHTS BILL BUT OFFERS CRUISE TO COUNTRIES WHERE HOMOSEXUALITY IS ILLEGAL

Disney Cruise Lines

Passengers stand on the deck of Disney Dream, a Disney Cruise Lines' ship, as it sails to the Bahamas on the first Disney cruise for paying customers since they were stopped during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, from Port Canaveral in F (REUTERS/Joe Skipper / Reuters)

In addition to LGBTQ+ rights, Disney has vocally supported the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, voting rights, and other minority groups, but when it comes to the ongoing Uyghur genocide in China, Disney has been silent.

Disney has a "very active" presence in China, according to Disney's Asia Pacific president Luke Kang. In addition to having two Disney stores in China and a Disney resort in Shanghai, several Disney movies have been filmed there, including Mulan, which was partly filmed in the Xinjiang region of China, where a network of Chinese detention centers have been built for Uyghurs to be subject to human rights abuses.

Disney did not respond to FOX Business’s request for comment.

FOX Business’ Jessica Chasmar contributed to this report.

 

Cameron Cawthorne

Source: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/disney-expanding-operations-to-10-anti-gay-countries-as-they-go-woke-in-the-us

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Biden's border surge plan is worse than it looks - Monica Showalter

 

by Monica Showalter

Right now, in just one Texas corridor, at Eagle Pass, some 7,000 illegal border-crossers from 157 countries are rolling through daily. That number is expected to soar to 18,000 a day once Title 42 is gone.

 

Joe Biden knows there's a border surge coming. He's planning to drop Title 42 COVID restrictions on illegal entrants as of May 23, and the human waves are expected to at least double from what was seen last year.  And he knows it.

Some two to three million illegal border-crossers are forecast to make landfall in the United States, and with no fear of deportation, and establish themselves in the States permanently.

Right now, in just one Texas corridor, at Eagle Pass, some 7,000 illegal border-crossers from 157 countries are rolling through daily.  That number is expected to soar to 18,000 a day once Title 42 is gone.  Democrats in those affected districts are alarmed and asking Biden not to do it.  The coming surge is going to make the past surges look like play waves in the kiddie pool.

Biden knows they are coming has no intention of enforcing U.S. border law, or even trying to stop it. 

Instead, he and his minions have a plan that they aren't telling us about, yet news leaks coming out suggest that it's worse than it looks.

Several things stand out.

First, Biden has a plan for border-surgers who will inevitably need medical care, given that the incentive to migrate for "free" gringo health care is bound to motivate the sick to come, and for those who make the arduous journey itself.  The customer service standards of Mexico's human-smuggling networks are likely to create many who need medical care who didn't before they set off.

Leaked reports suggest that Biden plans to address it this way:

 

What?

He's going to steal medical personnel from V.A. medical centers and their veteran clients to tend to illegals?

What kind of priority is that?  And how fair is it to the medical personnel, many of whom have made it their mission to serve U.S. service members, not play "doctors without borders" for nationals of 157 countries?  Stealing doctors and leaving veterans high and dry without enough medical personnel and long, long lines for appointments is outrageous.  It's downright immoral.

That's not the only shocking thing about this Biden plan to meet the surge.

Reports also suggest that illegal border-crossers will be given an "app" for their cell phones (which, of course, they all have) for an express check-in with Border Patrol agents, to ensure their speedy entry and customer service satisfaction, something (legal) immigrants certainly don't get:

What could go wrong?  Vetting?  Yes, just like how those Afghan plane jumpers were "stringently vetted."

And why is there such a surge to grant illegals from other countries government services when our own IRS still can't answer taxpayer phone calls, and the rest of the government is largely dysfunctional, too?  What kind of priority is that?

The third aspect of the plan is what comes after:

The odd timing of Biden's decision to employ "asylum officers" to the job that had been done by judges, to adjudicate asylum claims, all in the name of "efficiency" and "clearing backlogs," is problematic, too.

Biden's executive order is expected to become operational on May 21, two days before his Title 42 COVID restrictions are to be dropped.

These newly minted "asylum officers" with vast powers to admit or not admit illegal migrants as asylees includes a host of incentives to grant them asylum on the spot, and, with that asylum, an automatic path to U.S. citizenship to illegal border-crossers.

Numbers USA notes that to start, it won't even clear the backlog:

The fundamental contradiction at the heart of this regulation is straightforward. The regulation, in the name of fairness and efficiency, places ultimate authority for adjudication of asylum applications with asylum officers. The theory behind this is that it reduces the procedural path of adjudication by cutting out the immigration judges who are facing a massive 600K+ backlog of asylum cases. Seems simple, right? Judges are overwhelmed so why not outsource the work to asylum officers? The trouble is that the Biden Administration even screws this up. The regulation only allows the expedited process if the asylum officer approves the application. If the asylum officer denies the application, then the regulation preserves the appeals to immigration judges. Which means, in the case of denials, this regulation has zero effect on increasing efficiency. But wait there's more, the revised rule actually expands the rights of asylum applicants in their appeal of a denial. The first draft actually tried to limit applicant procedural maneuvering on appeal to speed up the process. Turns out the one group of commenters the Biden Administration listened to was the group that said his new rule was too hard on denied applicants. So for asylum denials, the rule will not change much unless you believe adding unrealistic timelines matters.

At this point it is fair to wonder why DHS and DOJ would make such a distinction between approvals and denials. The answer is that in a nonadversarial process up to one low-level staffer, it is very likely that pertinent information could be missed. Furthermore, it is highly likely that cases of fraud will be missed and rewarded. The Biden Administration wants to make sure they defend against improper denials for bona fide asylum applicants. This is admirable until you realize what that means for the regulation as a whole. Namely, if even DHS and DOJ refuse to trust the new nonadversarial process they are creating with respect to denials, then how is that same process reliable to produce approvals? What would the Left say about a Trump Era asylum rule that created a rushed adjudication system where only denials were final and approvals had to go through a much more complicated and onerous process?

Mark Krikorian, writing in National Review, notes:

What that means is that the White House plan for dealing with the surge of new illegal immigration — which will come on top of the existing historic surge of illegal immigration — is not to halt the surge but to launder it by granting asylum immediately to virtually all those who jump the border. The goal is to "process" hundreds of thousands of border jumpers in an "efficient and fair" manner so that they're no longer illegal aliens. Once they've been re-christened as asylees (and thus on a path to citizenship), there are no more messy questions about whether they'll show up for court and whether they'll leave when they lose their asylum claim (as most currently do).

With thousands and thousands of these claims set to be rubber-stamped, it's pretty obvious that this is a usurpation of Congress's sole lawful authority to set immigration numbers for entry into the States.  From the migrants' perspective, only a fool would try to immigrate legally now that instant citizenship just for crossing illegally is what's on offer.

Every migrant who gets that cheaply handed out "asylum" will make a mockery of the entire idea of asylum.  Unlike actual asylees fleeing bona fide persecution in their home countries, these new "asylees" will be free to fly back and forth to the country they claim is trying to kill them, and send remittances to fatten up the governments of those same countries that are supposedly persecuting them.  Think any of them will forgo that out of "credible fear of persecution" as the asylum claim goes?  Just watch the flight counts to Central America at Miami and LAX when this goes into effect.

Fact is, most of these people about to be granted asylum aren't asylees.  Most have already crossed multiple borders, paid cartels huge sums of cash to get smuggled in, engaged in country-shopping in order to obtain the best jobs and benefit packages, and come from the lower middle class, not the dirt-poor of their respective countries.  It's quite different from the situation of Ukrainians, whose literate and productive citizens are fleeing live bombs with no homes or even cities to return to and taking any port in a storm.

The asylum process is about to become twisted into a backdoor means of admitting all illegals, no matter how much the cost and how little the country can benefit from them.

The worst aspect of this "instant yes" scam is that these line-jumpers will have an instant path to U.S. citizenship after they get that quickly handed out asylum.  Because of that, Democrats will have the voter base they are seeking, and much sooner than they could expect through court channels.  The whole thing is a fiasco for rule of law, and little more than a plan to import Democrat voters who won't need to cast ballots illegally to give Democrats the result they want.

How this could be legal is really pretty germane to the issue.  These Biden workarounds, usurpations, and caterings to illegal activity should be challenged to high heaven in court, broadcast in the press, and criticized in the halls of Congress.

Republicans should raise hell about it, because it makes a mockery of citizenship, rule of law, and basic justice.

 

Monica Showalter

Source: https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022

/04/bidens_border_surge_plan_is_worse_than_it_looks.html

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Thursday, March 31, 2022

China Takes Over the Solomon Islands — And the Pacific - Gordon G. Chang

by Gordon G. Chang

Beijing is moving from island group to island group, and soon the People's Liberation Army will be in striking distance of Hawaii.

  • China, after years of persistent commercial, diplomatic, and military efforts, is taking over the Pacific.

  • Beijing is moving from island group to island group, and soon the People's Liberation Army will be in striking distance of Hawaii.

  • The five-year deal, subject to automatic renewals, will allow Beijing to use the islands to base its military and to do pretty much what the Chinese military wants.

  • If implemented to its full extent, the Framework Agreement will give China the ability to sever shipping lanes and air links connecting the U.S. with its treaty ally Australia and partner New Zealand.

  • For decades, Washington allowed Canberra and Wellington to manage the Solomons and its region.... Beijing, through payoffs now detailed in public, essentially owns Sogavare's government.

  • There is now talk that China will ink a security agreement with Papua New Guinea, just north of Australia.

  • Moreover, China wants to upgrade an airstrip in Kiribati. Beijing says the improvements are for civilian purposes only, yet the military uses are apparent and no one believes the Chinese assurances.

  • The facility is just 1,900 miles south of Hawaii. In Pacific terms, Kiribati is America's next-door neighbor.

Communist China is moving across the Pacific from island group to island group, and soon the People's Liberation Army will be in striking distance of Hawaii. China's new five-year deal with the Solomon Islands, subject to automatic renewals, will allow Beijing to use the islands to base its military and to do pretty much what the Chinese military wants. Pictured: Chinese Premier Li Keqiang shows the way to Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, in Beijing on October 9, 2019. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

On March 25, the Solomon Islands announced it was "expanding" security arrangements, "diversifying the country's security partnership including with China."

The announcement was defensive. The day before, opponents of a security pact with China leaked what was labeled a "draft" agreement. Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare's government did not confirm the authenticity of the leaked document, but observers believe he intends that version to be final. Australia, which expressed "great concern," confirmed the draft as authentic.

The pact, titled "Framework Agreement Between the Government of the People's Republic of China and the Government of Solomon Islands on Security Cooperation," highlights a disturbing trend: China, after years of persistent commercial, diplomatic, and military efforts, is taking over the Pacific.

Beijing is moving from island group to island group, and soon the People's Liberation Army will be in striking distance of Hawaii.

Cleo Paskal of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies tells Gatestone the Framework Agreement was a "unilateral decision by Sogavare." "There has been no public consultation," she pointed out.

The five-year deal, subject to automatic renewals, will allow Beijing to use the islands to base its military and to do pretty much what Chinese generals and admirals want. "China," the pact states in Article I, "may, according to its own needs and with the consent of Solomon Islands, make ship visits to, carry out logistical replenishment in, and have stopover and transition in Solomon Islands, and the relevant forces of China can be used to protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in Solomon Islands."

If implemented to its full extent, the Framework Agreement will give China the ability to sever shipping lanes and air links connecting the U.S. with its treaty ally Australia and partner New Zealand.

For decades, Washington allowed Canberra and Wellington to manage the Solomons and its region, and both Western powers, through the corrosive combination of neglect and condescension, allowed China to make significant inroads. Beijing, through payoffs now detailed in public, essentially owns Sogavare's government.

Sogavare, not surprisingly, is doing Beijing's bidding. He switched diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019, and has, at home, opened the door wide to Chinese investment.

The prime minister has also mismanaged the country, for instance marginalizing the country's most populous island, Malaita, and threatening its premier, Daniel Suidani. Putting his life at risk, Suidani has resolutely opposed the Chinese takeover of the Solomons.

In November, Sogavare's misrule resulted in deadly riots in the capital of Honiara, on the island of Guadalcanal, where 1,600 Americans died in 1942 and 1943 freeing the island from Japanese control.

Australia in November sent police and troops to restore order and thereby saved Sogavare's government, which then seemed to be on the verge of failure. Canberra's misguided intervention made it easy for Sogavare then to invite Chinese police in February. Beijing's presence solidified his hold on power.

The Framework Agreement also provides, in Article 1, that the "Solomon Islands, may, according to its own needs, request China to send police, armed police, military personnel, and other law enforcement and armed forces to Solomon Islands to assist in maintaining social order, protecting people's lives and property, providing humanitarian assistance, carrying out disaster response, or providing assistance on other tasks agreed upon by the Parties."

Honiara on the 25th said it would keep its 2018 security agreement with Canberra in place, but it is evident that Sogavare is looking only to China for police and military assistance.

Sogavare, backed by Beijing's military and the Framework Agreement, can effectively end democracy in the Solomons. Paskal, who closely follows the Pacific, reports that the prime minister is trying to postpone elections. "If Sogavare can trigger a domestic security crisis, he will use that as an excuse to keep himself in power," she notes. "China will help the prime minister provoke a civil war. That war will provide Sogavare an excuse to call in the Chinese military, according to the new agreement."

As Paskal told Gatestone, Beijing has already exacerbated tensions so that it could come to the "country's rescue."

The inter-island tensions that fuel the ongoing crisis are not new. In 2000, similar disputes were ended by the Townsville Peace Agreement, which Sogavare, also then prime minister, did not implement. Paskal suggests the deal could be the basis of another settlement.

The Solomons are not an isolated instance of Chinese penetration of Pacific governments. There is now talk that China will ink a security agreement with Papua New Guinea, just north of Australia.

Moreover, China wants to upgrade an airstrip in Kiribati. Beijing says the improvements are for civilian purposes only, yet the military uses are apparent and no one believes the Chinese assurances.

The facility is just 1,900 miles south of Hawaii. In Pacific terms, Kiribati is America's next-door neighbor.

 

Gordon G. Chang is the author of The Coming Collapse of China, a Gatestone Institute distinguished senior fellow, and a member of its Advisory Board.

Source: https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/18384/china-takes-over-solomon-islands

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