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NOVEMBER 16,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT:

A COMMON-SENSE IDEA – FROM BREITBART:  Former President Donald Trump is calling on the Pulitzer Prize Board to rescind awards given in 2018 to the staffs of the New York Times and the Washington Post for their reporting that fueled the hoax that the Trump campaign had colluded with Russia to win the 2016 presidential election.  In a letter dated September 30 but released Tuesday afternoon, Trump wrote to Pulitzer Prize interim administration Bud Kliment:  "I call on the Pulitzer Prize Board to immediately rescind the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting awarded to the staffs of the New York Times and the Washington Post, which was based on false reporting of a non-existent link between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign. As has been widely publicized, the coverage was no more than a politically motivated farce which attempted to spin a false narrative that my campaign supposedly colluded with Russia despite a complete lack of evidence underpinning this this allegation."  Trump added, “For two years, these institutions feverishly pushed one Russia story after another and — despite lacking any credible evidence — attempted to persuade the public that my campaign had colluded with the Russian government.”  He called on the news outlets to voluntarily surrender their awards, but if not, he expected the board to act.  “For over a century, the Pulitzer Prize has been widely recognized as a significant achievement in the field of journalism. … When it becomes apparent that a Pulitzer Prize-winning work was based on shoddy, dubious and manifestly false reporting — as is the case here — the Pulitzer Prize Board must react accordingly,” he wrote.  He is correct, but I'd be surprised if the Board will do anything at all.  The once prestigious Pulitzer Prizes have fallen from their perch.  They're now part of the liberal journalistic machine.  After all, a Pulitzer Prize was given to "the 1619 Project," an absurd piece of amateurish history invented by an African-American activist at The New York Times.  The Pulitzer Board didn't seem terribly concerned about the project's accuracy.  But...I'd like to be pleasantly surprised.

November 16, 2021       Permalink

CAN WE GET SOMETHING RIGHT?  PRETTY PLEASE – OVERNIGHT:  Mr. Biden is in trouble again, his normal retreat, this time over not quite getting his foreign policy right.  We're sympathetic and we understand.  We just don't want to get blown up.  From The Hill: 

President Biden said Tuesday that the U.S. was not endorsing Taiwan’s independence, after he suggested as much earlier in the day during an exchange with reporters about his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“We’re not going to change our policy at all,” Biden told reporters in New Hampshire, where he was traveling to promote the newly-signed infrastructure bill.

“I said they have to decide on Taiwan, not us. We are not encouraging independence. We’re encouraging them to do exactly what the Taiwan Act requires,” Biden continued, an apparent reference to the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979. “That’s what we’re doing. Let them make up their mind.”

Biden told reporters earlier in the day that he made clear in the call with Xi that the U.S. abides by the Taiwan Relations Act, under which the U.S. commits to providing Taiwan with arms for its defense.

“It’s independent. It makes its own decisions,” Biden added.

A readout of Biden’s virtual meeting with Xi late Monday said that Biden reiterated his administration’s commitment to the “one China” policy under which the U.S. does not recognize Taiwan as a separate state from mainland China, as has been the case across previous administrations.

Speaking to reporters following the meeting, a senior administration official reiterated that the U.S. does not support Taiwan’s independence.

Biden’s remarks on Taiwan have previously caused confusion. After the president said during a CNN town hall in October that the U.S. would come to Taiwan’s defense if attacked by China, the White House sought to clarify Biden’s remarks by saying they did not represent a shift in policy. The Taiwan Relations Act commits to arming Taiwan but does not commit U.S. troops to defending Taiwan.

Tensions over Chinese military activity near Taiwan have been a flashpoint in the U.S. relationship with China and featured extensively as a topic of conversation in the virtual meeting between Biden and Xi on Monday night.

China has flown a large number of military aircraft into Taiwan’s airspace in recent weeks, prompting stern warnings from U.S. officials and raising concerns for the potential for conflict.

Biden characterized the meeting with Xi in positive terms on Tuesday, saying the two leaders have “a lot to follow up on” and that the U.S. and China would set up working groups on a range of issues.

COMMENT:  What a disgraceful mess.  The Taiwan issue is the kind that can easily lead to a profound misunderstanding, and possible military action.  Just what is our policy?  I don't see that the president's clarifications clarified anything.  We're still left wondering whether he'd take military action, or not, in the face of naked Chinese aggression against Taiwan.

This can blow up on our faces.  Maybe Biden can send Kamala Harris to Taiwan to clear things up.  Uh, on the other hand...

November 16,  2021     Permalink

NOVEMBER 15,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY – TO THE NEW YORK POST, THE OLDEST CONTINUALLY PUBLISHED NEWSPAPER IN THE UNITED STATES – FROM THE POST:  It was 220 years ago Tuesday, November 16, 1801, that the first issue of The Evening Post was delivered to 600 lucky subscribers in New York City.  It was a newspaper born in exile. Alexander Hamilton, former treasury secretary, had returned to Gotham out of power and disliked by members of his own party, the Federalists.  His political career was in tatters. If you’ve seen Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton,” go ahead and sing along: Hamilton had admitted to a torrid extramarital affair. He had publicly bashed the party’s leader, President John Adams. And in early 1801, Hamilton’s influence swayed the election to Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams didn’t agree with Jefferson, but thought him a man of principle and preferable to his opponent, Aaron Burr.  Hamilton was 43, with a wife and 8 children and only a law office to support them. Democratic-Republicans controlled the presidency and Congress. Newspapers were the primary way to spread political ideas, but the Federalist-leaning papers in New York were moribund. One, the Commercial Advertiser, was derided by another paper as “too drowsy to be of service to any cause; it is a powerful opiate.” Hamilton saw one option: Start his own.  And he did, and it survives today.  And it is firmly in our political corner.

November 15, 2021       Permalink

AT SOME POINT, THIS HAD TO HAPPEN – OVERNIGHT:  The Russkies may well be in our faces again, and, strangely, Donald Trump is not colluding with them.  Aren't you shocked?  From Daily Mail: 

The U.S. said on Monday that it was investigating a 'debris-generating event in outer space' after astronauts on the International Space Station were forced to prepare for a possible evacuation.

It came amid unconfirmed reports that Russia had carried out an anti-satellite weapon (ASAT) test - rare show-of-force demonstrations criticized by the space community because of the risk they create for crews in low Earth orbit.

'US Space Command is aware of a debris-generating event in outer space. We are actively working to characterize the debris field and will continue to ensure all space-faring nations have the information necessary to maneuver satellites if impacted,' the agency said.

'We are also in the process of working with... the State Department and NASA, concerning these reports and will provide an update in the near future.'

DailyMail.com has reached out to NASA and Space Command with a request for comment on the incident.

Russian space agency Roscomos confirmed something had happened, but it downplayed the incident.

'The orbit of the object, which forced the crew today to move into spacecraft according to standard procedures, has moved away from the ISS orbit. The station is in the green zone,' the agency tweeted.

'Friends, everything is regular with us! We continue to work according to the program,' tweeted Anton Shkaplerov, the current commander of the outpost.

COMMENT:  Yeah, right.  Everything is regular.  And I wonder if the U.S. will officially disagree.  I fear we're seeing the start of "Covid 19 Origin – The Sequel."  Will anyone admit that the Russians did this as part of an anti-satellite test?  And that we got caught off guard? 

We are heavily dependent on satellites.  I can't imagine the Russians or the Chinese having a higher priority than to destroy our military satellites, our eyes and ears, our communications network, our instruments of navigation.  This must have our highest priority, but, as before World War II, I fear our attention is limited..

UPDATE AT 4:30 A.M. ET:  The US is now officially blaming Russia for the space recklessness.  Our link to the Daily Mail story contains the update.  This is a good first step.

November 15, 2021       Permalink