Vocal Voices

And by a complete coincidence her husband is in court today, August 3rd on a charge of drunk driving.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/paul-pelos ... nia-crash/

Trying to bury bad news?

Perhaps, perhaps not.

The 82-year-old Pelosi was involved in a two-vehicle wreck on a rural road in Napa County at approximately 10:17 p.m. on May 28, the district attorney's office said in a statement announcing the charging decision. The California Highway Patrol previously said Pelosi was behind the wheel of a Porsche that was hit by a Jeep as Pelosi's car tried to cross a state road.

A blood sample was taken at 12:32 a.m. His blood alcohol level was 0.082%, just over California's legal limit of 0.08%, the statement said. He was booked and released from jail the following day on $5,000 bai

It finishes with

No one was hurt in the crash

About as irresponsible a mission as one could imagine. Go to Beijing first and talk peace, FCOL.

Why irk the Chinese in these tense times? Why push them? It's Cuba Mk2, only this time it's the "good guys" on the doorstep.

China has banged on about Taiwan for decades (1911 and 1949) and done virtually sod all but shout, this might just push them over the edge.

US policy of "strategic ambiguity" and also its "One-China" policy send mixed messages. If the US Pacific Fleet gets involved it is down to them and NOT a NATO problem. Aus, NZ, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines might also get drawn in.

This is about as stupid as sabre rattling gets.

A very hawkish move, and very irresponsible.

It is so easy to forget that ALL the sabre rattling has been done by China. Not only in this, the recent exercises and the constant incursions into Taiwan sea and air space. The take over and development of south china sea islands, which are contested, then trying to deny international sea access because they have a military presence.

This is a very small reminder that China are not a superpower who gets to tell everyone else what to do and also that no matter how they stamp and grind their teeth, everyone is not simply going to lie down and take whatever they want to do.

This was a very measured action which cannot, on the world stage, be deemed a hostile act.

On the other hand the Chinese reaction to something they don't like has been hostile all the way.

We already have a war in Ukraine because Putin was led to believe he could get away with it whilst nobody was watching and if he just hung on long enough everyone would simply focus on trade and let it go. It is time that this fallacy is reinforced as exactly that. Fallacy. Much better to give the correct impression as to give the wrong one.

Wrong move at the wrong time. Perhaps she thought it was her swansong as she is probably on her way out.

China is annoyed because it has put back their ambitions of taking Taiwan back into the fold by at least a decade, maybe more.

Their response, with this annoyance, is the thing that should be truly concerning. They think they are an invulnerable military force which can simply do what it wants at a time of it's own choosing.

If the US and Taiwan were being truly aggressive, the next time a Chinese warship invaded Taiwanese waters, it would run smack into a live fire "exercise". We are a long, long looooooong way from aggressive moves.

So we have the response. US politicians go to Taiwan and

China:

- Holds live fire military exercises over the mid point of the Formosa strait, severely disrupting trade shipping
- Fires missiles over the actual land mass of Taiwan (considered an Extremely provocative act)
- Holds military "englobement" exercises to isolate the island before attack.
- Breaks off both climate and military alignment with the US.

So a proportionate response then??

Or a Bully being a Bully?