Monday 25th of November 2024
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babyface johnson gets the job of getting nowhere....

‘Virtually unknown’ Mike Johnson being picked to be at the helm of the House raised some eyebrows, US political analyst and Republican strategist Melik Abdul told Sputnik.

Mike Johnson has been sworn in as the 56th Speaker of the US House of Representatives, in what ended three weeks of chaos in the lower chamber after Kevin McCarthy's ouster.

This was followed by Johnson announcing that the House is "back in business," and pledging that his first legislative action would be in support of Israel, which purportedly faces multiple threats. The 51-year-old politician never mentioned Ukraine-related issues among the House's priorities in his opening speech.

 

“I was actually surprised [by the lawmakers’ choice] because I’ve never heard of Mike Johnson,” Abdul said.

 

He suggested that “people on the Hill ultimately decided to go with” Johnson because “there was a problem with each of the other candidates,” including Republicans Tom Emmer, Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan.

 

“He [Johnson]'s not a nobody, but he is just a virtual unknown for the American people. I think another thing that we don't know what life will be like with Mike Johnson as speaker of the House for the Republican Party,” the analyst argued.

 

When asked how the House would deal with President Joe Biden’s request for $105 billion in national security funding under the new Speaker, Abdul stressed that “this is where the rubber will meet the road for Mike Johnson.”

The analyst recalled that “part of the reason that Kevin McCarthy was ousted [as House Speaker] because they [lawmakers] wanted 12 different appropriation bills.”

 

“Another issue was the funding for Ukraine. The funding there is not in the [yet-to-be-passed] C.R. [continuing resolution] yet. […] What Biden wants to do is combine that in all of those, the funding for Taiwan, the funding for Ukraine, the funding for Israel, the funding the border security, he wants to tie all of those into one bill. So the test for Mike Johnson on the one hand will be okay,” Abdul emphasized.

 

He suggested that even if Johnson “breaks apart to split all of the bills, Democrats will still support the Ukraine funding.”

 

 “It will be a very interesting time to see how Johnson navigates this caucus because he is the most inexperienced speaker that we've ever had in this position. He's not a prolific fundraiser. He doesn't have the name recognition. So there are a lot of unknowns with Mike Johnson. And so it will be interesting to see how he navigates the caucus and how the caucus responds to the reality of what it means to be a speaker of the House,” the Republican strategist concluded.

 

In early October, then-US GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted by his own party for clinching a deal with President Biden to continue funding the Kiev regime.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20231026/tackling-ukraine-aid-may-become-new-house-speakers-moment-of-truth--analyst-1114502405.html

 

SEE ALSO: https://www.rt.com/russia/585902-us-house-speaker-policy-change/

 

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peace now!

 

Taking a stand for Peace    By Bevan Ramsden

 

The Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) has produced a petition opposing the Force Posture Agreement which is enabling US militarization of Australia in preparation for the US to support/launch war from the Australian continent against China. The e-petition to parliament is an instrument for peace calling for the termination of the Force Posture Agreement.

It can be signed at here.

The devastation of war, currently in Ukraine and in Palestine, confronts us on TV on a daily basis. All peace-loving people cry out for a ceasefire on both war fronts to enable, hopefully under United Nations auspices, conferences of all affected parties to find solutions which meet the security needs of all parties and free non-combatants from the horrors of war.

But concern about these wars should not blind us to the preparations for war occurring on our own continent under the auspices of the United States and with the enthusiastic complicity of successive Australian governments.

When defence matters are discussed, much is made of the US-Australia alliance and the ANZUS treaty. But when the US militarisation of Australia is considered, ANZUS pales into insignificance compared to the US-Australia Force Posture Agreement (FPA). It emerged as a concept from Obama’s “Pivot to Asia of the US armed forces” in which he announced the stationing of US marines in Darwin each year to train for war with our ADF. The “Pivot” was a strategy designed to “contain” China and maintain U.S. hegemony in the Asia/Pacific area. President Obama’s concept was enthusiastically received by all politicians of both major parties. Subsequently the Gillard and Abbott governments in conjunction with their US defence counterparts produced a greatly expanded concept, the Force Posture Agreement providing “an operational posture” for US forces in Australia, a gateway for US militarisation of Australia. It was signed by the Abbott government and the United States government, in 2014.

The Force Posture Agreement or FPA for short:

  • Facilitates the stationing in Darwin, for six months each year, of up to 2,500 US Marines; they are trained and equipped for immediate deployment and while in Australia, train for war in exercises with the Australian Defence Force. They are not under the control of the Australian government. They are under the control of the US Indo-Pacific Command.
    Facilitates unimpeded access to Australia’s airfields and airport facilities for US fighter planes and bombers including the stationing of up to six B52 bombers at RAAF Base Tindall. B52 bombers were used to devastate Vietnam in that war and some are capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
  • Facilitates unimpeded access to Australia’s seaports for U.S. naval vessels including their nuclear submarines at HMAS Stirling in WA.
  • Facilitates establishment of storage facilities for aircraft fuel, spare parts and munitions under US military control. This includes huge fuel storage facilities at East Arm, Darwin and logistics facilities for storage of equipment, munitions and spare parts at Bandiana in Victoria.
  • The FPA opened the door for the imbedding of US military intelligence operatives within the Australian defence intelligence organisation now called the Combined Intelligence Centre-Australia.
  • Under the FPA, a US command centre has been established in Darwin to control US aircraft operations and another command centre in Darwin to control US marine operations

In short, the US could launch and control military operations from Australia.

I have stressed the words unimpeded access because that is the word used in the Agreement.

Article IV of the FPA states: “United States Forces and United States Contractors shall have unimpeded access to and use of Agreed Facilities and Areas for activities undertaken in connection with this Agreement” and: “Australia hereby grants to the United States operational control of Agreed Facilities and Areas.”

Part 3 of Article VII states: “As mutually determined by the Parties, aircraft, vehicles, and vessels operated by or for United States Forces shall have access to aerial ports and seaports of Australia and other locations, for the delivery to, storage and maintenance in, and removal from the territory of Australia of United States Forces’ prepositioned materiel.”

Activities under Article IV include: “training, transit, support, and related activities; refueling of aircraft; bunkering of vessels; temporary maintenance of vehicles, vessels, and aircraft; temporary accommodation of personnel; communications; prepositioning of equipment, supplies, and materiel; deploying forces and material; and such other activities as the Parties may agree.”

Summing up, the FPA with the enthusiastic support of the Australian government is facilitating increased US militarisation of Australia to support US military operations in the Indo-Pacific and from which it could launch or support a war against China. This has been done with the agreement of both major political parties.

The FPA lasts 25 years from the date of signing but has a clause facilitating termination if either party gives one year’s notice.

IPAN is campaigning to have this FPA terminated. This would be a strong step in the direction of keeping Australia out of another US war; and this time, one which would have a catastrophic impact on the Australian people.

If you wish to join this campaign, IPAN has a parliamentary e-petition which is open until 15th November, 2023 for signature and it can be accessed by using your mobile phone and this QR code.

 

https://johnmenadue.com/taking-a-stand-for-peace/

 

 

 

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

 

EASY.

 

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

 

FOR PEACE SAKE:

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babyface's record....

...

 

The reality of Johnson’s (R-La.) role in trying to stop the certification of Biden’s election is not lost on the White House, even as the president himself publicly downplays its significance. But the main concern in the hours after the new speaker was chosen was not the role he played in the past, but the uncertainty he provides to the present.

Biden thrives on personal relations to conduct political business. And with Johnson, he and his team have none. The now-speaker made a stop at the White House for an event honoring the Louisiana State University women’s basketball team in May and attended the congressional picnic in July. It took until Thursday for him to return, meeting with Biden for the first time as leader of the House Republican conference.

“His record is troubling. But what matters is whether there’s a way to do business with him,” said one adviser to the White House, who was granted anonymity to speak freely. “We just don’t know what we have, and we don’t know how long a honeymoon [House Republicans] are going to give the guy.”

Biden and Johnson have never worked closely on any significant legislation. They have little in common personally and even less connection politically.

Pressed on whether Johnson’s past as a “MAGA"-aligned election denier would color the rapport between president and speaker, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she wouldn’t “prejudge what the relationship is going to be like now that he’s speaker” — but noted that Johnson “has defined himself as that way.”

The plan, for now, is to rely on bipartisan coalitions in the House and Senate and the urgency of a tight deadline to secure the fate of billions of dollars for Israel and Ukraine and the future of the federal budget. The administration is hoping that Johnson earned enough goodwill from his colleagues to negotiate. Or, conversely, that those same colleagues are simply too exhausted from the three-week process of finding a new speaker to mount much of a protest should Johnson cut a deal.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/26/mike-johnson-speaker-drama-biden-00123841

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

THE ONLY DEAL TO MAKE:

MAKE A DEAL PRONTO BEFORE THE SHIT HITS THE FAN:

 

 

NO NATO IN "UKRAINE" (WHAT'S LEFT OF IT)

THE DONBASS REPUBLICS ARE NOW BACK IN THE RUSSIAN FOLD — AS THEY USED TO BE PRIOR 1922. THE RUSSIANS WON'T ABANDON THESE AGAIN.

CRIMEA IS RUSSIAN — AS IT USED TO BE PRIOR 1954

A MEMORANDUM OF NON-AGGRESSION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND THE USA.

 

EASY.

 

THE WEST KNOWS IT.

 

FREE JULIAN ASSANGE NOW....