Will Xi or Won’t Xi

19 thoughts on “Will Xi or Won’t Xi”

1. What Xi and Putin want to gain from their joint meeting | The Hill

   Chinese President is set to travel to Moscow next week to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin – his first visit to Russia since Kremlin troops invaded Ukraine.  
   The March 20 to 22 visit, also Xi’s first foreign trip since winning a third term as president, is seen by the West as a show of Beijing’s support for Moscow in its ailing war against Kyiv. 
   Much speculation has been made as to the nature of the trip, with western officials warning that it may signal China is considering giving Russia military assistance for the fight. 
   But China, which is trying to present itself as a neutral arbiter of the conflict, has denied such claims, even as it has refused to condemn the invasion. 
   Whatever the outcome, the meeting is sure to intensify ties between the two leaders who have already met 39 times prior – including over a year ago in Beijing at the Feb. 4, 2022, opening of the Olympics Games. At that encounter, held shortly before Russia invaded Ukraine, the two declared a “no limits” partnership.  
   Here are the things Putin and Xi seek to gain from their joint meeting and one curveball ahead of it: 

   [article lists here their 3 goals: Putin wants weapons, Xi wants to grow his reputation as a peacemaker and both want a new world order]

   Shaking things up – Xi set to meet with international fugitive
   The Xi-Putin meeting was announced hours ahead of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant for the Russian president over allegations of war crimes related to unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. 
   The arrest warrant – one of the first charges against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine – means Xi is now meeting with an international fugitive come Monday. 
   Typically, such a warrant brings with it an important element of public shaming – a signal to other countries to carefully consider their dealings with an individual under investigation, according to international law experts. 
   [continues]

2. speaking of devil’s advocates, there’re a slew of them in the GOPer firm. here’s one

   

3. 

   https://www.newsweek.com/republicans-divided-stance-russia-major-boost-putin-ukraine-1787933

4. Where the 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls stand on Ukraine – The Washington Post

   The field of Republicans running for president or making moves toward entering the race is divided over the war in Ukraine. Some, including former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, have suggested that further assistance to Ukraine is not a top strategic priority for the United States. Others, including Nikki Haley, a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, argue that supporting Ukraine is a vital interest for the United States.
   The disagreement among these Republicans is shaping up as a potential longer-term debate in the contest as the candidate field takes shape. Here’s where the declared and potential GOP presidential candidates stand, starting with the polling leaders (Trump and DeSantis, the latter a potential candidate), as well as Trump’s declared opponents (Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy) and other possible candidates (Asa Hutchinson, Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Tim Scott and Chris Sununu.)
   […]
   Trump is one of several current or potential candidates who responded to a questionnaire from Fox News host Tucker Carlson. In response to the question of whether opposing Russia is a “vital American national strategic interest,” Trump said in a statement: “No, but it is for Europe. But not for the United States.”
   […]
   In his response to Carlson’s questions, the Florida governor adopted a posture similar to Trump’s, calling the invasion of Ukraine “a territorial dispute” and saying that “while the U.S. has many vital national interests … becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them.”
   […]
   The approach of the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations is different from Trump and DeSantis’s. She says that opposing Russia in Ukraine is a vital American strategic interest. She has warned that “if Russia wins, then its closest allies, China and Iran, will become more aggressive,” echoing her remarks about Ukraine on the campaign trail.
   “This is not a war about Ukraine. This is a war about freedom. And it’s one that we have to win,” Haley said at a foreign policy event in Clive, Iowa, on March 10. “I don’t think we need to put troops on the ground, but I think we need to get with our allies and make sure that they [the Ukrainians] have the equipment they need.”
   In response to Carlson’s questionnaire, Haley said that the United States should help Ukraine fight off Russia by providing “conventional weapons” but that it should not contribute troops, cash or blank checks.
   Haley said that the Russian leadership under Putin is “among the worst in the world” but that “it should not be American policy to try to change any foreign regime simply because we have good reason to dislike it.”
   […]
   In response to DeSantis’s comments on Ukraine, Pence told the radio show and podcast New Hampshire Today: “The war going on in Ukraine right now is not a territorial dispute. It is the result of an unprovoked war of aggression by Russia. Russia is attempting to redraw international lines by force.”
   Like Haley, Pence has warned that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine, he will not stop there, and the former vice president has said that supporting Ukraine also sends a signal to China. He said he doesn’t believe in a blank check for Ukraine, “but withholding or reducing support will have consequences.”
   Pence said Thursday in New Hampshire that “as leader of the free world, as arsenal of democracy, I believe that America has an obligation to lead the free world, to give Ukrainian military the support they need to repel the Russian invasion.”
   [continues]

5. Seems like a setup to make Ukraine look like the obstacle to peace when they reject a one sided proposal that benefits Russia

6. more than whatever goosing Xi might do, this may help putie reconsider things and move on to  moving out:

   Poland, Slovakia become first NATO members to offer Ukraine fighter jets (msn.com)

7. and this

   Turkey to start ratifying Finland’s NATO membership after months of opposition (msn.com)

8. as to our own homegrown warmongers, maher last night

   A growing number of Americans support the idea of a “national divorce,” but you can’t call yourself a patriot of the United States and not be for the whole “united” part.

9. craig, touching upon your comment

   How an international arrest warrant for Putin puts a new spin on Xi visit to Russia | PBS NewsHour

   […]
   The view from Washington
   Although wary of discussing the ICC warrants directly, U.S. officials have not minced words when it comes to Xi’s planned visit to Moscow. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called Beijing’s push for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine a “ratification of Russian conquest” and warned that Russians could use a cease-fire to regroup their positions “so that they can restart attacks on Ukraine at a time of their choosing.”
   “We do not believe that this is a step towards a just, durable peace,” he said. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan this week called on Xi to also speak with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian leader has also expressed interest in talks with Xi.

   The view from Kyiv

   Speaking before the ICC warrant was unveiled, Ukrainian analysts cautioned against falling into a potential trap ahead of the Xi-Putin meeting. “We need to be aware that such peace talks are a trap for Ukraine and its diplomatic corps,” said Yurii Poita, who heads the Asia section at the Kyiv-based New Geopolitics Research Network.
   “Under such conditions, these peace talks won’t be directed toward peace,” said Nataliia Butyrska, a Ukrainian analyst on politics related to Eastern Asia. She said the visit reflects not so much China’s desire for peace but its desire to play a major role in whatever post-conflict settlement may be reached.
   “China does not clearly distinguish between who is the aggressor and who is the victim. And when a country begins its peacekeeping activities or at least seeks to help the parties, not distinguishing this will affect objectivity,” Butyrska said. “From my perspective, China seeks to freeze the conflict.”
   [continues]

10. This website I see now and then shows lions, crocodiles, snakes, tigers, dingoes, hyenas, etc attacking antelope, water buffalo and a bunch of other critters those predator guys love to eat.   So far the prey seem to lose all the battles, and I just kind of wondered out loud to a friend, “Don’t the damn buffalo EVER win?”   So, next time I’m looking at the site it shows a 3 legged lion limping along with a broken off horn imbedded in its rump.    Then next it shows a one-horned water buffalo with a ripped off lion paw stuck on its one horn.   I guess sometimes the buffalo wins.   I wonder if that horn grows back.

11. Of minor interest is a puttie body double visiting Crimea.  It is supposed to be the anniversary visit of something or other.  It is getting a lot of play on propaganda channels.  I wonder if the gqp will be yacking about it later today.  If you know puttie you can see the phony immediately.  Someone forgot to tell the double puttie does not walk like a SS trooper.

12. 

    Trump this morning says his indictment is Tuesday, probably got the obligatory advance notice. Definitely trying to provoke a riot. Ends every post with “Protest. Take our nation back!”

13. Craig – should have done a leak about the Friday induction and pulled his fat ass in on Monday.

14. Trump planning a speech after arrest Tuesday. Could be another lure for protesters 

    New York local, state and federal law enforcement are preparing for riots

     

15. blocking off the area, ensuring no available views for cameras or audio, surrounding subject with enough security to maneuver and limit his path to and from would help quell what he’s after which is a show.

    authorities have sufficient cause in light of how he incited crowds in past.  

16. better yet, due to the security risk he poses to the NYC citizenry arrest him the moment his plane arrives without fanfare and whisk him away undercover directly to the required appearance and request no bail due to being a flight and his personal security risk.

17. Leak that he gets the cuffs on Tuesday, but really Friday, letting his cult members simmer in a very expensive city.  NYC will eat cars/pickups the same as the Beltway did to the convoy.  If they try the subway I would think they would get a great education in big city love

18. This is so difficult. Take down decorations for no regulations on trains and put up no regulations on sty banks decor, and now we had indictment day (with cult being welcomed to NYC) and coronation of a kingy in Jolly Old England.  Switching between our special tiaras and whether or not champagne is needed or a decent glug of American Whiskey.  And, then there is the Apple Jack problem, serve as a side or main dish. 
    The cats and dogs are not that happy about their tiaras being changed every few hours.
    At least we do get to celebrate a few good things in life, well. .. maybe not the coronation for an adulterer. Love Princess Di

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