Tuesday, October 19, 2021

James Blunt | Face The Sun

 Face The Sun/臉朝向太陽


Yes, this love's not good enough
It's time to let it go
Our weary hearts just fall apart
I feel it in my bones

And God knows
That it's hard to find the one
But in time
All the flowers turn to face the sun

So silently just walk with me
Like any other day
No sad goodbyes, no tears, no lies
Just go our separate ways

And God knows
That it's hard to find the one
But in time, all the flowers
Yes, in time, all the flowers
Turn to face the sun

And God knows
That it's hard to find the one
But in time, all the flowers
Yes, in time, all the flowers
Turn to face the sun

James Blunt - Face The Sun Lyrics | AZLyrics.com

《臉朝向太陽》

對,這份愛情還不夠好
現該是休棄它的時候
我們疲憊的心只是碎了
我對它的感覺很強烈

還有老天曉得
要另外再找一份的話可不容易
但在還未來不及之前
所有花兒們的臉全都朝向太陽

所以我們只是和我一同悄悄地離開
和以往一樣每隔幾天這事就會發生
沒有傷心的道別、沒有眼淚、也沒有虛假
我們只是各走各的路

還有老天曉得
要另外再找一份的話可不容易
但在還未來不及之前,所有花兒們的
是的,在還未來不及之前,所有花兒們的
臉全都朝向太陽

還有老天曉得
要另外再找一份的話可不容易
但在還未來不及之前,所有花兒們的
是的,在還未來不及之前,所有花兒們的
臉全都朝向太陽


Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Anatoly Antonov | Oct. 13, 2021

 1 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

China Says U.S.-China War Is Imminent

Oct. 13 - ...In other words: America’s “special operations forces” might be killed when China sends its military forces into Taiwan so as to deal with the insurrection that’s now occurring in this province. China is saying that it will be sending those troops and planes onto the island before America publicly invades the island, in order to be in a better position to deal with the U.S. invasion if and when it occurs. China is clearly aiming here to avoid there being “a de facto US garrison on the island.” China — if it is going to kill U.S. troops on that island — wants to be killing only those few “special operations forces” personnel, and NOT any “garrison.” It wants to minimize the damage.

​The U.S. Government has officially recognized that Taiwan is — as the Chinese Government itself says — a province of China, not a separate nation. Therefore, what the U.S. Biden Administration is now doing is actually in violation of official (and actually longstanding) U.S. Government policy on the matter...     more
The navies of the Quad countries commenced the second phase of theMalabar exercise in the Bay of Bengal.
India, Japan, Australia, US commence phase two of Malabar exercise


Oct. 13 - The navies of the Quad countries—India, Australia, Japan, and the United States—have commenced the second phase of the Malabar naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal.The Indian Navy is represented by Rajput-class destroyer INS Ranvijay, Shivalik-class stealth frigate INS Satpura, P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft, and a submarine.The three-day exercise (Oct 12-15) will focus on interoperability, coordination, and synergy between the countries...     more details


Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov
Russia, US achieve practical results in combating cybercrime — Russian ambassador

​At the same time, the diplomat noted that Russia is also facing major cyber attacks on its web resources

Oct. 13 - Russia is responding to all US concerns in the cybersecurity domain, and the two countries have managed to achieve practical results in combating cybercrime, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday.

​"The presidents of Russia and the United States have agreed to launch dialogue on cybersecurity. Four rounds of expert consultations under the auspices of the Security Councils of the two countries have taken place," he said at the opening of the Annual Meeting of the US-Russia Business Council via videoconference. "There are some little, but concrete results in curbing hacker activity. We are responding to all the concerns that Washington conveys to us through the established channels."

At the same time, the diplomat noted that Russia is also facing major cyber attacks on its web resources.

"One of the most recent incidents - heavy attacks against information network of the Russian Central Election Commission during the State Duma elections. Fifty percent of those attacks have been committed from the territory of the United States," he said.



In his words, it is important to understand that the fight against crime in the virtual space is only one of the aspects of international information security.

"This issue is much broader and, given the dynamic development of communication technologies, will require more and more attention," Antonov said. "In this regard, we have reiterated the proposal of the President of Russia from September 25, 2020, to establish comprehensive cooperation on cybersecurity issues in their entirety, including to prevent militarization of Internet and cyberweapons arms race."

Positive signs

According to the diplomat, first positive signs have emerged following the Geneva summit between the presidents of Russia and the United States, Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.

"The constructive and businesslike meeting of the presidents made it possible to outline ways out of the dangerous impasse in the bilateral relations," he said.

"It has to do with the resumption of dialogue on strategic stability, which has always served as a kind of barometer of the general condition of Russian-U.S. relations. The second round of consultations between interagency delegations headed by deputy foreign ministers was held in Geneva on September 30," the diplomat continued. "The talk was professional and useful. A common understanding was reached regarding the goal of the strategic dialogue which is to define parameters of the arms control architecture as a follow-up to the existing New START Treaty."


Two working groups have been established, and this will help focus discussions, make them more substantive, Antonov went on.

"Our delegations deliberated on principles and tasks of the future arms control as well as capabilities and actions that could have a strategic effect," he said.     Source from TASS



US Lawmakers Try to Ruin US-Russia Relations By Proposing New Sanctions - Antonov

Oct 13 - US lawmakers who are proposing a set of sanctions on 35 Russian individuals are attempting to ruin the relationship between the two countries, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Tuesday.
“It is honestly puzzling, the maniacal persistence with which local legislators are trying to ruin Russian-US relations. The new attempt to impose sanctions on 35 Russians under completely far-fetched pretenses is a striking confirmation of this,” Antonov said in a statement.

In late September, the US House of Representatives’ Rules Committee approved legislation that would recommend sanctions against 35 Russian individuals, including civil servants, businessmen, top banking and energy company officials, as well as several media personalities.

Antonov said the proposed sanctions are a way for US lawmakers to give voters the illusion of a fight with the US enemies instead of focusing on domestic problems. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has similarly called the proposal an attempt by politicians to improve their chances of reelection.


Antonov also called on members of Congress to abandon the “destructive approaches and throw off their anti-Russian blinders,” and engage in constructive, mutually-respectful dialogues with Russia to address global challenges.     source from Sputnik


Ambassador to the United States

Nomination and confirmation
Antonov is considered a hardliner against the West, earning him a reputation as a "bull terrier."[9] In early autumn 2016, he was considered to be the next Russian Ambassador to the United States as the Kremlin assumed that Hillary Clinton would win the presidential election and, therefore, bilateral relations would remain strained. However, despite the fact that Donald Trump won the election, Antonov was still chosen to take over the post from Sergey Kislyak, who had been the ambassador since 2008. In February 2017, Antonov was named the main candidate for this post.[10][11] On 11 May 2017, the Russian Foreign Ministry formally submitted Antonov to the Federal Assembly,[12] which voted to endorse him as ambassador on 18 May following a closed session of the State Duma's foreign policy committee.[13][14][15]

On 21 August 2017, Vladimir Putin formally appointed Antonov as the Ambassador of Russia to the United States by presidential decree.[16][17]

Term
Antonov was recalled to Moscow on 17 March 2021 after US President Joe Biden called Putin a "killer." On 1 April, after consultations with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the diplomatic corps announced that Antonov was officially under ambassadorial recall until further notice. The decision to return Antonov to Washington, D.C. was made following the results of the 2021 Russia–United States summit.[18]
from Wikipedia


俄导弹演习频频“瞄准”日本海?北极重回俄美对抗前沿?20211011 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Oct 12, 2021


Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Taiwan Strait | Oct. 6, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a briefing with reporters — 10/4/2021
​ Oct 5, 2021
White House press secretary Jen Psaki holds a press briefing on Monday. President Joe Biden on Monday blamed Republicans for blocking efforts to raise or suspend the U.S. borrowing limit and avert a dangerous first-ever default on the national debt. The president slammed the GOP for what he described as hypocritical behavior: Adding nearly $8 trillion to the U.S. debt during the Trump administration and later refusing to pay for already-approved tax cuts and spending.



The Taiwan Strait is a 180-kilometer (110 mi)-wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is 130 km (81 mi) wide.


The journey through the Taiwan Strait has angered China.
China accuses British navy of 'evil intentions' as UK warship sails through Taiwan Strait


​China's military followed and warned the British warship that sailed through the Taiwan Strait.

Sep. 28 - A British warship has sailed through the Taiwan Strait - a move that angered China, which claims self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory. 

​China's military followed and warned the British warship that sailed across the waters the People's Liberation Army said on Monday, adding that Britain was engaging in behaviour that "harboured evil intentions".

"After a busy period working with partners and allies in the East China Sea, we are new en route through the Taiwan straight to visit Vietnam and the Vietnam People's Navy," the official account of the frigate HMS Richmond said on Twitter...     more


US-China politics collide over Taiwan airspace

Growing conventional wisdom in Washington says that Beijing is preparing to attack the island. Not so fast.

Oct. 6 - Since late last year, the Chinese military has begun significantly increasing its offshore air activities near Taiwan. 

​This trend has grown over time to include a wide range of different types of military aircraft, often sortied in ever-larger numbers, mostly to the west and southwest of the island. But many flights are also crossing the so-called midline of the Taiwan Strait between the island and mainland China, and almost all of them cross into Taiwan’s very expansive Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), in each case forcing the Taiwan aircraft to sortie aircraft in response.


This significant increase in Chinese military activity near Taiwan is of considerable concern, as it represents a largely unprecedented set of actions (in scale and frequency and type of aircraft involved), thus raising tensions across the Strait. This situation has naturally generated all manner of both informed and uninformed speculation by a wide range of pundits on the meaning of the Chinese flights. 

Unfortunately, rather than shedding light on the issue, much of this commentary simply serves to reinforce the growing conventional wisdom in Washington that Beijing is preparing to attack the island at the first opportunity, or is at the very least gearing up for vastly more provocative actions, such as flights over Taiwan, or perhaps the seizure of a small offshore island under Taipei’s control, thus daring the U.S. to respond. 

The problem is thus seen as a very simple one of growing Chinese military aggression; hence, for most pundits, the answer is equally simple: we need ever greater levels of military deterrence, including far more arms for Taiwan. For some that means an unambiguous U.S. commitment to defend the island if attacked, regardless of the reason, and for others a call to place Taiwan within the U.S. defense perimeter, which could imply the placement of U.S. forces on the island...     more



美日再炒钓鱼岛话题 三航母在台海周边军演意图何在?20211005 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Oct 6, 2021

Sunday, October 3, 2021

Malcolm Turnbull | Oct. 3, 2021

 2 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

1 - White House News in Chinese (weebly.com)

'There is outrage': former PM Malcolm Turnbull criticises Morrison's handling of subs deal
Malcolm Turnbull excoriates Scott Morrison over ‘appalling episode’ with French submarine deal

PM also revealed he plans to go to Glasgow for Cop26, while Scott Morrison is yet to commit


Oct. 2 - Malcolm Turnbull has revealed he has spoken to French president Emmanuel Macron in the wake of the nuclear submarines controversy – something Scott Morrison has not managed to do.Turnbull also confirmed he is planning to go to Glasgow for Cop26, while the prime minister is yet to make up his mind.

The revelations came during an hour-long National Press Club address and question and answer session with journalists on Wednesday, where Turnbull launched a withering critique of his successor Scott Morrison on multiple fronts.

The former prime minister is reserving his rights to endorse climate-focused independents at the next federal election, and won’t say if he intends to vote Liberal even though he remains a member of the party.


He reserved his strongest criticism for Morrison’s handling of the Aukus agreement with the United States and the United Kingdom. The deal has plunged Australia into the diplomatic deep freeze in Paris, because the government cancelled a $90bn contract with a French defence contractor.

While Macron has not spoken to Morrison since the Australian prime minister canned the French contract, Turnbull revealed he had spoken to his “friend” Macron since the Aukus pact was unveiled.

Turnbull did not go into his conversation with the French president, but praised him as “one of the great leaders of our times” and “an enormously important figure in global politics and particularly in Europe”...     more


潜艇危机触怒欧盟?澳死抱美国大腿 西方内部裂痕因“核”凸显 20211002 |《今日关注》CCTV中文国际
Oct 3, 2021

Former prime minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull has hit out at the decision to buy nuclear submarines from the French
Australia will not be able to maintain nuclear subs bought from US, says ex-PM


Malcolm Turnbull criticised the country’s government over its U-turn on a deal to buy conventionally powered submarines from France.

​Sep. 29 - The former Australian prime minister who signed the now-cancelled French submarine deal has questioned whether Australia could safely maintain a fleet powered by US nuclear technology.

Malcolm Turnbull made the £48 billion deal in 2016 with French majority state-owned Naval Group to build 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who replaced Turnbull in a power struggle within Australia’s conservative government in 2018, cancelled the deal this month as part of an alliance with the United States and Britain that will deliver an Australian fleet of at least eight nuclear-powered submarines.

Morrison explained that the “game changer” was that next-generation nuclear-powered submarines will use reactors that do not need refuelling during the 35-year life of the boat.

Turnbull told the National Press Club on Wednesday that he had been advised by the Australia’s Defence Department as recently as 2018 that an Australian nuclear-powered fleet was not an option without local nuclear facilities.

Morrison’s advice that Australia could become the first country to operate a nuclear-powered fleet without a civil nuclear industry or nuclear expertise was “very different” to Defence Department advice three years ago, Turnbull said...     more
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull AC (born 24 October 1954) is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Prime Minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He served twice as Leader of the Liberal Party, from 2008 to 2009 when he was Leader of the Opposition, and from 2015 to 2018 when he was Prime Minister. He was the MP for Wentworth in the House of Representatives from 2004 to 2018.

Turnbull graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, before attending Brasenose College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a Bachelor of Civil Law. For more than two decades, he worked as a journalist, lawyer, merchant banker, and venture capitalist. He served as Chair of the Australian Republican Movement from 1993 to 2000, and was one of the leaders of the unsuccessful "Yes" campaign in the 1999 republic referendum. He was first elected to the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Wentworth in New South Wales at the 2004 election, and was Minister for the Environment and Water under John Howard from January 2007 until December 2007.

Blinken to visit France amid submarine deal tension

​Oct. 2 - Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit France next week amid tensions surrounding the United States’ submarine deal with the United Kingdom and Australia. 

Blinken will travel to Paris on Oct. 4 to chair the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Ministerial Council Meeting, assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Karen Donfried said in a news conference.


While there, Blinken will meet with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to discuss “cooperation on a range of issues,” Donfried said.

Donfried further said that the Blinken will discuss strengthening ties with France and the European Union ahead of France assuming the presidency of the European Council next year.

France reacted angrily last month when the U.S. announced the submarine deal, dubbed the AUKUS, which cancelled a separate multi-billion-dollar submarine deal that France forged with Australia in 2016.

Under the AUKUS, the U.S. and U.K. would help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines and cooperate on areas such as artificial intelligence and undersea capabilities.

Blinken and Le Drian have already met since the cancelled deal. Le Drian is expected to hold talks with Blinken on Oct. 5, Reuters reported.

President Biden also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the deal, during which the leaders agreed that the situation “would have benefitted from open consultations among allies on matters of strategic interest to France and our European partners.”
In response, France cancelled a planned gala in Washington, D.C. and recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia.

French Ambassador to the U.S. Philippe Etienne said Thursday that he is back in the U.S. with a “clear mandate, and a “goal to rebuild trust in our relationship—a process that will involve a great deal of work.”


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00:00
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01:41
Russia withdraws offer to freeze nuclear warhead production

Oct. 2 -Ryabkov aired the withdrawal of that proposal following a meeting with Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for what both sides described as “intensive and substantive” arms control talks. He complained about the U.S. and United Kingdom's decision to partner with Australia on a submarine deal widely perceived as directed at China, and both Russian and American officials underscored that the negotiations are unlikely to produce a deal anytime soon.

“Arms control dialogues take a very long time,” Sherman said Friday. “The dialogue has a value in and of itself because it unveils norms that we both believe in and want to establish as the [two nations with the] largest number of nuclear weapons, so it's very good in and of itself.”

The Ryabkov-Sherman meeting comes months after President Joe Biden’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, when the two leaders echoed Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev’s affirmation that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” That joint statement drew criticism from Marshall Billingslea, former President Donald Trump’s point man for arms control, who observed that Putin “believes that a nuclear war CAN be fought & won” and faulted Biden for making a joint statement while “knowing Putin to be lying.”

Russia has adopted a military doctrine that contemplates the use of nuclear weapons to win a conflict in Eastern Europe before U.S. forces can intervene, according to Western officials, spurring at least one NATO ally to warn publicly that Russian might launch a nuclear “blitzkrieg” against one of its neighbors. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Reagan-Gorbachev treaty that banned the development of intermediate-range land-based ballistic missiles after Republicans and Democrats, as well as the rest of NATO, assessed that Putin has developed and deployed such systems in defiance of the treaty.

Putin acknowledged in December that an arms race "has already begun,” but Ryabkov argued a more one-sided case on Friday, when he attributed any arms control tensions to an American quest “for decisive unilateral advantages at the expense of Russia's security.”

He broadened his complaints about NATO member-state decisions to include U.S. and British efforts to upgrade their defenses against Chinese threats.


“We are concerned especially by the statements produced earlier in the year in London on future prospects for expansion of its nuclear capabilities,” Ryabkov said, referring to a British plan to increase its nuclear stockpile in response to “China’s military modernization and growing international assertiveness within the Indo-Pacific region.”

And he maintained that the recent U.S. decision to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia is "a great challenge to the international nonproliferation regime” despite Biden and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s stipulation that the deal will cover nuclear power for the submarines but no nuclear weapons.


U.S. officials have expressed doubt about whether they’ll be able to reach another arms control deal with Russia, but Sherman and Ryabkov separately touted the launch of two working groups on arms control as a positive step.


“We all hope that we head to achieving some objectives about moving forward,” she said.     source from

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