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AUSUK’s primary aim is to block China at sea. However, in all honesty, it is intended to stop China from encroaching into the South China Sea, which is delineated by the First Island Chain that stretches from Japan by way of Taiwan, the Philippines, Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It will turn Australia into a base for a nuclear-powered submarine fleet and increase information sharing among Australia’s allies.
“Rape is a crime, and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure that we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets,” Abbott said.
Immediately, Newsom’s popularity plummeted. Newsom apologized three days after the story broke but it was too late. Weeks later, his political standing had been seriously damaged and the recall election gathered momentum.
On that fateful morning – at around 6:30 AM Pacific time -- I was watching the news on CNN when the program was interrupted to make an announcement – breaking news! The live news showed two airplanes within minutes of each other crashed into the Twin Towers, which caused the skyscrapers to burst into flames. I was stunned! I rubbed my eyes to see if my eyesight was okay. I blinked and rubbed them again.
Lately, rumor has it that Imee Marcos wanted to run for vice president. That’s according to President Duterte who revealed that Imee is courting Sara to form a possible tandem in 2022. Duterte said Imee is going to Davao City to persuade Sara to seek the presidency and be her vice presidential running mate. However, President Duterte claimed that Marcos’s plan to team up with Sara in the 2022 national elections would not thrive because his daughter is not interested in joining the presidential race, which nobody believes.
The 25th Amendment, which has never been invoked to remove the president permanently, would require the vice president and members of the president’s Cabinet to determine Biden is no longer fit for office. Congress would then need to approve that process by a two-thirds vote in both chambers and vice president Harris would become president.
Biden should have heeded the late General Douglas MacArthur who once told then-president Harry Truman, “It is fatal to enter a war without the will to win it” and “In war, there is no substitute for victory.” Evidently, Biden had committed Truman’s mistake: He didn’t have the will to win and he believed that victory could be achieved without winning the war. MacArthur earned his five stars all by winning wars.
Today, anti-vaxxers represent a minority of people – those who believe vaccines are unsafe and infringe on their human rights. But with the advent of the Internet and social media platforms, the movement has spread quickly and massively. According to a recent report, around 31 million people follow anti-vaccine groups on Facebook.
They knew that the battle would be in the May 2022 national elections. They then decided that their group must fall behind a single slate of national candidates – president, vice president, and 12 senators – to ensure victory.
Now, we can see why Duterte wants to run for vice president. Meanwhile, a sword of Damocles remains dangling above his head, ready to strike him when he steps down from the presidency.
It is a procedural strategy in which a senator speaks -- or threatens to speak -- for hours to delay efforts to vote for a bill. The unusual tactic takes advantage of Senate Rule 22, which says that a senator, once recognized on the floor, may speak on an issue without being impeded by anyone. While various rule changes have tempered the filibuster’s power over the past century, it still offers unique leverage to the minority political party in the Senate.
I postulated in my column “Battle of Titans looms” (June 11, 2021) that the fight would be between a Marcos-Sara Duterte tandem vs. Pacquiao and his handpicked running mate. At that time, Sara Duterte said she wouldn’t commit to running for president.