Just a Thought

The thought below is my (Diane Sori), thought  alone, and does not necessarily represent the views of blogspot.or google.com     

[[[ Interesting development indeed as it seems, as per U.S Ambassador to China David Perdue, that Trump asked China’s Xi Jinping during his recent Washington visit if he’d "like to buy American weapons." This came after the fact that China is believed to have already gotten their hands on sensitive F-35 fighter jet parts that had been sent to Hong Kong, and after a $14 billion weapons sale to Taiwan was paused due to what is now claimed to be trade negotiations with China, and drains on US stockpiles caused by the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

 

Something doesn't smell right here no matter how it's twisted as first Trump picks negotiating with the Iranian terrorist regime over "unconditional surrender," and now this pause in weapons sales to our ally Taiwan which sends a message not of us actually deserting Taiwan per se, but of Trump trying not to "rock the trade deal boat" with China as the midterms draw near.

 

Houston, there surely is if not an outright problem here at least some highly questionable actions having been taken, and it 'aint simply Trump "trolling" Xi Jinping here.]]]

Copyright @ 2026 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved. 

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!
 

Today, Tuesday, April 11th, from 7-8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'Trust Lost and A Candidate No One Saw Coming'; 'The Witch Hunt Exposed'; the importance of Taiwan; and other important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com. Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.

 

 

Op-ed:

The Taiwan Test Or Something Else

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

...Remember, true harbingers of war are not always overt and deadly like Hitler's invading of Austria and Poland, and yet such harbingers are happening today and are basically being ignored. Here I present three possibilities for the stated recent events...focusing on the surveillance balloon...and it's all about timing and our response or lack thereof to it.

Possibility number one: While concerns regarding this balloon's unexpected appearance remains of the upmost importance...no matter its final destruction...what mustn't be overlooked is the timing of said appearance in relation to China's largest military buildup in decades as they eye the takeover of Taiwan. Now considered to be a fully independent island nation by some...(on paper that is as Taiwan is not recognized as such by the UN)...Taiwan, while not officially recognized as being fully independent by the U.S., is nevertheless an ally of ours. Officially known as the “Republic of China,” Taiwan lies about 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of the Chinese communist mainland directly across the Strait of Taiwan...with it's out islands even closer...as Chinese leaders continue to deem Taiwan as but a rogue province that must be brought back into mainland China's fold...Read entire article here.

Op-ed: 

The Taiwan Test Or Something Else 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

On Saturday February 4, 2023 at about 2:39 EST, the U.S. military shot down the Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean eight miles off the South Carolina coast, well within the 12-mile limit. This was a full eight days after said balloon entered Alaska airspace near the Aluetian Islands on January 28th, flew over Alaska and Canada to reemerge over Idaho when on Thursday, February 2nd, the U.S. Northern Command and NORAD (the North American Aerospace Defense Command) first detected a Chinese “high altitude surveillance balloon” over the continental United States. And it took our military, on Biden's orders, a full three days to bring it down after its having entered the continental U.S..

Back in 1965 the novel “White Lotus” was published, it's author a man by the name of John Hersey. I happened to come across this book four decades later when in a bookstore something drove me to purchase it, and its story line stayed in my mind all these years for even then I could see its stated plot unfolding as we entered the 21st century. This novel told of a “Great War” where the United States had been conquered by the Chinese, and where Americans were kidnapped and brought to China to be slaves of the Chinese government. And as the story progressed...seen through the eyes of a captured young girl now a slave...we witnessed her transformation from slave into a revolutionary who started a movement of non-violent protests that terrified her slave masters to the point where they eventually became shamed and ultimately were defeated.

And why this book's specific analogy in regards to the happenings going on today? Because what began in the novel with seemingly petty grievances between China and the U.S...grievances our country ignored just as we're doing now...escalated into the very war we tried to convince ourselves would never happen. And sadly, that's what seems to be happening here as many in our government made light of the Chinese surveillance balloon's leisurely gliding across our country. Drifting over key military air bases and nuclear weapons sites, this anything but a weather balloon or claimed “civilian reconnaissance airship,” was able to maneuver itself over sites that should have raised the ire of not only our president but the Pentagon as well...something that most decidedly did not happen on either account as per the timeline that unfolded, which leaves me to wonder why.

And as “red flags” were being ignored at first, a second such balloon was discovered drifting its way across Latin America, while just this past Friday our military took down an “object” located in U.S. sovereign airspace over Alaskan territorial water. And then on Saturday not only did one of our F-22 fighter jets shoot down an unidentified “cylindrical object” over Canada...Biden approved and asked for by PM Trudeau...but a “radar anomaly” led to a temporary closure of our airspace over Montana.* Possible forebodings of war to come not unlike those in the aforementioned novel.

Remember, true harbingers of war are not always overt and deadly like Hitler's invading of Austria and Poland, and yet such harbingers are happening today and are basically being ignored. Here I present three possibilities for the stated recent events...focusing on the surveillance balloon...and it's all about timing and our response or lack thereof to it.

Possibility number one: While concerns regarding this balloon's unexpected appearance remains of the upmost importance...no matter its final destruction...what mustn't be overlooked is the timing of said appearance in relation to China's largest military buildup in decades as they eye the takeover of Taiwan. Now considered to be a fully independent island nation by some...(on paper that is as Taiwan is not recognized as such by the UN)...Taiwan, while not officially recognized as being fully independent by the U.S., is nevertheless an ally of ours. Officially known as the “Republic of China,” Taiwan lies about 100 miles (161 kilometers) east of the Chinese communist mainland directly across the Strait of Taiwan...with it's out islands even closer...as Chinese leaders continue to deem Taiwan as but a rogue province that must be brought back into mainland China's fold.

Why so? Back in 2005, China passed a law “authorizing the use of military force” if Taiwan formally tried to secede and officially become recognized as independent, as the communist government of the “People's Republic of China” saw Taiwan as being a threat to their “One China” policy claim that they alone are the sole heir to the “China title,” thus seeing Taiwan independence as allowing another country to claim to be the “true China.” Simply, the brouhaha over Taiwan is not solely about China's flexing muscle, hence control while standing up to U.S., but is also about “saving face” to the nth degree.

How so? The mere possibility of Taiwan's being formally recognized on the world stage as a truly independent nation...especially a nation with ties to and influenced by the U.S...has again led Chinese President Xi Jinping to remunerate that Taiwan must be absorbed back into the “People's Republic.” Saying that he “will not renounce the use of force or give up the option to use all necessary measures,” to accomplish that goal, should make it clear to all that Xi Jinping will invade Taiwan but it will be at the time of his choosing, even if he must militarily go up against the U.S. and her allies.

A true harbinger of war sounded, albeit with a variable timeline of sorts in place. However, before any invasion were to take place China would surely want and need to know America's response to said invasion, meaning could the recent balloon flyover of our country be a test of sorts to gauge Biden's promised response...a response made back in May 2022 when Biden stated that we would defend Taiwan militarily if China were to invade as per the Taiwan Relations Act...an act requiring us to provide Taiwan with the military means to defend itself. So with that promise never being taken off the table, both response time and means of response becomes even more critical.

And know that Joe Biden has failed China's test for taking a full eight days to bring down a “surveillance balloon” initiated from what is an enemy nation shows that Biden is not willing to defend his own country in a much needed timely manner, let alone keep his promise to defend another country in what is the critical time frame involved. How so...by the time it would take us to get military assistance to Taiwan, the Chinese military would already have made it there, probably in less than an hour.

A harbinger of war to come. Balloon test number one was basically ignored, thus being a complete U.S. failure...sadly score one for the enemy's side.

Possibility number two: This possibility concerns what I first believed to be a nefarious purpose for the balloon...nefarious on both China's and our part...nefarious in that could the balloon's presence have been a Chinese “seeding operation” of sorts, a “seeding operation” that Biden willfully ignored. However, while some continue to suspect this possibly there are certain scientific facts that need to be in place to successfully “seed” anything from the air. First, one needs to be closer to the ground than 66,000 feet for the wind currents themselves would take the “seeds” away from their intended targets.

Also needed for successful “seeding” is a way to garner precise maneuverability...no matter what some social media and news media report...as this particular balloon only had a rudimentary ability to alter its course even with it having a rudder, as a rudder alone does not give a balloon the ability to override wind currents. You can release ballast...meaning weight...to go higher, and you can release gas to go lower but not close enough, in this case, to release an aerosol toxin. This means that while the balloon did indeed saunter across our country at an extreme height, it did so only as the wind currents directed it to do. Also, remember that if its purpose was to “seed” the clouds, cloud “seeding” is dependent on actual cloud height which obviously varies across the country. Simply, the Chinese balloon's rudder alone would not have allowed the balloon to adjust to needed cloud height accordingly.

Could a bag of nasties...like covid, anthrax, or other assorted nasties...be dropped via the release of ballast from the balloon? Technically, yes it could be done, but said bag would have had to receive a “drop” signal via the seen communication device on the balloon in order to release the bag over a specifically intended target, something the wind currents alone might dictate impossible to do.

And yet to be on the safe side...as it's always better to err on the side of caution than be sorry later on...government officials both on the state and federal levels should watch for, monitor, and keep track of any suspicious uptick in “certain diseases” over the areas in which the Chinese balloon traversed. We learned a lesson from Covid...or at least we should have...a lesson that due diligence can for some indeed make the difference between life and death.

Possibility number three: Was this Chinese balloon on yet another spy mission no matter that China has been spying on us and we on them for years?  Obviously it was...to some degree that is...leading the House of Representatives to unanimously pass a resolution last Thursday condemned China for its “brazen violation” of U.S. sovereignty and its efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.” And it's now upon recovered remnant examination been determined that the balloon was operating with electronic surveillance technology capable of monitoring U.S. communications as the balloon had “multiple antennas to include an array likely capable of gathering and geo-locating communications,” along with solar panels large enough to produce the requisite power to operate multiple active intelligence collection sensors.

So why do I say a spy mission to “some degree”...because what the Chinese government could have garnered with this balloon would not be anything different or new than what they have already garnered via spy satellites and such. And besides, the Chinese government probably has already sewn up any information gaps remaining courtesy of Rep. Eric Swalwell and his relationship with Chinese secret agent Christine Fang...aka Fang Fang; Rep. Dianne Feinstein's 20-year “Driving Miss Daisy” relationship with her chauffeur/gofer/liaison to the local Asian-American community; as well as any business deals China made with the infamous Hunter Biden and his “Big Guy” dad...a possible reason, in my opinion, for the eight day, shoot-down lag.

And dare we forget that during Donald Trump's years as president, in October 2020, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, “woke” Gen. Mark Milley, publicly admitted that he would gladly call his Chinese counterpart, one Gen. Li Zuocheng, to warn him of any impending attack by the U.S. if he and he alone believed that as president, Trump was unstable. And while he later tried hard to “walk back” his statement the truth was already out there,thus forcing Milley to resign. And besides, one cannot keep garnering the same information one already has courtesy of still operational high tech spy satellites.

No, spying was not this balloon's primary purpose for in my opinion China was testing the waters for its invasion of Taiwan by sending a political message to see Joe Biden's response to one of its balloons slowly meandering across our country...a response almost akin to Barack HUSSEIN Obama's appeasement to his muslim brethern when he allowed Osama bin-Laden's body to be buried at sea so as not to be transferred to the U.S. what with islamic law forbidding what would surely be a forensic autopsy being performed on it.

Our military's shooting down the spy balloon after eight long days...downed while still in U.S. waters...now has China demanding that any remnants found be returned to China, something unlikely to happen unless Biden bows to their wishes that is, which is what China is hoping for. But know that for all intents and purposes Taiwan has already lost the war for the Chinese attack on them will surely come while the weak and appeasing Joe Biden is still in office, especially with his now making allegations that U.S. intelligence told Trump that Chinese government surveillance balloons have “transited the continental United States several times before” but went “undetected” while he was in office...a claim President Trump said “never happened.”

Remember, Joe Biden is trying to “save face” and protect his legacy for he knows both China and Russia (never discount some form of Chinese/Russian partnership here) dare not risk going up against a strong Republican president, whether it be Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis, as both men would have taken that balloon down upon its entering Alaskan airspace...and both would not only hold China accountable, but there would be a heavy price for China to pay.

And unlike the happenings in the previously mentioned novel, the sure to come “Great War” over Taiwan would, under a Republican president, see China the loser with the U.S. it's final and rightful conqueror as this time grievances and occurrences would not be made light of nor ignored. Case closed.

______________________________________________

*As my article was getting ready for publication on Sunday afternoon, February 12th, it was announced that our U.S. military shot down over Lake Huron in Michigan, its fourth “unidentified object” in eight days after said “object” violated North American airspace and posed a hazard to civil aviation. Sadly, the harbingers of war might truly be upon us...I can only hope that our leaders see this as truth.

Copyright © 2023 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved. 

**************************************************************************************************

For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, The Religion of Race-Baiting.

 

*******************************************************************************************************

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, February 14th, from 7-8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss 'The Taiwan Test Or Something Else'; 'The Religion of Race-Baiting'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com. Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.

 

Op-ed: 

The U.S. v. China...An Unlikely Scenario 

By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / Right Side Patriots / Right Side Patriots Radio

Nancy Pelosi went to Taiwan knowing well the political problems her trip would cause what with China considering Taiwan but a breakaway province that needs to be brought back into the Chinese fold. And this is no matter that the Taiwanese people consider themselves to be a self-ruled nation and not part of China proper, whether Taiwan is officially recognized as an independent country or not. And with Biden's recent reaffirming that the U.S. would defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, the stage was set for China to raise the tensions up a notch by conducting "military drills" that surrounded the island in a show of strength that some consider to be an actual prelude to war.

And musings of a possible war between China and Taiwan are being spoken of in hushed tones on both sides of our political isle as Biden tries to pretend being a commander-in-chief what with the recent drone take down of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, But pretending is usually a game played by those with truths that must be kept hidden, and the truth where Biden and his fellow Democrats are concerned is that the timing of al-Zawahiri's demise did succeed, for a awhile at least, in taking our minds off their deliberately destroying our economy. And yet destroying our economy has quite literally become the Democrats payback tool of choice to help them “save face” come their November shellacking, with a possible war with China being but an added distraction used to their advantage.

And while history has shown that war itself, whether just or not, does spur on a nation's economy as war is the epitome of big business...a manufacturing windfall and a jobs creator on par with little else...history also shows that the best time to initiate a war is when your opponents leadership shows weakness across the board.

Enter Joe Biden's Afghanistan exit fiasco which emboldened Vladimir Putin to invade Ukraine, and where Biden's promises made to President Zelensky concerning U.S. equipment helping to fight this unjust war remains undelivered to some degree; Biden's now fingers crossed behind his back May promise made to Taiwan that a Chinese invasion of their country “will not happen” and “will not be attempted” saw the caveat being if the world could convince Beijing of the potential "long-term disapprobation" coupled with long term ramifications should China dare to do so. And both are the direct result of Biden's weakness having now helped to set the stage for China's current muscle flexing as the once thought to be “status quo”...as in the unofficial U.S. and our allies agreed upon “balance of forces” regarding Taiwan...now shows outward signs of crumbling. After all, America under Biden's stewardship can no longer be trusted to back up words said nor promises made.

And while China's leader, Xi Jinping, and his People's Liberation Army (PLA), coupled with the internally driven political dynamics of the Chinese Communist Party favor national security priorities and the “saving of face,” the enforcement of China's sovereignty becomes paramount above all else, And with China physically and militarily outnumbering the forces of Taiwan, Xi's ultimate goal of conquest has now been emboldened by China's recently ended military drills. But more importantly, we now find that China's military strengths overpower those of the U.S. in a number of key areas, which could, if  Biden were to keep his promise of coming to Taiwan's aid if China were to invade, actually become even more unbalanced in Red China's favor.

And while Biden's words spoken are words that carry no true legal weight as Biden has now twisted, for his own personal political gain, the meaning of the 'Taiwan Relations Act of 1979,' the very act that allows an American president to sell defensive weapons and arms to Taiwan minus the promise of us sending boots on the ground to the break away would be island nation. And this allows a simple non-binding agreement on paper, coupled with ongoing bipartisan Congressional support for increasing arms sales to Taiwan, to ramp up both the tensions and the voices of war.

And with Taiwan's Intelligence Chief Chen Ming-tong still seeing any conflict between the two countries not likely to happen before 2024, I believe that to be but a hoped for fingers crossed guess especially with Christina Chen, an assistant research fellow at Taiwan's top military think tank, stating just the opposite as she sees the “likelihood of a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait in the near term getting high.” And sadly, I must agree with Ms. Chen that the probably of such an event occurring currently does outweigh the possibility of it not occurring, but it's not for the reasons most think. How so? I say a conflict between China and Taiwan will not only be over quite quickly what with China holding the military trump card, but with the fact that Biden will in the end give but lip service to Taiwan in the same vein he has given it to Ukraine...promises made not kept... promises that should never have been made in the first place.

Simply and to the point, Joe Biden will continue to use Taiwan as but a mere diversion with Taiwan ultimately becoming the much needed sacrificial lamb that helps take the collective mind of America off our failing economy as well as our falling presence on the world stage. But even worse, I think, is that Biden will play a dangerous game by throwing the proverbial ball in China's court to see just how far they will go regarding Taiwan...as in will there be a complete military absorption of Taiwan back into the Chinese fold or will the ultimate takeover be political in name only not unlike that of Hong Kong?

While neither scenario is good for Taiwan the latter might make more sense for China as it would allow much needed trade between our two nations to continue on while still allowing China their coveted Taiwan prize. And not to be forgotten, whether we like it or not, is the fact that China v. Taiwan is in reality China's own civil war that they alone must fight for unlike Ukraine, which is a sovereign nation, Taiwan unfortunately is not.

However, for China to go into Taiwan militarily...to physically destroy the break away island province like Putin has tried to do to Ukraine...I believe is not an option China really wants to do no matter its decades long military threats, for to do so would surely severe what economic ties we have left with China, which could include our cutting off of all modes of trade. Remember, China's economy is basically financed by trade with the U.S...we are it's biggest customer if you will...something Xi knows well. And for Xi to lose American dollars would send China's economy into a tailspin from which they might never recover, never mind that cheaply made Chinese goods already over flood the U.S. market. Bite the hand that feeds your nations coffers might just be incentive enough to keep China's takeover of Taiwan more like the aforementioned political takeover of Hong Kong, which would still garner China a publicity victory of sorts and would leave Joe Biden with egg on his face.

Simply, China would win Taiwan courtesy of military muscle flexed minus tangible battles fought with little Taiwanese blood being shed, while the U.S. again losing like we lost in Afghanistan in that we would have played Taiwan like we continue to play Ukraine with leading from behind diplomacy again being the order of the day. So while a war between China and the U.S. over Taiwan might remain on the table for some it's thankfully, I believe, not a likely scenario...at least not in the near future...for there is something that many forget, as in China's mutual defense treaty with North Korea along with its strong friendship and both national security and economic ties with Putin's Russia.

Translation: a U.S. war with China could well morph into a war with both Russia and North Korea as well, something that would not end well for all parties involved. And that's never mind the possible nuclear option, which in today's heated political climate remains always on the table, nor is the fact that even if a stalemate of sorts were to be reached between us and China over Taiwan we could find ourselves becoming Taiwan's permanent and very expensive sole means of defense, and we all know how well that has worked out in the past...can you say Iraq and Afghanistan.

And besides, if China were to actually attack Taiwan they most likely would do so via a surprise attack, meaning we would not be militarily ready for war let alone be able to come to Taiwan's immediate defense for remember that no matter his words spoken Joe Biden cannot on his own decide that we will go to war to defend Taiwan, only our Congress can do that as written in 'Article I, Section 8, Clause 11' of the Constitution which expressly gives that power to Congress alone. And the time factor needed to get a declaration of war would allow China the time to quickly overpower and capture Taiwan as they have long been prepared for war. Simply, our military is not ready to take on China...nor anyone else for that matter...thanks to the Biden administration's woke neutering of America's fighting forces...a truly sad commentary indeed...a commentary that needs rewriting before it's too late for us all. Case closed.

 Copyright © 2022 / Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All rights reserved. 

 

*************************************************************************************         For more political commentary please visit my RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS partner Craig Andresen's blog The National Patriot to read his latest article, The FBI and DOJ – A Crisis of Credibility.

***************************************************************************************************

RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS...LIVE!

 

Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 16th from 7 to 8:30pm EST, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS Craig Andresen and Diane Sori will discuss 'The U.S. v. China...An Unlikely Scenario'; 'The FBI and DOJ – A Crisis of Credibility'; and important news of the day. Hope you can tune in to RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS on https://rspradio1.com. Click 'LISTEN LIVE' starting at 6:50 pm EST with show beginning at 7pm EST.