China and EU-candidate Serbia Sign Agreement to Build a ‘Shared Future’

[Daily Kos Morning Roundup]( [Abbreviated Pundit Roundup]( is a long-running series published every morning that collects essential political discussion and analysis around the internet. - [China and EU-candidate Serbia Sign Agreement to Build a ‘Shared Future’]( After meeting in Belgrade, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic announced they would “deepen and elevate the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Serbia,” and “build a new era of a community with a shared future between China and Serbia. [...] China has poured billions of dollars into Serbia in investment and loans, particularly in mining and infrastructure. The two countries signed an agreement on a strategic partnership in 2016 and a free trade agreement last year. Some of those agreements, such as the free trade pact, are not in line with EU conditions for membership. Although Serbia formally wants to join the 27-nation bloc, it has been steadily drifting away from that path. Serbia, a landlocked nation in the heart of the Balkans, has been a key country in China’s Belt and Road Initiative designed to increase Beijing’s influence in Europe through economic investment. Critics say it could serve as a Chinese Trojan horse and gateway to Europe. - [U.S. Decision to Delay Arms Shipments to Israel Could Impact IDF's Readiness on Other Fronts]( The Israeli defense establishment is concerned that the United States' decision to delay arms shipments to Israel could affect the IDF's preparedness for potential conflicts on other fronts. Defense officials are concerned about a deterioration in relations between the Israeli government and the Biden administration and have warned their political bosses that this crisis signifies a shift in Israel-U.S. relations since the war began. Senior IDF officers have cautioned the government about the potential consequences, emphasizing the need for prompt understanding. The U.S. has stopped shipments of bombs and heavy bomb components for the Israeli air force, which are considered crucial munitions in case of an escalation in the conflict. While security officials believe that halting these shipments will not directly impact the fighting in Gaza, they view it as a troubling development that could affect the army's preparedness for potential conflicts in other areas. - [Greene’s ouster attempt of Johnson is tabled]( The final tally was 359-43, with 11 Republicans and 32 Democrats voting against the motion to table Greene’s resolution. Seven Democrats voted “present.” Greene, R-Ga., made her long-telegraphed move against Johnson after reading a lengthy litany of complaints about his tenure in office, which began in late October, on the floor. She offered her resolution to declare the office of the speaker vacant during a break in other legislative business. [...] It had appeared that Greene and her ally Thomas Massie, R-Ky., had put their effort on pause Tuesday, after meetings with Johnson on Monday and Tuesday in which they delivered four “requests” to the speaker. They were joined by Arizona’s Paul Gosar, the only other Republican to publicly back the effort. The trio is asking that Johnson only bring legislation to the floor that has the support of a majority of the conference; oppose any additional Ukraine aid; defund the office of special counsel Jack Smith; and include a 1 percent across-the-board spending cut in a continuing resolution that will be needed past Sept. 30 if all fiscal 2025 appropriations bills are not passed in time. Johnson, however, said he is not negotiating with Greene and her allies. - [In court, Stormy Daniels pulled a Trump on Trump]( For nearly a decade, Trump has been the nation’s main chaos agent: He causes the mayhem, and the rest of us have to react, adjust, adapt and try to stay calm. But for one day, somebody else was causing the chaos, and Trump and his lawyers were the ones who had to react and adapt. They had to ride out Stormy’s storm. She was a worthy adversary. Daniels attacked her target with the very blend of vulgar accusations and insinuations without evidence that Trump routinely uses on others. In effect, she pulled a Trump on Trump. She was furious, out of control and uninhibited by what even prosecutor Susan Hoffinger, out of the jury’s hearing, referred to as her witness’s “credibility issues.” Trump, glowering from the defense table, tasted his own bitter medicine. [...] Trump’s lawyers howled about how unfair it was to see their client, a once and perhaps future president, treated so rudely. “We are talking about somebody who’s going to go out and campaign this afternoon,” Todd Blanche said in arguing for a mistrial because of the “extraordinarily prejudicial” testimony intended only “to embarrass” his client and “to inflame the jury.” Imagine somebody saying things only to embarrass and inflame! - [Just how low will Republican politicians stoop to be Trump’s running mate?]( Even as Trump sits in a Manhattan courtroom this week, listening to a porn star describe their long-ago sexual encounter, he is deciding who will be his running mate in November. The job, of course, has a few downsides. As Mike Pence found out on 6 January 2021, being Trump’s vice-president could result in masses of violent rioters calling for you to be hanged. And it could result, as Pence also found out, in Trump himself throwing you under the bus, as he tends to do with even those who were his closest allies. (“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done …” Trump said publicly, about his vice-president’s decision to accept electoral votes that indicated his rival, Joe Biden, had won the presidential election. Privately, according to Politico, Trump went even further, expressing support for hanging Pence.) The position is coveted, nonetheless. Power is every bit that seductive. And so, the veepstakes are playing out before our eyes. And, far beyond Tim Scott’s craven avoidance, the competition is not a pretty sight. - [Show your support for independent news with a Daily Kos t-shirt—union decorated and made in the USA! Click here to get yours]( - [The cicadas are coming. Frustrated Americans should join them by screaming, too.]( We Americans are staring down the barrel of a double-brood cicada emergence, a bound-to-be cacophonous event that will rattle our eardrums, make summer strolls crunchier than they should be and give the bug-wary among us an unruly case of the icks. This confluence of rising cicada broods – which hasn’t happened since 1803 – has some wishing they could fast-forward past summer and get to the part where the estimated trillions of these periodical visitors die so we can move on to more peaceful moments, like a wildly contentious presidential election or maybe a civil war. A recent USA TODAY report noted: “Scientists estimate that trillions of cicadas in Broods XIX and XIII will emerge, eat, reproduce and die before the next generation heads underground to wait for another 13 or 17 years.” Someone should tell these noisy bugs that “emerge, eat, reproduce and die” is kind of our thing, but whatever. - [Bad news: Daily Kos revenue is down—we're struggling. You are a part of the solution, small donors keep us going. Can you donate $5?]( Want to write your own stories? [Log in]( or [sign up]( to post articles and comments on Daily Kos, the nation's largest progressive community. Follow Daily Kos on [Facebook](, [Threads](, and [Instagram](. Thanks for all you do, The Daily Kos team We're not asking for much Over the past 12 months, the average donation to Daily Kos has been just $9.44. These donations may seem small, but they're a big deal to us. In fact, they are our largest source of income. We literally couldn't do the work we do without them. 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