Chinese and Philippine ships collide at Sabina Shoal, a new flash point + More

Source

The incident, the first time in decades that Beijing and Manila have clashed over the Sabina Shoal, may derail efforts to lower tensions in the South China Sea.

Chinese and Philippine ships collide at Sabina Shoal, a new flash point (archived)

Related:

CCG restricts repeated Philippine vessel intrusions near South China Sea reefs

Chen Xiangmiao, director of the World Navy Research Center at the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times on Monday that the Philippines sees Xianbin Jiao as a transfer station for its resupply missions to Ren’ai Jiao, as Xianbin Jiao is located between Ren’ai Jiao and the Philippines’ Palawan Province.

[08-16-24] Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Remarks on the Philippine Coast Guard Vessel’s Illegal Anchoring in the Lagoon of Xianbin Jiao

[08-14-24] Exclusive: Manila to deploy new vessel for ‘semi-permanent presence’ at China’s Xianbin Jiao, breaking its promise: source

Philippine media have hyped the China Coast Guard’s (CCG) presence in the Xianbin Jiao, but it is the Philippines that has sent the MRRV-9701 to the area in the first place. The Philippine ship anchored in the lagoon of the Xianbin Jiao in April, with a CCG ship arriving later in July.

Updated on 07-27-2024: SeaLight, formerly Project Myoushu

Powell’s storytelling:

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Trump Sold-Out His Base to Shovel $95 Billion to Ukraine and Israel

America last. America last. That’s all this is. America last, every single day. – Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene

The man who is most responsible for the $95 billion giveaway to Ukraine and Israel, is the same guy who pretends to oppose America’s “wasteful” foreign wars. Donald Trump. It was Trump who consulted with Speaker Mike Johnson about the contents of the Ukraine aid package, just as it was Trump who concocted the idea of issuing loans instead of dispersing the standard welfare handout. It was also Trump who said:

Trump Sold-Out His Base to Shovel $95 Billion to Ukraine and Israel

Related:

Michael Tracey: America First, or Ukraine First?

Chinese Mogul Funneled Millions to Bannon, Fox, Gettr, Docs Show

An indicted Chinese businessman pumped millions of ill-gotten dollars into the bank accounts of some of the most influential figures in MAGA World—including former Trump aides Steve Bannon and Jason Miller—according to a raft of documents filed in federal court in February.

Chinese Mogul Funneled Millions to Bannon, Fox, Gettr, Docs Show (archived)

Related:

Who is Guo Wengui?

Lima Group 2.0: Right-Wing Latin American Ex-Presidents Demand US Interventionism in Venezuela (Atlas Network)

After the failure of the Lima Group, Latin American right-wing former presidents created a new group to continue interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, such as attempting to overthrow the president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.

Lima Group 2.0: Right-Wing Latin American Ex-Presidents Demand US Interventionism in Venezuela

Related:

Ibero-American leaders create group to favor freedom and democracy

The background of the coordination of the right and the extreme right in the world (Spanish)

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FDA Weighs New Application To Approve MDMA As First-Ever Psychedelic Medicine For PTSD + More About MAPS

A psychedelics-focused drug development company is officially asking the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review an application to approve MDMA as a prescription medication for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The MAPS Public Benefit Corporation (MAPS PBC) announced on Tuesday that it submitted the new drug application (NDA) to FDA, requesting an expedited review given that the agency previously designated the psychedelic as a breakthrough therapy.

FDA Weighs New Application To Approve MDMA As First-Ever Psychedelic Medicine For PTSD

H/T: The Most Revolutionary Act

The MAPS Public Benefit Corporation is subsidiary of Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies. MAPS was founded by Rick Doblin.*

Related:

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Neocons are panicking over another possible Trump presidency

The Atlantic: Two Men Running to Stay Out of Prison

Liz Cheney warns US ‘sleepwalking into dictatorship

Robert Kagan: A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending.

…We can expect more of this when the war against the “deep state” begins in earnest. According to Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), there is a whole cabal determined to undermine American security, a “Uniparty” of elites made up of “neoconservatives on the right” and “liberal globalists on the left” who are not true Americans and therefore do not have the true interests of America at heart. Can such “anti-American” behavior be criminalized? It has in the past and can be again.

So, the Trump administration will have many avenues to persecute its enemies, real and perceived. Think of all the laws now on the books that give the federal government enormous power to surveil people for possible links to terrorism, a dangerously flexible term, not to mention all the usual opportunities to investigate people for alleged tax evasion or violation of foreign agent registration laws. The IRS under both parties has occasionally looked at depriving think tanks of their tax-exempt status because they espouse policies that align with the views of the political parties. What will happen to the think-tanker in a second Trump term who argues that the United States should ease pressure on China? Or the government official rash enough to commit such thoughts to official paper? It didn’t take more than that to ruin careers in the 1950s.

Their panic just shows how out of touch they are with the working class! As for Kagan, there’s so much more that I could say, but for now I’ll just roll my eyes! 🙄