Category: Norway

Ukraine Detains Socialist Writer, Bans World Socialist Web Site | Russia Formally Charges WSJ Journalist with Spying for the CIA

Ms. Cat

Ukraine Detains Socialist Writer, Bans World Socialist Web Site | Russia Formally Charges WSJ Journalist with Spying for the CIA

At least Ukraine doesn’t discriminate, when it comes to detaining writers.

…

It should be noted that similar jailings are taking place in Russia, with some hitting close to home. This past December, Russians arrested Boris Kagarlitsky, a longtime Moscow Times contributor who was the main writer on the “Russian Dissent” Substack sponsored by this site. Boris, a socialist himself but not connected in any way to the WSWS, was denounced as an “inoagent” (a foreign agent) and given a five year sentence, which Russian authorities called “excessively lenient.” The case is one of the more absurd in the history of speech offenses. Kagarlitsky was initially accused of making light of a 2022 explosion on the Krimsky Bridge linking Russia to Crimea, thanks to a video titled “Explosive Congratulations to the Cat Mostik,” sarcastically putting a cat in the frame for the blast. The Russian news agency TASS noted Kagarlitsky’s “negative attitude toward authorities,” and Boris remains in prison. We’re trying to get more information about his status.

Mostik isn’t just any cat! Mostik = Bridge. Mostik is the mascot of the Crimean Bridge. Petty criticism, maybe. Anyway, I’m not surprised that the West is ignoring anyone detained in Ukraine for speech issues while screeching about ‘freedom of the press’ and ‘human rights’ in Russia.

Related:

Мостик Кот – Mostik the Cat

Prospects shaky for Philippines’ government and communist peace talks

Ms. Cat
CIA World Factbook

Prospects shaky for Philippines’ government and communist peace talks

Manila, Philippines – Fighting continues between the Philippine military and communist rebels despite an agreement to resume peace talks this month in an effort to end the world’s longest-running communist armed rebellion.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr surprised many when, in November, his government announced an agreement with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the rebels’ political wing, to restart peace talks that his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte had ended shortly after taking office.

Considering that the Millennium Challenge Corporation just gave the Philippines a grant, I doubt that they’ll see any positive economic reforms. MCC’s support for “democratic reform” is akin to the “democracy promotion” advanced by the National Endowment for Democracy. My guess is that it’s to keep the Philippines in line with US foreign policy against China.

If US can clear way for ‘cease-fire in Gaza’, Red Sea problem would be solved

Ms. Cat

If US can clear way for humanitarian aid to Gaza, ‘joint patrol would not be necessary’

If US can clear way for ‘cease-fire in Gaza’, Red Sea problem would be solved

Related:

The cost of US fighting Houthis in the Red Sea just went up

[2022] Chaos Agent – Yuri Bezmenov

Ms. Cat

Yuri Bezmenov defected from the Soviet Union to Canada in the ‘70s, and his warnings about disinformation have made him a posthumous star on social media. Documents obtained by CBC News reveal his toxic relationship with Canada’s intelligence services.

Chaos agent (archived)

Semi-Related:

Call Of Duty Trailer Recklessly Promotes Far-Right Conspiracy Theory (archived)

The person interviewing Bezmenov in the footage is far-right conspiracy theorist G. Edward Griffin, who has since made a name for himself in HIV/AIDS denialism and alt-right recruitment. As a member of the John Birch Society, a famously anti-Communist organization focused on establishing a more conservative government in the United States, it makes sense that Griffin would peddle Bezmenov’s claims about Soviet interference by way of social progress without any critical analysis. In the Call of Duty trailer, Activision presents Bezmenov’s words bereft of this important context.

Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War uses KGB video from 1984. Critics say it’s CIA propaganda

Lift off: Use of high-altitude platforms gain traction in US Army

Ms. Cat

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has for years experimented with high-altitude balloons and long-endurance, fixed-wing, solar-powered platforms capable of operating in the stratosphere. Now the service is pursuing prototyping efforts that could lead to programs of record, including one able to deploy launched effects.

Lift off: Use of high-altitude platforms gain traction in US Army

Related:

What The U.S. Army Plans For High-Altitude Balloons, Solar Aircraft

SMDC’s Space and Missile Defense Center of Excellence actively works across the Pentagon to find high-altitude platforms, payloads and command-and-control capabilities for the service. This includes small, tactical balloons for payloads such as extended-range communications up to large, stratospheric balloons, according to a command fact sheet. In April 2022, for example, U.S. Army soldiers launched a Thunderhead High-Altitude Balloon System during exercise Balikatan 22 in the Philippines.*

*Flynn for balloons. Guess there is a different standard for the US gov?

Countries Eye Weight Tax To Counter Public Safety Threat Of Extremely Heavy, Large EVs

Ms. Cat

Countries Eye Weight Tax To Counter Public Safety Threat Of Extremely Heavy, Large EVs

The electric Ford Lightning, for example, is a whopping 6,500 pounds. The Hummer EV is even heavier, clocking in at 9,000 pounds. Its battery alone weighs more than a Honda Civic. Experts have pointed out the significant safety ramifications of this transition for a while, but it’s still not clear that we’ve prepared the regulatory and policy landscape for such a transition.

U.S. Now Promising To Fast-Track F-16 Fighters For Ukraine

Ms. Cat

The U.S. government has reportedly assured authorities in Denmark and the Netherlands that it will expedite approval of any requests they submit to transfer F-16 Viper fighters to Ukraine. When the Ukrainian Air Force might actually get any of those jets is still unclear amid uncertainty that has been brewing about the multi-national program to train the country’s pilots to fly them and support personnel to maintain them.

U.S. Now Promising To Fast-Track F-16 Fighters For Ukraine: Report

Related:

US calls on NATO states to send F-16s to Ukraine – Reuters

Speaking in June, Russian President Vladimir Putin predicted that F-16s “will burn” just like the Western tanks supplied to Kiev, and said that Russia will find ways to strike at sites outside Ukraine if the jets end up being based there. Operating the F-16 requires pristine runways, which Ukraine does not possess.