The Washington Post: Recognized by U.S. as Venezuela’s President-Elect, Edmundo González Meets With Biden
The encounter, a first for the two men, signals Mr. Biden’s desire to present a broad coalition of support for Mr. González, who met with the right-wing president of Argentina, Javier Milei, over the weekend, and will meet with other regional presidents in the coming days.
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Declaration Berlin (translated)
Posted by @nsanzo
“European leaders are scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and NATO chief Mark Rutte on Wednesday afternoon in Brussels to discuss peace plans and the possible deployment of peacekeeping forces in Ukraine,” Politico announced on Friday, confirming what was already known: NATO is leading the effort to coordinate what may happen in the coming months in the war in Ukraine, which on the ground will depend on European countries. “In addition to Rutte and Zelensky, invited participants include: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Polish President Andrzej Duda, European Council President António Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen,” the outlet added, to show who the main actors are in preparing for the possibility of a significant reduction in the United States’ role in the day-to-day running of the war.
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Joshua Lisec’s work is highly regarded by J.D. Vance, Donald Trump Jr., and Steve Bannon. He thinks democracy is overrated and that law should be used as a tool of political revenge. He spoke to Current Affairs to explain why his book praises McCarthyism and dictatorships.
Trumpworld’s Favorite Writer Says The Right Must Emulate Dictators in Battling Leftist ‘Unhumans (archived)
Related:
The Atrocities of Augusto Pinochet and the United States
FMC to investigate Spain’s refusal to handle US freight
Outgoing Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel told Seatrade Maritime News that yesterday’s FMC meeting debate and vote ended in agreement that there should be an investigation into whether Spain’s reticence to handle US cargo involved violations of international agreements.
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Bentzel pointed out that these contracts can be for the carriage of all sorts of cargo, not just weapons, “including humanitarian aid, in support of the Gazan population.”
Previously:
Spain to Block Maersk Ships Bound to Israel After Pressure From Activists
Zelensky’s wear and tear (original)
For more than two and a half years, war has been the raison d’être of the Ukrainian state. The budget presented by Kyiv this week allocates more than 50% of the budget to the defence sector – to which must be added the cost of veterans – something that has been repeated since 2022. Maintaining the front, avoiding its collapse and ensuring that there is still enough support to continue fighting until the objectives are achieved is the priority of the government team, which has set aside practically all other obligations of the state, which today depends entirely on foreign subsidies that make it possible to pay salaries and pensions. One of the aspects that has completely disappeared under the cover of the unity demanded by the war is precisely domestic politics. The Russian invasion gave Zelensky’s team the opportunity to create for the president the image of a war leader, the representation of the nation, a savior capable of achieving what he sets out to do, the only person capable of rescuing the country from certain ruin.
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The Venezuelan Public Ministry announced the initiation of a criminal investigating against María Corina Machado “for her promotion and support of the recent criminal act of the United States House of Representatives that approved the BOLIVAR Act. This imperialist legislation seeks to amplify the illegal sanctions against the Venezuelan people.”
Related:
Venezuela Denounces ‘Offensive’ BOLIVAR Act and US Recognition of González as ‘President-Elect’
The Spanish government has announced it will block two ships—Denver and Seletar—operated by shipping giant Maersk and carrying military cargo bound for Israel, from docking at the port of Algeciras. This decision comes just days after the Mask off Maersk campaign released a report exposing the company’s regular use of the Spanish port for transferring cargo that enables the ongoing genocide against Palestinians, despite Spain’s stated arms embargo.
Spain to Block Maersk Ships Bound to Israel After Pressure From Activists
Japan’s Ground-Based Air Defense Options to the Philippines
Bilateral defense relations between Japan and the Philippines come at an all-time high, signifying the continuous cooperation between both maritime nations that share a common adversary and similar situation regarding territorial domains and integrity in the Indo-Pacific region.
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With the success of the export of the aforementioned radar systems to the Philippines from Japan, the latter is now raising up an idea of the likelihood of selling its surface-to-air missile batteries for the Philippine military to consider, with a wide variety of variants coming from the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force that might find its way for the likes of the Philippine Air Force. This is especially in line with the recently passed New Government Procurement Act or NGPA (Republic Act 12009), allowing the purchase of second-hand military hardware, provided it is economically preferable to the government.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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