The marriage of RAND and SeaLight

A Caricature of Marxism and Imperialist Economism: Monism And Dualism

Slowly, but surely, I’m going through both of the following RAND publications. I just recently noticed that “Understanding and Countering China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations” was posted over at SeaLight on the 12th of December. Ray Powell, from SeaLight, is quoted at least 14 times in the first publication. So far, I’ve seen RAND “recommend” the same tactics as they’ve deployed in the Philippines; civilian society organizations, embedded journalism, information warfare, influencers, and online trolls.

USS Beloit (LCS-29). Photo by EJ Hersom.

I’ve always known that they would try to expand their information operation to the other countries that are in ASEAN, just by following the SeaLight podcast. If not their information operation, regime change and terrorism (in Balochistan and Myanmar). I’ve also noticed that Powell has been referring to the Philippines’ “transparency initiative” as “non-violent resistance,” lately (RAND refers to it as “assertive transparency”). Ironic, considering that they’ve already succeeded in overthrowing the government of Bangladesh and are now attempting it in Cambodia, India and Pakistan. For those who don’t know about the regime change asset Gene Sharp and his neoliberal “nonviolence,” see the links on this page. Unfortunately, I don’t have as much time to dedicate to this right now due to other obligations.

Understanding and Countering China’s Maritime Gray Zone Operations | RAND

How the United States Can Support Allied and Partner Efforts to Counter China in the Gray Zone: Affirmative Engagement | RAND

RAND and SeaLight document (work in progress)

PART 2

Part 3a: RAND and SeaLight – Taiwan Relations Act

RAND and SeaLight Part 3b: Four Ways China Is Growing Its Media Influence in Southeast Asia

I forgot to bite my tongue again 😬

Florida schools recently removed most information on sex in their sex education curriculum. My initial shock was over the removal of the teaching of sexual consent from the program. Apparently, it’s okay to rape Floridian children. Anyway, I shared the video and got a comment making fun of LGBTQ+, as teaching about that was removed as well. I forgot to bite my tongue and let loose in my response. I’ve posted it below. I’ve covered the stats before, so I’m not posting sources.

Did you know that more cis (straight) boys get gender-affirming surgery than those who identify as transgender? Breast reductions are considered gender-affirming. I remember going to school with a guy who had to wear a bra because his breasts were so big that they caused him problems in gym class. The other kids made fun of him for it. He was straight, or what is now termed cis. Besides, less than 3% of Americans identify as transgender and less than 7% identify as LGBTQ+. Right-wingers (and some so-called Communists/Left-wingers) blow the LGBTQ+ issue out of proportion. I identify as queer. I just don’t flaunt it, but I will stand up for my fellow LGBTQ+. Criticize the U.S. government for how it weaponizes LGBTQ+ rights, human rights, or women’s rights, as an excuse for overthrowing other governments, instead. Capitalism and American Imperialism are the real problems.

The Atlantic publishes hit job against PM Modi: Here’s how the propaganda piece cherry-picks facts to attack Indian PM while romanticising Khalistan terrorists

The Atlantic publishes hit job against PM Modi: Here’s how the propaganda piece cherry-picks facts to attack Indian PM while romanticising Khalistan terrorists

The hit job titled “How a Strongman Made Himself Look Weak” claims that PM Modi responds to criticism within India by ‘co-opting’ the media and ‘repressing’ the religious minorities [read Muslims]. And, on foreign soil, the Modi government responds to criticism with anger and laughably, even ‘political assassinations’.

Related:

Daniel Block (Asia Foundation—CIA, Henry Luce Scholarpartners with the Asia Foundation, The Caravan)

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(Primer) A Decade of EDCA: US military bases and its expanding war games in the Philippines

The outright re-establishment of US military bases in the country and its relentless and escalating war games on land, sea, and air are flagrant manifestations of US imperialist domination of the Philippines. This further tightens the grip of US imperialism on the Philippine neocolonial state, especially on the puppet Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

(Primer) A Decade of EDCA: US military bases and its expanding war games in the Philippines

Trumpism, NATO and the Ukraine war

Trumpism, NATO and the Ukraine war (original)

“Two years ago, General Mark A. Milley, then President Biden’s chief military adviser, suggested that neither Russia nor Ukraine could win the war. A negotiated solution, he argued, was the only path to peace. His comments caused a furor among senior officials. But President-elect Donald J. Trump’s victory is making General Milley’s prediction come true,” wrote The New York Times in an article published last week, part of a growing line of arguments by those who fear that the arrival of the new Republican administration will mean leaving Ukraine to its own devices. These articles, present in all major American and European media, take literally Trump’s desire to end the war and his lack of interest in the situation in Ukraine. This has also been helped by the words of JD Vance, who, from his ignorance of the conflict, has proposed a plan that can only satisfy Russia, or the exalted response of Donald Trump Jr. after the confirmation of the American permission to use Western missiles against targets on the territory of mainland Russia. Sometimes, think-tankers and experts also add Trump’s disdain for NATO or his desire not to rescue member countries that do not meet the minimum investment required by the Alliance in the event of a Russian attack.

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Venezuela: Public Ministry Opens Criminal Investigation Against María Corina Machado for Treason (+BOLIVAR Act and US Recognition of González as ‘President-Elect’)

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.”

Venezuela: Public Ministry Opens Criminal Investigation Against María Corina Machado for Treason (+US Sanctions)

Related:

Venezuela Denounces ‘Offensive’ BOLIVAR Act and US Recognition of González as ‘President-Elect’

Leopoldo López (Venezuela)

Vente Venezuela