Tag: blockades

Why Is the Biden Administration Rewarding Elliott Abrams?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Why Is the Biden Administration Rewarding Elliott Abrams?

The United States owes other nations something different, something new. Democracy is in peril at home and abroad partly because of the impunity that keeps Abrams employed. Though his latest role may be somewhat ceremonial, his appointment is out of step with the demands of our time. There should be consequences for someone like Elliott Abrams. At minimum, it ought to be possible to fail out of public service, but for that to happen, we have to change the way we define failure. The massacre in El Mozote was one such failing — not a regrettable historical footnote but a catastrophic atrocity that indicts the administration Abrams served. His reward must be ignominy. The world deserves nothing less.

Previously:

Biden Nominates Elliott Abrams to Public Diplomacy Commission

Biden Nominates Elliott Abrams to Public Diplomacy Commission

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Abrams led the Trump administration’s failed regime change effort in Venezuela and covered up atrocities in Latin American in the 1980s

Biden Nominates Elliott Abrams to Public Diplomacy Commission

Waiting to see if Abrams’ nomination is resisted as much as it was back when Trump nominated him! ☠️

Related:

Like a bad Pennywise, Elliott Abrams could bring a taste of Iran-Contra to Venezuela

House Republicans Propose The Study Of An Oil Naval Blockade Of China

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The House of Representatives is discussing a move that would effectively amount to an act of war if carried out: a naval blockade on China.

House Republicans Propose The Study Of An Oil Naval Blockade Of China

The following is outdated, especially considering the problems with the US Navy’s LCS ships, but I thought that the bold quote was interesting. I highly doubt that Russia would ever submit to the US!

Related:

[2013] Stranglehold: The Context, Conduct and Consequences of an American Naval Blockade of China

In short, Russia would not only be China’s best hope of overcoming an American blockade, but it would also be the United States’ key to closing China’s transit route through Central Asia and preventing China’s two neighboring oil producers from supplying it with petroleum. In an American blockade of China, Russia’s importance as a swing state cannot be overstated, as is borne out by the observation that “no blockade of China in history has succeeded without Russian acquiescence.”

Hasbara Industry: Deconstructing Israel’s Propaganda Machine

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Tel Aviv is, however, finding it increasingly difficult to whitewash its entrenched apartheid system and ongoing genocide, especially in light of the openly racist policies and practices of the current right-wing regime cobbled together by its legally-plagued prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

…

Luntz states that when Americans are told that Iran supports Hezbollah and Hamas, they will be inclined to be more supportive of Israel. Therefore, when talking about them to repeatedly say “Iran-backed” Hamas and Hezbollah.

Hasbara Industry: Deconstructing Israel’s Propaganda Machine (archived)

Related:

Hasbara Handbook: The Israel Project’s 2009 Global Language Dictionary

The secret report that helps Israel hide facts (archived)

Facts About Israel That You May Not Know (archived)

The Lobby – USA

Cuba, Pentagon and White House dismiss reports of China building a spy base in Cuba

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)2 Comments

Pentagon Dismisses WSJ Report on China Spy Station in Cuba

“I can tell you based on the information that we have, that that is not accurate, that we are not aware of China and Cuba developing a new type of spy station,” said Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder.

Related:

White House Denies Report That China Is Building a Spy Base on Cuba

“I’ve seen that press report. It’s not accurate,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in an interview on MSNBC.

Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base Focusing on U.S. [according to no one]

The U.S. has intervened before to stop foreign powers from extending their influence in the Western Hemisphere, most notably during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The U.S. and the Soviet Union came to the brink of nuclear war after the Soviets deployed nuclear-capable missiles to Cuba, prompting a U.S. Navy quarantine of the island.

The Soviets backed down and removed the missiles. A few months later, the U.S. quietly removed intermediate-range ballistic missiles from Turkey that the Soviets had complained about.

H/T: Emil Cosman

As Biden Eyes More War, South Yemen Intensifies Push for Secession

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)1 Comment

The UAE-backed National Assembly of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) called on its forces to secure a military takeover and annexation of the entirety of Yemen’s southern territory during a meeting on Monday, the Arab Weekly reported. The STC is intensifying its push for secession, seeking a partition corresponding with the borders of the former states of North Yemen and South Yemen, which existed prior to the country’s 1990 unification.

As Biden Eyes More War, South Yemen Intensifies Push for Secession

Related:

The Yemen War Can Be Over — if Biden Wants It

YouTube: Erik Sperling on the US Attempt to Keep the War in Yemen Going

5/11/23 Joziah Thayer on AQAP’s Standing in Yemen

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Joziah Thayer joins to show to discuss some of the work he’s done digging into the many factions and groups within Yemen and the foreign powers working to pull their strings. Scott and Thayer drill in on Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, and explore how the group’s standing in Yemen has changed and how the country is likely to evolve going forward.

Discussed on the show:

The CIA, AQAP, and the Never-Ending Excuse to Bomb Yemen

How the IMF & World Bank Destroyed Yemen

5/11/23 Joziah Thayer on AQAP’s Standing in Yemen