Tonto Strikes Again: Preempts Task Force, DFA + and an update (Philippines)

First of Three Parts: Sabotaging Diplomacy at the South China Seas

Four days after the country has barely started recovering from the trauma President Marcos dealt on Philippine-China relations after he made a faux pas recognizing the newly-elected president of Taiwan and infuriating China, Philippine Coast Guard Jay Tarriela again preempted the National Task Force and the Department of Foreign Affairs dishing out fake news to the national media.

Tonto Strikes Again: Preempts Task Force, DFA

I’ve updated my ‘Philippines Game Changer’ document, with a couple of links, regarding the South China Sea and ‘Freedom of Navigation’. I’ve also created a page for all of my working papers, to which I’ll upload future updates. If anyone has any feedback, I’d appreciate it. I can be reached through my contact page, or email at mscat71@dontsp.am, if comments are closed.

Related:

US policies pushing China, Philippines to brink of conflict

There’s an information war going on in the South China Sea (using embedded journalists, civil society activists, and various US think tanks). The Philippines plans on building a military base, on the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, to replace the BRP Sierra Madre (which is about to break apart). Marcos is also re-starting oil exploration, in the Reed Bank which is part of the disputed territory.

Philippines to develop islands in South China Sea + More

YouTube Playlist: InfoOp – SCS

Assessment of Nuclear Conflict Risks at the Present Geopolitical Climate

The following is a letter by an anonymous viewer of the neutrality studies youtube channel, published here for the purpose of an open discussion. To send your own letter, please contact the editor.

Dear Pascal,

I thought I would write and to share some thoughts regarding the program you presented, with the two academics from Europe on the critical topic of “nuclear war risk assessment” at the present state of international geopolitical events. The link referencing your program is the following, that I am referring to:

Assessment of Nuclear Conflict Risks at the Present Geopolitical Climate

I slept through those videos. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Chile’s Foreign Ministry confirms the death of Chilean journalist Gonzalo Lira, who was imprisoned in Ukraine

Gonzalo Lira had been in prison since May 5, 2023, after being detained by the Ukrainian security service after being accused of allegedly supporting and justifying the Russian military operation.

The Chilean-American journalist Gonzalo Lira died in Ukraine after having been in prison for various crimes reported by the Ukrainian security service. Lira was covering the war between Ukraine and Russia.

The information was first reported by Russian media, but later confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of our country.

According to Sputnik, the journalist had pneumonia in both lungs, pneumothorax and a very severe case of edema. Likewise, although the illnesses worsened in mid-October, the prison authorities ignored it until December 22.

For its part, RT also reported the death of the professional, providing the same diagnosis.

This information was expressed by the same journalist through different publications that he made once free.

When consulted by CNN Chile, the Foreign Ministry explained that the consulate in Warsaw, Poland, reported the death, so they were gathering more details in Kiev.

On May 5, 2023, Lira was detained by the Ukrainian security service after being accused of allegedly supporting and justifying the Russian military operation, spreading false news about the conflict, filming videos where he tried to capture the faces of Ukrainian military personnel and insulting them.

Lira, originally from the United States and with Chilean citizenship, previously criticized the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) , the Biden Administration and Zelensky himself in his videos.

The journalist’s father, also called Gonzalo Lira, referred to his son’s death in the same medium through a letter published by American journalist Tucker Carlson on social networks.

“I cannot accept the way my son died. He was tortured, extorted, held incommunicado for 8 months and 11 days and the US embassy did nothing to help my son. The responsibility for this tragedy lies with the dictator Zelensky with the concurrence of a senile American president, Joe Biden,” said Carlson.

Foreign Ministry confirms the death of Chilean journalist Gonzalo Lira, who was imprisoned in Ukraine (Translation by Google)

RT says that the State Department confirmed his death. Zerohedge reported. Breitbert reported. The Grayzone reported. NakedCapitalism reported. The article, that I posted, was from WSAU AM in Wisconsin (they removed it). Nothing in mainstream corporate media, of course!

China’s Game in Gaza: How Beijing Is Exploiting Israel’s War to Win Over the Global South

Foreign Affairs so, yes, it has a bias. Author Mark Leonard

Still there are some points of interest. One obvious point made is the lamentable state of US diplomacy. Perhaps better acknowledged as non existent.

China’s Game in Gaza: How Beijing Is Exploiting Israel’s War to Win Over the Global South

The USG is doing a good enough job of ruining its reputation, on the international stage, but let’s blame China! 🤦🏼‍♀️

The Russian Art of War: How the West Led Ukraine to Defeat

We are very happy to bring you this excerpt from Colonel Jacques Baud’s latest book, The Russian Art of War: How the West Led Ukraine to Defeat (L’art de la guerre russe: Comment l’occident conduire l’ukraine a la echec). This is a detailed study of the two-year old conflict in which the West has brutally used the Ukrainians to pursue an old pipedream: the conquest of Russia.

The Russian Art of War: How the West Led Ukraine to Defeat

Private American military company in discussions with the Central African Republic

USG Bribed C.A.R.

The Wagner Group are mercenaries but Bancroft is a private military company! 🙄

Private American military company in discussions with the Central African Republic

“As part of the reconstruction of the national army (…), we called on partners including the Russian Federation, Angola, Morocco, Guinea (…) who are helping us to train our soldiers,” he added. “The United States is also offering to the Central African Republic to train its soldiers, both on Central African soil and on American soil. ”

According to the French daily Le Monde , Washington offered the CAR a security agreement at the end of 2022 for President Touadéra in exchange for distancing itself from Wagner. Neither Washington nor Bangui have confirmed.

A group of US representatives call for an end to the Monroe Doctrine and interventionism in Latin America

Two centuries after the speech that inaugurated the United States’ policy toward the region, five Democratic lawmakers call for an end to the Cuban embargo and the declassification of secret CIA files, as well as reforms to the IMF and the OAS

A group of US representatives call for an end to the Monroe Doctrine and interventionism in Latin America

Doubtful that this will ever happen.

Previously:

For Reporters Without Borders, censorship is freedom of speech, and the death of Russian journalists does not count.

For Reporters Without Borders, censorship is freedom of speech, and the death of Russian journalists does not count.

In the Reporters Without Borders (RWB) annual report on journalists killed in the course of their work in 2023, the deaths of two Russian journalists killed in the area of the special military operation were simply erased from the count, as if their deaths did not count. But after all, this is hardly surprising coming from an organisation that in 2022 was already calling for censorship of the Russian media on the pretext of protecting freedom of speech.

52% of RWB’s funding comes from governments, including the French Development Agency, the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the UK Foreign Office, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the European Commission, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development and the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But if we look at the non-governmental players, RWB’s Russophobic bias can be fully explained. Its partners include the Open Society foundations of George Soros, who has never hidden the fact that he wants to see Russia collapse, and who supports colour revolutions around the world in order to install pro-Western governments in key countries such as Ukraine.

The Ford Foundation is also a donor to Reporters Without Borders. This foundation is literally infiltrated by the CIA (one of its former presidents is none other than the architect of what later became the CIA, and he hired American intelligence agents to work for the foundation)!

And to top it all off, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is one of RWB’s supporters. The NED is an American organisation funded by the US Congress, which has taken on some of the tasks previously carried out by the CIA! Don’t waste any more time, we’ve got the trifecta!

US Law Enforcement Investigating Guyana Government Involvement in Surveillance of Rickford Burke’s Home, Transnational Repression Complaint Filed

US law enforcement is investigating armed men who have been conducting surveillance around the home of Mr. Rickford Burke, President of the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy (CGID). Security camera footage captured the men video recording and taking photographs of Mr. Burke’s home and his vehicles’ license plates.

US Law Enforcement Investigating Guyana Government Involvement in Surveillance of Rickford Burke’s Home, Transnational Repression Complaint Filed

Well, I’ll be damned! He’s the head of an NGO called the Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy! I wonder who funds that?!

Related:

AG declines to speak on legality of Guyanese police officer participating in delivering summonses to Rickford Burke in US

Jagdeo says Rickford Burke was properly served summonses; police, govt silent on key questions

Earlier this year, Mr Burke’s CGID organised a conference on Guyana to highlight alleged discrimination against Afro-Guyanese by the largely Indo-Guyanese backed People’s Progressive Party of which Mr Jagdeo is its General Secretary.

Putin as the new Mr. Darcy? Austrian ex-minister lauds ‘gentleman’ Russian leader

When you think of an old-fashioned gentleman straight from the pages of a Jane Austen novel, who do you think of?

Well, if you are former Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl, it’s Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin as the new Mr. Darcy? Austrian ex-minister lauds ‘gentleman’ Russian leader

Related:

Putin described as ‘most intelligent gentleman’ by former Austrian foreign minister