Tag: House Foreign Affairs Committee

Blinken picks up guitar for new US music diplomacy push

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)2 Comments

He is better known for rallying global support for Ukraine, but US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday picked up another favorite tool of diplomacy — his guitar.

Blinken picks up guitar for new US music diplomacy push

Related:

Secretary Antony J. Blinken At the Launch of the Global Music Diplomacy Initiative

Global Music Diplomacy Initiative

LOL! YouTube even recently auto-generated a ‘topic’, for Blinken, although they’re all older videos. It’s no wonder that Michael McCaul approved, of it, as he introduced the PEACE Through Music Diplomacy Act. Interestingly, the band that Blinken played with is called the Coalition of the Willing. My bet is they use this as a way to implement color revolutions/regime changes!

Bill to Ban Tik Tok Would Give Government Sweeping Powers to Crackdown on Tech

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Bill to Ban Tik Tok Would Give Government Sweeping Powers to Crackdown on Tech

A person who violates the act could be fined up to $1 million or punished with up to 20 years in prison. The broad and vague definitions in the legislation caused many to wonder if people could be handed such harsh punishments for using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to get around future government censorship that could come as a result of the bill.

A spokesperson for Warner insisted that the legislation wasn’t designed to target individual users and pointed to the language that says someone “must be engaged in ‘sabotage or subversion’ of American communications technology products and services, creating ‘catastrophic effects’ on US critical infrastructure, or ‘interfering in, or altering the result’ of a federal election, in order to be eligible for any kind of criminal penalty.”

But the bill will give the Commerce Secretary the authority to deem what is considered “sabotage or subversion” or any of the other threats listed above. The legislation has grave implications for civil liberties and could be used against any individuals or tech and media companies the Biden administration, or any future administration would want to target.

Previously:

Tik-Tok bills could dangerously expand national security state

“They’re going to call you socialists anyways”: Progressives slam 109 Dems for backing GOP stunt

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

“They’re going to call you socialists anyways”: Progressives slam 109 Dems for backing GOP stunt

Here’s what this is really about: More and more members on the other side of the aisle are calling for cuts to Social Security and Medicare, and many have referred to these programs as “socialism” throughout their existence. The other night in the Rules Committee they showed their cards. Republicans refused an amendment to declare that Social Security and Medicare is not socialism. This resolution is little about intelligent discourse and everything to do about laying the groundwork to cut Social Security and Medicare.

‘Socialism’ for me, but not for thee?!

China’s neighbors are buying US weapons Washington isn’t delivering

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

China’s neighbors are buying US weapons Washington isn’t delivering

Even though the United States views these weapons sales as integral to deterring China from attacking Taiwan, some of the deals were publicly announced as far back as 2017.

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The reasons – government delays, supply chain issues and production requirements – are numerous, and the problem won’t be easy to fix, Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas, the ranking member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Defense News.

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The U.S. government has approved the sale of 10 weapons systems Taiwan has yet to receive – some of which are not slated for delivery until the end of the decade.

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The United States has flooded billions of dollars in weapons into Ukraine, including items that are part of Taiwan’s backlog, such as Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles and High Mobile Artillery Rocket Systems.

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For example, several Middle Eastern and eastern European countries are ahead of Taiwan in Lockheed Martin’s F-16 production queue. In 2019, the State Department approved an $8 billion Taiwan sale for 66 F-16s, but Taipei does not expect to receive the aircraft until 2026.

“Saudi Arabia is still ahead of Taiwan on the priority list in some cases,” Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., told Defense News ahead of a July meeting with Taiwan’s Washington envoy. “We need to take a look at that.”

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