China blames Philippines for ship collision in waters near Ren’ai Jiao + Notes

Source

China on Tuesday accused the Philippines of deliberately ramming a Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessel in disregard of China’s repeated warnings, as four Philippine vessels illegally entered the waters adjacent to the Ren’ai Jiao of China’s Nansha Qundao.

CCG spokesman Gan Yu made the remark after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said one of its ships was damaged on Tuesday in a collision with a CCG vessel and four Filipino crew were injured. 

China blames Philippines for ship collision in waters near Ren’ai Jiao

Related:

The Philippines has been chartering civilian vessels for their resupply missions.

Source

A Philippine civilian boat, escorted by two navy ships and two coast guard vessels, was on a monthly supply run to a small number of Filipino marines stationed on the ‘Sierra Madre’ – a warship intentionally run aground on the Second Thomas Shoal in 1999 in order to reinforce The Philippines’ territorial claims in the area.

Source

I suspect that this incident was staged. Powell, from the DoD-funded Stanford GKC’s SeaLight (Project Myoushu), said that it was the same vessel that was damaged last time. FYI, I clipped this video before he started talking about the upcoming US-Philippine-Japan meeting to ‘strengthen military ties’.

Source

Powell whining, on X, for ‘international support’.

Source

Lawmaker Who Led TikTok Ban Bill Joins Private Surveillance Firm

Lawmaker Who Led TikTok Ban Bill Joins Private Surveillance Firm

Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, who led the charge on a bill that could effectively ban TikTok within the country — on the basis that China can “surveil its users” — plans to take up a post with the American surveillance company and defense contractor Palantir, Forbes reported.

Gallagher, who currently chairs the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, was the lead sponsor on the bill that would force TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to sell the popular social media platform within six months or face a potential ban from app stores and web-hosting services.

After the vote, Palantir executive Jacob Helberg, who also serves on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, called on his social media followers to fund opponents to lawmakers who voted no on the bill to ban TikTok. Gallagher worked with Helberg in recent months as part of an effort to build bipartisan, bicoastal support of the bill. Helberg took a job at Palantir as a senior policy advisor to CEO Alex Karp back in August.

Related:

Wikipedia:

The United States–China Economic and Security Review Commission (informally, the U.S.–China Commission, USCC) is an independent agency of the United States government. It was established on October 30, 2000, through the Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act.

ALBA-TCP Condemns Interventionist Comments by US SOUTHCOM Head

The executive secretary of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America-People’s Trade Agreement (ALBA-TCP), Jorge Arreaza, repudiated the statements of the head of the United States Southern Command (US SOUTHCOM), Laura Richardson. Arreza condemned her statements as interventionist and warlike.

ALBA-TCP Condemns Interventionist Comments by US SOUTHCOM Head

H/T: Chicago ALBA Solidarity

The Gaza Maritime Route Was Netanyahu’s Idea, Maritime Aid Corridor Will Advance the Overthrow of Hamas, & When Will US boots be on the Ground in Gaza?

Diplomatic source to ‘Post’: Gaza maritime route was Netanyahu’s idea

According to the source, on October 22, two weeks following the war’s outbreak, Netanyahu discussed with President Biden the concept of “delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza via the sea, contingent on an Israeli inspection in Cyprus.”

Years before the Gaza war, Israel Katz, now the Foreign Minister, had drawn up plans for a maritime route via Cyprus involving a floating island.

The project was never executed. But he revived it after the war began on October 7. 

Related:

Gallant: Maritime Aid Corridor Will Advance Overthrow of Hamas

“The process is designed to facilitate aid directly to civilians and in this way, it advances [our goal] of overthrowing Hamas’ rule in Gaza,” the minister said.

“We will facilitate aid via the maritime route that is coordinated with the United States (security and humanitarian aspects), with the assistance of the United Arab Emirates on the civilian side,” he said. “It will include the appropriate inspections in Cyprus, and the goods will be brought by international organizations with American assistance.”

Air, sea, and land: When will US boots be on the ground in Gaza? Authored by Yonah Jeremy Bob*

Then suddenly, last Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced that the US would also supply maritime aid to Gaza, including building a makeshift artificial port off the coast.

This already imposes a long-term US military footprint in Israeli-Gaza territorial waters rather than a “mere” series of fly-throughs.

How hard would it be for a small complement of US Marines accompanying the aid deliveries to travel a kilometer or so into Gaza and to place themselves squarely in the middle of where Israel does not want them?

Moreover, US forces have been and are already on the ground.

US generals and counter-terror experts have been in and out of Israel since the start of the war, including visits to Gaza.

There are also a variety of US military personnel regularly in Israel on military and intelligence exchange programs.

US attempts to reform the PA

Speaking of intelligence, multiple times when a decision was made to try to improve and reform the Palestinian Authority security forces, it was the CIA and US special forces who came to the West Bank and Gaza to help train and prepare these forces.

It seems quite likely that the Jewish state, at some point, will ask Washington to perform the same service again in Gaza.

A broader version could involve a US-led peacekeeping force handling internal Gaza security for an indefinite period until enough Gazan Palestinians disconnected from Hamas can be convinced that taking on this role will not lead to them being slaughtered later by a resurgent Hamas.

From this perspective, the question about US forces on the ground in Gaza seems less of an if than it does a when, how many, and under more or less coordinated circumstances with Israel.

*Yonah Jeremy Bob was raised in Baltimore and graduated from Columbia University and Boston University Law School, respectively. He previously worked for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli Military International Law Division, and the Israeli Justice Ministry. – Wikipedia

Can’t make this up 🤦🏼‍♀️

The Imperial March” plays over the loudspeaker of a US Army vessel departing on a mission to construct a temporary port for aid deliveries to Gaza

Twitter

Related:

2. THE EMPIRE WAS NAZI GERMANY 

From stormtroopers to Imperial officers’ uniforms and even Darth Vader’s helmet, which resembles those worn by the Wehrmacht during WWII, the analogies between Nazi Germany and the Galactic Empire are not exactly subtle. 

The gradual rise of Hitler from German chancellor to Nazi dictator is further mirrored in the rise of Darth Sidious, or Sheev Palpatine, from chancellor to world’s most horrific-looking emperor.  

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU: HOW WWII INSPIRED ‘STAR WARS’

The Real History That Inspired ‘Star Wars’

PFLP Warns of Suspicious US Plan for Gaza Pier, ‘Humanitarian Aid’

PFLP Warns of Suspicious US Plan for Gaza Pier, ‘Humanitarian Aid’

The movement emphasized that the US plan is “suspicious and dubious” and goes beyond the goal of aiding the Palestinian people, opening the door to executing other alarming objectives, such as forced displacement plans under humanitarian and other pretexts.

No US boots will be on the ground,” Biden claimed. [He’s lying]

Five Palestinians, including two children, were killed on Friday due to an aid airdrop mishap, where at least one parachute malfunctioned, causing a package to fall on them. The tragic incident occurred in the al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza at approximately 11:30 am local time.

According to Politico, the airdrops expose Biden’s very limited approach with “Israel” since the US usually delivers airdrops to areas that are occupied by “terrorist groups or hostile regimes, not allies.”

Related:

U.S. Says Building Gaza Pier ‘Likely’ to Take Up to 60 Days

Although the massive U.S. military operation will involve both soldiers and sailors, the U.S. military will not be deploying troops ashore — even temporarily to anchor the dock to the beach, said Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder. [He’s lying, as well]

Video: Gaza Pier Pressure | How the US Military Builds a Pier | Joint Logistics Over the Sea (JLOTS)

The Anti-Defamation League: Israel’s Attack Dog in the US

Posing as a civil rights group, the ADL has long operated as an intelligence organization targeting Israel’s critics. So why does the media still treat it as a credible source?

The Anti-Defamation League: Israel’s Attack Dog in the US (archived)

Related:

ADL defines genocide and civil disobedience within the FBI

The Kings of Garbage, or, The ADL Spied on Me and All I Got Was This Lousy Index Card

US congress receives bill to review SA relations following ‘politically motivated’ ICJ case

A bill has been submitted to the United States congress calling for a full review of the country’s bilateral relationship with South Africa following the International Court of Justice ruling that found it plausible that Israel has committed acts of genocide against Gaza.

US congress receives bill to review SA relations following ‘politically motivated’ ICJ case

David Villamar interviewed about Ecuador’s violent crime disaster

Despite the ongoing genocide in Gaza, Ecuador’s violent crime problem is such an incredible disaster that it manages to attract international attention. Criminals have recently taken over live newscasts. Supporters of the rightwing governments that created the disaster (for example, The Economist) have declared Ecuador to be the deadliest country in the Americas. It’s difficult for Ecuador to get international news coverage. In recent years, it generally has to be something very bad (or sports-related).

David Villamar interviewed about Ecuador’s violent crime disaster

Related:

How Did Ecuador Spiral into This Nightmare? It Was the Neoliberal Dismantling of the State