In the absence of official scrutiny of Washington’s spending spree on Ukraine, The Grayzone conducted an independent audit of US funding for the country. We discovered a series of wasteful, highly unusual expenditures the Biden administration has yet to explain.
All aboard the gravy train: an independent audit of US funding for Ukraine
Threats to international peace and security – Security Council, 9364th meeting
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The following is outdated, especially considering the problems with the US Navy’s LCS ships, but I thought that the bold quote was interesting.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.”
The Chinese government summoned the US ambassador in Beijing to lodge a formal complaint over President Biden calling Chinese President Xi Jinping a “dictator,” The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
China Lodges Formal Complaint Over Biden Calling Xi a Dictator
The commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz said Chinese vessels and planes that he encountered during a seven-month deployment in the western Pacific were “very polite and very professional.”
US Aircraft Carrier Commander Reports ‘Very Professional’ Interactions With China
US President Joe Biden has called Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator at a fundraising event in California.
US-China tensions: Biden calls Xi a dictator a day after Beijing talks
Good to see that the status quo is changing. /s
The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday dismissed rumors of a potential visit to China by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the near future, saying they have nothing to share on that, after a number of US media outlets have hyped an alleged official visit by Blinken to China in the upcoming weeks.
China dismisses rumors of a Blinken visit, calling for US sincerity rather than saying one thing but doing another
Related:
Blinken Expected to Visit China Soon
Anonymous sources strike again.
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
The former civilian head of the NATO alliance is warning that some Eastern European states are prepared to send their soldiers to Ukraine if the bloc does not make significant pledges to Kiev during an upcoming summit.
Former NATO Head: Some NATO Countries Are Considering Sending Troops to Ukraine
Since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, the White House and the entire US media have proclaimed that the conflict was an “unprovoked war” launched by a single man, Vladimir Putin, on February 24, 2022.
The narrative of the “unprovoked war” in Ukraine falls apart
*Disclaimer: The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and may or may not reflect those of Ms. Cat’s Chronicles.
Related:
Editorial Board interview: NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: The war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed NATO, but then you have to remember the war didn’t start in 2022. The war started in 2014. And since then, NATO has implemented the biggest reinforcement of our collective defense since the end of the Cold War.
The United States faces a default on its debt in early June if a deal on the debt ceiling is not reached between the Biden administration and Republicans in Congress before then. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is pushing for sweeping budget cuts and new work requirements for recipients of government programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and SNAP. Notably, however, neither Republicans nor Democrats are proposing cuts to one of the biggest drivers of the nation’s debt: the massive U.S. military budget. “We’ve got to get this military-industrial lobby under control, but it’s hard to do, because it’s a bipartisan affair,” says our guest, economist Jeffrey Sachs, whose recent article is headlined “America’s Wars and the US Debt Crisis.”
Jeffrey Sachs: Bipartisan Support of War, from Iraq to Ukraine, Is Helping Fuel U.S. Debt Crisis
Previously:
The War in Ukraine Was Provoked—and Why That Matters to Achieve Peace
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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