Tag: US Military

Elon Musk’s Cruel Cuts Expose What MAGA Really Thinks of Veterans

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Elon Musk’s Cruel Cuts Expose What MAGA Really Thinks of Veterans

Key takeaways:

  • 60 percent of the 16 million Americans who have served in the military supported Donald Trump, and 55 percent believed his policies would benefit veterans, but many veterans have been fired due to massive cuts by Trump and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
  • Nearly 6,000 veterans have already lost their jobs due to the cuts, and an estimated 100,000 veterans could be out of work when all is said and done, with around 36,000 disabled veterans facing unemployment and difficulty in finding private-sector jobs.
  • The federal government plays a critical role for veterans, providing professional opportunities and support for those transitioning from military to civilian life, but the mass firing of federal workers, including many veterans, will have devastating effects on communities and individuals across the country.

US Ukraine Mineral Deal- Shades of Iraqi reconstruction scandal- US to provide security & the Trump admin connection to Iraq’s post-war reconstruction scandal

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

US Ukraine Mineral Deal- Shades of Iraqi reconstruction scandal- US to provide security

Elbridge Colby and Keith Kellogg both served in the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Iraq in 2003 under Paul Bremer and are now part of the Trump administration. The CPA, which acted as the transitional government overseeing post-war reconstruction in Iraq, faced significant criticism for its mishandling of reconstruction funds. Over $8 billion allocated for Iraq’s rebuilding remains unaccounted for, including more than $1.6 billion in cash that was discovered in a basement in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, Chinese companies are actively engaged in constructing a wide range of infrastructure projects, including housing units, universities, commercial centers, schools, health facilities, and power stations. They have also played a key role in developing the Nasiriya airport.

Sources:

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The intersection of sex, capitalism, and militarism

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The intersection of sex, capitalism, and militarism

The intersection of sex, capitalism, and militarism highlights how these systems often intertwine, with capitalism’s focus on commodification leading to the exploitation of sex work, while militarism frequently creates environments where women and vulnerable populations are particularly susceptible to sexual violence and trafficking, often due to the presence of military forces in a region, further perpetuating power imbalances and economic disparities. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

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Trump’s Medicaid reversal should worry Social Security recipients.

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
Trump’s Medicaid flip-flop should worry any American on Social Security

House narrowly passes budget resolution containing $100B for defense

The House budget resolution would add about $3 trillion to the deficit in a decade while mandating deep cuts that threaten to significantly shrink Medicaid and food programs for low-income people. It also calls for the debt limit to be raised by $4 trillion.

Democrats decried the blueprint as a “betrayal of the middle class.”

Rep. Mark Takano of California, the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said the plan would harm 9 million veterans that rely on Medicaid for health insurance coverage and more than 1 million veterans who use the SNAP food assistance program, formerly known as food stamps.

He said the Republican budget blueprint would also “take a chainsaw” to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The resolution does not specify exact cuts, but it mandates committees find $2 trillion in total spending reductions to finance tax cuts or reduce the amount of the tax cuts.

Previously:

Speak Up Before VA Health Care Is Gutted #Project2025

Donald Trump’s Next Diversity Target: People With Disabilities

DOGE Sets Its Sights on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid

China’s stealth destroyer lurks 124 miles off Sydney’s coast

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

A Chinese naval task force, consisting of the Type 055 guided-missile destroyer Type 055, a Type 054A frigate, and a Type 903A replenishment ship, has been spotted operating approximately 124 miles [200 kilometers] east of Sydney, Australia.

China’s stealth destroyer lurks 124 miles off Sydney’s coast

Previously:

Chinese Navy Helicopter Intercepts Philippine Cessna Over Scarborough Shoal + Embedded Journalism

The aerial incident follows a week of multilateral activities between the Philippines and its allies in the South China Sea. These drills included back-to-back joint patrols with American, Japanese, Australian and Canadian forces. A U.S. Air Force bomber task force mission composed of two B-1Bs and Philippine Air Force fighter jets drilled off Luzon earlier this month. The Royal Australian Air Force also reported an unsafe interception incident with a People’s Liberation Army Air Force J-16 fighter over the contested waters last week.

Chinese Navy Helicopter Intercepts Philippine Cessna Over Scarborough Shoal + Embedded Journalism

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Chinese Navy Helicopter Intercepts Philippine Cessna Over Scarborough Shoal by Aaron-Matthew Lariosa

The People’s Liberation Army Navy Z-9 utility helicopter that intercepted the Philippine Cessna. Photo Courtesy of Camille Elemia.

…

A People’s Liberation Army Navy Z-9 utility helicopter intercepted the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Cessna 208B Grand Caravan during a routine patrol mission over Scarborough Shoal today at 8:39 a.m. local time, according to Philippine officials. A number of Philippine journalists [embedded journalists] were on board the Cessna during the encounter, which saw the Chinese helicopter fly as close as three meters from the turboprop aircraft. Philippine Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Jay Tarriela described China’s actions as “dangerous flight maneuvers” and blasted the conduct as a disregard to international aviation regulations.

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Trump Admin Is Misleading Public About Venezuelans at Guantánamo, Attorneys Say

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

After Kristi Noem, the newly confirmed secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), traveled to Guantánamo Bay earlier this week, she told CNN the Venezuelan migrants being transferred to the notorious U.S. naval base and military prison are “the worst of the worst that we’ve pulled off our streets.”

Immigration attorneys say the facts on the ground do not support Noem’s official narrative about what’s going on at Guantánamo Bay, where President Donald Trump has ordered the construction of a tent city in order to detain up to 30,000 migrants, regardless of the site’s capacity, including asylum seekers fleeing violence and poverty. For civil rights groups, the transfer is only the latest in a series of legally dubious efforts by the federal government to dodge constitutional requirements by incarcerating people at the notorious offshore facility.

Trump Admin Is Misleading Public About Venezuelans at Guantánamo, Attorneys Say

Nothing about the previous attempts by the US government to overthrow the Venezuelan government.

Truthout’s funding:

Support for Truthout comes from assorted left-leaning foundations and individual contributors. Major foundation donors include the Schumann Media Center, the Lannan Foundation, and the Cloud Mountain Foundation. Other donors include former militant extremist and academic William Ayers. Another donor is the Park Foundation, an environmentalist grantmaking group focused on opposing fracking, or drilling for natural gas. 

Previously:

Venezuelan president blames opponent for post-election violence + More

As predicted: violence by the far-right Venezuelan opposition breaks out across Caracas

How the U.S. Drove Venezuelans North

When they request asylum in the United States, migrants have to say something against their government. But everyone in the Venezuelan community knows that it’s a lie. Venezuelan comedians in Florida, like George Harris, joke about the Venezuelans lying to the migration people just in order to receive asylum.

Tag: 2024 Venezuelan Presidential election

María Corina Machado is the female Javier Milei (aka US Puppet)

Leopoldo López (Venezuela)

DOGE is Sharpening the Tools of US Empire – Not Dismantling Them

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
DOGE is Sharpening the Tools of US Empire (Rumble)

Many people have become so distracted with debates over the process DOGE is overseeing in exposing and eliminating US government fraud, waste, and abuse, that no one is focused on its purpose.

The current US administration has declared its intention to uphold the irrational and unwarranted pursuit of US dominance over the globe and is merely attempting to sharpen and streamline the tools available to do so more efficiently.

Sources:

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What’s in Store for VA Disability Benefits with New Office of Management and Budget Chief?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

What’s in Store for VA Disability Benefits with New Office of Management and Budget Chief?

Vought, confirmed Thursday in a 53-47 Senate vote, spearheaded a 2023 report by the Center for Renewing America think tank that called for reducing VA disability compensation for veterans who reach Social Security retirement age and eliminating unemployability benefits for these veterans as well.

The report also proposed cutting disability compensation to veterans with ratings lower than 30% and dropping disability compensation for veterans whose health conditions aren’t directly related to military duty.

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