by Owen | 1942, 10 May 22 | Foreign Affairs | 0 Comments
Ew.
Liberal MP Shafqat Ali was panned by a Conservative party lawmaker on Friday after colleagues noticed the familiar background of the building’s washroom.
“The camera was mounted on the ledge or ridge on the wall just above the back of the toilet,” a rival MP said.
This is the second Liberal MP in two years to be caught in an embarrassing situation on a Zoom call.
by Owen | 1836, 7 May 22 | Foreign Affairs | 0 Comments
Money melts borders and salves wounded pride. It’s not a lot of money, but it’s the start of a thaw. This is a very good signal for the region.
Jared Kushner’s new private-equity fund has secured Saudi Arabia‘s first ever investment in Israel, with plans to distribute tens of millions of dollars to two Israeli firms.
Affinity Partners, which has raised more than $2 billion of its $3 billion investment kitty from the Saudi kingdom, will make the investment after Prince Mohammed bin Salman and officials agreed that the fund could be given to Israeli firms, the Wall Street Journal reported.
A source knowledgeable on the deal told DailyMail.com that Kushner, a former White House adviser and son-in-law of former President Donald Trump, will pour tens of millions of dollars of the kingdom’s money into the Israeli start-ups to highlight the historic moment between the two countries.
by Owen | 1452, 31 Mar 22 | Foreign Affairs, Military | 2 Comments
Yikes. One can empathize for the soldiers while still condemning their nation.
Several hundred Russian soldiers were forced to hastily withdraw from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine after suffering “acute radiation sickness” from contaminated soil, according to Ukrainian officials.
The troops, who dug trenches in a contaminated Red Forest near the site of the worst nuclear disaster in history, are now reportedly being treated in a special medical facility in Gomel, Belarus. The forest is so named because thousands of pine trees turned red during the 1986 nuclear disaster. The area is considered so highly toxic that not even highly specialized Chernobyl workers are allowed to enter the zone.
Energoatom, the Ukrainian agency in charge of the country’s nuclear power stations, said the Russian soldiers had panicked and fled.
“It has been confirmed that the occupiers who seized the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and other facilities in the Exclusion Zone set off in two columns towards Ukraine’s border with Belarus. The occupiers announced their intentions to leave the Chernobyl nuclear power plant this morning to the Ukrainian personnel of the station,” the agency said in a statement on Telegram, adding that a small number of Russians still remained at the facility.
by Owen | 0658, 29 Mar 22 | Foreign Affairs, Technology | 0 Comments
If you think that the big tech companies in the U.S. aren’t doing the same work for the American government, you aren’t paying attention.
Nokia said this month that it would stop its sales in Russia and denounced the invasion of Ukraine. But the Finnish company didn’t mention what it was leaving behind: equipment and software connecting the government’s most powerful tool for digital surveillance to the nation’s largest telecommunications network.
The tool was used to track supporters of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Investigators said it had intercepted the phone calls of a Kremlin foe who was later assassinated. Called the System for Operative Investigative Activities, or SORM, it is also most likely being employed at this moment as President Vladimir Putin culls and silences anti-war voices inside Russia.
For more than five years, Nokia provided equipment and services to link SORM to Russia’s largest telecom service provider, MTS, according to company documents obtained by The New York Times. While Nokia does not make the tech that intercepts communications, the documents lay out how it worked with state-linked Russian companies to plan, streamline and troubleshoot the SORM system’s connection to the MTS network. Russia’s main intelligence service, the FSB, uses SORM to listen in on phone conversations, intercept emails and text messages, and track other internet communications.
by Owen | 0743, 26 Mar 22 | Education, Foreign Affairs | 1 Comment
About two dozen, mainly female, protesters gathered close to the Taliban’s Ministry of Education on Saturday morning, calling on the group to reopen girls’ secondary schools.
The Taliban have been widely condemned for issuing a last-minute U-turn earlier this week, ordering them to close, just hours after teenage pupils began to arrive for the start of the new academic year.
The protesters chanted, “Education is our right! Open the doors of girls’ schools!” while armed Taliban members looked on.
One female teacher attending told the BBC: “When it comes to standing up for freedom and the girls who want to go to school, I’m willing to die.
“We are here for the rights of our daughters to get an education. Without that right, we might as well be dead already.”
The Taliban has previously broken up demonstrations and detained those involved, but on this occasion the protest was allowed to continue.
First, what courage… these are women who are very likely to be brutalized or killed for speaking out. Yet there they are.
Second, while leftists in America can’t define what a woman is anymore, these women are fighting for basic rights that Americans take for granted.
by Owen | 1828, 24 Mar 22 | Economy, Foreign Affairs, Politics | 2 Comments
On Wednesday, Russia’s economic ministry said annual inflation had jumped 14.5% in the week ending 18 March – the highest rate since late 2015.
The Federal State Statistics Service said the cost of sugar rose by as much as 37.1% in certain regions of the country and increased by an average 14%.
Sugar, which is commonly used to preserve food or make liquor, was the biggest gainer in the week, the government agency found.
The price of onions was the second biggest riser over the week, up 13.7% nationwide and 40.4% in some areas. Meanwhile, nappies were 4.4% more expensive. Prices for black tea rose 4% and toilet paper increased by 3%.
by Owen | 2007, 19 Mar 22 | Foreign Affairs, Military | 3 Comments
I wondered why the Russian Generals were in the line of fire.
Russia is believed to be sending its generals to the front line of its war in Ukraine in a bid to bolster low morale among troops.
According to Western officials, Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has “largely stalled on all fronts”, with Russia making “minimal progress” and suffering heavy losses.
The Russian President is said to be frustrated at the lack of progress, which has seen his troops fail to seize any major cities despite heavy bombardment of them.
On Thursday Ukrainian officials claimed a fourth Russian general has been killed during fighting in the city of Mariupol.
by Owen | 1507, 18 Mar 22 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 4 Comments
“We hear and see statements that are actually personal insults to President Putin,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Given such irritability from Mr Biden, his fatigue and sometimes forgetfulness…fatigue that leads to aggressive statements, we will not make harsh assessments, so as not to cause more aggression.”
by Owen | 1439, 13 Mar 22 | Foreign Affairs | 3 Comments
Remember that it was Obama who abandoned the United States’ manned space program and wanted to rely on Russia.
Russia’s space program has apparently threatened to leave an American astronaut aboard the International Space Station as it comes crashing down to Earth in a video shared by Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.
Mark Vande Hei, a married 55-year-old father of two from Texas, is scheduled to return to Kazakhstan from the International Space Station (ISS) with two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30 after spending nearly a year on board.
But amid United States’ sanctions against Russia for the human rights violations it is committing in its siege of Ukraine, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, has threatened to leave him in space.
by Owen | 1435, 12 Mar 22 | Foreign Affairs | 1 Comment
The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced Saturday’s executions, saying they included those “convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children.”
The kingdom also said some of those executed were members of al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and also backers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels. A Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Iran-backed Houthis since 2015 in neighboring Yemen in an effort to restore the internationally recognized government to power.
Those executed included 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis and one Syrian. The report did not say where the executions took place.
“The accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process, which found them guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes that left a large number of civilians and law enforcement officers dead,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
“The kingdom will continue to take a strict and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten the stability of the entire world,” the report added. It did not say how the prisoners were executed, though death-row inmates typically are beheaded in Saudi Arabia.
by Owen | 0627, 7 Mar 22 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 10 Comments
What the… his advisors are considering sending him? Set aside the idiotic policy for a moment… who’s driving this ship?
President Biden’s advisors are reportedly considering sending him to Saudi Arabia to push the kingdom to pump more oil as prices soar to over $130 a barrel.
As Russia invaded Ukraine, the U.S. and the rest of the world have imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow that have driven already-high gas prices to their highest in over a decade.
by Owen | 0646, 2 Mar 22 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 24 Comments
Eight years ago this week, Putin was invading and taking over Crimea. I wrote a column about it. Here’s a part:
“Hagel proposes downsizing Army to smallest size in decades.” – Associated Press 2/24/14
“Hagel: Dominance of US military ‘can no longer be taken for granted’” – The Daily Caller 2/24/14“In Crimean capital Simferopol, pro-Russian gunmen seize key buildings.” – BBC 2/27/14“Obama to Russia: Stay out of Ukraine.” – Politico 2/28/14“Ukraine erupts as Russian troops take over Crimea.” – New York Post 3/1/14
As American President Obama scolds, Russian President Putin acts. Putin acts without fear of American might because President Obama has proven time and time again that his words have nothing behind them.[…]
Putin is engaging in realpolitik as America and the rest of the west issues stern warnings and threatens to pull out of the upcoming G8 conference. I’m sure Putin is shaking in his boots at the thought of another gravely-delivered content-free oration from President Obama.Events do happen in the world that have nothing to do with America or our foreign policy, but this is not one of them. The fact is that Obama’s foreign policy has been an utter failure. He came into office apologetic of America’s might and influence on the world stage. In five years of his administration, we have seen a steady decline in our ability or willingness to influence events around the world.And now we see the fruit of our president’s intentional neutering of American power in the world. Russia will almost certainly succeed in taking over Ukraine – one way or another. America will stand by and watch with crossed brows and impotent arms. And the downsizing of our military will continue based on fantastical world visions of unicorns and rainbows and glitter emanating from the White House.
When the Eagle sleeps, the Bear rises.
by Owen | 0712, 24 Feb 22 | Foreign Affairs, Military, Politics | 40 Comments
Putin is a prototypical expansionist tyrant of the kind that the world has known since time began. He will keep expanding until he can’t. He is gathering his few allies to prepare for the next step.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says he expects to discuss the possible deployment of Iskander and S-400 defense systems to Belarus with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the coming days.
“[Thursday or Friday] we will talk with the President of Russia about how to strengthen ourselves here in the western direction,” Lukashenko told state news agency Belta Thursday.
“Today we consulted with the military, and we see that it would be desirable to put Iskanders [missile systems] there and place a battalion or two with S-400s somewhere so that we can actually monitor the situation all the way to Berlin,” Lukashenko said.
That is not an argument for direct U.S. military action. Russia is still much weaker than it was during the Soviet days. There is a decent chance that they blow their wad in Ukraine if the Ukrainians put up a fight. I’m not confident of that. The next layer is for Western European nations to defend themselves. I don’t think Putin is crazy enough to attack a NATO country yet, but if he has an easy time in Ukraine, he might.
The biggest worry for Americans is the acceleration of Russian cyberwarfare against America’s economy. They are stepping up that effort. This is not WWII. There are more battlefronts.
by Owen | 1812, 21 Feb 22 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 2 Comments
Scientists say that a rapid drop in emissions because of Covid played a key role in record rainfall in China in 2020.
The decline in greenhouse gases and small particles called aerosols caused atmospheric changes that intensified the downpours.
Hundreds of people died and millions more were evacuated during a summer of record rainfall.
But long-term cuts in emissions are unlikely to trigger similar events.
by Owen | 2109, 20 Feb 22 | Foreign Affairs | 1 Comment
There was a time when Australia was near the top of places I wanted to go. After seeing how they treated their own citizens, now I’m like… nah, mate… I’m good.
Australia has reopened its international border for the first time in nearly two years, bringing joyful family reunions and a boost to tourism.
The country imposed some of the world’s strictest travel bans after shutting itself off in March 2020 due to Covid.
Australians and some others were allowed to return from late last year, but most foreigners have had to wait.
There were tearful reunions at Sydney Airport on Monday as hundreds of people began arriving on flights.
by Owen | 2003, 19 Feb 22 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 4 Comments
Hmmm… why is Biden so hellbent on defending Ukraine? What is our strategic interest? Why is recklessly exposing our spy capabilities to the world?
But now, with growing fears that Moscow is preparing for a full-scale invasion, the Biden administration has abandoned the U.S.’s normally tight-lipped attitude toward releasing intelligence information and is pursuing a strategic — and according to former officials, unprecedented — declassification campaign aimed at exposing Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
In recent days, U.S. officials have called out a number of Russian “false flag” operations that they say are designed to provide a pretext to invade Ukraine. These have included allegations of a potential Russian-authored chemical assault designed to look like Ukrainian aggression, and even a plot to create a detailed yet fake movie showing the lethal aftermath of a Ukrainian attack. Officials have also publicly named Russian military intelligence as responsible for a disruptive cyber operation that targeted Ukraine’s defense ministry and banks earlier this week.
Experts say the revelations have been aimed at throwing Russia off balance by exposing their plans before they’re brought to fruition — and showing that the U.S. has the capability to surveil many of Russia’s actions.
By the end of the Trump administration, U.S. spy agencies had developed a “much better understanding of what the Russians are doing in a strategic sense,” said a former senior CIA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive capabilities. “There were some extraordinary sources, obviously those are really fragile, so I’m not sure if those accesses are still in place, but I have to imagine they are.”
by Owen | 0646, 17 Feb 22 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 3 Comments
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar has come out defending an Ottawa shop owner who made a donation to the Freedom Convoy in Canada.
Omar said journalists should not be reporting and publicizing the names of people who made ‘insignificant’ donations.
Omar tweeted in response to a newspaper editor from the Ottawa Citizen who had shared a report about Stella Luna Gelato Cafe in Ottawa, which was forced to close down after receiving continual threats.
[…]
‘I fail to see why any journalist felt the need to report on a shop owner making such a insignificant donation rather than to get them harassed. It’s unconscionable and journalists need to do better,’ Omar said in the tweet on Wednesday evening.
‘I wish journalists wrote the articles they think they are writing. Sorry to say it, but your stories aren’t always balanced and often have a clear political bias. Calling it out isn’t harassment or journalist bashing. Everyone has a right to critique your story and its merits,’ Omar wrote hours later on Wednesday night.
by Owen | 0945, 9 Feb 22 | Culture, Foreign Affairs, Politics | 1 Comment
Sad. Note that COVID didn’t do this. The government’s policy choices did.
The Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub in St. Albans, England has been around since the year 793 A.D., according to the Guinness Book of World Records, but is finally shutting down due to hardships from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christo Tofalli, the operator of the pub, shared the sad news in a Facebook post on Feb. 4, saying that they have filed for bankruptcy and have struggled during the entire pandemic.
“It is with great sadness that I have to announce that today, after a sustained period of extremely challenging trading conditions, YOFC Ltd has gone into administration,” Tofalli said in the post.
“Along with my team, I have tried everything to keep the pub going. However, the past two years have been unprecedented for the hospitality industry, and have defeated all of us who have been trying our hardest to ensure this multi-award-winning pub could continue trading into the future.”
by Owen | 1959, 8 Feb 22 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 12 Comments
I wonder how much the Big Guy was supposed to get.
Hunter Biden was working with a Chinese oil company in Kazakhstan that is now under US sanctions and a former Kazakh prime minister now accused of treason to broker a lucrative pipeline deal, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Emails obtained by DailyMail.com show the president’s son teamed up with the former Kazakh prime minister Karim Massimov, now facing charges of high treason, to try to pull off a $120million pipeline deal after similar ventures had faced opposition from Western energy firms.
[…]
But the involvement of Hunter’s Chinese business partners with Burisma adds a new and troubling dimension to his dealings in Eastern Europe – indicating that he was working on a deal that could indirectly further the energy interests of the Chinese government while hoping to collect millions of dollars for himself.
by Owen | 0719, 7 Feb 22 | Foreign Affairs, Politics | 29 Comments
It is telling how different the media coverage is of this protest compared to the Occupy or BLM protests. In all cases, you had a group of protestors taking physical control of a public area.
The mayor of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, has declared a state of emergency in response to more than a week of truckers’ protests against Covid restrictions.
Jim Watson said the city was “losing this battle” and “completely out of control”.
He added the protests posed a threat to residents’ safety. There have also been reports of racial attacks.
Ottawa’s centre has been paralysed, with vehicles and tents blocking roads.
The “Freedom Convoy” was sparked by the introduction last month of a new rule that all truckers must be vaccinated to cross the US-Canada border, but the protests have morphed into broader challenges to Covid health restrictions.
The protesters have since gathered in central Ottawa near Parliament Hill, and their demands have grown to include ending all such mandates nationwide and opposing the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
