France Gets Greek Order for Multiple Warships

Mark Clouse September 28, 2021

Immediately after the EU sided with France over the US essentially cancelling France’s submarine deal with Australia, Greece has announced a major multibillion dollar deal with France that will see Greece purchase a minimum of 6 French Warships, a move that is sure not to please the Turks, or the Americans, for that matter. The relationship between Greece and America is necessarily strong, for now, but Europe now appears ready to finally treat Greece like a member of the European family, choosing them at long last over Turkey.

Greece, France, expected to announce major warship deal – The Seattle Times

From www.seattletimes.com
2021-09-27 20:06:07

Excerpt:

The leaders of Greece and France are expected to announce a major, multibillion-euro deal in Paris on Tuesday involving the acquisition by Greece of at least six French-built warships, Greek state ERT TV reported.

ERT said Monday that Greece was planning to acquire three French FDI frigates — with the option of later buying a fourth —and another three corvettes.

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Iran Buckles As Turkey’s Influence Grows in Azerbaijan

Mark Clouse September 28, 2021

The unholy triumvirate known as Turkey, Russia, and Iran that has dominated most of the outcomes in Syria has always had a tenous hold on its union, but that potential is becoming even more strained as Iran begins to see a different type of triumvirate forming in the region to the north of Iran, Azerbaijan, where Turkey has now gained a foothold after equipping Azerbaikanis in their recent dust-up with Armenia with killer drones that tilted the balance of power to the Azerbaijanis significantly.

As you might imagine, given the fact that Turkey, through Erdogan, sees itself as the apex of a worldwide Muslim caliphate, Iran is none too keen to see this contender for the caliphate throne gain influence to their northern frontier. The dynamics of Syria are sure to become a bit more unstable as the tension between Iran and Turkey grows.

Iran Increasingly Alarmed By The Turkey-Azerbaijan-Pakistan Axis

From greekcitytimes.com
2021-09-27 14:40:04

Excerpt:

Since the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, tensions between Iran and the emerging Turkey-Azerbaijan-Pakistan Axis have significantly escalated. It is now glaringly obvious that Iran grossly miscalculated the new reality that would emerge with Azerbaijan capturing Armenian-held territories in the South Caucasus.

A major motivating factor of Azerbaijan’s insistence on controlling Nagorno-Karabakh is the Greater Pan-Turkic project, where Turkey sees itself as the domineering center of a sphere of influence stretching from Istanbul to Western China. Rather than dealing with this project, which supports Turkic separatist ideals in Iran, Tehran decided on pan-Islamic optics and continually congratulated and praised Azerbaijan’s capture of historically-demographically-culturally Armenian territories.

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America Gets Hypersonic Thanks to Raytheon Design

Mark Clouse September 28, 2021

U.S. successfully flight tests Raytheon hypersonic weapon – Pentagon

From www.reuters.com
2021-09-27 18:41:00

Excerpt:

The United States has tested an air-breathing hypersonic weapon capable of speeds faster than five times the speed of sound, marking the first successful test of the class of weapon since 2013, the Pentagon said on Monday.

The test took place as the United States and its global rivals quicken their pace to build hypersonic weapons – the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms…..

The free flight test of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) occurred last week, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, said in a…

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Drones Replace US Troops as Biden’s Afghan War Continues

Mark Clouse September 28, 2021

Afghanistan War Shifts to Illegal Drone Strikes

From www.laprogressive.com
2021-09-28 10:15:30

Excerpt:

Three weeks after his administration launched a drone attack that killed 10 civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan, President Joe Biden addressed the United Nations General Assembly. He proudly declared, “I stand here today, for the first time in 20 years, with the United States not at war.” The day before, his administration had launched a drone strike in Syria, and three weeks earlier, the U.S. had conducted an air strike in Somalia. The commander-in-chief also apparently forgot that U.S. forces are still fighting in at least six different countries, including Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Libya, Somalia and Niger. And he promised to continue bombing Afghanistan from afar.

Unfortunately Biden’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan is substantially less meaningful when analyzed in light of his administration’s pledge to mount “over-the-horizon” attacks in that country from afar even though we won’t have troops on the ground.

“Our troops are not coming home. We need to be honest about that,” Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-New Jersey) said during congressional testimony by Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this month. “They are merely moving to other bases in the same region to conduct the same counterterrorism missions, including in Afghanistan.”

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Israel Alleges Iran’s Nuclear Program Has “Crossed All Red Lines”

Mark Clouse September 28, 2021

Iran’s nuclear program has crossed ‘all red lines’: Israel PM

From www.france24.com
2021-09-27 21:40:14

Excerpt:

Issued on: 27/09/2021 – 23:40

United Nations (United States) (AFP)

Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Monday Iran had breached all the “red lines” aimed at curbing its nuclear weapons program, but that Israel “will not allow” Tehran to get the bomb.

In his first address to the United Nations General Assembly, Bennett claimed the Islamic republic had in recent years taken “a major leap forward” in its nuclear production capacity and ability to enrich weapons-grade uranium.

“Iran’s nuclear weapon program is at a critical point, all red lines have been crossed,” said Bennett, who took office in June.

“There are those in the world who seem to see Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons as an inevitable reality, as a done deal, or they have just become tired of hearing about it,” the 49-year-old premier told the world body.

“Israel doesn’t have that privilege. We cannot tire. We will not tire. Israel will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.”

Iran responded rapidly, with its ambassador to the UN, Majid Takht Ravanchi, saying on Twitter that Bennett’s speech was “full of lies.”

“That regime is in no position to discuss our peaceful program when it has hundreds of nuclear warheads,” he said.

Iran, which says its nuclear program is for civilian purposes, said Friday that it expected talks to resume soon on reviving a 2015 landmark agreement scaling back its program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The agreement started to fall apart in 2018 when the US withdrew from it and reinstated sanctions. Iran in turn again started to ramp up its nuclear activities.

– After Netanyahu –

Bennett’s predecessor Benjamin Netanyahu, who was in power from 2009 until June, was among the world’s fiercest critics of the accord, regularly condemning it at international forums and cheering former US president Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw.

Bennett, a foreign policy hawk who heads…

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EU Picks France Over America in Submarine Conflict

Mark Clouse September 27, 2021

After the United States essentially negated a multimillion dollar deal with France and Australia when it gifted Australia better submarines than the ones Australia was set to buy, the EU has take the side of France in the affair ,who remains a disgruntled broker.

The mere choice of taking a public side by the EU is news in and of itself, but choosing France over America while doing so is a pretty strong message that Europe no longer wishes to mostly reflect American foreign policy.

This most likely is the fruit of a perception from Europe that America no longer represents the fundamental economic power of the world anymore. With China, and even India, rising in economic signficance, opportunities for economic winfall are increasingly no more overwhelmingly American.

EU backs France in submarine dispute, asking: Is America back?

From www.reuters.com
2021-09-21 12:21:00

Excerpt:

UNITED NATIONS, Sept 20 (Reuters) – European Union foreign ministers expressed support and solidarity with France on Monday during a meeting in New York to discuss Australia’s scrapping of a $40 billion submarine order with Paris in favor of a U.S. and British deal.

Speaking after the closed-door meeting on the sidelines annual U.N. gathering of world leaders, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said “more cooperation, more coordination, less fragmentation” was needed to achieve a stable and peaceful Indo-Pacific region where China is the major rising power.

Australia said last week it would cancel an order for conventional submarines from France and instead build at least eight nuclear-powered submarines with U.S. and British technology after striking a security partnership with those countries under the name AUKUS. read more

“Certainly, we were caught by surprise by this announcement,” Borrell said.

The decision enraged France and earlier on Monday in New York French Foreign…

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US, 14 Others Conduct Military Drills in Ukraine

Mark Clouse September 22, 2021

In a show of force and solidarity directed at Russia in support of Ukraine, 15 nations, including the United States, are conducting drills in the Ukraine, with Ukrainian troops, in an operation called Rapid Trident 21.

Multinational military exercise Rapid Trident 21 begins in Ukraine

From www.army-technology.com
2021-09-21 15:18:53
Aninda Chakraborty
Excerpt:

A multinational military exercise called Rapid Trident 21 has commenced in Ukraine with an opening ceremony at Central City Stadium near the city of Yavoriv.

Around 6,000 troops from 15 nations, including 4,000 soldiers from Ukraine, will participate in this annual training exercise.

The military drill will primarily seek to boost combat readiness, defence capabilities and interoperability among the forces.

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Mass Shooting in Russian University Leaves 8 Dead

Mark Clouse September 21, 2021

Perm State University Shooting Leaves at Least Eight Dead

From www.thedailybeast.com
2021-09-21 16:34:14

Excerpt:

A gunman who killed at least eight people on a university campus in Russia Monday morning has reportedly been identified as a student. According to AP, the gunman was injured when he was detained at Perm State University, and Russia’s TASS news agency reported that he’s enrolled as a student at the school. The university said in a statement that the unidentified gunman used a non-lethal weapon that appeared to have been modified to fire live ammunition. TASS reported that some students and staff were seen leaping from windows to escape the gunfire, and there are between six to 14 wounded people. Perm is about 700 miles east of Moscow and the university is home to 12,000 students.

Read it at AP

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Canadians without Masks Not Protected by Human Rights laws

Mark Clouse September 20, 2021

BC Tribunal rules maskless shoppers not protected by human rights laws

From westernstandardonline.com
2021-09-16 01:04:41

Excerpt:

During a tense meeting of Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP) Caucus Tuesday, three MLAs told Premier Jason Kenney they had “no confidence” in his continued premiership of the province and leadership of the party, multiple sources told the Western Standard.

Sources inside of the caucus told the Western Standard the emergency meeting saw sharp polarization around the issues of putting the province under another lockdown, a potential mandatory vaccine passport, and firing healthcare workers who do not agree to be vaccinated.

According to the MLAs who attended the caucus meeting, three MLAs openly told Kenney they had “no confidence” in him, and that several others implied as much using softer language.

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Refugees Raped, Murdered by Eritrean Soldiers and Tigrayan Militias

Mark Clouse September 20, 2021

Attacks on Eritrean refugees in Tigray ‘clear war crimes’: HRW | Human Rights News

From www.aljazeera.com
2021-09-16 07:46:56

Excerpt:

Eritrean soldiers and Tigrayan militias raped, detained and killed Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray in attacks that amounted to “clear war crimes”, an international rights watchdog has said.

Human Rights Watch’s report on Thursday contained detailed attacks around two camps in Tigray, where local forces have battled the Ethiopian government and their Eritrean allies since November in a conflict that has rocked the Horn of Africa region.

Tens of thousands of Eritrean refugees live in Tigray, a mountainous and poor province of about five million people.

“The horrific killings, rapes, and looting against Eritrean refugees in Tigray are clear war crimes,” said Laetitia Bader, the Horn of Africa director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), whose work drew on interviews with 28 refugees and other sources, including satellite imagery.

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