dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

>>20521815

Canada #54 >>20521782

Victoria Nuland quits

5 Mar, 2024

The Deputy Secretary will leave the US State Department in several weeks, Antony Blinken has announced

US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland is poised to leave her post in the coming weeks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced. The senior official, widely regarded as a foreign policy hawk, played a key role in the Western-backed coup in Ukraine in 2014.

In December 2013, she visited Kiev with the late Senator John McCain to hand out pastries to armed protesters in the city's central square. Days before the February coup, as orchestrated mass murder gripped the city, she was recorded discussing how to “midwife this thing” with then-US ambassador to Kiev, Geoffrey Pyatt, reportedly exclaiming “F**k the EU” when it came to a choice of new leader in the war-torn country.

Nuland resigned from the State Department during the Trump administration, taking the helm of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) think-tank before joining the Albright Stonebridge Group and the board of the neo-liberal National Endowment for Democracy (NED). She rejoined the government after President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2021.

She has worked on arming Ukraine and assembling a Western coalition that would supply Kiev with weapons and ammunition for the conflict with Russia. Last month, she pleaded to Congress to approve $61 billion in funding to Ukraine, arguing that most of it would be “going right back into the US economy,” to create jobs in the weapons industry.

Her most recent trip to Kiev involved intervening with President Vladimir Zelensky on behalf of General Valery Zaluzhny, though to no avail. Zaluzhny was subsequently fired.

In a CNN interview at the end of February, Nuland admitted the defeat of US efforts towards Moscow, acknowledging that the target of her policy is “not the Russia that, frankly, we wanted.”

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova attributed Nuland’s exit to “the failure of the anti-Russian course of the Biden administration.”

“Russophobia, proposed by Victoria Nuland as the main foreign policy concept of the United States, is dragging the Democrats to the bottom like a stone,” Zakharova said. Posting a photo of Nuland taken at an Orthodox church at some point, she said that if the US politician wanted to “go to a monastery to atone for your sins, we can put in a good word.”

Nuland is married to neoconservative stalwart Robert Kagan, a co-founder of the Project for the New American Century. Her sister-in-law Kimberley Kagan, married to Robert’s brother Fred, runs the Institute for the Study of War. Her temporary replacement at the State Department will be Under Secretary for Management John Bass.

In a statement on Tuesday, Blinken noted that his friend “Toria” has held most of the jobs at the State Department, from a consular officer to ambassador and deputy secretary, over her 35-year career. Her most recent posting was as undersecretary for political affairs. She was also Blinken’s acting deputy after the July 2023 retirement of Wendy Sherman, until Kurt Campbell was confirmed to the post last month.

“What makes Toria truly exceptional is the fierce passion she brings to fighting for what she believes in most: freedom, democracy, human rights, and America’s enduring capacity to inspire and promote those values around the world,” Blinken said.

He also noted that her “leadership on Ukraine” will be the subject of study “for years to come” by diplomats and students of foreign policy.

https://www.rt.com/news/593816-us-deputy-secretary-nuland-quits/

More sauce

Victoria Nuland, third-highest ranking US diplomat and critic of Russia’s war in Ukraine, retiring

https://apnews.com/article/state-department-victoria-nuland-retiring-russia-ukraine-b06cfb9ca517f1a7f2e10ee7520e3086

==Top State Department official Victoria Nuland to retire in coming weeks

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/05/politics/state-department-victoria-nuland-retire/index.html

>>20521825

Planet Labs Secures Major U.S. Navy Contract for Advanced Maritime Monitoring

Mike Schuler March 5, 2024

Planet Labs PBC, a provider of daily Earth data and insights, has announced a major contract award from the Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific for vessel detection and monitoring. The contract, awarded to Planet Labs’ fully owned subsidiary, Planet Labs Federal Inc., is valued in the seven-figure range.

The NIWC Pacific, based in San Diego, is a key U.S. Navy research facility specializing in highly-advanced information warfare technology.

The collaboration will see the incorporation of Planet’s daily, global PlanetScope data and high-resolution SkySat data into the Department of Transportation’s SeaVision platform, a critical tool for maritime situational awareness. The project also involves technology fusion with SynMax, a Planet Labs partner, which will provide vessel detection using their analytics technology over Planet data.

Planet’s PlanetScope constellation will provide global coverage for the SeaVision platform, allowing for extensive and timely ocean monitoring. The NIWC Pacific will also have access to Planet’s high-resolution SkySat data. SynMax’s Theia technology, adapted for the project, will use AI to detect maritime events crucial for identifying illegal activities such as unreported fishing, illicit ship-to-ship transfers, and vessel spoofing.

The integration of unclassified data into the SeaVision platform will improve maritime domain awareness and allow for validation of alternative datasets. This data can be shared with SeaVision users, promoting a shared understanding of key Pacific areas.

“NIWC Pacific continually pushes the bounds of innovating and advancing unmatched and disruptive technology in support of their operations,” said Jon Powers, Planet Federal’s General Manager. “Planet possesses a unique broad area imagery collection of land and ocean areas in the Indo-Pacific, so it’s exciting for us to contribute that unique capability to provide maritime insights in support of the SeaVision mission.”

https://gcaptain.com/planet-labs-secures-major-niwc-pacific-contract/

>>20522006

South Africa #12''' >>20520797

“How Haiti’s ‘Aid State’ Has Fueled Organized Crime”

27 Feb 2024

As Haiti continues to make headlines amid struggles to control crime and insecurity, a new book traces the roots of the institutional weaknesses that have aided the growth and entrenchment of criminal organizations.

In the book, “Aid State: Elite Panic, Disaster Capitalism, and the Battle to Control Haiti,” author Jake Johnston argues foreign governments, multilateral bodies, and non-governmental organizations have played a key role in the collapse of Haiti’s institutions.

Johnston contends that decades of foreign intervention in Haiti have warped the country’s institutions so they serve the interests of international benefactors and favored local elites, while ignoring the concerns of the vast majority of Haitians.

“It’s a pushback on the idea or concept of Haiti as a failed state,” said Johnston, who has tracked the country for years as a researcher at the Center for Economic and Policy Research.

The book, published in January, comes as US and Haitian authorities attempt to firm up support for a Kenya-led international security mission in the Caribbean nation, which saw a huge increase in criminal violence last year. US and Haitian authorities are also continuing to advance judicial cases related to the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

https://insightcrime.org/news/how-haitis-aid-state-has-fueled-organized-crime/

A common trend…

The 1994 [South African] elections, in which the ANC gained 63% of the vote, ushered in a new era and forced a shift from the politics of resistance to a politics of reconstruction (Marais, 1998). NGOs and state institutions now were seen as partners in a national project— the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)

The resources of NGOs have been carried into the transition process in three main ways:

(1)Many NGOs have been absorbed into, or fused with, the institutions of the new state; important policy positions, key personnel, and much funding have moved into the state.

(2)NGOs that were closest to the mass-based movements—and have survived the impact of assimilation into state structures—have, often by building on personal networks, repositioned themselves as NGOs with a complementary role to the new state by undertaking partnerships with government departments, developing policies, or providing welfare and development services.

(3)NGOs that have been liberal in orientation have recast themselves as NGOs taking up a position as "watchdogs" of the new state, advocating various policy positions and asserting their independence from the state with the intent of strengthening civil society.

Nelson Mandela (1996) has written: "Non-governmental organizations played an outstanding role during the dark days of apartheid. Today, many people who received their training within the NGO sector play important roles in government." In fact, to some, the acronym NGO is taken to stand for Now Government Official. In some respects the former shadow state has become the new state.

https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/archive-files/south_africa_anti-apartheid_ngos_in_tran.pdf

>>20522051 (me)

South Africa #12 >>20520821

Kenya Agrees to Police Haiti’s Criminal Hurricane

4 Mar 2024

After Haiti’s prime minister signed an agreement in Kenya for an international security deployment, gangs in Port-au-Prince attacked two of the country’s biggest prisons, freeing thousands of prisoners.

While Prime Minister Ariel Henry of Haiti and President William Ruto of Kenya were in Nairobi, celebrating the signing of a security deal on March 1 that will see an international deployment of police and aid, the last semblance of state control evaporated. Amid an increase in gang activity, which saw four policemen killed, on Sunday armed men attacked two prisons, releasing thousands of inmates back among the long-suffering Haitian population.

The assault on the two prisons in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, appeared to be instigated by Jimmy Chérizier, alias “Barbecue,” a former policeman who heads the most powerful gang confederation, the G9. In a video message last week, he announced an increase in attacks aimed at forcing Henry from office.

“With our guns and with the Haitian people, we will free the country,” he said, dressed in black and wearing body armor.

Observers reported seeing at least 10 corpses of prisoners around the National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince. Of an estimated 4,000 inmates, around 100 remained. A second jail, the Croix-des-Bouquets Civil Prison, housing some 1,400 inmates, was also overrun, but there are no details yet on this assault.

Haiti has declared a state of emergency, including a curfew between 6 p.m. and 5 a.m., as it tries to reassert some measure of control in the capital. The US Embassy in Haiti has announced it is halting all official travel to the country. It now has a minimal presence in the country, as in July last year all non-emergency staff were evacuated amid a burst of violence, kidnappings, and threats.

InSight Crime Analysis

While no date was announced for their deployment, the Kenyan police, known more for a poor human rights record than any ability to tackle heavily armed gangs, will send up to 1,000 agents to establish some order on the Caribbean island, so that aid can be delivered, elections held next year, and basic security established.

The international effort, which has US and UN backing, has mustered over $120 million in aid money. However, without basic security conditions on the ground, which the Kenyans have pledged to provide, nothing can be delivered nor implemented.

The Kenyans face a Herculean task. Haitian gangs now control much of the country, spreading out from their strongholds in Port-au-Prince. The Haitian police, 9,000-strong in a population of 11 million, are outmatched in every way.

The Kenyans will be walking into a failed state and one of the kidnapping capitals of the world, where the gangs in many parts of the country are the only recognizable authority. Last year an estimated 3,000 people were abducted for ransom. In January this year, six nuns were taken from a bus in Port-au-Prince along with two companions, showing that nobody is safe.

==https://insightcrime.org/news/kenya-agrees-police-haiti-criminal-hurricane/

>>20522008

Gov. Abbott says Texas wildfires may have destroyed up to 500 structures

By SEAN MURPHY and JIM VERTUNO Updated 10:22 PM EST, March 1, 2024

STINNETT, Texas (AP) — Wildfires may have destroyed as many as 500 structures in the Texas Panhandle, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday, describing how the largest blaze in state history scorched everything in its path, leaving ashes in its wake.

Texas officials warned that the threat was not yet over. Higher temperatures and stronger winds forecast for Saturday elevated worries that fires in the Panhandle could spread beyond the more than 1,700 square miles (4,400 square kilometers) already chewed up this week by fast-moving flames.

The largest blaze, the Smokehouse Creek fire, which began Monday, has killed at least two people, and left a charred landscape of scorched prairie, dead cattle and burned-out homes. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although strong winds, dry grass and unseasonably warm weather fed the flames.

“When you look at the damages that have occurred here it’s just gone, completely gone nothing left but ashes on the ground,” Abbott said during a news conference in Borger, Texas. He said a preliminary assessment found 400 to 500 structures had been destroyed.

Abbott praised what he called a “heroic” response from “fearless” firefighters.

“It would have been far worse and far more damaging not just to property but to people, but for those firefighters,” he said.

The National Weather Service forecast for the coming days warns of strong winds, relatively low humidity and dry conditions that pose a “significant” wildfire threat.

“Everybody needs to understand that we face enormous potential fire dangers as we head into this weekend,” Abbott said. “No one can let down their guard. Everyone must remain very vigilant.”

In the hard-hit town of Stinnett, population roughly 1,600, families who evacuated due to the Smokehouse Creek fire returned Thursday to devastating scenes: melted street signs and charred frames of cars and trucks. Homes reduced to piles of ash and rubble. An American flag propped up outside a destroyed house.

We had to watch from a few miles away as our neighborhood burned,” Danny Phillips said, his voice trembling with emotion.

Phillips’ one-story home was still standing, but several of his neighbors weren’t so fortunate.

The Smokehouse Creek fire has also crossed into Oklahoma, and the Texas A&M Forest Service said Friday that it has merged with another fire. It was 15% contained Friday afternoon, up from 3% on Thursday.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller said individual ranchers could suffer devastating losses due to the fires, but predicted the overall impact on the Texas cattle industry and consumer beef prices would be minimal.

Two women were confirmed killed by the fires this week. But with flames still menacing a wide area, authorities haven’t yet thoroughly searched for victims or tallied homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

Cindy Owen was driving in Texas’ Hemphill County south of Canadian on Tuesday afternoon when she encountered fire or smoke, said Sgt. Chris Ray of the state’s Department of Public Safety. She got out of her truck, and flames overtook her.

A passerby found Owen and called first responders, who took her to a burn unit in Oklahoma. She died Thursday morning, Ray said.

The other victim, an 83-year-old woman, was identified by family members as Joyce Blankenship, a former substitute teacher. Her grandson, Lee Quesada, said deputies told his uncle Wednesday that they had found Blankenship’s remains in her burned home.

President Joe Biden, who was in Texas on Thursday to visit the U.S.-Mexico border, said he directed federal officials to do “everything possible” to assist fire-affected communities, including sending firefighters and equipment. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has guaranteed Texas and Oklahoma will be reimbursed for their emergency costs, the president said.

“When disasters strike, there’s no red states or blue states where I come from,” Biden said. “Just communities and families looking for help.”

Abbott has issued a disaster declaration for 60 counties.

The weekend forecast and “sheer size and scope” of the blaze are the biggest challenges for firefighters, said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

“I don’t want the community there to feel a false sense of security that all these fires will not grow anymore,” Kidd said. “This is still a very dynamic situation.”

Jeremiah Kaslon, a Stinnett resident who saw neighbors’ homes destroyed by flames that stopped just on the edge of his property, seemed prepared for what the changing forecast might bring.

“Around here, the weather, we get all four seasons in a week,” Kaslon said. “It can be hot, hot and windy, and it will be snowing the next day. It’s just that time of year.”

Encroaching flames caused the main facility that disassembles America’s nuclear arsenal to pause operations Tuesday night, but it was open for normal work by Wednesday.The small town of Fritch, which lost hundreds of homes in a 2014 fire, saw 40 to 50 more destroyed this week, Mayor Tom Ray said.

https://apnews.com/article/texas-panhandle-fire-evacuations-fa792a7ad71808c0ca8ec758941e68c8