SecDef Austin just announced an international maritime coalition task force to help protect shipping in the Red Sea and Bab el Mendeb.
. . . Therefore, today I am announcing the establishment of Operation Prosperity Guardian, an important new multinational security initiative under the umbrella of the Combined Maritime Forces and the leadership of its Task Force 153, which focuses on security in the Red Sea.
Operation Prosperity Guardian is bringing together multiple countries to include the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Seychelles and Spain, to jointly address security challenges in the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, with the goal of ensuring freedom of navigation for all countries and bolstering regional security and prosperity.
One thing to note is that several key regional players are not taking part. Egypt, who is a key part of TF 153, can’t be bothered, nor can Saudi Arabia.
Frankly, this smacks of doing something instead of doing the correct thing. And what is the correct thing you may ask. Well that, friends, is simple, degrade the ability of the Houthis to attack shipping in the region. Yah, I know, that’s just not gonna happen with POTATUS at the helm.
While we’re on the subject of the Houthis and Yemen, the inbred goat f*ckers just released a hype video. Set to Highway to the Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins, the video shows a lone F-5 (or is it a MiG 28) and its pilot. The single long-obsolete jet then does some maneuvers before the end card that celebrates the Yemeni ‘revolution”. Watch:
Community note aside, I have some questions. First, how is that crate even still airworthy? Second, does the pilot realize that he and his plane would be dead before he even knew there was a US plane in the area?
The Judge in the Epstein case has ordered the unsealing of 167 John Doe names from the Maxwell civil case.
Before you get too excited, click thru and read Techno fog’s thread. It seems that many of the names do not have any salacious connections. It’s still good news tho. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. . .
Texas governor Greg Abbott just signed legislation that makes illegal entry into Texas a crime. The law allows state judges the option of jailing offenders or deportation of same. I’m not sure where I land on this one. While the situation at the southern border is dire and unsustainable, the simple fact is immigration is a federal issue. Regardless, there will be lawsuits, a lot of them, over this.
A volcano in Iceland is erupting near the town of Grindavik, about 25 miles southwest of the capitol Reykjavik. There had been warning signs for a couple of weeks that it was about to go, and officials had evacuated the town in preparation.
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