Friday Film: What We Missed Out On- Hydrofoils

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) for 17 September -14 October 2020

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea

Saturday Is Old Radio Day (Sunday Edition) - Suspense "One More Shot" (1960)

On Midrats 18 October 2020 - Episode 563: The Middle East's Future Imperfect with Steven Cook

Please join us at 5pm on 18 October 2020 for Midrats Episode 563: The Middle East's Future Imperfect with Steven Cook

In a very rough year, there were sprinkles of renewed optimism about the Middle East as Israel established relations with a few of the Gulf Arab nations, but the Middle East is, and has been, always about more than Arab-Israeli relations.

From North Africa across the Mediterranean coast to Syria and across the Arabian Peninsula to Yemen, what is the state of play in the Middle East as a whole, and where are the trends taking the region?

Our guest this Sunday, October 18th for the full hour to discuss than and mor will be Steven A. Cook.

Steven is Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He is an expert on Arab and Turkish politics as well as U.S.-Middle East policy. Cook is the author of False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East; The Struggle for Egypt: From Nasser to Tahrir Square, which won the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s gold medal in 2012; and Ruling But Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey.

He is a columnist at Foreign Policy magazine. He has also published widely in international affairs journals, opinion magazines, and newspapers, and he is a frequent commentator on radio and television. His work can be found on CFR.org. Prior to joining CFR, Cook was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution (2001–2002) and a Soref research fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (1995–1996). Cook holds a BA in international studies from Vassar College, an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and both an MA and a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania. He speaks Arabic and Turkish and reads French.

If you use Apple Podcasts, and miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.

Ain't Gonna Work on the Twitter Farm No More

Well, Twitter once was a useful tool, but . . . So long, farewell, adeui, bye-bye, adios, etc. You might find me over at Parler as @lawofsea

China Games: "Pakistan politicians fear losing strategic islands to China"

From Nikkei Asia, a report of how China seems to be seeking strategic ports in Pakistan and near India and the vital oil lanes from the Strait of Hormuz: Pakistan politicians fear losing strategic islands to China

Pakistan's federal government has triggered a political uproar after taking direct control of two islands previously under the regional government of Sindh province.

President Arif Alvi signed the Pakistan Islands Development Authority (PIDA) ordinance last month to facilitate reclamation and urban planning on Bundal and Bhuddo islands, which are located south of Karachi. Both islands are some eight kilometers across, and the largest along Sindh's coast.

Government officials say PIDA has been created to develop the islands as commercial zones. Imran Ismail, Sindh's governor, has claimed that Bundal on its own can take on Dubai and attract investment of $50 billion -- equal to the amount already tagged for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key component in President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

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The ordinance is helpful to Beijing's expanding economic ambitions in Pakistan. Last month, it nominated Nong Rang as its ambassador to Islamabad. Unusually, he is a political appointee well versed in commerce and trade, and analysts believe this portends increased commercial and BRI activities.

Mohan Malik, a visiting fellow at Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, said the sudden way in which the two islands near Karachi have been placed under federal control shows that something is afoot. He told Nikkei that the ordinance's stated goals of developing the islands for trade, investment and international tourism "seem to have been taken straight out of Beijing's BRI playbook."

 

Interesting,

Happy Birthday, Navy!

So, what did you get the Navy to celebrate 245 years of service to the country? Or did you forget again this year because you suffer from "sea blindness" and don't know what the Navy people out there are doing to protect your freedom, free and open seas, and working with willing allies to bolster the world's economy?

Cakes are nice, but how about a round of applause and a request to your elected representatives to support the fleet?

Happy birthday, NAVY!

And thanks to all you sailors, asea and ashore, present and past.

U.S. Navy Office of Naval Intelligence Worldwide Threat to Shipping (WTS) for 10 September -7 October 2020

U.S. Navy Office of Naval I... by lawofsea