USA – Page 30 – Blazingcatfur

Dr. Strangelove diplomacy: How the Pentagon’s symbolic defence board freeze with Canada could backfire

Although greeted with a mixture of angst, anger and genuine confusion in this country, it is undeniable that the Pentagon’s move this week to freeze one of the oldest pillars of continental defence co-operation — ostensibly to punish Canada — carried with it notes of dark comedy.

Following Elbridge Colby’s social media edict pausing the U.S.–Canada Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD), one was hoping to see among the replies: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here, this is the war room!”

There is still time.

by Blazingcatfur•May 21, 2026May 21, 2026•0•Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, USA

Europe Admits It Still Can’t Defend Itself Alone

European leaders are attempting to downplay concerns after the United States announced plans to reduce its military presence on the continent, amid growing questions about Europe’s ability to defend itself without American support.

The Pentagon announced late on Tuesday that it was pausing the deployment of any additional troops to Poland. Vice President JD Vance described this as part of America’s demand for “more of Europe standing on its own two feet.”

by Blazingcatfur•May 21, 2026May 20, 2026•0•Europe, USA

Why is the U.S. blaming Canada for the suspension of the Permanent Joint Board on Defence?

The United States says it is “pausing” its participation in the U.S.-Canada Permanent Joint Board on Defence “to reassess how this forum benefits shared North American defence.” Here’s what to know.

The Permanent Joint Board on Defence (PJBD) is the senior advisory body on continental defence. Composed of military and diplomatic representatives from both nations, it meets twice a year with locations alternating between Canada and the U.S.

by Blazingcatfur•May 20, 2026May 20, 2026•0•Canada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, USA

US indicts former Cuban president Raúl Castro as it seeks to oust regime

The United States has issued a federal criminal indictment against Raúl Castro, Cuba’s former president, on Wednesday, and five others in a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s campaign to oust the country’s six-decades-old communist regime.

The 94-year-old political figurehead was charged in Miami, Florida, with conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft, according to court filings obtained by CBS.

Other defendants are a fighter pilot who was initially charged in connection with a 1996 incident in which four men were killed by the Cuban military when their aircraft were shot down during a humanitarian mission in the Florida Straits.

by Blazingcatfur•May 20, 2026May 20, 2026•0•Cuba, USA

US to reduce troops in Europe to 2021 levels, Pentagon says

The Pentagon on Tuesday said that it was reducing the number of US Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) in Europe from three to four.

The chief Pentagon spokesman, Sean Parnell, said in a statement that the US was reducing the number of its soldiers on the continent as a result of a “comprehensive, multilayered process” focused on US posture in Europe.

A BCT comprises 4,000 to 4,700 personnel, according to a congressional report.

by Blazingcatfur•May 20, 2026May 20, 2026•0•Europe, NATO, USA

With its pause on the Permanent Joint Board on Defence, the U.S. is attempting to constrain Canada

It is possible you have never heard of the Permanent Joint Board on Defence.

It meets just once or twice a year – these days not even that – to provide Canadian and American military leaders with the opportunity for a full and frank exchange of views on bilateral defence issues. But it is far from the only instrument of co-operation between the two countries’ militaries, or even the most important.

Carney has been in bed with the ChiComs since long before taking office.

My bet is this flirtation has reached a point that the US considers Canada a near enemy state, Venezuela norte.

Carney has said the relationship is dead on a number of occasions.

Perhaps the US has reached the same conclusion. Carney is not leading, he’s viewing his profit horizon.

by Blazingcatfur•May 20, 2026May 19, 2026•0•Canada, USA

Vance says Rep. Ilhan Omar is under DOJ investigation for immigration fraud ‘right now’

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for possible immigration fraud, Vice President JD Vance revealed Tuesday.

Omar has faced repeated questions over the years about her immigration status — as well as her family finances and potential ties to a COVID-era fraud scheme in Minnesota.

“I don’t want to prejudge an investigation,” Vance told reporters at the White House. “It certainly seems like something fishy is there, but everybody’s entitled to equal justice under the laws.”

by Blazingcatfur•May 20, 2026May 20, 2026•0•"Islamophobia", USA

Iran War Exposes Shortcomings in U.S. Military Industrial Base

When he was defense secretary, Robert M. Gates railed against weapons that did too much and cost too much throughout his time in two presidential administrations.

He denounced weapons that offered a “99 percent solution” but took years to build, and called for a new generation of arms that were “75 percent solutions” but could be produced more cheaply in months.

Almost two decades later, little has changed. Patriot interceptor missiles can take up to 36 months and $4 million to build. So far in the Iran war, the U.S. military has fired more than 1,200 of them. Some were used to shoot down $35,000 Shahed drones, which Iran can churn out at a rate of at least 200 a month.

by Blazingcatfur•May 20, 2026May 19, 2026•0•USA

Carney plays down U.S. suspension of North America defence board

Prime Minister Mark Carney played down the Trump administration’s suspension of a United States-Canada defence co-operation body and rejected its suggestion Ottawa has not boosted defence spending.

Elbridge Colby, the U.S. undersecretary of defence for policy, announced Monday that Washington was putting the 86-year-old Permanent Joint Board on Defense on hold and accused Canada of failing to live up to its military responsibilities, despite Ottawa boosting defence spending over the past year.

by Blazingcatfur•May 20, 2026May 19, 2026•0•Canada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, USA

Trump administration’s decision to freeze Canada-U.S. defence board is a gangland threat uttered through clenched teeth

Two fewer meetings a year.

In practical terms, this is the impact of Washington’s decision to suspend the Canada-U.S. Permanent Joint Board on Defence — not an eviction from Norad fortress headquarters within a Colorado mountain, not an end to joint military exercises and exchanges.

Symbolically, though, the tweet on a slow-news holiday Monday from Elbridge (“Bridge”) Colby, a top adviser to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, sounds like a gangland threat uttered through clenched teeth: after all we’ve done together, are you really prepared to throw it all away, and have you really thought it through?

by Blazingcatfur•May 19, 2026May 19, 2026•0•"Canada - USA Tariff Wars", Canada, USA

How Trump got immigration spectacularly right

Parts of the MAGA movement are unhappy with President Trump’s migration strategy. The administration has softened its policy on deportations following a public uproar over the ICE killings in January, it is said. The focus has been on removing only the most violent offenders.

“The truth is the first year was not a year of mass deportation,” says Mike Howell of the Mass Deportation Coalition. “A conscious decision was made to go after the worst first, which was, we’ll call it a deviation, from the central campaign promise of mass deportations.”

by Blazingcatfur•May 19, 2026May 19, 2026•0•"Remigration", Camp Of The Saints, USA

New Bill Would Ban Radical Religious Leaders From Entering the United States

Rep. Chip Roy introduced the Inhibiting Militant Adversarial Mullahs (IMAM) Act on Monday, which would bar radicalized leaders of certain religious denominations from being admitted into the United States.

“The United States should never roll out the red carpet for foreign clerics who preach anti-American hatred, celebrate terrorism, or serve as mouthpieces for radical regimes,” the Texas Republican told the Daily Signal in a statement.

by Blazingcatfur•May 19, 2026May 19, 2026•0•"Islamophobia", Islam, Islam and violence, Islamization of the West, USA

Montreal academic Gad Saad tells Joe Rogan he’s moving to the U.S.

Gad Saad, a longtime Concordia University professor known for his outspoken criticism of “woke” politics as well as his denunciations of antisemitism, has announced he’s moving this summer to the United States.

Can’t argue with that tweet.

by Blazingcatfur•May 19, 2026May 19, 2026•0•"Oct 7 2023", Canada, Canada's Corrupt Liberal Government, USA

Why more US women are moving abroad: ‘It’s because of Trump, right? Yes and no’

It was in 2022, when Americans were reeling from the news that the supreme court had overturned Roe v Wade, that Jen Barnett got a firsthand glimpse of just how viable her new business could be.

Days before the court ruling, she had launched a website aimed at Americans looking to move abroad. As confusion and consternation set in over what the ruling meant for US women, Barnett watched traffic to her website steadily tick upward. “We had this huge spike.”

It was all she needed to co-found her company, Expatsi, which has since helped thousands of Americans looking to move abroad. Women remain a key part of her demographic, making up around two-thirds of her clients. “If it weren’t for young women, this business wouldn’t exist,” she said.

by Blazingcatfur•May 19, 2026May 19, 2026•0•Trump Derangement Syndrome, USA

Trump demands power to veto Greenland deals with China

Donald Trump has demanded a clause that would amount to a “veto” over any future Chinese or Russian investments in Greenland, The Telegraph can report.

Diplomatic sources have revealed that preventing Beijing from accessing the substantial mineral reserves buried deep beneath the ice has become a key objective for the Trump administration in talks over the island.

Officials from the United States, Greenland and Denmark have been locked in secret negotiations over a deal that satisfies the US president’s desire to control the territory.

by Blazingcatfur•May 19, 2026May 19, 2026•0•Greenland, USA