The issue with this submarine deal is that it is not just a nuclear submarine deal. It is an aggressive Anglo-Saxon alliance between the UK, Australia and the US in the Indo-Pacific region against China.

@JoeBiden said in Geneva he didn't want a cold war.

This move starts one.
France is also far from the only nation annoyed, regardless of what some commentators are saying. EU President @vonderleyen was clear in her view. The Germans are about to have an election, and will express themselves later. But NZ was also pretty annoyed.
@vonderleyen NZ, promptly informed Australia that its nuclear submarines would be equally unwelcome in NZ as America's are.

And this is not because of trading links with China, it is because NZ is opposed to both nuclear weapons and navies.
@vonderleyen I don't know if NZ and Canada were consulted about this deal. But if not they probably are both pretty annoyed as they are both part of the five-eyes alliance with the three partners to this new deal.
@vonderleyen But compared to the US and UK's NATO partners this Pacific theatre stuff is small beer. NATO has been the US's partner, particularly in Afghanistan but also in numerous other theatres of conflict for decades.
@vonderleyen It would justifiably expect to be consulted before the U.S. decided to start a cold war, against what @JoeBiden explicitly said when he was visiting Europe in the summer.

What the U.S. has done is both embarrassing to Europe, and reckless.
As a New Zealander I would be all for leaving five eyes in protest. As @antonioguterres told @FareedZakaria on Sunday now - as we face the twin threats of Covid and Climate and require global cooperation - is not the time to be ramping up wasteful military expenditure.
@antonioguterres @FareedZakaria I am also appalled by recent U.S. bellicose reactionary neo-colonial actions in Africa, both in Guinea and in Ethiopia.

The EU is however equally complicit in aggravating the unfolding humanitarian disaster in Northern Ethiopia.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
 

Keep Current with Alastair Thompson

Alastair Thompson Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @althecat

24 Sep
As the #UNGA is focused on Climate Change the biosphere is putting on a show. We currently have powerful cyclones in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and the yet more extreme weather, even though it's now late September.

Thread....
Today I have had a deep look around the globe after very active North Atlantic and a massive United States sized circulating low in Europe - exhibiting some of the same characteristics which resulted in severe flooding in July developed of East Europe.
Here's the big-picture view which includes:
- A cyclone in the West Pacific: forecast to become a Super Typhoon.
- A depression in the Bay of Bengal: forecast to become a Severe Cyclone.
- A hurricane in the Tropical Atlantic: forecast to become a Cat4 Hurricane. Image
Read 24 tweets
23 Sep
This statement from @reda_getachew is remarkable, for the absence of any credible explanation for the failure of 400+ aid trucks to return.

After a long preamble the letter concludes the problem is the drivers. Apparently they don't want to go back for a variety of reasons.
Its also notable his letter does not explicitly deny that UN Aid trucks are being used for military purposes which is also rather odd. Several hundred words, but no denial of the central allegation.
The timing is also interesting. The missing aid trucks issue has been developing now for a while. The @UNEthiopia statement only came after numerous statements from the GoE. And the TPLF waits till now to respond.
Read 4 tweets
23 Sep
Update thread on this massive circulating low over Eastern Europe, at 4.5 million km2 its half the size of the United States.

Here we can see the Canadian jet arriving and squashing the storm, but not yet moving it.
The storm will be bringing increasing rain today to Scandinavia, Northern Germany and eastern EU nations. The EU has a new/updated weather warning website here >> meteoalarm.org/en?view=list so far the main warnings are for high winds along the southern Baltic Sea coast. Image
Meanwhile the sources of all of this remain unpredictable. There are four active systems (and one remnant system) being monitored in the Tropical and North Atlantic. The most northerly of these, is non-tropical but has a 50-60% chance of cyclone formation. ImageImageImage
Read 5 tweets
22 Sep
As nations of the world meet in NYC at #UNGA discusses Climate Change cooperation in advance of @COP26 there is a monster low pressure circulation/storm over Eastern parts of Europe.

And the weather forecast for the next five days looks a little hairy.
@COP26 Meanwhile a few 1000 kms to the south East rains over the Arabian Peninsula and Horn of Africa picked up again today.
@COP26 Zooming out we see that there are also multiple tropical storm candidates in the Tropical Atlantic which at a practical level make forecasting in Europe a little unpredictable as their path and intensity is very hard to predict.
Read 11 tweets
22 Sep
#UNGA #AfricaSpeaks

AU President, Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the DRC / Congo spoke earlier in the UNGA on the opening day, 21st September.

His address covered a Pan African perspective.



Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, Pres. of the Democratic Rep. of the Congo:

"Africa does not need charity. Africa is fighting to gain space for liberty and action in a world which is constantly competing so as to forge a better destiny...

#UNGA #AfricaSpeaks Day 1 - 21/9/21
Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, Pres. of the Democratic Rep. of the Congo:

"... and to contribuite more to the general progress of humanity. Africa needs constructive win-win partnerships...

Direct Link >>

#UNGA #AfricaSpeaks Day 1 - 21/9/21
Read 6 tweets
22 Sep
Dear @LindaT_G @AsstSecStateAF @JoeBiden,

As the US continues to pursue its agenda to secure negotiations between the GoE and the TPLF this is what is being reported in Northern Ethiopia.

The current estimate for deaths in TPLF occupied Kobo is 600+.

#UNGA #UNGAEthiopiaCrisis
A German @dw_amharic report on Kobo. The massacre has been discussed in Ethiopia now for several days.
Additional info:
- TPLF was fighting 2 fronts 12 km from Kobo center
- Losing they chose to regroup in Kobo & used mortars, .50 & AAA machine guns on the outskirts of town.
This story remains un-reported by Western Media, and there are no recent specific international condemnations addressing numerous reported TPLF attrocities in the parts of Amhara Region that it is occupying.

#UNGA #UNGAEthiopiacrisis
Read 10 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Too expensive? Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal Become our Patreon

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

:(