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More from @althecat

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

24 Dec

The weather in the middle east is already pretty weird - but it is about to get a lot weirder.

Simulations show a spectacular monsoon driven burst of water and energy pulsing over the Arabian Peninsula, bringing rain to the entire desert land mass over the next three weeks.

This thread's coverage fits into our #ExtremeWeather #ClimateChangeNow #DesertRain #ArabianStorms and #WestAfricanMonsoonBurst baskets.

The animations above and below are both from this afternoon. And they show the developing weather patterns which will bring this event.

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1473747088374648832?s=20

This is part of series of threads looking at a developing Sahara Water Transportation event (atmospheric river) which appears to be central component of this which was first noted here on December 5th (#AwesomeClimate) .

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1473747088374648832?s=20

Read 23 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

24 Dec

https://twitter.com/Zemedeneh/status/1474155781562028033

The countries removed from #AGOA are:
1. Ethiopia - which balks at US insistence it negotiate with a terrorist insurgency.
2. Guinea - which experienced a coup undertaken by troops trained by the US
3. Mali - which has employed Russian mercenaries

#NoMore #Hegemony

https://twitter.com/Zemedeneh/status/1474155781562028033

Any pretense that US policy in Africa is about anything other than full spectrum dominance and hegemony in the region has been dropped.

References.

1. Guinea - nytimes.com/2021/09/10/wor….

Read 6 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

24 Dec

@StateDept

For the United States @StateDept, coercion is the objective of much of its foreign policy activities, officials and senators openly talk about "use of the stick" for this purpose, teaching subordinate nations to do as they are told, and set an example for other nations to comply.

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1474320076526563329

@AmbShinn

This interview discussion on ESAT between @AmbShinn and @mosaleg from September, back when TPLF was last on the back foot and the USG responded with sanctions against the Ethiopian Govt. The use of these policy instruments by the US is very explicit.

@AmbShinn

@AmbShinn @mosaleg Host @mosaleg asks why the sanctions text did not contain any call for the TPLF to withdraw its terrorist forces from Amhara and Afar. @AmbShinn is actually one of the few former US policy players who is sympathetic to Ethiopian's position. His comments are revealing.

Read 5 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

24 Dec

@JoeBiden

A deeply retrograde decision from the @JoeBiden Administration, against the wishes of important members of the Democrats Congressional delegation, and tone deaf coming just as it appears that peace has a chance in Ethiopia.

Biden terminates AGOA benefits addisstandard.com/news-biden-ter…

@JoeBiden

@JoeBiden Reflexive US Foreign Policy use of sanctions, whilst ever blind to the harm US policy causes, echoes the horrors of the US's slave owning era, and the brutality of slave overseers. Economic sanctions imposed against the powerless are also illegal at intl. law.

@RepKarenBass

@batten_von

The AGOA sanctions initiative was driven directly by the TPLF's lobbyists @batten_von, and supported by their tame Senators and Congressional representatives @ChrisCoons et. al.

Read 4 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

23 Dec

As the TPLF flies its new us media/diplo campaign beseeching US/EU impunity for its war crimes >> #NoFlyZoneInTigray >> we have a growing number of Western participants in this disaster speaking up including Envoy Jeffrey Feltman, former EUSR Alex Rondos and Gen. Tsadkan.

The latest Feltman IV leads off the latest edition of Focus on Africa here >> bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w1…

The Feltman interview is diplomatic, not particularly circumspect perhaps about US contributions towards this disaster, but that is to be expected.

Tsadkan and Rondos IVs are in this edition of BBC Newshour >> bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w1…

Read 25 tweets

Alastair Thompson

@althecat

22 Dec

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1473713081129881605

This freak weather event appears to be caused by two factors coinciding.
1. A burst in tropical moisture from the West African Monsoon moving North in five days time.
... colliding with...
2. Two cold northerly arctic blasts coming in from the North West.

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1473713081129881605

@NOAA

This is the best visualisation I can find to show what is happening.

An animation 120-318 hours (days 5-13 from now) from @NOAA GFS showing the period when the monsoon boost takes place.

@NOAA

@NOAA Here's another view of the large scale dynamic, this time from Australia's Access G model. And here we can see that a warm wet Indian Ocean is contributing to the event. This shows 0-240 hours, the peak of the event which the simulations suggest will happen around NY Day.