@servelan@newsie.socialMajority of Americans say Trump needs to show evidence that boats US is blowing up are really carrying drugs | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-venezuela-drug-boats-americans-poll-b2870894.html
@memeorandum@universeodon.comWhite House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/22/drug-boats-strikes-cia-legal-concerns/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzYzNzg3NjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzY1MTY5OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NjM3ODc2MDAsImp0aSI6IjQ2NGZiODE4LTczNzktNGNkMC1iYjcyLTdjMDI4MjlhYjdkYiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9uYXRpb25hbC1zZWN1cml0eS8yMDI1LzExLzIyL2RydWctYm9hdHMtc3RyaWtlcy1jaWEtbGVnYWwtY29uY2VybnMvIn0.vBMF_8WvtUJyF5zZYKJgbFa0_itBySpjV8ZdQB4BkZY&itid=gfta
http://www.memeorandum.com/251122/p27#a251122p27
@cdarwin@c.imStephen Miller, who has overseen Trump’s hard-line agenda on drugs and immigration, and other top advisers never lost sight of their goal of crushing the cartels.
And in pursuing this goal they were aided in part by a personnel restructuring that removed potential obstacles.
Many of the lawyers and other career officials at the White House National Security Council, Pentagon and Justice Department
who had over the preceding months raised concerns about using lethal force a…
@ErikJonker@mastodon.socialOfcourse Trump is lying about his criminal acts....
#Trump
@servelan@newsie.socialTrump administration turned to Pentagon after CIA lawyers nixed drug boat attacks: report - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-boats-2674333957/
@maxheadroom@hub.uckermark.socialAs beautiful as a sailboat looks. In my eyes it's totally not worth the effort to own one (on lakes in Germany). While I enjoy helping my friends with their boats occasionally ... the amount of maintenance just confirms my bias every time :D
@cdarwin@c.imTrump continues to threaten Venezuela,
sending B-52 bombers to its coast,
deploying more warships to the Caribbean sea
and surging troops in the region.
As the administration continues to bomb boats it says are carrying drugs,
a group of independent UN experts now calls them
"extrajudicial executions."
Colombia's president says it's
"murder."
Trump is retaliating by ending aid to the country
and Bogota…
@grahamperrin@bsd.cafe❮ Let's imagine two boats.
One is a boat of a totalitarian leader. There is a captain who knows the seas, and everyone on that ship listens like software listens. There is no debate, and when you're told to turn left, you turn left.
There is another – I call that ship the ship of fools – where every single decision is debated, everything single decision deserves a plebiscite. Also, the captain's turn, they change every half an hour, so just getting out of the dock, …
@servelan@newsie.socialGOP Bill Would Authorize Pirates To Attack Drug Boats - Joe.My.God.
https://www.joemygod.com/2025/12/gop-bill-would-authorize-pirates-to-attack-drug-boats/
@Techmeme@techhub.socialBoat rental services Boatsetter and GetMyBoat plan to merge; Boatsetter CEO Michael Farb says the combined company is set to have $100M in bookings in 2025 (Ben Glickman/Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/business/deals/two-air
@leftsidestory@mstdn.socialUrban Adventure 🏞️
城市探险 🏞️
📷Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta 533/16
🎞️Ilford HP5, expired 1993
#filmphotography #Photography #blackandwhite
@Sustainable2050@mastodon.energyDear @nieuws.nos.nl , your correspondent just mentioned "the little drugs boats that Trump attacked without evidence". So why do you call those drugs boats? Stop parroting the autocrat.
@memeorandum@universeodon.comUS military strikes 3 more boats in the Pacific Ocean, killing 8 (Piper Hudspeth Blackburn/CNN)
https://cnn.com/2025/12/15/politics/us-military-strikes-three-boats-pacific
http://www.memeorandum.com/251215/p144#a251215p144
@StephenRees@mas.toFrom David Suzuki
Science Matters - U.S. actions near Venezuela portend an oily catastrophe
Canada’s government has been silent about the United States killing people on boats off the Venezuela coast. Whether or not the boats were being used to transport drugs (and there’s no evidence they were), these appalling acts have been labelled “war crimes” — or “murders,” since no war has been officially declared… yet.
@niqdanger@social.linux.pizzaTonight I ate fried scallops and clam fritters beside the water as the sun went down. Got a little chilly but otherwise a great evening to cap off a fun day at the zoo.
@ubuntourist@mastodon.socialIn Bangladesh's flooded plains, solar-powered boat-schools keep learning afloat @Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/bangladeshs-flooded-plains-schools-boats-keep-learning-afloat-2025-10-07/
@cdarwin@c.imOver the past two months the U.S. has blown up at least 20 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
“80 people have been killed in what are extrajudicial executions under international law,” says Juan Pappier, Americas deputy director at Human Rights Watch.
The Pentagon claims the boats were carrying drugs but officials have acknowledged they don’t know who has been killed.
The U.S.now has 15,000 military personnel in the region.
@bici@mastodon.social'He’s blowing up boats and offing Venezuelans with impunity, trying to throw the Argentinian election and has ordered troops onto the streets of US cities, while ‘red’ states create more safe Republican seats so he can win the 2026 midterm elections. What could possibly go wrong? He’s king.'
via Garth Turner
@scott@carfree.city"Permitting Parking in Driveways" is at Monday's SFBOS land use committee.
I plan to comment against this. It seems to allow driveways to be unlimited width and to remain even after garages are converted to ADUs. This is nakedly an inducement to more driving at the expense of green space, stormwater drainage, active transportation, and public transit.
![[Planning Code - Permitting Parking in Driveways]
Sponsors: Mayor; Chen and Melgar
Ordinance amending the Planning Code to permit parking of up to two operable vehicles,
not including boats, trailers, recreational vehicles, mobile homes, or buses, in driveways
located in required front setbacks, side yards, or rear yards; affirming the Planning
Department’s determination under the California Environmental Quality Act; making
findings of consistency with the General Plan, and the eight…](https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/carfreecitymain/media_attachments/files/115/720/537/456/713/276/original/3587a1e38eb0a821.png)
@memeorandum@universeodon.comTrinidadian Family Says U.S. Military Killed Relative in Boat Attack (New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/16/world/americas/trinidad-us-military-venezuela-boats.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uE8.6h-j.Sj_00H7gnDMZ&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
http://www.memeorandum.com/251016/p174#a251016p174
@timbray@cosocial.caMarine Museum interior
#Photography #NovaScotia
@cdarwin@c.im'We blew it up. And we’ll do it again’.
‘I don’t give a shit what you call it.’
These words, of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance, respectively,
refer to the first of five US bombings of boats in international waters near Venezuela in the last month,
which have reportedly killed twenty-seven people overall.
Washington claims the boats were carrying drugs destined for US shores but has offered no proof;
evidence indica…
@markhburton@mstdn.social"...the number of stories in national newspapers about asylum seekers or small boats or refugees. They found 542 in just the past month. And how many on the cost of living or essentials or living standards? Just 45."
Worried about rising bills and getting by? Keir Starmer has the answer: try chewing a flag!
| Aditya Chakrabortty | The Guardian
@aral@mastodon.ar.alOoh, I feel more US sanctions on the UN coming up. https://flipboard.com/@bbcnews/top-stories-hc55lmo2z/-/a-WOBuTLhPRXugyid_r6rXUg:a:3199692-/0
@cdarwin@c.imHegseth and Rubio to brief members of Congress on boat strikes as questions mount – live
US military says eight killed in strikes on three boats in eastern Pacific
On Monday night, the US military said it attacked three more boats believed to have been smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing eight people
@chris@mstdn.chrisalemany.ca"I have made [PM Mark Carney] very popular”
"We're going to be talking about Gaza”
"We could have peace in the Middle East”
he jokes “The Merger of Canada and USA”
Carney: ‘that's not where I was going”
Carney looks bemused as The American Fascist talks about the ‘hell hole' that DC was.
he's talking about "zero" people coming through the south border.
... Carney doing his best to keep a straight face... the things that must be going through his mind as the Fascist rambles about Canada benefiting from Venezuelan boats being blown up.
#canPoli #CdnPoli #US
@andres4ny@social.ridetrans.itOne of these boats has The Epstein Files on it, and by golly we're going to blow up each and every last one of them until we're certain The Files are destroyed. Double-tap if we have to; how many pages can a guy clinging to the side of a boat hold? More than one, that's for sure!
@davidaugust@mastodon.online"President Donald Trump has declared drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the United States is now in a 'non-international armed conflict…'"₁
Funny thing about Non-International Armed Conflicts (NIACs), they're "subject to International humanitarian law"₂ and randomly drone striking civilians in boats without any apparent evidence is still a war crime.
sources:
₁
@memeorandum@universeodon.comDrug Smugglers Change Supply Routes to Evade U.S. Warships (Frances Robles/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/14/us/us-drug-trafficking-boats-caribbean.html?unlocked_article_code=1.tU8.xXf8.fZErnhyCcuc7&smid=url-share
http://www.memeorandum.com/251014/p120#a251014p120
@kctipton@mas.toHegseth said US military should refuse ‘unlawful’ Trump orders in unearthed 2016 interview | Pete Hegseth | The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/hegseth-unlawful-orders-trump-fox-interview
@elduvelle@neuromatch.socialLooks like #Labour is fighting back! "Farage boats" 😂
"Starmer to rethink human rights law to tackle ‘Farage boats’"
https://www.theguardian.com/law/2025/oc…
@cdarwin@c.imKentucky Republican Rand Paul raised concerns about the legality of the Trump administration’s strikes on boats that it claims are carrying drug traffickers,
as well as Trump's statement that the United States might conduct direct attacks on Venezuela’s territory.
“When you kill someone, you should know, if you’re not at war, not in a declared war,
you really need to know someone’s name at least,” Paul said.
“You have to accuse them of something.
You have …
@leftsidestory@mstdn.socialUrban Adventure II 🏞️
城市探险 II 🏞️
📷Nikon FE
🎞️Fujifilm NEOPAN SS, expired 1993
#filmphotography #Photography #blackandwhite
@bthalpin@mastodon.socialRE: https://mastodon.social/@jamesbridle/115317570543430594
Israel could do a lot to defuse this sort of activism by arresting all the boats, treating the activists with kid gloves and promptly deporting them. Make the activity seem futile, fatuous, an…
@ErikJonker@mastodon.socialSo the USA is killing 14 more people, without evidence, arrest or trial. In plain sight, not hiding but proud of it. This is not the country that helped to liberate Europe from Nazi rule or the land of the free anymore...
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0ex94eeljeo
@servelan@newsie.socialTrump judge Emil Bove implicated in plot to murder alleged drug traffickers: 'Just sink the boats' - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/emil-bove-trump-2674302305/
@karlauerbach@sfba.socialTo my eyes, this is an act of war by the US upon the nation of Venezuela. (Not to mention the blurring of GPS and the sinking of boats by the US.)
If indeed a state of war now exists (to borrow a phrase from FDR's speech to Congress after Pearl Harbor) then Venezuela could be anticipated to wage war against the US - endangering US people (including tourists) everywhere in the world.
El Cheato and Whiskey Pete are getting the US in Vietnam Part II.
"Trump says airs…
@cdarwin@c.imHouse Republicans on Wednesday
defeated a pair of war powers resolutions
aimed at reining in Donald Trump’s airstrikes on alleged drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea
and Pacific Ocean
and his increasingly aggressive provocations that critics fear are leading to a war on Venezuela
htt…
@ubuntourist@mastodon.socialIsraeli naval forces board pro-Palestinian flotilla 75 miles from Gaza
About 20 Israeli naval ships approached the fleet of more than 40 boats carrying aid, activists on board say
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/01/israeli-m…
@villavelius@mastodon.onlinePirates of the Mediterranean.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is being entirely ignored, it seems.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/oct/01/israeli-military-vessels-pro-palestinian-flo…
@roelgrif@mstdn.social
@portaloffreedom@social.linux.pizzaWhat the fuck? One of the boats actually made it? What does this mean? Where do we go from here?
@fgraver@hcommons.socialI never thought I’d see Waterworld on a list of «best of…» films. I mean, it’s a cheesy, fun movie — but good? Hm; maybe not. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/27/youre-gonna-need-a-bigger-b…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comU.S. allies begin to push back on Trump's Caribbean military strikes (Adam Taylor/Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/11/12/g-7-rubio-drug-boats-venezuela/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzYyOTIzNjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzY0MzA1OTk5LCJpYXQiOjE3NjI5MjM2MDAsImp0aSI6IjZiZDMwMjlkLWIxZWEtNDQ4NS1hYTY5LTBlMDNhZGE5YTAwZSIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9uYXRpb25hbC1zZWN1cml0eS8yMDI1LzExLzEyL2ctNy1ydWJpby1kcnVnLWJvYXRzLXZlbmV6dWVsYS8ifQ.1EqGBubh57ps_hPXZArYkghh_r3jvCUc_odF5VuRVaw&itid=gfta
http://www.memeorandum.com/251112/p130#a251112p130
@harrysentonbury@social.linux.pizzabtw the "Freedom Flotilla Coalition" youtube channel has started a live cam from the mast of a boat: "Live from the boats to Gaza" if anyones interested
🍉
@arXiv_physicsappph_bot@mastoxiv.pageA Bioinspired Aquatic Machine Mimicking Water Caltrop
Yuanquan Liu, Thomas Speck, Isabella Fiorello
https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.10686 https://arxiv.org/pdf/…
@cdarwin@c.imDonald Trump has been using fictional figures to justify his controversial military strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean near Venezuela.
“Every boat kills about 25,000 people,” Trump said in a speech last week.
“Every one of those boats is responsible for the death of 25,000 American people, and the destruction of families,”
he said in a speech Sunday.
“Probably saved at least 100,000 lives, American lives
– Canadian lives
– by taking …
@ErikJonker@mastodon.social @aral@mastodon.ar.alI just read this message from @… (sharing it with her permission):
“I was just coming back with some food for my family I’m in Al-Mawasi, near the sea when suddenly, boats started firing all at once, one strike after another. I ran for 30 minutes straight, without stopping, and finally made it back to the tent terrified.
Thinking the tent would somehow shie…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comUS military says strikes on 3 boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean kill 8 people (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/boat-strikes-us-military-drugs-pacific-108d10bbd3d19c34b8959602222e22e6
http://www.memeorandum.com/251215/p140#a251215p140
@servelan@newsie.socialTrump guilty of ordering ‘extrajudicial killings’ with strikes on alleged drug boats, Republican senator says | The Independent
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/rand-paul-trump-caribbean-boats-b2852547.html
@ErikJonker@mastodon.socialThe Pentagon and boat strike survivors...
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/us/politics/pentagon-boat-strike-survivors.html?unlocked_article_code=1.7k8.nZu0.3cdsw0sOwvT-&smid=n…
@markhburton@mstdn.socialAmid the moral panic about unofficial #migration, the vulnerability of desperate people is never mentioned. Here's a dereliction of the duty of care.
"More than 50 lone child asylum seekers who disappeared soon after arriving in the UK and while in the care of the authorities are still missing...
"Many of the missing children arrived in small boats or hidden in the backs o…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comFacing war crimes allegations, Pete Hegseth posts AI image of Franklin the Turtle firing missiles at drug boats (Alex Woodward/The Independent)
https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/pete-hegseth-franklin-meme-drug-boats-b2875907.html
http://www.memeorandum.com/251201/p131#a251201p131
@cdarwin@c.imAirstrikes by the United States of America on boats in the Caribbean and in the Pacific violate international human rights law.
The U.N. human rights chief said Friday that
U.S. military strikes against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly carrying illegal drugs from South America are
“unacceptable” and must stop.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called for an investigation into the strikes, in what appeared to mark t…
@cdarwin@c.imThe peril of a White House that flaunts indifference to the law
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/us/politics/white-house-boats-law.html?searchResultPosition=2
@memeorandum@universeodon.comUS troops should be alarmed at Trump's strikes on alleged drug boats (Defense News)
https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/2025/10/28/us-troops-should-be-alarmed-at-trumps-strikes-on-alleged-drug-boats/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251028/p155#a251028p155
@cdarwin@c.imTrump’s chief of staff acknowledges ‘score settling’ behind prosecutions of political rivals:
‘He will go for it’
– ‘In some cases, it may look like retribution,’
said Susie Wiles in a wide-ranging interview with Vanity Fair
Wiles also suggested the real goal of Trump's boat strikes is to topple Venezuela's Maduro
"He wants to keep on blowing boats up until [president Nicolšs] Maduro cries uncle. And people way smarter than me on that say that he w…
@servelan@newsie.socialHow a reporter uncovered the truth about some of those killed in US strikes on alleged drug boats | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/trump-venezuela-boat-strikes-drugs-cocaine-trafficking-e4fcf945e48e36bf2c510f9f111e031c
@cdarwin@c.imThe U.S. military struck four boats in the eastern Pacific
-- killing 14 people
-- a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s
campaign of extra-judicial murders in the Western Hemisphere.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-se
@cdarwin@c.imOn the Isles of Scilly, seagoing rowing gigs
—32-foot boats built from fine elm planks for strength and lightness
—once played a vital role in maritime life.
These boats carried pilots to ships navigating treacherous waters,
rescued lives and cargo from wrecks,
served in island farming and in coastal trades such as kelp making,
and supported the building and maintenance of lighthouses and other maritime infrastructure.
Though traditional gig rowing dec…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comJeffries says not to expect Dems to pursue Hegseth impeachment (Andrew Solender/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/12/01/jeffries-hegseth-impeach-venezuela-drug-boats
http://www.memeorandum.com/251201/p113#a251201p113
@servelan@newsie.socialTrump admin secretly compiled list of cartels whose boats they can bomb: report - Raw Story
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-cartel-strikes/
@memeorandum@universeodon.comA sickening moral slum of an administration (George F. Will/Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/12/02/trump-hegseth-rubio-ukraine-venezuela-boats/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251202/p123#a251202p123
@ErikJonker@mastodon.socialAnother way of saying those people were just murdered....
"The clips show some of the boats were already stopped at sea when they were detected, and the people onboard were potentially within reach of U.S. forces before they were blown up."
@cdarwin@c.im“Pete Hegseth, much like the president he serves, sees himself as, essentially, above the law, as unconstrained by legal procedure.”
Foreign policy analyst Matt Duss discusses the brewing conflict within the Trump administration over the leadership of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,
including his involvement in a leaked announcement of U.S. strikes on Yemen in March
and the chain of command behind U.S. strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
@memeorandum@universeodon.comWhy is the US on the verge of war with Venezuela? (Joshua Keating/Vox)
https://www.vox.com/politics/470879/venezuela-maduro-drug-boats-military-strikes
http://www.memeorandum.com/251201/p96#a251201p96
@leftsidestory@mstdn.socialMoody Urbanity - Old & New II 🔆
情绪化城市 - 新与旧 II 🔆
📷 Nikon FE
🎞️ Ilford HP5 Plus 400, expired 1993
#filmphotography #Photography #blackandwhite
@cdarwin@c.imThe strikes on the Venezuelan boats
-- allegedly carrying "narcotics"
-- which the administration has claimed were necessary because interdiction "did not work,"
have been orchestrated through the homeland security council (HSC)
-- which Stephen Miller leads
as the homeland security adviser.
Miller empowered the HSC earlier this year to become its own entity in Donald Trump’s second term
-- a notable departure from previous administ…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comTrump has yet to provide Congress hard evidence that targeted boats carried drugs, officials say (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/trump-boat-strikes-drug-cartels-4f7f66714cf303fcaf2c4bb2fc30a9a0
http://www.memeorandum.com/251008/p169#a251008p169
@memeorandum@universeodon.comSenate rejects effort to curb Trump's power to target alleged drug boats (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2025/10/09/war-powers-act-vote-senate-venezuela
http://www.memeorandum.com/251008/p162#a251008p162
@servelan@newsie.social#GiftLink
Opinion | The new pirates of the Caribbean: Attacks against alleged drug boats are lawless - The Washington Post
https://wapo.st/4oGTn4j
@cdarwin@c.imYou could be 100% certain that these boats were built out of pure cocaine,
-- and murdering everyone on them would still be murder.
Strong suspicion of a crime, for a law abiding society, leads to prosecution for said crime,
-- not blowing up boats and anyone on them or near them.
Congress has no power to legalize crime.
It cannot authorize mass rape.
It cannot authorize mass torture.
It cannot authorize mass murder.
Venezuela and Colombia a…
@cdarwin@c.imAs the Trump administration escalates pressure on Venezuela,
U.S. military activity across the Caribbean continues to grow.
The U.S. has deployed more than 15,000 troops to the region and carried out airstrikes on over 20 boats,
killing at least 83 people in operations the White House has justified, without providing evidence, as targeting drug traffickers.
On Monday, the administration also designated the so-called Cšrtel de los Soles as a foreign terrorist organiza…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comThe U.S. Is Preparing for War in Venezuela (The Atlantic)
https://www.theatlantic.com/national-security/archive/2025/10/venezuela-trump-caribbean-boats-maduro/684690/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251024/p136#a251024p136
@servelan@newsie.socialColombia's president calls US attacks on alleged drug boats 'act of tyranny'
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy8rjp178mno?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
@memeorandum@universeodon.comTop Democrats demand details of spy agencies' role in boat strikes (Washington Post)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/10/24/gabbard-intelligence-venezuela-drug-boats/
http://www.memeorandum.com/251025/p34#a251025p34
@cdarwin@c.imA bipartisan measure to block the Trump administration’s lethal strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug smugglers fell short in the Senate on Wednesday night,
in what Democratic lawmakers framed as a failure of Congress to assert its constitutional role to decide whether the country enters war.
In the past two months, the U.S. military has struck at least four boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing 21 people.
Military officials in multiple classified briefings have not defin…
@cdarwin@c.imAfter spending several months bragging about killing people by bombing random boats in the Caribbean,
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is suddenly far less interested in taking credit for the “double tap” strike that occurred on September 2.
Why is Hegseth backing off?
Turns out that even Republicans are not so comfy with murdering survivors of a boat strike.
Yesterday, CNN reported that after the initial September 2 strike killed nine people,
a second one 41 m…
@cdarwin@c.imPete Hegseth on Saturday doubled down on his defense of US military strikes on alleged drug cartel boats in the Caribbean,
arguing that Donald Trump has the power to take military action
“as he sees fit”
and dismissing concerns that the strikes violate international law
Despite Hegseth’s rant, the Trump administration is facing growing questions over the legality of its anti drug-trafficking operations in the Caribbean,
even from some Republicans.
The admi…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comShooting the Wounded on Drug Boats? (Wall Street Journal)
https://www.wsj.com/opinion/drug-boat-strike-pete-hegseth-pentagon-donald-trump-congress-9ef5426b
http://www.memeorandum.com/251202/p6#a251202p6
@cdarwin@c.imThe Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it had started an immigration enforcement operation in New Orleans today.
The department said the offensively titled "Operation Catahoula Crunch"
would target
“criminal illegal aliens roaming free thanks to sanctuary policies”.
New Orleans is the latest Democratic-run city (albeit in a Republican-led state) to see federal immigration agents on its streets.
Most recently, the Trump administrationtargete…
@cdarwin@c.imTwo sides of the same presidency played out simultaneously along the National Mall on Thursday afternoon.
At one end, Donald Trump was telling the world to give peace a chance at a meeting with African leaders.
It was possible, he said, “to begin healing old wounds and transcending past differences and creating a future where every child of God can live in dignity, prosperity and peace.”
At the other end of the mall, top officials from his Defense Department were being grill…
@cdarwin@c.imSenator Chris Van Hollen: “I think it’s very possible there was a war crime committed"
Senator Mark Kelly: “We’re going to have a public hearing.
We’re going to put these folks under oath.
And we’re going to find out what happened.
And then, there needs to be accountability.”
He also told CNN: “If what has been reported is accurate,
I have got serious concerns about anybody in that chain of command stepping over a line
that they should never ste…
@memeorandum@universeodon.comTrump administration gave GOP senators secret details about strikes on alleged drug boats, leaving Dems on outs (ABC News)
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-administration-gave-gop-senators-secret-details-strikes/story?id=127035793
http://www.memeorandum.com/251031/p52#a251031p52
@cdarwin@c.im“Nixon tried to keep his criminality secret,
and the Bush administration tried to keep the torture secret,
and that secrecy acknowledged the norm that these things were wrong,”
Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith said.
“Trump, as he often does when he is breaking law or norms,
is acting publicly and without shame or unease.
This is a very successful way to destroy the efficacy of law and norms.”
@memeorandum@universeodon.comHegseth says US carried out 3 strikes on alleged drug-running boats in eastern Pacific, killing 14 (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/drug-cartels-hegseth-pacific-8f9f65dd67c0bc55b6dd70b109df0216
http://www.memeorandum.com/251028/p47#a251028p47
@cdarwin@c.imDemocratic Representative Sara Jacobs said she was told in a Pentagon briefing
“that they do not need to positively identify individuals on the vessel to do the strikes”
and that was part of the reason why the administration has not sought to detain or prosecute the survivors of the strikes,
“because they could not satisfy the evidentiary burden.”
“There’s nothing that we heard in there that changes my assessment that this is completely illegal,
that it is unlaw…
@cdarwin@c.imMr. Maduro has tried to protect himself from a potential precision strike or a special-forces raid
by frequently changing sleeping locations and cellphones
Those precautions have accelerated since September, when the United States started amassing warships and striking boats the Trump administration claims were smuggling drugs from Venezuela.
@cdarwin@c.imJD Vance made jokes about this woman's husband being dead.
https://bsky.app/profile/mpaarlberg.bsky.social/post/3lzydxbicas2n
@cdarwin@c.imThe following “Dear Joe” email exchange is a hypothetical email colloquy
between an expert in military law and a fictional service member seeking advice on how to deal with the current situation.
The content is based on publicly reported facts, the Manual for Courts-Martial, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, and the authors’ opinions.
Military law establishes a strong presumption that military orders are lawful and must be obeyed.
We do not counsel any military mem…
@cdarwin@c.imWashington Post edit board:
There’s a name for attacks on civilian ships on the high seas:
Piracy.
That’s also an unfortunately plausible description of the Trump administration’s bombings of vessels around South America that it says are carrying drugs.
-- Max Boot
https://www.
