Previously it was reported that the Danish warships patrolling around Greenland and the Faroe Islands were struck by lack of sailors. The 30 year old ships are also reported to be worn out and have frequent technical issues.

Now politicians are angry as several former naval officers connected to weapons industry lobby groups are criticising the state of the ships, pointing to publicly available information that the ships fails most of NATO's demands for warships of their class despite having been promised to NATO. Allegedly many sensors and weapons systems has been removed from the ships as a cost-cutting measure.

Despite the apparent state of the ships naval bureaucrats has reported to politicians that the ships were performing as they should and were planning to renovate them rather than replace them.

Politicians are angry about not meeting their American overlord's demands, about the military bureaucracy lying to them and also about receiving very limited information about the classified NATO demands despite being the ones who has to approve funding to meet them.

Really hate how foreign media is painting Arevalo and his supporters like Marcela Blanco as if they're the second coming of Jacobo and Arabella Arbenz. These people are America worshipping libs who want to please Washington's foreign policy while enacting the most bare bones social-democratic reforms.

He proposed cutting off our supplies of Russian vaccines when we already got fucked by Washington's Covid hoarding and can't take Chinese vaccines because we have an allegiance to Taiwan. They can't even campaign without drawing comparisons to AOC and Bernie because they love the US that much.

He's better than everyone else but the media acting like they're going to enact agricultural land reform or even nationalization on the same level of Arbenz is some next level cap. Our national government is just complete dogshit and hates anyone that could potentially prosecute them. That's the only reason they're trying so hard to keep him from taking office.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Presents His First Cabinet

He has sought a rapid symbolic and political distancing from the far-right VP Veronica Abad.

On Sunday, the Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa and his inaugural cabinet posed for an official photo. Notably absent from the picture was Vice President Veronica Abad, who was appointed as a "Collaborator for Peace" between Israel and Palestine.

His team includes the Minister of Women and Human Rights, Arianna Tanca, and the Minister of Telecommunications, Cesar Martin. In the coming days, Noboa will appoint Juan Carlos Vega Malo as the Minister of Economy.

On his first day in office on Thursday, Noboa had already appointed most of his ministers. Among them were 8 women and 8 men. Niels Olsen, the Tourism Minister, was the only one who served in the previous government led by Guillermo Lasso.

The cabinet also includes Monica Palencia (Government), Gabriela Sommerfeld (Foreign Relations), Giancarlo Loffredo (National Defense), Daniel Calderon (Education), Roberto Luque (Transportation and Public Works), Ivonne Nuñez (Labor), Franklin Palacios (Agriculture), Sonsoles Garcia (Foreign Trade), Franklin Encalada (Public Health), Andrea Arrobo (Energy), Zaida Rovira (Economic and Social Inclusion), and Humberto Plaza (Urban Development).

In the official photo of the first cabinet, Vice President Veronica Abad was not present. So far, she has not directly commented on her appointment as "collaborator for peace and to safeguard the de-escalation of conflict between Israel and Palestine" in Tel Aviv.

On Saturday, however, she took advantage of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to convey a message through social media.

"Violence is not just about killing others. There is violence when we use derogatory words, when we make gestures to disdain other people, when bad actions intimidate your children and force you to silence injustices, when we obey out of fear, and when, abusing power, they belittle you and send you to die in war," she expressed.

"This violence leaves very deep scars, difficult to heal. Women are peace. We are life, justice, courage, strength. They may distance us, but the echo of our voice will set us free," Abad added, without making any mention of Noboa's appointment.

The relationship between Noboa and Abad appeared distant even during the electoral campaign, where they barely shared public events. On the day of Noboa's inauguration, Abad did not attend the official lunch at the Carondelet palace. Instead, she visited a market in northern Quito, where she had lunch and interacted with the merchants.

Abad has been criticized on multiple occasions for her far-right ideological stances, including positions against the women's movement and rights to health and education.

How long until the US removes Noboa from the power and replace him with his VP?

I'm gonna probably not be as thrilled until Blinken or one of the Bush era NeoCons go.

What liberals think...

On the Israel–Hamas war everyone to the left of me who disagrees with me is Hamas.

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This comment is the very first time I've used the phrase Israel–Hamas war. I feel dirty.

Unexpected hot take: russia will elect someone other than putin

reason: he is lawful evil lib, and their shenanigans with constitution actually bar him from running 3rd time in a row

Rybar December 1, 2023

The use of warships as missile interception seems fatally flawed to me. These ships have a very finite payload that can be exhausted easily.

Rybar November 27, 2023

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Salvadoran President Will Request Leave to Run for Re-Election

This is a requirement for him to compete for a new mandate in the elections on Feb. 4, 2024.

On Thursday, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele will formally request a leave of absence from his position before the Legislative Assembly starting December 1, six months before his term concludes. This move is to focus on the electoral campaign for his reelection.

The absence leave is the final requirement, established in a 2021 ruling by the Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber, for Bukele to compete for a new mandate in the elections on Feb. 4, 2024. Here are five key points to explain the current Salvadoran political situation:

Bukele's Absence.

The 2021 Supreme Court ruling dictates that "the President who has applied as a presidential candidate for a second term must request a leave of absence during the six months prior" to the start of the next term.

Bukele would be absent from his position starting December 1. The Legislative Assembly, with a broad majority from the ruling party, is expected to consider the leave request on Thursday.

This aims to achieve compliance with the Constitution's article 218, which prohibits the use of the position for electoral propaganda. However, analysts warn that Bukele has already engaged in electoral propaganda, even using state funds and government resources.

The Salvadoran constitution states that, in the absence of the president and vice president, one of the designated individuals will lead the Executive branch.

Along with granting permission, it is expected that Congress will ratify the persons proposed by Bukele for the presidency to fill his role.

Bukele assumed the presidency in 2019 with the far-right party Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) as the electoral vehicle due to the delay in registering his New Ideas party (NI).

The Salvadoran constitution allows the president's resignation "for a duly proven serious cause, as determined by the Legislative Assembly," without specifying that it should be for an electoral campaign since reelection is prohibited.

Bukele can submit three proposals for the designated presidential role to Congress. If he does not, the Legislative body will be responsible for choosing the person. The designated individual will assume the presidential role on December 1 and leave on May 30, 2024.