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Undersecretary of State Keith Krach, who angered China with a visit to Taipei in September, will lead economic talks with Taiwan this month, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday.

Pompeo told a news conference that Krach would lead the Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue with Taiwan on Nov. 20. He said the talks would cover cooperation in a range of areas, including ensuring safe and secure supply chains and 5G security.

"The dialog signifies that our economic relationship with Taiwan, a vibrant democracy and a reliable partner, is strong and growing," Pompeo said.

China stepped up military drills around the island amid a sharp deterioration of U.S.-China relations, Washington is required under U.S. law to provide Taipei with the means to defend itself.

China has been angered by greater U.S. support for Taiwan, including two recent visits by top officials, Health Secretary Alex Azar in August and Krach, the undersecretary for economic affairs, in September. Taiwan has long sought a free trade agreement with the United States, but Washington has complained about barriers to U.S. imports. In August, Taipei paved the way for an eventual deal by announcing an easing of restrictions on U.S. products ...

A retired SF officer wants to build a memorial to the French Resistance





The success of Operation Overlord, the Battle of Normandy that established a bridgehead on the continent for the Allies, required everyone to do their part. Even the people of occupied France had a role to play, and theirs was as significant as the men who landed on the beaches.



One Special Forces officer, Cpt. Joseph Ivanov, wants to help their stories live on for the next generation by erecting a monument to them.
The idea came to him after watching a documentary about the dedication of a monument to Operation Neptune in 2012. Neptune was the code name of the seaborne invasion of Normandy that began on Jun. 6, 1944. As a member of Special Forces, Ivanov sees the French Resistance as an essential part of special warfare’s history and development. He was surprised to find no memorial existed in their home country to commemorate their role in Operation Overlord.

“It’s like 67 years later, they put a monument at Utah Beach to commemorate Operation Neptune, what the Navy did,” he told journalist Jeff Stoller. “How did we go so long without paying a tribute to these men and women?”

French Resistance fighters were also known as the French Forces of the Interior or the Maquis, depending on where you sat in the Allied chain of command. They were resistance cells and guerrilla fighters made up of men, women and even children who actively worked against occupying German troops and Vichy French collaborators.

They were everything the Germans hated, from academics to Communists, French Nationalists to Catholics, Protestants, even Jews. To facilitate the D-Day landings that closed out WWII, the Resistance conducted intelligence gathering on German troop movements and fortifications as well as sabotage raids on critical infrastructure.

To pay homage to those who fought in the Resistance during Operation Overlord, Ivanov first contacted Steven Spears, who created the Operation Neptune memorial at Utah Beach. The artist excitedly designed a monument that features three figures around a bicycle, each representing an aspect of the resistance, the guerrillas, the auxiliary, and the underground.

In the design is a middle-aged man with a rifle, who represents the guerrillas. Next to him is a boy on the bicycle who represents the auxiliary. The third figure is a woman handing out a communication, representing the underground.

Once the scale model design was carved, the two reached out to Operation Democracy, a nonprofit whose goal is to strengthen the historic and necessary bonds of friendship between France and the United States through significant educational projects. Operation Democracy offered its organization as a means for the effort to take tax-free donations toward the construction of the monument.

Winston Churchill’s Tower of Koutoubia Mosque auctioned by Angelina Jolie



Sir Winston Churchill, Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque, oil on canvas, 45.7 x 61 cm, Painted in January 1943

Casablanca Conference, January 1943
The Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque was painted by Winton Churchill after the wartime summit held in Casablanca, French Morocco. Also in attendance was President Franklin D. Roosevelt. It was at this conference that the two great leaders came to the agreement that the Allies would accept nothing short of the “unconditional surrender” of the Axis powers. Following the closing of the summit, Churchill took the chance to share the magnificent scenery of Morocco with Roosevelt, whom he considered a close personal friend.

“You cannot come all this way to North Africa without seeing Marrakech. Let us spend two days there. I must be with you when you see the sun set on the Atlas Mountains.” -Winston Churchill to Franklin Roosevelt

The two world leaders travelled 150 miles to the Villa Taylor in Marrakesh where they shared a breathtaking view of the sunset over the Atlas Mountains. It was this scenery that inspired Churchill’s only painting throughout WW2, showcasing the Prime Minister’s love for lively colours and his use of vigorous brushstrokes. It is speculated that the completed painting was presented to President Roosevelt later in January as a birthday present. Apart from being the only painting that Churchill produced during the course of the War, The Tower of the Koutoubia Mosque captured a significant moment shared by two great world leaders as they shared a brief respite from the burdens of leadership following the strategically important agenda of the Casablanca Conference.


So Winston, you hid that passion from me

Ancient mummies are paraded through the streets of Cairo

 Ancient mummies of Egypt's royal pharaohs emerged from their resting places Saturday and were paraded through the streets of Cairo to a new home.
What sounds like the plot of a movie was part of a lavish celebration of Egypt's history and a project to relocate some of its greatest treasures to a new high tech facility.
The mummies of Ramses the Great and 21 others were part of "The Pharaoh's Golden Parade," a highly anticipated event organized by the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
The parade route took place between the Egyptian Museum, their old location near Tahrir Square, to their new home, the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Egypt's first Islamic capital, al-Fustat.





 

Landing in Normandy
The veteran Hubert Faure, of the Kieffer commando, died

He was one of only two survivors of the Kieffer commando, the only French commando to have landed on June 6, 1944 in Colleville-Montgomery, in Calvados. Hubert Faure died this Saturday, April 17, 2021

Hubert Faure (far left, front row) with the last survivors of the Kieffer commando during the 2008 ceremonies. At his side (2nd from the right), the now last survivor of the 177, Léon Gautier.



He was one of 177 “Frenchies” on D-Day. One of the last survivors of the Kieffer commando who landed at Sword Beach (Colleville-Montgomery), in Calvados, at the dawn of June 6, 1944. Hubert Faure died on the night of Friday 16 to Saturday 17 April 2021. He was 106 years old.

My respects sir
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