Saturday, June 10, 2023

Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base Focusing on U.S.

The agreement between the two U.S. rivals, both ruled by communist governments, has caused alarm in President Joe Biden's administration,,, posing a new threat close to America's shores. 



However, the U.S. has a long history of spying on China in its own neighborhood. It is widely reported to have used Taiwan as a listening post for the mainland and regularly flies spy planes in the South China Sea, angering Beijing.

Cuba Agrees to Host Chinese Spy Base That Would Allow Beijing to Intercept U.S. Communications: Report



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'China and Cuba have agreed to terms on a deal that would allow China to establish an electronic eavesdropping base on the island with the purpose of spying on American communications.

Agreed on in principle, the deal involves China paying Cuba billions of dollars in exchange for room to build and operate the facility, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

“While I cannot speak to this specific report, we are well aware of—and have spoken many times to—the People’s Republic of China’s efforts to invest in infrastructure around the world that may have military purposes, including in this hemisphere,” John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council, told the Journal. “We monitor it closely, take steps to counter it, and remain confident that we are able to meet all our security commitments at home, in the region, and around the world.”

The news comes amidst rising tension between the United States and China. In recent months China has rejected a meeting between U.S. and Chinese military officials and aggressively postured its military forces in the South China Sea, leading to confrontations with U.S. deployments in the region. 

The facility would enable China to monitor signal intelligence, including emails, phone calls, and satellite communications.

It remains unclear whether this development will impact Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Beijing later this month. His visit will be the latest in a string of American overtures to the Chinese, including a secret trip by CIA Director William Burns last month. The Biden Administration has repeatedly insisted that it expects tensions between the two countries to thaw "

Cuba to Host Secret Chinese Spy Base Focusing on U.S.

Beijing agrees to pay Havana several billion dollars for eavesdropping facility

By Warren P. Strobel
 and Gordon Lubold
The Biden administration has taken steps to pull closer to the government in Havana. PHOTO: YANDER ZAMORA/EPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

WASHINGTON—China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, in a brash new geopolitical challenge by Beijing to the U.S., according to U.S. officials familiar with highly classified intelligence.

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China Attacks US As Report Says Cash-Strapped Cuba Paid ...

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China has rejected a media report alleging a deal with Cuba to set up an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island.
YouTube · CRUX · 20 hours ago

Cuba enters the US-China power tussle | WION - YouTube

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China has reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 100 miles from Florida, ...
YouTube · WION · 1 day ago

Cuba denies Journal story about Chinese spy base - YouTube

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A top Cuban official Thursday issued a flat denial of a Wall Street Journal story that alleged Cuba and China had reached an agreement to ...
YouTube · WGN News · 1 day ago

Cuba denies Wall Street Journal story about Chinese spy base

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A top Cuban official Thursday issued a flat denial of a Wall Street Journal story that alleged Cuba and China had reached an agreement to ...
YouTube · NewsNation · 1 day ago

China's Open Challenge To USA - Secret Base In Cuba | Kinjal

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China and Cuba have reached a secret agreement for China to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island, in a bold new ...
YouTube · Pathfinder · 1 day ago


China to build spy base in Cuba, WSJ says; US and Cuba cast doubt on report

By  and 
WASHINGTON/HAVANA, June 8 (Reuters) - China has reached a secret deal with Cuba to establish an electronic eavesdropping facility on the island roughly 100 miles (160 km) from Florida, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, but the U.S. and Cuban governments cast strong doubt on the report.
Such a spy installation would allow Beijing to gather electronic communications from the southeastern U.S., which houses many U.S. military bases, as well as monitor ship traffic, the newspaper reported, citing U.S. officials familiar with classified intelligence. . ..
"We have had real concerns about the China’s relationship with Cuba, and we have been concerned since day one of the administration about China’s activities in our hemisphere and around the world," the White House's Kirby said.
The countries have reached an agreement in principle, the officials said, with China to pay Cuba "several billion dollars" to allow the eavesdropping station, according to the Journal.“We have seen the report. It's not accurate," John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, told Reuters. But he did not specify what he thought was incorrect.
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MARICOPA COUNTY: Ozone High Pollution Advisory issued for Friday, June 09 and Saturday, June 10

 

Air Quality By Pollutant:

Pollutant
Friday
6/9/2023
Saturday
6/10/2023
Sunday
6/11/2023
Monday
6/12/2023
Tuesday
6/13/2023
O3
126
112
80
87
90
PM10
56
40
48
51
53
PM2.5
35
36
32
33
32
O3 = Ozone, PM10 = Particles ≤ 10 microns, PM2.5 = Particles ≤ 2.5 microns





Notice:
The Maricopa County Air Quality Department has issued a No Burn Day for today, 6/10/2023. Full Details >

Forecast Discussion:

Update: Smolder from the Mulch Fire in the East Valley is slowly easing up, but it still causing light to moderate impacts to Gilbert, Mesa, and Hwy 60 during the overnight and early morning hours. As stated in previous discussions, morning residual smoke should lift by around 10:00am as the inversion breaks. By midday, smoke impacts will shrink to areas directly adjacent to the burn site. Winds today and tomorrow will be mostly calm, causing smoke to slowly drift to the northeast throughout the day. Monitors near the Mulch Fire are seeing higher values in the morning, but taper off by midday, allowing PM2.5 (smoke) to remain no higher than the lower Moderate AQI.

An Ozone High Pollution Advisory will be in effect for today and tomorrow for Phoenix. 
This HPA is not related to the Mulch Fire in the East Valley.

  • Ozone levels yesterday remained elevated across the state, despite continuing southerly winds and occasional cloud cover. 
  • Phoenix saw 6 ozone monitors exceed the federal health standard, with the highest at our Cave Creek monitor.

Going forward, conditions will be conducive for higher ozone levels today and tomorrow as we wait for another system to move through the region. By Sunday, a shortwave will bring southwesterly winds of +15mph throughout the day, helping to evacuate any residual ozone in the valley. 
For early next week, ozone will be expected to rise once again as the system exits the area and higher pressure builds.

PM10 (dust) will remain locally driven throughout the period, with some isolated pockets of blowing dust possible on Sunday.

Limit outdoor activity if you are sensitive to higher ozone levels during the early-to-late afternoon hours today and tomorrow. Stay safe and have a great weekend!

- B. Droppleman
ADEQ Meteorologist 


Despite Major Progress Nationally, Two Mercury Emissions Hotspots Remain

Study finds socioeconomic disparity in who breathes the most toxic air

By Paul Karoff | Press contact

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Missing from partisan political debates over regulations affecting the energy sector is the stunning success of the federal government’s signature environmental laws. A prime example: the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rules aimed at reducing the harmful effects of hazardous air pollutant (HAP) emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants known as the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, or MATS.

A new study from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) shows that in the decade since the standard was promulgated, the amount of mercury spewing into the atmosphere from U.S. power plants – and eventually into the ground, water, and food web – decreased by 90 percent. Mercury is a potent neurotoxicant and exposures have also been associated with increased risks of fatal heart attacks in adults.

The new paper analyzes sociodemographic disparities in mercury exposures from U.S. power plants and residual risks remaining for the most highly exposed populations. The research is published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

Mercury emissions reduction map

Before MATS was promulgated in 2011, coal-fired power plants were the largest domestic source of dangerous mercury emissions. In 2005, coal-fired power plants accounted for 50 percent of all primary U.S. mercury emissions sources. The MATS regulation forced all power plant operators to meet the top-tier of emissions control performance standards across the country. Many operators chose to shut down coal-fired electricity generating units when the price of natural gas fell. Some switched fuel types altogether to burn natural gas, a fuel source that produces negligible mercury emissions. Of the 507 coal-fired power plants that were operating in 2010 before the MATS rules went into effect, 230 were fully retired and 62 partially retired by 2020.

“The MATS regulation is another wonderful success story linked to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990,” said Elsie Sunderland, Fred Kavli Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at SEAS. “This regulation has effectively eliminated most of the last remaining U.S. mercury emissions point sources, with benefits for millions of freshwater and recreational anglers across the country.”

Mercury emissions reduction map
Mercury emissions reduction map

Despite the historic national progress, two regions stand out as stubborn continuing sources of mercury emissions: Texas and North Dakota. Both states are home to power plants that burn locally mined lignite coal, which is a lower quality and less dense energy source compared to the bituminous coal that fuels plants in most other parts of the country. This means that lignite burning control standards for mercury in 2012 were less stringent than those developed for most U.S. power plants and mercury emissions remained higher than in other areas after the MATS rule was implemented.

The EPA is required to periodically evaluate whether advances in available technology merit updates to its standards. The agency has now proposed changes to MATS that would compel operators of lignite coal-burning power plants to adopt technologies that would significantly reduce their toxic emissions. These proposed more stringent standards are open for public comment until June 23, 2023.


 
AQ logo
 
Orange underline web

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality has issued an Ozone High Pollution Advisory for Friday, June 09 and Saturday, June 10.

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