Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness for Thursday, 06 October 2022.
U.S. PACIFIC FLEET COMMANDER: WE CAN BREAK CHINA BLOCKADE ON TAIWAN: U.S. Navy Admiral Samuel Paparo, Commander of the U.S.Pacific Fleet, said yesterday that if China attempts a maritime blockade of Taiwan, the U.S. Navy could successfully break that blockade. Paparo said that although China has a significant number of warships and capabilities, combined U.S. and allied military forces could break a maritime blockade. The admiral did not discuss a combined sea and air blockade of the island but said Washington had confidence that the U.S. superiority in key domains of warfare, likely referring to nuclear and subsurface, would allow it and its allies to prevail.
PUTIN: ZAPORIZHZHIA NUCLEAR FACILITY IS RUSSIAN FEDERAL PROPERTY: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering the seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility. Russian officials said “relevant agencies” of the Russian government will control and operate the facility. The previous Ukrainian chief of operations was deported after providing data on the facility and the positions of Russian forces to Ukrainian intelligence. An official announcement on the plant’s website indicated the plant was in the process of re-starting one of its reactors from a prior cold shutdown.
MEXICO SEEKS DAMAGES FROM U.S. IN ILLICIT FIREARMS TRADE: Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebard announced he will be filing a lawsuit in Arizona courts seeking punitive damages for the United States firearms industry’s role in encouraging illicit cross-border firearms trades. The lawsuit joins a similar suit in Boston, MA, which was dismissed by a federal judge, but sought billions in punitive damages from American firearms companies. Ebard said the lawsuits were necessary to establish ”criminal responsibilities” for firearms sold in Arizona and smuggled across the border as the companies “know where those weapons are going.” The minister said the issue of cross-border firearms smuggling would be “the primary topic” at next week’s bilateral border security and migration talks in Washington.
FIERY HOMECOMING FOR IRANIAN UNIVERSITIES, HIGH SCHOOLS: Iranian national police and security forces have been deployed to university campuses across the country after clashes between student protestors and Iranian officials and security forces. Student groups are calling for the dissolution of the Iranian government following the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Masha Amin, who died while in the custody of Iran’s morality police. The clashes which started on university campuses have also spread to high schools, disrupting the start of the school year. The nationwide protests turned deadly over the last three weeks. More than 150 protestors have been killed by security forces, with thousands more arrested and disappeared.
In today’s Early Warning, Mike provides long form analysis of how the Fed’s gray zone war against competitor currencies risks triggering the Great Reset, plus the team provides the latest indicators of domestic disruption to oil and food transportation. See what will happen before it happens. Get access to the full Early Warning report here: https://forwardobserver.com/subscribe