Author: Bill Cooper

DOD Spokesperson Lt. Col. Martin Meiners provided the following readout: Dr. Michael Chase, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, met with People’s Republic of China (PRC) Major General Song Yanchao, Deputy Director of the Central Military Commission Office for International Military Cooperation, at the Pentagon for the 17th U.S.-PRC Defense Policy Coordination Talks from January 8-9, 2024. The two sides discussed U.S.-PRC defense relations, and Dr. Chase highlighted the importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication in order to prevent competition from veering into conflict. He also discussed the importance of operational safety across the…

Geneva, London (29/7 – 50) Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, condemned the arrest and imprisonment of journalists, bloggers and civil society activists in Tajikistan, and questioned the credibility of the evidence presented in court against them. Lawlor was on a two-week official visit to Tajikistan last December. The report prepared by her and members of the delegation on the results of this visit was published in May of this year, but only now became available to the public. The authorities of Tajikistan will have to prepare an official response to the document, which…

Adele used some colorful language to warn her audience not to throw things. In a TikTok shared by a concert attendee, the singer is seen at one of her Las Vegas residency shows, discussing a wave of recent incidents in which objects have been thrown on stage, in some cases striking artists while they are performing. Multiple artists, including Bebe Rexha and Kelsea Ballerini, have been hit by items thrown at them while they have been performing over the summer. Adele asked her audience if they had noticed people appear to be “forgetting f**king show etiquette at the moment.” “I f**king dare you, dare you…

Service members and aircraft from the U.S. Air Force’s 8th Fighter Wing and the Indonesian Air Force will participate in Cope West 2023, a bilateral, tactical fighter exercise at Roesmin Nurjadin Air Force Base, Pekanbaru, Indonesia, June 12-23. Approximately 100 U.S. service members will train alongside Indonesian Air Force personnel in the field training exercise. Six U.S. Air Force F-16s and 7 Indonesian Air Force aircraft are participating in this year’s exercise. U.S. and Indonesian participants will exercise tactical fighter capabilities, evaluate proficiency, identify future training, and enhance capabilities integral to a variety of bilateral missions. “Thank you to everyone…

New York, Los Angeles, Georgia (4/6 – 50) LIV Golf has become a fearsome rival to The PGA Tour as the number one professional golf tour in the world since its emergence in 2021. Building on Brooks Koepka’s success in The PGA Championship last May, LIV Golf will look to add more glory as it moves to conquer the 2023 US Open next. They wooed away a sizable number of top PGA Tour players, with dramatically more lucrative deals. Major champions and former world number ones like Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, and Brooks Koepka jumped ship to LIV Golf in…

The U.S. government is preparing evacuation plans for American citizens living in Taiwan, three sources told The Messenger.  The planning has been underway for at least six months and “it’s heated up over the past two months or so,” said a senior U.S. intelligence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the planning. The official said a “heightened level of tension” had driven the preparations. “It’s nothing you wouldn’t read in the news,” he told The Messenger. “Forces building up. China aligning with Russia on Ukraine.” A source familiar with the matter cited Russia’s February…

The dollar hit a fresh two-month high against a basket of peers on Wednesday as a resilient U.S. economy helped to bolster the currency, while unease over debt ceiling talks in Washington kept investor flows moving to safe havens. The impasse in Washington over debt ceiling negotiations has helped to lift the dollar, even though it could lead to a default and push the U.S. economy into recession as investors fear it might spell worse trouble for the global economic outlook. Central bank policy divergence has been a popular theme among FX investors this year, with a recent outlook suggesting the…

As the United States look at disengaging from China, Europe could soon find itself in a sweet spot. U.S. President Joe Biden has, for most of his term so far, adopted a harsh tone on China, calling the world’s second-largest economy the most serious competitor to America. Diplomatic dialogue between the two hit a rockier patch earlier this year when Washington accused Beijing of using a spy balloon to obtain intelligence from U.S. military sites. “The U.S.′ hawkish policy stance towards China means that China needs to improve relations with Europe to mitigate the impact of export controls. Therefore, China has an incentive to…

(U.S. Department of Justice news release) BILLINGS—Ten people were arraigned Friday in federal court on allegations of multiple crimes related to trafficking methamphetamine on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations and in Yellowstone, Big Horn and Rosebud counties. Another person was arraigned Thursday on a related case, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. Seven of the defendants face charges in a multi-count indictment alleging meth trafficking, firearms and money laundering crimes. Four additional defendants, including one who previously was in custody, face meth trafficking charges in three companion indictments. U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. All defendants were detained…

Have you ever wondered which celebrities are from our state? There are many notable celebrities who either grew up in Montana or currently own properties there, even some in Missoula. Here are some big names who have called Montana home. Bud Lucky Famous for creating one of Disney’s most beloved characters, Woody from Toy Story, Bud Lucky is a famous Pixar cartoonist but his roots remain in Billings, Montana where he was born and raised. Carroll O’Connor Actor Carroll O’Connor, who played Archie Bunker on the sitcom “All in the Family,” spent four years in Montana while attending the University…