Image by West Coast Milblogger
On this episode, LA Fire Update, Reverse on Ukraine, and USAID Cuts Benefit China.
Welcome to this week’s edition of West Coast Milblogger. I’m your host Cyrus Emerson.
From A to Z has already begun production of Pandemic Manifesto, scheduled to replace Rabbit Burrow Descent playlist, starting on this channel March 5. Pandemic Manifest, a series of journal entries beginning on March 8, 2020 and ending on July 4, 2021. Encompassing the last seven months of Trump’s 1st Administration during the initial pandemic with outbursts due to lock downs, racial tensions, fires, 2020 election, January 6 Riot, and above all else suppression of legalized hemp to solve society’s coronavirus.
As Friday Refrain: Revamp Fallacy music playlist illustrates, hempcrete could help rebuild LA into a solar punk utopia utilizing natural elements to invigorate the cityscape. Yet, as we’ve all learned through experience, this will not happen. Now, we’re getting an LA fire update from Elijah James.
Reporter Elijah James – California Accent
Sacramento, California
Good to see you again Cyrus. So far, this 2025 Fire Season, Cal Fire reports there’s been 398 fires burning more than 57-thousand acres, destroying more than 16-thousand structures, with at least 29 fatalities. Those statistics got a major boost from the fires I reported on in Los Angeles last month.
We are in this for the long haul. Fire Season should peak this summer, as we all know, we can get devastating wildfires until November. To put this another way, California’s 2025 fire season is already slated to be 11 months.
Right now, Los Angeles recovery efforts are underway. US Army Corps of Engineers helping communities clear debris free of charge. If you want to have your property cleared complete a Right of Entry form.
In the meantime, LA County officials urge residents to apply for building permits. Approval for rebuilding can take time especially with the volume of construction needed in the region. Work can’t start until fire areas are safe. Having approved building permits can help property owners get a jump start once the cleaning phase is complete.
Here in Sacramento, lawmakers are silent on sustainable building materials. There’s no indication materials like hempcrete are going to be used.
As we’ve talked about before Cyrus, there’s going to be more devastating wildfires hitting our coverage area because nothing’s being done to address the cause. It truly is a Revamp Fallacy. Back to the studio.
Appreciate that report Elijah.
Yes, unfortunately it’s being proved once again, West Coast Democrats fell short on promises of a green economy because of bias against hemp. Republicans remain climate change deniers so they’re excused from environmental criticism.
Moving on to another trending topic, America’s changing face in Ukraine where European’s see political winds shifting toward Russia. It illustrates the darker side of this conflict. The meaningless loss of life for financial gain. While Zelenskyy feels the sting, it could be Trump’s isolationism proves Europe can make its own decisions as the true cause remains freedom. Now here’s Noah Waters with more.
Reporter Noah Waters – Pacific Northwest Accent
Honolulu, Hawaii
Trump’s sudden turn against Zelensky came as a shock to many Americans. It shouldn’t have.
This story by Meduza originally appeared on their website February 20, 2025. This article has been edited for time:
https://meduza.io/en/feature/2025/02/20/trump-s-sudden-turn-against-zelensky-came-as-a-shock-to-many-americans-it-shouldn-t-have
It’s hard to overstate the shock that Donald Trump’s recent attacks on Volodymyr Zelensky have caused among Ukraine’s supporters. In the three years since Moscow started the full-scale war, Washington has positioned itself as Kyiv’s strongest ally. The 2022 invasion initially appeared to breathe new life into the transatlantic alliance, and for a time, support for Ukraine even became a rare bipartisan issue in the United States. But judging by numerous statements from his former associates, Trump’s feelings about Zelensky were shaped long before support for Ukraine became an American political football.
On February 18, Trump called into question Zelensky’s legitimacy, echoing rhetoric that Russian officials and propagandists have been repeating since the start of the full-scale invasion. Trump even went so far as to falsely accuse Zelensky of causing the war, saying that Ukraine “should have never started it” and “could have made a deal.”
A day later, the U.S. president doubled down on his attacks, calling Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and suggesting he profited from Moscow’s invasion. The tirade was remarkable coming not only from the U.S. president but from the leader of a party whose elected officials extolled Zelensky’s heroism — and contrasted him with Putin — in the war’s early days.
Trump’s remarks, made just a week after his warm words for Vladimir Putin following their first phone call of his new term, shocked many in both the U.S. and Ukraine.
Even the Kremlin was surprised by Trump’s comments.
With Moscow occupying about a fifth of Ukraine and the Ukrainian military on the back foot, the American president’s leverage over Zelensky today is significantly greater than it was in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has said little about what demands they would make of Russia as part of a potential ceasefire deal. “I think the Russians want to see the war end… But I think they have the cards a little bit, because they’ve taken a lot of territory, so they have the cards,” Trump told journalists on Wednesday.
Open access granted by Meduza on war related content.
Back to you Cyrus.
Thanks Noah.
It’s a high price for peace in Ukraine. However, rare earth minerals could be the fuel for weapons to battle on the front line. This President keeping his options open while cleaning the books for a fresh start on foreign policy.
Domestically, Elon Musk and DOGE are helping to fill headlines with budget cuts they claim could put money back in the pocket of American Taxpayers. Once again though, these efforts could help competitive nations overseas as Chamorra Gofigan reports.
Reporter Chamorra Gofigan – American Accent
Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands
Hello Cyrus.
How does China benefit from Donald Trump’s shutdown of USAID?
Chinese online nationalists are echoing Elon Musk's false claims about USAID.
This story by Oiwan Lam originally appeared on Global Voices’ website February 18, 2025. This article has been edited for time:
https://globalvoices.org/2025/02/18/how-does-china-benefit-from-donald-trumps-shutdown-of-usaid/
United States President Donald Trump’s move to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID) at the beginning of his second term in January 2025 has shaken the world as its humanitarian and development programs covered more than 100 countries at the time of its shutdown.
Soon after freezing the agency’s operation, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Trump’s top adviser and controversial billionaire Elon Musk, moved in to investigate the alleged “corruption” and “mismanagement” of the governmental agency.
Among those who can benefit from the new policy, many political analysts are turning their eyes toward China, anticipating that the authoritarian country will take advantage of the shutdown decision.
While it is too soon to see if China will replace the US in terms of geopolitical leadership, Beijing is happy to see the dismantling of the USAID, with its online nationalists echoing and amplifying Elon Musk’s conspiracy theories and false claims about the agency. Here is a popular Weibo post about USAID:
Musk has officially shut down USAID and revealed serious crimes committed by the agency, including sponsoring bio-weapons such as the COVID-19 virus and other anti-human viruses, supporting terrorists, the color revolution, and intervening in other countries’ internal affairs.
On Twitter, Elon Musk accused USAID of funding bioweapon research, including the COVID-19 virus in China. His groundless claim was taken as fact and went viral on Chinese social media.
As the Trump administration continues to attack USAID’s projects to justify the US's withdrawal from international development work, it also fuels smear campaigns backed by authoritarian governments against civil society organizations to demonize their work. That's why the Chinese online nationalists are cheering for Trump and Musk.
Creative Common License 3.0.
Sending it back to you Cyrus.
Thanks Chamorra.
It’s been a wild couple of weeks since Trump returned to power. West Coast Milblogger supports a balanced budget for national defense. At this time, DOGE has supposedly saved more than 51 billion dollars. That’s a lot of money and there’s a long way to go as America maintains a debt of more than 36 trillion dollars.
Here’s another statistic. So far DOGE has saved more than 345-dollars per taxpayer while each taxpayer remains 323-thousand dollars in debt.
We hope you enjoyed this episode of West Coast Milblogger. Remember to subscribe, like, and share. Keep it safe out there. Next up, the last Rabbit Burrow Descent for a while featuring an ode to David Lynch. That’s Wednesday at noon right here on @WestCoastMilblogger.
Thank you,
Cyrus Emerson
For more analysis on the war in Ukraine check out Combat Vet News:
https://www.combatvetnews.com
For more analysis on the war in Ukraine check out Denys Davydov:
https://www.youtube.com/@DenysDavydov
For more analysis on the war in Ukraine check out Jake Broe:
https://www.youtube.com/@JakeBroe
From A to Z Merch now available:
https://from-a-to-z-merch.printify.me/products
