The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | February 20th, 2024: Houthi Attack Nearly Sinks Cargo Ship & Blinken Lectures Staff On Pronouns And 'Misgendering'

Episode Date: February 20, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     In one of the most damaging attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea to date, the Iran-backed Houthis forced the crew of a British cargo vessel to abandon ship after a missile strike severely damaged their boat. We’ll discuss an internal memo circulated by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that calls gender a social construct and implores employees to refrain from “misgendering” their colleagues. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.     Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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It's Tuesday, 20 February. Welcome to the PDB Afternoon Bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, the Houthis have struck again in the Red Sea, this time nearly sinking a cargo vessel and forcing the crew to evacuate to safety. Also, we'll discuss an internal memo circulated by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that calls gender a, quote, social construct and instructs employees to refrain from misgendering

their colleagues. Because, as listeners of the PDB know, there's absolutely nothing of concern happening overseas that the State Department needs to focus on. So it's actually a good time to sit and stare at their collective naval. But first, our afternoon spotlight. In one of the most damaging attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea to date, the Iran-backed Houtis forced the crew of a British cargo vessel to abandon ship after a missile strike resulted in severe damage. The attack came on Sunday evening, when one of two anti-ship ballistic missiles launched from Yemen struck the cargo ship Ruby Marr, causing extensive damage and prompting the crew to make an immediate distress call, and that's according to a report by the New York Times. Officials with U.S. Central Command

said a coalition warship, along with another merchant vessel, responded to the distress call and helped evacuate the crew from the ship. The crew was subsequently taken to a nearby port in Shibouti by the merchant vessel. Now, a Houthi military spokesman and was quick to confirm the attack on Monday, claiming a missile barrage from Yemen had brought the ship to a complete halt, adding that the ship was likely at risk of sinking. Despite the damage as of Tuesday, the Houthi attack did not appear to actually sink the cargo vessel. A security firm, overseeing safety for that ship, said, quote, we know she was taking in water, there's nobody on board now, and the owners and managers are considering options for towage.

The Iranian-funded and armed Houthis have carried out relentless missile and drone assaults on merchant vessels in the Red Sea ever since the Israel-Hamas conflict began, and their disrupting trade in a channel that accounts for nearly 15% of global maritime traffic. The U.S. and U.S. and U.K. have since launched a number of counterstrikes against Houthi facilities in Yemen, but so far, obviously, they've done little. to deter Houthi aggression. The attacks have yet to result in any deaths or caused any vessels to sink. However, as the attacks continue, many shipping companies have opted to send their vessels around the southern tip of Africa instead of through the Red Sea. And obviously this is a

much longer and more expensive journey that experts say is already having ripple effects on the global economy. The Houthis initially said that they were only targeting ships owned by Israelis, or sailing from Israeli ports. However, in reality, their attacks have impacted vessels from a variety of nations. The cargo ship Ruby Mar, subject to this group's latest attack, was flying the flag of Belize, was British registered, and was managed by a Lebanese company. Monday's attack also came as the Houthis claimed to have shot down a US MQ9 Reaper drone over the Yemeni port of Hudaida.

However, it's unclear if it was successfully targeted or if it crashed, and the U.S. military says it's still investigating. The Houthis last shot down a Reaper drone in November. And by the way, the price tag on a Reaper drone, just in case you were thinking of picking one up, is roughly $32 million. We're also learning that the Houthis are beginning to employ more specialized weapons in their attacks, which they've likely acquired with the aid of, yes, you guessed it, Iran. Officials confirmed that the Houthis used an unmanned submarine in an attack on Saturday for the first time. This prompted the U.S. to launch five what they referred to as self-defense strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, as well as against the unmanned submarine. The U.S. strikes successfully destroyed the underwater vessel, along with three mobile anti-ship cruise missiles and one unmanned surface vessel. All right, coming up after the break, we'll discuss an internal memo,

circulated by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that calls gender a social construct and instructs employees to refrain from misgendering their colleagues. I'll be right back. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. Now, the U.S. State Department has a lot of pressing issues to deal with these days. Wars on multiple continents, an increasingly aggressive Iran intent on destabilizing the Middle East, a porous southern border that requires careful diplomacy with our neighbors to the south, and an ascendant and increasingly aggressive China that insists on projecting

its power in the Far East and beyond. And those are just a few items on their to-do list. But fear not, amidst all the global turmoil, the State Department's leadership, still apparently, has sufficient bandwidth to address one of the most pressing issues of our time. According to a new report, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has been busy tackling the issue of misgendering, or at least, let's put it this way. He's got the time to sign off on a memo undoubtedly drafted by the DEI overlords currently inhabiting the department. In an internal memo obtained by National Review entitled that I'm not making this memo title up, modeling DEIA gender identity best practices, Blinken warns State Department employees to refrain from using

gendered terms in official communications. The goal, Blinken claimed, is to, quote, increase understanding of gender identity and provide guidance on gender identity language and best practices that support an inclusive work environment. End quote. In the February 5th memo, Blinken informed staffers that gender is a social construct and that gender identity is a person's quote, innermost concept of self, as masculine, feminine, a blend of both, or neither, or whatever, which, according to the memo, quote, may or may not, correspond with one's sex assigned at birth. It's assigned at birth. Someone comes in and just assigns it randomly. The memo goes on to say that making assumptions about another person's gender identity,

based on their appearance or name, can be, quote, problematic, and send a whole. harmful exclusionary message." The memo instructs staffers to use gender-neutral language whenever possible and to avoid problematic gendered terms. As an example, instead of using the word manpower, oh, don't use that, you should use labor force. The memo goes on to instruct, instead of greeting people with ladies and gentlemen, sorry, I will read this with a straight face.

You should try folks. or you all. Now here at the BDB, we suggest you could actually save time by shortening that to y'all. Or how about simply, hey you? Now, clearly, boys and girls is right out. And don't even think about, I don't know, guys and dolls.

Dude? Nope. Dame? Uh-uh. Broad? Oh, come on. I don't think so. Fella? Wrong again. And the memo clearly advises don't even think about using the term, you guys. The memo continues. I can't stop reading the memo. The memo continues. Avoid terms like mother and father, son and daughter, and husband and wife.

The memo suggests replacing such problematic terms, and they are problematic, with parent, child, spouse, or partner. The memo also suggests that State Department employees should include their pronouns in their email's signatures. That's very important. and when introducing themselves in meetings to, quote, show respect and avoid misunderstandings. Well, that is actually the meaning of diplomacy, I suppose, isn't it? Blinken, or rather his appointed DEI gurus, they go on to offer some commonly used pronouns, like she her, he, him, yeah, we're all familiar with those, they, them, and of course everyone's favorite, Zee, jure.

And you wonder if the government is spending your tax dollars wisely. Finally, the memo is careful to tell employees not to pressure someone to state their pronouns, don't do that, and to handle mistakes with, quote, subtlety and grace, which is how they should have handled this memo, and to always remember that gender identity may be fluid, so remain attuned to and supportive of shifts and pronouns. That's the last bit I'll cover of the memo. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Tuesday, February. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at PDB at thefirsttv.com. But be sure to refer to me by my preferred pronouns, which this week are the chosen one or

he who hosts the brief. I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed, stay safe, stay cool. Ryan Reynolds here from MintMobil. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistance assistants assistants switch you to MintMobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available.

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