news

background on the two michaels was that in 2018 canada arrested the huawei CEO meng wanzhou at the behest of the US and china retaliated by arresting the two michaels (both diplomat/lanyard types) in China for spying. 3 years or so later in 2021, meng was released and then so were the michaels. during this period there was all kinds of righteous indignation and histrionics from canadian media and politicians across the major canadian political parties about how eeeevil and authortarian the chinese government is to arrest poor smol bean diplomats.

the new to me element of this story is that subsequent to his release, michael spavor sued the canadian government for making him accessory to espionage in China and successfully settled out of court for about $7m CAD. his case was basically that he was used as an unwitting dupe, sharing information about north korea to the other michael and on to Canada. This particular issue of canadian policy putting diplomats in a grey area position where they are doing espionage while under diplomatic cover was the subject of a government watchdog report (article summarizing report) about how much canada fucked up on this. This report was completed in 2021 but wasn't publicly released until end of 2023, long after the story had died down.

in short, the two michaels were definitely spies, albeit one unwittingly so. this is evidenced by Canada settling for millions of dollars with the unwitting michael out of court and is supported by a report authored by a Canadian watchdog organization that is part of the federal government. all the fearmongering and histrionics about china arresting spies was bullshit and nonsense as demonstrated by the statements and actions of the canadian federal government. this whole incident was incurred by Canada following a vassal relationship with the US, not because of Chinese perfidy.

yet again, the news here is that a canadian federal body is explicitly admitting that this is nothing. more fearmongering and bullshit. good thing they endangered a bunch of chinese canadians though.

Troops were starting to see money deposited into their accounts on Tuesday a few days after the Defense Department said that it was moving $8 billion out of research and development funds to dish out paychecks amid the ongoing government shutdown. Pay day officially occurs on the 1st and 15th of every month for service members, but some military-focused banks can deposit paychecks up to two days early if the military provides them payment notification ahead of time. The payments come as the government shutdown reaches its second week. Troops and their families feared missing their mid-month paycheck for days, prompting an enormous surge in loan requests to banks and military relief societies, as well as an uptick in military food pantry lines. While paychecks are starting to arrive, troops and their families are not out of the financial woods yet. Congress remains gridlocked over the shutdown and has yet to pass a stand-alone bill that would ensure troops get money for the next paycheck on Nov. 1 should the government closure continue.

“I’m feeling a little better but obviously worried about the future,” one Army specialist, who received his full paycheck in the correct amount, said Tuesday. Another soldier, an officer, told Task & Purpose he was paid but recieved a thousand dollars short of his full paycheck. It is unclear how many paychecks have been issued or how many troops have received inaccurate pay. The Defense Department did not answer specific questions from Task & Purpose on the details of the current round of paychecks, but an official re-affirmed that the re-purposed research money “will be used to issue mid-month paychecks to service members in the event the funding lapse continues past October 15th.”

A long shutdown could impact later pay periods

On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said “we’re barreling toward one of the longest shutdowns in American history,” according to The Hill. Unless Congress can agree to pass a budget and reopen the government, troops may be again facing fears about a missed paycheck two weeks from now. An Air Force official confirmed to Task & Purpose that airmen began receiving pay on Tuesday, and should expect their full paychecks. An Army official said soldiers also were starting to be paid Tuesday. The Marine Corps declined to comment, referring the publication to the Defense Finance Accounting Service and citing the lapse in appropriations as the reason it could not answer the pay inquiries. The Navy did not respond by press time. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that members of the Coast Guard “will not miss a paycheck this week” due to legislation passed into law in July.

Some PCS moves on hold

But while the Pentagon appears to have found at least a short-term fix for military pay, some permanent-change-of-station moves for troops and their families appear to be on hold. The effect may differ by service. The Air Force official said that airmen who have PCS orders from before the shutdown can execute their moves, but those who received orders to move after Oct. 1 are on hold. Stars & Stripes reported over the weekend that the Army suspended even in-progress PCS moves during the shutdown – regardless of when those orders were issued – leaving some families in an uncertain state of flux. The Air Force official said that troops applying for PCS reimbursements – money paid from their own pockets during a military-ordered moves – should be refunded soon, as those funds were allocated from previous fiscal year funding. But delays in reimbursement may occur at finance offices staffed with civilians who are furloughed throughout the shutdown, meaning that there are less people to process those payments.

Troops turn to unit leaders

Amid the concerns over missed pay, troops have rushed to apply for loans through military-themed banks and relief societies to hold them over. The Army specialist said that while he is still concerned about the future, his leadership “has been amazing through this.” A senior enlisted leader at his unit acknowledged the financial constraints and his commander helped this soldier push for a loan with the Army Emergency Relief organization in less than a day. “[It] was really good to see a senior NCO speak on something like that,” the specialist said. “But truthfully, it’s affecting all of us I feel, so I’m sure it’s not lost on leadership where ‘Joe’ and junior NCO/officer[s] [are] financially.”

Seems like these Army Emergency Relief loans are at least zero-interest, so they're not driving all the troops into debt... yet. I assume there's probably only so much money stashed away, and if things continue people are going to get denied and have to look to other loan sources which won't be zero-interest...