None of the major newspapers that published editorials in response to the Trump Administration"s airstrikes on Syria criticized the attack or questioned whether Assad first attacked his own people.
The post This Is The Problem: Out of Top 100 News Outlets, Not a Single One Questioned Syrian Attack appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
The Trump administration has blamed the Russian government for a series of cyber attacks targeting American and European nuclear power plants and other critical utilities dating back at least two years – raising fears that the Kremlin could disrupt the West’s critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict.
The hackers also targeted the overall energy sector, along with commercial facilities, aviation, manufacturing and the water supply, according to a U.S. security alert published Thursday.
The Department of Homeland Security and FBI said in the alert that a “multi-stage intrusion campaign by Russian government cyber actors” had targeted the networks of small commercial facilities “where they staged malware, conducted spear phishing, and gained remote access into energy sector networks.” The alert did not name facilities or companies targeted. –Reuters
The report says that Russians used various hacking techniques, including spear-phishing emails, watering-hole domains, credential gathering and open-source and network reconnaissance.
Russian hackers made their way to machines with access to critical control systems at power plants that were not identified. The hackers never went so far as to sabotage or shut down the computer systems that guide the operations of the plants.
Still, new computer screenshots released by the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday made clear that Russian state hackers had the foothold they would have needed to manipulate or shut down power plants. –NYT
“We now have evidence they’re sitting on the machines, connected to industrial control infrastructure, that allow them to effectively turn the power off or effect sabotage,” said Eric Chien, a security technology director at Symantec, who added “From what we can see, they were there. They have the ability to shut the power off. All that’s missing is some political motivation.”
The New York Times notes that “American officials and security firms, including Symantec and CrowdStrike, believe that Russian attacks on the Ukrainian power grid in 2015 and 2016 that left more than 200,000 citizens there in the dark are an ominous sign of what the Russian cyberstrikes may portend in the United States and Europe in the event of escalating hostilities.”
Meanwhile, Thursday’s announcement from DHS marks the first official claim that the Kremlin attacked the power grid.
It was the first time the administration officially named Russia as the perpetrator of the assaults. And it marked the third time in recent months that the White House, departing from its usual reluctance to publicly reveal intelligence, blamed foreign government forces for attacks on infrastructure in the United States. –NYT
Vikram Thakur of Symantec Security Response said that gaining access to networks tied to various segments of U.S. infrastructure is extremely difficult, adding that cyberattacks like the ones described in the DHS announcement have the potential to cause significant damage.
“The only thing that holds an attacker back is political motivation,” Thakur told CNN, adding “Usually the bar for flipping the switch is extremely high.”
The announcement coincided with the U.S. Treasury Department’s Thursday decision to slap sanctions on 19 Russians and five groups – including the Kremlin’s intelligence services for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, along with various other cyber crimes.
Russia has previously denied the charges.
In December, 2016 the Washington Post erroneously reported that Russian hackers had penetrated the electric grid in Vermont using malicious code associated with the hacking operation dubbed “Grizzly Steppe” by the Obama administration. WaPo corrected the story 48 hours later with the publication of a new article.
Last July, however, the Department of Homeland Security reported that the Wolf Creek Nuclear Operating corp in Kansas had been targeted by hackers in one of several breaches of U.S. nuclear plants. Hackers were thought to be mapping out computer networks for future attacks, according to the Times.
That said, there has been a fair amount of pushback against the administration’s claims of Russian hacking by both the Wolf Creek plant and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
Spokeswoman Jenny Hageman declined to say at the time if the plant had been hacked but said that there had been no operational impact to the plant because operational computer systems were separate from the corporate network.Hageman on Thursday said the company does not comment on security matters.
John Keeley, a spokesman for the industry group the Nuclear Energy Institute, said: “There has been no successful cyber attack against any U.S. nuclear facility, including Wolf Creek.” –Reuters
Meanwhile, watch out – China is beefing up their cyberweapons…
Via Zero Hedge
The post Russia blamed for attacks on U.S. power grid starting in 2016 appeared first on Intellihub.
(ANTIMEDIA Op-ed) — John Bolton’s inclusion in the Trump administration as Donald Trump’s new national security advisor is nothing short of a nightmare. Bolton, a former U.N. ambassador under George W. Bush, will be replacing General H.R. McMaster as Trump’s national security advisor, who replaced former “disgraced” national security advisor Michael Flynn. When the president struck a Syrian […]
(ANTIMEDIA Op-ed) — John Bolton’s inclusion in the Trump administration as Donald Trump’s new national security advisor is nothing short of a nightmare. Bolton, a former U.N. ambassador under George W. Bush, will be replacing General H.R. McMaster as Trump’s national security advisor, who replaced former “disgraced” national security advisor Michael Flynn. When the president struck a Syrian […]
“I’m perplexed by the nomination of people who love the Iraq War so much that they would advocate for a war with Iran next,” Rand Paul said.
The post Rand Paul Blasts Trump for Appointing “War Loving” Neocons, Threatens to Filibuster Nominees appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
While the media focuses on Trump"s lack of support for an increase in age requirements for gun owners, his support for a bill that would put every American"s Second Amendment rights in jeopardy has been ignored.
The post Media Silent as Trump Administration Gives Power Over Gun Control to Federal Agencies appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
Members of Congress are revealing that the day after the election, top FBI officials sent text messages referencing a "secret society" within the intelligence community.
The post Congressmen Just Exposed FBI’s ‘Secret Society’ They Uncovered in Official Messages appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
While Trump is correct in accusing the mainstream media of spreading false information and misleading the public, WikiLeaks pointed out that Trump himself has the same reputation.
Authored by Darius Shahtahmasebi via TheAntiMedia.org,
As Israel prepares for yet another war directly on its border, the truth about Israel’s vast military capabilities has been largely absent in the corporate media.
However, if one were to be fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to be able to travel to Israel’s border with Syria in the north and the Gaza strip in the south, they might see what looks more or less like a scene from RoboCop.
Israel is the first country in the world to use unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to not only patrol its borders but also to replace soldiers on missions, as well. The new Border Patroller model can be armed with remote-controlled weapons, reconnaissance means, and additional components that cannot be fitted on the traditional Guardium model it had been using for years prior.
The robot is also able to patrol underground and gather information for units that are present on the surface. For example, it can help soldiers avoid booby-trapped tunnels.
These robots can be given pre-designated routes for their patrol, making them more or less autonomous.
According to the New York Post:
“The increasing use of robots by the Israel Defense Forces is part of a larger strategy to minimize risk to soldiers when possible. In addition, soldiers require breaks, food and water. All a Guardium needs is a full tank of gas. Other UGVs in use by the IDF include the Segev, which is based on a Ford F-350 pickup truck.”
However, this is only the beginning of Israel’s robotic capabilities. As the Post notes, the same thing is happening in the water, too.
Israeli defense contractor Rafael has developed an unmanned patrol ship that is currently defending Israel’s strategic ports and patrolling the coastline.
Israel also has advanced a “drone that can reach Iran,” an unmanned aerial vehicle that can stay airborne for 24 hours and is believed to be capable of launching air-to-surface missiles. Israel has also deployed satellites far smaller than American ones that can discern objects as small as 20 inches from hundreds of miles away.
If that wasn’t enough, the small nation has also developed a tank that more or less comes with its own personal missile defense system.
Earlier this year, Defense News reported that Israel is readying its Iron Dome defense system for its first intercept test in the U.S., which is aimed at selecting an interim solution for a medium and short-range air defense system.
Not to mention that according to former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s leaked emails, the country has at least 200 nuclear weapons “all targeted on Tehran.”
So why is Israel going to such great lengths to modernize its army far beyond that of any other country?
As the New York Post explains:
“Due to Israel’s small size and lack of territory, all ballistic missiles deployed in the region — Syria, Iraq and Iran — can reach anywhere within the country and pose a strategic and possibly even existential threat. Israel, the developers argued, needed a system that could shoot down enemy missiles over neighboring countries and provide overall protection for the tiny Jewish state.”
In fact, a top Israeli general has already admitted that the country cannot fight Iran alone and would instead seek to rely on American help to take on the Islamic Republic if a direct conflict should ever arise.
So, are Israel’s advances in military technology purely defensive and for deterrence purposes only, or does the country’s leadership have something far more preemptive in mind in the coming years under the Trump administration?
Only time will tell, but one way or the other, these vast technological developments will be frightening for the civilians caught in the middle, to say the least.
In a decision that was widely anticipated, the Trump administration has decided to end immigration protections for Haitians who migrated to the US following a devastating earthquake that laid waste to Haiti back in 2010.
Now, the 50,000 Haitians still living in the US under the protections have 18 months to leave, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
As the Washington Post pointed out, the decision was made to appease immigration hard-liners who insist the program was never intended to grant permanent residency to Haitians who were displaced by the quake.
Per the Los Angeles Times, back in May, John F. Kelly, who was DHS secretary at the time, said that conditions in Haiti had improved enough that the US would be unlikely to continue extending the temporary protection. At the time, he extended Haitians’ protected status for six months, but urged them to prepare to leave the US
Unsurprisingly, many heeded this warning. Following Trump’s upset victory in last year’s election, thousands of Haitians started crossing into Quebec, where they requested asylum. Indeed, the wave of migrants into Canada since the election has strained Canadian public services to the limit and bogged down the country’s system for approving asylum requests, leaving many in an uncomfortable legal limbo. In the meantime, hundreds of Haitians are living in makeshift shelters in Montreal, and elsewhere in the province.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine C. Duke reaffirmed that decision Monday, but provided an 18-month delay, until July 22, 2019, before the order to leave will become effective. Some of the Haitians currently covered by temporary status will be able to stay if they have other claims for legal immigration status, administration officials said.
An estimated 3 million Haitians were affected by the 2010 quake, which had its epicenter near the town of Leogane. Death toll estimates ranged from 100,000 to 160,000.
One week ago, Jan Loeys - the person who wrote "The JPMorgan View" for 15 years - announced his exit, as he transitioned from tactical asset allocation to longer-term strategy, and that he would be handing over the authorship to John Normand, and soon Nikos Panigirtzoglou and Marko Kolanovic, but not before summarizing what he has learned in 30 years of investing in a must-read bulletin which he published last week.
In any case, this weekend it was Normand"s turn to regale JPM"s countless retail and institutional clients with a preview of the upcoming key "spoilers" which according to Normand boil down to 3: a reality check on US tax reform, weaker-than-expected China data, and a Russian rethink on extending oil cuts. Not surprisingly, JPM focuses on the first issue, because as Norman writes, "tax overhaul seems the most complicated market driver given its fluid composition and tortuous legislative process."
By contrast, China’s slowdown looks familiar and was already part of our economists’ baseline; hence, our neutral recommendation on base metals ex aluminum. The November 30th oil producers’ summit is not a drop-dead date for extending their year-old agreement, but we took profits anyway on a long Brent trade last week because oil’s geopolitical premium looked excessive.
For those curious what the largest US bank thinks will be dominant events over the balance of the month, here it is straight from the horse"s mouth.
How much tax reform is priced?
Readers of The J.P. Morgan View may realize that this edition is the first in 15 years without Jan Loeys as lead author. Jan has transitioned from tactical asset allocation to longer-term strategy. The View will now be authored by a different team, which hopefully maintains Jan’s succinctness and relevance while introducing complementary approaches to cross-asset strategy.
The growth trade that has dominated markets since late summer – higher yields, equities and commodities; tighter credit spreads and lower volatility – has stalled for a third-consecutive week, depending on one’s benchmark. US small cap stocks, probably the best barometer of US tax reform hopes, peaked in early October. Base metals began moving lower a week later. Most major stock indices are flat-to-down over the past week while credit spreads have widened (US high-grade +5bp, US high yield +20bp) and volatility has rallied (VIX +2%, VXY +0.5%) To be sure, these retracements are trivial relative to what risky markets have delivered year-to-date: returns are still running at least twice their long-term average for most equity markets, and in some EM sectors (local bonds, FX carry).
Multiple spoilers are converging in November, such as a reality check on US tax reform, weaker-than-expected China data, a Russian rethink on extending oil cuts. We’ll focus on the first issue, because tax overhaul seems the most complicated market driver given its fluid composition and tortuous legislative process. By contrast, China’s slowdown looks familiar and was already part of our economists’ baseline; hence, our neutral recommendation on base metals ex aluminum. The November 30th oil producers’ summit is not a drop-dead date for extending their year-old agreement, but we took profits anyway on a long Brent trade last week because oil’s geopolitical premium looked excessive.
The central question around tax reform should be What’s priced? Obviously the higher the expectations, the less upside on stocks and maybe bond yields and the dollar into year-end if Congress meets its somewhat unprecedented timetable of passage by Christmas. Conversely, another stalemate as befell healthcare reform could trigger a decent correction. We call Congress"s schedule somewhat unprecedented because proper tax overhaul like Reagan"s involving both lower rates and simplification required over 10 months to agree, as measured from the first House vote to Presidential signature. Just cutting taxes has been easier: Clinton’s initiatives in 1997 and Bush"s in 2001 and 2003 only required two months.
The Trump Administration has proposed Reagan-like reform, but our economists’ view has been that Congress will probably only manage Bush-like cuts. This means $1.5trn of gross unfunded tax reductions over 10 years, but more like $1trn net due to expiring provisions. These sums translate into little growth impulse once considered in annual increments, then discounted further to account for household and corporate tendencies to save some portion of tax givebacks. JPM Economics didn"t raise 2017 or long-term growth estimates after Trump"s election, nor after his tax proposal emerged in October. We’re still at 2.2% yoy for 2018.
Strangely given surging news trends around the tax topic, most survey and market-based measures suggest limited optimism. For example, consensus growth expectations (Blue Chip survey) have barely moved since the election. In January 2017, forecasters expected 2018 US growth of about 2.4%; that projection only risen to 2.5% since. It’s true that the S&P500’s forward P/E multiple has risen by about two points since the election, but EPS projections for 2018 (IBES basis) have not – they’ve been in a $146-$148/share range since November 2016. The implied 10% year-on-year growth in earnings next year would match 2017’s pace, even next year should deliver stimulus. By contrast, our Equity strategists think that just lowering the statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% would add $12/share boost to any baseline.
It’s easy to get lost in all things Middle East, especially concerning the chaotic events that unfolded over the weekend in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.
Three days after the most stunning purge in recent Saudi history - which was really a countercoup, that led to the arrest of dozen of Saudi Arabian royals, ministers and businessmen to further the control of the Kingdom - Saudi Arabia called Yemen’s missile launch on Riyadh an ‘act of war’ by Iran, and also played victim by saying Lebanon has declared war against the Kingdom.
How to make sense of this all?
An author on twitter by the handle Black Pigeon Speaks beautifully outlines today’s events in an easy to understand video titled: PAX AMERICANA, PetroDollar & the Coming CRISIS in the GULF…
The author of the video focuses on the Middle East and says a perfect storm is gathering upon the horizon, as the whole world is changing and the only way to change it for the better is to understand the world around you.
The video opens up with a brief understanding of the stunning purge in Saudi Arabia and how it has cleared any potential obstacles for King Salman’s son ascension to the throne.
This was done by a widespread arrest of royals, ministers and businessmen who have large sums of money and control key parts of the economy and parts of the military. Such an unorthodox move is bound to force internal conflict with-in the country that could very well spillover.
In the next section, the author says “this comes all at a time of seeming change for the Kingdom”. Allowing women to drive was merely a window dressing event and the real issue is the country’s economic transition away from oil. The problem resides around the world’s most generous social welfare systems of which most citizens do not work. The money transfer from state to citizens is similar to the United States social programs, but the objective in Saudi Arabia has been to sedate the populace from expressing any collective opposition to the kingdom. It is easy to understand how fragile the house of Saud really is….
Moreover as what was highlighted by the recent arm sales via the Trump administration. The country is armed with the most technological weapons in the world, as it has completely abandoned the line of succession through a stunning weekend purge.
The idea that Saudi Arabia is trying to cement a new era for the kingdom at the expense of those who have been purged could pose serious problems. And how the author puts it, “you have a recipe for civil war– for two reasons:
The outlook for Saudi Arabia is bleak and in our view, the conditions are perfect for a civil war. The probability of an expansionist war also increases as the kingdom has Iran and Lebanon in its crosshairs.
As our elected officials in Washington D.C. continue to debate whether or not Trump"s proposed border wall would be an effective deterrent to those looking to come to the U.S. illegally, the one thing that is becoming increasingly clear is that Mexico"s drug wars are spiraling out of control...a fact that the Trump administration will almost certainly leverage as it seeks additional funding for border security. As PanAmPost notes, Mexico has recorded a staggering 24,000 homicides in 2017 through September with 73% of those murders being tied to organized crime.
2017 might be the most violent year in Mexican history, one NGO claims. Semáforo Delictivo said that, due to the 24,000 homicides between January and September, the year is proving even worse than 2011, when President Felipe Calderón’s war on drugs led to 22,000 homicides.
President of the organization, Santiago Roel, said that 73 percent of murders committed in the first eight months of the year were related to organized crime. He said that in 2007, there were 2,828 executions. Now, a decade later, 18,017 have been reported.
All high-impact crimes have increased during the current year, including abductions, homicides and grand theft auto at gunpoint. According to Roel, the main cause of violence and corruption is the “Mérida Plan,” which focuses on eradicating drug cartels.
Califica Semáforo Delictivo al 2017 como el peor año en inseguridad en el país pic.twitter.com/64AsbqNKZt
— Marco A.Tlatelpa (@LicMarcoATR) October 24, 2017
Moreover, some 85,000 insured vehicles have been stolen over the past 12 months, with 60% being considered "violent".
According to the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions, violent car robberies are at their highest point in the country’s history. Between October 2016 and September 2017, 85,943 insured cars have been stolen. Sixty percent of the robberies were violent.
Recaredo Arias, the association’s Director General, said that elements of organized crime have been identified in these cases, and that more urgent measures are needed to combat the problem.
The states of Guerrero, Sinaloa, Mexico City, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Michoacán, Zacatecas, Morelos, Tabasco and Tamaulipas, have the highest numbers of violent car thefts, he said.
Meanwhile, as Fox News pointed out earlier this week, the drug wars south of the border are seemingly on the precipice of becoming way more sophisticated after 4 men were arrested by federal police carrying a drone equipped with an improvised explosive device wired for remote detonation.
The recent arrest in Mexico of four men carrying a drone equipped with an improvised explosive device "ready to be detonated" has stoked fears drug cartels could soon target the U.S. with bombs from above.
Mexican Federal Police arrested four men Oct. 20 in Guanajuanto who were driving a stolen vehicle equipped with a 3DR Solo Quadcopter drone attached to an IED, Small Wars Journal reported. The drone had a range of about half a mile, but modifications would have allowed it to fly farther.
State Attorney General Carlos Zamarripa Aguirre confirmed the arrests and the IED attached to the drone.
Aguirre said authorities investigated the drone, which contained a “significant amount of explosive and was ready to be detonated from a distance,” AM reported.
"It is a drone," he said. "I have just confirmed that it is an explosive device, with a remote detonator and a large explosive charge."
En #Salamanca #Guanajuato la policía asegura a4 sujetos con arma larga, cargadores y un drone con explosivos adheridos. @Eloy_Arellano pic.twitter.com/QR9GUnhbY2
— TalaJalisco Noticias (@TalaNoticias) October 20, 2017
But, it"s probably nothing...certainly nothing that would rise to the level of requiring increased border security measures...
America is collapsing on almost every crucial level.
Our great universities, which were once a fortress of reason, are shamelessly responsible by producing men and women hell-bent on destroying our free nation. In the last decade especially, corruption has become so widespread in America that many citizens accept it as the norm.
This collapse of law and order didn’t occur overnight, even though it is fashionable to think so by blaming it on the Trump administration. It began years ago when educators systematically began to encourage student disrespect toward America by romanticizing globalism. The anarchy that I predicted in the 80s in my nationally acclaimed novel The Fire Within has today become a reality.
Many of the schemes to break down societal order, first tested and perfected in inner-city schools, have spread throughout the public school system, and into our great universities. This has left many parents bewildered and searching for an explanation.
The excuses often echoed by prominent educators and publications like Education Week are almost always the same with parental neglect, stagnant school spending, lack of diversity, and even racism usually getting top listing. Rarely are educators heard sharing the real reasons for the problem. Those credentialed men and women who have the knowledge and the willingness to shed light on what’s happening are not being allowed to speak out publicly. Whatever crucial information that they may have to share is silenced by disagreeable students and the endless blast of denial and propaganda from the mainstream media.
Our great universities, which have the skill to unite the country, are working hand-in-hand with the media to divide it. To circumvent this national trend, many prominent leaders committed to open dialogue and freedom of speech are boldly resisting this trend by attempting to speak out on campuses against the organized movement to silence them and to subvert freedom. What they are facing almost everywhere for their efforts is armed resistance.
The very institutions that once peacefully guarded our freedom and nurtured our independence are encouraging rioting. UCLA-Berkeley is an excellent example. In a Los Angeles Times article, one demonstrator, disturbed by the negative news coverage campus protestors were getting, wisely believed that such continued coverage would turn the public against the student movement. Unfortunately, the demonstrator didn’t seem to realize that this was exactly what the masterminds behind the rebellion wanted.
In order to break down order in a powerful country like America, they needed widespread discontent. The best way to do this was to train students in Alinsky-style protesting and turn one group against the other. As a young man, educated traditionally in the forties and fifties, I wasn’t prepared for the modern classroom. In my day, the schools were orderly, not a fist-fighting, pill-popping jungle.
Although I was sometimes smart enough to spot the mendacity and propaganda that was creeping into the schools during my school years, the schools were generally a safe place for traditional learning. Most students were taught to understand through education and hard work that they could realize their dreams. When I decided to teach in the sixties and seventies, I saw for the first time the raw reality of change, especially in inner-city schools.
Understanding the cause for this rising breakdown of order didn’t come easily for me. It took time – and much reading, thinking and testing to identify. Like so many teachers, I was concerned about the students’ freedom to run wild and to destroy property with immunity.
At first, I blamed the principal, attributing the disorder to his inability to motivate the students – until I realized that the principal was in place, not because of some accident, but because he was exactly the person needed by the system to advance such chaos. This was true, not just where I taught, but at other inner-city public schools as well. Many principles were used like pawns, carefully chosen, to set in motion activities that would accelerate the disintegration of education.
They did this by employing a myriad of activities, like mismatching teachers and subjects, encouraging student power, and supporting academic programs that would handicap learning. (Several examples of the latter included teaching the look-say reading method, the confusing new math system, and even revisionist history.)
To give purpose to the chaos that followed, ruthless teachers who thrived in failing classrooms were hired to advance their political agenda, in lieu of reading, writing, and arithmetic. When I finally stepped through the cloud of deception, carefully created to blur my understanding of the problem, I began to see a very dark force at play.
Quite by accident I came across Dr. Maria Montessori’s book, The Absorbent Mind, which was published many years earlier. This honest, and easy-to-read book immediately clarified the problem for me. Instead of advancing the moral relativity inherent in pragmatism, taught in most government schools, Dr. Montessori advanced a philosophy of education that respected the moral and intellectual growth of each child.
In my novel, The Fire Within, I identified these two diametrically opposing views of education and set them against each other to demonstrate what would happen when they were put into action. After publishing my book, I went on the road in the early 80s to promote it. Through hard-work and design I was booked by many talk shows, locally and nationally.
I believed then, as I do today, that the surest way to societal salvation begins with the right educational philosophy. This can best be achieved through an education system, like the Montessori system, which respects moral development and individual freedom.
Unfortunately, pragmatism, which basically conflicts with the Montessori system, has a stronghold on today’s education. Ending this stronghold isn’t going to be easy. But if we are to survive as a free and independent society, we must succeed. What is happening today all around us should convince us of the urgency.
Joe David is the author of numerous articles and six books, including The Fire Within and The Infidels. www.bfat.com
While the mainstream media focuses on anything but the current state of U.S. intervention in the Middle East, the Trump Administration is breaking records by accumulating a horrific number of civilian deaths.
Former President Obama earned the nickname of “Drone King” when he dramatically escalated the use of drone strikes, while also downplaying the number of innocent civilians who became “collateral damage.” In the two years that his administration devoted to publicly spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fight the Islamic State group, the estimated civilian death toll ranged from 2,300 to 3,400, according to Airwars, an organization tracking deaths in the war against ISIS.
During @BarackObama"s 29 months at helm of ISIS war we tracked 855 alleged civilian casualty events which likely killed 2298-3398 civilians pic.twitter.com/RUVvcy5zX9
— Airwars (@airwars) August 22, 2017
President Trump has been in office for just 9 months, and he has already surpassed Obama’s murderous record with estimated numbers as high as 4,500 civilian deaths.
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Trump made headlines in December 2015, when he declared that if elected, he would not only kill members of ISIS—he would also “take out their families.” He is following through on that promise, according to a report from Steven Feldstein, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
Feldstein noted that researchers have documented the rise of “frequent killing of entire families in likely coalition airstrikes” under the Trump Administration. This trend led to “the deaths of at least 57 women and 52 children in Iraq and Syria” in May.
READ MORE: It"s Official: NSA Data Will be Used for Domestic Policing that Has Nothing to Do With Terrorism
While this may come as no surprise, considering the fact that Trump promised to “bomb the hell out of ISIS” while on the campaign trail, his administration’s offensive against the Islamic State is not the only ongoing war that is killing civilians.
According to a report from United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documenting civilian causalities during the first half of 2017, “aerial operations” led to a “43 percent increase in civilian casualties compared to the first six months of 2016, including a 67 percent increase in civilian deaths.”
While Trump bragged about giving military commanders “total authorization” to make combat decisions in Afghanistan, Washington Rep. Adam Smith said he believes that this move is contributing to the increase in civilian deaths.
“You really have the military making decisions that were designed to be made by the civilian authorities running the military,” Smith said. “We’ve seen an increase in civilian casualties. … I think they’ve become a little too indiscriminate in what they’re doing.”
The report from Feldstein noted that the Trump Administration has “substantially escalated air strikes and bombings” and the U.S. military “has already used 20 percent more missiles and bombs in combined air operations in 2017 than in all of 2016.”
The alarmingly high civilian death toll has continued to build up over the months. For example, from May 23 to June 23 of this year, at least 472 civilians were killed by U.S. airstrikes. That is significantly more than the 459 civilians who have been killed by terrorist attacks in Europe—in the last 12 years.
READ MORE: US Proves Its Allegiance to Terrorism by Threatening War With Russia All to Protect ISIS
While the argument can be made that Trump is doing the same thing Hillary Clinton would have done if she was elected, the question has to asked as to how anyone can justify killing innocent civilians in the first place.
Obama surpassed Bush’s record, and now Trump has surpassed Obama’s record—but the only thing that has actually been “accomplished” is that thousands of innocent civilians have lost their lives, hundreds of thousands of civilians have lost their homes and their communities, and the civilians who do survive in the countries the United States is targeting now, will grow up hating America for destroying their home in the name of “Freedom.”
As previewed last night, when we reported that the US government would expel as many as 60% of Cuba"s Washington Embassy staff, on Tuesday morning the Trump administration announced Tuesday it will expel 15 Cuban diplomats from the U.S. in response to months of mysterious “health attacks” that have affected American personnel in Havana. The State Department said that the decision was made due to "Cuba"s failure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention."
A State Department official said the expulsions will ensure “we have equitable staffing levels” while still allowing the embassies to operate. The official would not confirm whether the percentage of Cubans expelled matches the U.S. staff cut in Havana. The Cuban officials were given seven days to leave Washington
The official also said the U.S. is maintaining diplomatic ties with Cuba, but warned Havana it will need its “full assurances” that U.S. diplomats will be protected in order to restore a full presence there.
“We have underscored repeatedly to the Cuban government its responsibility for the security, safety, [and] well-being” of our diplomats, the official said.
The announcement comes days after the U.S. pulled 60% of its embassy staff from the Cuban capital and is the latest sign of the worsening ties between the two former Cold War foes under President Trump.
As The Hill notes, the diplomatic tit-for-tat is a further blow to former President Obama’s effort to re-establish ties with Cuba after decades of isolation.
The move will likely please Cuban-American lawmakers in Washington, who have urged the Trump administration to expel Cuban diplomats over the attacks. But the emissaries are not being declared persona non grata, meaning they will avoid the most serious punishment for foreign diplomats.
On Tuesday, the State Department said that at least 22 U.S. embassy employees have been injured in the attacks. As reported previously, the affected diplomats had suffered loss of hearing, headaches and other symptoms. In response, the Cuban government denied it was behind any attack and has pledged to investigate the incidents. But so far, no culprit has been named. The Trump administration has not blamed the Castro government, but has repeatedly stated it bears responsibility for stopping them.
In addition to the embassy drawdown, the Trump administration has stopped issuing visas for Cubans seeking to visit the U.S. and issued a travel warning for Americans who want to visit Cuba. The U.S. also expelled two other Cuban diplomats in May over the attacks.
Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Havana have repeatedly flared under Trump, who has been eager to undo the detente achieved between Havana and the Trump administration. Over the summer, the president rolled back part of Obama’s Cuba policy, which he criticized as a “one-sided deal.” Cuban officials have predictably warned the move would damage relations between the two nations.
Donald Trump"s feud with San Juan mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz got an unexpected reinforcement today, when Former Puerto Rico Attorney General Jose Fuentes, a Republican, on Sunday took aim at Cruz, accusing her of attacking President Trump and using hurricane relief efforts to lay the groundwork for a gubernatorial bid.
Speaking on CNN"s "New Day", Fuentes accused Cruz of making an about-face, saying she supported Trump just a few days ago, until her political adviser suggested the idea of running for governor.
"The mayor of San Juan is a political hack," Fuentes said. "She was singing the praises of the president until her political adviser, [Rep.] Luis Gutiérrez from Chicago, got there and brought her the t-shirts and said, "Hey you want to run for governor, if she wants to run..." at which point the CNN anchor cut him off, pointing to audio issues, and claiming he could no longer hear Fuentes, handing over the mic to CNN"s Democratic Political Commentator Maria Cardona, who unleashed a scathing critique before somehow audio returned at which point Fuentes was once again given the platform, when he again repeated that any logistical problems were the result of political posturing by the San Juan mayor at which point both the CNN anchor and and Cardona doubled down their attack, and so on.
Watch CNN"s anchor shut down Fuentes 2 mins 38 seconds into the clip below.
Also on Sunday, FEMA administrator Brock Long defended the Trump administration"s response to the Puerto Rican humanitarian crisis, warning of a fragmented response if mayors do not take part in the relief effort. "If mayors decided not to be apart of that [relief effort] then the response is fragmented," Long told Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" in response to criticism from the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz.
"What I don"t have patience for is the fact that what we"re trying to do and we have successfully done is we"ve established a joint field office in San Juan. And you should go there, you should go see that operation, where we"re having daily conversations with all of the mayors, we"re working with the government and his leadership to create unified objectives," Long said. "We can choose to look at what the mayor spouts off or what other people spout off or we can also choose to see what"s actually being done," he continued.
For those who may have (blissfully) missed it, dominating the weekend newsflow (again), the Trump administration came under fire from critics who said it has failed to help Puerto Rico as it struggles with widespread power outages, collapsed infrastructure and ongoing shortages of water and supplies.
On Saturday, Trump launched a series of tweets attacking Cruz, and accusing the mayor of exhibiting poor leadership in the midst of the recovery efforts and claiming Puerto Rican leaders want the federal government to do everything for them. His tweets came one day after Cruz issued an emotional plea for help, saying people are dying on the American territory and blaming stalled recovery efforts on the federal government"s inefficiency and red tape.
"I will do what I never thought I was going to do. I am begging, begging anyone who can hear us to save us from dying. If anybody out there is listening to us, we are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency," Cruz said during a Friday press conference, just days after praising Washington"s response.
The president is scheduled to travel to the Hurricane devastated Puerto Rico on Tuesday.
After barely managing to scrape together the nearly $200 million needed to make a bond payment earlier this month (the country made the payment a week late), Embattled Venezeulan President Nicolas Maduro is refocusing his attention on the US, warning military leaders Tuesday to begin preparing for war with the US. Maduro"s call to arms comes after the US has repeatedly tightened sanctions against Maduro"s regime and the country"s state-run oil company; earlier this week, the Trump administration blocked Venezeulan officials from entering the US as part of the White House"s new “targeted” travel ban. Trump has also repeatedly threatened a military intervention if Maduro doesn"t leave voluntarily.
Maduro is probably still brooding over Trump’s call for the world community to help restore “democracy and political freedoms” to Venezeula by ousting Maduro (to which Maduro reportedly responded in typical leftist fashion by comparing Trump to Hitler). Trump made those remarks last week during his first address to the UN General Assembly. Earlier this year, Trump said he wouldn"t rule out a military option for dealing with Venezuela, adding that the US has an obligation to take of the country because it"s "our neighbor."
Maduro said Trump’s threats were the reason for him ordering the military to be on alert.
"We have been shamelessly threatened by the most criminal empire that ever existed and we have the obligation to prepare ourselves to guarantee peace," said Maduro, who wore a green uniform and a military hat as he spoke with his army top brass during a military exercise involving tanks and missiles. "We need to have rifles, missiles and well-oiled tanks at the ready....to defend every inch of the territory if needs be," he added.
Over the summer, the US announced sanctions to prevent PDVSA, Venezuela’s state-owed oil company, from issuing new debt (sanctions that conveniently avoided existing bonds held by Goldman Sachs), while also preventing Citgo, the US subsidiary of PDVSA, from repatriating dividends. The US has also passed sanctions against many top Venezuelan officials. Tensions between Maduro and Trump started escalating shortly after Trump’s inauguration, when the US blacklisted Venezuelan Vice President Tareck El Aissami for drug trafficking.
Maduro referenced the sanctions during his speech at the military base. As he spoke, Russian military planes flew in the sky as part of the training exercise, according to Newsweek.
"The future of humanity cannot be the world of illegal sanctions, of economic persecution," Maduro said.
Of course, Maduro doesn"t have the manpower to stand up to the US’s much-larger military. The embattled leader has managed to cling to power in Venezuela despite mounting political and economic crises that have inspired months of deadly anti-government demonstrations in the streets of the capital, Caracas and many other cities around the country.
As Newsweek reports, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino has backed Maduro through the unrest, but Reuters reported back in August that there may be growing support for a military-backed coup against Maduro, whose approval rating remains at all-time lows, even as he has succeeded in consolidating power and marginalizing his opposition.
The country has managed to avoid financial calamity with the help of Russia and China. However, Newsweek reports that China is beginning to limit its exposure to Venezuela amid the mounting political unrest.
During an appearance CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley admitted something that most of the international community – perhaps including Kim Jong Un himself – has known for weeks: The United Nations Security Council has just about reached the limit of its ability to economically punish North Korea.
Responding to a question by CNN’s Dana Bash about whether President Donald Trump’s famous “fire and fury” remark was an empty threat, Haley insisted that the US has held back out of a sense of “responsibility.” But now that diplomatic solutions appear to be dwindling, she would be “perfectly happy” handing the situation off to Defense Secretary James Mattis, the source of some of the US’s harshest rhetoric against North Korea. Mattis, Haley said, would “take care of it.”
“What we’re doing is being responsible where North Korea is being irresponsible and reckless. We were being responsible by trying to use every diplomatic possibility that we could possibly do. We’ve pretty much exhausted all the things that we could do at the Security Council at this point.”
“I said yesterday I’m perfectly happy kicking this over to General Mattis because he has plenty of military options. So, I think that the fire and fury - while he said this is what we can do to North Korea - we want to be responsible and go through all diplomatic means to get their attention first. If that doesn’t work, General Mattis will take care of it.”
At least one member of the Trump administration, former chief strategist Steve Bannon, has admitted that the White House doesn’t have a viable military strategy for North Korea where “ten million people in Seoul don’t die in the first 30 minutes from conventional weapons.”
But the “all options remain on the table” line has been key to the US’s posturing. Haley reiterated that, should the North strike the US or its allies, “[it] will be destroyed.”
“You’d have to ask the President what ‘fire and fury’ meant. If the US has to defend itself, or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed. We don’t want that. Something is going to have to be done. We’re trying every other possibility that we have but there are a whole lot of military options on the table.”
However, Haley did praise the latest round of UN sanctions, ignoring the fact that the US had to capitulate on several of its demand – including cutting off the North’s oil supply and its trading partners - to win the support of Russia and China.
“The facts are the facts. The first sanctions bill that was the largest ever that we had done to North Korea was $1 billion and was a punch in the gut. This one, which we passed in a week, was $1.3 billion and that didn’t count the reduction of 30% of the oil which was made up of 55% reducing their diesel and gasoline that they use to move the missiles. You take that with the elimination of joint ventures and the laborers which we consider modern day slavery that total 90% of North Korea’s, it is being cut off. We have economically strangled North Korea at this point.”
“I think everybody in the international community sees what a big deal it is and the biggest deal is enforcement. North Korea is already feeling the pinch. It’s the reason you see them reacting the way they are. This wasn’t just a hit to North Korea, it was a hit to China - they have to take a hit when they do 90% of North Korea’s trade.”
The administration has been repeating the same line for months, yet nothing has been done. Of course, the North Korean conflict has the dynamics of a geopolitical Mexican standoff – that’s what makes it so difficult. At least the regime knows that if it were to strike the US or one of its allies, it would trigger Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty – not to mention a massive counterattack by the US. Such a move would be tantamount to suicide; the regime knows this, and the public does, too. The latest poll shows most Americans believe war is unlikely, a sentiment that has been clearly conveyed by the financial markets.
But still, how much more progress can Kim make toward achieving his goal of obtaining a weapon powerful and accurate enough to strike the US before the generals who Trump surrounds himself with convince their leader that the time for action has arrived?
Despite President Trump, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and OMB Director Mick Mulvaney’s urgings, it appears that Congress will not combine funding for the Hurricane Harvey cleanup effort with a measure to raise the debt ceiling, according to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Congress’s decision will create a major headache for the Trump administration in the coming weeks, as it tries to push through a government-funding bill and a measure to raise the debt ceiling over objections of conservatives who are calling for budget cuts and other concessions.
The House will bring a bill to approve the $8 billion in emergency funding requested by the White House early Wednesday, McCarthy said.
McCarthy, who appeared on Fox Business with Maria Bartiromo, tried his best to sound conciliatory, praising the president for meeting with lawmakers and other members of the “Big Six” group that’s supposedly handling tax reform, while adding that a spending bill and debt ceiling hike would inevitably be approved.
“Wednesday morning we’ll pass relief to make sure FEMA has enough money to get moving right now while the cities and counties get the estimates in so we can go farther in providing more assistance. But you’re going to hit that debt ceiling regardless. They’re afraid what Mnuchin is telling us, if you pass just the supplemental they may not be able to put that money forward without getting the debt ceiling raised. The thing I look for is this is an issue that we’re going to have regardless. This is not an issue you want to run away from, but congress has been successful in capping discretionary spending. Now we have.”
McCarthy said not combining the two measures wouldn’t create problems because they inevitably must be passed. Of course, the House is only in session for 12 days this month while the Senate is also in session, so the clock is ticking...
“We will deal with the debt ceiling regardless if Harvey even arrived in America and now we are asking for more money to provide for FEMA so FEMA does not run out of money,” McCarthy told Maria Bartiromo on Mornings with Maria.
“What Munchin is telling us, if you pass just the supplemental, they may not be able to put the money forward without having the debt ceiling raised.”
“What the Treasury secretary and it’s not just him saying it Mick Mulvaney the OMB director and the president are saying it, we have to deal with the debt ceiling regardless of whether Harvey arrived in America. And now we’re asking for more money to provide for FEMA so FEMA doesn’t run out of money. All they’re looking at are the numbers.”
He also stressed that the president is already making progress on tax reform by meeting with lawmakers, and that he expects a reform bill to reach the president’s desk by the end of the year, the administration’s official self-imposed deadline, which is becoming increasingly important to markets.
“Now we’ve got to move to tax to get the economy growing. We will deal with the wall a little later in the year. We have to finish off eight more appropriation bills. We have the budget to get this month. The budget is the beginning of tax reform. It allows us to go to reconciliation to tackle tax reform. All of that will get done this month.”
“This is a very good sign that they’re meeting with the president now. What we’re doing is learning the lessons from health care. Making sure the White House the House and the Senate are on the same page. That’s why I’m an even stronger believer that tax reform gets out of the house this year. We all know the way to make America stronger is economic growth.”
Voting for aid for Texans is an issue that should transcend political squabbling, McCarthy said.
“To those members who don’t want to tackle the tough issues, the sooner we get it done the sooner we can get to greater growth. Economically, Texas is hurting, think about what Texas’s economy contributes to the US.”
While the controversial border-adjusted tax is out, repatriation – another one of Trump’s top nationalist economic policy objectives – could make it into the final bill.
“Bring it back here and invest it in American or return it to shareholders as dividends.”
When pressed about the priorities for tax reform, McCarthy said it would be a package deal tackling both corporate and individual tax-rate reform.
He also couldn’t resist making a subtle dig at his colleagues in the Freedom Caucus, while urging lawmakers to come together to reach an agreement on Tax Reform.
“If a member is out there worried about a tough vote, maybe this isn’t the right job for them. They"ve got to make decisions to move this country forward and that"s what we"re doing. The meeting at the White House is the right thing to do, and a good indication that tax reform is happening. Especially coming off of Harvey.”
McCarthy added that he would be in favor of lower the number of individual tax brackets.
“Why are there seven individual tax rates. Let’s make it three.”
To be sure, we await for a response from the president which, thanks to the influence of Chief of Staff John Kelly, might come in the form of an official statement instead of a tweet. As far as the budget is concerned, Trump still needs a plan for neutralizing intransigent Republicans, because he’s not likely to get any support from Democrats.
