Month: April 2018

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House Boosts Space Commerce

Another bright spot for the recovering U.S. economy comes from beyond Earth.

The U.S. House of Representatives has unanimously passed the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act (H.R. 2809), introduced last June. According to the Committee on Science, Space and Technology, it “simplifies and strengthens the space-based remote sensing regulatory system, enhances U.S. compliance with international obligations, improves national security and removes regulatory barriers facing new and innovative space operators. The bill was sponsored by Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas).

Rep. Smith stated that “American innovators, driven by ingenuity, competitive spirit and bold vision, are the future of space exploration. The American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act ensures they continue to innovate right here in the United States. This transformative and ground-shaking legislation facilitates commercial lift-off and declares that America is fully ‘open for business’ in space. I appreciate the bipartisan support for this bill from my colleagues.”

Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin (R-Texas) added his support, emphasizing that “By passing this innovative legislation, we are signaling loud and clear that America is open for business in space. The American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act is a common-sense bipartisan bill that streamlines the regulatory process, limits government intrusion, promotes American innovation and investment, protects national security and satisfies our Outer Space Treaty obligations. I am proud to be a co-author on this bill with Chairman Smith and recently-confirmed NASA Administrator Bridenstine.”

The measure, formally titled “The American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act of 2017” is designed to:

  • Enact a presumption of approval for all private sector space activities, including remote sensing
  • Create a one-stop shop for U.S. authorization and supervision of nongovernmental space activities in the Commerce Secretary’s Office of Space Commerce
  • Establish a transparent self-certification authorization process for commercial on-orbit space operations
  • Provide federal review to assure nongovernmental space activities conform to the United States’ Outer Space Treaty obligations
  • Address concerns that private space operations may pose a safety risk to existing government space systems
  • Reform the space-based remote sensing licensing process to support innovation and entrepreneurship
  • Hold the federal government accountable by requiring evidence-based justification for licensing decisions
  • Strictly enforce deadlines with approval by default to ensure the government makes timely decisions
  • Preserve the ability to condition remote sensing operations to protect national security
  • Enhance national security by ensuring insight into operations and capabilities and by creating a competitive environment that discourages offshoring

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The measure won praise from the U.S. Commerce Department  A published statement noted that  “Space activities are already a $336 billion industry and heading toward a trillion dollars of annual revenue. More than 70 countries launched into space last year, and the Trump Administration has recognized the importance of facilitating a pro-business environment that cements America’s leadership in space. By designating the Department of Commerce the “one-stop shop” to facilitate commercial space activities, the President’s Space Council has initiated a constructive regulatory environment that not only streamlines the problems facing the space community today – but establishes the framework to solve the problems of tomorrow. I applaud the House of Representatives for passing legislation that expands upon the Administration’s approach to promote jobs, innovation, and economic growth in the commercial space business, and I look forward to continuing to work with the National Space Council, the Congress and industry to ensure American leadership in space commerce.”

Science Direct supported the legislative concept when it was first introduced last year, noting “Even though the bill has not been enacted into law yet, its relevance should not be underestimated. Indeed, it not only represents the latest step in regulating the nascent space mining industry, but it also contains several provisions that, to a large extent, challenges the traditional understanding of basic international space law rules. For example, the draft bill refers to the right of US entities to engage in space undertaking without conditions or limitations, argues that not all the obligations of the Outer Space Treaty are imputable to those entities and claims that outer space is not a global commons.”

An artist image of the Boeing Starliner spacecraft docking to the International Space Station. Image credit: Boeing

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The North Korean Trap

Preparations are underway for a forthcoming round of direct negotiations between the United States and North Korea. Washington needs to be extremely careful, because the likely plan from Pyongyang is to create a scenario where America will be portrayed as the party responsible for the failure of negotiations due to its refusal to abandon its South Korean and Japanese allies, or to accept an unverified promise to denuclearize.

CNN reports that the two nations have already engaged in “secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing,” according to administration officials. The cable news network reports that “Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo and a team at the CIA have been working through intelligence back-channels to make preparations for the summit, the officials said. American and North Korean intelligence officials have spoken several times and have even met in a third country, with a focus on nailing down a location for the talks.”

The Arms Control Association describes the decades-long history of failed attempts to rein in North Korea’s nuclear program:

“For years, the United States and the international community have tried to negotiate an end to North Korea’s nuclear and missile development and its export of ballistic missile technology. Those efforts have been replete with periods of crisis, stalemate, and tentative progress towards denuclearization, and North Korea has long been a key challenge for the global nuclear nonproliferation regime.

“The United States has pursued a variety of policy responses to the proliferation challenges posed by North Korea, including military cooperation with U.S. allies in the region, wide-ranging sanctions, and non-proliferation mechanisms such as export controls. The United States also engaged in two major diplomatic initiatives to have North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons efforts in return for aid.

“In 1994, faced with North Korea’s announced intent to withdraw from the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which requires non-nuclear weapon states to forswear the development and acquisition of nuclear weapons, the United States and North Korea signed the Agreed Framework. Under this agreement, Pyongyang committed to freezing its illicit plutonium weapons program in exchange for aid.

“Following the collapse of this agreement in 2002, North Korea claimed that it had withdrawn from the NPT in January 2003 and once again began operating its nuclear facilities.

“The second major diplomatic effort were the Six-Party Talks initiated in August of 2003 which involved China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. In between periods of stalemate and crisis, those talks arrived at critical breakthroughs in 2005, when North Korea pledged to abandon “all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs” and return to the NPT, and in 2007, when the parties agreed on a series of steps to implement that 2005 agreement.
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“Those talks, however, broke down in 2009 following disagreements over verification and an internationally condemned North Korea rocket launch. Pyongyang has since stated that it would never return to the talks and is no longer bound by their agreements. The other five parties state that they remain committed to the talks, and have called for Pyongyang to recommit to its 2005 denuclearization pledge.”

There are two ways in which Kim jong-Un will strive to create a public relations nightmare for the Trump Administration. The first will be an offer of deep concessions on or even an abandonment of its nuclear program if the U.S. agrees to cease joint exercises with South Korea and/or slashes the size of its armed forces in the region, which may include not only South Korea but Japan and Guam as well. Obviously, this will be wholly unacceptable to Washington, but it is easy to see the way it will be portrayed by critics both within the U.S. and abroad. “America,” those critics will maintain, “insists on having its forces far beyond its borders, and refuses to withdraw them even when an offer of nuclear disarmament is on the table.”

Fleshing out this strategy may have been one of the items on the table when Kim traveled to Beijing to meet with China’s President Xi.  Eliminating or sharply reducing America’s presence in Asia has long been a Chinese goal.  It is not coincidental that Xi, for all his rhetoric about not being happy with North Korea’s nuclear armaments, has never actually done anything that seriously impairs Pyongyang’s ability to move it forward. Kim’s atomic prowess actually benefits China more than it does North Korea.

The second approach would be to offer deep cuts or an actual elimination of its atomic arsenal in return for substantial western aid, or accept a moratorium on its development, but to refuse the intensive on-site surveillance necessary for this to be a reasonable solution. Pyongyang may or may not offer to include ceasing work on its missile program as part of the deal. This is essentially the deal Obama gave Iran. Again, this would be unacceptable to Washington, because North Korea’s long history of making deals which it subsequently cheats on makes it undesirable.

Again, however, critics would condemn a U.S. refusal of the deal. Most particularly, China would gain a propaganda victory by alleging that Washington refuses to treat an Asian nation with the same respect it treated a non-Asian regime.

Vice President Pence has stated that “Whichever direction talks with North Korea go, we will be firm in our resolve. The United States and our allies remain committed to applying maximum pressure on the Kim regime to end their nuclear program. All options are on the table and our posture toward the regime will not change until we see credible, verifiable, and concrete steps toward denuclearization.”

Those intent on discrediting the Trump Administration will blame what they will portray as his  intransigence” on the failure of the negotiations.

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Learning the Wrong Lessons From Mideast Military Successes

With the limited attack on Syrian illegal chemical weapons facilities, The United States has completed another Mideast military endeavor with little or no loss of life or damage to equipment.

It is important that this does not lead to a false sense of confidence. The true test of American military prowess does not rest with engagements against inferior armed forces, but in the key mission of deterring the rising danger from Russia and China.  The Pentagon, already financially stricken in the mistaken belief that major threats were a thing of the past in the aftermath of the First Cold War, was further and significantly weakened during the budget reductions of the Obama years.

In testimony before Congress, Defense Secretary Mattis stated: “We recognize great power competition is once again a reality…great power competition—not terrorism—is now the primary focus of U.S. national security… our competitive edge has eroded in every domain of warfare—air, land, sea, space, and cyber. Under frequent continuing resolutions and sequester’s budget caps, our advantages continue to shrink. The combination of rapidly changing technology, the negative impact on military readiness resulting from the longest continuous stretch of combat in our nation’s history, and insufficient funding have created an overstretched and under-resourced military…”

Writing in National Review, Jerry Hendrix  notes that U.S. “defense budgets as a percentage of the nation’s gross domestic product had fallen from 5.5 percent in 1991 to 3 percent on the eve of the attacks on September 11, 2001. Key capacities fell accordingly. In 1991 the Army stood at 710,000 troops; in 2001, it had shrunk to 480,000. At the height of the Cold War, the Air Force fielded over 10,000 aircraft; today the force hovers around 6,000, with fewer than 4,000 planes prepared for combat. The Navy suffered a similar decline, shrinking from its peak of 592 ships in 1989 to its present level of 280.”

While Washington slept, both Moscow and Beijing engaged in extraordinary modernization and development of their militaries.  Both now have essential technologies, and in many cases equipment, that are equal to and in some cases exceeding that possessed by the U.S., along with larger numbers. Former key Pentagon advantages, such as the major capabilities America had thanks to its space assets, are jeopardized by the growing ability of its adversaries to destroy satellites. The U.S. Navy’s aircraft carriers are increasingly vulnerable to Chinese land-to-sea missiles that can disable them at great distances.

The two adversary powers, and their axis partners in Iran and North Korea, also retain a key geographical advantage.  They are contiguous, and do not need to worry about long and hazardous lines of supply that the U.S. does with its allies in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Now that America’s technological advantage has been sharply reduced and, in some areas, eliminated, the issue of numbers again must be considered.  The imbalance in certain types of essential weaponry is startling. On a strategic level, Neither the United States, nor the United States in combination with its allies, is dominant in nuclear weapons, as Russia, for the first time, has a lead in nuclear weapons, and the combination of Russia and China exceeds in overall numbers that possessed by Washington and its allies.
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Problems exist on the tactical level as well. Moscow has 20,216 tanks, Beijing, 6,457, and America, 5,884. Russia, notes Global Firepower,fields 14,390 pieces of artillery, and China has 9,726. This compares unfavorably with the 4,564 possessed by the U.S. Throw in the vast amount of artillery possessed by North Korea and the numbers look even worse, even if one factored in the equipment retained by U.S. allies in Europe and Asia. America’s once-dominant navy faces a major rival as China floats more total hulls than the U.S., and a Beijing-Russia combination poses an existential threat to the Western and Japanese alliance. America retains a large lead in total military aircraft, but increasingly, its planes are grounded and incapable due to inadequate maintenance, and pilots are not receiving sufficient training.

A recent Rand study found that “U.S. forces… are failing to keep pace with the modernizing forces of great power adversaries, are poorly postured to meet key challenges in Europe and East Asia, and are insufficiently trained and ready to get the most operational utility from many of its active component units…Important national interests today are being challenged by two major powers — Russia and China — that pose operational and strategic challenges that far outstrip those posed by the regional adversaries that animate DoD’s current force planning construct (FPC)… Force planning in DoD today should place greater priority on modernizing the capabilities and posture of U.S. forces in order to better enable them to deter and defeat aggression by China, Russia, and North Korea. At the same time, force planners should provide for the continued, gradual expansion of special operations forces, modernize U.S. nuclear forces, and raise readiness levels of active component forces. With its growing arsenal of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, North Korea today presents threats for which U.S. and allied forces lack satisfactory answers.”

Secretary Mattis notes that “Given the magnitude of the threats they pose to U.S. security and prosperity today, Congress must commit to both an increased and sustained investment in our capabilities.”

In one of the most high-tech areas crucial to war fighting in the near future, the United States is losing ground to Russia and China, according to a report disclosed to Newsweek.  “The report, from government data analysis group Govini and former Department of Defense Chief Robert Work, says America’s two biggest military competitors are rapidly advancing with AI, [artificial intelligence] leaving the U.S. military with the choice of whether it wants to ‘lead the coming revolution, or fall victim to it.’”

The success of America’s armed forces in the Middle East is not an indicator of how well equipped they are to take on Russia and China.  As those two nations increase in belligerence, power, and technology, the danger grows exponentially.

Photo: B-2 bomber (USAF)

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Opinion Tide Turns Against Illegal Immigration

A dramatic combination of crime, cost, health, and population data has begun to convince the U.S. population that illegal immigration is presenting a dangerous and unaffordable challenge to the nation.

James Kirchik, writing in the New York Post which reports in a city known for its very tolerant attitude towards illegals, notes that “An economic migrant wanting to enter a country does not have a ‘right’ to do so in the same way that a citizen of that country has a right to free speech… Today, many on the left seem to believe that the very concept of borders is immoral and should not exist. Meanwhile, in the debate over so-called sanctuary cities, activists egg on municipalities to defy federal immigration officials in open defiance of the rule of law.”

California’s state government, which has views on illegal immigration  that are in open opposition to federal border controls, is now facing a revolt of its own. The Free Beacon reports that “San Diego County, California’s second-most populous county, [has] joined at least a dozen other municipalities in supporting the Trump administration’s lawsuit against the state over its so-called “sanctuary” law… San Diego County is the latest in a series of revolts by municipalities against the law, which began last month when the small city of Los Alamitos, located within Orange County, made national news by launching a city ordinance to reject the sanctuary law. Orange County itself soon followed suit by voting to file an amicus brief supporting the federal lawsuit against the state. The cities of San Juan Capistrano, Aliso Viejo, Escondido, and Mission Viejo are among those whose leaders have either passed a resolution against the law or have voted to file amicus briefs in support of the Trump administration’s positions.”

The growing alteration of attitudes in states like California and New York  which face budgetary challenges, may be explainable by demographic, economic and crime factors.  The Hill cites a Kaiser Family Foundation survey that found “One in 4 children living in the U.S. in 2016 had at least one parent who was born outside the U.S., according to a study released Wednesday. More half of those children live in just four states: California (23 percent), Texas (13 percent), New York (8 percent) and Florida (8 percent), according to the study… A common theme for families with at least one immigrant parent is the family looking for affordable health care, the survey shows. About 8 million of the roughly 20 million children living with an immigrant parent were covered under either Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).”

Crime, and the role illegal immigration has played in it, also is changing formerly tolerant attitudes.

The Washington Times  cites just one example of how the Obama Administration intentionally ignored the entry of notorious MS-13 gang members into the U.S. The admitted gang members, known as such to American authorities, arrived as “unaccompanied minors” and were shipped to juvenile homes across the nation.

The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) recently released a worrisome report on the role MS-13 plays in crime. “Center researchers reviewed more than 500 cases of MS-13 gang members arrested nationwide since 2012. We conclude that this resurgence represents a very serious threat to public safety in communities where MS-13 has rebuilt itself. The resurgence is directly connected to the illegal arrival and resettlement of more than 300,000 Central American youths and families that has continued unabated for six years, and to a de-prioritization of immigration enforcement in the interior of the country that occurred at the same time. All criminal gangs are a threat to public safety, but MS-13 is a unique problem because of the unusually brutal crimes its members have committed, its success in using intimidation to victimize and control people in its territory, and its focus on recruiting young members, often in schools… a large share of MS-13 members are not citizens… The proliferation of sanctuary policies that interfere with cooperation between state and local law enforcement agencies threatens to hamper efforts to stifle MS-13 activity.”

We have previously reported that a study by the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIRUS) found that federal, state, and local levels, governments spend approximately $134.9 billion to cover the costs incurred by the presence of more than 12.5 million illegal aliens, and about 4.2 million citizen children of illegal aliens. The FAIRUS study noted that Federal Tax Receipts from Illegal Aliens totals only about $22.1 Billion. On the state and local level, a Forbes study found that households headed by illegal immigrants paid a combined $11.64 billion in state and local taxes during 2010. Therefore, the combined intake of taxes from illegals is approximately $33.3 billion, resulting in a net combined government loss of $101.16 billion.

We have also previously disclosed that a General Accounting Office (GAO)  study of 55,322 illegal aliens, incarcerated in federal prisons found that:

  • They were arrested at least a total of 459,614 times, averaging about 8 arrests per illegal alien. Nearly all had more than 1 arrest. Thirty-eight percent (about 21,000) had between 2 and 5 arrests, 32 percent (about 18,000) had between 6 and 10 arrests, and 26 percent (about 15,000) had 11 or more arrests. Most of the arrests occurred after 1990.
  • They were arrested for a total of about 700,000 criminal offenses, averaging about 13 offenses per illegal alien. One arrest incident may include multiple offenses, a fact that explains why there are nearly one and half times more offenses than arrests. Almost all of these illegal aliens were arrested for more than 1 offense. Slightly more than half of the 55,322 illegal aliens had between 2 and 10 offenses. About 45 percent of all offenses were drug or immigration offenses. About 15 percent were property-related offenses such as burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and property damage. About 12 percent were for violent offenses such as murder, robbery, assault, and sex-related crimes. The balance was for such other offenses as traffic violations, including driving under the influence; fraud—including forgery and counterfeiting; weapons violations; and obstruction of justice.
  • Eighty percent of all arrests occurred in three states—California, Texas, and Arizona. Specifically, about 58 percent of all arrests occurred in California, 14 percent in Texas, and 8 percent in Arizona.”

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Photo: Pixabay

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Desperation and the DNC Lawsuit

What is the true significance of the Democrat National Committee (DNC) lawsuit against a panoply of targets?

Dismayed by the clear result of the Mueller investigation, which increasingly seems likely to  exonerate President Trump and his campaign of any charges, the DNC has attempted to continue the partisan narrative of collusion by filing a lawsuit  in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

The legal action, which names the Trump campaign, the Russian government, and Wikileaks as defendants among many, many others, seeks millions of dollars in damages for a laundry list of charges.  It is the courtroom equivalent of Hillary Clinton’s continuous temper tantrum over losing.

The accumulating good news for the White House and the growing public realization that the charges against the White House were baseless has been a significant challenge for the DNC. The move by North Korea to cease its nuclear and missile tests, the radical extraordinary pro-American policy changes by Saudi Arabia, the elimination of ISIS control over a large territorial stronghold (the Obama Administration believed it would take a decade), the popularity of income tax cuts, and the upswing in middle class jobs has resulted in a 50% popularity rating for Trump (One News Now notes that “President Donald Trump’s 50-percent approval rating shows that at least half of ‘Likely U.S. Voters’ in a recognized national poll are happy with his job performance – 5 percentage points higher than former President Barack Obama’s approval rating of 45 percent registered on the same date during his term.”)

In terms of the public perception of the DNC claims against the President, it’s clear that the public is highly skeptical. The Rasmussen organization writes that “Sixty-six percent (66%) of Republicans – and 50% of all voters – believe senior federal law enforcement officials at the FBI and Justice Department broke the law in an effort to prevent Trump from winning the presidency in 2016.”

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The DNC lawsuit tactic has been criticized even by Democrats and Democrat-friendly media sources. According to the Free Beacon “CNN political reporter Gloria Borger called the Democratic National Committee lawsuit…’a ‘100 percent stunt… they want to keep the story moving,’ Borger said. ‘This is nothing new, everyone has been, every Democrat has been charging that the Trump campaign was in collusion with Wikileaks, et cetera.’ Borger thinks the DNC’s intentions are less than pure. ‘Honestly, it’s just a way to raise money. That’s what it is, that’s what they’re trying to do,’ she said… Some Democrats seem less than enthused about the lawsuit. Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill (Mo.), up for re-election in 2018, called it a ‘distraction.’

The inappropriate use of the law as a partisan weapon was highlighted during the Obama Administration by the attempt of 17 Democrat-led attorneys general, led by New York’s AG Eric Schneiderman, to harass think tanks and research organizations for merely disagreeing with President Obama’s climate change policy. Subpoenas were issued to research and writing organizations such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute for no valid legal reason other than to further the oppression of those whose views differ from the DNC.

Psychology Today explains:  “Most people who threaten baseless or frivolous lawsuits…are simply frustrated, vindicative, and cannot think of a way to vent their discomfort besides threatening you.”

Photo: Pixabay

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North Korea Facing Reality

What are the realities surrounding North Korea’s announcement of its suspension of its nuclear and ICBM missile testing?

There is little doubt that the unexpected move will be seen as a victory for the “big stick” policies of the Trump Administration, as was the recent one-on-one meetings between Secretary of State nominee Mike Pompeo and Kim Jung-un. Trump, during the 2016 campaign, suggested meeting Kim.

After the election, the new U.S. President was heavily criticized for using threatening language against the “Hermit Kingdom,” including a promise of “”fire and fury like the world has never seen,” but apparently the strategy has worked. In return, Kim called Trump a “mentally deranged dotard,” after the American president labeled the North Korean leader “Rocket Man”

For decades, U.S. Administrations have either ignored the growing threat from the DPRK or engaged in policies which actually allowed the danger to grow. The Arms Control Association describes the 1994 Clinton deal with Pyongyang: “…the United States and North Korea signed an agreement-the Agreed Framework-calling upon Pyongyang to freeze operation and construction of nuclear reactors suspected of being part of a covert nuclear weapons program in exchange for two proliferation-resistant nuclear power reactors. The agreement also called upon the United States to supply North Korea with fuel oil pending construction of the reactors. An international consortium called the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO) was formed to implement the agreement…[However by 2002] U.S. intelligence sources revealed that North Korea’s centrifuge program was pursuing technology for a uranium enrichment program, which would produce material for nuclear weapons… After a series of exchanges with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), IAEA inspectors left the country Dec. 31 after Pyongyang expelled them. North Korea announced Jan. 10, 2003, that it was withdrawing from the NPT, effective the next day. Pyongyang’s official status with the treaty remains ambiguous.”

Spacewar reports that “Several factors have driven the North Korean rapprochement, including … concern about the belligerence of the Trump administration, and the looming impact of sanctions.”

The Pyongyang government, in what may be a face-saving move, is depicting its announcement as part of its shifting emphasis on economic development. North Korea’s economic policies and political repression are so disastrous that its regime has accurately been described as starving its own population into submission.
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While South Korea has become an economic powerhouse, North Korea remains in shambles. According to the CIA,  North Korea “faces chronic economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment, shortages of spare parts, and poor maintenance. Large-scale military spending and development of its ballistic missile and nuclear program severely draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Industrial and power outputs have stagnated for years at a fraction of pre-1990 levels. Frequent weather-related crop failures aggravated chronic food shortages caused by on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, poor soil quality, insufficient fertilization, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel.”

The Russian news source RT  revealed that the North Korean announcement is a nuanced response both to the progress of its atomic and missiles tests to date, and its need to develop its almost non-existent economy. According to RT sources, a plenary meeting of the North Korea Communist Party declared that “From now on, all Pyongyang’s efforts will be concentrated on building up a strong socialist economy, while the human and material resources of the country will be mobilized to dramatically raise people’s quality of life.”

The move may be urgently required, as it becomes more apparent to North Koreans that their regime’s economic failures contrast dramatically with South Korea’s exceptional prosperity.

Whatever Pyongyang promises, the failure of the government to live up to prior promises needs to be kept in mind.

DoD photo Trump Administration deployed carriers to send message to North Korea

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Pope Francis Avoids Responsibility

The Pope is the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, and the most recognized and prominent religious leader on the planet. Within his creed, his pronouncements on matters of faith are considered above question.

This extraordinary authority comes with exceptional responsibility to carefully weigh every public comment, and to thoroughly research and carefully consider each and every position taken. Unfortunately, the current Pontiff has both dived into areas beyond his expertise and has done so, it would appear, without benefit of thorough analysis. To make matters more troubling, he has, at times, appeared to base his ideas on the biases of his native region.

During the 2016 campaign, the Pope, in an unprecedented move, delved deeply and inappropriately into partisan politics when he criticized the Republican candidate’s stance on immigration, calling it “not Christian.” He returned to the theme of welcoming immigrants during a trip to Chile earlier this year.

On a very basic level, it is consistent with Catholic beliefs to be charitable towards those in need and to accept all humans, regardless of their origin, as brothers and sisters. But the question of immigration, particularly on the significant level of illegal entry within the United States, is a complex one. It goes far beyond the affordability of caring for these needy individuals or protecting against the many members of violent criminal organizations that accompany them as they cross the border.

The levels of governmental incompetence, corruption, and criminal influences that compel citizens to leave some Central American countries and travel to the United States has been overlooked by both the Pope and other critics of those who seek to secure America’s southern border. To discuss the morality of assisting those who arrive impoverished, without condemning the terrible leadership that forced these people out of their native lands, is, at best, an incomplete and irresponsible analysis.

There is even more of a problem when discussing the massive Muslim immigration into Europe.  As in Central America, many have come fleeing poverty and oppression, with the added and powerful incentive of fleeing war.  And as in the New World, the failure to point out and condemn the governments that forced citizens to become refugees is an act of intellectual ineptitude.  Add to that the lack of discussion on the arrogance of those new arrivals who seek not to become part of, but to actually replace, the culture that gave shelter to them, and it becomes clear that the Pontiff has not been intellectually competent in this issue.

Pope Francis has also been quite vocal on the man-made climate change debate. As the New York Analysis has previously reported, Pope Francis has detracted from legitimate scientific debate by his intellectually limited and politically biased  perspective, noted most specifically in his  “ Laudato si‘” Encyclical:

Improving erection quality, increasing sperm count, eliminating premature ejaculation and promoting confidence level levitra australia prices during lovemaking are important health benefits of safed musli. If the warnings are neglected it could in some cases tend to differ for men and women and hence one needs to take precautions. 1. sildenafil india price They can also cheap levitra 20mg never hope to enjoy their sexual life to the fullest. 4. Researchers in Japan are trying to find out talents to viagra 50mg help you derail employment results and moreover trigger psychological and mental pressure which may obstruct communal connections later on. “Climate change is a global problem with serious implications, environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods; it represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day…the climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all…many of those who possess more resources and economic or political power seem mostly to be concerned with masking the problems or concealing their symptoms…Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded”.

But the question of man-made climate change, despite the fervent attempts of its adherents, remains an open question. The planet’s climate has consistently changed, frequently shifting from warming periods to cooling periods and back again long before the advent of industrialization, automobiles, or the extensive discharge of chemicals into the air.

Supporters of the man-made climate change concept have employed non-scientific tactics involving political pressure and the doctoring of data to in their advocacy. The Vatican has not indicated what scientific data the head of the Church relied on, and how rigorous his research has been. It is most distressing that, according to the Washington Post, he did not seek alternative views, an arrogance reminiscent of the Church’s infamous 1610 trial of Galileo.

If Pope Francis had expressed a deep concern for the health of the planetary environment without entering into the climate change debate, he could have accomplished more success in calling attention and concern to the issue in a far less partisan manner.

With great power comes great responsibility, a reality that the Pontiff should acknowledge by engaging in more thorough research, and, frankly, more soul-searching about the personal biases that cloud his judgement.

The author of this article is a practicing Roman Catholic.

Photo:  Official Vatican portrait

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Law, Politics, and Partisanship

It is difficult to comment on the ongoing investigations concerning Donald Trump without getting mired in partisan politics, into the truth-destroying trap of “taking sides.” But the larger issues at stake mandate that an examination of the topic be done.

The law, and the American electoral system, should be sacrosanct. It is inevitable that one party or candidate will frequently be disappointed with the results of a ballot.  In the past, the losing side merely licked their wounds and prepared to make their case more persuasively in the next election.  The aftermath of 2016 broke that tradition.

Regardless of whether one is a Democrat or Republican, left-wing or conservative, pro-Trump or anti-, the aftermath of the 2016 campaign is troubling.

In his recent Stephanopoulos interview, former FBI Director Comey openly disclosed his family’s devotion to the Clinton campaign, including the fact that his wife and daughter participated in a protest march tied to Trump’s inauguration. If we connect this into the revelations of how utterly political and partisan the FBI had become under his watch, including the emails detailing how FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page  conspired to defeat or discredit Trump, how the DOJ squashed an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s legal issues, and the revelations that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s wife gained $700,000 contribution for her campaign from a Clinton-related sources, then a picture of a government agency utterly corrupted at the leadership level unfolds.  (Stephen Dinan  of The Washington Times reports that Ty Clevenger, a New York attorney, has filed a grievance with his state’s bar association on the grounds that Comey lied to Congress and allowed the destruction of evidence in the Clinton email investigation. Clevenger’s actions could result in Comey losing his license to practice law.)

Comey used what could only be called startlingly disingenuous words, such as “possible” in relation to potentially derogatory facts about Trump. It is possible that this article was written actually by a Martian and emailed to you from outer space, but the fact is it is not.

You could have knee aches, neck pain, or else low back issues. cialis buy online There might be uterine malformations, leiomyoma or uterine fibroids, and Asherman’s viagra generico 5mg Syndrome. The reasons why erectile acquisition de viagra dysfunction targets your love-lifeare greatly connected with some of your habits like diet control, quitting smoking, regular exercising and reduction in stress levels. One just needs to place the soft pills over the tongue to get instantly melt. generic viagra online unica-web.com The effort to hobble the Trump Administration include the ongoing actions by special counsel. Despite a year of well-financed efforts by an investigatory team staffed with many Clinton partisans to find what now appears to be non-existing evidence of collusion, an investigation based solely on biased and faulty evidence that intentionally mislead a FISA court, no relevant information harming the president has been found.

Following the announcement that the President was not the target of a criminal investigation, we saw the unprecedented invasion of the offices of Trump attorney Michael Cohen by NY investigators now seeking a wholly different way to embarrass the president.

The reality of what we are facing is clear. Those disappointed by the results of the 2016 campaign will not shy away from breaking oaths to their offices, violating precedents, and engaging in outrageous behavior, to seek their revenge for Clinton’s loss.  In July, former CIA Director John Brennan, as noted by Zero Hedge urged federal officials to refuse to obey President Trump’s orders under certain circumstances.  Daniel Disalvo, writing for Commentary  reports that “…parts of the U.S. intelligence community are knee-deep in political activity that should be off-limits to them…”

The harm that has been done to our system of laws and governance is substantial, particularly in the aftermath of an eight year period under Obama when the FBI, Department of Justice, and other government agencies were co-opted for partisan purposes. We have seen how the Obama DOJ, throughout his tenure, ignored that which is fair and lawful in their effort to silence their opponents by misusing agencies such as the IRS.

Normally, this type of outrage would be exposed and defeated by the disinfectant of media exposure, but in this case, the biased media itself has become a co-conspirator.

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Iran’s People Lose Patience with Regime

In an interview with a New York Post  reporter Eli Lake, Iran’s Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize wrinning human rights author, has called for the end of her nation’s regime. After years of attempting to reform the nation’s government from within, she now believes that the only way to effectuate change is through a regime change.

Ebadi had previously been  reluctant to call for the end of the regime, but now believes it is the only way to restore freedom.  She didn’t advocate for external military intervention, and called for the Iranian people to rise up.  According to Lake, her position is a rebuke to Western progressives who still pine for Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, to deliver on the reforms he promised in his 2013 and 2017 campaigns.

Human Rights Watch notes that “Authorities in the security apparatus and Iran’s judiciary continued to target journalists, online media activists, and human rights defenders in an ongoing crackdown, in blatant disregard of international and domestic legal standards…Iranian courts, and particularly the revolutionary courts, regularly fell short of providing fair trials and used confessions obtained under torture as evidence in court. Authorities routinely restrict detainees’ access to legal counsel, particularly during the investigation period… Authorities continued to restrict freedoms of expression, association and assembly and prosecuted dozens of journalists, online media activists, and trade unionists on charges of ‘acting against national security,’ ‘propaganda against the state,’ and ‘assembly and collusion to disrupt national security,’merely for exercising their legitimate rights.”

On August 29, Ali Mojtahedzadeh, the lawyer of six administrators of channels on the social media application Telegram who were close to reformists arrested before the May presidential elections, told Ilna news agency that Branch 15 of Tehran’s revolutionary court had sentenced his clients to three to five years in prison.

People prefer generic levitra without prescription anti-impotency medicine over the branded drugs. The second is that Canada has cheap soft cialis a more relaxed frame of mind. Some of them female cialis really costly but do not guarantee the results of the treatment and some of them are really helpful in treating erectile dysfunction. It provides home delivery service to its customers viagra generic uk all over the world. In sharp contrast to Barack Obama’s acceptance of the extreme Islamic government in Tehran, President Trump has sharply criticized that nation’s leadership.  In a tweet delivered while substantial protests were occurring around Iran,  he stated “The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their ‘pockets.’ The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!”

Despite a significant attempt by the Iranian people to reform their government in the 2009 “Green Revolution,” the Obama Administration chose not to support the movement. Gil Hoffman, writing for the Jerusalem Post reports  that Israeli Deputy Minister for Public Policy Michael Oren believes  “The Obama administration’s lack of support for the Green Revolution was part of a pattern in which it did not hold Iran accountable for any provocation. It would seem it was part of a general approach that began in Obama’s first week in office in 2009 of wanting to reach a deal with Iran at pretty much any cost…. Among the Iranian provocations ignored by the Obama administration, Oren listed the crackdown on the protesters, the kidnapping of Americans, having their missile boats provocatively approach American destroyers, trying to assassinate him and his Saudi counterpart in downtown Washington, the failure to follow through on a red line Obama imposed on Syrian dictator Bashar Assad using chemical weapons and Iranian-backed Hezbollah smuggling massive amounts of cocaine into the US.

In January, the largest protests against the Tehran regime spread across Iran. In contrast to the Obama Administration, the U.S. State Department’s  official position stated that “The Iranian people have been expressing their desire for dignified treatment, an end to corruption, improved transparency, and increased economic opportunities. Protestors have also demanded that the regime stop diverting the nation’s wealth to fund military adventurism abroad. Unfortunately, the government continues to imprison and kill those who are brave enough to venture into the street. It is limiting the flow of information into Iran, restricting free speech, and attempting to prevent the outside world from observing its own repression. We support these legitimate aspirations of the Iranian people, and call on the government to allow the free exchange of ideas and information. All of us should be able to enjoy the same basic economic and political freedoms, including the right to peaceful demonstration. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the deaths to date and the arrests of at least one thousand Iranians. We have ample authorities to hold accountable those who commit violence against protestors, contribute to censorship, or steal from the people of Iran. To the regime’s victims, we say: You will not be forgotten.”

U.S. State Dept. map

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Humanity’s Greatest Achievement, Forgotten

Today marks the anniversary of a great and auspicious day in American history, and in the development of human rights throughout the world.  But the odds are you will see nothing about it in the nation’s media, and your children will not hear about it in their classrooms.

The British had been moving steadily to reduce both the private and community rights of their American colonies. Eventually, despite the availability of an appropriate military base within Boston, the English General Thomas Gage ordered his troops “quartered” in civilian sections of the city.  It was becoming increasingly apparent that the colonists’ liberties were being dismantled. To protect themselves from the escalating abuse, the colonists stored up ammunition as a last resort to protect themselves.

The National Archives describes what happened next: “On the evening of April 18, 1775, the British authorities, acting on information that a supply of ammunition for the local militia was being stored in Concord, sent British regular troops from Boston to confiscate the arms. Skirmishes occurred [the next day] in several places, most notably on Lexington town green and afterwards at Old North Bridge spanning the Concord River in Concord. The incidents are referred to as the Lexington Alarm and the Battle of Concord…The colonists felt wronged. They had been fired upon unjustly.”

Thus began the American Revolution, which eventually led to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. Mankind would never be the same. Those documents represented the greatest single advance in human rights the world had ever seen.

But like much else in American history, this extraordinary story has been largely forgotten both in our school systems and in the media. There are significant reasons for that.

The concept of individual rights, the founding principle of America, is rather inconvenient for the prevailing left-tilting cultural leaders, who tilt towards collectivism.

Joy Pullman, writing for The Federalist, reports that: “U.S. civics education, if it exists at all, is being transformed into a political machine to push left-wing causes, undermine American government, and incite civil unrest, finds a 525-page report from the National Association of Scholars. [NAS] The ‘New Civics’ uses attractive, bipartisan-sounding words like ‘civics’ and “service learning” to trick Americans and their representatives into allowing progressive political machinery to hijack public funds and young minds, finds ‘Making Citizens: How American Universities Teach Civics.’……A series of surveys of adult Americans from 2008 to 2011 found that college graduates tended to know less than the average American about basic government functions, although the average American failed the test with or without a college degree. ‘[W]hile college adds little to civic knowledge, it does seem to encourage graduates to identify more strongly with the Democrat and Liberal ends of the political spectrum,’ one of these reports found. Younger students are no better. Although the Obama administration replaced national civics and U.S. history exams with technology assessments in 2013, their results were consistently poor: “In 2010, the last time the history test was administered, students performed worse on it than on any other NAEP test. Less than half the eighth-graders knew the purpose of the Bill of Rights, and only 1 in 10 could pick a definition of the system of checks and balance.”

This is a major problem for a country like America, the NAS report notes, because America is a country founded not on blood or soil but on common consent to a particular structure of self-government articulated in the Declaration of Independence.”

In a Fox interview, columnist Charles Krauthammer  said that American students are being taught “about all of the pathologies of the United States and very little of the glories.’…Krauthammer was reacting to a Fox News Poll…in which 45 percent of voters said they were not proud of the United States. When the voters were broken down by party, just 39 percent of Democrats said they were proud of the United States…’They weren’t just out there rioting and sitting in, they went into the professions – the teaching professions, and they’ve essentially taken over…That generation of radicals runs the universities, they run the teachers’ unions, they run the curricula.”

U.S. schools should return to the days when young students were taught to proudly recite Ralph Waldo Emmerson’s epic poem:

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,

Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,

Here once the embattled farmers stood

And fired the shot heard round the world.

 

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Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;

And Time the ruined bridge has swept

Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

 

On this green bank, by this soft stream,

We set today a votive stone;

That memory may their deed redeem,

When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

 

Spirit, that made those heroes dare

To die, and leave their children free,

Bid Time and Nature gently spare

The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Photo: Minuteman statue, usagovpolicy.com pictures