House Democrats are filing two articles of impeachment against President Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
“He endangers our the Constitution, endangers our democracy and
endangers our national security,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman
Jerrold L. Nadler said Tuesday, flanked by Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the
chairs of other House committees involved in the impeachment inquiry.
“These actions, moreover, are consistent with President Trump’s
previous investigations of foreign interference of our 2016 election.”
Mrs. Pelosi announced the House Judiciary Committee will meet later
this week to draft the articles, before they are sent to the full House.
President Trump said Tuesday his rewrite of the North American trade
deal is “looking good” ahead of an expected announcement of Democratic
support.
“It will be the best and most important trade deal ever made by the
USA. Good for everybody - Farmers, Manufacturers, Energy, Unions -
tremendous support. Importantly, we will finally end our Country’s
worst Trade Deal, NAFTA!” Mr. Trump tweeted.
Mr. Trump made the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, his top
priority after pledging in 2016 that he would renegotiate trade deals
stacked against American workers.
Hunter Biden’s name is ringing throughout the political universe — from
the halls of Congress to the annals of social media and the cornfields
of Iowa, messing with former Vice President Joseph R. Biden’s “No
Malarkey” mojo in the Democratic presidential race.
The 49-year-old has emerged as a central character in the impeachment
inquiry on Capitol Hill and is complicating life for Mr. Biden on the
campaign trail. Questions about Hunter’s tabloid-worthy personal life,
as well as his cushy position on the board of a Ukranian energy
company, are muddying his father’s message.
She’s not running for president — yet — but Hillary Clinton was the top
choice for Democratic voters in the Harvard-Harris national poll
released last week.
Mrs. Clinton drew 21%, followed by former Vice President Joseph R.
Biden with 20%, when registered Democrats were asked whom they would
support for the 2020 party presidential nod if she and former Secretary
of State John Kerry were added to the mix.
Placing third in the hypothetical race was Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders
at 12%, followed by Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren at 9% and
ex-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg at 7%.
U.S. Attorney John Durham said Monday he disagrees with the Justice
Department inspector general’s conclusion that the FBI was justified in
2016 when it launched an investigation into President Trump’s campaign.
Mr. Durham was tasked by Attorney General William P. Barr earlier this
year to oversee a separate investigation into the origins of the Russia
probe. His investigation is covering much of the same territory as
Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz.
Britain is facing the most testing and significant period in its modern history since World War II.
The polarized electorate now has a critical choice to make -- but it
seems unlikely the result, whatever it may be, will heal deep and toxic
divisions that could last a generation or more.
The 20th century saw Britain fight alongside and against Europeans and
then help make the prosperous peace into the 21st century. This
election will help determine where Britain’s formal relationship with
the European Union lands and what the impact will be on all walks of
life.
The World Anti-Doping Agency on Monday banned Russia for four years
from major global sporting events including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and
the 2022 World Cup in Qatar over manipulated doping data, prompting an
angry response from President Vladimir Putin.
WADA's executive committee, meeting in Lausanne, handed Russia the
"robust" four-year suspension after accusing Moscow of falsifying data
from a doping testing laboratory that was handed over to investigators
earlier this year.
The toughest ever sanctions imposed on Russian state authorities will
see government officials barred from attending any major events, while
the country will lose the right to host or bid for tournaments.
The city of Pensacola, Fla., was hit with a cyberattack, shutting down
much of the city computer network, days after a Saudi air force student
opened fire at a military base there.
“The city of Pensacola is experiencing a cyberattack that began this
weekend that is impacting our city network, including phones and email
at City Hall and some of our other buildings,” Pensacola Mayor Grover
Robinson said at a Monday briefing.
The mayor said he didn’t know if the attack was connected to Friday’s
shooting, when a Saudi flight student opened fire in a classroom at
Naval Air Station Pensacola before he was shot to death by authorities.
Brits go to the polls on Thursday to choose a new Parliament. Boris
Johnson will likely remain prime minister, but will the Conservatives
have a clear majority, or will they have to rely on support from other
political parties?
The Labor Party’s campaign has been dogged by claims of anti-Semitism
and that its leader, Jeremy Corbyn, used documents from the Reddit
website to attack the Conservatives that may have been put there by
Russian sources.
Regarding Brexit, Mr. Corbyn would negotiate a new deal with the
European Union and then hold a second referendum, but it is possible he
could be negotiating a new job instead.
The U.S. Forest Service is weighing whether to do away with roadless
protections on the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska. The
Tongass no doubt has ecological significance. It is the largest
national forest in the country and one of the largest intact temperate
rainforests in the world. But all too often, the dollars and cents of a
decision like this are overlooked.
Roadless areas make up about a third of the National Forest System,
including more than 9 million acres of the Tongass in Alaska. During
the second half of the 20th century, national roadless areas were a
battleground between conservationists and the logging industry. When
the Roadless Conservation Rule was implemented in 2001, it banned most
road building and commercial logging in roadless areas. That only
poured fuel on forest management battles.
When I was chief of the U.S. Forest Service during the President George
W. Bush administration, there was disagreement and uncertainty with
what to do with national forest roadless areas. The federal courts
eventually upheld the legality of the Roadless Rule and mostly brought
an end to the fracas — except as it pertained to the Tongass National
Forest.
" It is discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit." -- Noel Coward (1899-1973) British playwright
Medal of Honor
The
Medal of Honor is the highest award for valor in action against an
enemy force which can be bestowed upon an individual serving in the
Armed Services of the United States.
GeneTrerally
presented to its recipient by the President of the United States of
America in the name of Congress.
The first award of
the Medal of Honor was made March 25, 1863 to Private JACOB PARROTT.The
last award of the Medal of Honor was made September 15, 2011 to
Sergeant DAKOTA MEYER.
Since then there have been: • 3458 recipients of the Medal of Honor.
• Today there are 85 Living Recipients of the Medal of Honor.
Citation
Captain
Humbert R. Versace distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism
during the period of 29 October 1963 to 26 September 1965, while
serving as S-2 Advisor, Military Assistance Advisory Group, Detachment
52, Ca Mau, Republic of Vietnam. While accompanying a Civilian
Irregular Defense Group patrol engaged in combat operations in Thoi
Binh District, An Xuyen Province, Captain Versace and the patrol came
under sudden and intense mortar, automatic weapons, and small arms fire
from elements of a heavily armed enemy battalion. As the battle raged,
Captain Versace, although severely wounded in the knee and back by
hostile fire, fought valiantly and continued to engage enemy targets.
Weakened by his wounds and fatigued by the fierce firefight, Captain
Versace stubbornly resisted capture by the over-powering Viet Cong
force with the last full measure of his strength and ammunition. Taken
prisoner by the Viet Cong, he exemplified the tenets of the Code of
Conduct from the time he entered into Prisoner of War status. Captain
Versace assumed command of his fellow American soldiers, scorned the
enemy's exhaustive interrogation and indoctrination efforts, and made
three unsuccessful attempts to escape, despite his weakened condition
which was brought about by his wounds and the extreme privation and
hardships he was forced to endure. During his captivity, Captain
Versace was segregated in an isolated prisoner of war cage, manacled in
irons for prolonged periods of time, and placed on extremely reduced
ration. The enemy was unable to break his indomitable will, his faith
in God, and his trust in the United States of America. Captain Versace,
an American fighting man who epitomized the principles of his country
and the Code of Conduct, was executed by the Viet Cong on 26 September
1965. Captain Versace's gallant actions in close contact with an enemy
force and unyielding courage and bravery while a prisoner of war are in
the highest traditions of the military service and reflect the utmost
credit upon himself and the United States Army.
From the Archives
We Have Met the Enemy… Geoff Metcalf
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. --Benjamin Franklin “The American people must be willing to give up a degree of personal privacy in exchange for safety and security.” --Louis Freeh
In
the wake of the clamor over the most recent WikiLeaks data dump, ‘Vault
7’, ‘UMBRAGE’, et al, it should be noted this is not really anything
new. What we are seeing here is simply the evolution of something that
goes back to the late 50s (to the incomplete best knowledge I have).
In April of 1998 I wrote
“Privacy has become an anachronism.” I was commenting on “a massive
system designed to intercept all your e-mail, fax traffic and more.” I
was explaining ‘Echelon’, the illegitimate offspring of a UKUSA Treaty signed by the United
States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Its purpose
was, and is, to have a vast global intelligence monster, which
allegedly shares common goals. The system was so “efficient” that
reportedly National Security Agency folk from Fort Meade could work
from Menwith Hill in England to intercept local communications without
either nation having to burden themselves with the formality of seeking
approval (a court order) or disclosing the operation. And this was all
pre-9/11 and pre-the anti-constitutional 'Patriot Act'.
It is
illegal (without a Judge’s signed permission) for the United States to
spy on its citizens … kinda. The laws have long been circumvented by a
mutual pact among five nations. Under the terms of UKUSA agreement,
Britain spies on Americans and America spies on British citizens, and
then the two conspirators trade data. A classic technical finesse. It
is legal, but the intent to evade the spirit is inescapable.
I
often fictionalized the genesis of ‘Echelon’ as an informal meeting of
a group of post war American and British intelligence types drinking in
some remote rustic bar. An imagined CIA type complains to his MI6 buddy
about the hassles of US laws preventing US intelligence from
surveillance of bad guys, and the Brit echoes the same complaint.
“Hey wait a moment mate,” says Nigel, the make-believe MI6 guy, “I can
spy on your guys and you can spy on our bad players…why don’t we just
come up with a mechanism whereby we spy on your villains, you spy on
our villains, and we just ‘share’ the intel?”
This system was
called ECHELON, and has been kicking around in some form longer than
most of you. The result of the UKUSA treaty signed by the United
States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand was, and is,
to have a vast global intelligence monster which allegedly shares
common goals.
The London Telegraph reported in December of
1997 that the Civil liberties Committee of the European Parliament had
officially confirmed the existence and purpose of ECHELON. “A global
electronic spy network that can eavesdrop on every telephone, e-mail
and telex communication around the world will be officially
acknowledged for the first time in a European Commission report. …”
The report noted: “Within Europe all e-mail, telephone and fax
communications are routinely intercepted by the United States National
Security Agency, transferring ll target information from the European
mainland via the strategic hub of London, then by satellite to Fort
Meade in Maryland via the crucial hub at Menwith Hill, in the North
York moors in the UK.
“The ECHELON system forms part of the
UKUSA system but unlike many of the electronic spy systems developed
during the Cold War, ECHELON was designed primarily for non-military
targets: governments, organizations and businesses in virtually every
country.”
An interesting sidebar appeared in the International
Herald Tribune under the headline, “Big Corporate Brother: It Knows
More About You Than You Think.” The story details Acxiom Corp, which
was a humongous information service hidden in the Ozark foothills.
Twenty-four hours a day, Acxiom electronically gathered and sorts all
kinds of data about 196 million Americans. Credit card transactions and
magazine subscriptions, telephone numbers, real estate records,
automotive data, hunting, business and fishing licenses, consumer
surveys and demographic detail that would make a marketing department’s
research manager salivate. This relatively new (legal) enterprise was
known as “data warehousing” or “data-mining”, and it underscores the
cruel reality that the fiction of personal privacy has become obsolete.
Technology’s ability to collect and analyze data has made privacy a
quaint albeit interesting dinosaur.
The Tribune reported that
“Axciom can often determine whether an American owns a dog or cat,
enjoys camping or gourmet cooking, reads the Bible or lots of other
books. It can often pinpoint an American’s occupation, car and favorite
vacations. By analyzing the equivalent of billions of pages of data, it
often projects for its customers who should be offered a credit card or
who is likely to buy a computer.”
Most of this information is
from y 1998 piece. Echelon has developed, matured, and morphed
into a much more powerful hybrid. ‘Carnivore’ was software to help
triage the cacophony of data. Vault 7 and ‘Umbrage’ are logical (some
would argue “insidious”) growth.
