Category Archives: International

Trump: Mission creep

International, ,

There seems to be a bit of Trump-style mission creep happening for U.S. troops deployed to the U.S. / Mexico border.trumpmcreepThe Trump administration has sent roughly 4,000 US troops and 2,000 National Guard personnel to the U.S. / Mexico border. The troops were deployed — according to the administration — to help assist U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials. The move was widely considered political theater-part of Trump’s long-running campaign against immigrants. Several governors have refused to deploy their states’ National Guard troops.

Now the Pentagon has announced the deployment of 300-plus additional troops — and the force’s mission is being expanded with some rules for engagement loosened. The changes, they say, expand the mission but are still designed to keep the military from violating longstanding prohibitions on military participation in domestic law enforcement.

Govexec.com reports these tasks and numbers include:

  • 160 troops who will be “driving high-capacity [Customs and Border Protection] vehicles to transport migrants;”
  • 100 more troops for “administrative support” work like cooking and passing out food, building or improving heaters, and “monitoring the welfare of individuals in CBP custody;”
  • 20 more troops for “attorney support” to Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel already in the region.

The Washington Post writes that soldiers will be able to hand out snacks and refreshments such as crackers and juice boxes. And will now be allowed to drive CBP vehicles […] military personnel would remain in a “segregated driver’s compartment” when driving migrants to detention facilities. Customs and Border Protection officials would provide security on those trips.

Handing out crackers, juice boxes and sitting in “segregated driver’s compartments,” well, that all sounds benign enough.

But in early April at the Texas border Donald Trump bemoaned to reporters that constraints prohibited the troops from getting as rough as he’d like. […] “Our military, don’t forget, can’t act like a military would act. Because if they got a little rough, everybody would go crazy. They have all these horrible laws that the Democrats won’t change [and] they will not change them,” the president said, without explaining what laws he means, or how his political opponents thwarted him.

So how benign can a tense situation remain when Trump, the Commander-in-chief is openly wishing the law would allow the situation to get “a little rougher?” Who does he think he is? Two guesses, and the first one doesn’t count — or as DT’s friend would say, “первый на не в счет ! ”

 

The Onion cure for Mueller Report & mudseason blues

International,

Haul yourself out of a springtime funk-hole with a bit of satire.

The Onion.com: If it wasn’t Trump whom Russian President Putin was conspiring with in the 2016 U.S. election, then Vladimir is left to ponder who he was dealing with.vladonion

MOSCOW—Saying that he had been “totally blindsided” by the revelations from the recently released findings of the Mueller investigation, a shocked Vladimir Putin reportedly came to the realization Tuesday that he didn’t conspire with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign after all. “What the hell? I worked so hard on this—if I wasn’t colluding with the Trump campaign, who the hell was I colluding with?” said the dumbfounded Russian president, growing increasingly angry [added emphasis]

[…]“Man, it seemed so legit. I can’t believe I let myself get conned like this. I spent so much time emailing back and forth with DonaldTrump46@hotmail.com about compromising the democratic voting process, and now it turns out it was all fake? And we spent so much time gathering all that kompromat on the wrong people. Goddammit, I feel like I’ve wasted my life.” At press time, Putin was frantically double-checking that Russia had assisted in propping up a dictator in Syria and not some other country.

Baddies at the border: US

International, National,

If you aren’t overwhelmed by the wide range and daily barrage of lies, security leaks, and corruption out of the Trump administration and want a little dark humor, I’m thinking this video relates well to some recent news about U.S. border enforcement. It is from a years-old Mitchell and Webb BBC comedy skit in which one SS officer asks a fellow officer “Hans, are we the baddies?” It has been popular again online since Donald Trump took office.

Govexec.com reports  that the DHS not only separates immigrant children from their parents detained along the U.S. border but have been at it longer than they first admitted. And worse yet the original recording “systems” used to track children-needed to reunite them with parents or guardians is proving to have been … “inadequate.”

The Health and Human Services HHS Office of Inspector General published a report Thursday finding that the current tally—2,737 children—applies only to children in the department’s custody as of a June 2018 federal court order requiring the data’s release. But the statistic does not include thousands of children who were separated from their parents and detained beginning in the summer of 2017 and released before the ruling was issued.

And for officials currently trying to sort out the mess, tracking what became of these children is proving more than problematic. It seems, early on, headquarters-level record keeping at DHS was an “informal” Excel spreadsheet method later upgraded to include information gathered from the field.  This ad hoc tracking system inspectors now find is not conducive to “retrospective reporting.”

The Trump administration’s record keeping may not be up the standards of historical “baddies” but considering the suffering inflicted on all those detained we better take a close look in the mirror pretty damn quick.

Off to Davos: Trump’s Dirty Dozen head out of town

Business, International, National, ,

December is only just drawing to a close, and the Trump gang has almost already done a winter’s worth of damage to the less fortunate.  Donald shut down the federal government in a temper tantrum over funding for his “great, beautiful” border wall, while his DHS secretary continued to oversee the separation of a record number of migrant families — forcing the children into unsafe facilities and tent camps. And in a sort of bizarro holiday “gift” Trump took moves to add work requirements to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), reversing just-added protections passed in a bipartisan Congressional farm bill — potentially denying 755,000 people SNAP food & nutrition benefits by his action .

So, with all that work done … all that “winning” under their belts, in late January some select Team Trump members and Donald himself will pack their bags and fly off (at U.S. taxpayers expense) to Davos, a luxurious mountain resort in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum. The forum is a gathering of the world’s international economic movers & shakers: powerful heads of state, CEO’s, the mega-wealthy, and royalty discuss how to best shape global, regional, and industry agendas for themselves.davosdozen2

Trump and roughly a dozen other White House officials will head to Switzerland for the conference, which will bring together powerful political and business leaders from Jan. 22-25.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will lead the U.S. delegation, which will also include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao [wife of Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell], Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen [rumored to be leaving in Feb.], Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.

White House advisers Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Chris Liddell [White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Coordination] will also attend.

Govexec.com looked at the planned expenses for the trip as of December and found that hotel costs have already reached $2.9 million. The costs already obligated include $600,000 for the State Department to lease a small apartment building, $142,000 for miscellaneous staff apartments and $230,000 for “POTUS Functional Space” at the Intercontinental Hotel, where Trump stayed last year.

Not included in these early cost figures is approximately $2.2 million for Air Force One to haul Trump there and back or Marine One helicopter to scuttle him from Zurich airport to Davos and around those environs once he arrives in Switzerland.

Trump and entourage will get to schmooze with all their Russian counterparts: the oligarchs. A problem and threatened boycott by Russian president Putin was settled after a last minute deal was worked out with forum organizers to allow certain Russian oligarchs under sanction to attend. Ever willing to help them, Trump pitched right in and thoughtfully removed sanctions from one Russian magnate’s businesses.

So the Russians are coming to Davos, and Donald may even get to enjoy some quiet time with his handler Vladimir Putin, all courtesy of the U.S. taxpayers. Happy New Year.

“An historic day”: U.S. super-yacht owners rejoice at last

Business, International,

At last — thanks to Trump and the US Congress — super-yacht owners can rejoice!

While deadlines for re-uniting refugee-immigrant children with their parents continue to be missed and unfinished business piles up in the US Congress, Republicans in Congress still manage to serve up some goodies to a certain type of constituent:  one-percenters. Tucked away in the John S. McCain Defense Authorization Act of 2019 that President Trump signed on August 13th was the decidedly non-defense provision “adjusting” shipping registration regulations for the benefit of super-yacht owners.

Super Yacht News reports: On 13 August, 2018, Donald Trump, president of the United States (US), signed off on a piece of legislation that would make it possible for yachts over 300gt [gross tons] to fly an American flag and register their yachts in the US.superyacht

Super yachts are essentially a kind of ocean-going tribute to worldwide income inequality. For example, the Cayman Island-flagged Octopus, owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, is 414-feet long (and well over 300 gt at 9,932 gt) and has 41 suites, a pool, two helicopters, a basketball court, and a recording studio.

Until the new provision takes effect, vessels exceeding 300 gross tons (gt) were required to meet commercial operational standards, or they could not register as an American vessel — nor fly an American flag. Until a new code specifically for large yachts is ready in 2020, yachts of this size can now fly the US flag under the law Trump signed. Exemptions were available, but according to Super Yacht News, obtaining them was “both expensive and arduous” for the mega-wealthy yacht owners. Maybe now, with these changes, Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVoss can get her family to change the flag on their Cayman Island-registered 164-foot yacht, The Seaquest.

There is no doubt the one percenters didn’t beg and cajole very hard for this special legislative treat: only after a ten-year slog of lobbying and targeting members in congress  did the U.S. Super Yacht Association (USSA) finally succeed.

In 2014 the USSA hoped to ease certain US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “small vessel” cruising regulations that require personally reporting in to customs and border authorities while in U.S. waters. The mega-rich yacht owners  want to avoid regulations that may cramp their privileged lifestyle. US super-yacht owners will be able to fly an American flag — now that the flag also proves convenient in helping them avoid border-patrol and customs scrutiny. Notice that USSA president Kitty McGowan calls the new law the “icing on the cake.”

The recent favorable legislation, according to McGowan, was made possible in large part by lobbying efforts of large yacht owner Tilman J. Fertitta of Texas. Fertitta, for those who may not know, is star of the TV show Billion Dollar Buyer, and sole owner of Landry’s Restaurants and the Houston Rockets.He is also a longtime  fan of President Trump and thinks Donald is doing a great job.

Quoted in gcaptain.com, Fertitta remarked: “For at least a half century, ridiculous regulations prohibited American citizens from displaying their patriotism by flying an American flag on their yacht. […] Thank you to all those that made this possible and to President Trump for eliminating over 50 years of bureaucratic red tape. This is truly an historic day for American yacht owners and the yachting industry.”  The country — canoeists, rowboaters, lobster harvesters, shrimpers, sailors, and pleasure- and working-boat owners of all kinds and sizes (not to mention the vast majority of inland and coastal non-boat owners) — can breath a sigh of relief  for Fertitta and his wealthy buddies that the super yacht owners are free at last from red tape. Now what say Congress do something positive about Medicare for all ?

Say what you will about Trump and his GOP-controlled Congress, even though immigration reform remains unresolved, gun legislation and almost everything else meaningful seems to languish by design, they always find time to serve up thoughtful little treats to their one percenters.

And for the rest of us?  well maybe …yachtjobzz

ICE, huh, good god y’all…what is it good for?

International, National, ,

 

“Abolish ICE” has been in the news big-time for a  week or more. Democrats started using the line and it became shorthand for putting the brakes on Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policies. The administration’s policy has horrifically separated thousands of immigrant parents from their children at our order from their families in the months since it began

Trump counter-punched “Abolish ICE” as a slogan in a manner he must have hoped might cause jittery Democrats more jitters: said Donald the baby-snatcher-in-chief: “I love that issue if they’re gonna actually do that.” He also said that to support abolishing ICE is supporting “open borders”

peoplencages

But: it is a different U.S. agency enforcing his own “zero tolerance” border policy—Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol—is responsible for policing the country’s borders. And it is agents patrolling the US-Mexico border who have been enforcing the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy, by arresting adults who illegally enter the US, and separating them from their children.

This isn’t to say what ICE does isn’t just as cruelly problematic. And both unions that represent ICE and CBP workers/officers endorsed Trump for president early in his GOP primary race. Each agency has expressed a desire to have the “shackles taken off” and be turned loose on immigration enforcement.

So, what does ICE do exactly?

Well, Govexec.com has provided a handy little explainer worth taking a look at:  ICE ( sister” agency to CBP) is 20,000 people strong and operates in all 50 states. It was created in 2003 by Congress and granted unique civil and criminal powers to defend the U.S. borders. The agency largely focuses on immigration enforcement and works predominately within the US. This means apprehending and deporting immigrants who don’t have the right to live there.

In recent months, ICE carried out a number of high-profile raids. In June, it arrested nearly 150 meat plant workers in Ohio. In April, the agency raided another plant in eastern Tennessee, arresting nearly 100 people. As a result of that raid, more than 500 kids missed school the next day. Critics warn these raids could lead to long-term trauma within these communities.

In Vermont ICE has conducted a large scale raid in January and has been accused of targeting farm worker clients of the aid support group Migrant Justice for arrest.

The Homeland Security Act that created ICE was passed as part of the Homeland Security Act in 2002 with record bi-partisan support in both the Senate and House. In that vote  Vermont Senators Leahy voted Yes and then former GOP Sen. Jeffords, newly Independent after bolting his party was a No and in the US House Independent Bernie Sanders was No.

Under Trump both ICE and CBP are treating immigrants and their families cruelly on a daily basis and should be brought under control. It wouldn’t make a bumper sticker but the Washington Post’s Plum-line blogger Greg Sargent wisely pointed out that a good response for Democrats and progressives to the Trump-induced chaos at the border would be something along these lines: Trump’s cruel and incompetent policies just ripped more than 2,000 children away from their parents, and there are no indications when he’ll be able to reunite them, even though a judge has ordered him to do so. It’s time for him to show some leadership and clean up the immense humanitarian catastrophe he has created, rather than wasting all of our time with his petty little tweets and lies.

I particularly like that last bit: “[Trump]clean up the immense humanitarian catastrophe …rather than wasting all of our time with petty little tweets and lies”  That might not be comfortably squeezed onto a bumper sticker but it would look sharp on a billboard.

Re: Huh,what is it good for?

Growing tensions with Canada: Welcome to Trump’s World

International, , ,

Did you ever think you might see a headline like this one from Newsweek?  DHS Announces ‘Strengthened Northern Border Strategy’ Amid Growing Tensions Between U.S. and Canada

US CAN splitzPresident Trump isn’t exactly saber rattling, but after imposing tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and autos he does seem to be “rattling” the DHS’ Northern Border Strategy in a threatening manner.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has announced a “strengthened” Northern Border Strategy that it claims will help “combat terrorism” and “help facilitate travel and trade” at its border with Canada. 

In a press release published on Tuesday, the DHS said its new strategy “establishes a clear vision and concrete actions that will improve DHS’s efforts to safeguard our northern border against terrorist and criminal threats, facilitate the safe and efficient flow of lawful cross-border trade and travel and strengthen cross-border critical infrastructure protection and community resilience.” 

All this is taking place less than a week after President Trump citing “national security threats” announced the imposition of tariffs on Canadian steel, aluminum and autos entering the US.

Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau called the tariffs insulting and in response  imposed tariffs on the US. Trudeau said: “I have made it very clear to the president that it is not something we relish doing, but it is something that we absolutely will do,” Trudeau said. “As Canadians, we are polite, we’re reasonable, but also we will not be pushed around.”

Vtdigger.com says Vermont officials are “fretting” over the tariff issue because: According to the U.S Trade Representative, exports to Canada are a major factor in the Vermont economy. Vermont exported $1.2 billion in goods to Canada in 2016 — more than a third of the total international exports.

canada_trade_us

Of course the U.S. isn’t massing troops and tanks along our 90 mile border with Canada. But the tariffs and “tension” resulting from Trump’s bullying engineered on Twitter could very well damage Vermont’s economy.  What’s next Donald, a northern border wall? I wish it was obvious that was a joke but in Trump World …

Coins of his realm: Trump’s chump change

International, ,

What is it with Republican Presidents declaring success way before it is actually achieved? 

As if he wanted to cast in stone his own version of George Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” banner (the one prematurely celebrating “winning” the war Bush & Cheney started in Iraq) the Trump administration prematurely minted commemorative coins commemorating the planned summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong UN. Trump the vainglorious fool and his GOP followers were actually anticipating he would be awarded a Nobel Peace prize telling reporters: ‘Everyone thinks I deserve the Nobel Peace Prize.’

Now since the not unexpected cancellation of Trump’s Un* meeting the commemorative coins (should we call them “Trump-pence”?) are now selling at a substantial discount. Trumpchange1pence

Given Trump’s authoritarian tendencies the photo-shopped version on the left might give Donald the title he aspires to

Some believe the Trump coin could become a collectible loosely falling into a category known by numismatists as mint-made error coins or simply error coins. These groups of coins with distinctive characteristics (often built-in defects) sound like Trump.

*Sec. of State Pompeo: “[…]the summit between the president and Chairman Un.”  What’s Kim Jong-un’s Surname? Mike Pompeo Is Learning the Hard Way

 

 

 

 

 

The “Magpie Bridge,”dark side of the moon & Trump

International, , ,

Today the guardian.com reports the  Chinese government launched a communications relay satellite that is an integral part of their effort to be the first country to land a space craft on the dark side of the moon.

The Queqiao relay satellite was launched from Sichuan province, according to Chinese state media. With Queqiao in place, China will be able to send a lunar probe to the side of the moon that never faces the Earth. No space program has ever reached that part of the lunar surface because of communications difficulties.

Queqiao – which means “Magpie Bridge” and comes from a Chinese folk story in which an arc formed by birds reunites two lovers separated by the heavens – will then act as a bridge between ground stations and the lunar probe.

Trumpoddity2001

Meanwhile here in America the orange haired buffoon in the White House is a long way from making science great again in the U.S. Despite the fact that President Trump claims he wants to send astronauts back to the moon he has not budgeted any additional money for that undertaking – planned for his second term!

In fact the future success of U.S. space exploration or any science-related initiative (other than his EPA ignoring climate science) from the Trump administration is looking distinctly poor.

An article in gov.exec.com, Science in the age of Trump, explores at length Trump’s science policies. The authors note that despite being in office over a year Donald still hasn’t even bothered to name a White House science advisor. The person handling those duties through default is a 31-year-old Michael Kratsios, a former political science major who had been chief of staff for PayPal founder and Libertarian futurist Peter Theil. I imagine the Trump administration would argue with typical incoherent bravado that Kratsios therefore has a science background.

Physicist Rush Holt, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, explains his observations about Trump and his science policy:  The administration does not have an overall science policy “that I am able to discern,” Holt said. “Some areas seem pretty clear, as in the ideological position on climate change, some matters related to space, and some aspects of education, such as sex education. But there’s no clear policy on science education.”

What has been perhaps most visible to the news-consuming public appears as a combination of proposed budget cuts, removal of climate change materials from agency websites, recasting of scientific advisory panels to bring more industry input, and a contentious proposal from the Environmental Protection Agency to ban the use of “secret science” in rule-making.

Trump did announce that sending American astronauts back to the moon (by his second term) is a priority. But that looks like another hollow promise: budget cuts, censoring of climate science, and allowing climate change deniers a voice sure doesn’t sound like a successful scientific formula for anything but failure.

In the meantime via the “Magpie Bridge” we will hearing from the Chinese on dark side of the moon.

Winter sports advocates target politicians on climate change issue

Business, International, National, , ,

Governor Scott’s blue sky comments late last year about how he believes Vermont is a sort of climate change “Mecca” came to mind when I read about a climate activist group called Protect Our Winters(POW) a national group made up of winter sports enthusiasts, resorts and outdoor gear retailers. The ten-year-old organization based in the Western US has formed a political wing that, according to McClatchey.com, will in 2018, be: “targeting politicians to take seriously the threat of climate change, and working to vote them out of office if they don’t.”

In 2018 POW will be concentrating their effort on gubernatorial and congressional races in the west but they plan to expand educational outreaches in the Eastern states such as Vermont. Organizers note: “[…] places with large snow-sports industries and tourism economies that depend on snow and winter […] have constituencies in those states who really care about climate change and where it is crucial to elect climate-friendly officials.”

Vermont.gov notes the trend toward a snow challenged future: Changes in precipitation patterns and seasonal average temperatures are altering Vermont’s normally snowy winter landscape. In addition to shorter lake ice over and rising minimum temperatures, the number of days each year with snow on the ground is also diminishing. Vermont’s winter sports industry did have a good season in 2017-2018, but they are heavily relying  on costly snow-making equipment  (with the state having subsidized up to $5 million worth of rebates on nearly 2,400 energy-efficient snow guns in 2014) and were very lucky with several well-timed storms.

Vermont.gov chart
Vermont.gov chart

For voters, concern over the effects of climate change is not a party-line issue. For Protect Our Winters, the good news is that Republican millennials tend to be more worried about a warming planet than other Republicans, and young people in general are more politically engaged than they were in recent elections according to Yale University research scientist Anthony Leiserowitz, who has analyzed public opinion on climate change for a decade.

It’s snow secret: warmer winters, less snow and maybe a little more heat on the way should wake up anyone who has deceived themselves into thinking Vermont can be an environmental “Mecca” magically isolated from climate change challenges.