Now it is time to worry about a new kind of WMDs – Weapons of Mass Disruption. - John Mariotti
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| Russian interference in the 2016 election |
What are the “trolling” charges again? In mid-February, Robert Mueller’s special counsel
investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election indicted 13 Russian citizens and three Russian organizations
on Friday with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to commit
wire fraud and bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. [The Real Russia. Today. March 5]
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| REFUGEES |
DHS MEMO OUTLINES FINDINGS OF REFUGEE REVIEW: A
memo issued by DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Jan. 29 details the outcome of
a 90-day security review related to the refugee resettlement program. The memo,
part of a legal filing that references the review, calls for increased vetting
of people from "high-risk countries" and consideration of which
countries should be included on a list of security threats.
The review stems from an iteration of President
Trump's travel ban policy, which suspended the refugee resettlement program for
120 days. When that deadline (pushed out by court challenges) arrived in
October, Trump ordered [Trump
targets 11 nations in refugee order https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/24/refugee-nations-trump-administration-muslim-244135] a 90-day review of refugee resettlement from nations
flagged previously for extra vetting using a process known as a "security
advisory opinion." The administration hasn't identified the countries, but
based on statements from officials, they are Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali,
North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. All but two (North
Korea and South Sudan) are majority Muslim.
During the review, refugee admissions from those nations were placed
on hold, with allowances on a case-by-case basis. A Seattle-based federal judge
in December ordered [Judge blocks Trump refugee
order https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/23/trump-refugee-order-blocked-318997] admissions to resume temporarily
for refugees with "bona fide" ties to people or employers in the
United States, a decision the administration appealed to the 9th Circuit.
A related court filing on Friday contains a memo from Nielsen to Francis Cissna,
director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, that outlines the
findings of the 90-day refugee program evaluation. In the memo, Nielsen calls
for DHS and the State Department to conduct a review of the security advisory
opinion nations and to propose an updated list within six months. The list,
Nielsen wrote, should be "based on broader public safety and national
security considerations, including terrorism threats, transnational organized
crime, and other relevant factors." [POLITICO's Morning Shift, March
5, 2018]
TEXAS TOWN TURNS TO REFUGEES: Cactus, a town in the Texas Panhandle, turned to
refugees to bolster its labor force after a massive immigration raid in 2006
occasioned 300 arrests - roughly 10 percent of the town's population, Nick
Miroff writes in the Washington Post. "Cactus and surrounding Moore County
have bounced back from the raid, and the plant today is once more thriving,
shipping steaks to Walmart and hamburger meat to Burger King," writes
Miroff. "But finding workers remains a perpetual
struggle." [POLITICO's Morning Shift, March 5, 2018]
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| PUTIN |
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| READ |
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| JUDICIARY |
MAKE-OR-BREAK HEARING FOR MONSANTO AND PLAINTIFFS: Agribusiness
giant Monsanto and attorneys representing cancer patients who argue that
exposure to the company's flagship weed killer Roundup caused them to develop
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma are in court this week for a high-stakes legal
proceeding about scientific research. The parties are meeting in San Francisco
for a weeklong hearing about whether decades of evidence support a direct link
between cancer and glyphosate, the active agent in Roundup, Pro Ag's Liz
Crampton writes.
Science vs. science: A federal judge will
hear from a deep bench of scientists and other experts to determine which
evidence a jury should later consider if the case heads to trial. It's a
make-or-break moment: If the judge doesn't find some experts to be qualified or
their theories valid, it could be a death blow to either side's case.
Ripples overseas: The proceeding, known as a Daubert
hearing, has the potential to affect the future use of glyphosate in the U.S.
and abroad. In the European Union, officials last year approved the renewal of the license for the herbicide for
another five years after fierce debate; they are now closely watching the California
proceedings. Liz will also be on the ground in San Francisco providing regular
updates.
Dicamba report: Separately, federal
documents indicate that the Environmental Protection Agency decreased
protections for crops and wildlife habitats based on research Monsanto supplied
about how far the weed killer dicamba can drift, the Midwest Center for
Investigative Reporting writes. [POLITICO's Morning Agriculture, March 5, 2018]
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| FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION |
FOOD MAKERS STILL STRESSED ABOUT NEW NUTRITION LABELS: The
FDA just released a flurry of policy guidance aimed at helping food companies
comply with the first big update to the Nutrition Facts label, which is already
expected to be delayed by 18 months. But industry leaders say they still lack
answers on a number of thorny issues, especially on how to label fiber.
As part of the FDA's update to the label, the agency has
essentially raised the bar for what counts as "dietary fiber,"
stipulating that the ingredient must have a proven health benefit. The agency
is reviewing more than two dozen fiber ingredients that are used in the food
supply. For example, chicory root ingredients are widely used to add fiber to
products, like Luna Bars and Fiber One Brownies. It is unclear if they will
count as dietary fiber for the new Nutrition Facts panel.
"Manufacturers didn't get any more clarity when it comes to
fiber," said Beth Johnson, principal at Food Directions, a top food industry
consulting firm.
Last week, the agency essentially offered
more explanation about how it is reviewing the science on fiber ingredients.
Food makers continue to wait for rulings on individual ingredients so they can
move forward with their labels. [POLITICO's
Morning Agriculture, March 5]
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| UNIONS |
UNIONS LAUD TARIFFS: President Donald Trump
"ignited a possible trade war by announcing a decision to impose tariffs
of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum to protect both
industries from unfairly traded imports that the Commerce Department has
determined pose a threat to national security," POLITICO's Andrew
Restuccia and Adam Behsudi report. "It'll be 25 percent for steel. It will
be 10 percent for aluminum. It'll be for a long period of time," Trump said
at a White House meeting with industry executives. "We'll be signing it
next week. And you'll have protection."
The announcement rattled stock markets, with the
Dow Jones Industrial Average closing more than 400 points lower. "Shares
of Ford Motor dropped 3 percent and General Motors fell nearly 4 percent,"
CNBC's Fred Imbert reports. "Boeing, Cummins, Johnson Controls, and United
Technologies - other users of steel and aluminum - also helped lead the market
lower. Steel stocks like U.S. Steel and AK Steel posted strong gains." In
addition, Trump's plan is "likely to be met with outrage and retaliation
from countries around the world," POLITICO's Restuccia and Behsudi report.
Still, the controversial proposal won
praise Thursday from unions and, in particular, steelworkers. Leo Gerard,
president of the United Steelworkers, said the policies would help mitigate the deleterious effects
of imports "that have decimated production in the United States."
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka tweeted that Commerce Secretary
Wilbur Ross, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and White House trade
adviser Peter Navarro "have rightly advocated for these actions despite
opposition from the Wall St wing of the admin."
The president's plan is meant to fulfill a
campaign promise to revive U.S. steel jobs, a message Trump stressed in Rust
Belt states that helped hand him the election. But the tariffs face steep
opposition from business groups and many congressional Republicans. Steel
industry advocates fear the backlash could cause the president to walk back his
commitment before he signs the trade measures next week. "I, for one, am
not resting until the papers are signed," said Scott Paul, the president
of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, which represents steel companies
and workers. [POLITICO's Morning Shift, March 2,
2018]
BRACING FOR FIREWORKS AT ROUND 7 FINALE: The
three NAFTA ministers - U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian
Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso
Guajardo - are slated to sit down this morning for a series of bilateral
gatherings followed by a trilateral meeting and press conference, which is
scheduled to kick off around 3:15 p.m. Eastern.
The major open question going into the day's
events is whether President Donald Trump will follow through on tariffs on
steel and aluminum and just how forcefully both countries, but Canada in
particular, will broach the subject either behind closed doors or at the press
conference.
"I can't imagine a scenario in which it doesn't come
up," a Canadian source close to the talks told Morning Trade. Freeland,
who quickly denounced the planned tariffs last week as "absolutely
unacceptable," discussed the matter with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on
Friday and has also been in contact with EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia
Malmstrom, the source said.
Will there be NAFTA partner exemptions? Both
Canada and Mexico have tried to make the case that they should be exempt from
any tariffs levied for national security reasons, a point that U.S.
lawmakers who traveled to Mexico City for meetings on the sidelines of the
seventh negotiating round also echoed.
"Blanket tariffs that also sweep up fairly traded steel and
aluminum, especially with trading partners like Canada and Mexico - they should
be excluded from this tariff," House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) told reporters in Mexico
City.
"This is an ally," added Rep. Bill Pascrell, top Democrat on the Ways
and Means' subcommittee on trade, referring to Mexico and Canada. "If we
can't make an exception there, then how are we going to get a NAFTA
deal?" [POLITICO's Morning Trade,
March 5, 2018]
STEEL TARIFFS STILL ON TAP :
Trump is still on track to officially announce by week's end the tariffs on
steel and aluminum imports he called for last week - and those hoping to get an
exemption might be out of luck. Despite threats that other countries will
retaliate and warnings from industry groups - including in the energy sector -
senior U.S. officials said on Sunday the president is staying his course.
"I don't know exactly what day because the lawyers are working away, but
sometime this week," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on ABC's
"This Week." And White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, who
appeared on several Sunday news shows, said there was no reason to believe that
Trump would exclude allied countries. "As soon as he starts exempting
countries, he has to raise the tariff on everybody else," Navarro said in
a combative interview on "Fox News Sunday." "As soon as he
exempts one country, his phone starts ringing from the heads of state of other
countries."
Pipeline groups have argued tariffs would hurt their businesses, since
pipeline-grade steel is a niche market and they rely on imports for their
projects. Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, also warned
the tariffs would harm the "U.S. manufacturing workers supporting the wind
industry's rapid growth."
There would however be a process through
which companies could ask for a particular steel or aluminum product
to be exempted from tariffs if they cannot get it from a domestic producer,
POLITICO's Doug Palmer and Zachary Warmbrodt report. "There will be an exemption procedure for particular
cases, where we need to have exemptions, so that business can - can move
forward. But, at this point in time, there will be no country exclusions,"
Navarro said on CNN's "State of the Union." [POLITICO's Morning Energy, March 5, 2018]
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| WHIMSEY |
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WILBUR ROSS
Secretary of Commerce |
White House staff, most
of whom were in the dark about Trump's planned tariffs announcement, are
referring to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the victor in the policy coup, as "Chief
Ross," Jonathan Swan hears:
- Their reasoning: Based on what
happened on trade, the 80-year-old Ross looks more in charge than White
House Chief of Staff John Kelly. [Axios AM, March 2, 2018]
·
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS talks
to WILBUR ROSS on ABC'S "THIS
WEEK":STEPHANOPOULOS: "It certainly sounds like the
president is going to go forward, or you're committed going forward as well.
Any concern that if the president goes forward this week, his top economic
adviser in the White House Gary Cohn will resign?"
·
ROSS: "Gary Cohn has been a
big participant in the interagency process that came to this conclusion. The
president likes to hear every side of every argument, that way he's sure he's
gotten all points of view. And so we've had lively discussion, but Gary Cohn,
as far as I know, is certainly not going to walk out."
·
-- CHUCK TODD also spoke with ROSS on NBC'S "MEET THE
PRESS": TODD: "Are you concerned about the president's state of
mind?" ROSS: "His state of mind is fine. If you went to the Gridiron
last night, which I did and others did, he was very relaxed, he was
self-deprecating, he had some very good humorous lines. I don't see any problem
with his behavior at all." [POLITICO
Playbook, March 4, 2018]
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| NATIONAL SECURITY |
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| CYBERSECURITY |
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| POLITICS |
NOTE: The news sources here vary. Not all sources have the same credibility, but in an effort to share some different perspectives, they are included here. This compendium itself cannot claim to be unbiased. Please take into consideration where these different perspectives originate in assessing their value. Thank you
NOTE: I have no official connection to any organization from which information is shared.. Occasionally, I post informational material and/or an opportunity to donate or join as a "community service" announcement. These again are shared for their varying perspectives.
Any books listed are random or topic-related to something else in the post. Think of these as a "library bookshelf" to browse. They are shared for informational or entertainment value only, not as being recommended
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