If you would convince a man that he does wrong, do right. But do not care to convince him. Men will believe what they see. ― Henry David Thoreau
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| WHITE HOUSE |
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| U.S. MILITARY |
Russia stops a diplomatic plan in Yemen. The short story: Moscow vetoed a UN resolution "that
would have pressured Iran over the illegal use of Iranian-made missiles by
Houthi insurgents in Yemen," and instead submitted their own version,
which "conspicuously avoided the issue of Iranian weapons in
Yemen," The New
York Times reported Monday.
The Russian version was then approved unanimously. (For the record, Bolivia was
the only country to join Russia in the UNSC veto; China abstained from voting.)
The sticking
point, as is often the case
with Russia at the UNSC: "The Russians have said the evidence of Iran's
malfeasance [in Yemen] is inconclusive. Iran has described the evidence as a
fabrication concocted by the United States and Saudi Arabia." [The D
Brief, February 27, 2018]
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| TRADE |
STEEL COMPANIES TARGET TRUMP WITH AD: If
President Donald Trump tunes into Fox News, MSNBC or CNN this morning, he can
expect to see an ad urging him to keep his promise to restrict steel imports,
the leader of a group whose members include U.S. Steel, ArcelorMittal and the
United Steelworkers union told Morning Trade.
"They'll be starting [this] morning, bright and
early," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American
Manufacturing, which is bankrolling the six-figure ad buy on the three cable
news networks. "We hope the president will see the ad and approves of the
message."
Trump, who must decide by the middle of April whether to
restrict both steel and aluminum imports, already seems inclined to take
action, based on comments he made Monday at a White House meeting with 39 of
the nation's governors.
"I want to bring the steel industry back into our country.
If that takes tariffs, let them take tariffs, OK?" Trump said. "Maybe
it will cost a little bit more, but we'll have jobs. Let it take tariffs. I
want to bring aluminum back into our country."
The Commerce Department has recommended that Trump impose
tariffs and quotas on steel and aluminum imports, which it determined threaten
U.S. national security by undermining the long-term viability of the two
domestic sectors. However, steel-consuming industries worry any jobs saved in
the steel sector may be lost in their part of the economy.
"The challenge we face as a country is to use the right
tool to address the problem of state-owned enterprises, primarily in China,
creating the overcapacity that is distorting global steel markets," said
Richard Chriss, executive director of the American Institute for International
Steel. "New national security-related trade restrictions are not the right
tool, because they will not stop one new ton of steel from being produced by
these entities." [POLITICO's Morning Trade, February 27, 2018]
LIGHTHIZER'S INFLUENCE SHOWS IN TRUMP'S LATEST TRADE
TIRADE: Trump showed that he appears to be listening to talking points
espoused by his top trade representative when he suggested at the White House
on Monday that the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico is actually closer to $130
billion, rather than the $71 billion figure reported by the Commerce
Department.
"With Mexico as an example, we probably lose $130 billion a
year," Trump said when talking about the need to make trade deals fair
during an event with U.S. governors. "Now, for years I've been saying -
for the last year and a half I've been saying $71 billion, but it's really
not."
The U.S. trade deficit with Mexico totaled $71 billion last
year, up from $64 billion in 2016, according to official U.S. government
statistics. But Lighthizer contends that official statistics understate the
size of the U.S. trade deficit with Canada and Mexico, because the data doesn't
reflect the value of imports from China and other suppliers that first enter
the U.S. and are then re-exported to one of the North American neighbors.
"We end up having wrong numbers about Canada, wrong numbers
about Mexico," Lighthizer told reporters at the end of the sixth NAFTA
round in Montreal last month. [POLITICO's
Morning Trade, February 27, 2018]
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| PUTIN |
Is Vladimir Putin more powerful than the United
Nations? He might be in Syria, where Russia has ordered up a five-hour lull in the fighting today in Eastern Ghouta for humanitarian purposes. Now,
remember, the UN OK'd a 30-day ceasefire resolution to stop the bombing in the
rebel-held area, which the Syrians and their Russian allies simply ignored. The Russians say a corridor will be
opened to let people leave Eastern Ghouta -- where some 400,000 people are
under siege -- but it's not clear if food or meds will be allowed in. [Good Morning from CNN, 5 Things, February 27, 2018]
Make
yourself useful, United Russia
Vladimir Putin’s re-election
campaign has reportedly launched a project codenamed “Megapolis,” designed to boost turnout in Russia’s
biggest cities. According to the newspaper Kommersant, officials in the ruling
political party United Russia are being tasked with recruiting voters. The
higher the individual’s status in the party, the more voters that person is
expected to bring to the polls. According to Kommersant’s sources, a deputy in a local city council
might be required to produce passport information proving that they recruited
20 voters, whereas a deputy in a legislative assembly would be responsible for
bringing 50 voters to the polls.
Why mobilize
United Russia officials to boost turnout? If
journalists and analysts have said one thing consistently about the 2018
presidential election, it’s that the Kremlin has insisted on high turnout that’s
supposed to validate Putin’s fourth term in office (extending what has already
been roughly 18 years of political dominance). The goal is reportedly “70/70”:
70 percent turnout, with 70 percent of all votes going to Putin. In the 2016
legislative elections, United Russia adopted a “one plus ten” scheme, where
every party member was asked to recruit another 10 voters. [The Real Russia. Today. February 27, 2018]
No
fair, Putin
The opposition political
party Yabloko is calling on Vladimir
Putin to change the format of his upcoming address to the Federal Assembly, which
the Kremlin has confirmed will reveal the president’s re-election platform.
Yabloko says Putin’s plan to focus on future initiatives in his speech is
a violation of the Russian
Constitution and an abuse of his office during the
presidential campaign. Unfortunately for Yabloko, the Central Election
Commission has already said it doesn’t see any problem with Putin’s “new and
improved” state of the nation format.
What’s different
about this year’s speech? For the past decade, the
president has delivered this address in December, which makes sense, because
it’s supposed to be a review of the past calendar year. The Kremlin delayed it
this time, and Putin’s political opponents say he pushed it to within three
weeks of Election Day to give himself a boost with voters. Putin’s spokesman,
Dmitry Peskov, has added to these worries by confirming that the address will
essentially be a campaign speech and Russians’ first look at Putin’s
re-election platform. Want further proof that Putin’s team isn’t even trying to
hide this? The speech is being moved from the Kremlin to the Moscow Manege, in
order to accommodate a bigger crowd and incorporate some fancy big-screen
monitors. [The Real Russia. Today. February 27, 2018]
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| Devin Nunes |
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| NATIONAL SECURITY |
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| NATO |
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| JAMES MATTIS Secretary of Defense |
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| GLOBAL |
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| POLAND |
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| MACEDONIA |
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| ITALY |
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| GREECE |
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| GERMANY |
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| DENMARK |
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| CHINA |
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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