Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
November 18, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Sharing with you an excerpt from my very first Wall Street Journal hit!
‘Space Armageddon’ and Putin’s Threats to Ukraine . . . Analysis. By Rebekah Koffler. Russia successfully conducted a test in which a direct-ascent missile destroyed a nearly 40-year-old defunct Soviet spy satellite, U.S. Space Command announced Monday. This unsettling development is noteworthy because it coincides with Russia’s massive military buildup along the Ukrainian border. Moscow’s posturing on what the Russians call a
“space weapon” signals a rapidly escalating crisis in U.S.-Russia relations.
President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said the U.S. is crossing a red line by attempting to pull Ukraine out of Russia’s orbit. He threatened a “swift, asymmetric and harsh response,” if the U.S. and NATO intervene on Ukraine’s behalf. Ukraine’s admission into the EU and NATO would almost certainly be unacceptable to the Kremlin. Mr. Putin is prepared to fight a war against the West to prevent this from happening.
But how could Russia win a war against a much stronger adversary? That’s where Monday’s antisatellite test comes in. It’s a preview of Mr. Putin’s Space Armageddon strategy. Moscow therefore seeks to deafen and blind U.S. forces in conflicts. By attacking U.S. satellites, the Russians would attempt to offset superior U.S. conventional firepower.
They also hope to paralyze U.S. forces psychologically by rendering them helpless.This is the essence of Mr. Putin’s asymmetric approach to warfare. Moscow believes it can win an all-out space war with America, which stands to lose a lot more since its entire society, from ATMs to home offices, is connected via satellites. Alarmingly, Washington is as unprepared for Mr. Putin’s star wars as it was for Russia’s determination to wage cyberwarfare. Wall Street Journal
Half of voters think Biden is not in good health . . . President Biden turns 79 Saturday. Voter doubts are growing about his health. Voters have increasing doubts about the health and mental fitness of President Joe Biden, the oldest man ever sworn into the White House, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Only 40 percent of voters surveyed agreed with the statement that Biden “is in good health,” while 50 percent
disagreed. That 10-percentage-point gap — outside the poll’s margin of error — represents a massive 29-point shift since October 2020, when Morning Consult last surveyed the question and found voters believed Biden was in good health by a 19-point margin. White House Dossier
Biden Policy Disrespects Both Science and Religion . . . College of the Ozarks faces an existential threat, as a federal court will hear on Wednesday. The Biden administration has declared that we must start letting men into our young women’s dorm rooms, showers and locker rooms—or else face the wrath of the federal government. The Biden administration issued a February memo under the Fair Housing Act, declaring it will “eradicate housing
discrimination.” If we don’t cease what it calls “gender identity” discrimination, the federal government will punish our 115-year-old institution via laws that were written to stamp out racism. College campuses have certainly been superspreaders for the sexual revolution, and since then some campuses implemented coed dorms. But until now no one has forced private colleges to reject the wisdom of having separate dorms for men and women, half of whom are teenagers. Nor has the government
compelled colleges to deny the basic biological reality that there are two sexes. Wall Street Journal
Top Biden aide Jake Sullivan under fire amid Durham indictments, botched Afghanistan exit . . . White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, already under fire for his role in the disastrous U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, is facing growing calls to resign amid questions about a suspected connection to debunked claims of collusion between Russia and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Multiple reports surfaced last week
that Mr. Sullivan, a longtime confidant of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a two-time presidential hopeful, is the “foreign policy adviser” named in special counsel John Durham’s indictment last week of Democratic lawyer Michael Sussmann, charged with lying to the FBI about what he knew about Mr. Trump and Russia. Washington Times
Psaki plays race card against Kamala Harris critics . . .
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said she feels that sexism and racism have contributed to the intensity of criticism faced by Vice President Kamala Harris. “I do think that it has been easier and harsher from some in the right wing who have gone after her because she is the first woman, the first woman of color. I’m not suggesting anyone will acknowledge that publicly,” Psaki said during an appearance on Politico’s “Women Rule” podcast Wednesday. Psaki said that Harris bears
a heavy burden being the “first African American, woman of color, Indian American woman to serve in this job,” but that she “wants to be seen” more for her role as a trusted expert and adviser to President Biden. White House Dossier
Ilhan Omar claims Boebert 'defecates' Congress after Boebert's 'brother-husband' dig . . . Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar on Wednesday night claimed Republican Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert "defecates [and] defiles the House of Representatives" and accused her husband of being "a pervert." Omar's broadside at Boebert came after the Republican congresswoman referred to Omar as a member of the "jihad squad" and referenced an
unconfirmed accusation that Omar married her brother. Boebert mentioned Omar while attacking California Rep. Eric Swalwell and other Democrats in defense of Republican Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, who was censured by the House and stripped of his committee assignments on Wednesday. Fox News
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Chinese military now set for invasion of Taiwan, says Hill commission . . . China‘s military now is capable of a full-scale invasion of Taiwan and has added new missiles and amphibious ships to the People’s Liberation Army for an attack on the island democracy, according to the latest annual report of a congressional China commission. Additionally, the standoff between China and Taiwan has become unstable because the ability of the U.S.
military to deter a Chinese attack is now in a period of “dangerous uncertainty,” the report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission concluded. Washington Times
EPA’s Cybersecurity Oversight of Water Sector Falls Short, Report Says . . . U.S. water facilities are struggling with glaring cybersecurity problems and receive insufficient support from federal regulators, according to cyber and water industry experts. Many water systems are small, run by local municipalities and have few resources to invest in cybersecurity tools or staff. ndustry experts are pushing for more federal funding and
security standards to protect facilities from hackers. Wall Street Journal
House Republicans Demand Answers From TSA Over Whistleblower Packet Showing Operation To Move Migrants Into US . . . Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden and a group of House Republicans sent a letter Wednesday to Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Administrator David Pekoske demanding answers as to why migrants are being allowed to fly without proper identification. The Daily Caller first obtained the letter, along with other
letters the Republicans are sending to various U.S. corporations involved that they believe are complicit in human smuggling. The letters stem from a whistleblower packet received by Gooden, which reportedly confirmed U.S. non-profits are undertaking large-scale organized operations to move migrants throughout the U.S. The whistleblower packet reportedly details how to go to the airport, how to get past TSA without any identification, how to enroll children in schools and how to assimilate
into different communities. Daily Caller
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Saudis, UAE suddenly abandon Red Sea coast to Iranian-Houthi control – a shocker for US and allies . . . Washington was bowled over on Nov. 17 upon learning that Saudi and UAE forces had pulled back from Yemen’s Red Sea coast, handing control to Iran’s surrogates just a week after their the Gulf nations’ first joint Red Sea naval drill with the US, Israel and Bahrain. The DEBKAfile account of the unprecedented war game,
launched on the 11th, disclosed that it was commanded from Egypt’s Berenice military base, which President Abdel-Fatteh Sisi had inaugurated on the Red Sea’s western coast only last year. The exercise was designed to highlight the resolve of the US-led coalition to prevent Iran from seizing control of this primary shipping and oil route to and from the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. That objective was derailed by none other than two of the exercise’s participants – Saudi Arabia and the
UAE – which dropped a bombshell on the exercise by a sudden decision to pull their forces out of a 300km long stretch of Yemen’s Red Sea coast – from Aden in the south to Hodeida in the north. DEBKAfile
Turf War Between Drug Cartels Casts Shadow Over Mexico’s Tourism . . . Shots fired between rival drug cartels—near the Azul Beach Resort Riviera Cancun and Hyatt Ziva Riviera Cancun in the resort town of Puerto Morelos—left guests shaken and administrative officials scrambling to do damage control in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The Nov. 4 incident further damaged the image of a state already hammered by another drug related
shooting that killed two tourists and injured three in Tulum on Oct. 21. The common denominator between the incidents is a narcotics industry in the state of Quintana Roo fed by foreign tourism and what Gov. Carlos Joaquín calls a “culture of fear” that cartels are trying to impose on all social groups to pressure the government. Epoch Times
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Pelosi Reportedly Seen Maskless At Swingers Bar . . . Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Democratic New York Rep. Yvette Clarke were reportedly seen Tuesday night at a Washington D.C. bar violating the district’s mask mandate, a video obtained by the Daily Caller shows. In the video, both Pelosi and Clarke can be seen speaking to a small group inside the “crazy golf club” at Swingers in Dupont Circle. Others in the
crowd can be seen not wearing a mask either. Pelosi appears to have her arm around Clarke, who is smiling without a mask. Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that the indoor mask mandate will be lifted on Nov. 22. Daily Caller
OSHA Suspends Implemenation, Enforcement of Vaccine Mandate . . . The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) says it has suspended the implementation and enforcement of the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for private businesses. The announcement came shortly after a U.S. appeals court rejected a challenge by the Biden administration on Nov. 12 and reaffirmed its decision to put on hold
OSHA’s mandate, which requires that businesses with 100 employees or more ensure that workers either be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Jan. 4, 2022, or be tested weekly and wear a mask. Epoch Times
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Supply-Chain Snarls Deliver Windfalls to Wall Street . . . Global supply-chain bottlenecks are creating headaches for retailers, delays for consumers—and big gains for financial firms that invested in container ships before the pandemic upended the logistics business. New York-based Mangrove Partners, which managed $1.3 billion at the end of September, was up 70% for the year through October. Roughly half of the hedge
fund’s gains stem from shipping investments, said a person familiar with the firm. Mangrove focuses on inefficient or out-of-favor industries. Wall Street Journal
Starbucks links with Amazon Go for first cashier-less cafe . . . Starbucks Corp's newest cafe lacks one element most customers are used to seeing: cashiers. The global coffee chain on Thursday opened its first ever location in partnership with Amazon Go, the e-commerce giant's brick-and-mortar convenience store, where customers can sit at a table with a latte or grab a sandwich from a shelf and walk out. Hit by a U.S. labor crunch,
Starbucks and other companies are expanding labor-saving technology like artificial intelligence, robotics and digital touch screens. Fox Business
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White House Comptroller nominee Saule Omarova was charged with stealing in 1995 . . . And why not? Marxists believe everything should be free! Fox News obtained a Wisconsin Department of Justice criminal background check of Saule Omarova, the president’s nominee to lead the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
According to the background check, Omarova was arrested by Madison, Wisconsin, police officers on June 2, 1995 and charged with a misdemeanor count of “retail theft.” White House Dossier
Twisted measure to silence voices of dissent at school board meetings — arrest them . . . By Christopher F. Rufo. School boards have always attracted their share of controversies: disagreements over curriculum, bitter election fights, and personality clashes. But in recent months, as parents express their frustration over COVID lockdowns, mask mandates and critical race theory, local school districts and federal law enforcement
have upped the ante by monitoring parents, requesting undercover agents at school board meetings, and even arresting parents who attend board meetings to express dissent. The latest and most egregious example comes from Round Rock, Texas. In a series of school board meetings this fall, two fathers — a minister named Jeremy Story and a retired Army captain named Dustin Clark — spoke out against alleged corruption and school officials’ hostility toward parents. New York Post
Rittenhouse Case Should Never Have Been Brought . . . The fate of 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse is now in the hands of a 12-person jury — a jury that spent all day Tuesday in deliberations and will pick up today where it left off. Ultimately, we believe it’ll do the right thing, the legal thing, and acquit him. As Rittenhouse’s onetime lawyer, John Pierce, made clear: “He was legally entitled to have that firearm with him. And it’s just
clear as day from the evidence, most powerfully from the hundreds of angles of video evidence, that it was absolute perfect self-defense.” Absolute perfect self-defense. Pierce, who heads the National Constitutional Law Union — which he calls “the ACLU for the rest of us” — says: “This case should have never been brought. In my view, this is blatant prosecutorial misconduct. It’s malicious prosecution.” Patriot Post
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Bear wanders into 7-Eleven store in California . . . An employee at a 7-Eleven store in California captured video when a curious bear pushed open the door to the store and came inside. Rachelle Ducusin, an employee at the 7-Eleven store in Olympic Valley, in the Lake Tahoe area, said she spotted the bear rooting through the store's trash and went inside to call 911. Ducusin captured video when the bear followed her example and pushed
the store's door open.
The video shows the employee shouting at the bear to leave as it stands in the doorway and uses its nose to trigger an automatic hand sanitizer dispenser. Ducusin said emergency responders arrived on the scene and used rubber bullets to scare the bear away. She said the animal returned a few hours later to dig through the trash again. UPI
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Rebekah Koffler
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