Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
June 7, 2021
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Putin wants to slowly destabilize America . . . Author of ‘Putin’s Playbook’ discusses the upcoming Biden-Putin meeting on ‘America Reports’ Fox News Video
Sharing with you a video of my appearance on Fox News this past Friday, to speak about what Russia is up to with its cyber attacks and the rest of Putin's shenanigans, targeting America.
Commerce secretary on cyberattacks against corporations: 'This is the reality' . . . Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said Sunday that companies should brace for the reality that cyberattacks have become the norm, but stopped short of proposing that the Biden administration require businesses to secure their technology. Raimondo said the administration would instead urge businesses to adopt standards such as two-factor authentication and
remain “vigilant” about expecting cyberattacks. “This is the reality and we should assume and businesses should assume that these attacks are here to stay and if anything, will intensify,” Raimondo said. The Hill
Yeah, nothing to see here. At least USG is not leaving the businesses on their own, when it comes to protecting us from foreign adversaries' missile strikes. But then again, there hasn't been one yet. We might have to fend off for ourselves with those as well.
The longer USG waits on establishing 'redlines,' on cyber attacks, normalizing them in adversaries' eyes, the higher the risk of a cyber Armageddon.
NATO Plans to Adapt to Authoritarian Pushback Against Rules-Based International Order . . . said Friday that the alliance needs to not only improve its internal cooperation, but also broaden its reach to regions such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America.“Russia and China are leading an authoritarian pushback against the rules-based international order,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a keynote address presenting his vision
of NATO 2030 at a Washington DC think tank. Challenges posed by Russia include its military build-up from the Arctic to Africa, intimidation of its neighbors, suppression of opposition at home, as well as cyber and hybrid attacks against NATO allies, Stoltenberg said. Epoch
Times
All talk. No action. Why now? Did Russia and China just start their actions to unravel the rule-based international order? We've been sleeping at the wheel, when it comes to the China and Russia threat, chasing for 20 years, without a long-term strategy, drugged out lunatics with towels on their heads in the Middle East. Tactical brilliance doesn't compensate for strategic incompetence.
The White House press briefing room returns to 100 percent capacity on Monday . . . The James S. Brady Press Briefing Room will return to full seating capacity Monday and the White House Correspondents Association’s pre-pandemic seating chart will return. A review of permanent seating will begin toward the end of this year, the association said. The association said said more than 98 percent of the 500 member journalists who
responded to a recent survey said they were fully vaccinated, meaning more than two weeks had passed since their second coronavirus vaccine dose or the only shot of a single-shot regimen. The Hill
WaPo publisher slams 'unprecedented assault' on media by Biden DOJ . . . Washington Post publisher Fred Ryan slammed the Biden administration in an opinion piece published Sunday for seeking email records belonging to journalists, calling its actions an "unprecedented assault on American news organizations."
It was revealed last month that the Department of Justice (DOJ) under the Trump administration had sought subpoenas to obtain records belonging to journalists from multiple news outlets, including CNN, The New York Times and The Washington Post.
"This escalation, on Biden’s watch, represents an unprecedented assault on American news organizations and their efforts to inform the public about government wrongdoing," Ryan wrote. The Hill
Biden not seeking to add countries to Quad to counter China . . . Biden administration officials say they are not pushing to add other countries to the strategic U.S.-India-Japan-Australia “Quad” group but stress that the future of American policy in the Indo-Pacific region hinges on the deepening alignment among the four powerful democracies to counter authoritarian China’s increasingly aggressive rise on the world stage. The comments
coincide with mounting Chinese condemnation of the Quad amid speculation that the U.S. is seeking to establish an informal “Quad-plus” paradigm to generate strategic buy-in from smaller nations on China’s periphery, including South Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and perhaps Vietnam. Washington
Times
Schumer faces cracks in Democratic unity . . . Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is facing major tests of his ability to unite the Democratic caucus heading into a turbulent summer stretch. Schumer will now need to rally Senate Democrats to stick together amid new signs of division between moderate Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and a progressive wing. Whether he succeeds will have sweeping
ramifications for not only President Biden’s agenda the party's message in the 2022 midterms. Schumer is up for reelection next year amid constant speculation about a potential progressive primary challenger. The Hill
Manchin Comes Out Against Dems’ Election Bill . . . Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin announced in an op-ed his opposition to a bill that would nationalize election laws. “I cannot explain strictly partisan election reform or blowing up the Senate rules to expedite one party’s agenda,” Manchin wrote Sunday in the Charleston Gazette-Mail. The announcement is another blow to HR1, which Democrats have dubbed the “For The People Act.”
Republicans often refer to it as the “For The Politicians Act,” since it would grant matching funds to any candidate running for federal office. Daily Caller
Kamala’s diplomatic trip to Latin America gets off to bumpy start as plane forced to turn around . . . Vice President Kamala Harris' diplomatic trip to Guatemala and Mexico got off to a bumpy start Sunday after her plane was forced to return to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland about 25 minutes after it had taken off. Air Force Two landed safely. Spokesperson Symone Sanders told reporters the plane returned because of a "technical issue" and
said there were no major safety concerns. Fox News
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10,864 Venezuelans Pour Into Texas Border Region, Up From 135 Last Year . . . On any given day in Del Rio, hundreds of Venezuelans wade across the Rio Grande from Mexico into the United States. More than 119,000 illegal aliens from 70 countries have been apprehended in the sector so far this fiscal year (starting Oct. 1, 2020). Del Rio is a city of just over 35,000 people, while nearby Eagle Pass has about 30,000. In this sector alone,
with four months to go in the fiscal year, 10,864 Venezuelans have been apprehended by Border Patrol, according to Customs and Border Protection. In comparison, for the whole of fiscal 2020, 135 Venezuelans were apprehended. Epoch Times
Biden Defense Budget Gives China Upper Hand, Republican Hawks Say . . . President Joe Biden's $6 trillion budget proposal puts money toward universal pre-K and cracking down on the fossil fuel industry but shrinks the Navy's budget for weapons procurement and building warships, leaving it at severe risk in a potential showdown with China. China, meanwhile, has increased its fleet size at breakneck speed and now touts the largest navy in
the world. House Armed Services Committee member Mike Gallagher (R., Wis.) said the Biden budget puts the United States in danger of losing a World War III-style scenario. Washington Free Beacon
C.I.A. Scrambles for New Approach in Afghanistan . . . The rapid U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan is creating intense pressure on the C.I.A. to find new ways to gather intelligence and carry out counterterrorism strikes in the country, but the agency has few good options. The C.I.A., which has been at the heart of the 20-year American presence in Afghanistan, will soon lose bases in the country from where it has run combat
missions and drone strikes while closely monitoring the Taliban and other groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State. The agency’s analysts are warning of the ever-growing risks of a Taliban takeover. United States officials are in last-minute efforts to secure bases close to Afghanistan for future operations. NYT
Biden risks leaving Afghan allies at mercy of Taliban after Sept. 11 troop pullout . . . Plans for an escape route to America for interpreters and other Afghans who helped U.S. troops during the 20-year Afghanistan War are mired in inaction by the Biden administration, say congressional members and other advocates for the wartime allies. As the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan accelerates toward President Biden‘s Sept. 11 pullout
deadline, the State Department is sitting on a backlog of nearly 18,000 applications for special immigrant visas for Afghan collaborators who fear deadly retaliation from the Taliban. “There is a human cost to these bureaucratic delays,” said James Miervaldis of No One Left Behind, a group that advocates for interpreters who worked for the U.S. during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Washington Times
"Never leave the wounded on the battlefield," my senior partner at DIA, a former Green Beret, used to day. He always encouraged us to support our colleagues, who were hounded down by the bureaucracy because they may have broken some stupid process rules, while prioritizng their mission of keeping Americans safe.
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Egypt infuriates Israel, lets Hamas rearm for a fresh round of rocket aggression . . . With Hamas threats pouring out at the rate of one a day, Israel’s military charges Egypt’s General Intelligence chief Gen. Abbas Kamal of playing a double game when he brokered the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, endorsed by the US and Qatar. That ceasefire ended the IDF operation to halt the Palestinian rocket blitz from the Gaza
Strip. However, under Israel’s eye, Gen. Kamal is systematically undoing the IDF’s gains in that operation and allowing Hamas leaders free rein. DEBKAfile
Germany: Russian spies becoming 'more brutal' . . . Russian intelligence is as active in Germany as it was "during the Cold War era," the head of Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) said. BfV leader Thomas Haldenwang said the Kremlin has a "very complex intelligence interest in Germany in almost all policy areas." Haldenwang said Russia was using agents to try "establish contact in the environment of political
decision-makers." Moscow's "methods are becoming rougher and the means more brutal," the intelligence expert added, citing the murder of a Georgian man in Berlin in 2019, which the agency has blamed on the Russian government. DW
Putin signs law ending Russia’s Open Skies treaty with the US . . . Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday signed a law to officially end the country’s Open Skies Treaty with the U.S. less than two weeks before his meeting with President Biden in Geneva. Last month, the Biden administration told Russia that it had no plans to rejoin the arms control pact that was abandoned during the Trump administration. (Biden, the candidate,
called Trump’s move "short-sighted.") Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted last November, "America is more secure" after withdrawing from the 1992 treaty. "Russia remains in noncompliance with its obligations," he said, according to the Arms Control Association. Fox News
Not only Putin was not in compliance with the Open Skies Treaty, it was using it to collect critical intelligence that enables Russia's war fighting strategy that targets the United States. Meanwhile the government apparatchiks are busy using metaphorical language, comparing Russia's cyber attacks to 9/11 terririst attacks, and doing nothing about this mess. Leave it to the "experts" to protect the country.
Ukraine's president implores Biden to meet him before summit with Putin . . . Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with Axios published on Sunday, implored President Biden to meet with him before Biden's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he would meet "at any moment and at any spot on the planet." Zelensky told Axios that the Biden administration had not informed him that Biden would be waiving
sanctions against the Russian pipeline, which Ukraine sees as a threat to national security, instead learning of Biden's decision through the news. "This is a weapon, a real weapon ... in the hands of the Russian Federation," Zelensky told Axios. "It is not very understandable ... that the bullets to this weapon can possibly be provided by such a great country as the United States." The Hill
Yeah, but Biden called Putin a "killer." That scared the heck out of Master spy Vladimir!
Jihadists Massacre at Least 130 in Burkina Faso as West African Violence Surges . . . The jihadists came at night on motorcycles and surrounded a remote village on Burkina Faso’s eastern border with Niger. By the early hours of Saturday morning, over 130 civilians were confirmed dead by the government—the worst terrorist atrocity in the history of a country that has been plunged into extremist violence in recent years—prompting calls to
intensify international counterterror efforts across West Africa. Wall Street Journal
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COVID Has Destroyed Americans’ Trust in Ruling Class ‘Experts’ . . . The trials and tribulations of COVID-19 in America have dealt an irreparable blow to the credibility of America’s ruling class and the ruling class’s implicit appeal to its authority as a coterie of highly trained and capable experts. No single person exemplifies this more than Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has attained celebrity status during the pandemic as
the nation’s leading immunologist and forward-facing spokesman for our public policy response. Fauci has repeatedly contradicted himself throughout the pandemic, waffling on what the “science” demands at any given moment while still always seeming to err on the side of draconian overreaction. The ruling class has finally sullied itself one time too many. Opinion. Patriot Post
Former FDA Commissioner Says Fauci Briefed World Leaders On Potential Lab Leak — A Year Ago . . . Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Sunday that he was told Dr. Anthony Fauci had briefed world leaders on the possibility that the novel coronavirus leaked from a lab. Gottlieb told “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson that a senior official in former President Donald Trump’s administration had informed him there was suspicion that
the strain “looked unusual,” which prompted Fauci to address the possibility that it had leaked from a research laboratory in Wuhan. Daily Caller
White House says there is no circumstance where Biden would fire Fauci . . . White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday doubled down on President Biden’s support for Dr. Anthony Fauci, saying there is no circumstance under which Biden would fire him. Fauci is facing intense criticism after the release of emails showing his knowledge of and efforts to tamp down the Wuhan “lab leak” theory to explain the origins of COVID-19. “Can
you imagine any circumstance where President Biden would ever fire him?” a reporter asked Psaki at her daily press briefing. “No,” she said. Psaki called Fauci “a renowned public servant.” New York Post
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A G-7 Deal on a Global Minimum Tax for Companies Faces Hurdles . . . An agreement by wealthy countries to impose minimum taxes on multinational companies faces a rocky path to implementation, with many governments likely to wait and see what others, especially a divided U.S. Congress, will do. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hailed the deal, reached by finance ministers of the Group of Seven leading nations over the
weekend in London. She called it a return to multilateralism and a sign that countries can tighten the tax net on profitable firms to fund their governments. While the impact on tech companies remains uncertain, some welcomed the prospect of a more uniform global regime. Wall Street Journal
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Elise Stefanik announces she's pregnant with first child . . . U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. announced Saturday that she is pregnant with her first child. The New York Republican, who replaced Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., as party conference chair last month, shared the news on her Instagram page along with a photo of her – with husband Matt Manda holding her baby bump. Fox News
Keep fighting the fight, Elise. You can do both.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcome baby girl named Lilibet Diana . . . The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced the birth of their second child, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor — and paid tribute to both Queen Elizabeth II and the late Princess Diana with the child’s name, as Lilibet is the Queen’s family nickname. Business & Politics Review
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California teen pushes bear off wall to protect family dogs . . . A security camera at a California home was recording when a 17-year-old girl shoved a mother bear off a brick wall to rescue her family's dogs. The mother bear swated at the dogs as they approached to bark at the wild animals, and Hailey Morinico, 17 shoved the bear off the wall, and gathered up the dogs to bring them inside. Morinico said she
rushed outside when she heard the dogs barking, initially thinking another dog must have approached the yard. Morinico said she panicked when she saw the dangerous situation the dogs were in
.
"I see the bear, it's grabbing my dog, Valentina, and I have to run over there. She's a baby," the teenager said. "And the first thing I think to do is push the bear. And somehow it worked." Morinico walked away with only a minor scratch, but she recommended others not attempt to follow her example. "Do not push bears," she said. "Don't do what I did, you might not have the same outcome." UPI
What a brave young lady!
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Rebekah
Rebekah Koffler
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