Month: August 2018

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American-made Crewed Spacecraft Set to Fly

The last time American astronauts travelled to space aboard an American-made spacecraft was July 21, 2011, over seven years ago.

The Space Shuttle Program was ended prematurely by President Obama, who then cancelled development of what was supposed to be the follow-up manned spacecraft, the Constellation. The result of the former president’s underfunding of the Orion, a crewed spacecraft program designed for deep space, is that no NASA vessel will take a crew into space until 2023.

Fortunately, an end is in sight for the utter humiliation America has endured as it was forced to pay Russia to ferry U.S. astronauts to and from the space station, which was built by the Shuttle program. Two commercially-built spacecraft, the Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and SpaceX’s Crew Dragon, should be ready to take Americans into orbit onboard native-built vessels within this decade. In contrast to his predecessor, President Trump has emphasized the importance of NASA’s crewed space endeavors.

On August 3, NASA introduced first U.S. astronauts who will fly on American-made, commercial spacecraft to and from the International Space Station.

“Today, our country’s dreams of greater achievements in space are within our grasp,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. The agency assigned nine astronauts to crew the first test flight and mission of both the Starliner and the Crew Dragon. A NASA release  noted that the space agency  “has worked closely with the companies throughout design, development and testing to ensure the systems meet NASA’s safety and performance requirements.”
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Boeing’s Starliner will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft is being built at the Kennedy Space Center.  Three Starliners are scheduled to be built. According to Boeing, the Starliner is designed to accommodate seven passengers, or a mix of crew and cargo, for missions to low-Earth orbit. For NASA service missions to the International Space Station, it will carry up to four NASA-sponsored crew members and time-critical scientific research. The Starliner has a weldless structure and is reusable up to 10 times with a six-month turnaround time. It also features wireless internet and tablet technology for crew interfaces.

SpaceX’s Crew Dragon will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The company currently has six Crew Dragon modules in various stages of production and testing. The spacecraft is designed to deliver both cargo and people to orbiting destinations. Space X notes that “Dragon made history in 2012 when it became the first commercial spacecraft in history to deliver cargo to the International Space Station and safely return cargo to Earth, a feat previously achieved only by governments. It is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth. Currently Dragon carries cargo to space, but it was designed from the beginning to carry humans. Under an agreement with NASA, SpaceX is now developing the refinements that will enable Dragon to fly crew.”

According to the space agency, “After each company successfully completes its crewed test flight, NASA will begin the final process of certifying that spacecraft and systems for regular crew missions to the space station. The agency has contracted six missions, with as many as four astronauts per mission, for each company. NASA is facilitating the development of a U.S. commercial crew space transportation capability with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. The public-private partnerships fostered by the program will stimulate growth in a robust commercial space industry and spark life-changing innovations for future generations.”

Photo: NASA The astronauts are, from left to right: Sunita Williams, Josh Cassada, Eric Boe, Nicole Mann, Christopher Ferguson, Douglas Hurley, Robert Behnken, Michael Hopkins and Victor Glover

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Free Speech May Soon Die

On Monday, two conservative spokespeople were added to the growing list of those assaulted, in restaurants, bookstores, and elsewhere by leftists.

On college campuses, students and professors not kowtowing to left-wing orthodoxy are ostracized, attacked, and banned. Social media giants censor out voices they disagree with, and cut deals with Communist regimes. The mayor of one city discourages his police from protecting the property of a federal agency leftists dislike. Hollywood moguls harass entertainers who contradict leftist positions. Major news media ignore facts that don’t fit in with their left-wing views.

In addition to the academic, political, and financial acts against those disagreeing with the left, violence has been employed.  One group, Antifa, which, despite describing itself as “antifascist” actually uses the classic tactics of fascists and totalitarians to assault any that dare disagree with it, serves as the shock troops of the anti-free speech movement.

The Tea Party’s Judson Phillips writing in the Washington Times notes that left wing groups “have repeatedly disrupted peaceful … rallies….They have called for and used violence against people who … disagree with them and even against members of the media who will report things Antifa doesn’t want reported….Conservatives and those perceived to be conservatives have been attacked. The weapons have included glitter-filled gel, urine bombs, chains, bicycle locks and baseball bats….Antifa …has made college campuses virtually no-go zones for conservatives. Noted conservatives…cannot go onto many college campuses to speak without having their events disrupted to the point where they cannot go on. If this violence continues, the choices are not good. The left-wing academic establishment has quickly surrendered to these groups. They are allowed to riot on campus and even given relief from homework and exams so they can riot.”

These Gestapo-like tactics are being supported and encouraged by some political figures. Fox News has reported that “Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California … sought to bring the ‘resistance’ to a new level when she urged supporters to swarm Cabinet members at gas stations and anywhere else they’re seen. ‘If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere,’”

Last January, Keith Ellison, the vice-chair of the Democrat National Committee, signaled support for ANTIFA.

Writing in the Chicago Tribune almost exactly one year ago,  John Kass reported “There is a disturbing silence from leaders of the Democratic Party over those gangs of black-masked leftist thugs shutting down free speech and beating people to the ground …It’s all over the internet, young men of the hard left in black masks, black gloves, armed with clubs, hunting down prey who dare speak their minds. What’s striking about all this is the silence…There has been no concerted media effort to pressure Democratic politicians to denounce Democratic muscle. So Democratic politicians have been relatively silent, as have many of their loyal pundits…This is all corrosive and dangerous. And in a loud political year, the silence of Democratic politicians explains so very much. Because silence is consent. And in this silence you may hear something terrifying: The rule of law breaking down.”

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In a 2017 Atlantic article, Peter Beinart wrote: “[Antifa’s]tactics have elicited substantial support from the mainstream left. … In June of [2016] demonstrators—at least some of whom were associated with antifa—punched and threw eggs at people exiting a Trump rally in San Jose, California. An article in It’s Going Down celebrated the “righteous beatings.”… Antifa believes it is pursuing the opposite of authoritarianism. [and]have granted themselves the authority to decide which Americans may publicly assemble and which may not. That authority rests on no democratic foundation. Unlike the politicians they revile, the men and women of antifa cannot be voted out of office. Generally, they don’t even disclose their names.”

Despite the direct, clear, and abundant evidence of aggressive, militant and widespread attacks on free speech by the left, there is no sense of urgency, no condemnation, of the greatest threat to freedom in America’s history.

Rather than criticize these acts, some leftist politicians find excuses to condone them, and the media lionizes the celebrities that support totalitarians at home and abroad.

On opposite geographical shores of the nation, Antifa has in recent days established a heightened climate of fear and terror against those whom dare dissent against their left-wing views. It is no longer appropriate to view these events as isolated incidents. The ANTIFA attack Monday on conservatives Charlie Kirk and  Candace Owens, just after the same organization assaulted citizens exercising free speech in Portland is evidence of significant move to suppress free speech throughout the United States.

If at least half the political establishment, most of academia, and substantial portions of the media continue to ignore or even support these practices, free speech will vanish from America in the very near future.

 

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U.S. Economy Grows, Despite Partisanship

It is disappointing that partisan politics has blocked widespread recognition that the reversal of Obama-era policies has led to significant gains for the U.S. economy. The disunity within the nation hampers additional progress that could be made from a united stance on Trump’s attempt to finally address the unfair trade policies that have hampered the American economy for far too long.

Clearly, the numbers indicate success for the President’s policies.  A growth rate of 4.1% from April through June (Obama’s average growth rate was 1.48%.) has been accomplished.

Conor Beck, writing for the Free Beacon, reports that even “Jason Furman, chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Barack Obama, argued on CNBC…that the economy is growing even faster than the commonly used government figure suggests. CNBC’s Sara Eisen said people at the network were surprised to see the argument being argued by an Obama administration official.”

While Americans enjoy the Trump tax cuts, one reason often cited for the good news, the Treasury Department reports that it has collected record amounts of individual income taxes.  The math is simple.  More people are working.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 213,000 jobs were added in June. A March analysis noted that 2.21 million jobs have come into being in Trump’s first 15 months in office. Unemployment rates were lower in June in 9 states, higher in 3 states, and stable in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Ten states had jobless rate decreases from a year earlier and 40 states and the District had little or no change. Bloomberg  notes that “The monthly jobs report for June…is further evidence that this indicator has become more than just a snapshot of the health of a key part of the U.S. economy and the outlook for monetary policy.”

CNBC reported that the manufacturing industry, which has been particularly hard hit since the Clinton Administration, has added roughly 293,000 jobs since President Trump’s election, according to Department of Labor data.
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The latest report from the Federal Reserve reveals “For the second quarter as a whole, industrial production advanced at an annual rate of 6.0 percent, its third consecutive quarterly increase. Manufacturing output moved up 0.8 percent in June. The production of motor vehicles and parts rebounded last month after truck assemblies fell sharply in May because of a disruption at a parts supplier. Factory output, aside from motor vehicles and parts, increased 0.3 percent in June. The index for mining rose 1.2 percent and surpassed the level of its previous historical peak (December 2014); the output of utilities moved down 1.5 percent. At 107.7 percent of its 2012 average, total industrial production was 3.8 percent higher in June than it was a year earlier. Capacity utilization for the industrial sector increased 0.3 percentage point in June to 78.0 percent, a rate that is 1.8 percentage points below its long-run (1972–2017) average.”

Further improvements may arrive soon. As the New York Analysis reported in June, an 18 year decline in American manufacturing may be drawing to a close, a result of tougher trade stances by the Trump Administration. Within two months of President Trump’s inauguration, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka noted: “America’s working families welcome the Department of Commerce’s examination of China’s economy. A thorough assessment is necessary to ensure American workers are competing on a level playing field. Any fair analysis of the facts will reaffirm that China’s extensive government involvement merits “nonmarket economy” treatment so that the U.S. can properly address dumped, underpriced goods and services that hurt U.S. workers and producers.”

While Washington has the upper economic hand in its tariff dispute with China, the politics involved are not as favorable.  Inevitably, there may be temporary pain in any battle, even one that is clearly going to result in a victory.  That problem will affect the President and his party, due to several factors that his Chinese counterpart can, for his part, largely ignore. Xi doesn’t have to worry about the next election, nor does he face a hostile media.

While both the belated tough stance on trade and the general economic progress should be welcomed, the fact is that partisan politics apparently takes precedence. Stephen Moore and Arthur Laffer wrote in The Wall Street Journal “Liberals have opposed virtually every move President Trump has taken on the economy, which makes it inconvenient for them that economic conditions are so universally positive. It is hard to find a single indicator that isn’t pointed in a bullish direction. That’s why the left is now forced to argue that Mr. Trump’s economic success is really the continuation of a trend that began under President Obama… Mr. Trump has reversed nearly every Obama rule, edict and law that he can legally overturn. At its core, the Trump economic strategy wasn’t complicated: systematically repeal Mr. Obama’s “accomplishments”—the tax increases, the regulatory blitz on business, the welfare expansions, the war on American fossil fuels, and so on.”

Photo: Pixabay

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Defense Bill Addresses Key Threats

In response to the extraordinary rise in threats from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and terrorists, the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)  provides needed resources, many believe long overdue, for the U.S. military, which had been underfunded throughout the Obama Administration.

The $717 billion it provides was approved by Congress at the fastest pace in two decades, reflecting the urgency of deterring the dramatically expanded challenge from Moscow and Beijing. The broad support for the bill was reflected in the vote totals, including 87-10 approval in the Senate and 359-54 in the House.

Key general provisions include: an increase in the military’s authorized active-duty end strength by 15,600; a 2.6% pay raise, the largest in nine years; modernization and strengthening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to more effectively guard against the risk to national security posed by certain types of foreign investment; and strengthening cyber defenses.

A Breaking Defense analysis by Mark Cancian notes the NDAA’s key policy elements:

“It enshrines in law the exclusion of China from RIMPAC (the annual Pacific exercise that includes large numbers of allies and partners …and makes more explicit US support for Taiwan. The law also requires that the annual report to Congress on China include details about Chinese espionage, the state of relations between China and Russia and efforts by China to influence US citizens. On Russia, it continues limitations on military cooperation, prohibits any recognition of the annexation of Crimea, highlights concerns over treaty violations, and expresses the sense of Congress about the need to enhance deterrence…a bipartisan consensus has solidified that Russia and China are long-term competitors and that the US must act accordingly.”

According to the Washington Examiner’s Daily on Defense  column, key weapons programs funded include:

F-35: The military is allowed to buy 77 of the Lockheed Martin joint strike fighters, the same amount requested by the Trump administration.

LCS: Congress ultimately decided to give the Navy three littoral combat ships, though it requested one. Overall, the bill authorizes 13 battle-force ships.

Fourth carrier: The Navy is authorized to move ahead with its third and fourth Ford-class carriers, the future USS Enterprise and the unnamed CVN 81. But the Pentagon must certify that it will save money.

JSTARS: The Air Force is barred from retiring its Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft, or JSTARS, until it gets its new Advanced Battle Management System operational as a potential replacement.

A White House statement noted that  “…the FY 2019 NDAA enhances the President’s ability to defend the Nation.  It also supports key components of the Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review, South Asia Strategy, vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and ongoing operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)…The FY 2019 NDAA keeps faith with Israel, fully authorizing the Administration request for co-development and co-production of missile defense systems.  It supports the European Deterrence Initiative, strengthening the posture of the United States in Europe and bolstering our European allies against the threat of Russian aggression.”

The defense publication Stars and Stripes stressed that the measure “dictates the next steps in creating a Space Force, but falls short of President Donald Trump’s calls for a new military branch.

While China’s military buildup has arguably been larger, Russia’s deployment of major weapons system directly enhancing its nuclear power, its invasions of Ukraine and Georgia, and Putin’s threatening actions against the Baltics, is seen as the more immediate danger.

Secretary Mattis notes that “Russia… continues to modernize and invest across the full range of military capability, including new aircraft, submarines, armor, counter-space, and air defense systems, while also modernizing conventional and nuclear strike capabilities. These investments and activities are specifically designed to limit our power projection capability and undermine the credibility of U.S. alliances, especially NATO.”

The House Armed Services Committee emphasized that the NDAA “invests in the following capabilities to reassure allies and counter and deter Russian military aggression:

  • A new aircraft carrier, increasing the number of carriers to 12, allowing the Navy to project power and counter Russia more often around the world.
  • 13 battle force ships for the Navy, continuing to grow the surface fleet and project power around the world.
  • 2 Virginia Class submarines, growing the Navy’s subsurface fleet, which counters Russia around the world.
  • Modernization of the nuclear triad by authorizing $250 million for expansion of the submarine industrial base, which supports the development and building of the Columbia class, a key to deterring Russian nuclear aggression.
  • 77 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, 5th generation fighter-attack aircraft to counter Russian air and ground forces.
  • Efforts to modernize Army Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT), including 135 M1 Abrams tanks, 60 Bradley fighting vehicles, 197 Armored multi-purpose vehicles, and 3,390 Joint Light Tactical Vehicles.
  • 45 of the most modernized Paladin self-propelled howitzer artillery systems.
  • 69 Stryker Combat Vehicles.
  • Maintaining the maximum production rate for critical munitions to support deterring Russia.
  • Increased funding to accelerate two key Air Force nuclear modernization programs, the ground based strategic deterrent and the long range stand off cruise missile.
  • Significant funding to research and development for the next generation of missile defense technology.
  • Funding to develop and field low yield nuclear weapons to counter Russian nuclear weapons.

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Strengthen U.S. policy against Russian military aggression:

  • Requires the President to designate an NSC employee to coordinate the interagency fight against malign foreign influence operations, including election interference.
  • Requires the NSC to submit to Congress a strategy for countering malign foreign influence operations.
  • Requests a report on an updated strategy for the Arctic and its defense.
  • Authorizes a total of six polar icebreakers to assure U.S. commercial access to expanding Northern shipping lanes.
  • Directs the Department of Defense to assess its Russian language needs and abilities and develop a plan to address any deficiencies.
  • Strengthens the Global Engagement Center in the State Department by affirming it’s funding for the next two years, increasing its hiring authority, and increasing its responsibilities.
  • Provides for active defense and surveillance against Russian Federation attacks in cyberspace.
  • Requires U.S. based foreign media outlets like RT to register their sources of funding with the FCC.
  • Establishes a DOD initiative to work with academic institutions who perform defense research and engineering activities to protect intellectual property, controlled information, key personnel, and information about critical technologies from malign foreign influence.
  • To get ahead of Russia’s malign influence activities, the NDAA requests reports on Russia’s military relationships with Iran, and Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
  • Requires a report with quarterly updates describing those persons that the President has determined under 2017’s CAATSA sanctions have knowingly engaged in significant transactions with the defense and intelligence sectors of Russia.

 Helps Our Allies Defend Themselves Against Russian Aggression.

  • Authorizes $250M for security assistance and intelligence support to the Government of Ukraine, including lethal defensive weapons.
  • Provides flexibility for strategic partners and allies to move away from the use of Russian military equipment to American equipment through a modified waiver under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.
  • Includes $6.3 billion for European Deterrence Initiative to reassure U.S. partners and allies, increase U.S. military presence in Europe, and continue training and exercise throughout Europe to deter Russian aggression.
    • Contributes to the build out of a permanently positioned set of equipment for an ABCT in Europe.
  • Expresses Congress’ strong support for enhanced U.S. presence in and support for our Central, Eastern, and Southern European allies and the NATO alliance.
  • Requires a report on efforts to strengthen U.S. collaboration with NATO’s project to build a comprehensive, cross-domain cyber-defense and deterrence capacity.
  • Commissions a report that examines the consequences of increased Russian interest and destabilizing in Afghanistan.

Limits Contact and Assistance to Russia

  • Extends the limit on military-to-military cooperation with Russia.
  • Prohibits the Department of Defense from spending any funds (authorized in this bill) on activities that would recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea.
  • Prohibits funds for atomic energy defense activities from being used to enter into a contract with, or otherwise provide assistance to, Russia.

Forces Russia To Comply with Treaties It Is Breaching

  • Restricts the Administration from voting to approve new sensor requests under the Open Skies Treaty and withholds funding for upgrades or recapitalization of U.S. Open Skies Treaty aircraft and sensors
  • Funds research and development to counter non-INF Treaty compliant systems being deployed by Russia.

Picture: F-35 (Lockheed-Martin)

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Global Slavery Index Released, Part 2

The New York Analysis of Policy and Government concludes its presentation of key portions of The 2018 Global Slavery Index.

Government Responses

While much more needs to be done to prevent and respond to modern slavery, the Government Response Index suggests that national legal, policy, and programmatic responses to modern slavery are improving, with an upward trend overall in ratings for government responses.  Globally, governments are taking more action to strengthen legislation and establish coordination and accountability mechanisms. Protection measures are being strengthened, with improvements in access to justice for adults and children in some countries. Nonetheless, in every country, there are enormous gaps between the estimated size of modern slavery and the small number of victims that are identified. This suggests efforts that exist on paper are not being implemented effectively. Furthermore, in many countries, critical gaps in services remain, with 50 percent of countries excluding either migrants, men, or children from accessing services. Not only are certain groups of victims not being identified, even when they are detected they are not able to access support and other services.

Moreover, high-GDP countries such as Qatar, Singapore, Kuwait, Brunei and Hong Kong are doing very little to respond despite their wealth and resources, while low-GDP countries such as Georgia, Moldova, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Mozambique are responding strongly.

Government engagement with business on modern slavery has increased dramatically since the 2016 Global Slavery Index. In 2018, 36 countries are taking steps to address forced labour in business or public supply chains, compared to only four countries in 2016. However, these steps are often to establish the bare minimum of reporting requirements; individual governments can do much more than they are doing to proactively engage with business to prevent forced labour in supply chains and in public procurement.

Progress, But Challenges Remain

it is clear that if the international community does nothing to address the enormous risks resulting from the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people to temporary camps in Bangladesh, this will be the next population of deeply exploited and abused people – further compounding and reinforcing what is already a deeply entrenched conflict.  It is equally clear that businesses and governments continuing to trade with highly repressive regimes such as North Korea and Eritrea are contributing to the maintenance of forced labour…

There is an urgent need to prioritise prevention, through a focus on discrimination and safe migration.  Equally, high-GDP countries have an obligation to take serious and urgent steps to address the risks they are importing. They owe this obligation both to consumers in their own countries and to victims along the supply chain, where products are being harvested, packed and shipped.

Recommendations

1.Governments and businesses prioritise human rights in decision making when engaging with repressive regimes.
Deliver on financial and trade restrictions imposed by the UN Security Council, such as those in place against North Korea.
Conduct due diligence and transparency of business operations, to ensure that any trade, business or investment is not contributing to or benefiting from modern slavery (or other human rights abuses).
Establish active efforts to drive positive social change through economic and business relationships

  1. Governments proactively anticipate and respond to modern slavery in conflict situations.
    Create protective systems to identify and assist victims, and at-risk populations both during conflict and in postconflict settings (including in neighbouring countries).
    Collect and preserve evidence to ensure perpetrators can be punished.
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  2. Governments improve modern slavery responses at home.
    Improve prevention, including through prioritising safe migration and steps to combat deep discrimination, whether against ethnic minorities, women and girls or migrants.
    Close the gap between the estimated size of modern slavery and the small numbers of victims that are detected and assisted, through implementing laws to identify victims. If laws are not working, the question should be asked why, so barriers can be found and overcome.
    Ensure labour laws protect all workers, including migrant workers, temporary and casual workers, and all people working in the informal economy.
    Ensure all victims can access services, support and justice, whether they are male, female, children, foreigners or nationals and regardless of migration status.
  3. G20 governments and businesses address modern slavery in supply chains.
    Conduct due diligence and transparency in public procurement to guarantee public funds are not inadvertently supporting modern slavery.
    Conduct due diligence and transparency in private supply chains, using legislation that is harmonized across countries.
    Ensure the ethical recruitment of migrant workers, including through prohibiting charging workers fees to secure work and withholding identification documents.
  4. Governments prioritise responses to violations against women and girls.
    Eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.
    Eliminate harmful practices such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
    End abuse and exploitation of children.
    Facilitate safe, orderly and responsible migration.

 

Illustration: Pixabay

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2018 Global Slavery Index Released

The 2018 Global Slavery index has been released.

Last year, The New York Analysis of Policy and Government reported that “Modern slavery exists, it is widespread, and it is a worldwide, lucrative practice. A National Geographic study found ‘There are more slaves today than were seized from Africa in four centuries of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The modern commerce in humans rivals illegal drug trafficking in its global reach—and in the destruction of lives.’

The International Labor Alliance study provided in depth information on 21st Century slavery:

An estimated 40.3 million people were victims of modern slavery in 2016. In other words, on any given day in 2016, there were likely to be more than 40 million men, women, and children who were being forced to work against their will under threat or who were living in a forced marriage that they had not agreed to.

Of these 40.3 million victims: 24.9 million people were in forced labour. That is, they were being forced to work under threat or coercion as domestic workers, on construction sites, in clandestine factories, on farms and fishing boats, in other sectors, and in the sex industry. They were forced to work by private individuals and groups or by state authorities. In many cases, the products they made and the services they provided ended up in seemingly legitimate commercial channels. Forced labourers produced some of the food we eat and the clothes we wear, and they have cleaned the buildings in which many of us live or work.

15.4 million people were living in a forced marriage to which they had not consented. That is, they were enduring a situation that involved having lost their sexual autonomy and often involved providing labour under the guise of “marriage”.

Today and tomorrow, we present the main points from the 2018 Global Slavery Index. It is not surprising that several nations with the worst international records on issues ranging from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction violations, particularly Iran and North Korea, are also at the forefront of modern slavery.

Highlights from the Global Slavery Index

Findings from the 2018 Global Slavery Index highlight the connection between modern slavery and two major external drivers – highly repressive regimes, in which populations are put to work to prop up the government, and conflict situations which result in the breakdown of rule of law, social structures, and existing systems of protection.

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The 10 countries with highest prevalence of modern slavery globally, along with North Korea and Eritrea, are Burundi, the Central African Republic, Afghanistan, Mauritania, South Sudan, Pakistan, Cambodia, and Iran.  Most of these countries are marked by conflict, with breakdowns in rule of law, displacement and a lack of physical security (Eritrea, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Pakistan). Three of the 10 countries with the highest prevalence stand out as having state-imposed forced labour (North Korea, Eritrea and Burundi).  Indeed, North Korea, Eritrea, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Afghanistan, South Sudan and Iran are the subject of various UN Security Council resolutions reflecting the severity and extremity of the situations there.

A Global Issue

One of the most important findings of the 2018 Global Slavery Index is that the prevalence of modern slavery in high-GDP countries is higher than previously understood, underscoring the responsibilities of these countries… Following these changes, an interesting pattern emerges: the prevalence estimates for the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and several other European nations are higher than previously understood. Given these are also the countries taking the most action to respond to modern slavery, this does not mean these initiatives are in vain. It does, however, underscore that even in countries with seemingly strong laws and systems, there are critical gaps in protections for groups such as irregular migrants, the homeless, workers in the shadow or gig economy, and certain minorities. These gaps, which are being actively exploited by criminals, need urgent attention from governments.

The realities of global trade and commerce make it inevitable the products and proceeds of modern slavery will cross borders. Accordingly, for the first time we examine the issue of modern slavery not only from the perspective of where the crime is perpetrated but also where the products of the crime are sold and consumed, with a specific focus on the G20 countries. The resulting analysis presents a stark contrast of risk and responsibility, with G20 countries importing risk on a scale not matched by their responses.

Citizens of most G20 countries enjoy relatively low levels of vulnerability to the crime of modern slavery within their borders, and many aspects of their governments’ responses to it are comparatively strong. Nonetheless, businesses and governments in G20 countries are importing products that are at risk of modern slavery on a significant scale. Looking only at the “top five” at-risk products in each country identified by our analysis, G20 countries are collectively importing US$354 billion worth of at-risk products annually.

Of greatest concern is the continuing trade in coal from North Korea, alongside other products that are subject to UN Security Council sanctions. However, most of the at-risk products examined for this report are not subject to existing sanctions…

The Government Response Index reveals that more than half of the G20 countries are yet to formally enact laws, policies or practices aimed at stopping business and government sourcing goods and services produced by forced labour (Argentina, Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Turkey). The exceptions are China, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, UK, and the United States, each of which has begun to take some steps in this regard. Australia has announced it will introduce supply chain transparency laws in the second half of 2018.

The summary concludes Monday.

Illustration: Pixabay

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The Reality of War in Space, Part 2

In an analysis of anti-satellite weapons, the Stimson Center noted that: “…entire constellations of valuable satellite systems rotating the Earth could be destroyed quickly if indeed an adversary is targeting them…Imagine, however, a future conflict in which space assets are targeted with destructive force. The US Air Force Space Command in recent years hosted wargaming exercises that simulated, in one instance, hostilities that required US and allied forces to operate for ‘a day without space.’ While loss of space-based communications was mitigated by terrestrial systems, the consequences for operating in space were certainly not remedied in a day. Indeed, participants were left to speculate if the United States might be contemplating a century or even much longer ‘without space.’ Consider what this could mean for the reputation of the United States, and for the trajectory of human discovery. Unchecked, hostile action in space could produce debris, orbiting the earth at nine times the speed of a bullet, … This could place manned and unmanned space flight at unacceptable risk of mission failure due to catastrophic collision with debris. Not only would investment in, and insurance for, advanced spacecraft and launch engineering be extinguished. Of much greater importance, mankind’s access to space for exploration and pursuit of knowledge would be closed off – for young and old alike, for schoolchildren, scientists and aspiring astronauts, in America and around the world, possibly for a very long time. A more toxic legacy for US security policy would be hard to conceive.”

Bryan Bender and Jacqueline Klimas, writing in Politico a few months ago, announced that “War is coming to outer space, and the Pentagon warns it is not yet ready, following years of underinvesting while the military focused on a host of threats on Earth.Russia and China are years ahead of the United States in developing the means to destroy or disable satellites that the U.S. military depends on for everything from gathering intelligence to guiding precision bombs, missiles and drones. Now the Pentagon is trying to catch up — pouring billions more dollars into hardening its defenses against anti-satellite weapons, training troops to operate in the event their space lifeline is cut, and honing ways to retaliate against a new form of combat that experts warn could affect millions of people, cause untold collateral damage and spread to battlefields on Earth.”

While Russia has more experience, China is increasingly the focus of concern. The Congressional Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Subcommittee on Space hearing  has reported that “Unlike the United States, China does not have distinct military and civilian space programs. The Chinese military is functionally in charge of all space activities[and]… has demonstrated a strong disregard for interests of other countries in outer space through its anti-satellite tests…Mark A. Stokes, Executive Director of the Project 2049 Institute which analyses Asian-Pacific issues, testified “The evolving capacity of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to leverage space assets presents a number of challenges for the United States, allies, and friends in the AsiaPacific region…The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is gradually developing a capacity to project military power vertically into space and horizontally beyond its immediate periphery…… The PLA appears to be investing resources into ground-based radar systems capable of providing queuing quality data for engaging targets in space. The PLA also has invested in electronic countermeasure technologies that could degrade an adversary’s satellite communications, navigation satellite signals, or SAR satellites operating within line of sight of an emitter. Overview of Military Space Organization and Requirements Guided by the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Political Bureau, the Central Military Commission (CMC) and State Council establish national space and counterspace requirements.

According to Dean Cheng Senior Research Fellow for Chinese Political and Security, China’s National Security Law passed in 2015, states that outer space is a “commanding height” in the international strategic competition. “In the newest edition of Science of Military Strategy, a chapter is devoted to discussing military conflict in the space and cyber (as well as nuclear) domains, where it is noted that the importance of space has grown significantly.”

The kids get to travel with me at 1/2 price, and when tickets are purchased well in advance, it is a generic medicine of cheapest viagra. People even 50mg sildenafil generic after being so stressed out were helpless and could not do anything to get through the problem for more than 3 months. Most victims blame themselves for the abuse and this lowers their self-worth. deeprootsmag.org online cialis Further unevenness of hormones affect testosterone which gives energy cheap tadalafil 20mg http://deeprootsmag.org/2012/11/03/hep-cats/ to male’s while performing their sexual activities. Testifying before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in 2015, Kevin Pollpeter of the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation stated: “Based on their analysis of U.S. military operations, Chinese military researchers view space as a critical component in making the PLA into a force capable of winning “informatized” wars and recognize the role space plays in the collection and transmittal of information and the need to deny those capabilities to an adversary. Indeed, nearly every Chinese source describes space as the “ultimate high ground,” leading many Chinese analysts to assess that space warfare is inevitable. Because of the preeminence of the space battlefield, analysts writing on space argue that it will become the center of gravity in future wars and one that must be seized and controlled. In fact, these analysts argue that the first condition for seizing the initiative is to achieve space supremacy.”

While prior administrations did not fully focus on the threat, the Trump White House has responded, in part by proposing the creation of an independent military branch devoted solely to space. Putin has responded, in typical Moscow fashion, by proposing an agenda that, if past precedents are to be believed, it has no intention of adhering to. Mark Whittington, writing in The Hill notes that  Putin suggested, among other things, a proposed ban on weapons in orbit. “The diplomatic gambit is an obvious response to Trump’s proposed Space Force. One would hope that if the proposal came up during the talks, Trump gave his Russian counterpart a one-word answer: ‘No.’… Russia, along with China, is feverishly trying to build weapons that can strike at American space assets. However, Russia is hampered by a moribund economy that would tend to inhibit the development of a Russian Space Force. Putin, knowing that he cannot match America’s capacity to develop and deploy space weapons, is trying to change the rules of the game.”

Illustration: U.S. Satellite (USAF)

 

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The Reality of War in Space

Earlier this year, Daniel Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, warned that  “China and Russia will continue to expand their space-based reconnaissance, communications, and navigation systems in terms of the numbers of satellites, the breadth of their capability, and the applications for use. Both Russia and China continue to pursue antisatellite (ASAT) weapons as a means to reduce US and allied military effectiveness. Russia and China aim to have nondestructive and destructive counterspace weapons available for use during a potential future conflict. We assess that, if a future conflict were to occur involving Russia or China, either country would justify attacks against US and allied satellites as necessary to offset any perceived US military advantage derived from military, civil, or commercial space systems.

“Military reforms in both countries in the past few years indicate an increased focus on establishing operational forces designed to integrate attacks against space systems and services with military operations in other domains. Russian and Chinese destructive ASAT weapons probably will reach initial operational capability in the next few years. China’s PLA has formed military units and begun initial operational training with counterspace capabilities that it has been developing, such as ground-launched ASAT missiles. Russia probably has a similar class of system in development. Both countries are also advancing directed-energy weapons technologies for the purpose of fielding ASAT weapons that could blind or damage sensitive space-based optical sensors, such as those used for remote sensing or missile defense. Of particular concern, Russia and China continue to launch “experimental” satellites that conduct sophisticated on-orbit activities, at least some of which are intended to advance counterspace capabilities. Some technologies with peaceful applications—such as satellite inspection, refueling, and repair—can also be used against adversary spacecraft. Russia and China continue to publicly and diplomatically promote international agreements on the nonweaponization of space and “no first placement” of weapons in space. However, many classes of weapons would not be addressed by such proposals, allowing them to continue their pursuit of space warfare capabilities while publicly maintaining that space must be a peaceful domain.”

As significant as the statement was, there was one thing that it wasn’t, or should not have been:  it wasn’t breaking news.  The reality is, observers have known for some time that space had become the ultimate high ground in the looming military contests America faces against Russia and China.

In general, more complex organisms reproduce cheap levitra uk sexually, while the simpler organisms, usually one cell, reproducing asexually. viagra pills in india Each and every herb of Mast Mood oil is a magical oil that can replace natural methods to increase sexual desire right way. Do not forget to see cialis online australia their experience, registry and round the clock availability. TRUTH: Chiropractic adjustments are gentle, involving only a quick, direct movement to a specific spinal bone. viagra delivery In 2016, Digital Trends  noted that “There’s a cold war happening in space and virtually no one knows about it. Right now, miles above your head, there are fleets of robotic, weaponized satellites poised to do battle…The U.S. is now on the defense, preparing to protect its assets in orbit against a new fleet of high-tech satellites unlike anything the world has ever seen before…Up until the 2007, only Russia and the U.S. had demonstrated the capacity to destroy enemy satellites via missile intercept…Then suddenly in 2007, everything changed when China successfully blew up one of its own weather satellites … on purpose…The U.S. responded to this Chinese ASAT  test with Operation Burnt Frost, successfully destroying its own orbiting satellite. This was the first U.S. ASAT test in more than 30 years. Soon afterward, the U.S. and China created a direct hotline reminiscent of the infamous “red telephone” used for communication between Washington and Moscow during the Cold War. The message was clear: the next phase of the space arms race had begun.”

The Washington Free Beacon has  reported that key U.S. military leaders have warned “that China and Russia are rapidly building space warfare capabilities and the United States is lagging behind in efforts to counter the threat. Both Beijing and Moscow are developing anti-satellite missiles and laser guns and maneuvering killer space robots that could cripple strategic U.S. communications, navigation and intelligence satellites, the backbone of American high-technology warfare.”

The Report Concludes Tomorrow. 

Illustration: U.S. satellite (USAF)

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Is Socialism the Future of the Democrat Party? Part 2

The Democratic Socialists of America, which now holds considerable influence over the Democrat Party, has been described as “a rapidly growing big-tent movement that has drawn in former communists and fired up millennials.”

The key question is why. Comparisons clearly demonstrating the inferiority of socialism are abundantly clear.  The U.S.S.R. vs. the USA.  During the Cold War, Western Europe vs. Eastern Europe. North Korea vs. South Korea.  Cuba and Venezuela vs. non-socialist new world neighbors (The Democrat Socialists of America organization  has called Latin America, with its dysfunctional governments in Cuba and Venezuela, a “political stronghold.”)

And it’s not just economics that have been disastrously bad in socialist nations.  Socialist nations inevitably become increasingly authoritarian.

Opponents  to Socialism, and its reliance on collectivism and the fore needed to enforce its diktats, note that it is “deeply, fundamentally wrong. Individuals are the units of humanity that live or die, think, and make choices. Each individual has a mind and must think for himself, if he is to understand. Individuals are not telepathically joined into a “collective consciousness…”

The growing popularity of socialism is to a significant extent a product of its appeal to young people, who for several generations now have been educated by teachers and professors who subscribe to the philosophy and have gone to great lengths to avoid informing their students of its financial failures and attacks on human rights.

A Bloomberg review noted that according to Asher Kaplan, who organized a well-attended event debating the merits and problems of capitalism, “These days, among young people, socialism is both a political identity and a culture…Young Americans have soured on capitalism. In a Harvard University poll conducted last year, 51 percent of 18-to-29 year-olds in the U.S. said they opposed capitalism; only 42 percent expressed support. Among Americans of all ages, by contrast, a Gallup survey last year found that 60 percent held positive views of capitalism. A poll released last month found American millennials closely split on the question of what type of society they would prefer to live in: 44 percent picked a socialist country, 42 percent a capitalist one. The poll, conducted by YouGov and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, found that [only] 59 percent of Americans across all age groups preferred to live under capitalism.”

Students will find few descriptions of socialism’s consistent, abundant, and deadly failures in their classrooms, or in popular publications.
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Writing for the Free Bacon, Elizabeth Harris notes that a book released last year, Communism for Kids, reports that the publication whitewashes a deadly ideology that has led to the deaths of 100 million people.  The tome, Harrington reports, “uses cartoon drawings of ‘lovable little revolutionaries’ arguing capitalism is evil and communism is ‘not that hard’… The book makes no mention of brutal dictators such as Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union, Mao Tse Tung’s ‘Great Leap Forward’ in China, Fidel Castro and Che Guevara in Cuba, all who are responsible for the deaths of millions…That collectivism ends in dictatorship is overwhelmingly evident,’ Smith said. ‘Take Venezuela, whose experiment in democratic socialism began in 1999. With each passing year, what was once one of the most prosperous countries in Latin America becomes poorer; what was once a free country becomes more and more repressive. Whether in Lenin’s Soviet Union or Maduro’s Venezuela 100 years later, collectivist policies must be coercively implemented and enforced.’”

Advocates for Socialism allege that their philosophy places power in the hands of the people.  In reality, it centralizes authority under the control of far less numbers than in capitalist societies, and those in control have the color of law and the blunt force of the state to repulse anyone who dares challenge their authority.  The Objectivism in Depth website argues that a more accurate definition of socialism would describe it as “A political and economic theory of social organization that advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by government.”

As the New York Analysis of Policy and Government previously reported, “Politics as usual no longer exists for the left.  It is no longer a contest of ideas. It is an open battle for power, no holds barred. Common sense, the rule of law, and common decency has no place in their game plan. Constitutional restrictions are nowhere on their radar. The replacement of what had been liberal politics with the type of radicalism was seen in the 20th century in Russia, where the post-Czar government of Alexander Kerensky was shattered by Bolshevik Communists, and in interwar Germany, where a democratic government was replaced by Hitler’s National Socialist regime.”

Despite an international history of tyranny, mass murder and economic collapse, Socialists continue to gain political strength in America. Combined with a media that will rarely ever describe socialists as the extremists they truly are, socialists enjoy all the advantages a biased academic system and media provide, along with the results of their own intense activism.

The eventual costs to the nation will be enormous as a result.

Photo: The Berlin Wall. (Pixabay)