Month: May 2019

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Quick Analysis

Substance Replaced by Evasion

Recently, Democrat presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg talked a bit about his campaign. As reported by WSBT, the South Bend, Indiana mayor said that even though he would eventually run a “substantive” ideas campaign,  “We’re … not going to inundate people with minutia of policy before they understand exactly what the big ideas are, the values that motivate our policies and the impacts they are going to have on the ground.”

Buttigieg’ comments may well be the anthem of the Democrats in the 2020 campaign, for good reason.  Another early Democrat “star” in the election cycle is “Beto” O’Rourke.  Luke Savage, writing in Jacobin reports: “ Despite taking the odd progressive position here and there, O’Rourke is assiduously vague and slippery on policy specifics. As the Washington Post’s Jenna Johnson observed a few months ago: “When it comes to many of the biggest policy issues facing the country today, O’Rourke’s default stance is to call for a debate” — even when it comes to areas he himself is fond of emphasizing, such as border policy and immigration.”

Specifics will not work for the Party that has moved far to the left of the American mainstream, and touts policies that have already failed. The shining dream of an election cycle that would be dominated by Russian collusion has turned into a nightmare, following the Mueller Report. Indeed, it now appears that the only high-level indictments that may arise will be those against key Democrat leaders and allies who conspired to defraud the FISA Court and the American public in a failed attempt to rig the 2016 general election for Hillary Clinton, just as they rigged the primary campaign to insure Bernie Sanders’ defeat.

The collection of 2020 Democrat contenders have largely relied on irrational, disproven, and unaffordable policies combined with identity politics and baseless attacks on their opponents. They are heavily dependent on the steadfast support and biased reporting of the mainstream media, cleverly censored social web sites and late night television comedians.

Consider the unpopular concepts they support.

Some of the candidates openly favor Socialism.  No wonder they reject specifics! The briefest look at Venezuela will turn off voters to that idea, The only real shining moments were Al Rollins’ and Max Bentley’s Hart cialis professional canada memorial trophies. So for all intents and purposes low cost viagra is an identical copy of the original medication. This drug is economic and very much effective so people want to buy this for their problem. levitra generika Maintain Good Life with Cheap Kamagra Well, kamagra is a popular substitute for cheapest levitra http://downtownsault.org/shirts-things/ which treats erectile dysfunction. not to mention the last 100 years of failed socialist regimes. They have turned a blind eye to the vast expense, crime, disease, and human trafficking resulting from their insistence on open borders, and instead call the U.S. border patrol “Nazis.” They ignore the plight of so many American workers whose jobs were lost due to China’s illicit practices, but criticize the Trump Administration’s moves to stop Beijing’s attacks on the American economy.

Astoundingly, some of the 2020 candidates and Democrat party leaders refer to the current White House as “fascist.” Yet it is they who seek to warp American government to gain unfair advantage and silence opposition.  Ideas include limiting free speech, as Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) did in his bid to weaken the First Amendment. They have refused to condemn attacks on moderate and conservative students, professors and guest speakers on college campuses.  Some have proposed “stacking” the U.S. Supreme Court with additional left-wing justices to insure court victories.  They oppose sensible voter ID laws to allow illegal aliens to vote to overcome the preferences of the citizenry. And more recently, they have engaged in moves to allow convicted felons still in jail to cast votes. Upon losing elections, it is Democrat supporters who riot in the streets, and assault individuals for merely wearing hats supporting Trump.

The success of the game plan to warp the truth for partisan advantage, by party leaders, candidates and the left-wing is clearly seen in the extraordinary dishonesty about the effect of tax cuts. Despite clear evidence to the contrary, reports CNBC, “just 17% believe their own taxes will go down, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll found. By contrast, 28% believe they’ll pay more, 27% expect to pay about the same and 28% don’t know enough to say… In reality, 8 in 10 Americans stood to receive tax cuts in 2018 under the law, according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center.”

The nation needs a substantive, in-depth, vigorous and open debate on the issues.  Instead, many Democrat candidates have provided only evasion, meaningless platitudes, and personal attacks.

Photo: Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg addresses crowd. (Campaign website)

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Quick Analysis

Foreign Policy Update

U.S. Working in Concert with Tajikistan and Afghanistan to Secure Their Border

The Tajikistan-Afghanistan border has a long-turbulent history. From the 19th century Great Game to more recent conflicts, the border’s porous state continues to be a source of concern for both governments as well as the international community.

Tajikistan and Afghanistan are landlocked, and their shared 1,344 kilometer border is a hub for controlled and dual-use military and industrial materials, as well as a major drug smuggling route. Threats in the region include violent extremism, as well as narcotics and weapons trafficking.

Because this border is susceptible to trafficking in WMD, the United States has a stake in facilitating closer cross-border ties between Tajikistan and its Afghan counterparts. In 2018, the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation announced a change in foreign assistance programming to focus on areas that present the most critical threats and challenges to U.S. national security. As a result of that decision, earlier this year, ISN’s Export Control and Border Security (EXBS) program initiated talks with border security and customs agencies in Tajikistan and Afghanistan to develop a program and process for training officials in both nations that would help them better secure the border and work as partners.

The EXBS program works to enhance U.S. national security by building partner country capacity to comply with international strategic trade control norms to prevent the proliferation of WMD and illicit trade in conventional weapons. Specifically, EXBS helps partner countries build strategic trade controls that are consistent with international best practices, working to strengthen legal and regulatory structures, licensing procedures, and enforcement capabilities.

The EXBS-Tajikistan-Afghanistan partnership kicked off with the establishment of a new facility in Dushanbe called the Regional Training Center on WMD Nonproliferation and Export Control. This training center now works to train Tajik and other Central Asian regional officers in a wide variety of techniques including nuclear and radiological smuggling detection, interdiction, containment, and response. An added benefit: Afghan and Tajik customs and border officials are also receiving assistance with compliance on strategic trade controls, as well as UN Security Council Resolution 1540, a binding resolution that requires all countries to establish laws prohibiting the transfer of WMD.

French and U.S. Communities Work Together to Counter Terrorist Radicalization and Recruitment

France and the United States know the threat and impact of terrorism all too well. Despite our global efforts to defeat and degrade terrorist organizations, groups like ISIS and al-Qa’ida will continue to attempt to carry out attacks and inspire others to violence.

To bolster the United States’ partnership with France to counter terrorist radicalization and recruitment, the State Department has encouraged policy makers, researchers, and practitioners from both countries to exchange good practices and lessons learned. Included in these efforts are traditional speaker programs and the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), and also new innovative initiatives such as the Strong Cities Network, and the City Pair CVE Partnership Program, which is a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Beginning in 2015, our key engagements have led U.S. and French participants to develop new programs or update existing ones to counter the terrorist threat:

  • The State Department helped establish the Strong Cities Network, which includes Bordeaux, Montreuil, Paris, and Sarcelles. Through this global network of local governments, French members have been able to share best practices with other members around the world. Bordeaux, for example, has presented on its Center for Prevention of Radicalization (CAPRI) at Strong Cities Network events in Australia, Lebanon, and Turkey.
  • The U.S. Embassy Paris facilitated the first visit of homeland security expert Dr. Erroll Southers of the University of Southern California (USC) to France several years ago to share his knowledge on terrorist radicalization and recruitment and soft targets protection. Subsequent visits to France by Southers led to USC’s Price School of Public Policy signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Université Paris II Panthéon-Assas for their Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) Studies degree program. In November 2017, USC’s Price School and its Safe Communities Institute hosted a Global Summit on Homegrown Violent Extremism featuring French experts that Southers met through previous engagements.
  • Marseille participated in a City Pair with Orlando and Tampa in December 2016, six months after the Orlando Pulse nightclub attack in which an ISIS-inspired terrorist killed 49 people. The Marseille delegation met Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, the Orlando Police Department, and community leaders to hear firsthand accounts of their response to that incident. Marseille had its own encounter with terrorism in October 2017 when an ISIS-inspired man murdered two women at the central train station.
  • Toulouse participated in a City Pair with Atlanta in November 2017. One of their stops included Clarkston, Georgia, which serves as a model on how to build the resilience of new communities. The exchange provided Toulouse delegates with new approaches on how local governments can work with civil society organizations on countering terrorist radicalization and recruitment.
  • During a City Pair in December 2017, a delegation from Lyon learned about New Orleans’ efforts to promote resilience in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, after-school programs, and the protection of soft targets in the French District. Based on the exchanges, delegates are developing programs to engage vulnerable youth in Lyon.
  • Strasbourg visited Boston in May 2018 through the City Pair and learned about local government and community responses to the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013, including the One World Strong organization formed by survivors, as well as programs to address gang violence and youth delinquency. One World Strong has subsequently worked with survivors of terrorist attacks in Nice and Paris. Based on their exchange, Strasbourg delegates are organizing an international conference this fall to discuss ways to promote community resilience and counter terrorist radicalization and recruitment.
  • Local government and community leaders from Paris visited Chicago and Los Angeles through the City Pair in March 2019. In Chicago, the delegation learned about the Illinois Targeted Violence Prevention Program, which educates communities on how to identify and address the warning signs of radicalization. In Los Angeles, the delegation met with Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD) program staff as well as Homeboy Industries, which helps former prisoners reintegrate.
  • The U.S. Embassy Paris in April 2019 partnered with the European Forum for Urban Security (EFUS) to organize a workshop for City Pair alumni and other State Department exchanges from Belgium, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Participants shared lessons learned from their exchanges, including how Vilvoorde, a Belgian municipality just north of Brussels, reduced foreign terrorist fighter departures by developing programs to engage vulnerable youth. A member of Manchester’s City Council talked about how they took lessons from their exchange with Boston into account for the planning of the one-year remembrance of the June 2017 terrorist attack by an ISIS affiliate that killed 22 people.
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The attacks in Marseille, New York, Nice, Orlando, Paris, San Bernardino, and Strasbourg over the past four years are examples of how lethal even one or a few determined individuals can be. Exchanges between France and the United States on countering radicalization and terrorist recruitment remain timely and important – for all of our national security.

Reining in Iran’s Scientists

In March, the U.S. Departments of State and Treasury announced new sanctions on Iran, in what amounts to a cautionary message to scientists in Iran who may consider working for the regime. In the announcement, the United States warned that any scientists lending a hand to the regime’s proliferation activities could find themselves on the losing end of a gamble they are making with their professional careers.

Specifically, the sanctions designated 31 individuals and entities under Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, WMD delivery systems, and their supporters. The 14 individuals and 17 entities designated are all linked to Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research – also known by its Farsi acronym, SPND.

SPND, founded in 2011, has employed up to 1,500 individuals, many of whom continue to carry out dual-use research and development activities. These activities can be useful for developing weapons delivery systems. Further, SPND’s subordinate organizations spend millions of dollars each year on a broad spectrum of defense projects. SPND scientists perform proliferation- sensitive research and experiments, and SPND continues to use subsidiary organizations, front companies, and procurement agents to acquire dual-use items from third-country suppliers. Ominously, moreover, SPND’s is run by the former head of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

Sanctioned individuals and entities, in addition to having any U.S. assets blocked, will be denied access to the U.S. financial system. Further, non-Americans who provide support to these individuals could also be subject to sanctions.

These designations are part of our ongoing campaign of unprecedented economic pressure to change the Iranian regime’s behavior.

Individuals working for Iran’s proliferation-related programs – including scientists, procurement agents, and technical experts – should be aware of the risks to which they expose themselves. 

They may be subject to sanctions that would prevent them from doing things such as sending money to relatives in the United States. What’s more, their names will be linked to Iran’s WMD program, making them international pariahs. Iran’s next generation of scientists has two paths: they can use their skills pursuing noble work outside of the WMD realm, or they can work for Iranian proliferation organizations and risk being sanctioned.

While these sanctions continue the U.S. efforts to exert maximum pressure on the Iranian regime, the United States will continue to work in partnership with allied countries to prevent the global proliferation of WMD. We know from the recently revealed Iranian nuclear archive that the regime cannot be trusted with nuclear capabilities. And as long as Iran continues its proliferation activities, the United States will continue to address Iran’s proliferation and other malign behavior that threatens international peace and security.

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.  Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

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White House Proposes Immigration Reform

President Trump delivered an outline of his comprehensive immigration proposal in a Rose Garden speech yesterday. A summary of the remarks is presented below:

Everyone agrees that the physical infrastructure on the border and the ports of entry is gravely underfunded and woefully inadequate.  We scan only a small fraction of the vehicles, goods, and all of the other things coming across, including people.  And, sadly, the drugs pour across our border.  We’re going to stop it.

Investment in technology will ensure we can scan 100 percent of everything coming through, curbing the flow of drugs and contraband, while speeding up legal trade and commerce.  It’s the most heavily traded — monetarily — border anywhere in the world, and it’s not even close.

To make certain that we are constantly making the upgrades we need, our proposal creates a permanent and self-sustaining border security trust fund.  This will be financed by the fees and revenues generated at the border crossings itself.

As we close the gaps in our physical framework, we must also close the gaps in our legal framework.  Critical to ending the border crisis is removing all incentives for smuggling women and children. Current law and federal court rulings encourage criminal organizations to smuggle children across the border.  The tragic result is that 65 percent of all border-crossers this year were either minors or adults traveling with minors.  Our plan will change the law to stop the flood of child smuggling and to humanely reunite unaccompanied children with their families back home — and rapidly. 

We must also restore the integrity of our broken asylum system.  Our nation has a proud history of affording protection to those fleeing government persecutions.  Unfortunately, legitimate asylum seekers are being displaced by those lodging frivolous claims — these are frivolous claims — to gain admission into our country.

Asylum abuse also strains our public school systems, our hospitals, and local shelters, using funds that we should, and that have to, go to elderly veterans, at-risk youth, Americans in poverty, and those in genuine need of protection.  We’re using the funds that should be going to them.  And that shouldn’t happen.  And it’s not going to happen in a very short period of time. 

My plan expedites relief for legitimate asylum seekers by screening out the meritless claims.  If you have a proper claim, you will quickly be admitted; if you don’t, you will promptly be returned home.

our plan closes loopholes in federal law to make clear that gang members and criminals are inadmissible.  These are some of the worst people anywhere in the world — MS-13 and others.  And for criminals already here, we will ensure their swift deportation. 

A topic of less discussion in national media, but of vital importance to our country, is our legal immigration system itself.  Our plan includes a sweeping modernization of our dysfunctional legal immigration process.  It is totally dysfunctional.

Every year, we admit 1.1 million immigrants as permanent legal residents.  These green card holders get lifetime authorization to live and work here and a five-year path to American citizenship.  This is the most prized citizenship anywhere in the world, by far.

Currently, 66 percent of legal immigrants come here on the basis of random chance.  They’re admitted solely because they have a relative in the United States.  And it doesn’t really matter who that relative is.  Another 21 percent of immigrants are issued either by random lottery, or because they are fortunate enough to be selected for humanitarian relief.

Random selection is contrary to American values and blocks out many qualified potential immigrants from around the world who have much to contribute.  While countless …countries… create a clear path for top talent.  America does not.

Under the senseless rules of the current system, we’re not able to give preference to a doctor, a researcher, a student who graduated number one in his class from the finest colleges in the world — anybody.  We’re not able to take care of it.  We’re not able to make those incredible breakthroughs.  If somebody graduates top of their class from the best college, sorry, go back to your country.  We want to keep them here.

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Some of the most skilled students at our world-class universities are going back home because they have no relatives to sponsor them here in the United States

As a result of our broken rules, the annual green card flow is mostly low-wage and low-skilled.  Newcomers compete for jobs against the most vulnerable Americans and put pressure on our social safety net and generous welfare programs.

Only 12 percent of legal immigrants are selected based on skill or based on merit.  In countries like Canada, Australia, and New Zealand — and others — that number is closer to 60 and even 70 and 75 percent, in some cases.

The biggest change we make is to increase the proportion of highly skilled immigration from 12 percent to 57 percent, and we’d like to even see if we can go higher. …This will bring us in line with other countries and make us globally competitive.

At the same time, we prioritize the immediate family of new Americans — spouses and children.  The loved ones you choose to build a life with, we prioritize.  And we have to do that.

America’s last major overhaul of our legal admissions policy was 54 years ago.  Think of that.  So a major update — and that’s what this is: merit system and a heart system — is long overdue…

Wages are rising but our current immigration system works at cross-purposes, placing downward pressure on wages for the working class, which is what we don’t want to do.

Unfortunately, the current immigration rules allow foreign workers to substitute for Americans seeking entry-level jobs.  So, foreign workers are coming in and they’re taking the jobs that would normally go to American workers.

America’s immigration system should bring in people who will expand opportunity for striving, low-income Americans, not to compete with those low-income Americans. 

We cherish the open door that we want to create for our country, but a big proportion of those immigrants must come in through merit and skill. 

The White House plan makes no change to the number of green cards allocated each year.  But instead of admitting people through random chance, we will establish simple, universal criteria for admission to the United States.  No matter where in the world you’re born, no matter who your relatives are, if you want to become an American citizen, it will be clear exactly what standard we ask you to achieve.

This will increase the diversity of immigration flows into our country.  We will replace the existing green card categories with a new visa, the Build America visa .

Like Canada and so many other modern countries, we create an easy-to-navigate points-based selection system.  You will get more points for being a younger worker, meaning you will contribute more to our social safety net.  You will get more points for having a valuable skill, an offer of employment, an advanced education, or a plan to create jobs.

We lose people that want to start companies…  Now they’ll have a chance.  Priority will also be given to higher-wage workers, ensuring we never undercut American labor.  To protect benefits for American citizens, immigrants must be financially self-sufficient.

Finally, to promote integration, assimilation, and national unity, future immigrants will be required to learn English and to pass a civics exam prior to admission. 

Picture: Ellis Island, NYC (Pixabay)

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Abortion into Infanticide

Ted Flint

With the recent passage in New York of the misleadingly named Reproductive Health Act, Democrats in Blue states are going all out in their efforts to enforce what they see as a woman’s legal right to end the life of their unborn child. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is perceptive enough to know that with the recent confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the nation’s High Court, Roe v.Wade’s days may be numbered.  

It’s interesting to note that it took the abortion issue for the Governor to discover federalism.

Toppling Roe may not be necessary. Lawmakers in 12 states have proposed what they call “heartbeat bills,” which if enacted would effectively ban all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy. Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin recently signed into law one of these measures, which was to take effect immediately. However, that same day, a federal judge temporarily blocked the law. Indeed, supporters of abortion say the constitutionality of these heartbeat bills is dubious at best because it contradicts federal law.

In deep blue Minnesota, where it is legal for a woman to end the life of her unborn baby for any reason and at any time during her pregnancy, there are bills in both houses of the state legislature that would ban abortions at about 22 weeks after the last menstrual cycle.  According to the Minnesota Concerned Citizens for Life website, (HF 1312 and SF 1609) (P-CUCPA) would prohibit abortion after 20 weeks post-fertilization when scientific evidence shows that unborn children can feel pain. The P-CUCPA recently passed on a voice vote in a state Senate committee. The bill includes an exception to allow abortion to protect the life of the mother or to prevent “substantial and irreversible physical impairment of a major bodily function.”

Again from the MCCL website:

“A large body of anatomical, physiological, and behavioral evidence indicates that unborn children can experience pain at least by 20 weeks after fertilization. Abortions at this stage usually involve the dilation and evacuation (D & E) method, which dismembers the unborn child and removes her from the womb piece by piece.” According to MCCL Legislative Director Andrea Rau, between 2013-2017, Minnesota has experienced a nearly 500 percent spike in abortions after 20 weeks post-fertilization.

In New York the anti-infanticide movement faces an uphill battle. Governor Cuomo, who has long supported expanding abortion rights up to and including infanticide, used the 46th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade to sign into law the Reproductive Health Act, which permits all abortions up until 24 weeks of pregnancy.  Beyond that point all that is required of a healthcare provider is that he make a “reasonable and good-faith professional judgement” that “there is an absence of fetal viability or that abortion is “necessary to protect the patient’s life or health.” Alexandra DeSanctis writes in National Review that “health” is defined in Roe’s companion case Doe vs. Bolton as “all factors: physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman’s age, relevant to the well-being of the patient.” It is no accident that the word “health” is so broadly defined. The RHA also removes abortion from the state’s criminal code. Essentially, thanks to the RHA, a woman will now be able to terminate her pregnancy right up until the moment of birth.

 But the Governor didn’t stop there. He has indicated that he wants expansive abortion protections similar to the ones contained in the RHA written into the It’s a natural problem that will occur at some point in their lifetime, will viagra cheap online have to face the challenge of erectile dysfunction (ED). A dosage of 100mg of viagra 100mg sales is asked to initiate with 100mg first and gradually proceeding above that if required. An active ingredient present in Kamagra is Sildenafil citrate that is invented by the British scientist and marketed by the Pfizer of USA based company with the name of see address free cialis without prescription. You can go with online service to buy Kamagra tablets or kamagra levitra prices soft tablets. state constitution, and he hopes to have abortion rights on the ballot next year. The abortion industry continues to thrive in the Empire State. Katie Yoder, writing for National Review Online (NRO), recently broke down the numbers:

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) most recent Abortion Surveillance report, for the year 2015, New York City performed 544 abortions for every 1,000 live births. That means roughly one in three unborn babies are aborted in the city. That also means the New York City’s abortion rate makes up more than half of the city’s birth rate. With the state’s voluntarily reported data, the CDC found that 63,646 abortions occurred in the New York City during 2015, with 32.8 abortions per 1,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44. New York — with the city and state data combined — saw a lower number in 2015. As a whole, New York performed 93,096 abortions total, with 23.1 abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age. It counted 392 abortions per 1,000 live births.”

Abortion is especially devastating to the Black Community. According to the CDC abortion is much more prevalent in the African-American Community than it is among any other group. While black women make up only six percent of the U.S. population, they account for 35 percent of abortions reported. According to the Guttmacher Institute, black women are more than five times as likely as white women to have an abortion. For many young black women abortion has become a de facto method of birth control.

It is impossible to ignore the racist roots of the abortion movement. According to LifeSiteNews, Planned Parenthood founder and eugenics advocate Margaret Sanger started “The Negro Project” in 1939 to thwart the population growth of the poor and minorities, or, as Sanger put it, to discourage “the defective and diseased elements of humanity” from their “reckless and irresponsible swarming and spawning.”

There has been a harmful sea change in how our culture views human life. As predicted by those in the pro-life community, it has, indeed, led to infanticide, as well as profiteering by abortion mills from the selling of human parts.  The abortion industry and its supporters frame the issue as one in which women should be left free to make decisions that affect their lives and their bodies. They are willfully ignoring the slide into infanticide, and the disregard for the sanctity of human life in general.

This article was written by Ted Flint, a veteran broadcaster who has worked at some of the most influential news-talk stations in upstate New York. He currently works as a Producer in the NY State Assembly Office of Radio/Television where he interviews members of the Assembly Republican Conference about issues that affect the lives of New York State’s residents.   For interviews or other inquiries, you may reach Ted via email at tdflint@yahoo.com 

Photo: Pixabay

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THE BAIL PROJECT – FREEING THE POOR AND THE DANGEROUS ALIKE

This article was written by the distinguished former judge John H. Wilson

There is no doubt that the majority of people held on bail while their criminal charges are pending are unable to pay the money necessary to gain their freedom.  As of 2016, 1.6 million people were incarcerated in American federal and state prisons.  Of these, 646,000 were being held in approximately 3,000 local jails.  70% of these were being held in pretrial detention, and of these, their 2015 median reported annual income was approximately $15,109 prior to incarceration.

Kalief Browder was 17 years old when he was arrested for felony assault in New York City.  His bail was set at $3,000, an amount his family could not pay.  After 3 years of incarceration awaiting trial, the case brought against him fell apart, and he was released.  Several years later, at the age of 22, he committed suicide.  His family blamed his death on the years of abuse and solitary confinement he suffered during his incarceration. 

Based upon this tragic case, the City of New York instituted a program to allow nonviolent, low-level offenders to be released without posting bond.  However, bail reform proponents were not satisfied with this process.   To address the perceived injustice of pretrial detention of poor people, the Bail Project was born.  

Begun in 2007 as the Bronx Freedom Fund, this service has grown into a nationwide organization that posts cash bonds on behalf of indigent persons.  Their mission?  “To combat mass incarceration and racial disparities at the front end of the system.” 

How exactly has this altruistic plan worked out so far?  That depends upon who you ask.

In general, the effort of judges in New York to release criminal defendants without the posting of cash bail had led to a series of repeat offenders being given the opportunity to offend again.  For instance, Robert Scott was arrested earlier this month in Manhattan for assault on a woman who was a stranger to him.  Two days after his release, Scott was again arrested for the attempted rape of a woman on the Upper West Side.

The Bronx Freedom Fund was involved in a similar case in 2018.  Lynneke Burke was released on a $1,000 bond paid by the Freedom Fund after assaulting a stranger.  The following week, Burke was arrested for the rape of a high school teacher.  

Recently, the Bail Project posted the $5,000 bond of a St Louis man in a domestic violence case.  The same night he was released, Samuel Lee Scott is alleged to have gone to the home of his wife and killed her.  “A probable cause statement from the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office said (Scott) threatened that he ‘might as well finish what (he) started since (she) was going to contact the police.’”

These horror stories point to the obvious repercussions of posting bond for people based on a perception that these offenders are minorities, caught up on an unfair system, that punishes them for their racial background and poverty.  In fairness, it should be pointed out that since instituting bail reform, “New York City’s jail population has dropped from nearly 22,000 in 1991 to about 7,800 this year, making it the least incarcerated major city in the United States.”  Further, “New York’s lower reliance on bail hasn’t led to defendants not showing up in court. The city’s return-to-court rate is 86 percent versus about 75 percent nationally.”

But these statistics only tell part of the story.

As the Night Court judge for Brooklyn from 2005 to 2010, I made release and bail determinations for approximately 60 to 100 arrestees per night.  Depending upon who you ask, I was either (a) fair (b) biased (c) the best judge (d) the worst judge – ever ( e) usually Mostly ED medication starts working in 30 minutes and lasts for about 48 hours, compared to viagra pills canada which lasts up to about 4-5 hours. It is surely a silent epidemic which needs to buy viagra prescription be controlled. The attractive circular broken will be a common health problem affecting men of all ages, however is additional common with increasing cialis on line age. Leave a viagra buy australia note in your partner’s pocket and tell her not to be late tonight as there would be someone eagerly waiting for her. right (f) never right.  Regardless, I always used several standards when I assessed whether or not someone should be released without bond.

First and foremost, I looked at their record.  I looked for prior crimes of the same nature, and I looked for their history of returning to court.  If I saw someone who had a recent history of arrests for the same offense, particularly in a short period of time (such as turnstile jumping, robbery or domestic violence) they were far more likely to have a bond.  If someone had a bench warrant outstanding, they were usually going to be held.

In particular, what I was looking for, and what the Bail Project and other bond reformers ignore, is recidivism.  Under the criterion used by those who argue that bond is used to punish the poor, it does not matter that the same person has been repeatedly arrested for the same offense.  It only matters that they return to court.

Thus, I was excoriated by the defense every time I set bond on a defendant who returned to court with a new arrest, even after I had warned that same defendant that if he or she was rearrested, I would set bond.

In those cases, I specifically stated, for the record, that by being rearrested, the defendant had violated the bond conditions I had imposed upon him or her at the time that I set a new bond leading to his or her incarceration.  If you were to ask why I did not cite public safety as my basis, there is a simple reason – New York does not recognize public safety as a basis for setting bond on a criminal defendant, no matter the crime or strength of the evidence.

New York Criminal Procedure Law Section 510.30(2) lists the factors and criterion a court may use in a discretionary order of release or the setting of bail.   These include the person’s character, reputation, habits and mental condition; his employment or financial resources; his family ties and length of residence in the community; his criminal record; and his previous record of responding to court appearances.  But no where does the statute authorize a New York Court to hold a defendant in the interests of public safety.

Maybe a large number of the defendants given bonds in criminal matters can be trusted to return to court.  But can they be trusted to lead law-abiding lives, and not come back with a new and sometimes more serious arrest?  Until the issues of recidivism and public safety are addressed, groups like the Bail Project will continue to free dangerous individuals, allowing them to prey on the public, while justifying their actions with the limited standards they use to achieve a false sense of “social justice.”

Illustration: Pixabay

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The Consequential President

Despite the exoneration provided by the Mueller Report, it is clear that Donald Trump will not rank as one of the most universally liked presidents.  There should, however, be no dispute that he is one of the most courageous and consequential chief executives of the past hundred years.

In an era when so many get their news from rantings on Facebook and the absurd monologues of late-night comedians, a commander in chief that deals with sometimes painful facts, with no nod towards the mantra of political correctness, comes as a rather shocking change of pace. It’s political equivalent of having icy water splashed on your face when caught dozing on the job.

Whether or not one agrees with his solutions, the 45th President has attacked vital issues that his predecessors have not had the political guts to pursue. China’s unfair trade policies, Europe’s failure to pay its fair share for its own defense, a bureaucracy that seeks to wrest power away from the elected government, the defiance of free speech on college campuses and the unjustifiable and unconscionable tuition hikes by those same institutions, taxes and regulations that hamstrung American business and harmed the middle class, a media that abandoned its ethics and became a partisan participant in campaigns rather than an honest reporter of them, and a wholly ridiculous and broken immigration system are key areas that Trump has focused on which have intimidated other politicians into silence.

Add to those topics his quest to rebuild a shockingly weakened military, the revival of a manned space program virtually mothballed by the Obama Administration, and his willingness to meet face-to-face with the North Korean leadership. Include also his stand against the rising tide of anti-Semitism, and his confrontation against the anti-traditional values moves by a growing portion of the Left.

Chronic cervical endometrial inflammation, ovarian dysfunction, vaginal adenosis and high differentiation adenocarcinoma of cervix: the patient’s leukorrhea is achromatic and hyaline mucus, like albumen. viagra 100mg no prescription purchasing this Jelly viagra on line order is the advanced version of Kamagra. Adebowale generic levitra uk Adefuye, Ambassador of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Dr. What is needed, specifically, is drugs that can relax the muscles cute-n-tiny.com cialis 20 mg found in the walls of veins, favoring varicose veins. He has done this despite an unprecedented level of criticism from the press and, in many instances, without the assistance or support of many leaders of his own party. He has refused to back down even in the face of harsh and probably unlawful legal assaults by corrupted leaders of the FBI and the CIA, as well as the astounding rulings of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which ignored the Constitution and statutory law in its bid to overturn the legal prerogatives of the Trump Administration.

It’s still early to determine the results, but the outlook is promising. Examples: The economy has improved significantly, not just for Wall Street but for Main Street as well. Blacks now have the lowest level of unemployment in history. ISIS’s territorial caliphate, which Obama seemed unable to tackle effectively, has been eliminated. The spate of terrorist attacks on US soil has been reduced. America, to the shock of many, has become virtually energy independent. Types of jobs once thought permanently in decline are coming back. Confidence in the military is reviving. Allies are regaining trust in Washington. America will soon regain the lead in human space flight. China is realizing that it will not be able to continuously rob American jobs and steal intellectual property. North Korea has pulled back from the brink of war. 

Trump’s failings are largely in unquantifiable areas.  His red-meat rhetoric, blunt speeches, and hard-nosed refusal to ignore any slight has not allowed him to win over those who were inclined to dislike him.  This includes some who even agree with his policies. His refusal to back out of unnecessary fights has produced more harm than good for him in far too many instances. 

His accomplishments would be exceptional for an eight-year presidency.  For an administration of less than three years, in the face of vicious, unwarranted, and extraordinary attacks from its enemies and without much help from its own party, they are little short of miraculous.

Photo: Official portrait (U.S. Govt. Printing Office)

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Suspect Motives Behind Opposition to China Trade Deal

President Trump’s trade negotiations with China have revealed a great deal about American politics and the current psyche of far too many.

From a purely logical perspective, the move to rein in China’s rapacious practices of intellectual property theft, espionage, product dumping, forced technology transfer, industrial subsidies, and various barriers against American goods should be an across-the-board, nonpartisan, widely-supported move.

But clearly, that has not been the case. Personal gain through contacts with China (some legitimate, some corrupt) by elected officials,  a warped understanding of the concept of free trade (how can trade be free if one side plays by the rules but the other does not?), a belief that some consumer  pain may result from a clamp down on Beijing’s practices, a concern that China will cease to fund Washington’s out of control deficit spending, and, quite bluntly, a belief by some, exclusively on the Left, that somehow America has a moral obligation to disperse its prosperity throughout the world at the expense of the American worker, have all come together to limit enthusiasm for Trump’s initiative.

China’s contributions to the Democratic Party, particularly Bill Clinton’s presidential re-election campaign, (Clinton allowed the sale to Beijing the supercomputer that gave that nation’s military the chance to catch up to the U.S.; he also signed legislation allowed China open and continuous access to the U.S.) and suspected financial ties to the Clinton Foundation are only part of the story. 

Peter Schweitzer, writing in the New York Post notes that Democratic primary contender and former Vice President Joe Biden’s bizarre denial of China’s danger to the U.S. is the result of his family’s business contacts. “In 2013, then-Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden flew aboard Air Force Two to China. Less than two weeks later, Hunter Biden’s firm inked a $1 billion private equity deal with a subsidiary of the Chinese government’s Bank of China. The deal was later expanded to $1.5 billion. In short, the Chinese government funded a business that it co-owned along with the son of a sitting vice president. If it sounds shocking that a vice president would shape US-China policy as his son — who has scant experience in private equity — clinched a coveted billion-dollar deal with an arm of the Chinese government, that’s because it is.”

But Clinton and Biden aren’t alone.  In an exclusive interview on the Vernuccio-Novak radio program, former top Clinton advisor and current There are other natural remedies that could reduce and even eliminate the irritable bowel syndrome Rheumatoid Arthritis Hashimoto’s Hypothyroidism Fibromyalgia Acute Coronary Syndrome Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is yet unknown. Source cialis 40 mg Erectile Dysfunction does not have to be order cialis online http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/bunnies/ a part of being a healthy human. You cialis online http://cute-n-tiny.com/tag/corgi/page/2/ should be careful about making too many presumptions until the big picture is a lot more clear. We still never pass each other in the cheap viagra house and the Senate are tenuous. Republican-oriented commentator Dick Morris stated his belief that a number of key leaders in both parties have ties to private interests that profit from dealings with China, making them reluctant to support necessary corrections.

Placing personal financial gain over the good of the nation is corruption on a grand scale. Since Clinton signed the pro-China legislation in 2000, five million U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost.

There are factors other than the corruption of Clinton, Biden, and politicians of all stripes who seek to continue to borrow funds from China to prop up their vast spending programs aimed more at buying votes than solving problems.

Those opposing finally confronting China point to the fact that prices in stores such as Walmart may increase.  That issue, however, will be short-lived. Numerous other nations with more balanced and fair trade practices are willing and eager to produce consumer goods at competitive prices, and those countries will not be using the profits to build a military aimed squarely at America.

Timidity is not appropriate, for China has far more to lose in a trade fight.  While the U.S. may face a temporary and relatively small increase in the cost of consumer goods, and while politicians may have to find other means to finance their extreme deficit spending (or, as a novel thought, actually rein in unnecessary spending) Beijing faces far more serious consequences. China’s economy is heavily dependent on exports, and cannot withstand a serious decrease.

Equally as significant to the nation’s government is the mass dissent that may arise from a significant setback to their economy.  The unspoken pact between the authoritarian leadership of the Communist Party and its subjects is that the people accept a lack of voice in their government in return for economic gains. Those gains would be lost in a trade fight, a clear threat to the continued totalitarian rulership.   

Illustration: Pixabay

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Foreign Policy Update

IRAN

In recent days there has been an escalation in the security situation with Iran. In a written statement on May 9 Secretary of State Pompeo accused Iran of an escalating series of threatening actions and statements toward the United States over the past month. The Secretary said that Washington is not seeking to go to war with Iran but after that country’s “40 years of killing American soldiers, attacking American facilities, and taking American hostages is a constant reminder that we must defend ourselves.”

Should Iran use a proxy against US interests or citizens the Secretary said the answer will be “swift and decisive.”  He added that America’s patience should not be mistaken for a lack of resolve.

This week is the one year anniversary of Washington’s new Iran strategy. Special Representative Hook said: “By nearly every measure, the regime is weaker today than when we took office two years ago. Its proxies are underfunded and demoralized. Unless the regime demonstrates a change in behavior, the pressure on Tehran will mount.”

Referencing the anniversary Secretary Pompeo said Iran chose this date to announce that “it intends to expand its nuclear program is in defiance of international norms and a blatant attempt to hold the world hostage. Its threat to renew nuclear work that could shorten the time to develop a nuclear weapon underscores the continuing challenge the Iranian regime poses to peace and security worldwide.”

Pompeo added that the United States is committed to denying the Iranian regime all paths to a nuclear weapon and Washington will continue to impose maximum pressure on the regime until it abandons its destabilizing ambitions.

CHINA

As talks with China ended Beijing said there are three remaining areas of disagreement with the US on trade. Washington’s response was to impose further sanctions on China until it allows “trade to be open, fair, free, [and] transparent.”

Pompeo, in response to a question from a reporter, said that “We want trade deals not to be national security deals under a patina of commerce. China is a different nation. When it goes to Africa and offers infrastructure, it is almost always the case that it has a national security element to it. We don’t compete that way. The United Kingdom doesn’t compete that way. And we want to make sure those nations, when they choose China, know that there may be some cheap deal or something that appears cheap, but we want to make sure they know that that threat is real and that if China loans you money, they may well foreclose.”

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GREAT BRITAIN

While in London Secretary Pompeo participated in talks with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, concerning London’s consideration of allowing Huawei 5G to operate in Great Britain.

Pompeo said that he had “great confidence” that the United Kingdom will never take an action that will break the special relationship it has with the United States. “With respect to 5G,” he added, “we’re continuing to have technical discussions. We’re making our views very well known. From America’s perspective, each country has a sovereign right to make its own decision about how to deal with the challenge.”

The United States, Pompeo pointed out, has an obligation to ensure that “places where we will operate, places where American information is, places where we have our national security at risk, that they operate inside trusted networks, and we will – that’s what we’ll do.”

ARCTICIn a May 6 speech in Finland Secretary of State Pompeo has strong for China and Russia concerning their Arctic policies. The Secretary stated that Washington had a deep understanding of what Russia was doing in the region. ”It’s visible; you can see it.” He added that the US “national security team makes sure that we do the work to track their actions here as well. We want every nation to have the opportunity to participate in the great things that can be here in the Arctic region. We want fair and open markets, we want free transit, we want the rule of law… What we don’t want is countries like Russia using military power to deny passage for ships that have a right to pass, and to ban things that are inconsistent with international law. If there are good neighbors here in the Arctic region and if Russia becomes one of them, we would welcome that.”

DARIA NOVAK served in the United States State Department during the Reagan Administration, and currently is on the Board of the American Analysis of News and Media Inc., which publishes usagovpolicy.com and the New York Analysis of Policy and Government.  Each Saturday, she presents key updates on U.S. foreign policy from the State Department.

Illustration: Pixabay

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Is Turkey Still an Ally?

There is a deeper significance in the move by The United States to suspend delivery of its premier fighter planes to ostensible NATO ally Turkey. The move is in response to that nation’s purchase of a sophisticated air defense system, the S-400, from Russia.

The purchase of a Russian defense system doesn’t make sense for a NATO nation, since Moscow is the very threat that is being defended against. But it is a clear indication that Ankara, although technically a NATO member, has moved away from the alliance and towards a closer relationship with both Russia and Iran, two nations deeply opposed to the United States.

According to Space Daily “Turkey had planned to buy 100 F-35A fighter jets, with pilots already training in the United States. The plane’s manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, said that contracts with Turkish companies to build parts for the F-35 had been expected to reach $12 billion.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg when asked on April 2 whether there was any potential resolution was to the S-400 dispute with Ankara, said “It’s a national decision for each NATO Ally to decide on procurement of capabilities. But at the same time, we see that this is now an issue that has created disagreement between Allies…NATO provides support to Turkey. We augment the air defence of Turkey with the deployment of NATO Patriot batteries. Spain, on behalf of NATO, has deployed Patriot batteries to Turkey. And also Italy has deployed something called SAMP/T, air defence system to Turkey. So NATO provides support, we augment the air defences of Turkey already…”

Defense Analyst Can Kasapoglu, speaking at a Carnegie Europe conference in 2017 reported “The S-400 deal remains a detrimental factor for NATO’s allied cohesion. What we are talking about is a strategic weapons system procurement. So, by nature, the deal would go well beyond a relatively simpler arms transfer of, say, armored personnel carriers or artillery. Such a deal would inevitably bring about further military cooperation projects. Hundreds of Turkish military personnel will need to be trained by Russian experts, and probably, some will be sent to Russia. Besides, the S-400 deal could pave the ground for further opportunities, especially those related to the planned SAM configuration. And finally, the S-400 is not a “buy and forget” system. Thus, once procured, it would twist the Turkish and Russian defense industries together. More importantly, the project was finalized right before [Moscow’s military]  Zapad-17 drills. The timing was not the best at all.”

Turkey’s growing closeness to Russia isn’t the only problem. The Ankara regime is also deepening relations with Iran.

There is little question that Turkey is  important to U.S. and NATO interests. In 2009, Forbes  contributor One can easily use them for better viagra 5mg uk results for erectile dysfunction. So, when you are viagra cheap canada having the issue then consult your doctor and share the profit with the users. He approaches and engages her in deeprootsmag.org generic viagra in india a conversation. High blood pressure and high cholesterol levels increases the risk buy cialis line of cardiovascular problem, hypertension etc. Melik Kaylan discussed the practical benefits of Turkey’s participation in NATO: “Turkish troops in Afghanistan. Freer NATO naval access to the Black Sea to bolster Ukrainian and Georgian morale. Turkish help for Georgia. A pro-U.S. Turkish flanking threat to distract Iran. Ditto Syria. The continued flow of non-Arab, non-Russian oil from Azerbaijan to the world. Increased U.S.-friendly Turkish influence in Central Asia’s Turkic states to counteract Russian and Iranian influence (remember those U.S. bases?). A secular Muslim buffer in the region against Islamization.” At the recent Carnegie Europe conference, Julian Lindley-French, former vice president of the Atlantic Treaty Association in Brussels, now a senior fellow at the Institute for Statecraft in London stated: ‘Look at a map. Now, look at where Turkey sits on it. Turkey is strategically important; the pivot between the EU, NATO, Russia, and the Middle East, and a fault-line between Europe and Asia.’”

In turn, Turkey’s membership in NATO provides it with urgently needed protection in its dangerous neighborhood, in which the expansionist interests of Russia and Iran play a key role.

The usefulness of the alliance is obvious. However, events over the past decade have strained the relationship both with America and Europe to a substantial degree, particularly in the aftermath of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s worrisome ongoing amassing of dictatorial powers, and his growing flirtation with a more fundamentalist brand of Islam, which reject the democratic and secular legacy that made Turkey one of the most stable societies in its’ region throughout the past century. Add to that his growing closeness to Vladimir Putin, and the alienation from the West becomes significant.

Retired US Army military intelligence and former Soviet analyst Paul Davis, in a Rudaw review, wonders whether Turkey belongs in NATO at all, particularly since President Erdogan has moved away from democracy.

“There was a time that it made sense for Turkey to be a part of this alliance, when during the cold war it was the southern anchor and the only NATO country with a common border to the Soviet Union. This was also a time when the Turkish government was run by secularist. This did not mean that Turkey was a democracy in the western tradition but it was somewhat unique in the region and could talk to the west. Today however we see an implosion of both secular and democratic principles in Turkey…There is very little likelihood that NATO will make any move to remove Turkey. With a revanchist Russia on the rise and a confused situation in the Middle East the west is paralyzed into inaction. [But with Turkey’s]…military engaged killing its own citizens it is in no position to help NATO militarily should the need arise. With it actions against the press and its move to have a rubber stamp Parliament it is in no way a democratic country on par with the other member states. It long ago lost the Kemalist principle of its founding and in time it lost its place in NATO.”

Photo: F-35 (DoD)

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China’s Dangerous Presence in the Caribbean

The Gatestone Institute’s Gordon Chang reports that “About 55 miles east of Palm Beach, Florida on Grand Bahama Island, a Hong Kong-based business is spending about $3 billion on a deep-water container facility, the Freeport Container Port. The concern is that the port will become another debt-trap, like the port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. There are concerns that Hambantota will eventually become a Chinese naval base. Will the Pentagon have to contend with Chinese warships at Freeport? The Chinese military is already in the Caribbean, in Cuba, apparently to collect signals intelligence from the U.S. Washington splashes plenty of cash around the Middle East, for instance, but American policymakers need also to be concerned, urgently, about critical needy locations closer to home.”

The Caribbean Council   notes that “For some years now, China has sought to deepen its relations with the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. It has done so as a part of a long-term geo-political strategy that is accompanying its rise to super power status…What these developments and the gradual deepening of China’s relations with the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, Guyana, Barbados, Suriname, and some of the islands of the Eastern Caribbean suggest, is that China is now poised to rapidly broaden and consolidate its regional economic and political role. Only Belize, St Lucia, St Kitts, Haiti and St Vincent largely continue to fall outside of its development reach as they continue to recognise Taiwan.”

While Chinese financial aid appears tempting, the reality is often far different.  An analysis by the Jamestown Foundation found that “Accusations against Chinese companies range from flouting local labor laws to providing job and contracts exclusively to Chinese nationals, to an exploitation of natural resources (NACLA, June 26, 2013). This double-edged sword of Chinese aid to the Caribbean is on display in Guyana, China’s oldest CARICOM ally from the English-speaking Caribbean. Guyanese politicians continue to praise China as an invaluable partner and a potential model to follow to their own successful rise from poverty. In practice, Chinese promises of jobs, housing, and electricity have a mixed legacy that is often more gilded than gold.”

The long-term benefits of Chinese economic ties to the region are in doubt. The Economist notes that “the impact on employment is slight. A study by Boston University found that trade with China generated 17% fewer jobs per dollar’s-worth of exports than did trade with other countries…Almost all imports from China are cheap manufactures. Some Latin American economists argue that Chinese subsidies to their producers undermine domestic industries. A new study published by the Atlantic Council…concludes that Chinese exports ‘have had an effect on the region’s de-industrialization’”.

An Official Chinese document notes that “Since This is one of the major viagra cost australia reasons to prescribe kamagra medicines to the ED patients. These are not known to be lasting side-effects, http://secretworldchronicle.com/cialis-6282.html brand viagra australia however. According to a survey the scientists explain that there is no reason why men with ED should feel ashamed of, it is something we don’t secretworldchronicle.com on line cialis have control over. Caverta online generic viagra mastercard is nothing but a perfect new age solution for removing erectile dysfunction from every victim s life. 2013, the Chinese leadership has set forth a series of major initiatives and measures on strengthening China’s relations and cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean in a wide range of areas.” 

 It is of concern that trade is seen as a means to further other goals, and military cooperation plays a significant role. The document notes: “China will actively carry out military exchanges and cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean countries, increase friendly exchanges between defense and military leaders from the two sides, strengthen policy dialogue and set up working meeting mechanisms, conduct exchanges of visits between delegations and vessels, deepen professional exchanges in such fields as military training, personnel training and UN peacekeeping, expand pragmatic cooperation in humanitarian relief, counter-terrorism and other non-traditional security fields, and enhance cooperation in military trade and military technology.”

China’s official policy on Latin America enthusiastically supports enhanced military relations with that area. Much of Beijing’s investment has been in strategic infrastructure that has military potential, including port facilities on both the east and west sides of the Panama Canal, and, as Dr. Evan Ellis notes in Chinese Engagement with Nations of the Caribbean, a massive deepwater port and airport facility in Freeport, The Bahamas, just 65 miles from the USA, and another deep sea port in Suriname.

Photo: Panama Canal