Deep State Daily: Trump Mean Tweets OPEC & Tries to Sabotage Cuts, US Warship Making a Splash in Black Sea
December 7, 2018
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Come Ye Masters Technocrats of War
Think the deadliest agent is a soldier? Think again. As the theater of war moves from the front line to online, the deadliest agent may be a computer scientist. In a newly-published report by the Brookings Institute, military expert O’Hanlon warns that the future of war is likely to include robotic swarm attacks and intelligent malware which can “continually adjust tactics to the defenses encountered.” AI isn’t the only threat, though. According to the US National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, threats from quantum computing like cracking conventional encryption will evolve faster than defenses… CONTINUE
Stories We’re Watching
She Doesn’t Even Go Here! Russia & OPEC to Cut Production by 1.2M Barrels a Day
Earlier today amidst several dramatic, behind the scenes plot twists, OPEC and friends have agreed to a 1.2M barrel a day oil production cut–effective early next year. Despite President Trump’s Twitter cyberbullying, the group agreed to bigger reductions than analysts had expected. Shortly after the announcement, crude prices jumped up to $53.75 per barrel. Negotiations at this week’s OPEC Summit in Vienna have centered around efforts to stem the precipitous drop in oil prices, which had dropped 30% in recent weeks due to oversupply and peak oil demand speculation.
- NPR: Oil Prices Jump After OPEC Agrees To Bigger-Than-Expected
- MarketWatch: OPEC members to cut output by 800000 barrels a day starting in
- Moneycontrol: Iran agrees to OPEC oil cut, focus shifts back to Russia
Trump Mean Tweets OPEC & Opens 9M Acres Protected Habitats to Undercut Cuts
After President Trump’s mean Tweets failed to stop OPEC from agreeing on production cuts, the Trump administration released plans to open 9 million acres of federally protected habitats to oil exploration. The Trump administration has already approved deafening seismic tests for Atlantic offshore drilling exploration. And, President Trump’s nominated Secretary of the Department of the Interior (DOI) faces multiple ethics investigations. The Union of Concerned Scientists’ recent report concludes that DOI Secretary Ryan Zinke has “overseen relentless attacks on science and put our nation’s parks, health, and wildlife at ris
- Scientific American: Monumental Disaster at the Department of the Interior
- BBC: Trump’s environmental rollback rolls on
- Gizmodo: Genius Ryan Zinke Calls Congressman Who Will Likely Be Future…
- POGO: Rollback: The Trump Administration Proposes to Thin Offshore Drilling..
China-US feud threatens Canada, Huawei executive due in court
Canada will officially release the charges against Huawei’s global financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, at her bail hearing later today. She was arrested last weekend for allegedly violating Iran sanctions, and the US seeks her extradition. China has demanded her immediate release. The arrest comes amid US pressure on China regarding intellectual property protections–especially in the technology sector. Trade analysts fear that the arrest has nullified the short-lived truce in the US-China trade war. They also point to further strain in Canada-US relations.
- NPR: Transcript: NPR’s Interview With National Security Adviser John Bolton
- The Globe and Mail: Canada will pay a price no matter what for its part in the…
- Politico: Canada caught between Trump and China in Huawei case
- Gizmodo: Everything That Happened With Huawei While You Were Sleeping
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President Trump Nominates New Attorney General & UN Ambassador
President Trump has confirmed that he will nominate Heather Nauert as US ambassador to the UN and that he will re-nominate William Barr as US Attorney General. Analysts say that Nauert, current Spokeswoman for the US Department of State and former Fox News host, likely faces a tough Senate confirmation process. This would be Barr’s second term as attorney general, a relatively rare occurrence in the US justice system.
- BBC: Trump nominates William Barr and Heather Nauert to top posts
- Eurasia Review: Trump To Name State Department’s Nauert As UN Ambassador
- Daily Beast: Trump Attorney General Thought Clinton ‘Should Be Investigated’
- Salon: Trump picks former Fox News host Heather Nauert as next UN
Merkel Bids Auf Wiedersehen as Christian Democratic Union Elects Replacement
Earlier today, Chancellor Angela Merkel bid farewell as Chairwoman to Germany’s Christian Democratic Union party. The party’s conference has selected Merkel favorite Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer as its new party leader. Merkel is expected to serve as Chancellor until 2021. Analysts say that Merkel’s CDU party shows signs of trouble and point to a trifecta: gradual weakening of centrist parties, an uptick in far-right parties, and an increasingly fragmented German electorate. The erosion of once-strong social safety nets, stagnant wages, insecure jobs, and dwindling opportunities for upward mobility have made people more open to extreme political platforms.
- BBC: Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer: Merkel choice elected CDU leader
- Bloomberg: Merz Urges ‘New Start’ to Break With Merkel Era: Germany Update
- The Local (Germany): End of an era: Merkel passes torch to new party leader
- Deutsche Welle: Angela Merkel takes her leave as conservative party head
US Warship to Splash Out in Black Sea
The US is preparing to sail a warship into the Black Sea for the first time in four years. The US navy informed the Turkish government of its plan yesterday to sail a ship from Italy, through the Bosphorus, to the Black Sea in response to last month’s Russian seizure of Ukrainian vessels and sailors. Security analysts say the action is likely to exacerbate tensions in the region. Earlier today Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said that Bulgaria would face a “major crisis” should tensions worsen. Military experts say that Turkey is likely to use this as an opportunity to get the US to abandon plans to build observation posts along parts of the border between Turkey and Syria.
- Reuters: Turkey tells U.S. it should give up on building observation posts in Syria: anadolu
- Haaretz: US ‘Preparing to Sail Warship’ Into Black Sea Amid Ukraine-Russia
- Washington Post: Black Sea standoff reflects Russia’s disregard for global rules…
- RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty: US Conducts ‘Extraordinary’ Observation Flight Over…
From Deep State Radio
FOREIGN POLICY INTERRUPTED: SEEING GREEN. . . .
- 2,975 deaths from Hurricane Maria in September 2017 (but estimated to be about 4,500)
- 153,336 acres and 18,804 structures destroyed; 85 deaths in the November California wildfires – the state’s deadliest
- 8 million people in 32 districts affected, 103,855 houses destroyed by floods in Bangladesh in January 2018. 307,00 people forced to stay in emergency shelters
You don’t need a report to know that something is happening with the weather. Punishing storms such as Hurricanes Sandy and Maria. Intense droughts that have sparked wildfires in California and have ruined crops. Rising sea levels that have increased flooding in low lying areas such as the coast of Bangladesh. It is not a question of whether our climate is changing, but how fast. The verdict is: Get on it people, we are running out of time. CONTINUE
