US News Air Force Special Operations Command’s CV-22 Osprey aircraft fleet has been grounded over unknown issues with the clutch. Defense News China A top US military commander said Tuesday that the US must “contest” China’s missile launches over Taiwan that were carried out in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visiting the island. AWC A delegation of Canadian lawmakers plans to visit Taiwan in October. Reuters Afghanistan A group of family members of 9/11 victims has sent a letter to President Biden urging him to return the $7 billion in frozen Afghan reserves held by the US...
CIA
News Roundup 8/17/2022
US News The Department of Education will forgive student loans for ITT Technical Institute students from January 1, 2005 until it closed in 2016. Over 200,000 former attendees of the school will have $3.9 billion forgiven. Market Watch The Army transferred control of military satellites to the Space Force. Gizmodo Russia Russia demands the UK cancel a planned fight by a spy plane over Russian territory. AP A blast hit a Russian ammunition depot in the northern Dzhankoi district of Crimea on Tuesday, injuring two people, in an incident the Russian Defense Ministry described as an act of...
We Don’t Believe You
David French, maybe National Review’s most reliably wrong scribe, issued this gem in response to the FBI raid on Donald Trump’s residence in Florida: Imagine thinking federal police agents and lawyers will be “held accountable,” or that presidents are not above the law! Is this an afterschool special? “Let’s wait and see, folks, before we judge the situation. It might be perfectly on the up and up! Have faith in the rule of law and trust the process!” French, in keeping with the listless residue of Conservative Inc., either can’t or won’t face the reality of postgoodwill America. This...
State Department: JCPOA Negotiations Over, Iran Must Drop ‘Extraneous’ Demands
After the latest round of indirect talks in Vienna, there is a draft deal currently on the table to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), proposed by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
New Report Details Massive Sexual Abuse in the Congo By UN Peacekeepers
An investigation into the actions of United Nations Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo shines a light on years of rampant misconduct that has left thousands of broken lives. Victims of Peacekeepers say they were impregnated as children, left without child support, trafficked and raped. Since 1999, the US has deployed its soldiers to the Congo, with the current UN mission dubbed ‘Monusco.’ While the UN acknowledged past abuses by its soldiers in the Congo, the new report was more significant in scope, interviewing over 2,500 people, including women and girls who were...
Cops Sicced on 8 Year Old Girl’s Lemonade Stand
Asa Baker is an 8-year-old girl from Ohio with an overwhelming entrepreneurial spirit. Over the hot summer, rather than spend the days inside watching TV, Asa would set up a lemonade stand in her front yard to make some cash. “It’s fun and you get lots of people,” Asa told FOX 8 news in an interview, adding that lots of truckers stop buy and pay more than the $1 per cup that she charges. “Especially on a country road, I get a lot of people,” she said. Unfortunately for Asa, however, her summer of entrepreneurial spirit would come to a grinding halt when police shut down her stand for...
Zelensky Tries to Stop Leaks Coming From His Government
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has voiced frustration with unnamed officials from his own government for speaking with the press. During his daily briefing on Thursday, the Ukrainian leader said leaks were harming Kiev's war effort and are “frankly irresponsible.”
News Roundup 8/11/2022
US News Advisers at 1st Security Force Assistance Brigade racked up at least 60 misconduct offenses, including incidents with alcohol, drugs and adultery; a battalion commander was fired; members of one advising team are facing punishment for their behavior in Colombia, according to internal records and interviews conducted by Army Times. Army Times Russia Kosovo warns tensions with Serbs could lead to a new war. Reuters Russian surveillance aircraft flew into the Alaskan Air Defense Identification Zone twice in the past two days, the North American Aerospace Defense Command. The Hill...
White House Considering Reducing or Increasing Tariffs on China
President Joe Biden is examining a range of options for what to do with the current tariffs on China, according to Reuters. For months, the administration has considered cutting tariffs on Beijing to relieve inflation in the US, but has alternatively thought about additional penalties as China carries out military drills in the waters surrounding Taiwan.
A Prize System as a Solution to Drug Patents
Drugs are expensive. A vial of insulin can be up to $250 and a pack of pens can be up to $500. Every month, many families decide between life and food. For a country as rich as ours this is a disgrace and a moral crime. The culprit is the pharmaceutical monopoly. With a drug patent, a pharmaceutical company can block other companies from selling a much cheaper generic version. Preventing competition, these patents lead to medicines like the heart disease drug Lipitor costing over $270 for a packet of 100 tablets back when it was patented. The best way to lower these prices is to abolish...