Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness for Thursday, 18 November 2021. You can receive this daily briefing by signing up at https://forwardobserver.com/daily-sa
TODAY’S BRIEFING:
- China report calls for “urgent action” in Pacific
- OSHA mandate suspended
- Elites target disinformation super spreaders
- European governments prepare for conflict
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
CHINA: The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said the Indo-Pacific region is “in a period of dangerous uncertainty.” The annual assessment recommends “urgent action” as Chinese military modernization efforts “have fundamentally transformed the strategic environment.” (AC: As the report makes clear, officials expect China to move on Taiwan and the U.S. response to be very slow. Traditional methods of U.S. deterrence are no longer effective and China views the international order as trending in their direction. The report recommends expanding economic sanctions against China to shape their behavior. – D.M.)
SUSPENDED: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) suspended its vaccine mandate enforcement. Following a number of lawsuits and injunction by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the emergency rules will not go into effect. OSHA’s updated its website saying, “OSHA remains confident in its authority to protect workers in emergencies, OSHA has suspended activities related to the implementation and enforcement of the ETS pending future developments in the litigation. Legal experts believe the emergency rule is unlikely to survive its numerous lawsuits from private businesses and states. (AC: The White House Press urged businesses to require their own mandates, despite the rule suspension. Unlike the eviction moratorium, the legal fight over mandates is facing broad societal pushback. Failure to effectively enforce mandates further indicts the legitimacy and capability of the government. – D.M.)
DISORDER: The Aspen Institute released its “Information Disorder” report, calling it “a crisis that exacerbates all other crises.” The working group’s co-chairs were Katie Couric, Chris Krebs, the first director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; and Rashad Robinson, president of the advocacy group Color of Change. The group recommended increasing platform transparency, punishing violators of public trust, and federal intervention for misinformation “super spreaders.” (AC: This report will likely be used in upcoming legislation. If the Aspen Institute’s recommendations become law, free speech will take a big hit. The report emphasizes “personal and professional consequences” for people violating to-be-determined standards in communist-style struggle sessions with “public accountability.” – D.M.)
Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder. Credit: Aspen Institute
EUROPE: The European Union is allocating funds to resettle migrants “trapped” between Belarus and Poland. Belarus asked Germany for a “safe corridor” for migrants through Poland. Ukraine authorized its border guards to carry live ammunition. U.S. officials continue warning of a Russian troop build-up near Ukraine, as multinational forces arrive in the region to deter invasion. Russian President Putin said the West doesn’t take “red line” warnings seriously and he may be forced to act. (AC: Propagandists are attempting to create a “humanitarian crisis” storyline, casting Belarus and Russia as hapless victims of Western aggression. The Russian and Belarusian government are on all sides of the public statements, obfuscating their true intentions. – D.M.)
HAZARDS WARNING
HURRICANE SEASON: Nothing significant to report.
WX:
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