Good morning. Here’s your Daily Situational Awareness for Wednesday, 13 October 2021. You can receive this daily briefing by signing up at https://forwardobserver.com/daily-sa
TODAY’S BRIEFING:
- Radicalized veterans are gravest domestic threat, says House Committee
- JPMorgan’s Dimon knows better than logisticians and global shippers
- Scientific community overwhelmed by foreign influence
- Consumer prices continue outpacing expectations; inflation is real
SITUATIONAL AWARENESS
EXTREMISTS: The House Veterans’ Affairs Committee is hosting a panel discussion with veterans, academics, and business owners about domestic violent extremist groups recruiting veterans. In his written testimony, retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Joe Plenzler said, “A recent RAND study on domestic radicalization based on interviews with extremists showed financial instability, poor mental health, and societal factors like victimization, stigmatization, and marginalization to be primary drivers towards radicalization.” (Analyst Comment: The witness testimony paints a very damning picture of the veteran community as right-wing extremists in many instances. While witnesses make recommendations for further FBI and DHS involvement, they talk around or ignore the growing number of veterans involved in Far Left activity. This can further divide a society as the oversight and investigatory powers of the U.S. are continually dedicated toward political opposition. – D.M.)
SUPPLY: JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, states that global supply chain issues “will not be an issue next year at all. This is the worst part of it. I think great market systems will adjust for it like companies have.” (AC: Supply chain issues have continually worsened over the past couple of weeks. Despite Dimon’s comments, market systems can not materialize a solution for a shortage of shipping containers. Similarly, markets can not simply reduce the prices of transporting goods to ease pressures on the supply chain. Estimates for growth rates in the U.S. have started to decline, and expectations for inflation are rising steadily. Economists are beginning to show concern for another recession that will likely stem from a catastrophic inflation event which may decimate markets, the availability of goods, and decrease the dollar’s value on the global scale. Consumer expectations for inflation are now at 5.31% for the year ahead, and 4.19% for the next three years. -T.W.)
INFLUENCE: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) quietly released its findings on “undue foreign influence” in research grants. The main concern is stopping conflicts of interest that don’t involve money such as positions, speaking engagements, book deals, and other items which bring notoriety but not cash. Separately, the National Science Foundations Inspector General said, “At this point, I think even if we doubled the number of people in our investigative office, we would still be hard-pressed to keep up with the number of allegations that are coming in.” (AC: Without mentioning China, the GAO is targeting the ongoing Chinese espionage efforts underway at nearly every research institution in the U.S. For several years, Intelligence Community officials took on teaching or administrative roles inside universities to more closely monitor Chinese spies, without broad public knowledge. Cutting off communist access to our research institutions remains an elusive prize for U.S. policymakers. – D.M.)
PRICES: The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes to the price of goods at a base level, increased by 0.4% in September, outpacing August’s 0.3% increase and exceeding expectations by 0.1%. The increase in the CPI is due largely to sharp increases in food and energy prices. Energy prices, and all components therein, have increased by 24.8% over the past year. Food has increased 4.6% overall. All components considered, the CPI has now increased 5.4% in the past 12 months. (AC: The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes in their latest report that core inflation, which is CPI less food and energy prices, increased 0.2% in the past month and met expectations. Prices will continue to increase throughout the period of heightened inflation and the dollar will continue to decrease in value. Almost two years into the pandemic and our recovery efforts, Fed Chair Jerome Powell continues to maintain that inflation is largely transitory. At this point, it seems appropriate to question what timeframe Powell believes will no longer be ‘transitory’. -T.W.)
HAZARDS WARNING
HURRICANE SEASON: Hurricane Pamela continues to move slowly across Mexico. According to the National Hurricane Center, “considerable flash and urban flooding impacts” are expected in portions of Central Texas and Southeastern Oklahoma later today and Thursday.
In today’s Early Warning, the team covers Chinese aggression in the Pacific and developments for how governments are addressing it. Upgrade your Situational Awareness to Early Warning here: https://forwardobserver.com/subscribe