Good morning. Here’s your Daily SITREP for Tuesday, 21 November 2023.
Forward Observer’s Black Friday deals are live. Next year is going to be turbulent. Protests, riots, civil unrest, supply chains, markets, elections — you name it, it’s going to get disrupted. You don’t have to go it alone in 2024. The Early Warning intel team keeps you informed on what matters, when you need to know it. Put us on your team with a new Early Warning membership.
- (1) SUPREME COURT DECLINES CHAUVIN APPEAL WITHOUT COMMENT: The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin’s appeal of his 2021 conviction for the death of George Floyd.
- Chauvin’s appeal claimed the state trial and appeals courts erred in refusing to change the trial venue and hold hearings on evidence of jury bias and misconduct after the trial.
- Why It Matters: Supreme Court justices declined to take up Chauvin’s appeal without explanation, but the refusal was likely due to how much of a political powder keg that even taking up the case could be in 2024. Another attempt at a political revolution, including widespread demonstrations and riots, in 2024 is already a strong likelihood. Chauvin possibly winning an acquittal in an appeal to the Supreme Court would provide even more political ammunition for leftwing militants. – R.C.
- (2) CORPORATE UNIONIZATION PUSH ESCALATES: The United Auto Workers (UAW) said yesterday that 64% of workers at the Detroit Three automakers voted to ratify new contracts after this year’s strikes, and now the UAW plans to target foreign-owned and Tesla auto plants.
- These latest votes by UAW members lock in the union’s agreements with automakers through April 2028 and include a 25% increase in base wages, with top wages rising by 33%.
- “Now, we take our strike muscle and our fighting spirit to the rest of the industries we represent and to millions of non-union workers ready to stand up and fight for a better way of life,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.
- Wells Fargo employees at two bank branches filed for union elections on Monday, signaling that even the white-collar banking industry may not be resistant to the unionization push.
- The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents American Airlines employees, asked a federal oversight board to allow ending contract talks with the airline, citing a lack of progress – a step towards a possible strike.
- Why It Matters: Organized labor should stay on the offensive, as American voters supported striking workers across industries earlier this year. Higher wage costs from union contracts will contribute to the second wave of inflation that may hit consumers in the first half of 2024. – H.B.
- (3) TAIWAN’S LEADING PARTY SOLIDIFIES PRO-INDEPENDENCE TICKET: Leading Taiwanese Presidential Candidate Lai Ching-te announced former Taiwanese Representative to the United States Hsiao Bi-Khim as his running mate on the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) ticket.
- Hsiao was born to an American mother and Taiwanese father, raised in a mainline Presbyterian household, and holds several degrees from American universities. She renounced her U.S. citizenship in 2002 to hold political office in Taiwan.
- Hsiao countered Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “wolf warrior” diplomacy with what she called her own “cat warrior” diplomacy, referencing her love for cats.
- She also attended President Biden’s inauguration, the first Taiwanese Representative to do so since the official break in 1979.
- Why It Matters: Lai picked another pro-independence running mate with deep ties to the United States – two factors that are roiling the Chinese. Taiwan’s presidential election is scheduled for January 2024 and remains a potential flashpoint for a conflict with China. – J.V.
Forward Observer’s Black Friday deals are live. Next year is going to be turbulent. Protests, riots, civil unrest, supply chains, markets, elections — you name it, it’s going to get disrupted. You don’t have to go it alone in 2024. The Early Warning intel team keeps you informed on what matters, when you need to know it. Put us on your team with a new Early Warning membership.