Good morning. Here’s your Early Warning for Wednesday, 18 October.
The front page of the Wall Street Journal this morning reports that George Soros has given $18 billion, most of his wealth, to his Open Society Foundations. It makes the organization, which is dedicated to the preservation of “democracy and open societies,” the second largest in America. Soros was instrumental in pushing migration and refugee issues in Europe, and he applauded members of the European Union for being “willing to sacrifice part of their sovereignty for the common good.” Open Society Foundations plans invest most of the $18 billion donation, but it will no doubt be able to push his pet projects long after Soros is gone. (For more on Soros, see our review of Rules for Resistance.)
The President’s agenda is hitting some more roadblocks this week. A top U.S. official says that NAFTA trade talks will extend into next year due to “significant conceptual gaps” among U.S., Canada, and Mexican negotiators. And a federal judge in Hawaii made a last minute decision to block the president’s travel ban on eight countries. The ban was expected to be enforced starting at midnight this morning, and targeted travelers from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea. While the judge argued that the ban unfairly targeted Muslims, White House officials say that these eight countries either don’t provide enough information or can’t be trusted to provide accurate data on their citizens coming into the U.S. This makes background checks impossible for security screening before travel visas can be issued. The federal judge in this decision was appointed by Obama in 2013.
Don’t Miss:
- Why American society is failing, and where that’s leading us
- U.S., South Korea to hold major maritime exercises directed at North Korea
- Russian navy to begin receiving 10 new sub-hunting choppers per year
- Netanyahu tells Russian defense minister Israel cannot allow Iranian bases in Syria
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South Korea delays production of newest main battle tank for three years
Strategic Intelligence is Forward Observer’s weekly intelligence report on the risk of war. Each week, our analysts provide a current situation report on NATO-Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran/Middle East. Subscribe now to also receive Defense in Brief, the weekly report that tracks war developments in the U.S. military and defense industry.