It’s been a wild set of events in Russia over the past week – with mutinous Russian forces marching towards Moscow, President Putin addressing the nation about their treason, and then the rebels announcing they would turn back “according to the plan” – as though nothing had happened.
As these whiplashing events evolve, here are 10 key developments that former CIA Officers like me will be watching for in the near and long term…
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The White House clarified Saturday that China has operated a spy base in Cuba since at least 2019, according to The Wall Street Journal, following reporting that Beijing reached a tentative agreement to set up a new operation somewhere on the island country.
The White House on Friday had characterized as “inaccurate” the WSJ’s first report of a planned Chinese surveillance outpost in Cuba focused on intercepting electronic communications, including emails and radio transmissions, in the southeast U.S. However, White House officials told the outlet Saturday that the Biden administration has worked to tamp down on China’s repeated attempts to spy on the U.S. since Biden took office, and said China has had a surveillance operation in Cuba since at least 2019.
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China is rapidly growing economically, militarily, and influentially, and none of this is good for the United States. Since diplomatic ties with China were officially established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, each president has done a fair job (some better than others) of keeping China in check on the international stage, despite China’s growth. All with the exception of President Joe Biden, who has allowed China to lead a global coalition and a new world order against the United States of America, which has fulfilled our worst fears.
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Christians are facing genocide in several countries as the persecution of followers of the religion has increased in at least 18 nations, according to recent research.
The Catholic group Aid to the Church In Need released a report earlier this year titled, “Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report On Christians Oppressed For Their Faith 2020-22,” which highlighted “human rights violations” against Christians in 24 countries.
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This is a question without an answer. But for nearly three weeks in November, over 35,000 people including heads of state and the global corps d’elite, pretended they were solving what they claim is the most urgent crisis in the world—the climate emergency—while ignoring the only relevant question. What is a practical alternative to fossil fuel?
Also ignored at the latest U.N. Climate Change Conference, an event sponsored by some of the world’s biggest corporations and covered, uncritically, by the biggest media conglomerates on earth, was the primary reason for environmental challenges in the 21st century. It’s not fossil fuel. It’s population trends.
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A Tennessee National Guard unit has returned from a nearly year-long deployment to Africa, according to the Tennessee Department of Military (TDM).
The soldiers are from Tennessee National Guard’s 268th Military Police Company, based in Millington.
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Customs officials at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport seized more than 100 pounds of deadly “bushmeat” from travelers during the last week of December alone. Despite its potential for “deadly effects” and outbreaks of disease, there will be no consequences for the culprits.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bushmeat refers to “raw or minimally processed meat that comes from wild animals in certain regions of the world including Africa” and may pose a risk of communicable disease.
“Bushmeat comes from a variety of wild animals, including bats, nonhuman primates (monkeys), cane rats (grasscutters), and duiker (antelope),” the CDC says.
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LYNCHBURG, Virginia – The Equity for Africa Summit hosted by the Liberty University School of Business and the Freedom Center came to a close Thursday. On the final day, African business and African government representatives had the opportunity to sit one-on-one with over 30 American businesses and CEOs. The focus of the three-day summit has been to connect African businesses’ needs with American solutions and technology. Attendees have several take-aways from this summit that include international business and governmental contacts; opportunities to start or grow an African business designed to improve the quality of life for Africans; connection with a global network of ministries and faith based organizations that will support the spiritual growth of African nations; and a warning of the atheistic/communistic infringement on African liberties, religious expression, and human rights by China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). According to a BRI backgrounder by the Counsel on Foreign Relations (CFR): China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects ever conceived. Launched in 2013 by President Xi Jinping, the vast collection of development and investment initiatives would stretch from East Asia to Europe, significantly expanding…
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Former U.S. Congressman (R-VA-07) and Dean of the Liberty University School of Business, Dr. David Brat, PhD., welcomed honored guests with a reception and dinner for Equity for Africa, a global business and faith summit. Dr. Brat was joined on stage by surprise special guest, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
“Greater development improves security for all of us. It is a collective set of security issues that are threatening not only Africa, but the northern part of Africa through the Middle East,” Pompeo said.
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The World Health Organization decided on Friday not to declare an international public health emergency over the Ebola outbreak, despite its recent spread from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Uganda. The WHO’s emergency committee described the outbreak as “an extraordinary event” of deep concern, but said it does not yet meet the criteria to be designated an international emergency. The panel has only used the label “public health emergency of international concern” four times since the committee was formed in 2005. Those included the swine flu pandemic of 2009, the spread of poliovirus in 2014, the Ebola epidemic in West Africa that begin in 2014, and the Zika virus in 2016. The designation usually triggers more funding and political awareness about the situation. The current Ebola outbreak in DRC has killed more than 1,400 people since it emerged last year in August. This week the virus spread to Uganda and there are worries the outbreak, which is also close to the borders of Rwanda and South Sudan, could spread to further countries. The acting chair of the WHO emergency committee, Preben Aavitsland, said Friday that as long as the outbreaks continues in Congo, “there will be a risk…
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It turns out there is more than one Trump who can employ a few well-chosen words as a poison dart. With a bombshell public statement this week, it was first lady Melania Trump who revealed her ability to carry out a political hit. Her extraordinary call for the removal of a top administration official forced the president to banish a top aide, exacerbated tensions within the White House and provided fresh insight into the first marriage. Above all, the moment showed that the enigmatic first lady is increasingly prepared to flex her muscles. While it was President Donald Trump who repeatedly promised to shake up his Cabinet and staff, it was his wife who forced one of the first moves after the midterm elections. And while first ladies have long held unique positions of influence in the White House, Mrs. Trump’s very public power play was an unusual move befitting an unconventional White House. “There have been similar activities on a less publicized scale, but it came out after the fact. We’ve never seen a first lady have her office make a public statement like that,” said Katherine Jellison, chair of the history department at Ohio University and an…
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