*The US Military Pivots | Right vs. The Far Right | Making Mussolini Proud

“Common sense, in this sense, is like oxygen: the higher you go, the thinner it gets.” – John Lewis Gaddis

“F. Scott Fitzgerald’s test, from 1936, for a first-rate intelligence: “the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.” – Ibid.

US Military Pivots from Counterinsurgency to China and Russia: The US Congress has speedily passed the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2019. The new NDAA redirects the Pentagon’s focus from fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Niger, Libya, Somalia and other global hot spots, to what is now Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’ main concern—growing competition between the US, Russia and China. The bill authorizes $716 billion in spending, which is a $16 billion increase (2.23 percent) over what was approved for Fiscal Year 2018. Considering the current inflation rate of 2.46 percent, FY 2019’s bill actually decreases defense spending, with one exception— uniformed military will receive a pay hike of 2.6 percent, the largest raise in eight years. The bill also directs that 15,600 troops will be added to the country 1.3 million active duty forces. And it authorizes 13 new ships for the US Navy, an aircraft carrier and two littoral combat ships.

Changes were made to the NDAA’s final version at either the White House’s or Mattis’ urging. They include: not suspending delivery of 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters ordered by Turkey; not blocking the sale of American technology to Chinese telecommunications giants ZTE and Huawei; not requiring enforcement of a 2017 sanctions law for countries that purchase Russian-made weapon systems or parts. But the bill does include some Cold War-like policy measures likely to irritate Russia, such as: Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin must brief Congress on all assets known to be held by Russian President Vladimir Putin, his “oligarch” associates and other high officials; Russia will be labeled as a violator of the Chemical Weapons Convention; and a ban on funding anything that recognizes the sovereignty of Russia over Crimea will be strengthened.

Frozen Turkey: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced retaliatory sanctions Saturday against two American officials. The mostly symbolic move was in response to last week’s announcement by the White House that it was freezing the assets of the Turkish interior and justice ministers over Turkey’s detention of an American Presbyterian pastor, Andrew Brunson. Brunson has been held for two years awaiting trial on charges of terrorism-related activities. President Trump thought he had reached an agreement with Erdogan to send the minister back to America. Erdogan did release the clergyman from jail; however, Brunson was kept in Turkey under house arrest. (NYT)

Tamping Down Harassment in France: French legislators aren’t necessarily opposed to the country’s image as “romantic”, or that culture ascribed to the “French lover”. The government is not trying to stamp out flirtatious behavior. But gender equality minister Marlene Schiappa says France does need to stop tolerating sexual harassment and violence like the attack last week on 22-year-old Marie Laguerre. The young woman told a man who wolf-whistled at her outside a Paris cafe to “shut up”, after which she got punched in the face. Schiappa has authored new legislation that could cost cat-callers and aggressive leches on-the-spot fines of up to 750 euros. “Harassment in the street has previously not been punished. From now on, it will be,” Schiappa said. (Reuters)

China Targets and Destroys Art Made by its Most Famous Present Day Artist: Ai Weiwei, the son of famed Chinese poet Ai Qing, is a widely admired artist and outspoken dissident. He designed the “Bird’s Nest” stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. On Saturday, crews showed up unexpectedly at Ai’s Beijing art studio and began demolishing it. “Works were damaged,” he said, but “compared to the memories which have been lost, compared to a society which has never established trust in the social order, a trust in the rule of law, or a trust in any kind of unity in defending the rights of its people, what has been lost at my studio is insignificant …There are profoundly deeper and wider ruins in this deteriorating society where the human condition has never been respected.” (NPR)

Assassination by Drones: Could the days of the stealthy international assassin who moves about incognito be over? Opponents who wanted to get to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro just sent a couple of drones loaded with explosives to a military event in Caracas where Maduro was speaking. The drones went off near the presidential podium, injuring seven soldiers. Maduro, unharmed in the attack, accused neighboring Colombia and elements within the US of instigating “a right-wing plot” to kill him. (BBC)

Italy’s The League Would Make Benito Mussolini Proud: Young men outside the apartment of 22-year-old Italian discus thrower Daisy Osakue bombarded her with eggs last week when she walked out, cutting her cornea and sending her to the hospital. Now Osakue is the bandaged face of an explosive debate over whether Italy has become more racist under its new populist anti-immigrant government. Osakue, who is black, was born and raised in Turin. This summer a number of migrants have been attacked or killed, and migrant advocates point to the League, the anti-immigrant party led by Matteo Salvini. Its governing partner, the anti-establishment Five Star Movement, dismisses the recent incidents and concerns about racism as politically motivated media hysteria. (NYT)

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NRA’s Right vs. the Far Right: The National Rifle Association (NRA) has filed a lawsuit against Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Department of Financial Services alleging a campaign to pressure financial institutions to stop doing business with the organization. The suit claims it may soon face a financial crisis that will force it to shut down some of its operations, which would “deprive the NRA and its constituents of their First Amendment rights to speak freely about gun-related issues and defend the Second Amendment.” David Hogg, student activist and survivor of the Parkland, Florida school massacre tweeted: “The NRA admitted in a recent court filing that it’s hurting financially thanks to activism by the teenage survivors of the Parkland school massacre.” Clearly the young people are winning.

Within the NRA itself, A group of hardline gun rights purists called ‘gundamentalists’are pressuring the leadership to concede zero ground to gun-control advocates. Opinion polls in the US are showing growing support for more gun control in the wake of recent mass shootings, and a “zero tolerance” stance could threaten the NRA’s ability to hold on to moderate supporters. (NPR and Reuters)

Portlandia’s Far Right: Right-wing marchers and anti-fascist demonstrators rumbled on Saturday at Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland, Oregon. Four people were injured and four were arrested. Similar clashes in June sent four people to the hospital. Among the right-wing marchers was Joey Gibson, founder of the Patriot Prayer group and conservative Republican running for the US Senate in November’s midterm elections. Some in his group wore body armor, helmets, and carried shields. They were opposed by counter-protesters, some dressed in black with face masks, who shouted anti-Nazi slogans. Not far away, or unfazed by the standoff, the city’s quirky Saturday Market was in full flow, with stalls offering artwork alongside handmade herbal balms, psychedelic wind chimes and custom henna. (Reuters)

– In America we are the land of opportunity but we are also the land of obesity. “Almost 40 percent of American adults are obese.” Our animals are doing no better: “Our Fat Pets: Sixty percent of cats tip the scales at unhealthy weights, slightly more than the 56 percent of dogs. It’s not good for them.” (WBUR and NYT)

– Perhaps one way for both humans and animals to avert weight gain is to better understand food labels: “Food labels can seem perplexing, and people often read them with an eye toward different things. Whether you are looking to limit your sugar, cut calories or increase your fiber intake, this guide will help you make sense of the numbers, ingredients and nutritional information packed onto that tiny box. Read on for the information you need to get through the supermarket with ease.” (NYT)

– Millennia ago one of the best ways for any species to lose weight and shrink was to move to an Indonesian island: “Bodies Keep Shrinking on This Island, and Scientists Aren’t Sure Why: The Indonesian island of Flores has given rise to smaller hominins, humans and even elephants.” (NYT)

– In the military I had a noncommissioned officer that taught me that being on time meant arriving ten minutes early. If he moved to Brazil he would have gone crazy: “Thanks to an unhurried ‘life’s a beach’ attitude, Brazilians – especially those from Rio de Janeiro – have learned neither to expect nor appreciate punctuality.” Punctuality is important in many places outside the military: “President Trump denies he was late to meet Queen Elizabeth. Brits aren’t convinced.” And a great post from one of our favorite blogs on the topic of “Why I’m Always Late” and on how the author “despite being consistently late, usually detest(s) the concept of making other people wait. Let call them CLIPs (Chronically Late Insane Person).” (BBC, WaPo, and Wait But Why)

“If you were to take account of everything . . . , you would never do anything. It is better to have a brave heart and endure one half of the terrors we dread than to [calculate] all of the terrors and suffer nothing at all. . . . Big things are won by big dangers.” – John Lewis Gaddis

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