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JULY 3,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

CLOSE CALL – FROM REUTERS:   A suspected suicide bomber was killed after detonating an explosive device near the US consulate in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on Monday, the BBC reported, citing Saudi media.  Two policemen were reportedly wounded in the attack that occurred in the early hours of Monday, said the British Broadcasting Corp said on its website.  The Jeddah consulate was the scene of a militant attack in 2004 in which nine people were killed, the BBC said.   A new incident every few days.  One by one by one.

CHICAGO HORROR – FROM CBS:   The city of Chicago is dealing with a major spike in gun violence. Ten people were shot overnight Friday.  Last month, 72 people were shot to death. There have already been 350 homicides in Chicago this year, outpacing the total for the same period in 2015.  The city may even surpass 600 murders for the first time in more than a decade.  Chicago police are warning the city could see one of its most violent and deadly holiday weekends on record.  To combat the violence, the city's embattled police force is adding 5,000 more officers to patrol its Navy Pier and city neighborhoods.  The new police chief, Eddie Johnson, said he's also putting 150 officers that were on desk duty back on the streets.  Good moves.  At least they've stopped blaming the gun manufacturers and full moons.  But there has to be a reason why New York reduced murder by so much and Chicago did not.  I think the name is Giuliani.

IT'S ALL ABOUT SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEPRIVATION, ISN'T IT? – FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES:    DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh’s capital city reeled in shock on Sunday as clues began to flood social media about the privileged backgrounds of the half-dozen attackers believed to have butchered 20 patrons of a restaurant during a bloody siege here late last week.  The six attackers were killed when the army stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery to end an 11-hour siege early Saturday.  The police declined to name the young men because nobody had shown up as of Sunday night to identify their bodies, but friends and relatives recognized photographs that were posted on a messaging app by the Islamic State, along with praise for the violence.  The men, all in their late teens or early 20s, were products of Bangladesh’s elite, several having attended one of the country’s top English-medium private schools as well as universities both in the country and abroad.  Among them was the son of a former city leader in the prime minister’s own Awami League, the governing party.  Rest assured, we'll still be told by the 1960s crowd that controls the U.S. Government that they were oppressed, despite their bank accounts.

July 3, 2016       Permalink

IT'S ABOUT TIME – AT 12:30 P.M. ET:  It appears that a few brave souls in Europe are willing to confront the discontent with the European Union recently expressed in Britain's vote to leave the organization.  From the Guardian:   

The German government has been canvassing support for a senior political leader to gather views in European capitals on a new future for the continent in the wake of the Brexit vote, with the aim of completing the task before the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome next March.

EU heads of state, reeling from the UK’s vote to leave the European Union, want to be seen to be responding to the Eurosceptic mood, and some want a new “vision for Europe” document that distils the conflicting thinking.

EU heads of government are due to gather in Bratislava for an informal summit on 16 September to discuss the fallout from Brexit, but mainly focused on how the EU will operate in the future, including what more it can do to reduce youth unemployment, straighten out the eurozone and strengthen security. In practice, the meeting may also see a first EU response to the election of a new Tory party leader, and the pace at which Brexit talks will take place. Those talks are to be led by a Belgian diplomat, Didier Seeuws, a former staffer for the former European council president Herman van Rompuy.

COMMENT:  Well, we should be skeptical.  Europe's track record in getting things right isn't strong, and without the power of the United States I'm not sure that Western Europe would even exist.  The British vote was a wake-up call in a continent where waking up is prohibited by EU regulations. 

July 3, 2016       Permalink

TERROR IN AMERICA? – AT 11:21 A.M. ET:  It's too bad we have to note these things on a holiday weekend, but it's our obligation.  From The Hill:   

A New York Police Department (NYPD) official says a domestic terror attack is “inevitable,” but insists that the city will be prepared for it.

“I think that it’s inevitable that there’ll be another attack in this country,” Chief James Waters, head of the NYPD Counterterrorism Bureau, told ABC News. “We are well-prepared to respond to that.”

Officials insist that there is no specific terror threat against any American city, but Waters says New York could be a prime target for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has called for attacks in the U.S.

The NYPD’s security measures include more than 9,000 surveillance cameras around the city and license plate readers.

“It’s our way of protecting New York,” he said, calling the operation a “ring of steel.”

COMMENT:  New York has probably done the best counterterrorism job of any American city, but that is no guarantee of safety.  All it takes is one fanatic to get through to do terrible damage.  We saw that in Orlando a few weeks ago.

How do we defeat terror absolutely?  Maybe there's no one answer, but the best one I've heard is that we must defeat it at its ideological source, the way we defeated Nazism and Japanese imperialism.  I know that the implications of that prescription are grim, but we may ultimately have to face them.

July 3, 2016       Permalink

IRAQ HORROR – AT 10:53 A.M. ET:  Terror in Baghdad, presumbly carried out by ISIS.  From CNN: 

(CNN) Iraq's capital was once again the scene of bloody carnage this weekend, with two separate car bombs killing at least 126 people.

The first detonation occurred Saturday on a busy shopping street in the central Baghdad neighborhood of Karrada, killing 125 people -- including 25 children -- and wounding 147 others, police said.

Firefighting crews pulled injured and trapped people from adjacent buildings damaged in the massive blast, including a coffee shop, stores and a gym.

The second bomb exploded at an outdoor market in the Shaab neighborhood of southeastern Baghdad, killing one person and wounding five others, police said.

The so-called Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Karrada attack in a statement posted on Twitter. The group claimed it was targeting Shiite neighborhoods. Karrada and Shaab are predominately Shiite.

COMMENT:   We've kind of forgotten about Iraq.  Didn't Obama declare that a victory, or somethin'?  Yeah, maybe.

But the fact is that the Iraq War is still being fought, and ISIS is very much present. 

Another fact is that the sheer number of terror attacks recently is staggering.  Brace yourselves.  There will be more, all over the world.

July 3,  2016     Permalink

JULY 2,  2016

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – AT 11:55 P.M. ET: 

THE QUESTIONING – Hillary Clinton was questioned for three and a half hours by the FBI today.  There have been no leaks about the session.  However, there is much speculation circulating that Clinton will not be charged legally.  That can cut both ways.  On the one hand, she can claim exoneration.  On the other, opponents can charge "cover-up."  Obama will be campaigning with Clinton this week.  If she's then cleared, the appearances, the "optics," will not look very good.  Trump is already charging that the system is rigged.  Republicans will double down on that theme if Clinton walks.

DISGRACE – FROM LONDON'S DAILY MAIL:   An illegal immigrant from Mexico who was charged with aggravated murder in the shooting deaths of three people at a rural Oregon blueberry farm had been deported six times.  According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bonifacio Oseguera-Gonzalez, 29, was most recently deported in 2013 and had no significant prior criminal convictions.
Oseguera-Gonzalez pleaded not guilty to three counts of aggravated murder and one count of attempted murder Tuesday in Marion County Superior Court.   However, he acknowledged to authorities in an interview that he shot four people, according to a probable cause statement.  The victims were identified as Ruben Rigoberto-Reyes, 60; Edmundo Amaro-Bajonero, 26; and Katie Gildersleeve, 30, of Logsden.
Authorities have released few details about the case, including the relationship between Oseguera-Gonzalez and the victims, and have declined to specify a motive.  We are a nation with a diminishing respect for the rule of law, and the Obama administration is the worst example.

ENERGY POLICIES HAVE CONSEQUENCES:  Perhaps Hillary can explain this to American labor.  FROM FOX:   Murray Energy Corp., the largest privately held coal miner in the U.S., has warned that it may soon undertake one of the biggest layoffs in the sector during this time of low energy prices.  In a notice sent to workers this week, Murray said it could lay off as many as 4,400 employees, or about 80% of its workforce, because of weak coal markets. The company said it anticipates “massive workforce reductions in September.”  The law requires a 60-day waiting period before large layoffs occur.  The American coal industry, especially in Appalachia, has languished as cheap natural gas replaces coal as fuel for power plants. World-wide demand for coal has also slumped, and new environmental regulations are making many coal mines unprofitable to operate.  Hillary Clinton said openly that she wanted to destroy the coal industry and its jobs.  She recently said she'd misspoken.  In other words, she got caught.  We want to see modernization in energy, but who is providing a future for all those unemployed miners?

July 2, 2016       Permalink

FBI/CLINTON UPDATE – AT 12:36 P.M. ET:  Hillary Clinton was interviewed by the FBI today.  From AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hillary Clinton has been interviewed Saturday by the FBI about her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill says in a statement the voluntary interview with federal agents took place Saturday.

The interview was not unexpected and does not suggest that Clinton or anyone else is likely to face prosecution. Legal experts view criminal prosecution as exceedingly unlikely. The interview may indicate that the Justice Department's yearlong probe is drawing to a close.

Still, it's awkward for Democrats to have FBI agents question Clinton mere weeks before their party formally nominates her for president.

COMMENT:  I'd be awfully careful about assuming there'll be no criminal prosecution.  It's unlikely that the FBI has gone on a year-long fishing expedition.

Indeed, if there's no criminal prosecution, the optics can still be extremely negative.  People might logically ask, "How did she get away with it?"

Also, in the absence of a criminal indictment, there could still be a scathing report on Clinton's behavior, her judgment, her presumed negligence while secretary of state.

And remember, the Clinton foundation, as we've noted, is still under investigation.

July 2, 2016       Permalink

HILLARY AND HISTORY – AT 11:45 A.M. ET:  Big weekend apparently coming up for Hillary Clinton – the political equivalent of a bowl-game weekend.  She and the FBI have a rendezvous with destiny.  From The Hill:   

FBI Director James Comey is now firmly in the driver’s seat of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, after Attorney General Loretta Lynch pledged she would accept whatever course of action his bureau and career prosecutors recommend.

Lynch’s influence will continue to be felt throughout the department, and her refusal to fully remove herself from the case ensures that she will continue to be briefed about its developments. Prosecutors within her department — not the FBI — will ultimately decide whether or not to press ahead with charges.

But her decision makes Comey the public face of the investigation. And his reputation as a well-respected but hard-nosed maverick might give Democrats some worry about the outcome of the probe, which is nearing its one-year anniversary later this month.

“Comey is the center of gravity on this thing,” said Ron Hosko, a former FBI assistant director and president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund.

“There is a growing expectation that we the public need to hear the FBI, Jim Comey version of whether or not charges will be brought,” he added. “There has probably been increasing recognition by her that that’s true, that she is viewed as — regardless of her prior reputation as an effective prosecutor — she’s now the head of Obama’s DOJ, a political position in a Democratic administration that is deciding on the prosecution or not of the leading Democratic candidate.”

And...

ABC News reported on Friday that Hillary Clinton could be interviewed by the FBI "in the coming days."

COMMENT:  I don't think we've ever seen this before, a presidential candidate under such scrutiny by law enforcement.  And don't forget that Bill Clinton may also be a target of the investigation.  He has taken millions from foreign governments and other entities for "speeches."  Did Hillary Clinton, as secretary of state, make decisions based on those payments to her husband?  Ah, that is one of the key questions.

July 2, 2016       Permalink

BANGLADESH UPDATE – AT 11:14 A.M. ET:  Updating our report from last night.  It's gotten much worse.  From Fox: 

Bangladesh’s Prime Minister vowed Saturday to fight terrorism “at all costs” after 20 people were killed after Islamic gunmen took dozens of hostages during a 10-hour siege at a restaurant.

The victims included two students from Emory University in Georgia and nine Italians.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina condemned the attack while pledging to stand up and fight the terror threats that has mushroomed in the country, Reuters reported.

“We are committed and determined to uphold or freedom,” Hasina said, adding that Bangladesh will fight the terror threat “at all costs.”

Hasina declared two days of mourning following the attack on the Dhaka café Holey Artisan Bakery.

At least seven Islamic terrorists attacked the upscale restaurant in the diplomatic quarter of Bangladesh's capital Friday night.

Early Saturday, a Bangladeshi commando raid supported by armored vehicles resulted in the deaths of at least six attackers and the capture of a seventh. Thirteen hostages were rescued. Two police officers were killed in an earlier gun battle with the militants.

COMMENT:  It was the second major terrorist attack this week, the first being the Istanbul airport bombing.  We have every reason to believe there'll be more.

Meanwhile, the White House shows no sense of urgency.  After all, it's a gun-control issue, isn't it?

July 2,  2016     Permalink