text:
"There are those who would draw a sharp line between power politics and a principled foreign policy based on values. This polarized view - you are either a realist or devoted to norms and values - may be just fine in academic debate, but it is a disaster for American foreign policy. American values are universal."
- Condoleezza Rice
"Whatever it is that the government does, sensible Americans would prefer that the government does it to somebody else. This is the idea behind foreign policy."
- P. J. O'Rourke
"I think that America's recovery of a global strategic view is an absolutely essential element of our foreign policy."
- Henry Kissinger
1. Abandoned Allies and the Lessons We Still Need to Learn
2. SPECIAL REPORT-Refinitiv created filter to block Reuters stories amid Hong Kong protests
3. Navy SEAL running for Congress kicked off his campaign in the wrong district
4. Opinion | I served in Afghanistan. No, it's not another Vietnam. by Ryan Crocker
5. Spain in drive to get women into special forces
6. Advocacy group takes on latest case - Army staff sergeant convicted in Afghan massacre
7. What the Washington Post gets wrong about the US and Afghanistan by Michael E. O'Hanlon
8. Opinion | Ending America's Endless War in Afghanistan by Joseph Votel
9. Legislation to protect electric grid from cyberattacks added to massive defense bill
By Michael Benge
americanthinker.com
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend" is an ancient proverb that suggests that two opposing parties can or should work together against a common enemy. The earliest known expression of this concept is found in a Sanskrit treatise on statecraft, the Arthashastra, which dates to around the 4th century B.C.
Over the years, the U.S. has formed alliances - marriages of convenience - with numerous nations and groups during conflicts against a common enemy. However, once the threat is deemed contained or there is a hiccup in American foreign policy, allies are often abandoned. Such was the case during WWII when the U.S. allied with and assisted the Soviet Union as well as a number of communist resistance groups against Nazi Germany and its allies in Europe. Once Germany was defeated, communism was seen as the great threat to freedom, and the Soviet Union ceased to be our allies.
The disenfranchised Montagnards of Vietnam's Central Highlands were recruited by the U.S. Special Forces to fight Vietnamese communists during the Vietnam War. Some 61,000 Montagnards, out of an estimated population of 1,000,000, were used as surrogates for U.S. forces and fought alongside the Special Forces in epic battles. In doing so, they rescued countless Americans, including pilots, crews, and others. More than half of the Montagnards' adult male population was lost fighting with and for Americans. Without their sacrifice, there would be many more names on that somber black granite wall in Washington, D.C. - the Vietnam Memorial.
We had no ally during the Vietnam War more dependable and steadfast. Only a handful of Montagnards were able to escape when the communists took over Vietnam in April 1975. Special assistant to the ambassador Colonel George Jacobson had promised the minister for Montagnard affairs that he, his staff, and other Montagnard leaders and their families and students would be evacuated by the American Embassy, but that promise was never fulfilled. Colonel Jacobson also advised the minister to tell his people to flee to the jungle and continue to fight a guerrilla war against the communist Vietnamese, saying the U.S. government would provide assistance - another lie.
Following Jacobson's advice, tens of thousands of Montagnards fled to the jungles of Vietnam and Cambodia only to die of starvation and disease or be killed in the relentless pursuit by the communist Vietnamese, while awaiting the promised American assistance that never came. In 1986, a group of America's "Abandoned Allies," 212 Montagnard fighters and their families, emerged from the jungles of Cambodia, having fought a guerilla war against the communist Vietnamese for 11 years without the promised U.S. support.* They sought refuge in Thailand and were resettled in North Carolina. In 1992, a second group of 400 Montagnards found in Eastern Cambodia were also resettled in North Carolina after 17 years of continued guerrilla warfare against the communists. Both groups, like Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, vowed, "I will fight no more." A third "battalion" of Montagnards had tried crossing to Thailand through the lower part of Laos but were annihilated by a large North Vietnamese PAVN unit stationed there.
The population of Montagnards now in North Carolina has grown to an estimated 12,000 people, with a few others scattered around in other states. Some of the increase has been due to U.S. programs such as family reunification and refuge for former re-education detainees. Another group of Montagnards was granted a special allowance after suffering through communist Vietnam's brutal crackdown on Christians in 2001-02 and escaping to Cambodia.
Unfortunately, persecution continues for those Montagnards soldiers and their extended families who have been unable to escape, for they have been prevented from acquiring ID cards and household registration and birth certificates, necessities to enable them to function within the communist society. They have also been denied access to adequate land to grow food to feed their families.
International sources report that Montagnards are among the poorest of the poor and suffer the highest rate of malnutrition and infant deaths in Vietnam. Reportedly, some two thirds of the Montagnards have now adopted the Protestant Christian faith. The Vietnamese leadership is characterized by extreme paranoia and fear of organized religion, for it is in direct conflict with the country's political religion: communism. Montagnards wishing to be ordained as pastors must swear allegiance to the communist government and agree to put "the state" before God. Therefore, the Montagnards are forced to worship in outlawed house churches. Vietnam's religious police regularly raid the house churches and arrest Christian worshipers. Those who refuse to recant their religious beliefs lose their small pieces of farmland, are imprisoned, or are "disappeared." More than 100 Protestant Montagnard pastors are believed to be languishing in prison under deplorable and inhumane conditions, unrecognized by the Department of State as political prisoners.
At least 500 Montagnards have managed to escape the dead-end oppressive poverty, stagnation, and religious persecution in Vietnam and are languishing in Thailand. The true number is unknown, for others are in caught up in the underground Thai "slave" market or are hiding from the Thai police and from Vietnam's intelligence apparatus in Bangkok. Anyone captured by the latter is surreptitiously taken back to Vietnam to suffer severe consequences. Some 150 of the 500 have been granted refugee status by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok. So far, the U.S. government has shown no interest in giving these former allies a home.
In October, Senators Richard Burr and Thom Tillis of North Carolina introduced in the Senate a "feel good" resolution recognizing the Montagnards for fighting alongside U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam War and calling on Vietnam to end restrictions on basic human rights. Of course, the Vietnamese communists will ignore this resolution. They have ignored other similar resolutions for years, and nothing has changed.
Vice President Pence has stated it is "the Administration's priority to ensure that Christians are not being mistreated, persecuted or treated in any way that's unfair as they try to make their way into the United States of America." These words need to be followed up with concrete actions.
As someone who served in Vietnam with the Montagnards, it's unfair for the U.S. government to refuse to offer these Montagnards, our former allies who languish in Thailand, refuge in the United States. I believe that others who served as I did feel the same.
Might I be so brash as to suggest that the two honorable senators and the vice president do something concrete to find these Montagnards a home, preferably in North Carolina, and leave the empty political rhetoric to the Vietnamese communists?
Michael Benge spent eleven years in Vietnam as a foreign service officer, five as a POW. He is a student of Southeast Asian politics. He is very active in advocating for human rights, religious freedom, and democracy for the peoples in the countries of former Indochina and has written extensively on these subjects.
Image: Icemanwcs via Wikimedia Commons.
nasdaq.com · by Contributor Steve Stecklow Reuters
By Steve Stecklow
LONDON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - As anti-government demonstrations engulfed Hong Kong in August, Reuters broke a sensitive story: Beijing had rejected a secret proposal by city leader Carrie Lam to meet several of the protesters' demands in a bid to defuse the unrest.
The story buttressed a main claim of the protesters, that Beijing is intervening deeply in the affairs of the semi-autonomous city. A state-run newspaper denounced the story as "fake" and "shameful." The article soon became unavailable in mainland China.
It wasn't the Chinese government that blocked the story. The article was removed by Refinitiv, the financial information provider that distributes Reuters news to investors around the world on Eikon, a trading and analytics platform. The article was one of a growing number of stories that Refinitiv - which until last year was owned by Reuters' parent company, Thomson Reuters Corp - has censored in mainland China under pressure from the central government.
Since August, Refinitiv has blocked more than 200 stories about the Hong Kong protests plus numerous other Reuters articles that could cast Beijing in an unfavorable light. Internal Refinitiv documents show that over the summer, the company installed an automated filtering system to facilitate the censoring. The system included the creation of a new code to attach to some China stories, called "Restricted News."
As a result, Refinitiv's customers in China have been denied access to coverage of one of the biggest news events of the year, including two Reuters reports on downgrades of Hong Kong by credit-rating agencies. Nearly 100 other news providers available on Eikon in China have also been affected by the filtering.
Censorship in China has been intensifying in recent years under President Xi Jinping, and Western businesses have come under rising pressure to block news, speech and products that Beijing sees as politically dangerous. Refinitiv generates tens of millions of dollars of annual revenue in China. As Reuters reported in June, citing three people familiar with the matter, Refinitiv began the censorship effort earlier this year after a regulator threatened to suspend its Chinese operation.
Refinitiv has joined a lengthening list of companies complying with Chinese demands. They include hotel giant Marriott International Inc, which last year temporarily shut down its Chinese websites and apologized for, among other things, listing Taiwan as a separate country in a customer questionnaire. Several U.S. airlines also stopped describing Taiwan as non-Chinese territory on their websites. Beijing considers the self-governed island part of China. The companies have defended their actions.
The censorship has angered the top news and business executives of Reuters and the directors of the Thomson Reuters Founders Share Co Ltd, an independent body tasked with preserving the news agency's independence.
Speaking to Reuters journalists on a visit to the Singapore newsroom in October, Kim Williams, the Australian media executive who chairs the body, lashed out at Refinitiv, calling its actions "reprehensible" and a capitulation to "naked political aggression" from Beijing. Editor-in-Chief Stephen J. Adler told Reuters journalists in London in November that the censorship was "damaging" the brand. "I don't approve of it," he said.
Refinitiv chief executive David Craig and Thomson Reuters CEO Jim Smith have held multiple talks, as recently as this week, in an effort to resolve the issue, said people familiar with the matter. Smith "was very concerned" upon learning about Craig's decision to impose the filtering, said a senior Thomson Reuters official. It is not clear how close the two are to reaching a solution both sides find agreeable, one of the people said.
"We recognise that the processes that were put in place earlier this year need to be improved and are actively working on enhancements," Refinitiv spokesman Patrick Meyer said of the filtering system in a statement. "As a global business, Refinitiv must comply with the laws and regulations of the countries in which we operate. This is a challenge that not just Refinitiv faces, but also other companies and distributors of financial market information."
Refinitiv was formed last year when a consortium led by private equity giant Blackstone purchased a 55% stake in Thomson Reuters' Financial & Risk business, which included the Eikon terminal business, for about $20 billion and rebranded it.
Refinitiv and Thomson Reuters remain close: Reuters sells news to Eikon, and Thomson Reuters retains a 45% stake in Refinitiv. Refinitiv is by far Reuters' largest client, providing nearly half its revenue. As part of the spin-off deal, Refinitiv agreed to make inflation-adjusted annual payments of $325 million to Reuters over 30 years for news - a reliable income stream that is rare in the media business.
The Founders Share directors are particularly incensed. They have complained to Thomson Reuters CEO Smith that by suppressing stories, Refinitiv is violating the terms of the deal. They also say they fear that Refinitiv, having given in to China's demands, might start blocking stories in other countries.
Prior to the Blackstone deal, when Thomson Reuters controlled the Eikon business, Reuters stories were not blocked in China on Eikon. The Chinese government itself has been blocking access in China to the Reuters website for general readers, Reuters.com, for years, as well as the sites of many other foreign news organizations.
"Let the Chinese decide if they ban something," said Pascal Lamy, a Founders Share director and former head of the World Trade Organization. "But this is not Refinitiv's or Reuters' decision." Lamy said the directors believe the terms of the deal require Refinitiv to adhere to Reuters ethical rules on editorial integrity and independence, known as the Trust Principles, which "prevent you from accepting self-censorship."
In response, Refinitiv said it is "complying with our obligations with respect to the Trust Principles." It argues that in filtering out political stories for its own customers in China, it is following local laws and regulations as required by its operating license.
Smith, who sits on the boards of both Thomson Reuters and Refinitiv, did not respond to requests for comment.
The London Stock Exchange has agreed to buy Refinitiv for $27 billion in a deal that's expected to close in the second half of next year. It declined to comment.
TIANANMEN TABOO
Reuters reported in June that Refinitiv had blocked several Reuters stories under government pressure. The articles were about the 30th anniversary of the bloody suppression of pro-democracy demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. According to the people with knowledge of the matter, Refinitiv acted after the Cyberspace Administration of China, or CAC, which controls online speech, threatened to suspend the company's service in China if it didn't comply.
The CAC did not respond to questions about this article. China's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment.
On June 3, Reuters editor Adler and Michael Friedenberg, president of Reuters, emailed the staff saying they'd expressed concern to Refinitiv.
Refinitiv promised it would alert the newsroom when it came under pressure from Chinese regulators about Reuters coverage. The news agency, as it does when it receives any complaint from individuals and institutions it covers, then would determine if there was any reason to correct a published story.
In late July, Refinitiv asked Reuters to review an article that detailed how a Chinese government representative in Hong Kong had urged local residents to drive off protesters, just a week before a violent clash broke out between pro- and anti-government crowds in the area. That story, too, was touchy because it showed Beijing intervening in the internal affairs of Hong Kong.
Despite assurances from Reuters that the story was accurate, Refinitiv removed the headline of the story from Eikon in China, making the item difficult for users to find and view. On Aug. 2, Reuters published a story about the blocking of this article as well.
'STRATEGIC CHINA FILTER'
Refinitiv began ramping up its efforts to purge offending China coverage. Internal Refinitiv documents and emails describe how the company over the summer created an automated filtering system - referred to as the "Strategic China filter" - to block certain stories to Eikon users in mainland China.
In July, Refinitiv's news platform architecture director requested that a new code be created, called "Restricted News," that could be added to articles. He asked that it "should be hidden for all users (internal and external)," according to notes of a conference call on July 17 where the code was discussed. One reason was that Refinitiv didn't want to give its mainland China customers the ability to disable the filtering.
In an email to colleagues, the platform director explained the code: "The flag is to highlight news that requires additional processing, due to Chinese govt restrictions, prior to consumption in China."
The filtering system is designed to block stories for readers in mainland China but allow them to be accessed in other markets. It looks for restricted keywords in headlines, such as "Hong Kong" and "protest," according to a person familiar with the matter.
Refinitiv employees also discussed by email whether the "Restricted News" code should be China-specific or "generic," so it could be used to block stories in other countries in the future. The email exchange indicates they opted for a generic code. Reuters found no evidence that Refinitiv has deployed the filtering system in other nations. Refinitiv didn't comment on whether it plans to use the restriction code elsewhere.
Eikon users outside mainland China can retrieve stories about the Hong Kong protests by clicking on headlines, or by searching for keywords or codes. For users inside China, however, articles that are blocked bring up this message: "You do not have access to this story."
Refinitiv's blocking of protest stories intensified after Aug. 30, when Reuters reported that Beijing had rejected a bid by Hong Kong leader Lam to compromise with the protesters. Before that date, all but five of 246 Reuters articles that had run in 2019 containing the words "Hong Kong" and "protest" in the headline were accessible on the mainland. By contrast, between Aug. 30 and Nov. 20, Refinitiv blocked nearly four out of five such articles that Reuters filed - 196 out of 251.
The censorship was especially severe between Sept. 4 and Oct. 7, when all 104 Reuters articles containing those words in the headline were blocked. At the time, demonstrators were rampaging across the city and police were responding with water cannons and rubber bullets.
Refinitiv also censored potentially market-moving stories that would have been of interest to Refinitiv's core clientele of financial professionals. These included a Sept. 6 report that Fitch Ratings had downgraded Hong Kong's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating. Also blocked were stories on the effect of the protests on stock prices and initial public offerings.
Refinitiv eventually began having employees get involved in the filtering process to prevent the blocking of financial stories, according to a person familiar with the matter. Yet the filtering remains inconsistent.
It lets through some stories that China might consider politically taboo, including some articles about the Chinese government's mass incarceration of Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority in western China. Many other articles on the Uighurs have been blocked.
Besides Reuters articles, the filtering has also blocked one or more stories from 97 other news providers that are available inside China on the Eikon system - including Xinhua, China's official state-run news agency.
On Dec. 3, Refinitiv blocked a Xinhua story about a small demonstration in Hong Kong by pro-Beijing residents. They were quoted heatedly denouncing Washington over a new U.S. law that supports Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters.
Last weekend, Hong Kong witnessed another huge protest, with turnout estimated at 183,000 by police and four times that by organizers. Citizens of all stripes marched, from students to professionals to the elderly.
Eikon users in mainland China couldn't read the Reuters story on the mass protest. It was blocked.
(Reported by Steve Stecklow in London and New York. Additional reporting by Pamela Barbaglia in London and Alexandra Harney in Shanghai. Edited by Michael Williams and Peter Hirschberg.)
((steve.stecklow @thomsonreuters.com))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
Sigh... I have no words. Well, maybe just a few. Did he not receive any briefings about wearing a uniform and campaigning? (Maybe he thought he was only prohibited from campaigning for others in uniform but that it does not apply to campaigning for oneself).
Navy SEAL running for Congress kicked off his campaign in the wrong district
businessinsider.com
Floyd McLendon, a retired US Navy SEAL running for Texas's 32nd congressional district, was spotted at his campaign kick-off wearing the Navy's dress white uniform.
McLendon's choice of attire likely violates Navy regulations. Both the Navy and Marine Corps prohibit the wearing of a uniform at political events - even for "retired members and members of reserve components."
McLendon's inaugural campaign event was held in the 30th congressional district, a different district than the one McLendon is running in.
Political strategists in Texas described the venue's location as highly unusual for a House candidate.
A retired US Navy SEAL running for Congress wore a US Navy dress white uniform at a recent campaign event, Business Insider has learned.
Republican candidate Floyd McLendon of Texas spoke to an audience at his campaign kick-off event in November, wearing the Navy uniform adorned with numerous medals - including what appeared to be the Navy SEAL Trident, the insignia reserved for members of the elite community like McLendon.
The inaugural event in Dallas was held in the 30th congressional district, a different district than the one McLendon is running in. Political strategists in Texas described the venue's location as highly unusual for a House candidate.
"It's not usual. And I don't know if I can think of a time where somebody kicked off their campaign in some place that wasn't in their district, and then it would be really outrageous is when they didn't realize it was in their district," Matt Angle, a Democratic strategist from the Lone Star Project, said to Business Insider. "They need to have a pretty darn good reason for kicking off their event in a district in another one they're running in."
US Navy Chief Petty Officer Floyd McLendon.
Floyd McLendon for Congress
McLendon choice of attire appears to violate Navy regulations. Both the Navy and Marine Corps prohibit wearing the uniform at political events - even for "retired members and members of reserve components."
McLendon's campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Images of McLendon's awards indicate he served at least 24 years in the Navy. According to his biography on his campaign website, he enlisted in the Navy as a radar and satellite communication specialist before attempting to join the SEALs.
McLendon failed his first attempt at the gueling, 24-week long Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training course after an injury, according to his website. He returned three years later and graduated from the course, eventually deploying to Iraq and Afghanistan and earning the Trident pin.
After his naval service, McLendon worked as an aide to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. He has since raised at least $150,000 for his campaign, far less than the Democratic incumbent and other Republicans running in the district.
McLendon says he is a staunch ally of President Donald Trump and echoes his rhetoric in his "God-centered, conservative" campaign.
"I am the one candidate who will fight for the president's America First agenda, who is unmistakably conservative, and who is running a grassroots-fueled campaign to take this seat back from a Pelosi Democrat," McLendon said in a November statement.
"The radical democrats are trying to impeach President Trump based off of second-hand information from an anonymous source," McLendon said in a Facebook post in October, referring to the House Democrats's impeachment investigation. "My opponent, Colin Allred, has teamed up with Adam Schiff to try and further this charade."
The congressional seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Colin Allred, a retired football player for the NFL's Tennessee Titans and a Housing and Urban Development official during President Barack Obama's administration. Allred, a freshman Democrat, unseated incumbent Republican Rep. Pete Sessions last year in the competitive district.
The primary will be held March 3, 2020.
Let's be clear. We came to Afghanistan and remain there now for one essential reason: the United States' national security. These SIGAR interviews are about what contributes to that end and what doesn't. I have argued that a better life for people in a misgoverned country is an essential part of that effort. It is also about American values. What is it, exactly, about nation-building that we must avoid at all costs? Does it extend to looking in the eyes of a hopeful Afghan girl of kindergarten age and saying, "Sorry, kid. You're on your own"?
The Post has assembled a significant set of documents. It is an amazing exercise in investigative journalism. Perhaps a next step could be analyzing the hard lessons so many of us have learned in that hard place. I have mentioned just a few. That could be the start of a national conversation on the proper role of the United States in dealing with extraordinarily complex contingencies. Those would be Afghanistan Papers well worth reading from beginning to end.
Opinion | I served in Afghanistan. No, it's not another Vietnam.
The Washington Post · by Ryan Crocker
Ryan Crocker was the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan in 2011-2012. He is a diplomat-in-residence at Princeton University.
In 2008, Congress established the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) to investigate waste and fraud in the war zone. In the past week, The Post has published an account, " The Afghanistan Papers: A Secret History of the War," based on more than 2,000 pages of SIGAR interviews the paper obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
From the headlines, a reader could not be blamed for thinking that Afghanistan is a wall-to-wall disaster for the United States, another Vietnam about which we must admit defeat and get out. Yet, for anyone who has been paying close attention, there are a few surprises here.
Having served twice in Afghanistan, as chargé d'affaires and as U.S. ambassador, I have a particular interest in this story. But I acknowledge that I'm not even close to having read all the interviews. I gave the document what is known inside the Beltway as "a Washington read," looking for references to me. The main ones are two interview transcripts totaling 95 pages. I don't think I gilded many lilies in talking about Afghanistan, whether in public comments or during my interviews with SIGAR.
But regarding Afghanistan, I have also been inclined to see the glass as half-full - the missteps, mistakes and bad decisions notwithstanding. Part of this involves perspective. Mine has its roots in the beginning of our efforts in early 2002.
When Hamid Karzai was appointed chairman of the Afghan Interim Authority, he had nothing to work with. No institutions, no accepted or enforceable body of laws, no army, no police, no economy. There were 900,000 Afghan children in school, all of them boys. One of the first things we did after the fall of the Taliban was to open schools for girls. In January 2002, I took our first congressional visitor, then-Sen. Joe Biden, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, to visit a class of first-grade girls. They ranged in age from 6 to 12; the older girls reached school age after the Taliban came to power and eliminated female education.
When I left Afghanistan as ambassador in 2012, 8 million Afghan kids were in school, a third of them girls. Does that sound like a disaster?
The United States' mission in Afghanistan has involved complex issues that don't lend themselves to bumper-sticker solutions. For instance, I warned - as did many others - against pursuing major infrastructure projects. The landscapes of Afghanistan and Iraq are littered with the bones of infrastructure projects that were great U.S. ideas but had no local buy-in, were too sophisticated for the host country and could not be operated, let alone maintained.
But it's complicated. I could see in early 2002 that for badly needed non-infrastructure initiatives to progress - such as education, health care or the revitalization of an agricultural economy - infrastructure in the form of roads was essential. So we built roads. Unfortunately, we didn't identify or set aside funds to maintain them.
Corruption was, as The Post's article indicates, a huge problem in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is hardly a revelation - the Kabul Bank scandal, involving the pilfering of about $1 billion, was public knowledge within months of the bank's collapse in 2010. The hard truth here is that when major resources flow into a country without institutions, rule of law or accountability mechanisms, corruption is virtually guaranteed. The solution? Slow the flow of resources to a level where controls are possible. But that is difficult, too. Much of the logistical support for the U.S. military is outsourced to contractors. We may be able to go to war without them, but we can't sustain a war that way.
One problem with the effort in Afghanistan is the critical issue of structure and organization on the U.S. side. Much has been said over the years about civilian-military cooperation, but little has been done to institutionalize it. In the field, I was fortunate to have as military counterparts some of the finest men ever to wear the uniform: Army Gens. David H. Petraeus and Ray Odierno in Iraq and Marine Gen. John R. Allen in Afghanistan. But our cooperation was a function of personalities, not playbooks. And, sometimes, the personalities don't work out.
Zarlasht Halaimzai: The United States' fatal flaw in Afghanistan? Excluding Afghans.
Ishaan Tharoor: American failure and hubris in Afghanistan
David H. Petraeus and Vance Serchuk: Trump was right to abandon the Taliban peace deal. Here's what a good one would look like.
Javid Ahmad and Husain Haqqani: The Taliban still hasn't broken with al-Qaeda
BBC · by Laurence Peter BBC News · December 13, 2019
Spain's defence ministry is opening more special forces roles to women as part of international efforts to tackle terrorism and unconventional warfare.
Defence Minister Margarita Robles says the UN has called for more women to help resolve conflicts worldwide.
Arabic-speaking women are among those sought for UN- or Nato-led missions in conflict areas, such as Iraq or Libya.
Ms Robles was visiting the army's command for special operations, where some women have joined elite units.
At the command centre (MOE) in Rabasa, near Alicante on Thursday, the minister watched a mock assault on a terrorist compound with the aim of seizing intelligence - the kind of raid conducted often against insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Ms Robles said the MOE had to be combat-ready not only in terms of military robotics and other advanced technology, but also "by understanding the terrorists' social and cultural domain".
Some jobs are reserved for women, such as searching women at checkpoints.
In conservative, patriarchal societies it can be easier for women to glean intelligence from local women, who may be kept away from foreign men.
Visiting the MOE in April, Ms Robles said "we want to make a significant bid to involve more women in these missions - this is a priority".
In 1999 Spain opened up most military jobs to women and the proportion of women in its armed forces is now 12.7% - above the Nato average of 11.1%. The defence minister says Spain still needs to recruit many more women.
Jesús Núñez, a Spanish expert on international conflicts, told the BBC "the need for special units is increasing".
"The MOE is combining all the special operations capabilities, as they realise more capabilities are needed in asymmetric wars."
He said there was a clear need for women in certain roles, for cultural reasons. "In some Muslim countries, for example, it's difficult to get information from women if you're a man."
He heads Madrid-based conflict research institute IECAH, which advises the UN and the Spanish government.
Recruiting women into the military
Tattoo taboo: Spanish woman fights rejection by army
Finland has second thoughts about its women soldiers
Why the Army needs more women soldiers
Currently the MOE has a staff of about 1,000, but only about a dozen are women, Spanish daily ABC reports.
In the Spanish military proportionately more women than men are in non-combat roles and on average they are lower-ranking.
But in July Patricia Ortega became the first woman general in Spain's armed forces.
Mr Núñez said the drive to recruit women to the Spanish military had been "very successful" so far.
In Nato, Hungary comes top for women in the armed forces (19.3%), followed by Slovenia (16.5%) and the US (16.2%).
Spain is behind France, but ahead of Germany, the UK and the Netherlands.
Mr Núñez said women had a key role to play in smoothing relations with civilians in conflict areas.
"If you are leading a unit in a village you need contact with the villagers, you need to create trust, and women provide another channel to facilitate the mission," he said.
In April the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said it was vital for women to play a greater role in peacekeeping operations.
He said that "within troop contingents they lower incidences of sexual exploitation and abuse; yield greater reporting of sexual and gender-based violence; and can access local women's networks".
There can be no one the President can be talked into pardoning this man. I cannot imagine even the President's most ardent supporters being able to rationalize the President's decision to pardon this man if he was convinced to do so. He should never see the light of day for his heinous crimes.
Advocacy group takes on latest case - Army staff sergeant convicted in Afghan massacre
armytimes.com · by Todd South · December 12, 2019
WASHINGTON - While celebrating recent pardons of military service members either convicted of or charged with war crimes, the nonprofit military justice advocacy group United American Patriots announced that the next individual they'll support - Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales.
Bales is currently serving a life sentence without parole in the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas after he pleaded guilty to killing 16 Afghans, while on deployment in the Panjwai district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan on March 11, 2012. The act has been called one of the worst atrocities of the war.
On that night, Bales left his forward operating base alone and killed four Afghans, including a 3-year-old girl, he told a reporter in 2015. He returned to his FOB for more ammunition and left again to kill 12 more people in another nearby village. The victims were men, women and mostly children.
Soldier convicted of massacring 16 Afghans seeks new civilian trial, citing a psychosis inducing anti-malarial drug
The drug had "long-lasting adverse psychiatric effects," including "symptoms of psychosis and tendencies to engage in violence," the petition reads.
By: Kyle Rempfer
But both UAP CEO David Gurfein and Bales' attorney, John N. Maher, told Army Times that though the incident was horrific, they are involved in the case because they believe that Bales was denied his constitutional rights.
Gurfein and UAP have argued that larger elements of military justice are preventing troops from getting a fair trial.
"What we see time and again at United American Patriots, is the that presumption of innocence gets thrown out. We see unlawful command influence. We see prosecutorial misconduct. We see the investigators abusing their positions."
The Wednesday night event held at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill, was held to thank members of the Congressional "Justice for Warriors" caucus and members of the UAP group who had recently supported cases such as those of Army 1st Lt. Clint Lorance, Maj. Matt Golsteyn, Sgt. Derrick Miller and U.S. Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher.
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Maher represents Lorance and Bales.
"I don't know if Staff Sgt. Bales is guilty or not," Maher said. "But was I can say is whether or not Bob Bales had a constitutional trial."
In this Aug. 23, 2011, image provided by the Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System (DVIDS), Staff Sgt. Robert Bales participates in an exercise at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, Calif. (DVIDS/Spc. Ryan Hallock via AP)
Maher filed a civil lawsuit challenging actions taken by military prosecutors and a judge in federal court in June. Federal prosecutors have denied his assertions and his response is due in January.
Lorance, Golsteyn and Gallagher recently received clemency from President Donald Trump. Lorance had been serving a 20-year sentence on second-degree murder charges for ordering his troops to fire on men near their patrol in Afghanistan in July 2012.
Golsteyn faced a murder trial next year for killing an alleged Taliban bombmaker during his 2010 Afghanistan deployment. Gallagher had been acquitted at trial earlier this year on most of the charges related to allegations that he stabbed a wounded ISIS fighter to death. But he received clemency for the guilty charge that stemmed from him posing with the corpse.
Miller had served eight years of a life sentence that was later reduced to 20 years. He was paroled earlier this year. He had been convicted of the murder of an Afghan man during a battlefield interrogation.
Both Miller and Lorance have advocated for the review of other military justice cases they say resulted in similar rights denials.
Maher claims in the lawsuit that Bales suffered from psychosis connected to his taking the anti-malarial drug mefloquine, which has been shown in some cases to cause mental health problems and hallucinations.
Malaria drug causes brain damage that mimics PTSD: case study
A service member was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder but instead was found to have brain damage caused by a malaria drug.
By: Patricia Kime
In an interview with GQ magazine in 2015, Bales admitted he had been using steroids at the time of the shootings and on the night his rampage he had drank six or seven alcoholic drinks and took handful of sleeping pills.
But, Maher said, that along with Bales' PTSD and TBI were not shared with the sentencing jury.
That throws into question Bales' sanity at the time of the killings and whether he was fit to stand trial when he pleaded guilty to avoid a death penalty the following year.
He also alleges in the lawsuit that military prosecutors flew known Taliban bombmakers into the United States under false aliases to testify as aggravating witnesses in Bales' sentencing but characterized them as simple farmers, not disclosing that to the defense that some had been linked through DNA and fingerprint evidence to Improvised Explosive Devices used against U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
If successful, the lawsuit could result in a new trial. But some similar issues were raised in the criminal appeal that was not taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2017.
The Afghanistan papers are not the Pentagon papers.
The Washington Post is right to document, for the umpteenth time, the lack of progress in fighting opium production, making Afghanistan safer for its citizens, reducing government corruption, and building Afghan security forces that can handle the job without us (though it is worth noting that those forces now do in fact hold all major and mid-sized cities, and do perhaps 95% of the fighting and more than 99% of the dying among coalition forces these days). It is wrong - badly wrong - to claim to have proven that the Bush, Obama, and/or Trump administrations, as well as top military and diplomatic leaders charged with the Afghanistan mission, systematically and intentionally misled the country about what was going on.
What the Washington Post gets wrong about the US and Afghanistan
The Brookings Institution · by Michael E. O'Hanlon · December 10, 2019
It is a serious charge to accuse U.S. officials of deceit and duplicity in their dealings with the American people. That is arguably what happened in Vietnam, to a large extent - helping explain why the 1960s were among the worst decades in American history in terms of domestic cohesion and trust. Now, the Washington Post has accused U.S. officials of both parties and several recent administrations of a similar pattern of untruthfulness in regard to the American-led mission in Afghanistan since 2001. Does this charge hold up?
The short answer is no. The Washington Post did a disservice with this report. At a time when trust in American institutions is already weak, and U.S. officials accuse each other of lying all the time, the country does not benefit from yet more of its trusted voices being wrongly demeaned and diminished.
Yes, the Afghanistan experience these last 18.5 years has been marked by tragedy, frustration, many failures, and a general sense of disappointment. Even those of us who generally have supported the mission would acknowledge as much. But no, there has not been a campaign of disinformation, intentional or subliminal.
It is fine to accuse many elected leaders, ambassadors, generals, and other officials of endorsing bad policies - and not seeing clearly or quickly enough when those policies were failing. That is much different, however, than an assault on the integrity of those individuals. To be sure, wishful thinking afflicts public servants as much as other human beings, and people who favor one policy or another sometimes spin the facts to suit their pre-determined argument. But that is much different than intentional and concerted efforts to lead the country astray. And for every person attempting positive spin about the Afghanistan mission over the years, there have usually been several harping on all the problems.
Indeed, very few American leaders have ever seen Afghanistan through rose-colored glasses. Consider:
The Bush administration attempted an "economy of force" or light footprint mission in Afghanistan from roughly 2002-07, partly because of the competing demands of the Iraq war but also because Afghanistan was seen as neither important enough, nor promising enough, to merit much more.
Then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates underscored that, even as we decided to devote more resources to Afghanistan in the late 2000s, we were not trying to create "Valhalla" there. The reference prompted many Google searches, but caused little controversy because few had high expectations for Afghanistan in the first place, and few found it surprising that our real goals were in fact modest (and often unmet).
The early 2009 Afghanistan policy review by Bruce Riedel, Richard Holbrooke, and Michele Flournoy (which explicitly stated that the United States was losing the war) was designed and described as a fast-moving stopgap effort to prevent further deterioration of a rapidly worsening situation - one that candidate Barack Obama had chastised the Bush administration for tolerating as it swung its main policy focus to Iraq from 2003 onward and lost focus on what, in Obama's mind, should have been the main effort. (The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction didn't interview Riedel or his deputy in the Afghanistan-Pakistan review conducted that year.)
The General Stanley McChrystal policy review in the summer of 2009 described corruption in the Afghan government as a threat to the mission on par with the physical menace posed by the Taliban. Much of the urgency in his request for tens of thousands of additional forces arose from the fact that the very viability of the country was at acute risk.
The ensuing White House review in the fall of 2009 reflected President Obama's uncertainty about whether a big additional effort in Afghanistan was really worth it. The president's December 1 West Point speech that year announcing a big, but temporary, surge of forces conveyed at once a palpable sense that the mission was in trouble and a simultaneous, if somewhat oxymoronic, attempt to push the Afghan government to do more about that threat itself. Again, there was no happy talk in the speech. When Obama had positive things to say about the general Afghanistan theater thereafter, he focused on things like the successful raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in May 2011 and his promise to draw down U.S. forces in the country by one-third prior to the 2012 presidential election. He certainly was not crowing about huge nation-building accomplishments.
U.S. leaders like then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did trumpet the enormous gains made in women's rights, child survival, educational opportunity, a free press, and an open political system in various speeches in the late 2000s and early 2010s. But they were right to do so, given facts on the ground, and given the contrast with what Afghanistan had endured in the horrible years of the 1980s and 1990s.
Throughout the second Obama and first Trump terms, there has been a near-constant flurry of almost annual Afghanistan policy reviews. They always start with the same premise: that we should try to extricate ourselves from a difficult, if not failing, situation with whatever reasonable exit strategy we can collectively concoct. Unfortunately, no one has figured out a way to leave entirely yet. So far, the argument that always carries the day, in the inner sanctums of Washington power as well as on the campaign hustings, is that we cannot afford again to abandon the country from which the 9/11 attacks were originally planned. Counterterrorism and protection of the U.S. homeland have been the goals people could agree on. Grandiose claims of turning Afghanistan into the next Asian tiger have been few and far between throughout these debates.
President Trump often highlights the need to "end the endless wars." We should end this one by pursuing the difficult and sometimes messy political and diplomatic process that includes talking, finding compromise and setting conditions to forge new relationships.
I have retired from the United States Army, but soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment - some born after the Sept. 11 attacks - are still deployed in Afghanistan.
Now is the time to seize a fleeting opportunity and fully support internal Afghan negotiations. We should put ourselves in the position to shift our focus to enforcing peace and greater stability in Afghanistan. Now is indeed the time to bring an end to our endless war.
Opinion | Ending America's Endless War in Afghanistan
The New York Times · by Joseph Votel · December 11, 2019
We need to press for an agreement between the U.S. and the Taliban and cement the parallel support of the Afghan government.
General Votel was the commander of United States Central Command from March 2016 to March 2019.
Credit...Illustration by Matt Chase; Photograph by ackleyroadphotos/Getty
I took command of the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment two months before the Sept. 11 attacks. Not long after, the regiment deployed to Afghanistan as part of the American effort to destroy Al Qaeda and remove the Taliban from power.
In the 18 years since, soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment, a Special Operations light-infantry unit, have always been deployed to Afghanistan. And as others did, I returned many times thereafter. During his Thanksgiving visit to American troops in Afghanistan, President Trump declared that he had reopened peace talks with the Taliban. The president's announcement is a rare chance to end our longest war.
We are now in a position to seal a United States-Taliban agreement that would lead to intra-Afghan negotiations and move the conflict into the political realm. We should not miss this opportunity.
The war has exacted an overwhelming cost: 1,892 American military personnel killed in action and 20,589 wounded, about a trillion dollars spent, the psychological and emotional impact on veterans and their families, and similar material and human costs to our allies. And there is the devastating cost paid by the people of Afghanistan: Of the 147,000 killed in the war since 2001, more than 38,000 have been civilians. This long war must end.
The first opportunity to end this conflict on our terms was in 2002 when Al Qaeda was dispersed and the Taliban were shattered. A persistent political and diplomatic effort supported by steady military support could have put us on a different path. Instead, the intervening years brought one failed strategy after another, each for identifiable reasons: diverted attention, lack of military resources, loss of political will, arbitrary timelines, a resurgent and externally supported Taliban, fatigue in both the United States and Afghanistan and severe internal problems within the Afghan government.
The most recent opportunity to achieve our objectives emerged in August 2017 with the announcement of the Trump administration's South Asia strategy, which earmarked political reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Taliban as our principal objective.
At the time, I was commander of United States Central Command, responsible for our military operations in an area that spread from Egypt to Pakistan and Kazakhstan to Yemen - including Afghanistan. We recognized early that the South Asia strategy was a prudent and realistic way to put focus back into the political and diplomatic realm and that pursuing a political settlement was our best chance to end the war.
We also knew a quick resolution wasn't possible given the obstacles: A fractured Afghan government, Pakistan continuing to enable the Taliban, the influence of Iran and Russia, mixed Afghan military performance, increasing high-profile insurgent attacks in urban areas of Afghanistan, lack of trust between the principal Afghan adversaries and emergence of a branch of the Islamic State in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.
The United States continued working toward our objective, and there has been some progress since August 2017. There have been short cease-fires, a marked decrease in Pakistan interference, direct talks with the Taliban, preliminary agreements and a prisoner exchange. But there has also been continuing violence, a breakdown in talks and a continuing lack of trust between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The Taliban refused to open direct talks with the Afghan government, so the United States took a first step toward peace by opening peace negotiations with them, which we hoped would lead to internal Afghan-Taliban negotiations.
Despite the uneven progress on the ground, the special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, the chief American negotiator, supported by American and coalition forces, continued to press for peace. Even after the peace negotiations stopped in September following a spike in Taliban violence, Mr. Khalilzad continued his shuttle diplomacy to preserve this tenuous opportunity.
On Saturday Mr. Khalilzad rejoined negotiations with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar. We need to press for an agreement between the United States and the Taliban and cement the parallel support of the Afghan government. This would lead within days to the initiation of direct meetings between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
Specific agreed-upon conditions would then drive the pace of the withdrawal of American forces. But the Taliban must demonstrate commitment to our shared objectives of a reduction in violence, make an unambiguous break from Al Qaeda and commit to continued (and effective) operations against the Islamic State.
The initial objective should be a comprehensive and enduring cease-fire. This approach can provide us a way to consolidate the gains of the past 18 years and achieve our stated objective of ensuring that we will never absorb another attack on our homeland from Afghanistan.
Some may argue that the Taliban cannot be trusted and will never live up to their commitments, and this may be true. But we can put in place measures that will allow us, and the international community, to observe, monitor and enforce whatever agreement is finally reached.
Gen. Joseph Votel, the commander of United States Central Command from March 2016 to March 2019, is a nonresident distinguished senior fellow on national security at the Middle East Institute.
The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We'd like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here's our email: letters@nytimes.com .
Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram .
The Hill · by Maggie Miller · December 11, 2019
Legislation to protect the nation's electric grid against cyberattacks has been added to the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is slated for a House vote Wednesday evening.
The Securing Energy Infrastructure Act, which was included in 2020 NDAA, would help eliminate vulnerabilities in the electric grid by establishing a two-year pilot program within the National Laboratories.
The program's recommendations would then require a national strategy, crafted by federal agencies and the energy industry, to secure the grid against cyberattacks.
The Senate is expected to quickly send the NDAA to the White House for President Trump's signature after Wednesday night's House vote.
Trump tweeted Wednesday that he was pleased with the defense policy bill and planned to sign it into law "immediately" once he receives it.
The electric grid bill has bipartisan support in both chambers. It was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in July.
"The energy grid powers our financial transactions, communications networks, healthcare services and more - so if this critical infrastructure is compromised by a hacker, these building blocks of American life are at risk," Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), one of the two primary Senate sponsors of the bill along with Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho), said in a statement to The Hill.
There have been growing concerns this year that the energy grid could be attacked, particularly following the first successful cyberattack on an electric utility in the Western part of the U.S.
The annual Worldwide Threat Assessment compiled by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence found that both Russia and China have the capability to successfully target critical infrastructure, such as the electric grid, and cause "temporary disruptive effects."
The dangers of cyberattacks on the grid were further highlighted by a draft report sent to Trump this week by the National Infrastructure Advisory Council.
The report called for "bold action" to be taken to combat increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructure, including the energy grid, emphasizing that "escalating cyber risks to America's critical infrastructures present an existential threat to continuity of government, economic stability, social order, and national security."
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Personal Email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
Web Site: www.fdd.org
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Subscribe to FDD's new podcast, Foreign Podicy
FDD is a Washington-based nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
If you do not read anything else in the 2017 National Security Strategy read this on page 14:
"A democracy is only as resilient as its people. An informed and engaged citizenry is the fundamental requirement for a free and resilient nation. For generations, our society has protected free press, free speech, and free thought. Today, actors such as Russia are using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies. Adversaries target media, political processes, financial networks, and personal data. The American public and private sectors must recognize this and work together to defend our way of life. No external threat can be allowed to shake our shared commitment to our values, undermine our system of government, or divide our Nation."
Access NSS HERE


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New PDPA Guidelines for NRIC and other National Identification numbers
On 31 August 2018, the Personal Data Protection Commission in Singapore (the "Commission") issued its Advisory Guidelines on the Personal Data Protection Act of Singapore (the "PDPA") for NRIC and Other National Identification Numbers (the "Guidelines"). The Guidelines follow the conclusion of the public consultation conducted by the Commission from 7 November 2017 to 18 December 2017 in a bid to review existing industry practices as well as evaluate past feedback from the public on the collection, use and disclosure of National Registration Identity Card ("NRIC") numbers. The Guidelines aim to clarify instances where organisations are permitted to collect, use or disclose NRIC numbers and other similar types of personal data.
Why were the Guidelines introduced?
Prior to the Guidelines, the rules concerning the collection of NRIC numbers and/or the retention of the physical NRIC for business purposes, of which such purposes must be reasonable, generally required the individual's consent. Organisations were broadly advised to consider available alternatives for identification purposes and assess their existing procedures, resulting in some extent of uncertainty from the public in relation to the collection of NRIC numbers. The Guidelines were issued to provide greater clarity on PDPA compliance in response to the public consultation conducted by the Commission for addressing queries and feedback from the public concerning the handling of NRICs. The Commission stressed that the NRIC number is a permanent and irreplaceable identifier which can potentially grant access to large amounts of information relating to the individual. The physical NRIC also contains other personal data of the individual, such as the individual's full name, photograph, thumbprint and residential address. As such, the collection, use and disclosure of NRIC numbers merit special concern to prevent indiscriminate or negligent handling that may lead to criminal activities such as identity theft and fraud.
What are the key points of the Guidelines?
Under the Guidelines, the treatment for NRIC numbers also applies to Passport numbers, Birth Certificate numbers, Foreign Identification Numbers and Work Permit numbers. Organisations are generally not allowed to collect, use or disclose NRIC numbers (or copies of the NRIC) unless in the following specified circumstances:
It is required under the law - Some statutory laws require organisations to carry out proper documentation and accurate verification of an individual's identity to maintain accurate, complete and up-to-date records for safety and security reasons. Organisations to which this may apply include hospitals, hotels, telecommunications providers, educational institutions and companies in the course of hiring/managing employees.
An exception under the PDPA applies - Certain circumstances listed under the PDPA are exceptions to the consent requirement when it comes to collecting, using or disclosing an individual's NRIC number. This may include situations where: there are medical emergencies, the personal data is publicly available, personal data is necessary for any investigation or proceedings, and an organisation reasonably requires the personal data to manage the employment relationship with its employees.
It is necessary to accurately establish or verify the identities of the individuals to a high degree of fidelity - where failure to do so may:
a) pose a significant safety or security risk – for example, for visitor entry to preschools where the safety and security of young children are paramount concerns; or
b) pose a risk of significant impact or harm (e.g. reputational, financial, personal or proprietary damage) to an individual and/or the organisation – for example, in relation to transactions that relate to healthcare, financial and real estate matters, particularly in the course of conducting 'know your customer' ("KYC") checks.
The examples illustrated above are not meant to be exhaustive and the Commission has advised organisations to assess accordingly as to whether the particular situation warrants the verification of the individual's identity to a high degree of fidelity.
The Commission placed emphasis on the risks associated with retaining the physical NRIC where the individual would be greatly impacted if the physical NRIC is misplaced, stolen or used for illegal activities such as fraud. As such, organisations should only retain the physical NRIC if it is required under the law.
Who will this affect and how should parties ensure compliance?
Like the PDPA, the Guidelines apply to all organisations which collect data, and "collection" of data refers to any act or set of acts through which an organisation obtains control over or possession of personal data. The Commission has stated that the aim of the Guidelines on the collection of NRIC numbers is to enhance consumer protection against indiscriminate and unjustified collection, use and disclosure of individuals' NRIC numbers in connection with common business practices. These include instances such as redemption of free parking, signing up for club or retail membership, participating in lucky draws/loyalty programmes and online shopping, which are matters that should not require NRIC numbers to be collected.
In light of all the above, organisations should implement suitable alternatives in the absence of permissible or reasonable grounds for obtaining NRIC numbers. However, it would be prudent for organisations to assess the suitability of alternatives and consider whether such alternatives are reasonable according to their business and operational needs. The Commission recommends collecting partial NRIC numbers up to the last three numerical digits where other alternatives are not satisfactory, although partial NRIC numbers would still be considered personal data under the PDPA to the extent that the individual can be identified. Merely sighting an individual's physical NRIC for verification purposes in circumstances where there are age restrictions would not be considered a collection of personal data under the PDPA.
When will the Guidelines take effect?
All organisations are required to comply with effect from 1 September 2019. The Commission recognises that organisations may need time to review and implement necessary changes to their existing business practices to ensure that they comply with their obligations under the PDPA, and that their data protection measures remain sustainable.
The Guidelines aim to provide greater clarity on the collection, use and disclosure of NRIC numbers and should be an integral part of the organisation's overall data protection policy framework. We are well placed to assist you with the setting up of your organisation's data protection infrastructure from a Singapore PDPA perspective with respect to the collection, use and disclosure of personal data, as well as to review existing processes to assess your organisation's compliance with the PDPA.
We work closely with our London office as one global data protection team providing streamlined data protection advice on any additional impacts of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and have significant experience in running joint PDPA and GDPR compliance projects for our clients.
This article was written by Sheetal Sandhu, a senior associate at Virtus Law LLP (a member of the Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance). For more information, please do not hesitate to contact any of the team at Stephenson Harwood (Singapore) Alliance.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Can anyone help me convert this MySQL statement into Linq lambda? I need help converting this query into linq.
select Title from titles
INNER JOIN UserTitles on UserTitles.TitleId = titles.TitleId
where UserTitles.UserId = currentUserId

so that i can loop the user titles:
example: Name, BS, BA, PHD
when i have these tables:
Users:
+---------------+----------+
| currentUserId | UserName |
+---------------+----------+
|             1 | Dave     |
+---------------+----------+

Titles:
+---------+-------+
| TitleId | Title |
+---------+-------+
|       1 | BS    |
|       2 | MD    |
|       3 | PHD   |
|       4 | BA    |
+---------+-------+

UserTitles:
+--------+---------+
| UserId | TitleId |
+--------+---------+
|      1 |       1 |
|      1 |       2 |
|      1 |       3 |
|      1 |       4 |
+--------+---------+

EDIT
in my controller i have this:
IEnumerable<String> thisresult = _contentService.Titles
.Join(_contentService.UserTitles.Where(x => x.UserId == currentUserId),
t => t.Id,
ut => ut.TitleId,
(t, ut) => t.TitleString);

var model = new ManageUserViewModel()
        {
            Titlelist = thisresult
        };

        return View(model);

In my ViewModel i have this:
public IEnumerable<String> Titlelist { get; set; }

In my View i have this:
@foreach (var title in Model.Titlelist)
            {
                @Html.Raw(title)
            }

And i get this:
Server Error in '/' Application.
Specified method is not supported.

A: var result=db.titles
  .Join(db.UserTitles.Where(x => x.UserId == currentUserId),
    t=>t.TitleId,
    ut=>ut.TitleId,
    (t,ut)=>ut.Title);

If using Entity Framework, with properly set up Users, and Titles tables with the appropriate navigation properties, it would be:
var result=db.Users
  .Where(u=>u.UserId == currentUserId)
  .Select(u=>u.Titles);

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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More than 60,000 utility customers in upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina were without power as a line of storms moved through, knocking down trees and power lines.
Duke Energy reported more than 60,000 customers without power Wednesday evening, the majority in Greenville, S.C., where 25,000 were in the dark. In North Carolina, almost 11,000 customers in Jackson County and almost 7,000 in Swain County were without power.
The National Weather Service issued thunderstorm watches for 16 counties in North Carolina and three in South Carolina. It said hail up to 2 inches in diameter was possible in some areas, along with wind gusts of up to 70 mph and lightning.


text:
Jana Novotná (Brno, 2 de Outubro de 1968 - Omice, 19 de novembro de 2017) foi uma tenista profissional tcheca, conhecida por ser uma especialista em simples e duplas.

Ex-número 1 de duplas e número 2 de simples no ranking da WTA, ela venceu 24 títulos de simples ao longo dos 14 anos de carreira e teve ainda mais sucesso nas duplas, conquistando 76 taças.

Tornou-se jogadora profissional aos 19 anos e em simples chegou a quatro finais de Grand Slam: perdeu as finais de Wimbledon de 1993 e 1997 para Steffi Graf e Martina Hingis, respetivamente, e a decisão do Aberto da Austrália de 1991 para Monica Seles, antes da vitória sobre Nathalie Tauziat na grama londrina em 1998.

Nas duplas, foram 12 títulos de Grand Slam, vencendo nos quatro torneios, e mais 11 vice-campeonatos. Também teve quatro Slam nas duplas mistas.

Como atleta olímpica, teve no seu currículo duas medalhas de prata em duplas nas Olimpíadas de Seul-1988 e Atlanta-1996 com sua compatriota Helena Suková, além de uma medalha de bronze em simples, também em  Atlanta.

Campeã do WTA Finals em 1997 e da Fed Cup em 1988, a tcheca foi introduzida no International Tennis Hall of Fame do Tênis em 2005. Jana morreu no final de 2017, aos 49 anos, vítima de câncer.

Carreira

Ex-número 1 de duplas e número 2 de simples da WTA, Jana Novotna nasceu em 2 de Outubro de 1968 em Brno, segunda maior cidade da República Tcheca. Conhecida por ser uma especialista em simples e duplas, sua aposentadoria se deu em 1999. Ao longo dos 14 anos de carreira, venceu 24 títulos de simples e teve ainda mais sucesso nas duplas, conquistando 76 taças. Jogava bem em todos os pisos do tênis.

Tornou-se jogadora profissional aos 19 anos e em simples chegou a quatro finais de Grand Slam: perdeu as finais de Wimbledon de 1993 e 1997 para Steffi Graf e Martina Hingis, respetivamente, e a decisão do Aberto da Austrália de 1991 para Monica Seles, antes da vitória sobre Nathalie Tauziat na grama londrina em 1998. Durante sua carreira, também ganhou uma medalha de bronze em simples nos Jogos olímpicos de 1996 em Atlanta.

Já em duplas, liderou o ranking em várias oportunidades, além de ganhar Wimbledon quatro vezes, sendo duas com Helena Suková (1989 e 1990), uma com Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (1995) e uma com Martina Hingis (1997). Ao todo, foram 12 títulos de Grand Slam, vencendo nos quatro torneios, e mais 11 vice-campeonatos. Também tem quatro Slam nas duplas mistas e duas medalhas de prata em duplas nos Jogos Olímpicos (Seul-1988 e Atlanta-1996).

Campeã do WTA Finals em 1997 e da Fed Cup em 1988, foi introduzida no International Tennis Hall of Fame do Tênis em 2005.

Quebra de Protocolo

Em 1993, após perder a final do Torneio de Wimbledon para a alemã Steffi Graf, Novotna não se segurou durante a premiação. Ela começou a chorar no ombro da Duquesa de Kent, que participava da premiação, e foi consolada por ela. A cena — uma quebra de protocolo — ganhou a afeição dos espectadores e da própria Duquesa, que disse à atleta, na época; "Um dia você vai conseguir, eu sei que vai". Cinco anos depois ela conquistou Wimbledon.

Títulos

Grand Slam

Simples: 4 (1 título, 3 vices)

Duplas: 23 (12 títulos, 11 Vices)

Duplas Mistas: 5 (4 títulos, 1 vice)

Olimpíadas

Simples: 1 (1 bronze)

Duplas: 2 (2 pratas)

Naturais de Brno
Tenistas da Chéquia
Tenistas olímpicos da Chéquia
Tenistas olímpicos da Checoslováquia
Tenistas nos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 1988
Tenistas nos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 1992
Tenistas nos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 1996
Medalhistas nos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 1988
Medalhistas nos Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 1996
Mortes por câncer na Chéquia

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Europe is a dream destination for many people across the world. Potential travelers spend hours pouring over the glossy images in the best travel guidebooks. One of the major draw cards of Europe is the vast range of diversity in culture and language. Europe has something to offer almost every traveler – history, beaches, culture, nightlife, and nature. There are years worth of experiences and memories to be had in Europe for those who desire it.
Yet this diversity can present a problem to many – where should I go and what should I do? Most average adults only have 2-4 weeks of vacation time per year. With limited time and money, you will need to make some choices about where you will travel.
So how can you choose where to go and what to see? Many travelers like to do some research to find out which destinations suit them best. The Internet is a great resource for all things travel. But sometimes the sheer amount of information can be paralyzing when you first begin. That is why many people still turn to the old reliable travel guide book. Plus, you don't need any cell service or WiFi to use them!
Lonely Planet is the largest publisher of travel guide books in the world. Of course, Lonely Planet is a household name and trusted by many experienced travelers. The Lonely Planet books are definitely considered by many to be the best travel guidebooks. The publishers describe Lonely Planet Europe as a travel guide for mid-range travelers. The book includes fully researched and up to date suggestions from their travel experts, planning, and itinerary help, local secrets, tips and more.
Countries covered: Albania. Austria. Belarus. Belgium. Luxembourg. Bosnia. Herzegovina, Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia. Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany. Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia. Moldova, Montenegro, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia. Scandinavia, Serbia, Slovakia., Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.
Rick Steves is highly respected and loved by Americans in the field of European travel. Alongside the Best of Europe Guidebook, he has 50+ guidebooks about European travel in his guidebook series. As hinted by the title, this guidebook is a 'best of', so there are seven countries included. While a smaller range of countries is covered than the other books in this list, they are more in-depth. This guide includes both popular sights as well as some more unique spots.
Countries covered: England, France, Germany. Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland.
Fodor's Essential Europe was 'written by locals' and is a collection of the 'must-sees' in 25 different European countries. It includes hotel and restaurant recommendations and several itineraries. It seems to provide a light overview of the destinations so it would be best as a starting point for deciding where to go at the early stages of planning your trip.
Countries covered: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France. Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia. Lithuania, the Netherlands. Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom.
As children, many of us grew up with great DK books. The DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Europe is no exception and includes detailed illustrations and information. It has the classic 'cut-away' style illustrations of important buildings and sights, and even floor plans for major museums! It includes detailed itineraries and local dining suggestions. Some reviews of the book suggest that it is more of a history book than a true travel guidebook. Nevertheless, it could come in handy for providing inspiration on where in Europe to visit, and it is a beautiful travel book. According to the Amazon rating, this book is the best travel book out of these five.
Countries covered: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic. Britain, Denmark. Finland, France, Germany, Greece. Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland. Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Arthur Frommer is a prominent American travel writer and the founder of the Frommer's travel series. Many of his guides target the budget-conscious audience and have been in publication since the 1950s! Frommer's business was sold to several publishers over the years, but he has recently reacquired the rights to guides, and so he has personally edited this guidebook alongside additions from other experts. This tourist guide book lists the pros and cons for traveling to each country mentioned, listing the major attractions in each city.
Countries covered: Austria, Belgium, Copenhagen, England, France, Germany. Italy, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland.
Printed guidebooks can be considered quite trustworthy. Why? They are written by experienced travelers and are reviewed and edited for accuracy and quality. Most guidebooks these days have an e-book version available, which is great when you are trying to minimize weight while packing.
While guidebooks are useful, we also luckily live in the 'age of the Internet' and can check online and use travel apps. But in the end, we are all different people with different desires. Your travel dreams are your own, and there is no need to feel ashamed for wanting to go to a 'super touristy' sight. In any case, these places are often well-known for a good reason.
These general Europe guidebooks are great for an overview of what's on offer. However, consider reading some more detailed resources once you have decided where to go. The best travel guide is the one that suits you and your planning style. Then you will be prepared and ready to visit your travel agent and book your flights!
Do you have any travel book recommendations? Do you use them pre-trip, during your trip, or not at all? Comment below and let us know!
If you are interested in how travel agents can get the best flight deals, read more about unpublished airfares.


// Execute Starlark program in a file.
// Retrieve a module global.
// Call Starlark function from Go.
See starlark/example_test.go for more examples.
Despite some differences, the Go implementation of Starlark strives to match the behavior of the Java implementation used by Bazel and maintained by the Bazel team. For that reason, proposals to change the language itself should generally be directed to the Starlark site, not to the maintainers of this project. Only once there is consensus that a language change is desirable may its Go implementation proceed.


Any information about the server.
When set to true the server state will be set to disabled.
When set to false the server state will be set to enabled.
Domain name of the server. For a domain based configuration, you must create the server first.
Time, in seconds, for which the NetScaler appliance must wait, after DNS resolution fails, before sending the next DNS query to resolve the domain name.
IPv4 or IPv6 address of the server. If you create an IP address based server, you can specify the name of the server, instead of its IP address, when creating a service. Note: If you do not create a server entry, the server IP address that you enter when you create a service becomes the name of the server.
Support IPv6 addressing mode. If you configure a server with the IPv6 addressing mode, you cannot use the server in the IPv4 addressing mode.
Must begin with an ASCII alphabetic or underscore _ character, and must contain only ASCII alphanumeric, underscore _, hash #, period ., space , colon :, at @, equals =, and hyphen - characters.
Can be changed after the name is created.
IP address used to transform the server's DNS-resolved IP address.
The netmask of the translation ip.


Despite the average Australian equating homelessness with sleeping on the streets, only 7% of the people officially classified as homeless in Australia are rough sleepers. Though the numbers of people sleeping rough increased by approximately 2000 people nationally between 2011 and 2016, their proportion of the total homeless population has remained the same over this period. This is despite government spending on homelessness exceeding $817.4 million in 2016-17, an increase of 29% from $634.2 million in 2012-13.
Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data indicate that the total number of homeless people has grown from 89,728 in 2006 to 116,427 in 2016 — an increase of 30% over the decade. These inflated figures are based on a questionable definition that includes people such as those living in overcrowded accommodation. Overcrowding has increased most in the cities where rates of net overseas migration have been the highest. For some groups, such as recent migrants, living in crowded dwellings is a rational economic decision, while for others it may reflect cultural preferences for shared living spaces.
By including the 'housed homeless' (such as those living in supported accommodation) and people who would never consider themselves to be homeless, the current official definition distorts resource allocation and dilutes out those most in need; chronic rough sleepers. It is in the interest of the 'homelessness industry' — the academics, charities and NGOS that undertake research, conduct advocacy, and lobby government for more taxpayer-funded spending on the alleged problems and solutions — for the numbers of homeless to be artificially high.
The orthodox understanding of the causes of homelessness promoted by the industry overemphasises the role of economic and social structures (structuralism). Solutions based on structuralist explanations — such as increasing the supply of affordable social housing — are insufficient to reduce rough sleeping. Such approaches minimise the role of, and fail to address, the individual characteristics, choices, and behaviours; especially the high rates of mental illness and drug abuse that afflict rough sleepers.
Current public housing policy contributes to the problem. By encouraging unemployment and poverty through a number of perverse incentives, social housing maintains people on the margins of homelessness. Tenancy breakdowns are often related to the antisocial behaviours and criminal activities associated with drug use (especially methamphetamines). While tenancy support provides an opportunity for vulnerable individuals with complex needs to maintain housing, there is too much scope for such people to refuse support and to potentially face eviction.
Homelessness services have proved unable to reduce the numbers of rough sleepers because of an unwillingness to implement the benign and enlightened paternalism necessary to help the most vulnerable exit the streets. 'Housing First' initiatives — which seek to provide unconditional access to housing, independent of treatment options and requirements — are successful in exiting some rough sleepers from the streets but do little to address the mental illness and drug abuse factors leading to homelessness.
SOURCE: Dr Carlos d'Abrera. "Dying with Their Rights On: The myths and realities of ending homelessness in Australia." The Centre for Independent Studies, December 2018.


text:
Is private equity good for the economy?
Private equity leads to higher default rates and more bankruptcies and worse outcomes for customers and workers
Private equity leads to more economic growth and imporovements in efficiency
Private equity may help investors in its funds, but at the expense of workers, customers and the economy
Private equity is a debt driven model
Defaults for private equity (leveraged buyouts) can be 10x higher than for non-LBO firms
Private equity is behind most recent big retail bankruptcies
Customer care deteriorates when private equity buys companies
Most claims of growth by private equity are false
Studies have shown that private equity leads to higher defaults, its claims to increase productivity are a sham, and it causes higher rates of job losses and firings in target companies as well as lower wages. (Unsurprisingly, industry-funded studies are much more sanguine.) But perhaps the most damning indictment of the private equity model is that their returns are overstated and their performance simply not as good as they lead investors to believe.
Private equity firms are not responsible for smaller companies going out of business. Steven Kaplan of the University Chicago and Per Stromberg of the Stockholm School of Economics reviewed a sample of over 17,000 private equity transactions to see how the funds impacted the deals. Only about 6% ended in either bankruptcy or reorganization, giving them a yearly default rate that had a lower overall average than the corporate bond issuer. That feat was particularly impressive, considering that many private equity firms, specialize in turning around risky businesses. Private equity also has a good overall impact on the overall business climate. A research team from the Stockholm School, Harvard, and Columbia University looked at 20 industries in more than two dozen countries between 1991 and 2007 and found that industries with private equity activity grew 20% faster than other sectors. After running several mathematical checks, the paper concluded it was not likely that the private equity funds were simply investing in industries that were already en route for faster growth. Rather, they concluded that the lessons from private equity firms made entire industries more efficient.
Unions are constantly being bought out and low balled by major corporations and pay their employees unfair wages. A 2011 study from researchers at the University of Chicago, Harvard, and the U.S. Census Bureau examined what happened to workers at 3,200 companies targeted in private equity acquisitions between 1980 and 2005. Although companies fired more workers in the years after a buyout compared to competitors in their industry, they also tended to hire more new workers. The companies were also more likely to buy divisions or sell new ones. As a result of this, companies involved in a private equity deal saw much more turnover as the academics put it, but only a net decrease in employment of about 1% compared to other businesses.
This page was last edited on Monday, 14 Sep 2020 at 04:28 UTC


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I use Subversion for version control. I have setup IntelliJ general options to ignore the .svn folder that gets created when I place a folder under source control. However, this folder is showing up in my Deployment View and eventually my .war file for my resources directory.
Is there any way to setup ignores for the resources directory so this isn't included?


Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht speaking to Hays Street Bridge Resoration Group attorney, Amy Kastely, at the Texas Supreme Court on Thursday.
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht called on the Legislature to do away with the state's current system of electing judges in partisan races during his State of the Judiciary Address on Wednesday.
Texas is one of a handful of states that requires judges to declare a political party in elections. Hecht said that system should be cast aside in favor of nonpartisan races in which candidates would not be required to have party affiliation.
During the 2018 midterm elections, more than 400 Democratic judges unseated incumbents around the state as turnout surged and a majority of voters opted for the "straight-ticket" voting option. Hecht, a Republican, lamented the election results, saying Texas lost "seven centuries" of judicial experience.
"When partisan politics is the driving force, and the political climate is as harsh as ours has become, judicial elections make judges more political, and judicial independence is the casualty," Hecht said.
The system of straight-ticket voting, which allows voters to quickly choose all the Republican or Democratic candidates on their ballot, is in the process of being phased out by 2020. He also endorsed two bills that would create more stringent qualifications for judges.
Texas is well known for sweeps on judicial seats. In 1994, for example, 19 Democratic judges in Harris County were swept out of office when Republicans led by Newt Gingrich took control of the U.S. House of Representatives. It went the other way in 2008, with 22 of 26 Republican judicial incumbents losing their posts as Democrat Barack Obama won the White House.


text:
Interviews Comics Watch
Mark Ruffalo, Catherine Keener Join Ryan Reynolds in 'The Adam Project' for Skydance, Netflix (Exclusive)
November 23, 2020 11:05am by Borys Kit
Shawn Levy is directing the movie that started production last week in Vancouver.
Mark Ruffalo and Catherine Keener have joined Ryan Reynolds in The Adam Project, the sci-fi adventure feature from Skydance and Netflix.
Newcomer Walker Scobell and Alex Mallari Jr. have also boarded the movie that already has Zoe Saldana and Jennifer Garner on the call sheet.
Heat Vision breakdown
Reynolds is starring as a man who travels back in time to get help from his 13-year-old self. Together, they have to find their late father, who is now the same age as Reynolds, and set things right in order to save the future.
Ruffalo is playing Reynolds' dad, a brilliant physicist. Keener will play the movie's villain, a woman who has stolen powerful technology from the physicist.
In his first professional gig, Scobell is playing Reynolds' younger self, while Mallari is the villain's right hand.
Shawn Levy, who first teamed with Reynolds for the much-anticipated Free Guy, is behind the camera. Levy's 21 Laps, Reynolds' Maximum Effort and David Ellison's Skydance, which developed the project in-house, are producing the movie that is now in production in Vancouver.
The Adam Project is the first venture for Reynolds' The Group Effort Initiative, a self-financed diversity and inclusion program whose goal is to give people of color a chance to work and learn on the actor's productions. The Initiative is a joint effort between Maximum Effort and Blake Lively's B for Effort.
Ruffalo recently starred in the HBO's critically acclaimed I Know This Much Is True, for which he won the best actor in a limited series Emmy. He executive produced and stars in the series playing the two main characters. His recent movie credits include Avengers: Endgame, the highest-grossing movie of all time in which he played Marvel hero Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk, and the Todd Haynes environmental drama, Dark Waters.
Keener, who indulged her dark side in Get Out, is next set to appear in DreamWorks' Croods 2, in which she stars in the ensemble voice cast along with Reynolds and Emma Stone. The movie opens Nov. 25. She will also be seen in Nick Antosca and Lenore Zion's upcoming Netflix series, Brand New Cherry Flavor, and most recently co-starred in Showtime's Kidding opposite Jim Carrey.
Keener is repped by Gersh. Ruffalo is repped by UTA, Lighthouse Management & Media and Klevan A Keith. Scobell, who was discovered in an acting class, is repped by A3 Artists Agency, Stagecoach Entertainment and attorney Ryan LeVine. Mallari is repped by the Characters Talent Agency and Industry Entertainment.
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Borys Kit
borys.kit@thr.com
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