Russia claims US is poised to sell millions worth of Syrian oil

(November 3)Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia's Foreign Ministry accused the United States of "criminal activity" associated with President Trump's plan to deploy US troops to guard the oil fields in eastern Syria

Zakharova's accusations

The Russian news agency Tass reports Zakharova's exact claims: "Bypassing their own sanctions, the Americans are smuggling oil from Syria worth over $30 mln per month and are not going to leave these areas in the near future. Today’s international community cannot help but ask questions at a time when a civilized country that systematically declares its commitment to some democratic values and international law, is pumping oil out of the northeast of Syria, a sovereign state, and masks its criminal activity by some pretexts of a struggle against the Islamic State.."

Zakharova estimates that the US stood to make tens of millions of dollars every month from the oil extracted in the region.

Mark Esper confirms troops to guard eastern oil fields

The US Defense Secretary Mark Esper confirmed last month that US troops supported by armored vehicles would be deployed to guard the oil fields. The official narrative is that the mission is designed to prevent the oil resources falling back into the hands of Islamic State militants and providing them with funds. However, Trump and other in his administration have made claims to income from the operation of the fields.

Trump and others want to sell the Syrian oil

Trump has gone as far as to suggest that he might get companies such as Exxon-Mobil or some other US energy company to work the fields. A recent Bloomberg article notes: "President Donald Trump says he’s secured “the Oil” in Syria, while Senator Lindsey Graham is floating the idea of tapping that bounty to help fund military operations in the war-torn nation." The article also reports: "Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, said increasing production of the oil fields will help Syrian Democratic Forces. “We can also use some of the revenues from future oil sales to pay for our military commitment in Syria.”"

The aim of guarding the fields is also to deprive the Assad regime of oil

Recently, Graham said the US control over the Syrian oil fields would deny Assad and Iran a monetary windfall. It would only be with Syrian government permission that Iran could make money through some agreement. The oil is within Syria. It is not evident why the Syrian government should not develop and sell it. Of course the US has imposed sanctions on Syria as well as Iran. The US has followed a policy of Syrian regime change that has failed. Syria is to be punished for that failure.

Syrian oil production is down and deposits are limited

Though Syrian oil deposits are significant they do not compare in size with those of Saudi Arabia or Iraq. The several years of fighting in Syria that has involved extensive bombing has left the industry in poor shape to say the least. Assad and his ally Russia hope to see a full re-unification of the country in the end.

The Kurds have depended upon the US to help keep Assad from taking over Kurdish controlled areas and also to fend off the Turks. However, the US withdrew from the border areas with Turkey where Turkey wants a safe zone. As a result, the Kurds even allowed the Assad regime to take control of a Kurdish-controlled section along the Turkish border. The Kurds may possibly make a deal with Assad although it may be difficult to do this while the US controls areas such as that of the oil fields. It is hardly surprising that both Russia and Assad are much angered by the new US policy and its rationale.

According to Bloomberg, last year Syria was able to extract about 24,000 barrels a day. This would have been worth about $1.5 million at current prices. However, this year due to the war and sanctions production has fallen about 90 percent.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

French jets target ISIS tunnels in northeaster Iraq

(November 3)The French Defense Ministry issued a statement last Friday verifying reports that they had carried out a series of airstrikes with Rafale jets in northeastern Iraq that were believed to have been on ISIS tunnels in the area.

French planes based in Jordan and the UAE

There is an international coalition in what is called Operation Inherent Resolve. The French operations are part of that mission that is mounted against ISIS. The French attacks were said to have been carried out with coordination from other coalition members including Reaper drones that were provided by an unnamed member of the coalition. The US is a leading member of the group.

Although several strikes were carried out there are no reports on whether there were any casualties or damage. The French said that it was ascertained that there were no civilians in the area before the raid. According to French Defense Ministry the French have carried out 29 sorties just this week.

Operation Chammal

A recent article describing the events notes that the French attacks were under the aegis of the Enduring Freedom Operation Inherent Resolve: "The strikes were conducted on Thursday, October 31 as part of Operation Chammal, France’s contribution to Operation Inherent Resolve, the multinational Coalition military effort against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The operation was conducted jointly and coordinated with other elements of the international Coalition. The aim was to destroy several tunnels used by Daesh as a rear base for its actions, and to degrade its logistical and military capabilities in this region..This strike was prepared with our allies as part of Operation Inherent Resolve. It was preceded by reconnaissance by an Atlantic 2 maritime patrol aircraft, and was supported by a Reaper UAV from the Coalition.” "Daesh" is another term for ISIS or ISIL or the Islamic State.

In a recent US operation, the leader of ISIS Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed but the anti-ISIS coalition is anxious to make it clear that his death does not mean that the war against ISIS is over. In fact there could be revenge attacks by the group after his death.

Operation Inherent Resolve

Wikipedia describes Operation Inherent resolve and the associated task force: "Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) is the Joint Task Force established by the US-led international coalition against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), set up by the US Central Command to coordinate military efforts against ISIL (Da'esh), and is composed of US military forces and personnel from over 30 countries.[1][15] The stated aim of CJTF–OIR is to "degrade and destroy" ISIL.[16] Its establishment by US Central Command was announced in December 2014, after it was set up to replace the ad hoc arrangements that had previously been established to coordinate operations following the rapid gains made by ISIL in Iraq in June.[17] Formed in October 2014,[3] its first "coalition integration conference" was held the first week of December 2014.[1]...While ground forces were also deployed in various roles (special forces raids, trainers, advisers, artillery, spotters), the bulk of CJTF-OIR's combat operations took the form of an air war against the Islamic State. The countries that directly participated in this part of the campaign were the United States (accounting for 75-80% of airstrikes on its own), Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Jordan, Belgium, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.[19] By the end of 2017, CJTF-OIR stated that over 80,000 ISIL fighters had been killed by their airstrikes.[20] "

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Trump's claim to Syrian oil complicates US mission in Syria

(November 1)President Trump in a recent speech in Chicago said that the US was staying in Syria to control the oil. However, he also said that the US was "keeping the oil" and claimed it was worth $45 million per month.

Trump's position

A recent article reports Trump's position: "Trump has offered varying descriptions of the military's role in eastern Syria. On Oct. 25 he said, "We've secured the oil, and, therefore, a small number of U.S. troops will remain in the area where they have the oil." Three days later, he went further, declaring the oil to be America's."We're keeping the oil — remember that," he said in Chicago. "I've always said that: 'Keep the oil.' We want to keep the oil. Forty-five million dollars a month? Keep the oil."

Trump has twice before claimed he would remove US troops from Syria. He did remove troops from the so-called "safe" buffer zone along the border with Turkey and redeployed some to Iraq without the permission of the Iraqi government that has demanded that they just be considered in transit and move on.

US officials have not said how Trump is going to execute his plans or explained the rationale and legal basis for taking the oil.

Trump himself has suggested he can make a deal with an oil company such as Exxon-Mobil: "US President Donald Trump said yesterday that he is interested in making a deal with Exxon-Mobil or some other energy company to tap Syrian oil reserves in areas not controlled by the Syrian government."

US military goals in Syria have never been that clear and with ISIS mostly defeated no doubt Trump's position set out a new reason for the US to be there. However the mission has now become legally and morally dubious and appears its length is now open-ended.

Doubts about Trump's project

Russia as an ally of Syria was very critical of the Trump position calling it "state banditry". However, even US legal experts said that there was no real legal basis for the US to just seize Syrian oil. Any sale of the oil is problematic as well. No US or other oil companies have shown interest in extracting the Syrian oil no doubt because they realize the ownership of the oil would be disputed.

If any companies do in the end decide to extract the oil under the protection of US military occupation, the occupation could last until the oil runs out.

White House officials have not explained what Trump means by keeping the oil but said privately they had been given no order to take ownership of any Syrian resources including oil wells and stored crude. However Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Thursday he interprets Trump as meaning he will deny Islamic extremists access to the oil.

Details of the new deployment

A recent article describes details of the revised deployment in Syria: "Some 500 US ground troops are currently involved, along with M2A2 Bradley vehicles. Tanks are also reportedly going to be deployed to the area, though it’s not clear any have actually arrived yet.Estimates are that 700 to 900 US troops are going to remain in Syria under this plan, which is a minor decline from the 1,000 troops believed to be present when the US moved out of the north to facilitate the Turkish invasion. "

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Walmart to consider selling its streaming service Vudu

Walmart is considering a sale of its video streaming service Vudu.according to a recent report. It is not known how much the company expects to sell the service for nor whether is has hired bankers to help with the sale.

Walmart bought Vudu in 2010 for $100 million.

A recent article notes: "Word of Walmart’s desire to sell Vudu comes days before Disney and Apple each launch video streaming services meant to compete with Netflix and Amazon’s Prime Video. Vudu offers a different kind of video service, allowing people to rent or buy individual shows or movies, in what is essentially an electronic version of a video rental store. "

Why Walmart may be selling Vudu

The video streaming market is now becoming increasingly crowded with giants such as Apple launching Apple TV Plus and Disney also launching a service next month. NBC and HBO are also offering services next year. The Vudu digital rental and purchase model has also declined in popularity. Now customers want subscription services that stream content. These type of services are becoming the norm.

However Vudu has its virtues and has always been consided one of the better places to stream a movies as the video quality is excellent. Vudu was also a player in UltraViolet a disc-to-digital program that allowed customers to add their collection to the cloud. Vudu now supports Movies Anywhere as well.

Wikipedia describes Movies Anywhere as follows: "Movies Anywhere is a United States-exclusive cloud-based digital locker and over-the-top streaming platform operated by The Walt Disney Company.[3] The service allows users to stream and download purchased films, including digital copies redeemed from codes found in home video releases as well as digital purchases from participating services. The platform provides content from Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and Walt Disney Studios.[4] The system utilizes an internal platform known as KeyChest, which synchronizes content licenses from digital distribution platforms linked to a central user account. "

Walmart has been investing in Vudu

Walmart has been investing in Vudu and has considerable new original content. Apparently Walmart even considered launching a subscription streaming service last year. However sources report that Walmart now considers it would cost too much to turn Vudu around and it no longer makes financial sense to do so.

A recent statement from Walmart is rather coy about mentioning the issue of selling: “Over the last nine years, we’ve built Vudu into an incredibly strong and growing business with an installed base of more than 100 million devices across America...We’re constantly having and [are] open to conversations with new and existing partners to explore opportunities for continued growth; however, we never share details of those discussions.”

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Iraq Security Forces kill at least 28 protesters after Iranian consulate burned

A day after Iraqi protesters in the holy city of Najaf burned the Iranian consulate to the ground, Iraqi security forces came out in force using increasingly violent tactics that included shooting live ammunition into crowds of protest

 

Many casualties 

 

 At least 28 were killed. A recent article reports: At least 24 people died when troops opened fire on demonstrators who blocked a bridge in the southern city of Nassiriya before dawn on Thursday. Medical sources said dozens of others were wounded.Four others were killed in the capital Baghdad, where security forces opened fire with live ammunition and rubber bullets against protesters near a bridge over the Tigris river."

 

 Iraqi government resorting to more force to remain in power The Iraqi government has constantly ordered security forces to be more aggressive against protesters. The government appears to believe that only sheer force will keep them in power. However the protests have been ongoing for some time with deaths leading not to less but more protests.  

 

The attack on the Iranian consulate A recent article reports: "In Najaf, a city of ancient pilgrimage shrines that serves as seat of Iraq's powerful Shi'ite clergy, the Iranian consulate was reduced to a charred ruin after it was stormed overnight. Protesters accused the Iraqi authorities of turning against their own people to defend Iran. "All the riot police in Najaf and the security forces started shooting at us as if we were burning Iraq as a whole," a protester who witnessed the burning of the consulate told Reuters, asking that he not be identified. Another protester, Ali, described the attack on the consulate as "a brave act and a reaction from the Iraqi people. We don't want the Iranians." But he predicted more violence: "There will be revenge from Iran, I'm sure. They're still here and the security forces are going to keep shooting at us.""

 

 Protesters complaints A common complaint of protesters is that the Iraqi government is too influenced by foreign governments. Iran has been a strong supporter of the existing government even though some prominent Shiite clerics such as Al-Sistani and al-Sadr have supported the demands of the protesters. Anti-Iran sentiments no doubt led to the burning of the Iranian consulate.

  

The protests began back in early October 

 

  Wikipedia describes the protests: The 2019 Iraqi protests, also nicknamed the Tishreen Revolution[9] and 2019 Iraqi Intifada, are an ongoing series of protests that consisted of demonstrations, marches, sit-ins and civil disobedience. They started on 1 October 2019, a date which was set by civil activists on social media, spreading over the central and southern provinces of Iraq, to protest 16 years of corruption, unemployment and inefficient public services, before they escalated into calls to overthrow the administration and to stop Iranian intervention in Iraq. The Iraqi government has been accused of using bullets, snipers, hot water and tear gas against protesters.[10] The protests stopped on 8 October and resumed on 24 October. "

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/562628#ixzz66ctLAV96

Tesla's Elon Musk promised to donate $1 million to a tree charity although he had no ready access to cash

 Tesla's Elon Musk has promised that he will donate $1 million dollars or a dollar per tree to a You Tube climate change fundraising effort by Jimmy "Mr. Beast" Donaldson, even though in sworn testimony Musk says he has no ready access to cash.

The #TeamTrees challenge The project uses the Hash Tag #TeamTrees: "More than 600 YouTubers are teaming up to take on one of the biggest fundraising challenges the platform has ever seen: raising $20 million by the end of the year to plant 20 million trees." Jimmy Donaldson more commonly known as MrBeast was born on May 7, 1998) is a US-based You Tuber whose history is described by WIkipedia: "Donaldson began YouTube in 2012[4] at age 13, under the handle "MrBeast6000"; his early content ranged from Let's Plays to "videos estimating the wealth of other YouTubers".[5] However, his videos remained in relative obscurity — averaging around a thousand views each – until the release of his 2017 "counting to 100,000" video that "earned tens of thousands of views in just a few days".[5] As of October 2019, Donaldson has over 25 million subscribers on YouTube and is managed by the Dallas-based talent management company Night Media.[4]" 

 

 Musk encouraged to donate by a Tesla fan The program is also partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation. Donaldson has already raised more than $6 million. Musk was prodded into making a donation by Marques Brownlee who has already made a large donation. Brownlee is a strong Tesla fan and has even interviewed Musk. Brownlee is another prominent You Tuber: "Marques K. Brownlee (/mɑːrˈkɛz ˈkiːθ ˈbraʊnliː/ mar-KEZ KEETH BROWN-lee; born December 3, 1993), also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber, best known for his technology-focused videos. The channel, whose name is a concatenation of MKB (Brownlee's initials) and HD (for high-definition),[4] has over 9 million subscribers and over 1.40 billion total video views. In August 2013, Vic Gundotra, former Senior Vice President, Social for Google,[5][6] called Brownlee "the best technology reviewer on the planet right now".[4][7] During one of the 2016 Democratic presidential primary debates that was cosponsored by YouTube, Brownlee asked the candidates, by video, whether tech companies and the government can find a middle ground over encryption while considering rights to privacy and national security.[8]" The other day Musk asked about the type of trees being planted. Donaldson noted that the trees are being planted on every continent except Antartica and the type of trees planted will depend upon the location of the planting. When Brownlee added that the project was partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation. Musk replied that the program sounded legitimate and he pledged to donate one million trees. Wikipedia describes the Arbor Day Foundation: "The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation and education organization founded in 1972 in Nebraska, United States, by John Rosenow. It is the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to tree planting.[1] The Foundation's stated corporate mission is "to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees."[2] The Foundation programs are supported by members, donors, and corporate sponsors that share the same vision of a healthier and greener world.[2]" Musk did follow through in the past on a promise to help install UV water filtration systems for the water fountains of schools in Flint Michingan during the water crisis there.

 

 Musk's cash problem A recent article notes Tesla is involved in a defamation suit launched by a UK diver Vernon Unsworth: " ...in a recent court filing, Musk told lawyers representing Unsworth that, despite his massive stock holdings in Tesla and SpaceX, he was financially illiquid, according to The Los Angeles Times. That means his insurer, American International Group Inc., may get involved in any potential court settlement or financial payout as a result of the case. It also means it’s an open question whether Musk has the cash on hand to help MrBeast plant all those trees for charity."

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Tesla's Elon Musk announces new solar roof

Elon Musk announced a redesign of Tesla's solar roof tiles named the Solar Glass Roof. The roof will cost around $42,500 for an area of 2,000 square feet of roof with 10kW of solar capacity. There will be a tax credit of about $21.25 per square foot.

The price of the roof will vary not only by size but also location. The roof will come with a 25-year warranty. It will be offered in a dark tempered glass finish at the start but Musk said he hoped to introduce new designs every six to nine months. The roofs are further described with prices at a company website.  

 

This is Tesla's third try a solar roof design The third version of Tesla's solar roof the company claims should be cheaper and easier to install then the second version that Tesla is at present selling. With the second version Musk said that Tesla was basically trying not to lose money on each installation. The second version needed additional work done after arriving at a home. In effect construction was finished at installation. The second version was not worth scaling Musk claimed. In fact Musk more or less admitted that his first two versions of solar roofs didn't gain wide adoption or really work. However, Musk thinks that his third version is worth scaling as the new tiles are larger and more power dense. He said they will help roofs come alive. Musk said: “I think in the future, it will be odd for roofs to not gather energy.” Musk points out that the Solar Roof will make financial sense only for new houses or replacement roofs. If a roof is more than five years from needing to be replaced it would make more sense just to purchase standard solar panel setups Musk said. Nevertheless, Musk pointed out that the new roofs cost less than an average roof costs together with solar panels.

 

 Musk needs a win on the solar side of his business Musk spent $2.6 billion acquiring Solar City in November of 2016. Yet in the second quarter of 2019 Tesla sold fewer panels than in any quarter since it bought Solar City. In the third quarter there was just a marginal increase in sales even though Tesla has slashed prices and begun a rental plan. In August, Tesla was sued by Walmart after several stores had fires allegedly caused by the company's solar panels. Tesla also faces a lawsuit by some of its large investors over the purchase of Solar City: "Newly unsealed court documents show why a number of large Tesla investors, including some pension funds, believe its $2.6 billion acquisition of Solar City in 2016 never should have happened. The documents are an opening brief in a shareholders’ lawsuit against Tesla over the acquisition, but were previously heavily redacted."  

 

Musk optimistic about new roofs Musk noted: “It’s been quite hard to get to this point. This was a quite a difficult product because roofs have to last for a long time. And then when you add electrification to the roof it gets even more difficult." However, Musk says the new roof will be simpler and quicker to install than previous versions. The goal is to install 1,000 roofs per week in the next few months. Musk was optimistic claiming that the global market for his Solar Glass Roof was 100 million homes. He is hiring a lot of installers and outside installation companies hoping he can improve on installation.

US Treasury Dept. issues new regulations on humanitarian trade with Iran

The US Treasury Dept, has announced a system of permissible trade with Iran that it claims will ease the shipment of food and medicine into the country for humanitarian reasons.

Regulations in effect will restrict humanitarian aid

Although there has never been any legal basis for restricting humanitarian aid according to US law, US hostility and sanctions against Iran have in fact made it all but impossible to ship anything to the country without incurring the wrath of the US including blocked access to bank financing.

A recent article claims: "The move announced Friday addresses concerns by aid groups and others that sanctions prevented shipments of food and medicine that were traditionally allowed to countries under sanctions.President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. a nuclear agreement with Iran and reinstated sanctions last year."

Brian Hook of the US State Department said: "A new humanitarian channel will make it easier for foreign governments, financial institutions and private companies to engage in legitimate humanitarian trade on behalf of the Iranian people while reducing the risk that money ends up in the wrong hands."

However, several non-governmental aid organizations (NGOs) said that the new regulations were likely to make it even more difficult to send humanitarian aid shipments to Iran.

The new regulations

The new regulations demand that institutions sending aid to Iran send "substantial and unprecedented" information including all invoices and details of all customers, and whether any of them were on UN, US, or EU blacklists. Some analysts are predicting that no bankers will be willing to accept these new conditions and as a result aid will be further impeded.

Criticism of the regulations

A former Obama official was critical of the regulations: "Brian O'Toole, a senior Treasury Department adviser dealing with sanctions under former president Barack Obama, said the measure looked like it was aimed more at gathering intelligence than helping ordinary Iranians and expected many foreign banks would be unable to provide the level of detail required."I think this is going to have a chilling effect. It will have the exact opposite effect of what they're claiming it will," said O'Toole, now a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think tank."

O'Toole, also claimed that the regulations looked like they were aimed at countering INSTEX, a channel set up by EU countries to skirt unilateral US sanctions.

The National Iranian American Council was also critical of the new regulations claiming that they would make humanitarian trade more difficult:"The Trump administration has sounded the death knell for humanitarian trade with Iran," the Iranian American group said in a statement...Let's be clear: There is unlikely to be a single banker in the world that will accept these conditions and participate in the trade..The Trump administration is surely aware of this fact, and its humanitarian channel should be viewed as nothing more than farce."

Previously published in the Digital Journal

$76 billlion of proposed $716 billion defense budget to be spent on classified spending

The proposed defense budget for 2020 is $716 billion an increase of about 5 percent from 2019 to 2020 or nearly 11 percent of the requested funds. This amounts to about $76 billion.

	1 of 2

Few details given about classified spending

Naturally military officials say they cant talk about issues such as spending on classified aircraft, space, and missile projects lest this provide an advantage to America's enemies. However some critics such Adam Smith, the Chair of the House Armed Services Committee complain that the secrecy leads to excessive but hidden spending, lack of oversight, waste, and lowering of public trust about how taxpayer money is spent.

Yet one group does talk about US government classifieds spending: "But there is one group of people talking about classified spending: the executives of America’s largest defense firms. In recent months, what defense contractors call “restricted” projects have become a hot topic on quarterly earnings calls with Wall Street analysts. Firms also tout the increase in classified contracts in annual reports and regulatory filings." While the executive and corporate reports do not disclose details of these "restricted" projects they feature in quarterly earnings calls by Wall Street analysts. Companies also tout any increases in classified contracts in their annual reports and even regulatory filings.

Firms boast about getting classified contracts

Raytheon's 2018 annual report boasts about record classified bookings of almost $7 billion a hike of 46 percent in just one year and representing a full 19 percent of company total revenues. As a recent article notes: "U.S. weapons maker Raytheon Company (RTN.N) reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Thursday and raised its full-year earnings and sales outlook, helped by higher demand for space programs, weapons and missile warning systems."

Northrop Grumman's 2018 annual report attributes part of a $1 billion increase in its Aerospace Systems division revenue to a higher sale of restricted manned aircraft sales. Northrop is building a new stealth bomber for the US Air Force a highly classified program.

US secrecy is increasing

A recent article notes: "Since the National Defense Strategy, the one that predicted great power competition, came out last year, there’s been more secrecy around what the Pentagon is up to, so not to clue China or Russia in on weapons projects. This seems increasingly the case when it comes to space, aircraft, and intelligence-related work."

Vice Admiral Stuart Munsch deputy chief of naval operations notes at a September news conference the response to China and Russia as strategic competitors:“As a result of that, we are restoring some behaviors that used to be second nature to us when we did have have a comprehensive adversary before. I think increasingly you’ll see that we are more guarded in talking about our capabilities and our intentions simply because any revealing of those things is exploited by potential adversary.”

President Trump is encouraging less transparency as well: "President Trump, in a nationally televised Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, instructed acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan to withhold classified battlefield reports from inspectors general, a move that brought objections from transparency advocates." Given the position of Trump one cannot expect military officials to cut down on the number of classified projects but to classify more in order to avoid scrutiny by watchdogs.

However, William Hartung, who directs the Arms and Security Project of the Center for International Policy is critical of increased classification. Hartnung claims that increasing classification of defense projects makes it almost impossible to have any independent assessment of whether spending on projects makes sense or is efficient. There is a tendency to keep projects flowing with fewer controls internally than used to be common. Classification Harnung claims should be used sparingly and not become a cover for ill-conceived investments.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Pentagon officials said to be making plans for a quick withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan

(Oct 22)Pentagon officials are quoted by NBC news as claiming they are engaged in prudent planning for a quick withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan should US President Trump decide to do so.

Pentagon officials concerned about Trump's abrupt decision to withdraw in Syria

Trump's decision to withdraw from parts of Syria and to move a number into Iraq apparently caught them by surprise. The officials want to be ready for a withdrawal from Afghanistan. However, military officials typically tend to drag their feet on decisions they do not like. Trump has rejected the recent agreement in principle reached with the Taliban. It would seem unlikely but possible that he would withdraw completely without an agreement of the Taliban with the US and also with Afghan representatives on power sharing. However, the US has been in Afghanistan about 18 years now.

Trump has long campaigned on removing US troops from what he regards as unnecessary wars but there are a number of hawks in his administration who will oppose the President's moves. Some officials consider the planning a dress rehearsal for a pullout from Afghanistan.

A recent article reports: "The contingency planning is ongoing, the officials said, and includes the possibility that Trump orders all U.S. troops out of Afghanistan within weeks. Officials cautioned, however, that the planning is a precaution and there is currently no directive from the White House to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan." Defense Secretary Mark Esper insists that there has been no policy change in Afghanistan.

Esper claims counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan will continue

Esper claimed: “Counterterrorism operations remain critical to our efforts to achieving peace and ensuring terrorist organizations cannot find safe haven in Afghanistan,” said Esper in a joint press briefing with acting Interior Minister Andarabi, Minister of Defense Assadullah Khalid, and Gen. Scott Miller, the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. Esper hailed the contribution of the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) in providing security for the recent presidential elections in Afghanistan and said that the ANDSF is playing a key role to protect the Afghan people from the senseless violence of the Taliban and terrorist groups.“Regardless of the outcome of the election, our security partnership with Afghanistan will remain strong. Our mission in Afghanistan has not changed, we continue to conduct counterterrorism operations while supporting the development of the ANDSF,” said Esper.

However, Trump can often make quick decisions that his officials seem not to have been aware of and so perhaps the withdrawal plans are prudent as officials claim.

The Syria pullout that will see a number of troops deployed to Iraq will nevertheless leave some troops within Syria but not near the border with Turkey in the safe zone demanded by Turkey.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Wing owned by Alphabet delivers by drone in Christiansburg Virginia

(Oct. 18)The drone delivery company Wing, a subsidiary of Alphabet (formerly Google) is now delivering not only health care products but also snacks to residents of Christiansburg Virgina.

===

The company received recent approval for deliveries from the federal government and has teamed up with major companies such as FedEx and Walgreens. Wing claims it is the first commercial drone delivery service in the US.

Earlier this year, Wing became one of the first operators to be certified as a commercial air carrier by the Federal Aviation Administration that allows it to delivers goods to persons miles away and much beyond the drone operator's line of sight.

A recent article notes: " With an expanded Air Carrier Certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Wing today became the first company to operate a commercial air delivery service via drone directly to homes in the United States. Wing’s FAA permissions are the first to allow multiple pilots to oversee multiple unmanned aircraft making commercial deliveries simultaneously to the general public, paving the way for the most advanced drone delivery service in the nation."

Wing

Wikipedia describes Wing: "Wing is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. that develops technology of drone-based delivery of freight. The company completed their first real-world deliveries in 2014.[1] The company has offices in Australia, the United States and Finland[citation needed]. In July 2018, Project Wing changed from Google X to become an independent Alphabet company.[2] As of January 2019, Wing began delivering take-out food and beverages out of its test facility in Bonython, Australia as part of a pilot program.[3] In April 2019 Wing became the first drone delivery company to receive a Air operator's certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration to allow it to operate as an airline in the USA.[4]"

How the system works. The appended promotional video gives a good picture of exactly how the system works.

The company says it hopes to replace deliveries that are now made by car or truck in order to reduce traffic on the city's roads. It also is a speedy delivery mode for anyone who has limited mobility options. Wing promises that its deliveries will take place within minutes of an order being place as long the customer lives in Christiansburg's "designated delivery zones". There are no extra fees for the drone deliveries.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Swagtron introduces 3 new electric bikes

Swagtron the e-bike manufacturer is expanding its lineup of affordable e-bikes. All three of the new bikes are in the classic cruiser style with upright U-shaped handlebars and frames that mimic the sweeping lines of vintage beach bikes.

Cruiser bikes are suitable for casual city driving but look best drifting down a beach sand-covered trail or boardwalk. The upright style will appeal to those who do not desire to be hunched over handlebars and who do not worry about speed and aerodynamics. The bikes also come with Shimano 7-speed drive trains that makes it much easier to climb steep hills.

If the new bikes are much like the EB12 city bike that Swagtron released earlier this year the new bikes will be fun and affordable entry e-bikes that will be suitable for a large variety of buyers.

The EB 12

A recent article notes that although Swagtron may not make the best e-bikes, it makes quite good bikes at a very affordable price. The EB12 is Swagtron's first venture into the full-size e-bike: "The Swagtron EB12 looks almost like any standard pedal bike, save for the 270 Wh battery mounted on the rear rack. Tucked into the hub on the rear wheel is a 250 W geared hub motor.

Together, the battery and motor help the bike reach a maximum of 28 miles (45 km) of range and top speed of 16 mph (26 km/h)."

There is a rigid steel fork up front giving the bike an old-time feel. Weight limit for the rider is 264 pounds or 120 kg. The bike itself weight 39.4 pounds or 17.8 kilograms. This is quite light for an electric bike. Unlike many electric bikes the Swagtron boast a seven gear shifter.

The new e-bikes

The new models are the Eb9, EB10, and EBll. Each model has a 250-watt rear hub motor and a rear-rack mounted 36 volt battery. The battery can be locked as well as removable. Swagtron sells replacement batteries separately in case you need to swap one out while on the go because of the limited range.

The EB9 can reach up to 16.5 miles per hour. The EB10 and EB11 are a bit slower at 15.3 mph. This is rather slower than the majority of Class 2 e-bikes that typcially can reach 20 miles per hour. However, the Swagtron bikes are also much cheaper than most other bikes. The range of the EB9 is 28 miles versus 26 miles for the E10 and E11.

Swagtron e-bikes are lighter than many e-bikes making them easier to carry if need be. However, their e-bikes are lighter because they have smaller motors and batteries and so run slower. However, they are still heavy enough with the EB9 at 41.66 lbs, and both the EB10 and EB11 at 50.7 pounds.

Price

There are not many good e-bikes below one thousand dollars. The promotional price is $999 for each of the three the same price at the EB12. When the promotional price ends they will each sell for $1,111. They can be purchased at the company website, Amazon or select retailers. Tips on buying an e-bike can be found at the Verge.

The appended video reviews the earlier EB12.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Harley Davidson has temporarily suspended production of it electric bike

Harley-Davidson has temporarily stopped the manufacture and even shipping of its first electric motorcycle the LiveWire due to difficulty with the bike's charging equipment.

Bikes are safe to ride but should not be charged at home outlets

Customers who have the $30,000 dollar LiveWire are requested to only charge their bikes at dealerships indicating there is some issue with charging them in lower-voltage outlets such as are found in most homes.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the problem: "Harley-Davidson Inc... has stopped production and deliveries of its first electric motorcycle after discovering a problem related to the vehicle’s charging equipment, a major setback for a product the company is counting on to rejuvenate sales.The motorcycle maker said it has suspended production of the LiveWire model as it conducts tests to investigate the problem. The company said Monday that the tests were progressing well but didn’t say when production would resume."

The LiveWire

Harley-Davidson's only electric bike was introduced as a concept motorcycle back in 2014. After being in limbo for a few years the LiveWire was introduced in production-ready in November 2018. The bikes began shipping only in September this year.

The company considers the LiveWire as key to the company's initiative to appeal to new and younger riders as the business has been flagging since the last recession. However, the bike is a good $10,000 above the most expensive electric motorcycles now on the market.

The company comment on the issue

The company statement on the charging issue gives no hint of when the problem will be solved or the bikes go back into production: "As we lead in the electrification of motorcycles, we have delivered our first LiveWire motorcycles to authorized LiveWire dealers. We recently discovered a non-standard condition during a final quality check; stopped production and deliveries; and began additional testing and analysis, which is progressing well. We are in close contact with our LiveWire dealers and customers and have assured them they can continue to ride LiveWire motorcycles. As usual, we’re keeping high quality as our top priority."

Other electric vehicle makers also having problems

In June this ear Audi issued a recall order of its E-Tron electric SUV because of concerns about battery fires: "Audi has announced a voluntary recall on the E-Tron, the company’s first all-electric car, because of a risk for battery fires. The German automaker says the recall covers around 540 E-Trons in the United States, or about half of what Audi has sold since the car’s launch in April."

Just a few weeks after Audi's recall the Chinese startup NIO recalled its first electric SUV after a few vehicles had caught fire.

Previously published in the Digital Journal

Uber acquires Cornershop and enters the crowded grocery delivery market

Uber the ride-haling company has moved into the highly competitive world of only grocery deliveries. It has acquired a startup called Cornershop for an undisclosed sum. The deal will help the company expand beyond its core ride-haling business..

	1 of 2

Cornershop

A recent article describes the delivery firm: "Cornershop, founded in 2015, is currently active in Chile, Peru, Mexico, and Canada, and it’s headquartered in Santiago. In a statement, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the company would seek to “scale their vision, and look forward to working with them to bring grocery delivery to millions of consumers on the Uber platform.” That will mean eventually launching the service in the US, though the deal is still subject to regulatory approval."

The CEO and founder of Cornershop was optimistic about the deal:" “In 2015 we started Cornershop with primarily the Latin American market in mind and we couldn't be more excited to work with Uber to help us take that mission much further,” said Oskar Hjertonsson, Founder and CEO, Cornershop. “Uber is the perfect partner as we embark on our quest to bring our unique flavor of on-demand groceries from incredible retail partners to many more countries around the world.""

Cornershop will still operate under its current leadership but will report to a board where Uber has majority representation.

Uber will face stiff competition

Huge companies such as Amazon, Instacart and Postmates are all competing for market share in the area and are up against major grocery chain such as Kroger and Walmart. Online purchases are still only 3 percent of US grocery sales. According to a recent survey customers worry about being overcharged or experiencing late deliveries.

Uber launching second try at delivery service

The Cornershop deal will see Uber enter the delivery market for the second time. In 2014 Uber Rush was launched but it was never able to expand beyond the large cities New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. It shut down in 2018.

Uber wants to be considered as a market place

Uber wants to be an "operating system" for cities and grocery delivery seems a part of that. Recently CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in an interview: “I think we’re going to look at a lot of categories going forward and some of them we will fulfill through our own internal services. But I do think that you should think about Uber as a marketplace.”

Previously published in the Digital Journal

A Spanish court is investigating a security firm suspected of spying for the US on Assange while he was in Ecuadorean embassy in London

The Spanish National Court is investigating a Spanish security firm, Undercover Global, suspected of spying on Julian Assange for the US while Assange was inside the Ecuadorean embassy in London UK. The investigation was made public this Wednesday.

The investigation was triggered by a newspaper report El Pais

The El Pais report claimed: "... Undercover Global owner David Morales allegedly directed the surveillance and was personally responsible for making a deal with the CIA. Morales is reported to have asked employees to keep his firm's collaboration with the US secret. Undercover Global installed microphones in several parts of Assange's quarters, using things like the embassy's fire extinguishers. The firm also put surveillance systems in the embassy's female toilets, a place where Assange's lawyers would meet amid fears that conference rooms were bugged. A streaming system was also allegedly installed, which would allow US officials to directly access Assange's meetings in real time."

The court document was dated August 7. The company and Morales are also being probed for bribery and money laundering according to the document. The court claimed it had opened the investigation after a complaint was made by Assange's lawyers. Perhaps the El Pais report contributed to the complaint. The court said: “Meetings which Assange held with his lawyers, as well as medical visits and those of other nature were recorded.” The recorded information was then made available both to Ecuadorean and US intelligence services. Morales is also said to have made frequent trips to the US to personally deliver hard drives containing the recordings.

Morales said to have paid to ensure there were no negative reports

The court said that Morales paid $22,000 a month in cash to the head of security at the embassy to make sure that there were no negative reports about the Undercover Global operations that could result in the firm losing its contract.

Morales arrested last month

Morales was actually arrested on Sept. 17 but has been conditionally released according to judicial sources. Morales must report to a judge every 15 days and has had his passport confiscated.

Background

Assange had taken refuge in the London Ecuadorean embassy in 2012. He claimed to be fleeing what he called a politically motivated extradition order to be returned to Sweden to answer questions on an alleged sexual assault. Assange stayed in the embassy right up until April of this year when Ecuador allowed UK police to drag him out. He was then sentenced to serve 50 weeks in a maximum security UK jail for breaching his bail conditions when he sought asylum in the embassy.

Assange is also subject to a US extradition request. In the US he faces a total of 18 charges. Most relate to obtaining and disseminating classified information by publishing military documents through the Wikileaks website. The appended video showing a helicopter attack that killed two Reuter's personnel is one example of his publications.

Observations

The fact that the US chose a firm which is suspected of bribery and money laundering shows the lack of any oversight of those responsible for making such decisions. The choice of such a firm is liable to end up sullying the reputation of the US beyond that of choosing to spy on Assange. Ecuador comes out looking even worse as it has been shown to hire security officials who can be bribed.

The fact that meetings of Assange with his lawyers were recorded and delivered to US authorities should make it abundantly clear that Assange cannot face a fair trial in the US. The UK courts must surely deny the US extradition order. If they do not it would be a travesty of UK justice.

The UK seems already be treating Assange unjustly by retaining him in jail while he awaits his extradition hearing: "The WikiLeaks founder would have been released from HMP Belmarsh on 22 September, Westminster magistrates court heard on Friday, but he was told he would be kept in jail because of “substantial grounds” for believing he would abscond again."

Previously published in the Digital Journal