Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †
Whoo-doggies, Wilburine ain’t messing around with this dispute.
U.S. aerospace manufacture Boeing filed an unfair trade complaint against Canadian aerospace company Bombardier stating the Canadian government was subsidizing the manufacturing of 100- to 150-seat large civil aircraft. Canada does subsidize their airline manufacturing, everyone knows this is true – even Canadians admit it.
Boeing was seeking an 80% import tariff on purchase contracts from U.S. airline carriers. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross looked into the trade dispute and agreed with the position of Boeing. However, the Commerce Dept. did not stop at 80%. Wilburine estimated, then initiated, a whopping 219.63% countervailing duty assessment against Bombardier.
U.S. Commerce Department Announcement:
Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the affirmative preliminary determination in the countervailing duty (CVD) investigation of 100- to 150-seat large civil aircraft from Canada, finding that exporters of this merchandise received countervailable subsidies of 219.63 percent.
The Commerce Department will instruct U.S. Customs and Border Protection to collect cash deposits from importers of 100- to 150-seat large civil aircraft based on these preliminary rates.
“The U.S. values its relationships with Canada, but even our closest allies must play by the rules,” said Secretary Ross. “The subsidization of goods by foreign governments is something that the Trump Administration takes very seriously, and we will continue to evaluate and verify the accuracy of this preliminary determination.”
Alabama voters head to the polls today to pick a Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate. The GOP runoff is between former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore (Team Bannon) -vs- interim Senator Luther Strange (Team McConnell).
Tonight’s winner advances to face Democratic nominee Doug Jones on Dec. 12th to fill the Senate seat Jeff Sessions left to become President Trump’s attorney general.
Polls closed at 8:00pm EDT – Results announced shortly thereafter.
Update 9:45pm EDT. Senator Luther Strange concedes. Judge Roy Moore Wins. Approximately vote distribution: With 42 percent of the precincts reporting, Moore leads Strange 57 percent to 43 percent, a margin of just over 25,000 votes. State officials estimated a low turnout of between 12 and 15 percent of eligible voters.
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Some people might remember a specific and strategic Trumpian approach toward social reform in Saudi Arabia which was highlighted by Rex Tillerson during his senate confirmation hearings. WATCH AGAIN (prompted to 06:09 – just hit play):
Secretary Tillerson’s explanation of the Trump administration position was then followed by the respectful administration strategy during their Saudi visit. First-Lady Melania Trump figured prominently in that strategy during the February delegation visit.
Well, today:
RIYADH/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Saudi King Salman on Tuesday ordered that women be allowed to drive cars, ending a conservative tradition seen by rights activists as an emblem of the Islamic kingdom’s repression of women.
The kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, has been widely criticized for being the only country in the world that bans women from driving, despite gradual improvement on some women’s issues in recent years and ambitious government targets to increase their public role, especially in the workforce.
Well, well, well…. According to a breaking State Department release T-Rex will be headed to Beijing the day after tomorrow (Thursday) through Sunday. Yup, everything proceeding swimmingly. A very predictable plan, for an intensely smart geopolitical strategy. Walking in a Winner Wonderland !
STATE DEPT – U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will travel to Beijing September 28 – October 1 to meet with senior Chinese leaders. Secretary Tillerson will discuss a range of issues, including the President’s planned travel to the region, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and trade and investment. Secretary Tillerson’s visit to China reaffirms the Administration’s commitment to further broaden and enhance U.S. economic and security interests in the Asia-Pacific region.
“After much thought, consideration and family discussion over the past year, Elizabeth and I have decided that I will leave the United States Senate when my term expires at the end of 2018.”
~ Senator Bob Corker
The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin are is using the newly constructed sanctions authority to punish eight North Korean banks and 26 bank workers living abroad.
The Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) sanctions (full outline below) rely on an executive order President Donald Trump signed last week to target North Korea’s access to the international banking system. The Trump/Mnuchin action comes as as a separate outcome from the recently passed United Nations sanctions package targeting North Korea.
The eight banks are all in North Korea. The Treasury Department says the 26 individuals are North Korean nationals employed by those banks who work in Russia, China, Libya and the United Arab Emirates.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the U.S. is targeting those “across the globe” who facilitate financial transactions for North Korea. He says it’s part of the effort to isolate North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. (link)
Treasury announcement below.
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Today President Donald Trump meets with Spanish President Mariano Rajoy Brey and will be holding a joint press conference at the conclusion of their meeting. Approximate start time 1:30pm – 1:45pm EDT
UPDATE: Video Added
During a meeting at the White House with congressional committee members, President Trump announced he is planning to visit Puerto Rico, and possibly the Virgin Islands, on Tuesday of next week.
The visit is being timed to avoid any impact on first responders, U.S. military units and FEMA crews who are currently working in “urgent mode” to reestablish basic elements of recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria’s devastation. WATCH:
The majority of people who are providing media opinion on Puerto Rico recovery efforts really don’t have any understanding of the scale of the logistics involved when the impact zone is an island.
Hurricane Maria destroyed hundreds of vessels in and around the various PR ports making entry and exit into harbors a maze of submerged vessel and sunken debris avoidance. In addition, the ports’ infrastructure systems (power, utilities, docking equipment, pump stations, fuel depots, etc) were severely impacted, and in many ports 100% wiped out. Buoys, markers, harbor-lights, towers, all gone – completely destroyed.
Puerto Rico is an island, so bringing in relief supplies by cargo ship is the only way to deliver massive tonnage of supplies, heavy equipment and material needed to begin any restoration and recovery effort. Without ports those supplies cannot be offloaded. Especially think about fuel shipments. See the issue?
However, in a stunning feat of skill, ingenuity and determination the harbor entries have been mapped for navigable passage by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard while simultaneously the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been working on the land-based side of the port infrastructure. [The major port of San Juan was opened Sept. 23rd.]
All of this is happening while the Dept. of Defense is leading FEMA efforts and providing U.S. marine units, fixed wing and helicopter, to deliver supplies to the hardest hit areas.
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