3/17/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 17, 2021

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March 16, 2021
Defense Department Briefing
Admiral Craig Faller, U.S. Southern Command commander, and General Glen VanHerck, U.S. Northern Command commander, brief reporters at the Pentagon.


Air Force General Glen VanHerck before a Senate Armed Services hearing.
Russia Remains Top Threat to U.S. Homeland, General Says


 Head of Northern Command looks beyond China as challenge
 Russian flights near the U.S. were the most since early ‘90s

Mar. 17 - The four-star general who oversees the military command dedicated to defending the U.S. from attack says Russia remains the most “acute challenge to our homeland defense mission,” even as attention turns to China as the biggest emerging threat.

“Russian leaders seek to erode our influence, assert their regional dominance and reclaim their status as a global power through a whole-of-government strategy that includes information operations, deception, economic coercion and the threat of military force,” Air Force General Glen VanHerck, the head of Northern Command, said in written testimony Tuesday to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The continuing military challenges posed by Russia took a back seat during President Donald Trump’s administration, and China continues to be described by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin as the “pacing threat” that will determine the capabilities needed by the U.S.

But it’s Russia that “continues to conduct frequent military operations in the approaches to North America,” VanHerck said. The U.S. and Canada last year “responded to more Russian military flights off the coast of Alaska than we’ve seen in any year since the end of the Cold War” in the early 1990s, he said.

These Russian military operations include multiple flights of heavy bombers, antisubmarine aircraft and intelligence collection platforms near Alaska that show “both Russia’s military reach and how they rehearse potential strikes on our homeland,” VanHerck said.


In recent years, Russia has deployed “advanced cyber and counter-space weapons and a new generation of long-range and highly precise land-attack cruise missiles -- including hypersonics” that “complicate our ability to detect and defend against an inbound attack from the air, sea and even those originating from Russian soil,” he said.

Russia hopes to field a series of even more advanced weapons “intended to ensure its ability” to attack the U.S. including the “Poseidon transoceanic nuclear torpedo and the Burevestnik nuclear-powered cruise missile, which -- if perfected -- could enable strikes from virtually any vector due to its extreme range and endurance,” VanHerck said.

Worldwide, China continues “to pursue an aggressive geopolitical strategy that seeks to undermine U.S. influence around the globe and shape the international environment to its advantage,” VanHerck said. “China has made deliberate attempts to increase its economic and political influence with our close partners in Mexico and the Bahamas.”     source from


Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, testifies on Capitol Hill on March 16, 2021.
NORAD: Advanced Cruise Missile Threat Requires Better Awareness

Mar. 17 - Advanced cruise missiles and potential hypersonic weapons will challenge North American Aerospace Defense Command’s legacy warning systems, so the command needs to improve awareness to provide earlier warning.

USAF Gen. Glen D. VanHerck, commander of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on March 16 that the cruise missile threat from Russia is a considerable challenge and leaves decision makers with few options.


“We don’t want to be in a situation … where end game defeat is our only option,” he said.

Sophisticated cruise missiles could be launched from significant distances from North America, such as from bombers over Russian soil or from submarines or attack vessels. “Whether subsonic or hypersonic, these missiles can range targets in the homeland and present a very real challenge for our defensive capabilities,” he said in testimony. “Russia has already amassed an inventory of both nuclear and conventional variants, while China is expected to develop similar capabilities in the next decade.”

Maintaining a healthy triad is the first defense from this threat, VanHerck said. But, NORAD also needs capabilities to go “further left … of the archer, before takeoff” so it can be aware of the threat quickly and provide the “decision space,” he said.
“The proliferation of these systems creates all the more incentive for focused investments in improved sensor networks, domain awareness, and information dominance capabilities,” he said in testimony. “Those investments, coupled with the development of layered denial, deterrence, and defeat mechanisms capable of addressing current and emerging threats, are fundamental to the defense of our homeland.”

NORAD is currently capable of defending from a “limited number” of ballistic missiles from a rogue actor, such as North Korea. However, “capacity is the biggest challenge going forward” with a small number of ground-based interceptors (GBI), VanHerck told reporters during a March 16 press conference at the Pentagon.


The Missile Defense Agency is undertaking a service-life extension program on GBIs, which includes pulling them out of the ground and going “through them with a fine-toothed comb” to try to determine which parts are likely to fail. Other boosters are also getting “additional capabilities” as part of this process, he said.

The next step will be the Next Generation Interceptor program. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks is currently assessing the decision to proceed. The Pentagon has been working toward two development contracts, with plans calling for MDA to pick two teams to build up to 20 new interceptors, Breaking Defense reported.

Additionally, VanHerck said he expects the new Long Range Discrimination Radar at Clear Air Force Station, Alaska, to progress quickly. It is expected to power up in September. He said his “No. 1 requirement” with MDA on this is “timing, to not have any slips in delivery of that capability.”     source from

Congress
National Security
Technology

Trump vs. China: Facing America's Greatest Threat

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich sounds the warning bell that communist-ruled China poses the biggest threat to the United States that we have seen in our lifetime.

The United States is currently engaged in a competition with the Chinese government unlike any other that we have witnessed before. This is a competition between the American system—which is governed by freedom and the rule of law—and a totalitarian dictatorship that is controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. These are two different visions for the future; one will succeed, and one will fail.

It is possible for America to respond to the Chinese Communist Party's efforts, but doing so will require new thinking, many big changes, and many hard choices for our leaders in government and private sector.

Newt Gingrich's Trump vs. China serves as a rallying cry for the American people and a plan of action for our leaders in government and the private sector. Written in a language that every American can understand but still rich in detail and accurate in fact, Trump vs. China exposes the Chinese Communist Party's multi-pronged threat against the United States and what we must do as a country to survive.     source from

3/16/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 16, 2021

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Where the Light Enters: Building a Family, Discovering Myself

An intimate look at the love that built the Biden family and the delicate balancing act of the woman at its center

"How did you get this number?" Those were the first words Jill Biden spoke to U.S. senator Joe Biden when he called her out of the blue to ask her on a date.


Growing up, Jill had wanted two things: a marriage like her parents'—strong, loving, and full of laughter—and a career. An early heartbreak had left her uncertain about love, until she met Joe. But as they grew closer, Jill faced difficult questions: How would politics shape her family and professional life? And was she ready to become a mother to Joe's two young sons?

She soon found herself falling in love with her three "boys," learning to balance life as a mother, wife, educator, and political spouse. Through the challenges of public scrutiny, complicated family dynamics, and personal losses, she grew alongside her family, and she extended the family circle at every turn: with her students, military families, friends and staff at the White House, and more.

This is the story of how Jill built a family—and a life—of her own. From the pranks she played to keep everyone laughing to the traditions she formed that would carry them through tragedy, hers is the spirited journey of a woman embracing many roles.

Where the Light Enters is a candid, heartwarming glimpse into the creation of a beloved American family, and the life of a woman at its center     source from

March 15, 2021
President Biden Delivers Remarks on $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Aid
President Biden delivered remarks in the State Dining Room at the White House on implementing the American Rescue Plan. He announced that Gene Sperling will be overseeing the implementation. Mr. Sperling served as the director of the White House National Economic Council under former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.


In this May 7, 2013 file photo, National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling speaks in Washington.
Former NEC director Gene Sperling tapped to implement Biden Covid relief plan

Mar. 15 - Former National Economic Council director Gene Sperling will oversee the implementation of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan, the White House announced Monday.

Sperling, who led the National Economic Council under Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, will play a role similar to Biden’s when the latter was vice president during the 2009 financial crisis. Biden at the time was in charge of initiating the the Obama Recovery Act.
Sperling, according to a senior administration official, will work with the heads of the White House policy councils and key leaders at federal agencies so they can get the relief bill’s mandated funds out as quickly as possible and maximize their impact.

The official said the administration is going to partner with state and local governments on the effort, similar to how Biden implemented the Recovery Act over a decade ago.

Biden signed the coronavirus relief package on Thursday.

As CNBC reported in February, Sperling was being floated to replace Neera Tanden as the administration’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget.    source from

Eugene B. "Gene" Sperling (born December 24, 1958) is an American economist, who was Director of the National Economic Council and Assistant to the President for Economic Policy under Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.[1] He is the only person to serve as National Economic Advisor under two Presidents.[2] Outside of government, he founded the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution in 2002.[3]

In February 2021, as the nomination of Neera Tanden for OMB director faced opposition, Sperling was considered to be one of the leading contenders to assume the top position.[4][5]

He recently authored Economic Dignity, which was released on May 5, 2020.
from Wikipedia

March 15, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing on news of the day. She was asked many times about the sexual harassment allegations against Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and new reports of an adviser questioning county official’s loyalty to the governor. She told reporters that “the president finds them troubling and hard to read” and added that the White House would continue to work with Governor Cuomo on the COVID-19 response. She also discussed the Biden administration’s response to the increase of unaccompanied minors at the border and efforts to find more facilities to house them.


First Lady Dr. Jill Biden visited the Samuel Smith Elementary School
First Lady Touts Child Care, Job, Direct Payments Benefits in American Recovery Act


Mar. 16 -BURLINGTON, NJ -- First Lady Dr. Jill Biden made her first stop in her national "Help is Here" tour in South Jersey on Monday to underscore the benefits of the recently enacted American Recovery Act just days after President Joe Biden signed it into law. Governor Phil Murphy, United States Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker and Congressman Andy Kim (NJ-3) were among the dignitaries who welcomed Dr. Biden to the Samuel Smith Elementary School in Burlington.

The $1.9 trillion COVID relief package contains $360 billion in state and local aid, of which the State of New Jersey will see approximately $6.434 billion, plus another $189 million to expand broadband internet across the state. An additional $1.823 billion will be split among the 21 counties and $1.741 billion divided among all 565 municipalities.
  
"This is a celebration of all that the American Rescue Plan means for our State and for our families," said Murphy during the event. "Today, New Jerseyans are waking up to find that much-needed direct financial support has hit heir bank accounts. That means the rent or mortgage can be paid; the utility bills can be paid; grocery and clothes can be bought, among so many other possibilities."

"For us in state and local government, the American Rescue Plan means that we can better protect our frontline public health workers and first responders and our educators. It means that we can work to get even more vaccine doses into the arms of the New Jerseyans who patiently are waiting their turn," said Murphy who noted that as of that morning the State had surpassed more than three million vaccine doses administered.
 
The federal funds also will provide direct, flexible, federal assistance for New Jersey to help the state and local communities combat COVID-19, keep firefighters, police officers, teachers and other essential workers on the job, and spur economic recovery.


Dr. Biden praised the State for the work to get vaccines administered and its work to get children back to school in-person.    source from

3/15/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 15, 2021

 White House News in Chinese - About (weebly.com)


Fauci says Covid guidelines 'will be much more liberal' by July 4 if US cases drop

Mar. 14 - Washington (CNN)Federal Covid-19 guidelines "will be much more liberal" by the Fourth of July if US cases drop as more Americans are vaccinated, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday.

"If by the time we get to the Fourth of July, with the rollout of the vaccine, we get the level of infection so low -- I'm not going to be able to tell you exactly what the specific guidelines of the (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) are, but I can tell you for sure (guidelines) will be much more liberal than they are right now about what you can do," the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNN's Jake Tapper on "State of the Union."


Asked whether people will return to a degree of normal without masks and distancing by the summer holiday, Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical adviser, replied: "Yes ... there will be a greater degree of confidence" in that.

The comments from Fauci come nearly a week after the CDC released new guidance saying people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 can safely visit with other vaccinated people and small groups of unvaccinated people in some circumstances.     continue to read

Ukraine and the Art of Strategy
The Russian invasion of Crimea in 2014, subsequent war in Eastern Ukraine and economic sanctions imposed by the West, transformed European politics. These events marked a dramatic shift away from the optimism of the post-Cold War era. The conflict did not escalate to the levels originally feared but nor was either side able to bring it to a definitive conclusion. Ukraine suffered a loss of territory but was not forced into changing its policies away from the Westward course adopted as a result of the EuroMaidan uprising of February 2014. President Putin was left supporting a separatist enclave as Russia's economy suffered significant damage.

In Ukraine and the Art of Strategy, Lawrence Freedman-author of the landmark Strategy: A History-provides an account of the origins and course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through the lens of strategy. Freedman describes the development of President Putin's anxieties that former Soviet countries were being drawn towards the European Union, the effective pressure he put on President Yanokvych of Ukraine during 2013 to turn away from the EU and the resulting 'EuroMaidan Revolution' which led to Yanukovych fleeing. He explores the reluctance of Putin to use Russian forces to do more that consolidate the insurgency in Eastern Ukraine, the failure of the Minsk peace process and the limits of the international response. Putin's strategic-making is kept in view at all times, including his use of 'information warfare' and attempts to influence the American election. In contrast to those who see the Russian leader as a master operator who catches out the West with bold moves Freedman sees him as impulsive and so forced to improvise when his gambles fail.


Freedman's application of his strategic perspective to this supremely important conflict challenges our understanding of some of its key features and the idea that Vladimir Putin is unmatched as a strategic mastermind.     source from
US Secretary of State Discusses Russia, China With French Counterpart - State Department

Mar. 14 - MOSCOW (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed Russia, China and Iran with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday, the State Department said.
"Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Le Drian emphasized the special role of the Transatlantic Alliance in addressing global security challenges. The Secretary and the Foreign Minister discussed Iran, Russia, and China, and the political process in Libya," State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Blinken also talked about peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean with his French counterpart on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, Blinken held talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, discussing the situations in Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Myanmar.     source from

March 12, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held a briefing. Mr. Sullivan gave an overview of the “Quad” summit President Biden participated in that morning, outlining common interests in the Indo-Pacific region. The press secretary reiterated the president’s support of the ongoing investigations into accusations of sexual harassment made against Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) but did not join the growing number of Democrats calling for him to resign. She also clarified the July 4 goal made in the president’s prime-time address--that is, that small gatherings will be permissible for the holiday but not massive events.
Monday
March 15, 2021
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3/12/2021

White House News (白宮消息) | Mar. 12, 2021

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MARCH 11, 2021
President Biden Signs $1.9 Trillion COVID-19 Relief Bill
President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief bill into law. He spoke briefly about the bill, also known as the “American Rescue Plan” and was joined by Vice President Kamala Harris.


Biden will announce that he is ordering U.S. states, territories and tribes to make all adults eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by May 1, administration officials said.
Joe Biden signs $1.9 trillion stimulus bill, eyes next stage of pandemic fight


Mar. 12 - Hours after signing his $1.9 trillion stimulus bill into law on Thursday, President Joe Biden prepared to tell Americans in a televised address he is taking aggressive action to speed COVID-19 vaccinations and move the country closer to normality by July 4.

Biden signed the measure, designed to bring relief to Americans and boost the economy, with Vice President Kamala Harris at his side in the Oval Office. The package is a major political victory for the Democratic president some 50 days into his administration.     more details

MARCH 11, 2021
White House Daily Briefing
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki held a briefing shortly after President Biden signed a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, also known as the “American Rescue Plan.” She announced direct deposits for stimulus checks will start in the coming days and spoke about other benefits of the bill. She also previewed President Biden’s primetime address, saying it will focus on COVID-19's impact on the country and how the nation moves forward from the pandemic.
Biden to Meet Virtually With Quad Leaders from Japan, India, Australia

Mar. 12 - WASHINGTON—U.S. President Joe Biden will hold an online meeting on Friday with the leaders of Japan, India, and Australia, the White House said on Tuesday, the first leader-level meeting of a four-country group that seeks to promote a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region in response to increased military and economic aggression by China’s ruling communist party in the region.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the meeting of the “Quad” countries showed the importance placed by Biden on U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.     more details

On Wings of Eagles: The Inspiring True Story of One Man's Patriotic Spirit--and His Heroic Mission to Save His Countrymen

#1 bestselling author Ken Follett tells the inspiring true story of the Middle East hostage crisis that began in 1978, and of the unconventional means one American used to save his countrymen. . . . 

When two of his employees were held hostage in a heavily guarded prison fortress in Iran, one man took matters into his own hands: businessman H. Ross Perot. His team consisted of a group of volunteers from the executive ranks of his corporation, handpicked and trained by a retired Green Beret officer. To free the imprisoned Americans, they would face incalculable odds on a mission that only true heroes would have dared. . .
 quoted from


President Joe Biden Addresses Asian-American Hate Crimes, COVID Vaccines & More In Coronavirus Memorial Speech

Mar. 12 - President Joe Biden marked the one year of coronavirus with an inclusive speech on Thursday (March 11).

The 78-year-old Commander in Chief addressed a handful of issues, including Asian-American hate crimes and the vaccine roll out, all while honoring the 500,000+ lives that were lost.

“No more searching day and night for an appointment for you and your loved ones,” he mentioned about the roll out, adding that all adults, no matter what age, will be able to get the vaccine by May.

He continued, “If we do our part, if we do this together, by July the fourth, there is a good chance that you, your family and friends will be able to get together in your backyard or your neighborhood and have a cookout or a BBQ and celebrate Independence Day. After this long hard year, that will make this Independence Day something truly special, where we not only mark our independence as a nation, but we begin to mark our independence from this virus.”

Biden also denounced rising “vicious hate attacks” on Asian-Americans: “So many of them are fellow Americans, are on the frontlines of this pandemic trying to save lives – and still are forced to live in fear for their lives just walking down streets in America. It’s wrong. It’s un-American. And it must stop.”     source from

MARCH 11, 2021
President Biden Addresses Nation on One-Year Anniversary of Coronavirus Pandemic
President Biden addressed the nation from the White House on the one-year anniversary of the coronavirus pandemic hitting the U.S. and the shutdowns that resulted from the virus. During his remarks, the president announced that he will order states to make all adults in the U.S. eligible for COVID-19 vaccines by May 1. He also discussed reopening schools and increasing the number of vaccination sites across the country. At the beginning of his remarks, President Biden said that to date, the number of Americans who died from the virus is 527,726. 
WATCH LIVE: Biden addresses nation on one-year anniversary of Covid-19 shutdowns — 3/11/2021
Mar. 12, 2021
Kosovo Sends Entire Platoon of Peacekeepers To Aid US in the Middle East

Mar. 12 - ​The restoration of neoliberal-neoconservative axis of interventionism in Washington is proceeding apace, with the announcement that Kosovo has sent its first contingent of peacekeepers abroad
.
The renegade province of Serbia, recognized by the US as an independent state since 2008 but in reality at best a vassal principality, held a ceremony on Tuesday for a platoon – 32 troops in total – that departed for Kuwait, and from there to parts unknown.

AP reported that the troops will be deployed for six months after "a request from the US Central Command" and will be under the command of the Iowa National Guard.     continue to read