Sponsored by Bertin Exensor
www.exensor.com
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
22 Jul 24. Backed by Biden, Harris moves to lock up White House bid. The Democratic party will be taking a historic gamble if it turns to Vice President Kamala Harris to become its presidential candidate.
With Harris, Democrats would bet against US history of sexism, racism
- Summary
- Harris says she intends ‘to earn and win this nomination’
- Democratic National Committee plans next steps
- Republicans hint at legal challenge to Democrats’ switch
21 Jul 24. Statement by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III on President Joe Biden.
President Biden is an extraordinary guardian of America’s national security. I am deeply grateful for his leadership and statesmanship. He has a secure place in American history as one of our great foreign-policy presidents.
President Biden renewed, deepened, and broadened the unmatched global network of alliances and partnerships that makes America more secure; he rallied the world to defend Ukraine after the Kremlin’s indefensible, all-out invasion in 2022; he positioned America to succeed in our strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China; he dramatically strengthened U.S. posture in the Indo-Pacific; he bolstered, united, and expanded NATO; he shored up Israel’s security after Hamas’s vile October 7th terrorist assault and worked tirelessly to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza; he ended America’s longest war; he helped the United States and the world recover from the COVID pandemic that killed more than a million Americans; he launched the historic trilateral AUKUS partnership to make the Indo-Pacific region more secure; and at a time when autocrats brag of being the wave of the future, he showed the world the resilience and the resolve that only a democracy can muster. President Biden has been a stalwart defender of free government, a fearless foe of tyranny, and a historic champion of an open world of rules, rights, and responsibilities.
As Commander in Chief, President Biden has shown his profound and personal commitment to the Department of Defense and the American military. Under his leadership, the most recent National Defense Authorization Act supports an historic $841 billion in funding for the Department of Defense—and helps ensure that the U.S. military will remain the strongest fighting force on Earth.
President Biden has always understood that America’s greatest strategic advantage is our people, and he has sought to make America even stronger and more secure by drawing on the full talents of all of our citizenry. He has made history by breaking barrier after barrier, including appointing Kathleen Hicks as the first female Deputy Secretary of Defense, Christine Wormuth as the first female Secretary of the Army, Admiral Lisa Franchetti as the first female Chief of Naval Operations and the first woman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and myself as the first Black Secretary of Defense. President Biden cares deeply about our outstanding all-volunteer force and has insisted on making life easier for them and their families, including securing significant pay raises for our troops. President Biden always ends his speeches by saying, “God bless our troops”—and we know that he means every word, every time.
President Biden has repeatedly declared, “We will lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example.” Today, he has done just that.
The entire Department of Defense stands united today in saluting President Biden’s service to the country that we defend, the Constitution that we revere, and the republic that we love. (Source: U.S. DoD)
Vice President Kamala Harris wasted no time launching her 2024 presidential campaign, seeking the support of fellow Democrats with the backing of President Joe Biden after he pulled out of the race amid concerns about his age and health.
Her campaign officials and allies made hundreds of calls on behalf of Harris on Sunday, urging delegates to the Democratic Party convention next month to join in nominating her for president in the Nov. 5 election against Republican Donald Trump.
Multiple sources said the calls, aimed at blocking would-be Democratic challengers, began almost immediately after the 81-year-old Biden abandoned the race.
At the same time, Democratic state party chairs backed Harris in a phone call, several participants said.
Harris spoke with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a potential vice presidential running mate, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Congressional Black Caucus chair Representative Steven Horsford, said a source familiar with the matter.
Harris, a 59-year-old woman who is Black and Asian-American, would fashion an entirely new dynamic with Trump, 78, offering a vivid generational and cultural split-screen.
The United States has yet to elect a woman president in its 248-year history.
“Harris will be easier to beat than Joe Biden would have been,” Trump asserted on CNN shortly after Biden’s announcement.
Biden, the oldest person ever to have occupied the Oval Office, said he would remain in the presidency until his term ends on Jan. 20, 2025, while endorsing Harris to run for president in his place.
The White House said Harris would deliver remarks on the South Lawn at 11:30 a.m. ET (1530 GMT) on Monday at an event celebrating the NCAA 2023-24 college championship teams.
Facing mounting questions about his mental acuity, Biden is the first sitting president to give up his party’s nomination for reelection since President Lyndon B. Johnson during the Vietnam War in March 1968.
Biden’s withdrawal leaves his replacement with less than four months to wage a campaign. Prominent Democrats, including potential Harris challengers such as California Governor Gavin Newsom, immediately backed the vice president.
“My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump.”
Despite the early show of support for Harris, talk of an open convention when Democrats gather in Chicago Aug. 19-22 was not totally silenced.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama did not announce endorsements, although both praised Biden.
Two other potential challengers – Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear – made no mention of the vice president in their statements.
With Democrats wading into uncharted territory, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said the party would soon announce the next steps in its nomination process.
What is certain is that Biden’s withdrawal has again reshaped a White House contest shaken repeatedly during the last month.
On June 27, Biden’s poor performance in a debate with Trump led many Democrats to urge him to drop out. Then on July 13, a gunman attempted to assassinate former President Trump.
And last week Trump named hardline Republican U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, 39, to serve as his vice presidential running mate.
ABORTION RIGHTS LEADER
A former attorney general of California and former U.S. senator, Harris ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination in 2020.
Biden won the nomination, picked Harris to be his vice president, and went on to beat Trump.
Harris has been outspoken on abortion rights, an issue that resonates with younger voters and progressives.
She is expected to stick largely to Biden’s foreign policy playbook on such issues as China, Iran and Ukraine, but could strike a tougher tone with Israel over the Gaza war if she tops the Democratic ticket and wins the November election.
Proponents argue she would energize those voters, consolidate Black support and bring sharp debating skills to prosecute the political case against the former president.
But some Democrats were concerned about a Harris candidacy, in part because of the weight of a long history of racial and gender discrimination in the United States.
Polling shows that Harris performs no better statistically than Biden had done against Trump.
In a head-to-head match-up, Harris and Trump were tied with 44% support each in a July 15-16 Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted immediately after the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump.
Trump led Biden 43% to 41% in that same poll, though the 2 percentage point difference was not meaningful considering the poll’s 3-point margin of error.
Biden’s campaign had $95 million on hand at the end of June, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission. Campaign finance law experts disagree on how easily that money could be shifted to a Harris-led campaign.
Small-dollar donors raised more than $46.7 million on ActBlue in the first five hours of Harris’ presidential campaign, the fundraising platform said on X on Sunday.
LAST-MINUTE SHIFT
Biden, who said he would address the nation this week, has not been seen in public since testing positive for COVID-19 last week. He was isolating at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
“While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote on X.
Congressional Republicans argued on Sunday that Biden should resign as president immediately, which would turn the White House over to Harris and put House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, next in line in succession.
“If he’s incapable of running for president, how is he capable of governing right now? I mean, there is five months left in this administration. It’s a real concern, and it’s a danger to the country,” Johnson told CNN on Sunday before Biden’s announcement.
During the 2020 campaign, Biden described himself as a bridge to the next generation. Some interpreted that to mean he would serve one term, a transitional figure who beat Trump and brought his party back to power.
But Biden decided to seek reelection, believing he could beat Trump again. His campaign was already struggling and ran into deep trouble after his debate performance raised serious concerns about his ability to win the election or stay on as president for another four years. (Source: Reuters)
16 Jul 24. U.S. Goal in Middle East Is Easing Tensions, Finding Diplomatic Solutions. The United States would like to see a ceasefire in Gaza, an easing of tensions along the Israel-Lebanon border and a cessation of Houthi aggression in the Red Sea area, said Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, who spoke to the media today.
The U.S. is working hard to obtain a ceasefire in Gaza, he said, which would allow humanitarian aid to flow in.
“This war is undoubtedly tragic. Way too many civilians have died. It’s heartbreaking to see the images that we see,” Ryder said.
The U.S. has been very clear, both privately and publicly, to its Israeli partners on the need to mitigate civilian harm in Gaza, the general said. “We know that they need to do more on this front, and we’re going to continue to communicate that to them.”
However, Hamas bears some responsibility for loss of life as they continue to embed among the civilian population, he said.
There is an urgent need for humanitarian assistance for the people of Gaza. The Defense Department will continue to support the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is the lead for the U.S.’s work with the international community, he said.
Regarding the Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore temporary pier, which had been used to provide humanitarian support for Gaza, it remains in Ashdod, Israel, he said.
A potential re-anchoring date has not been set. The pier has always been intended as a temporary solution, and it will conclude its mission soon although no date has been set, the general said.
On the Israel-Lebanon border, a diplomatic solution remains possible, he said. Thus far, there hasn’t been a wider regional conflict, although tensions do remain.
“We continue to stay in constant communication with Lebanon, Israel and others in the region, to ensure that this does not become a broader conflict. Of course, the concern here is the risk of miscalculation, which could spark a wider conflict that no one wants,” Ryder said.
Houthi aggression continues in the Red Sea area and that impacts the lives of innocent mariners and freedom of navigation, he said.
In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command forces successfully destroyed five Iranian-backed Houthi uncrewed aerial vehicles, or UAVs — three over the Red Sea and two over Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, according to a Centcom statement yesterday.
It was determined these UAVs presented an imminent threat to U.S., coalition forces and merchant vessels in the region. These actions were taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure, the statement said.
Additionally, Iranian-backed Houthis launched multiple attacks against the MT Bentley I, a Panama-flagged, Israel-owned, Monaco-operated tanker vessel in the Red Sea carrying vegetable oil from Russia to China. Iranian-backed Houthis used three surface vessels in this attack, one uncrewed surface vessel and two small boats. No damage or injuries have been reported at this time, according to Centcom’s statement.
Later, Iranian-backed Houthis launched an antiship ballistic missile from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, over the Red Sea toward the MT Bentley I. No damage or injuries have been reported at this time, said the statement.
Separately, Iranian-backed Houthis attacked the MT Chios Lion, a Liberian-flagged, Marshall Islands-owned, Greek-operated crude oil tanker with a USV in the Red Sea. The USV caused damage, but the MT Chios Lion has not requested assistance. No injuries have been reported at this time, said the statement.
This continued reckless behavior by the Iranian-backed Houthis threatens regional stability and endangers the lives of mariners across the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. The Houthis claim to be acting on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza and yet they are targeting and threatening the lives of citizens from a third country who have nothing to do with the conflict in Gaza.
Centcom will continue to act with partners to hold the Houthis accountable and degrade their military capabilities, said the statement. (Source: U.S. DoD)
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need. A CNIM Group Company
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-