NEWS SUMMARY-INTELLIGENCE REPORT FRIDAY 10/5/2018
(UPDATES, EXPANSION, EDITING UNTL 645 AM)
The Supreme Court nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh is headed for a procedural vote by the full Senate today.
This follows the FBI report in the aftermath of the sexual misconduct allegations, a report that has not been released to the public. Republicans see the report as an exoneration of Kavanaugh and the Democrats claim its "incomplete"..
To get a sense of what might happen today consider yesterday when 3000 people protested around Capitol Hill and some 300 were arrested.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Republican Bob Corker of Tennessee is headed for Venezuela soon. He will meet with government officials, business leaders and the opposition.
Corker is assessing the situation there where food and medicine shortages, along with rising unemployment have caused well over 2 million people to flee the country.
Blogger Daniel Duquenal of "Venezuela News and Views" says the opposition is weak and divided.
One possible new development he sees in the months ahead as things get worse would be Colombian military forces entering the western portions of the country to establish a United Nations humanitarian area to take care of Venezuelans who would otherwise flee into Colombia, further straining its resources.
"Southfront", a publication more sympathetic to the regime of President Nicolas Maduro, has published an article suggesting a Colombian invasion threat because that country's new President, Ivan Duque, has proposed a 50 percent increase in military spending including the purchase of anti-aircraft missile defense system.
Vice President Mike Pence says any Russian activities against the US pale in comparison with what China is doing right now to influence the mid-term election this November.
Pence says the Chinese are taking overt and covert actions in the face of President Trump's imposition of tariffs on Chinese goods.
The Vice-President also denounced China for its provocative actions in the South China Sea and persecution of Christians and Muslims.
Accusations from and against Russia raged yesterday.
The Justice Department is charging seven Russians with hacking, the Netherlands expelled four Russians accused of hacking, the UK and Canada accused Russia of hacking attacks.
Meanwhile, Russia alleged that the United States is behind a biological weapons laboratory in the nation of Georgia, which borders Russia. A Russian general says that the deaths of 73 people undergoing tests at the facility may be related to biological weapons research.
The general also pointed out that similar facilities operate in 30 countries around the world.
The latest polling data from Germany's state of Bavaria show the lowest numbers yet for the Christian Social Union, sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. Only 33 percent would vote CSU in the state elections on October 14th.
The Alternative for Germany which currently has no members in the state parliament, would get 10 percent of the vote and the "Free Voters", a conservative rural party advocating local control, show up at 11 percent.
In the last election in 2014, the CSU got 47.7 percent of the vote and 101 of the 180 seats in Bavaria's state parliament.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad. They are cited for their efforts to end "sexual violence as a weapon of war". Murad is a Yazidi Kurd who was kidnapped by the Islamic State. Mukwege is a Congolese gynecologist who has treated victims of rape by rebel forces.
Accusations from and against Russia raged yesterday.
The Justice Department is charging seven Russians with hacking, the Netherlands expelled four Russians accused of hacking, the UK and Canada accused Russia of hacking attacks.
Meanwhile, Russia alleged that the United States is behind a biological weapons laboratory in the nation of Georgia, which borders Russia. A Russian general says that the deaths of 73 people undergoing tests at the facility may be related to biological weapons research.
The general also pointed out that similar facilities operate in 30 countries around the world.
The latest polling data from Germany's state of Bavaria show the lowest numbers yet for the Christian Social Union, sister party of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats. Only 33 percent would vote CSU in the state elections on October 14th.
The Alternative for Germany which currently has no members in the state parliament, would get 10 percent of the vote and the "Free Voters", a conservative rural party advocating local control, show up at 11 percent.
In the last election in 2014, the CSU got 47.7 percent of the vote and 101 of the 180 seats in Bavaria's state parliament.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad. They are cited for their efforts to end "sexual violence as a weapon of war". Murad is a Yazidi Kurd who was kidnapped by the Islamic State. Mukwege is a Congolese gynecologist who has treated victims of rape by rebel forces.
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