Friday, November 22

Tag: state security measures

Xenophobia Drives Foes of Nippon Steel’s Deal
1Jan By adminNo Comments
Health

Xenophobia Drives Foes of Nippon Steel’s Deal

Election-year jitters have the Biden administration and a few swing-state members of Congress from both parties parroting union concerns about Nippon Steel’s takeover of U.S. Steel. The United Steelworkers union favored Cleveland-Cliffs’s offer, which was almost 50% lower than Nippon’s $14.1 billion bid. There is no real cause for concern other than xenophobia and the damage it could do to Cleveland-Cliffs’s position as the sole U.S. producer of electrical steel for transformers and electric vehicles. The rest is imported.Nippon’s steelmaking is at least as advanced as U.S. Steel’s, so technology export control isn’t an issue. National security could be a concern if American mills were shutting down due to unfairly subsidized Japanese exports to the U.S. But Nippon never used gimmicks to ...
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The Nippon Steel Deal Is Good for America
29Dec By adminNo Comments
Health

The Nippon Steel Deal Is Good for America

Democrats and Republicans alike are assailing Nippon Steel’s prospective purchase of U.S. Steel as a threat to national security. The complaints are misplaced. Essential to national security is economic competitiveness, which is strengthened by global connections such as inward foreign direct investment.A more competitive economy is better able to fund the military and ameliorate the inevitable guns-for-butter trade-offs. Consider the Cold War. Fast labor-productivity growth after World War II expanded America’s tax base to fund investments in defense, science and space exploration. America eventually won the Cold War largely because the Soviet empire couldn’t deliver the goods. The Berlin Wall fell in part because people behind the Iron Curtain yearned for Mercedes sedans rather than Tra...
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Why a Border Deal Might Not Fix the Border
23Dec By adminNo Comments
World

Why a Border Deal Might Not Fix the Border

WASHINGTON—The immigration-policy proposals that Republicans and Democrats have haggled over for weeks have one big catch—they may not do much to stem the flow of migrants at the border.Arrests of migrants surged recently to above 10,000 a day along the Southwest border, overwhelming agents and prompting the unusual move of closing some bridges and ports. President Biden dispatched Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top Homeland Security officials to Mexico to discuss how to stem the flow, while House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) demanded the White House take executive action to turn back migrants.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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Hong Kong Puts Its Most-Wanted Dissident Jimmy Lai on Trial
18Dec By adminNo Comments
World

Hong Kong Puts Its Most-Wanted Dissident Jimmy Lai on Trial

HONG KONG—The most high-profile case of Hong Kong’s yearslong effort to snuff out dissent after protests rocked the city began on Monday as newspaper tycoon Jimmy Lai went on trial under the national security law imposed by Beijing.Lai, a child immigrant to the city who built a clothing and media empire, was among the most defiant critics of China’s Communist Party and a prominent backer of 2019 pro-democracy demonstrations through his now-closed Apple Daily.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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Hong Kong Puts Itself on Trial
16Dec By adminNo Comments
Business

Hong Kong Puts Itself on Trial

The trial of jailed newspaperman Jimmy Lai begins Monday. He is formally accused of sedition, collusion with foreign forces and conspiracy to produce and distribute seditious material. But the real case the authorities are making is that Hong Kong people would never push for democracy if the 76-year-old Mr. Lai and outside forces hadn’t infected them with this foreign idea.On Wednesday China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning called Mr. Lai the “mastermind” of protests aimed at destabilizing Hong Kong. She defended Hong Kong’s national security law imposed by China after a year of protests, under which Mr. Lai now faces a life sentence if convicted.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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Biden’s Agenda Hangs in Balance as Tough Election Year Approaches
16Dec By adminNo Comments
World

Biden’s Agenda Hangs in Balance as Tough Election Year Approaches

Updated Dec. 16, 2023 12:06 am ETWASHINGTON—President Biden heads into the end of the year with deepening Democratic worries about his re-election, as his effort to aid allies in two wars hangs in the balance on Capitol Hill and an impeachment inquiry into him and his family moves forward. At the same time, some rays of hope are peeking through for the incumbent as a tough 2024 contest looms, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching a record high and—perhaps most important from an electoral perspective—consumer confidence rebounding this month faster than expected. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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House Speaker Johnson Insists Ukraine Aid Package Include U.S. Border Measures
12Dec By adminNo Comments
World

House Speaker Johnson Insists Ukraine Aid Package Include U.S. Border Measures

Dec. 11, 2023 10:06 pm ETWASHINGTON—House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) said Monday he was sticking to his position that any package delivering aid to Kyiv would have to include strict new border-security measures, underscoring the stalemate gripping Congress on the eve of a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The new House speaker is scheduled to meet with Zelensky on Tuesday as part of a push by Ukraine’s president for continued military aid. Republicans and Democrats have been at odds over the national-security package for months, as a rising isolationist and America First wing of the Republican Party gains traction and as public support for a war now almost two years old starts to wane.Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5edd...
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How to Fix Section 702 Surveillance
12Dec By adminNo Comments
Business

How to Fix Section 702 Surveillance

Congress is still debating how to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, and doing it right has never been more important. The risk of terrorism has gone up since Hamas’s massacre in Israel, and the U.S. needs all the intel it can get to detect and prevent future attacks on the American homeland.Section 702 lets the government monitor non-U.S. citizens outside the U.S. to protect national security. The information collected goes into a database that can later be searched by law enforcement. But the authority has come under scrutiny after abuses by some Federal Bureau of Investigation agents who ran searches related to Black Lives Matter protesters and even Members of Congress. Lawmakers want to reauthorize the program while protecting civil libertie...
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Congress Moves Forward on Roughly $900 Billion Defense Bill
7Dec By adminNo Comments
World

Congress Moves Forward on Roughly $900 Billion Defense Bill

WASHINGTON—House and Senate lawmakers agreed to scrap the most contentious pieces of a nearly $900 billion defense and national security policy bill, such as restrictions on abortion and transgender care for service members, clearing the way for its passage by the end of the year.Lawmakers who serve on both chambers’ Armed Services committees on Wednesday night released compromise text for the annual National Defense Authorization Act. This year’s NDAA, which lays out top policy priorities for the Pentagon, calls for a 5.2% pay raise for service members and military training assistance to Taiwan to help the island defend itself against a possible invasion by China. Copyright ©2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
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