European Army, Brexit, Jussie Smollett: Your Thursday Briefing
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Good morning.
A battalion provides a prototype for a European army, nuclear saber-rattling from Russia, and an actor accused of staging an assault on himself. Here’s the latest:
A small step toward a European army
On a base in Lohheide, Germany, German and Dutch soldiers serve together in a tank battalion. It’s a prototype for a European army that remains a distant vision of proponents like Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France.
There are many obstacles to such an army — language barriers, for starters. Germany’s military is also badly outmoded and short of even thermal underwear, and militarization remains a touchy subject. The Dutch have joined forces with Germany because the Netherlands has no tank program.
Populist forces are rising across Europe, emphasizing nationalism over supranational loyalties, even as a European army feels to some more urgent than ever, with America pressuring allies to increase military spending and the U.S. security umbrella increasingly in doubt.
A possible future: Efforts like this unit, Battalion 414, are “islands” that need to proliferate and then coalesce into a continental defense structure, said Hans-Peter Bartels, Germany’s parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces.
Conservative lawmakers quit party as Brexit strains politics
Three lawmakers abandoned Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party, condemning the government’s handling of Brexit as “disastrous,” and labeling pro-Brexit hard-liners as “a party within a party.”
They joined eight rebels from the opposition Labour Party in an attempt to upend Britain’s entrenched two-party system for the first time in a generation.
Brexit has become a defining issue for party loyalty. And as the Labour Party moves further to the left and the Conservatives rightward, centrists find themselves adrift.
Looking ahead: The 11 newly independent lawmakers number the same as the centrist Liberal Democrats, but as yet have no policy platform, political organization or leader. And the country’s electoral system makes it exceptionally difficult for new parties to break through. Still, an expert told us that British politics might be at its most fluid since the 1920s.
Putin offers Russians guns and butter
President Vladimir Putin used his state-of-the-nation address to make some of his most explicit threats yet to start a nuclear arms race with the U.S. after the Trump administration said this month that America was withdrawing from a landmark arms control treaty.
Mr. Putin, whose popularity has fallen sharply in the past year, also promised increased social spending. He did not criticize President Trump, instead suggesting, as he has in the past, that a secretive “deep state” was hobbling the American president.
Analysis: Any arms race would be costly, and the Russian leader’s aggressive tone appeared to be intended, in part, to persuade Washington not to abandon the treaty. His promises of increased social spending came without an explanation of how a troubled Russian economy would pay for it all.
Other Russia news: Microsoft said that a group of hackers associated with Russian intelligence had targeted civil society groups across Europe.
Huawei may find an ally in Britain
Britain, it seems, isn’t overly worried about using technology from the Chinese giant, despite warnings from the U.S. that Huawei is beholden to Beijing and is a proxy for espionage.
The head of Britain’s National Cyber Security Center, Ciaran Martin, said at a conference in Brussels that any risks posed by using Huawei’s technology could be mitigated, citing the strict British security reviews the company has been subjected to for more than 15 years.
Why it matters: By the end of the year, Britain will decide whether to use Huawei’s technology in building out its 5G network. Other European countries that are considering Huawei for their 5G networks are watching closely for clues to whether the White House’s claims have been exaggerated.
The U.S. position: American officials have argued that 5G networks are much more complex than existing systems, and that the many lines of constantly updating code make the systems nearly impossible to protect entirely.
The White House, while pressuring allies to block Huawei, hasn’t provided evidence to back up its accusations of espionage, and the company has consistently denied the claims.
Here’s what else is happening
Climate change: A panel that the White House is preparing to establish, to examine whether climate change affects national security, is set to include a climate change denier who argues that carbon emissions are beneficial to humanity.
UBS: French judges ordered the Swiss financial giant to pay a fine of 3.7 billion euros, about $4.2 billion, for orchestrating what prosecutors said was a long-running scheme to help French clients hide huge sums of money from the authorities.
U.S. domestic terrorism: A Coast Guard lieutenant and self-described white nationalist who was arrested in Maryland last week was plotting to kill prominent journalists and Democratic politicians as well as “leftists in general,” federal prosecutors said in a court filing. He is said to have amassed a huge arms cache and studied the manifesto of Anders Behring Breivik, the far-right Norwegian who killed 77 people in 2011.
Venezuela: Ahead of a Saturday deadline set by the U.S. and the Venezuelan opposition for allowing in aid shipments, the government of President Nicolás Maduro announced that it was closing its border to air and sea traffic from three Caribbean islands. About three million Venezuelans have fled their collapsing country in recent years, most of them on a 125-mile trek over a 12,000-foot mountain pass.
Jussie Smollett: The actor from the hit show “Empire” reported to the Chicago police in January that he had been attacked by masked men hurling homophobic and racial slurs. On Wednesday night, he was charged with staging the assault.
The Vatican: Pope Francis and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church convene today for a conference on clerical sexual abuse. Victims’ advocates are demanding urgent and uniform church laws to impose zero tolerance, but Vatican officials say one world standard is virtually impossible. In interviews, some church leaders even played down the problem of church sexual abuse.
Michael Cohen: President Trump’s personal lawyer and longtime fixer, who faces prison time, has agreed to testify in public before Congress next Wednesday, setting up a political fireworks show.
Zebra science: Researchers dressed horses in patterned “coats” — and now think they understand why zebra stripes protect against flies.
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Back Story
In fortune, children, friends, or wife,
Owe all their zest to thee.
Those grateful lines are from an ode to Sake (or Sheikh) Dean Mahomed, a Bengali who introduced the concept of shampooing to Britain.
Mahomed, who died on or around this day in 1851, had many talents. In 1794, he became the first Indian to publish a book in English. In 1810, he opened the first Indian restaurant in England, the Hindoostane Coffee House in London.
But it was his next project that put him on the map. In 1814, he opened a Brighton bathhouse offering luxurious steam baths that ended with a signature head massage, known in India as “champi,” or “shampoo.”
Army's Jeff Monken still facing same recruiting challenges
John Kekis, Ap Sports Writer
Updated 12:04 am PST, Thursday, February 21, 2019
Army's Jeff Monken still facing same recruiting challenges
What a difference a year doesn't make at West Point.
An academy-record 11 wins last season for Army and a final ranking of No. 19 in the AP Top 25?
So what.
"I don't know if it's been a boon (for recruiting). It's still the same challenges," coach Jeff Monken said after crisscrossing the country in search of talent. "You've got to go and win the recruiting battle. Winning certainly helps you get their interest, but I don't know if winning a lot of football games helps anybody understand any more what West Point is. Some people don't realize that our guys are in college. 'Do they just get the soldiers to play? How does that work?' You'd be surprised how many times you've got to explain it."
In his five seasons, Monken has convinced enough teenagers to join the brotherhood and make some history at West Point. Two years ago the Black Knights matched the school record with 10 wins and last season, the first year that every player on the roster was recruited by Monken and his staff, Army broke that record, finishing 11-2, won its third straight bowl game , and captured the Lambert Trophy , given annually to the top FBS team in the East.
The last time the Black Knights won the Lambert, to be awarded Thursday, was after Pete Dawkins led them to their last unbeaten season (1958) and won the Heisman Trophy.
"It means our players did a great job. I didn't have to play a single play the whole year," said Monken, whose fiery demeanor in practice and on the sideline is mirrored by his players on the field. "That's a recognition of our team and our team's success. I'm proud that the folks that picked those things recognized that our team did a really good job this year."
Monken was recognized, too. He won the George Munger and Vince Lombardi coach of the year awards and was one of seven finalists for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year award that went to Dabo Swinney of national champion Clemson.
When he was hired in December 2013, Monken inked a six-year contract. The academy extended that deal for two more years prior to the 2017 campaign and last month Monken agreed to another extension, through the 2024 season.
"I hope it helps (recruiting)," Monken said. "Everybody wants to know that they're going to a program where there's stability. There is a commitment to keep stability in the program. It does help to be able to say this is a commitment our academy has made to the program."
The Army brass thought Monken was the right person for the job and his record validates the decision to hire him, with 29 wins in the past three seasons using an approach that's blue-collar to its core.
"When it got down to it, we talked to Jeff probably two hours in the first face-to-face meeting," Army athletic director Boo Corrigan recalled. "He didn't stutter, he didn't stammer. He talked about what he sees from a team. It was just so well-aligned with who we are as an academy that it really stuck with myself and the superintendent. He was the right fit, and fit is so important. The goal is to keep him here."
Monken is 35-28 at West Point and his Black Knights are riding a nine-game winning streak heading into next season. They've also won 13 in a row at Michie Stadium and haven't lost at home since a 31-12 setback against service academy rival Air Force in November 2016.
More importantly, the Black Knights remained top dog among the three service academies, winning the Commander In Chief's Trophy outright for the second straight time. Defeating archrival Navy in 2017 and again in December after having suffered 14 straight losses to the Midshipmen top the list of Monken's accomplishments.
In other words, there's a big reason he says "Beat Navy!" at the end of almost every conversation.
"I knew the (Navy winning) streak was a big deal, but it wasn't like every day I was staring at the word streak," said Corrigan, who will depart West Point in May to become athletic director at North Carolina State. "But when we won, to see just the raw emotion of people and to see what it really meant to people truly hit home. That weight was being carried by a whole lot of people. It's not something we have to talk about ever again."
The 50-year-old Corrigan, who began his stint at West Point in 2011, will leave behind plans to renovate Michie Stadium. He said construction will commence once the project is completely funded and will include close to 2,000 premium seats and an assortment of luxury suites.
"Our focus has been on people. We're in the people business at the end of the day," Corrigan said. "Now, it's time to turn our attention to upgrades of the stadium and we've had really good reception in raising the money."
As for recruiting, Army always signs multiple players at each position and the staff takes it from there. The new class won't be announced until July.
"I'm most proud for our seniors this year to be able to accomplish what they did," Monken said. "Hopefully, the seniors coming up will add to that and set some marks of their own.
"That's why we're here. If we can do that, it'll be a good year."
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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
Army veteran finds uniform at antique store in Bakersfield three years after it was lost
A U.S. Army Veteran who lives in Bakersfield lost his uniform back in 2016 when he moved from one part of town to another.
Xenos Lopez was a parachute rigger and infantryman from 2004 to 2010.
The loss left him heartbroken. He said he sees the uniform as a representation of the time he spent serving his country.
Recently, Lopez and his wife paid a visit to an antique mall and came across that lost uniform with medals and all!
The owner of the shop says he knew that Lopez was the rightful owner and let him have it for free.
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