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Former president Donald Trump just escaped an assassination attempt at a political protest in Pennsylvania. Trump unexpectedly avoided a immediate hit as shots rang out during the Republican president’s rally and said a bullet grazed his neck.

One man died at the march.

Trump raised his right palm toward his mind as the attack progressed quickly, moving his body toward the ground. Secret Service agents immediately entered Trump’s area and surrounded him with a safe cone.

Trump rose up and pumped his elbow while his protecting information surrounded him while he was down for about a moment. The 78-year-old appeared to have been injured, with blood dripping from his neck. A 20-year-old gentleman from Pennsylvania has been identified as the sniper. He was killed by Secret Service sharpshooters who were monitoring the march.

This violent act of violence is a very unsettling turn of events in American politics. Nevertheless, it is not without precedent.

Reviewing function security

A US Secret Service safe review will be conducted right away to check if there were any areas where the blog security plan at the fairgrounds in Butler, Pennsylvania, failed. The conclusions of that analysis will be immediately applied to all national candidates ‘ existing protection initiatives.

The investigation into the shooting may be led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Comprehensive teams, including the vital event response team and evidence response technicians, will be working alongside agents from the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office.

The FBI will need to answer big-picture issues immediately. Was the gunman a lone dog? Was this assassination attempt the result of politically motivated local terrorism?

Security relevance

There will be a wide range of security relevance for that meeting given that this social assault took place right before the Republican National Convention was taking place in Milwaukee. Prior to the Trump execution test, safety measures were already in increased use.

In reality, a pre-emptive state of emergency was already in place for the Milwaukee incident in May.

The agreement has been designated a national exclusive security function. To better coordinate several local, state, and federal agencies to safeguard complex events from threats and to coordinate additional resources deployments to deal with any kind of legal emergency that might arise during the social gathering.

Traditional precedent

During the presidential elections in 1968 and 1972, there were attempts to kill prospects. These events altered previous presidential poll processes.

On June 5, 1968, Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was killed following a protest in California. Kennedy had only won the California key and was fatally injured after giving a win speech at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

When the American politician’s choices of individuals were influenced in part by the results of political violence, the interactions of the 1968 presidential election changed.

On May 5, 1972, George Wallace was campaigning to become the Democrat nominee for president. After a march in Laurel, Maryland, Wallace was shot while shaking fingers with visitors. He used tactics to stoke fears for so-called forgotten light Americans, as well as being an ardent secessionist. He was a contentious legislator. He survived the attempted death, but he was paralyzed for the rest of his career.

After the killing, Wallace reconsidered some of his questionable opinions.

Black darkness of political crime

Are we in the midst of a period of political upheaval in America where the landscape of US politics will be social murder?

A small but certainly negligible number of Americans support the idea of using violence to enhance social ideas, according to latest research on attitudes toward social crime.

It’s difficult to ignore how Trump has sparked severe political fragmentation, despite the fact that he is the victim of this terrible harm. Trump has frequently used lies against his foes, and he has tacitly supported social murder during the Capitol Hill insurrection on January 6, 2021.

However, it is unethical to accept that political opinions in America can be normalized. The goal of political murder will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, which is a foreseen and imminent. Finally, the assassination attempt on Trump did not place undue impact on the American voter.

Jack L. Rozdilsky is an associate professor of crisis and emergency control at York University, Canada.

This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original content.

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The US experienced yet another harsh event in its extremely fragmented politics after Donald Trump was shot at a protest in Pennsylvania on July 13, 2024. Former President Trump, who’s about to formally became the GOP nominee for president in the 2024 election, survived the attempted assassination when, preliminary information said, a shot grazed his ears. However, one protest visitor was killed, more were hurt, and the suspected shooter is likewise lifeless. The Conversation’s elections writer, Naomi Schalit, spoke with University of Massachusetts, Lowell, professor Arie Perliger after the celebration. Through his investigation of executions and democratic violence, Perliger provided insights. Perliger argued that it should n’t surprise people to eventually engage in violence given the extreme political polarization in the US.

Schalit: When you heard the news, what was the first item you thought?

Perliger: First things considered when I first thought about how far we could possibly go without having a civil conflict. I believe that if Donald Trump had suffered fatal accidents now, the level of crime that we have seen so far will be insignificant in comparison to what would have transpired in the next few months. I think that would have unleashed a new level of anger, frustration, resentment, hostility that we have n’t seen for many, many years in the US.

This death effort may at least at this early period confirm a strong feeling among some Trump supporters and some people on the far right that they are being delegitimized, that they are on the defensive, and that there are attempts to essentially stop them from competing in the democratic process and stop Trump from winning back the White House.

For many of the individuals on the far right, what we just saw fit quite properly into a tale they’ve already been creating and spreading over the past few decades.

Political assassination attempts do n’t just aim to kill people. They have a larger goal, do n’t they?

Assassination attempts are often omitted from the lengthy process of trying to downgrade and defeat political foes when it is obvious that even a protracted political struggle wo n’t suffice. Many assassins see assassinations as a tool that will allow them to accomplish their political goals in a very quick, very effective way that does n’t require a lot of time or organization. If we’re trying to connect it to what we’ve seen today, I believe that many people view Trump as a fairy, as a special person who, in many ways, actually suffocated the liberal motion. But by removing him, there’s a feeling that that will or does solve the problem.

I believe that since Trump’s election in 2016, the conservative movement has experienced significant change, and many of its traits are now very well-known in various conservative movements. So even if Trump decides to retire at some point, I do n’t believe that Trumpism as a set of populist ideas will vanish from the GOP. However, I fully understand why those who view that as a threat believe that removing Trump will address all the issues.

You argued in a study of the causes and effects of social assassination that political competition has the ability to stoke further violence, including the killing of political figures, unless political processes may address” the most powerful political grievances.” Is that what you saw in this intended death?

Democracy may work if the various parties, the various motions, are not willing to work together on some problems. Politics is effective when several organizations are willing to come to terms in some way through negotiations, collaboration, and cooperation.

The worst aspect of this fragmentation is that we are forcing out any officials and politicians who are interested in cooperating with the other area. It has happened in the last 17 decades, essentially since 2008 and the increase of the Tea Party movement. That’s one point. Second, people delegitimize officials who are willing to work with the opposing area, making them known as those who have violated their principles and democratic party.

Thirdly, people are delegitimizing their social adversaries. They turn a social conflict into a conflict where everyone can work together to solve the issues they both see facing the country.

When you combine those three relationships, you create generally a destructive program where both flanks are convinced that it’s a zero-sum sport, that it’s the end of the country. If one side prevails, politics is at its end.

If both parties repeatedly remind people that losing an election is the end of the world, it should n’t come as a surprise that eventually people are willing to follow the law into their own hands and use force.

Arie Perliger, Director of Security Studies and Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, UMass Lowell

This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original post.

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We are awaiting more information regarding the attempted murder of former US president Donald Trump. At a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, pictures rang out as he addressed the crowd.

Trump was struck in or around his remaining hearing by one of the primary pictures. His face was covered in body. Soon after he was hit, he ducked over, which likely saved his life.

News reports thus far ( which may or may not be accurate ) say there were two guns. One of them is reportedly dying, and the other is in critical condition, according to reports. According to the information, the US Secret Company reportedly liquidated them.

We know nothing about the guns, if there were certainly two. This is still no sure. However, the invasion appears to be a highly skilled attempted execution from the appearance and feel of the attack. A skilled shooter is a sign of a professional sniper.

The brutal murder of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas on November 22, 1963, is brought up in mind. Despite a large scandal, Kennedy was fatally shot in the head, most possible from the Grassy Knoll or close to the highway where his car passed by.

As picture of the attack evidently shows, the picture was to the front of the mind. According to reports, the Trump gunman or guns were likely carrying long-range rifle with scope because they were operating from a distance.

You can clearly speak the gunfire from the reviewing have where Trump stood if you watch the videos of the firing. We have no reliable information about the security at the march or how well the periphery was ( if at all ) protected.

According to all the most current information, Trump has a good chance of winning. Does this have anything to do with the murder test? I believe thus.

The Secret Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation can assist the National people by being completely transparent about everything they know and know. This wo n’t happen in my opinion.

One of the two reported shooters is officially dead but in critical condition. If this is accurate, it will remain to be seen. According to some, a group member was killed, and perhaps a second one.

An study: there was no hospital or doctors on the field as Trump was taken aside in an armored vehicle. Be tuned and be wary.

At Asia Times, Stephen Bryen is the top editor. He also served as the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s team director and as its deputy secretary of defense for policy. &nbsp,

This&nbsp, article&nbsp, was first published on his&nbsp, Weapons and Strategy&nbsp, Substack and is republished with authority.

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We have met dementia, and he is us.

It is n’t just poor Joe Biden who has aged ungracefully. The rich countries of the world are aging, and the effects will be much worse than one American leader’s baffling shame.

Instead of cringing at the government’s terrible attempts to prove his intellectual ability, we may look difficult in the reflection. A denizen of the Inferno who much epitomizes the aging of the West had n’t have been created by Dante.

Without an unprecedented ( and practically impossible ) sea-change in fertility, the working-age population of the high-income countries of the world ( above US$ 16, 000 in per capita GDP ) will shrink by 20 % during the present century. Over time, this will have destructive economic effects. In terms of global strategy, it is already having destructive effects.

Countries without kids are apathetic about their current and oblivious to their future.

That is the geological army pushing the earth into multipolarity, I argued July 10 in an article for Law &amp, Liberty. The working-age inhabitants of the so-called middle-income locations will continue to rise through the majority of the decade, if more slowly, and the Global South will have the predominant share of the country’s scarcest source: Working-age individuals who can be trained to perform functions in a modern economy.

As Grant Newsham noted on this website on July 9, Japan was unable to enlist all of the military personnel it needed. The JSDF never engaged in combat, but it lost decisively last year, falling short of its recruitment goals by 50 %. &nbsp, The year before it was a 35 % lose. And for centuries it has had 20 % deficits. &nbsp, So, JSDF is something of an old, understaffed and stressed force”.

The Japanese do n’t want to fight. German armies have declined since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but neither do the Germans. The Europeans and Japanese do n’t want to fight. Why if they? Who will lay down his life for future generations, if there are n’t going to be any future generations?

The Gallup Poll surveys polled people from more than sixty nations in 2015 to find out if they were ready to fight for their country. With an equitable charge of only 11 %, Japan came in last place. By no fluke, Japan ranks close to the bottom in terms of reproduction. Jewish Jews, with a reproduction rate of three children per woman, are the only example in the upper-right-hand region of the chart below.

There is a strong correlation between the nation’s industrialized countries ‘ fertility and their spirit of combat.

Fertility does n’t explain everything, both Russia and Ukraine had very low fertility when the 2015 Gallup Survey was taken, but relatively high willingness to fight.

On the same area where millions of people fought in World War II, the Ukraine conflict engages a few hundred thousand battle forces. When the Soviets recaptured Kharkov in 1943, they threw 1.2 million people at the town and lost 200, 000 of them. Around the area today, Russia has about a tenth of that quantity.

For all the requirements on America’s NATO allies to bulk up their forces, the opposite is happening. The American supporters, Japan and Germany, are silently giving up on their commitments to higher defence spending. These two countries have economies large enough to influence defense spending.

Japan pledged 43 trillion yen ( US$ 272 billion ) in defense spending through 2027, mainly in the form of procurement of US F35s and other expensive foreign hardware. But Japan calculated its procurement prices at an exchange level of 108 japanese to the money, compared with about 160 yen now. That implies a severe cut in true purchasing.

Germany’s resources negotiations last week, however, eliminated most of the anticipated increase in the European defense budget. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius criticized him,” and that really aggravates me,” and” I got much less than I signed up for.” Germany’s military forces have shrunk since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In 1989, the nation had 12 combat-ready groups. Today it ca n’t field one.

As a result of declining reproduction, China’s defense weakened. Including reservists and military officers, its armed forces entire 4 million, versus 3.4 million effective commitment, reservists and human employees for the US, which has a third of China’s populace.

China has increased its army, air force, and missile arsenal by half while increasing the size of its land-based troops. China will always launch large infantry assaults like it did during the Korean War. It is unable to spend its children because it has so few. It favors a battle that can be fought in a vault with a computer terminal.

In this case, the Chinese are ideal. The world’s constant jousting wo n’t convince the Europeans to sacrifice their exhausted young manhood in land conflicts. Before the paint is dry, America’s NATO allies may claim to spend more money and train more troops.

The idea that Russia wants to resurrect the Soviet Empire is opposed to logic, too. Putin can hardly control a force of 500,000 soldiers compared to the 29.5 million that Stalin sent to the Eastern Front. That may be enough to spear again Donetsk, Luhansk, Crimea, and a few different parcels of land, but not enough to hold American Ukraine, let alone move on Poland.

Japan now has a 50 age dominance percentage. That is, there are 50 old for every 100 working-age Chinese. Europe may get there by 2035, China by 2055, and the United States by 2075.

Japan has made an effort to reduce its share of a collective dotage by investing its savings abroad, accumulating a net international asset position of$ 3.5 trillion ( America has a negative net international position of$ 18 trillion ).

China is investing more time and thought to exploit the work of the Global South’s tens of millions of young workers by creating facilities and transferring its technology. The United States has no overall strategy.

Spengler is channeled by David P Goldman. Following him on X at @davidpgoldman

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South Korea announced this month its ideas to use light weapons to combat aircraft incursions in response to escalating tensions and new North Korean aircraft attacks.

In response to many news reports this month, South Korea announced plans to use light weapons to combat North Korean uavs as part of a wider effort to strengthen its defenses in the face of rising tensions.

South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense ( MND ) confirmed the initiative, emphasizing that a high-tech laser system codenamed” Block-I”, developed by Hanwha Aerospace, will be deployed by the yearend, with more systems to be deployed in the coming years. Block-I may destroy drones quickly and silently at only USD 1.45 per photo.

The decision comes in response to current drone intrusions by North Koreans into South Korean airspace, which raises security issues. Lee Jong-sup, the North Korean defence minister, emphasized the urgency of the project, noting the cost-effectiveness and accuracy of laser technology in comparison to conventional missile defenses.

In response to persistent threats from North Korea, which has been increasing its missile checks and surveillance activities, South Korea is pursuing this strategy.

North Korea’s December 2022 aircraft invasion into South Korea caught the former off-guard, resulting in a confused scrambling answer.

In a January 2023 article for the International Institute for Strategic Studies ( IISS), Joseph Dempsey points out that North Korea’s drone attack in South Korean airspace from December 2022 serves as a significant reminder of the difficulties faced by fending off small drones. Dempsey mentions that despite South Korea’s five-hour military operation involving combat aviation and attack helicopters, none of the five robots were neutralized, all possible returning properly.

He claims that the South Korean MND struggles to use radar to track little reconnaissance drones, never realizing that their air defenses were built to protect slower, low-flying targets with little signatures. He notes that the robots, suspected to become Chinese-manufactured types Trancomm SKY-09 and UV10, show the dual-use characteristics of business solutions and the challenges in regulating them.

Dempsey claims that North Korea’s use of these robots for pictures surveillance underlines its desire to improve its autonomous skills despite the restrictions on transmitting information back to the ground. This passion is reflected in North Korea’s January 2021 Workers Party Congress review, which outlined military growth goals, including increased flying and satellite security, notes Dempsey.

He claims that professional satellite imagery revealed two previously unreleased aircraft designs at the Panghyon plane factory, indicating that North Korea is working toward expanding its drone program.

North Korea has developed more sophisticated aircraft models in line with its symmetric military method against South Korea, aside from the small, difficult-to-detect drones it has.

In a March 2024 content in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology, Kang-Il Seo and various artists mention that North Korea has introduced innovative proper drones, the Satbyol-4 and Satbyol-9, considerably enhancing its security and attack skills.

Seo and some say that these robots, which were unveiled at a military equipment show in July 2023, resemble the US RQ-4 Global Hawk and MQ-9 Reaper, between, and are expected to perform multi-domain activities.

They point out that the Satbyol-4, a high-altitude surveillance aircraft with a wing of about 35 m, is believed to be capable of intensive surveillance despite North Korea’s lack of communication satellites restricting its long-range functions. Further, they say that the Satbyol-9, an attack drone, mimics the Reaper’s design, including its ability to carry multiple missiles, indicating North Korea’s potential for precision strikes.

Seo and others note that North Korea’s development of these drones represents a significant advance in its military technology, which is reflected in its strategy to counteract its lower aerial surveillance capabilities in the US and South Korea. They say that the deployment of these drones poses increased peacetime and wartime threats, enhancing North Korea’s surveillance, reconnaissance, and early warning capabilities and potentially escalating regional tensions.

North Korean drones pose a significant challenge in air defense, despite South Korea having one of East Asia’s most admired militaries. South Korea’s missile defense architecture is not designed to counter such targets, laser weapons are still in development, and rapidly improving drone designs pose challenges to defensive technologies.

In February 2024, Asia Times noted that South Korea’s Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system is not well-equipped to effectively counter small drones due to its design for intercepting larger drones, aircraft, and ballistic missiles.

Laser weapons have not yet fulfilled their potential as low-cost, efficient anti-drone weapons due to development delays, technology issues, beam quality control problems, maintenance requirements, and a lack of industrial support.

Inertial guidance drones may not be able to jam because they can maintain their course or return to a specific point even if their command signals are lost.

Further, The Washington Post reported that South Korea would struggle to defend its air defenses from North Korean drones for three to five years in May 2023. According to The Washington Post, South Korea has made significant investments in missile defense and air and naval forces, but it has neglected to invest in anti-drone capabilities.

The source claims that North Korea’s December 2022 invasion exposed a sluggish South Korean air defense structure, slow communication between ground radars and interceptor aircraft, and unclear engagement guidelines for South Korean commanders.

The Washington Post also mentions concerns about collateral damage from drone interceptions and claims that North Korea may be looking into South Korea’s air defenses for unsecured gaps.

Given these capability gaps, South Korea needs to do everything in its power to strengthen its air defense against North Korea’s asymmetric drone threat.

Oh Il-Seok and Choi Yonghwan note that South Korea must improve its drone detection technology and accelerate development given North Korea’s advances in drone technology and December 2022 infiltration.

After seeing the transformative effects that drones have had on the battlefield, North Korea appears to be transferring a lot of lessons from the Ukraine War, according to Choi and Oh.

They also note increased cooperation between North Korea and Russia, with the former providing the latter with ballistic missiles and artillery shells for use in Ukraine in exchange for possible energy supplies, food aid, financial aid, and high-end military equipment like missile propulsion and drone technology.

Oh and Choi claim that the drone program of North Korea could prompt a number of provocative acts against South Korea by deploying brand-new drones to pose new threats to the latter.

Finally, they point out that North Korea’s use of new drone technology demonstrates its desire to develop conventional weapons while also advancing its nuclear program. According to them, this makes it necessary for South Korea to develop additional countermeasures to counteract North Korea’s dual role in the conventional and nuclear arsenal.

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A hole that had allowed Chinese steel suppliers to avoid US tariffs since 2018 has been closed by the US by the US’s US tariffs on steel and aluminum products that come from China via Mexico.

According to the new regulations, which were announced by US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, steel materials from Mexico will be subject to a 25 % tax unless they are melted and poured in Mexico, Canada, or the US. &nbsp,

Aluminum goods from Mexico may not have primary metal that is smelted or cast in China, Russia, Belarus or Iran, or they will experience a 10 % price.

The new regulations, according to Lael Brainard, chairman of the US’s National Economic Council, aim to close a significant flaw that the previous management did not address and that countries like China can use to prevent US tariffs by passing their goods through Mexico.

Nevertheless, Chinese state media and critics claimed that China’s metal exports will be impacted only by the new US tariffs.

The recent tariff announcements are largely symbolic because the US is not a big market place for Taiwanese steel and aluminum products, according to the Global Times, a remark from the Chinese Communist Party on Thursday. &nbsp, &nbsp,

According to some experts, the Biden Administration’s most recent action simply serves to further politicize trade and economic concerns.

Less than 3 % of China’s steel products were ultimately sold to Mexico, Canada, and the US, according to the experts, compared to 1 % of the country’s steel products last year.

Only 4.5 % of China’s aluminium imports got sold directly to the US in 2023, according to a review published by the Shanghai Metals Market, a market research company. &nbsp,

China may expand its steel exports to some emerging nations, according to the report, so any new US tariffs will have only a little, short-term effect on its steel and aluminum exports. &nbsp,

” China has no significant trade issues with developing nations. Even if there are some little problems, they can be resolved quickly”, a Zhejiang-based author using the moniker” Everyday Finance” says in an article published on Thursday. ” China and the developing world are very comparable and beneficial in many ways.”

He added that China’s needed to maintain its economic relations with the European Union, which has just imposed taxes on Chinese energy cars, is now more pressing. &nbsp,

Others said poor private need, caused by China’s house problems, is now a more pressing concern for Chinese metal makers. &nbsp,

Stress from US lawmakers&nbsp,

According to Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which authorizes the US commerce secretary to conduct thorough investigations to assess the effects of imports of any article on the national security of the US, the Trump administration imposed 25 % and 10 % tariffs on imports of Chinese steel and aluminum products, respectively.

In exchange for the two adjacent countries ‘ treatment of all punitive taxes they had imposed on American goods, the US announced in May 2019 that it had reached an agreement with Canada and Mexico to eliminate the Area 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum exports. &nbsp,

Since then, several Chinese steel and aluminum manufacturers have set up products in Mexico to benefit from the US-Canada-Mexico free-trade deal. &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp,

According to the Department of Commerce, US imports of steel from Mexico were up 72 % in 2022 from the average level in 2015-2017. &nbsp,

US Senators Tom Cotton and Sherrod Brown introduced a bipartisan bill in March of this year that called for the repeal of the 25 % tariff on Mexican steel imports. &nbsp,

They claimed that Mexico made a promise in 2019 to increase accountability regarding exports of steel and aluminum from third countries, but the nation failed to do so.

The US announced on Wednesday that it had reached a deal with Mexico to shield its steel and aluminum industries from international tariff evasion.

According to US officials, the US would now be subject to the tax on steel imported from Mexico in 2023, or on 3.8 million lots of it, according to US authorities. According to them, 105, 000 metric tons of metal goods were imported from Mexico last year, with 6 % of those destined for smelting or casting abroad. &nbsp,

It means that just 494, 000 tons of steel imported from Mexico, or about 1.8 % of total US material goods in 2023, are affected by the new tax deeds. &nbsp,

In fact, the US mainly imported steel from Canada ( 6.245 million metric tons, or 24.4 % of total ), Mexico ( 3.8 million tons, 14.9 % ), Brazil ( 3.58 million tons, 14 % ), South Korea ( 2.39 million tons, 9.3 % ) and Japan ( 1.08 million tons, 4.2 % ) in 2023, according to the US Census Bureau. &nbsp,

Last season, the best five spots of Chinese steel imports were South Korea, Vietnam, the European Union, the Philippines and Thailand, according to China Customs. China’s steel products were the 18th largest marketplace for US products. &nbsp,

South Korea is a major importer of Chinese steel and a big supplier of US material, but its steel exports to the US follow a quota system, making it unlikely to be impacted by the US-China business conflict.

Read: Indonesia reprimands China’s World South business drive

Observe Jeff Pao on X: &nbsp, @jeffpao3

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