U.S. Sanctions Turkish Officials Over Pastor’s Detention

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White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Wednesday that the United States will impose sanctions on Turkish officials in response to the imprisonment of American pastor Andrew Brunson in Turkey.

“At the president’s direction, the Department of Treasury is sanctioning Turkey’s Minister of Justice and Minister of Interior, both of whom played leading roles in the arrest and detention of pastor Brunson,” Sanders said. “As a result, any property or interest in property of both ministers within U.S. jurisdiction is blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.”

“We’ve seen no evidence that Pastor Brunson has done anything wrong and we believe he is a victim of unfair and unjust detention by the government of Turkey,” Sanders stated.

The sanctions are directed at Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu. A U.S. Treasury Department press release said the officials “serve as leaders of Turkish government organizations responsible for implementing Turkey’s serious human rights abuses.” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin called Brunson’s detention “simply unacceptable.”

Brunson is an evangelical pastor from North Carolina who was arrested by Turkish authorities in 2016 after the failed coup attempt. He was accused of having ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party and U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, who is alleged by the Turkish government to have been behind much of the unrest. (Read more from “U.S. Sanctions Turkish Officials Over Pastor’s Detention” HERE)

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Migrant Who ‘Hero’ Student Stopped From Being Deported Sentenced for Assault

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The Swedish student who was branded a “hero” and captured worldwide attention after she stopped the deportation of an Afghan migrant by refusing to sit down on a plane instead prevented the extradition of a man sentenced for assault and whose asylum application was rejected.

Elin Ersson, a student at Gothenburg University, was subjected to fawning media coverage over her stunt earlier this month when she refused to take her seat on the plane until the 52-year-old Afghan deportee was released. She was successful and authorities weren’t able to deport the man.

However, Swedish Police confirmed to Fox News that the man whose deportation Ersson prevented had received a prison sentence in Sweden for assault. The police spokesman declined to go into more details about the crime the migrant has committed. His asylum application was also rejected. . .

One of the largest newspapers in Finland, Helsingin Sanomat, reported last week as well that the man was sentenced for assault. The man will still eventually be deported, though the date remains unknown, the newspaper reported.

Despite lacking information about the man who was being deported, most media organizations jumped on the story, with the Washington Post calling Ersson’s stunt a “dramatic act of civil disobedience” while Newsweek magazine described the student as a “hero”. (Read more from “Migrant Who ‘Hero’ Student Stopped From Being Deported Sentenced for Assault” HERE)

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Report: Iran Increased Persecution of Christians in July

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The Iranian government’s persecution of Christians increased over the past month, according to information gathered by the nonprofit International Christian Concern.

Earlier this month, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani claimed Christians have the same rights as others do in Iran. Despite the claim, a report from ICC, a Washington-based nonprofit that assists religious minorities from persecution through assistance, advocacy, and awareness, points to evidence from the month of July showing Christians have been targeted by the Iranian regime. Eight believers faced judicial action, “a noteworthy increase of publicized cases of Christian persecution in Iran,” according to ICC.

The report highlighted cases of Christians held by the government. On July 2, intelligence forces arrested and detained Massoumeh Taqinejad and her son. She was charged with proselytizing on the Internet. A couple weeks later, Ramiel Bet Tamraz received a four month prison sentence for allegedly acting against national security. In the following days and weeks, the report includes five others who were arrested, detained, or tried in court.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, another organization dedicated to supporting Christians suffering persecution, issued a statement that observed, “as the Iranian regime has grown more unpopular and citizens have become more vocal in their criticism of corruption in official circles, the government has become increasingly reliant on the support of hard-line ayatollahs, who favour increased pressure on religious minorities.”

Similarly, ICC’s regional manager, Claire Evans, said “the persecution of Christians in Iran is increasingly building as the regime struggles to maintain its grip over the hearts and minds of its citizenry.” (Read more from “Report: Iran Increased Persecution of Christians in July” HERE)

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Social Worker: Migrants See Child Brides ‘as Their Sons’ Tickets to Europe’

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Here’s another entry in the chronicle of Western difficulties assimilating Third World immigrants: Swedish authorities report growing problems with migrants sending young daughters to marry older men abroad, both as a strategy to avoid assimilation and to gain European citizenship. While underage marriage is essentially banned in Sweden, the country recognizes underage marriages conducted abroad.

“People see young girls as their sons’ tickets to Europe,” social worker Zubeyde Demirörs told Politico for a recent article. Demirörs, now 45, was herself forcibly married to a Turkish man 22 years her senior when she was 15. . .

ow she runs a shelter to help girls in similar situations, and hears “similar stories every day,” despite many public campaigns, especially since the height of the European migrant crisis in 2015, to reduce the practice. Last year the Swedish government launched a unit to address honor crimes after a surge accompanying asylum-seekers.

Summer is the busiest time for marrying girls off, because they are on holiday from school: “This time of year my phone just doesn’t stop ringing. May, June, July — that’s when many girls are taken back to their parents’ home countries, mostly to rural parts of the Middle East and Africa,” Demirörs told Politico. Marriage before age 18 is the norm in many poor countries. In Niger, the world’s No. 1 in this regard, 77 percent of marriages occur before the female is 18. . .

In response to seeing an increase in this evil custom and others such as female genital mutilation within their borders, Swedish lawmakers are considering proposals to not recognize foreign marriages involving minors, travel bans for those suspected of bringing daughters abroad for forced marriages or mutilation, and extraditing foreigners involved with honor crimes. Just last month Denmark began implementing stringent new laws to address similar problems. Beginning at one year old, children living in immigrant “ghettos” must now attend 25 hours per week of mandatory assimilation instruction, or their parents may lose welfare payments. (Read more from “Social Worker: Migrants See Child Brides ‘as Their Sons’ Tickets to Europe’” HERE)

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British Army Goes to Standby in Prep for “No Deal” Brexit and Ensuing Domestic Crisis

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By The Times. Ministers have drawn up plans to send in the army to deliver food, medicines and fuel in the event of shortages if Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal.

Blueprints for the armed forces to assist the civilian authorities, usually used only in civil emergencies, have been dusted down as part of the “no deal” planning.

Helicopters and army trucks would be used to ferry supplies to vulnerable people outside the southeast who were struggling to obtain the medicines they needed. (Read more from “British Army Goes to Standby in Prep for “No Deal” Brexit and Ensuing Domestic Crisis” HERE)

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Here’s What a No Deal Brexit Would Mean for the British Economy

By Business Insider. . .Writing this week, Vicky Redwood, global economist at Capital Economics, argued that while “more extreme” warnings about the economic hit of no deal are being “overblown,” a significant impact negative impact could still be expected.

“Although the more extreme warnings about the short-term impact of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit on the economy are overdone, there is little doubt that it could deal a reasonable blow to GDP growth next year,” Redwood wrote to clients.

“Whether a no-deal scenario had a good, bad, or little impact on the economy in the long run would depend on many things, including how successful the UK was at striking new trade deals and whether there was an exodus of financial institutions from the UK. But the short-run effect would surely be bad,” she told clients.

Redwood did not go into specific detail in terms of forecasts, but said that a no deal Brexit could “plausibly knock a percentage point or so off growth next year.”

One of the reasons for that, Redwood argued, is that no deal would inevitably have a major negative impact on the price of the pound. (Read more from “Here’s What a No Deal Brexit Would Mean for the British Economy” HERE)

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This Is How Iran Is Attempting to Get Around U.S. Sanctions

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In an effort to circumvent U.S. sanctions, Iran is moving forward with plans to develop its own national cryptocurrency. . .

State-run Iranian news outlet PressTV reported Wednesday that the Central Bank of Iran is working with domestic technology firms on the project and expects a new national encryption key using blockchain technology will be introduced into the country’s banking system within the next three months.

According to PressTV, an official from the technological directorate of the Iranian Presidential Office made the announcement to local media.

Alireza Daliri, deputy for management and investment affairs, said in a statement, “We are trying to prepare the grounds to use a domestic digital currency in the country. This currency would facilitate the transfer of money (to and from) anywhere in the world. Besides, it can help us at the time of sanctions. . .

Iran is taking a page out of Venezuela’s playbook with its plan to develop its own digital currency. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro introduced the roll-out of its oil-backed “Petro” cryptocurrency last year — also for the purpose of dodging U.S. sanctions. (Read more from “This Is How Iran Is Attempting to Get Around U.S. Sanctions” HERE)

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Remains of 55 American Soldiers Killed in North Korea Returned on 65th Anniversary of Armistice

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Fifty-five wooden cases, draped with white and blue United Nations flags, carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War arrived Friday in South Korea on the 65th anniversary of the Korean Armistice Agreement, the White House said in a news release.

A solemn honor guard greeted the fallen soldiers at the Osan Air Base outside Seoul, South Korea. U.S. service members methodically carried each small casket — one by one — to their awaiting vehicles. A formal repatriation ceremony will be held Aug. 1, the White House release said.

Earlier, a crew traveled aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft to Wonsan, North Korea, where they collected the soldiers’ remains. . .

“Today’s actions represent a significant first step to recommence the repatriation of remains from North Korea and to resume field operations in North Korea to search for the estimated 5,300 Americans who have not yet returned home,” the White House release said.

“The Remains of American Servicemen will soon be leaving North Korea and heading to the United States!” the president tweeted late Thursday about the return of the remains. “After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong Un.” (Read more from “Remains of 55 American Soldiers Killed in North Korea Returned on 65th Anniversary of Armistice” HERE)

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Russia Is Already Meddling in the 2018 Election – Here’s Who They’re Targeting This Time

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By The Blaze. According to a report from the Daily Beast, the same Russian intelligence agency behind the cyberattack in the 2016 election is already meddling in the 2018 midterm election. . .

The report said that the alleged hacking attempts were aimed at staffers for Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), and used the same tactics that were successful against former Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta.

The attacks involved links sent to the staffers’ email addresses that were made to look like official notices from their websites requesting a password change. The link provided also mimes official email address change websites, but sends the information to hackers.

“We did discover that a fake Microsoft domain had been established as the landing page for phishing attacks, and we saw metadata that suggested those phishing attacks were being directed at three candidates who are all standing for elections in the midterm elections,” said [Tom] Burt. . .

“Russia continues to engage in cyber warfare against our democracy. I will continue to speak out and press to hold them accountable,” McCaskill said to the Daily Beast. “While this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they think they can get away with this. I will not be intimidated. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Putin is a thug and a bully.” (Read more from “Russia Is Already Meddling in the 2018 Election – Here’s Who They’re Targeting This Time” HERE)

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Russians Unsuccessfully Tried to Hack Computers of Democratic Sen. Claire Mccaskill

By NPR. Russian hackers trying to influence the 2018 elections made an unsuccessful attempt to breach the computer system of Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, one of this fall’s most vulnerable Democrats.

The Daily Beast reported that McCaskill is the first known target of the Kremlin’s plot to interfere in this fall’s midterm elections after targeting the U.S. in the 2016 presidential election.

McCaskill has been a critic of Russia and of President Trump — who has at times doubted that any such interference happened at all and decried attempts by special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate as a “witch hunt.” At a press conference last week after his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump appeared to believe Putin’s denials over the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies, though he later tried to walk that back.

In a statement, McCaskill said she “will not be intimidated” by the attempts, which occurred around August 2017.

“Russia continues to engage in cyber warfare against our democracy. I will continue to speak out and press to hold them accountable,” McCaskill said in a statement. “While this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they think they can get away with this. I will not be intimidated. I’ve said it before and I will say it again, Putin is a thug and a bully.” (Read more from “Russians Unsuccessfully Tried to Hack Computers of Democratic Sen. Claire Mccaskill” HERE)

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Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Bulldozes Another Narrative About Russia

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By Townhall. After months of speculation President Trump would recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea as legitimate, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo bulldozed that narrative during testimony in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday afternoon.

“On the subject of Russia, I want to bring something to your attention right off the bat today. Today the Trump administration is releasing what we’re calling the Crimea Declaration,” Pompeo said.

“I want to show this committee that the United States does not, and will not recognize the Kremlin’s annexation of Crimea,” Pompeo continued. “There will be no relief of Crimea-related sanctions until Russia returns control of the Crimean peninsula to Ukraine.”

Pompeo also said NATO is an “indispensable” part of U.S. national defense and that President Trump’s demand members pay their fair share will only bolster the alliance against Russia.

Pompeo testified about a number of issues and said negotiations with North Korea, despite progress until now, have a long way to go. (Read more from “Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Bulldozes Another Narrative About Russia” HERE)

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Pompeo Faces Tough Questions on Russia, North Korea

By ABC News. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fiercely defended the Trump administration’s foreign policy on Capitol Hill Wednesday, facing tough questions from Republican and Democratic senators about North Korea, Russia, Iran, and more.

But it was the divide in U.S. foreign policy between President Trump’s comments and his administration’s actions that underlaid the contentious hearing, with Pompeo at one time seeming to suggest that the administration’s actions mattered more than Trump’s words. He was quick to correct himself later, saying that he misspoke, but blasting what he called Democrats’ “glee” at his mistake and their efforts “to make a political point from that.”

“That’s silliness. This president runs this government. His statements are in fact U.S. policy,” Pompeo declared in a particularly heated exchange with the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey.

It was Pompeo’s first time in front of the committee since President Trump’s historic meetings with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and Russian leader Vladimir Putin – the outcomes of which are both now being called into question. (Read more from “Pompeo Faces Tough Questions on Russia, North Korea” HERE)

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Trump Is Very Concerned About This Possible Russia Decision

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President Donald Trump appeared to want to flip the script on Tuesday tweeting that he is “very concerned” that Russia will be “pushing very hard for Democrats” this fall in the midterm elections.

Trump tweeted, “I’m very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats.”

“They definitely don’t want Trump!” he added.

Trump received a torrent of criticism from members of the media, as well as lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, for seeming to be as ready to accept Putin’s denial of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential race as the U.S. intelligence community’s findings that it did.

The president, following the meeting, clarified that he has “full faith” in America’s intelligence agencies, including their findings concerning Russian attempts to influence the election.

He noted that he has stated multiple times over the past year that he believes Russia sought to meddle, but he does not believe it changed the outcome.

In an interview with CNBC last Thursday, Trump said, “Getting along with President Putin, getting along with Russia, is positive, not a negative.”

He added, “That being said, if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be the worst enemy he’s ever had.”

Trump emphasized the actions he has taken against Putin’s interests.

“Look at the sanctions I threw on. Look at the diplomats I threw out. Look at all of the things that I’ve done,” he said.

The president continued, “Nobody else did what I’ve done. Obama didn’t do it. Obama was a patsy for Russia. He was a total patsy.

“I have been far tougher on Russia than any president in many, many years.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded to the president’s assertion that the Russians may help the Democrats this fall by tweeting video footage from the Helsinki summit of Putin saying he wanted Trump to win in 2016. “Let’s go to the video tape (again),” Schumer wrote.

Following the Democrat’s harsh rhetoric toward Trump’s meeting with Putin last week, a 2003 Associated Press photo of Schumer accompanying the Russian president on a visit to New York City circulated widely.

Garrett Graff, writing for Politico, argued that Trump just might be right about the Russians seeking to help the Democrats regain power this November.

“There’s solid geopolitical evidence that boosting the Democrats would be a smart strategy for a foreign actor this fall,” he wrote.

Graff continued, “Vladimir Putin’s goal isn’t—and never was—to help the Republican Party, at least in the long run.”

“Boosting Trump’s presidential campaign was a means to Putin’s end: Weakening the West, and exploiting the seams and divisions of the West’s open democracies to undermine our legitimacy and moral standing.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., agreed with Trump that Putin’s plan is not wedded to a person or a party, but meant to sow chaos.

He wrote, “Putin is pro-Chaos and is an Equal Opportunity Disruptor of the American electoral system.” (For more from the author of “Trump Is Very Concerned About This Possible Russia Decision” please click HERE)

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