Trump Appointee Seeks to Cut Off Funding for Global Internet Access Group
Michael Pack, the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, is moving to stop federal funding of the Open Technology Fund, which develops tools that allow people to get around controls on internet access.
Michael Pack, the chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, wants to stop federal funding for a nonprofit that helps increase internet access around the world.Credit.Voice of America
Dec. 19, 2020
WASHINGTON The Trump appointee who oversees the government’s global media operations is moving to shut down a federally funded nonprofit that helps support internet access around the world, documents show, a decision that could limit people’s ability to get around constraints in places that tightly control internet access, like Iran and China.
Trump Incentives for Signing Peace Accords With Israel Could Be at Risk
Diplomatic sweeteners for joining the Abraham Accords that were offered to Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates could be rejected by Congress or reversed by the incoming Biden administration.
The Abraham Accords, President Trump’s signature foreign policy achievement, have either newly brokered or restarted economic and political ties for Israel with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco.Credit.Amir Levy/Getty Images
Published Dec. 20, 2020Updated Dec. 22, 2020
A similar diplomatic deal with Israel sealed Morocco’s demand for the United States to recognize its sovereignty over the Western Sahara region.
Jennifer Granholm, Mr. Biden’s pick for energy secretary, said the response could involve other countries as officials race to determine the size and scope of the hack.
“We are certainly concerned about any secrets being compromised. We haven’t gotten that information yet,” Ms. Granholm said on ABC’s “This Week.” “But believe me, Joe Biden will have a very significant response. And it may be a multinational response, depending on who is compromised.”
Officials have confirmed that the Department of Energy, which oversees the country’s nuclear stockpile, was part of the massive breach.
It’s not clear exactly what the hackers were seeking, but experts say it could include nuclear secrets, blueprints for advanced weaponry, COVID-19 vaccine-related research and information for dossiers on key government and industry leaders.
He found these phrases in a video produced by the World Economic Forum WEF for short. The outreach, Mr. Morano says, is now coming for the greenest icon of the Christmas season.
“The Great Reset/Green New Deal/Build Back Better are all using COVID-19 and a ‘climate emergency,’ to very clearly lay out your future. No private ownership of homes or cars or even Christmas trees,” Mr. Morano said.
“There’s no way around the fact that Christmas has a large carbon footprint, from the traveling we do to the presents we give and the large amounts of food we eat. But it is possible to at least reduce the negative impacts. With climate change and carbon dioxide levels now major sources of concern, surely it is time to see what can be done to be friendlier to the environment, and the Christmas tree is a good place to start,” explained a research article featured at the WEF website, which came with how-to recommendations.
Mr. Biden said last week that dealing with the breach will be a top priority for his administration. He suggested that his administration could move to impose “substantial costs” possibly sanctions on the responsible parties.
“We don’t know fully what happened, the extent of it. And, frankly, we don’t know fully for sure who did it,” Ms. Granholm said Sunday. “But Joe Biden, I know, will have a robust response once we find out the perpetrator and the extent of it.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday that it’s “pretty clear” the Russians were responsible for a “significant effort” to breach U.S. systems.