Tag Archive for: Planning

Oklahoma delegation protests loss of federal family planning grant


Family planning: The Oklahoma congressional delegation is protesting what it says was a U.S. Department of Human Services decision to rescind a $4.5 million family planning grant to the Oklahoma Department of Health because state law prohibits the agency from referring clients for abortions.

“Oklahomans rely on OSDH’s family planning program for Title X family planning services including cancer screenings, pregnancy prevention, STI diagnostics and treatment, breast exams, and depression screenings and referrals, among a multitude of other services,” says a letter signed by all seven members of Oklahoma’s delegation. “(The) decision to suspend OSDH’s award will severely limit Oklahoman’s access to these services.”

Historical: As an historian with a long career in politics, 4th District Congressman and House Rules Committee Chairman Tom Cole viewed last week’s debt limit and spending bill from a long-term perspective.

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“In a true negotiation, you always get less than you want and give up more than you’d like,” Cole said on Tuesday. “But with the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, it will responsibly lift the debt ceiling and avoid default that would devastate the American economy, and we will achieve real reductions in spending. … This is the most consequential spending reduction bill in more than a decade.”

Conspiracy theories: U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin has been telling conservative media outlets that President Joe Biden is only running for a second term to “protect his family” and that the FBI is covering up a bribery scandal involving Biden and his family.

“He knows that this is going to blow up in his face,” Mullin told Newsmax.

Mullin has insisted since before Biden’s election in 2020 that the president and his son Hunter Biden were involved in unethical and illegal dealings overseas. A recent Republican-led House…

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American national security requires smart spectrum planning


The United States has always been on the cutting edge of tech. Our free-market system enabled us to win the race to 4G, helped unleash the app economy, and allowed us to get to 5G faster than others. Our country’s leadership in tech helps secure the nation’s economic power and protect national security so the United States continues to serve as a beacon of peace and democracy.

Technology should be a force for good in the world. Our national security, and the security of other nations, is tied to our ability to keep up with and get ahead of emerging technologies. I’m encouraged to see that Congress is working together to implement a national spectrum policy. America needs a national strategy to make sure there is enough spectrum to build out 5G networks and not fall behind China.

Spectrum refers to the radio waves on which we transmit data, and it serves as the foundation for many of the wireless networks that power our lives, including 5G. Spectrum is the lifeblood of technological innovation — including advancements in national security that power our weapons systems and intelligence operations.

5G is quite literally the fifth generation of wireless connection, and it serves as a crucial foundation for innovations and advancements in the near and not-too-distant future. Alarmingly, America does not have enough spectrum in the pipeline to build out secure and reliable 5G networks. According to a paper by Analysys Mason, the United States ranks 13th in terms of available licensed spectrum — significantly behind nations such as China, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

One reason why is that the United States has overallocated spectrum to unlicensed use. This type of spectrum is available to the public and has important uses, but it’s not the foundation of secure and reliable 5G networks. Unlike managed licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum faces interference, and devices connected to unlicensed spectrum aren’t always assessed for security concerns. Indeed, when it comes to security, users of unlicensed spectrum have varying incentives, capabilities and technical skills, resulting in more cybersecurity risks than those who use managed licensed…

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[Asia’s Next Page] Japan’s Planning on Taiwan: Mitigating Beijing’s Gray-Zone Warfare


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China under Xi Jinping has been through rapid economic growth, giving it increased leverage to engage more assertively in questions of its territorial and maritime claims. While a multitude of diplomatic, military and strategic tools have been employed in pursuit of its goals lately, none has been as consistent as the gray-zone tactics it has resorted to over the last decade. 

By using military and non-military means of coercion, Beijing has systematically established its presence as a strategic challenge to the status quo and as a threat to multiple actors within the realm of international security. Motivated by its historical claims in regard to the South and East China Sea (ECS) and its “One China” policy, China’s unrelenting use of gray-zone warfare tactics against Taiwan have raised alarm. 

Heavily compromised cross-strait relations pose a threat to Japan, whose national security is intrinsically linked with that of Taiwan. As the Taiwan crisis rapidly escalates, how can Japan mitigate Beijing’s gray-zone tactics and ensure its own national security?

Converging Defense Postures

Referring to threats that do not amount to an armed attack, Japan’s 2021 Defense White Paper significantly emphasizes the importance of mitigating gray-zone actions. 

Tokyo essentially defines a gray-zone situation as one wherein a country confronts another over territorial, sovereign, maritime interests or other economic interests by forcefully demonstrating its presence. Identified as neither peacetime nor contingency situations, Japan recognizes the activity as “part of inter-state competition,” harboring “the risk of rapidly developing into graver situations without showing clear intentions.” Accordingly, Japan’s white paper calls for increased concern over the disputed Senkaku Islands (referred to as Diaoyu by China), considering China’s growing gray-zone activity to strategically assert its presence in the region. 

China’s increasingly threatening approach towards Taiwan has resulted in the need for a rigorously strengthened defense posture for the latter. The second Taiwan Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR 2021) under President Tsai…

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Coast Guard updating cyber planning and committing to industry best practices for maritime trusted computing – Military & Aerospace Electronics



Coast Guard updating cyber planning and committing to industry best practices for maritime trusted computing  Military & Aerospace Electronics

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