HGTV Star Mike Holmes Says To Do One Thing Before Replacing Kitchen Cabinets  House Digest

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HGTV Star Mike Holmes Says To Do One Thing Before Replacing Kitchen Cabinets - House Digest

Kitchen Tune-Up offers a more affordable option to create the kitchen of your dreams  Fox11online.com

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Kitchen Tune-Up offers a more affordable option to create the kitchen of your dreams - Fox11online.com

Keystone Wood Specialties offers cabinet refacing training  woodworkingnetwork.com

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Keystone Wood Specialties offers cabinet refacing training - woodworkingnetwork.com

Enjoy a stress-free home makeover this fall with Granite Transformations  ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix

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Enjoy a stress-free home makeover this fall with Granite Transformations - ABC15 Arizona in Phoenix

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Kitchen Solvers Strengthens Franchise Opportunity with New Advancements & Innovation - PR Newswire

The Event Extra podcast offers one-on-one interviews with some of the policymakers, practitioners and leaders who spoke at U.S. Institute of Peace events. Each episode highlights their ideas on areas of conflict and how to achieve peace.

Adam Gallagher: Welcome, let me introduce us. Youre Rina Amiri, the U.S. special envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights. And I'm Adam Gallagher, managing editor for USIP.org. This week marks the one-year anniversary of the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Many expected that when they swept into power, the Taliban would reprise the repressive rule of the 1990s. Despite pledges of moderation and reform from some Taliban factions. One year later, those predictions have turned out to be prescient. They have swiftly reinstated many of their harshest policies pushing women out of public life and brooking dissent. Special Envoy Amiri, many of the hard-won gains made for Afghan women over the last 20 years are eroding before their eyes. Can you talk a little bit about how their lives have changed in the last year, and also what the picture is like for minorities and their rights?

Rina Amiri: Well, first, thank you very much, to you and to the U.S. Institute of Peace for continuing to keep the spotlight on the situation in Afghanistan. The last year has been nothing short of devastating for women, ethnic and religious communities. But I would say that for the population as a whole, I also hear from men, that, you know, that they're in a desperate situation. So it's, you know, it's a context in which is even more devastating, because I think that the population, what I hear over and over again, that, despite the tremendous devastation of war. Think how things have turned out. There is still some element of hope that the promise of a reform Taliban would materialize, and that they would be better than in the 1990s. And the last year, I think, has and many respects have been, the scenario that is far worse than any had had prepared themselves for, you know, for women and girls, I think that the whole world saw that overnight, they were stripped of their fundamental rights. You know, and of course, I want to qualify that. Certainly, the picture was very mixed. And that an urban centers, the women and girls had better opportunities, more advantages than those in the rural parts of the country. But when I talk to women, you know, from throughout the entire country, what I hear is devastation over the situation and that they've lost the right to work, they've lost the right to get their daughters educated, they have lost any sense of hope for the future. And for ethnic and religious communities, what they note is that they live under the shadow of threat. They don't feel safe in their communities, they don't feel safe in their homes. They don't feel safe sending their wives to give birth because of attack, the attacks on, terrible attacks that have taken place against maternity wards. They fear for their children when they send their children to school. That pervasive sense of threat is a shadow that has overtaken with their calculations and the way that they live their lives. And particularly for the Hazara community. You know, I read an assessment that there have been over 15 attacks. And it's not just the Hazara community as a religious community, but as an ethnic community where they are being specifically targeted and where they are, if they feel that they are being left as soft targets. And we hear the same thing from the Hindu and Sikh community, the Sufis, you know, just across the country of those that do not fit within the narrow confines of what the Taliban identifies as people that are aligned with what their view of the world that they are suffering tremendously right now.

Adam Gallagher: And yet over the last year, despite this sort of shadow of threat that looms over Afghan women and minorities, many have protested the Taliban rollback of their rights, including a demonstration over the weekend that was met with Taliban violence. I'm wondering if you can talk a little bit about what you see Afghan women and minorities doing to protect in their promote and promote their rights amid this sort of terrifying landscape.

Rina Amiri: I think what the world needs to take away from what we have seen from the Afghan population is that they are not a -- you know, we see that there's a narrative around Afghans as victims, but Afghans, I think are the most resilient people in the world. And the most, you know, some of the most courageous people in the world. And certainly we have seen that demonstrated, and foremost among them, I would have to say, have been Afghan women. They, we have seen over and over again, despite the tremendously harsh crackdowns by the Taliban against not just the women but against their families, that they continue to go out and protest. And they're not just protesting for their rights. They're protesting for the vision that all Afghans aspire towards, which is a peaceful Afghanistan and inclusive one on one which one which is going to be economically viable. You know, I spent a lot of time talking to Afghans both inside and outside the country and online. And they tell me that this is not this is not just a choice for them, you know, that it's not that they're not fearful. But there are some things that are more important than fear. And that is what gives them the courage that they go out. And what they're fighting for is they're fighting for the children, they're fighting for the future of the country. You know, and there are a lot of painful stories that I come across, I come across women who say that, you know, up until, like, a year ago, there were judges, there were parliamentarians, there were doctors, and now they have to go through the indignity of, you know, they put on a burqa, and they go out and they're looking for, they're put in a position of being beggars. And they know that the Taliban are more prepared to provide support for them as beggars than allowing them to be agents of their own future. And as active agents in society where they can contribute to the to the economy of the country. They're also, you know, they're incredibly pragmatic. They're not, they're not looking at this as a black and white situation. Where they find Taliban that are positioned are prepared to engage with them and to create entry points for them to work to get or to do anything constructive. They're willing to work with those Talibs. So I think beyond the, what we, what I take away is that their vision is both defined by pragmatism, as well as principles and tremendous courage. And they want the world to understand that they are not victims, that they need our support. They need us to engage them as agents of their own future, and to look at a very targeted way of how we can support them, whether that's through diplomatic engagement with the Taliban, or otherwise, but that it should not just stop just because the Taliban are being resistant to any type of movement in a positive direction.

Adam Gallagher: Yeah, and that's a good segue into my final question. But I also just want to mention that I think that point about pragmatism is so important. And you have to wonder why the Taliban can't sort of reciprocate that pragmatism, understanding that they're hamstrung, hamstringing their own economy by shutting women out of public life in this way. But to go back sort of on what you were closing there, and I'm just wondering if you can expand a bit more on how the United States and the international community can help Afghan women and minorities in this really, really tough situation. And then also, I'm wondering if you can touch a little bit on the U.S.-Afghan consultative mechanism that was launched at USIP in late July.

Rina Amiri: I think that those that understand the situation of why this issue of women's rights and human rights are important, don't approach it just from a moral or normative perspective, but from a strategic perspective, that the role of women -- we have the data, we have the data from just really very compelling evidence from all over the world. But the best way, the most economically effective way, the one that doesn't require a large intervention in the future is one in which we equip women to advance the society. And that's where we're coming from, I think, it informs why, you know, our approach. And the U.S.-Afghan consultative mechanism -- one, that it should be Afghan women and civil society, Afghan voices that are at the forefront of this discussion. They, we will be capable of making much better policies if their voices are in the lead. If they guide our assessment, if they guide our understanding. Our policies are grounded in a solid understanding and a solid engagement strategy with Afghans themselves. We seek to use their voices, to profile their voices to bring them in, in a consistent and systematic way. With the U.S. government officials across the government sitting across from Afghan women leaders, human rights, the human rights community, civil society, as equal actors trying to work together on what the specific challenges and identify solutions to develop a coherent approach to systematically engaging them, rather than having one-off consultations with Afghan women and civil society that, where the impact might be lesser than something that's more systematic.

Adam Gallagher: Thank you so much, Special Envoy Amira, for joining us this week, during this sort of somber anniversary. We really appreciate your time.

Rina Amiri: Thank you very much.

Watch the original event Engaging Afghan Women and Civil Society in U.S. Policymaking.

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Event Extra: Taliban Rule Takes Profound Toll on Afghan Women and Minorities - United States Institute of Peace

U.S. Institute of Peace experts discuss the latest foreign policy issues from around the world inOn Peace, abrief weekly collaboration with SiriusXM's POTUS Channel 124.

Julie Mason: Joining me now, Andrew Watkins is a senior expert on Afghanistan for the U.S. Institute of Peace. Here to discuss the one-year anniversary of the fall of Kabul. Andrew, good morning.

Andrew Watkins: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

Julie Mason: What a dire situation there. People are starving. Their economy is in ruins. The setbacks for women. Ugh.

Andrew Watkins: It really is terrible in so many ways. The Taliban are showing the world and the Afghan people that they understand the scope of the problems that they're facing. But they've also revealed, over the last year, just how little that they can do to grapple with the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Julie Mason: What is the situation there? What are the conditions?

Andrew Watkins: The conditions are pretty horrific. And it's only due to the intervention of Western powers like the United States and European allies, that the country hasn't reached a critical mass of starvation everywhere. But the United Nations and other aid organizations say that there are more people going hungry in Afghanistan than anywhere else in the world in Asia and Africa. This is a result of an economy that completely collapsed. When the U.S. left Afghanistan, it wasn't just our military presence, it was all of the aid and the economic assistance that had been turning their whole economy into one giant bubble.

Julie Mason: The Taliban have consolidated, sort of, security in the country. They do have that on lockdown. No major threats to their rule of the country.

Andrew Watkins: It's true. A lot of what we're seeing in the news usually has to do with fighting that's still going on in Afghanistan. There are a lot of people, for maybe obvious reasons, who don't like the Taliban, and they're trying to do something about it. But to put it in perspective, all of this is really small scale. The fact is there are people trying to resist the Taliban. From the left and the right, you have people affiliated with the former government, you have our former Afghan allies, and then all the way on the other side of the spectrum, you have terrorists who are part of the Islamic State network around the world. But the Taliban have consolidated control around the country, and they're going to control it for the foreseeable future.

Julie Mason: And the Taliban hiding al-Zawahiri or giving him safe haven in Kabul, what is your interpretation of the relationship now, between those two groups?

Andrew Watkins: Yeah, I mean, the Taliban themselves have really been caught between a rock and a hard place. It's always been a complicated relationship. You can go back to 2001 and if you look at interviews and cables from the State Department, there were a lot of people in the Taliban who didn't agree with their leader's judgment to keep bin Laden protected. And there are a lot of people in the Taliban for the last 20 years who have kind of resented the relationship with al-Qaida. Because why should they have lost everything and had to suffer through 20 years of war just for the sake of keeping a lot of people from the Arab world safe when their fight is a different fight? But at the end of the day, as a friend who's very close to people in the Taliban told me, if there are some people in the Taliban who don't like that relationship with al-Qaida, there's one thing that everyone in the Taliban likes less. And that's the idea of helping their former enemy, the United States, hunt al-Qaida down.

Julie Mason: Very interesting, because I mean, after all that money, after all those lives lost, after all those U.S. promises, to have withdrawn and then al-Qaida still operating in Afghanistan. Like what exactly was achieved?

Andrew Watkins: Yeah, I mean, that's especially hard to ask when we look at everything else, right? There were a lot of mistakes made and there was, you know, countless corruption, from the money that we spent, to what Afghan politicians did with it, but there were improvements made and we're seeing even those erode, you know, across Afghan society.

Julie Mason: Right? Exactly. Everything we said like, If you just vote. If you just turn out. If you just you know, do this, then you're gonna have all these benefits. And now, people are starving and there's nothing. That's really grim on a Monday morning but tell us about the supreme leader of the Taliban, Andrew.

Andrew Watkins: Yeah, so this is the most interesting thing we've gotten to see over the last year. The Taliban calls their government the Islamic Emirate and the head is a leader called the emir that they say has supreme authority. He acts with the authority, you know, of God himself. The reality is, though, for the last 20 years, to survive in their war against the U.S., the Taliban had to grow very flexible. They've always said in theory that their leader had supreme authority. But in reality, if you wanted to sign up with them to fight against the Americans, they were pretty flexible. They gave you a lot of autonomy to do things in your little corner of Afghanistan the way that you wanted. Since taking over the country last year, the emir has been trying in a lot of different ways to reassert his authority and become that supreme leader that they've always said he is.

Julie Mason: And how does he occupy that job? Like, what are his edicts?

Andrew Watkins: Well, the most interesting thing is that he doesn't occupy that job with the rest of the government that's based in the capital, Kabul. He sits down in the southern city of Kandahar, which now kind of has a mystique in the Taliban because it's where their first emir, and the guy who founded the Taliban, Mullah Mohammed Omar, it's where he sat for over four years. He had this attitude, you know, not that much different than how some Americans might feel about Washington D.C., that the capital, as the hub of politics, was a corrupt and sinful place. And so, he avoided it entirely. So, this guy is styling himself in the same way, there's a lot of mythology that the Taliban tell about themselves.

Julie Mason: Other matters, meanwhile, the Taliban stalling out in critical aspects of government. As we mentioned, [there is] near universal poverty in the country. And it's an interesting policy question, right? Because, Andrew, no country really seems to want to have any sort of diplomatic relationship with the Taliban, but there's still a great deal of sympathy for the people there.

Andrew Watkins: It's true. I mean, looking forward, this is really the United States struggle: how to continue to provide support for the Afghan people and completely work around the government, you know, the political force that's running the country. It's an unprecedented situation. The Taliban can't seem to make up their mind on some of the most important issues to run the country. And where they do seem to have made up their mind, it's making the wrong decisions, like hosting al-Qaida. And so, you've got a United States, and of course, we still have this huge obligation to the Afghan people with everything we invested, but trying to figure out how to remain engaged without it benefiting the Taliban, while they still figure themselves out on their path to becoming a really kind of warped version of government.

Julie Mason: Andrew Watkins is senior expert on Afghanistan at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Andrew, thank you so much for your time this morning.

Andrew Watkins: Thanks for having me.

Julie Mason: Really great to talk to you.

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Andrew Watkins on the One-Year Anniversary of Taliban Takeover - United States Institute of Peace

California residents have great choices when they are thinking about renovating their homes. They can replace old kitchen or bathroom cabinets or choose to have them refaced and save money. Finding one company that can deal with either choice and provide new granite countertops is a good decision.

Choosing a Remodeling Company

In California, residents have many remodeling companies to choose from. But, those remodeling companies are not all equal. It is important to check different remodeling companies out online and with rating services to find a company that does a good job for a reasonable cost. Granite Transformations is one company to check out for home renovations that take less time and result in less mess while providing great results.

They offer kitchen and bathroom renovation services that are cost effective and beautiful. Start the research process by going to https://www.granitetransformations.com/ and finding out about the company and its locations and services. Any company chosen for kitchen and bathroom renovation projects should offer design services to the homeowner along with no-cost, in-home consultations. A visit to the showroom to choose materials in person is also important.

About Granite Transformations

Go to https://www.granitetransformations.com/about-us/ to find out important information about this company. They have been in business since 1996 and have served over one million customers in that time. They have the experience to get the kitchen or bathroom remodeling job done quickly and right. Granite Transformations has joined with TREND to become Granite and TREND Transformations. they specialize in kitchen and bathroom transformations that involve little or no demolition.

Refacing Existing Cabinets to Save Money

One way to save money is to reface existing cabinets rather than replace the cabinets with new ones. For this method to work well, the cabinets need to be well-constructed and in usable shape. Refacing existing cabinets is also a good idea when the existing cabinet layout works well.

Though there are limits to what a homeowner can do with cabinet refacing, a company such as Granite Transformations has the know-how and products to make the most of this renovation option. When refacing the cabinets that are well-constructed, they can entirely change the door style, finish, and hardware.

What is the Cabinet Refacing Process?

During the cabinet refacing process the cabinet doors and drawer fronts are removed. Then, the face frames and side panels are cleaned and roughed up so they will accept the new finishes. Next, a new finish or veneer is glued or nailed over the old finish, and nail holes are filled and all edges are finished. The cabinet undersides and the base cabinet toe kicks get new finishes. Finally, the cabinets get new door and drawer fronts with new hardware. When the job is done, the cabinets look new.

One problem to consider is if the renovated kitchen needs additional matching cabinets. The kitchen renovation contractor should be able to furnish new cabinets to match the newly refaced ones. All the cabinets should get new countertops that match. When the kitchen or bathroom is done, it should be exactly what the homeowner asked for.

Media ContactCompany Name: Granite TransformationsContact Person: Media RelationsEmail: Send EmailPhone: 707-200-4813Address:3485 Airway Dr., Suite A City: Santa RosaState: CaliforniaCountry: United StatesWebsite: https://www.granitetransformations.com/

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Refacing the Cabinets Can Enhance the Most Important Areas of the Home - Digital Journal

Hello and happy Thursday!

The Kitchens are on vacation this week and were having a wonderful time. The picture below is from the dueling grounds at Weehawken, New Jerseywhere Alexander Hamilton was shot by Aaron Burr.

As we continue our travels I thought itd be nice to provide a condensed and edited transcript of my recent interview with former Trump national security advisor, Robert OBrien. We spoke last week on the Dispatch podcast (listen here) and we cover a lot of different topics of interestincluding China, Ukraine, and the January 6 riots at the Capitol.

Before diving in, a few listeners have said I should have pushed OBrien harder on his January 6 comments. Perhaps. Im certainly not a hard-nosed journalist like many of my fellow Dispatchers. But if Im honest, I also have to admit that I was a little sympathetic to his cause. The reality is that the political rally and the other events that day were not under the purview of the national security adviser. Those were political decisions being made by political operatives and by the president.

Its also true that it was the intelligence community that was raising many of the alarms about how the protests could get out of hand and Im sure OBrien was making those assessments known. Even more, when his deputy, Matt Pottenger, resigned that afternoon, OBriens hands were pretty much tied because national security doesnt take a time out when things go sideways domestically (in fact, they get even more serious). The nation would have genuinely been less safe if he had resigned prior to the Biden administration taking officeand the fact that OBrien was the last senior executive at the White House on Inauguration Day reinforces this point.

Having said all of that, heres the transcript and I hope it gives you a little bit of insight into a job that is hugely important and often very difficult.

See ya next week!

KLON: Robert, thanks for taking time to join me for a conversation.

ROBERT OBRIEN: Great to be with you Klon, thank you.

KLON: You were the fourth NSA to President Trump, is that right?

ROBERT O'BRIEN: I was, so wed had Michael Flynn and H.R. McMaster and John Bolton.

KLON: Talk a little bit about the presidents general approach to national security and foreign policy, the types of work that you were advising him on.

ROBERT O'BRIEN: So, the job of the assistant to the president for national security affairs, or the NSA job, is to be the principal foreign policy and national security adviser to the presidentand I took a little different view of my work than I think my predecessors did. I told the president this in the interview (and I think maybe one of the reasons why he asked me to do the job) is I felt that President Trump had a very well-defined foreign policy. I thought he should get the best options and best advice on whatever issue he was facing, and then once he made a decision the departments and agencies should implement that decision. I didn't view my job is trying to educate him on what his policy should be, I didn't come to the job with a foreign policy agenda've got well-thought out views on a lot of issues, but again, I was staffing the president. I wasn't a principal, and I hadn't been elected by anybody to put my foreign policy in place. My job was to make sure the president gotwhether it was a long term issue that we were facing, great power competition for example, or an immediate crisis like COVID or the Baghdadi situationto make sure the president got the absolute best advice from his Cabinet secretaries. And if he wanted my opinion at the end of the day after hearing from everybody else, and everyone having had their day in court, I'd give my advice. And then once the president made a decision on how to proceed, our job with the NSC was to coordinate with the Cabinet and the Cabinet secretaries and and their departments and agencies to make sure that the presidents foreign policy was implemented.

KLON: That sounds very reminiscent of the way Secretary[Condoleezza] Rice would talk about her role when she was the NSA. That she wanted to make sure that the president was getting as diverse and as deep a counsel as he could on those issues. You know, let's put Michael Flynn aside, but you can see how McMasters and Bolton both came in with a very developed, comprehensive, and public kind of world view on foreign policy issues, and I can see the daylight between how you're describing your approach and perhaps how they might have. I think, from at least open press reporting, why the president kind of chafed against some of that. He probably didn't want to feel like he was being kind of lectured to, he wanted the implementation of his view.

ROBERT O'BRIEN: No, I think that's right. And you know I worked for Condi at the State Department when she was secretary, and she was one of the first visitors I had I think. I took office on a Tuesday and she flew back to see me on a Sunday. We sat in her old office (my new office) and she very generously gave me a couple of hours of her time, and I think Condi tried to follow, and I tried to follow, a model established by Brent Scowcroft, whod served twice as national security advisor under both President Ford and President BushH.W. Bush. And every national security adviser when they come office invokes that, it's kind of a mantra that you know we're going to do the Scowcroft model, but I think it's been followed in the breach more than the regular order.

So I really did try to restore the Scowcroft model, and I think when you look at what we did with a slimmed down NSCI mean when I got there there was still almost 200 policy professionals, Condid had 106 at the height of Afghanistan, Iraq, the global war on terror, great power competition, shed had half that and I kind of took that as my model as wellwe got a very efficient NSC. We had an NSC that really ran on process where, again, all the Cabinet agencies and departments had their data to give their best views and best options. If there was a split opinion Id have each side elect a representative, so it might be Pompeo on one side and Mnuchin on the other, and wed go see the president and Id make sure the president heard both sets of views. But for the most part, we were able to drive consensus and go to the president with a set of options that we thought were best for the American people, and again that was derived out of deputies committee meetings and weekly principal committee meetings where we got the best input fromwhether it was Treasury or Commerce or State or Defense or the IC. And I think of the results of what we did with NATO funding, with getting Baghdadi, with putting Iran in a box, with the new consensus on China, certainly on the peacemaking front with the Abraham Accords, with Serbia-Kosovo, with healing the Gulf rift and even Afghanistan, I think the results were pretty impressive, and in eighteen months.

KLON: Im curious about our perspective on the state of the intelligence community. Whats your take on the IC? Hows it doing? Are there specific ways that it needs to evolve to be more aligned to modern statecraft and policymaking?

ROBERT O'BRIEN: So I think when it comes to collection, were second to none. Its pretty impressive what we can pull together. And I think the IC, like anything else, its a tremendous tool. They have great abilities with their SIGINT or ELINT or even human intelligence. However we think of it, and however we collect, it gets the policymakers people like me, the secretary of state, the CIA director, the folks that have to advise the president and advise Congress on what we should be doing it gets us what we need.

I think one thing thatsthere are a couple of issues with the intelligence community. One, I think its like any big bureaucracy, becomes a little risk-averse. And sometimes we need people thatlleven if theyre wrongthatll step up with an innovative or thoughtful theory that may not fall with conventional wisdom. You always worry that people might not want to be the outlier because they're afraid of how itll affect their career, but we need the outliers. Even if the outliers are wrong, theyre provocative and they cause us to think about things, that maybe look at things a different way and come up with a different solution.

Weve got a lot of people who are highly skilled and spent the best years of their life in places like Jalalabad and Kandahar and Anbar and Fallujah, places like that, and know that part of the world incredibly well. But the world is changing. And those places remain important to the United States, we cant ignore them, but our existential threat comes from the Communist Party of China and their Ministry of State Security on the IC front. Those guys are deadly and serious, and of course we still have what was the former KGB, the FSB and SVR now with the Russians, and the Iranians have the MOIS. So we need to start shifting our focus both as a government to the Indo-Pacific, but also to Russia in Eastern Europe and keep an eye on Iran. And so we want to make sure were not just living in the surge in 2006, in the glory days of Baghdad and the second Bush term.

KLON: So as you were in your position, what types of domestic threat work were you engaged in? What did that look like? What were the kinds of concerns that developed over the course of your time at the White House?

ROBERT O'BRIEN: Yeah my biggest domestic concern, Klon, was the CPC (the Communist Party of China) and the Peoples Republic of China and their infiltration into the U.S. which is extensive, pervasive, there are cells everywhere, they have an unbelievable ability to track their students who are here, to enforce their party orthodox on Chineseeven second- and third-generation Chinese that are hereto collect intelligence, to steal our IP. Christopher Wray talked about this in the summer of 2020 in a speech he gavewe gave a series of four speeches, Bill Barr, Chris Wray, myself and Mike Pompeo each gave a speech on China, we each took a different area and kind of laid out the threatand Chris Wray made a statement in his speech that I thought was really interesting. I've repeated it several times. The Chinese IP theft is the largest transfer of wealth in human history. In other words, the Chinese are taking more money and value out of the U.S. over the past 40 years through theft of our intellectual property than any sack of Rome, Trajans campaign in Dacia.

Look, there are certainly threats here. We have an Antifa threat, you know we had domestic terrorism on the left, were seeing now some of the reports about the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys and some of these threats on the right. And those are things we need to keep an eye on, and I dont want to minimize those threats, but I think the threat that were facing from the Communist Party of China is a threat to our way of life and our future liberty. And I think weve got to be careful about, you know, sending FBI agents out to school boards to watch parents protesting about CRT when they really ought to be trailing Chicom agents who are operating here that we know aboutand weve got to be careful not to let our domestic politics influence how the IC does our counter-intelligence here in the US. So that was my biggest concern, and again not that other concerns arent important, but when we think about our kids having liberty and the ability of the pursuit of happinessnot just in America but in the other democracieswere facing an existential threat right now.

KLON: But it does seem over the last several years to have adjusted to some of thewhat well call politically right-wing groups that you mentioned, and that are in the news right now obviously with Oath Keepers and Proud Boys and the like. Not only them, but certainly them. How did that come up as an issue for you to deal with?

ROBERT O'BRIEN: You do. In my case we had a great attorney general in Bill Barr, and Chad Wolf was our acting homeland security secretaryboth very capable men. And so for the most part we sort of coordinated the advice they got, but we left that to the FBI and the DOJ and Homeland to do most of those briefings. I would of course be there, and again the threats we saw changed even over the year and a half that I was national security advisor. At the outset we had the BLM movement and a lot of Antifa, so I mean you had situations where you know, pallets of bricks were being delivered close to the White House and a really impressive logistics chainnot impressive in that it was a good thing but impressive in that these Antifa folks were very good at logistics and created massive damage, I mean far greater damage than happened on January 6 (which again I condemned at the time, in real time, and was a terrible thing to happen to our country). But we also facedI mean, I was taken to an undisclosed location at least two times because of attacks on the White House by Antifa that havent been covered to the same extent as some of the other outbreaks. So both on the far left and the far right, whether youve got Antifa or these Proud Boys typesand you know I dont even think its fair to call them far left or far right because I think its unfair to liberals or conservativesbut just these domestic extremists, and certainly theyre being radicalized and coordinating and we know this from both types of groups.

KLON: Yeah. I think you're exactly right in the sense that no political faction, wherever it is on the spectrum, has a monopoly onunfortunately on political violence and extremism right now. It does seem to be this proliferating challenge and it has evolved over the course of even my time kind of engaging in these issues. YouI just want to touch on this brieflybut you bring up January 6. What was your day like that day? Like, how did those events unfolding what does that look like from your perspective in the White House?

ROBERT O'BRIEN: Yeah so I was actuallyand this hasnt been publicly reported on and I dont spend a lot of time talking about itI was in Florida at SOUTHCOM. But thats where I was on January 6, I was actually in a SCIF most of the day until I was pulled out of the SCIF by my staff to let me know what was going on. We finally made it back to Washington late that night, but look in real time I put out tweets on my personal Twitter account and I was impressed by the courage of the vice president staying there. I spoke to a number of our senators, I was waiting for my Coast Guard plane to get me home, and I certainly condemned the protesters and did all of that very publicly. It wasas I said, I think that day it was an utter disgrace, what those people did in the Capitol.

KLON: So we can transition now to a couple of the key hot spots. When you think about China and the possible move on Taiwan, do you see that as a growing possibility? What were the types of briefings that you were getting while you were NSA?

ROBERT O'BRIEN: Thats a great question. Look, its a very serious concern. Its theit might be the most pressing concern that Jake Sullivan (the current national security advisor) and the president face, Lloyd Austin the [secretary of defense] and Tony Blinken. We know from Admiral Davidson, Admiral Davidson who was thecombatant commander for the INDOPACOM AOR out in Hawaii (Pearl Harbor), he said a couple of years ago that he had thought it was a five- to seven-year window for the Chinese to invade. In the last days I was national security adviser I said, Look, I think its going to be shorter than that, and since President Bidens taken office and as the Chinese watch whats happening in Ukraine, there are folks nowI saw a headline that one analyst is predicting in October 2022 an invasion of Taiwan, and were seeing that the Chinese put everything in place to be able to do so.

KLON: And so do you think thatit depends on how we define success, but do you think that a successful Chinese invasion of Taiwan isthat theres a potential there for kind of a fait accompli where they could act in such a way to where they can act quickly enough and decisively enough before the United States could really respond, to where it just becomes a done deal? Is that a possibility?

ROBERT O'BRIEN: Thats our play book. I mean the good news is, without getting into details, weve got a few things up our sleeve as well. Were notwe dont lack all capability to defeat a Chinese amphibious invasion. Weve got some exquisite capabilities of our own, many of which arent public. And so I dont think the Chinese canI think theyre trying to put themselves in a position to do that kind of invasion and hit fast and accomplish their goals before we can get into the theater, but weve got somethings that could interrupt that planning and that sort of an operation. Ill leave it at that.

KLON: Okay, so lets now kind of turn to Ukraineand as we talk about Ukraine, I think one thing that would be especially helpful is if you could obviously give us your insights terms of what youre seeing and what youre anticipating, but also there is a growing movement on the kind of right side of the political aisle toward what they euphemistically refer to as restraint. Theres a growing kind of restraint movement particularly in conservative politics where you know, with the recent $40 billion supplemental bill that was passed eventually for supporting Ukraine, there was a lot of disagreement on the political right about this. And I think that is in fact emblematic of this growing voice within Republican and conservative circles. Im curious about your thoughts on that, and then thekind of the broader Ukraine challenge and where you think the United States should be aligning its time and resources on Ukraine.

ROBERT O'BRIEN: Well let me address the political issue first.I talk about what Ronald Reagan talked about which is peace through strength. You know, the way to stay out of a warand people are exhausted by the wars, these are the folks that have sent their kids off to go fight in places like Jalalabad and Fallujah and Anbar and the Sahel in Burkina and Niger. These are the people that sent their sons and daughters out to go fight those wars, and so there is a concern and exhaustion that America is overextended, and that were perhaps fighting in wars that we shouldnt be involved intrying to turn Afghanistan into Sweden or that sort of thing. And thats a legitimate concern, and I understand the folks who raise those issuesbut Ukraine is a very different situation. You know Ukrainethe Ukrainians are fighting for themselves. The Ukrainians arent asking for American airmen to enforce a no-fly zone. Theyre asking for MIGs so that their own pilots can enforce a no-fly zone over their own country. Theyre fighting out on the front lines in Donbas, and under incredibly trying circumstances, and fighting for their own country; and theyve got massive enlistment, theres no lack of morale, theres no lack of dedication to fighting. But what theyre asking for is for America to be the arsenal of democracy. And if we dont stand up for freedom here, and if we dont provide folks in Ukraine or other places with the tools and equipment they need to stop Russian aggression, you know eventually its going to be up to Americans to go do it. And soyou know once you have that conversation, Ive found very little disagreement when Americans understand that Ukrainians are fighting for themselves, and all theyre asking from us is for us to give them the tools to fight the Russians. And I think you get a very different response than maybe your standard, Tucker Carlson monologue; and again I havent found whether its in Oklahoma or Nebraska or Idaho or Utah, any of these places Ive been that are very conservative and very much folks that believe in America Firstwhen you explain the stakes that are at issue, when you explain that this is the first time since the 1930s that a bigger neighbor has decided to invade a smaller neighbor just because they want their national resources, they want their population, they want that might makes right, that they can expand their empire through conquest, we havent recognized territorial expansion through conquest at least since the U.N. charter but even 100 years before that. So the idea that this is happening today is very bad. And when they understand that Xi Jinping in Beijing is watching to see how the West reacts to Putins invasion of and attempt to occupy Ukraine, hes watching that to measure what hes going to do in Taiwan. And when Xi Jinping attempts to take Taiwanand if the Chinese communists are successful at taking Taiwangeopolitically thats an absolute disaster for the U.S. We could maybe survive Ukraine being taken over by the Russians, it would be very very difficult in the Indo-Pacific and for our allies to survive a Chinese takeover of Taiwan. Thats the cork coming out of the champagne bottle of the Pacific, and the champagne (in which there is the Peoples Liberation Army and Navy) will spill all out into the entire Pacific from the Aleutians to Hawaii, the Midway to Wake, to California, South, to all the islands that our grandfathers and great uncles fought for in World War II. The Chinese are going to control the Pacificits such a critical island in Taiwan, and thats the most important economic zone in the entire world for the future of our economy, so that would be a travesty. So stopping Putin in Ukraine will send a message to Xi Jinping that you know, might stop him in Taiwan, and avoid a real catastrophe for America and our allies in the Pacific.

KLON: Putin has given every indication that if he were able to roll through Ukraine, that eventually hes going to gohes going to continue on the expansion. All the same rationales that he used for Ukraine would exist with other countries, including NATO-bordering countries. And so eventually, you know, if Vladimir Putin is not sufficiently chastised and kind of pushed back into his hole, hes going to take an action that even the most restrained kind of individual wont be able to kind of look away from, right? I would say that Ukraine already constitutes a significant national interest on our partin part because of the way youve described itbut then too, even if you dont, he will continue to push and he has made that very clear. And so unfortunately we dont have an option of kind of avoiding a kind of conflict because the other guyin this case Putinhe gets a choice. And hes making that choice, and hes making it very clearly and publicly, and sometimes you just have to accept reality. So youve got to engage it.

ROBERT O'BRIEN: Youre 100 percent right, by the way. I mean look, he's threatening Poland. The reason the Finns joined NATO is because he said Finland was part of the Russian familyI think the Finns woke up after that speech and said what the heck? Hes threatening the Baltics, I mean these are NATO allies, certainly Moldova and Georgia. So were going to end upif we dont stop him in Ukraine, we are going to have American soldiers engaged with Russian soldiers in one of these other countries. And at that point, the risk of escalation is so high that youve got two massive nuclear powers in a land war, and the risks to America at that point are extraordinary. So we are far better offas you point out, Klon, 100percentletting the Ukrainians try and push the Russians back in Ukraine without asking for American troops on the ground. And if we get them the tools and the platforms they need, I think they can get the job done. The problem is were just not doing it.

Theyre talking the talk but theyre not walking the walk. For example, the MIGswhy werent the Polish MIGs given to Ukraine in month one? That wasnt going to spur nuclear war between the US and Russia. You know, keep in mind, a lot of our grandfathers and fathers fought in Korea and Vietnam. They were shot at every day by Russian MIGs. I mean there were Russian MIGs in Korea, there were Russian MIGs in Vietnam, we didnt launch a nuclear war or say that was some sort of red line. If the Poles wanted to give the Ukrainians 29 MIGs, why didnt we facilitate it? I mean, I kind of think back on our administration, you know Gina Haspel is so clever. Gina would have sold the planes to the Ukrainians through a Russian middleman, Putin would have gotten his 10 percent cut of it, and they would have been in Ukrainian livery the next day and no one would have known what happened. And instead we had this big, public debacle on the MIGs. So lookweve got to cut off the Russians, weve got to get the Ukrainians the MIGs already, and weve got to get them the long-range artillery and let them defend their country against the Sovietthis Russian invasion.

KLON: Yeah. Robert, you and I could keep going, theres a ton of things that we could talk about but youve been very generous with your time already and were bumping into an hour so I want to kind of bring it to a close. But listen, being the national security adviser to a U.S. president is a big job, its a tough job. And you know look, I think the nation owes you an appreciation for the work that you did under difficult circumstances on some very difficult issues. I appreciate you taking the time to have this conversation with me.

ROBERT O'BRIEN: Thank you, honor to be with you Klon, you served a long time as well and so thank you for your service in the IC and in government.

Here is the original post:
'Stopping Putin in Ukraine Will Send a Message to Xi Jinping' - The Dispatch

Brits will face sweltering weather in July, according to Met Office forecasts. Here are four myths about heatwaves you need to be aware of to handle the heat safely

Image: Getty)

Heatwaves are becoming a norm this summer across Britain. After a scorching June, the Met Office is predicting that early to mid July will be equally hot with temperature highs of 34 degrees.

While many of us enjoy the sunshine, experts have issued warnings against common mistakes people make when it comes to handling the heat.

Luxury bathroom specialist Big Bathroom Shop and Dr Luke Pratsides, lead GP at Numan health clinic have teamed up to debunk four myths about coping with heatwaves and sun exposure.

John Lawless of Big Bathroom Shop said: "Brits often make the same mistakes when it comes to protecting against heat and sun, so we have been speaking with Dr Luke to provide some guidance on how to handle the heatwave, treat sunburn and safely enjoy the sunshine this weekend."

Image:

Taking cold showers is a simple yet effective method to keep cool and soothe your skin after sun exposure, which Dr Luke Pratsides confirms has been recommended by the NHS.

John Lawless also advises: "You may find that a lower pressure showerhead is more soothing on skin that has been exposed to the sun. A cool bath may provide more relief and you can use a sponge to target areas that are causing discomfort."

Many think that icing a sunburn is good for you, but putting ice directly on sun-exposed skin is actually warned against.

Dr Luke Pratsides explains: "You should never put ice directly on your skin as this can cause damage. You might suffer from an ice burn or frostbite."

Instead, Mr John recommends using ice wrapped in a soft hand towel and placing this on the skin, adding: "Only leave on the skin for a minute or two at a time."

Keeping your windows open to stay cool only works if it's cooler outside than inside. If you're facing the sun, it's actually better for you to keep your blinds closed to block out direct sunlight.

Mr John Lawless adds: "Upstairs rooms tend to get hotter in the summer months, keeping bedroom and bathroom windows open with blinds shut is key to keeping air circulating through the house during a heatwave."

Similar to ice, don't apply petroleum jelly to sunburns, as its oil-based. Dr Luke Pratsides advises that we should use strong moisturising lotion, after-sun lotion or aloe vera instead.

John recommends: "Store after care creams in a cool dark place in your bathroom like a vanity or a storage cabinet."

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Heatwave myths busted as July reaches scorching temperatures - The Mirror