Originally published at: https://peakprosperity.com/daily-digest/uk-tackles-far-right-violence-trump-re-indicted/
Politics
The UK is responding to rising concerns about so-called far-right extremism, following the deaths of three girls in Southport, with calls for a renewed counter-extremism strategy. Experts advocate for a broader approach that addresses social isolation, violence support, and digital literacy rather than focusing solely on ideology. The strategy emphasizes the need for improved coordination between national and local governments through community engagement, promoting resilience and social cohesion. Regulatory measures, including the UK’s Online Safety Act, are under review to enhance crisis response and extend regulations to high-risk smaller platforms like Telegram, with calls for researchers to have legal access to platform data to better assess online harms.
According to the report, the evolving pathways to violence, involving perpetrators from children to older individuals, highlight the need for safeguarding approaches that address dual victim-perpetrator roles, particularly among young people facing social isolation, poor mental health, and neurodiversity. The predominantly male profile of rioters underscores the need to examine masculinity’s role in radicalization and its intersection with violence against women and girls. The Education Secretary’s push for a refreshed digital literacy curriculum aims to counter online misinformation, with additional strategies suggested for adults through cultural institutions, sports clubs, and employers to engage key groups and build community resilience.
In the United States, a hearing discussed the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump, focusing on security failures that occurred on July 13th in Butler, Pennsylvania. Witnesses, including former Secret Service agent Dan Bonino, security expert Eric Prince, and SWAT operator Ben Schaer, provided detailed accounts of the lapses and their implications. Bonino highlighted systemic issues within the Secret Service, such as outdated technology and insufficient training. Prince criticized the agency’s failure to secure the perimeter and questioned its commitment to protecting Trump. Schaer detailed on-ground failures, including the lack of drone surveillance and inadequate communication.
The hearing raised concerns about the broader implications of these failures, including the potential for foreign adversaries to exploit these weaknesses. The panelists called for greater transparency, accountability, and a reevaluation of the Secret Service’s practices to prevent future incidents. They also emphasized the need for Congress to enforce changes within the agency. The hearing concluded with a call for whistleblowers to come forward and provide additional information, stressing the importance of continued oversight to ensure the safety of high-ranking officials and the general public.
In other Trump news, Special Counsel Jack Smith is proceeding with prosecuting former President Trump on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election. Following a Supreme Court ruling that granted Trump some presidential immunity, Smith filed a superseding indictment that narrows the allegations. The new indictment maintains the same charges but removes those involving Trump’s interactions with the Justice Department and excludes former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark as a co-conspirator. Judge Tanya Chutkan will now decide which charges should be maintained or dropped, based on whether Trump’s actions were official or unofficial. A status conference is scheduled for September 5.
Economy
Economic challenges are also at the forefront, with Dr. Lacy Hunt highlighting the precarious state of the U.S. economy due to significant downward revisions in nonfarm payrolls, affecting personal income, gross domestic income (GDI), productivity, and the saving rate. These revisions indicate a bureaucratic failure, leading to erroneous policy decisions by the Federal Reserve (FED) and misinformed corporate and investment strategies. Dr. Hunt explains that the FED’s previous strategy of increasing the money supply during 2020-2021 led to high inflation, particularly in car and home prices, which continues to burden modest and moderate-income households.
Fiscal policy is also reportedly failing, as government dis-saving (budget deficits) exceeds private and foreign saving, resulting in negative net national savings. This situation hinders physical investment and the growth of the capital stock, ultimately lowering the standard of living. Dr. Hunt suggests that addressing these issues would require shared sacrifice, particularly from higher-income groups, but acknowledges the political unpopularity of such measures. He also discusses the potential for fiscal dominance, where large budget deficits force the FED to adopt modern monetary theory, leading to further inflation and economic hardship.
Sources
Southport Aftermath: UK’s Strategic Shift to Combat Far-Right Extremism
“The wave of misinformation, hate and extremism which sparked widespread far-right mobilisation in the UK in late July and early August 2024 has re-established the urgency for a comprehensive policy response.”
Source | Submitted by Shplad
Congressional Hearing Probes Security Failures in Attempted Assassination of Former President Trump
This is a message to all of Congress that if we are not selecting people based on meritocracy, independent investigations such as this will continue to move forward.
Source | Submitted by joe tenaglia
Economic Expert Dr. Lacy Hunt Warns of Dire Consequences from Negative Net National Savings and Faulty Data
We have negative net national savings. There are no resources other than the foolish assumption that you can solve the problem by having the Fed rev up the money supply, which, as we should have learned—I’m not sure we have, but we should have learned—that when you do that, you get the result that we had in 2020-21 and which we’re still dealing with by the high level of car and home prices.
Source | Submitted by rhollenb
Trump Special Counsel Updates Indictment After Supreme Court Setback
The US special counsel investigating Donald Trump is pressing ahead with prosecuting the former president on charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election after facing a recent setback from the US Supreme Court.
Source | Submitted by rhollenb
Special Counsel Smith Files Narrowed Indictment Against Trump Following Supreme Court Ruling
“The superseding indictment, which was presented to a new grand jury that had not previously heard evidence in this case, reflects the government’s efforts to respect and implement the Supreme Court’s holdings and remand instructions in Trump v. United States.”
Source | Submitted by AaronMcKeon