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This R&D covers the recent controversies surrounding the Secret Service. Reports of wild parties in foreign countries and the ability of an intruder to enter the White House several weeks ago has put the agency’s ability to protect the President of the United States and other important officials in question. Last week Secret Service Director Julia Pierson, who was the first female director of the Secret Service, resign over the controversies.
In wake of Julia Pierson’s resignation, a look at Secret Service’s blunders over 5 years: http://t.co/9Q9p9tBMVU pic.twitter.com/DYz6OixxHn
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) October 5, 2014
For many blacks, the Secret Service’s missteps reflect an abiding fear about Obama’s security http://t.co/EyMiePJWBG
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 5, 2014
Why do we even have a Secret Service http://t.co/jn39PUDXyT
— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 5, 2014
Two weeks ago, citizens of Hong Kong took to the streets to agitate for universal suffrage. In 2017, Hong Kong will be able to elect its chief executive, but the candidates for that office will be approved by a nominating committee that is sympathetic to mainland China. Once a British colony, Hong Kong reverted back to Chinese rule in 1997. Since that time it has agitated against the Chinese government’s attempts to impose greater control over some of the city’s affairs. The recent protests have caused some observers to remark that there are parallels between the agitation for wider democracy in Hong Kong and the aims of the Tiananmen Square protesters of 1989, who sought to turn China into a democratic republic. China violently suppressed the Tiananmen protests over two decades ago, but doing the same in Hong Kong could do significant damage to the country’s international reputation and economic standing.
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Today’s R&D covers the arrival of Ebola to the United States. It was announced yesterday that an unidentified man in Dallas, Texas has the Ebola virus, which he reportedly acquired after traveling to Liberia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sought to play down public fears in a news conference yesterday, but some analysts are questioning whether budget cuts have made the nation ill-prepared to deal with a pandemic. The recent Ebola has infected more than 6,500 people and killed more than 3,000 in West Africa this year.
Today’s R&D covers Afghanistan’s new government. Ashraf Ghani was sworn in as the country’s new president on Monday. Ghani’s ascension to the office marks the first democratic transfer in Afghani history. Ghani has signed a Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with the United States that would allow 10,000 soldiers to remain in the country after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) mandate expires in December.