This week we asked our international readers to share whether their views of the US had changed since President Trump’s election and presidency. We have published all of the forty plus letters that we received. The letters are fascinating and indicate that Trump is as polarizing internationally as he is domestically.

This week the United Nations convened in New York City and reminded us that many of our problems are global and require international solutions. For that reason we humbly ask United States Daily Pnut readers to thoughtfully reflect on why and how the international community feels about us and not just casually say (or sing) that what they’ve written just reinforces “the world I know.”

To our international readers, please know that while the US elected President Trump, the US is not President Trump (he also didn’t receive a majority of the votes). Our political system along with the economy, technology, and societal issues converged to create an atmosphere that Candidate Trump exploited. Trump’s elections as many of you note is more indicative-reflective of American society than of the man itself. However, Trump will not be President forever. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We are always receptive to feedback as we do read every email we receive.

In case you missed the link above, we have collected and shared what international Daily Pnut readers think about the United States since President Trump’s election and presidency.

Facebook: “You Know That Thing We Said Over and Over Wasn’t Happening? But Actually It Was? But We Wouldn’t Let You See It? Well, Here You Go.”:  After 10 months of denials as late as last month, Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted on September 6 that Russians bought politically-aimed ads with fictional accounts during the 2016 presidential election. Even then, the company refused to turn over the ads themselves, choosing instead to show congressional staffers select samples of ads, some of which attacked Hillary Clinton or praised Donald Trump.

This week, after increased pressure from Congress and the public, Facebook agreed to turn over more than 3,000 ads to two congressional committees investigating Russia’s influence on the election. Both Facebook and Twitter are now entangled in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, and both have turned over detailed data. Some congressmen have suggested future regulation of political advertising on social media platforms. Zuckerberg, intending to pre-empt government intervention, outlined on Thursday a list of actions Facebook plans to take in the coming weeks to make political advertising more transparent. Roughly 97% of Facebook’s nearly $28 billion revenue in 2016 came from advertising.

The European Union Wants To Raise Taxes on Foreign Techopolies: On Thursday, in a move that could cause even more transatlantic tension, the European Commission said it might implement tax reforms to raise more revenue from tech companies, even without the backing of the United States or other rich nations. The EU is frustrated at how long it is taking the world’s wealthiest nations to decide how to tax online firms such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix, and Airbnb. On average, these companies pay bills in Europe that are less than half of those of similar firms. To prevent some smaller EU economies such as Ireland or Luxembourg (which host many foreign online businesses) from blocking the move, the commission is considering using little-known EU rules that would prevent states from vetoing decisions on tax matters. Typically the EU decides on tax issues only with unanimous support from all 28 members.

The EPA – Now Just Protecting Scott Pruitt: The Pnut reported yesterday on Scott Pruitt, EPA head, and his steady campaign to roll back regulations, close offices, and eliminate staff, all in as much secrecy as he can get away with. Today, we report that Pruitt has re-assigned a number of his criminal investigators (armed agents whose jobs are to investigate serious cases of environmental violations) to around-the-clock bodyguard duty thanks to the numerous death threats he is receiving. No previous EPA chief has ever received a 24/7 security detail, according to the agency’s Inspector General’s Office. Pruitt’s predecessor in the Obama administration was accompanied by security personnel during the workday only, and occasionally on overseas travel. Christine Todd Whitman, George W. Bush’s EPA chief, told CNN she frequently “walked to work at the EPA by myself.” “If he has had enough serious death threats, then he shouldn’t have proposed the deep cuts to the EPA budget,” she said in an interview. “What worries me is if these people are being used for protecting him, they are not cracking down on environmental crimes being committed by companies.”

President Trump has proposed a 31% cut to the EPA’s budget which, if approved by Congress, would eliminate a number of popular programs like the EPA’s Energy Star Program, responsible for reducing the energy used by consumer products, saving consumers $430 billion last year in electricity costs. Additionally, such massive cuts would greatly reduce the workforce, and virtually cripple the agency’s capacity to clean up pollution or hold polluters accountable.

Duterte–Filicide if Allegations Are True: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged he would have his son, Paolo Duterte (himself a politician), killed if the drug trafficking allegations against him are true. The younger Duterte appeared before a senate inquiry and denied accusations that he helped smuggle crystal methamphetamine from China. In a speech on Wednesday night in front of government workers at the presidential palace in Manila, Father Duterte said: “I told Pulong [Paolo’s nickname]: ‘My order is to kill you if you are caught. And I will protect the police who kill you, if it is true.’” Well, Duterte gets two points for consistency and follow-through, and his son might be wondering whatever happened to the perks of being a president’s son.

Duterte won the presidency last year on a law-and-order campaign in which he promised to eliminate illegal drugs in the country by killing up to 100,000 traffickers and users. Since his election, police have killed more than 3,800 people in anti-drug operations, while thousands of others have been inexplicably murdered. Thousands of Duterte’s critics and supporters held rallies on Thursday. Supporters see him as a “charismatic, anti-establishment politician who is their best chance to quell crime and corruption.” Protesters were backed by the political opposition and leaders of the Catholic Church, the country’s dominant religion, indicating increasing opposition to his policies.

“Oopsie” Doesn’t Work In War: Eastern Syria’s Deir al-Zor province has oilfields, of which both Russian- and US-backed militias want control. Growing tension in the region led to an unusual meeting between US and Russian military leaders, in an attempt to avoid clashes. The brouhaha occurred after US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had taken up positions on the eastern banks of the Euphrates with US special forces, and according to Russia’s Defense Ministry, had twice opened fire with mortars and artillery on Syrian troops working alongside Russian special forces. A Russian general said via written statement: “A representative of the US military command in Al Udeid (the US operations center in Qatar) was told in no uncertain terms that any attempts to open fire from areas where SDF fighters are located would be quickly shut down,” adding “Fire points in those areas will be immediately suppressed with all military means.” This is starting to feel like Cold War redux or the Russians having an acid reflux of Cold War memories.

Germans Vote On Sunday–Merkel’s Party Is Leading, But Voter Apathy Is Strong: Fear in Germany is that voter apathy might bolster the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in Sunday’s election, so, Chancellor Angela Merkel and her main rival are urging their supporters to vote. Many view a fourth term for Merkel as inevitable. That, and wide disenchantment from a lackluster campaign may result in low turnout. “My request to everyone is that they vote, and vote for those parties that adhere 100 percent to our constitution,” Merkel said on Thursday. The two biggest political blocs in Germany are Merkel’s conservative party (polling at 37 percent) and the Social Democrats, led by Martin Schulz (22 percent). The far-right AfD is poised to be the first far-right party to hold a seat in Germany’s parliament in 50 years, and has been compared to Hitler’s Nazis.

Please support Daily Pnut!