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Dear Palmer Report readers,

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Analyst on why Trump and Biden are neck and neck in polls  CNN

Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence posts video of Russian aircraft chasing Ukrainian drone in Crimea  Yahoo News

Musk’s changes at Twitter helped spread Russian propaganda, EU …  The Washington Post

Cyberattack blinded two of the most advanced telescopes in the world  CyberNews.com

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside a French military base in Niger’s capital Niamey on Saturday demanding that its troops leave in the wake of a military coup that has widespread popular support but which Paris refuses to recognise.

The July 26 coup – one of eight in West and Central Africa since 2020 – has sucked in global powers concerned about a shift to military rule across the region.

Most impacted is France, whose influence over its former colonies has waned in West Africa in recent years just as popular vitriol has grown. Its forces have been kicked out of neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso since coups in those countries, reducing its role in a region-wide fight against deadly Islamist insurgencies.

Anti-French sentiment has risen in Niger since the coup but soured further last week when France ignored the junta’s order for its ambassador, Sylvain Itte, to leave. Police have been instructed to expel him, the junta said.

Outside the military base on Saturday, protesters slit the throat of a goat dressed in French colours and carried coffins draped in French flags as a line of Nigerien soldiers looked on. Others carried signs calling for France to leave.

Reuters reporters said it was the biggest gathering yet since the coup, suggesting that support for the junta – and derision of France – was not waning.

“We are ready to sacrifice ourselves today, because we are proud,” said demonstrator Yacouba Issoufou. “They plundered our resources and we became aware. So they’re going to get out.”

By early evening local time, there had been no apparent outbreaks of violence.

France had cordial relations with ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and has about 1,500 troops stationed in Niger.

On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he spoke to Bazoum every day and that “the decisions we will take, whatever they may be, will be based upon exchanges with Bazoum.”

Niger’s junta denounced the comments as divisive and served only to perpetrate France’s neo-colonial relationship.

France is not the only country with concerns. West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS has slapped sanctions on Niger and threatened military action as a last resort. The United States and European powers also have troops stationed in the country.

Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, who holds ECOWAS’ revolving chairmanship, said last week that a nine-month transition back to civilian rule could satisfy regional powers.

Niger’s junta had previously proposed a three-year timeline.

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President Bola Tinubu has ordered a recall of Nigeria’s ambassadors the world over with immediate effect, his spokesman said on Saturday.

“The president is determined to ensure that world-class efficiency and quality, will henceforth, characterize foreign and domestic service delivery to citizens, residents and prospective visitors alike,” presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said.

Nigeria’s United Nations permanent representatives in New York and Geneva are exempted from the “total recall” due to the upcoming United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) later in the month, Tinubu’s office said in a statement.

Nigeria has 109 diplomatic missions worldwide, comprising 76 embassies, 22 high commissions and 11 consulates.

Tinubu, who has embarked on the country’s boldest reforms in decades, is scheduled to hold talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the general assembly and also meet leaders from Brazil, India, South Korea and Germany during the G20 meeting later in the month.

A lot of President Biden’s detractors like to act as though all the money being spent now is being sent overseas to Ukraine – ignoring the fact that a lot of the weapons they need have already been produced and foreign spending generally makes up a small part of the budget.

The Inflation Reduction Act and Build Back Better both call for considerable investments in American infrastructure and the economy as well as a number of social programs, enough impact that it’s basically the closest we’ve come to a modern day incarnation of the Roosevelt administration’s New Deal.

The week of Aug 27 to Sept 2 was declared Overdose Awareness week, and on Thursday, the Biden Administration declared that more than $450 million would be spent on preventing deaths related to overdose, with $83 billion spent so far on helping people recover and get treatment, a 42% increase over the last four years.

While the former guy and Republicans are ranting about executing drug dealers and invading Mexico, the Biden administration is getting real results at home and leading the world by example at how to combat opioid abuse. The parallels between the GOP and the Democratic Party have never been clearer than they are today – and while Republicans like to bring up this issue, Democrats are the ones getting results.

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