Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,
The US and France seem to be coordinating a concerted pressure operation against India...
Popular Russian outlet Izvestia raised awareness of a paywalled Bloomberg report alleging that India might reduce its import of Russian oil, which was 45% of its total last month, to avoid US tariffs of up to 100% after Trump recently signed into law a bill empowering him to punish Russia's top energy partners. Earlier in September, "India's Top Diplomat Signaled That It'll Defy Any New US Pressure Over Its Russian Oil Purchases", which are considered to be indirectly essential to its national security.
Such pressure might soon pile up too, however, as suggested by more than just the aforesaid punitive tariff bill's passing. The US and China are negotiating an extension to their trade war truce ahead of Xi's visit later this week. The current disagreements primarily concern its duration according to the Financial Times. In the event that any such extension is ultimately agreed to, then the US presumably won't impose punitive tariffs on China for its Russian oil purchases, which would draw attention to India's.
Although the US benefits from India's Russo-American balancing act since the strategic benefits that India derives most effectively empower it to serve as a counterweight of sorts to China, Trump 2.0 might nevertheless become "geopolitically greedy" and want the US to become India's senior partner. In that scenario, the threat of punitive tariffs over its Russian oil imports could be leveraged as a Damocles' sword to pressure India into gradually reducing them in parallel with joining the West's Hormuz coalition.
About that, the French Foreign Minister proposed jointly working with India on ensuring "freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait" during talks with his counterpart on the sidelines of the UNGA. This coincided with the French and US presidents agreeing to work on the Hormuz dimension according to Emmanuel Macron's tweet after his talks with Trump. India's potential participation in the West's Hormuz coalition, albeit under tariff duress if it happens, would be significant.
For starters, it would signify that the US decided to pressure India over its Russian oil imports while turning a blind eye to China's for the duration of their likely extended trade war truce, thus suggesting that the US is more comfortable bullying India on this issue than China.
Second, India's participation would confirm that such tariff-related pressure was successfully weaponized by the US,
...with the third significance being that India joined the coalition in order to unlock alternative oil supplies to Russia's.
Fourth, Russian policymakers would notice the US' successful policy of coercing India through tariffs-related pressure into distancing itself from their country, which could lead to them concluding that it's incapable of functioning as a reliable counterbalance to China.
The implication is that Russia might tighten its embrace of China with all that could entail for ties with India. And finally, India's association with a Western naval coalition could harm its hard-earned neutral reputation in the Global South's eyes.
France's involvement in coordinating what seems to be a concerted pressure campaign by the US against India is notable since it's now India's second-largest arms partner and has been eroding Russia's market share over the past decade. It therefore can't be ruled out that the US might threaten more CAATSA sanctions against India if its threatened tariffs are successful in order to accelerate the aforesaid trend. India's participation in the West's Hormuz coalition might thus bode ill for its future ties with Russia.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/22/2026 - 20:55New York City is throwing out tens of thousands of low-level summonses issued by the NYPD, with the department’s reliance on pen-and-paper ticketing contributing to the problem, according to Gothamist.
Of roughly 98,000 civil summonses issued by police during the last fiscal year, about 46,000 were dismissed by the city’s administrative court system, according to data obtained by Gothamist. That works out to roughly 47%.
The tickets stem from offenses such as drinking alcohol in public, public urination, illegal vending and pedicab violations. Many never survive the administrative process because of paperwork problems rather than the underlying allegation.
The NYPD remains unusual among city agencies because officers still issue civil summonses entirely by hand. That can produce everything from unreadable writing and incorrect violation codes to omitted details and mistakes made when paper records are later entered into city databases.
Example of civil summons (Gothamist)City watchdogs flagged the issue years ago. A 2020 Department of Investigation review recommended moving agencies away from paper summonses and toward digital ticketing. The NYPD at one point agreed to make the transition but has yet to implement an electronic system.
Gothamist writes that other departments have already moved in that direction. The Department of Buildings now issues about 80% of its summonses electronically. Its dismissal rate last fiscal year was approximately 13%, far below the NYPD’s 47%.
Government transparency and legal advocates argue the current system burns administrative resources while requiring people to contest tickets that may be invalid from the outset. City Councilmember Gale Brewer is considering legislation that could force the NYPD to switch to electronic summonses.
The NYPD maintains that officers are properly enforcing the law and says many of the dismissed cases failed because of procedural or paperwork errors rather than the substance of the alleged violations. The department says additional officer training is underway to reduce those mistakes.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/22/2026 - 20:30Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times,
The Pentagon is changing its process for promoting generals, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Sept. 22.
Hegseth announced the new process, known as the Joint Warfighter Evaluation, in a video posted on X.
Today, I am announcing the Joint Warfighter Evaluation. pic.twitter.com/F0JIfbmEKs
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) September 22, 2026Its goal is to reduce bureaucracy and ensure meritocracy across senior ranks, he said.
Starting this year, colonels and Navy captains screening to be a one-star general will undergo the assessment, according to Hegseth.
“While the backbone of our military is our NCOs and our petty officers, victory depends on the commanders who lead them,” he said.
“America needs warfighters who can master a chaotic battle space.”
Hegseth cited Gen. George Marshall using the Louisiana Maneuvers, a massive series of military exercises to prepare U.S. forces before entering World War II.
He said that this kind of testing brought out military leaders such as Dwight Eisenhower, who planned and conducted the U.S. invasion of Normandy and led the liberation of Western Europe; Adm. Chester Nimitz, who led Allied air, land and sea in the Pacific theater during World War II; and Army Gen. Omar Bradley, the first chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who led the U.S. military’s policymaking during the Korean War.
The Joint Warfighter Evaluation “brings that standard to the modern multi-domain fight,” Hegseth said.
“This evaluation is an objective equalizer. The scenario only cares about operational decisions under pressure.”
Hegseth recalled that a year ago he tasked Stuart Scheller, deputy chief of staff to the under secretary of war for personnel and readiness, to challenge years of the promotion process.
“Our troops deserve commanders chosen by proven competence, not paper credentials,” Hegseth said.
“The Joint Warfighter Evaluation ensures our flag is carried by our most lethal and most adaptable leaders.”
Hegseth has emphasized what he calls the “warrior ethos,” pushing for battle-ready personnel based on a high level of fitness. He has criticized what he said has been diversity, equity, and inclusion standards in promoting individuals.
“Real toxic leadership is endangering subordinates with low standards. Real toxic leadership is promoting people based on immutable characteristics or quotas instead of based on merit,” Hegseth told senior military leaders last year in Quantico, Virginia.
While the process of promotion to general is being changed, the Joint Warfighter evaluation is not replacing the existing promotion process, Scheller told Fox News Digital. Rather, it is a factor in addition to performance reports and an officer’s career record.
Tyler Durden Tue, 09/22/2026 - 20:05