<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/26025958.cms" /><br /> We didn’t know that Asteroids were such a big problem for <keyword id="6359982" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="80" keywordseo="earth">earth</keyword>. While the smaller ones get burnt as soon as they hit the earth’s <keyword id="6366415" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="atmosphere">atmosphere</keyword>, there have been reports of big asteroids hitting the earth thousands of years ago. The phenomena could happen again, which is probably the reason why <keyword id="1943359" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="University-of-Strathclyde-Glasgow">University of Strathclyde Glasgow</keyword> has taken upon them and are introducing a programme to tackle asteroids and <keyword id="41531" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="space">space</keyword> <keyword id="44114" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="debris">debris</keyword>.<br />
<br />
The university has invited world-leading scientists who will take upon the task of deflecting asteroids and manipulating space debris. Called the Stardust programme – it aims to protect the planet and space assets from catastrophic impacts from these roaming space rocks. The university has taken the first step to find the postgraduate researchers for the Stardust initiative. They will train the new scientists, engineers and policy-makers from a pool of 100 qualified applicants.<br />
<br /> Big names such as Prof. <keyword id="1943358" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Bruce-Conway">Bruce Conway</keyword>, an expert on space trajectory optimisation from the <keyword id="174662" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="University-of-Illinois">University of Illinois</keyword> and Prof. Hiroshi Yamakawa, from <keyword id="492144" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Kyoto-University">Kyoto University</keyword>, expert on manipulation of asteroids and space debris will give their two cents during the week of activities at the university. The Stardust network will employ and train 11 post-graduate and 4 post-doctorate researchers over 4 years, including 2 PhD students (Research Assistants) and 1 post-doctorate Research Fellow at Strathclyde.<br />
<br />
All of them with one and only one aim, to deflect and manage space debris better. This is a good initiative taken up by the university that might help save lives and earths infrastructure in the future.<br />



Now A Space Program To Tackle Asteroids

<ul class="summary-list"><li>88 current and former executives from the business and tech worlds signed a letter endorsing Harris.</li><li>Signatories span industries and political engagement, from veteran Harris allies to new supporters.</li></ul><p><span>Dozens of prominent </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/wall-street"><span>Wall Street</span></a><span> and </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/silicon-valley"><span>tech executives</span></a><span> combined forces on Friday morning to support Kamala Harris' bid for the White House. Eighty-eight top executives signed a joint letter endorsing the former vice president, </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/06/harris-endorsed-trump-murdoch-yelp-snap-ripple.html"><span>CNBC reported</span></a><span>.</span></p><p><span>The signatories span a </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-political-divide-twitter-elon-musk-kamala-harris-2024-8"><span>wide range of political engagement</span></a><span>, from longtime Democratic donors to those issuing their first public endorsement of Harris. James Murdoch, the former CEO of 21st Century Fox, </span><a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/murdoch-moguls-media-tech-dual-class-stock-control-how-2024-7"><span>broke even further away from his father</span></a><span> and added his name to the list.</span></p><p><span>Though the list of signatories is lengthy, the letter itself is a mere five sentences. Electing Harris is, the executives write, "the best way to support the continued strength, security, and reliability of our democracy and economy." They celebrate her</span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kamala-harris-small-businesses-tax-breaks-cut-red-tape-2024-9"><span> record supporting small businesses</span></a><span> and assert that she would "continue to advance fair and predictable policies that support the rule of law, stability, and a sound business environment."</span></p><p><span>Current executives include Aaron Levie of Box and Jeremy Stoppelman of Yelp, as well as big names in the sports world. NBA Hall-of-Famer and billionaire Magic Johnson signed on, as well as Ted Leonsis, who owns the NBA's Washington Wizards and WNBA's Mystics.</span></p><p><span>Some signatories, like Murdoch and Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, are declaring their support for Harris for the first time.</span></p><p>"Proud to support the Harris campaign — she's the right leader for our fast-changing world. And I'm confident that she will reset the misguided Biden policies that were too anti-business and anti-innovation," Larsen told Business Insider in a statement. "At the same time, I'm confident she will maintain Biden's strong leadership on our energy transition." </p><p>Larsen also said that he recently made a $1 million donation in crypto to Future Forward, a PAC supporting Harris.</p><p><span>Other signatories have long rallied behind the vice president. Many know her from her </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-july-fundraising-california-tech-silicon-valley-2024-8"><span>days in California politics</span></a><span>, reflecting the ways in which Harris is relying on her home state for support, financial and otherwise. The veteran Harris supporters include philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz.</span></p><p><span>Both coasts are well represented, with </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-billionaires-investors-kamala-harris-mark-cuban-reid-hoffman-2024-8"><span>executives from Silicon Valley</span></a><span> and Wall Street alike joining the effort. Angel investor Ron Conway,</span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-cuban-kamala-harris-sec-capital-gains-business-2024-9"><span> entrepreneur Mark Cuban</span></a><span>, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman are among the biggest West Coast names, while former Blackstone President and CEO Tony James and former Goldman Sachs executive Bruce Heyman hail from the world of New York finance.</span></p><p><span>Former executives at various prominent companies — including PepsiCo, Paramount, Lyft, and Starbucks — also signed on to endorse Harris.</span></p><p><span>The support from the business community comes at a crucial time, as both Harris and Trump are </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/harris-lina-khan-balance-billionaires-silicon-valley-hoffman-progressives-ftc-2024-8"><span>laying out their economic agendas</span></a><span> ahead of Tuesday's debate. Each candidate is presenting themselves as the pro-business option while attempting to </span><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-adopts-elon-musk-plan-cut-government-spending-efficiency-reform-2024-9"><span>woo the financial and tech sectors</span></a><span>.</span></p>

James Murdoch and 87 other corporate leaders sign a letter endorsing Kamala Harris

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5e147426855cc231303a6325-946/gettyimages-1094040696.jpg" alt="Donald Trump" /><ul class="summary-list"><li>White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham on Tuesday criticized Americans who doubt the underlying intelligence the Trump administration cites to support President Donald Trump's decision to order a drone strike against Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani.</li><li>"I know a lot of people are now questioning the intel, that's really unfortunate," Grisham said during an interview on Fox News.</li><li>Grisham's criticisms were notable, given Trump's own history of refusing to believe US intelligence findings and attacking members of the intelligence community.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham took to the airwaves on Tuesday to criticize those who have questioned the underlying intelligence the Trump administration has cited to support President Donald Trump's decision to order a drone strike that killed Iran's Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani last week.</p><p>During an appearance on Fox News, Grisham said, "I know a lot of people are now questioning the intel, that's really unfortunate."</p><p>"A lot of people are saying [about the strike], 'To what benefit?'" she added. "I would answer that question: the benfit is to that we saved American lives, saved members of the military, we saved diplomats, and a lot of families from having to welcome their loved ones home in coffins."</p><p>Grisham's criticisms of Americans distrusting the intelligence community were notable, given Trump's own history of refusing to believe US intelligence findings.</p><p>Here's a brief, non-exhaustive list of times that Trump either attacked or expressed distrust in the US intelligence community (IC):</p><ul><li>During the 2016 election, he refused to accept that Russia hacked into the Democratic National Committee, even though the IC had determined as much. In fact, he <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-impeachment-inquiry/fact-check-trump-s-false-claims-about-ukraine-dnc-server-n1089596" target="_blank" rel="noopener">believes a bogus conspiracy theory</a> suggesting Ukraine, not Russia, broke into the DNC.</li><li>He <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/trump-ukraine-call-russia-2016-election-hacking/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">refused to accept</a> that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, even though the IC found with high confidence that the Kremlin had ordered an interference campaign.</li><li>He accused the FBI of "spying" on his campaign during the election. This conspiracy theory was debunked by both <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/fox-news-donald-trump-sean-hannity-tucker-carlson-spygate-william-barr-91f4663c2d78/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FBI Director Chris Wray</a> and the Justice Department <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/12/inspector-generals-report-shows-trumps-spygate-conspiracy-theory-was-the-real-hoax/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inspector general's report</a> on the origins of the Russia probe.</li><li>He lobbed countless attacks against senior FBI and Justice Department officials, including former FBI director James Comey, former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, the DOJ official Bruce Ohr, former acting attorney general Sally Yates, former CIA director John Brennan, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and more. </li><li>He <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-trump-intelligence-nazi-dossier-buzzfeed-20170111-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compared the US intelligence community to Nazi Germany</a>.</li><li>During a high-stakes, bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in 2018, Trump sided with the Russian leader over the IC.<ul><li>"They said they think it's Russia," Trump said, referring to the IC. "I have - President Putin, he just said it's not Russia. I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be."</li></ul></li><li>When the top intelligence and spy chiefs publicly contradicted the president on the biggest threats the US faces from Russia, Iran, North Korea, and the Islamic State, Trump said they were "<a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1090608298343190528" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrong!</a>" and that "<a href="https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/1090609577006112769" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intelligence should go back to school!</a>"</li></ul><p>Grisham did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p><p>Despite his long history of distrusting the US intelligence community, the president has relied heavily on its findings regarding Soleimani, which he and other senior administration officials say were evidence of an "imminent threat" against American lives.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/rcallimachi/status/1213421769777909761" target="_blank" rel="noopener">But additional reporting from The New York Times' Rukmini Callimachi</a> indicates that the underlying intelligence is "razor thin."</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/rcallimachi/status/1213425231055982592" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Callimachi reported</a> that one source told her there wasn't evidence of an "imminent" attack on US interests that could kill hundreds, as the White House claims. "The official describes the reading of the intelligence as an illogical leap," she reported.</p><p>There's also no guarantee that removing Soleimani removes the threat posed by an "imminent" attack.</p><p>In the days since the Soleimani strike, both Iran and the US have ratcheted up their actions and rhetoric amid historically high tensions. Iran on Sunday withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and the US sent another 3,500 troops into Iraq after ordering Americans to evacuate the region following Soleimani's assassination.</p><p>Trump also ignited a firestorm when he tweeted on Saturday that he would target 52 Iranian cultural sites - which would constitute a war crime if carried out - if Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death.</p><p>Senior administration officials like Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, among others, have refused to directly address Trump's comments but have said the US will act within the confines of international law.</p><p>On Tuesday, as questions swirled about how robust the intelligence supporting the Soleimani strike was, Defense Secretary Mark Esper was asked whether the Iranian attacks against US personnel were days or weeks away before Soleimani's death.</p><p>"I think it's more fair to say days, for sure," Esper said.</p>

White House spox Stephanie Grisham says distrusting US intelligence on Soleimani is 'really unfortunate' while ignoring Trump's history of distrusting US intelligence

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/58b9e1724601782d008b4c81-2400/undefined" alt="RTXY5UB" data-mce-source="Reuters/Gary Cameron " data-mce-caption="Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R)."><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Gary Cameron </span></p><p class="caption">Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R).</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Arkansas plans to rush the execution of 8 men over the course of 10 days in advance of the expiration of state supplies of a lethal injection drug.</p><p>Earlier this week, Arkansas state governor Asa Hutchinson <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/03/us/arkansas-death-penalty-drug.html">signed declarations</a> to bring back capital punishment to the state for the first time since 2005 and execute 8 inmates between April 17 to April 27.</p><p>A staunch Republican, Hutchinson has spent years <a href="http://www.arkansasnews.com/article/20130721/NEWS/307219968">doggedly fighting against</a> the legal difficulties that prevented capital punishment in the state.</p><p><span>"This action is necessary to fulfill the requirement of the <keyword id="6355470" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Law">law</keyword>, but it is also important to bring closure to the victims' families who have lived with the court appeals and uncertainty for a very long time," <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-arkansas-executions-20170227-story.html">said Hutchinson in a statement to the Associated Press</a>. </span><span>If Arkansas does nothing to stop the declaration, the men will be executed in pairs on 4 days during the 10-day period. </span></p><p><span>Like several other states, Arkansas uses a combination of potassium <span>chloride</span><span>, </span><span>midazolam</span><span>, and vecuronium bromide to carry out the executions. </span>Solomon Graves, a spokesperson for the Department of Corrections, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/02/health/arkansas-eight-executions/">told CNN</a> that the state's supply of potassium chloride expired recently (although Hutchinson's spokesperson said the state would have no difficulty acquiring more) while the supply of Midazolam is set to expire in April.</span></p><p>The rushed execution plan has drawn outrage from both activists and religious groups.</p><p><span>"This expiration date is directly linked to the state's urgency to execute eight men in ten days," <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/02/health/arkansas-eight-executions/">said the Arkansas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty</a> in a statement.</span></p><p><span>"The setting of four executions within 10 days is gruesome and brutal," Catholic Sister Joan Pytlik told the <a href="http://www.arkansas-catholic.org/news/article/5055/After-12-years-executions-could-return-in-April">Arkansas Catholic</a>.</span></p><p>The men, all sentenced to death for capital murder between 1991 and 2000, are Bruce Earl Ward, Don William Davis, Ledelle Lee, Stacey Eugene Johnson, Jack Harold Jones, Marcel W. Williams, Kenneth D. Williams, James F. McGehee. </p><p>This is the first time any state in the US executes so many men in such a short time period since 1977, <a href="http://ktla.com/2017/03/03/11-years-after-last-execution-arkansas-plans-to-put-8-men-to-death-over-10-days/">said <span>Robert Dunham, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center</span></a>.</p><p>"<span>No state has ever conducted eight executions over a 10-day period," he said.</span></p>     <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/national-security-adviser-michael-flynn-resigns-russian-sanctions-kellyanne-conway-donald-trump-matt-lauer-nbc-2017-2">'That makes no sense!': Matt Lauer grills Kellyanne Conway over the timing of Michael Flynn's resignation</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Zwd3JwOTE6uBdDMvlcPuaiFWWrsRRaHb" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'Zwd3JwOTE6uBdDMvlcPuaiFWWrsRRaHb',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Arkansas wants to execute 8 men days before its lethal injection drugs expires

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/587fe7e9ee14b6507e8b7c0b-2200" alt="farm" data-mce-source="Reuters/Edgard Garrido" data-mce-caption="Fruit pickers harvest strawberries at a farm in California." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Edgard Garrido</span></p><p class="caption">Fruit pickers harvest strawberries at a farm in California.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The Trump administration is considering plans to deport immigrants who rely on public assistance and restrict the flow of foreign-born workers, according to drafts of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-administration-circulates-more-draft-immigration-restrictions-focusing-on-protecting-us-jobs/2017/01/31/38529236-e741-11e6-80c2-30e57e57e05d_story.html?hpid=hp_rhp-banner-low_eoimmigration-120pm:homepage/story&amp;tid=a_inl&amp;utm_term=.c2aef8be1660" target="_blank">potential executive orders</a> obtained by the Washington Post.</p><p>Though the plans are merely under discussion, they reinforce Trump's commitment to anti-immigration policies - an agenda that also includes his <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bernstein-note-of-cost-of-trump-mexican-border-wall-executive-action-2017-1">proposed wall</a> along the US-Mexico border and the deportation of undocumented immigrants.</p><p>At a February 2 summit hosted by Food Tank, a nonprofit think tank focused on food policy, researchers, chefs, and policy makers expressed concern over the effects Trump's potential immigration restrictions could have on American farms.</p><p><span>"If we were to engage in massive deportations, our agricultural system would collapse," said Bruce Goldstein<span>, the president of <a href="https://www.farmworkerjustice.org/">Farmworker Justice</a>, a nonprofit that aims to improve farmers' <span>living and working conditions.</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>Of the 1.5 to 2 million people working in agriculture today, at least 50% to 70% of farm workers are undocumented immigrants, according to </span><a href="http://www.fb.org/issues/immigration-reform/agriculture-labor-reform/economic-impact-of-immigration">a recent report</a><span> by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). </span></span></span></span><span><span><span><span>If the US were to deport a significant portion of them, the move could result in labor and food production shortages, Goldstein said. </span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>The Trump administration's draft plans follow up on his campaign promises to crack down on immigration as a way to protect and create jobs for American workers - Trump has suggested that low-skilled immigration has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/31/heres-what-donald-trump-said-in-his-big-immigration-speech-annotated/?utm_term=.feb4e37c598f" target="_blank">reduced wages and job availability</a> for US citizens, and that current immigration policies to not sufficiently prioritize American jobs. (Studies have generally found that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/us/immigrants-arent-taking-americans-jobs-new-study-finds.html">not to be true</a>, however.)</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>The AFBF report suggests that agricultural laborers would be hard to replace because of how grueling the work is -12-hour s<span>hifts in 100-degree weather (without overtime pay) </span><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/07/business/just-13-and-working-risky-12-hour-shifts-in-the-tobacco-fields.html">are common</a><span>. And relying on automated systems over human workers would be expensive for farm owners, especially on smaller farms, Goldstein says.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>A large-scale labor shortage could therefore lead to a 5% to 6% jump in food prices for consumers, the report says.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p>"The majority of farm workers in this country are undocumented. We need them, we should respect them, and we should grant them the chance to have an immigration status and a path to citizenship," Goldstein said. "If we don't figure that out, agriculture is in trouble."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kellyanne-conway-bowling-green-massacre-terror-attack-immigration-ban-trump-2017-2">Kellyanne Conway referred to a terror attack that never occurred as a catalyst for Trump's immigration ban</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FvNTJlOTE6aB5h8c93xjiJX1quPiGtPh" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'FvNTJlOTE6aB5h8c93xjiJX1quPiGtPh',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

'Our agricultural system would collapse' if Trump starts mass deportations, says farm worker advocate

<p> <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/586d6a84f10a9a22008b6a03-583/afp-n-korea-plans-nuclear-push-in-2017-top-defector.jpg" alt="kim jong un" data-mce-source="KCNA via Agence France-Presse" data-mce-caption="North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un delivers a speech to top delegates of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang" /><p class="source"><span>KCNA via Agence France-Presse</span></p><p class="caption">North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un delivers a speech to top delegates of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang</p></div><p></p></div></div>Americans are feeling uneasy about President-elect Donald Trump's ability to deal with international challenges and use military force wisely, and the real estate mogul is providing them with plenty of provocations to worry about.</p><p>A new Gallup <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/201158/skeptical-trump-handle-presidential-duties.aspx">survey</a> finds that only 46 percent of Americans are confident in Trump's ability to handle an international crisis, and only 47 percent believe he would use U.S. military force wisely.</p><p>By contrast, at least seven in ten Americans had confidence in Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton before each of them took office.</p><p>In the run-up to his Jan. 20 inauguration, Trump has repeatedly rattled China's cage with sharp criticism of its trade and geopolitical policies, and his phone conversation with the Taiwan president disrupted decades of diplomatic protocol barring such communications.</p><p>Trump has virtually sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin against the U.S. intelligence community by questioning whether Russian hackers meddled in the U.S. election. He declared that the U.S. "must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability," all but inviting a renewal of the nuclear arms race.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/586bca3aee14b6507e8b521a-2000/ap16347768506588.jpg" alt="Donald Trump" data-mce-source="AP/Andrew Harnik" data-mce-caption="President-elect Donald Trump smiles during a rally at DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich." /><p class="source"><span>AP/Andrew Harnik</span></p><p class="caption">President-elect Donald Trump smiles during a rally at DeltaPlex Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>And faced with the threat from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that his rogue nation might soon test an intercontinental ballistic missile that potentially could reach the United States, Trump flatly declared "It won't happen" in a tweet on Monday, without providing a sense of what the diplomatic or military consequences for North Korea might be.</p><p>Trump has refused to relinquish his Twitter account since his surprise victory in November, despite mounting criticism from Democrats, public policy experts and others that it is a highly imprecise and reckless way to set policy and interact with foreign leaders. This is especially true since his national security, <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> and foreign affairs team is still a work in progress and many of this top nominees are awaiting Senate confirmation.</p><p>Bruce Klingner, a Heritage Foundation senior research fellow and specialist on North and South Korea, said in an interview on Tuesday that "I would hope once Mr. Trump becomes president he'll stop using a Twitter account to send signals about U.S. policy."</p><p>"Statements during the campaign as well as subsequent post-election tweets have generated questions and concerns amongst our allies, because they raise questions of what U.S. policy will be under Mr. Trump," said Klingner, a one-time CIA deputy division chief. "Things that raise questions about U.S. commitment or resolve to support our allies, or conversely, suggestions of military action are catching allies by surprise."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/574523319105841c008c4e00-2400" alt="US Military" data-mce-source="Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images" /><p class="source"><span>Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"And while unpredictability may be good in business negotiations, it's less than optimal for alliance management," he added. "Every word, every nuance issued by a U.S. president is parsed and analyzed and over-analyzed for suggestions of any policy change … And Twitter, with its 140-character limit, is extremely constrained in conveying nuance."</p><p>Michael O'Hanlon, a defense and foreign policy expert with the Brookings Institution, agrees with Klingner that Twitter is not a good tool for diplomacy.</p><p>"The reason is NOT for its lack of politesse," O'Hanlon said in an email. "The Chinese don't deserve polite words on the subject of North Korea and certainly North Korea's leadership deserves no soft words. However, once Trump fails to stop the ICBM launch (as he will, even if he decides to shoot it down after launch), his words will have rung hollow, and that will weaken him and hurt his credibility."</p><p>"So for the good of his own reputation and that of the US, he shouldn't promise to stop things that he may well fail to prevent," O'Hanlon added.</p><p>Trump followed his warning to Kim with another potshot at China, North Korea's main patron and trading partner. Trump complained that while China "has been taking out massive amounts of money &amp; wealth" from the U.S., it "won't help with North Korea" in tamping down Kim's fast expanding nuclear program. "Nice!" Trump added sarcastically.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54009fd16bb3f7cc700258de-2400" alt="vietnam military" data-mce-source="Nguyen Huy Kham/Reuters" data-mce-caption="Vietnam's Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh (C) salutes during a joint funeral for the 18 military servicemen who died in a helicopter crash, in Hanoi July 11, 2014. " /><p class="source"><span>Nguyen Huy Kham/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">Vietnam's Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh (C) salutes during a joint funeral for the 18 military servicemen who died in a helicopter crash, in Hanoi July 11, 2014. </p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Some experts agree with Trump that China could have brought more pressure on North Korea to rein in its nuclear program, although that carried risks of retaliation or heightened tensions between China and its neighbor. The United States and South Korea have responded to North Korean nuclear and missile tests with escalating economic sanctions.</p><p>Last month, the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions on North Korea designed to cut its annual export revenue by a quarter, after Pyongyang carried out is fifth and largest nuclear test in September. China went along with the sanctions, but complained that the United States and its ally South Korea were intensifying confrontation with North Korea through military exercises.</p><p>In response to Trump's latest tweets, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said that China had been pressing for the "denuclearization" of the Korean peninsula, according to media reports. "China's efforts in this regard are perfectly obvious," Geng told reporters.</p><p>Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway was asked on ABC's <em>Good Morning America</em> on Tuesday what Trump intended to do to stop North Korea's nuclear expansion. "He's not stated that publicly, and he won't before he's inaugurated," Conway said. "But we do know that there are sanctions that are possible … They have not always worked. I think China would have to have a significant role here as well."</p><p class="tagline">This story was originally published by  <a href="http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/" target="_blank">The Fiscal Times</a>. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/healthy-foods-debunked-myths-2017-1">6 'healthy' eating habits you are better off giving up</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="M3NzBhdjqInjU8WOsGvZaYp9wipY3RoI" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'M3NzBhdjqInjU8WOsGvZaYp9wipY3RoI',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Some Americans are uneasy about Trump's ability to handle international affairs and the US military

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/587fe7e9ee14b68f7b8b5c2f-2200" alt="farm" data-mce-source="Reuters/Mike Blake" data-mce-caption="A farm worker picks eggplant in the early morning fog on a farm in Rancho Santa Fe, California United States August 31, 2016." /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Mike Blake</span></p><p class="caption">A farm worker picks eggplant in the early morning fog on a farm in Rancho Santa Fe, California United States August 31, 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Throughout Donald Trump's presidential campaign, there was nearly constant uncertainty among voters about how seriously to take his promises.</p><p>In August, Kellyanne Conway backtracked on Trump's pledge to create a deportation force to rapidly remove undocumented immigrants, saying his plan was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-immigration-deportation-kellyanne-conway-2016-8">"to be determined"</a>; in October, debate responses revealed that Trump and Mike Pence <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-pence-syria-debate-2016-10">disagreed about military intervention in Syria</a>; in November, Trump told the New York Times that there is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-climate-change-new-york-times-2016-11">"some connectivity"</a> between human activity and climate change despite previously deeming it a Chinese hoax.</p><p>That changing rhetoric likely allowed Trump supporters who approved of many of his messages to disregard the others that they didn't agree with, deeming them little more than talk. But that approach has since left Trump-supporting California farmers worried about the implications of their votes.</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/09/us/california-farmers-backed-trump-but-now-fear-losing-field-workers.html?hp&amp;action=click&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;module=second-column-region&amp;region=top-news&amp;WT.nav=top-news&amp;_r=2" target="_blank">According to the New York Times</a>, conversations with nearly a dozen farmers revealed that while most voted for Trump, they all rely on workers who provided false documents. Many didn't believe that Trump would actually build his proposed border wall between the US and Mexico, or deport workers who lacked proper paperwork. But the series of executive orders the president signed during his first few weeks in office have already disrupted the US immigration system and put the country on a path toward severely restricting trade. Trump's actions, in other words, have suggested that his promises were literal.</p><p>California's fields provide more of the nation's food than any other state - its cash farm receipts in 2015 represented nearly 13 percent of the US total, according to a <a href="https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/statistics/PDFs/2016Report.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> from the state's Department of Food and Agriculture. And according to the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS), conducted by the Department of Labor, about half of all crop farm workers in the US are <a href="https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/farm-labor/background.aspx#legalstatus" target="_blank">not legally authorized to work</a> in the country. Other estimates put that portion as high as 70%.</p><p>If Trump follows through on his promises of mass deportations, the agricultural economy in California and elsewhere would be severely damaged.</p><p>"If you only have legal labor, certain parts of this industry and this region will not exist," Harold McClarty, a fourth-generation farmer in Fresno County told the Times. "If we sent all these people back, it would be a total disaster."</p><p>Bruce Goldstein, the president of Farmworker Justice, a nonprofit that aims to improve farmers' living and working conditions, put the problem in even more dramatic terms at a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trumps-deportation-agriculture-2017-2">recent summit</a>. "If we were to engage in massive deportations, our agricultural system would collapse," he said.</p><p>Other businesses that depend on farm workers as clients would also be impacted by a sudden disappearance of undocumented laborers - a gift-shop owner and an insurance agent in Madera County both told the Times that kind of change could send their businesses into severe decline.</p><p>Trump's proposed changes to US trade policy have also caused growing concern among farmers. Within days of taking office, Trump withdrew the US from the <a href="http://businessinsider.com/trump-tpp-trans-pacific-partnership-what-it-means-2017-1">Trans-Pacific Partnership</a>, and has vowed to renegotiate NAFTA to gain more favorable terms for the US. Press Secretary Sean Spicer also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sean-spicer-trump-considering-20-tax-on-mexican-imports-2017-1">floated the idea of a 20% tax</a> on imports from countries like Mexico to fund construction of the border wall.</p><p>If the Trump administration does wind up imposing import taxes or simply pulling the US out of NAFTA, farmers run the risk that countries impacted by the policies could retaliate, a move that would hit farmers hard. <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-agriculture-trade-20170206-story.html" target="_blank">According to the LA Times</a>, many farmers have seen double-digit growth in commodities like soy beans, dairy products, grains and meat since the mid-90s (NAFTA went into effect in 1994).</p><p>California farmers would have the most to lose in that scenario - approximately 26% of California's agricultural production was exported in 2015, a total of $20.69 billion. The state is the sole US exporter of almonds, dates, garlic, olives, table grapes, and more.</p><p>Many farmers who remain loyal to Trump are still hopeful that his opposition to environmental regulation will prove beneficial to their operations. <a href="https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2016/10/22/why-these-central-valley-republicans-stand-by-donald-trump/" target="_blank">According to KQED</a>, some California farmers blamed conservation-based policies for their lack of water over the last several years. At a rally in Fresno, Trump promised to "start opening up the water."</p><p>Others still have faith that the president's experience as a businessman will lead him to realize the consequences of mass deportations and come up with a more nuanced approach. And there is always the possibility that a renegotiation of NAFTA could wind up in the agricultural industry's favor.</p><p>For now, California farmers will have to wait and see which of Trump's policy proposals actually take root.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/farmers-market-is-ultimate-lunch-spot-2016-11">This farmers market in San Francisco is the ultimate lunch spot</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BxaGtnNzE6GUGeay59NusBdiFcw7x8pW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'BxaGtnNzE6GUGeay59NusBdiFcw7x8pW',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

You Searched For "Bruce Conway" and got 10 results

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