Val Demings dropped out of the Orange County Mayor’s Race giving  little advance notice to activists and Democratic Party leaders on Tuesday. The withdrawal sent shock-waves through the political community in Florida, particularly among Democrats. Demings campaign had shifted in tactics substantially since her entry into the race leading to great frustration among local Democrats and many across the state. The Mayor’s post in Orange County is one of the five most visible elected offices in the state of Florida and the withdrawal of Demings virtually ensures the reelection of Republican Theresa Jacobs and a continuation of Republican rule in the office which began with Mel Martinez’s election in 1998. We will have much more on this story in the next few days – KK @kkfla737

Earlier this week, it was announced that the Russians and Chinese had agreed on a thirty year gas deal featuring the state owned firm Gazprom. This deal is a game changer in the geopolitical world as you’ll know from reading our coverage of the ongoing events in Ukraine. Western Europe relies on Ukrainian pipelines for access to their supply of Russian natural gas. At the same token, the Russian economy relies heavily on those oil and gas exports for a large portion growth. Additionally, Ukraine, is not just the middle man here, as they also rely on Russian gas for the majority of their energy needs. Russia, with major budget concerns and a large reliance on those exports, had been looking for new customers. The Chinese with this in mind and with their own national interest in securing energy supplies for a rapidly growing population, was eager to prioritize those energy concerns over say, executing punishment for Russia’s illegal incursion into the Crimean peninsula. This deal which sets the price at a higher rate than the Europeans are currently paying, decreases Russian reliance on those European exports, and gives Putin an opportunity to use those Ukrainian pipelines as instruments in his realpolitik and propaganda war in Ukraine. Look for Putin to threaten to decrease gas flow or even cut off the natural gas taps to those Ukrainian pipelines, as soon as the gas begins to flow to China. Not to worry though, markets should stay stable as Europe will most likely look to other supplier in such circumstances, including the US which during the Obama administration has become the world’s largest exporter of oil (no, seriously) and shale gas.

– JS @JustinSnyderFl

There is another side to the China-Russia gas deal not readily discussed- the effect on China-US Relations. Yesterday, Fareed Zakaria addressed a speech given by Chinese President Xi Jinping (on the same day the gas deal was announced) at the Fourth Summit of The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. This summit, while obscure and not commonly followed is one attended China, Russia, Turkey, and Iran. Most notably, the United States is not invited nor included here. The summit, focusing on Asian security, was the major topic of Jinping’s speech. The Chinese President’s speech was themed around limiting the West’s interference in Asian affairs. Zakaria references the historical riff between Asian countries and the West over the United States’ propensity to the refer to the region as the “Asian-Pacific” which off hand, infers American involvement in Asian affairs and the fact that Jinping, always refers to the continent as “Asia” rather than the American preferred term. Additionally this week, it was reported that the United States will be filing cyber espionage, identity theft and other economic espionage related charges against five Chinese military hackers, that allegedly, with help of the Chinese central government infiltrated throngs of American companies including centers of American business as US Steel, Alcoa, Westinghouse Electric Company, Solar World AG, and even the United Steelworkers. The Chinese called the charges made up and fabricated. Time Magazine outlines what the Chinese stole here.

-JS @JustinSnyderFL

The victories of far-right parties in European elections this past week sent shockwaves across the the globe. Marine Le Pen’s Front National in France got the highest percentage of the vote the largely white, xenophobic and anti-European party has ever received in a national election. In Britain, The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) which currently does not have a single seat in the Brtish Parliament won more seats in the European Parliament than any other UK party. UKIP has been seen by many on both the left and right as a racist party but yet under the charismatic leadership of Nigel Farage, have emerged quickly as a force politically.

– KK @kkfla737

This week I watched the two part PBS Frontline documentary United States of Secrets, a film focused on the domestic spying programs in the United States in the post 9/11 world under both President Bush and President Obama. The first part of the series, focused on the the Bush administrations program, that essentially spied on all Americans in the wake of 9/11 via wire tapes and data mining and furthermore gives background information into how the program was devised and executed under sketchy legality.  The Second, focuses on the Snowden leaks, and how the program was expanded under President Obama. Make sure you dont miss this documentary, which can be viewed onDemand. Secondly, NBC announced that Brian Williams interviewed Edward Snowden and the piece will be aired on May 28th, at 10 pm- the first American interview of the now infamous NSA whistleblower. Whatever your stance on the leaks and the greater NSA spying program in general, both of these programs are must sees. I’ll be dabbling into Snowden a bit more in the coming weeks.

-JS @JustinSnyderFL

The possible rematch between Senator Maria Sachs (D-Delray Beach) and former Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff (R-Fort Lauderdale) has ramifications far and wide for Democrats across the state. Should Bogdanoff decide on a  run she would force the Democrats to use the limited resources the party has for Senate races to defend Sachs. The biggest winner in this would be Senator Jeff Brandes (R-St Petersburg) who is sitting in a Democratic leaning district and faces a challenger in Judithanne McLauchlan, a USF professor. McLaughclan could be the biggest loser of a potential Bogdanoff run as the Florida Democratic Party would then likely be heavily resource stretched and unable to properly fund her challenge to Brandes. A Bogdanoff win would also put the Republicans over a veto-proof majority in the Senate.

– KK @kkfla737

The World Wars documentary mini-series debuts tonight on the History Channel. The three day television event is a must watch for all interested in the shaping of the modern world.

– KK @kkfla737