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newstfionline · 4 years ago

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Thursday, February 4, 2021

Pressure builds on schools to reopen during pandemic (AP) Pressure is building on school systems around the U.S. to reopen classrooms to students who have been learning online for nearly a year, pitting politicians against teachers who have yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In Chicago, the rancor is so great that teachers are on the brink of striking. In California, a frustrated Gov. Gavin Newsom implored schools to find a way to reopen. In Cincinnati, some students returned to classrooms Tuesday after a judge threw out a teachers union lawsuit over safety concerns. While some communities maintain that online classes remain the safest option for everyone, some parents, with backing from politicians and administrators, have complained that their children’s education is suffering from sitting at home in front of their computers and that the isolation is damaging them emotionally. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a recent study that there is little evidence of the virus spreading at schools when precautions are taken, such as masks, distancing and proper ventilation. But many teachers have balked at returning without getting vaccinated first.

House Dems make case for conviction; Trump denies charges (AP) Donald Trump endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he aimed a mob of supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the U.S. Capitol, House Democrats said Tuesday in making their most detailed case yet for why the former president should be convicted and permanently barred from office. Trump denied the allegations through his lawyers and called the trial unconstitutional. The dueling filings offer the first public glimpse of the arguments that will be presented to the Senate beginning next week. The impeachment trial represents a remarkable reckoning with the violence in the Capitol last month, which the senators witnessed firsthand, and with Trump’s presidency overall. Held in the very chamber where the insurrectionists stood on Jan. 6, it will pit Democratic demands for a final measure of accountability against the desire of many Republicans to turn the page and move on. The impeachment trial, Trump’s second, begins in earnest on Feb. 9.

Activists wary of broader law enforcement after Capitol riot (AP) As federal officials grapple with how to confront the national security threat from domestic extremists after the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol, civil rights groups and communities of color are watching warily for any moves to expand law enforcement power or authority. They say their communities have felt the brunt of security scrutiny over the last two decades and fear new tools meant to target right-wing extremism or white nationalists risk harming Muslims, Black Americans and other groups, even if unintentionally. “The answer ought to be to sort of pause. Because the instinct to do something is something I’m really quite afraid of,” said Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute, one of more than 130 civil and human rights organizations that say the FBI already has the tools it needs. “There’s an entire federal code in place that allows you to successfully go after this violence before you need to sort of say, ‘Oh, wait, you know, there’s this existing gap and we need more power,’” she added.

Jeff Bezos steps down (CJR) Jeff Bezos said yesterday that he will soon step down as CEO of Amazon. Andy Jassy, who runs the company’s cloud computing division, will replace him; Bezos will become executive chair, a role he says will give him more time to focus on outside commitments, including his ownership of the Washington Post. (As CNN’s Brian Fung noted, not many people can say “I’m quitting to spend more time with my newspaper and space rockets.”)

Dozen state police charged in the massacre of 19 in Mexico (AP) A dozen state police officers have been arrested for allegedly killing 19 people, including Guatemalan migrants, whose bodies were found shot and burned near the U.S. border late in January, Mexican authorities announced Tuesday. Tamaulipas state Attorney General Irving Barrios Mojica said all 12 officers were in custody and face charges of homicide, abuse of authority and making false statements. The killings revived memories of the gruesome 2010 massacre of 72 migrants near the town of San Fernando in the same gang-ridden state. But those killings were done by a drug cartel, while it is likely many people will find it more shocking that the Jan. 22 slayings allegedly were carried out by law enforcement. The attorney general did not say what motive the officers might have had, though corrupt local and state police in Mexico are often in the pay of drug cartels. Cartels in Mexico often charge migrant smugglers for crossing their territory, and kidnap or kill migrants whose smugglers have not paid or paid a rival gang.

Common pots prepared by neighbors feeding thousands in Peru (AP) At dawn, Genoveva Satalaya and her neighbors walk through Lima’s food markets hoping to find a kind merchant who will donate food to help fill the “common pot” that is feeding their neighborhood. The survival strategy that first appeared in Peru’s capital during the country’s civil conflict four decades ago has been vital since the coronavirus pandemic arrived in this South American nation. With the country again under a lockdown, Satalaya’s pot is feeding 120 people, including seniors, children and pregnant women. Satalaya and her neighbors prepare lunch Monday through Friday. There’s not enough food for weekday breakfasts or dinners or weekend meals. The common pots, also seen in other Latin American countries, have emerged as a symbol of the struggles of the region. Thousands of them are in use throughout Peru at levels not seen since the 1980s and 1990s during the armed conflict between the state and the Shining Path terrorist group. There are almost a thousand common pots in Lima that are recognized by officials in the municipality, but many, including the one run by Satalaya, are not registered and do not receive any kind of help. The government announced last week that it would send aid to many common pots, but since there are so many, the help may not reach every neighborhood.

Tycoon Ordered to Demolish His $70M Home (The Daily Beast) A French property tycoon has been ordered to tear down his $70m faux-Italianate palazzo in the hills of Provence after losing a 15-year legal battle over the 32,000 square foot structure, which was built without planning permission. Patrick Diter has been given 18 months to scrub every last trace of “Chateau Diter,” including its 18 bedrooms, two helipads, swimming pool, bell tower, Roman colonnade and orangery, from the landscape above Monaco. Subscription newsletter AirMail reports that France’s highest judicial court upheld a previous ruling in the appellate courts that the illegal château near the Provençal village of Grasse must be removed and the countryside restored to its original state. If the court orders are not complied with by June 2022, Diter will pay a fine of $600 per day. The court also slapped Diter with fines totaling $550,000.

Hundreds Arrested as Navalny Sentenced (Foreign Policy) A Moscow court handed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny a prison sentence of two years and eight months on Tuesday, as authorities hope to put an end to a saga that has seen thousands of Russians take to the streets in protest over the last two weeks. The court found that Navalny had broken the terms of his probation for a previous conviction for stealing $500,000 from two companies. Navalny denies the charges, and the European Court of Human Rights at the time called the case “arbitrary and manifestly unreasonable.” The reasoning behind his probation breach is murky, as Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have approved Navalny’s transfer to a German hospital for treatment after he was poisoned in August. Navalny’s relatively short prison term could soon be extended, as investigators prepare a fraud case that could carry another ten-year sentence. But Tuesday’s sentence may be just enough if it means Navalny will not be a threat in September’s parliamentary elections. The Kremlin has dismissed international condemnation of the verdict. “You should not interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state. And we recommend that everyone deal with their own problems,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

India farming protests resonate with US agriculture (AP) Images of thousands of farmers streaming into India’s capital on tractors and carrying banners to decry potentially devastating changes in agricultural policy can seem a world away, but the protests in New Delhi raise issues that resonate in the United States. Indian farmers have left their homes to march through New Delhi in a desperate effort to force the repeal of laws they believe would end guaranteed pricing and force them to sell to powerful corporations rather than government-run markets. Despite decades of economic growth, up to half of India’s population relies on growing crops on small parcels of land, typically less than 3 acres, and farmers worry that without guaranteed prices they will be forced to sell their land and lose their livelihoods. The images of farmers marching through New Delhi recall similar scenes in Washington, D.C., during the farming crisis of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when hundreds of trucks and tractors flooded the National Mall. Thousands of farmers lost their land, in part because of government policies that caused soaring interest rates as demand for their products plunged, leading to falling land values. In Iowa—one of the hardest hit states—there were about 500 farm auctions a month in 1983 when families had no choice but to sell. Decades later, those memories remain fresh for Rick Juchems, whose parents had to sell their 640-acre farm in Iowa. Just as feared by those protesting in India, the American farmers lost their livelihoods and sense of identity. “We were just trying to stay alive,” said Juchems, who later was able to continue farming thanks to his in-laws. “That’s what you work all your life for and then it’s gone.”

Myanmar’s Army Is Back in Charge. It Never Truly Left. (NYT) The men in army green never truly retreated. As Myanmar presented a facade of democracy to the world, the generals who had ruled the country for nearly half a century still dominated the economy and the halls of power. They even got away with what international prosecutors say was genocide in their murderous offensives against Rohingya Muslims. With its pre-dawn coup on Monday—unseating an elected government and putting its leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, back under house arrest—the military, led by Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, was once again flaunting its ultimate authority. Yet in the process of reasserting their command, the generals have ripped apart a prized project: a carefully constructed political system decades in the making that allowed them to camouflage their fists behind a veneer of democracy. Though they allowed elections, army officers also reserved a quarter of the Parliament’s seats and crucial cabinet positions for themselves. The public, which felt like it could express its political aspirations by delivering landslide victories to Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, is furious. And the international community, which chose to focus more on the civilian part of the country’s civilian-military system, is now aware that one side of the scale clearly outweighs the other.

Iran reaches agreement with South Korea (Foreign Policy) Iran has agreed to release the crew of a South Korean oil tanker in what its foreign ministry called a “humanitarian” move after the vessel was impounded in early January. The vessel’s seizure was believed to be a bargaining chip to convince South Korea to free up $7 billion in Iranian funds currently frozen in South Korean banks as a result of U.S. sanctions. South Korea’s foreign ministry welcomed Iran’s decision to release the sailors, saying it was a necessary next step to “restore trust” before resolving the issue of the frozen funds. Regarding the funds, the ministry stated it “will do what it can in a speedy manner while discussing consultations with the United States on the issue.”

Tigray crisis: Ethiopia region at risk of huge ‘humanitarian disaster’ (BBC) Opposition parties in Ethiopia’s Tigray region have warned of a huge “humanitarian disaster” if aid is not delivered urgently. The parties said people were already dying from hunger and urged the international community to intervene. Ethiopia’s government says aid is being delivered and nearly 1.5 million people have been reached. The parties also said 52,000 people had been killed since the conflict started in November. They did not explain how they arrived at the estimate but said it included women, children and religious leaders. About two million people have been internally displaced in the conflict in Tigray. The government has heavily restricted access to the region for the media and aid agencies. On Monday, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland, said he had “rarely seen an aid response so impeded” in the 40 years he had worked in the humanitarian field. In a joint statement, three opposition parties—the Tigray Independence Party (TIP), Salsay Weyane Tigray, and National Congress of Great Tigray—said if food and medicine did not arrive quickly the “looming humanitarian disaster of biblical proportion” would become a “gruesome reality in Tigray”.

#headlines #news

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expatimes · 4 years ago

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Who’s who in Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial

Former US President Donald Trump will face his second impeachment trial in the United States Senate this week.

The trial is set to begin just under a month after the US House of Representatives impeached Trump for “incitement of insurrection” in relation to the deadly January 6 storming of the US Capitol and to repeated false claims the US election was stolen from him.

The proceedings will mark the first time a former president has faced an impeachment trial.

Two-thirds of the 100-member Senate would need to vote to convict Trump, and with Democrats only holding 50 seats in the chamber, that is considered unlikely.

Nine House Democrats, appointed as so-called “impeachment managers”, will argue that Trump pointed the rioters “like a loaded cannon” towards the Capitol and that his actions and words in the weeks leading up to the insurrection contributed to the violence.

Trump’s defence team will argue that a speech he gave before the riot is protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution, that he was denied due process, and that the proceedings are unconstitutional as Trump is no longer in office.

While a conviction would not remove Trump, who will not testify during the trial, from office, it could lead to him being barred from holding future federal office through a subsequent Senate vote.

Here is who’s who in Trump’s impeachment trial:

Senator Patrick Leahy, president pro tempore of the Senate

Senator Patrick Leahy

Democrat Leahy is the longest-serving senator in the chamber, and is third in the line of presidential succession. He will preside over the trial, a role typically reserved for the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice John Roberts presided over Trump’s first impeachment trial, as is required by the US Constitution. Roberts declined to participate in this trial, however, and there is no law regarding who should preside over the impeachment trial of a former president.

Leahy will perform key duties, including reading questions submitted by legislators. He can also theoretically rule on the admissibility of evidence, but can be overruled by a Senate vote.

Leahy has shrugged off criticism from Republicans that he would not be objective in the role.

“I have presided over hundreds of hours in my time in the Senate. I don’t think anybody has ever suggested I was anything but impartial in those hundreds of hours,” he told reporters in January.

Former President Donald Trump

Trump served a single term in office before losing to Democrat Joe Biden.

He maintained the election was marred by widespread fraud, without producing any evidence to support the claim. An array of legal challenges and recounts spurred by Trump and his allies uniformly failed to change the vote results in any state.

The former president refused to acknowledge Biden’s victory before leaving office on January 20, and only acknowledged a new administration would be taking over after the storming of the US Capitol.

Trump remains banned from major social media platforms and has been living in Florida since leaving the White House.

Senator Chuck Schumer, Senate majority leader

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

Schumer became the Senate majority leader last month after Democrats won dual run-offs in Georgia.

The party currently controls 50 seats in the chamber and Vice President Kamala Harris will cast deciding votes.

As Senate Majority leader, Schumer was responsible for setting the format and schedule of the impeachment trial.

Mitch McConnell, Senate minority leader

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell

McConnell is the most powerful Republican in the Senate and has led negotiations with Schumer about the shape of the trial.

He condemned Trump’s actions early on, saying the president fed his supporters lies that directly resulted in the Capitol riot. But he also rebuffed efforts to hold Trump’s trial before he left office.

McConnell voted in favour of a motion that deemed proceeding with the trial unconstitutional because Trump was no longer in office.

House impeachment managers:

Jamie Raskin, representative from Maryland

Representative Jamie Raskin

Raskin, a former constitutional law professor at American University, will serve as the lead impeachment manager, the de facto lead prosecutor in the case.

Raskin began drafting the article of impeachment against Trump shortly after the Capitol storming. He had also worked on Trump’s first impeachment in December 2019, but was not an impeachment manager then.

He has represented his Maryland district in Congress since 2017.

Diana Degette, representative from Colorado

Representative Diana DeGette

Degette, who was elected to the House in 1996, presided over the chamber’s debate about impeaching Trump in 2019.

Before becoming a legislator, Degette was a civil rights lawyer.

Degette is currently serving her 13th term in office.

David Cicilline, representative from Rhode Island

Representative David Cicilline

Cicilline helped draft the most recent article of impeachment against Trump. He had investigated Trump as a member of the House Judiciary Committee during his first impeachment.

Cicilline previously worked as a public defender and was mayor of Providence, Rhode Island.

“The president must be held accountable,” Cicilline wrote in a recent New York Times opinion piece. “That can happen only by impeaching him for a second time and convicting him in the Senate.”

Joaquin Castro, representative from Texas

Representative Joaquin Castro

Castro, 46, is a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which held investigative hearings in Trump’s first impeachment in 2019.

He is a former leader of the Hispanic caucus and a critic of Trump’s immigration policies.

A Mexican-American legislator born in the state of Texas, Castro is serving his fifth term in Congress. His twin brother Julio ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.

Eric Swalwell, representative from California

Representative Eric Swalwell

Swalwell is on the House intelligence and judiciary committees and was involved in investigating Trump’s first impeachment.

He is a former prosecutor who in 2019 briefly sought the Democratic nomination for president.

The 40-year-old is serving his fifth term in Congress.

Ted Lieu, representative from California

Representative Ted Lieu

Lieu is a former Air Force officer who was a prosecutor in the force’s legal branch, the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is now a colonel in the Air Force Reserve.

Lieu is a co-sponsor of the most recent article of impeachment against Trump, along with Raskin and Cicilline.

Stacey Plaskett, representative from US Virgin Islands

Representative Stacey Plaskett

Plaskett, a 54-year-old former prosecutor, represents the Virgin Islands, a US territory.

Before being elected to Congress in 2014, she was an assistant district attorney in the Bronx borough of New York City and senior counsel at the Department of Justice.

As Plaskett represents a US territory, she is not a voting member of the House.

Joe Neguse, representative from Colorado

Representative Joe Neguse

Neguse is serving his second term in Congress.

The son of refugees from Eritrea, he is Colorado’s first African American congressman.

He is a member of the Judiciary Committee and earlier in his career was a litigator in private practice.

Madeleine Dean, representative from Pennsylvania

Representative Madeleine Dean

Dean is a former member of the Pennsylvania state legislature, where she served four terms before being elected to Congress in 2018.

Earlier, she worked as a lawyer in private practice and taught writing and ethics at LaSalle University.

She is a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Trump’s defence lawyers:

David Schoen

Schoen, a civil rights and criminal defence lawyer, previously represented Trump’s former adviser Roger Stone, who was convicted in November 2019 of lying under oath to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Trump pardoned Stone in December 2020, weeks before leaving office.

Schoen also reportedly considered becoming accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein’s lead lawyer, meeting with Epstein days before he killed himself in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

Bruce Castor

Castor is a former Pennsylvania district attorney known for his decision not to prosecute Bill Cosby in 2005 after a woman accused the entertainer of sexual assault.

In 2017, Castor sued Cosby’s accuser in the case for defamation, claiming she destroyed his political career.

Read full article: https://expatimes.com/?p=17846&feed_id=32681

#Donald #DonaldTrump #impeachment #News #trial #Trumps #UnitedStates #USCanada #Whos

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covid19updater · 4 years ago

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COVID19 Updates: 01/25/2021

California: to lift stay-at-home orders on Monday: report LINK

Netherlands: Rioters set fire to Dutch coronavirus testing centre as new curfew comes into effect LINK

South Korea: Note of caution from Director Jeong of KDCA: "The end of Covid19 is different to forming herd immunity. We don't know how effective the vaccine will be long term, or we may get more variants. Due to these uncertainties, it is hard to say when the Covid19 pandemic will end"

UK: BREAKING: Latest data from ONS shows that between March and December caregivers were more than *three times* more likely to die of COVID-19 than the general working age population. Paid minimum wage for maximum risk - the data once again questions the way we value this vital work.

US: "I can't tell you how much vaccine we have, and if I can't tell it to you then I can't tell it to the governors and I can't tell it to the state health officials," CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told "Fox News Sunday." (Wait, what?)

World: JUST IN: Merck has shut down its coronavirus vaccine program after poor trial results (drip, drip, drip)

Israel: “17% of the severely ill patients who are currently hospitalized are patients who received a first dose of the vaccine before their hospitalization.” LINK

France: FRANCE'S INSTITUT PASTEUR SAYS IT IS STOPPING THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONE OF ITS POTENTIAL COVID-19 VACCINE PROJECTS, WHICH WAS BASED ON VACCINE USED AGAINST MEASLES

South Africa: South Africa’s death toll from Covid-19 is likely to be far higher than the official number LINK

Brazil: ‘A complete massacre, a horror film’: inside Brazil's Covid disaster LINK

Brazil: Covid-19 outbreak in Manaus suggests herd immunity may not be possible LINK

US: Covid-19: Why the US hasn't hit vaccine targets so far LINK

US: *FAUCI `WORRIED' ABOUT DELAYS TO SECOND COVID VACCINE DOSE

US: Top NIH Official Dr. Fauci: The risk is existing vaccines might not fight future variants.(dripdripdripdrip..)

US: “There is a degree of increase in seriousness of the actual infection.” -Dr. Anthony Fauci on the U.K. variant of the coronavirus

NYC: NEW: NYC's stock of 1st doses is down to just 19k--less than one day's supply. Next shipment from feds not expected until Tues/Weds, and likely to be only 100k. 15 Heath Dept vaccine hubs remain closed until Thurs. ** we need more supply **

California: officials just announced that the regional stay-at-home orders have been lifted across the state.

Spain: reports record 94,000 COVID-19 cases over weekend, incidence hits new high

France: France's new COVID infections up again, ICU patients above 3,000 LINK

Italy: Covid-19 vaccinations: Italy announces 'six to eight week' delay after supply drop

UK: Intensive care dealing with record number of Covid patients, as Hancock warns NHS ‘stretched to limit’ LINK

World: In ambulances, an unseen, unwelcome passenger: COVID-19 LINK

World: Ex-CDC Director Frieden: Covid is evolving in weeks and months the way flu evolves in years. Ominous.

US: Drop in US coronavirus cases likely not due to vaccine at this time, Fauci says LINK

World: Setback with corona vaccine: Astra-Zeneca vaccine is unlikely to work for seniors

Netherlands: Breaking - Second night of riots in Netherlands against coronavirus curfew - @AFP. Water cannon used in Rotterdam, trouble in Geleen, police helicopters overhead in The Hague

Lebanon: #Lebanon: Great tensions erupt in #Tripoli against #Coronavirus lockdown and economic crisis

Florida: Last week, Gov. DeSantis (R-FL) said FEMA's help on vaccine rollout was "not necessary." Today, WH Press Sec. Psaki responds: "I will note, because we're data first here, facts first here, they've only distributed about 50% of the vaccines that they have been given in Florida."

US: BIDEN SAYS BY SUMMER WE SHOULD BE WELL ON OUR WAY TO HERD IMMUNITY (Except, Joe, a lot of studies show herd immunity isn’t a thing in this case)

Chile: 15 people catch COVID-19 after reportedly attending cat’s birthday party LINK

Germany: Shot: Unsourced report in @handelsblatt that Astra Zeneca vaccine has only 8% efficacy among over-65s. Chaser: @bild reports that German govt expects EMA to approve AZ vaccine for under-65s only later this week.

Minnesota: Minnesota confirms first known U.S. case of more contagious Covid variant originally found in Brazil LINK

Op/Ed Piece: So... we're 5 days in now, let's summarize what the key points of Biden's COVID plan is so far: 1. Vaccinate people at a rate lower than what Trump accomplished on his last day in office. 2. Avoid issuing any lockdown guidance, allowing blue states like California and Massachusetts to lift their COVID restrictions while infection rates are orders of magnitudes higher than when Trump lifted CDC guidance in the spring of 2020 3. Ban travel from countries with novel COVID strains, unless it's illegal travel from South America in which case he is doing everything he can to increase it including paying contractors to stop construction of border wall that was already ordered. 4. Prioritize impeaching a President who has already left office before delivering the much talked about COVID relief bill which has already been delayed by 6 months. 5. Offer federal vaccine distribution assistance to states who say they don't need it. 6. Despite big talk, no action on increases in testing. 7. Issue mask mandates on transportation systems and federal property where everyone was already wearing masks. 8. Set bad example by not wearing a mask hours after signing above mandate while on federal property. 9. Divert vaccines meant for US citizens to poor countries. 10. Restart a war in Syria, because that's a huge priority right now.

Sweden: 160,000 Swedes have long covid

Texas: Harris County judge dismisses vaccine theft charge against doctor, blasts DA for bringing the case LINK

Philippines: Unique COVID-19 variant in PH a possibility, expert says LINK

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alexsmitposts · 6 years ago

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Hillary “Queen of the Warmongers” as Trump’s Greatest Asset The US presidential race hits a “new low” with Cold War slurs. As Ilia Chavchavadze, a famous Georgian writer, poet, and journalist once wrote, “Judge not a man by his friends but look at his enemies, and then I can tell you who this man is!” However, in this case, that man is a woman, and one that is collecting high profile enemies. Speaking truth to power has such a nice ring. That is because it is so seldom applied these days, as you are soon marginalised and labelled a loose cannon, or even worse—a Russian asset, Manchurian Candidate, or an Assad apologist! Tulsi Gabbard once went so far as to sponsor a bill known as the “Stop Arming Terrorists Act,” through Congress, which would have meant cutting off aid to the rebels/terrorists fighting Assad. Tulsi Gabbard The NYT and other MSM were quick to attack Tulsi Gabbard. They did not try to discredit her for anything that is out of the ordinary, but because she told too many inconvenient truths. This was especially the case in a response to former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for having had taking on the one democratic candidate that has views that are being expressed by more and more Americans, especially former military and rank and file Americans. Thus, it is understandable why Gabbard is NOT the candidate of choice for the DNC. She speaks her mind about the DNC and Hillary Clinton. The result for her is being branded with a Scarlet Letter. She also turned her back on the DNC back in 2016, walking away, when she realized how Hillary was rigging the election, stealing the Democratic nomination, and even the Whitehouse was stolen from Bernie Sanders. Being true to herself—and the core values of the Democratic Party, Tulsi Gabbard spared no words in describing Hillary Clinton for what she was and continues to be. You, Hillary Clinton, the queen of warmongers, embodiment of corruption, and personification of the rot that has sickened the Democratic Party for so long, have finally come out from behind the curtain. Ever since I announced my candidacy there has been a concerted campaign to destroy my reputation. We wondered who was behind it and why… it was always you.” She further added a challenge: It’s now clear that this primary is between you and me, don’t cowardly hide behind your proxies, Join the race directly. Besides having the ability to think for herself; Gabbard has the military experience and education to do that, especially in terms of national security issues. That means by conventional wisdom she doesn’t belong in the Democrat Party and that in itself is a REAL threat to the Republican Party and Trump’s reelection bid. To have the audacity to talk opening about the consequences of 4-profit US “regime change wars” comes at a high political cost, at least at the first impression. For this reason, Gabbard is being smeared as a “foreign agent”—a Manchurian Candidate. This is old term that is commonly used to indicate disloyalty or corruption, whether intentional or unintentional—and comes from a Cold War era movie about capture POWs who had been brainwashed and trained to be part of sleeper cells that would eventually carryout missions upon return to the United States. But this mudslinging is flying back in Hillary’s face. Within 48 hours not one but two CNN correspondents have not only backed Tulsi, but called out Clinton. Is the sky falling, or is it because Tulsi brings a power to the game that we haven’t seen in politics…. I guess there is no level beneath which Hillary cannot sink. Game-Changer As one CNN pundit describes her: Clinton Is Acting Just Like Trump. Tulsi Gabbard is now calling The New York Times and CNN —”completely despicable” for alleging she is a Russian asset and Assad apologist. Finian Cunningham writes: “On the other hand, Gabbard stands alone in telling the American people the plain and awful truth. US policy is the fundamental problem. Ending its regime-change war in Syria and elsewhere and ending its diabolical collusion with terror groups is the way to bring peace to the Middle East and to spare ordinary Americans from the economic disaster of spiraling war debts.” It is very sad indeed that there is a lack of accountability for war crimes (so far) and the unjustified killing of millions of women, children and other civilians (as well as the sad deaths, suicides and wounding of soldiers duped into fighting these illegal wars) War criminals are being celebrated as national heroes: ones to be emulated. And there is an attempt to silence the voices of those who know the true horror and costs of America’s perpetual wars. And you don’t even have to read Orwell to understand what is going on with never-ending wars. Obama continued with enthusiasm the wars he inherited from the times of the Bush administration. People should not forget that it was Trump who promised to bring an end to such wars and bring American soldiers home during his campaign. And the shared hope of Americans to see the end of needless wars is what got Trump elected in the first place. Hillary as Trump Asset It is almost as if Hillary Clinton is working hard to get Trump reelected by further dividing an already divided Democratic Party. If anyone could be called a Russian asset, one only needs to look at her own sordid history: the uranium deals, 20 percent of American stocks sold off to the Russians, the dealings of the Clinton Foundation, its list of donors and how some biting sanctions were lifted on Russian on Bill’s watch, allegedly with a cash payment in return. It was Hillary and the DNC who stole the nomination from Bernie Sanders. She prevented the only candidate who had a standing chance against a Trump Whitehouse from being nominated. However, all that is moot now. It would be interesting to watch how her recent actions and allegations, will open up the race for the Democrats and put new life into a party that has been on death throes. Democrats went from a dominant majority to a marginalized party that represents coastal cities. The party seems to have abandoned enormous areas of the country—the heartland. Democrats lost 10 percent of their Senate seats, 19 percent of their House seats, and 20 percent of the seats in state legislatures. One only has to look at the map of the Electoral College and where Trump won the election to understand there has been a change in voter expectations. Hillary and the Democrats, especially the power elite in the DNC should take a refresher introductory college course in American government. They would then understand that the popular vote does not always matter – as the system is based on allocating representation between all states – and the Electoral College decides who will the president and the race is not by direct vote. That explains much of what is going on: the efforts to impeach Trump from behind closed doors, and all the rhetoric over the need to reform or eliminate the Electoral College system. Not going to happen, at least anytime soon! This explains the concerted effort by Hillary to smear one of the few candidates, who if nominated and with the support of the DNC and the rank and file of Democrats could actually beat Trump in the National Election. Hillary’s words on October 17th are well-chosen for the “unwashed masses” of American voters who still think that anyone painted with her wide red brush will be the kiss-of-death, a proverbial Scarlet Letter. As Hillary so sarcastically said: “I’m not making any prediction, but I think they’ve got their eye on somebody who’s currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate. She’s the favorite of the Russians. …They have a bunch of sites and bots and other ways of supporting her so far. And, that’s assuming Jill Stein will give it up, which she might not because she’s also a Russian asset.” Such statements are from another era, like that of Joseph McCarthy—and from the time of the Red Scare. But there is method in madness. And it is clear that the comments “appear” to be directed at Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. This was later confirmed after Hillary Clinton’s comments drew considerable criticism from both political parties. As a result Clinton’s spokesman Nick Merrill backed away from the former Secretary of State’s allegation. Merrill tweeted, “She doesn’t say the Russians are grooming anyone. It was a question about Republicans.” Whatever that means is open to debate. One thing is certain, the Democratic Party has been injured the most as a result of Hillary’s obvious cheap shots and she should control her diarrhea of the mouth, at least restrain from making public statements. However, the damage has already been done, and not only to Gabbard but to the Democratic Party as a whole, showing that there is no such thing as party solidarity. To attack a war veteran and respected member of Congress is a new low, even for Hillary. It is too early to predict if this incident may have political ramifications, as to who gets the nomination. However, it does give good press to Gabbard and a boost to her fledgling campaign. Much to the dismay of many voters, this infighting in the party is a windfall to Trump’s campaign and it may be the incumbent may be reelected. Hillary is actually doing something constructive for the first time in her sordid career – by giving an unexpected and much-needed boost to Tulsi Gabbard who is the only candidate who challenges the military-industrial complex and never-ending war agenda. At least Americans have another choice to consider. There are also health and political issues to consider, Bernie Sanders and his heart, and Joe Biden and his son. It is good to know that there are a few candidates who are in the prime of their life, their political careers, and who are not carrying of the millstones of political corruption around-their-necks. My prediction: Bernie + Tulsi as VP Gabbard’s time may not be now but her name will be recognized in the next presidential election, as Trump is only allowed to serve two terms. Perhaps Hillary would take the challenge – to run openly against Gabbard, and then we can be certain of another four years of Donald Trump. Or that is perhaps the real plan, “Hillary as Trump’s GREATEST Asset!

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scottadamsblog · 8 years ago

Text

A Quick Look at President Trump and the Big Picture

Let’s take a look at the things that are going well for President Trump, and the things that are not, and see if there is a pattern. Here I will include topics that are not necessarily the president’s accomplishments or faults. I’ll simply describe the current state of things.

Things That Are Positive

The economy

Trade deals

China relations

Russia (our frenemy) is working with the U.S. on Syria, North Korea

China is putting pressure on North Korea

Jobs

Healthcare progress (more to do)

Supreme Court nominee confirmed

Tax reform maybe

Optimism for an Israeli-Palestinian “deal”

Safe Zones coming along for Syrian refugees

Illegal immigration down over 70% because of Trump’s persuasion alone.

Business confidence high.

Things that are Negative

Unproven allegations of Russian collusion with Trump campaign.

Trump claims he invented the phrase “prime the pump.”

Trump tweeted a warning that Comey better be careful what he says because he might have been taped in the White House. But such recordings haven’t been confirmed. Or denied.

Critics say Trump is crazy.

Trump claimed his campaign had been “wiretapped” by Obama, but it might have been only incidental surveillance. Or not. We’ll probably never know.

Critics say Trump is a loose cannon.

Critics say “words matter” and Trump is careless with words.

Trump’s approval rating is abysmal.

There is “chaos” in the White House

Trump doesn’t study topics in detail.

Trump might fire people on his staff for various reasons.

There is in-fighting with Trump’s staff.

Trump got two scoops of ice cream when others got one.

Trump threatened to end press briefings but probably didn’t mean it.

Trump is influenced by whoever gives him the latest article that is sometimes fake news.

Trump calls the mainstream media fake news.

Trump has criticized the courts, judges, and anyone else you are not supposed to criticize as a president.

Health care didn’t get passed on the first try. And still needs work.

Trump will be impeached or jailed any day now for whatever.

Trump keeps relying on trusted family advisors such as Jared Kushner and Ivanka.

Trump fired Comey as both sides wanted, but his timing raised suspicions, and he talked about it wrong in an interview. Also didn’t coordinate with his communication staff.

Trump says things that do not pass the fact-checking.

Trump doesn’t realize that his business skills don’t translate into government. (This was the same reason people said he couldn’t win the election.)

Things that Might Be Good or Bad (Depending on your Point of View)

Trump is prioritizing jobs over climate risks in the near term.

Trump is reducing government regulations.

Trump is moving responsibility for several topics to states, per the Constitution.

Did you find the pattern?

All the important stuff is trending positive. Trump is not the sole cause of all that goodness, but he hasn’t broken anything important. That counts too. We’ve had plenty of presidents who broke stuff. Think of Nixon’s price caps, Carter’s hostage rescue mission failure, and Bush-the-younger’s Iraq war. When presidents don’t break anything, that’s a big deal

The topics that are problematic for President Trump include unconfirmed gossip, rumors, fake news, irrational worries, imaginary problems, trivial matters, and simple differences in political priorities.

As I recently said on Twitter, President Trump’s approval rating is low, but that can be explained two ways. One explanation is that the president is not doing a good job and people can see it with their own eyes. The other explanation is that citizens are actually grading their own cognition and don’t realize it.

What’s it look like to you?

---

You might enjoy reading my book because of patterns.

I’m also on...

Twitter (includes Periscope): @scottadamssays

YouTube: At this link.

Instagram: ScottAdams925

Facebook Official Page: fb.me/ScottAdamsOfficial

#POTUS Trump

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actutrends · 5 years ago

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EU’s tough new trade boss seeks reset with Trump

Trump sees both arrangements as vindication of his get-tough technique to trade negotiations, which included threatening to withdraw from NAFTA and slapping responsibilities on literally numerous billions of dollars of Chinese items.

Now, disputes over France’s brand-new digital services tax and European assistance for Boeing’s chief competitor, Jet, give Trump another possibility to fire his tariff cannon. And with an impeachment trial looming, new duties on Europe would enable Trump to show the world his presidency is alive, if not totally well.

Against that fraught background, Hogan intends to encourage Lighthizer to postpone any brand-new action that would further interfere with the U.S.-EU relationship.

” Phil Hogan is a major man, who I believe takes his job very seriously and his belief and sensation in the EU is strong,” stated previous U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who sparred with Hogan throughout not successful talks on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Collaboration pursued by the Obama administration. “He is a difficult negotiator, however reasonable.”

” Hogan has stated publicly he wants “to reset the relationship in between the EU and the U.S., and I believe that’s the message that he would certainly be conveying privately to Robert Lighthizer,” an EU official stated.

But there’s considerable disappointment in both the administration and Congress over the EU’s rejection to negotiate with the U.S. on agriculture. EU farmers enjoy a $10 billion trade surplus with the United States, partially because of the EU’s barriers to lots of U.S. farm products.

The U.S. company community, for its part, is tired of Trump’s tariff actions, however excited to deal with the EU both on bilateral irritants and typical difficulties presented by China.

Today’s visit is Hogan’s “opportunity to meet with Cabinet members like Bob Lighthizer and Secretary Wilbur Ross, and I think to take the temperature level of what’s possible,” said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs at U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

It could likewise set the stage for an even more substantial initial conference between new European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Online Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Von der Leyen, a former German defense minister, also would like peaceful on the U.S. trade front as the EU wrestles with the challenging obstacle of negotiating a new trade relationship with a significant departing member, the UK.

” Stabilizing the European economy, and Britain’s function because, is most likely something that has to precede,” Peter Rashish, director of the Geoeconomics Program at Johns Hopkins University’s American Institute for Contemporary German Researches, said.

That’s important “both tactically and also in the sense that till we understand what the U.K.-EU trade relationship is going to look like, it’s going to be extremely difficult for both the U.K. and the EU to work out with us,” Rashish stated.

For the EU, the stakes are high.

But Hogan’s visit comes in the middle of struggling transatlantic times, as the Trump administration is considering slapping 100 percent responsibilities on as much as $2.4 billion worth of French champagne, cheeses, handbags and other items in a dispute over that nation’s brand-new digital services tax, which U.S. officials think is unjustly aimed at American web giants Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple.

Lighthizer has likewise threatened to launch investigations that might cause extra tariff dangers against other EU nations, such as Italy and Austria, that have likewise imposed a digital services tax, as well others like Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic, which are thinking about one.

For its part, the EU has actually threatened to punch back with unilateral responsibilities.

Lighthizer likewise has actually proposed raising tariffs to 100 percent on $7.5 billion worth of products from a more comprehensive selection of European nations in a different disagreement over European government assistance for aerospace giant Airplane. Unlike the tax case, that possible U.S. action is sanctioned by the WTO.

The Trump administration previously imposed a 10 percent task on large civilian aircraft and a 25 percent task on wine, cheeses and other products in the conflict. The EU has its own WTO case against U.S. assistance for Boeing. A choice on last damage award is still months away, and U.S. authorities feel confident it will be less than they were granted.

The transatlantic powers are likewise on different sides of a crisis threatening the future of the WTO.

With the U.S. blocking the consultation of judges to the WTO’s greatest dispute-resolution body, there is no longer a world trade referee. The EU has actually been working on options to preserve the concept of a rule-based multilateral trading system. At the same time, it wishes to find a more permanent service with the United States.

On that front, the EU’s new trade chief wishes to shift the discussion from the dispute resolution to a broader WTO reform.

” Hogan wishes to interact more broadly on WTO issues due to the fact that, as is typically the case, the issues that join the European Union and the U.S. are frequently a lot more considerable than those who divide us,” said the EU official. “There are more basic reforms needed for the WTO and the concept is to look for common ground between our particular positions which can be the basis for future work.”

All those conflicts have the possible to get U.S.-EU trade relations off to an untidy start with the new European management.

However Rashish stated he was enthusiastic that the United States would avoid difficult action to offer more time for negotiations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Advancement in the case of the digital services tax and bilaterally in the Airplane conflict.

” There is precedent for the administration in some cases stepping back,” he stated.

That took place 18 months earlier, when then-European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker headed off Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European autos by accepting bilateral trade talks However that effort never flowered into a complete negotiation mainly due to the fact that of the EU’s rejection to address U.S. needs to decrease its farming trade barriers.

” I believe that’s the fundamental challenge these 2 gentlemen will face,” Vilsack said. “If they are truly interested in a full scale offer, then farming has to be on the table and the EU has to alter its position.”

Vilsack, who now heads the U.S. Dairy Export Council, was USDA secretary throughout the first 2 years that Hogan was EU agricultural commissioner. He sees a similarity between Hogan, who was raised on a household farm in Ireland, and Lighthizer, a kid of the Rust Belt.

Another previous U.S. government authorities, who asked not to be identified to speak honestly, saw a chance for Hogan and Lighthizer to work well together, even when the EU hesitates or not able to fulfill U.S. needs.

“[Hogan’s] an individual of terrific individual appeal– he’s Irish after all– however also quite blunt.

However unlike Rashish, he was downhearted about U.S.-EU trade relations in the near term, provided Trump’s showed fondness for enforcing tariffs. “The EU does not reveal signs of wishing to buckle to U.S. needs. I’m not positive about the near term future,” the former official stated.

Hogan will also meet privately with U.S. industry authorities throughout his Washington, and is most likely to discover a considerate ear to his “reset” message.

After two years of wrangling over autos and farming, the two sides require to move away from a concentrate on sector-specific issues and develop “a wider structure” for conversation, Brilliant said.

” We require to deal with the EU to strengthen the global trading system through the World Trade Company and other ways. We need to build agreement around some of the new technology problems, requirements and guideline and we need to deal with 3rd party concerns, whether it’s China or in other places,” he added.

Hogan has a track record as a strong enforcer of EU trading rights. During his time as agriculture commissioner, he was in some cases viewed as weakening proposed EU agreements with the United States and countries in South America, which he determined as a risk to core European farming interests.

During the previous European Commission, Hogan routinely was seen as the “bad cop” in contrast with the more diplomatic and consensus-driven Swedish commissioner Cecilia Malmström, who was the EU trade chief prior to Hogan. During discussions with the U.S. over a later shelved transatlantic trade offer, he infamously countered what he saw as a risible American deal by saying: “We’re not f– ing Burundi!”

On the other hand, Hogan’s long experience in agriculture can also be a property in any talks with the United States on a more comprehensive trade agreement, although Vilsack stated he was doubtful much could be accomplished to reduce EU farming trade barriers in the coming year.

” The issue is that a number of the concerns being raised by the Europeans are not science-based, they are culturally-based,” Vilsack stated, describing Europe’s hostility to genetically modified crops, beef produced with artificial growth hormones and chicken carcasses cleansed with a chlorine-based wash. “That makes it really hard.”

In addition, EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Czesław Wojciechowski has the lead in trade settlements involving farming– simply as Hogan did when he remained in that function.

Likewise, without a new mandate from EU member states, neither Hogan or Wojciechowski has much space to bargain on the agricultural front. And it’s far from clear that Von der Leyen has enough sway to persuade unwilling members like France to budge on those problems.

Still, Hogan’s frankness makes it simple to understand where he stands. “What Ambassador Lighthizer is going to see across the table is a man who is extremely straightforward,” Vilsack said.

Hogan won’t be starting from scratch when he consults with Lighthizer this week.

When Hogan was farming commissioner, the 2 males worked out an offer to increase the amount of “hormone-free” beef the United States can offer in the European Union as compensation for the EU’s hormone-treated beef ban. That headed off even more U.S. tariffs on European goods.

Lighthizer, for his part, has actually recognized decreasing the U.S. items trade deficit with the EU as an area that he wants to deal with in any settlement. That trade gap might reach $175 billion this year, the greatest on record, even as the U.S. deficit with China has actually shrunk significantly because of the tariffs that Trump has imposed on Beijing.

Concentrating on the trade space is not most likely to be “a non-starter” with EU, mostly since it is determined more by macroeconomic factors like nationwide savings rates than trade policy practices, Rashish said.

However Vilsack stated he believed it was necessary that the EU consent to changes to bring agricultural trade more in balance, because it is much easier for EU farmers to offer their items in the United States than for U.S. farmers to offer their goods in the EU.

” There is a huge farming trade deficit in between the U.S. and the EU, and that needs to be resolved in some method or there will not be assistance in Congress” for any contract, Vilsack stated.

Still, it will be hard for the United States to make progress in talks with the EU, in addition to separate talks with the UK on an open market contract, will be hard this year since the leading concern in both Brussels and London will be negotiating a new trade relationship, as soon as the U.K. officially leaves the EU on Jan. 31.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wishes to finish those complicated talks covering a range of service sectors and concern by the end of December, putting a significant drain on both EU and UK negotiating resources.

As much as Hogan may want to concentrate on enhancing trade relations with the United States, the negotiations with the U.K. will soak up a big portion of his time.

Both the EU and the U.S. desire the post-Brexit trade deal with the U.K. and both want the U.K. to comply with their standards.

Johnson may be able to utilize that as utilize during the settlements with both the U.S. and the EU, but he will likewise have to weigh the impact that a trade deal with the U.S. might have on the U.K.’s access to the EU market with which it has the closest ties.

The EU definitely wants to prevent a hazardous rival on the EU’s doorstep. Throughout her very first check out to London, Von der Leyen repeated that the EU desires a handle “no tariffs, absolutely no quota and zero dumping.”

In spite of the difficulties of reaching any deal this year, Rashish said he’s enthusiastic that the two sides can recalibrate their approaches to trade in a way that brings them more detailed together.

For the United States, that would indicate working more in the multilateral arena to attain of its trade goals, while not entirely giving up the unilateral approach.

For the EU, that would indicate bolstering its own capability to take unilateral trade action– something the European Commission recently carried out in the form of new enforcement tool– although that’s contrary to it multilateral instincts, Rashish said.

The post EU’s tough new trade boss seeks reset with Trump appeared first on Actu Trends.

0 notes

thisdaynews · 5 years ago

Text

EU's tough new trade boss seeks reset with Trump

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/eus-tough-new-trade-boss-seeks-reset-with-trump/

EU's tough new trade boss seeks reset with Trump

Trump sees both agreements as vindication of his get-tough approach to trade negotiations, which included threatening to withdraw from NAFTA and slapping duties on literally hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods.

Now, disputes over France’s new digital services tax and European support for Boeing’s chief rival, Airbus, give Trump another chance to fire his tariff cannon. And with an impeachment trial looming, new duties on Europe would allow Trump to show the world his presidency is alive, if not completely well.

Against that fraught background, Hogan hopes to persuade Lighthizer to delay any new action that would further disrupt the U.S.-EU relationship.

“Phil Hogan is a serious man, who I think takes his job very seriously and his belief and feeling in the EU is strong,” said former U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who sparred with Hogan during unsuccessful talks on the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership pursued by the Obama administration. “He is a tough negotiator, but fair.”

“Hogan has said publicly he wants “to reset the relationship between the EU and the U.S., and I think that’s the message that he would obviously be conveying privately to Robert Lighthizer,” an EU official said.

But there’s considerable frustration in both the administration and Congress over the EU’s refusal to negotiate with the U.S. on agriculture. EU farmers enjoy a $10 billion trade surplus with the United States, partly because of the EU’s barriers to many U.S. farm products.

The U.S. business community, for its part, is weary of Trump’s tariff actions, but eager to work with the EU both on bilateral irritants and common challenges posed by China.

This week’s visit is Hogan’s “chance to meet with Cabinet members like Bob Lighthizer and Secretary Wilbur Ross, and I think to take the temperature of what’s possible,” said Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs at U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

It could also set the stage for an even more consequential introductory meeting between new European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Von der Leyen, a former German defense minister, also would like quiet on the U.S. trade front as the EU wrestles with the difficult challenge of negotiating a new trade relationship with a major departing member, the United Kingdom.

“Stabilizing the European economy, and Britain’s role in that, is probably something that has to come first,” Peter Rashish, director of the Geoeconomics Program at Johns Hopkins University’s American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, said.

That’s important “both strategically and also in the sense that until we know what the U.K.-EU trade relationship is going to look like, it’s going to be very tough for both the U.K. and the EU to negotiate with us,” Rashish said.

For the EU, the stakes are high. Its historical transatlantic partner has caused more than one headache with Brussels eurocrats. The EU capital would now like a little less drama on the Western front so it can focus on its future relationship with the U.K., its planned investment deal with China and other trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand.

But Hogan’s visit comes amid troubled transatlantic times, as the Trump administration is considering slapping 100 percent duties on up to $2.4 billion worth of French champagne, cheeses, handbags and other goods in a dispute over that country’s new digital services tax, which U.S. officials believe is unfairly aimed at American internet giants Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple.

Lighthizer has also threatened to launch investigations that could lead to additional tariff threats against other EU countries, such as Italy and Austria, that have also imposed a digital services tax, as well others like Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic, which are considering one.

For its part, the EU has threatened to punch back with unilateral duties. That same tactic may have persuaded Trump not to impose tariffs on EU auto imports, as he has often threatened to do. But Trump has kept national security tariffs in place on EU steel and aluminum, despite EU retaliation on U.S. farm and other goods.

Lighthizer also has proposed raising tariffs to 100 percent on $7.5 billion worth of goods from a broader array of European countries in a separate dispute over European government support for aerospace giant Airbus. Unlike the tax case, that potential U.S. action is sanctioned by the WTO.

The Trump administration previously imposed a 10 percent duty on large civilian aircraft and a 25 percent duty on wine, cheeses and other goods in the dispute. The EU has its own WTO case against U.S. support for Boeing. But a decision on final damage award is still months away, and U.S. officials feel confident it will be less than they were awarded.

The transatlantic powers are also on separate sides of a crisis threatening the future of the WTO.

With the U.S. blocking the appointment of judges to the WTO’s highest dispute-resolution body, there is no longer a world trade referee. The EU has been working on alternatives to preserve the idea of a rule-based multilateral trading system. At the same time, it wants to find a more permanent solution with the United States.

On that front, the EU’s new trade chief wants to shift the conversation from the dispute resolution to a broader WTO reform.

“Hogan wants to work together more broadly on WTO issues because, as is often the case, the issues that unite the European Union and the U.S. are often much more significant than those who divide us,” said the EU official. “There are more fundamental reforms needed for the WTO and the idea is to look for common ground between our respective positions which can be the basis for future work.”

All those disputes have the potential to get U.S.-EU trade relations off to a messy start with the new European leadership.

But Rashish said he was hopeful that the United States would refrain from tough action to give more time for negotiations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in the case of the digital services tax and bilaterally in the Airbus dispute.

“There is precedent for the administration sometimes stepping back,” he said.

That happened 18 months ago,when then-European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker headed off Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European autos by agreeing to bilateral trade talks. But that effort never flowered into a full negotiation largely because of the EU’s refusal to address U.S. demands to lower its agricultural trade barriers.

“I think that’s the fundamental challenge these two gentlemen will face,” Vilsack said. “If they are truly interested in a full scale deal, then agriculture has to be on the table and the EU has to change its position.”

Vilsack, who now heads the U.S. Dairy Export Council, was USDA secretary during the first two years that Hogan was EU agricultural commissioner. He sees a similarity between Hogan, who was raised on a family farm in Ireland, and Lighthizer, a son of the Rust Belt.

Another former U.S. government official, who asked not to be identified to speak frankly, saw an opportunity for Hogan and Lighthizer to work well together, even when the EU is unwilling or unable to meet U.S. demands.

“[Hogan’s] a person of great personal charm — he’s Irish after all — but also pretty blunt. … I think Bob appreciates people who are well-prepared and professional. He is business-oriented and not always big on small talk. We’ll see if Hogan measures up,” the former official said.

But unlike Rashish, he was pessimistic about U.S.-EU trade relations in the near term, given Trump’s demonstrated fondness for imposing tariffs. “The EU doesn’t show signs of wanting to buckle to U.S. demands. I’m not optimistic about the near term future,” the former official said.

Hogan will also meet privately with U.S. industry officials during his Washington, and is likely to find a sympathetic ear to his “reset” message.

After two years of wrangling over autos and agriculture, the two sides need to move away from a focus on sector-specific issues and develop “a broader framework” for discussion, Brilliant said.

“We need to work with the EU to strengthen the global trading system through the World Trade Organization and other means. We need to build consensus around some of the new technology issues, standards and regulation and we need to work on third party issues, whether it’s China or elsewhere,” he added.

Hogan has a reputation as a strong enforcer of EU trading rights. During his time as agriculture commissioner, he was sometimes seen as undermining proposed EU agreements with the United States and countries in South America, which he identified as a threat to core European farming interests.

During the previous European Commission, Hogan regularly was seen as the “bad cop” in contrast with the more diplomatic and consensus-driven Swedish commissioner Cecilia Malmström, who was the EU trade chief before Hogan. During discussions with the U.S. over a later shelved transatlantic trade deal, he notoriously countered what he saw as a risible American offer by saying: “We’re not f—ing Burundi!”

On the other hand, Hogan’s long experience in agriculture can also be an asset in any talks with the United States on a broader trade agreement, although Vilsack said he was skeptical much could be accomplished to reduce EU agricultural trade barriers in the coming year.

“The problem is that many of the concerns being raised by the Europeans are not science-based, they are culturally-based,” Vilsack said, referring to Europe’s aversion to genetically modified crops, beef produced with artificial growth hormones and chicken carcasses cleansed with a chlorine-based wash. “That makes it really hard.”

In addition, EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Czesław Wojciechowski has the lead in trade negotiations involving agriculture — just as Hogan did when he was in that role.

Also, without a new mandate from EU member states, neither Hogan or Wojciechowski has much room to bargain on the agricultural front. And it’s far from clear that Von der Leyen has enough sway to persuade reluctant members like France to budge on those issues.

Still, Hogan’s frankness makes it easy to know where he stands. “What Ambassador Lighthizer is going to see across the table is a guy who is very straightforward,” Vilsack said.

Hogan won’t be starting from scratch when he meets with Lighthizer this week.

When Hogan was agriculture commissioner, the two men negotiated a deal to increase the amount of “hormone-free” beef the United States can sell in the European Union as compensation for the EU’s hormone-treated beef ban. That headed off even more U.S. tariffs on European goods.

Lighthizer, for his part, has identified reducing the U.S. goods trade deficit with the EU as an area that he wants to tackle in any negotiation. That trade gap could reach $175 billion this year, the highest on record, even as the U.S. deficit with China has shrunk significantly because of the tariffs that Trump has imposed on Beijing.

Focusing on the trade gap is not likely to be “a non-starter” with EU, largely because it is dictated more by macroeconomic factors like national savings rates than trade policy practices, Rashish said.

But Vilsack said he believed it was important that the EU agree to changes to bring agricultural trade more in balance, since it is much easier for EU farmers to sell their products in the United States than for U.S. farmers to sell their goods in the EU.

“There is a massive agricultural trade deficit between the U.S. and the EU, and that has to be addressed in some way or there won’t be support in Congress” for any agreement, Vilsack said.

Still, it will be hard for the United States to make progress in talks with the EU, as well as separate talks with the United Kingdom on a free trade agreement, will be hard this year because the top priority in both Brussels and London will be negotiating a new trade relationship, once the U.K. formally leaves the EU on Jan. 31.

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants to complete those complex talks covering a variety of business sectors and issue by the end of December, putting a major drain on both EU and UK negotiating resources.

As much as Hogan might want to focus on improving trade relations with the United States, the negotiations with the U.K. will absorb a big chunk of his time.

Both the EU and the U.S. want the post-Brexit trade deal with the U.K. and both want the U.K. to conform to their standards.

Johnson might be able to use that as leverage during the negotiations with both the U.S. and the EU, but he will also have to weigh the impact that a trade deal with the U.S. might have on the U.K.’s access to the EU market with which it has the closest ties.

The EU absolutely wants to avoid a dangerous competitor on the EU’s doorstep. During her first visit to London, Von der Leyen repeated that the EU wants a deal with “zero tariffs, zero quota and zero dumping.”

Despite the challenges of reaching any deal this year, Rashish said he’s hopeful that the two sides can recalibrate their approaches to trade in a way that brings them closer together.

For the United States, that would mean working more in the multilateral arena to achieve of its trade objectives, while not completely giving up the unilateral approach.

For the EU, that would mean bolstering its own ability to take unilateral trade action — something the European Commission recently did in the form of new enforcement tool — even though that’s contrary to it multilateral instincts, Rashish said.

#Foreign #Politics #reset #Trump

0 notes

dipulb3 · 4 years ago

Text

Congress' impeachment fight: What could happen this week

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/congress-impeachment-fight-what-could-happen-this-week/

Congress' impeachment fight: What could happen this week

As members and aides watch new footage of the mob tearing through the US Capitol and as more stories emerge about what happened inside the halls where they work, the calls for accountability — no matter the political cost to the incoming President Joe Biden — have grown. People are dead. Security is shaken. No one who watches what happened or lived through it Wednesday feels like Democracy is out of the woods yet. Four days ago, no one imagined the House would be on track to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time.

The bottom line: If there is an off ramp for moving ahead with impeachment, it’s not clear what that is of Monday morning.

There are 214 original co-sponsors on the articles of impeachment right now, according to aides. It only takes 217 votes to pass. In other words, the momentum is there. The genie is out of the bottle. Members don’t need an investigation or hearings to know what happened Wednesday. They lived through it. Aides are confident that while there are no Republicans who have signed onto the bill, a handful of them will vote for it when it comes to the floor. If impeachment is going to be a distraction for Biden, if it further divides the country, there is no indication that is enough to stop House Democrats, at least for now.

What to watch Monday

In her letter to members on Sunday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave the vice president one last chance to invoke the 25th Amendment over the next 24 hours to remove the President. If Pence doesn’t exercise that power or promise to invoke it within the next day, Pelosi pledged that impeachment would be the way forward.

We expect that the House to be poised to vote on the impeachment article by Wednesday or Thursday, following a possible full House vote on a resolution urging Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. The exact timing is subject to change based on developments. Pelosi holds a call with her caucus Monday at 2 p.m. ET.

Also Monday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy holds a call with his members at 4:30 p.m. ET. It may be a first indication of how McCarthy — who got into a heated exchange with the President on Wednesday — is thinking about the final days of Trump’s presidency.

McCarthy — a California Republican who voted in support of the electoral objections even after the insurrection Wednesday — has faced backlash from donors and even some members for his relationship with Trump. Still, McCarthy is leading a conference that is still loyal to the President. How McCarthy strikes the balance between what donors want right now and what his conference wants is something to keep an eye on. Pay attention to the fact that major Wall Street companies and other corporate entities have announced in the last several days they are pausing political donations and reviewing giving for anyone who voted against certifying the results of the election.

The backstory of how this all came together

On Wednesday afternoon, when the Cannon Office building was evacuated, Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California and a staffer were wandering around Longworth House Office Building trying to figure out how to get away from the masses of people circulating the halls amid coronavirus. They ended up in Rayburn House Office Building in Rep. David Cicilline’s office. While there, Cicilline, a Democrat from Rhode Island, and Lieu began talking about what was unfolding before their eyes. Huddled together in the office, the staffers were getting reports from others who were inside the Capitol. One of those reports came from a staffer who worked for Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland who was literally with Raskin’s family as the Capitol was under siege.

Lieu and Cicilline decided as the event was unfolding that if Trump’s actions that day were not impeachable, nothing ever would be. They began working on the draft while the Capitol was still under attack. By evening, they’d begun sending drafts to the House Judiciary Committee and Raskin had gotten involved.

What about the Senate?

Senate Democrats held a two-hour caucus call Sunday to have an open, frank and family discussion about how to handle the House’s impeachment. One person familiar with the call told Appradab that nothing has been decided at this point and there is a range of options on the table, including everything from having the House leadership wait 100 days to send over the articles to holding a one-day trial in the early hours of Biden’s presidency.

“You have a mix of those who are saying this is a really bad idea. Then there are those who are saying let’s wait and see,” the person said.

No matter what route the Senate takes, it is becoming abundantly clear that if the House goes through with this, there are no good options for the Senate and for the incoming Biden administration.

One thing is clear: This will be Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s issue to handle.

In his memo to members Friday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made it abundantly clear that he won’t be bringing the Senate back to hold an impeachment trial and the Senate does not return until January 19. The Senate stands in recess and Senate floor experts to whom Appradab has spoken over the last several days don’t believe the House could present articles of impeachment during a pro-forma session.

That means that the earliest the Senate could begin a trial would be the afternoon Biden was inaugurated. Remember, once the articles of impeachment are presented to the Senate, the chamber must begin an impeachment trial at 1 p.m. ET the following day unless senators strike another agreement. In order to get that agreement they must have the buy in of all 100 senators. That means that Trump will no longer be the President if and when the Senate begins consideration of impeachment.

The options

The one-day trial: Nothing in the Constitution or Senate rules lays out how long a trial has to be. One of the options currently being discussed is to hold an hours-long Senate trial as a way to hold Trump accountable without risking a long delay to Biden’s agenda. The House managers would present their case that Trump incited an insurrection. Trump’s lawyers would make their case and then there could be a vote. The concern among some Senate Democrats is that the short trial sets a bad precedent. A lot of Republicans, they argue, would dismiss the charges against Trump based on a a fast-tracked process alone. It takes 2/3 to convict. If Trump were convicted, it would take a simple majority to bar him from never holding office again. There does not appear to be 17 Republicans willing to vote to convict Trump and no one believes a four-hour trial would change many minds.

Waiting 100 days to send over the articles: House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn suggested on Appradab on Sunday that one option would be to hold onto the articles for 100 days before transmitting them to the Senate. That would allow the Biden administration to get nominees confirmed, an agenda underway and a stimulus bill potentially passed. But 100 days is a long time. And while it would prevent impeachment from taking up floor time in the US Senate, this option doesn’t exactly clear the air. For three months, an impeachment trial of a former President would still be on the to-do list. It would loom over everything. And several Democrats I spoke to pointed out that waiting on an impeachment trial probably does little to win over Republicans who by that point will argue it’s time for the country to move on.

Set up a special impeachment committee: We are all familiar with impeachment trials of US Presidents. That’s what we’ve covered for Bill Clinton. It’s what we watched unfold for Trump in 2020.

But, there is another option for impeachment in the Senate. In the last 80 years, the Senate has also held impeachment proceedings for four federal judges. In every one of those cases, the Senate convened a committee — evenly split with Democratic and Republican members — to receive evidence and investigate. Having that committee wouldn’t mean impeachment wasn’t a distraction for the Senate, but it would at least keep the impeachment trial from bogging down Biden’s agenda on the floor. Again, the precedent for Presidents has been to have a full on Senate trial and Senate rules do make the case that its more appropriate for impeachment trials to be conducted for a US President, but there is technically a way for the Senate Majority Leader to convene a special committee to collect evidence. Then, the full Senate could look at the evidence and vote.

Republicans to watch

In upcoming days, keep your eyes on what a group of Republicans says about the process to impeach Trump. Democrats in the House want this process to be bipartisan. They are confident that they can get two to four GOP votes, but if they could get more than a dozen, it has a multiplying effect for how GOP senators might look at this process. Already, GOP Sens. Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah have signaled they are tired of Trump and want to see him go. They might be willing to vote for impeachment. But, if only a handful of House Republicans vote yes, the momentum for the Senate diminishes significantly.

One more thing to keep your eye on: There is talk about whether section 3 of the 14th Amendment might apply to Trump. It’s not clear at all how members would enforce it or what it could mean for their impeachment efforts, but the 14th Amendment essentially says that if you are involved in an insurrection against your government, you cannot hold federal office. Again, it’s not clear how you enforce it, but keep it in mind.

This post has been updated with additional developments Monday.

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