All Purpose News and Politics Thread Part IV: The Center Cannot Hold

[Tami]

Kushner's Middle East peace plan drifts further astray as envoy resigns

Jason Greenblatt, the Trump administration’s special envoy for Middle East peace, tasked with working on the “ultimate deal” for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is to leave the post, it has been announced.

Greenblatt may stay in the role until the publication of the long-delayed plan, which is now due to come out some time after Israeli elections on 17 September. However, if those elections bring about the fall of Donald Trump’s close ally, Benjamin Netanyahu, the plan could be shelved indefinitely.

“Greenblatt’s leaving may have to do with the dim prospects of the so-called peace plan,” said Khaled Elgindy, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, and author of a book on US policy towards the Palestinians, Blind Spot. “What I do know is that it won’t make any difference to what is not really a plan – let’s call it a vision – because there is no chance of it going anywhere.”

It was reported on Thursday that a 30 year-old Kushner aide, Avi Berkowitz – who graduated from law school in 2016 and has no Middle East experience, would take over some of Greenblatt’s role, while the state department’s special envoy for Iran, Brian Hook, would broaden his responsibilities to include Israel and the Palestinian territories.

During Greenblatt’s time in office, the US severed its diplomatic links with the Palestinians, closed down its consulate in Jerusalem, and ordered the Palestinian mission in Washington to shut down. Earlier this year, the US cut all aid to the Palestinian territories.

Hanan Ashrawi, a senior Palestinian official, said Greenblatt had spent his time in the role as “an apologist for the most extreme, hardline government in the history of Israel”.

“I think the Palestinians as a whole are going to say good riddance,” she added.

The only part of the Kushner-Greenblatt scheme that has been made public was an economic “workshop” in Bahrain, which was intended to drum up interest in investment in the future of the Palestinian territories. However, it was boycotted by most Palestinian businesses.

[numberthirty]

He just got my vote

Seriously.

That Bernie bit?

Apparently, that is news.

Meanwhile, Kamala Harris having never really had to answer a question about Daniel Larsen while this is on her Twitter account?

- https://twitter.com/kamalaharris/sta...917505?lang=en

That apparently does not warrant coverage...

[InformationGeek]

Republicans sure love guns over humans, don't they?

HARTFORD, Conn. — Ten states and nearly two dozen members of Congress are joining the National Rifle Association in supporting gun-maker Remington Arms as it fights a Connecticut court ruling involving liability for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

Officials in the 10 conservative states, 22 House Republicans and the NRA are among groups that filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday. They urged justices to overturn the Connecticut decision, citing a much-debated 2005 federal law that shields gun makers from liability, in most cases, when their products are used in crimes.

The Connecticut case is being watched by gun control advocates, gun rights supporters and gun manufacturers across the country because it has the potential to provide a roadmap for victims of other mass shootings to circumvent the federal law and sue firearm makers.

One of the supporting papers filed this week was by officials in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

"The Connecticut Supreme Court's decision reads a narrow exception broadly," the states' brief says. "That reading is inconsistent with the text of the PLCAA. And it creates uncertainty for States seeking to implement sound gun policies consistent with federal law."

Among the Republican members of Congress who filed a brief Wednesday were Reps. Jim Jordan, of Ohio, Jim Sensenbrenner, of Wisconsin, and Greg Walden, of Oregon.

[Malvolio]

Walgreens joins Walmart and Kroger in asking customers to no longer openly carry guns

Just as the First Amendment only applies to the government and not to private businesses, so does the Second Amendment. So to any gun enthusiasts who think their rights are being violated, they are not. Walmart, and Kroger's and Walgreen's all have the right to tell people not to bring guns into their stores.

[SquirrelMan]

To those who believe in Karma:

Robert Mugabe died in Singapore, at the ripe old age of 95. Other than being forced from office, he never paid for his many crimes and lived his final days in luxury and comfort.

But hey, at least he is gone.

[Tami]

Trump called Fox News correspondent into Oval Office to argue he wasn't wrong about Alabama

(CNN)Fox News senior White House correspondent John Roberts had just finished his 3 p.m. live shot on Thursday when President Donald Trump beckoned him into the Oval Office.

The President had one argument to make, according to an internal Fox email Roberts sent about the meeting provided to CNN.

"He stressed to me that forecasts for Dorian last week had Alabama in the warning cone," Roberts wrote. "He insisted that it is unfair to say Alabama was never threatened by the storm."

Roberts' analysis of the meeting was that the President was "just looking for acknowledgment that he was not wrong for saying that at some point, Alabama was at risk -- even if the situation had changed by the time he issued the tweet" on Sunday morning, in which he said the state "will most likely be hit." The President also provided Roberts with graphics to make his points.

"Just as I said, Alabama was originally projected to be hit. The Fake News denies it!" Trump tweeted on Thursday, along with graphics from the National Weather Service from last week -- days before his tweet -- showing Alabama had a small chance of experiencing some effects from Dorian. By the time Trump tweeted, those forecasts had changed.

A White House aide familiar with the Oval Office meeting with Roberts said that Trump also voiced his displeasure about Fox News anchor Shepard Smith's skeptical reporting about the Alabama map.

The President summoned Roberts "to hit back at Shepard Smith," the White House aide said.

Roberts claimed in his email that he pointed out to the President that by the time of his tweet warning Alabama and other states of the storm -- 10:51 am ET on Sunday -- Dorian's projected trajectory had moved much farther east and was no longer including any part of Alabama.

The President "seemed to agree that the forecast track had moved -- but he was adamant that at some point, Alabama was at risk," Roberts wrote. "He also reminded that on occasions in the past, forecast tracks have changed dramatically."

Trump wants to be the kind of dictator that can say anything and everyone would nod their heads and agree, regardless of how stupid or irrational it is. Trump's problem is that, he isn't a Dictator, and most of the people are not that weak willed or ignorant.

[KOSLOX]

Trump wants to be the kind of dictator that can say anything and everyone would nod their heads and agree, regardless of how stupid or irrational it is. Trump's problem is that, he isn't a Dictator, and most of the people are not that weak willed or ignorant.

I think of it more as "Rich men have the ability to remake reality at whim."

He's used to being able to dictate whatever he wants because he flexes his cash, and since he is used to dealing with people who are incentivized to value that above all else he's rarely been challenged on it.

[InformationGeek]

So Marianne Williamson DMed someone's mom to start complaining about them. This feels surreal, you know?

[Michael Watkins]

Trump called Fox News correspondent into Oval Office to argue he wasn't wrong about Alabama







Trump wants to be the kind of dictator that can say anything and everyone would nod their heads and agree, regardless of how stupid or irrational it is. Trump's problem is that, he isn't a Dictator, and most of the people are not that weak willed or ignorant.

just you wait and see.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Trump called Fox News correspondent into Oval Office to argue he wasn't wrong about Alabama

While all that nonsense was going on, large swaths of the Bahamas had been demolished and the Carolinas were in Dorian's crosshairs. And yet, all Trump cared about was being proven right about his prediction regarding the storm taking aim at Alabama. The only reason this ridiculous non-story had legs for as long as it did was because Trump refused to admit he had been wrong. Anyone else would've said "My bad, I screwed up" and moved on, but Trump didn't, his bloated ego and foolish pride wouldn't let him.

[Tami]

Texas Attorney General Stayed Quiet For Months as a Gun Owner Sent Threats to Kill Immigrants: Report

A report out Wednesday by the San Antonio Express-News found that a gun owner in Texas had sent more than 100 pages of racist and violent letters to the Texas Attorney General's office threatening to kill undocumented immigrants over the course of a year and a half, and that nothing was done to stop him or to communicate the threat to local authorities.

"We will open fire on these thugs," the white man who allegedly sent the messages wrote in an email to the office. "It will be a bloodbath."

Over the same period, local officers in San Antonio responded to 911 calls made by and about the man, and visited his house, on at least 35 occasions. However, because he had never seemingly committed a crime, police did not arrest him or take legal action. Nearby neighbors told the Express-News that the man's home is covered in security cameras and that he often emerged holding a shotgun.

When alerted by a reporter at the Express-News of the threats made to the Attorney General's Office, the police force did respond. "Since you've made us aware of those threats, our fusion center and our mental health unit have reached out to the AG's office and are trying to work something to make a case against [the alleged suspect Ralph] Pulliam," Sargent Michelle Ramos told the paper. "They're going to investigate that."

The threats and lack of communication by Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to local police takes on a new light in the wake of two mass shootings in Odessa and El Paso. The El Paso shooter had long written about his hatred for immigrants and his mother had reportedly called the police before the shooting because she did not think her son should own a gun.

[Tami]

Japan protests video message from Putin celebrating new factory on disputed Russian-held isle off Hokkaido

Japan lodged a protest with Russia after President Vladimir Putin sent a video message to celebrate the opening of a new seafood-processing factory on disputed Shikotan Island, a government official said Friday.

Putin’s message, sent shortly before he met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Vladivostok on Thursday to discuss a peace treaty to officially end World War II, was seen as flaunting Russia’s control of the island, which Japan claims along with three others off Hokkaido.

The head of the Foreign Ministry’s Russia Division, Tetsuji Miyamoto, on Thursday told a counselor at the Russian Embassy in Tokyo by phone that the move is “incompatible with Japan’s stance,” according to the official.

The islands were seized by the Soviet Union in the closing days of the war.

Tokyo argues the seizure was illegal and has demanded the islands be returned. The dispute has prevented the countries from signing a formal peace treaty more than seven decades on.

While Abe and Putin agreed last year to step up negotiations for a treaty, Russia recently hardened its stance on the issue, last month sending Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to visit the largest of the isles, Etorofu.

In their meeting on the fringes of a regional economic forum, Abe and Putin agreed to continue “future-oriented” talks but did not make significant headway.

[Tami]

Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa Spark Calls for Vengeance in Nigeria

ABUJA, Nigeria—At first it looked like dozens of young men and women marching on the highway leading to the international airport here in Nigeria’s capital Wednesday chanting “enough is enough South Africa,” wanted to stage a peaceful protest against recent anti-foreigner attacks in Johannesburg.

But when they began to destroy billboards and set fire to the entrances of a busy mall housing the South African retail store Shoprite, it was obvious that the attackers were out to retaliate for a fresh wave of violence against Nigerian immigrants and Nigerian-owned businesses that began at the start of September.

“We are not going to keep quiet and watch as South Africans slaughter our brothers and sisters who have done nothing wrong but invest in the country and strengthen its economy,” Nnamdi Okechukwu, one of the protesters in Abuja, told The Daily Beast. “This time around, it will be violence for violence and blood for blood.”

[PaulBullion]

The jobs report is quite weak:

U.S. employers added a modest 130,000 jobs in August, a sign that global economic weakness and President Donald Trump’s trade war with China may have begun to slow hiring.

The job gains were lifted by the temporary hiring of 25,000 government workers for the 2020 Census. Excluding all government hiring, businesses added 96,000 jobs, the fewest since May.

https://apnews.com/09679f18f1ef4d0ba...&utm_medium=AP

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Boris Johnson: No one thought a UK Prime Minister could be worse than Theresa May. Until now.

Could someone be worse than Theresa May, the UK Prime Minister widely panned as "the Maybot"?

By the end of her inglorious three-year stint in Downing Street, even her most loyal supporters admitted that the robotic May would never be regarded as one of the greatest British leaders.

By comparison, Boris Johnson's off-the-cuff, sunny disposition made him a darling of Conservative Party members who chose him for the top job when May finally resigned, defeated by her inability to get a Brexit deal through Parliament.

On his first day as Prime Minister, Johnson promised a bold new Brexit deal, bashing the "doubters, doomsters, gloomsters" and the political class who he said had forgotten about the British people they serve. It was as if an upbeat attitude alone could be enough to overcome any adversity on the United Kingdom's path to exiting the European Union.

For a moment, it seemed he would breathe new life and, in his words, "positive energy," into the Brexit process. Some thought, just maybe, he could manage to do what May did not.

How quickly it all went wrong.

Johnson has lost every one of his first votes in parliament, an unprecedented record in the modern era. Undeterred, the Prime Minister purged 21 members of his parliamentary party who voted against him, blowing apart his majority.

Then, his efforts to secure a snap general election -- with the goal of replacing the sacked lawmakers with a new slate of candidates more aligned with his hard-Brexit views -- were scuppered when opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn refused to play along.

Now, he is effectively trapped in Downing Street, with Corbyn holding the keys. The government plans to propose new elections again on Monday, but the opposition leader says his party will only support the move when its efforts to prevent a no-deal Brexit are locked down.

"Certainly his biggest tactical mistake so far was not to realize that it was Corbyn, as leader of the opposition, who effectively had veto power over when a general election could be held," said Professor Tony Travers, director of the Institute of Public Affairs at the London School of Economics.

"It looks as if the Conservatives and their advisers thought that if they offered a general election to the Labour Party it would jump at the opportunity, but the way things have turned out -- the coming together of the no-deal bill and the possibility that the opposition can frustrate a general election -- creates the possibility of keeping the Prime Minister trapped in government, unable to fulfill his commitment to leave the EU come what may."

Now the newly minted PM finds himself in a position that May never was -- on his knees, begging the opposition for a general election.