| Impeachment's hectic fourth week ends. Here's what to look for next week. Posted: 18 Oct 2019 02:45 PM PDT  The fourth week of the Democrats' impeachment inquiry in Congress was the busiest so far, with five different depositions, a fractious meeting of Republicans and Democrats at the White House, and a shocking press conference by President Trump's chief of staff.
|
| The Latest: Mexico says 8 died in Culiacan cartel clash Posted: 18 Oct 2019 08:14 AM PDT  Officials said late Thursday that troops had come under fire from a house while on patrol and found Ovidio Guzmán López inside. Mexican authorities say they backed off an attempt to capture a son of drug trafficker Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman after cartel gunmen shooting heavy weapons and burning vehicles that paralyzed the capital of Mexico's Sinaloa state — apparently outgunning lawmen.
|
| Atomwaffen Division’s Washington State Cell Leader Stripped of Arsenal in U.S., Banned from Canada Posted: 19 Oct 2019 02:13 AM PDT  Police HandoutKaleb James Cole, the 24-year-old leader of Atomwaffen Division's Washington State Cell stripped of his firearms by a "red-flag law" late last month, was deported and banned for life from Canada earlier this year, according to court records, which also showed that he had been previously interrogated by American border agents about his extremist views.Cole, a National Socialist black metal enthusiast who goes by the alias "Khimaere," was first identified as a member of Atomwaffen Division in a 2018 ProPublica investigation. He played a key role in organizing "hate camp" trainings for the group's members at an abandoned building known as "Devil's Tower" in Skagit, Washington, and in Nevada's Death Valley. Cole also helped craft the group's eye-catching propaganda.Atomwaffen Division is an underground neo-Nazi guerrilla organization which had 23 chapters throughout the United States as of mid-2018. Since its inception in 2015, Atomwaffen members have been implicated in five homicides and several bomb plots, and are the subject of an intensifying national investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It makes common cause with other militant fascist groups like the Base and Sonnenkrieg Division in the United Kingdom, where authorities have charged a number of members with terrorism-related offenses.As The Daily Beast reported, the Seattle Police Department obtained an "Extreme Risk Protection Order" against Cole on September 26 to confiscate his concealed carry firearms permit and any firearms he owned for at least a year. That same day, SPD seized five rifles, a shotgun, three semiautomatic handguns and four lower receivers (the firing mechanism of a rifle that can be used to craft untraceable 'ghost guns') from Cole's father's house outside Arlington, in Washington State's Snohomish County.According to court records, none of the guns or the lower receivers seized from Cole were registered in Washington State's licensed firearms database."Law enforcement officials are increasingly concerned about the respondent's access to firearms and his involvement in the Atomwaffen Division, a known terrorist group," Seattle Police Sergeant Dorothy Kim wrote in a petition for an Extreme Risk Protection Order. As further evidence, Sgt. Kim cited Atomwaffen Division propaganda calling for "Race War Now," and the group's adherence to "acceleration theory," which urges actions that undermine the existing social order to "exacerbate the feeling of alienation among white supremacists and a greater impulse to engage in violence or destructive behavior."Cole's "words, actions and behavior suggest he has taken additional steps towards a plan with his ideologically motivated violence. Specifically, the coordinated camps with firearms training, overseas travel with Atomwaffen paraphernalia-flags/skull masks, threats to kill (gas the Kikes) and the possession of firearms, suggest an imminent risk to public safety if Cole is permitted to continue to purchase or possess firearms," Sergeant Kim wrote.The request to seize Cole's guns was reportedly made to Seattle Police by the FBI, which did not have enough information to file criminal charges but believed Cole posed a serious threat to public safety.Multiple law enforcement sources told The Daily Beast that Cole had been the target of an FBI investigation following his February 2018 identification by ProPublica. However, law enforcement made no contact with him until December 28, 2018, when Cole landed in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on a flight from London. Customs and Border Protection pulled Cole aside for secondary screening. Records of that interview were included by the Seattle Police Department in their emergency risk petition last month.During the interview, Cole told CBP agents he had traveled to the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine with two friends from Washington State, Aidan Bruce-Umbaugh and Edie Allison Moore. The trip, Cole said, was to "see the historic architecture and museums in Eastern European countries." The three also attended a heavy metal festival while in Kyiv. The 2018 edition of Asgardsrei, a festival several National Socialist black metal bands have played in the past, was held in Kyiv from December 15-16 last year. Photographs from the concert posted to social media show an Atomwaffen Division flag brandished by individuals in the crowd. According to information obtained by The Daily Beast, Aidan Bruce-Umbaugh is a member of the Washington State cell of Atomwaffen Division, and goes by the moniker "Nythra." The drummer for Kaleb Cole's old metal band, Operblut, is listed as "Nythra" on music websites. In the CBP interview, Cole told federal agents he and Bruce-Umbaugh had been friends since grade school.Border agents searched Cole's luggage, and found a skull mask balaclava and an Atomwaffen Division flag inside his bag. When questioned about press reports tying him to Atomwaffen Division, Cole admitted to his involvement with the group and stated that he "shares a Fascist ideology, 'strong dominate the weak'." He also admitted he owned an AK-47 and multiple handguns "for his own protection."Cole's phone was also searched by border agents, who downloaded several images from the device. Amongst them are a photograph of Cole and another man wearing skull mask balaclavas in front of the gates of Auschwitz, the death camp where the Nazis murdered hundreds of thousands of Jews. Images of him posing with other Atomwaffen members, firearms, and the group's flag were also recovered from Cole's phone.According to multiple sources close to law enforcement, Cole previously attracted the interest of Canadian authorities by frequently driving across the border to British Columbia, sometimes several times a week. In late May, Cole was detained by the Canadian Border Service Agency because of press reports linking him to Atomwaffen Division, as well as "his overseas travel to Ukraine," where several right-wing extremists have traveled to fight with the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion against Russia-backed separatists.According to court records, he was held by Canadian authorities and placed into deportation proceedings due to his involvement in "an organization that may engage in terrorism," per Section 34 [1][F] of the Canadian Immigration Code. According to records prepared by the Seattle Police Department, Cole was deported in July and "barred from Canada for life."The Canadian Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police both declined to comment on Cole's deportation, the Atomwaffen Division or its affiliated organizations in Canada, citing the restrictions of Canada's Privacy Act. Earlier this year, Patrik Mathews, a master corporal in the Canadian Military Reserve went AWOL after being identified as a recruiter for the Base. Mathews—who reportedly came to the attention of multiple Canadian security agencies because racist material was previously found by the Canadian Border Services Agency in his car while crossing the border with the United States—is still at large.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| WKD: Turkey Will Keep Pushing into Syria Despite the Risks Posted: 18 Oct 2019 03:00 PM PDT  Ankara is willing to pay a high cost to crush any semblance of Kurdish independence.
|
| Israel, Russia, and the US are in a diplomatic standoff over a 26-year-old woman smuggling 9 and a half grams of marijuana Posted: 19 Oct 2019 10:54 AM PDT  Naama Issachar, 26, was sentenced to 7.5 years of prison in Moscow, and negotiating her release is part of a bigger diplomatic dispute.
|
| House GOP Leader Praises Mark Zuckerberg for Political Ads Policy Posted: 18 Oct 2019 09:26 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- Facebook Inc. chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's decision not to ban political ads that Democrats say are inaccurate drew praise from the top Republican in the House of Representatives Friday.Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a California Republican, said he appreciated Zuckerberg's comments on Thursday that policing political speech would be undemocratic."The idea of banning speech you might not like is nonsense, but sadly the mindset is creeping into places like college campuses and our presidential campaign platforms," McCarthy told reporters. "Yesterday was a heartwarming reminder that free expression is the best business model in the world."In recent weeks, the presidential campaigns of Democrats Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren have called on Facebook to remove ads from President Donald Trump's campaign that include claims with no evidence. Facebook has declined to do so, raising the larger question of whether such ads on social media should be regulated."I don't think most people want to live in a world where you can only post things that tech companies judge to be 100% true," Zuckerberg said Thursday at Georgetown University in Washington. "People should be able to see for themselves what politicians are saying.""In a democracy, I believe people should decide what's credible, not tech companies," Zuckerberg said.\--With assistance from Emily Wilkins.To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Anna Edgerton, Laurie AsséoFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| Dollar weakens on Brexit, shares sapped by weaker China growth Posted: 17 Oct 2019 06:20 PM PDT  The dollar posted its worst week in almost four months on Friday, pummeled by sterling and euro rallies driven by a deal on Britain's departure from the European Union, while China's weakest growth in nearly three decades weighed on equities. The dollar crept lower against the euro as the common currency enjoyed a lift from hopes a Brexit deal could improve the odds of the euro zone avoiding a recession. Dismal manufacturing data and worries the U.S.-China trade war could slow euro zone economies even further have rattled the euro this year, while fears of a disorderly Brexit had slammed sterling until a week ago.
|
| Next-Gen Dodge Challenger Coming in 2023? Don't Be So Sure, Says Dodge Posted: 18 Oct 2019 12:40 PM PDT  The number 2023 spotted on press photos has people all excited, but Dodge told C/D it doesn't mean anything.
|
| Mexico deports 311 Indian nationals in 'unprecedented' move Posted: 18 Oct 2019 07:17 AM PDT  More than 300 Indian nationals who paid tens of thousands of dollars each trying to get into the United States arrived in New Delhi Friday after an "unprecedented" mass deportation by Mexico. The move, which saw those deported flown back to the capital on a charter flight, follows a deal on illegal migration struck between Mexico and US President Donald Trump in June. The only woman in the group of 311 people, Kamaljit Kaur, 34, told the Press Trust of India news agency she spent 5.3 million rupees ($74,500) for herself, her husband and her son.
|
| McConnell rebukes Trump administration: Syria withdrawal is a 'grave strategic mistake' Posted: 18 Oct 2019 04:55 PM PDT  The Senate majority leader never mentions President Donald Trump by name in his op-ed for the Washington Post.
|
| Why Did 3 U.S. Navy Submarines Surface In The Pacific In 2010? China. Posted: 19 Oct 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Submarines are useful for signaling intent.
|
| Archaeologists have located an ancient city hidden in the Cambodian jungle. The discovery was 150 years in the making. Posted: 18 Oct 2019 08:45 AM PDT  For centuries, the ancient city of Mahendraparvata has been covered by dense trees that make it hard to observe.
|
| Azeri police detain scores of protesters, including opposition party leader Posted: 19 Oct 2019 07:14 AM PDT  Police in Azerbaijan on Saturday detained scores of protesters, including the leader of the main opposition Popular Front, at the start of a planned rally against low salaries, corruption and a lack of democracy in the energy-rich ex-Soviet state. The protesters have a wide range of demands, including higher salaries for state employees and fair and independent elections in a country long accused by human rights groups and Western governments of a lack of transparency. Popular Front leader Ali Kerimli told reporters before his own detention that some 50 people, mostly organizers of Saturday's unauthorized rally, had already been detained earlier in the week.
|
| Republican leader struggles to defend Mulvaney quid pro quo press conference remarks Posted: 18 Oct 2019 10:34 AM PDT  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters that acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney was "very clear in cleaning up his statement" on whether President Trump floated a quid pro quo to Ukrainian leaders.
|
| High-profile cases turn spotlight on domestic violence in Russia Posted: 18 Oct 2019 07:34 PM PDT  Natalia Tunikova's partner pushed her towards the open balcony in their high-rise Moscow flat, before punching her to the floor. A Moscow court later ruled that her use of force in self-defence was not justified. Cases like Tunikova's are ever more widely reported in Russia, leading to a public outcry in a country that has no specific law on domestic violence and where feminist movements like #MeToo had little impact.
|
| Hondurans call for president to step down after drug verdict Posted: 19 Oct 2019 06:04 PM PDT  Opposition groups called Saturday for more protests to demand that Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández be removed from office after his younger brother was convicted of drug trafficking in a New York court. President Hernández insisted via Twitter that the verdict is not against the state of Honduras, saying his government has fought drug trafficking. On Saturday he attended a parade to honor the country's armed forces and posted pictures of himself on Twitter smiling alongside the U.S. chargé d'affaires to Honduras, Colleen Hoey.
|
| Boeing Pilot Lied to F.A.A. Regarding 737 Max Jet Posted: 18 Oct 2019 10:43 AM PDT  A Boeing pilot who tested the 737 Max jet in flight simulators in 2016 admitted in a series of text messages that he lied to the Federal Aviation Administration regarding the plane's performance.The text messages, reviewed by the New York Times, show that the lead technical pilot for the plane, Mark Forkner, was having trouble with an automated flight system known as MCAS. Malfunctions with MCAS caused two 737 Max jets to crash, killing a total of 346 people."It's running rampant in the sim," Forkner wrote to a colleague, referring to the simulation. "Granted, I suck at flying, but even this was egregious."Eight months prior to the messages, Forkner had asked the F.A.A. to remove the MCAS from the 737 Max pilot's manual. The F.A.A. approved the request, believing the system didn't present a danger."I basically lied to the regulators (unknowingly)," Forkner texted.Boeing had provided transcripts of the texts to the Justice Department earlier this year as part of a criminal investigation. The transcript was provided to Congress on Friday in advance of hearings this month at which Boeing chief executive Dennis A. Muilenburg is scheduled to testify on the crashes for the first time.Forkner and Boeing did not immediately comment on the report.F.A.A. Administrator Steve Dickinson castigated Boeing for not providing the messages to the F.A.A. at an earlier stage."I expect your explanation immediately regarding the content of this document and Boeing's delay in disclosing the document to its safety regulator," Dickinson wrote.In March 2019 world aviation authorities grounded the 737 Max after two of the planes crashed within five months. Lion Air Flight 610 took off from Jakarta, Indonesia in October 2018 and crashed 12 minutes later, while Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 left Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in March of this year and crashed six minutes after takeoff.
|
| Could France and Germany Jointly Build an EU Aircraft Carrier? Posted: 18 Oct 2019 08:00 PM PDT  All in all, a European carrier will only come about in a world where Germany is willing and able to commit far more resources to defense than it currently does; and can arrive at a joint vision with France on how to use such an expensive vessel to project force abroad. That's not the world we live in yet.
|
| South Korean Students Break Into U.S. Ambassador’s Residence Posted: 18 Oct 2019 10:27 PM PDT ![South Korean Students Break Into U.S. Ambassador's Residence]( "South Korean Students Break Into U.S. Ambassador's Residence") (Bloomberg) -- A group of South Korean students broke into the residence of American ambassador Harry Harris on Friday, in a protest against Donald Trump's campaign to get the Asian nation to pay more for U.S. military support.Nineteen students, who described themselves as members of a liberal university students' group, were detained by police after staging a protest against plans to impose a bigger financial burden for the stationing of U.S. troops in the country, the Yonhap News Agency reported.The students used a ladder to climb the walls of the ambassador's residence, next to an old South Korean palace, and urged Harris to leave the country.The incident happened days before officials from the U.S. and South Korea are due to meet in Honolulu for the next round of talks on sharing defense costs.After the incident, Seoul police dispatched 80 more officers to beef up security of the envoy's home, according to Yonhap.Earlier this year, the two allies reached a one-year cost-sharing deal for maintaining about 28,500 American troops in South Korea. That deal expires at the end of 2019.The relationship between the two allies soured after Seoul abruptly announced the termination of a three-year-old pact with Japan -- another U.S. key ally -- for exchanging classified military information. That was in response to Japan's move to restrict exports of key materials for the manufacture of semiconductors to South Korea.To contact the reporters on this story: Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.net;Jihye Lee in Seoul at jlee2352@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Marcus Wright, Jasmine NgFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| Harry Dunn's family vow to expose 'cover up' as Foreign Office admit they asked police to delay passing on information Posted: 18 Oct 2019 05:41 AM PDT  The family of Harry Dunn have said they suspect the British government of colluding with the United States to "cover up" details of his death and renewed calls for police to extradite Anne Sacoolas, the wife of a US intelligence agent accused of killing him. Radd Seiger, a spokesman for the family, said: "The search for justice has now expanded beyond simply Mrs Sacoolas' return, as important as that is. "The family is now concerned that there has been misconduct and a cover up on both sides of the Atlantic and they are intent on exposing it." The call came after Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, admitted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office asked police to delay informing the family that Mrs Sacoolas had left the country. Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Mr Raab said: "I know there was a delay and we were asked our opinion by the police, and I think an official from the Foreign Office said it would be helpful to have a day or two. "I know the police delayed a bit longer, and they are responsible for that." He added: "We have done everything we can within the law to clear the path so that justice can be done for the family and we will continue to do so." Mr Raab was speaking after ITV News reported there had been a been a ten-day delay between officers learning that Mrs Sacoolas had left the country and the family being told. Dominic Raab admitted FCO officials asked police to delay telling Harry Dunn's family that Anne Sacoolas had left the country Credit: Victoria Jones/PA Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, Harry's parents, told the Telegraph they felt that the British government had abandoned them, saying they believe the Foreign Office "just want us to go away and forget about it all". "We don't understand why," said Mr Dunn. "Harry has died in an accident, and we feel that nobody but us wants to get justice for him." They were due to fly back from the United States on Friday after a five day trip to plead with US officials to send Mrs Sacoolas back to the UK. The trip included a surprise meeting with Donald Trump at the White House, which the family say ended after he suggested an impromptu photo-opportunity meeting with Mrs Sacoolas in the Oval Office. Anne Sacoolas left the country after she allegedly collided with his motorbike near RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire on August 27 Mr Seiger said when they said they would only meet her on UK soil, Robert O'Brien, Mr Trump's national security adviser, said she would never return to Britain. Mrs Sacoolas is alleged to have been driving her right-hand drive Volvo on the wrong side of the road when her car hit Mr Dunn, who was riding his motorbike, on August 27. She and her husband Jonathan Sacoolas, a US intelligence officer, were spirited out of Britain on a private flight from a US air base after the incident. The 42 year old mother-of-three, claimed diplomatic immunity to avoid prosecution despite not being on the official London diplomatic list. The Foreign Office confirmed however that Mrs Sacoolas and her husband, 43, were given diplomatic immunity prior to their arrival in the UK under the Vienna Convention. The immunity is extended to intelligence officers and other Americans working on military bases including RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire where the crash happened. Mr Seiger said the family did not accept that Mrs Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity and would be meeting with the chief constable of Northamptonshire police next week. The family has called on the force to charge Mrs Sacoolas and initiate extradition proceedings. Mr Seiger said he the family had told the FCO and US officials that they were prepared to "have a conversation" if there were security concerns related to Mr Sacoolas' work, but had been rebuffed. "If there is some good reason why this lady should have been recalled, the family would have been open to that discussion. But they just completely ignored us," he said.
|
| The Chicago teachers' strike shows how to go on offense against neoliberalism Posted: 19 Oct 2019 03:00 AM PDT  Chicago teachers led the battle against destructive reforms seven years ago – now they're showing all working people left behind by cuts how to fight'Together, the coordinated strikes have put more than 30,000 workers on the picket lines – more than 1% of the city's population.' Photograph: Xinhua/Barcroft MediaIn 2012, when Chicago teachers walked off the job in their first strike in 25 years, the cards were stacked against them, nationally and locally. Today, they're on strike again – and on the offense against austerity.Seven years ago, Rahm Emanuel had just been elected mayor and was looking to deal the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU), who he saw as a barrier to privatizing the city's education system, a crushing defeat. That agenda was shared by both Republicans and Democrats across the country, with a barrage of attacks on teachers' unions, devastating budget cuts to schools and charter school networks – intended to undercut public schools and do an end run around their unions – rapidly multiplying.Yet after electing a new militant leadership in 2010 that pledged to fight not just for bread-and-butter issues like higher pay but a broad agenda of "educational justice" and opposition to austerity, Chicago teachers won that strike, inspiring educators and workers of all kinds across the country – and planting the seeds of future unrest in schools across West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, Oakland, Denver and elsewhere, in the teachers' strike wave that kicked off last year.Chicago teachers are again on strike, now against the recently elected mayor, Lori Lightfoot. As in 2012, their demands are focused on burning issues in their schools and the city as a whole rather than simply wages and benefits (a strategy that has been called "bargaining for the common good"). And they're waging that fight alongside another striking union, SEIU Local 73, which represents bus aides, janitors, classroom assistants and other school staff – many of whom earn below-poverty wages.CTU's staffing demands are straightforward: a nurse, counselor, librarian and social worker in every school. The current ratio of students to counselors, nurses and social workers in Chicago public schools (CPS) far exceeds professional association recommendations. The National Association of School Psychologists recommends one psychologist for every 700 students; last year, each CPS psychologist served 1,760. For nurses, the ratio is four times what is recommended; for social workers, nearly five times. The union is also demanding enforceable caps so that classes aren't overcrowded, which CTU says is the case in nearly a quarter of all Chicago classrooms.The union is also connecting its bargaining to the city's affordable housing crisis, demanding housing assistance for both its members and its students, nearly 16,000 of whom experience homelessness. The op-ed pages of the city's newspapers have upbraided this proposal, but CTU argues that "to fully support our public schools, we must address the lack of sustainable, affordable housing in our city" – a problem faced by cities throughout the country.CTU is breaking new ground, both in the kinds of broad working-class demands it is putting forward and by striking alongside SEIU Local 73. Together, the coordinated strikes have put more than 30,000 workers on the picket lines – more than 1% of the city's population. Yesterday, a sea of CTU red and SEIU purple swarmed the city's downtown in the afternoon, with thousands on the streets for a mass march after morning school pickets.The union is up against Lightfoot, a political newcomer who won office earlier this year by campaigning as a progressive and running on an education agenda that borrowed heavily from CTU's: an elected school board rather than one appointed by the mayor, a freeze on charter expansion and major investments in public schools. But Lightfoot's progressive posturing is now running up against tens of thousands striking Chicago teachers and staff who want more than progressive rhetoric – they want hard commitments, put in writing and legally enforceable through their contract.If she continues to balk at union demands at the bargaining table, Lightfoot will probably see the goodwill she has maintained from average Chicagoans since taking office disappear. The signs don't look good for her: a Chicago Sun-Times poll conducted just before the strike shows that the public is backing the CTU over the mayor and school board. The same was true for Rahm Emanuel in 2012.Critics on the school board and in mainstream media have responded with the common refrain that Chicago is broke and can't afford such demands. But Chicago is awash in wealth – enough for Lightfoot to approve the giveaway of $1.3bn in public money to luxury real estate firm Sterling Bay for the mega-development project Lincoln Yards. CTU has long argued that the way to pay for their demands is clear: end these corporate giveaways and tax the rich.The nationwide neoliberal education reform movement was on the march when CTU struck in 2012. But after numerous corruption scandals, growing charter school unionization and strikes, and teacher walk-offs in states throughout the country, that movement is on its heels. Just as the Democratic party has been forced to at least feint left on issues like Medicare for All and free public college tuition because of Bernie Sanders's presidential campaigns, the party has been forced to back off of its most fervent support for corporate education reform.Chicago teachers led the way in the fight against these destructive reforms seven years ago. Today, they're showing educators around the country how to fight not only for themselves, but for all working people who have been left behind by budget cuts and the dismantling of the public sector.The education policy scholar Pauline Lipman once described Chicago as "the incubator, test case and model for the neoliberal urban education agenda". This week, teachers are working to make sure Chicago is where that agenda ends. * Miles Kampf-Lassin is an editor at In These Times. * Micah Uetricht is the managing editor of Jacobin and host of its podcast The Vast Majority. He is the author of Strike for America: Chicago Teachers Against Austerity and coauthor of the forthcoming Bigger Than Bernie: How We Go From the Sanders Campaign to Political Revolution in Our Lifetimes
|
| UPDATE 1-Mexico flies 300 Indian migrants to New Delhi in 'unprecedented' mass deportation Posted: 18 Oct 2019 01:27 AM PDT ![UPDATE 1-Mexico flies 300 Indian migrants to New Delhi in 'unprecedented' mass deportation]( "UPDATE 1-Mexico flies 300 Indian migrants to New Delhi in 'unprecedented' mass deportation") MEXICO CITY/NEW DELHI Oct 17 (Reuters) - Mexico has deported over 300 Indian nationals to New Delhi, the National Migration Institute (INM) said late on Wednesday, calling it an unprecedented transatlantic deportation. The move follows a deal Mexico struck with the United States in June, vowing to significantly curb U.S.-bound migration in exchange for averting U.S. tariffs on Mexican exports. "It is unprecedented in INM's history - in either form or the number of people - for a transatlantic air transport like the one carried out on this day," INM said in a statement.
|
| Trump says Kurds are 'very happy' with U.S.-brokered deal and U.S. has 'taken control' of oil Posted: 18 Oct 2019 02:11 PM PDT  Fighting is continuing near the Syria-Turkey border despite a Trump administration boast it had helped broker a 'cease-fire,' Kurdish authorities say.
|
| 7 Things To Do With Your Old Smartphone Posted: 19 Oct 2019 12:00 PM PDT |
| Lebanon's Nasrallah says he's against government resignation Posted: 19 Oct 2019 02:49 PM PDT  Lebanon's influential Hezbollah leader said Saturday he is against the government's resignation as nationwide protests gained momentum on their third day, calling for the removal of the country's political elite. Hassan Nasrallah said the current unity government should instead bring "a new spirit" to tackling the economic crisis fueling the demonstrations. The spontaneous protests are Lebanon's largest in five years, spreading beyond Beirut.
|
| Archaeologists discover hidden city in the jungle Posted: 18 Oct 2019 12:08 PM PDT  For centuries, the ancient city of Mahendraparvata has been buried under a dense canopy in the Cambodian jungle. It was one of the first capitals of the Khmer Empire, which controlled large swaths of Southeast Asia from the 9th to 15th centuries. Over the last 150 years, archaeologists have uncovered artifacts that they suspected came from Mahendraparvata, but they didn't have enough evidence to support the link — until now.
|
| The U.S. Army And Marines Have a Plan To Take On China and Russia's Navies Posted: 19 Oct 2019 06:00 AM PDT  Dispersed attacks from land and sea.
|
| Convicted Killer Now Charged in Estranged Wife’s Cold-Case Murder: Prosecutors Posted: 18 Oct 2019 10:18 AM PDT  Virginia State Police/HandoutA Virginia man who is behind bars for killing his girlfriend has now been charged with the murder of his wife three decades ago, prosecutors announced Friday.Jose Rodriguez-Cruz, 53, was indicted by a Stafford County grand jury for the May 1989 murder of 28-year-old Marta Haydee Rodriguez. Rodriguez-Cruz is currently serving a 12-year prison sentence for the 2009 murder of his girlfriend, Pamela Butler, who was a federal worker in Washington, D.C.During a Friday press conference, Stafford County Commonwealth's Attorney Eric Olsen announced that the former military police officer, who was discharged after threatening to harm his female superior twice, has been charged with first-degree murder and the unlawful concealment of his wife's body, finally bringing a 30-year investigation to a close. Cops: NYPD Officer Ordered Hit on Estranged Husband, Boyfriend's Kid"This is the ultimate act of domestic violence and it's noteworthy that in the month of October justice is going to be delivered for Marta Rodriguez," Olson said, pointing out that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Rodriguez was last seen on May 1, 1989, as she walked to a bus stop after leaving her job as a nurse's aide. Prosecutors allege Rodriguez-Cruz murdered his first wife shortly after she told police he had assaulted and kidnapped her—but before she could testify against him in court."If I can't have her, no one will," Rodriguez-Cruz once said, according to 2017 court documents.The 28-year-old's body was found in 1991 on an Interstate 95 median but was not positively identified until last year.Twenty years after his wife's 1989 disappearance, Rodriguez-Cruz fatally strangled Butler, an Environmental Protection Agency analyst and his girlfriend of seven months, during a heated argument before hiding her body. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in 2017, at which point he confessed to killing the 47-year-old in her basement in 2009 before slipping her body out of a first-floor window.Air Force Major Charged With Murder After Missing Wife's Remains FoundOne of Rodriguez-Cruz's friends told authorities that he once said it was "easy" to get rid of a body because "if you dig a hole deep enough, no one will find it," according to testimony at his plea hearing. As part of his plea deal, Rodriguez-Cruz told police he buried Butler in 2009 along Interstate 95—where Rodriguez was found—but her remains were never discovered. Derrick Butler, Pamela's brother, also attended Friday's news conference and told reporters he was relieved to hear news of Rodriguez-Cruz's latest charge.Authorities believe his pattern of abuse stretches beyond the death of his two former lovers. In 2017, investigators testified that the 53-year-old told his second wife he knew how to make sure a body was never found. Another woman, a security guard at a federal office, also told detectives that Rodriguez-Cruz allegedly duct-taped her wrists, held a gun to her head, and sexually assaulted her in 2004. "This man doesn't impulsively kill. He abducts women, duct-tapes them, sexually assaults them, and then holds them captive," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner said at the 2017 hearing. "Duct tape and a gun are his weapon of choice."Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| U.S. Proposed to Help North Korea Build Tourist Area: Report Posted: 19 Oct 2019 02:17 AM PDT ![U.S. Proposed to Help North Korea Build Tourist Area: Report]( "U.S. Proposed to Help North Korea Build Tourist Area: Report") (Bloomberg) -- U.S. officials proposed a long-term plan to help North Korea construct a tourist area in return for denuclearization during recent working-level talks in Stockholm, Hankook Ilbo newspaper reported.U.S. negotiators prepared plans on the development of the Kalma tourist area, the paper said, citing an unidentified senior South Korean diplomat familiar with the talks in Stockholm. The paper didn't say how North Korea reacted to the proposal.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been pushing to complete a resort construction in the Wonsan-Kalma coastal area. In August, Pak Pong Ju, a key member of the ruling party's politburo, visited the region to encourage workers to make the area "a scenic spot" on the east coast.The talks in Stockholm earlier in October were the first in about eight months between the U.S. and North Korea, but ended with little agreement about what was even on the table. North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Myong Gil said the U.S. arrived "empty-handed" to the meeting, a point disputed by State Department officials.To contact the reporter on this story: Kanga Kong in Seoul at kkong50@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Jasmine NgFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| Egypt unveils biggest ancient coffin find in over a century Posted: 19 Oct 2019 06:08 AM PDT  Egypt on Saturday unveiled the details of 30 ancient wooden coffins with mummies inside discovered in the southern city of Luxor in the biggest find of its kind in more than a century. A team of Egyptian archaeologists discovered a "distinctive group of 30 colored wooden coffins for men, women and children" in a cache at Al-Asasif cemetery on Luxor's west bank, the Ministry of Antiquities said in a statement on Saturday. "It is the first large human coffin cache ever discovered since the end of the 19th century," the Egyptian Antiquities Minister Khaled El-Enany was quoted as saying during a ceremony in Luxor.
|
| Deadly Turkish airstrikes hit Syria hours after U.S.-brokered truce Posted: 18 Oct 2019 07:02 AM PDT  Deadly Turkish airstrikes Friday shattered an hours-old U.S.-brokered deal to stop Ankara's military offensive against Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria.
|
| U.N. Investigates Possible Chemical Weapons Use by Turkish Forces in Syria Posted: 18 Oct 2019 06:33 AM PDT  United Nations chemical-weapons inspectors announced that they are investigating whether Turkish forces used chemical weapons in their invasion of Syria, the Guardian reported Friday.The Kurds have accused Turkey of using white phosphorous during their recent incursion into northeastern Syria. The Kurdish Red Crescent claims that six patients, including civilians and military members, have been hospitalized in the city of Hasakah due to burns from "unknown weapons."The organization could not confirm chemical-weapons usage, saying it was "working together with our international partners to investigate this subject." However, a British chemical-weapons expert who examined a photo of one of the victims said the burns on the victim were likely from a chemical weapon."The most likely culprit is white phosphorus," said Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former commander of Britain's chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear regiment. "It is a horrific weapon, and has been used repeatedly during the Syrian civil war; unfortunately its use has become increasingly normalized."White phosphorous can be used legally as a smokescreen or as an incendiary at night to illuminate the battlefield, and is held by militaries worldwide. The use of white phosphorous as a weapon, however, is illegal under international law because it causes severe burns upon contact with skin.While some Kurdish officials alleged that Turkey used "unconventional weapons" in Syria, Turkey denies this."It is a fact known by everyone that there are no chemical weapons in the inventory of the Turkish armed forces," said Turkish defense minister Hulusi Akar.Turkey invaded northeast Syria on October 9 to clear a "safe zone" in which to resettle 3.6 million Syrian refugees residing in Turkey, as well as to combat Kurdish groups in the region it considers terrorist organizations. Some of these Kurdish groups were instrumental in the U.S.-led fight against ISIS in Syria.Syrian president Bashar Assad has repeatedly used chemical weapons against Syrian citizens in that country's civil war.
|
| Ousted Communist leader Zhao Ziyang is buried: family Posted: 19 Oct 2019 12:00 PM PDT  A former Chinese Communist Party leader ousted after he opposed the use of force to quell 1989 democracy protests was buried over a decade after he died, his family said, in a service ignored by state media. Zhao Ziyang, who is a revered figure among Chinese human rights defenders, is still a sensitive topic in the country, where commemorations of his death are held under tight surveillance or prevented altogether. There was no mention of his burial ceremony Friday on state media, and searching for his name on social media returned no results.
|
| Plans pushed back to explode 2 cranes in New Orleans Posted: 18 Oct 2019 01:15 PM PDT  Plans have been pushed back a day to bring down two giant, unstable construction cranes in a series of controlled explosions before they can topple onto historic New Orleans buildings, the city's fire chief said Friday, noting the risky work involved in placing explosive on the towers. Making it happen, putting people back in danger," McConnell said. Light, intermittent rain and winds were complicating efforts Friday as workers in buckets suspended from another crane worked to prepare the site, McConnell said.
|
| View Photos of the 2020 Porsche Macan Turbo Posted: 18 Oct 2019 11:29 AM PDT |
| Russia's Stealth Su-57 Is a Beast, But Can Russia Afford It? Posted: 19 Oct 2019 01:00 AM PDT  It's pretty expensive for Russia's flagging economy.
|
| Atatiana Jefferson’s Funeral Cancelled Amid Family Feud Posted: 18 Oct 2019 07:17 PM PDT  FacebookAtatiana Jefferson, the black woman shot dead in her home by a white Texas cop who didn't identify himself, was supposed to be laid to rest this weekend.But the funeral—which was to feature prominent civil rights activists—was cancelled Saturday amid a family legal battle over the arrangements.Local news outlets reported that Marquis Jefferson, who is identified on on her birth certificate as Atatiana's father, went to court and got a judge to issue a restraining order to stop the burial. The service has not yet been rescheduled, according to the Associated Press.Jefferson claims that Atatiana's aunt, Venitta Body, cut him out of the funeral planning and that he will suffer "immediate and irreparable injury" if it goes forward."I believe that there's enough people who are looking for you people to show up so they can lift their platforms," Marquis Jefferson's spokesman Bruce Carter told reporters."They may roll in an empty coffin, who knows. They'll sing songs. They'll dance around. They'll fall out. They'll go back, and it'll be over with. So when you ask me about the things people do for you to show up, they'll continually do it as long as you show up."Texas Police Officer Fatally Shoots Black Woman Inside Her Own Home During Welfare CheckLee Merritt, the attorney representing some relatives, said on Twitter Friday night that the Saturday memorial service would still happen, but it was ultimately delayed until later in the week."Atatiana's family is mourning. They're looking forward to getting through this really difficult process of grieving and memorializing their sister," Merritt told KDFW. "This is a bit of a distraction. It's unfortunate, but they are trying to stay focused and stay together during this time of bereavement."Atatiana's aunt claims that Marquis Jefferson is not Atatiana's legal or biological father, the Dallas Morning News reported. Both sides are due in court Monday morning for a hearing.Atatiana Jefferson, 28, was gunned down in her Fort Worth home on Oct. 12 after a neighbor called police to check on an open door in the dead of night.Her 8-year-old nephew told authorities she heard someone outside, got a gun out of her purse and pointed it at the window, fearing an intruder, according to court documents.Bodycam footage shows Officer Aaron Dean shouting at her to put her hands up before opening fire within seconds; it's not clear if he saw the weapon.Texas Cop Who Fatally Shot Black Woman Charged With MurderDean resigned from the police force the next day and has since been charged with murder."I get it. We are trying to do better... anyone who had looked at that video saw it was wrong," Fort Worth Police Chief Ed Kraus told reporters earlier in the week.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
|
| Johnson will ask for Brexit delay after losing parliament vote -EU official Posted: 18 Oct 2019 02:36 PM PDT  Boris Johnson will send a letter on Saturday requesting a further extension to Britain's departure from the European Union, an EU official said, with the British prime minister obliged to ask for a delay after losing a vote in parliament. Instead, lawmakers voted 322 to 306 in favour of an amendment that turned Johnson's planned finale on its head by leaving the prime minister exposed to a humiliating obligation to ask the EU for a delay until the end of January 2020, and increasing the opportunity for opponents to frustrate Brexit.
|
| Trump Has a New Punching Bag at Fox News Posted: 18 Oct 2019 02:00 AM PDT  (Bloomberg) -- On Oct. 13, Chris Wallace, the host of "Fox News Sunday," grilled Secretary of Defense Mark Esper about the administration's response to the growing Ukraine scandal. That night, President Donald Trump jumped on Twitter and compared Wallace unfavorably to his late father."Somebody please explain to Chris Wallace of Fox, who will never be his father (and my friend), Mike Wallace, that the Phone Conversation I had with the President of Ukraine was a congenial & good one," Trump tweeted.Expect much more of the same to follow.Two days earlier, Shepard Smith, whose tough and factual reporting style often drew the ire of Trump and his supporters, abruptly left the network. For years, Smith served not only as Fox News' premier breaking news anchor but also as the most prominent banner carrier for the network's team of straight-news reporters. His abdication positions Wallace as his natural successor.It's a role guaranteed to attract fire. Trump has made it clear that he doesn't appreciate it when his favorite TV channel exposes its viewers to unflattering news about him.Smith's departure also makes Wallace more important than ever to the network, which relies on the credibility of its news division to counter criticism about its Trump-friendly prime-time hosts."Smith leaving is a big deal" because Wallace can't do it on his own, said Andrew Tyndall, publisher of the Tyndall Report, which monitors newscasts. To be considered a legitimate news outlet, "you can't just point to one person."Fox News says Wallace is just one of many respected journalists at the network who have confronted members of the Trump administration, including Bret Baier, Neil Cavuto and Martha MacCallum. But Wallace's tough interviews, especially with Republicans, have been shared on social media and cited by other news outlets, reinforcing the notion that Fox News is feeding viewers more than just conservative talking points.While Smith appeared on Fox News every weekday, Wallace's show only airs on Sundays, making him a less regular presence to viewers. (Wallace will join a rotating cast of news anchors filling in for Smith's vacated 3 p.m. hour until the network names a permanent replacement.)"Chris becomes the next voice of realism at Fox News, but I'm not sure that he replaces Shep," said Conor Powell, a former Fox News foreign correspondent. "Chris is a really good interviewer and plays an important role. But he only has one show once a week. Shep was on every day."Wallace's contract keeps him at Fox News through the 2020 election. His journalistic credibility is also good for business, helping Fox News host presidential debates, attract advertisers and charge distributors like Comcast Corp. higher fees to carry the network."If it turns out you're not a news organization anymore, you lose bargaining leverage with cable operators," Tyndall said."That's been their mantra for decades: 'We're a real news organization. We have Shep Smith and Chris Wallace.'"Wallace, 72, was praised in 2016 for his performance moderating a presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Trump. More recently, he's gained attention for pushing back on explanations from the White House. He described responses by Trump aide Stephen Miller as "an exercise in obfuscation" and said Trump's backers had been "deeply misleading."Wallace calls himself an "equal opportunity inquisitor" and has said that he has the full support of Fox News executives.His father, Mike Wallace, was one of the original correspondents for "60 Minutes" on CBS. He died in 2012.Mike passed down his confrontational, devil-may-care gene to his son, said Jonathan Klein, a former president of CNN's U.S. network."Chris plows ahead and does what he thinks is right," Klein said. "It serves Fox News viewers well because Chris knows they deserve to hear the truth."The late Fox News founder Roger Ailes hired seasoned journalists like Wallace because he thought it would deflect criticism of the network's right-leaning opinion hosts, Klein said."That's been their mantra for decades: 'We're a real news organization. We have Shep Smith and Chris Wallace,'" Klein said. "But these days I'm not sure how much they care about that. Their brand has morphed."Fox News executives say they are investing more in journalism, a push that includes hiring new reporters, opening a high-tech studio and launching a news program at 11 p.m.Trump has attacked Wallace before. In May, he complained that Wallace complimented Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, tweeting, "I like Mike Wallace better."At a recent event during Advertising Week, Wallace reacted to Trump's comparison: "One of us has a daddy problem, and it's not me."To contact the author of this story: Gerry Smith in New York at gsmith233@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Felix GilletteFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
|
| The Endgame in Syria Posted: 19 Oct 2019 03:30 AM PDT  "The slaughter going on in Syria is not a consequence of American presence. It's a consequence of a withdrawal and a betrayal by this president of American allies and American values." —Pete Buttigieg, October 15Mr. Mayor has a point. For 75 years, from Fulda Gap to the 38th parallel, the American soldier has been the last line of defense against violence, chaos, and oppression. From Kosovo to Anbar, he has kept a lid on cauldrons of bloodlust. Remove him, and the poison boils over.That is what happened when Congress reduced aid to South Vietnam in 1975. It is what followed U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in 2011. It is happening now in northeast Syria, and it will happen again when Americans leave Afghanistan. Our forces depart; our allies collapse; our adversaries take command.The pattern was established well before Donald Trump took office. It will persist after he departs. There is nothing so consistent as American ambivalence toward our superpower status. Most great powers covet hegemony. We hate it. The costs are too high, the demands too stressful."For every exercise of the great power's prerogative, there has been an equally strong recoiling from the use of power," wrote Robert Kagan in A Twilight Struggle (1996). "While the United States cannot escape behaving as the hegemonic great power, it is also a great power with a democratic conscience, a strong anti-imperialist streak, and an unwillingness to adopt the role of policeman anywhere for more than a brief time."Kagan was describing U.S. policy toward Nicaragua. He might as well have been talking about the Middle East.Trump is getting America out of a country we were never really in. Our presence in Syria was not enough to deter Turkey. One thousand troops do not constitute a tripwire. They are chips in a high-stakes game. Erdogan called the bluff.Our footprint was light because the last two administrations wanted it that way. That is why criticism of Trump's policy from left-wing non-interventionists and former Obama officials is ridiculous. Where were they when Assad killed hundreds of thousands of people, when he and Erdogan used migration to Europe as a weapon, when civilians were gassed, when ISIS formed, when Russia moved in? Did they think Syria was peachy keen up until Sunday, October 6? Are we really to take lectures from them on the value of forward presence?Americans have wanted out of the Greater Middle East for over a decade. Barack Obama promised to leave both Iraq and Afghanistan. He said Special Forces and drone strikes would maintain global security. It didn't work out that way. Terrorism spiked. The Arab Spring erupted. Obama was forced to intervene, leading from behind in Libya and desultorily aiding some rebel groups in Syria.Obama ended Moammar Qaddafi's regime but shied away from Bashar al-Assad's. The difference? Assad was an ally of Iran and Russia. To bring Damascus to heel would have endangered the chances of a nuclear agreement with Tehran.Obama was consistent in one respect. In Libya, Syria, and Iraq, American involvement was kept to a minimum. The results were the same in all three countries: state failure and civil war.The seeds of Trump's hasty exit from Syria were sown when the uprising began in 2011. The moment to act decisively was then. We did not. And we did not because there was no appetite, in either popular or elite circles, for another war in the Middle East. Political leadership followed public opinion.What a superpower does not do is as important as what it does do. America was content to fund a few rebels but otherwise leave Syria in the hands of others. Assad turned to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, Hezbollah, and Iran. Russia saved him from reprisal after the gas attack in 2013 and again when rebels neared Damascus in 2015.By then, Obama had been forced to intervene against the caliphate established by ISIS in eastern Syria and western Iraq. But some red lines he stuck to. In his speech announcing the counterterrorism campaign in September 2014, Obama pledged, "We will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq." Our presence would be limited, our footprint light. Enough to defeat the terrorists, but not enough to make us targets. Or decisively affect the outcome of the Syrian war.If there is a place where America blinked, where America chose decline, where America's allies began to worry and America's retrenchment from Eurasia and pivot to East Asia began, it is Syria. We did so with open eyes and, until the last two weeks, an untroubled conscience. Not wanting to commit the resources necessary to build functioning states, we left Iraq, abandoned Libya, and turned a blind eye to Syria. Not willing to sacrifice Americans on additional fields of battle in the Long War against Islamic terrorism and the religious-political cultures that breed it, we withdrew that presence which guarantees the security of our partners.Pete Buttigieg is right to say that what is happening in Syria is a consequence of American withdrawal. But if what's happening is a betrayal of American values, it's one Americans voted for.
|
