Coming February 6, 2024 . . .
MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop
Coming February 6, 2024 . . . MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
‘Who is playing what role? Sometimes it could be very confusing,’ Cui Tiankai said.
By Doug Palmer @ Politico.com, Oct. 14
Twenty-one months after President Donald Trump took office, China still does not know which of his top advisers has the most influence over the president’s handling of increasingly fraught trade tensions with Beijing, Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the United States, said Sunday.
“You tell me,” Cui told “Fox News Sunday” anchor Chris Wallace, when asked which administration official can reliably speak for Trump on trade issues. “Honestly, I’ve been talking to other ambassadors in Washington, D.C. This is also part of their problem."
“What?” Wallace asked.
“They don’t know who is the final decision-maker. Of course, presumably, the president would take the final decision. But who is playing what role? Sometimes it could be very confusing,” Cui said.
Typically, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative takes the lead in trade negotiations with other countries. But early in the administration [....]
We are at the name recognition stage. So: this indicates considerable nostalgia for Obama?
Turki Aldakhil, general manager of the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya news channel, warned that if the US imposed sanctions on Riyadh "it will stab its own economy to death," cause oil prices to reach as high as $200 a barrel, lead Riyadh to permit a Russian military base in the city of Tabuk..."There are simple procedures, that are part of over 30 others, that Riyadh will implement directly, without flinching an eye if sanctions are imposed," he said. "If US sanctions are imposed on Saudi Arabia, we will be facing an economic disaster that would rock the entire world," he added.
Well, why not?
When common people feel the impotency of their own voices, why not turn to ritual, new or ancient, to trim the ragged edges of their existence?
By Jesse Drucker and Emily Flitter @ NYTimes.com, Oct. 13
Confidential documents reviewed by The Times indicate that Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, probably paid little or no income tax from 2009 to 2016.
Home page lede: Over the past decade, Jared Kushner's wealth has quintupled to $324 million. His low tax bills are the result of a common tax-minimizing manuever.
Oh, wait, that was North Korea before Trump "fell in love" with murdering despot Kim jong Un. Trump has threatened Saudi Prince Salman with "severe punishment" over the apparent Saudi murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Could that mean the Saudi Royal clan will lose their Diamond w/Swords Special Despot Level Privileges at their Trump properties for one month or two?
Rachel Maddow segment from Thursday night:
Georgia Sec. of State overseeing his gubernatorial campaign's vote suppression efforts starts at 3:15 in.
Texas story starts at 5:31.
Rachel um, noting, Sen. Democrats approving 15 judgeships in exchange for...going on recess so both sides can campaign, at 1:22 in. Boy, Dems really know how to play hardball.
By Ed Kilgore @ NYMag.com, Oct. 12
In suburban Republican-held districts won by Clinton, there aren't enough MAGA fans to overcome swing-voter disdain by Trump.
By Noah Barkin @ Reuters.com, Oct. 12
BERLIN - The five nations in the world’s leading intelligence-sharing network have been exchanging classified information on China’s foreign activities with other like-minded countries since the start of the year, seven officials in four capitals said. The increased cooperation by the Five Eyes alliance - grouping Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and the United States - with countries such as Germany and Japan is a sign of a broadening international front against Chinese influence operations and investments.
Some of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the enhanced cooperation amounted to an informal expansion of the Five Eyes group on the specific issue of foreign interference.
While China has been the main focus, discussions have also touched on Russia, several said [....]
Trying to control global free speech and peole's right to protest - what could go wrong with that...
By Julia Manchester @ TheHill.com, Oct. 11, with video
Election analyst Kyle Kondik on Thursday said that health care will be a driving issue for voters going into November's midterms. "Health care generally is higher up, and it ranks higher for Democrats than for Republicans," Kondik, managing editor of "Sabato's Crystal Ball," told Hill.TV's Buck Sexton and Krystal Ball on "Rising."
"The one particular piece of that, you're starting to see this in the Senate races, in particular, is this pre-existing conditions issue because Democrats see it as a way to attack Republicans, and say, 'Hey, Republicans are trying to take away these pre-existing conditions protections.' Republicans are aggressively fighting back against it," he said.
Kondik's comments come one day after President Trump slammed "Medicare for all" in an op-ed for USA Today [....]
By Amy Chua & Jed Rubenfeld @ TheAtlantic.com for the October 2018 print issue
The Constitution once united a diverse country under a banner of ideas. But partisanship has turned Americans against one another—and against the principles enshrined in our founding document.
(Both are professors at Yale Law School, Chua the author of Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations.& Rubenfeld the author of Freedom and Time: A Theory of Constitutional Self-Government.)
By Lisa W. Forderero @ NYTimes.com, Oct. 1
PORT EWEN, N.Y. — It has taken 12 years, but Antonio Delgado has finally received recognition for his brief career as a rap artist. All it took was for him to run for Congress in New York.
[....] political observers said that given the makeup of the district, where voters gave both President Barack Obama and President Trump the edge, the negative ads could actually help Mr. Delgado, who lives in Rhinebeck with his wife and two young sons.
“In some ways, it’s a test of how far we have come, whether it matters in that district,” said Christopher B. Mann, an assistant professor of political science at Skidmore College. “It’s hard to say whether it will be a pivotal factor or maybe to his advantage. The ads have drawn national attention, and they’ve raised Delgado’s profile.” [....]