Better US-China ties but still deep disagreements
as Blinken starts visit
Posted By: 4250Luis, 4/24/2024 8:42:12 AM
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday with U.S.-China ties on a steadier footing, but with a daunting array of unresolved issues threatening the stability of relations between the global rivals. Blinken will meet with business leaders before heading to Beijing for talks on Friday with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and a likely meeting with President Xi Jinping. Blinken's visit is the latest high-level contact between the two nations that, along with working groups on issues from global trade to military communication, have tempered the public acrimony that drove relations to historic lows early last year.
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4250Luis"
The Biden administration’s expanded mass parole program for illegal immigrants could threaten lawful voter registration, election law and border experts contend.
Under President Joe Biden’s parole system—which targets illegal aliens from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—up to 30,000 migrants per month who wouldn’t normally qualify for a visa may use a U.S. government app on their cellphones to gain parole and either cross the border or fly into the United States.
The United States, France, Germany, Russia and Argentina, who had dual nationals taken hostage, did not try to bomb Hamas infrastructure and places where Hamas hid. Instead, they let Israel do it and then accused Israel of destroying the Gaza Strip.
Rather than putting any pressure on Qatar and demonstrating in front of Qatari-owned hotels in France, the United States and elsewhere in Europe, the families of the hostages have been putting pressure on the Israeli government, thereby doing exactly what Hamas would presumably like them to do.
Hypocrisy is Washington, DC’s lifeblood, so it was a nice change when DC Judge Ana Reyes lambasted the Justice Department for instructing two lawyers in its Tax Division to disregard a congressional subpoena in the Hunter Biden investigation, all while it has been zealously prosecuting Trump officials for the very same offense.
Peter Navarro, a former Trump trade adviser, is sitting in jail for defying a subpoena from Nancy Pelosi’s star chamber, the January 6 committee.
“There’s a person in jail right now because you all brought a criminal lawsuit against him because he did not appear for a House subpoena,” Reyes said, referring to Navarro.
Hamas official says group would lay down
its weapons if a two-state solution is implemented 30 replies
its weapons if a two-state solution is implemented 30 replies
A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
The comments by Khalil al-Hayya in an interview Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of cease-fire talks. The suggestion that Hamas would disarm appeared to be a significant concession by the militant group officially committed to Israel’s destruction.
Embattled Columbia University president Minouche Shafik caved to pressure from anti-Israel protesters early Wednesday — giving them another 48 hours to dismantle the tent city that’s popped up on campus.
The administration announced early Wednesday that it will continue dialogue for “the next 48 hours” following “important progress with representatives of the student encampment.”
The backtrack from Shafik came just as a protest leader was seen on video telling students through a bullhorn to form platoons and “turn up quickly en masse, in front of the encampment” to block police from making arrests in the event of a sweep.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday with U.S.-China ties on a steadier footing, but with a daunting array of unresolved issues threatening the stability of relations between the global rivals.
Blinken will meet with business leaders before heading to Beijing for talks on Friday with his counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and a likely meeting with President Xi Jinping.
Blinken's visit is the latest high-level contact between the two nations that, along with working groups on issues from global trade to military communication, have tempered the public acrimony that drove relations to historic lows early last year.
Senate passes bill forcing TikTok’s
parent company to sell or face ban, sends
to Biden for signature 10 replies
parent company to sell or face ban, sends
to Biden for signature 10 replies
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that’s expected to face legal challenges and disrupt the lives of content creators who rely on the short-form video app for income.
The TikTok legislation was included as part of a larger $95 billion package that provides foreign aid to Ukraine and Israel and was passed 79-18. It now goes to President Joe Biden, who said in a statement immediately after passage that he will sign it Wednesday.
Donald Trump is running into a problem with Fox News.
It’s one he had no idea existed.
And Kellyanne Conway left Trump speechless with this dirty secret about Fox News. Puck News’ Tara Palmeri reported that Donald Trump is welcoming former campaign manager and White House Senior Counselor Kellyanne Conway back onto his team.
But unlike in 2016 when Conway managed Trump’s campaign down the stretch, Conway will play a different role as Palmeri revealed Conway will largely serve as a high-level surrogate for Trump on Fox News.
“Conway still has Trump’s ear and serves as a rare high-level surrogate on Fox News,” Palmeri wrote in her “The Best & The Brightest” newsletter.
The Truth About Israel
16 replies
Many years ago, I worked for Virgin Atlantic airline and was fortunate to be awarded a free fam pass on El Al airlines to Israel.
I ended up trading the ticket away to another employee but I always regretted not taking this opportunity to visit the Holy Land because of my cowardice.
At the time, it seemed like every week there would be a bus blown up or an explosion in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv and I wondered how any one could live in such a turbulent environment. I grew up in a poor tenement in Spanish Harlem,
This statement by Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner is so fraudulent in narrative construct it’s almost ridiculous. “SEN. WARNER: Let’s remember what 702 is. It is the ability for the United States government to surveil, listen in, on non-Americans foreigners who are abroad.”
Absolutely nothing about this statement is accurate. Foreigners do not have U.S constitutional protection. All foreign communications can be intercepted without issue, without FISA.
FISA-702 authority only pertains to Americans. The term “702” is specifically referencing private communication with/by an American.
What did the founders do? They committed an act of treason by signing the Declaration of Independence. They recognized at some point you have to take on the established regime when it is not only unjust, but when there is no lawful way to get it back on track. These matters frame our own nation.
Texas had just filed its original action in the Supreme Court against Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Michigan -- four swing states whose election officers had clearly violated election law in those states and with an impact that put Biden over the top in all four.
A prominent rabbi at Columbia University took the drastic step Sunday of warning Jewish students to go home and not return to campus because of “extreme antisemitism” at the Ivy League school.
The dire directive followed yet another night of virulent anti-Israel protests on campus — which included one protester holding up a sign suggesting that students waving Israeli flags should be the next target of Hamas terrorists.”
The events of the last few days, especially last night, have made it clear that Columbia University’s Public Safety and the NYPD cannot guarantee Jewish students’ safety in the face of extreme antisemitism and anarchy,” Rabbi Elie Buechler told students Sunday morning over WhatsApp.
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Okay, I stand corrected on one thing: Columbia University’s terror camp is coming down. I was skeptical, given that President Minouche Shafik has said terrorism is another form of protest. New York’s finest can’t move until the front office gives the green light—Columbia is private property. It seems the university has come to its senses: they’ve given a midnight deadline to set the terms for the dismantling of this tent city of Hamas propaganda and antisemitism:
“Squad” Rep. Jamaal Bowman claimed a pro-Israeli group backing his Democratic primary opponent is racist.
“That is why AIPAC’s [ American Israel Public Affairs Committee] is coming after us, coming after us with hate, coming after us with bullying, intimidation, and fear. You should see what they’re doing in my district,” Bowman said during a virtual town hall meeting on Monday.
After he claimed AIPAC members are lying about his record and calling him antisemitic, Bowman said, “They don’t like my style, I’m a little too radical, I’m a member of the ‘Squad.’ They want to call me the N-word,
Hamas official says group would lay down
its weapons if a two-state solution is implemented 30 replies
its weapons if a two-state solution is implemented 30 replies
A top Hamas political official told The Associated Press the Islamic militant group is willing to agree to a truce of five years or more with Israel and that it would lay down its weapons and convert into a political party if an independent Palestinian state is established along pre-1967 borders.
The comments by Khalil al-Hayya in an interview Wednesday came amid a stalemate in months of cease-fire talks. The suggestion that Hamas would disarm appeared to be a significant concession by the militant group officially committed to Israel’s destruction.
Arizona grand jury indicts Meadows, Giuliani,
other Trump allies for 2020 election interference 30 replies
other Trump allies for 2020 election interference 30 replies
An Arizona grand jury has indicted 18 allies of Donald Trump for their efforts to subvert the 2020 election — including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Boris Epshteyn.
The indictment, which includes felony counts of conspiracy, fraud and forgery, also describes Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator.
“Defendants and unindicted coconspirators schemed to prevent the lawful transfer of the presidency to keep Unindicted Coconspirator 1 in office against the will of Arizona’s voters,” the 58-page indictment reads.
Attorney George Conway said Tuesday on CNN’s “Out Front” that he was donating $929,600 to President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign because former President Donald Trump is a “threat to democracy.”
Erin Burnett said, “You are giving Biden the maximum amount, but somebody can give Joe Biden, $929,600 that you have earned over your life to a person running for president so how in the world did you get there?” Conway said, “Yeah, no, that’s that’s just an amazing story to me. If you told me that I would do something like that and support a Democrat and tomorrow an item we headlining a fundraiser in Washington asking Democrats
Biden calls for middle-class tax hike
26 replies
President Joe Biden has repeatedly said he won’t hike taxes on anyone earning less than $400,000, but then this week he promised on X to hike taxes on just about everyone.
Now, to be fair, Biden may not have understood that’s what he’s saying. Letting the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expire and “stay expired” would be a massive middle-class tax hike because the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was a massive middle-class tax cut. Yes, wealthy people also saw their taxes reduced by the TCJA, but the law actually shifted a greater portion of the tax burden onto the wealthy.
The TCJA doubled the child tax credit
George Clooney Teaming Up with Obama for
Biden Hollywood Fundraiser, Julia Roberts
Might Attend 25 replies
Biden Hollywood Fundraiser, Julia Roberts
Might Attend 25 replies
Hollywood elites are planning to throw more money at President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, with a star-studded fundraiser reportedly being planned for mid-June that will feature George Clooney and former President Barack Obama.
The shindig will also feature former Disney boss Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is Biden’s campaign co-chair, according to an Axios report. Julia Roberts might attend the event, unnamed sources told the outlet.Hollywood remains one of Biden’s most loyal constituencies even as his popularity has plummeted with ordinary Americans who must deal with record consumer prices and
Biden Admin Wants To Send American Tax
Dollars To Train Army Of Transgender Activists
In India 22 replies
Dollars To Train Army Of Transgender Activists
In India 22 replies
The Biden administration wants to train at least 200 activists to advocate for transgender rights in India as part of a program ostensibly designed to advance America’s “national interests,” according to a federal grant posting. President Joe Biden’s State Department plans to “train at least 200 LGBTQI+ community leaders … with preference given to trans and intersex community leaders” by “deliver[ing] specialized legal education and support” which will, in turn, empower “them to advocate for their rights and access the services they need,” according to a grant announcement published on April 8.
Migrants swing bats, belts and even traffic
cones at each other in wild brawl outside
NYC hotel 20 replies
cones at each other in wild brawl outside
NYC hotel 20 replies
Mobs of rowdy migrants got into an all-out brawl outside a Midtown hotel, swinging sticks, belts and even traffic cones during the violent, broad-daylight melee, shocking new video shows.
At least a dozen asylum seekers squared off Sunday afternoon outside The Row hotel on Eighth Avenue, with one out-of-control migrant seen swinging a bat menacingly at the mob before one of the combatants is taken to the ground and pummeled by four others, footage posted on X shows.
At least two men are seen wearing bicycle helmets as the two sides square off in the middle of the street — even as motorists stream by in the middle of the brawl.
Princeton University students are preparing to establish an anti-Israel protest encampment, according to documents obtained by National Review. The students claim to have pro bono legal support and trained security.
A draft of a press release titled “Princeton Gaza Solidarity Encampment Demands” states that the “goal” is to “put pressure on the Princeton University administration to divest and disassociate from Israel, and to call attention to the University’s active contribution to ongoing genocide and human rights catastrophe.”
The group is demanding that 1) Princeton call for an immediate cease-fire and “condemn Israel’s genocidal campaign,” 2) commit to full transparency in its investments 3) dissociate and divest
The decades-old NASA Voyager 1 spacecraft has begun sending readable communications again after months of transmitting gibberish.
Voyager 1 – the most distant human-made object in existence – has been sending back data from interstellar space for nearly 50 years after being launched in 1977.
However, in November a glitch occurred that made the spacecraft's data about its environment and the health of its own systems unintelligible to the NASA scientists monitoring it.
Famous for snapping photos of Jupiter, Saturn and their moons, Voyager 1 then returned readable communications on April 20, confirming it is still safely cruising outer space.
The Biden administration appears to be using a federal agency to go after a family that has donated significantly to Republicans by suing its company for “racially discriminatory hiring practice” over background checks. The business, Sheetz Inc., is a chain of convenience stores and the Sheetz family has long supported Republicans in Pennsylvania and the Midwest, according to records obtained by Judicial Watch. In the last few years, the Sheetz’s have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican causes and political candidates,