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Biden to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by 9/11

David Martin, Eleanor Watson, Grace Segers — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 09:16:15 +0000

President Biden has decided to withdraw military forces from Afghanistan by September 11, 2021, the twentieth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News.

President Biden is expected to announce Wednesday his decision to begin the drawdown of U.S. forces before May 1 and the plan to have all the troops out of the country by September 11, at the latest.

According to a senior administration official, Mr. Biden has made the determination that the best path forward to protect American interests is to end the war in Afghanistan to address the global threat picture of today that includes China, pandemics, and terrorism in places across the globe.

The U.S. went into Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks to prevent terrorists from launching more attacks from Afghanistan. The Biden administration has determined that al Qaeda does not currently possess an external plotting capability, according to the official.

There will be counterterrorism capabilities that remain in the region to counter the potential reemergence of al Qaeda and hold the Taliban to its commitment that al Qaeda will not grow its capabilities.

An Afghan government official texted a response to the news: “Well we now have to charter our own way forward.” The Afghanistan government is concerned about the withdrawal of U.S. troops; Afghan National Security Adviser Hamdullah Mohib predicts civil war will ensue.

The Biden administration has had to contend with a May 1 deadline negotiated by the Trump administration with the Taliban last year in a deal that called for a reduction of violence. The deadline of September 11, according to the official, is not “conditions-based.”

The Taliban has threatened to harm U.S. troops if there is a break from the May 1 deadline. The official said the Taliban knows any violence against U.S. forces will prompt “a forceful response.”

The U.S. has been consulting with NATO allies and will coordinate the withdrawal of NATO forces within the U.S. timeframe. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are traveling to Brussels on Wednesday.

The Biden administration is still pushing for the diplomatic process to find a political settlement between the Taliban and the Afghan government. The next peace negotiations will take place in Istanbul later this month, and the senior administration official said the Biden administration is committed to ensuring that women are both participating in the talks as well as the government.

The Washington Post first reported the president’s plans.

Some Republicans were vocal in their criticism. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a speech on the Senate floor that Mr. Biden was making a “grave mistake.”

“Precipitously withdrawing U.S. forces from Afghanistan is a grave mistake. It is retreat in the face of an enemy that has not yet been vanquished and abdication of American leadership,” McConnell said.

GOP Senator Jim Inhofe called Mr. Biden’s decision “outrageous,” and Senator Joni Ernst said that it was “concerning.”

“I think a random withdrawal just because you’re celebrating an anniversary is not the right decision,” Ernst said.

Republican Congressman Michael McCaul, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said that he was “shocked and extremely concerned” by reports of Mr. Biden’s decision.

“This premature withdrawal shows a complete disregard for the realities on the ground and will not only put Afghans at risk but endanger the lives of U.S. citizens at home and abroad. I have urgently requested details on this decision and strongly urge the president to reconsider,” McCaul said in a statement. The congressman had previously pushed back against the Trump administration’s decision to slash the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Some Democrats, too, responded to the news of the withdrawal with some skepticism. Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters on Tuesday that he wants “to hear the administration’s rationale” for pulling out of Afghanistan.

“I just am concerned that after so much blood and national treasure that we don’t lose what we were seeking to achieve,” Menendez said. He added that he will “certainly will not be supportive of any assistance to Afghanistan if there is backsliding on civil society [and] the rights that women have achieved.”

“If the Taliban ultimately doesn’t keep its obligations, then there will be consequences and one of them will be that there will be no money flowing. So I don’t know how they will rebuild the country,” Menendez said.

Democratic Senator Jack Reed expressed unease over the decision, saying that the U.S. must “maintain a presence for regional stability.”

“This should be seen as transitional, not as closure,” Reed said.

But other lawmakers welcomed the news. Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said in a statement that Mr. Biden was making “the brave and right decision.”

“We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to every U.S. and coalition service member who has served in Afghanistan since 2001, and we will never forget the over 2,300 U.S. service members who gave their lives there. We also remember the over 100,000 Afghan civilians who have been killed in this war,” Sanders said. “The United States must remain committed to diplomatic, economic, and humanitarian support for Afghanistan even as we bring this military intervention to an end.”

Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna also praised the decision.

“I applaud President Biden for achieving an impossibility here in Washington: ending a forever war. It is an act of extraordinary political courage and vision. After 20 years, thousands of lives lost, and trillions of dollars spent, we are finally bringing home our troops from Afghanistan. President Biden campaigned on this popular policy and is now delivering on that promise,” Khanna said.

The U.S. launched its operation in Afghanistan in October of 2001. The engagement in Afghanistan is the longest conflict in American history.

Margaret Brennan contributed to this report.

The post Biden to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan by 9/11 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Former President Trump slams Biden for migrant surge: ‘They’re destroying our country’

Talia Kaplan | Fox News — Tue, 23 Mar 2021 09:35:57 +0000

Trump tells Harris Faulkner that Biden is Bernie Sanders ‘on steroids’.

Former President Trump ripped President Joe Biden and his administration over the migrant surge at the U.S. border during an exclusive interview on “The Faulkner Focus” on Monday, arguing that the Biden administration is “destroying our country.”

He also said that Democrats are bringing violence from other countries into the U.S.

“You have a lot of bad people coming into our country and they’re [the Biden administration] is doing nothing about it,” Trump said, noting that murderers and sex traffickers are among those currently entering the U.S.

“It’s crazy,” Trump added.

The former president said he is speaking out about the situation at the border because he wants “to do what’s right.”

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas has claimed that the number of people looking to enter the U.S. at the southern border could be the highest in 20 years, but in an interview with “Fox News Sunday” he claimed that this is because of the Trump administration’s actions, not policy changes that took place in the early days of President Biden’s administration.

Biden has scrapped a number of Trump’s policies which included having asylum seekers remain in Mexico instead of staying in the U.S. while they wait for their cases to be heard. Mayorkas denied that Biden’s changes have encouraged the current migrant surge.

“What we are seeing is the result of President Trump’s dismantlement of the safe and orderly immigration processes that were built over many, many years by presidents of both parties,” Mayorkas said. “That’s what we are seeing, and that’s why it’s taking time for us to execute our plans to administer the humanitarian claims of vulnerable children. That’s what this is about.”

Addressing the elimination of the remain in Mexico policy, Mayorkas said the Biden administration has replaced this “with a safe and orderly triage system working with our partners in Mexico and humanitarian organizations in the international space and we are not expelling vulnerable children.”

The secretary also defended Biden’s elimination of Trump’s “safe third country” agreements, which required migrants to seek asylum in another country first if they were passing through a safe country on their way to the U.S. He claimed that “there’s nothing safe about” sending people back “to the very countries from which they are fleeing persecution.”

Mayorkas also asserted that the Biden administration has been sending a message discouraging children from trying to enter the U.S. right now “because we are rebuilding orderly processes for them as well, as the country always had until the prior administration.”

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT REPORTS COVID OUTBREAK, NO ‘USEABLE RUNNING WATER’ AT MIGRANT HOLDING FACILITY

Despite that message, however, data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shows that the numbers of migrants have gone up tremendously since Biden took office and changed immigration policies.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is encountering an average of 565 child migrants per day, up from 313 last month. In 2019, border agents encountered 76,020 unaccompanied children for an average of just over 208 per day. While families and single adults can still be expelled under Tile 42, a Trump-era coronavirus health order, no children will be expelled from the U.S.

Over the weekend, Trump slammed Mayorkas and his “pathetic” and “clueless performance” on the Sunday news programs, calling it a “national disgrace.”

“We proudly handed the Biden Administration the most secure border in history,” Trump wrote in a statement on Sunday. “All they had to do was keep this smooth-running system on autopilot.”

“Instead, in the span of a just few weeks, the Biden Administration has turned a national triumph into a national disaster. They are in way over their heads and taking on water fast.”

Trump added that Mayorkas’ “self-satisfied presentation—in the middle of the massive crisis he helped engineer—is yet more proof he is incapable of leading DHS.”

“Even someone of Mayorkas’ limited abilities should understand that if you provide Catch-and-Release to the world’s illegal aliens then the whole world will come,” he continued.

“Furthermore, the Mayorkas Gag Order on our Nation’s heroic border agents and ICE officers should be the subject of an immediate congressional investigation. But it’s clear they are engaged in a huge cover-up to hide just how bad things truly are.”

“The only way to end the Biden Border Crisis is for them to admit their total failure and adopt the profoundly effective, proven Trump policies,” he concluded.

While the Biden administration has maintained a message that now is “not the time” to come to the U.S. border, the White House still insists the overwhelming surge is not a “crisis.”

On Monday, Trump also said he “never thought Biden would be far worse” than self-proclaimed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., adding that the current president is “Bernie Sanders on steroids.”

He also warned that “you haven’t seen anything yet.”

“You are going to see packing the courts. You are going to see the biggest tax increase in history. You’re going to see the Second Amendment just absolutely obliterated. You’re going to see many other things. The Green New Deal will be put into effect,” Trump said.

Trump noted that there is no transparency from the current administration regarding the situation at the border.

Some members of the media, including from left-wing CNN, have called out the Biden administration for denying them access to what many believe to be a crisis of the administration’s own doing.

Trump said he thinks the situation at the border is “only going to get worse.”

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A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

A spokesperson with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment either.

Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report.

Talia Kaplan is a reporter for FoxNews.com. Follow her on Twitter @taliakaplan

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-slams-biden-border-crisis-migrant-surge-destroying-country

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AOC, Sanders, and Blumenauer press Biden to declare a ‘climate emergency’

Shannon Osaka — Fri, 05 Feb 2021 16:19:51 +0000

In his first 15 days in office, President Joe Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, pledged to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies from the federal government, and started the process of unwinding Trump’s disastrous environmental legacy. And now a trio of Democratic lawmakers wants Biden to declare a “climate emergency” as soon as possible.

Representative Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, along with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, introduced legislation on Thursday that would require Biden make such a declaration. The bill compares the action needed on the climate crisis to the wartime mobilization during World War II and urges Biden to declare an emergency under the National Emergencies Act, thus unlocking more than 100 additional presidential powers to tackle the crisis. “It’s past time that a climate emergency is declared,” Blumenauer said in a statement. “This bill can finally get it done.”

The proposed legislation follows a statement last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who urged Biden to declare an emergency to bypass Republican heel-dragging in Congress. “If there ever was an emergency, climate change is one,” Schumer said.

The U.S. wouldn’t be the first country to call climate change a crisis. To date, 38 countries around the world — including Japan, New Zealand, and the European Union — have declared similar “climate emergencies.” But most of those declarations have been symbolic resolutions, and so haven’t come with any additional tools to address the overheating planet.

In the U.S., however, the National Emergencies Act could give Biden real powers: The president could use the declaration to reinstitute a ban on crude oil exports, send emergency aid packages to states, or even redirect billions of dollars of funding away from defense projects and toward the production of renewable energy. President Trump tried to use the act in 2019 to funnel money from the Pentagon to his project to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, but was rebuffed by the courts and Congress.

These would be big, sweeping actions, but they also might upset Republican members of Congress, who are already criticizing Biden’s spree of executive orders as presidential overreach and whose support Biden might need to tackle some of his other legislative goals. Some have also argued that, even when done with the best of intentions, declaring a national emergency serves as an end-run around the democratic process.

The bill looks like a long shot at the moment, given both the narrow Democratic majority in the Senate and the fact that its only purpose is to encourage Biden to use his presidential powers. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez introduced a similar resolution in 2019 that won support from many senators and representatives but never came up to a vote in the Democratic-controlled House. Still, the new bill may serve as a potent symbol — a sign that there is growing pressure on Biden to act swiftly on climate change, whether Republicans like it or not.

Source: https://grist.org/politics/in-a-new-bill-sanders-and-aoc-press-biden-to-declare-a-climate-emergency/

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Nikki Haley: ‘Biden will be left of Obama’

Eitan Divinsky — Sun, 17 Jan 2021 02:12:09 +0000

Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley calls 2nd Impeachment a ‘waste of time,’ warns of Biden admin’s appeasement of Iran, China.

Donald Trump with Nikki Haley – Reuters

After former UN Ambassador and governor of North Carolina, Nikki Haley, chided Democrats for attempting to impeach President Trump, calling the move a “waste of time,” and said people needed to calm down in order to allow the incoming administration to assert itself and deal with real threats presented by international human rights violators like China, Russia, and Iran, she attacked President-elect Biden on his economic policies.

In a series of tweets targeting the Democrats’ agenda of “free giveaways” and a move away from America’s capitalist values, Haley accused Biden of placing excessive financial burden on American taxpayers while channeling their money to groups and individuals who hadn’t earned it.

“Biden released details on a $1.9T spending bill (on top of $3.5 trillion Congress [has] already spent) that includes $1,400 government checks regardless of employment status, giveaways for state and local government, and unemployment benefits regardless of how the economy or workers are doing,” tweeted Haley

“Time to face the harsh reality, socialist Bernie Sanders will become the chairman of the Sen Budget Committee. He has vowed to use his position to enact his progressive agenda on healthcare, climate, infrastructure spending, & cutting defense spending.”

Haley referred to a USA Today story about a student-run grocery store in a small Texas town. The article claims a school principal who initiated the project as saying that “About 43% of students in the Sanger Independent School District are considered economically disadvantaged. About 2,750 students are enrolled in the school district, 3.6 percent of whom are considered homeless.”

The idea behind the project is that it allows students to use “points” to purchase real-life items based on family size, with points “replenished” on a weekly basis.

“A Texas school district opened a free grocery store to help disadvantaged students. The student-run store allows students to “buy” essentials without money. “If we can make our food pantries look like a grocery store…we can keep dignity in people,” Haley tweeted regarding the article.

“Biden’s plan to double the federal minimum wage would kill between 1.3 and 3.7 million jobs and burden small businesses that are already struggling. We need to remember that government spending isn’t ‘free.’ Ultimately, taxpayers will be called upon to foot the bill,” she added.

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/295017

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McConnell said checks were ‘linked’ with other Trump priorities

Tyler Olson | Fox News — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 11:22:52 +0000

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that the Senate will address President Trump’s request to increase stimulus checks sent to Americans to $2,000, but did not commit to pushing the issue as he blocked attempts by Sen. Bernie Sanders and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to put the House bill on $2,000 stimulus checks up for quick consideration.

That led Trump to launch a Twitter broadside against Senate Republicans, warning them that if they don’t have a “death wish” they’ll back the boosted checks.

Schumer’s request would have passed the stimulus checks Tuesday afternoon. Sanders’ request would have set a vote on the bill for stimulus checks Wednesday afternoon.

Jason Donner@jason_donner

Sen. Mitch McConnell objected to Sen. Schumer asking the Senate to pass by unanimous consent the $2000 direct payments bill that the House passed last night by 2/3 bipartisan vote.

Speaking on the Senate floor, McConnell acknowledged that Trump “would like further direct financial support for American households.” He also mentioned that Trump wants Congress to address Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which provides protections for companies that host third-party content on their platforms — like Facebook and Twitter — and that Trump wants Congress to look into election security.

130 HOUSE REPUBLICANS, 2 DEMOCRATS VOTE AGAINST $2,000 STIMULUS CHECKS

“Those are the three important subjects the president has linked together,” McConnell said. “This week the Senate will begin a process to bring these three priorities into focus.”

Notably, McConnell did not promise action on the $2,000 stimulus checks. Whether the Senate even gets to a cloture vote — a vote to end debate and proceed to a final vote — on the stimulus checks will be up to McConnell. He controls Senate floor action.

If Trump gets his way, McConnell will bring the checks up for a vote.

Donald J. Trump@realDonaldTrump

Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP. $600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough!

The Washington Post@washingtonpost

McConnell blocks Senate Democrats’ initial attempt to approve $2,000 stimulus checks amid growing pressure on GOP leader to act washingtonpost.com/powerpost/stim

“Unless Republicans have a death wish, and it is also the right thing to do, they must approve the $2000 payments ASAP,” Trump tweeted Tuesday. “$600 IS NOT ENOUGH! Also, get rid of Section 230 – Don’t let Big Tech steal our Country, and don’t let the Democrats steal the Presidential Election. Get tough!”

Sanders then objected to McConnell’s attempt to quickly move to a vote to override Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

STIMULUS CHECKS ROUND 2: WHAT TO EXPECT

“There are only a few days left in this session,” Schumer said, urging the Senate to prioritize relief checks. “We should not adjourn until the Senate holds a vote on both measures: the NDAA veto override and the House bill to provide $2,000 checks for the American people.”

As of Tuesday afternoon, Sens. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga.; David Perdue, R-Ga.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; and Marco Rubio, R.-Fla., have backed the House legislation for $2,000 stimulus checks, which passed with more than a two-thirds majority Monday.

Jason Donner@jason_donner

Bernie Sanders on Senate Floor regarding $2000 direct payment checks says “working families need help now” and a 2/3 bipartisan vote in the House “did the right thing” and “now time for the senate to step up to the plate.”

Seven more Senate Republicans would need to come out in support of the checks in order to break a filibuster on a cloture vote and set the issue for an up-or-down vote.

Sanders’ objection to McConnell’s attempt to quickly consider the NDAA veto led McConnell to schedule a vote on a motion to proceed on the veto override for Wednesday afternoon. McConnell could file cloture to end debate on the override Wednesday night, which would allow the Senate to take up that cloture vote on Jan. 1.

This tees up a potential vote on the actual veto override for Saturday, Jan. 2.

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That puts Congress on a tight timeline on both the veto override and the stimulus checks. The current Congress must adjourn by Jan. 3.

Fox News’ Jason Donner contributed to this report.

Source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mcconnell-blocks-2000-stimulus-checks-quick-vote

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Trump: I Want $2,000 Stimulus Checks

Zack Friedman — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 09:23:32 +0000

President Donald Trump wants $2,000 stimulus checks. (Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images) – GETTY IMAGES

President Donald Trump wants you to get a $2,000 stimulus check.

Here’s what you need to know.

Stimulus Checks

In a speech today from The White House, Trump said he wants $2,000 stimulus checks in the new stimulus package, or he may veto the legislation. In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Congress already passed a stimulus package that includes stimulus checks of $600 for each individual and $1,200 for each capital. Calling these stimulus checks “ridiculously low,” Trump now wants Congress to scrap $600 stimulus checks and instead approve $2,000 stimulus checks.

Here are 3 ways your stimulus check may be impacted, given Trump’s statements:

1. You may get a $2,000 stimulus check?

If Trump threatens to veto the stimulus package, Congress has no choice but to seriously consider his statements or face a veto. This means either Congress changes the amount of the second stimulus check (at least higher than $600), or the stimulus package may not become law. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) responded to Trump and said she supports a one-time, $2,000 stimulus check. That said, it doesn’t mean that Congress will now approve a $2,000 stimulus check. While Congress could consider a $2,000 stimulus check, it’s unlikely that Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), would more than triple the amount of the $600 stimulus check that was approved. Fiscal conservatives in the U.S. Senate won’t support a $2,000 stimulus check, and previously, they have opposed a $ 1,200-second stimulus check. If history is a guide, Congress approved a $1,200 stimulus check as part of the Cares Act—the $2.2 trillion stimulus package. Similarly, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposed a $1,200 stimulus check as part of a bipartisan plan in this second stimulus package, but their calls went unanswered. With Trump’s proposal, Congress could reconsider the Hawley-Sanders stimulus check proposal, or increase to meet the $2,000 stimulus check proposal.

2. Your stimulus check may be delayed

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said your stimulus check could be in your bank account in a week. If Congress has to reconsider the amount of the second stimulus check, then your stimulus check may be delayed. It’s unclear how long Congress would need to debate and vote on any new legislation. Since Congress passed the current legislation with a $600 stimulus check, Congress would need to consider new legislation since the current, already-passed legislation can’t be amended. This could delay your stimulus check even further if members of Congress oppose increasing the amount of the second stimulus check, and Congress still wants to pass a comprehensive stimulus package with stimulus checks. That said, Congress could pass legislation to fund the federal government now, and defer a stimulus package with stimulus checks if Congress cannot agree. In either event, if Congress prolongs a debate over the size of the stimulus check, expect delays.

3. Your stimulus check may not happen

This is lower likelihood, but this last-minute veto threat from the president could cause Congress and the White House to reach a stalemate. If the president will veto any legislation without a $2,000 stimulus check, and Congress is unwilling to approve a higher stimulus check, then you may not get a stimulus check—at least now. If Congress and the president don’t agree on a revised stimulus package, then Congress could wait until the next congressional term to reconsider. Deferring stimulus checks again could mean a stimulus check next year (with the amount to be determined), or no stimulus check at all. It’s also worth noting how this latest development could impact the runoff elections in Georgia for the U.S. Senate. Voters are watching, and the outcome of the stimulus package saga could impact who wins the elections, and ultimately, power in Congress. This latest stimulus update could help Republican candidates in Georgia if moderate Republican and independent voters are grateful to the president for fighting for more financial relief. That said, fiscal conservatives oppose further government spending, and likely wouldn’t want the Republican candidates to support a $2,000 stimulus check. Similarly, if Congress and the president can’t agree on the size of the second stimulus check, then voters may not like the gridlock in Washington and resulting in delayed financial relief.

Zack Friedman

Zack Friedman is the bestselling author of the blockbuster book, THE LEMONADE LIFE. Apple named The Lemonade Life one of “Fall’s Biggest Audiobooks” and a “Must-Listen.” Zack is the Founder & CEO of Make Lemonade (www.makelemonade.co), a leading online personal finance company that empowers you to live a better financial life. He is an in-demand speaker and has inspired millions through his powerful insights, including more than 150 million people who have read his advice. Previously, he was a chief financial officer, a hedge fund investor, and worked at Blackstone, Morgan Stanley, and the White House. Zack holds degrees from Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, and Johns Hopkins.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2020/12/22/trump-i-want-2000-stimulus-checks/?sh=46dac0342e06

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As Israelis give up on peace deal, Democrats’ ‘solution’ would destroy Jewish state

Mahmoud Hakamian — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 17:55:31 +0000

View of gathering halls in Ashraf 3 during Free Iran Global Summit with Maryam Rajavi – Ashraf 3, July 17, 2020.

On Friday, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and the MEK held its annual “Free Iran” gathering. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “Free Iran Global Summit” was held online, connecting over 30,000 locations from above 100 countries around the globe. Nearly 1,000 renowned politicians participated in this conference reiterating their support of the Iranian people and their organized resistance movement.

Local gatherings were held in compliance with public health protocols in each of 102 countries, and many of these featured speeches not only from Iranian dissidents but also from political supporters representing a wide range of political parties and professional backgrounds.

In New York, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke in support of the NCRI, as former Senators Joseph Lieberman and Robert Torricelli, as well as former Attorney General Michael Mukasey. Even on their own, these four men represent the ideological diversity of the Americans who have come to view the NCRI as a viable alternative for the existing regime. But they are only four out of dozens of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who attended NCRI’s Free Iran Global Summit.

As the Iranian regime grapples with a domestic and international crisis, the Iranian Resistance and its goal of regime change in Iran have been receiving international support. The crisis-ridden regime has been desperately pursuing a demonization campaign of the Iranian Resistance to discredit its viable alternative.

The regime’s commitment to this disinformation scheme, as well as its various attacks and attempted attacks on NCRI assets throughout the world, confirms that the Resistance poses an existential threat to Iran’s theocratic dictatorship. In a tweet confirming his participation in Friday’s summit, Rudy Giuliani highlighted this perception by saying, “There are real possibilities for a free and non-nuclear Iran.”

The prospect of freedom for the Iranian people should be a prominent motivator for all politicians and all governments that truly value democracy and human rights. But of course, concerns over Iran’s potential nuclear capability have dominated headlines to a much greater extent in recent years. This is especially true in light of last month’s statement by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors, which demanded that Iran return to full compliance with restrictions imposed on its nuclear activities in 2016.

The future of the underlying nuclear agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is very much up in the air. But ever since it was signed, the NCRI has maintained the position that no such agreement could be expected to truly prevent the mullahs’ regime from continuing its pursuit of a nuclear bomb. The past several year’s summer gatherings have made it clear that the solution to this problem, like the solution to most of Iran’s domestic problems, can only be found in the wake of regime change.

However, the western governments have prioritized their short-time economic interests over once and for all end the Iranian regime’s threats by recognizing the Iranian people’s right to resistance and overthrow of this regime. The Free Iran Global Summit on Friday confirmed that the regime has only grown more belligerent since the conclusion of the nuclear deal, and especially in recent months. Its systematic and complete violations of the imposed restrictions are definitive proof of its unshakeable commitment to the nuclear project.

If “maximum pressure” over this issue was not enough to force reconsideration, the additional challenges of the coronavirus pandemic should have been. But even now that the outbreak has reportedly claimed over 70,000 Iranian lives, Tehran remains unwilling to redirect money away from confrontational projects and toward the vital needs of the domestic population. In other words, the regime prioritizes its illicit activities over the Iranian people’s lives.

The western governments should end the appeasement policy to end the Iranian regime’s ongoing malign activities. Meanwhile, the Iranian Resistance has been insisting on a non-nuclear and a secular government in Iran. In 2018, NCRI President-elect, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi told lawmakers in Washington, “We want a non-nuclear Iran, free of weapons of mass destruction.” And in fact, this is one item on Mrs. Rajavi’s longstanding “10-point plan” for Iran’s future in the wake of the mullahs’ overthrow.

The rest of that plan includes all of the principles, such as free elections and separation of religion from the state, that make up the unifying character of modern democracies. Americans and Europeans should have no difficulty supporting such a cause, especially if its advocates are genuinely capable of leading the ouster of the current establishment and erecting a new government in its place. The Free Iran Global Summit demonstrated that capability, in part by highlighting the protests that have challenged the clerical regime in the name of the democratic Resistance.

Since the end of 2017, Iran has undergone three nationwide uprisings. As a result, leading Iranian regime’s officials have begun speaking out over the threat posed by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), whose social influence they had simply denied for the preceding 30 years. If the Iranian people’s right to resistance be recognized by Western policymakers, those officials’ statements could lead to the next great leap forward in international awareness of the “real possibilities” for an Iranian government that not only eschews weapons of mass destruction but also affords its own people the freedoms they have been denied throughout the nation’s modern history.

Too many past opportunities were squandered amidst the appeasement policy toward the Iranian regime. The Iranian regime is riddled with crisis, the Iranian people have shown their willingness to overthrow this regime. The Free Iran Global Summit showed there is a viable alternative to the Iranian regime.

Now is the time to ramp up that pressure on the regime even further. And there is no better first step toward maximum pressure than formal recognition of the Iranian people’s right to fight back against the tyranny of the mullahs’ regime.

Source: https://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/iran-resistance/iran-growing-support-for-the-mek-and-ncri-poses-an-existential-threat-to-the-clerical-regime/

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As Israelis give up on peace deal, Democrats’ ‘solution’ would destroy Jewish state

Post Editorial Board - New York Post — Sun, 19 Jul 2020 04:50:39 +0000

A Palestinian protester throws stones at Israeli soldiers during a protest in the West Bank city of Hebron.

As Israelis increasingly write off the chances of a peace deal with Palestinian Arabs any time in the foreseeable future, the US Democratic Party is increasingly in thrall to a fantasy “solution” that would destroy the Jewish state.

Top Democratic Mideast-policy people like Obama-era National Security Council officials Ben Rhodes and Robert Malley — the folks likely to set the agenda for a Joe Biden administration — actually praised writer Peter Beinart’s outrageous call last week to strip Israel of its status as a Jewish nation in order to (theoretically, at least) make it a “home” for Palestinians and Jews alike, as Jonathan Tobin noted in these pages.

It’s certainly true that Palestinian leaders have turned down countless proposals for a “two-state solution,” but that hardly justifies any hope that they’d live peacefully with Israelis in a unified state — not after decades of propaganda about the inherent evil of the Jews.

Israelis have grown deeply skeptical (and weary) of efforts to find a viable peace deal. That’s a key reason why the Labor party has collapsed. Indeed, the fact that voters last March overwhelmingly backed coalitions headed by a security hawk, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and a centrist, Benny Gantz, shows that voters there have little hope that any genuine agreement is possible for now.

Yet for Jews all over, it’s hard to imagine a greater blow than what would be, in effect, the destruction of modern-day Israel, a nation set up to protect them after the Holocaust and after centuries of anti-Semitic persecution across the world.il

With no military force of their own under a “one-state solution,” and birth rates that would soon make Arabs the clear majority, Jews would be back to their pre-Nazi days, politically.

That fits fine with the dreams of a rising Democratic faction of young Israel-haters and anti-Semites, like Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) is also part of the group. She and a dozen fellow Dems last month called for restrictions on US military aid to Israel if it annexes areas of the West Bank. Folks can disagree about such plans, but restricting aid should be a bipartisan nonstarter, given the threats Israel faces and its importance as a US ally.

New York Democratic voters ousted staunch Israel-backer Rep. Eliot Engel last month in favor of AOC-backed Jamaal Bowman, whose pro-Israel bona fides are dubious, at best.

Hostility toward Israel isn’t new among Democrats. At their 2012 convention, the floor booed the idea of recognizing the reality that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. In 2016, they fought over Palestinian rights, with Sen. Bernie Sanders leading the anti-Israel charge.

But the hostility has grown, as top presidential contenders boycotted the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference and threatened to use aid to pressure Israel.

Biden, meanwhile, was part of the team that forged an Iran nuclear deal that put Israel’s very existence at risk. If he wins in November, he’ll likely undo all President Trump’s pro-Israel steps.

What’s most notable, though, is that US Democrats aren’t just parting with US Republicans — but with the people of Israel.

Source: https://nypost.com/2020/07/18/as-israelis-write-off-peace-deal-democrats-plan-may-destroy-jewish-state/

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Venezuela’s sending its gold reserves to Iran: This is where socialism leads

New York Post Staff — Tue, 05 May 2020 17:50:35 +0000

Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro – REUTERS

It’s come to this: Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro is now sending a good chunk of the nation’s gold to Iran in exchange for help propping up the decrepit oil industry.

At least nine tons of gold, worth about $500 million, flew off to Iran last month, government officials told Bloomberg News. That leaves the crisis-plagued nation with a scant $6.2 billion in hard-currency assets, the lowest amount in three decades.

For decades, Venezuela’s oil industry thrived. But under Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, the government took over — and began milking it for fast cash while firing expert workers and managers and slashing spending on maintenance, repairs, and other vital capital investment.

As a result, everything’s breaking down and output has crashed — even as global oil prices have also collapsed during the pandemic, further squeezing revenues.

Because Maduro won’t allow safe private investment, he has to turn to his “allies” in Tehran — except the regime there insists on hard payment for its expertise. No honor among thieves, y’know.

Nor is oil the only industry in collapse: Reliable electricity, health care, and even food are increasingly rare in Venezuela thanks to the Chávez-Maduro regime’s “Bolivarian socialism.”

For years, Sen. Bernie Sanders and lefties around the globe cheered the Chávez-Maduro socialist approach to industry and the economy. But now those economics are forcing Maduro to loot his country’s last reserves to buy help from a pack of theocratic terrorists.

Source: https://nypost.com/2020/05/03/venezuelas-sending-its-gold-reserves-to-iran-where-socialism-leads/

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The post Venezuela’s sending its gold reserves to Iran: This is where socialism leads first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Biden polling against Trump collapses during pandemic

Carlos Garcia — Mon, 13 Apr 2020 06:20:54 +0000

This should be very alarming for Democrats.

A new poll from Fox News shows support for presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden collapsing against that of President Donald Trump during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Fox News poll published Thursday showed that Trump and Biden are now tied with 42% each.

Biden had previously had 9 percentage points greater support than the president in the same polling from two weeks prior, with 49% to 40%, respectively.

Another 16% said they were undecided or would vote for a third-party candidate.

The poll surveyed registered voters between April 4 and April 7 and carried an error margin of +/- 3%.

In November, Biden was beating Trump by 12% in the same polling.

“A global pandemic and Trump’s daily press conferences appear to have revved up Republicans and quieted Democratic voters,” said Republican Daron Shaw, who conducted the Fox News poll.

On Thursday, Biden claimed that the coronavirus pandemic had helped his campaign. The Fox News poll showed that he lost most support from women, and from non-whites. He also appeared to lose some support from those identifying as Democrats.

The primary landscape for Democrats changed drastically in the period after the poll was taken when Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) dropped out of the race and many of his supporters said they would refuse to support the Democratic party.

Source: https://www.theblaze.com/news/biden-collapses-in-new-poll

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The post Biden polling against Trump collapses during pandemic first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.