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196,058 | foreignpolicy--2019-04-01--Britains Crisis Isnt Constitutional Its Political | 2019-04-01T00:00:00 | foreignpolicy | Britain’s Crisis Isn’t Constitutional. It’s Political. | In June 2016, the British people voted in a referendum to leave the European Union by 52 percent to 48 percent. Party leaders declared that they would abide by the outcome. In the 2017 general election, both major parties—the Conservatives and Labour—promised to implement the referendum decision, and in 2018, Parliament passed the European Union Withdrawal Act providing for Brexit on March 29, 2019. It still hasn’t happened though. Remainers dominate Parliament—almost 75 percent of the House of Commons, 80 percent of the House of Lords, and a majority of the cabinet are Remainers. And that arithmetic is the source of Britain’s current political crisis: A Remain Parliament is confronting a Brexit electorate. A supposedly sovereign Parliament is being required to do something that it does not want to do. That is unprecedented in the country’s constitutional history, and it is why Takis Tridimas, a colleague of mine at King’s College London, suggested that the 2016 referendum was the most important constitutional event in Britain since the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. After much difficulty, Prime Minister Theresa May succeeded in securing a deal with Brussels. That deal has two elements. The first is a withdrawal agreement that provides for a transition or implementation period until December 2020. That is an essential gateway to the final relationship to be negotiated with the EU. It is legally binding, and the European Council has confirmed that it cannot be renegotiated. The second element is a political declaration. That, unlike the withdrawal agreement, is not legally binding but lays out a set of aspirations for the negotiators. It points the way to a bespoke free trade and internal market agreement in goods while allowing Britain to negotiate independent trade agreements with other countries. The agreement is perhaps better than Britain had a right to expect. But it has aroused ferocious criticism both from Brexiteers, who argued that it tied Britain too closely to the European Union, and Remainers, who sought either a closer relationship or a further referendum so as to give the people second thoughts. The House of Commons rejected the composite deal twice by some of the largest majorities in British parliamentary history, making it impossible for Parliament to meet the March 29 deadline for withdrawal. The EU then extended the exit date to May 22, just before the European Parliament elections—on the condition that the British government pass a withdrawal deal. But on Friday, the withdrawal agreement alone—severed from the political declaration—was rejected for a third time by 58 votes. For most of Britain’s history, one defeat of that magnitude—let alone three—would be enough to bring down a government. Until 2011, any government defeated on a major policy matter would have had to treat it as a matter of confidence and either resign or seek a dissolution of Parliament. Theresa May could, therefore, have told members of Parliament that if they did not support her, they might face a far-left government led by Labour head Jeremy Corbyn. That might have brought them into line. Prime Minister Edward Heath used that tactic in 1972 to secure passage of the European Communities Act, taking Britain into the European Community, as the EU then was known. By using a threat of dissolution, he brought rebel MPs into line and won the crucial vote by 309-301. But, in 2011, the Fixed-Term Parliaments Act required that a confidence motion could not be attached to any other legislation; it had to be a no-confidence vote and nothing more. Consequently, Britain’s current minority government remains in office but hobbled in its attempt to pass major legislation. As May flounders, MPs have sought to take control by voting on a series of possible alternatives. That procedure is constitutionally dubious for two reasons. First, almost every alternative proposal has public expenditure implications. But the standing orders of the House of Commons require that, as in any parliamentary system, public spending can be authorized only by a minister responsible to Parliament, not by backbenchers. Second, the EU can negotiate only with the government, not with a motley collection of backbenchers. And the government cannot be forced to negotiate an agreement that it does not itself support. If it were to do so, it could not be expected to negotiate with much enthusiasm. That is why Parliament has never in its history negotiated a treaty. So far, the attempt by MPs to take control has not helped. Last week, the House of Commons rejected every single option presented to it. Its stance resembled that of Groucho Marx in the classic Marx Brothers film Horse Feathers, when Groucho, playing Professor Quincy Adams Wagstaff, tells his fellow academics: “I don’t know what they have to say/It makes no difference anyway/Whatever it is, I’m against it.” MPs will vote again this week. The option most likely to achieve majority support is for Britain to remain in a customs union with the EU. But that idea has, so far, been dismissed as unacceptable by May’s government and the vast majority of Conservative MPs since it would prevent Britain from negotiating independent trade deals with other countries and make Brexit, in their view, pointless. Rather than agree to it, May might seek a general election. But even if Britain were to adopt the customs union option, she would still need a withdrawal agreement in order to achieve Brexit on May 22. It is not clear what will happen next. It is possible that May’s thrice-defeated withdrawal agreement could be put to a vote yet again. But if it is not, or if it is again defeated, there are just two alternatives. The first is for Britain to leave the EU without a deal. Although a majority of MPs are opposed to it, that is the legal default position, unless Parliament legislates to alter it, since the withdrawal act remains on the statute book. Even if one rejects the much-discussed terrifying scenarios of food and medicine shortages, there would be an immediate impact in that the EU would be required to treat Britain as it does all nonmember states by immediately imposing tariffs and regulations on British exports. Since Ireland remains a member of the EU, there would be a hard border on the island of Ireland, and this would contravene the spirit of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which has brought peace there. A no-deal Brexit, therefore, is not a happy prospect. It would force many hard-pressed companies into bankruptcy and unemployment. The second alternative is to seek from the EU, by April 12, a longer extension to avoid a no-deal scenario. But the EU is not required to grant Britain’s request. It needs unanimous agreement from all 27 member states; any member state could veto it. They would certainly not be eager to grant a further extension since it would require Britain to participate in the European Parliament elections. The European Charter of Fundamental Rights gives every EU citizen the right to stand and vote in these elections; if May’s government sought to deny this right, it could be sued in the courts. Were Britain to take part in the European Parliament elections, there might well be large gains for Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party, fueled by voters frustrated with the failure of the Conservative government to deliver Brexit. In the 2014 European elections, two years before the Brexit referendum, the UK Independence Party, then led by Farage, won more votes than any other British party. Other member states, already plagued by their own populist parties, would hardly welcome the accession of a British contingent in addition to their own. They might decide they have had enough of British dithering and that no further extension is possible. And if the EU does grant a longer extension, it has declared that it will do so only if the government presents it with a viable alternative strategy. Presumably a request for an extension because Parliament cannot make up its mind would not count. There are three possible strategies. The first is for Parliament to call a general election. “I fear that we are reaching the limits of this process in this House,” May declared on Friday, after her deal was defeated for the third time. But May can’t call an early election herself; that requires either a no-confidence vote in the government or a two-thirds vote by Parliament. In practice, if the government seeks an election, the opposition could hardly declare that it was opposed to one, and a two-thirds majority triggered an early election in 2017. But Conservative MPs are unlikely to vote for it today. In 2017, they were 20 percent ahead in the polls, but the party lost its overall majority resulting in the current hung Parliament. Currently, the Conservatives are trailing Labour in many polls or barely ahead. Another general election is unlikely to break the deadlock because both parties are deeply divided. The Conservatives are divided between those who favor the prime minister’s agreement and those who favor a no-deal Brexit. The latter is particularly strongly represented among the constituency associations whose members would choose the next Tory leader after May’s resignation, which is likely to occur soon. Labour is divided between predominantly middle-class Remainers and predominantly working-class Leavers. Furthermore, it is rarely possible to deduce from the outcome of a general election which issues determined the result. The parties might declare Europe to be the overriding issue. But Labour voters might choose to support the party not because of its European policy but because of concerns about austerity and the National Health Service. And Conservative voters might be voting out of fear of a Corbyn government rather than out of support for May’s Brexit policy. That is why it is so difficult to regard a general election as providing a specific mandate for any particular course of policy. Only a referendum can yield such a mandate. A second strategy would be to hold a second Brexit referendum. But it would take Parliament some time to agree on the enabling legislation. The act providing for the 2016 referendum took seven months to draft and pass. It could take even longer today since there would be disputes about the options to be presented and about who should be entitled to vote. Meanwhile businesses would be in limbo, with investment plans on hold, and jobs at risk. And if a referendum led to a narrow Remain majority with a lower turnout than in 2016, which is a possible outcome, it would lack legitimacy. A third strategy would be to remain in the EU, renegotiate the political declaration so as to achieve a softer form of Brexit with a closer relationship to the EU or even full membership of the customs union and internal market, and then, once again, seek to pass the withdrawal agreement—the essential gateway to the negotiation on the final relationship. But under this strategy, Britain could remain in the EU for a very long time, perhaps even forever, since, whatever the virtues of the EU, speedy negotiation is not one of them. All of these strategies, therefore, put Brexit at risk. As Liam Fox, the pro-Brexit international trade secretary, predicted, the Tory hard-liners—by voting against the prime minister’s deal—may have succeeded in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Some have suggested that Britain faces a constitutional crisis. It does not. It faces a political crisis because MPs will not follow through on the logic of their decisions. Having passed the EU Withdrawal Act, they have consistently rejected the means of implementing it—nor have they been willing to repeal it. So they have willed the end without willing the means. They are, as Winston Churchill characterized the governments of the 1930s, “decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.” | Vernon Bogdanor | https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/04/01/britains-crisis-isnt-constitutional-its-political-brexit-tories-theresa-may-corbyn-customs-union-eu/ | 2019-04-01 19:51:10+00:00 | 1,554,162,670 | 1,567,544,517 | politics | political crisis |
197,589 | foreignpolicy--2019-11-22--Israel’s Political Crisis Deepens | 2019-11-22T00:00:00 | foreignpolicy | Israel’s Political Crisis Deepens | Here is today’s Foreign Policy brief: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on corruption charges, the United States has started sending asylum seekers to Guatemala, and Hong Kong weighs canceling local elections set for Sunday. We welcome your feedback at [email protected]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was indicted on Thursday for bribery, fraud, and breach of trust as part of a long-running corruption investigation. Netanyahu has denounced the charges, but they put his political future in doubt as Israel struggles to break months of political deadlock and potentially faces its third general election within a year. Netanyahu is the first Israeli leader to be indicted in office, and the charges have already created a new challenge for Israel’s government with the prime minister and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit in open conflict. Netanyahu has called the indictment an “attempted coup,” and his critics are likely to petition Israel’s Supreme Court to get him to step down. Can Netanyahu remain in office? Netanyahu can legally remain in office while under indictment and even during a trial. Lawmakers can’t vote to remove him unless he is convicted and loses all appeals—something that could take years. But an October poll showed that a majority of voters, including nearly half of right-wing voters, believed he should resign as head of the Likud party if indicted. What does this mean for Israel’s deadlock? On Wednesday, Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz missed the deadline to form a new government, leaving the task to the rest of Israel’s parliament. If another lawmaker can’t cobble together a coalition over the next three weeks, another election will be called—the third since April. Netanyahu’s indictment only adds to the uncertainty. While he can’t be forced to resign while he holds the position of prime minister, it is possible that he could be challenged as party leader. And even if he manages to negotiate a coalition, the president might not hand Netanyahu the mandate to form a government while under indictment. U.S. sending asylum seekers to Guatemala. The Trump administration has already begun sending asylum seekers to Guatemala under a deal announced in July. While it is set to begin slowly, the first phase is focused on those from Honduras and El Salvador. On Thursday, the first Honduran arrived in Guatemala City on a flight from the United States. The agreement is part of a larger U.S. strategy to restrict access to asylum in the United States—despite the fact that thousands of migrants come from Guatemala. President-elect Alejandro Giammattei says he will review the policy when he takes office in January. Hong Kong scheduled to hold local elections. Hong Kong is set to hold district elections on Sunday, the first since the unrest that has plunged the city into political crisis began in June. If the election goes forward, more than a thousand candidates will contest 452 district council seats. The city government says it is watching the situation to ensure the vote can be held safely. China’s leadership has reportedly pushed the Hong Kong to allow the elections to go forward—even though pro-Beijing politicians may suffer. But a pro-democracy victory at the ballot box could undermine China’s narrative, Dominic Chiu argues in FP. Protests flare in Algeria ahead of vote. Algerians demonstrated in the capital for the second consecutive night on Thursday, demanding a presidential election scheduled for Dec. 12 be canceled unless the old ruling elite stands down. The renewed protests suggest that the activists—who ousted President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April—could hold daily demonstrations over the next few weeks. The army, which wields significant power, is not officially backing any of the five presidential candidates—all former senior officials. The measles outbreak in Congo. Nearly 5,000 people have died in a measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo—twice the number that have from Ebola in the country. The World Health Organization says the measles outbreak is the world’s fastest-spreading epidemic. An emergency vaccination program was launched in September, but experts say that it has only reached half of children. A Russian law targeting journalists. Russia’s lower house of parliament has passed a law that will allow authorities to label individual journalists as foreign agents, subjecting them to government audits. While a 2012 law allows the label to apply to non-governmental organizations, it had not yet targeted the media. The new legislation now heads to the upper house and President Vladimir Putin for approval. Walmart’s footprint in China. Walmart announced on Thursday that it has plans for 500 new stores in China, more than doubling its presence there. The expansion comes despite China’s economic slowdown and its ongoing trade war with the United States. In 2023, China is projected to be the world’s largest market for groceries—a key focus of Walmart’s expansion. FP Event—Join Foreign Policy’s Food Forever Solutions Summit, our inaugural food security event, on Dec. 3 in Washington. We’ll discuss the most pressing issues facing our global food system, including biodiversity, agricultural innovation, and sustainable business models for a changing world. It will conclude with a culinary challenge where top DC chefs will share delicious dishes using unusual ingredients for you to sample. Two metal detectorists in Britain have been found guilty of theft after failing to declare a hoard of Anglo-Saxon treasure they found in 2015 that had been buried for 1,000 years. While some has been recovered, much of the haul—worth 3 million British pounds, or around $3.8 million—has not been accounted for. The pair will be sentenced today. On Saturday, residents of Bougainville—an archipelago in the Solomon Sea—will start voting in an independence referendum, with observers expecting an overwhelming vote in favor of separating from Papua New Guinea. But the path to becoming the world’s newest country could be complex, the Guardian reports. For more from FP, visit foreignpolicy.com, subscribe here, or sign up for our other newsletters. Send your tips, comments, questions, or corrections to [email protected]. | Audrey Wilson | https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/22/israel-political-crisis-deadlock-benjamin-netanyahu-indictment-corruption-election/ | Fri, 22 Nov 2019 11:00:55 +0000 | 1,574,438,455 | 1,574,426,107 | politics | political crisis |
214,283 | france24--2019-01-31--Venezuela frees French journalists arrested while reporting on political crisis | 2019-01-31T00:00:00 | france24 | Venezuela frees French journalists arrested while reporting on political crisis | Yuri Cortez, AFP | Opposition demonstrators take part in a protest against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, called by opposition leader and self-proclaimed "acting president" Juan Guaido, at Altamira square in Caracas on January 30, 2019. Two French journalists arrested in Venezuela while reporting on the political turmoil engulfing President Nicolas Maduro were freed on Thursday, the Quotidien TV show for whom the pair worked said. “Happy to announce that Baptiste des Monstiers and Pierre Caille have been released and will soon be back in Paris,” Quotidien said in a tweet. Venezuelan security agents also detained three foreign journalists a Colombian photographer, Spanish reporter and Colombian TV producer who had been covering the US-backed effort to oust Maduro for the Spanish news agency EFE. The arrests followed the deportation of two Chilean reporters detained Tuesday night near the presidential palace and held for 14 hours before being expelled from the country, Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero said. The reason stated for their arrest was that they had been working in a “security zone ", he said. “This is what dictatorships do. Stomp on freedom of the press,” the minister wrote on Twitter. In recent years, several foreign journalists have been detained or kicked out of the country on grounds that they did not have press passes. Without mentioning the latest arrests, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza said Wednesday that foreign reporters have entered the country without work permits. Accused of election fraud, and overseeing a deep economic collapse that has led millions of Venezuelans to migrate, Maduro is facing the biggest challenge to his rule since replacing Hugo Chavez six years ago. The country’s political crisis intensified this month as national assembly speaker Juan Guaido declared himself interim president. Protests against the Maduro government have left around 40 people dead and 850 have been arrested since they started on January 21, according to UN figures. | FRANCE 24 | https://www.france24.com/en/20190131-venezuela-french-journalists-released-arrested-reporting-political-crisis-maduro-quotidien | 2019-01-31 16:52:29+00:00 | 1,548,971,549 | 1,567,550,165 | politics | political crisis |
216,522 | france24--2019-08-13--Italy senate delays no-confidence vote amid political crisis | 2019-08-13T00:00:00 | france24 | Italy senate delays no-confidence vote amid political crisis | Filippo Monteforte, AFP | A general view of the upper house as the Senate as it meets to set a date for a motion of no confidence in the government, in Rome on August 13, 2019. A rowdy Italian Senate on Tuesday rejected a call by far-right leader Matteo Salvini for a swift no-confidence vote, deciding instead that Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte would address the crisis on August 20. Interior Minister Salvini's anti-migrant League had sought the vote after he pulled the plug on the coalition last week. But a majority of senators from former coalition partners Five Star Movement (M5S) and from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) opposition rejected the motion. Instead, lawmakers approved an M5S-PD motion calling for a debate next week during which Conte would address the Senate on the crisis. Senators were recalled at the height of the holiday season after groupings in the chamber on Monday failed to agree on a timetable for the vote demanded by Salvini. Salvini kicked off Tuesday's debate with a stunning U-turn, offering to back a key parliamentary reform of the M5S which last week he said he could no longer work with. In exchange, the anti-establishment M5S would back his call for swift elections despite Salvini's anti-immigration League party withdrawing from the increasingly acrimonious alliance. While the government is still in place, the Senate decides whether to initiate a no-confidence vote in the 14-month-old administration of Conte, an independent agreed to by deputy prime ministers Salvini and M5S leader Luigi Di Maio last year. After little support emerged for his call for a no-confidence motion in the Senate, Salvini on Tuesday offered to support the M5S's reform that would slash the number of lawmakers from 950 to 605. "Let's vote the cut of 345 parliamentarians and then let's hold an election immediately," Salvini announced during the noisy Senate session. The M5S, PD and other parties have been holding talks on a transitional government to pass the parliamentary reform and next year's budget to avoid an automatic rise in VAT which would hit the least well-off the hardest. Salvini had wanted a vote on Conte as early as Wednesday and for elections to follow in October to capitalise on opinion polls suggesting the League could garner 36-38 percent of votes. Populist leader Salvini effectively ended the ruling alliance on Thursday, saying afterwards he had had enough of working with the M5S and what he said was its refusal to collaborate on key issues. The two parties have seen a stunning reversal of fortunes since forming a government after the M5S won more than 32 percent of votes and the League 17 percent in 2018. The social media-loving Salvini has been burnishing his "man of the people" image through a series of beach selfies in swimming trunks in recent days, seeking to build on the League's strong showing in May's European Parliament elections when the party won 34 percent of the vote, twice that of the M5S. Matteo Renzi, who was PD premier from 2014-16, warned on Tuesday that snap elections would be a disaster and plunge Italy into recession, also promising to unite his supporters with those of PD secretary Zingaretti. "The secretariat of my party has asked that there be unity... I believe that they are understandable requests and absolutely to be accepted," he said. "Lawmakers must today say that Salvini is in the minority," Renzi said shortly before the debate, suggesting that even League leaders were surprised at how the crisis has unfolded negatively for them. "We have the chance to turn the page," Renzi said, extending a hand to the M5S for a new coalition. Both the PD and M5S are divided on whether to form an improvised alliance with each other, something the PD refused to do after last May's elections, prompting the unwieldy M5S-League alliance. Di Maio on Monday said "no one wants to sit at the table with Renzi." Salvini is also seeking allies, both in the Senate and for possible elections, in the form of former premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia and the post-fascist Brothers of Italy of Giorgia Meloni. While those two parties might each win six to eight percent of votes in an election, they will not be able to provide enough support in the Senate. | NEWS WIRES | https://www.france24.com/en/20190813-italy-no-confidence-vote-motion-senate-government-conte-salvini-di-maio-league | 2019-08-13 19:06:43+00:00 | 1,565,737,603 | 1,567,534,305 | politics | political crisis |
216,537 | france24--2019-08-14--Italy marks Genoa bridge disaster in shadow of political crisis | 2019-08-14T00:00:00 | france24 | Italy marks Genoa bridge disaster in shadow of political crisis | Valery Hache, AFP | Vehicles stopped on the bridge of Genoa, the day after its collapse, August 15, 2018. Italy on Wednesday marked a year since the Genoa motorway bridge collapse that killed 43 people, as the country grapples with a political crisis sparked by far-right leader Matteo Salvini. A mass took place in a warehouse near the spot where a section of the Morandi highway fell during heavy rain on August 14, 2018, hurling dozens of cars and several trucks onto railway tracks below. Rubble and mangled steel still lie strewn across the site. The bridge's two remaining towers were demolished in a giant blast in June to make way for a new structure. The mass, celebrated by Genoa archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, began with the reading out of the names of each of the 43 victims, watched by hundreds of their loved ones. Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and representatives of the victims' families were scheduled to speak. The city's church bells will ring and port sirens wail after the minute's silence at 11:36 am (0936 GMT), the exact moment the bridge collapsed last year. The anniversary comes as Italy faces the potential downfall of its government after Interior Minister Salvini of the League party pulled the plug on his populist alliance with the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) last week. In addition to Conte and President Sergio Mattarella, all the key players involved in Rome's political drama attended Wednesday's ceremony, including Salvini, his former coalition partner and M5S head Luigi di Maio. The ceremony comes a day after the Senate rejected Salvini's call for a swift no-confidence vote, deciding instead that Prime Minister Conte would address the crisis on August 20. Senators were recalled at the height of the holiday season after political groups on Monday failed to agree on a timetable for the ballot demanded by Salvini. Officials in Genoa expressed concern that the power struggle could hamper the progress of the new bridge, due to be completed early next year. "I hope that this government crisis won't cause delays to the completing this important infrastructure," district mayor Federico Romeo told AFP of the crucial transport artery. The new steel and concrete motorway bridge, designed by Italian architect and Genoa native Renzo Piano, is scheduled to be open for traffic in April 2020. The streamlined and luminous white bridge will represent "three ships that rise to the sky and unite to form a single structure more than a kilometre long," Piano told Wednesday's edition of the newspaper La Repubblica. He had said last year he hoped the bridge "will last for a thousand years". A legal battle is still raging over who is responsible for the disaster. Autostrade per l'Italia (ASPI), the Benetton family-owned business which operated the motorway is defending itself against victims' families and politicians, mainly from the M5S, who say the company put profit over safety. The Morandi bridge, named after the architect who designed it in the 1960s, "collapsed because it could no longer stand," Genoa prosecutor Francesco Cozzi said recently. A total of 71 people are accused in the legal case, from managers in two Benetton companies to civil servants, involving more than 100 lawyers, 120 experts, 75 witnesses and tonnes of documents and other evidence. The fallout from the bridge collapse was one of many points of disagreement between Salvini's League and Di Maio's M5S. The M5S wanted ASPI's concessions to be immediately taken away, while the League, which is close to northern Italy's industrial sector, remained more circumspect on attributing blame. | NEWS WIRES | https://www.france24.com/en/20190814-italy-genoa-bridge-collapse-one-year-later | 2019-08-14 08:17:02+00:00 | 1,565,785,022 | 1,567,534,231 | politics | political crisis |
217,162 | france24--2019-10-05--Iraq faces political crisis as dozens killed in days of protests | 2019-10-05T00:00:00 | france24 | Iraq faces political crisis as dozens killed in days of protests | Ahmad al-Rubaye, AFP | Iraqi protesters flee from security forces during a demonstration against state corruption, failing public services and unemployment, in the Iraqi capital Baghdad's central Khellani Square on October 4, 2019. Renewed protests took place under live fire in Iraq's capital and the country's south Saturday as the government struggled to agree a response to days of rallies that have left nearly 100 dead. The largely spontaneous gatherings of demonstrators -- whose demands have evolved since they began on Tuesday from employment and better services to fundamental government change -- have swelled despite an internet blackout and overtures by the country's elite. Among the 94 dead across the country since Tuesday, 55 were killed in Baghdad while 250 others in the capital were treated for sniper wounds, the Iraqi parliament's human rights commission said. Nearly 4,000 people have been wounded since the protests began in Baghdad and spread to cities across the south, it added. On Saturday, dozens gathered around the oil ministry in central Baghdad, facing live rounds fired in their direction, an AFP photographer said. Thousands also descended on the governorate buildings in the southern cities of Diwaniyah -- where gunfire was unleashed into the air -- and in Nasiriyah, AFP correspondents said. A curfew in Baghdad had been lifted on Saturday morning. Parliament had been due to meet at 1:00 pm (1000 GMT) but could not reach quorum, after firebrand cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc of 54 lawmakers and other factions boycotted the session. The former militia leader threw his weight behind the demonstrations on Friday with a call for the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi. Sadr's movement has the power and organisation to bring large numbers of supporters onto the streets, but at the risk of alienating many of those whose protests in recent days have been based on rejecting all of Iraq's feuding political factions. Parliamentary speaker Mohammad al-Halbusi had extended a hand to protesters saying "Your voice is being heard", and he had been hoping to discuss job creation and social welfare schemes with lawmakers in the session. But the mainly young, male protesters have insisted their movement is not linked to any party or religious establishment and have scoffed at the recent overtures by politicians. "These men don't represent us. We don't want parties anymore. We don't want anyone to speak in our name," said one protester late Friday. Abu Salah, a 70-year-old resident of Baghdad with wispy white hair and a matching beard, said the streets would be full until Iraqis saw real change. "If living conditions don't improve, the protests will come back even worse," he told AFP. The protests have presented the biggest challenge yet to the Iraqi premier, who came to power a year ago as a consensus candidate promising reforms but whose response to the demonstrations has been seen as tepid. "Abdel Mahdi should have come forward with decisive changes, like the sacking of leading politicians accused of corruption," said Iraqi analyst Sarmad al-Bayati. Political and religious rifts run deep in Iraq, and protests are typically called for by party or sect -- making the last five days exceptional, said Fanar Haddad an expert at Singapore University's Middle East Institute. "This is the first time we hear people saying they want the downfall of the regime," Haddad said. Sadr, a former militia leader turned nationalist politician, demanded on Friday that the government resign to clear the way for a fresh election supervised by the United Nations. His bloc is the largest in parliament, and his intervention sets the scene for a possible showdown with the speaker, who has made his own bid to make political capital out of the protests. Calling Saturday's parliamentary session, Halbusi pledged he would "take off his suit jacket and be the first among the protesters," if he did not see the government improve living conditions. Adel Mahdi appealed on Friday for more time to implement his reform agenda in a country plagued by corruption and unemployment after decades of conflict. "There are no magic solutions." But his pleas for patience appear to have underestimated the intensity of public anger. Iraq's Shiite spiritual leader Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani used his weekly prayer sermon to urge authorities to heed the demands of demonstrators, warning the protests could escalate unless clear steps are taken immediately. Sistani has repeatedly acted as final arbiter of the politics of Iraq's Shiite community, which dominates the government. | NEWS WIRES | https://www.france24.com/en/20191005-iraq-political-crisis-Baghdad-protests-Abdel-Mahdi-Sadr-Sistani | 2019-10-05 15:07:51+00:00 | 1,570,302,471 | 1,570,632,984 | politics | political crisis |
227,323 | globalresearch--2019-01-09--Nonexistent US-Mexico Border Crisis Shutting Down the Government Bipartisan Political Standoff | 2019-01-09T00:00:00 | globalresearch | Nonexistent US-Mexico Border Crisis. Shutting Down the Government. Bipartisan Political Standoff | No border crisis exists, no justification for partially shutting down government. What’s going on is a bipartisan political standoff unrelated to national security. Trump, the GOP, and the Dems share blame. There’s plenty of it to go around in Washington, mostly on issues far more important than to build or not to build a border wall, fence, barrier, call it what you will, along the US-Mexico border, accomplishing nothing other than wasting billions of dollars if built. The saying about when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled is relevant to the fallout from what’s going on – in its 19th day with no signs of resolution. Hundreds of thousands of government workers with no dog in this fight are going unpaid. Around 40 million poor Americans, dependent on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) aid to feed their families, are cut off from receiving food stamps they vitally need. If shutdown continues endlessly for weeks longer, they could be cut off entirely, perhaps a motive behind preventing resolution. Social justice in America eroded markedly since the neoliberal 90s, begun by the Clinton co-presidency, continued by Bush/Cheney, Obama and Trump. At best, America’s poor and disadvantaged will face protracted delays in receiving SNAP and other aid needed NOW. Border crossings by undocumented aliens are way down historically. People coming are largely desperate Central American families with children – fleeing state-sponsored and gang-related violence, repression, and deep poverty for lack of jobs and the absence of even modest social justice in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and elsewhere. Central Americans and others are coming to survive, fleeing intolerable conditions in their home countries, US-supported despotic regimes running them. Trump refuses to sign government funding legislation without over $5 billion for a southern border wall. The GOP-controlled Senate won’t address the funding issue until the current standoff is resolved. What’s going on and much more shows Americans are ill-governed and ill-served by the vast majority of policymakers in Washington – uncaring about their fundamental rights and welfare. That’s the deplorable state of the nation today, things worsening over time, worse than ever under Trump Trump’s first ever prime time Tuesday Oval Office address was an exercise in hyperbole, hysteria, and racist fear-mongering, falsely portraying desperate families as threats to US national security – aired by all broadcast and cable TV channels. He failed to explain that most people attempting to cross America’s southern border are refugees and asylum seekers with just cause to be fleeing their home countries. He was silent about separating children from parents, terrorizing and detaining them under harsh conditions. The ACLU challenged him, saying They’re not gun or knife-toting terrorists or criminals. They’re desperate people seeking safe haven – needing help, not arrest and detention, not a border wall, a political issue, nothing else. Trump lied saying a “border crisis” exists. He lied claiming “(o)ur southern border (is) an ‘open wound,’ where drugs, criminals (including human traffickers) and illegals…pour into our country” – a shameful perversion of truth. He lied saying “(w)e cannot keep our country safe without…a physical barrier” along the southern border. Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), funding should be sharply cut, not increased – involved in waging war on unwanted aliens of the wrong race, ethnicity, and/or religion, part of US bipartisan supported white supremacist governance. Poor, desperate arrivals aren’t wanted, people of color scorned, Muslims from the wrong countries vilified. Unwanted aliens are dehumanized, hunted down, and mistreated. ICE tactics are Gestapo-like. Neighborhoods, workplaces, and other locations are raided, along with repression along America’s southern border and brutalizing detentions. What’s going on occurs nationwide, not just along the US/Mexico border. Excessive force is commonplace, constitutional protections violated. Obama deported more unwanted aliens than Trump, what US major media largely ignore. In 2012, deportations peaked at 410,000, over 1,000-a-day under Obama. In FY 2018 ending September 30 last year, the US deported 256,000 unwanted aliens. Both presidents enforced “zero tolerance.” On Wednesday, Trump will again meet with GOP and Dem leaders at the White House over the festering partial government shutdown to become the longest on record if continues into Saturday. Walls fall way short of security they’re built to provide. Their ability to keep out unwanted migrants, refugees and asylum seekers is mixed at best. A previous article explained that short in length and heavily guarded, they work. Longer walls and fences are vulnerable to penetration in remote, less well guarded areas. The near-2,000 mile-long US Mexican border is too lengthy to be guarded well enough to keep out unwanted aliens. When one route is blocked, others are taken, including hazardous ones. When homeland conditions are intolerable, countless numbers of people seek refuge elsewhere. If built, a wall or other barrier along the US/Mexico will be more symbolic than an effective deterrent to aliens seeking safe haven in America. No system is foolproof. Determined people often find ways to breach vulnerable parts of lengthy barriers. Republicans and Dems share blame over border wall politics. Millions of ordinary Americans are held hostage to their bickering for political advantage. Trump won’t sign legislation without funding for a southern border wall. That’s where things now stand, neither side so far willing to compromise to end the partial government shutdown. Note to readers: please click the share buttons above. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG) His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.” | Stephen Lendman | https://www.globalresearch.ca/nonexistent-us-mexico-border-crisis-shutting-down-the-government-bipartisan-political-standoff/5665112 | 2019-01-09 14:43:30+00:00 | 1,547,063,010 | 1,567,553,231 | politics | political crisis |
227,626 | globalresearch--2019-01-26--Venezuela Political Crisis Russia Offers to Mediate | 2019-01-26T00:00:00 | globalresearch | Venezuela Political Crisis: Russia Offers to “Mediate” | Contrary to the Alt-Media Community’s “wishful thinking” expectations that Russia would “pull a Syria” in Venezuela by commencing a full-on military intervention in support of the country’s democratically elected and legitimate government, Moscow instead decided to channel the diplomatic dimension of that Mideast campaign by offering to “mediate” between the authorities and “responsible” members of the “opposition”. The Hybrid War on Venezuela unprecedentedly escalated earlier this week when Juan Guaidó proclaimed himself “president” and was recognized by the US and many of its allies as such, pushing the Bolivarian Republic to the brink of civil war and raising fears that a multilateral military invasion might be imminent. Amidst this uncertain situation, Russia spoke out very strongly against the US’ violation of international law and meddling in Venezuela’s internal affairs, raising hopes among many in the Alt-Media Community that Moscow might be mulling a repeat of the Syrian scenario by commencing a full-on military intervention in support of the country’s democratically elected and legitimate government. Much to their surprise, however, what Russia seems to have had in mind in that respect was only the diplomatic dimension of that Mideast campaign after it swiftly suggested that it could “mediate” between the authorities and “responsible” members of the “opposition” just like it’s been doing between Damascus and the Arab Republic’s so-called “moderate opposition”. In fact, when President Putin spoke to his Venezuelan counterpart, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that they didn’t even discuss the possibility of Russia extending financial or military assistance to its partner. This follow’s President Putin and Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov’s earlier call for a “peaceful dialogue” to end the crisis. Moving beyond Russia’s principled stance in publicly defending international law and condemning the US’ violation thereof, the country’s real interests in Venezuela lay in ensuring that its partner repays its billions of dollars in loans and respects the energy and military deals that it previously agreed to. Seeing as how the US-backed “opposition” would probably render those deals null and void if they successfully seizes power and consequently inflict a serious financial blow to sanctions-beleaguered Russia, Moscow has a natural interest in trying to “get on their good side” and “peacefully facilitate” a possible “leadership transition” per its “balancing” strategy if it’s concluded that such a scenario is “inevitable”. It does indeed seem as though Russia might be countenancing such an outcome considering that President Putin somewhat surprisingly didn’t think it appropriate to discuss dispatching emergency financial and military aid to Maduro, possibly believing that it might be all for naught if Moscow received intelligence about the US’ next planned moves in the Hybrid War and didn’t want to risk deepening its potential loss if the “opposition” was about to make a major move that might successfully lead to the government’s overthrow. That possibly being the case, it makes sense why Russia would want to “mediate” between Maduro and the “opposition” as soon as possible to hopefully “hedge its losses”. To clarify for anyone who might be confused by this sudden turn of events and unexpected application of the Syrian scenario, Russia is a capitalist country that’s focused first and foremost on protecting its own interests before anyone else’s, and it’s not going to sacrifice its soldiers’ lives to uphold Venezuela’s socialist system. It appreciates the country’s multipolar orientation but couldn’t protect its partner (and most importantly, its assets) even if it wanted to because it can’t secure the trans-Atlantic supply lines necessary to do so. There’s also no geopolitical incentive of becoming the regional kingmaker like it did in the Mideast with Syria to justify such a risky operation anyhow. Simply put, Russia’s billions of dollars’ worth of assets and contracts are indefensible if the country succumbs to the rolling US-backed coup attempt, which is why Moscow is so motivated to “mediate” between the two domestic parties of the conflict just two days after the latest Hybrid War escalation. Venezuela’s located half a world away from Russia whereas Syria is within comparatively closer proximity and not as difficult to sustain with emergency arms shipments and Moscow’s ultimate military intervention, though as can be seen, the Syrian scenario is nevertheless still being applied in Venezuela through Russia’s efforts to “balance” between the democratically elected and legitimate government & the “moderate opposition”. Note to readers: please click the share buttons above. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. This article was originally published on Eurasia Future. Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research. | Andrew Korybko | https://www.globalresearch.ca/venezuela-political-crisis-russia-offers-to-mediate/5666554 | 2019-01-26 16:51:49+00:00 | 1,548,539,509 | 1,567,550,729 | politics | political crisis |
227,672 | globalresearch--2019-01-29--Britain Lurches Deeper into Brexit Crisis Its Population Remains Deeply Alienated from the Politica | 2019-01-29T00:00:00 | globalresearch | Britain Lurches Deeper into Brexit Crisis: Its Population Remains Deeply Alienated from the Political Establishment | The British political establishment is experiencing an unprecedented crisis over the issue of exiting the European Union. The Conservative government staggers from crisis to crisis over its Brexit deal while politicians off all colours bicker and argue as the UK lurches towards a potentially devastating No Deal scenario. This had lead to a huge distrust in the political class amongst the long suffering public. As the clock ticks down towards the 29 March exit date it is worth while recalling how this crisis came about in the first place. Regardless of which Brexit option the UK takes over the next period it will not detract from the fact that there is a huge chasm between large sections of a bitterly discontented population and the political establishment that does not bode well for the future stability of a key American ally. A recent poll of 33,000 people revealed that an overwhelming majority felt that whatever Brexit option is adopted it will not address the rampant inequalities, political alienation and disenchantment that lay behind the vote to leave the EU in 2016. In June 2016 the UK vote to exit the EU shocked the financial and political elites and led to turmoil on global stock markets. The corporate media was full of shocked pundits lamenting the democratic decision of British people for Brexit. Brexit voters were being blamed for everything from the rise in racism against immigrant families to the increased dangers of terrorist attacks. The corporate media both in Britain and internationally was and still are furious with the British electorate for voting for Brexit. They never saw it coming and still don’t fully understand why ordinary people voted for Brexit. More than this, they still don’t understand how the Brexit vote reveals how completely out of touch the corporate media and the political/financial elites are with the millions of working class people who voted for Brexit. Let’s be very clear about this: the vote for Brexit was a working class rebellion against the financial and political elites of Britain who have presided over a massive redistribution of wealth in favour of the super rich leaving a fifth of the population in poverty. Analysis of the referendum vote shows how the poorer an area was the higher the vote was for Brexit. The working class stood up to massive pressure from the Bremain camp that included: all of the mainstream political parties, the Bank of England, CBI, IMF, ECB, Obama, the World Bank and the trade union bureaucrats. The vote for Brexit revealed how out of touch the establishment advocates of the EU are with working class people. Millions of people are struggling to get by with low wages, incessant benefit cuts, zero hour contracts, food banks and poor housing that are putting their families and communities under intense strain. On top of this, working class people suffer the most from the cuts to the welfare state and the incessant cuts to local council services. Working class people are not stupid they can how the EU is a fundamentally undemocratic organisation that is completely unaccountable to them. The secret negotiations that took place between the EU and the Obama administration over TTIP, which members of the European Parliament had no say over, proved conclusively how this is an organisation run for the benefit of the too big to fail banks and the multi-national corporations. They can see how the undemocratic EU has bludgeoned the people of Greece into living in permanent austerity and mass poverty despite a referendum last year that decisively rejected austerity measures. Obama’s favourite economist Paul Krugman called the EU’s intervention into Greece in 2015 a ‘coup d’etat’. The advocates of Bremain in 2016 such as Mark Carney (ex-Goldman Sachs), then Prime Minister Cameron (from a tax avoiding banker family) then Chancellor George Osborne (son of a Baronet) warned working class people that Brexit would lower their living standards more than any other group in UK society. However, millions of people were not taken in by the crocodile tears coming from those responsible for creating a massively unequal society. Quantitative easing and ZIRP have made the super rich fabulously richer as they have benefited from the massive bubbles on the stock market and in property. The top 10% of society own 45% of all wealth totalling over £5 trillion while the bottom 50% of society own a pathetic 9% of the wealth. Prime Minister Cameron’s government presided over a savage attack upon welfare benefits which have led to one and half million benefit sanctions leaving people totally destitute and leading to hundreds of people committing suicide. The attack on welfare benefits for disabled people have been so severe it prompted the UN to launch an investigation into the human rights violations of disabled people. In 2018 the UN accused the UK government of ‘’systematic violations’’ of disabled people’s rights.. The political and financial elites who advocated that Britain should stay in the EU were puzzled as to why so many working class people stubbornly supported Brexit in 2016. They were and still are incapable of comprehending the anger, pain and suffering of millions of working class people who feel increasing contempt towards a political and financial elite that has no understanding of their daily lives. Over 13 million live in poverty (1 in 5 of the population) while 15 million live in inadequate housing conditions. This inchoate anger at the daily reality that confronts them has few outlets in life. The EU referendum provided working class people with a means of sticking two fingers up at the political and financial establishment which now presides over a very divided country along lines of class and geography. This sense of alienation and disenchantment with the political establishment has only increased in the two and half years since the Brexit referendum. The Brexit vote has led to unprecedented turmoil in both of the main political parties in Britain, particularly the Conservative Party. The financial and political elites suffered a major defeat in 2016 Brexit vote. The Conservative Party is one of the oldest and most successful political parties in history and has served the British ruling class well for over two hundred years. Now it faces an unprecedented crisis and is unable to effectively govern. Regardless of which Brexit option the Conservative government takes over the next period the UK will face huge challenges as the world economy continues to slow down and heads towards another devastating recession. This will pose major challenges for the stability of the UK, whose manufacturing base continues to weaken while its financial services sector loses its dominant position in European capital markets due to Brexit. A discontented population may take inspiration from its yellow vested neighbours across the English Channel. Note to readers: please click the share buttons above. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. Leon Tressell is a UK based historian whose research focuses upon geo-politics and economics. | Dr. Leon Tressell | https://www.globalresearch.ca/britain-lurches-deeper-brexit-crisis-population-remains-deeply-alienated-political-establishment/5666925 | 2019-01-29 23:45:20+00:00 | 1,548,823,520 | 1,567,550,349 | politics | political crisis |
228,302 | globalresearch--2019-02-27--Video Russia Slides Towards Internal Political Crisis | 2019-02-27T00:00:00 | globalresearch | Video: Russia Slides Towards Internal Political Crisis | This is a critical look at the situation in Russia. The video is based on an article of one of our readers and additional data. The Russia of 2019 is in a complicated economic and even political situation. Smoldering conflicts near its borders amid continued pressure from the US and NATO affect the situation in the country negatively. This is manifested in society and in national politics. The approval rating of the Russian government and personally of President Vladimir Putin has been decreasing. According to VCIOM, a state pollster, in January 2019, Putin’s confidence rating was only 32.8%. This is 24% less than in January 2018 when it was 57.2%. At the same time, the confidence rating of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was 7.8%. The approval rating of his cabinet is 37.7% while the disapproval rating is 38.7%. Opposition sources show data, which is far worse for the current Russian leadership. This tendency is not linked to the foreign policy course of the Kremlin. Rather, it’s the result of the recent series of liberal-minded economic reforms, which look similar to the approaches exercised by the Russian government in the mid-1990s. The decision to increase Value Added Tax amid the slowing Russian economy, especially in the industrial sector, and a very unpopular pension reform increasing the retirement age were both factors contributing to the further growth of discontent in the population. Russia’s GDP increased by 2.3% in 2018 compared to 1.6% in 2017. However, the Ministry of Economic Development, in its document entitled “Economic Picture” stated that this is linked to “one-time factors” and is not “stable”. The ministry maintained its earlier forecast stating that GDP growth in 2019 will be 1.3%. It confirmed increasing capital outflow. In this case, the repayment of funds to Western creditors by the Russian private sector is one of the causes. The Ministry of Economic Development also pointed out that the expendable income of the population decreased by 0.2%. Statutory charges, including the increased taxes, are named as one of the reasons. The document says that statutory charges grew by 14.8% in 2018. Additionally, the population is facing an increasingly restrictive administrative pressure: new fines and other penalties for minor violations in various fields and additional administrative restrictions limiting the freedom of actions of citizens. Restrictive traffic management of big cities, increasing fees for using federal highways as well as policies that are de-facto aimed at small business and self-employed persons are among its landmarks. Meanwhile the general population has no effective levers of pressure to affect or correct government policy. The public political sphere has become a desert. United Russia (Edinaya Rossiya) is the only political party still de—facto existing in public politics. By now its ideological and organizational capabilities have become exhausted. Other “political parties and organizations” are just media constructs designed to defend the interests of a narrow group of their sponsors. It is hard to find a lawmaker in the State Duma or the Federation Council, who is not affiliated with the cliquish top political elite and oligarch clans. In the media sphere, the government has failed to explain its current course to the population. A vast majority of the initiatives of Medvedev’s cabinet face a negative reaction from the population. A spate of scandals involving high and middle level government officials made the situation even worse. These cases revealed blatant hypocrisy and the neglectful attitude to duties of some Russian officials. Some of the officials even became heroes of nationwide memes. Probably, the most prominent of these heroes are Minister of Labour and Employment of the Saratov region Natalia Sokolova and Head of Department for Youth Policy in the Sverdlov Region Olga Glatskikh. Sokolova advised Russian pensioners to eat “makaroshki” [a derogatory term for maccheroni] to save money and to thus become able to survive on the subsistence minimum of 3,500 RUB [about 50 USD] per month. Glatskikh became a meme hero thank to her meeting with young volunteers during the same month. Commenting on the possible financing of youth projects, she told volunteers that the government did not ask their parents “to give birth” to them. So, they should expect nothing from the state. In the period from 2018 to 2019, there were multiple arrests of officials caught exceeding the limits of their authority and being involved in corruption schemes. In comparison to previous periods, this number had increased by 1.5-2 times. The most recent detention took place right in the Parliament building on January 30. A 32-year-old senator, Rauf Arashukov, is suspected of being a member of a criminal group involved in the 2010 murders of two people and in pressuring a witness to one of the killings. On the same day, authorities detained his father, an adviser to the chief executive of a Gazprom subsidiary, Raul Arashukov. He is suspected of embezzling natural gas worth 30 billion rubles ($450 million). However, these actions do not appear to be enough to change the established media situation. After a large-scale corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defense in 2012, which led to almost no consequences for key responsible persons including former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who even continued his carrier in state-linked corporation Rostec. The general public has serious reservations about any real success of anti-corruption efforts. The aforementioned factors fuel the negative perception of the Medvedev government and Vladimir Putin as the head of state among Russian citizens. The 2014 events in Crimea showed to the Russian population that its state is ready to defend the interests of the nation and those who describe themselves as Russians even by force of arms. This was the first case when this approach was openly employed in the recent history of Russia. Therefore, the population was enthusiastic and national pride was on the rise. However, the Kremlin failed to exploit these gained opportunities and did not use them to strengthen the Russian state. In fact, up to February 2019, the policy towards eastern Ukraine has been inconsistent. At the same time, Moscow continues to lose its influence in post-Soviet states. This can be observed in both the Caucasus and Central Asia. Even, their close ally, Belarus, occasionally demonstrates unfriendly behavior and focuses its own efforts on the exploitation of economic preferences granted by Russia. Evaluating the current internal political situation in Russia and its foreign policy course, it’s possible to say that the Russian leadership has lost its clear vision of national development and a firm and consistent policy, which are needed for any great power. Another explanation of this is that the Russian leadership is facing pressure from multiple agents of influence, which stand against vision of a powerful independent state seeking to act as one of the centers of power on the global stage. One more factor, often pointed out by experts, is the closed crony-caste system of elites. This system led to the creation of a leadership, which pursues its own narrow clannish interests. Apparently, all of these factors influence Russian foreign and domestic policies in one way or another. The aforementioned large-scale anti-corruption campaign, regarding the people’s show-me attitude towards its result, could be a sign of a new emerging trend, which would lead to a purge of the corrupt elites and to strategic changes in Russian domestic policy. It is highly likely that Russia will face hard times in the next two years (2019-2020) and face various threats and challenges to its economy, foreign policy course and even to its statehood. Note to readers: please click the share buttons below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. If you’re able, and if you like our content and approach, please support the project. Our work wouldn’t be possible without your help: PayPal: [email protected] or via: http://southfront.org/donate/ or via: https://www.patreon.com/southfront | South Front | https://www.globalresearch.ca/russia-internal-political-crisis/5669842 | 2019-02-27 12:10:45+00:00 | 1,551,287,445 | 1,567,547,100 | politics | political crisis |
229,837 | globalresearch--2019-06-28--Albanias Local Elections Have Sparked An Explosive Political Crisis | 2019-06-28T00:00:00 | globalresearch | Albania’s Local Elections Have Sparked An Explosive Political Crisis | The President and the Prime Minister are divided over whether local elections should take place as originally scheduled this Sunday, with the former attempting to postpone them until October after the opposition promised to boycott the polls while the latter insists on holding them anyhow and ordered his parliamentary allies to initiate impeachment proceedings against the head of state in response. Albania’s local elections have sparked an explosive political crisis in the West Balkan country after the opposition’s promise to boycott the polls pitted the President against the Prime Minister in an ever-worsening feud that threatens to turn violent this weekend. The Democratic Party withdrew from parliament in February to protest the ruling Socialist Party’s alleged corruption and ties to organized crime, and their leader Lulzim Basha is convinced that the upcoming local elections will be stolen in order to entrench Prime Minister Edi Rama’s power nationwide. Without the Democrats’ participation, this Sunday’s elections lose their international legitimacy, which is why the Council of Europe recently announced that it’s withdrawing its monitoring mission. Whether a coincidence or not, Germany refused to advance Albania’s EU membership bid earlier this month too. Keeping in mind the deteriorating domestic political context in which these elections would prospectively be held, President Ilir Meta attempted to cancel them and postpone the vote until October in the hopes that the crisis could be resolved by then with the opposition’s return to parliament and their participation in the polls. This effort was shot down by the parliament even though the President said that only the Constitutional Court has the authority to decide on his decrees, which prompted Rama to order his legislative allies to begin impeachment proceedings against Meta for trying to stop the elections. In turn, Meta reminded Rama that it’s he who’s the country’s supreme commander, hinting that he might resort to using the military to resolve this crisis. There might not be any choice either since the Democrats declared that they’ll actively prevent this Sunday’s vote from taking place, which raises fears of a violent scenario transpiring. As Albania lurches towards what might eventually turn into a civil conflict, the rest of the region can’t help but feel alarmed. The concept of so-called “Greater Albania” is a myth to preserve the country’s unity and create a common cause around which to rally its distinct Gheg and Tosk people, and seeing as how Rama has a history of exploiting this ultra-nationalist sentiment from time to time in order to distract from domestic problems, it can’t be ruled out that his supporters might stage provocations in the neighboring countries of Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, and/or Montenegro for the purpose of rallying all Albanians to their side in this dispute. Even if that speculated scheme succeeds, it might not be enough to win over the international community on which the practical legitimacy of Albania’s government depends. The chief advisor of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union recently spoke out against the country’s “mafia government” after his national media leaked tapes purporting to prove that Rama’s party was engaged in vote-buying and voter intimidation, signaling that the EU’s de-facto leader is tacitly siding with the opposition and believes that the Socialists need to make concessions in order to avoid a full-blown crisis. It’ll ultimately depend which side the US decides to back, however, since Washington is the real power broker in Tirana, but there are indications that it might follow in the EU’s footsteps. The US Embassy released a generic statement earlier this week that could be interpreted as playing it safe and not taking any side at this point, which is important in and of itself because it shows that the Socialists don’t have the full support of the Trump Administration, possibly also due to Rama’s connections to the President’s hated foe George Soros. As such, should violence break out on Sunday like the Embassy predicts, then the US might decisively turn against him. What’s most important to the US is Albania’s political stability, which can only be assured through a free and fair electoral process following the success of the opposition’s enormous grassroots campaign in finally pressing this issue and forcing Washington to pay attention to the people’s demands. Albania’s possible descent into civil conflict couldn’t come at a more strategically inconvenient time for the US since it’s presently trying to implement “geopolitical reform” in the Balkans by pressuring Serbia to recognize Kosovo’s “independence”, but Vucic might walk back his gradual progress in this respect if his country’s neighbor slides into a sudden crisis. Therefore, it’s not unforeseeable that the US might pull its support for Rama under certain scenarios in order to salvage the “larger prize” of reshaping the “New Balkans”. Albania is the lynchpin of this regional vision, but its pursuit of the shared goal of “Greater Albania” must be done in an systematic fashion, not through the type of risky ad-hoc provocations that Rama might resort to for the short-term interest of emerging victorious in the latest political crisis. Although he was an important asset for assisting the US’ strategic designs in the region over the years, he’s nowadays turning into a liability, thus raising the prospects of his patrons turning on him. Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. Andrew Korybko is an American Moscow-based political analyst specializing in the relationship between the US strategy in Afro-Eurasia, China’s One Belt One Road global vision of New Silk Road connectivity, and Hybrid Warfare. He is a frequent contributor to Global Research. | Andrew Korybko | https://www.globalresearch.ca/albanias-local-elections-have-sparked-an-explosive-political-crisis/5682009 | 2019-06-28 16:50:29+00:00 | 1,561,755,029 | 1,567,537,667 | politics | political crisis |
230,589 | globalresearch--2019-08-22--The Beidaihe Political Summit Is the Chinese Dream Still Viable Chinas Debt Crisis | 2019-08-22T00:00:00 | globalresearch | The Beidaihe Political Summit: Is the “Chinese Dream” Still Viable? China’s Debt Crisis | The resort town of Beidaihe has just held one of the world’s most important, and secretive, political gatherings. Members of the public flock there in the summer months to relax on the beach gently lapped by the shallow waters of the Yellow Sea. But far from the madding crowd, the resort, 200 km north of Beijing, hosts an annual sealed-off conclave of Communist party luminaries, including President Xi Jinping, for a month from mid-July. The leaders set out the agenda for the year and prioritize the issues facing them. They were not short of topics for discussion. Though the annual event is held in the utmost secrecy, it is a racing certainty that US arms sales to Taiwan, a trade war, a stuttering economy, Beijing’s treatment of the Muslim Uighurs in the western region of Xinjiang and mass protests in Hong Kong as well as growing debt will have featured. So too would have planned celebrations marking the party’s 70 years in power on October 1. Only one of these issues is considered a clear and present danger to those who gathered in the resort. The mass detention of members of the Uighur community in Xinjiang, designated an autonomous region, in China’s west, has not met with loud international criticism, even among Muslim countries. Consequently, Beijing feels it has a free hand and will not face any real repercussions. Providing Beijing can keep the army out of Hong Kong, it, too, should be manageable. Certainly Washington will not make waves. In Trump’s White House, Greenland is held in higher esteem. Brexit-preoccupied London can’t and won’t get involved. There is no indication that the Hong Kong government wants troops to be sent in from across the border in Shenzhen. Legally, the army stepping in must be initiated by the Hong Kong government, though the standing committee of the National People’s Congress in Beijing can declare a state of emergency in Hong Kong if turmoil “endangers national unity or security.” In practice, any decision would be made by China’s leader, Xi, with the endorsement of the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the highest level of political power in China. Both geographically and politically, Xinjiang and Hong Kong are on the periphery. All bets are off should the Hong Kong protests seep across the border to Shenzhen, but that seems unlikely, providing there is no crackdown. In truth, Beijing knows there is little sympathy for Hong Kong on the mainland. Taiwan? Nothing realistically Beijing can do. Protest to Washington. Done that. Boost the fleet presence near the Taiwan straits. Done that. Conflict is not an option. Trade war? The United States launched it, China has responded, doesn’t want it but can live with it. Exports from China to the US are a relatively small part of its GDP. The trade war with the US is a bad head cold, not a fatal disease. Net exports as a percentage of China’s economy have shrunk sharply for years and now are under 1 percent of total GDP. China’s exports to the US make up just 5 percent of total exports. Even though China’s US exports fell nearly 8 percent in June, the result is not exactly a death blow to the nation’s $13.6 trillion economy. Besides, blaming the US for targeting China and curtailing its growth could pay domestic dividends. The real issue? A long time ago, in a faraway place from Beijing, it was the economy. Same today for China. Especially debt. China is one of the most indebted countries in the world. By one measure, China’s debt has already passed 300 percent of gross domestic product. The Washington-based Institute of International Finance said China’s total corporate, household and government debt rose to 303 percent of GDP in the first quarter of 2019, up from 297 percent over the year. This is mostly financed by Chinese banks and off-the record lending by financial institutions in the “shadow bank” sector to provincial governments. Banks in China have actually been pressured not to cut back but to lend more. Beijing has unveiled billions of dollars in tax cuts and infrastructure spending. The world’s second-largest economy had the weakest quarterly growth since 1992, though officially at 6.2 percent is still beyond the wildest dreams of most economies. Universities and higher-education institutes churned out 8.3 million graduates into the job market in the summer. They need jobs, not just for their own welfare but to show that the “Chinese Dream” is still viable. An International Monetary Fund report in 2016 showed that of the 43 economies whose credit-to-GDP ratio grew by at least 30 percentage points in the previous five years, 38 “experienced severe disruptions, manifested in financial crises, growth slowdowns, or both’’. China’s total credit-to-GDP ratio from 2012-17 grew by 48.4 percentage points. Deflating the debt bubble is difficult when global events such as recessions, and slow economic growth, demand another shot of stimulus. Much of the cash injection goes into the bloated veins of inefficient state-owned enterprises that are important for maintaining high employment levels. Beijing then gets an ever-decreasing bang for their buck in terms of any lasting impact on the economy. Over-building has been one of the responses. It is estimated that more than 20 percent of homes, the vast majority apartments in high rise buildings, in China are empty. The unwritten agreement in China is economic growth for obedience which is why the issue of debt, and how to eventually tackle it, strikes at the heart of the political system. No other dilemma facing those who gathered in Beidaihe comes close in its potential consequences. Note to readers: please click the share buttons below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. | Tom Clifford | https://www.globalresearch.ca/beidaihe-political-summit-chinese-dream-still-viable/5686836 | 2019-08-22 06:19:14+00:00 | 1,566,469,154 | 1,567,533,688 | politics | political crisis |
231,173 | globalresearch--2019-09-30--Britains Political Crisis Problems and Possibilities for the Left | 2019-09-30T00:00:00 | globalresearch | Britain’s Political Crisis: Problems and Possibilities for the Left | The British political crisis continues, with the latest developments consolidating the hard right takeover of the Tory Party and Government that began with the Brexit referendum in 2016 and is now leading to the development of a potentially mass neo-fascist movement. This is taking place against the backdrop of similar developments across Europe and beyond. The suspension of Parliament – a key stage in the UK process – has been defeated but Boris Johnson’s trajectory remains on track. The unanimous verdict of the Supreme Court, announced on Tuesday 24th September, was that Boris Johnson and the Tory government had acted unlawfully in proroguing parliament from the 9th September to the 14th October. It was for most an unexpected verdict and represented a deepening of the split within the establishment. The judiciary, or at least its most significant component, had sided with parliament against the government. The most obvious and immediate effect was that parliament returned on 25th September and did not enter a recess for the Tory Party conference. This was a significant setback for the strategy of Johnson and his special advisor Dominic Cummings, and an opportunity for the Labour Party – not through their own efforts but through an individual’s legal challenge backed by other opposition parties. The first instinct of the Johnson cabal has been to double down and attack the judiciary through the Tory press and in parliament. Johnson’s key ally Jacob Rees-Mogg has also attacked the judges calling their verdict a ‘constitutional coup’. No doubt this will harden their base in the Tory party, the Home Counties and the Northern leave areas, but it also creates a serious problem for them. An important section of the ruling class are not yet disposed to attack the judiciary in this way and recognise the dangers for their class in the Cummings strategy. Moreover the re-opening of parliament makes the no-deal manoeuvres of the Tory government less likely to succeed. This strengthens the position of the Brexit party which is waiting in the wings. Cummings had hoped to undercut the Brexit party with a general election in the wake of a 31st October Brexit leading to a Johnson victory. The verdict of the judiciary therefore makes a Tory/Brexit Party electoral coming together more likely. It’s unlikely that the Tories now could win a majority in a general election without some kind of deal with the Brexit Party. In the old industrial areas there are sections of the electorate that would never vote Tory but are already willing to vote for Farage and co. Objectively, Brexit and the Brexit party are the mechanisms to split the working class and prevent a left alternative – Labour – coming to power Johnson was at the UN in New York when the Court judgement was announced, but before he came back to London he met publicly and privately with Trump. No doubt yesterday’s strategy – for how to handle parliament – would have been discussed and Trump is in no doubt that some kind of alliance between Farage and Johnson is necessary. Johnson was forced to return to parliament and gave an aggressive performance in the House of Commons last night in which it became clear exactly what the labour movement – and indeed wider society – is facing. There was outrage at the insult to the memory of murdered MP Jo Cox – Johnson said the best way to honour her (she was a Remainer) was to deliver Brexit – and the taunting of MPs as traitors and surrender merchants. Today neo-fascists across social media have claimed him as their own and it is absolutely clear that he is building a base amongst the neo-fascists and far right. Wider sections of the population are now open to far right arguments. Notwithstanding Johnson’s attempts to turn it to his advantage, the Supreme Court decision has been very significant as a mainstream blow to Johnson’s disgraceful anti-democratic actions. Of course it does little to alter the fundamentals – economic and political crisis and the shift to the right in British politics. Although it may be true that the mass of the population do not hold judges, politicians or parliament in great esteem we are not yet at the stage where there is a widespread support for dispensing with bourgeois democracy. Those who do wish to do that largely hail from the far right. The verdict has the effect of moving the Johnson cabal further out of the political and establishment mainstream; they will harden a base around them but they are more clearly identifiable for what they actually are. The crucial next step for the left is to confidently press forward, further isolate them and diminish and defeat their base. Can the Labour Party do this, given its current failure to give a clear lead on key issues? At this week’s Labour Party conference, the atmosphere was relatively low energy, fractious and insular until the decision was announced from the Supreme Court. The conference had started with a ham-fisted bureaucratic manoeuvre to try and get rid of Deputy Leader Tom Watson and was swiftly followed by news of a senior policy advisor’s resignation. The Another Europe is Possible’s (AEIP) anti-Brexit position was lost because the conference was persuaded that it was a Trojan horse for the Blairite right in the party, who also back remain but on a different basis to the left Remainers, like AEIP. Corbyn’s ‘we aren’t either leavers or remainers but socialists’ line won in the hall. The problem with this is that an election campaign conducted on an anti-austerity basis is going to crash into the brick wall of Brexit. In effect it will be a one-issue election and to ignore that reality will be catastrophic. The great danger is that the labour and trade union movement is proceeding as if nothing much has changed and this underpinned the support for the conference motion which essentially advocated sitting on the fence – the leadership’s preferred Brexit outcome at conference. There is a misguided belief that the coming election is going to be a reprise of 2017 where Labour broke Theresa May’s majority. Labour has now a much more radical policy programme than 2017 but is in a much weaker political position with poor showings in the opinion polls. At least part of this is because it doesn’t have a clear position on opposing Brexit. So the decision of the judiciary has deepened the split in the ruling class and hardened up the no deal far right around Johnson and Farage. This is very dangerous politically, but it also opens up political space for Labour – which it is vital that it does not squander – and it creates space for political work from the radical left too. Over the past few weeks we have seen massive protests against Johnson’s closure of parliament – under the slogans ‘Stop the Coup’ and ‘Defend Democracy’; these were largely either spontaneous or organised by the anti-Brexit left. At the same time we have seen huge protests, including extensive civil disobedience, on the issue of climate change. Young people have led the struggles here as elsewhere, and now other movements are joining forces to support them. So this is a period of intensive mobilisation across Britain, with sharper political divides – and a greater risk to our rights and democracy – than have been seen perhaps since the General Strike of 1926. The Labour Party and the radical left must rise to the challenge, in the interests of us all, for much is at stake. We are entering a struggle for the future: not just of this country but across the world. It is a struggle for humanity as a whole – for social justice, equality and economic democracy, to meet the needs of all peoples. Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. | Kate Hudson | https://www.globalresearch.ca/britain-political-crisis-problems-possibilities-left/5690615 | 2019-09-30 15:06:11+00:00 | 1,569,870,371 | 1,570,221,898 | politics | political crisis |
239,159 | hotair--2019-04-02--Macron to UK You cant hold us hostage to your political crisis | 2019-04-02T00:00:00 | hotair | Macron to UK: You can’t hold us “hostage” to your political crisis | That doesn’t mean Theresa May can’t keep trying to do so. The UK PM announced a short while ago that she wants the EU to grant another extension to the Article 50 deadline in order to work with Jeremy Corbyn on a unity plan for Brexit. Yesterday’s failure of four indicative votes to commit Parliament to any specific Brexit strategy left Parliament with only the option of pressing May to get them more time from the EU. Don’t count on it, Emmanuel Macron responded this morning: A long extension involving the participation of the UK in European elections and European institutions is far from evident and certainly not [to be taken] for granted. Our priority shall be the good functioning of the EU and the single market. The EU cannot sustainably be the hostage to the solution to a political crisis in the UK. We cannot spend the coming months sorting out yet again the terms of our divorce and dealing with the past. … Should the United Kingdom be unable to – three years after the referendum – propose a solution backed by a majority, they will de facto have chosen for themselves to leave without a deal. We cannot avoid failure for them. It’s the second time in ten days that Macron used a hostage metaphor in describing the UK’s political meltdown. That description has gathered momentum in the EU, which has prepared itself for a no-deal Brexit and has steeled its resolve on the May-EU Withdrawal Agreement as the only alternative. May herself in her announcement said the WA had to be the basis of any deal cut with Corbyn, which doesn’t sound too practical since Parliament has rejected the WA on three separate votes and Labour has almost entirely opposed it. The EU remains adamant that the WA is the final word on a Brexit deal. “If the U.K. still wants to leave the EU in an orderly manner,” Michel Barnier warned, “this agreement, this treaty is and will be the only one.” A no-deal Brexit, Barnier lamented, looks increasingly like the only possible outcome: “No deal was never our desired or intended scenario,” Barnier told an audience at a thinktank event. “But the EU27 is now prepared. It becomes, day after day, more likely.” … The comments from the EU’s chief negotiator were echoed by the prime ministers of the Netherlands and Luxembourg. “We have to take into consideration a no-deal possibility – it’s a probability,” the Dutch prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters. “We are no longer looking for an exit, but rather an emergency exit”, added Luxembourg’s prime minister Xavier Bettel, who was hosting Rutte for no deal talks in the duchy. The remarks came in response to some claims over the last day or so that the EU might be softening its position on the WA and the “backstop” to prevent a hard border in Ireland. That seems to only exist as a possibility in the minds of some Brexit advocates, and the suggestion from Brexiter Damian Green mystifies this British reporter. “But the EU have also said they’re not going to reopen the withdrawal agreement,” he asks at one point: The EU might agree to a longer extension past May 22, but that would require the UK to fully participate in EU elections on May 23rd. If May asks for more time past the secondary deadline, that’s the price of admission — plus a plan for resolving the standoff over the next year. It seems unlikely that the EU will want the uncertainty to continue very far into 2020, if even that long, but they’re not going to be anxious to refuse a longer extension if the UK acknowledges EU supremacy during an extension period. But what purpose would a delay serve? The EU won’t retreat on the backstop in Ireland, and the UK won’t accept it. Parliament wouldn’t accept a customs union or Common Market 2.0 that leaves the EU in charge of trade. Nigel Farage, one of the hardest-line Brexiters, called all the alternative options up for a vote yesterday different types of Remain. A longer delay only delays the inevitable, unless the UK decides to shelve Brexit for good or accept the terms that the EU says they will not renegotiate, having bent as far as they could with May. If they’re willing to endure a no-deal Brexit now, they will be even more prepared for one in nine months. The leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), says the longer delay is in the bag — because SNP will deliver a softer Brexit in return: Blackford said intensive cross-party talks were now underway amongst MPs anxious to find a compromise deal on a far softer Brexit which would be good enough to win a Commons majority following the failure of all four alternative options on Monday night. That would then present the EU with the pretext for delaying Brexit for months. Blackford said the SNP’s primary goal was either suspending article 50 or forcing a new Brexit referendum but its decision to support the Nick Boles motion, the so-called common market 2.0 option which involves UK joining the European free trade area Efta, was proof the party was willing to compromise, since the Boles motion was also imperfect, he said. “We have to have generosity of spirit, but it has to be over things that get us to a better place than where we are,” he said. “There are an awful lot of conversations going on” focused on finding a new soft Brexit formula which might finally win a Commons majority. It’s been tried twice and lost both times. Given the SNP’s opposition to Brexit and especially its restriction on movement within the EU (a key feature for Brexiters), they don’t seem to be in any good position to drive a compromise. The EU might be better off making a clean break now and repairing the consequences later rather than let this drag out for another year or more, damaging business on both sides only to end up in the exact same place. At least, that’s what it sounds like Macron and Barnier are saying today. If so, Theresa May’s up for a no-deal, at least if dumping Brexit altogether is the only other option: She needs to check in with Macron and Barnier first. | Ed Morrissey | https://hotair.com/archives/2019/04/02/macron-uk-cant-hold-us-hostage-political-crisis/ | 2019-04-02 20:31:42+00:00 | 1,554,251,502 | 1,567,544,397 | politics | political crisis |
256,552 | instapundit--2019-02-08--NEW YORK TIMES FINDS WAY TO BLAME GOP FOR VIRGINIA MESS Virginia Political Crisis Grows for Demo | 2019-02-08T00:00:00 | instapundit | NEW YORK TIMES FINDS WAY TO BLAME GOP FOR VIRGINIA MESS: “Virginia Political Crisis Grows for Demo… | NEW YORK TIMES FINDS WAY TO BLAME GOP FOR VIRGINIA MESS: “Virginia Political Crisis Grows for Democrats and Republicans.” | Gail Heriot | http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/pjmedia/instapundit/~3/5sezBnOkgxo/ | 2019-02-08 01:49:26+00:00 | 1,549,608,566 | 1,567,549,149 | politics | political crisis |
277,568 | jerusalempost--2019-11-24--Hong Kong democrats cheer landslide in elections amid political crisis | 2019-11-24T00:00:00 | jerusalempost | Hong Kong democrats cheer landslide in elections amid political crisis | HONG KONG - Hong Kong's democrats romped to a landslide and symbolic majority in district council elections after residents turned out in record numbers on Sunday to vote following six months of anti-government protests in the embattled city. | By REUTERS | https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Hong-Kong-democrats-cheer-landslide-in-elections-amid-political-crisis-608915 | Sun, 24 Nov 2019 23:06:23 GMT | 1,574,654,783 | 1,574,644,881 | politics | political crisis |
278,029 | jerusalempost--2019-12-11--Liberman blames both Likud and Blue and White for political crisis | 2019-12-11T00:00:00 | jerusalempost | Liberman blames both Likud and Blue and White for political crisis | By subscribing I accept the terms of use | By GIL HOFFMAN | https://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Liberman-blames-both-Likud-and-Blue-and-White-for-political-crisis-610593 | Wed, 11 Dec 2019 11:15:57 GMT | 1,576,080,957 | 1,576,068,857 | politics | political crisis |
317,501 | mintpressnews--2019-07-31--Netanyahu May Survive This Political Crisis but Israels Left Will Not | 2019-07-31T00:00:00 | mintpressnews | Netanyahu May Survive This Political Crisis, but Israel’s Left Will Not | JERUSALEM, OCCUPIED PALESTINE — Like a pack of hyenas surrounding a weakened and wounded lion, Israeli politicians are ganging up on an injured, weakened Benjamin Netanyahu. With over ten years in office, Netanyahu is now the longest-reigning prime minister in the history of the State of Israel. Comparisons are being drawn between him and the man who is now second only to Netanyahu, the man considered to be the Founding Father of Israel, Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion. Though coalitions have been created on both sides of the Israeli political divide, each wanting to strengthen its chances to be in power, one can rest assured that the one big elephant in the Knesset chamber will continue to remain ignored by lion and hyenas alike: no one will dare to touch on the fact that Israel was, is, and will continue to be an illegitimate, apartheid regime dedicated to the destruction of Palestine and its people. When speaking of “Left” in Zionist terms, one has to remember that in the realm of Israeli politics left only goes so far. The newly united “Joint List,” for example, is considered extreme “Left.” It includes three parties that are predominantly Palestinian and one mixed Arab-Jewish party that is the successor to what used to be a Communist Party. The parties within the list include nationalists, socialists, liberal-democrats and an Islamist religious party. The common denominator is that they are made up of mostly Palestinians and discuss the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and the erosion of the rights of what was always an oppressed community, the Palestinian citizens of Israel. But even the Joint List, which represents a variety of constituents within the Palestinian citizenry of Israel, cannot bring into question the legitimacy of Israel as the absolute master of the land. Balad, the one party that is considered an “Arab Nationalist” party, was nearly disqualified and prohibited from running because of its call to make “Israel” a state for all of its citizens, both Jewish and Palestinian. A closer examination of what a “state for all of its citizens” means in this context is worthwhile. Israeli Jewish citizens live throughout all of historic Palestine — between the River Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea. Jewish citizens of Israel can live wherever they want and they are full-fledged citizens. Palestinian citizens of Israel live only within the pre-1967 boundaries of the state. In other words, Palestinians who live in towns, cities, and villages within the West Bank, East Jerusalem or the Gaza Strip do not hold Israeli citizenship. The call for the state to be a state of “all its citizens” effectively means a state where Jews can live wherever they decide in historic Palestine but the Palestinians live only within the boundaries of the Israel that existed prior to 1967. In Israel even this is deemed to be unacceptable. This call — which seems like a fair and just idea until you look at what it actually means — is also asking for a symbolic gesture that will never be made by any Israeli government. Israel’s other major left-leaning party is the Meretz Party, which calls itself Zionist Left. Meretz recently joined forces with Ehud Barak, a former Israeli prime minister and IDF chief who holds two distinct and dubious records: He was the most highly decorated soldier in the IDF, and he had the shortest tenure of any Israeli prime minister. The notion that Zionism and left-wing ideas can reside in one political party is absurd. Left-wing ideologies are associated with socialism, social justice and supporting struggles against injustice. Zionism, on the other hand, is the racist, settler-colonial ideology that created Israel, a state that has become an apartheid regime that is engaged in ethnic cleansing and genocide. How then can any entity claim to be both? Some people may recall that Israel once had a powerful Labor Party. That party has been hearing its death knell, as several of its key members have left it to join the “Meretz”-led so-called “Left” coalition. It is not at all certain that Labor will be capable of passing the electoral threshold, and frankly the party has been irrelevant in Israeli politics for decades. At a recent press conference, party leader Amir Peretz said he would not rule out a coalition with what used to be Labor’s main rival, and today is Israel’s most prominent political party, the Likud. However, Peretz stated, Labor will never sit, or even negotiate, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. This is the same Israeli Labor Party that at one point represented the “Zionist Left” that was the most powerful political entity in the early decades of the State of Israel. It was responsible for the genocide and ethnic cleansing in Palestine and for the establishment of Jewish settlements all over occupied Palestine. It was also the Labor Party that instituted the apartheid regime that today rules over all of Palestine. Like the red, white and blue that emblazon the U.S, flag, the so-called Blue and White Coalition represents Israeli patriotism, made in Israel. The coalition consists of three former IDF chiefs who joined with Yair Lapid to form a “Center-Left” party. The party has no characteristics of Left or Center. It is made up of racists and war criminals united by a hatred of Benjamin Netanyahu. They are totally secular, young, fresh, and they are “Not Netanyahu.” In the last elections, they came in neck and neck with the Likud. All of Blue and White’s main players swear that they would be happy to sit in a coalition with the Likud Party but not with Netanyahu and not with the settler-gangsters who currently reside in Netanyahu’s government. Now Blue and White has become the “other” large political party. They are in fact a mix and match of politicians of all stripes and persuasions, who in the last elections, held in April of this year, came very close to forming a government but fell short. In fact, they announced they were perfectly willing to create a broad coalition with Likud, but without Netanyahu. Depending on what happens in the next elections scheduled for this coming September, they may not have a choice. Netanyahu is without a doubt still the only candidate for almost anyone who leans right. He has created alliances with what can only be described as neofascist settlers. Their ideology, which is congruent with Netanyahu’s own political ideology, includes: declaring Israeli sovereignty over all of historic Palestine, including the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria as they call it; the forced mass exile of Palestinians; and the building of a Jewish temple in place of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, two iconic symbols that have crowned Jerusalem for over a thousand years. It was only recently that the major players of these right-wing parties formed a “Right Wing Front,” a coalition that includes religious and secular figures, all of whom share a single ideology. Many of the coalition’s members either currently sit in a Netanyahu government or have been part of one in the past. They support Netanyahu for prime minister and want to show a strong presence in the coming Knesset so as to ensure Netanyahu cannot be swayed to the “left.” Netanyahu has been around for a long time and has shown time and time again that he knows how to play the political game better than anyone. The coming elections may prove to be his final battle. If he can get Likud a few more seats in the next Knesset then he will once again be the prime minister and likely for a long time to come. If he does not, it is likely that his political career will be over. The vicious attacks on Palestinians in and around Jerusalem are Netanyahu’s signal to the far right that he is their man and that they should vote for him by voting Likud. Not wanting to be beholden to any other party, he wants to make sure he gets enough votes to create the coalition that he wants without giving away the entire store. The recent home demolitions in Sur Baher and Wadi Humus were not a response to illegal building or security issues. The homes received permits from the Palestinian Authority, under whose control they were built. They did not pose any security threat either. However, over 900 troops were sent and the IDF Engineer Corps was tasked with the mission of sheer cruel destruction for no other reason than to serve Benjamin Netanyahu’s election campaign. Still, whether or not Netanyahu remains in power is of little significance to Palestine and its people. All Zionist politicians share the same ideology and support the ethnic cleansing, genocide, and apartheid regime with no reservations or exceptions. Feature photo | Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, June. 30, 2019. Oded Balilty | AP Miko Peled is an author and human rights activist born in Jerusalem. He is the author of “The General’s Son. Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and “Injustice, the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.” | Miko Peled | https://www.mintpressnews.com/netanyahu-may-survive-political-crisis-israel-left-will-not/261058/ | 2019-07-31 15:54:18+00:00 | 1,564,602,858 | 1,567,535,190 | politics | political crisis |
333,514 | nationalreview--2019-12-05--State Dept. Iran Envoy Calls Protests ‘the Worst Political Crisis the Regime Has Faced in its 40 Yea | 2019-12-05T00:00:00 | nationalreview | State Dept. Iran Envoy Calls Protests ‘the Worst Political Crisis the Regime Has Faced in its 40 Years’ | State Department official and Iran envoy Brian Hook called Iran’s nationwide protests “the worst political crisis the regime has faced in its 40 years” during a press conference Thursday, and urged the international community to unite against the government in support of protesters. “These protests have made clear what Secretary Pompeo and I have been saying for quite some time,” Hook said. “The Iranian people want the regime to focus on investing in people, not proxies. They are sick of the regime squandering its wealth on proxy warfare, which leads only to economic pressure and diplomatic isolation. Unfortunately, this is exactly what the Iranian regime continues to do, even while the Iranian people were filling the streets, calling for an end to sectarian adventurism.” Hook also said the regime “could have murdered over a thousand Iranian citizens since the protests began” — a figure much higher than what other organizations have estimated. Hook attributed the statistic to “crowdsourcing intelligence,” saying the State Department has received over 32,000 submissions in response to a tweet from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who asked Iranian protestors to submit documentation of government abuse to help the U.S. in pursuit of sanctions. The protests, triggered in November by rising fuel prices, have already resulted in an almost-total internet blackout across the country. On Sunday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards massacred up to one hundred people in a single incident, Hook confirmed. The special representative for Iran said that two Iranian prisons had already met the criteria for “gross human rights violations” set out by the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, a law signed by President Trump in 2017 which allows U.S. sanctions against persons responsible for human rights violations in Iran. “There has been overwhelming support for the Iranian people by the American people,” Hook said. “It is clear there is a bipartisan consensus that the regime’s treatment of the Iranian people is abhorrent and unacceptable. We are unified here in the United States, and the international community likewise should be unified and support the Iranian people.” | Tobias Hoonhout | https://www.nationalreview.com/news/state-dept-iran-envoy-calls-protests-the-worst-political-crisis-the-regime-has-faced-in-its-40-years/ | Thu, 05 Dec 2019 20:43:07 +0000 | 1,575,596,587 | 1,575,592,465 | politics | political crisis |
342,063 | newsbusters--2019-04-26--Voters Rate Political Corruption as Americas Biggest Crisis | 2019-04-26T00:00:00 | newsbusters | Voters Rate Political Corruption as America’s Biggest Crisis | Fifty-three percent of voters believe political corruption is a crisis in the United States, while another 36% believe it is a significant problem but not a crisis. That's consistent with other ScottRasmussen.com polling data showing that 87% of voters nationwide believe corruption is widespread in the federal government. Solid majorities believe there is also corruption in state (70%) and local (57%) government. The belief that our nation has a political corruption crisis is shared by 53% of women, 52% of men, 51% of white voters, 55% of black and Hispanic voters, 54% of rural voters, 53% of suburban voters and 52% of urban voters. This is truly an issue that cuts across partisan and demographic lines. In fact, given a list of 10 challenges facing the nation, political corruption was rated as a crisis by more voters than any other issue. Forty-three percent consider illegal immigration a crisis, 40% say the same about government deficits, and 39% believe global warming/climate change is a crisis. The ScottRasmussen.com national survey also found that 33% consider poverty a crisis, 30% say the same about racism, 29% believe the student loan debt is a crisis, 27% think that describes economic inequality, 22% believe it applies to overregulation and 18% to sexism. Recognition of political corruption as the nation's biggest crisis shouldn't be much of a surprise, considering the ongoing political debates. On one side, many voters believe that President Donald Trump was elected to clean up the swamp. On the other side, many believe the president is more corrupt than other politicians. But the perception of political corruption as a crisis goes deeper than attitudes about the president: Put it all together and you have a situation where voters find little hope and much cynicism in the political process. Only 26% of voters think it is even somewhat likely that Congress will successfully address major issues facing the nation before the next election. Just 17% now trust the federal government to do the right thing most or all of the time. That hardly sounds like a system where the government enjoys the consent of the governed. In fact, the system is so broken that 27% of voters don't think anything would be all that different if Hillary Clinton had won the presidential election in 2016. Perhaps those running for president should focus more on fixing our broken political system and less on making the nation follow a corrupt political system. | Scott Rasmussen | https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/scott-rasmussen/2019/04/26/voters-rate-political-corruption-americas-biggest-crisis | 2019-04-26 18:15:00+00:00 | 1,556,316,900 | 1,567,541,843 | politics | political crisis |
370,721 | newyorkpost--2019-02-13--Pope Francis says he cant help with Venezuelas political crisis | 2019-02-13T00:00:00 | newyorkpost | Pope Francis says he can’t help with Venezuela’s political crisis | VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis has reportedly written to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro indicating conditions aren’t ripe for the Vatican to step in and help mediate in the country’s political crisis. Corriere della Sera quoted on Wednesday from a letter it said Francis wrote to Maduro on Feb. 7, several days after the socialist leader said he had asked the pope to help launch talks with the opposition. The Vatican didn’t immediately reply to requests seeking comments on the letter. On Monday, a delegation representing Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido met at the Vatican with Holy See officials. Francis has lamented that Venezuelan bishops were frustrated in their efforts to help defuse political and social tensions in the country, where much of the population sorely needs food and medicine. | Associated Press | https://nypost.com/2019/02/13/pope-francis-says-he-cant-help-with-venezuelas-political-crisis/ | 2019-02-13 14:04:16+00:00 | 1,550,084,656 | 1,567,548,694 | politics | political crisis |
383,449 | npr--2019-01-24--State Department Orders Some Diplomatic Staff Out Of Venezuela In Political Crisis | 2019-01-24T00:00:00 | npr | State Department Orders Some Diplomatic Staff Out Of Venezuela In Political Crisis | State Department Orders Some Diplomatic Staff Out Of Venezuela In Political Crisis The State Department is ordering "non-emergency U.S. government employees to depart Venezuela," according to a security alert issued Thursday evening. The U.S. Embassy in Caracas will remain open. The alert also advised caution if U.S. citizens are in or traveling to Venezuela. "The U.S. government has limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in Venezuela. U.S. citizens should contact U.S. Embassy Caracas for consular assistance. U.S. citizens residing or traveling in Venezuela should strongly consider departing Venezuela. Commercial flights remain available," the statement said. In an interview with commentator Laura Ingraham, Pompeo said the Trump administration is focused on the safety of U.S. personnel. "We are continuously, 24/7, evaluating security conditions. There's no higher priority for the State Department than to keep all the people in our missions safe and secure. And we've made clear to the Maduro regime that it is our expectation that they will be safe and secure. And we will continue to evaluate," said Pompeo. The Secretary's statements and the State Department alert came in the second day of rapid developments in the Latin American nation long wracked by political and economic turmoil. Venezuelans woke up Thursday morning with two men claiming to be their nation's rightful leader: sitting President Nicolás Maduro and upstart opposition leader Juan Guaidó, head of Venezuela's National Assembly. The day before, Guaidó took the oath of office in front of massive crowds that filled the streets of Caracas and declared himself interim president, pledging to hold general elections. The U.S. immediately declared its support for Guaidó and has called on other nations to recognize him as the country's leader. Maduro has not ceded power. He tweeted that the country was facing "extreme imperial insolence" that "seeks to impose a puppet and servile government" and told U.S. diplomatic personnel to leave within 72 hours. "Venezuela Is Respected! #YankeeGoHome," he wrote. On Thursday, Maduro ordered all of Venezuela's diplomats in the U.S. to go home and said the country's embassy and consulates in the U.S. will close, The Associated Press reports. The day before, Maduro declared that he was breaking diplomatic ties with Washington. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that because the U.S. does not consider the Maduro regime legitimate, "We therefore consider all of its declarations and actions illegitimate and invalid." Maduro said U.S. is foolish to defy his order, according to the AP. Pompeo announced that the U.S. will give Venezuela more than $20 million in humanitarian aid. Speaking Thursday at a special meeting at the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., Pompeo said the funds are to help Venezuelans cope with severe food and medicine shortages and other impacts of the country's political and economic crisis. Until recently, few Venezuelans even knew who Guaidó was — but now the 35-year-old is leading a high-stakes charge to end the Maduro regime. Pompeo affirmed U.S. support for Guaidó and called on Venezuela's security forces to ensure his safety. Maduro needs support of the army's high command if he is to remain president – and so far, it appears that he has it. Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López appeared on state-run television Thursday, surrounded by the military's top brass, and called Maduro the "legitimate president." He accused the opposition of waging a coup, Reuters reports, and said the U.S. and the other countries were carrying out an economic war against Venezuela. In a televised address from the presidential palace on Wednesday, Maduro also accused Guaidó and Washington of staging a coup. National security adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that the U.S. would not rule out military options but that its focus is on cutting off revenue to the Maduro regime and building recognition of Guaidó among governments in the Americas and Europe. Maduro has been in office since 2013, and he was sworn in to a second term two weeks ago. That election was marred by reports of vote-rigging and coercion, and afterward, the U.S., Canada and 12 other countries in the Americas rejected its legitimacy and downgraded diplomatic relations with Venezuela. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Venezuela's gold sector, as well as on former Venezuelan government officials. Asked Wednesday why Maduro has been the subject of sanctions while authoritarian leaders elsewhere enjoy favor with the Trump administration, Bolton replied: "The fact is Venezuela is in our hemisphere, I think we have a special responsibility here, and I think the president feels very strongly about it." As the political crisis in Venezuela takes hold, nations around the world are choosing sides. The South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru have all declared their support for Guaidó, the BBC reports. Canada also voiced support for the opposition leader. Britain's foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, called Guaidó "the right person" to lead and said Maduro is not the country's "legitimate" leader, but he stopped shy of recognizing Guaidó as president. But Russia, which counts Venezuela as its closest ally in Latin America, has rallied behind Maduro. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Maduro, the Kremlin press service said Thursday, and "stressed that destructive outside interference grossly violated the fundamental norms of international law." Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev suggested consideration of what Americans would do if the tables were turned. "Just imagine for a moment how the American people would react to the news the budget crisis (shutdown) has produced a situation in which, say, the speaker of the House of Representatives has declared himself a new president," Medvedev wrote on Facebook, according to Russian news service TASS. "And how would the existing U.S. president react?" Mexico, which itself has a new president, released a statement of "non-intervention" — which essentially means support for the Maduro regime. And Cuba's foreign ministry said it was backing Maduro against a "coup d'état" to impose "a servile government under orders from the United States," according to the AP. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was shocked at the Trump administration's move to back Guaidó and reiterated his support of Maduro, the news service reports. At least 16 people have died in the recent protests, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict. More than 3 million Venezuelans have fled the country to escape shortages and hyperinflation. Most have gone to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru or Brazil. Oil prices rose on Thursday, following U.S. signals that it may sanction Venezuela, a member of OPEC. | Laurel Wamsley | https://www.npr.org/2019/01/24/688205278/yankee-go-home-says-maduro-as-political-crisis-takes-hold-in-venezuela?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news | 2019-01-24 19:44:00+00:00 | 1,548,377,040 | 1,567,551,086 | politics | political crisis |
385,569 | npr--2019-05-27--Delegates For Maduro Guaido To Meet For Talks On Ending Venezuelas Political Crisis | 2019-05-27T00:00:00 | npr | Delegates For Maduro, Guaidó To Meet For Talks On Ending Venezuela's Political Crisis | Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó is pictured under a national flag during a gathering with supporters on April 30, 2019. Delegates for both Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro are slated to hold direct talks in Norway this week aimed at ending the crisis in Venezuela. **Federico Parra /AFP/Getty Images** ****hide caption**** ****toggle caption**** Federico Parra /AFP/Getty Images Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaidó is pictured under a national flag during a gathering with supporters on April 30, 2019. Delegates for both Guaidó and Nicolás Maduro are slated to hold direct talks in Norway this week aimed at ending the crisis in Venezuela. Federico Parra /AFP/Getty Images The push for a negotiated solution to the Veneuzelan crisis appears to be picking up steam with delegates for President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó slated for direct talks in Norway this week. The Norwegian government, which is serving as mediator, made the announcement two weeks after an initial round of meetings involving the two sides in Oslo. The effort is designed to break months of political gridlock at a time when Venezuela is suffering from its worst economic meltdown in history, a disaster that has prompted more than 3 million people to flee the country. "Norway commends the parties for their efforts and appreciates their disposition" to negotiate, Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide said on Saturday. Even so, the opposition remains skeptical. It claims Maduro has used past negotiations, including meetings in the Dominican Republic two years ago, to stall for time while refusing to make concessions. "They will never fool us again with a false dialogue like in 2017," Guaidó told supporters on Saturday. "That's why today we're in the streets." Guaidó, who is recognized by the United States and more than 50 other countries as Venezuela's rightful head of state, has instead tried to force out Maduro, who was reelected last year in balloting marred by allegations of widespread fraud. But massive street protests and calls for the Venezuelan military to withdraw their support for Maduro have failed. "If you can't kick him out, at some point you are going to have to realize that you must negotiate," said Caracas pollster and political analyst Luis Vicente León. He added that the two sides have likely been speaking in secret for months in order to set up the talks in Norway, which also helped broker Colombia's historic 2016 peace treaty that ended a long guerrilla war. Several factors could prompt Maduro to cut a deal. These include U.S. sanctions on the nation's vital oil industry, which provides more than 90% of Venezuela's export income, said Geoff Ramsey of the Washington Office on Latin America, a policy and human rights group. "The pressure isn't letting up," he said. "Maduro and his entire inner circle have every interest to advance some kind of negotiated transition because that's the only way to get out from under pressure of U.S. sanctions." In addition, Maduro may fear a military coup as salaries and living conditions for officers deteriorate. Ramsey thinks they "would be very happy to throw [Maduro] under the bus and replace him with someone who has much more international legitimacy." On Saturday, a smiling Maduro appeared on national television to announce that he would send a delegation to Norway to "move forward towards good agreements." The opposition insists that negotiations must focus on Maduro either stepping down or holding a free and fair presidential election. So does the U.S. On Saturday, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said: "We believe the only thing to negotiate with Nicolás Maduro is the conditions of his departure." The two sides appear far apart. During initial talks earlier this month, representatives for Maduro and the opposition spoke separately with a Norwegian mediator rather than to each other. Opposition supporters fear that Maduro is simply trying to distract attention from the country's growing havoc, which includes hyperinflation, widespread power outages and shortages of food, medicine and gasoline. In Maracaibo, one of the hardest hit cities located near the Colombian border, vegetable salesman and Guaidó supporter Ángel Gallardo claimed that only a foreign-led invasion would dislodge Maduro from power. "Negotiations won't solve anything," he said. But with life getting tougher by the day, high school principal Alexander Pérez said he's desperate for a breakthrough in Oslo. Thanks to hyperinflation, Pérez said that until recently, he was spending more per day on bus fare than he earned on the job. He now walks to work. "Negotiations are the best solution," Pérez said. "That way we will avoid bloodshed and even more pain than we are already suffering." | John Otis | https://www.npr.org/2019/05/26/727209098/delegates-for-maduro-guaid-to-meet-for-talks-on-ending-venezuelas-political-cris?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news | 2019-05-27 00:46:00+00:00 | 1,558,932,360 | 1,567,540,133 | politics | political crisis |
398,229 | osce--2019-01-17--OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Lajcak calls for political solution to crisis in and around Ukraine and f | 2019-01-17T00:00:00 | osce | OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Lajčák calls for political solution to crisis in and around Ukraine and for urgent improvements in the lives of people | KYIV, 17 January 2019 – Concluding a two-day official visit to Ukraine, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák said he was shocked by the alarming conditions of people living near the contact line in the country’s east, and called on the sides to step up their efforts for a peaceful political solution to the crisis. Lajčák, on his first official visit as OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, witnessed the daily hardships experienced by people caught in the crisis in and around Ukraine. These included the dangerous journeys people are forced to take because of attacks on critical infrastructure, such as crossing the seriously damaged bridge at the Stanytsia Luhanska entry-exit checkpoints. “In Europe – in the 21st century – people should not be struggling to have their basic needs met,” said Lajčák. “The crisis in and around Ukraine is a top priority of Slovakia’s OSCE Chairmanship,” he stressed. “Being on the ground, I can see the critical work the OSCE is doing and how much more needs to be done. For the people affected, this conflict dictates their daily lives. Direct or nearby shelling is an everyday reality. We need to do better and come up with new and innovative ideas to improve their living conditions.” To raise awareness of the most vulnerable people and the need to support the protection of critical infrastructure, Lajčák also visited the Luhansk Regional Children’s Hospital in Lysychansk, and donated 24 tons of humanitarian aid from Slovakia. Supporting concrete projects like this will be high on the agenda of the Slovak Chairmanship, he said. Slovakia also aims to work closely with other international and regional organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union, as well as other partners like the International Committee of the Red Cross. Seeing how the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (SMM) operates, Lajčák underlined the need for continuous support and further strengthening of its important work. “The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission is doing crucial work in reducing tensions on the ground,” he noted. “The monitors are the eyes and ears of the organization and they directly contribute to the prevention of further escalation.” He added that the work of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine offered an important long-term dimension to the organization’s activities in the country, particularly in supporting constitutional, legal and criminal justice reforms, and in addressing the concerns of conflict-affected communities. The Chairperson-in-Office also called for strong co-operation among the Trilateral Contact Group; the OSCE Chairperson’s Special Representative Martin Sajdik; and the Normandy format, in finding a peaceful political solution to the crisis. A critical precondition for any positive development and ultimately lasting peace is a ceasefire, he said. “We are unlikely to see political momentum when shells are still falling from the sky,, Lajčák stressed. While in Ukraine, the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office met with Ukrainian Prime Minister, Volodymyr Groysman; Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin; Defence Minister, Stepan Poltorak; and the members of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group led by First Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada, Iryna Gerashchenko. With his Ukrainian partners, he discussed the crisis in and around Ukraine, as well as how to best support the work of the SMM and mitigate the risks faced by people living close to the contact line. The upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections were also a focus of the discussions. “I am confident that all actors in Ukraine will work hard to ensure that the upcoming elections will be open, free and fair. And it is my hope that there will be no interference from external actors,” Lajčák said. “The elections can set the stage for a more peaceful and prosperous future for all Ukrainians. A future we all want.” | NRajakovic | https://www.osce.org/chairmanship/409241 | 2019-01-17 01:48:19+00:00 | 1,547,707,699 | 1,567,552,110 | politics | political crisis |
398,790 | osce--2019-06-13--OSCE Chair Lajcak meets Ukrainian President Zelensky to explore steps to peaceful political solution | 2019-06-13T00:00:00 | osce | OSCE Chair Lajčák meets Ukrainian President Zelensky to explore steps to peaceful political solution to the crisis in and around Ukraine | KYIV, 13 June 2019 – Visiting Ukraine for the second time since taking over the OSCE Chairmanship, Slovakia’s Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajčák, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other members of the Ukrainian leadership to explore steps towards a peaceful political solution to the crisis in and around Ukraine as well as to discuss ways to ease human suffering on the ground. Chairperson Lajčák congratulated President Zelensky on his sweeping success in the recent elections, remarking that this “sent a very clear message that the Ukrainian people want to see change”. Referring to Zelensky’s pre-election promise to do all he can to bring peace to Ukraine, he said: Representing the OSCE, I am here to see how we can work together towards this fundamental and urgent goal.” Meeting also with Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and the Head of Ukrainian Delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group Leonid Kuchma, Lajčák stressed that any positive development will be only possible with a guaranteed and lasting ceasefire. “We will not be able to move forward while shelling continues,” he said. Emphasizing the Slovak Chairmanship’s commitment to focus on people, he said: “Since the beginning of our Chairmanship, we have stressed over and over again that we aim to serve people, to make their lives easier, and to give them hope when it seems lost. Therefore, improving the dire humanitarian situation and the living conditions of the people in eastern Ukraine is a top priority for us.” The upcoming parliamentary elections were also on the agenda: “The Presidential elections were held with respect for fundamental freedoms, and I am confident that all actors in Ukraine are committed to ensuring that the upcoming parliamentary elections will be open, free and fair as well,” Lajčák said. Commending the important work of the OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine in addressing the everyday needs of people for the past 20 years, including more recently the conflict-affected communities, Minister Lajčák announced that the Chairmanship will hand over demining equipment to the Ministry of Defense, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Temporarily Occupied Territories. “Mines pose a grave, hidden and silent threat to innocent people. Humanitarian demining, particularly close to critical civilian infrastructure, is therefore essential – and something we want to support,” he said. The Chairperson also stressed the crucial role played by the Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine and the need for continuous support from OSCE participating States: “The OSCE Special Monitoring Mission is doing a tremendous job in reducing tensions on the ground,” he noted. “The monitors are the eyes and ears of the international community and they directly contribute to the prevention of further escalation. Ensuring the safety of the monitors and unhindered access is key,” he added. Minister Lajčák reiterated the Chairmanship’s full support to the work of the Trilateral Contact Group, the OSCE Chairperson’s Special Representative, Ambassador Martin Sajdik and the Normandy format, and expressed his hope for renewed positive momentum in finding a peaceful political solution to the crisis, in line with OSCE principles and commitments. In Kyiv, Lajčák also met with representatives of Ukraine´s civil society. Encouraging them to remain actively engaged, the OSCE Chairperson noted: “For years, Ukraine’s civil society has helped to chart the course of this country’s future. Your crucial work continues today, even if it is not always in the spotlight. But now more than ever this country needs people like you.” | MCausevic | https://www.osce.org/chairmanship/423062 | 2019-06-13 15:07:00+00:00 | 1,560,452,820 | 1,567,539,106 | politics | political crisis |
405,455 | pbs--2019-02-17--How Venezuelas political crisis began and whats next | 2019-02-17T00:00:00 | pbs | How Venezuela's political crisis began and what's next | **Hari Sreenivasan:** Tomorrow President Trump plans to give a speech in Florida largely focused on Venezuela and the U.S. backing for its self-proclaimed president Juan Guaido. But President Maduro is not showing signs of leaving and seems to continue to have the support of the military. So how did this situation happen. What's the United States role in Venezuela and is there a connection between Venezuela policy and increasing opposition to the government in Haiti. For some perspective and analysis we turn to Christopher Sabatini, an adjunct professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and editor of Global Americans a newsletter focused on Latin America and the Caribbean. We've had lots of conversations on this program about the kind of immediate crisis that Venezuela is going through the lack of medicine and food on the shelves. Right? The things that the people are suffering through I mean in the bigger picture how did we get here. | null | https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-venezuelas-political-crisis-began-and-whats-next | 2019-02-17 22:08:19+00:00 | 1,550,459,299 | 1,567,548,229 | politics | political crisis |
406,339 | pbs--2019-05-30--Kushner meets with Netanyahu amid Israels political crisis | 2019-05-30T00:00:00 | pbs | Kushner meets with Netanyahu amid Israel's political crisis | JERUSALEM (AP) — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to push the Trump administration’s long-awaited plan for Mideast peace, just as Israel was thrust into the political tumult of [an unprecedented second election](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/israeli-parliament-votes-to- dissolve-calling-second-election-this-year) in the same year. Kushner and U.S. special envoy Jason Greenblatt stopped in Israel as part of a Middle East tour to rally support for the administration’s upcoming economic conference in Bahrain, which the White House bills as the first portion of its peace plan. The U.S. is hoping to draw Arab states with deep pockets to participate in the workshop, which envisions large-scale infrastructure work and investment in the Palestinian territories. In brief joint remarks, Kushner touted American-Israeli cooperation, saying, “it’s never been stronger and we’re very excited about all the potential that lies ahead for Israel … and for the whole region.” But public attention was dominated by Israel’s political crisis. Netanyahu attempted to play down concerns that the Israeli parliament’s dramatic dissolution would further postpone the U.S. peace plan rollout. “You know, we had a little event last night,” he said. “That’s not going to stop us.” At the White House, President Trump, a close ally of Netanyahu, weighed in expressing dismay at the prime minister’s failure to form a governing coalition. Calling Netanyahu a “great guy,” Trump said he feels “very badly” that the country has to face another election because there is “enough turmoil” in the region. Israel’s reopened election season presents another stumbling block for Trump’s Mideast peace process, which the Palestinians, citing the administration’s pro-Israel bias, have rejected out of hand. The Trump administration had hinged the plan’s unveiling on Netanyahu’s victory in elections last month. Now, it seems the proposal will have to wait for the outcome of another tumultuous election cycle, after which Trump’s own race for re-election will be kicking into gear. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is facing indictment on a series of corruption charges, with his first hearing set for October. His legal troubles throw his long rule into question, along with the feasibility of a future peace plan. Traveling this week to Jordan and Morocco, Kushner and Greenblatt strove to drum up support for the economic conference in Bahrain, scheduled for June 25-26. Neither state has announced plans for participation. After more than two years of work, Kushner’s team still has not unveiled its political vision. But glimpses of the plan hint it will focus heavily on so- called economic peace while sidelining or ignoring the longstanding Palestinian goal of independence. The two-state solution continues to enjoy the broad support of the international community. Meeting with the U.S. presidential advisers, Jordan’s King Abdullah II stood by his country’s commitment to the two-state solution, exposing a rift with the administration and raising doubts about how Trump’s team will win over skeptical Arab states. Dennis Ross, the veteran Middle East negotiator, says the plan’s outlook has dimmed, considering the “many unknowns” that may indefinitely defer its rollout. Specifically, if Netanyahu pivots even farther to the right on the campaign trial, appealing to voters by promising to annex West Bank settlements again, “the political climate will only get more difficult … it will make it harder for Arab leaders to accept anything.” But, he said, Trump has attached particular importance to this peace agreement, and is eager for an accomplishment. If the administration manages to ditch the stigmatized tagline of “economic peace,” and sells the Bahrain workshop as a step toward “economic stabilization” with the help of wealthy Gulf states, the constant deferral of the plan’s thornier political portion, such as the status of contested Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees, could work in its favor. “It might be difficult for the Palestinians to reject reconstruction and development projects given the financial crises destabilizing the West Bank and Gaza right now,” said Ross. At this early point, the cash-strapped Palestinian leadership “would be saying no only to the improvement of the terrible economic conditions in Gaza and the West Bank … that could be helped without their having to give anything up politically.” Still, the Palestinians say they will not attend the Bahrain meeting, rejecting the parameters of the conference and the role of the U.S. as mediator. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his autonomy government in the West Bank cut off ties with the White House after Trump recognized contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in December 2017. Israel captured east Jerusalem in 1967 and annexed it to its capital. Though Trump said his declaration did not determine the city’s final borders, the Palestinians saw the move as unfairly favoring Israel. U.S. cuts in aid, and the closure of the Palestinian diplomatic office in Washington, further deepened their suspicions. | Associated Press | https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/kushner-meets-with-netanyahu-amid-israels-political-crisis | 2019-05-30 15:50:08+00:00 | 1,559,245,808 | 1,567,539,697 | politics | political crisis |
414,313 | politicalwire--2019-08-03--Russian Political Crisis Grows with More Arrests | 2019-08-03T00:00:00 | politicalwire | Russian Political Crisis Grows with More Arrests | “For the second consecutive weekend, Moscow police conducted mass arrests as Russia’s biggest political crisis in several years continued to escalate and pose a challenge to the Kremlin’s heavy-handed approach toward public dissent,” the Los Angeles Times reports. “More than 600 people were detained for participating in an unsanctioned rally in downtown Moscow, which opposition leaders had called to demand the inclusion of independent candidates in next month’s city council elections. At a mass rally on July 27, police took almost 1,400 people into custody and violently clashed with the thousands of protesters, beating some with truncheons.” | Taegan Goddard | https://politicalwire.com/2019/08/03/russian-political-crisis-grows-with-more-arrests/ | 2019-08-03 16:41:17+00:00 | 1,564,864,877 | 1,567,534,971 | politics | political crisis |
414,645 | politicalwire--2019-08-24--Amazon Fires Become a Global Political Crisis | 2019-08-24T00:00:00 | politicalwire | Amazon Fires Become a Global Political Crisis | “As an ecological disaster in the Amazon escalated into a global political crisis, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, took the rare step on Friday of mobilizing the armed forces to help contain blazes of a scale not seen in nearly a decade,” the New York Times reports. “The sudden reversal, after days of dismissing growing concern over hundreds of fires raging across the Amazon, came as international outrage grew over the rising deforestation in the world’s largest tropical rain forest. European leaders threatened to cancel a major trade deal, protesters staged demonstrations outside Brazilian embassies and calls for a boycott of Brazilian products snowballed on social media.” | Taegan Goddard | https://politicalwire.com/2019/08/24/amazon-fires-become-a-global-political-crisis/ | 2019-08-24 14:21:21+00:00 | 1,566,670,881 | 1,567,533,541 | politics | political crisis |
420,535 | politicususa--2019-02-08--Virginia congressional Democrats hint at path for easing political crisis | 2019-02-08T00:00:00 | politicususa | Virginia congressional Democrats hint at path for easing political crisis | RICHMOND, Va. (Reuters) – Virginia’s congressional Democratic delegation has hinted at a possible pathway for easing a week-old political crisis that has embroiled Governor Ralph Northam and two fellow Democrats at the top of the state’s executive branch. A statement issued on Thursday by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, and signed by seven other Virginia Democrats from the House of Representatives, still called for Northam to resign over racist imagery on his 1984 medical school page ad his admission to having performed in blackface. But the statement suggested a readiness to forgive the embattled state attorney general, Mark Herring, who also admitted to a blackface episode in 1980 while in college. Blackface traces its history to 19th century “minstrel” shows that mocked African-Americans and is seen as offensive by many Americans. The scandals have rattled the Democratic Party in a state where it has been gaining ground in recent years and that will play a key role in picking the winner of the 2020 presidential elections. Northam, 59, and Herring, 57, both white, have apologized in recent days for the blackface incidents. Northam additionally was revealed to have had a photo featuring a person in blackface and another in the white robes of the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan printed on his medical school yearbook page. Herring said he had donned blackface to imitate groundbreaking 1980s rapper Kurtis Blow, who weighed in on the matter on Friday. “It is unfortunate that in this current climate we are confronted with the use of blackface as a barometer of where we are as a society,” he said on Instagram. “It is my hope that these regrettable actions can be turned into teachable moments.” Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, a 39-year-old African-American, has meanwhile been accused of forcing himself sexually on a woman 14 years ago. He denies the allegation, saying the encounter was consensual. All three men have come under pressure to resign. If all three were to step down, the Democrats would lose the governorship to the Republican speaker of the House of Delegates, who is next in the line of succession. The congressional delegation indicated it was withholding final judgment on Herring, widely seen as showing more sincere contrition, while he continued efforts to mend fences with Virginia’s political establishment. Herring, who has expressed intentions to run for governor, is seen by some as more sympathetic in part because he went to the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus to confess his blackface experience before it became public, and because the episode occurred when he was just 19. Northam, by his own admission, was 25 when he donned blackface to masquerade as pop star Michael Jackson. Northam initially said he was one of the two individuals in the yearbook picture, then changed his story to say neither was him. At a Saturday news conference he mused about showing off one of Jackson’s signature dance moves before his wife counseled him against it. As for Fairfax, the congressional Democrats said the sexual assault allegations against the lieutenant governor “need to be taken very seriously” but stopped short of demanding a formal investigation. | Reuters | https://www.politicususa.com/2019/02/08/virginia-congressional-democrats-hint-at-path-for-easing-political-crisis.html | 2019-02-08 17:28:32+00:00 | 1,549,664,912 | 1,567,549,261 | politics | political crisis |
440,591 | rawstory--2019-08-02--Unacceptable Trump using Puerto Ricos political crisis to restrict hurricane relief aid | 2019-08-02T00:00:00 | rawstory | ‘Unacceptable’: Trump using Puerto Rico’s political crisis to restrict hurricane relief aid | Reports of the president’s plans come just days after Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rosselló announced he would step down in the midst of massive protests over his corruption and slur-filled text messages that mocked victims of Hurricane Maria, which may have killed nearly6,000 people. Rosselló is expected to resign on Friday, and it is not clear who will replace him. Puerto Ricans expressed alarm at the planned restrictions on disaster aid, which could further hamper the island’s ability to recover from Maria and prepare for hurricane season, which begins next month. According to the Post, the $8.3 billion in disaster funding to Puerto Rico “was approved by Congress to protect parts of the island prone to natural disasters, such as by building water pumps where flash flooding occur.” “The crisis on the island should not stall disaster aid,” Federico A. de Jesús, principal of consulting firm FDJ Solutions and the former deputy director of the Puerto Rico governor’s office in Washington, told the Post. “The money should go directly to the people—with as many safeguards and accountability processes as needed—without slowing the aid down.” Trump has repeatedly lied about the amount of federal aid Puerto Rico has received since Hurricane Maria struck the island in September of 2017. As Common Dreams reported in May, Trump said during a rally in Florida that Puerto Rico has received $91 billion in disaster relief aid since Hurricane Maria, pointing to a crude bar graph as proof. In reality, according to the Associated Press, Trump’s “number is wrong, as is his assertion that the U.S. territory has set some record for federal disaster aid. Congress has so far distributed only about $11 billion for Puerto Rico, not $91 billion.” Trump has reportedly complained to aides that Puerto Rico has received “too much” disaster relief and said he doesn’t want “another single dollar going to the island.” Trump’s efforts to stop Puerto Rico aid appears to have been effective. As Common Dreamsreported in June, the island said it had not received $600 million in food stamp aid that was approved by Congress. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, said Thursday that Trump’s decision to add further restrictions to Puerto Rico aid is “unacceptable.” “For far too long, the U.S. government has failed the people of Puerto Rico,” Sanders tweeted. “That must end today. President Trump must act now to ensure that the federal government is doing everything in its power to fully rebuild Puerto Rico.” | Jake Johnson, Common Dreams | https://www.rawstory.com/2019/08/unacceptable-trump-using-puerto-ricos-political-crisis-to-restrict-hurricane-relief-aid/ | 2019-08-02 16:36:42+00:00 | 1,564,778,202 | 1,567,535,049 | politics | political crisis |
446,679 | realclearpolitics--2019-02-08--Political Crisis in Virginia a Test for Democratic Party | 2019-02-08T00:00:00 | realclearpolitics | Political Crisis in Virginia a Test for Democratic Party | If the Democratic party’s actions are to ever credibly meet its rhetoric, then Northam, Fairfax and Herring must resign | <a href="/authors/douglas_williams" data-mce-href="../../authors/douglas_williams">Douglas Williams</a>, The Guardian | https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2019/02/08/political_crisis_in_virginia_a_test_for_democratic_party_465618.html | 2019-02-08 17:22:25+00:00 | 1,549,664,545 | 1,567,549,152 | politics | political crisis |
461,110 | renegadetribune--2019-05-31--Israel PM Meets Top US Officials Amid Political Crisis | 2019-05-31T00:00:00 | renegadetribune | Israel PM Meets Top US Officials Amid Political Crisis | (MEMO) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday met with Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump’s senior adviser (and son-in-law), and Jason Greenblatt, Trump’s Mideast envoy, Anadolu Agency reports. Kushner and Greenblatt are visiting Israel as part of a wider Middle East tour in the run-up to a planned US-sponsored meeting in Bahrain meant to lure investment to the Palestinian territories. The White House has described the upcoming meeting in Manama as the first phase of its so-called “Deal of the Century”, a backchannel Palestine-Israel peace plan the terms of which have yet to be made public. In April, Kushner said that details of the plan would be unveiled after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Israeli media, however, reported on Thursday that this could be delayed after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition government, prompting him to announce snap elections in September. “Kushner thought he was coming to Jerusalem to meet a prime minister,” Haaretz reported. “Instead, he’s meeting a man forced to plan his second reelection campaign of the year.” According to the newspaper, the political crisis could end up derailing the Trump administration’s peace plan. Slated for June 25 and 26, the upcoming conference in Manama will reportedly be chaired by Kushner and Greenblatt. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have all announced their intention to take part in the event. Based on leaks in the Israeli media, Trump’s peace plan will call on the Palestinian leadership to make concessions to Israel regarding Jerusalem’s status and the rights of Palestinian refugees. | renegade | http://www.renegadetribune.com/israel-pm-meets-top-us-officials-amid-political-crisis/ | 2019-05-31 12:00:25+00:00 | 1,559,318,425 | 1,567,539,611 | politics | political crisis |
467,718 | rferl--2019-01-26--UN Security Council To Meet On Venezuela Political Crisis | 2019-01-26T00:00:00 | rferl | UN Security Council To Meet On Venezuela Political Crisis | The UN Security Council is due to discuss the political crisis in Venezuela after the United States requested an emergency session in New York. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Venezuelan Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza both plan to attend. Pompeo said on January 25 he would urge other countries to support Juan Guaido, who declared himself Venezuela's interim president on January 23 as Venezuelans took to the streets to demand the resignation of President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro has broken off diplomatic relations with Washington and ordered U,S. diplomatic staff to leave by January 27. In press conferences on January 25, Guaido urged his sympathizers to stage another mass protest next week and told them that if he is arrested they should "stay the course" and peacefully protest, while Maduro called for dialogue. The United States, the European Union, more than half a dozen Latin American countries, and Albania have thrown their support behind the opposition. Other countries -- including Russia, Iran, Turkey, Cuba, Bolivia, and Nicaragua -- have backed Maduro. Maduro won a second term in May elections widely seen as undemocratic and was sworn in on January 10 amid mounting international pressure on him to step down. Guaido has described the situation in Venezuela as a "humanitarian emergency." Despite possessing the largest oil reserves in the world, Venezuela has been in economic and political crisis for years. | null | https://www.rferl.org/a/un-security-council-to-meet-on-venezuela-political-crisis/29732523.html | 2019-01-26 08:40:00+00:00 | 1,548,510,000 | 1,567,550,781 | politics | political crisis |
475,417 | rt--2019-05-08--Constitutional crisis or political stunt House Democrats hold AG Barr in contempt | 2019-05-08T00:00:00 | rt | ‘Constitutional crisis’ or political stunt? House Democrats hold AG Barr in contempt | House Judiciary Committee Democrats have voted to hold Attorney William Barr in contempt of Congress for defying their demands for the unredacted Mueller report and underlying evidence. Following the 22-12 vote along party lines, committee chair Jerry Nadler (D-New York) told reporters the US is now in a “constitutional crisis.” The vote came after the White House asserted executive privilege over the report’s contents, calling Nadler’s demand for the unredacted report a “blatant abuse of power.” A version of the report with most of the redactions removed has been made available at a secure facility, but so far no Democrats have bothered to look at it. “It is deeply disappointing that elected representatives of the American people have chosen to engage in such inappropriate political theatrics," DOJ spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said in a statement, adding that no one force the Department of Justice to break the law by handing over documents that cannot be disclosed. This is only the second occasion a congressional committee has held a sitting attorney general in contempt. The first such instance was in 2012, when Barack Obama’s AG Eric Holder was held in contempt by the Republican-majority House over his refusal to provide documents related to the “Fast and furious” gun smuggling scandal. At the time, Nadler called it a “shameful, politically-motivated” vote and walked out of the proceedings. Mueller was appointed special counsel in May 2017 by deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, after Democrats accused Trump of obstructing the 'Russian collusion' investigation by sacking FBI Director James Comey. After nearly two years of investigating, he submitted a 448-page report to the DOJ in March. Barr, who became AG in February, published the full report – with less than 10 percent redacted to protect sources, methods, grand jury information and ongoing investigations – to the public on April 18. In his refusal to hand over the documents demanded by the committee, Barr cited the opinion of AG Janet Reno from 1996, during the Clinton administration. Back then, Nadler vocally opposed the release of the full report by special counsel Ken Starr into President Bill Clinton. Democrats have gone so far as to demand Barr’s resignation over his handling of the Mueller report, though certain conservative commentators have suggested that the outrage aimed at the AG has more to do with his ongoing investigation into the Obama administration’s surveillance of the Trump campaign during and after the 2016 presidential election. Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! | RT | https://www.rt.com/usa/458825-house-democrats-barr-contempt/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=RSS | 2019-05-08 22:02:30+00:00 | 1,557,367,350 | 1,567,540,881 | politics | political crisis |
477,894 | russiainsider--2019-02-27--Neoliberal Economic Reform Timidity in East Ukraine Has Russia Sliding Toward Internal Political Cr | 2019-02-27T00:00:00 | russiainsider | Neoliberal Economic Reform, Timidity in East Ukraine Has Russia Sliding Toward Internal Political Crisis | A rather harsh criticism of the Russian Government and the Kremlin in this SouthFront analysis. Sadly, I cannot say that I disagree with what they say. In fact, I think that they are spot on and that all the “loyal” Kremlin-bots who deny that there is a serious problem in Russia are wrong. Supporting Vladimir Putin’s struggle to truly make Russia sovereign again and built a new multi-polar world does not at all entail being blind to all the very real mistakes and even faults of the Russian government. I can only say that I hope that SF is right and that the current lack of support of the Russian people of the government’s neo-liberal/capitalist policies will force Putin to correct the course and return to the kind of social policies the Russian people clearly want. It is also high time for Russia to take a harsher stance on the Ukraine, if only because the situation in the Ukraine (political and economic) is a total disaster and because some kind of military escalation in the Ukraine seems inevitable. All in all, yet another absolutely superb report by SouthFront whose sober analysis contrasts favorably with what both flag-wavers and fear-mongers typically produce. The Russia of 2019 is in a complicated economic and even political situation. Smoldering conflicts near its borders amid continued pressure from the US and NATO affect the situation in the country negatively. This is manifested in society and in national politics. The approval rating of the Russian government and personally of President Vladimir Putin has been decreasing. According to VCIOM, a state pollster, in January 2019, Putin’s confidence rating was only 32.8%. This is 24% less than in January 2018 when it was 57.2%. At the same time, the confidence rating of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was 7.8%. The approval rating of his cabinet is 37.7% while the disapproval rating is 38.7%. Opposition sources show data, which is far worse for the current Russian leadership. This tendency is not linked to the foreign policy course of the Kremlin. Rather, it’s the result of the recent series of liberal-minded economic reforms, which look similar to the approaches exercised by the Russian government in the mid-1990s. The decision to increase Value Added Tax amid the slowing Russian economy, especially in the industrial sector, and a very unpopular pension reform increasing the retirement age were both factors contributing to the further growth of discontent in the population. Russia’s GDP increased by 2.3% in 2018 compared to 1.6% in 2017. However, the Ministry of Economic Development, in its document entitled “Economic Picture” stated that this is linked to “one-time factors” and is not “stable”. The ministry maintained its earlier forecast stating that GDP growth in 2019 will be 1.3%. It confirmed increasing capital outflow. In this case, the repayment of funds to Western creditors by the Russian private sector is one of the causes. The Ministry of Economic Development also pointed out that the expendable income of the population decreased by 0.2%. Statutory charges, including the increased taxes, are named as one of the reasons. The document says that statutory charges grew by 14.8% in 2018. Additionally, the population is facing an increasingly restrictive administrative pressure: new fines and other penalties for minor violations in various fields and additional administrative restrictions limiting the freedom of actions of citizens. Restrictive traffic management of big cities, increasing fees for using federal highways as well as policies that are de-facto aimed at small business and self-employed persons are among its landmarks. Meanwhile the general population has no effective levers of pressure to affect or correct government policy. The public political sphere has become a desert. United Russia (Edinaya Rossiya) is the only political party still de—facto existing in public politics. By now its ideological and organizational capabilities have become exhausted. Other “political parties and organizations” are just media constructs designed to defend the interests of a narrow group of their sponsors. It is hard to find a lawmaker in the State Duma or the Federation Council, who is not affiliated with the cliquish top political elite and oligarch clans. In the media sphere, the government has failed to explain its current course to the population. A vast majority of the initiatives of Medvedev’s cabinet face a negative reaction from the population. A spate of scandals involving high and middle level government officials made the situation even worse. These cases revealed blatant hypocrisy and the neglectful attitude to duties of some Russian officials. Some of the officials even became heroes of nationwide memes. Probably, the most prominent of these heroes are Minister of Labour and Employment of the Saratov region Natalia Sokolova and Head of Department for Youth Policy in the Sverdlov Region Olga Glatskikh. Sokolova advised Russian pensioners to eat “makaroshki” [a derogatory term for maccheroni] to save money and to thus become able to survive on the subsistence minimum of 3,500 RUB [about 50 USD] per month. “You will become younger, prettier and slimmer! Makaroshki cost is always the same!”, she said during a meeting of the regional parliamentary group on social policy in October 2018 adding that discounted products can be used to create a “balanced, but dietic” menu. Glatskikh became a meme hero thank to her meeting with young volunteers during the same month. Commenting on the possible financing of youth projects, she told volunteers that the government did not ask their parents “to give birth” to them. So, they should expect nothing from the state. In the period from 2018 to 2019, there were multiple arrests of officials caught exceeding the limits of their authority and being involved in corruption schemes. In comparison to previous periods, this number had increased by 1.5-2 times. The most recent detention took place right in the Parliament building on January 30. A 32-year-old senator, Rauf Arashukov, is suspected of being a member of a criminal group involved in the 2010 murders of two people and in pressuring a witness to one of the killings. On the same day, authorities detained his father, an adviser to the chief executive of a Gazprom subsidiary, Raul Arashukov. He is suspected of embezzling natural gas worth 30 billion rubles ($450 million). However, these actions do not appear to be enough to change the established media situation. After a large-scale corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defense in 2012, which led to almost no consequences for key responsible persons including former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who even continued his carrier in state-linked corporation Rostec. The general public has serious reservations about any real success of anti-corruption efforts. The aforementioned factors fuel the negative perception of the Medvedev government and Vladimir Putin as the head of state among Russian citizens. The 2014 events in Crimea showed to the Russian population that its state is ready to defend the interests of the nation and those who describe themselves as Russians even by force of arms. This was the first case when this approach was openly employed in the recent history of Russia. Therefore, the population was enthusiastic and national pride was on the rise. However, the Kremlin failed to exploit these gained opportunities and did not use them to strengthen the Russian state. In fact, up to February 2019, the policy towards eastern Ukraine has been inconsistent. At the same time, Moscow continues to lose its influence in post-Soviet states. This can be observed in both the Caucasus and Central Asia. Even, their close ally, Belarus, occasionally demonstrates unfriendly behavior and focuses its own efforts on the exploitation of economic preferences granted by Russia. Evaluating the current internal political situation in Russia and its foreign policy course, it’s possible to say that the Russian leadership has lost its clear vision of national development and a firm and consistent policy, which are needed for any great power. Another explanation of this is that the Russian leadership is facing pressure from multiple agents of influence, which stand against vision of a powerful independent state seeking to act as one of the centers of power on the global stage. One more factor, often pointed out by experts, is the closed crony-caste system of elites. This system led to the creation of a leadership, which pursues its own narrow clannish interests. Apparently, all of these factors influence Russian foreign and domestic policies in one way or another. The aforementioned large-scale anti-corruption campaign, regarding the people’s show-me attitude towards its result, could be a sign of a new emerging trend, which would lead to a purge of the corrupt elites and to strategic changes in Russian domestic policy. It is highly likely that Russia will face hard times in the next two years (2019-2020) and face various threats and challenges to its economy, foreign policy course and even to its statehood. | The Saker | https://russia-insider.com/en/neoliberal-economic-reform-timidity-east-ukraine-has-russia-sliding-toward-internal-political-crisis | 2019-02-27 10:02:34+00:00 | 1,551,279,754 | 1,567,547,082 | politics | political crisis |
496,201 | sottnet--2019-01-31--Venezuelan FM African Union voices support for Maduro amid political crisis | 2019-01-31T00:00:00 | sottnet | Venezuelan FM: African Union voices support for Maduro amid political crisis | The Venezuelan Foreign Ministry said that the African Union had expressed its support for President Nicolas Maduro amid the escalating political crisis in the country."Deputy Chairperson of the African Union, Thomas Kwesi Quartey, has sent a message of solidarity with the people of Venezuela and of support for constitutional president Nicolas Maduro," the ministry wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.The message had been handed over to the Venezuelan authorities through the country's ambassador to Ethiopia, the ministry added.Earlier in the day, Uruguay's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the upcoming international conference on the current political crisis in Venezuela, which is to take place in Montevideo on 7 February. The initiative was suggested by Uruguay and Mexico.Later Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called for a dialogue between the sides to the Venezuelan crisis without setting any conditions."We and the Spanish government share the call for dialogue between the [Venezuelan] sides. I believe that we have agreed that we can engage in this [process] if it is necessary in order to make both sides of the conflict sit down and maintain dialogue without any conditions," Obrador told reporters after his meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday.On Wednesday US President Donald Trump spoke to Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, reiterating the US' support for the opposition's "fight to regain democracy".Last Monday, mass protests erupted across Venezuela and on 23 January, Guaido declared himself the country's interim president. The UK, Germany, France, and Spain declared on Saturday their intention to recognise Juan Guaido as the country's interim president if Caracas does not announce snap presidential elections within eight days.In turn, Russia, Cuba, China, Turkey and Iran have given Maduro's government full support, with Maduro himself calling Venezuela "the victim of a US conspiracy", referring to US Vice President Mike Pence promising Guaido "full American support" the day before he declared himself Venezuela's new head of state. Maduro also stressed that Venezuela had held legitimate elections and urged European countries to withdraw their demand. | null | https://www.sott.net/article/406223-Venezuelan-FM-African-Union-voices-support-for-Maduro-amid-political-crisis | 2019-01-31 20:01:40+00:00 | 1,548,982,900 | 1,567,550,183 | politics | political crisis |
498,118 | sottnet--2019-02-27--Russia slides towards internal political crisis | 2019-02-27T00:00:00 | sottnet | Russia slides towards internal political crisis | Another explanation of this is that the Russian leadership is facing pressure from multiple agents of influence , which stand against vision of a powerful independent state seeking to act as one of the centers of power on the global stage. This is a critical look at the situation in Russia. The video is based on an article of one of our readers and additional data.The Russia of 2019 is in a complicated economic and even political situation.This is manifested in society and in national politics. The approval rating of the Russian government and personally of President Vladimir Putin has been decreasing.According to VCIOM, a state pollster,when it was 57.2%. At the same time, the confidence rating of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev was 7.8%. The approval rating of his cabinet is 37.7% while the disapproval rating is 38.7%. Opposition sources show data, which is far worse for the current Russian leadership.This tendency is not linked to the foreign policy course of the Kremlin. Rather,, which look similar to the approaches exercised by the Russian government in the mid-1990s.amid the slowing Russian economy, especially in the industrial sector,were both factors contributing to the further growth of discontent in the population.. However, the Ministry of Economic Development, in its document entitled "Economic Picture" stated that this is linked to "one-time factors" and is not "stable". The ministry maintained its earlier forecast stating that GDP growth in 2019 will be 1.3%. It confirmed increasing capital outflow. In this case, the repayment of funds to Western creditors by the Russian private sector is one of the causes.The Ministry of Economic Development also pointed out that. Statutory charges, including the increased taxes, are named as one of the reasons. The document says that statutory charges grew by 14.8% in 2018.Additionally, the population is facing an increasingly restrictive administrative pressure:. Restrictive traffic management of big cities, increasing fees for using federal highways as well as policies that are de-facto aimed at small business and self-employed persons are among its landmarks.Meanwhile the general population has no effective levers of pressure to affect or correct government policy.. United Russia (Edinaya Rossiya) is the only political party still de-facto existing in public politics. By now its ideological and organizational capabilities have become exhausted.It is hard to find a lawmaker in the State Duma or the Federation Council, who is not affiliated with the cliquish top political elite and oligarch clans.In the media sphere,A vast majority of the initiatives of Medvedev's cabinet face a negative reaction from the population.made the situation even worse. These cases revealed blatant hypocrisy and the neglectful attitude to duties of some Russian officials.Some of the officials even became heroes of nationwide memes. Probably, the most prominent of these heroes are Minister of Labour and Employment of the Saratov region Natalia Sokolova and Head of Department for Youth Policy in the Sverdlov Region Olga Glatskikh.and to thus become able to survive on the subsistence minimum of 3,500 RUB [about 50 USD] per month."You will become younger, prettier and slimmer! Makaroshki cost is always the same!", she said during a meeting of the regional parliamentary group on social policy in October 2018 adding that discounted products can be used to create a "balanced, but dietic" menu.Glatskikh became a meme hero thank to her meeting with young volunteers during the same month. Commenting on the possible financing of youth projects, she told volunteers that the government did not ask their parents "to give birth" to them. So, they should expect nothing from the state.In comparison to previous periods,. The most recent detention took place right in the Parliament building on January 30. A 32-year-old senator,is suspected of being a member of a criminal group involved inand in pressuring a witness to one of the killings. On the same day, authorities detained, an adviser to the chief executive of a Gazprom subsidiary,He is suspected ofHowever, these actions do not appear to be enough to change the established media situation. After a large-scale corruption scandal in the Ministry of Defense in 2012, which led to almost no consequences for key responsible persons including former Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov, who even continued his carrier in state-linked corporation Rostec.The aforementioned factors fuel the negative perception of the Medvedev government and Vladimir Putin as the head of state among Russian citizens.The 2014 events inshowed to the Russian population that its state is ready to defend the interests of the nation and those who describe themselves as Russians even by force of arms. This was the first case when this approach was openly employed in the recent history of Russia. Therefore, the population was enthusiastic and national pride was on the rise. However, the Kremlinand did not use them to strengthen the Russian state. In fact, up to February 2019,This can be observed in both the Caucasus and Central Asia. Even, their close ally, Belarus, occasionally demonstrates unfriendly behavior and focuses its own efforts on the exploitation of economic preferences granted by Russia.Evaluating the current internal political situation in Russia and its foreign policy course, it's possible to say that the Russian leadership has lost its clear vision of national development and a firm and consistent policy, which are needed for any great power.This system led to the creation of a leadership, which pursues its own narrow clannish interests. Apparently, all of these factors influence Russian foreign and domestic policies in one way or another.The aforementioned large-scale anti-corruption campaign, regarding the people's show-me attitude towards its result, could be a sign of a new emerging trend, which would lead to a purge of the corrupt elites and to strategic changes in Russian domestic policy.It is highly likely that Russia will face hard times in the next two years (2019-2020) and face various threats and challenges to its economy, foreign policy course and even to its statehood. | null | https://www.sott.net/article/408093-Russia-slides-towards-internal-political-crisis | 2019-02-27 11:07:49+00:00 | 1,551,283,669 | 1,567,547,207 | politics | political crisis |
526,920 | sputnik--2019-02-26--WATCH UNSC Holds Meeting on Venezuelan Political Crisis | 2019-02-26T00:00:00 | sputnik | WATCH: UNSC Holds Meeting on Venezuelan Political Crisis | US Special Envoy to Venezuela Elliot Abrams said Tuesday ahead of the UNSC meeting that Washington would announce more sanctions on Caracas and reintroduce a UN resolution on humanitarian aid. The scheduling of the Security Council session comes after the United States imposed new sanctions on the Venezuelan government while US and opposition leaders vowed to intensify efforts to deliver controversial "humanitarian aid." Venezuela is gripped by political crisis. On 5 January, lawmaker Juan Guaido was elected as the president of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, which all other government branches have been refusing to recognize since 2016. On 23 January, two days after the Venezuelan Supreme Court annulled his election, Guaido declared himself the country's "interim president". Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was sworn in for his second presidential term on 10 January after winning the May election, which part of the opposition boycotted, qualified Guaido's move as an attempt to stage a coup orchestrated by Washington. | null | https://sputniknews.com/us/201902261072771060-un-unsc-venezuela-vote/ | 2019-02-26 20:00:00+00:00 | 1,551,229,200 | 1,567,547,309 | politics | political crisis |
527,855 | sputnik--2019-03-14--Britain Is Now in the Clutches of an Even Bigger Political Crisis - Professor | 2019-03-14T00:00:00 | sputnik | Britain Is Now in the Clutches of an Even Bigger Political Crisis - Professor | Following the vote, the prime minister told MPs that if her deal fails to get through Parliament there could be a delay in Brexit until 30 June. Sputnik discussed the prospects of Brexit with James Downes, a Professor in Comparative Politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Sputnik: UK lawmakers have rejected a no deal Brexit. What are the next steps for Britain? James Downes: Britain is now in the clutches of an even bigger political crisis. The next steps for Brexit are incredibly uncertain. There are two potential scenarios on the horizon. The first scenario involves an extension of Article 50. This would involve MPs deciding whether to delay Brexit until the 30th June 2019, in order to allow for the legislation to be passed through the UK House of Commons. However, this is all predicated on MPs backing Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal by the 20th March. Again, it is highly unlikely that MPs would currently accept the Prime Minister’s deal. This causes even more problems as the European Parliament elections will be held in May 2019. This may even involve Britain having to take part in the European Parliament elections as part of some compromise strategy with the European Union. However, such a move could further undermine political trust amongst voters in Britain, creating further divides between the political elites in Westminster and ordinary voters alongside empowering ‘hard’ Eurosceptic groups in the UK. It is also not even clear whether there would be support for such a move both politically and legally within the EU. The second scenario would now seem to point to the possibility of a second Referendum. The notion of holding a second Referendum back in 2018 would have seemed completely out of the question. However, we are not living in ordinary political times and a looming constitutional crisis is engulfing the British Government now. Holding a second Referendum may be the only way to clearly solve the current political impasse that Britain is at. Yet there are grave risks of holding a second Referendum, particularly in how this could further undermine political trust amongst Brexit voters and further increase polarisation in the United Kingdom. Parliament would also need to seize momentum from the government and table a vote for a second referendum to take place. It is also important to underline how it would take considerable time to even set up a second Referendum and this is extremely difficult, logistically speaking. It is not even remotely clear whether there would be a simple Remain or Leave question, or whether different Brexit deal scenarios would be outlined to the British voters. The chances of a second Referendum though are likely higher than the possibility of another General Election. Holding another General Election is highly to lead to no party having a clear majority in Parliament and would likely exacerbate Brexit further and divisions within the United Kingdom. Having said that, the first Brexit vote also highlighted significant age divides, between younger and older voters. A second Referendum would also likely produce similar polarisation amongst different age cohorts and between the North and South of England in particular. Sputnik: Some reports have noted that the vote will clear the path for Parliament to request extra time for the withdrawal process. What consequences can this have on the already divided Conservative party? James Downes: This is likely to further divide the Conservative Parliamentary Party, both Remainers and Leavers alike. However, Brexit cuts across traditional political party lines and this would also further split the Labour Party. The only political parties that would come out of Brexit well are likely to be the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalist Party. The latter have even recently been speaking about tabling a motion for a second Independence Referendum, should Britain crash out of the EU. UK PM Could Win Hard Brexiteer’s Support By Warning They Could ‘Lose Brexit’ – Prof There has been much talk about the damage caused by Brexit to the UK Conservative Party, but arguably more damage may be done to the UK Labour Party, with the party split significantly at the moment between the democratic socialist radical left leadership of Jeremy Corbyn and a large majority of the social democratic Labour Parliamentary Party which is pro-Remain (pro-EU) and deeply concerned about the prospects of leaving the EU. The mass membership (voter base) of the Labour party is also heavily split on this issue, particularly amongst the influential Momentum Movement. In short, Britain’s two traditional mainstream parties (Conservative & Labour) will take years to recover from the mess of Brexit. In turn, this opens up political space for other ‘minor’ parties in British politics such as the increasingly far right United Kingdom Independence Party and the newly formed Independent Group. Yet, paradoxically, the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system that Britain uses for Westminster elections would still make it incredibly difficult for new ‘entrant’ or ‘minor’ parties to translate their vote shares into meaningful seats in the UK House of Commons. This would be the only real saving grace for Britain’s two historically dominant political parties. Sputnik: In your view, under what circumstances will the EU agree to extend the withdrawal process? James Downes: The European Union has by no means made any meaningful guarantees that they will agree to prolong or even extend the Article 50 process. The EU long expected the Brexit issue to have been settled months ago and has had enough of compromising. As outlined earlier in the interview, the EU would have wanted a decisive outcome on Brexit well in advance of the May 2019 European Parliament elections. Key leaders of EU member states such as Prime Minister Mark Rutte from the Netherlands and President Emmanuel Macron from France have voiced their scepticism about the EU further extending Article 50. Countries such as France have taken a particularly strong stance and highlighted how they are still working towards March 29th 2019 as the end point for Brexit. Too Hard to Bear: Brits Stockpile on Toilet Paper, Painkillers Ahead of No-Deal Brexit However, whilst the EU 27-member states have remained remarkably unified thus far, there still remains the distinctive possibility that the UK could crash out of the EU on the 29th March with no agreement and thus trade on World Trade Organization terms. All it would require is one individual EU member state to refuse to any such re-negotiations for this to happen If such a crash out did occur. This would be catastrophic for both the UK and the EU. Political brinksmanship and compromises are needed over the next two decisive weeks from both sides alike. The EU is likely to only make concessions at the very last moment as it will be deeply worried about the possibility of Britain crashing out. The next two weeks will decide the future of British politics and at the same time the future direction of the EU project. The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect Sputnik's position. | null | https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201903141073229992-uk-brexit-crisis-eu/ | 2019-03-14 12:35:00+00:00 | 1,552,581,300 | 1,567,546,327 | politics | political crisis |
528,886 | sputnik--2019-03-22--EU Not Responsible for Solving Political Crisis in UK - French Foreign Minister | 2019-03-22T00:00:00 | sputnik | EU Not Responsible for Solving Political Crisis in UK - French Foreign Minister | "It is necessary for the British to take courage and not to bring their difficult internal situation to the European Union. It is not the European Union who should resolve the UK political crisis," the minister said on the BFMTV broadcaster. READ MORE: Petition to Revoke Brexit Gets Over 2.7Mln Signatures Following discussions on Thursday evening in Brussels, heads of the EU member states identified two scenarios for postponing Brexit, which the United Kingdom has requested. The first would be an extension until May 22, provided the withdrawal agreement is approved by the UK parliament. If lawmakers reject the deal, the deadline would only be moved until April 12. European Council President Donald Tusk said that April 12 was a key date with regard to whether or not the United Kingdom would participate in the elections to the European Parliament. | null | https://sputniknews.com/europe/201903221073453337-eu-political-crisis-uk/ | 2019-03-22 11:33:00+00:00 | 1,553,268,780 | 1,567,545,277 | politics | political crisis |
529,916 | sputnik--2019-04-03--Major Political Crisis Certain if Brexit Delays Continue - Fmr UK Labor Leader | 2019-04-03T00:00:00 | sputnik | ‘Major Political Crisis’ Certain if Brexit Delays Continue - Fmr UK Labor Leader | Originally due to leave the EU on March 31, the UK was granted at least 12 more days to accommodate further parliamentary debate. But now that deadline also seems certain to be missed, as May's Brexit deal has been rejected for a third time since its initial agreement between her government and Brussels last November. Alex Gordon, former president of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, told Radio Sputnik's Loud and Clear Tuesday that much of the fear over Brexit's economic and social effects was "stoked up" by either EU or UK governments to try and "smuggle their class interests past the interests of the majority of the population." Gordon said May's government was a "circular firing squad" and had been described by one of her own Conservative Party leaders as "the most dysfunctional government in history." "What you're seeing unraveling in real-time is a political and state crisis of one of the most important states in the world," Gordon said, noting that "its ruling class is now in complete meltdown: deadlocked, unable to reach a decision, unable to reach a consensus, unable to smuggle their class interests past the interests of the majority of the population over here, which was their historic purpose. The Conservative Party has always been the vehicle for promoting the interests of the British ruling class as the interests of the nation, and they've simply been unable to do that over this question of Brexit." "So what it means is, she's going to go running along, on the 10th of April, in just over a week's time, to the European Council of Ministers and ask them for a further extension to Article 50 beyond the 12th of April," Gordon said. "It seems extremely possible that the European Council are going to refuse that, because they've seen the shambolic state of her government; they know that she cannot deliver; she can't deliver within her own cabinet, and she can't deliver within the House of Commons, the British Parliament." "So, everyone is asking the question over here: ‘What's going to happen?' Some of the best-informed commentators think that still the most likely outcome of this whole mess is that Britain will leave the European Union on the 12th of April without a deal with the European Union — that is to say, leave on World Trade Organization terms," Gordon told Sputnik. "The other possibility is that the House of Commons will effectively launch a parliamentary coup d'etat and revoke the entire departure process — revoke Article 50 — and decide that they're going to remain in the European Union. If they do that, they will reap a whirlwind, because there's going to be a complete breakdown of established party politics in Britain," Gordon said, reassuring hosts Brian Becker and John Kiriakou that "British commentators and British viewers have no more idea than your own audience what the British political ruling class is up to." Only the Rich Fear Brexit - Former Labour MP Gordon said the British Civil Service "has made extensive preparations" for Brexit. "There will be small dislocations in trade; everything has been taken into account. There will not be a catastrophe; there will not be a meltdown in trade; the prices of food will not skyrocket; there will not be a mass closure of factories because they can't get spare parts. There's been a huge project of fear mounted in the last two or three months around these issues for the consequences of trade, but it's quite clear there will be a Brexit under World Trade Organization rules." "The British government has published its proposals for the impact on tariffs. In effect, the duty-free ratio of tariffs will move from 80 percent at current levels on goods imported to Britain to 87 percent, so there'll be an increase in reductions in tariffs into Britain. This will depend on which sector you're talking about; whether it's agriculture or manufactured goods or pharmaceuticals, there will be a change in tariff rules, but it's going to be a dislocation rather than a catastrophe," he said. British Pound Falls 0.43% Against US Dollar in Wake of Brexit Deal Vote As for the question of the border between the independent Republic of Ireland and the UK's Northern Ireland, which has proven the major subject of contention in the UK's internal Brexit debate, Gordon told Sputnik that "much of this fear has been stoked up by the Irish government at the behest of the European Commission." He said that Irish republicans were "incredulous at the suggestion that an Irish government might impose border controls… when the British Conservative government is saying that under no circumstances would they impose border controls," although Gordon wouldn't' discount the idea of politics in Dublin, London or Brussels changing "a few years down the road." Based on his talks with people on both sides of the border, Gordon concluded, "The impact is going to be extremely minimal in terms of the day-to-day lives of people who live around the border of Northern Ireland… The border in Northern Ireland has been used cynically by the European Commission and the Irish government to try and put pressure on the British in the negotiations. I don't think it is a major issue, in reality." "The sky won't fall" if Britain doesn't leave the EU on April 12, Gordon said, but "if there's a long extension… there will be a major political crisis in Britain, because… the majority of the electorate has voted to leave the European Union, and such an act of treachery would be paid back with real vengeance, and we would see really a breaking of the existing party system of Labour and Conservative and the emergence of new forces that we can't really contemplate entirely at this moment." | null | https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201904031073774949-Major-Political-Crisis-Certain-Brexit-Delays-Continue/ | 2019-04-03 00:29:32+00:00 | 1,554,265,772 | 1,567,544,239 | politics | political crisis |
530,304 | sputnik--2019-04-06--French Foreign Minister Libyan Crisis Can Only Be Resolved by Political Means | 2019-04-06T00:00:00 | sputnik | French Foreign Minister: Libyan Crisis Can Only Be Resolved by Political Means | "In Libya, we know what needs to be done. Yesterday evening, we set forth the communique with no difficulty. There is one basic principle which that in Libya there will not be a military victory. The solution can only be a political one", Le Drian said at a press conference closing the meeting of G7 foreign ministers in France. The political solution for the Libyan crisis includes calling a national conference and a subsequent holding of elections, the French foreign minister noted. "Now, for all of this to happen in a calm setting, we need many elements of the present situation to stop, and different players to restrain themselves", Le Drian underlined. The situation in Libya escalated on 4 April as Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of forces loyal to East Libya-based government, ordered an offensive to retake Tripoli from the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA)-backed forces. The LNA has already recaptured a number of settlements on its way to the capital, while leader of Libya's UN-supported government Fayez Sarraj has ordered its troops to use force if necessary. | null | https://sputniknews.com/africa/201904061073886580-libya-france-crisis-haftar/ | 2019-04-06 18:36:00+00:00 | 1,554,590,160 | 1,567,543,809 | politics | political crisis |
545,495 | sputnik--2019-10-01--Early General Elections in Peru Set For 26 January As Nation Grapples With Political Crisis Fallout | 2019-10-01T00:00:00 | sputnik | Early General Elections in Peru Set For 26 January As Nation Grapples With Political Crisis Fallout | Early parliamentary elections have been set in Peru for 26 January amidst the raging political crisis in the South American nation. "To call elections to a new Congress on Sunday, 26 January, 2020 to end the constitutional period of the dissolved Congress," reads the decree, signed by President Martin Vizcarra and new Prime Minister Vicente Zeballos, as cited by El Peruano newspaper. The decree stated that the votes of no confidence in two cabinets formed under the current government's term (2016-2021) as the reason for the Congress' dissolution. In line with Article 134 of the Peruvian Constitution, the president has the right to dissolve parliament should two cabinets be removed over no-confidence motions. According to the document, legislative powers will be exercised by a special congressional committee consisting of 27 people, which cannot be dissolved, until the new convocation. The recent developments follow a decree to dissolve the country's congress by President Martin Vizcarra after lawmakers boycotted his calls for anti-graft reform. In a televised address, Vizcarra explained his move as a consequence of lawmakers proceeding with a controversial vote to replace almost all the members of the Constitutional Tribunal. “We are making history that will be remembered by future generations. And when they do, I hope they understand the magnitude of this fight that we are in today against an endemic evil that has caused much harm to our country,” he said. In turn, the dissolved legislature declared Vizcarra temporarily unfit to govern and appointed Vice President Mercedes Araoz as acting head of state. The country's military and police have expressed support for the current president of the country, Martin Vizcarra, the administration of the head of state said on Twitter. Earlier this month, lawmakers in the country failed to pass a constitutional reform seeking to hold presidential elections in 2020, a year earlier than scheduled. The reform was proposed as part of Vizcarra’s anti-corruption drive, in a bid to overcome a political stalemate with right-wing lawmakers. In June, Peru’s government won a confidence vote in the country’s Congress, avoiding special legislative elections. As opposition leaders denounced Vizcarra’s moves, Peruvians are anticipated to applaud his decision, writes Time, as new congressional elections were hoped for to replace the majority party, led by former presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori, the daughter of former President Alberto Fujimori, who is now behind bars. Last year Vizcarra, then vice president, rose to the presidency as he championed anti-corruption initiatives after President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigned in the wake of revelations that his private consulting firm had received secret payments from Odebrecht, the Brazilian construction giant that has confessed to making million-dollar payments to politicians in the Latin American region to secure lucrative public works contracts. Vizcarra struggled to push legislation through congress, instead repeatedly utilising a “vote of confidence” through which he could threaten to dissolve the legislature if lawmakers didn’t approve his proposals. | null | https://sputniknews.com/latam/201910011076932588-early-general-elections-in-peru-set-for-26-january-as-nation-grapples-with-political-crisis-fallout/ | 2019-10-01 09:44:16+00:00 | 1,569,937,456 | 1,570,221,864 | politics | political crisis |
545,561 | sputnik--2019-10-01--Peruvian Foreign Minister Finance Minister Resign Amid Political Crisis Reports | 2019-10-01T00:00:00 | sputnik | Peruvian Foreign Minister, Finance Minister Resign Amid Political Crisis – Reports | On Monday, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra dissolved the country’s Congress after lawmakers boycotted his calls for an anti-graft reform. The dissolved legislature, in turn, declared Vizcarra temporarily unfit to govern and appointed Vice President Mercedes Araoz as acting head of state. Vizcarra thanked Popolizio and Oliva for their work, the Republica newspaper reported, citing Minister of Women and Vulnerable Populations Gloria Montenegro. Peru’s constitution states that the president can dissolve the Congress if lawmakers deliver two votes of no-confidence; one such vote has already been delivered. In June, Peru’s government won a confidence vote in the country’s Congress, avoiding special legislative elections. Earlier in the day, the president signed a decree, announcing early parliamentary elections on 26 January 2020. | null | https://sputniknews.com/latam/201910011076939118-peruvian-foreign-minister-finance-minister-resign-amid-political-crisis--reports/ | 2019-10-01 18:05:38+00:00 | 1,569,967,538 | 1,570,221,866 | politics | political crisis |
546,539 | sputnik--2019-10-11--Live From Quito Amid Political Crisis - Video | 2019-10-11T00:00:00 | sputnik | Live From Quito Amid Political Crisis - Video | Led by the country's indigenous peoples, the protests have turned violent. Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno has announced the decision to move the government from Quito to Guayaquil. *Follow Sputnik's live feed to find out what the situation in Quito is currently like. | null | https://sputniknews.com/latam/201910111077027833-live-from-quito-amid-political-crisis---video-/ | Fri, 11 Oct 2019 20:09:58 +0300 | 1,570,838,998 | 1,570,841,448 | politics | political crisis |
547,908 | sputnik--2019-11-01--Trump Extends Sanctions on Sudan Over Failure to Fix Cause of Political Crisis | 2019-11-01T00:00:00 | sputnik | Trump Extends Sanctions on Sudan Over Failure to Fix Cause of Political Crisis | Trump further said he determined it is necessary to extend US sanctions imposed on Sudan for the last two decades, which blocks Sudanese government property and prohibits US persons from engaging in transactions with Sudan. The United States imposed these sanctions over concerns of human rights abuses in Sudan and the government's alleged support for international terrorism. Long-standing protests in Sudan culminated in a military coup on April 11, when then-President Omar Bashir was overthrown and detained after almost 30 years in power. Following those events, the Sudanese Transitional Military Council held power until the creation of the Sovereign Council, which will be presided over by civilians and the military on a rotational basis. | null | https://sputniknews.com/us/201911011077193673-trump-extends-sanctions-on-sudan-over-failure-to-fix-cause-of-political-crisis/ | Fri, 01 Nov 2019 01:11:05 +0300 | 1,572,585,065 | 1,572,562,760 | politics | political crisis |
549,334 | sputnik--2019-11-13--Twitterati Steals Laughter Amid Political Crisis in Maharashtra; Hilarious Memes Flood Social Media | 2019-11-13T00:00:00 | sputnik | Twitterati Steals Laughter Amid Political Crisis in Maharashtra; Hilarious Memes Flood Social Media | With political parties failing to arrive at a consensus to form a government in Maharashtra state, prompting imposition of the President’s Rule, people on Twitter are projecting the situation in the funniest ways possible. Be it bickering among political parties or fighting for the chief minister’s post, Twitter has memes for every situation. The four major political parties in Maharashtra are – Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); its ally Shiv Sena (SS), a right-wing Hindu party; the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Congress. The state was ruled for five years by the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance before state legislatively elections delivered a fractured mandate without giving any single party or alliance enough seats required to form a government on its own. In the state of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena, the second-largest party in the 288-member State Assembly with 56 legislators after the BJP (105), was initially asking the latter to agree to provide it with half of the full five-year term to run the new government. Shiv Sena claimed it had a tacit understanding of the 50:50 formula ahead of the state elections. The BJP, however, said it doesn’t wish to adopt any 50:50 formula to form the new state government. The BJP gave up its claim to form the government and conveyed it to the governor. Shiv Sena approached its arch-rival the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress alliance after the former was invited by the state governor to show its strength. The party was given 24 hours to prove its political strength, but after it sought an extension of the deadline, Governor Bharat Singh Khoshiyari extended the offer to form the government to the NCP instead. While the political discussions were continuing, the governor recommended President’s Rule be imposed, leaving all parties flabbergasted. The confusion and disagreements have led to Twitter being flooded with memes that are tickling the funny bones of netizens. On many occasions both the BJP and the Shiv Sena have become fodder for memes on the internet because both parties have been known in the past for publicly criticising each other yet forming coalition governments in the state to retain power. President’s Rule is a situation when the state is administered by the governor on behalf of the president of the country. | null | https://sputniknews.com/asia/201911131077289532-twitterati-steals-laughter-amid-political-crisis-in-maharashtra-hilarious-memes-flood-social-media/ | Wed, 13 Nov 2019 07:12:37 +0300 | 1,573,647,157 | 1,573,649,301 | politics | political crisis |
549,527 | sputnik--2019-11-15--Bolivia Expels Venezuelan Diplomats 'for Interfering in Internal Affairs' Amid Political Crisis | 2019-11-15T00:00:00 | sputnik | Bolivia Expels Venezuelan Diplomats 'for Interfering in Internal Affairs' Amid Political Crisis | Bolivian Foreign Minister Karen Longaric announced that all Venezuelan diplomats would be expelled from the country for "violating diplomatic norms" following the resignation of President Morales and the appointment of Jeanine Anez as interim president. The minister also promised that the country would "go a bit further" in regards to Venezuela, but refused to delve into details. Longaric further accused Venezuela of meddling in Bolivia's internal matters and vowed to file a complaint against the country's alleged actions. She also stated that relations with both Venezuela and its regional ally Cuba would be reviewed. Earlier, Bolivian President Evo Morales fled the country to Mexico after announcing his resignation. He did so soon after the Bolivian military sided with protesters demanding the president's resignation over alleged manipulations during the recent elections. President of the Senate of Bolivia Jeanine Anez then assumed the post of interim Bolivian president, which she will hold until a new election is held in the country. She recently recognised Juan Guido's claim to be Venezuela's interim president. Caracas itself has called Morales' resignation and the change of power in Bolivia a "coup". | null | https://sputniknews.com/latam/201911151077319135-bolivia-to-expel-all-venezuelan-diplomats-minister-says/ | Fri, 15 Nov 2019 20:57:36 +0300 | 1,573,869,456 | 1,573,865,713 | politics | political crisis |
550,303 | sputnik--2019-11-21--Political Crisis in Indian State of Maharashtra Enters Final Stretch, Solution in Sight - Reports | 2019-11-21T00:00:00 | sputnik | Political Crisis in Indian State of Maharashtra Enters Final Stretch, Solution in Sight - Reports | A final decision on forming a government in the Indian state of Maharashtra is expected by 23 November after its main political parties – Shiv Sena (SS) and National Congress Party (NCP) – indicated an agreement on an administration-sharing arrangement had been reached in principle late Wednesday. Both parties revealed to the media that there would be another round of discussions on Thursday to firm up the proposed alliance before approaching the governor of the state to formally create a government. Shiv Sena will have its nominee occupy the chief minister’s chair for the first half of the five-year term, while the NCP nominee will take over the post in the second half i.e. by the middle of 2022, media reports quoted NCP sources as saying on condition of anonymity. The Congress Party, the third political partner in the proposed alliance, is likely to occupy the deputy chief minister's post for the full five-year term of the state government, they further stated. Maharashtra is currently under central government rule after elections held in the region on 21 October to elect 288 members to the state assembly threw up a hung verdict, giving none of the contesting political parties an absolute majority in terms of votes. With none of the political parties able to give an assurance on forming a stable government, the governor of the state recommended President’s Rule (the central government). On Wednesday, according to media reports, there was a minor hiccup in ongoing negotiations when the Congress Party appeared to insist that the proposed alliance focus on the word “secularism” and that there should be no communal agenda due to the differing ideologies of all three political parties. However, by Thursday morning, the matter appeared to have been resolved. Former state chief of Maharashtra and Congress Party leader Prithviraj Chavan told media after participating in a marathon meeting with NCP top brass on Wednesday that representatives of all three political parties would be meeting again in Mumbai on Thursday and Friday. In the October 21 elections in Maharashtra, the then governing BJP-Shiv Sena alliance secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively (161 seats) in the 288-member assembly, but differences over who would occupy the chief minister’s chair and who would be included in the state cabinet led to a collapse of the over decade-and-a-half-old alliance. Pre-poll allies Congress and NCP won 44 and 54 seats respectively. | null | https://sputniknews.com/asia/201911211077365333-political-crisis-in-indian-state-of-maharashtra-enters-final-stretch-solution-in-sight---reports/ | Thu, 21 Nov 2019 13:22:57 +0300 | 1,574,360,577 | 1,574,340,666 | politics | political crisis |
550,604 | sputnik--2019-11-23--US is Behind Political Crisis in Bolivia - Russian Foreign Intel Head | 2019-11-23T00:00:00 | sputnik | US is Behind Political Crisis in Bolivia - Russian Foreign Intel Head | Washington is involved in the violent clashes that led to the change of government in Bolivia in November, Director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergey Naryshkin stated on Saturday. According to the official, the US needed a crisis in Bolivia to change the nation's policy, adding that the situation will remain rocky for awhile. He also noted that the crisis was akin to the unrest in Venezuela, stating they belong to the same strategy. The statement comes amid growing tensions in La Paz, as interim Interior Minister Arturo Murillo announced that a criminal investigation would be opened against ousted President Evo Morales due to the latter's alleged instigation of the protests. Morales fled Bolivia earlier in November after the military and police refused to support him amid mass rallies against the results of a presidential vote, in which he secured a fourth term in office. His supporters, however, refused to recognise Jeanine Anez, who was proclaimed interim president following his ouster, so the country is still being rocked by violent protests, resulting in a growing death toll. | null | https://sputniknews.com/world/201911231077383839-us-is-behind-political-crisis-in-bolivia---russian-foreign-intel-head/ | Sat, 23 Nov 2019 14:06:25 +0300 | 1,574,535,985 | 1,574,513,253 | politics | political crisis |
550,834 | sputnik--2019-11-25--UK Foreign Secretary Sees Hong Kong Elections as Chance to Overcome Political Crisis | 2019-11-25T00:00:00 | sputnik | UK Foreign Secretary Sees Hong Kong Elections as Chance to Overcome Political Crisis | On Sunday, after months of anti-government rallies, Hong Kong held direct elections to the councils of 18 urban districts — the councils deal with local issues, such as transportation and utilities — with a total of 452 seats at stake. With 98 per cent of the votes counted, supporters of the opposition got an absolute majority of 344 seats, while the pro-government bloc secured only 58 seats, and independent candidates got 41 seats. Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has said she and the rest of her government respect these results. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang has, meanwhile, reiterated the central government's full support of Lam. Sunday’s elections are considered to be a test of support for both the local pro-establishment authorities and the so-called pro-democracy lawmakers after six months of protests. On the eve of the vote, instead of arranging new weekend protests, activists urged their supporters to go to the polls and vote for pro-democracy candidates. Hong Kong has been facing waves of rallies since June. The protests eventually escalated into violent confrontations between demonstrators and the police. Beijing views the situation in Hong Kong as a direct result of foreign interference in China's domestic affairs. | null | https://sputniknews.com/asia/201911251077399338-uk-foreign-secretary-sees-hong-kong-elections-as-chance-to-overcome-political-crisis/ | Mon, 25 Nov 2019 19:33:55 +0300 | 1,574,728,435 | 1,574,729,244 | politics | political crisis |
555,719 | talkingpointsmemo--2019-01-25--Some US Diplomats Leave Venezuela Over Political Crisis Security Concerns | 2019-01-25T00:00:00 | talkingpointsmemo | Some US Diplomats Leave Venezuela Over Political Crisis Security Concerns | CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Some U.S. diplomats in Venezuela headed for the Caracas airport early Friday amid a political power struggle between President Nicolas Maduro and an opposition leader who has declared himself interim president. A letter by a U.S. Embassy security officer requesting a police escort for a caravan of 10 vehicles was leaked earlier in the day and published on social media by a journalist for state-owned TV network Telesur. Its authenticity was confirmed by a U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security arrangements. A defiant Maduro called home all Venezuelan diplomats from the U.S. and closed its embassy in Washington on Thursday, a day after ordering all U.S. diplomats out of the country by the weekend. That followed President Donald Trump’s decision to support the claim to power by opposition leader Juan Guaido. Washington has refused to comply with Maduro’s order but has ordered its nonessential staff to leave the tumultuous country, citing security concerns. The Trump administration said Maduro’s order isn’t legal because the U.S. no longer recognizes him as Venezuela’s legitimate leader. “They believe they have a colonial hold in Venezuela, where they decide what they want to do,” Maduro said in an address broadcast live on state TV. “You must fulfill my order from the government of Venezuela.” The diplomats were likely to leave Caracas around midday on one of two daily flights to Miami by American Airlines, the last-remaining U.S. carrier to serve Venezuela after Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that has forced millions to flee the country. Backed by Venezuela’s military, Maduro has refused to show any hint he’s ready to cede power, setting up a potentially explosive struggle. Guaido is expected to show up for a news conference later Friday in Caracas amid speculation he could be arrested. The 35-year-old lawmaker’s whereabouts have been a mystery since he was symbolically sworn in Wednesday before tens of thousands of cheering supporters, promising to uphold the constitution and rid Venezuela of Maduro’s dictatorship. Speaking from an undisclosed location, Guaido told Univision he would consider granting amnesty to Maduro and his allies if they helped return Venezuela to democracy. “Amnesty is on the table,” said Guaido, who just weeks earlier was named head of the opposition-controlled congress. “Those guarantees are for all those who are willing to side with the constitution to recover the constitutional order.” Besides the U.S., Canada, much of Latin America and many countries in Europe threw their support behind Guaido. Trump promised to use the “full weight” of U.S. economic and diplomatic power to push for the restoration of Venezuela’s democracy. Maduro has been increasingly accused of undemocratic behavior by his opponents and has presided over skyrocketing inflation, a collapsing economy and widespread shortages of basic goods. Russia, China, Iran, Syria, Cuba and Turkey have voiced their backing for Maduro’s government. China’s Foreign Ministry called on the U.S. to stay out of the crisis, while Russia’s deputy foreign minister warned the U.S. against any military intervention in Venezuela. Alexei Pushkov, chairman of the information committee at the Russian Federation Council, called Guaido’s declaration “an attempted coup” backed by the U.S. Russia has been propping up Maduro with arms and loans. Maduro visited Moscow in December, seeking Russia’s political and financial support. Over the last decade, China has given Venezuela $65 billion in loans, cash and investment. Venezuela owes more than $20 billion. At an emergency meeting Thursday, 16 nations from the Organization of American States recognized Guaido as interim president. Attention was focused on Venezuela’s military, a traditional arbiter of political disputes in the country, as a critical indicator of whether the opposition will succeed in setting up a new government. Venezuela’s military brass pledged unwavering support to Maduro, delivering vows of loyalty Thursday before rows of green-uniformed officers on state television. A half-dozen generals belonging largely to district commands and with direct control over thousands of troops joined Maduro in accusing Washington of meddling in Venezuela’s affairs and said they would uphold the socialist leader’s rule. Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez, a key Maduro ally, dismissed efforts to install a “de-facto parallel government” as tantamount to a coup. “It’s not a war between Venezuelans that will solve our problems,” he said. “It’s dialogue.” Guaido’s father, who has lived in Spain for the last 16 years, has called on the military to drop its allegiance to Maduro. Wilmer Guaido, a taxi driver on the island of Tenerife, told private Antena 3 television Friday that Venezuela’s armed forces should be loyal to the country, but not to a specific leader. “(Simon) Bolivar used to curse against soldiers who give their back to the people,” Guaido said, referring to Venezuela’s independence hero. “I think the military should choose the right side of history.” Juan Guaido has said he needs the backing of three key groups: The people, the international community and the military. While Thursday’s protest drew tens of thousands to the streets and over a dozen nations in the region pledged support, the military’s backing is crucial. Although many rank-and-file troops suffer the same hardships as countless other Venezuelans when it comes to basic needs like feeding their families, Maduro has worked to cement their support with bonuses and other special benefits. In a video earlier this week, Guaido said the constitution requires the military to disavow Maduro after his May 2018 re-election, which was widely condemned by the international community because his main opponents were banned from running. But there were no signs that security forces were widely heeding Guaido’s call to go easy on demonstrators. Gunfire during the protests and looting left 21 dead between Wednesday and early Thursday in the capital of Caracas and throughout the country, according to Marco Ponce, coordinator of the nonprofit Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict. U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet called for independent investigations into the violence linked to protests. Her office in Geneva said she “urged all sides to conduct immediate talks to defuse the increasingly incendiary atmosphere.” Many Venezuelans are awaiting Guaido’s guidance on the often-beleaguered opposition’s next steps. A virtually unknown lawmaker at the start of the year, Guaido has reignited opposition hopes by taking a rebellious tack amid Venezuela’s crushing economic crisis. He escalated his campaign Wednesday by declaring the constitution gives him, as president of the congress, the authority to take over as interim president and form a transitional government until he calls new elections. | Summer Concepcion | https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/us-diplomats-leave-venezuela | 2019-01-25 15:02:23+00:00 | 1,548,446,543 | 1,567,550,881 | politics | political crisis |
559,815 | tass--2019-01-16--Political crisis in UK too deep Russias EU envoy says | 2019-01-16T00:00:00 | tass | Political crisis in UK too deep, Russia’s EU envoy says | BRUSSELS, January 16. /TASS/. The political crisis in the United Kingdom is too deep, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov told Russian reporters on Wednesday. "The political crisis is too deep in the United Kingdom as the British lawmakers have extremely divergent views on the future relations with the EU and on their country’s role in the world," Chizhov said commenting on the results of the Brexit vote at the House of Commons. "It is not accidental that in recent months there has been a flow of resignations in the cabinet, of those members who were either dissatisfied with concessions to Brussels or of those who viewed Brexit as a big mistake," he added. The European Union responded in a predictably reserved manner to the Brexit vote in the British parliament, Chizhov continued. "The first reaction to these events was predictably restrained on this side of the English Channel. Everyone expressed regret over this turn of events, but at the same time underlined that the text of the approved agreement would never be renegotiated. Moreover, the European Union appears poised to go ahead with its ratification," Chizov said. According to the diplomat, "the outcome of the vote, unprecedented in the history of British parliamentarism, has made a strong impression." "I believe we were watching a rare and even unnatural phenomenon when stances of two and more camps opposing the governmental line — both from opposition parties and the ruling Tories — coincided," the Russian diplomat said. Chizhov pointed out that in spite of criticism of the deal, another option had been never put forward."What is typical is that behind that wave of criticism of the deal signed not just by Theresa May, but also by the leaders of other 27 EU nations, no positive proposals could be heard on some alternative options," he stressed. "That allowed the British prime minister to claim that none of the debated options — Brexit’s termination through a second referendum, a no-deal Brexit, an early parliamentary election and so on — would win a majority at the Commons." On Tuesday, the British House of Commons voted by 432 votes to 202 to turn down the Brexit deal Prime Minister Theresa May had negotiated with the European Union. It is the biggest defeat ever for a sitting British government, as the deal was rejected by 230 votes. The deal needed to be approved by the British parliament to enter into force. The United Kingdom is scheduled to withdraw from the European Union on March 29, 2019, while a transition period is planned to last until the end of 2020. | null | http://tass.com/world/1040381 | 2019-01-16 23:37:16+00:00 | 1,547,699,836 | 1,567,552,181 | politics | political crisis |
563,259 | tass--2019-03-24--Russia is vital for political solution to Syrian crisis German foreign minister says | 2019-03-24T00:00:00 | tass | Russia is vital for political solution to Syrian crisis, German foreign minister says | ### German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas © EPA-EFE/ADAM BERRY BERLIN, March 24. /TASS/. The Syrian crisis can be solved only with Russia’s assistance provided that Moscow wishes to take part in searching for political levers, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in an interview published by Welt Am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday. "Russia is trying to compensate its insufficient economic influence in the world by military influence. For example, in Syria. If we want to find a political solution to the Syrian conflict, we won’t manage to do this without Russia. Russia will get a chance to show that it can take part in conflicts not only militarily and that it can search for political solutions," Maas said. The search for solutions in these conflicts as a rule is "very and very long," the minister said, noting that at this stage he does not see any preconditions for returning Syrian refugees home because there they will face "repressions and tortures." "Until this changes, no one wants to come back home and we won’t deport anyone who is facing this threat," Maas stated. Human rights will play a vital role on the path towards free elections in Syria, which should involve all social groups, he said. In other media | null | http://tass.com/world/1050223 | 2019-03-24 09:46:55+00:00 | 1,553,435,215 | 1,567,544,998 | politics | political crisis |
566,316 | tass--2019-06-15--Moldova overcomes political crisis president says | 2019-06-15T00:00:00 | tass | Moldova overcomes political crisis, president says | CHISINAU, June 15. /TASS/. Moldova has overcome a political crisis, the country’s President Igor Dodon told TASS on Saturday, commenting on the Constitutional Court’s move to review its decisions made on June 7-9. "At my request, the court has reviewed the decisions that led to a political crisis in the country. All questionable legal interpretations have been overturned. The political and constitutional crises in the country are over. I welcome this decision," Dodon said. Moldova’s Constitutional Court earlier revoked the decisions made on June 7-9, which had dissolved the country’s parliament, called a snap parliamentary election and declared the appointment of a new parliament speaker and the formation of a new government illegal. Moldova’s parliament was unable to create a ruling coalition and form a government following the February elections. Only on June 8, the Party of Socialists supporting President Igor Dodon managed to reach an agreement with the pro-EU ACUM bloc to oppose the Democratic Party led by oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, which controlled the former parliament and cabinet. The leader of the Party of Socialists Zinaida Greceanii was elected the parliament’s speaker, and the government was formed with Maia Sandu, the leader of the Party of Action and Solidarity, a part of the ACUM bloc, as the prime minister. The Democratic Party refused to recognize the new government and turned to the Constitutional Court, which ruled that the parliament’s resolutions were invalid as the parliament had failed to form a government within 90 days (starting on March 9, when the lawmakers received their mandates). After that, the Constitutional Court authorized acting Prime Minister and member of the Democratic Party Pavel Filip to sign a decree on the parliament’s dissolution instead of the president. Dodon described the move as an attempt to usurp power. Russia, the United States and the European Union expressed support for Moldova’s parliament. On Friday, the Democratic Party announced the resignation of Pavel Filip’s cabinet. According to a party source, the decision was made after US Ambassador to Chisinau Derek Hogan’s visit to the party office. | null | https://tass.com/world/1063982 | 2019-06-15 12:36:47+00:00 | 1,560,616,607 | 1,567,539,080 | politics | political crisis |
567,137 | tass--2019-06-29--OAS supports peaceful resolution of political crisis in Venezuela | 2019-06-29T00:00:00 | tass | OAS supports peaceful resolution of political crisis in Venezuela | MEDELLIN, June 29. /TASS/. The Organization of American States (OAS) supports restoring democracy in Venezuela by peaceful means and calls for holding presidential elections in the Bolivarian Republic, according to the declaration adopted on Friday at the session of the OAS General Assembly. "We support peaceful restoration of democracy in Venezuela by Venezuelan people through constitutional means. We call for holding free, honest, transparent and legitimate presidential elections in the nearest future," the declaration said. Nineteen countries voted for the document, while eight voted against it and six abstained. On January 23 Venezuelan National Assembly Speaker Juan Guaido proclaimed himself as the country's acting president. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has described it as a coup attempt and announced severing diplomatic relations with the United States. On January 28 the US imposed sancitons on Venezuela's state-owned PDVSA oil company. Guaido was recognized as interim president by the Lima Group countries (except for Mexico), as well as by Albania, Georgia, the United States, and the Organization of American States. Several EU countries came forward with support for the Venezuelan parliament and expressed hope for new elections to resolve the crisis. Maduro was supported by Russia, Belarus, Bolivia, Iran, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salavador, Syria and Turkey. | null | https://tass.com/world/1066234 | 2019-06-29 02:04:57+00:00 | 1,561,788,297 | 1,567,537,563 | politics | political crisis |
569,370 | tass--2019-08-21--Political dialogue between Kiev and Donbass only way to resolve crisis Russian envoy | 2019-08-21T00:00:00 | tass | Political dialogue between Kiev and Donbass only way to resolve crisis — Russian envoy | MINSK, August 21. /TASS/. Political dialogue between Kiev and the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) is the only way to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, Russia’s envoy to the Contact Group for the settlement in eastern Ukraine Boris Gryzlov stated on Wednesday. "The current Ukrainian government has an opportunity to change the situation for the better. However, this opportunity can only be implemented based on the Minsk Agreements, through political dialogue with Donetsk and Lugansk. There is no other way to exit the crisis, and the previous Kiev government proved that," he told reporters. According to the Russian envoy, the Ukrainian side makes many statements on its commitment to the Minsk Agreements; however, it takes few practical steps to implement them. "However, Kiev has all political opportunities to adhere to its obligations now," he stressed. Gryzlov recalled that in October, Ukraine’s law on the special local government regime in separate regions of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions ceases to be in force. By introducing the law on the special status of these regions in its full form, the Kiev government can prove its willingness to regulate the Ukrainian conflict, the Russian envoy noted. | null | https://tass.com/politics/1074430 | 2019-08-21 15:24:45+00:00 | 1,566,415,485 | 1,567,533,829 | politics | political crisis |
573,527 | tass--2019-11-13--Russian embassy concerned about political crisis in Moldova | 2019-11-13T00:00:00 | tass | Russian embassy concerned about political crisis in Moldova | CHISINAU, November 13. /TASS/. The Russian embassy in Moldova is concerned about the political crisis in the country following a split in the ruling coalition and the government’s resignation, the embassy issued a statement on Facebook. "The Russian embassy in Moldova is closely monitoring the political process in the country. We call for maintaining domestic stability for the sake of the country’s people and the rule of law," the statement reads. On November 12, Moldova’s parliament passed a vote of no confidence against Maia Sandu’s cabinet as initiated by the Party of Socialists and supported by the oppositional Democratic Party. The crisis concerns the election of a new prosecutor general, who, according to the country’s authorities, will play a key role in reforming Moldova’s judicial system. The prime minister attempted to choose candidates herself but the Party of Socialists opposed the move, saying that it ran counter to the constitution. | null | https://tass.com/politics/1088420 | Wed, 13 Nov 2019 13:01:20 +0300 | 1,573,668,080 | 1,573,647,658 | politics | political crisis |
573,646 | tass--2019-11-15--Bolivian businesses sustain $1.1 billion in losses over political crisis | 2019-11-15T00:00:00 | tass | Bolivian businesses sustain $1.1 billion in losses over political crisis | MOSCOW, November 15. /TASS/. /TASS/. Bolivia's businesses and industry sustained at least $1.1 billion in losses because of the political crisis in the last three weeks, La Razon newspaper reported on Thursday citing Bolivia's National Industry Chamber. "The new government should guarantee us security, so that we can continue working, and peace, as well as ensure the steady transition period before the new election," the chamber's head Ibo Brazicevic said. He added that it is important that the authorities show businesses that Bolivia remains attractive to investors. The presidential election in Bolivia was held on October 20. According to the Supreme Electoral Court, incumbent President Evo Morales won in the first round. His main competitor, Carlos Mesa, said that he does not recognize Morales' victory in the first round. After the results of the election were announced, large-scale protests and strikes started across the country. At least 10 people were killed in protests and over 500 more were injured. On November 10, Morales announced his resignation and characterized the situation in the country as a coup. He was earlier asked to leave his post by the country's armed forces, opposition and labor unions. Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and several ministers and parliament members resigned as well. The Mexican authorities granted political asylum to Morales. Morales arrived in Mexico on November 12. Later on that day, Bolivian Senator Jeanine Anez declared herself as interim president. | null | https://tass.com/world/1089155 | Fri, 15 Nov 2019 07:25:09 +0300 | 1,573,820,709 | 1,573,820,499 | politics | political crisis |
746,229 | theindependent--2019-02-08--Venezuela crisis Beyond the political drama normal people are struggling to survive | 2019-02-08T00:00:00 | theindependent | Venezuela crisis: Beyond the political drama, normal people are struggling to survive | Venezuela is on the brink. Grocery shelves lie empty as food becomes increasingly scarce and expensive. People are fleeing the country at record rates, flooding neighboring countries. Inflation is set to reach 10 million per cent in 2019. In this landscape of desperation, public outrage was already coming to a head when last week, Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader and head of the National Assembly, declared himself interim president. The recently re-elected president Nicolás Maduro has vowed to continue on. International attention swiftly turned to the two men at the centre of the struggle for control of the country. But in the midst of the political push-and-pull, average Venezuelans are still struggling to get by in a country that has grown increasingly violent and where food shortages, electricity cuts and water shortages are the new normal. Deadly crackdowns on dissent are regular. Anti-government demonstrations are planned for Caracas today, and with discontent growing, new groups are taking to the streets, including those who were once staunch supporters of Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez. We asked residents of the city to describe what their living situation is like these days, and if it is a factor driving them to take part in the demonstrations. The government benefits that Donawa and her family have long relied on – like many of those from poor neighborhoods of Caracas – are no longer enough. “We are starving here,” she says, describing how she and her son Dixon Bront are struggling to provide for her grandchildren. “He has a nine-year-old daughter and a 17-year-old boy, and he can’t buy anything for them. This is becoming impossible.” Donawa never voted for Maduro or Chávez, but her son was a supporter of the socialist government. “I don’t know if he voted for Chávez, but he sympathised with him,” she says. Bront and Donawa are beneficiaries of several government programmes like Misión Vivienda, which provides housing for the poor, and a food distribution programme known as “Clap”. But Donawa says the government food box is often limited to sugar, pasta and powdered milk. As benefits have deteriorated, Bront, once a supporter of the government, decided to join the protesters calling for its demise. Two weeks ago, he was injured during demonstrations – shot in the stomach at close range by security forces – and is now bedridden after two surgeries, putting a further strain on the family. “I can’t be here in a hospital, sleeping in a chair,” Donawa says from her son’s bedside. “It’s not that I do not agree with him protesting, he is doing it like any other Venezuelan that is unhappy with this communist government.” Her son has leukemia, but his hospital has no medicine “It is like the world opens in half and you just want to jump into the crack,” says Cedeño, describing how she felt six years ago when she first found out her son, Miguel, had leukemia. Things were still manageable then. Her son was moved from a private hospital to the public Central Hospital of Venezuela where he was given medical treatment paid for by the state. He went into remission for years, but in 2017, Miguel’s cancer returned. That’s when, Cedeño says, everything changed. It was a race against time to get him proper treatment. “I had to buy everything,” she says. “The chemotherapy, the antibiotics, the needles. But now it’s even worse. I have to buy gloves, cotton, alcohol, water, even the tubes for the lab if I need to ask for a blood test.” Venezuela’s main hospital has become a symbol of the catastrophic unravelling of the country’s healthcare system. It is often without running water, medicine and even doctors. The electricity regularly cuts out, which has resulted in patient deaths, opposition politicians say. Cedeño says she has never been a fan of the protests, but her son has told her he is eager to attend them. “He said, ‘Mom, I want to go out and make them feel the rage I feel everyday I am at this hospital without any help’,” she says Balza, 35, was a captain in the Venezuelan National Guard and quickly moved up the ranks, gaining the trust of officials who grew to rely on him, including Nicolás Maduro Guerra, Maduro’s son. But he didn’t always support the decisions of his superiors. “I never agreed with their lines, ever,” he says. Two years ago, he fled Venezuela for the United States, where he now manages a company. Guaidó, as interim president, has proposed amnesty for members of the armed forces who are willing to break with Maduro’s government, but Barza is unsure whether he will return. “I worked from the inside against the government,” Barza says, adding that he didn’t necessarily think he needed to ask for amnesty. While he would like to get involved with some of the protests being held in the United States, he doesn’t have time with his busy work schedule. But for the first time in years, he sees a way forward for his country. “I have faith and hope,” he says. She was detained for 118 days in a windowless room Añez knows what the government’s crackdown on dissent looks like. She was arrested in May 2017, accused of involvement with groups organising daily anti-government protests. “I gave them food, I offered them shelter,” she says. “That is why they call me mamá.” For 118 days, she was held in a windowless room with another woman accused of gas smuggling. After the protests ended that year, Añez couldn’t go back to her old life, saying being in jail had changed her. “I can only tell you I am a better person now, and that I also knew true evil,” she says. Since the latest round of protests began last month, Añez has scavenged for supplies for those wounded by the military and security forces. She has treated at least three protesters who were injured during recent demonstrations. Añez says earlier protests in 2014 and 2017 were too violent and not effective. “Protests have to be like the one we had on the 23rd,” she says, referring to largely peaceful mass anti-government protests held the day Guaidó swore himself in as interim president, “the kind that you can’t hide.” ‘I will be out there with my gas mask’ Born in Spain but raised in Venezuela, Zugasti has been active in the opposition protest movement since Maduro first came to power in 2013. He plans to join the large demonstrations planned this weekend. “This Saturday, I will be out there with my gas mask, my helmet and vest, to see what I can show the world,” he says. Zugasti owned a family printing company for two decades, which enabled him to provide for his family. But profits dwindled, and in 2018, he closed the business. He says new people from different walks of life have been joining the recent protests. Before, he says, the movement was largely driven by the middle and upper classes. “I used to see the same face every day, now it’s different,” he says. Zugasti takes his camera with him when he protests, and took one especially memorable photo on 4 April 2017, of a young congressman confronting police who were blocking a march on Libertador Avenue. He didn’t know it then but the politician in the photo was Guaidó, who would become a major player in the country’s current political standoff. “Every time I hear that he is someone that just started in politics, I know it’s not true,” Zugasti says. “He was always on the front line during protests. I remember him at every demonstration I went to.” | Megan Specia, Ana Vanessa Herrero | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/venezuela-crisis-food-inflation-refugees-life-people-maduro-a8762311.html | 2019-02-08 14:20:21+00:00 | 1,549,653,621 | 1,567,549,185 | politics | political crisis |
746,588 | theindependent--2019-02-11--California to withdraw troops from border calling Trumpaposs immigration crisis aposmanufactured | 2019-02-11T00:00:00 | theindependent | California to withdraw troops from border calling Trump's immigration crisis 'manufactured political theatre' | A second US state is planning on pulling National Guard troops away from its border with Mexico, calling Donald Trump’s claims of a crisis at the border a “manufactured” problem and “political theater”. California Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to say as much on Tuesday during his state of the state address, his first since his election in November. “The border 'emergency' is a manufactured crisis, and California will not be part of this political theatre,” Mr Newsom plans to say, according to excerpts released by his office. Mr Newsom’s decision follows after New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced she would do the same last week. Both governors are new to their jobs, and their decisions to pull troops reverses the policies of the previous administrations in their states. The decision is a broad stroke rejection of Mr Trump’s immigration messaging, which led to the longest government shutdown in US history earlier this year. California will leave 100 of the 360 troops that have been deployed to the border under the plan expected to be unveiled on Tuesday, and the remaining troops will focus on transnational crimes like drug and gun trafficking. They will not be instructed to enforce immigration laws. Another 100 of the National Guard troops are expected to be redirected to help with wildfire prevention and preparation efforts. The original orders from former Governor Jerry Brown — who was also a Democrat — had a a deadline for deployment to end set for March 31. The new plan calls for immediate troop removal. The decision comes as politicians in Washington have struggled to reach a deal to extend government funding, with immigration issues tying up negotiators. Democrats have demanded a limit on the number of migrants who can be detained by the US. Mr Trump, meanwhile, has branded that demand as one in support of criminal immigrants. During Mr Trump's State of the Union speech last year, the president said that he planned on sending more troops to the border to deal with the migrant caravans he frequently cites as proof of an immigration crisis. The Pentagon said that increase will mean 4,350 troops on the US-Mexico border. | Clark Mindock | http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-us-border-california-gavin-newsom-new-mexico-wall-national-guard-troops-a8774431.html | 2019-02-11 19:23:46+00:00 | 1,549,931,026 | 1,567,548,897 | politics | political crisis |
1,014,093 | thetelegraph--2019-08-28--Political crisis in Italy as Five Star clinches deal with centre-Left rivals to form new government | 2019-08-28T00:00:00 | thetelegraph | Political crisis in Italy as Five Star clinches deal with centre-Left rivals to form new government | Italy was on the verge of having a new government on Wednesday after the centre-Left Democratic Party and the anti-establishment Five Star Movement said they were prepared to form a coalition. The deal will avert a general election which would likely have resulted in Matteo Salvini becoming prime minister at the head of a hard-Right alliance. Giuseppe Conte, who resigned as prime minister just last week, is poised to be reinstated as premier and to lead the new government. He will meet Sergio Mattarella, the president, on Thursday morning and is likely to be given a mandate to try to form the new government. The breakthrough in the country’s tortuous political crisis came after President Mattarella held talks with all the major parties at his official residence, the 16th-century Quirinale Palace in Rome. After days of disagreement, the Democratic Party (PD) agreed to Five Star’s demand that Mr Conte be reinstated as prime minister. | Nick Squires | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/08/28/italy-clinches-deal-new-government-amid-political-crisis/ | 2019-08-28 19:15:48+00:00 | 1,567,034,148 | 1,567,543,621 | politics | political crisis |
1,021,238 | thetelegraph--2019-11-26--Political crisis brews in Pakistan as Supreme Court blocks extension of powerful army chief and Imra | 2019-11-26T00:00:00 | thetelegraph | Political crisis brews in Pakistan as Supreme Court blocks extension of powerful army chief and Imran Khan ally | Pakistan's top court blocked an extended term for the country's powerful army chief, potentially setting the judiciary on a collision course with the powerful military and a key ally of Imran Khan. The supreme court suspended a government decision to give Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa a fresh three-year-term in office and ordered a detailed investigation into his extension. The court's surprise questioning of a decision previously seen as a formality threatened to trigger a confrontation between the country's powerful military and its civilian institutions. Chief Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa questioned the whole basis for extending the term for the chief of army staff. The chief justice of Pakistan on Tuesday suspended the earlier government decision until Wednesday, saying a “detailed examination of the matter of extension/re-appointment of General Qamar Javed Bajwa, chief of the army staff” was needed. The supreme court's three-judge panel questioned the legal basis for the extension. Imran Khan's government immediately defended the August announcement. | Ben Farmer | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/11/26/political-crisis-brews-pakistan-supreme-court-blocks-extension/ | Tue, 26 Nov 2019 20:13:51 GMT | 1,574,817,231 | 1,574,814,865 | politics | political crisis |
1,027,275 | thetorontostar--2019-07-05--Both sides in Sudan political crisis hail power-sharing deal | 2019-07-05T00:00:00 | thetorontostar | Both sides in Sudan political crisis hail power-sharing deal | KHARTOUM, Sudan - Sudan’s ruling military council and its pro-democracy movement both welcomed a new power-sharing agreement reached Friday, raising hopes that the deal would end a three-month political crisis that has paralyzed the country and led to scores of deaths following a violent crackdown on peaceful protesters by authorities. News of the deal, which one analyst said followed regional and international pressure on both sides, touched off street celebrations in the capital of Khartoum with hundreds dancing and waving Sudan’s flag as drivers honked their horns. The crisis has gripped Sudan ever since the military ousted longtime autocrat Omar el-Bashir in April. The sides agreed to form a joint military and civilian sovereign council to lead the country during a transition period of three years and three months, said a statement by the Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which has spearheaded the protests. The joint council had been a sticking point in the negotiations. The council will include five civilians representing the protest movement and five military members. An 11th seat will go to a civilian chosen by both sides. A military member will preside over the council for the first 21 months, followed by a civilian member after that, according to the statement. That suggested a significant concession by pro-democracy forces, which had insisted that the sovereign council have only a civilian president. But the deal also secured a key demand by protest leaders: that they select the members of a technocratic Cabinet to be formed independently from the generals. The creation of a legislative council will be postponed for three months, during which time the sovereign council will make the nation’s laws. “Today, our revolution has won and our victory shines,” the SPA said in the statement, which was posted on its Facebook page. The generals also hailed the deal, with the military-controlled Al-Sudan TV channel playing national songs and rerunning excerpts of the news conference by both sides announcing the agreement, with the caption: “Congratulations to the Sudanese people.” “This deal will be comprehensive and will not exclude anyone and will meet the ambitions of the Sudanese people and their victorious revolution,” said Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy chief of the ruling military council, speaking at the news conference with protest leaders and African mediators. The talks had collapsed when security forces razed a protest camp outside the military headquarters in Khartoum on June 3, and protest leaders said more than 100 people have been killed since then. In the ensuing weeks, protesters stayed in the streets, demanding that the generals hand power to civilian leadership. Omer El-Digair, a leader of the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, a coalition representing the protesters, said they hoped that forming the transitional institutions “marks the beginning of a new era.” “We hope it is an era where we can shut off the sound of pistols and destroy for good prisons of arbitrary detention,” he said at the news conference. Tarek Abdel Meguid, another FDFC leader, told The Associated Press that pro-democracy leaders had to make concessions to avoid further bloodshed. “I am not fully satisfied but it is a step forward to bring peace to our people,” Abdel Meguid said. “We had a civilian revolution, and the very idea of power sharing with the military was already rejected by the Sudanese people, but this is what the balance of power dictated.” The African Union and Ethiopia made intensive efforts to bring the generals and the protesters back to the negotiating table. The negotiations had resumed this week after tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of Sudan’s main cities last weekend in the biggest demonstrations since the sit-in camp was razed. At least 11 people were killed in clashes with security forces, according to protest organizers. Amani el-Taweel, a Sudan expert at Egypt’s Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, said regional and international pressures on both parties were the main reason the agreement was reached. “Sudan has a sensitive geopolitical location, and leaving things as they were would have led to violence, which could undermine regional stability and lead to more terrorism,” she said. Also as part of the deal, both sides agreed to launch “a national independent investigation” into the killing of protesters since al-Bashir was ousted. The lawmaking sovereign council could be “a bone of contention,” el-Taweel said, “because each of the two parties will seek to maximize its political weight through the laws that will be passed.” | Fay Abuelgasim And Noha Elhennawy - The Associated Press | https://www.thestar.com/news/world/africa/2019/07/04/envoy-says-sudan-rivals-reach-power-sharing-agreement.html | 2019-07-05 16:04:59+00:00 | 1,562,357,099 | 1,567,536,825 | politics | political crisis |
1,059,952 | unian--2019-02-01--Venezuelas Guaido refuses to rule out accepting US military support amid escalating political cri | 2019-02-01T00:00:00 | unian | Venezuela's Guaido refuses to rule out accepting U.S. military support amid escalating political crisis – CNN | Guaido told CNN that he has been in talks with members of the military, but did not present a clear plan of how he would get them to withdraw their support from Maduro. Self-declared interim president of Venezuela Juan Guaido has refused to rule out accepting U.S. military support amid the escalating political crisis, saying that the Venezuelan people want to end President Nicolas Maduro's dictatorship with "whatever pressure is necessary." But Guaido cautioned that he hopes it doesn't come to that. Asked by CNN's Christiane Amanpour whether he would accept U.S. military support, he said through an interpreter: "Here in Venezuela we are doing everything we can to put pressure, so that we don't have to come to a scenario that no one would wish to have." "We are trying to restore the sovereignty of this country, to restore the liberty and democracy of Venezuela," he added. Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly, declared himself acting president of Venezuela last week, invoking an obscure constitutional rule to open a rare challenge to Maduro's claim to the presidency. The announcement was welcomed by huge crowds in the capital and recognized by a chorus of world leaders, including U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who issued a video message supporting Guaido's "courageous decision." Guaido told CNN that he was appreciative of the U.S. support, which included a phone call Wednesday from President Donald Trump, adding that he has also spoken with a number of other world leaders. Until very recently, Guaido, an industrial engineer and former student leader, was almost virtually unknown on the global stage. The 35-year-old was head of the Venezuela's assembly for merely three weeks before making the move, but has quickly energized the movement against Maduro, who was sworn in for a second term in January. Writing in an opinion piece published in The New York Times on Thursday, Guaido called Maduro's re-election on May 20, 2018, "illegitimate" and that, by continuing to stay in office, he was "usurping the presidency." "Mr. Maduro's time is running out, but in order to manage his exit with the minimum of bloodshed, all of Venezuela must unite in pushing for a definitive end to his regime," Guaido wrote, adding that any transition of power could not happen without support from "pro-democratic governments" and "key military contingents." Guaido told CNN that he has been in talks with members of the military, but did not present a clear plan of how he would get them to withdraw their support from Maduro. "We're asking that the armed forces are on the side of the constitution, which is very different from it being a coup here in Venezuela," Guaido said, rebutting Maduro's accusation that the United States was orchestrating a military coup in the country. Maduro was re-elected to a six-year term last year, and though he asserted the elections were fair, international observers have questioned their legitimacy. Guaido has promised a transitional government and free elections to end the rule of the socialist Maduro regime, which has overseen the once-wealthy oil nation's descent into economic collapse and a humanitarian crisis. Asked whether he has had any talks with Maduro, Guaido said simply: "No." | null | https://www.unian.info/world/10430217-venezuela-s-guaido-refuses-to-rule-out-accepting-u-s-military-support-amid-escalating-political-crisis-cnn.html | 2019-02-01 09:03:00+00:00 | 1,549,029,780 | 1,567,550,038 | politics | political crisis |
1,061,569 | unian--2019-04-15--Possible snap parliamentary elections to entail protracted political crisis Poroshenko | 2019-04-15T00:00:00 | unian | Possible snap parliamentary elections to entail protracted political crisis – Poroshenko | The next parliamentary elections should take place on October 27, 2019. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said possible early parliamentary elections would entail a protracted political crisis, which would affect the national economy. "Hints of early and, by the way, illegal, dissolution of the Verkhovna Rada in case of a change of president have already been voiced. This would mean a political crisis, a long pause in relations with partners; it would question our ability to overcome peak debt burdens in May and September and in 2020," he said during a meeting with businesses. Read alsoRada speaker says parliament to work until late October As UNIAN reported, on April 10, member of the Batkivschyna parliamentary faction, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement Activities Andriy Kozhemiakin said the information had been spread in the Verkhovna Rada about the possibility of holding early parliamentary elections in July. On April 14, incumbent President Petro Poroshenko said there were no constitutional grounds for the early termination of the Verkhovna Rada. The next parliamentary elections should take place on October 27, 2019. | null | https://www.unian.info/politics/10516806-possible-snap-parliamentary-elections-to-entail-protracted-political-crisis-poroshenko.html | 2019-04-15 12:40:00+00:00 | 1,555,346,400 | 1,567,542,992 | politics | political crisis |
1,098,625 | westernjournal--2019-01-24--Venezuela crisis Familiar geopolitical sides take shape | 2019-01-24T00:00:00 | westernjournal | Venezuela crisis: Familiar geopolitical sides take shape | The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal. MOSCOW (AP) — Russia, China, Iran, Syria and Cuba have come down on one side. The United States, Canada, and countries in Western Europe are on the other. As the crisis in Venezuela reaches a new boiling point — with embattled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro facing a challenge from opposition leader Juan Guaido — the geopolitical fault lines look familiar. President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued statements Wednesday proclaiming U.S. recognition of Guaido, saying the U.S. would take all diplomatic and economic measures necessary to support a transition to a new government. Canada said it was recognizing Guaido as the interim president, and British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called him “the right person” to take Venezuela forward. But Washington’s adversaries are issuing warnings against U.S. intervention. Russian officials have called the move a “coup” orchestrated by the U.S. The U.S. and Russia already are at odds over Syria’s civil war, and the Venezuelan crisis has the potential to add further strain. Russian-U.S. ties have sunk to post-Cold War lows over Moscow’s support of separatists in Ukraine and allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. “We view the attempt to usurp power in Venezuela as something that contradicts and violates the foundations and principles of international law,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. In a phone call with Maduro, President Vladimir Putin expressed support, noting that “destructive foreign interference tramples on basic norms of the international law,” and called for a peaceful dialogue, according to the Kremlin. Venezuela’s status as a major oil producer — it has the world’s largest underground oil reserves, but crude production continues to crash — means its political instability has deep implications globally. And Russia has taken a special interest. Last month, Russia sent two Tu-160 nuclear-capable bombers to Venezuela for several days in what was seen as a precursor for a possible long-term military presence. Pompeo criticized the move at the time as “two corrupt governments squandering public funds and squelching liberty and freedom while their people suffer. Peskov dismissed the comment as “undiplomatic” and “inappropriate,” saying that half of the U.S. military budget “would be enough to feed the whole of Africa.” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday the crisis now “has reached a dangerous point” and urged the international community to mediate between the government and the opposition. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev even injected some domestic U.S. politics into the equation, citing the partial government shutdown and the differences between Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “Let’s imagine, just for an instant, how the American people would respond, for example, to the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives declaring herself the new president against the backdrop of the budget crisis and government shutdown,” Medvedev said on Facebook. “What would be the reaction from the current U.S. president, especially if this move was supported by the leadership of another country, for example, Russia?” Russia frequently decries popular uprisings like the “color revolutions” that have taken place in Ukraine, Georgia and other countries in its former sphere of influence. China’s Foreign Ministry also sternly urged against interference by Washington in Venezuela. Beijing’s allies, including Iran and Syria, followed suit. China “opposes external intervention in Venezuela,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said. “We hope that Venezuela and the United States can respect and treat each other on an equal footing, and deal with their relations based on non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.” In the last decade, China has given Venezuela $65 billion in loans, cash and investment. Venezuela owes it more than $20 billion. China’s only hope of being repaid appears to lie in Venezuela ramping up oil production, although low oil prices and the country’s crashing economy appear to bode poorly for such an outcome. The Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft has invested heavily in Venezuela, and its chief executive, Igor Sechin, visited Caracas in November, pressuring the Maduro government to make good on its commitments to his company. Russia, a major oil producer itself, has been buying oil from the state-run Venezuelan company PDVSA, and Sechin reportedly went to Caracas to raise concerns about Venezuela halting oil supplies. Russia is estimated to have poured in at least $17 billion in Venezuela in loans and investment since Maduro’s populist predecessor, Hugo Chavez, came to power in 1999. The Economic Development Ministry said Russia has invested around $4 billion in Venezuela, mostly in joint oil projects. Asked if Russia would be willing to grant asylum to Maduro, the Kremlin spokesman Peskov refused to speculate and insisted that Moscow views Maduro as the only legitimate leader. Maduro visited Moscow in early December, seeking political and economic assistance as Venezuela has faced sky-high inflation and food shortages. For Iran, its relationship with Venezuela hinges on their mutual enmity toward the U.S. Chavez traveled to Iran in 2006 and received the country’s Islamic Republic Medal, its highest award, from hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who called Chavez a “brother and a trench mate.” Chavez vowed Venezuela would “stay by Iran at any time and under any condition.” Both leaders faced criticism from then-U.S. President George W. Bush and offered their own withering criticism of him. After Maduro took power upon Chavez’s death in 2013, Iran has maintained its support of Venezuela. On Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi criticized the U.S. and other countries over meddling in Venezuela. “The Islamic Republic of Iran supports the government and people of Venezuela against any foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Venezuela or any other illegitimate and illegal measure such as a coup d’etat,” Ghasemi said. Strong endorsement for the current Venezuelan government also came from Turkey, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a message of support: “My brother Maduro! Stay strong, we are by your side.” Turkey also has cultivated close economic and political ties with Maduro. During a visit to Venezuela in December, Erdogan blamed U.S. sanctions for the country’s economic hardships. Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey, under Erdogan, would “maintain its principled stance against coup attempts.” Erdogan himself faced a military coup attempt in 2016. Syria also came to the defense of Maduro’s government. Damascus reaffirmed its “full solidarity with the leadership and people of the Venezuelan Republic in preserving the country’s sovereignty and foiling the American administration’s hostile plans,” the Syrian Foreign Ministry said. Cuba’s Foreign Ministry said Havana “expresses its unwavering solidarity” with the Maduro government. Cuba has sent its closest ally tens of thousands of workers, from doctors to intelligence officials, and in return has received tens of thousands of barrels a day in heavily subsidized oil. Associated Press writers Christopher Bodeen in Beijing, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Suzan Fraser in Ankara and Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. | AP Reports | https://www.westernjournal.com/ap-venezuela-crisis-familiar-geopolitical-sides-take-shape/ | 2019-01-24 18:15:22+00:00 | 1,548,371,722 | 1,567,551,108 | politics | political crisis |
129,615 | dailyheraldchicago--2019-10-18--Lebanese prime minister gives political adversaries 72-hour ultimatum to back his reform agenda amid | 2019-10-18T00:00:00 | dailyheraldchicago | Lebanese prime minister gives political adversaries 72-hour ultimatum to back his reform agenda amid growing protests | BEIRUT -- Lebanese prime minister gives political adversaries 72-hour ultimatum to back his reform agenda amid growing protests. | null | http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20191018/news/310189924/ | Fri, 18 Oct 2019 10:59:00 -0400 | 1,571,410,740 | 1,571,416,353 | politics | political crisis |
203,320 | fortune--2019-04-09--A Quiet Force in Algerias Political Protests the US Shale Boom | 2019-04-09T00:00:00 | fortune | A Quiet Force in Algeria’s Political Protests: the U.S. Shale Boom | The last time the kleptocracy at the top of the Algerian political system faced an existential threat, they reached for a simple but effective tool: oil money. This time around, it wasn’t so easy. The country’s coffers have been depleted by years of weak oil prices, as the U.S. shale boom unleashed cheap energy into every corner of the world, spurring fights for market share and undercutting the revenues of the world’s petro-economies. For countries like Algeria, which relies on oil and gas exports for one-third of its GDP, that meant an old economic balm wasn’t available as millions of Algerians took to the streets last month in opposition to ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s announcement that he would stand for a fifth term. After having a stroke in 2013, Bouteflika reportedly can’t stand or speak, and has rarely appeared in public. Algerians say his brother and a cabal of elites, known as “le pouvoir”—literally, “the power”—have been running the country instead. Unable to quell the demonstrations, Bouteflika agreed to stand down. Compare that to the country’s fate during the Arab Spring; it was able to evade the uprisings that engulfed its neighbors partly by pouring money into public spending. “The government managed to ‘buy off’ the protests,” in 2010, says Charles Gurdon, managing director at Menas Associates in London. “It pumped a lot of money into the economy and fought its way out of trouble, out of social change.” On Tuesday, the country’s Parliament announced an interim leader for the next 90 days while a new presidential election is organized. But the choice of leader—Abdelkader Bensalah, speaker of Algeria’s upper house of Parliament—is a Bouteflika ally, meaning his appointment immediately drew further protests. The sudden upheaval in Algeria is not purely about low oil prices, experts say, given that oil prices have partly recovered from their multi-year low in 2016. But for the inner circle now clinging to power there, the shifting dynamics of global oil markets don’t help. By 2014, U.S. shale—domestic oil extracted via non-traditional methods like fracking—had exploded onto global markets, causing oil prices to drop and spurring efforts by OPEC to cut production to stabilize prices. Five years later, there’s no sign shale is slowing down, with the U.S. now the world’s second largest producer, and set to surpass Russia as an exporter by 2024, according to the International Energy Agency. The impact of shale has been long-lasting for many oil-producing countries, from Venezuela to Nigeria, where lower revenues have constrained investment and maintenance, and restricted a time-honored tool for dampening social unrest: cash. Years of lower oil prices have had a marked economic impact on Algeria. Strong oil prices had allowed the country to invest in infrastructure and dramatically reduce poverty, according to the World Bank, but those programs are no longer affordable. As a result, GDP growth has slowed, unemployment has risen and foreign currency reserves have also taken a hit, according to the IMF. Consumer energy subsidies, too, have had to be cut back. Starting in late 2017, the country embarked on a push to modernize its oil industry and its state-run oil company, Sonatrach. The plan includes deals to explore offshore, purchases of refineries outside Algeria, and a push, ironically, to extract shale gas in the country’s south. The reforms are intended to draw further investment, restore the company’s image after accusations of corruption and security plans, and provide enough domestic energy to prevent the country from cutting back on exports—in other words, to protect Algeria’s oil revenue. “If they are able to do that, it will be exactly what Algeria needs,” says Valérie Marcel, an associate fellow and expert in energy policy at Chatham House in London. Any government in Algeria would have to lean heavily on oil and gas revenue to support the economy. But the current political uncertainty throws into question the fate of those reforms to the oil and gas sector, says Marcel—just when Algeria needs them most. | Katherine Dunn | http://fortune.com/2019/04/09/algeria-protests-oil-shale/ | 2019-04-09 15:08:46+00:00 | 1,554,836,926 | 1,567,543,452 | politics | political crisis |
214,976 | france24--2019-03-29--Algerias protesters expand focus to political elite beyond Bouteflika | 2019-03-29T00:00:00 | france24 | Algeria's protesters expand focus to political elite beyond Bouteflika | Ryad Kramdi, AFP | Mass demonstration in the streets of Algiers on March 22, 2019. Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Algiers again on Thursday to demand the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and changes to the political system after the powerful army called for the veteran leader to be removed. The army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah, on Tuesday asked the constitutional council to rule whether the ailing 82-year-old president is fit for office. State radio said on Thursday that the council has not yet held any meeting so far to decide on Bouteflika’s fate. Salah’s call received backing from the ruling FLN party and the main trade union, signalling that Bouteflika’s time was all but up after 20 years in power. But leaders of the protest movement that has staged five weeks of peaceful demonstrations reject the army’s transition plan and demand the overthrow of the entire ruling elite. In another blow to Bouteflika, one of his few remaining allies, leading businessman Ali Haddad, resigned as head of the influential FCE business forum, a resignation letter seen by Reuters showed. Haddad, who was awarded large public works projects by the government and has investments in the media, has helped to fund Bouteflika’s election campaigns over the years. Hundreds of Algerians rallied again on Thursday to criticise not just Bouteflika but also the political system, which for decades has been built around veterans of the 1954-1962 war of independence against France, military officers and business tycoons. “Thieves, you have destroyed the country,” they chanted. “Our battle will continue until we get rid of the system,” said architect Belaid Hakimi, 36, The General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), long a staunch supporter of the president, has also said it supported the army call for Bouteflika to step down. In an unusual development suggesting further disarray in Bouteflika’s inner circle, the owner of a TV station close to the government, Ali Fodil, was detained by the authorities for several hours on Thursday, his Echorouk TV channel reported. He was later released on the order of the general prosecutor. Officials had no immediate comment on the matter. On Wednesday evening, Echorouk broadcast a programme critical of Bouteflika’s influential younger brother Said. Another TV station, Ennahar, said Fodil had been detained by intelligence personnel. Any ruling by the constitutional council on Bouteflika’s future would have to be ratified by a two-thirds majority in the two houses of parliament. Under the constitution, the chairman of parliament’s upper house, Abdelkader Bensalah, would serve as caretaker president for at least 45 days after Bouteflika’s departure. But even if Bouteflika quits, there is no clear long-term successor. And even if both sides dig in, no Algerian wants to risk returning to the dark days of the 1990s, when the army’s cancellation of elections that Islamists were on the verge of winning triggered a civil war that killed 200,000 people. | NEWS WIRES | https://www.france24.com/en/20190329-algeria-protesters-political-elite-bouteflika-president-army | 2019-03-29 08:12:20+00:00 | 1,553,861,540 | 1,567,544,820 | politics | political crisis |
232,527 | globalresearch--2019-12-30--Political Instability and the Protest Movement: President of Iraq – The Decision Is Mine | 2019-12-30T00:00:00 | globalresearch | Political Instability and the Protest Movement: President of Iraq – The Decision Is Mine | Iraqi President Barham Salih has shown that he is in control of the country and has made a show of his contempt for the Iraqi constitution. In a dramatic gesture, Salih made a play for public support by declaring his willingness to resign. He then departed for Suleimaniya, after rejecting the decision of the largest Parliamentary coalition, in accordance with article 76 of the constitution, to nominate their chosen candidate. Only he will decide who can be nominated as the future Prime Minister of the country, notwithstanding the constitution’s provisions for respecting the will of the parliamentary majority. The resignation of caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdel Mahdi and the struggle to nominate a new Prime Minister have shown the divisions between political parties and above all among the Shia majority in Parliament. It has also shown Iran’s handicap in attempting to unite these groups and bring them together to agree on a single Shia Iraqi personality! The limits of Iran’s influence in Iraq are evident. What does the future hold for Iraq? The Iraqi constitution gives the largest parliamentary coalition the right to choose its candidate for prime minister, and then forward the name to the President, who announces it publicly. However, in this case, the constitution was not followed: President Barham Salih tried to delay the nomination of the largest coalition, Al-Bina’, asking the Parliament to confirm the identity of this coalition. He managed to gain some time by responding to al-Bina’ that “he would rather wait until the Friday sermon of the Marjaiya in Najaf, to make the announcement later”. Salih was aware that the Marjaiya had taken a clear decision not to intervene in favour of or against any candidate or parliamentary coalition. The Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Sistani has set the road map for any future candidate: an end to corruption, early elections with a new law, an independent judiciary system, together with the creation of job opportunities, listening to people’s requests, protecting protestors, and ending foreign intervention in the country’s internal affairs. All politicians and heads of political coalitions have interpreted the Marjaiya’s guidelines according to their own lights. Hadi al-Ameri, the head of al-Bina’ coalition told others in Baghdad that “the Marjiaiya rejected Qusey al-Suheil as future Prime Minister”. But sources in Najaf described all politicians as “liars who are avid for power, and unwilling to listen to protestors’ requests”. Hadi al-Ameri did propose himself as a candidate but the offer was spurned by his allies, who saw his candidacy as a provocation for the protestors. President Barham Salih delayed the announcement of al-Suheil in the hope that protestors would reject him. Saleh saw in al-Suheil a threat to his own candidate, Mustafa al-Kazemi, and to his political agenda. Any candidate can be timed out in Iraq by letting the clock run since it is nearly impossible to select a candidate agreeable to all political parties, the Sunni, the Shia and the Kurds. Qusey al-Suheil, told political party leaders, as al Suheil told me, that he “rejected the distribution of power and ministerial positions among the political parties who had made this a pre-condition to supporting him”. His ploy is to claim, “I shall offer my resignation and leave with dignity. Political parties want to hold on to their corrupt style of governance, and that is unsuitable for me. I refuse to divide the cake among those who are unwilling to reconstruct the country”, as a rationalization for defying the constitution. Al Bina’ letter asking the Parliament to adopt legal measures against President Barham Salih for violating the constitution Well-informed sources in Baghdad told me that “President Salih repeatedly asked why Adel Abdil Mahdi doesn’t remain in power like Nouri al-Maliki who was a caretaker for 7 months? The country can wait”. After Qusey al-Suheil withdrew his candidacy, the dominant al-Bina’ coalition decided to back the governor of Basra Asaad al-Idani as Prime Minister. However, President Salih wanted to wait for the Marjaiya’s Friday Sermon to decide but was told that Sayyed Sistani would take no position. Salih then again rejected the most significant parliamentary coalition’s choice and, in a letter to the Parliament, expressed his readiness to resign (but without resigning, of course). President Salih has delayed announcing a new Prime Minister; this temporizing has led protestors on the street to rejecting any candidate offered by the largest coalition. He is taking his time to announce the name of the new Prime Minister. The constitution seems irrelevant and each politician expounds on its articles as he sees fit. Each coalition is asking for its share of power using the terms “agreement”, “balance’, “understanding” – and each is ignoring constitutional procedures. Even within the same coalition, great differences have been manifested. The impotence of the Iraqi judiciary to impose respect for the constitution is evident. Another important aspect is the position of Sayyed Moqtada al-Sadr, the leader of the largest single parliamentary group, which does not belong to the larger Parliamentary coalition. Moqtada said he was not willing to intervene and pulled out from the consultation to form a new Prime Minister. In reality, he reminded candidates and political leaders of the power of his share. He tweeted his refusal to Mohammad al-Sudani and to al-Suheil and reminded the Basra governor of his share in the new cabinet, and General Directors’ positions. Moqtada has not only the largest number of MPs but also the largest number of Ministers and General Directors. Moqtada offered three names as candidates: Mustafa al-Kadhemi, Raheel al Ukeili and Fair al-Sheikh Ali. In reality, according to sources within Moqtada’s office, he supports the head of the intelligence service Mustafa al-Kadhemi. President Barham Salih followed Moqtada’s wish and supported al-Kadhemi. Iran failed to unite all coalitions or even the largest number of political groups under one candidate. Iraqi politicians showed how divided they really are, and that Iran’s effort to support a chosen Iraqi candidate was doomed to failure. The current impasse recalls 2017 when Hadi al-Ameri opposed the Lebanese-Syrian decision to remove ISIS militants from Iraq’s common borders with Deir-Ezzour. On another occasion, al-Ameri rejected Qassem Soleimani’s suggestion that he combine forces with those of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi before the parliamentary elections. Today al-Ameri wants to become Prime Minister again; he rejected Qusey al-Suheil secretly after initially promoting him, signed the document approving al-Suheil and now supports al-Idani. The US has been somewhat distant from the political dynamic of choosing a Prime Minister for the first time since 2003 and did not intervene. This is an indication that President Donald Trump is not deeply engaged with events in the Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. He seems preoccupied with domestic affairs and the Chinese-Russian economic threat. Trump is busy imposing sanctions on his enemies and allies alike and seems unconcerned with Iraq. Iraq is now in the hands of President Salih, who is using the demonstrations as a pretext for expanding his power: He openly tells Parliament “the decision is mine or I resign.” President Salih has abused the constitution while hiding behind the protestors. His offer to resign is a ruse to ask for the support of the protestors; he means to show the public that he stands against the political parties. Salih is aware that the Iraqi population is very emotional and may well stand behind him. The people can and will reject any political candidate for the position of Prime Minister. It is likely that Adil Abdel Mahdi will remain as the caretaker for some time, perhaps until a new military personality takes over. Iraq in 2020 is heading towards an uncharted territory and an uncertain future. Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. All images in this article are from the author | Elijah J. Magnier | https://www.globalresearch.ca/president-iraq-decision-mine/5699033 | Mon, 30 Dec 2019 14:08:10 +0000 | 1,577,732,890 | 1,577,750,650 | politics | political crisis |
555,071 | sputnik--2019-12-30--Protests Against Citizenship Law Example of Blatant Political Opportunism in India - Analyst | 2019-12-30T00:00:00 | sputnik | Protests Against Citizenship Law Example of Blatant Political Opportunism in India - Analyst | The ongoing nationwide agitation against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is a blatant exploitation of opportunism in Indian politics, an Indian economic and political analyst has said, warning that these disturbances have the potential to destroy the country if not stopped. “Opportunism in politics I can understand from the point of power is important, but the most pertinent from the point of power, and currently disgusting form of opportunism in (Indian) politics is in the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA)", said Swaminathan Gurumurthy, Chairman of the Vivekananda International Foundation, a New Delhi-based public policy think tank. Participating in a talk on “Opportunism in Indian Politics” in New Delhi, Gurumurthy admitted that Indian politics has been in a constant state of flux since 1989 owing to its diversity and increasingly growing regional character. The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) needs to be understood in an objective and unbiased manner as well as in its historical context, said Gurumurthy, who is one of the members of the Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India, the country’s apex bank, besides being a well-known journalist and author. Gandhi even said that “all Hindus and Sikhs who are persecuted there (in Pakistan) are free to come to India and we will take care of them”. He recalled that even India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had made a statement in Parliament, where he said: “We owe a duty to these people and if the citizenship law has to be amended for this purpose, we will amend the law". He identified the country’s main opposition Congress party, the Communist Party of India (CPI), and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) as political groups that had once been champion supporters of granting citizenship to persecuted minorities in neighbouring Pakistan and Bangladesh. To substantiate this view, he said it is ironic that Tarun Gogoi, former chief of the Indian state of Assam where the anti-CAA protests have been most vociferous, is petitioning the Supreme Court to tell the government to withdraw the legislation. He recalled, in 2012, Gogoi had submitted a memorandum to the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “pleading that those who had to flee due to discrimination and religious persecution at the time of partition (of India in 1947) should not be treated as foreigners”. “This is precisely what the CAA says and these are the very people opposing it today. Is there a greater opportunism than this? And this opportunism is not for power, it is for disturbing India. If it is not stopped, it can destroy India. You cannot allow the majority community people from Pakistan or Bangladesh into India unless you want to destroy India", Gurumurthy said. “The problem is with the national parties (read Congress and the BJP). How many regional parties are supporting it, very few. Like those who have stakes like Bengal. We must understand that regional parties are not necessarily the disturbing factor; a greater disturbing factor can be the national parties themselves", he added. The CAA has evoked widespread protests in different parts of the country for allowing Indian citizenship to only non-Muslim communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. The Muslim community, however, views the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) as a means to confine them to being second-class citizens. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dismissed these concerns, saying that the law doesn't discriminate against Muslims. | null | https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201912301077898992-protests-against-citizenship-law-example-of-blatant-political-opportunism-in-india---analyst/ | Mon, 30 Dec 2019 12:54:37 +0300 | 1,577,728,477 | 1,577,709,269 | politics | political crisis |
571,999 | tass--2019-10-09--Kremlin says no political aspect to verdicts in protest-related cases | 2019-10-09T00:00:00 | tass | Kremlin says no political aspect to verdicts in protest-related cases | MOSCOW, October 9. /TASS/. There is no political aspect to courts’ verdicts in cases related to the summer’s protest rallies, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. When asked if the Kremlin saw a political aspect to the verdicts, he answered in the negative. "You know, we don’t comment on them. There is and can be no political aspect," Peskov pointed out. Levada Center earlier issued a poll saying that 38% of respondents considered the sentences handed to Moscow protesters to be unfair and politically motivated. At the same time, 24% of those surveyed believe the verdicts to be impartial and fair. | null | https://tass.com/politics/1082220 | Wed, 09 Oct 2019 14:22:34 +0300 | 1,570,645,354 | 1,570,624,741 | politics | political crisis |
772,275 | theindependent--2019-09-29--Russia protests Thousands take to streets in Moscow demanding release of political prisoners | 2019-09-29T00:00:00 | theindependent | Russia protests: Thousands take to streets in Moscow demanding release of political prisoners | Thousands of Russians have taken to the streets in Moscow to demand the release of Kremlin critics apprehended in the run up to the country’s local elections. Waving flags while chanting “let them go” and “freedom for political prisoners”, monitors say 25,200 people marched in the Russian capital for a rally featuring opposition leader and Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. The protest was approved by the city’s mayoral office – a change from those of previous months which saw some 2,000 people briefly detained in one of the largest crackdowns against opposition supporters in the country’s recent history. Activists assembled to challenge the detention of campaigners arrested at a series of rallies that flared across the city in July - when opposition politicians were barred from taking part in the local government poll. Since then several have been given four year prison sentences, while others are being prosecuted for crimes including violence against police officers. The arrests, along with allegations of police brutality has prompted unusual public outcry in the country. "No one can get a fair hearing in Russian courts” opposition politician Lyubov Sobol told the crowd, “injustice and lawlessness can happen to anyone now". The march is unlikely to pose a threat to Vladimir Putin following his landslide re-election last year. However it does coincide with a dip in the Russian president’s approval ratings, caused by falls in real incomes and a push to raise the retirement age which was approved by Mr Putin in October last year. And activists hope the scale of the protest could pressure authorities to release arrested protestors – a theory bolstered by the release of one person on bail and the dropping of charges against another in the run up to the event. "I'm sure more people will be released because of this rally” Mr Navalny told the crowd. After his allies were barred from the September vote, the opposition leader called on supporters to vote tactically for opponents of the ruling United Russia party, regardless of their political stripe. United Russia, which supports Putin, lost a third of its seats in the Moscow city assembly, a setback for the authorities that Mr Navalny said was a victory for the Kremlin's opponents even though the governing party kept its majority. | Vincent Wood | https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-protests-moscow-election-arrests-latest-vladimir-putin-opposition-alexei-navalny-a9125666.html | 2019-09-29 19:16:39+00:00 | 1,569,798,999 | 1,570,221,952 | politics | political crisis |
915,317 | theseattletimes--2019-07-25--Sudan protesters to march against political party allocation | 2019-07-25T00:00:00 | theseattletimes | Sudan protesters to march against political party allocation | CAIRO (AP) — Sudan’s pro-democracy movement is calling for marches in the capital, Khartoum, and in other locations across the country. The movement wants people to take to the streets Thursday to insist that the upcoming transitional government be made up of experts and technocrats, rather than political parties. This comes just hours after the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters, said they’d reached a deal to reconcile their differences with rebel groups that are also part of the movement. Those rebel groups had rejected the final part of a power-sharing deal with Sudan’s ruling generals, arguing it fails to meet their demands for peace. The FDFC said the rebels had agreed that the transitional government should be responsible for achieving a peace deal. | The Associated Press | https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/sudan-protesters-to-march-against-political-party-allocation/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all | 2019-07-25 10:56:01+00:00 | 1,564,066,561 | 1,567,535,902 | politics | political crisis |
756,615 | theindependent--2019-04-17--Extinction Rebellion protesters are getting arrested because our political system has left them no c | 2019-04-17T00:00:00 | theindependent | Extinction Rebellion protesters are getting arrested because our political system has left them no choice | Extinction Rebellion (XR) is one of the most remarkable grassroots movements of the 21st Century. Spurred on by dire warnings about climate breakdown, it has mobilised thousands of people who are willing to get arrested, or even face prison, to make their voices heard. How is it that in our supposedly democratic society so many feel compelled to break the law to make such an overwhelmingly reasonable point: that we shouldn’t destroy the environment on which all life depends? The answer is that our broken democracy leaves little choice. XR may be a global movement, but a glance at their map of local groups reveals just how heavily weighted their activity is towards the UK – the only European country that still uses the antiquated first past the post voting system. Germany has eleven local XR groups. Norway has two. The Republic of Ireland, four. The UK, on the other hand, has over one hundred and thirty local XR groups – each consisting of dozens or hundreds of otherwise law-abiding citizens; citizens so desperate for their politicians to listen that they are willing to go to jail. And in second and third place globally for number of XR groups are the US and Canada – the only other two major developed countries to use first past the post. This makes perfect sense. Our first past the post voting system has systematically denied representation to the people who care the most about the protecting the natural world. In 2015, over a million people voted for the Green Party and their policies aimed at averting climate disaster. In 2017, despite the hundreds of Green candidates standing down in the hope of unseating Tory MPs, they still received half a million votes. Yet at both elections they won just a single MP. The rebels have tried playing by the rules by turning out and voting in their hundreds of thousands. And what impact has it had on parliament? None. Our electoral system silences them almost as if they’d never voted at all. It’s obvious why XR is nowhere near as big anywhere else in Europe. Almost all other European countries use some of proportional representation – so seats match votes and all votes count equally. When a party wins a million votes, it picks up a lot of seats in parliament. It’s then able to represent the views of its voters, shape the debate and influence legislation. Some Germans are just as worried about climate breakdown as their British equivalents. A few are even willing to risk arrest. But in Germany, every climate activist could instead choose to spend their time campaigning to elect environmentally friendly MPs – and their efforts will be rewarded in proportion to votes they win. Indeed, the Germany’s Green Party has surged in national and regional elections in response to rising concern about climate breakdown. It’s not surprising that most European activists decide the parliamentary approach has a much better risk/reward ratio than getting arrested. First past the post doesn’t merely make people feel unrepresented; it stops vital change from happening in response to public demand. There’s a wealth of academic evidence showing that countries with proportional representation far outperform those with winner-takes-all systems like first past the post when it comes to climate action and environmental protection. Countries with PR slowed their greenhouse gas emissions faster, perform significantly better on the Environmental Protection Index, ratified the Kyoto Agreement faster, and have deployed significantly more renewable energy. Most countries have still done nowhere near enough. But there is hope in countries with PR – because these democracies are responsive to rising public demands and are able to build consensus in order to address these serious long term threats. Compare this to the depressing situation in the UK. In 2017, most people voted for parties promising to ban fracking for shale gas (no surprise given overwhelming public opposition to the idea). Yet our voting system handed a majority of seats to two parties that shared just 43 per cent of the vote; the only parties in parliament that are pro-fracking. Together the Conservatives and DUP are rushing to create a whole new fossil fuel industry: something no other country in Europe is doing and – according to the scientists – something the planet cannot afford to happen. For the UK, the climate crisis is a crisis of democracy – and as much as anything else Extinction Rebellion is a rebellion against the way crucial voices are systematically shut out of our politics. To create a democracy capable of addressing the most urgent challenges of our time, we need proportional representation. As the chant goes, ‘Change the system, not the climate!’ If you agree then, whatever else you do to make your voice heard, join the movement to Make Votes Matter and help us win PR. Klina Jordan is a lifelong environmental activist and the co-chief executive of Make Votes Matter | Klina Jordan | https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/extinction-rebellion-protesters-first-past-the-post-electoral-system-proportional-representation-a8874971.html | 2019-04-17 15:29:00+00:00 | 1,555,529,340 | 1,567,542,680 | politics | political crisis |
1,027,698 | thetorontostar--2019-07-25--Sudan protesters to march against political party allocation | 2019-07-25T00:00:00 | thetorontostar | Sudan protesters to march against political party allocation | CAIRO - Sudan’s pro-democracy movement is calling for marches in the capital, Khartoum, and in other locations across the country. The movement wants people to take to the streets Thursday to insist that the upcoming transitional government be made up of experts and technocrats, rather than political parties. This comes just hours after the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change, which represents the protesters, said they’d reached a deal to reconcile their differences with rebel groups that are also part of the movement. Those rebel groups had rejected the final part of a power-sharing deal with Sudan’s ruling generals, arguing it fails to meet their demands for peace. The FDFC said the rebels had agreed that the transitional government should be responsible for achieving a peace deal. | The Associated Press | https://www.thestar.com/news/world/middleeast/2019/07/25/sudan-protesters-to-march-against-political-party-allocation.html | 2019-07-25 10:56:58+00:00 | 1,564,066,618 | 1,567,535,889 | politics | political crisis |
1,114,699 | yna--2019-12-21--Poll respondents pick fine dust air pollution as top environmental news story of 2019 | 2019-12-21T00:00:00 | yna | Poll respondents pick fine dust air pollution as top environmental news story of 2019 | Meanwhile, 41.2 percent of the respondents said mounting plastic waste threatening marine wildlife is the most important international environmental news story of this year, while 20.7 percent pointed to Fukushima radioactive pollution ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and 8.9 percent a U.N. agreement to prohibit exports of waste disguised as recyclable materials, the center said. | null | http://yna.kr/AEN20191220008300315§ion=news&input=rss | 20191221090004 | 1,576,936,804 | 1,576,889,306 | environment | environmental politics |
1,114,294 | yna--2019-12-08--Environmental survey on THAAD base still pending: sources | 2019-12-08T00:00:00 | yna | Environmental survey on THAAD base still pending: sources | According to the sources, the survey has been pushed back because USFK submitted a report on how it will use the site only in February, and nearby residents have continued fierce protests against the deployment. | null | http://yna.kr/AEN20191206008100325§ion=news&input=rss | 20191208080012 | 1,575,810,012 | 1,575,766,519 | environment | environmental politics |
1,111,857 | yahoonews--2019-06-03--Discounting climate change EPA chief faults the media for the rise of bad environmental news | 2019-06-03T00:00:00 | yahoonews | Discounting climate change, EPA chief faults the media for the rise of bad environmental news | WASHINGTON — Borrowing one of President Trump’s favorite refrains, Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler criticized the news media at length Monday for focusing on only dire environmental news. “We need to fix this perception, and we need the help of the press,” Wheeler said at a luncheon at the National Press Club on Monday. “The public needs to know how far we’ve come, as a nation, protecting the environment.” He then read a number of statistics he deemed deserving “more attention,” including ones regarding the reduction of air pollutants, the decrease in particulate matter, the decrease in carbon emissions and the remediation of waterways. “The media does a disservice to the American public, and sound policymaking, by not informing the public of the progress this nation has made,” Wheeler argued. Though he did not say so specifically, Wheeler was clearly alluding to the growing media attention to climate change. Though virtually nonexistent in previous decades, coverage of global warming has risen sharply in recent years, spurred in part by a rise in catastrophic weather events, such as floods, wildfires and hurricanes. A former energy lobbyist, Wheeler has previously downplayed the effects of climate change, and Monday’s remarks began and ended with media criticism, which Wheeler delivered firmly but without employing Trump’s favored slight: “fake news.” Wheeler began his speech by saying he needed to address his “friends” in the media. He pointed out that Americans have an increasingly negative impression of the environmental condition of the nation, citing a Gallup poll. Wheeler did not acknowledge climate change as a possible reason Americans have an increasingly pessimistic view of the nation’s environmental health. The same Gallup poll he cited found that an increasing number of Americans believe there is insufficient coverage of global warming in the media. Wheeler concluded his address by listing “five things that the press gets wrong about this administration and the EPA.” The first of these was that “the environment is getting worse.” Another gripe was the news media’s common reference to Wheeler as a lobbyist for the coal industry. He pointed out that he had lobbied for other aspects of the energy sector as well, including nuclear. Wheeler also disputed news reports of a “feud” between career EPA staffers and Trump political appointees. Later, during a question-and-answer session, Wheeler accused the press of alarmist coverage of the National Climate Assessment, which was released in November and was widely seen as an urgent call to action. He said too much coverage had been afforded to Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5, or RCP 8.5. Of the four scenarios sketched out by the National Climate Assessment, RCP 8.5 is the most catastrophic. It assumes that emissions would remain where they are today. Wheeler discounted the RCP 8.5 scenario as the result of “political interference” in scientific work by the Obama administration. The moderator asked Wheeler if his agency ought to be preparing for the worst-case scenario laid out by the National Climate Assessment. “It depends,” Wheeler said, then explained he did not necessarily trust the report’s most dire conclusions. | null | https://news.yahoo.com/discounting-climate-change-epa-chief-faults-the-media-for-the-rise-of-bad-environmental-news-202438510.html | 2019-06-03 20:24:38+00:00 | 1,559,607,878 | 1,567,539,228 | environment | environmental politics |
1,111,190 | yahoonews--2019-02-26--Erin Brockovich blasts Trump over reckless careless environmental regulation rollbacks | 2019-02-26T00:00:00 | yahoonews | Erin Brockovich blasts Trump over ‘reckless, careless’ environmental regulation rollbacks | “Through Her Eyes” is a new weekly half-hour show hosted by human rights activist Zainab Salbi that explores contemporary issues from a female perspective. You can watch the full episode of “Through Her Eyes” every Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on Roku, or at the bottom of this article. Erin Brockovich has never been afraid to take on the big guys, so why not the president of the United States? Brockovich is calling out the Trump administration for rolling back dozens of environmental regulations, saying it would be a “disaster” to lose any more environmental protections. “You’re playing with everybody’s lives. And I think it could be a fatal blow,” Brockovich said in an interview with the Yahoo News show “Through Her Eyes.” Brockovich became a household name almost 20 years ago when Julia Roberts portrayed her on the big screen, dramatizing Brockovich’s David vs. Goliath-like fight against Pacific Gas & Electric over the company’s contamination of drinking water in Hinkley, Calif. The legal battle resulted in the largest direct-action lawsuit in U.S. history. A tireless environmental and consumer advocate, Brockovich has now set her sights on Trump’s regulatory rollback. “This is really reckless, careless behavior that has total disregard for the environment and the appreciation that water sustains our life and the future of our health,” Brockovich said of lifting regulations. So far, the Trump administration has rescinded or scaled back 47 environmental regulations, and is aiming to eliminate 31 more. Brockovich insists that climate change and the environment should “absolutely” be major issues in the 2020 presidential election, but says they shouldn’t be topics that divide candidates or voters along partisan lines. “I don’t know why we should politicize water and our health,” she exclaimed. “Every single human being on this planet needs water to survive. How could we possibly define humanity based on whether you’re a liberal or a conservative?” Since Brockovich’s victory over PG&E, the company has twice filed for bankruptcy. PG&E currently faces another class-action lawsuit that alleges their faulty equipment and negligence played a role in the wildfires that recently devastated communities in California. “This is a company that has failed miserably at keeping their antiquated system up to date,” Brockovich said. “I don’t know where we’ve missed a step here and not seen that this company was bound to do this again and again and again.” Reached for comment, PG&E told Yahoo News that it “continues to assess” its infrastructure. “The families impacted by the recent devastating wildfires are our customers, our neighbors and our friends,” the company said in a written statement. “Our hearts go out to those who have lost so much, and we remain focused on supporting them through the recovery and rebuilding process.” The fire that wreaked havoc in and around Paradise, Calif., killed 85 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Last week, the company canceled $130 million in bonuses to employees, saying it couldn’t justify those payments when fire victims were still suffering. The cause of the fire, as well as PG&E’s role, remains under investigation. Brockovich, however, has already seen enough from PG&E to render her own judgement. “Do we wait until they kill more people?” she asked. | null | https://news.yahoo.com/erin-brockovich-blasts-trump-reckless-careless-environmental-regulation-rollbacks-100015274.html | 2019-02-26 10:00:15+00:00 | 1,551,193,215 | 1,567,547,256 | environment | environmental politics |
1,110,121 | wnd--2019-11-12--Now environmentalists take aim at kitchens to save the planet | 2019-11-12T00:00:00 | wnd | Now environmentalists take aim at kitchens to save the planet | (BREITBART) -- Environmentalists in California are willing to let the state dictate how they cook in their own kitchens in an attempt to save the planet. Thirteen cities and one county in California have put in place zoning codes encouraging or requiring all-electric new construction, virtually banning builders from running natural gas lines into homes and apartments to fuel appliances, including stoves and ovens. USA Today reported that people believe the move is necessary to fight climate change “with an eye toward creating fewer legacy gas hookups as the nation shifts to carbon-neutral energy sources.” | WND News Services | https://www.wnd.com/2019/11/now-environmentalists-take-aim-kitchens-save-planet/ | Tue, 12 Nov 2019 03:14:41 +0000 | 1,573,546,481 | 1,573,563,353 | environment | environmental politics |
1,109,261 | windowoneurasiablog--2019-12-26--Environmental Protests in Russia Sparks Talk about a New Green Party but Forming One Won’t Be Easy, | 2019-12-26T00:00:00 | windowoneurasiablog | Environmental Protests in Russia Sparks Talk about a New Green Party but Forming One Won’t Be Easy, Expects Say | Staunton, December 24 – Environmental protests across the Russian Federation would seem to be the basis for the formation of a new green party especially since the major systemic parties have not adopted ecological protection as a major issue, but creating such a party, experts say, faces enormous obstacles and thus is unlikely to happen. His comments were echoed by opposition politicians and experts at a meeting earlier this month in Shiyes where Yevgeny Royzman, former Yekaterinburg mayor, and Marina Litvinovich, a rights activist, argued that the environment is already affecting politics and that a new party could emerge on that basis. As Voytenko notes, “the idea of establishing an ideological party” isn’t new. There is already a Green Party, but it hasn’t reached out to the protesters. URA news reports that “according to unconfirmed information, the Presidential Administration” is thinking about reorganizing it so that it could draw off protesters from other opposition parties. The poll Voytenko’s group commissioned shows there is real support for doing something about the environment. More than a third of the population across the country views the ecological situation in the regions where it lives as bad. Women, those with higher educations and those in cities are especially critical. Residents of Siberia and the Far East are the most critical while those in the North Caucasus FD and the Volga FD are the least, a reflection less of where the problems really are than of media coverage, URA suggests. The fact that environmental concerns are greatest in the cities gives those who would create a new party an advantage: their supporters are concentrated. But a major problem is that concern about the environment is lower in the two capitals, Moscow and St. Petersburg, than elsewhere, although even in them, “about 60 percent” say they are worried about environmental contamination. That limits the chances that an environmental party arising in the regions would be able to link up with party organizations in the capital. There are far greater obstacles to the emergence of such a party, however, according to Voytenko and other experts. To address environmental problems, they say, one must focus on the actions of specific industries, many of which have powerful supporters in the Kremlin and at least some of whom provide employment for people who would like a cleaner environment. A real environmental party could emerge given the declining support for those who talk only in general ideological terms, URA concludes; but there are two serious limiting factors: there isn’t any specific individual or group pushing the idea in Moscow and there isn’t the political “space” for a new green party at the federal level. Unless that changes, the prospects for forming any new and effective environmental party in Russia will remain small. | paul goble ([email protected]) | http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/12/environmental-protests-in-russia-sparks.html | 2019-12-26T02:36:00.001-08:00 | 1,577,345,760 | 1,577,363,470 | environment | environmental politics |
1,109,152 | windowoneurasiablog--2019-12-10--Massive Anti-Trash Protests in Russian North Reflect Fears Shiyes ‘Only Start of Environmental Catas | 2019-12-10T00:00:00 | windowoneurasiablog | Massive Anti-Trash Protests in Russian North Reflect Fears Shiyes ‘Only Start of Environmental Catastrophes’ | Staunton, December 8 – Because even the cities in the Russian North are small, it is sometimes difficult to know what the numbers of participants in demonstrations mean. But today, 10,000 people – or one in every six residents of Kotlas – marched to protest Shiyes and other Russian government plans to dispose of Moscow’s trash in the region. Those take part in the protest there and in Syktyvkar, the capital of the Komi Republic, were animated not only by a desire to express their support for those who have been standing against plans to build a dump for Moscow’s wastes in Shiyes but also by fears that Shiyes is only the first of Moscow’s plans to turn the North into a waste dump. Given how cold it is in the Russian North in December where it is already deep in winter, it is truly impressive that so many people have come out. That should serve as a warning to officials in Moscow that Northerners are not going to roll over and play dead as Moscow goes about destroying their environment. | paul goble ([email protected]) | http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/12/massive-anti-trash-protests-in-russian.html | 2019-12-10T08:55:00.001-08:00 | 1,575,986,100 | 1,576,024,630 | environment | environmental politics |
1,109,121 | windowoneurasiablog--2019-12-06--‘Forgetting Their Fears,’ 17 Russian Rights and Environmental Groups Form Civic Coalition | 2019-12-06T00:00:00 | windowoneurasiablog | ‘Forgetting Their Fears,’ 17 Russian Rights and Environmental Groups Form Civic Coalition | Staunton, December 3 – Like all authoritarian states, the Putin regime relies on fear to keep the population in line. When its actions however vicious and cruel fail to instill fear, that regime like others in the past will be in serious trouble. There are growing indications that, as one activist put it this week, that Russians are “forgetting their fears.” The new movement will not have the status of a legal person, Ponomaryev says, thus limiting the ability of the Russian state to use the legal system against it. He said many groups are ready to join the coalition, including For Human Rights, Russia’s Choice, Citizen and the Army, prisoner defense groups, and environmental activists like those at Shiyes. “Russia is in the process of transformation,” Ponomaryev continues, “and the task of the rights activists is to be an intermediary between the powers and society. We see that society is now exercised” on more and more issues. And the new coalition will allow them to cooperate, support one another and share information. Valery Borshchev of the Moscow Helsinki Groups adds that the formation of this coalition is one of the few bright spots in what has been “a most difficult even catastrophic year” for rights groups. Such organizations are “under threat” both directly through official pressure and by the regime’s creating Potemkin-like alternatives it controls. But the Helsinki Group activist said that “the roots of the human rights movement in Russia are too deep for the powers that be to destroy and weaken them.” Perhaps the most noteworthy development was the attendance at the meeting of environmental activists from the regions, people who have only rarely directly cooperated with Moscow rights activists. Among them was Dmitry Sekushin who has been part of the Shiyes anti-trash protests in Arkhangelsk Oblast. He called the meeting of environmentalists and rights activists “a signal event. That we now will formally unite is the right move. We are already supported by several dozen regional environmental activists, organizations and meetings, and in the near future, we are planning our common work and coordinating our actions.” “We need an exchange of experience because each of the regional environmental activists and movements has its own specific baggage of knowledge,” Sekushin said, adding that he and his colleagues are aware that by engaging in such actions, they may be putting themselves at risk of punishment by the state. “But we are speaking about the health and lives of our children, and therefore people are forgetting their fears.” | paul goble ([email protected]) | http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/12/forgetting-their-fears-17-russian.html | 2019-12-06T04:14:00.001-08:00 | 1,575,623,640 | 1,575,635,639 | environment | environmental politics |
1,108,848 | windowoneurasiablog--2019-10-28--As if Russia Didn’t have Enough Environmental Problems, Moscow Boosts Imports of Nuclear Waste, Gree | 2019-10-28T00:00:00 | windowoneurasiablog | As if Russia Didn’t have Enough Environmental Problems, Moscow Boosts Imports of Nuclear Waste, Greenpeace Says | Staunton, October 24 – Despite a 2009 promise that it would not take in more nuclear wastes from abroad ( , Moscow will be taking in from Europe more than 12,000 tons of uranium tailings over the next several years, a profitable but While the environmental organization says that most of the materials involved have relatively low concentrations of U-235 and while Europe now is more interested in having these materials stored rather than reprocessed, this latest action is certain to provoke increasingly environmentally conscious Russians. The materials now to be imported are of sufficiently low dose, Valentin Gibalov, a Russian specialist on atomic energy, says, that they are more of a threat chemically than in terms of radiation and even that is minimal. But he expresses concern that the procedures for storing the materials may not be included in the contract, which remains unpublished. Most likely, the imported uranium will be stored in containers of the same kind as Russia stores its own nuclear tailings; but these in many cases date to the 1950s, are kept outdoors, and are subject to deterioration, a pattern the Presidential Human Rights Council warned about in February 2019 ( president-sovet.ru/documents/read/664/ Gibalov says that the company involved in the imports, Urenco, has not done itself any favors by its opaque approach to the problems that do exist. A more open approach would calm Russians rather than lead to rumors and speculation that could trigger protests. Those are now increasingly likely in the current environment where Russians are demonstrating against dumps. Vladmir Slivyak, vice president of the environmental activist group Ekozashchita which led ecological protests in 2004 to 2009, describes the latest move to import nuclear wastes from Europe as “cynical and amoral” and shows that the Russian authorities once again are putting profit before the welfare of the Russian people. | paul goble ([email protected]) | http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/10/as-if-russia-didnt-have-enough.html | 2019-10-28T06:38:00.003-07:00 | 1,572,259,080 | 1,572,545,838 | environment | environmental politics |
1,108,845 | windowoneurasiablog--2019-10-19--Kremlin Mulls Creation of a Green Party to Capture Environmentalists and Defeat the KPRF | 2019-10-19T00:00:00 | windowoneurasiablog | Kremlin Mulls Creation of a Green Party to Capture Environmentalists and Defeat the KPRF | There is already a small Green Party in Russia headed by Oleg Mitvol, who earlier served in the Putin regime as head of the government’s environmental protection agency, but as he and others admit, it has little power and few prospects to emerge as a challenger in the upcoming Duma elections. And while it is a good thing that the Presidential Administration is focusing on environmental concerns, Mitvol says, it is far from clear whether it could organize such a party effectively given that the Putin regime continues to insist that there are environmental problems throughout the world but not in Russia. Changing its own message would work better for the Kremlin than creating yet another party. | paul goble ([email protected]) | http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/10/kremlin-mulls-creation-of-green-party.html | 2019-10-19T04:47:00.001-07:00 | 1,571,474,820 | 1,571,496,216 | environment | environmental politics |
1,107,684 | windowoneurasiablog--2019-04-13--In Russian North Environmental Activism Becomes Political and Now Affects Ever Hotter Issues | 2019-04-13T00:00:00 | windowoneurasiablog | In Russian North, Environmental Activism Becomes Political and Now Affects Ever Hotter Issues | Staunton, April 12 – Protests in the Russian north against Moscow’s degradation of the environment of their regions by its incautious development of an environmentally sensitive region and its plans to make things worse by disposing of trash from the capital there are becoming the trigger for broader and more political protests. But while trash protests have attracted more media attention, environmental activism in the North has now focused on one issue that is far more immediately important to officials in the Russian capital – the disposal of nuclear waste products. Yury Tyutrin, a local resident who edits the Khantanga website, says, that people are rising in revolt over these plans and “thank God for that.” Russia doesn’t need these rare earth minerals: they are being produced only to make money by export; and those who are doing that are doing so “at the expense of our health and the health of our children.” He adds that residents, having had their fears confirmed by specialists, are “to speak honestly, now in a state of panic and shock.” They are also infuriated by the Russian firm’s effort to frighten them into silence by saying the town won’t exist at all if it doesn’t agree to have these waste disposal sites on its territory. “Khatanga has been standing for almost 400 years,” Tyutrin says. “We have a port and air connections always have worked normally.” We can survive without these dumps. Indeed, he suggests, residents will be better off because they are less likely to sicken and die. Residents are also upset that no one will take responsibility for saying that the company can put the wastes there, Gennady Shchukin, the head of the Association of Social Movements of the Indigenous Numerically Small Peoples of the North of Taymyr’s Dolgano-Nenets district. And they fear that as a result, bad things will happen and no one will stop them. The experience of Sakha is both instructive and frightening in that regard. Olga Timofeyeva-Tereshkina, head of the Association of the Dolgans of Sakha, says that places in her area were forced to accept such nuclear wastes and now people are dying at 50 of leukemia and other former of cancer. To prevent that from happening or at least happening without their views going on the record, residents of Khatanga plan to conduct a referendum on whether they approve such disposal locations. Activists say they expect pressure against them to increase over the five to six months it will take to prepare that effort. But they have no confidence that meetings with the Russian company involved will lead to a positive outcome; and they hope that their efforts at direct democracy will attract the kind of broader attention that the firm will not be able to avoid. No one should die of cancer so that a company can make a profit. | paul goble ([email protected]) | http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/04/in-russian-north-environmental-activism.html | 2019-04-13 12:39:00.001000+00:00 | 1,555,173,540 | 1,567,543,030 | environment | environmental politics |
1,107,386 | windowoneurasiablog--2019-02-23--For Environmental and Security Reasons Moscow Must Combat Emptying Out of Rural Areas Economist Sa | 2019-02-23T00:00:00 | windowoneurasiablog | For Environmental and Security Reasons, Moscow Must Combat Emptying Out of Rural Areas, Economist Says | Staunton, February 23 – At the present time, Andrey Gudkov says, two-thirds of Russia is virtually unpopulated, and with both demographic decline in adjoining regions, even more of the country’s territory will almost completely empty of people, with both the environmental and security risks that entails. If there are no people in these regions, there will be no one to raise the alarm if there are problems; and there are going to be more such because it is precisely in these un- and under-populated regions where “processes connected with global warming are actively occurring, Gudkov points out. “Perhaps,” he says, Russia doesn’t need to boost its overall population; but it very much does need to increase “the size of the population of particular regions.” Unfortunately, the economist continues, “demographic policy in Russia is supported less well than in many countries of Europe.” For example, the Russian government does not have a program to support demographic development “at the level of municipalities.” And yet it is precisely there that Russia should be devoting its greatest efforts. Vladimir Putin talks regularly about boosting the birthrate and extending life expectancy, but he rarely seems opposed in any way to rapid urbanization and rural depopulation. His health and education “optimization” programs have closed enormous numbers of hospitals and schools in rural areas – and contributed to the more rapid emptying out of the countryside. Promoting a Russia of the cities (“agglomerzations”) is normally associated with Andrey Kudrin, but in actual fact, although Gudkov does not talk about it here, Putin by his actions or inactions is doing as much to make that image of Russia a reality, a trend that as the economist warns will involve significant collateral damage. | paul goble ([email protected]) | http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/02/for-environmental-and-security-reasons.html | 2019-02-23 14:43:00.002000+00:00 | 1,550,950,980 | 1,567,547,569 | environment | environmental politics |
1,107,211 | windowoneurasiablog--2019-01-29--Unresolved Environmental Problems Driving Down Russian GDP by Four to Six Percent a Year | 2019-01-29T00:00:00 | windowoneurasiablog | Unresolved Environmental Problems Driving Down Russian GDP by Four to Six Percent a Year | Staunton, January 28 – Moscow talks a lot about addressing environmental problems, adopted a national strategy, and has spent billions of rubles on environmental cleanup efforts. But it has not put a serious dent in the problem; and contaminated air, land and water is harming the health and well-being millions of Russians and driving down GDP by six percent annually. Almost 20 million Russians currently live in cities with high levels of air pollution, according to officials; and as many as 40 percent of the population often drink water that does not meet health standards. Both of these threaten public health and the country’s demographic future ( Perhaps even more serious as far as the Kremlin is concerned, experts say, is the fact that the country’s environmental problems are hampering economic growth, reducing GDP growth by four to six percent a year, effectively ensuring that unless Russia enters a new boom, its GDP figures will be negative or only slightly positive because of the environment. More serious still, at least in prospect, is that environmental protests are spreading from a relatively small cadre of environmentalists to large portions of the population upset by the government’s decision to ship trash from Moscow to the regions without asking the latter’s approval. Demonstrations in Moscow oblast have forced the government to go slow with its trash disposal plans there, and protests across the Russian north appear to be having the same consequence. If the situation deteriorates further and if it becomes clear to more people that Moscow can’t or won’t address it, these protests could become political. That is what happened at the end of Soviet times, especially in the Baltic countries where environmental and historical preservation movements, at least nominally legal, grew into political movements that challenged Soviet rule and eventually helped to end the Soviet occupation of the three. One of the closest observers of the beginning of this process in Estonia and subsequently a direct participant, Mari-Ann Kelam, has just given an interview to Region.Expert in which she outlines the ways in which “ecology can strongly influence politics.” It should be required reading by those in Moscow who aren’t dealing with this problem now ( Moscow’s plan to mine phosphates in Estonia in an environmentally sensitive area, “really stimulated demonstrations and acts of protest in Estonia,” the Estonian-American who now lives in Tallinn, says. It was far from the only issue but it was an important one because it was the kind of issue people could raise for a long time without getting in trouble. There are certain parallels with the Estonian situation in the 1980s and Russia know concerning the environment. But there are important differences. Perhaps the most important is that Estonians directly attacked the system and its leadership for their problems while Russians so far have focused their criticism against local officials. Moreover, given Russia’s size, it is far more difficult for activists to make contact with one another than it was in Estonia. That makes a truly national protest in Russia far more difficult than was the case in Estonia, but each protest can be a first step in that direction, something the Kremlin should remember. | paul goble ([email protected]) | http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2019/01/unresolved-environmental-problems.html | 2019-01-29 20:45:00.004000+00:00 | 1,548,812,700 | 1,567,550,388 | environment | environmental politics |
1,105,544 | westernjournal--2019-11-05--Trump Administration Scales Back Obama-Era Environmental Regulation | 2019-11-05T00:00:00 | westernjournal | Trump Administration Scales Back Obama-Era Environmental Regulation | The Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency announced a proposed regulation on Monday that would give coal-fired power plants additional time to comply with two different Obama-era rules. The proposal would modify a 2015 rule that required utilities to clean coal ash and toxic heavy metals from wastewater before disposing of it. Coal ash waste is sometimes stored in unlined pits or ponds near power plants, and dangerous heavy metals can seep into groundwater and waterways. The Clean Water Rule of 2015 also established Effluent Limitations Guidelines and Pretreatment Standards that limited wastewater discharges into surface waters and wastewater treatment plants. The EPA proposed giving the facilities until Aug. 31, 2020, to come into compliance with this Coal Combustion Residuals rule and until the end of 2028 to implement new wastewater disposal standards, Reuters reported. TRENDING: Gov. Cuomo Says 'Good Riddance' to Trump Leaving NY, Don Jr. Responds with Savage Takedown Although the Trump administration had delayed these rules, the formal proposal from the EPA became necessary after a 2018 court decision overturned some of the 2015 EPA’s provisions. “Today’s proposed actions were triggered by court rulings and petitions for reconsideration on two 2015 rules that placed heavy burdens on electricity producers across the country,” EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. “We are providing both at the same time in order to provide more certainty to the American public,” he said. “These proposed revisions support the Trump Administration’s commitment to responsible, reasonable regulations by taking a commonsense approach, which also protects public health and the environment.” The EPA said its proposal would take a “flexible, phased-in implementation approach” to the rule. The agency estimated that the plan would save utilities over $175 million a year and reduce the number of pollutants discharged in water by approximately 105 million pounds per year compared with the Obama-era rules. “We applaud the Trump EPA’s latest efforts to protect coal mining and the livelihoods of those who depend on its success in West Virginia,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said, according to the EPA release. “The proposed regulations will improve the regulatory burden on the coal industry and lower the cost of electricity for West Virginians.” Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Charles Snavely added that the guidelines “enable states to develop a workable regulatory framework for coal combustion residuals and effluent guidelines while still protecting the environment.” However, Thomas Cmar, an attorney for environmental advocacy group Earthjustice, said the EPA is “allowing the power industry to continue dumping toxic contaminants in our waterways at the expense of public health,” according to The Associated Press. RELATED: Former California Gov. Jerry Brown Blames Trump and Republicans for Wildfires “Instead of taking the data into account and recognizing these rules need to be made stronger, this administration has been turning a blind eye to the facts,” Cmar said, according to Reuters. The EPA said it will be holding two 60-day public comment periods on the proposals and a virtual public hearing for each of the new rules. We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. | Erin Coates | https://www.westernjournal.com/trump-administration-scales-back-obama-era-environmental-regulation/ | Tue, 05 Nov 2019 19:24:06 +0000 | 1,572,999,846 | 1,573,063,100 | environment | environmental politics |
1,099,951 | westernjournal--2019-02-06--Wood Instead of Coal More Foolishness from Radical Environmentalists | 2019-02-06T00:00:00 | westernjournal | Wood Instead of Coal: More Foolishness from Radical Environmentalists |  Tap here to add The Western Journal to your home screen. | Steve Goreham | https://www.westernjournal.com/wood-instead-coal-foolishness-radical-environmentalists/ | 2019-02-06 23:26:17+00:00 | 1,549,513,577 | 1,567,549,496 | environment | environmental politics |
1,095,932 | washingtonpost--2019-12-09--The Energy 202: Majority of U.S. states slashed environmental budgets over past decade, new study fi | 2019-12-09T00:00:00 | washingtonpost | The Energy 202: Majority of U.S. states slashed environmental budgets over past decade, new study finds | The Trump administration has promised to give individual states more power to set their own strategies for curbing air and water pollution. But states may not be up to the job: A whopping 30 states have cut their environmental budgets over the past decade, a new study found. And it's raising concerns among environmental advocates about whether states have enough resources to stop polluters. "The bottom line is it's past time to give both the U.S. EPA and state agencies the resources they need to enforce our environmental laws," said Eric Schaeffer, head and co-founder of the Environmental Integrity Project, which conducted the analysis of anti-pollution programs in the Lower 48 states published late last week. Half of all U.S. states cut their budgets for environmental programs by more than 10 percent when adjusted for inflation between 2008 to 2018, the study found. During that decade-long stretch, state environmental protection agencies shed more than 4,400 jobs. The analysis only looked at state-level programs combatting pollution, and did not include those that manage wildlife or state parks. In Pennsylvania, during a decade of growth in natural gas production in the Marcellus shale formation in Pennsylvania, state officials slashed funding for pollution control efforts by 16 percent even as the overall state budget grew by 18 percent. And in Texas, which saw a similar boom in oil and gas extraction in the Permian Basin in the western half of the state, lawmakers cut funding at its Commission of Environmental Quality by 35 percent even as overall state spending grew by 41 percent. “I knew there had been some cuts, but even I was alarmed to see” the report, said Luke Metzger, executive director of Environment Texas. The findings are especially significant given leaders at the federal Environmental Protection Agency under President Trump have said they want to grant states more enforcement responsibilities and then support them when needed. Environmental advocates have argued that shifting responsibility to the state amounts to a retreat on pollution prevention, but Trump officials refer to this concept as “cooperative federalism.” “Cooperative federalism is a cornerstone of the administrator’s approach,” Andrew Wheeler said during his 2017 nomination hearing to become the EPA's second-ranking officer under then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. (Wheeler became agency head after Pruitt stepped down the following year.) “We must work cooperatively with the states to ensure that the environment and public health are both protected.” When asked about the cuts to state environmental spending, the EPA said in a statement that it is "fully committed to fulfilling our mission of protecting human health and the environment and working closely with our state, local, and tribal partners." The cuts came as many states fell under Republican control after the tea-party wave election of 2010. The steepest decline in environmental funding occurred in Wisconsin under the budgetary knife of then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who was first elected that year. But blue states were not spared as lawmakers sought to tighten belts after the Great Recession. New York cuts its environmental spending by nearly a third over the decade, while Illinois slashed funding for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency by a quarter over that same period. “Clearly, the recession had some impact,” said Schaeffer, who previously served as director of EPA’s Office of Civil Enforcement. “Interestingly, for some states, because of the federal stimulus package, there was actually a flood of money in 2010-11.” One of the few states to significantly increasing its environmental spending since 2008 was California. The nation's most populous state almost doubled funding for the California Environmental Protection Agency over the decade, from $2.4 billion to $4.2 billion, to both implement a new recycling law and launch a cap-and-trade program for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But when it comes to California specifically, the Trump administration has been less keen on protecting states' rights. It's been more interested in asserting federal supremacy rather than allowing the big blue state to pursue pollution standards more aggressive than those of the federal government. In September, the EPA revoked California’s long-standing authority to set stricter air pollution standards for cars and light trucks. The agency has even accused California of “failing to meet its obligations” to protect the environment because of the large homeless populations in Los Angeles and San Francisco. “It’s a terrible situation — that’s in Los Angeles and in San Francisco,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that month. “They have to clean it up,” he added. “We can’t have our cities going to hell.” — Trump taking on “elements of bathrooms”: Trump told reporters he has called on the EPA to look into water efficiency standards and low water pressure in sinks, showers and toilets. • What Trump said: “We have a situation where we’re looking very strongly at sinks and showers and other elements of bathrooms where you turn the faucet on — in areas where there’s tremendous amounts of water,” he said. “ You turn on the faucet; you don’t get any water. They take a shower and water comes dripping out. It’s dripping out — very quietly dripping out. People are flushing toilets 10 times, 15 times, as opposed to once. They end up using more water. So, EPA is looking at that very strongly, at my suggestion.” • Trump also renewed his attack on energy-efficient lightbulbs: again criticized energy-efficient bulbs, saying that old-fashioned and energy-intensive bulbs were more flattering. “They got rid of the lightbulb that people got used to. The new bulb is many times more expensive,” he said . “And I hate to say it, it doesn't make you look as good. Of course, being a vain person, that's very important to me. It gives you an orange look. I don't want an orange look.” — A glimpse of Pete Buttigieg’s work at McKinsey: The presidential candidate released a “summary” of his work at consulting firm McKinsey and Co. It included an outline of seven projects that included one examining “opportunities to sell more energy-efficient products for a ‘consumer goods retail chain,’” The Post’s Chelsea Janes reports. He also worked on a project co-sponsored in part by the EPA and Energy Department to find ways to address climate change with energy efficiency. In yet another project, he worked separately with an environmental nonprofit to research renewable energy. • But is this disclosure enough? Buttigieg worked at the consulting giant for 2 1/2 years and has faced calls for more transparency around his work there. “In a statement issued by his campaign Friday evening, the South Bend, Ind., mayor also reiterated his request to McKinsey and Co. to free him from the confidentiality agreement that prevents him from disclosing further details,” Janes adds. — PFAS provisions pulled from NDAA: Provisions to regulate a dangerous class of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS — commonly referred to as “forever chemicals” — have been taken out of the annual National Defense Authorization Act. Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters that negotiations were essentially complete, the Hill reports. “The House-passed version of the NDAA would have forced the cleanup of PFAS under the Superfund law and would have directed the EPA to set a maximum contaminant level,” per the report. PFAS provisions had recently emerged as a roadblock in negotiations over the bill. • What happened: House Energy and Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) nixed a bipartisan deal on the issue, E&E News reports, even after months of negotiations and a threat from Pelosi not to bring the annual defense authorization bill to the House floor without PFAS provisions. "This week, Democrats and Republicans were finally close to a good deal on PFAS provisions, but in a rush to quickly pass the NDAA, [Armed Services] Chairman [Adam] Smith [D-Wash.] — at the behest of Rep. Pallone — unilaterally took PFAS off the negotiating table," according to a source familiar with the NDAA negotiations. • What’s next: If the final NDAA addresses PFAS, it will include a Senate version which would “give the military until 2023 to stop using firefighting foam containing PFAS — however, ships are exempt from this — and require military firefighters to undergo testing for the chemicals during physicals. The Senate's version would also allocate $10 million to the research and development of a firefighting foam that is free from the toxic chemicals,” per E&E. — Another House climate bill expected: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters she expects the House Select Committee Climate Crisis to make a policy recommendation that will lead to another major climate change bill ahead of the 2020 election. “It's been an open question for months whether Democrats would hold a vote on broad decarbonization legislation, given the potential political risks and that Republicans still control the Senate,” E&E News reports. “Pelosi offered no specifics this morning about what potential broad legislation would look like or how House leaders would reconcile work in various committees.” • To quote: “That is the purpose of the Select Committee, not just to be an academic endeavor, but to report to the legislative committees so that we can act upon it and build along the way, in the public, the fact that Congress is acting," Pelosi said. — Perhaps the strictest ban on single-use plastics in the U.S.: The Honolulu City Council voted 7 to 2 to pass a bill to prohibit businesses and restaurants from using plastic utensils, plastic straws and polystyrene foam food containers on Hawaii’s most populated island, HuffPost reports. Nearly 70 percent of the state’s resident’s live on Oahu, where the single-use plastic ban will take effect in phases. — Oceans are losing oxygen: A report released by the International Union for Conservation of Nature found the oxygen levels in oceans worldwide dropped 2 percent between 1960 and 2010, the New York Times reports. And climate change is largely to blame. • Why it’s important: “This loss of oxygen in the ocean is significant enough to affect the planetary cycling of elements such as nitrogen and phosphorous which are ‘essential for life on Earth,’ [report editor Dan Laffoley] said …. Warming temperatures also affect the ability of ocean water to mix, so that the oxygen absorbed on the top layer doesn’t properly get down into the deeper ocean. And what oxygen is available gets used up more quickly because marine life uses more oxygen when temperatures are warmer.” — PG&E reaches multibillion-dollar wildfire settlement: The company said it reached an approximately $13.5 billion settlement to pay to victims of the devastating wildfires that killed dozens and destroyed homes. “The massive settlement could compensate tens of thousands of victims who have had to recover and rebuild after losing homes, businesses and loved ones in the blazes,” The Post’s Derek Hawkins reports. “It would also mark a step forward in the beleaguered utility’s attempts to emerge from bankruptcy in the coming months.” • The reaction: “We are pleased that PG&E has finally admitted that the victims’ losses exceed $13.5 billion, and that PG&E is responsible,” Robert Julian, a lawyer from the firm BakerHostetler representing the victims, said in a statement. • What this means for the company: “PG&E said the latest deal would put it on a path to emerge from bankruptcy by June 30, the deadline to participate in a fund created by the state legislature that California utilities will use to pay for future wildfires linked to their equipment,” Hawkins writes. “ … Even if the settlement is approved, however, PG&E will still have to reconcile with a frustrated and distrustful public and government officials who want to rein the company in.” — What happened when a Boston suburb tried to block new oil and gas hookups: Brookline, Mass. became the first municipality on the East Coast to ban gas hookups in new construction projects starting in 2021, “a move proponents say will help the suburb of 58,000 people achieve its ambitious goal of zeroing out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050,” HuffPost reports. It was an effort that the fossil fuel industry tried to spoil at the last minute. Still, other communities probably will follow suit. • Why it’s notable: “The behind-the-scenes effort in [Brookline] is part of a growing industry push to thwart municipal gas regulations, which are becoming increasingly common as local governments look to do their part to combat global climate change,” per the report. • The House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Energy holds a hearing on research and innovation to address the critical materials challenge on Tuesday. • The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds a hearing on the upcoming implementation of the International Maritime Organization’s new global sulfur standard for marine fuels on Tuesday. • None on the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic strategic outlook on Thursday. —"One of the most precious and important fossil sites in the world”: Christina Chung illustrated the art to accompany this piece by The Post’s Sarah Kaplan on the Burgess Shale, a massive Canadian fossil trove. “Weirdness seems to be the defining characteristic of Burgess Shale organisms,” Kaplan writes. | Dino Grandoni | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-energy-202-majority-of-us-states-slashed-environmental-budgets-over-past-decade-new-study-finds/2019/12/09/41ff11bf-ae09-4cbb-a8d1-a352aa0688d9_story.html | Mon, 9 Dec 2019 08:20:26 EST | 1,575,897,626 | 1,575,936,446 | environment | environmental politics |
1,095,677 | washingtonpost--2019-11-25--The Energy 202: Bloomberg touts environmental record in 2020 announcement | 2019-11-25T00:00:00 | washingtonpost | The Energy 202: Bloomberg touts environmental record in 2020 announcement | It's official: Mike Bloomberg is running for president. And he is about to spend millions of dollars to tout the millions of dollars he has already spent combating President Trump and the coal industry. The former New York mayor, who is one of the richest people in the world, entered the crowded 2020 Democratic primary on Sunday after weeks of teasing a self-financed campaign. He unrolled a multipronged pitch to voters that included trumpeting his extensive environmental philanthropy since stepping down as mayor in 2013. In a campaign video released Sunday previewing the issues he will focus on in the race, a narrator notes how Bloomberg both “stood up to the coal lobby” and to “the outright denial of this administration” on climate change. Those lines appear to refer to at least two past spending endeavors by Bloomberg: The more than $100 million he put into the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign to press for the closure of coal plants, and a grant of nearly $6 million in 2017 into a New York University School of Law center helping state attorneys general challenge the Trump administration's rollback of environmental rules. When it comes to campaigning for the Democratic nomination, that spending is both a blessing and a curse. Bloomberg has real bona fides in the environmental movement for his philanthropy, but his candidacy comes at a moment when many Democratic voters are deeply skeptical of the power billionaires wield in politics. To that point: Bloomberg's campaign team is dropping more than $30 million to reserve television advertising to launch his last-minute bid. That sum is on top of his jaw-dropping $100 million ad campaign in key battleground states targeting Trump exclusively. One of Bloomberg's rivals, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), said in a statement he was "disgusted by the idea that Michael Bloomberg or any other billionaire thinks they can circumvent the political process and spend tens of millions of dollars to buy our elections." Bloomberg has butted heads with the more liberal wing of the Democratic Party before. When Barack Obama was in office, he irked some environmentalists by praising natural gas as a “bridge fuel” between coal and renewable sources. And more recently, he criticized Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) Green New Deal as politically unrealistic. So far, the Bloomberg campaign has focused on what the former mayor has already done on climate change — not what he would do if president. Bloomberg's newly refurbished campaign website claims his data-driven mayoral administration reduced New York's carbon footprint by 14 percent, planted 800,000 trees and added 850 acres to parks. — Storming the field: Hundreds of climate change protesters poured onto the field at halftime of the Harvard-Yale football game on Saturday, holding signs and chanting “OK boomer." • The scene: The game was delayed for nearly an hour, and players from both teams joined the demonstrations in a “showstopping escalation,” The Post’s Jacob Bogage and Hannah Knowles report. “Protesters sat at the 50-yard line at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Conn., arms linked and chanting, as banners echoed calls for urgent change championed by lawmakers and activists around the country.” • What they wanted: More substantively, students from both universities want the schools to both divest their endowments from the fossil fuel industry and to forgive debt owed by hurricane-hit Puerto Rico. • 2020 candidates weigh in: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro and billionaire activist Tom Steyer each tweeted out their support of the protest. — Trump vs. California: Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the move to rescind California’s waiver to set its own vehicle emissions standards. • Their argument: “EPA doesn’t have the authority to withdraw a waiver, and, even if it did, none of the justifications put forth stand up to scrutiny,” Mike Landis, an attorney for Environment America, said in a statement. Environment America was one of 11 groups to file the lawsuit alongside the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and others. The lawsuit follows a similar legal action from California and other states. — EPA bans consumer use of chemical found in paint stripper: The Environmental Protection Agency’s ban on consumer sales of methylene chloride, a toxic chemical used in paint and coating strippers, went into effect on Saturday. Numerous major retailers, including Walmart, Home Depot and Lowes, have already banned products containing the chemical. “EPA’s action keeps paint and coating removers that contain the chemical methylene chloride out of consumers’ hands,” EPA chief Andrew Wheeler said in a statement. “It is against the law to sell or distribute methylene chloride for paint and coating removal in the retail marketplace — a step that will provide important public health protections for consumers.” — Rick Perry avoiding the heat: The energy secretary is preparing to step down from his post on Dec. 1, but amid the House impeachment inquiry, he has declined to cooperate with a congressional subpoena and has so far avoided tough questions, CNN reports. • “Key questions about what he knew and when have gone unanswered, and Perry's aides appear to have shielded him on multiple occasions from questions about revelations in this week's testimony,” per the report. " … Perry avoided reporters' questions at two speeches he delivered earlier in the week. When he spoke to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, Energy Department officials shielded him from reporters by sending what appeared to be an empty decoy SUV driven by his security officers to the building's front door while Perry slipped through a different door.” • God's "chosen one": Meanwhile, "Fox & Friends" previewed Sunday evening an interview with Perry, in which he says Trump, despite his flaws, is an instrument of God. "God's used imperfect people all through history," Perry said. "King David wasn't perfect, Saul wasn't perfect, Solomon wasn't perfect." — Protesters visit Pete Buttigieg’s office: Demonstrators with the Sunrise Movement occupied the South Bend, Ind., mayor’s office, calling on him to treat climate change as an emergency and to take more aggressive action for the city. • What Sunrise says: “Pete’s climate plan for South Bend is not good enough. Why? Because we need drastic action NOW,” Sunrise Movement representative Garrett Blad tweeted. The activist group told ABC57, the local ABC affiliate, that it wants Buttigieg to update his climate plans "so that there's accountability when it comes to pollution." • What Buttigieg’s campaign says: In a statement, Buttigieg’s presidential campaign touted the mayor’s environmental record. “From constructing the first LEED-certified South Bend city government buildings, to implementing green infrastructure in neighborhoods throughout the area, to responding to historic flooding caused by climate change, the Mayor has led from the front on climate," the campaign said. As president, Buttigieg says he wants to get the country to net-zero emissions by 2050. — “I feel sad for him”: Actress and activist Jane Fonda accused Trump in a CNN interview of being “in bed with the fossil fuel industry” and said “what he’s doing to the world … is just criminal.” “[Trump's] behavior is the behavior, it’s the language of people who have been traumatized,” Fonda said. “And you have to hate the behavior but don’t hate the person. I don’t hate him. I feel sad for him. And what’s he’s doing to the world is just criminal, it’s just criminal, it’s terrible. But there are more of us, and we can make a difference.” — Experts warn about the threat of 5G technology: Negotiators announced a long-awaited global deal to determine how companies should deploy 5G technology, but data from federal agencies and the World Meteorological Organization shows that it could pose a risk to weather forecasting accuracy. “Studies completed before the negotiations by U.S. government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA and the Navy had warned that 5G equipment operating in the 24-gigahertz frequency band could interfere with transmissions from polar-orbiting satellites used to gather weather data,” The Post’s Andrew Freedman reports. “This could make forecasts much less reliable, the reports found.” • Politico hosts an event on environmental issues and the 2020 presidential election on Dec. 4. — How much do you know about climate change? Take a quiz from Ryan Bacic and Aviva Loeb from The Post’s new Climate Solutions page to see how much you know about the basics of climate science. | Dino Grandoni | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-energy-202-bloomberg-touts-environmental-record-in-2020-announcement/2019/11/25/d4adbda1-7045-464d-a105-1612995cb114_story.html | Mon, 25 Nov 2019 07:59:54 EST | 1,574,686,794 | 1,574,696,173 | environment | environmental politics |
1,095,344 | washingtonpost--2019-11-11--The Energy 202: Some environmentalists aren’t thrilled about a potential Bloomberg 2020 run | 2019-11-11T00:00:00 | washingtonpost | The Energy 202: Some environmentalists aren’t thrilled about a potential Bloomberg 2020 run | Many environmentalists have celebrated Michael Bloomberg as a philanthropist who has generously bankrolled the fight against climate change, spending hundreds of millions of dollars of his own fortune on trying to close coal-fired power plants. But they're not as excited about Bloomberg, the potential 2020 presidential candidate. The former New York mayor, who is worth more than $53 billion according to Forbes, began taking steps late last week to mount a bid for the Democratic nomination for president. But Bloomberg’s possible self-financed campaign has some environmentalist asking: Why not use that considerable wealth to redouble the ex-New York mayor's environmental efforts rather than to make a long shot White House bid?` “There is a lot of work to be done in that advocacy,” said Evan Weber, political director and co-founder of the Sunrise Movement. “It’s not really clear how a presidential run advances those efforts.” It was only a few months ago the 77-year-old seemed content with writing checks rather than running for office. In June, after declaring he would not run for president, Bloomberg launched a $500 million campaign to close every coal plant in the country and halt the growth of natural gas. That commitment came after Bloomberg had already spent more than $100 million on the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign to target coal plants for closure. “The most important thing we can do is to phase out coal as fast as possible,” Bloomberg said in a speech at a U.N. climate summit last month. But that big-dollar spending hasn't stopped Bloomberg from butting heads with other Democrats as the party shifts further to the left on climate change — and as scientists issue increasingly dire predictions about a warmer future. Earlier this year, Bloomberg criticized Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) Green New Deal, which calls for a complete overhaul of the economy to transition away from fossil fuels over the next decade, for standing “no chance of passage in the Senate over the next two years.” And during the Obama administration, Bloomberg praised hydraulic fracturing for natural gas as a way of cutting energy costs and reducing dependence on coal. “This race doesn’t need another candidate supporting tepid climate change policy,” said Mitch Jones, climate and energy program director at Food & Water Watch. “We know which side Bloomberg is on — the side of fossil fuel fracking and pipelines.” More recently, though, Bloomberg has stepped back from talking about natural gas as a “bridge fuel” between coal and renewable sources. “Science increasingly shows that the days of seeing gas as a bridge fuel are coming to an end,” Bloomberg said earlier this year. Bloomberg seems to have resurrected his interest in the race as swing-state polls show former vice president Joe Biden weakening. But he would have an uphill battle to get organized in a place like Iowa, which holds first-in-the-nation caucuses that often set the tone for the rest of the primary. “Bloomberg's climate advocacy has been second to none,” said Paul Bledsoe, a former Clinton White House climate adviser who now works with the Progressive Policy Institute. “But as a longtime Republican and multibillionaire businessman, his chances of winning this particular Democratic nomination are remote.” “Bloomberg could use his fortune to help Democrats beat Trump in many more effective ways than what would likely amount to a vanity race for the presidency,” he added. That is a criticism that has dogged the only billionaire to actually declare a run for the Democratic nomination: Tom Steyer. The financier and environmental activist, who helped spur the Obama administration to oppose the Keystone XL pipeline, has bankrolled hundreds of Democratic candidates through NextGen America (originally NextGen Climate), his advocacy nonprofit and political action committee. Both Bloomberg's and Steyer's bids come at a moment when several leading 2020 contenders, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), are questioning whether business executives like Bloomberg should even have such vast fortunes in the first place. “Welcome to the race, @MikeBloomberg! If you're looking for policy plans that will make a huge difference for working people and which are very popular, start here,” Warren tweeted Thursday, linking to her proposal for a tax on the wealth of billionaires like Bloomberg. — Is this the end of Florida orange juice?: A lethal disease is devastating the state’s citrus industry, having infected 90 percent of the groves in Florida. • What the disease does: The bacterium, called huang long bing, “often prevents raw green fruit from ripening, a symptom called citrus greening,” The Post’s Darryl Fears reports. “Even when the fruit does ripen, it sometimes drops to the ground before it can be picked. Under Florida law, citrus that falls from a tree untouched cannot be sold.” • By the numbers: Nearly 5,000 of the more than 7,000 farmers that grew citrus in 2004 have since stopped, and two-thirds of the factories that process fruit to juice have shuttered. Packing operations have tanked, too. According to one University of Florida study, 34,000 jobs have been eliminated in the decade leading up to 2016. • How climate change is contributing to the problem: The bacterium is spread by an invasive species, a tiny insect called a citrus psyllid. “A study by researchers at the University of Florida and Virginia Tech shows that climate change will allow the psyllid to spread to states north of Florida as their temperatures rise,” Fears adds. — Experiencing ANWR (without getting in an airplane): Environmental groups have organized a traveling art installation that aims to bring the remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska closer to Americans in the Lower 48. • The exhibit: Members of the Gwich’in, Alaska Natives with ancestral ties to the refuge, have joined with conservation groups and others to create the immersive experience, which has appeared in New York City, finishes its D.C. run Monday and will move on to San Francisco. The “Arctic Refuge Experience. Step in. Step up” features images shot by several filmmakers, songs by the Gwich’in and archival congressional testimony. As visitors walk through billowing smoke in a room full of screens and mirrors, footage of migrating caribou, birds and Arctic foxes from the 19.6 million-acre refuge appear onscreen. • Why now? The project comes as the Interior Department finalizes plans to auction off oil and gas drilling rights in the refuge. The exhibit also includes a room designed to mobilize opposition to the upcoming lease sale, where attendees can record voicemails for Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and the CEOs of Exxon, Chevron, Hillcorp and ConocoPhillips. They can also vote on what action to take next against the lease sales: under a 2017 law, two lease sales encompassing at least 400,000 acres must take place by 2024. “The system is designed in a way that only oil companies can bid,” said Irene Pedruelo, lead strategist for DoSomething Strategies, which helped design the exhibit. “Let’s try to bid for the land.” — Rick Perry relied on “usual talking points” at July meeting: The energy secretary did not discuss anything inappropriate during a July 10 White House meeting with Ukrainians, according to October testimony from former National Security Council official Fiona Hill, Politico reports. Hill told congressional impeachment investigators, according to remarks made public Friday, that “Perry had been talking at great length about [the] energy sector and corruption. And at no point did I think that anything Secretary Perry said referred to any of these issues that are under discussion today … Secretary Perry was having one, kind of, one set of discussions and that, clearly, Ambassador Sondland seemed to be having a different one.” • What else to know about the meeting: “Both Hill and Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the NSC staffer overseeing Ukraine policy, said Perry did not participate for long in a subsequent meeting, which Sondland convened after Bolton abruptly shut down the first meeting. That happened, Hill said, after Sondland said President Donald Trump would meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once the country agreed to “go forward with investigations,” specifically into Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company that employed Vice President Joe Biden's son, Hunter.” — Interior Dept. proposes contract with company Bernhardt previously lobbied for: The Interior Department is proposing awarding a permanent federal water contract to the Westlands Water District, which was previously represented by the secretary. David Bernhardt served as a lobbyist for Westlands until 2016, before joining the department in 2017 as a deputy secretary. “Responding to questions, Interior spokeswoman Carol Danko said the handling of the Westlands’ contract was delegated entirely to California staffers of the Bureau of Reclamation, which is under the Department of Interior. The agency will make a final decision after the legally mandated public comment period, she said,” the Associated Press reports. The proposed contract has raised concern among Democrats and environmental groups. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) told the AP: “The Interior Department needs to look out for the public interest, and not just serve the financial interests of their former lobbying clients.” — “It’s a question of how do we continue to have life here”: Ocracoke, one of the barrier islands of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, has been closed to visitors since Hurricane Dorian washed over the region. Residents there are grappling with whether the island, “crouched three feet above sea level between the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, can survive the threats of extreme weather and rising sea levels,” The Post’s Frances Stead Sellers reports. Scientists have long warned that the island is an indicator of what’s to come for much of the U.S. coast. But some, like the township’s county commissioner Tom Pahl, are committed to recovery. “Is this really sustainable? The answer is pretty clearly no,” Pahl told Sellers. “But what’s the timeline? No one has been able to say, ‘You’ve got 15 years, 40 years, 100 years.’ The clear-eyed vision is resiliency then retreat.” — Climate change and nuclear waste in the Marshall Islands: The United States buried plutonium under a concrete dome in the Pacific Ocean after World War II. The Runit Dome in the Marshall Islands holds more than 3.1 million cubic feet of nuclear waste. Now, as sea levels rise because of climate change, the dome could collapse, the Los Angeles Times reports in this investigation. “Officials in the Marshall Islands have lobbied the U.S. government for help, but American officials have declined, saying the dome is on Marshallese land and therefore the responsibility of the Marshallese government,” the L.A. Times reports. “…To many in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Runit Dome is the most visible manifestation of the United States’ nuclear legacy, a symbol of the sacrifices the Marshallese made for U.S. security, and the broken promises they received in return. They blame the United States and other industrialized countries for global climate change and sea level rise, which threaten to submerge vast swaths of this island nation’s 29 low-lying atolls.” • The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing on nuclear power on Wednesday. • The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation will hold an executive session to consider various legislative measures and nominations on Wednesday. • The House Science, Space and Technology Committee will hold a hearing on the future of science in EPA rulemaking on Wednesday. • The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands will hold an oversight hearing on Wednesday. • The House Natural Resources Subcommittee for Indigenous Peoples of the United States will hold a legislative hearing on Wednesday. • Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) will be featured in a keynote discussion at an event hosted by RealClearPolitics and The National Mining Association on Wednesday. — If you’re looking for something to do (and have a national park near you): All 419 national parks have waived admissions fees Monday for Veterans Day. | Dino Grandoni | https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-energy-202-some-environmentalists-arent-thrilled-about-a-potential-bloomberg-2020-run/2019/11/11/d8c2e92a-086c-4c5b-b341-536a80f409da_story.html | Mon, 11 Nov 2019 08:01:45 EST | 1,573,477,305 | 1,573,517,207 | environment | environmental politics |
1,093,334 | wakingtimes--2019-10-04--South Americas Second-Largest Forest is Also Burning and Environmentally Friendly Charcoal is S | 2019-10-04T00:00:00 | wakingtimes | South America’s Second-Largest Forest is Also Burning – and ‘Environmentally Friendly’ Charcoal is Subsidizing its Destruction | The fires raging across the Brazilian Amazon have captured the world’s attention. Meanwhile, South America’s second-largest forest, the Gran Chaco, is disappearing in plain sight. The Gran Chaco, which spans from Bolivia and Brazil to Paraguay and Argentina, is extremely bio-diverse, with more than 3,400 plant and 900 animal species – including quebracho blanco trees, tapirs and jaguars. It is also home to at least 30 indigenous peoples, including the Ayoreo, some of whom live in voluntary isolation in their historic homelands, as well Mennonite colonies. Now, due to the some of the fastest deforestation in the world, this once enormous ecosystem may soon be gone outside of protected areas. Since 2001, more than 31,000 square miles of forest were felled to make way for agriculture and cattle ranching in the Gran Chaco. More than half of that deforestation took place in Paraguay, a small South American country of 7 million. As in the Amazon to the north, cattle ranching and farming are the primary drivers of deforestation in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco. But beyond beef and soy, the cleared land of the Gran Chaco produces some pretty unexpected stuff, too – everyday products that are exported and sold abroad to consumers who may never know their purchases contribute to the destruction of South America’s second largest forest. I have investigated the spread of export-oriented agriculture in Paraguay since 2011. Paraguay, the eighth largest exporter of beef globally, sells 350,000 tons of beef each year to Russia, Israel, Chile and beyond. There are at least 14 million head of cattle in the Paraguayan Chaco and over 4 million hectares of land devoted to cattle ranching – an area larger than Belgium. The Paraguayan government hopes to climb into the top five of global beef exporters in the next 10 years. To meet that goal, ranchers will need more land – a lot of it – since Paraguay’s beef industry is based on grazing, rather than the feedlot model prevalent in the U.S. To clear forest land for grazing, both legally and illegally, Paraguayan cattle ranchers use what’s called “chaining.” That means leveling the forest with tractors that drag heavy chains. Then they burn the fallen trees. Increasingly, some Paraguayan ranchers are realizing that there’s money to be made off those felled trees, too. Rather than just incinerating the wood in their fields, they turn it into carbón – or charcoal, in English. Across the Paraguayan Chaco, large brick kilns located off of main roads slowly bake the wood cleared from nearby forests, transforming it into charcoal that fuels weekend cookouts worldwide. That charcoal is then stacked high on trucks that carry it to Paraguayan exporters, who ship it to Europe, the Middle East and the United States, among other major markets. In those places, Paraguayan charcoal is often labeled it as “natural” or “environmentally certified”, suggesting that they are sustainable. Paraguayan charcoal may be a “natural” product, but it’s hardly environmentally friendly. That’s because making and selling charcoal from recently cut trees – trees that previously went to waste – makes deforestation more profitable. As a result, purchases of this product indirectly contribute to the deforestation of the Chaco, sometimes turning environmentally minded consumers into unknowing accomplices in the decimation of South America’s second-largest forest. Paraguay exported nearly 9 million pounds of leather – a byproduct of its beef industry – last year.A similar problem arises with another Chaco good that’s sold far and wide: leather. Paraguayan leather is refined and used in numerous industries across the world, particularly in Europe. Car companies BMW, Citroën, Peugeot, Renault, Porsche and Ferrari all use leather from the Chaco to wrap everything from seats to steering wheels. Playing a pickup game of soccer this weekend? Your shoes could be made of the same stuff. Leather and charcoal don’t just make environmental degradation of the Paraguayan Chaco forest more profitable – sometimes, they are produced using forced labor. According to recent complaints filed with the Paraguayan attorney general’s office and labor department, some Chaco cattle ranches exploit indigenous people, paying extremely low wages for jobs like fence building, clearing land or herding cattle. Some workers must buy food from expensive ranch stores using systems of credit that entrap them in debt. A September 2018 United Nations report on contemporary forms of slavery in Paraguay shows that forced labor on Chaco cattle ranches and related industries is slowly improving due to increased compliance with labor laws, but affirms that it remains prevalent. It can be overwhelming, I know, for consumers to investigate whether their leather, say, or the charcoal for their BBQ is ethically sourced. There are so many worrying environmental problems in the world, and global supply chains are incredibly complex. So for consumers living far from the places that produce the goods they buy – even very conscientious ones – it is easier to focus on extraordinary events like the Amazon fires than to contemplate the unintended consequences of a weekend cookout. But commonplace consumption habits matter when it comes to global environmental health. The things we buy may support the harmful underlying practices and industries that lead to acute crises like Amazonian fires or generalized problems driven by climate change. That said, there’s no “out of sight, out of mind” when it comes to social and environmental justice. If South America’s great Gran Chaco forest continues to be leveled at the current rates, it will recede before most people even knew it existed. Joel E. Correia is a member of the American Association of Geographers. The association is a funding partner of The Conversation US. | WTStaff | https://www.wakingtimes.com/2019/10/04/south-americas-second-largest-forest-is-also-burning-and-environmentally-friendly-charcoal-is-subsidizing-its-destruction/ | 2019-10-04 13:11:51+00:00 | 1,570,209,111 | 1,570,633,660 | environment | environmental politics |
1,093,102 | wakingtimes--2019-07-03--Rich Will Survive Environmental Crisis While Poor Wont UN Report Claims | 2019-07-03T00:00:00 | wakingtimes | Rich Will Survive Environmental Crisis While Poor Won’t, UN Report Claims | A recent UN report has warned that the world is on the brink of a global environmental crisis that will disproportionately affect the world’s poor. Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, warned that environmental destruction will continue to force people into situations where it is more difficult for them to survive. Alston predicted that many people will have to migrate in the coming years, which is not something that is easy for people in poverty to do, especially when considering the current immigration restrictions. In the report, Alston has focused his attention on the climate, saying that a “climate apartheid” will further fragment the class structure throughout the world. “What was once considered catastrophic warming now seems like a best-case scenario. We risk a ‘climate apartheid’ scenario where the wealthy pay to escape overheating, hunger, and conflict while the rest of the world is left to suffer,” Alston said, according to the Independent. He pointed to cases of natural disasters, like 2012’s Hurricane Sandy, where the wealthy were able to weather the storm far better than the average New Yorker that was left without power or healthcare for days. Meanwhile, “the Goldman Sachs headquarters was protected by tens of thousands of its own sandbags and power from its generator,” Alston says. However, it is important to note that climate is only one piece of this puzzle, although the issue often dominates conversations about the environment. Climate is a very abstract topic that has numerous contributing factors. Humans have the ability to influence some of these factors, but not all of them, especially the sun. Meanwhile, the oceans continue to fill up with plastic and the planet continues to lose plants and animals that are vital to its ecosystem. Another problem raised by Alston in his report is that the majority of the world’s pollution comes from the largest corporations and governments. “While people in poverty are responsible for just a fraction of global emissions, they will bear the brunt of climate change, and have the least capacity to protect themselves,” Alston says. Yet, the poor populations of the world will still be expected to pay carbon taxes to help clean the mess up. Without a doubt, the Earth is suffering. The planet is ravaged with environmental disasters, loss of important ecosystems and species, and a population that seems increasingly ignorant to the impact it is having on the rock they call home. It is clear that humanity needs to reevaluate its relationship with the planet and all of its inhabitants. John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture, and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems. He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast. Read More stories by John Vibes **This article (Rich Will Survive Environmental Crisis While Poor Won’t, UN Report Claims) was originally published at Truth Theory and is re-posted here with permission.** | Phillip | https://www.wakingtimes.com/2019/07/03/rich-will-survive-environmental-crisis-while-poor-wont-afford-it-un-report-claims/ | 2019-07-03 16:02:35+00:00 | 1,562,184,155 | 1,567,537,053 | environment | environmental politics |
1,092,009 | vox--2019-10-31--Paper napkins are expensive and environmentally unsound. Now the industry is trying to save itself. | 2019-10-31T00:00:00 | vox | Paper napkins are expensive and environmentally unsound. Now the industry is trying to save itself. | From a high-rise building in downtown Atlanta, a team of five strategists works around the clock to rescue the paper napkin from extinction. The group, dubbed the “napkin team,” is part of the strategy arm at Georgia-Pacific, a paper manufacturing behemoth that owns a host of napkin, paper towel, toilet paper, and tissue brands. Its mission is to rebuff criticisms of paper napkins as an extra expense or a needless source of environmental waste. And at its center is Lisa Silverboard, who has overseen branding for Georgia-Pacific napkins for eight years. After holding branding roles at companies like Johnson & Johnson, Silverboard says, “I kind of landed in paper napkins.” But by the time she walked in the door at Georgia-Pacific, the paper napkin was in the throes of a crisis. Once a mainstay of the American kitchen, paper napkins have rapidly shed market share. Two decades ago, 60 percent of American households regularly purchased paper napkins; today that figure has plummeted to 41 percent, according to Georgia-Pacific statistics. “Our eating habits are changing,” says Silverboard. “There’s a lot more snacking. There’s a lot more on the go. We hear a lot from consumers that they’re eating more in the car, that they’re having smaller meals, and their needs have changed as it relates to napkins.” The plunge has been especially precipitous among young consumers. While 61 percent of people aged 65 and older reported using paper napkins every day, just 37 percent of 25- to 34-year-olds answered the same way, according to a report from market research firm Mintel. Recapturing that youth market might be the only way to ensure a future for the paper napkin. And under the guidance of its “napkin team,” Georgia-Pacific, which owns napkin brands like Vanity Fair, Mardi Gras, and Dixie, is making its last-ditch pivot toward napkins that appeal to young people. Yet to pull in younger consumers, paper napkin makers are taking on the trappings of a longtime enemy — the paper towel — and recruiting celebrities to restore their luster, all in the hope of sparing themselves from going the way of the plastic straw. This isn’t the first time paper napkins have faced an existential crisis. When the first paper napkins reached the US at the end of the 19th century, largely as a result of importing decorative paper napkins from Japan, many Americans objected. Accustomed to reusable napkins, they exclaimed, as one New York City newspaper put it, “Paper napkins! Who ever heard of such nonsense! What good are they?” But paper napkins soon caught on for another reason: They promised, at least superficially, to balance out class distinctions. When cloth napkins were the only game in town, buying single-use napkins had been a measure of wealth — who but the richest could afford to throw out a cloth napkin after each meal? The availability of cheaply available Japanese paper napkins shifted that paradigm. The same newspaper went on to argue that “the introduction of paper napkins” to the poor “will do away with this social stratum.” Another turning point for the paper napkin occurred in the middle of the 1900s, when the rise of the hamburger facilitated a new paper napkin boom — much to the chagrin of one Pittsburgh writer, who lamented in 1960, “My chief pet peeve against hamburgers, cheeseburgers, lottaburgers, et al is that they have ushered in the horrible paper napkins.” By the middle of the 20th century, paper napkins were big business, with etiquette writer Emily Post giving disposable napkins cautious approval and a new crop of high-end paper napkin brands, chief among them Vanity Fair, advertising a “superbly soft” and “luxuriously embossed” napkin. The origins of today’s turn away from paper napkins are complex, but some experts believe that environmental concern is at least a nominal factor. Paper napkins, while certainly not the largest contributor to global waste, are joining the ranks of balloons and plastic straws as casualties of the increasing skepticism of single-use paper and plastic products. “We’re facing major challenges with things like climate change, plastic pollution, and all other kinds of pollution,” says Simon Lockrey, a sustainability researcher at RMIT University in Melbourne. “The napkin debate is just another one of these issues where we’re starting to reconsider reusable versus disposable options.” In one report that linked the use of non-recycled tissue products — a moniker that includes paper towels, toilet paper, and paper napkins — to deforestation in Canada, lead author Jennifer Skene argued that abandoning paper napkins as well as similar products “could considerably slow forest degradation.” It is relatively easy for paper napkins to incorporate recycled paper fibers. The more that paper fibers are recycled, the shorter they become — and because many paper napkins only need short paper fibers, a company could craft napkins from fibers that have already seen five to seven reuses, according to Stanford Magazine. Every napkin in McDonalds, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Starbucks is made entirely from recycled paper As a result, many restaurants have vowed to use 100 percent recycled paper napkins. Napkins in McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Starbucks stores, for instance, are made entirely from recycled paper. But while some napkin companies have specialty lines that promise high proportions of recycled content, like Seventh Generation’s 100 percent recycled napkins, other major brands including Vanity Fair, Mardi Gras, and Kleenex offer little to no recycled content at all. Regarding the lack of recycled paper in Georgia-Pacific napkins, Silverboard notes, “Our fiber is sustainably sourced. We’re using certified wood that is replanted, so it’s not like people are clear-cutting areas.” And to Georgia-Pacific’s benefit, Rosenberg doesn’t think environmental factors are the main reason younger consumers are abandoning paper napkins. “Recycled fiber by itself isn’t a really big consumer driver,” he says. In fact, the main culprit for the precipitous decline of paper napkins is not environmental fears but an old foe: the paper towel. As a series of doomsday headlines have warned, consumers — especially young people — have made the simple decision to cut down on their number of purchases by substituting paper towels for paper napkins. That’s in large part because paper towels are so flexible: They clean spills, wrap up vegetables, and dab lips all in one. “A lot of people have found paper towels to be an acceptable substitute for napkins,” says Silverboard. “They like the absorbency that a paper towel offers. You can fold it and put it next to your plate and it works kind of like a napkin, and that versatility is very appealing to a lot of people.” Meanwhile, brand-name napkins like Vanity Fair and Mardi Gras are losing their cachet. Increasingly, when people do buy paper napkins, they’re opting for the private-label napkins — as opposed to name brands — that they can most cheaply find in stores. ”Consumers don’t care which format they’re using as long as it does the job,” says Jamie Rosenberg, the household products analyst at Mintel. “This value proposition is what Vanity Fair is trying to get back.” Early in 2018, Georgia-Pacific’s high-end paper napkin brand Vanity Fair rolled out Extra Absorbent, a paper napkin that pitches itself as “part paper towel, part napkin” and that a spokesperson says is designed to have “high appeal among millennials.” The product description for Extra Absorbent notes, “There’s no longer an excuse to use paper towels.” Rather than compete with the paper towel, the paper napkin has decided to mimic it. And Silverboard notes there’s more on its way: “We have a team that’s working on a whole host of different innovation options.” To resuscitate the floundering public image of the paper napkin, Georgia-Pacific has attempted to reformulate not just its products but its entire marketing strategy, too. For one thing, the company recruited a rosé-slinging Amy Sedaris to tape ad campaigns for the new line of Extra Absorbent napkins. On Valentine’s Day 2018, Vanity Fair also partnered with Match.com to launch a marketing campaign, #DateANapkinUser, whose poster features a coiffed white man with a napkin pressed to his lips. The company even commissioned its own study that claimed napkin users are “statistically less likely to have broken up with someone over DM.” Most recently, after this year’s Oscars, musician John Mayer teamed up with Georgia-Pacific to host his own afterparty for Vanity Fair, the napkin maker — a play on the magazine Vanity Fair’s famed post-Oscars gathering. In the ensuing days, AdAge dubbed Mayer a “napkin influencer.” In truth, the deck is stacked against paper napkins. Their sworn enemy, the paper towel, is fighting hard against them. While the paper napkin has pivoted to become more like paper towels, the paper towel industry has countered by becoming more like … napkins. Earlier this year, for instance, Brawny released a competing product, called Tear-A-Square, that brings younger consumers paper towels divided into tearable grids. To Rosenberg, the merging of paper towels and paper napkins is part of a larger trend in the household paper industry. Tissues, napkins, paper towels, and toilet paper “are losing their differentiation,” he says, and steadily collapsing into one mega-product. Just as paper towels are looking more like napkins, toilet paper is getting softer and more tissue-like. More so than environmental concerns, the shrinking of the paper market comes down to cost. “People in lower-income tiers are more likely to use paper towels as napkins, toilet paper as facial tissue,” says Rosenberg. “It’s cheaper to use paper towels as napkins than to buy napkins.” “It’s cheaper to use paper towels as napkins than to buy napkins” Still, this war between paper napkins and paper towels cannot help but feel like an exercise in corporate fatalism. Regardless of which product proves to have the greatest consumer staying power, the same small handful of corporate owners are profiting. Georgia-Pacific owns three of the seven most popular napkin brands — Dixie, Mardi Gras, and Vanity Fair — according to the Simmons National Consumer Survey. It also owns the paper napkin’s most formidable foe: the paper towel maker Brawny. Likewise, another conglomerate, Kimberly-Clark, lays claim to both the fifth-most popular napkin maker — Kleenex — and its major paper towel competitor, Bounty. Rosenberg notes that the reason these companies pit their napkins against their paper towels is for market research. Georgia-Pacific might own both Brawny’s Tear-A-Square and Vanity Fair’s Extra Absorbent, but seeing which product is more successful tells the company a lot about the market. “I think it’s really a consumer insights exercise,” he says. It also doesn’t hurt that the financial risks are small. At least in the case of Georgia-Pacific, all of the profits from paper napkins and paper towels alike are in turn fed on to its corporate owner, Koch Industries, which also controls countless household product brands. Even as these individual companies maneuver against each other, the money is all trickling up to the same place. Sign up for The Goods’ newsletter. Twice a week, we’ll send you the best Goods stories exploring what we buy, why we buy it, and why it matters. | Michael Waters | https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/10/31/20921322/paper-napkins-towel-environmental | 2019-10-31T08:30:00-04:00 | 1,572,525,000 | 1,572,537,563 | environment | environmental politics |
1,089,724 | vox--2019-02-27--How Trumps EPA is letting environmental criminals off the hook in one chart | 2019-02-27T00:00:00 | vox | How Trump’s EPA is letting environmental criminals off the hook, in one chart | The Environmental Protection Agency isn’t going after polluters like it used to. In its annual enforcement report released in early February, the agency revealed that it collected just $69 million in civil and administrative penalties from polluters in 2018, the lowest in more than a decade. The agency also collected just $88 million in criminal fines, down from $3 billion in fines in 2017. The report noted that the totals can change dramatically year to year because of big cases, like the Volkswagen emissions cheating settlement that led to $4.3 billion in civil and criminal penalties in 2017. But according to government watchdog groups, the drop off in fines in 2018 is part of a broader pattern under the Trump administration of lax enforcement of environmental laws. A January report from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), an advocacy group for public sector workers who deal with environmental issues, shows that the number of criminal cases the EPA referred to the Justice Department under President Trump is at the lowest level in 30 years: It follows a 2018 report from the Environmental Integrity Project, which found a massive drop in the amount of fines Trump’s EPA collected from polluters relative to the past three administrations during the same time frame. Both reports make the case that the EPA is neglecting its mission and letting bad actors off the hook. That, in turn, could lead more scofflaws to ignore critical air, water, and soil protection rules. “The deterrent effect of these statutes gets limited,” said Jeff Ruch, the executive director of PEER. “Arguably, if they’re ignored altogether, you have pollution that goes on unabated.” A big part of the EPA’s job is to go after individuals, businesses, and even local governments that violate environmental regulations. That can mean assessing a civil penalty for a company that doesn’t refine fuel properly. It can also mean prosecuting an auto engineer conspiring to cheat emissions standards, leading to federal prison time. Generally, the cases referred for criminal prosecution involve actions that directly harm public health. But that requires the EPA to follow up on leads, analyze the evidence, and build a legal case. One major reason this kind of enforcement has been down in recent years is that there’s been a big drop-off in investigations by its Criminal Investigation Division, the armed law enforcement branch of the EPA whose agents are trained to fight environmental crime. In 2017, the number of agents at the division fell to 147, below the legal minimum of 200 set out in the Pollution Prosecution Act of 1990. That’s less than half the tally of agents employed in 2003. “There’s a direct relation between personnel and the cases you can prosecute,” Doug Parker, a former EPA career employee who led CID under President Obama, told me. With fewer investigators to pursue leads, “you are absolutely missing cases.” However, the Justice Department also has discretion over which cases it chooses to prosecute out of the cases it receives from the EPA. So a referral is only the first step in advancing a case against a polluter. “If you look at the data, they decline a healthy percentage of the referrals from the EPA,” said Ruch. Over the past 32 years, the Justice Department prosecuted between 24 percent and 63 percent of the cases it received from the EPA in a given year. However, there were just 62 convictions in fiscal year 2018, the fewest since 1995. Many of the cases underway now under the current EPA started under the prior administration, Parker noted. “Everything that I have seen announced in terms of substantive prosecutions have been cases that originated in the Obama administration,” he said. “There is little that I’ve seen that is not an Obama-era investigation.” When asked for a comment about the decline in enforcement, an EPA spokesperson referred me to an EPA statement on the Fiat Chrysler settlement on emissions cheating allegations announced in January. The settlement requires the company to recall and repair vehicles that were equipped with a defeat device to fool emissions tests. Fiat Chrysler also has to pay a civil penalty of $305 million. The [Fiat Chrysler] settlement also demonstrates how enforcement accomplishments for each year are highly influenced by large cases. The civil penalty for the FCA case alone is more than four times greater than all the civil penalties collected in FY2018. This case also demonstrates that while our overall number of case conclusions declined slightly in FY2018 from 1,978 to 1,818 cases, EPA is continuing to direct its resources to the most significant and impactful cases. For example, the cases EPA concluded in FY2018 required regulated entities to address over 809 million pounds of waste and pollutants, an increase of more than 40% over FY2017. Similarly, while the dollar value of Superfund cleanup commitments, oversight costs, and cost recoveries obtained in FY2018 ($613 million) is lower, those numbers also are greatly impacted by a few cases. In FY2018, EPA used its Superfund enforcement tools to facilitate cleanup and redevelopment at over 150 sites. In essence, the EPA is arguing that the agency is going after the big fish — that the number of cases is down, but the impact of the cases it does pursue, in terms of settlements and pollution avoided, is up. Susan Bodine, assistant administrator of the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, told a House committee on Wednesday that the amount of fines doesn’t reflect the extent of the EPA’s work on fighting pollution. “A strong environment program doesn’t mean we have to collect a particular dollar amount or pick up a number of penalties,” she said. Acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler made a similar point in his January confirmation hearing to become the permanent administrator. “In Fiscal Year 2018, EPA enforcement actions required the treatment, disposal, or elimination of 809 million pounds of pollutants and waste – almost twice as much as compared to 2017,” he said. Ruch isn’t convinced. He said the EPA should be able to fight big and small cases at the same time, and that the reduced number of referrals reflects a lower priority on enforcement under the current administration. “We view enforcement as a core part of their mission,” he said. And Fiat Chrysler’s emissions cheating was first uncovered by the EPA in 2015. The settlement is also a civil penalty, not a criminal penalty. At the same time, the EPA is pursuing an aggressive policy agenda of rolling back and relaxing environmental regulations: greenhouse gas limits, mercury regulations, and clean water authority, among others. By changing the rules, the EPA is changing what counts as a violation in the first place. That means if the Trump administration’s changes stick and aren’t undone in the courts, we may see even fewer prosecutions in the future. | Umair Irfan | https://www.vox.com/2019/1/16/18183998/epa-andrew-wheeler-environmental-policy-enforcement | 2019-02-27 19:53:00+00:00 | 1,551,315,180 | 1,567,547,205 | environment | environmental politics |
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