World Donald Trump Saudi Arabia Middle East It’s not often that Ottawa provokes an international brawl. The issue: Saudi Arabia’s detention of several prominent women’s rights activists. Canada’s Foreign Ministry posted a tweet urging their immediate release—and Riyadh took it badly. Accusing Canada of “blatant interference in the kingdom’s domestic affairs,” Saudi Arabia pulled its ambassador from Ottawa and expelled his Canadian counterpart, giving him just one day to clear out of Riyadh, the Saudi capital. Trade with Canada was frozen, the managers of Saudi wealth funds were told to sell Canadian holdings, and airline links between the two countries were severed. The kingdom also halted payments for some 10,000 Saudi students enrolled at Canadian universities and 5,000 patients undergoing treatment there. The fierce reaction bore all the hallmarks of 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, commonly known as MBS, the … [Read more...] about Why Donald Trump and Mohammed Bin Salman Need Each Other, Even as US-Saudi Relations Fray
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Palestinian and Jordanian Leaders Reject Donald Trump’s Confederation Plan for Middle East Peace
World International Affairs Palestinian and Jordanian leaders have rejected a reported Middle East Peace plan proposed by the Trump administration, which would create a confederation between Jordan and the Palestinian territories. Jordan’s Minister of State for Media Affairs Jumana Ghunaimat—who also serves as a government spokeswoman—rejected the plan on Sunday and added that it’s not up for discussion, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz. She also reiterated her country’s position that Palestinians should be able to establish an official state on their land. Ziad Abu Zayyad, an international spokesman for the Fatah party, of which President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority is a member, said any discussion of a confederation is premature. “A Palestinian state must be established with security, borders and a capital before talking about any kind of confederation since it is needed to be able to achieve such a thing,” Zayyad … [Read more...] about Palestinian and Jordanian Leaders Reject Donald Trump’s Confederation Plan for Middle East Peace
The War On Truth Didn’t Begin With Donald Trump
TomDispatch, ContributorA regular antidote to the mainstream media. When people like a politician’s lies better than they like the truth, it’s tough to change their minds. 09/24/2018 03:50 pm ET This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. By Arnold R. Isaacs It’s easy ― and not wrong ― to think that truth is in dire danger in the era of Donald Trump. His own record of issuing breathtaking falsehoods from the exalted platform of the White House is unprecedented in American history. So is his consistent refusal to back down when a statement is proven false. In Trump’s world, those who expose his lies are the liars and facts that show he was wrong are “fake news.” In this war on truth, Trump has several important allies. One is the shameful silence of Republican politicians who don’t challenge his misstatements for fear of giving offense to his … [Read more...] about The War On Truth Didn’t Begin With Donald Trump
Former US President George W Bush urged senators to back Donald Trump’s controversial Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh
GEORGE W Bush urged senators to back Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh amid the sex attack scandal. The ex-president has contacted swing voters asking them to stick with Donald Trump's pick. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republicans Susan Collins, Jeff Flake, and Lisa Murkowski are among those he spoke to, according to the Washington Post. It is believed Bush contacted them before Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday. Kavanaugh worked for Bush during the 2000 presidential-election recount in Florida. The ex-President said of Kavanaugh in July: "He is a fine husband, father, and friend — and a man of the highest integrity." The former POTUS then nominated Kavanaugh into the US Court of Appeals, and appointed him staff secretary until 2006. Trump has tonight ordered an FBI probe into his Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh over sex attack claims after the judge was backed by a Senator panel. … [Read more...] about Former US President George W Bush urged senators to back Donald Trump’s controversial Supreme Court pick Brett Kavanaugh
Trump Reportedly Ranks Fox News Personalities for Loyalty
President Donald Trump privately ranks those who appear on air at Fox News based on their loyalty to him on a scale of 1 to 10, according to a report in The New Yorker that takes a look at what many consider the cozy and symbiotic relationship that exists between him and the cable news outlet. Trump has told confidants he has given Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier a 6 for his loyalty while Sean Hannity gets a perfect 10 and "Fox & Friends" co-host Steve Doocy an off-the-scale high score of 12. "Trump gets up and watches 'Fox & Friends' and thinks these are his friends," Charlie Black, a longtime Republican lobbyist in Washington whose former firm advised Trump in the 1980s and 1990s, told The New Yorker. "He thinks anything on Fox is friendly. But the problem is he gets unvetted ideas." Baeir is among the most reputable news anchors of Fox News, a network that still insists on drawing a fine line between news and opinion programming, … [Read more...] about Trump Reportedly Ranks Fox News Personalities for Loyalty