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October 2019

FOREIGN POLICY, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Trump didn’t sell out the Kurds by pulling out of Syria Kenneth R. Timmerman

By on October 19th, 2019

https://nypost.com/2019/10/19/trump-didnt-sell-out-the-kurds-by-pulling-out-of-syria/

“The Kurds are paying a heavy price in this battle — not because of a US betrayal — but because they remain stateless and thus powerless. By targeting Erdogan financially, legally and undermining his legitimacy, President Trump has done more to help the Kurds than his critics with their crocodile tears. And for now, he is winning.”

Critics blasted Trump for allowing Turkey to invade Kurdish-ruled northern Syria, but Kurdish fighters are more realistic about US military support.

The national media blasted President Trump’s withdrawal of 50 US military advisors from the Syrian border with Turkey as a “sellout,” a “betrayal” and a “huge strategic blunder.”

Let’s be clear: None of them truly care about the Kurds. Otherwise, they would have been sending correspondents and camera crews to Rojava, as the Kurds call northern Syria, on a regular basis.

Let’s also be clear about the goals of Turkish president Tayyip Recep Erdogan. While he attempted to stylize his military invasion of Rojava as a counterterrorism operation, few international observers bought into it. Why? Because there have been no terror attacks against Turkey from Syrian territory since the Syrian Kurds established their self-governing entity in 2012. None.

Erdogan is not even remotely interested in fighting ISIS, or in taking responsibility for the estimated 12,000 ISIS fighters currently in Kurdish custody at the al-Hol refugee camp. What actually happens to those ISIS prisoners, and the fate of Christian and Yazidi minorities, will be key measures of the agreement hammered out by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo with Erdogan on Thursday.

The humanitarian disaster that unfolded this past week helped to paint Erdogan as notorious a mass murderer as Saddam Hussein. And it was to Erdogan’s legacy that the president appealed in his private, and now public, letter to the Turkish president as the crisis unfolded.

Erdogan’s real goal with this invasion was to smash Kurdish self-government, and those 50 US advisors were the last thing in his way.

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FOREIGN POLICY, WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Juliana Taimoorazy- A Sober Assessment on Trump and Syria

By on October 19th, 2019

https://stream.org/what-trump-has-wrought-in-syria/

https://www.iraqichristianrelief.org/

Juliana Taimoorazy is a fellow of The Philos Project, and the Founder of the Iraqi Christian Relief Council. She started the nonprofit organization to help foster awareness about the plight of the Iraqi Christians, and to raise funds to deliver food and medicine to Iraq.

**

I’m guardedly optimistic that President Trump’s withdrawal and this agreement might result in stability. And that this will not be a green light for Islamist ethnic cleansing. The Syrian Democratic Forces, however, see this as their forced surrender. They have announced that they won’t abandon their positions to Turkey. They will simply cease fighting over the small areas Turkey has already conquered. But they will hold the rest of the land they have come to possess. They count on help from the legal government of Syria and its Russian allies. That would mean folding the SDF into the regular Syrian Arab Army, and granting the region Russian air protection.

 Turkey doesn’t want to have dogfights with Russian planes. Or to face the heavy equipment Assad’s army commands. Therefore, its land-grab in Syria will prove limited. Its plans to expel Kurds will probably fail. Turkish President Erdogan has alienated world opinion by his actions and threats. (For instance, he warned he might shove 3.6 million Syrian migrants into Europe.) He can’t count on NATO support if war flares up with Russia. Erdogan has asked Russia’s Vladimir Putin for a face to face summit. I don’t expect Putin to cave to Erdogan’s demands for a chunk of Syrian territory. Although there has been an agreement reached by the U.S. and Turkey, the fighting on the ground continues.

So I think the U.S. Congress should move ahead with its sanctions bill targeting Turkey. President Trump should sign it. Aggressors should pay a price when they create 100,000 refugees with wanton attacks on neighboring countries. I have followed the abusive and aggressive actions of Kurdish nationalists in Iraq and Syria toward Assyrians, Chaldeans and Syriacs. So I don’t consider the Kurds a long-term safe option for Syrian Christians either. The legal government of Syria must regain some control of that region. It must include Syrian Christians and the Kurdish Sunni Muslims in negotiation and political talks. Otherwise keeping the peace won’t be worthwhile for them.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Re-Elected. These Five Powerful Members of Congress Have Figured It All Out Adam Andrzejewski

By on October 19th, 2019

https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2019/10/16/ever-wonder-about-the

How is 97 percent of Congress able to get re-elected each year even though only 17 percent of the American people believe our representatives are doing a good job?

It’s called an incumbent protection system. Taxpayers have a right to know how it works.

Recently, our auditors at OpenTheBooks.com, mashed up the federal checkbook with the congressional campaign donor database (source: OpenSecrets.org). We found powerful members of Congress soliciting campaign donations from federal contractors based in their districts.

We followed the money and found a culture of conflict-of-interest. The confluence of federal money, campaign cash, private employment, investments, prestigious committee appointments, political power, nepotism, and other conflicts are a fact pattern.

Furthermore, members of Congress own investment stock in, are employed by, and receive retirement pensions from federal contractors to whom they direct billions of taxpayer dollars.

Moreover, members sponsor legislation that affects these contractors. The contractor’s lobbyists then advocate for the legislation that helps the member and the contractor. Oftentimes, the contractor’s lobbyist also donates campaign cash to the member.

Here are five case examples detailing the conflict-of-interest among five powerful members of Congress:

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CHARLOTTE'S NEWS WEB Comments turned off

CHARLOTTE’S NEWS WEB

By on October 19th, 2019

www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/democrats_seek_to_drown_trump_in_drama.html

Democrats Seek to Drown Trump in Drama Fletch Daniels

https://www.judicialwatch.org/press-releases/judicial-watch-fights-in-court-to-depos

JUDICIAL WATCH FIGHTS IN COURT TO DEPOSE HILLARY CLINTON

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CHARLOTTE'S NEWS WEB Comments turned off

Does anyone have a job for Chelsea Clinton?PAUL WOOD

By on October 19th, 2019

https://spectator.us/does-anyone-job-chelsea-clinton/

For a long time now, those of us who have the misfortune to have working eyes and ears have become deeply familiar with the activities of one family. This family is (still) taken very seriously by some very serious people, in spite of the fact that vast numbers of us would rather eat chlorine-flavored ice cream than ever hear from them again.

Like some sort of deathless voodoo incantation, the name of this family echoes around the world. It echoes in high-altitude frosted glass conference rooms filled with international bores. It echoes in the frazzled minds of readers of the legacy press. It echoes in the dreams of lanyard wearers in the Open Society Foundation or The Aspen Institute for Whatever Dumb Idea is Flavor of The Month, who dribble at the thought of chaperoning them to a power brunch.

This week the beleaguered, embattled and still quite handsome island kingdom of Britain was given a shot of the Clintons in its bruised arm. Apparently having nothing better to do, Chelsea and Hillary guest edited the women’s magazine Stylist.

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WORLD NEWS Comments turned off

Does Angela Merkel Deserve a Prize for Zionism? by Soeren Kern

By on October 19th, 2019

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15040/angela-merkel-zionism-prize

German Interior Ministry statistics claim that 90% of the anti-Semitic hate crimes reported in Germany in 2018 were committed by “far right” persons. The EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), however, found that only 13% of the attacks were attributed to those with a “right-wing political view.”

Germany provides millions of euros annually to organizations that promote anti-Israel BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) and “lawfare” campaigns, anti-Zionism, antisemitism, and violence, according to NGO Monitor.

“Why is Merkel being awarded the Theodor Herzl Award? Because her representative at the United Nations abstains in anti-Israel resolutions — and thereby de facto supports them? The same official who equates Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli civilians with Israel’s demolition of the homes of Palestinian terrorists? For not relocating the German embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as the United States did, and also warning other countries against taking such a step? For all this, she gets the Theodor Herzl Award?” — Henryk Broder, German Political Commentator, Die Achse des Guten.

“And that is just the beginning. There is a great possibility that thanks to today’s politics Germany will become Judenrein [free of Jews]. Wir schaffen das (We can do it).” — Dr. Rafael Korenzecher, Publisher, Jüdische Rundschau.

A decision by the World Jewish Congress (WJC) to honor German Chancellor Angela Merkel with its prestigious Theodor Herzl Award for Zionism has sparked anger and bewilderment among Jewish leaders in the United States and Europe.

The WJC, founded in August 1936 in Geneva, Switzerland, to confront the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi persecution of Jews in Europe, bestows its annual award to individuals who act to promote the goals of the late Theodor Herzl, the founder of the modern Zionist movement, “for the creation of a safer and more tolerant world for Jews.”

Critics say that Merkel, because her domestic and foreign policies have in recent years made the world less safe for Jews, is uniquely undeserving of the award. These policies include:

German government failure to combat rising anti-Semitism. A total of 1,799 anti-Semitic hate crimes — five per day, on average — were reported in Germany during 2018, according to the German Interior Ministry. This represents a 40% increase over 2013, when 1,275 such crimes were recorded. The actual number of anti-Semitic hate crimes in Germany is likely much higher. A survey produced by the Vienna-based European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found that 80% of Jews who said they were a victim of anti-Semitism did not report the crimes. Almost half of Jews living in Germany said they do not feel safe in the country and were considering emigrating, according to the FRA.

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POLITICS Comments turned off

Hillary Clinton Finds More to Deplore Former secretary of State sees awful people in both parties, laments rise of media competition. By James Freeman

By on October 19th, 2019

https://www.wsj.com/articles/hillary-clinton-finds-more-to-deplore-11571432889

Hillary Clinton insulting Trump voters is old news. But in a new interview the former secretary of State suggests that the deplorable population of the United States may be much larger than she previously claimed.

For readers too young to remember the presidential election of 2016, a standard applause line for Mrs. Clinton when speaking to crowds of wealthy coastal donors involved expressing her disapproval of millions of her fellow Americans. Here’s part of the transcript from one such event published by Time magazine in September of 2016:

You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right?
[Laughter/applause]
The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it. And unfortunately there are people like that. And he has lifted them up.

Since then, Mrs. Clinton has at times expressed regret for such remarks and at other times hurled still more insults when describing people who chose not to vote for her. But until this week she seemed concerned mainly with accusing Republicans of moral failings.

In a new podcast interview with former Obama campaign manager David Plouffe, Mrs. Clinton says she was surprised to find out in 2016 how many sexists there were in both parties. And Mrs. Clinton, who continues throughout the interview to cling to the discredited theory that Russian interference is partly responsible for her 2016 loss, claims that one of the Democrats now running for President will actually be used by both Republicans and Russians to swing the election.

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ANTI-SEMITISM Comments turned off

Breaking the Administrative State Ned Ryun

By on October 19th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/10/18/breaking-the-administrative-state/

There can only be one winner in the struggle between the president and the permanent bureaucracy if America has any hope of the republic surviving.

Everyone who knows American history understands that what we are experiencing today was almost inevitable. The Russia-collusion hoax, Ukraine-gate, Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation circus, all of the non-stop, relentless attacks on Donald Trump and his administration from the day he was sworn in were bound to happen.

The political moment we are living through is not the usual one. This is more than the corporate leftist media and Democratic attacks to which we’ve become accustomed against any Republican, including the usual tripe about how Bush or (pick a name) is a Nazi and the election of said Republican signals the end of days. This with Trump is about so much more.

James Piereson described it best this week at a conference co-sponsored by American Greatness and The New Criterion: we’re used to domestic politics, where the discussions are over the size of tax cuts, etc. What we are seeing today is vicious regime politics and a struggle over who is really in charge of this country’s governmental agencies. The duly elected president of the United States? Or players inside of that administrative state, along with their mouthpieces in the media?

None of these absurd fairytales of collusion were ever really about actual suspicions that Trump was somehow tied to Putin. (Though certainly many Americans bought the story.) The breathless nonstop reporting by the corporate leftist media can be explained by one of two possible causes either they are too stupid to understand what is actually taking place (a perfectly reasonable argument) or they are part and parcel of the attempted regime change from the start.

This is all about who truly decides.

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NATIONAL NEWS & OPINION Comments turned off

Adam Schiff’s Impeachment Witness Tampering Julie Kelly

By on October 19th, 2019

https://amgreatness.com/2019/10/18/adam-schiffs-impeachment-witness-tampering/

The House Intelligence Committee chairman has lied with impunity to the American public and to Congress. Now he’s running a secret inquiry, withholding evidence from colleagues, and may have coached the “whistleblower” behind Ukraine-gate.

House Republicans on Monday will attempt to force a vote to censure Representative Adam Schiff (D.-Calif.), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. The resolution, authored by Rep. Andy Biggs (R.-Ariz.), has 170 Republican co-sponsors. (It’s unclear why the remaining 27 GOP congressmen have not signed on.)

The motion condemns Schiff for actions that “misled the American people, bring disrepute upon the House of Representatives, and make a mockery of the impeachment process, one of this chamber’s most solemn constitutional duties.” It lists several specific offenses, including Schiff’s repeated claims that he possessed solid evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russians, and his intentional misrepresentation of the July phone call between Trump and Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

If Schiff were a Republican, his own colleagues would have dispatched him long ago. Compare the way Schiff’s caucus is condoning his misdeeds with the way House Republicans in 2017 signed on to a bogus House ethics inquiry into Rep. Devin Nunes (R.-Calif.), sidelining his nascent investigation into the corrupt origins of the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe for eight crucial months. (He was cleared of any wrongdoing.)

Schiff has lied with impunity to the American public and to Congress. He is suspected of leaking nonpublic, and in some instances, classified material to the press.

At the same time, Schiff is denying access to his secret impeachment proceedings and withholding information from House members. Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee sent a letter to Schiff on Friday, accusing him of failing to furnish documents related to his “impeachment inquiry,” a clear violation of House rules. Yet Schiff remains a media darling and a hero of #TheResistance.

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P.C.-CULTURE Comments turned off

The Defenestration of Domingo written by Heather Mac Donald

By on October 19th, 2019

https://quillette.com/2019/10/18/the-defenestration-of-domingo/

The #MeToo movement has ended the U.S. career of legendary 78-year-old Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, one of classical music’s greatest ambassadors and impresarios. For nearly half a century, his intense stage presence and warm, soaring voice captivated opera audiences; during the 1990s, he reached millions of new listeners as a member of the itinerant Three Tenors. In recent years, long after most singers have retired from the stage, he has continued a grueling international performance schedule, now singing baritone roles with remarkable pitch control and legato.

Domingo’s entrepreneurial drive has been as untiring as his stage career. He was pivotal in creating Los Angeles’s first full-time opera company, LA Opera, the culmination of two decades of artistic diplomacy in Southern California. As LA Opera’s general director, he wooed philanthropic support from philistine Hollywood and the city’s political class. In 1993, he founded the international opera competition, Operalia, one of several institutions he has established to promote young singers. He led the Washington National Opera as general director from 1996 to 2011, and his conducting career has spanned opera pits and concert stages around the world.

He has championed the unjustly neglected Spanish opera form, Zarzuela, which he sang growing up in Mexico City, and his charitable endeavors have extended beyond classical music; he led fundraising for Mexico City following its catastrophic earthquake in 1985. Testimonials to his kindness, generosity, and bottomless work ethic abound. Helga Rabl-Stadler, the president of the Salzburg Festival, the most important classical music gathering in the world, recently praised Domingo’s “appreciative treatment” of festival employees: “He knows every name, from the concierge to the secretary; he never fails to thank anyone performing even the smallest service for him.”

On August 13, 2019, however, the AP announced that nine females, all but one anonymous, were accusing Domingo of making unwanted sexual advances decades ago. The accusers—chorus singers, a few small-time soloists, and one ballet dancer—alleged wet kisses, solicitations to rehearse at his apartment, whispered blandishments while on stage, a hand down a shirt or up a skirt in cabs, and persistent phone calls.

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