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Ruth King

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Global Terror-Finance Watchdog Set to Sanction Iran Blacklist would broaden U.S. effort to isolate Tehran financially and potentially further strain the Iranian econom yBy Benoit Faucon in London and Ian Talley in Washington

By on February 21st, 2020

https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-terror-finance-watchdog-set-to-sanction-iran-11582240405

A global terror-finance watchdog agency is set to blacklist Iran, broadening a U.S. effort to isolate Tehran financially and potentially straining the already sanctions-battered Iranian economy.

Iran’s blacklisting by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force is expected to take place Friday and comes after European governments decided to join the U.S., according to American and allied officials.

The task force’s decision will place financial transactions with Iran under additional scrutiny and escalate the pressure on the dwindling number of banks and businesses still dealing with the Islamic Republic to cut their ties.

The blacklisting marks a step forward in the U.S. campaign to use sanctions to compel the Iranian government to end its support for terrorist groups and eliminate its nuclear weapons program. Most Western banks have already severed links with Tehran in response to the U.S. sanctions, which have also drastically cut Iran’s oil sales—its largest revenue source—weakened its economy and helped fuel street protests against the government.

European governments declined to join the U.S. pressure campaign in an effort to save the multination Iran nuclear accord, from which the Trump administration withdrew in 2018.

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Palestinians Condemn US for Offering to Help by Khaled Abu Toameh

By on February 21st, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15628/palestinians-condemn-american-help

Palestinians, in short, are saying that they refuse to accept funding by any party that does not accept their conditions and demands.

It is as if someone applies for a loan from a bank but demands that the bank accept his or her demands, and not the other way around. Usually, those who offer the money have the right to set the conditions.

For the Palestinians, it seems, the opposite is true. They seem to believe that they are the ones entitled to set conditions to those who are offering to improve their living needs and help them march towards prosperity and a better future for their children.

Palestinian leaders know that their society is floundering in every possible way. Yet, rather than welcoming the proposed US programs, they are condemning the Americans and inciting their people against the US administration for even making such a generous offer. This is precisely the disastrous dynamic that decades ago landed the Palestinian people in their quagmire, and it is precisely the same dynamic that keeps them trapped in that morass.

Palestinian leaders have gone to great lengths to explain their opposition to US President Donald Trump’s recently unveiled plan, “Peace to Prosperity,” for Middle East peace.

While these leaders are entitled to oppose Trump’s vision for peace, it is not clear why they are also rejecting US financial aid to Palestinians. By rejecting it, Palestinian leaders are denying their people the right to a better life and a strong economy.

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France: Macron Vows Crackdown on Political Islam by Soeren Kern

By on February 21st, 2020

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/15629/france-crackdown-political-islam

“The problem is when, in the name of a religion, some people want to separate themselves from the Republic and therefore not respect its laws.” — French President Emmanuel Macron, February 18, 2020.

“Turkey today can make the choice to follow that path with us or not, but I will not allow any foreign country feed a cultural, religious or identity-related separatism on our Republic’s territory. We cannot have Turkey’s laws on France’s soil. No way.” — French President Emmanuel Macron, February 18, 2020.

“What we must put in place is not, as I have sometimes heard from some people, ‘a plan against Islam.’ That would be a profound mistake. What we must fight is the separatism….” — French President Emmanuel Macron, February 18, 2020.

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced new measures aimed at countering political Islam in France. The changes would limit the role that foreign governments have in France in training imams, financing mosques and educating children.

Macron also vowed to fight what he called “Islamist separatism” and to lead what he described as a “Republican reconquest” aimed at reasserting state control over Muslim ghettoes — so-called no-go zones (zones urbaines sensibles, sensitive urban zones) — in France.

In a much-anticipated policy speech, Macron, during a visit to the eastern French city of Mulhouse on February 18, said that his government would seek to combat “foreign interference” in how Islam is practiced, and the way that Muslim religious institutions are organized in France. “The problem is when, in the name of a religion, some people want to separate themselves from the Republic and therefore not respect its laws,” he said. “Here in France, there is no place for political Islam.”

Macron outlined a four-pronged strategy to combat Islamism in the country: 1) fight against foreign influences in schools and places of worship; 2) reorganize Muslim worship in France in accordance with the principles of secularism and French law; 3) fight against all manifestations of Islamist separatism and communitarianism; and 4) reassert state control over all parts of France.

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Socialism Makes People Do Strange Things What does the most troubling political phenomenon of postwar America portend for November and beyond? Bruce Thornton

By on February 21st, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/socialism-makes-people-do-strange-things-bruce-thornton/

Apart from the bizarrerie of Trumpophobia, the wide-spread Democrat  attraction to socialism is the strangest political phenomenon of postwar America. In 2016, the ascent of Bernie Sanders, the inconsequential senator from Vermont, bespoke a more limited audience comprising mainly millennials for whom politics is a marker of personal identity. Now we’re seeing a slate of primary candidates who all embrace socialist policies far to the left of Barack Obama’s public persona. What does this phenomenon portend for November and beyond?

Certainly the mainstream Democrats who rigged the 2016 primary on behalf of Hillary Clinton are nervous. Old Clinton wrangler James Carville is alarmed: He called Sanders’ supporters a “cult,” and prophesied that if Sanders runs against Trump, it would bring on “the end of days.” Sanders responded by calling Carville a “political hack,” a moniker Carville embraced as superior to being a political amateur and a “communist.”

For other Democrats, Sanders vs. Trump would reprise storied Democrat wipeouts like 1972 and 1980. Nor do polls suggest that socialism’s appeal has increased: 53% of those recently polled by Gallup said they would not support a “generally well-qualified socialist” for president, whereas 90% would support a black, Catholic, Hispanic, female, or Jewish one. The U.S.’s historical, and exceptional, resistance to socialism still seems to hold.

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Bloomberg Trudges Through Debate After Falling Off Tractor By Charles Lipson –

By on February 21st, 2020

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/02/20/bloomberg_survives_his_first_debate_but_falls_off_a_tractor_142448.html

On the Nevada debate stage, Mike Bloomberg emerged from the warm cocoon of paid commercials and spoke for himself. He didn’t say a lot, but what he did say didn’t help. He stood silent and stony-faced as the other candidates, led by Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, painted him as the sordid emblem of plutocratic capitalism and income inequality. His responses were brief, unadorned, and dry as the Las Vegas air. If you want revolutionary fantasies, he said, vote for Bernie. If you want a skilled, no-nonsense manager, vote for me. I have an extraordinary record of success in business and urban politics and my views are not too extreme to win in November. That’s it.

Bloomberg’s flat performance looked more like he was running a board meeting than a political campaign. And it revealed one of his three major vulnerabilities: he’s a dull Establishment figure, dreadful on the stump, hoping to lead a party that needs a large, enthusiastic turnout to defeat Donald Trump. The other candidates were eager to display their angry passion, which they aimed at Trump and each other.

The debate revealed a second of Bloomberg’s vulnerabilities: the lingering troubles associated with his anti-crime policies as New York mayor (particularly stop-and-frisk policing now labeled racist) and his corporate management (particularly complaints about sexual harassment at his eponymous company). Bloomberg apologized for racially-biased policing but firmly rejected any calls to release former employees from non-disclosure agreements so they could speak freely about their experiences. His rivals will continue to exploit both problems.

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Scurrilous Bernie Trashes ‘Racist’ Israel By P. David Hornik

By on February 21st, 2020

https://pjmedia.com/trending/scurrilous-bernie-trashes-racist-israel/

At a CNN town hall event in Las Vegas, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was asked: “How do U.S.-Israel relations look under your administration?”

He replied:

“To be for the Israeli people and to be for peace in the Middle East does not mean that we have to support right-wing, racist governments that currently exist in Israel….”

In April 2019, at another CNN town hall event, [Sanders] described Netanyahu’s approach toward the Palestinians as “oppressive” and said Israel is “now run by a right-wing—dare I say—racist government.”

At the fifth Democratic debate…, held in December, Sanders said, “We must understand that right now in Israel we have leadership under Netanyahu… who, in my view, is a racist.”

Strong words; to my knowledge Bernie hasn’t called any other U.S. democratic ally’s government or leader “racist.” Although he says that he’s “very proud to be Jewish and I look forward to becoming the first Jewish president in the history of this country,” he seems to single Israel out. But are his words true?

Since 2009 the purportedly “racist” Netanyahu has led three purportedly “racist” governments. Let’s look at the record.

In December 2015 the Israeli government (the third of the three, the same as the current one) launched an unprecedented five-year development plan for the Israeli Arab community. It called for allocating “up to NIS 15 billion (around $4.2b) for the development of Arab towns and cities in various fields, such as education, transportation, welfare services, health, employment, housing, infrastructure, culture and public security.”

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Benny Gantz’s cluelessness on US politics According to Gantz, it is Netanyahu’s fault that Israel has become a partisan issue in the US, and it is the mission of the “anybody-but-Bibi” faction to remedy the situation Ruthie Blum

By on February 21st, 2020

https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Benny-Gantzs-cluelessness-on-US-politics-618267

Addressing a large audience of English-speaking Israelis on Monday, Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz made a promise that he cannot possibly keep. This isn’t what made his vow laughable, however. It’s par for political candidates to give utopian guarantees to prospective voters, particularly during the final countdown to an election – or, in this case, the last days leading up to a third round of Knesset elections on March 2, which are likely to result in the same impasse as the previous two.

Nor did the message that Gantz conveyed to the 1,000 people present at the Tel Aviv International Salon event get muddled as a result of his heavy Hebrew accent. No, the contender to the premiership that has been held for more than the past decade by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said what he meant and meant what he said, as did his running mate, Yair Lapid, who shared the podium and the sentiment that Netanyahu is to blame for the growing lack of support for Israel in America’s Democratic Party.

“It’s very important that we return to the bipartisan relationship between Israel and the United States,” Gantz said. “This is something that Netanyahu, unfortunately, neglected.”

Gantz assured the crowd that, unlike Netanyahu – who shows favoritism for the Republican Party – Blue and White “doesn’t care if the American president is a Republican or a Democrat. If he is a good president for the United States, by definition, he will be a good president for the State of Israel, as well.”

According to Gantz, it is Netanyahu’s fault that Israel has become a partisan issue in the US, and it is the mission of the “anybody-but-Bibi” faction, if elected to head the next Israeli government, to remedy the sorry situation.

“We have rehabilitation to do with the Democratic Party,” Lapid chimed in. “But we also need rehabilitation with American Jewry.”

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Stab City No one dares speak the truth about young black men stabbing each other to death on the streets of London. Katie Hopkins

By on February 21st, 2020

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/2020/02/stab-city-katie-hopkins/

Four stabbings in four East London locations within ninety minutes and it doesn’t even make the news. That tells you a lot about the state of London (or Stab City, as it is increasingly known).

The British Capital is witness to daily violence that is as unrelenting as it is overwhelming. Under the Muslim mayor Sadiq Khan, homicides are the highest in a decade and knife crime offenses are at record highs.

It is against this backdrop that these horrific stabbings have become something of everyday life for Londoners, too mundane to trouble a newsdesk and too routine for a reader to care.

Sunday’s victims were all found in East London: Barking, Dagenham, Hackney and Ilford (shown on the map below). Not the sorts of places you’ll find tourists taking selfies, but all in the vice-like grip of powerful gangs, organized by postcode (zip code) controlling the supply and distribution of drugs on their patch.

Being part of a gang is a way of belonging for young lads brought up on inner-city estates, often without a father figure, desperate to find a way to belong. For many, being part of a gang is a tenuous means of survival.

Stabbings are meted out as a mechanism of initiation, retribution or control, as ubiquitous as the mopeds used to courier their drugs, or the drill music that forms a soundtrack to their lives.

One gang member said: “I don’t even know what this war is about anymore. All I know is if I step out of my territory people want to kill me, and if people come into mine, I want to kill them. It’s as simple as that.”

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THE BLOOM IS OFF George Neumayr,

By on February 20th, 2020

https://spectator.org/the-bloom-is-off/

The attacks on Michael Bloomberg came early and often at Wednesday’s debate in Las Vegas, but none of them, of course, touched on his infamous “kill it” comment to a pregnant subordinate. No, the party of abortion at all stages wasn’t going to touch that one. Instead, Elizabeth Warren focused on Bloomberg’s thoughts about “horse-faced lesbians” and “fat broads.”

Bloomberg has paid advisers millions of dollars to prepare him for just such moments, but he still acted like he was answering the challenges for the first time. He came off as cold and flat-footed — the unlikeable technocrat trying woodenly to make himself palatable to a left-wing audience with half-hearted answers.

It wasn’t until late in the debate that he seemed to loosen up a little bit and hit Sanders with a zinger about being a socialist millionaire with three homes. “What a country,” said Bloomberg. Of course, that didn’t go down well either, since the Democrats don’t think much of America. One would never know that the American economy is thriving from these Democratic gloomfests, where the candidates never feel slightest compunction to grapple with positive economic indices under Trump. Talk about an out-of-touch party — its rhetoric befits the Great Depression, not an economy in which the stock market spikes as unemployment plunges.

Bloomberg was the only candidate who came close to acknowledging how ridiculous the Democrats sound as they debate the virtues of socialism. But that comment elicited a groan, too.

Bloomberg would have done better had he continued to mock his opponents in that vein. But he couldn’t decide which direction to go in the debate. He spent much of it getting tangled up in half-baked apologies designed to improve his standing with progressives. His answer on stop-and-frisk lacked all coherence, because he didn’t have the guts to acknowledge that it actually worked and that it is not inherently racist.

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Bloomberg Picks up 3 New Congressional Endorsements After Debate By Zachary Stieber

By on February 20th, 2020

https://www.theepochtimes.com/bloomberg-picks-up-3-new-congressional-endorsements-after-debate_3244660.html

Three members of the House of Representatives announced their support for former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg the morning after a fiery primary debate in Nevada.

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), the chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, said she’s endorsing Bloomberg, 78, for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“Mike and I have worked together for years in New York, and whether it’s homeland security or gun safety, there’s no one you can depend on more to get important initiatives over the finish line,” Lowey said in a statement released by Bloomberg’s campaign.

“We need someone in the White House who will help secure a bright future for our children and families, free of gun violence, with opportunity for educational success and good jobs, and with access to affordable health care and prescription drugs. That person is Mike Bloomberg, and there’s no doubt about it, no matter how big the challenge, Mike will get it done.”

Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) speaks onstage during Global Citizen: Movement Makers at NYU Skirball Center in New York City on Sept. 19, 2017. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Global Citizen)

Reps. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) also announced endorsements for the billionaire.

Aguilar, who Bloomberg said would serve as a co-chair for his campaign, cited Bloomberg’s efforts to restrict gun ownership and combat climate change in his statement of support. Gottheimer, co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, called the former mayor “an experienced, proven leader who has big ideas, will fight to get things done, and knows how to work with—and get votes from—Democrats, Republicans, and Independents.”

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