| 'Stunned, amused, and embarrassed': Anonymous author describes what it's like working for Trump Posted: 08 Nov 2019 06:48 AM PST  Imagine your boss is an erratic, petulant egomaniac, averse to reading, prone to angry outbursts and known for an acutely short attention span. Then imagine your boss is the president of the United States.
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| PHOTOS: For Syrian Kurds, and aid workers – the ‘safe zone’ is not so safe Posted: 08 Nov 2019 10:46 AM PST  The Kurds are calling this area 'the genocide zone'. The safe zone is not safe by any definition. It is the zone of the Turkish invasion.
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| Iran says case open on ex-FBI agent missing there on CIA job Posted: 09 Nov 2019 12:47 AM PST  Iran is acknowledging for the first time it has an open case before its Revolutionary Court over the 2007 disappearance of a former FBI agent on an unauthorized CIA mission to the country, renewing questions over what happened to him. In a filing to the United Nations, Iran said the case over Robert Levinson was "on going," without elaborating.
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| Slain in Mexico, seven-month-old twins buried in rain-swept funeral Posted: 07 Nov 2019 10:08 PM PST  Suspected cartel gunmen attacked Rhonita Miller LeBaron, 30, and four of her children on Monday, also striking two other vehicles, killing a total of three women and six children on an isolated dirt road in the hills of Sonora. All of the victims were dual U.S.-Mexican citizens. "We pray, Father, that good will come out of this terrible incident, that the way may be opened up for this country to find justice for those that don't have a voice," said Rhonita's father-in-law, Kenny Miller, speaking at the graveside where children lay flowers as a soft rain fell.
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| View Photos of Jack Roush Edition Ford Mustang Posted: 08 Nov 2019 07:22 AM PST |
| A white restaurant manager was sentenced to 10 years for enslaving and beating a black man Posted: 08 Nov 2019 07:27 AM PST ![A white restaurant manager was sentenced to 10 years for enslaving and beating a black man]( "A white restaurant manager was sentenced to 10 years for enslaving and beating a black man") A white restaurant manager in South Carolina was sentenced to 10 years in prison for enslaving and torturing an African American cook
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| Dirty Indian Politics Has No Answer for the World’s Most Toxic Air Posted: 07 Nov 2019 01:00 PM PST  (Bloomberg) -- The politics of pollution in India's capital New Delhi are as noxious as the city's air.While Delhi chokes, politicians squabble in an annual phenomenon that lasts for an intense few weeks at the start of winter, then dies down as pollution levels fall. What they haven't done is come together to find sustainable solutions to one of the world's worst air pollution problems that by the World Bank's calculations costs the country as much as 8.5% of its GDP, or around $221 billion each year.Home to seven of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, India's deadly haze was responsible for one of every eight deaths in 2017, while the life of a child born today is likely to be 2.5 years shorter because of air pollution. Delhi, with its unlikely combination of sweeping green boulevards and sprawling, unchecked urban growth, has become the symbol of the country's struggle to contain this toxic cloud.Describing the city as "gas chamber," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said crop burning in the states of Punjab and Haryana was a key source of pollution, and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene. The federal environment minister Prakash Javadekar blamed Kejriwal's administration for not taking serious measures, while his colleague, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, suggested in a tweet eating carrots could help beat pollution-related harm.So far Modi has not issued a statement on the crisis, which prompted the declaration of a public health emergency and the closure of schools for several days. Calls to the prime minister's office went unanswered."One key reason for the air pollution governance falling short is the absence of commitment and initiative by the political executive," said Santosh Harish, environment researcher at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research, adding most policy measures had been taken at the behest of judiciary. "They are negligent in taking on issues of air pollution as a sense of urgency."The country's politicians should be on a war footing, Harish said, and address the lack of staff, equipment and enforcement power in pollution control boards, inefficiency in public transport systems and insufficient clean power generation.Global ConcernsChina -- which is also battling deadly air pollution -- reduced the annual average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) by a third between 2013 and 2017 in 74 cities, according to the State of Global Air 2019 study. India has long struggled to pull together a similarly coordinated national approach."China's society had strongly expressed their needs for clean air and health when facing air pollution, thus the government took more emphasis on the issue," said Ma Jun, founder and director of the Beijing-based Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs. There had not been a similar, significant public outcry in India, Ma said. "If there's not enough consensus from the public, it's hard for policy makers to be determined to tackle the issue."Air pollution drives up costs for companies, affecting both the bottom line and productivity, particularly when staff suffer respiratory diseases, said Hemant Shivakumar, a senior consultant at Control Risks. "In the absence of action by the government, this can become a long term risk and companies would want some kind of initiative to be taken."The South Asian nation's toxic air is driven by a combination of factors, including vehicular emissions, factory emissions, road dust and construction activities. Crop burning contributed 44% to Delhi's soaring PM 2.5 levels on Oct. 31, dropping to 2% by Nov. 7, according to System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting.Small scale farmers have been burning to prepare their land for planting for hundreds of years, said Helena Varkkey, an expert on air pollution and lecturer at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, noting baseline pollution in many Asian cities was also high, due to domestic, vehicular and industrial emissions. "If governments focus on these constant issues outside the major haze seasons, there could be a significant improvement on air quality as a whole," Varkkey said.'Out of Hand'India's farmers, already struggling with depressed crop prices, are tired of shouldering responsibility for the crisis."They blame farmers because farmers are the easiest people to beat," said V.M. Singh, convener of the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee, a group representing around 250 farmer's organizations. He urged governments to focus on programs to generate income from crop stubble, rather than expecting farmers to shoulder costs themselves."Either you take stubble away from farmers or you provide a cheap affordable technological solution to them," said Sagnik Dey, associate professor of atmospheric sciences at Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi. "You can't expect farmers to bear those high costs."Modi's government has promoted solar power, improved emission standards and handed out millions of gas canisters to households to reduce cooking over open fires. In January it launched the National Clean Air Program. But the measures have yet to alleviate the impact of India's rampant growth, from the dust left by thousands of new construction sites to exhaust from millions of cars."The situation is getting out of hand," said Dey. "The real frustration is that we know what to do but we are not able to implement it because of lack of coordination and limited resources."\--With assistance from Manish Modi, Adrian Leung and Feifei Shen.To contact the reporters on this story: Bibhudatta Pradhan in New Delhi at bpradhan@bloomberg.net;Ragini Saxena in Mumbai at rsaxena30@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Back in 2015, a Russian-Built Submarine Claims to Have Sunk a U.S. Navy Sub Posted: 07 Nov 2019 06:00 PM PST  And India was the winner--at least in a simulation.
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| Nikki Haley: ‘There’s Just Nothing Impeachable’ About Trump’s Actions Posted: 08 Nov 2019 06:29 PM PST  Stephanie Keith/GettyAs the impeachment inquiry against him heats up, President Trump appears to have gotten perhaps his most dramatic defense yet from former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley: According to her, impeachment proceedings are akin to "the death penalty for a public official" and Trump simply doesn't deserve the death penalty. In excerpts from an interview with CBS News released late Friday, Haley scoffed at the idea that Trump would actually be removed from office."You're going to impeach a president for asking for a favor that didn't happen and giving money and it wasn't withheld?" Haley told CBS' Norah O'Donnell. "I don't know what you would impeach him on."The former ambassador, who resigned in late 2018, went on to liken impeachment proceedings to capital punishment."And look, Norah, impeachment is like the death penalty for a public official. When you look at the transcript, there's nothing in that transcript that warrants the death penalty for the president," she said, referring to a transcript of the July 25 phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president that sparked the impeachment inquiry.O'Donnell pushed back, noting that the National Security Council's top Ukraine expert, Alexander Vindman—who listened in on the call—had testified to Congress that the rough transcript of the call released by the White House was not complete."There's still things that are missing from it," O'Donnell said."The Ukrainians never did the investigation, and the president released the funds," Haley replied. "I mean, when you look at those, there's just nothing impeachable there.""I think the biggest thing that bothers me is the American people should decide this," Haley added, apparently taking issue with Congress' constitutional right to impeach a president if deemed appropriate. "Why do we have a bunch of people in Congress making this decision?"The first public hearings of the impeachment inquiry are slated to begin next week—with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and two top diplomats, William Taylor and George Kent, expected to testify. The inquiry was sparked by a whistleblower complaint about the July 25 call. The whistleblower raised concerns about Trump leveraging military aid to pressure Ukraine into investigating widely debunked corruption allegations against his potential political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, along with alleged 2016 election interference by Ukrainians.Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Thunberg speech gets interrupted by rallygoer Posted: 08 Nov 2019 11:23 AM PST  At a climate change rally in Charlotte, N.C., activist Greta Thunberg's speech was interrupted by a rally participant. Thunberg responded by saying, "I think if you want to speak with me personally, maybe you can do it later."
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| TIMELINE-Indian court hands disputed site to Hindus; Muslim group unhappy Posted: 08 Nov 2019 11:02 PM PST ![TIMELINE-Indian court hands disputed site to Hindus; Muslim group unhappy]( "TIMELINE-Indian court hands disputed site to Hindus; Muslim group unhappy") India's Supreme Court on Saturday awarded a Hindu group the ownership of a centuries-old religious site also claimed by Muslims in a case that has caused deep divisions and deadly riots between the two communities. 1528 - The mosque in Ayodhya, in what is now India's biggest state of Uttar Pradesh, was built by Mughal emperor Babur, according to documents produced by Muslim groups in court. 1949 - Muslim groups accuse government officials of conniving with Hindu monks to place an idol of an infant Lord Ram in the grounds of the mosque.
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| Anger over Las Vegas ban on sleeping in streets Posted: 07 Nov 2019 05:25 PM PST  Faced with a growing number of homeless people, Las Vegas has passed a controversial law that bans sleeping on the street and imposes punishments of a $1,000 fine and six months in prison. Sleeping on the streets of the gambling hub will only be illegal in downtown Las Vegas and residential areas -- not the famous casino "Strip," which comes under a different jurisdiction. It will not apply when homeless shelters are full.
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| Bloodhound aims to be world's fastest car in South Africa Posted: 08 Nov 2019 11:51 AM PST  An earthbound jet known as the Bloodhound became one of the world's 10 fastest cars this week, on target for its goal to set a new land speed record. "The feeling in this car is fantastic," driver Andy Green told The Associated Press on Friday, days after the Bloodhound hit 501 mph (806 kph) in South Africa's northern desert. Bloodhound's next goal is to reach 550 mph (885 kph), possibly in the coming week.
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| Look Out America: Russia's Is Claiming To Have Smarter "Smart Bombs" Posted: 08 Nov 2019 04:48 AM PST  Is it true?
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| White House Official Testifies that Mulvaney Signed Off on Quid Pro Quo with Ukraine Posted: 08 Nov 2019 11:33 AM PST  Former National Security Council staffer Fiona Hill has testified that acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney approved a quid-pro-quo in which President Trump would meet with his Ukranian counterpart if he first agreed to open investigations that would benefit Trump politically.Hill's testimony before the House Intelligence Committee was released on Friday along with the testimony of NSC official Alexander Vindman."Ambassador [to the European Union Gordon] Sondland, in front of the Ukrainians…was talking about how he had an agreement with Chief of Staff Mulvaney for a meeting with the Ukrainians if they were going to go forward with investigations," Hill told investigators.House Democrats initiated their impeachment inquiry based on suspicions Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine to pressure the country to investigate Biden. In a July 25 phone conversation, Trump repeatedly urged Zelensky to investigate Biden, a little over a week after the White House withheld a military aid package marked for Ukraine.However, Vindman, in his testimony, said Ukraine had no idea that military aid was being withheld at the time of the call. In his view, Ukrainian officials understood that they would have to open investigation into Biden in order to obtain a meeting between Zelensky and Trump."I don't think the Ukrainians were aware of [the delay in military aid]," Vindman said. "So, my understanding is this was all about getting the bilateral meeting."In October, Mulvaney apparently admitted to reporters that military aid to Ukraine was withheld to urge the country to investigate alleged interference in the 2016 presidential elections. Mulvaney subsequently walked back his statements, saying ""Let me be clear, there was absolutely no quid pro quo between Ukrainian military aid and any investigation into the 2016 election."Mulvaney defied a subpoena to testify on Friday morning as part of the impeachment inquiry.
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| Retired Detective Murdered His Wife to ‘Enjoy’ Retirement With New Lover: Prosecutors Posted: 07 Nov 2019 11:46 AM PST  APU GOMES/GettyA retired Massachusetts detective fatally shot his wife—then staged her murder as a suicide—so he could be with another woman and keep his pension all for himself, prosecutors alleged in court Thursday. Brian Fanion, a 55-year-old former Westfield Police detective, pleaded not guilty in Hampden Superior Court Thursday morning to a first-degree murder charge in connection with the May 2018 death of his wife, Amy. Authorities at the time ruled the 51-year-old's shooting death a suicide. Prosecutors alleged Fanion, who joined the force in 1985 and worked as an evidence room detective, was having an affair with another woman at the time of his retirement last year and was desperate to avoid "splitting" his future pension with Amy. "There was only one way to enjoy his retirement and his new love affair and that was to murder his wife," Assistant District Attorney Mary Sandstrom said in court.Cops: NYPD Officer Ordered Hit on Estranged Husband, Boyfriend's KidThe intimate affair began last March, prosecutors alleged, which prompted Fanion to look into what effect divorcing his wife of 35 years and living with his new girlfriend would have on his pension. Fanion's defense attorneys dismissed the affair in court Thursday and argued Amy had long struggled with severe anxiety. "He did have a female friend, it was a non-sexual relationship, they communicated primarily by text message," defense attorney Jeffrey Brown said in court Thursday, claiming that the friend was also close to Amy. On May 2, 2018, Fanion was allegedly home on a lunch break when he and his wife got into an argument about "retirement plans." Dispatchers arrived to the Fanion house a little after noon, prosecutors said, after receiving reports of a shooting and found the former detective "standing beside his wife" inside their dining room and "holding her hands."Authorities said the 51-year-old sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the right side of her head—which prosecutors said is not consistent with being self inflicted. They say the wound is from a gun held about 18 inches away from her head. Mother, Daughter Killed Pregnant Teen With Cable and Ripped Baby From Womb: Police"She had no suicidal ideations, no issue of self harm. This was a woman who was happy, who expressed her love for Brian Fanion, who wanted to continue living," Sandstrom said. "This was a woman who was not depressed, had no mental health disorder and very much someone who was not suicidal or prepared to take her own life."Fanion admitted to police he brought home his department-issued handgun that day, despite his wife's anxiety over firearms. He initially told authorities that while he was in the bathroom, he "heard a gunshot" and came out to "find his wife on the floor," prosecutors said. "While on the scene, that story changed, and he said that he was inside the bathroom and when he went outside the bathroom he saw his wife put the gun up to her head and discharge the bullet," Sandstrom said in court while Fanion stood a few feet away, frowning and rocking slightly back and forth. Prosecutors also cited several internet searches on Fanion's computer at the Westfield Police Department that pointed to his alleged involvement, including his attempts to look up information on the effects of divorces on pensions, gunshot residue, and household poisons people can easily overdose on."Mere hours before the murder he was looking for apartments and places to stay," Sandstrom said. "This was a murder in planning for quite some time."Convicted Killer Now Charged in Estranged Wife's Cold-Case Murder: ProsecutorsDefense attorney Jeffrey Brown slammed the prosecution's allegations, claiming that Amy Fanion had long struggled with anxiety and depression, and was somebody "not without her demons"—which she chronicled daily in a diary. Brown also noted that she'd stopped taking several medications before her death. "Her diary is replete with issues she was having and seeking God's help to get her through these issues," Brown said, stating that prosecutors are "not interested in the truth here."Brown also read a statement from the 51-year-old's immediate and extended family expressing their support for the former detective, who joined the force at age 15, stating they "unequivocally" believe Amy's death was self-inflicted. Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| 11 Ways To Hang Anything on a Wall Posted: 08 Nov 2019 02:00 PM PST |
| US wants UN to take up Dalai Lama succession: envoy Posted: 08 Nov 2019 12:08 PM PST  The United States wants the United Nations to take up the Dalai Lama's succession in an intensifying bid to stop China from trying to handpick his successor, an envoy said after meeting the Tibetan spiritual leader. Sam Brownback, the US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, said he spoke at length about the succession issue with the 84-year-old Dalai Lama last week in the monk's home-in-exile of Dharamsala, India. "I would hope that the UN would take the issue up," Brownback told AFP after returning to Washington.
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| U.S. seeks to charge asylum seekers and hike fees for immigration Posted: 09 Nov 2019 01:27 AM PST  For the first time in U.S. history, the Trump administration is looking to impose an application fee for those seeking protection from persecution
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| Researchers didn't think humans attacked woolly mammoths – until they uncovered a trap in Mexico Posted: 08 Nov 2019 09:57 AM PST  Woolly mammoth bones found in Mexico prove that hunters actually attacked the mammal, instead of waiting for them to die
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| Wisconsin Guard whistleblower says he's being discharged Posted: 08 Nov 2019 02:00 PM PST ![Wisconsin Guard whistleblower says he's being discharged]( "Wisconsin Guard whistleblower says he's being discharged") A Wisconsin National Guard sergeant said Friday that his superiors have decided to discharge him from the service and deny him retirement benefits in retaliation for complaining about sexual misconduct in his unit. Wisconsin Air National Guard Master Sgt. Jay Ellis' complaints about sexual assault and sexual harassment within the 115th Fighter Wing last year sparked two federal investigations. "I just think it's funny how there is so much in the national news right now about whistleblowers, but no one seems to give two (expletives) about my situation," Ellis said in an email to The Associated Press.
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| Al-Baghdadi's wife revealed ISIS group secrets after capture Posted: 07 Nov 2019 12:43 PM PST  The wife of slain Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi revealed "a lot of information" about the jihadist group's "inner workings" after she was captured last year, a Turkish official said.
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| House Republicans Will Call Hunter Biden to Testify Publicly as Their Top Impeachment Witness: Report Posted: 09 Nov 2019 08:06 AM PST  House Republicans intend to call Hunter Biden as their top witness in the impeachment inquiry, according to a list of witnesses obtained by Fox News on Saturday, just days before public impeachment hearings will commence.Biden, whose time on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma has become a central issue in the impeachment inquiry, denied that his business dealings in Ukraine and his father's position as vice president represented a conflict of interest during an interview last month, but called the decision to join Burisma "poor judgement on my part."In October, a U.S. State Department official told impeachment investigators that he worried Ukrainian officials would use Hunter Biden's position at the company to influence the vice president, and conveyed his opinion to Joe Biden's office, only for a staffer to tell him that the vice president didn't have the "bandwidth" to address the issue.Earlier this week, Republican senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Johnson asked the State Department for documents pertaining to Burisma, after email records showed that Biden and business partner Devon Archer scheduled meetings with senior State Department officials in 2015 and 2016.Republicans also plan on calling on Archer to testify, as well as the anonymous whistleblower who first raised concerns over the July call between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky."Because President Trump should be afforded an opportunity to confront his accusers, the anonymous whistleblower should testify," House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Devin Nunes (R., Calif.) wrote in a letter to Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff on Saturday."Given the multiple discrepancies between the whistleblower's complaint and the closed-door testimony of the witnesses, it is imperative that the American people hear definitively how the whistleblower developed his or her information, and who else the whistleblower may have fed the information he or she gathered and how that treatment of classified information may have led to the false narrative being perpetrated by the Democrats during this process."On October 2, the New York Times reported that the whistleblower communicated with Schiff's office before filing a formal complaint.It is unclear whether Schiff will allow Republicans to call Biden and other witnesses, as current House rules on the inquiry allow Republicans to only call witnesses who are "authorized" by Schiff.Nunes, in his letter, said that Republicans expect Schiff "to call each of the witnesses listed above to ensure that the Democrats' 'impeachment inquiry' treats the President with fairness, as promised by Speaker Pelosi."
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| This Secret About America's B-29 Bomber Might Surprise You (Russia Flew It Too) Posted: 08 Nov 2019 06:15 AM PST  Really. The same plane.
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| Blood found in accused killer's flat 500 million times more likely to belong to Grace Millane than anyone else Posted: 08 Nov 2019 04:59 AM PST  The trial of Grace Millane's accused killer heard DNA evidence today that blood found on his refrigerator is 500 million times more likely to have come from Ms Millane than anyone else. Ms Millane, from Wickford, Essex, arrived in New Zealand on November 30 and disappeared after going on a date with the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, the following night. Her body was found buried in a suitcase in the Waitakere Ranges on December 9. Scientists found two areas of blood staining on the carpet in the apartment of the 27-year-old suspect. Despite the accused's efforts to clean up, the forensics team were able to detect blood using luminol, which showed blood had been moved around the apartment. DNA expert Turlough Thomas-Stone told the court that while "no male DNA was detected" in samples taken from the Ms Millane's fingernails and from the suitcase in which her body was found, the "damp, moisture, exposure to the elements" can make it harder to identify DNA samples from grave sites, especially given the time between Ms Millane's death and the discovery of her body seven to eight days later. Toxicologist Diana Kappatos told the court that there were no illicit or prescribed drugs in Ms Millane's body. A friend of Ms Millane, Ameena Ashcroft, who received text messages from her the night she disappeared, sent a letter which was read in court, stating she "thought something was out of place" as she read the messages. The defence has argued that the accused, who went on another date the next day while Ms Millane's body was hidden in his apartment, accidentally killed the 21-year-old backpacker. The woman who attended the second date is yet to testify at the trial, but on Wednesday, in his opening address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Robin McCoubrey foreshadowed her evidence, saying the accused told the woman he knew someone who went to jail after a woman died during "rough sex" - which the Crown described as the accused testing his story. Grace Millane, 22, was killed in New Zealand in December 2018 Credit: Lucie Blackman Trust/PA Justice Simon Moore is presiding over the jury trial in Auckland, which resumes on Monday and is expected to last three more weeks. A recent study by Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security in the United States ranked New Zealand 18th in the world in terms of women's peace and security, one of the worst rankings in the developed world. The low ranking was due almost entirely to New Zealand's rates of intimate partner violence. The country scored particularly badly on intimate partner violence and community safety. At the National Council of Women conference in Auckland in late last year, former Prime Minister Helen Clark said the government needed to recognise that violence against women was "a national crisis". Dr Jasmina Brankovich, an Australian consultant who runs programs addressing sexual harassment and gendered violence, told The Telegraph that early and intensive intervention is needed through the education system to change culture and reduce the incidence of violence against women. "You need to start very early with a system in education - prevention is better than responding. We are going to have to change a lot of attitudes that run deep… Empty rhetoric changes nothing. If you want to change anything in the future, you have to take action now," she said.
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| Ukraine, Russian-backed rebels begin Donbass village withdrawal Posted: 09 Nov 2019 02:53 AM PST  Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels began withdrawing from a village in the disputed Donbass region on Saturday, one of a series of measures that could pave the way for a summit between Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany. Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed fighters in the eastern region has killed more than 13,000 since 2014, with both sides accusing each other of violating a ceasefire that was agreed in the Belarus capital Minsk in 2015. Relations between Ukraine and Russia collapsed following Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, which prompted Western sanctions.
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| UN experts call Morsi's death in Egypt 'arbitrary killing' Posted: 08 Nov 2019 09:20 AM PST  An independent panel of United Nations experts said Friday the death of former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi in June could amount to "a state-sanctioned arbitrary killing". "Morsi was held in conditions that can only be described as brutal, particularly during his five-year detention in the Tora prison complex," a statement said. Egypt's first democratically elected civilian president Morsi died in June after collapsing in a Cairo courtroom while on trial.
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| Brexit Bulletin: Don’t Write Off Corbyn Posted: 07 Nov 2019 11:24 PM PST  Days to Brexit deadline: 84(Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to get the Brexit Bulletin in your inbox every weekday.Today in Brexit: Despite a tough start to the election campaign, Labour's Jeremy Corbyn could yet win power.What's happening? They may be divided, unfancied and accused of racism, but Jeremy Corbyn and his allies still see a path to 10 Downing Street. As Bloomberg's Rob Hutton explains, there's plenty going for them: austerity-bitten voters have seen the Tories in office for so long, opinion polls have been wrong before and Boris Johnson is running a high-risk election strategy.Like Theresa May before him, Johnson is hoping to win a national vote by picking up pro-Brexit seats in Labour heartlands in northern and central England, trying to exploit the opposition's perceived weakness on the question of leaving the EU. That plan failed in 2017, as lifelong Labour voters in industrial districts balked at ditching their tribal allegiances. The same could well happen again.Labour is also offering a populist spending splurge. Speaking Thursday, their economy spokesman John McDonnell pledged £250 billion of infrastructure investment over 10 years, plus more money for education, health care and social housing. In what looks like an arms race of giveaways, the Tories also unveiled significant plans to loosen the purse strings.And though Brexit is a key issue in the campaign, Corbyn is also trying to play up Labour's historic strength on the much-loved National Health Service, repeatedly accusing Johnson of planning to "sell it out" in a trade deal with U.S. President Donald Trump. On Friday, Johnson will announce plans for special visas to make it easier to recruit doctors, as he tries to shore up his support on health care.Today's Must-ReadsNeed a debrief on the election? Bloomberg's Kitty Donaldson answers all your questions. The Bank of England made dovish noises Thursday, highlighting risks to growth from Brexit and a weaker global economy. Boris Johnson's charisma is the best hope for the Tories in this general election, Iain Martin writes in the Times.Brexit in BriefOn The Markets | Pound traders took the BOE's caution in their stride, keeping their focus on the significant changes to Britain's economy that could come from the December election, Bloomberg's Charlotte Ryan and Anooja Debnath write. The pound was trading at $1.2812 early Friday in London.Remain Alliance | The pro-EU Liberal Democrats, Greens and Plaid Cymru agreed to step aside for each other in 60 seats across England and Wales, in a bid to concentrate the anti-Brexit vote. But the effect may be limited: a BBC analysis showed the move would not have changed any of the results at the 2017 election.Swaps Move | German banking giant DekaBank has moved more than 7,000 swap transactions from London to Frankfurt, boosting the city's standing as a post-Brexit finance hub.Ads Controversy | Tech giant Facebook defended its policy of not fact-checking political ads in the U.K. general election, saying it would've allowed a controversial recent video by the Tories — which was doctored to cast doubt on Labour's Brexit policy — to run as an advert on its platform.'No MPs, Mr Farage' | A leading political academic said Nigel Farage's Brexit Party won't win any seats at the election, as more of their candidates stood down and urged voters to back Johnson. Matthew Goodwin, professor of politics at Kent University, told the Telegraph that Farage risks denying the Tories a majority and helping thwart Brexit.Want to keep up with Brexit?You can follow us @Brexit on Twitter, and listen to Bloomberg Westminster every weekday. It's live at midday on Bloomberg Radio and is available as a podcast too. Share the Brexit Bulletin: Colleagues, friends and family can sign up here. For full EU coverage, try the Brussels Edition.For even more: Subscribe to Bloomberg All Access for our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.To contact the author of this story: Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Caitlin Morrison at cmorrison59@bloomberg.net, Iain RogersFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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| No coalition troops hurt in rocket attack at Iraq base Posted: 08 Nov 2019 04:57 PM PST  A barrage of Katyusha rockets targeted an Iraqi air base that houses American troops south of the city of Mosul on Friday, officials said. The rocket fire appears to have originated in Mosul and struck the Iraqi army base in Qayyara, about 60 kilometers (38 miles) south of Mosul, where coalition forces are helping the Iraqis battle remnants of the Islamic State group, Iraqi security officials said. Iraqi officials did not immediately say whether there were any casualties, though a coalition spokeswoman later said no coalition troops had been injured.
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| Points of Progress: All-women spacewalk, new land for bison, and more Posted: 07 Nov 2019 10:00 PM PST ![Points of Progress: All-women spacewalk, new land for bison, and more]( "Points of Progress: All-women spacewalk, new land for bison, and more") In good news this week: Bison roam across land they haven't touched in more than 100 years, an all-women spacewalk happens on the ISS, and more.
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| How Trump's Visit to an Alabama Football Game Caused Controversy Before He Even Arrived Posted: 08 Nov 2019 01:55 PM PST  Students at the University of Alabama were warned not to be "disruptive" while Trump attends the Alabama-LSU game.
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| More Dictator Than God: Kim Jong-Un's Cult Of Personality Is Going Strong Posted: 08 Nov 2019 05:40 AM PST  But it can't last forever.
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| The US is scrambling to invest more in Asia to counter China's 'Belt and Road' mega-project. Here's what China's plan to connect the world through infrastructure is like. Posted: 09 Nov 2019 07:24 AM PST  Supporters say it's a way for China to invest in emerging markets. Critics say this is a way for China to use money to leverage political gains.
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| Highlights of the 2019 SEMA Show in Las Vegas Posted: 08 Nov 2019 04:28 PM PST |
| UK plans fast-track visas for migrants working in health service Posted: 07 Nov 2019 04:04 PM PST  Britain said on Friday it would make it easier for migrants to move to the United Kingdom to work in the National Health Service (NHS), helping to offset a possible fall in numbers caused by the exit from the European Union. The Conservative government is planning to bring in an Australian-style points-based system in 2021 after leaving the EU in a bid to get tighter control of immigration, an issue which commentators said was a major factor in Britons voting for Brexit three years ago. The future of the NHS is one of the key issues in the campaign for Britain's general election next month.
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| Suspects linked to New Hampshire couple's deaths found in Mexico Posted: 07 Nov 2019 03:42 PM PST  A man and a woman wanted in connection with the missing New Hampshire couple found buried at a Texas beach will be turned over to the Texas Rangers.
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| US demands Russia, Syria stop air strikes killing civilians Posted: 08 Nov 2019 11:02 AM PST  The United States on Friday demanded that the Syrian government and its Russian allies stop air strikes in northwestern Syria, saying they had a pattern of attacking civilians. An AFP correspondent on Wednesday saw a rescue worker carry the limp body of a tiny girl, her throat covered in blood, in the village of Al-Sahaara in the jihadist-run enclave of Idlib. The US State Department said that attacks in the northwestern area over the previous two days had struck a school and a maternity hospital, killing 12 people.
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| If Boris Isn’t Careful, Brexit Could Disappear in a Winter Snap Posted: 08 Nov 2019 09:02 AM PST  British politics are seeming eerily familiar these days: Just as in 2017, the Tories, looking at favorable polls that show them crushing Labour and Jeremy Corbyn, have called for a snap election in order to give their new PM a mandate to complete an orderly Brexit. Just as in 2017, the Tories have begun projecting that they'll win a majority of 40, 60, or maybe even more. Just as in 2017, the electorate very clearly wants to get Brexit done, and that desire is very clearly a driving force behind the Tories' standing in the polls.And just as in 2017, the campaign has begun with the Tories immediately changing the subject from Brexit.Boris Johnson opened the campaign with an op-ed comparing Corbyn to Josef Stalin in a big banner headline in the Daily Telegraph. Then, as in 2017, came an unforced error that made the Tories look "out of touch." In 2017, it was the May government's proposal that those who needed in-home nursing care toward the end of life would see their estates sold to the government after death, and their families' inheritances reduced to nothing more than £100,000 — the so-called dementia tax. This time, it seems, dementia struck Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Bertie Wooster character who became Leader of the House of Commons in July. In a Monday radio interview on the subject of the awful 2017 Grenfell Tower fire that killed 72 people, Rees-Mogg seemed to suggest that he and his host would have had the "common sense" to ignore the fatal instruction from the fire brigades to stay in the burning building, which may have cost over 50 Britons their lives.Now, as in 2017, such a misstep can't help, but it might not prove a death knell for the Conservatives. The whole Tory theory of the snap election is that the party must begin winning seats in constituencies that traditionally go to Labour but are pro-Brexit. By withdrawing the whip from members who opposed his Brexit plans, Johnson shifted the party in a more populist direction in anticipation of such a strategy. Tories will argue that if voters don't give them a majority, a Corbyn-led coalition government of Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and Scottish nationalists will inflict on the country more Brexit negotiations, another referendum on membership in the EU, and another Scottish independence referendum. It's a good argument — Britons clearly dread the effects on their society and politics that these conflicts continue to have. But it's also funny when you think about it: The Tories are arguing that the alternative to voting for them in 2019 is a replay of what Tory governments brought the country from 2014–2019.The United Kingdom and the United States have both experienced a political realignment recently seen in many of the big western democracies: A party that was once heavily identified with organized labor and the working classes — Labour in the U.K., the Democrats in the U.S. — began in the 1990s to drift toward the rich, educated, urban elite. In response, some number of the party's cultural and social conservatives have drifted slowly to the right.Republicans in the U.S. have found it relatively easy to absorb disaffected Democratic exiles and reshape their party as something more populist than it is traditionally thought to be. Tories in the U.K. have had a harder time shaking off their reputation as the party of the establishment. For one thing, Labour is now led by an unreconstructed socialist who resisted the party's Blairite turn to the center in the 1990s. For another, the Tory party is still dominated by people who went to the top schools and joined the top clubs.This could yet prove a huge problem in the upcoming campaign, not least because the Labourite "Leave" districts that Johnson needs to begin winning to take a majority are precisely those that have traditionally had the most intense and tribal hatred of the Tories, whom they saw as active class enemies. Nigel Farage's Brexit party, like his UKIP before, polls well in all of them, and its presence means that there's a clear "anti-EU" alternative to the Tories' toffs and top boys.It's difficult to teach an old dog new tricks, but if Tories want to win new districts, they have to break out of old habits of thinking. Calling Jeremy Corbyn a socialist over and over in 2017 seemed to help Corbyn more than hurt him. Instead of making the same mistake now, Johnson should go after Corbyn as a waffler on Brexit and an ineffective leader who indulges the many anti-Semites in his party. Johnson has tried to emphasize that he leads a different Tory party, one that is reversing the policies of austerity his predecessors felt necessary during the downturn. He needs to go further. Brexit has radically transformed the politics of the United Kingdom. The Tories must show that it's transformed them, too.
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| County resolution threatens journalists with prosecution Posted: 08 Nov 2019 02:01 PM PST ![County resolution threatens journalists with prosecution]( "County resolution threatens journalists with prosecution") At least one Wisconsin county official wants to warn any journalists who cover the upcoming release of a regional water quality study: Publish the county's news release summarizing the findings in its entirety without any alterations or risk criminal prosecution. The Lafayette County Conservation Committee plans to vote Tuesday on the resolution, which would warn reporters to print the upcoming news release without any edits or alterations or face prosecution. It isn't clear which committee member or members wrote the resolution or whether they sought legal advice before proposing it, but the effort looks blatantly unconstitutional, according to experts in media law.
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| What's The Deal With Iran's New "Stealth Destroyer"? Posted: 07 Nov 2019 05:30 PM PST  Should the Navy be worried?
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| Boeing's latest crisis is growing after an airline found cracks on two 737 planes that weren't due for inspection yet (BA) Posted: 07 Nov 2019 03:09 PM PST  Lion Air, the airline involved in the first 737 Max crash, has found cracks on some of its 737NG planes that were below an inspection threshold.
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| I'm happy to boycott Chick-fil-A – but that doesn't make Popeyes progressive Posted: 08 Nov 2019 03:00 AM PST  In the chicken sandwich wars Popeyes is the clear choice, but it's a mistake to see it, or any corporation, as part of our movement'Corporations use wokeness like they use blackness and everything else: to them it's a commodity, to be used if it helps turn a profit and discarded if it does not.' Photograph: Eric Gay/APWhen you live in a racist society, even something as simple as a chicken sandwich may not be just a chicken sandwich.The sandwich wars reignited on Sunday when Popeyes reintroduced their popular fried chicken sandwich, in direct competition with Chick-fil-A. The sandwich had been so popular earlier this year that Popeyes literally ran out of chicken.It's a cultural moment and, for better or worse, it was impossible to ignore how black Twitter virtually exploded in debate over which sandwich was better. Like a lot of progressives, I can proudly say that I've never had a Chick-fil-A sandwich. The summer launch of the Popeyes sandwich ran smack into my aggressive beach body goals, so I haven't had one of those either.While I make an excellent fried chicken sandwich – I personally would give it an award if I ran an institution that bestowed such honors – I must admit that I hit pause a couple of times before moving forward with a piece centered around this. There's been no shortage of online shaming over this conversation, some of it animated by the respectability politics that have black folks taking other black folks to task for feeding stereotypes. Many of the exhaustive media takes on the sandwich wars have been penned by black writers linking the sandwich to black culture, and defending the right to enjoy it despite that.This tension has turned the cultural moment into a political one. For many, that included casting Popeyes as the conquering hero and Chick-fil-A as the evil king in need of dethroning. There's a clear reason for that: Chick-fil-A is a bad company with immoral politics. Boycotting them in favor of Popeyes is a choice I'm happy to make.Chick-fil-A has long supported rightwing politics. It's best known in progressive circles for opposition to LGBT rights, but like most projects of the right wing, that work is intertwined with anti-blackness and patriarchy. The company has given millions to anti-gay political groups, including the known hate group Family Research Council, run by Tony Perkins. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Perkins has spoken to an avowed white supremacist organization and railed against the growth of Islam in America. When running the Senate campaign of his mentor, Woody Jenkins, he paid Klan leader David Duke $82,000 for his mailing list, then hid it from election officials. He is one of a group of rightwing, pseudo-Christian advocates who have boosted and defended Donald Trump despite the president's total lack of Christian morality and flagrant racism.Chick-fil-A's political record meant many were ready to back Popeyes, which is clearly going after Chick-fil-A's market share. Their sandwich is remarkably similar, right down to the wrapper. The two companies threw shade at each other on Twitter. In a new ad last week, Popeyes even trolled Chick-fil-A's famous decision to remain closed on Sundays for church.But that last dig is the only reference Popeyes has made to the conservative views of Chick-fil-A's owners. The company has done very little else to brand itself as a progressive alternative to its rival. It has no history of standing up for racial justice, even though black folks, culture and colloquialisms are prominent in their advertising. In fact, a look at their advertising shows no prominent history of aligning with causes beyond selling chicken, biscuits and sides, which of course is the only thing they care about. That hasn't stopped many people from placing their support for Popeyes squarely in a political context. The LGBT publication the Advocate titled its review of the sandwich "More Flavor, Less Homophobia".But it's a mistake to think that Popeyes, or any corporation, is a part of our movement. Like most fast-food chains, the company is decidedly anti-worker. A report in Jacobin notes that Popeyes continues to pay its diverse workforce poverty wages, just $8.32 an hour for cooks. Its parent company, Restaurants Brands International, made $5.35bn in revenue in 2018. But when a hard-fought organizing campaign resulted in a higher minimum wage in Ontario in 2016, RBI responded by cutting health benefits and paid breaks at the company's Tim Hortons franchise.The corporation has also come under fire from environmental advocates. Unlike competitors, the company has not taken steps to reduce its contributions to deforestation through its supply chain, which relies heavily on things like palm oil.Other corporations have tried to trade on wokeness far more explicitly than Popeyes. Nike got praise from many for its 2018 ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, the blacklisted black quarterback frozen out of the NFL for daring to protest against police violence against the black community. At the same time, the company is moving backwards on its accountability on exploited sweatshop labor. In 2017, Nike refused to submit to independent monitoring of its overseas factories by the Worker Rights Consortium. Starbucks made headlines in 2015 with an ill-received campaign that encouraged baristas to talk about race, then made different headlines in 2018 for calling the police on black patrons who dared to sit in their cafe and do nothing (like everyone else).Corporations use wokeness like they use blackness and everything else: to them it's a commodity, to be used if it helps turn a profit and discarded if it does not. They make a public display of celebrating Black History Month while they funnel dollars to politicians who dismantle the hard-fought victory of the heroes they pay tribute to. CEOs take selfies with pink breast-cancer-awareness ribbons while they continue to encourage a work culture that denigrates and endangers women. They sponsor elaborate Pride floats and then give money to politicians on the other side of progress for LGBTQ people around the world. Companies like Chick-fil-A which are open about their prejudices are easy to hate. But companies that try to hide their misdeeds behind a veneer of justice are in some ways worse.So where does that leave you and me? We need to eat. We need to buy clothes. Like all people on this earth, we deserve opportunities to have joyful experiences. The demand isn't that we opt out entirely from the economy. Voting with our wallets can be an effective and necessary tactic in creating social change.But we must always remember that the companies we choose as "better" have no loyalty to us. I'm not saying choosing Popeyes is a poor choice, but we shouldn't overstate its impact or confuse it for systemic change. Unless we are holding corporations to a high standard on how they engage in our politics and economy – changing policies and practices in the process – then the status quo remains. The net result will be our movements, mission, and public support co-opted for profit.We must expect more than "shoutouts" from the stage. Refuse to give companies a free pass just for being better than the worst corporate actors. Call out empty attempts to leverage our movements for corporate profit.So yes … enjoy your corporate chicken sandwich. But know that this time the chicken sandwich is just a chicken sandwich. * Rashad Robinson is the president of Color Of Change and a Guardian US columnist
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| Trump news: President's Ukraine call was part of 'illicit and corrupt scheme', released testimonies say Posted: 08 Nov 2019 10:06 AM PST  Before public hearings begin in the impeachment investigation into Donald Trump, recently released transcripts of testimonies from two key witnesses offer a more complete picture of the president's dealings with Ukraine and the role of his attorney Rudy Giuliani.Lt Col Alexander Vindman testified that "no doubt" the president was asking for investigations into his political rivals, and Fiona Hill warned that Mr Giuliani was peddling conspiracy theories to Mr Trump that could make US elections in 2020 vulnerable to Russian influence.
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