Tag: Disaster

Completely self-absorbed MPs have proven time and time again that they are not qualified to pull off something as complicated as Brexit. FromEveryAngle ‘Time to pass the ball to some other sucker’ How does Theresa May not just step down and walk away from this mess? Sort of feels like she’s tried enough and it’s time to pass the ball to some other sucker. Online and on the streets the voice of those who actually want to leave the EU is barely audible above that of those who want to remain. thatotherbloke ‘Politicians don’t have the will or courage to deal with this’ So after all this time spent negotiating and working out a Brexit agreement, the UK political establishment realises that it doesn’t like it and is unable to articulate alternatives it does like. There’s total paralysis in political decision making. The country, and parliament are split down the middle, the vote was too close and should never have been passed on such a small margin. May’s negotiated WA will be voted down again, there is no alternative, I think we know where this is heading and it isn’t revoking article 50. It is going to be a final end to this farce, or it will be the end for the EU as UK politicians will be arguing about this for another two years. JoeMcJoe ‘How long will it take for Britain to heal the division?’ It’s unbelievable how British MPs, especially the Conservatives, are unable to find a compromise and a way forward.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Tory MP Steve Baker and the DUP's Nigel Dodds said the "extended uncertainty" would be a "political calamity". On Tuesday, Theresa May will again ask MPs to back her Brexit deal, but if they reject it they may get a chance to vote to delay Brexit. The UK is due to leave the EU on 29 March. Your guide to Brexit jargon Enter the word or phrase you are looking for MPs rejected the prime minister's deal by 230 votes in January - the largest defeat for a sitting government in history. If they do the same this week, MPs have been promised a vote on whether the UK should leave without a deal. If Parliament approves Mrs May's withdrawal agreement, and the UK leaves the EU on 29 March, it will begin a transition period, when the two sides will attempt to agree a comprehensive trade deal. Q&A: The Irish border Brexit backstop Brexit's border drama nears final act But some MPs fear that - in its current form - the backstop may leave the UK tied to the EU indefinitely. On Friday, Mrs May said the UK had put forward "serious" proposals to resolve the deadlock. But Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay and the DUP, the party Mrs May's government relies on for a majority in Parliament, were both dismissive of the EU's latest proposal. Meanwhile the US Ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson, has urged the British public not to let the "distraction" of the debate over food standards and chlorine-washed chicken block the "huge opportunity" of a trade deal between the countries.

Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom lobbed a rare compliment at President Trump, saying he’s grateful the president has never “played politics” with disaster declarations following major wildfires in California or last year’s Oroville dam emergency. Last month Newsom, Trump and Gov. Jerry Brown toured the Camp Fire in Butte County, which burned more than 18,000 structures and killed 85 people, as well as the Woolsey Fire in Southern California that killed three people. “We’re grateful for his time and attention. We’ve had some followup — not direct conversations, but indirect. I think there is a sincerity to help, and we are grateful for that.” Those measured words are far from the barbs that the two have been trading this year. Trump has called Newsom a “clown” who wants to allow unlimited immigration into the United States. During his campaign for governor, Newsom called the president “a small, scared bully.” Newsom said he “got a little grief” on the campaign trail when he complimented Trump for keeping politics out of disaster declarations. We’re going to get it done.” Newsom isn’t ready to declare a thaw in their deep-freeze relationship yet. But he says he’s taking it “tweet by tweet, day by day.” Melody Gutierrez is The Chronicle’s Sacramento bureau chief.

The Trump administration attempted to downplay the stark findings of its own climate change assessment, as Democrats sought to pressure the White House to avert looming economic and public health disaster. It found that wildfires, storms and heatwaves are already taking a major toll on Americans’ wellbeing, with climate change set to “disrupt many areas of life” in the future. The voluminous report, which warns of hundreds of billions of dollars lost, crop failures, expanding wildfires, altered coastlines and multiplying health problems, represents the most comprehensive and sobering analysis yet of the dangers posed to the US by rising temperatures. I wrote the climate scenarios chapter myself so I can confirm it considers ALL scenarios Katharine Hayhoe, Texas Tech Climate change could slash up to a tenth of US GDP by the end of the century, the report found, with $1tn in coastal real estate threatened by rising sea levels and storms. She added on Twitter: “I wrote the climate scenarios chapter myself so I can confirm it considers ALL scenarios, from those where we go carbon negative before end of century to those where carbon emissions continue to rise.” The climate assessment galvanized Democrats, who will control the House of Representatives next year. “The days of denial and inaction in the House are over,” said Frank Pallone, a New Jersey congressman set to chair the energy and commerce committee. “House Democrats plan to aggressively address climate change and hold the administration accountable for its backward policies that only make it worse.” People are going to die if we don’t start addressing climate change ASAP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a newly-elected representative from New York City who has become a standard-bearer for the left, tweeted: “People are going to die if we don’t start addressing climate change ASAP. It’s not enough to think it’s ‘important’. We must make it urgent.” Authors of the report, which is mandated by Congress, echoed the sense of urgency and lamented the timing of its release on the day after Thanksgiving, which is usually the most busy shopping day of the year. In a statement in response to the release of the climate assessment, the former vice-president and environmental campaigner Al Gore said: “The president may try to hide the truth, but his own scientists and experts have made it as stark and clear as possible.”

It really might be different this time, because of changes in politics and media since the last recession. Social media has changed American political culture. My Bloomberg Opinion colleague Tyler Cowen has argued that extreme rhetoric like Trump’s attacks on the Fed will outlast this president. Already, in the wake of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation, it’s not uncommon to hear calls from the left seeking radical changes to the Supreme Court. Whenever the next recession occurs, social media, populism, outrage culture and fake news will play a prominent role in telling its story. The oldest members of the millennial generation were still early in their careers during the crisis; now millennials have a much more prominent voice in media, particularly online. Women and people of color are more influential online as well. It’s unlikely that Wall Street-favoring white men will have anything close to the share of influence during the next downturn that they had in the last one. We’ve seen signs in recent years that corporations are becoming more sensitive to populist movements as well. Conor Sen is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist.

Thirty-nine residents currently remain unaccounted for in Mexico Beach after category 4 Hurricane Michael roared ashore on the Florida Panhandle; Mike Tobin reports. FOX News Channel (FNC) is a 24-hour all-encompassing news service dedicated to delivering breaking news as well…

The politics of natural disasters can be tricky for a president. Trump is not known for shows of empathy and relishes fights he thinks will resonate with his core supporters. That includes a bitter and lasting brawl with Puerto Rico in the year since the U.S. territory was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Trump’s first post-Harvey trip to Texas generated blowback for his failure to meet with victims of the storm. “People went out in their boats to watch the hurricane. Even as Hurricane Florence approached the Carolinas this week, Trump rejected that count and griped that it’s the product of Democrats trying to make him “look bad.” He also tweeted that San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a frequent Trump critic, is “incompetent.” “The victims of Puerto Rico and the people of Puerto Rico in general do not deserve to be questioned about their pain,” said Gov. At one point, as the two shook hands, Obama put his left hand on Christie’s right shoulder. The storm is blamed for 182 deaths and cost about $70 billion in New Jersey and New York. The moment was preserved in photographs and generated criticism that he didn’t come in person. The storm left 1,800 people dead and caused $151 billion in damage.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The politics of natural disasters can be tricky for a president. As Trump heads to North Carolina on Wednesday to survey damage from Hurricane Florence, a look back at how presidents have grappled with the challenges and opportunities of disaster politics: Trump is not known for shows of empathy and relishes fights he thinks will resonate with his core supporters. That includes a bitter and lasting brawl with Puerto Rico in the year since the U.S. territory was devastated by Hurricane Maria. Trump’s first post-Harvey trip to Texas generated blowback for his failure to meet with victims of the storm. “People went out in their boats to watch the hurricane. Even as Hurricane Florence approached the Carolinas this week, Trump rejected that count and griped that it’s the product of Democrats trying to make him “look bad.” He also tweeted that San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, a frequent Trump critic, is “incompetent.” “The victims of Puerto Rico and the people of Puerto Rico in general do not deserve to be questioned about their pain,” said Gov. At one point, as the two shook hands, Obama put his left hand on Christie’s right shoulder. The storm is blamed for 182 deaths and cost about $70 billion in New Jersey and New York. The storm left 1,800 people dead and caused $151 billion in damage.

The 40-foot Sanford Dam was built in the 1960s hadn’t collapsed with any prior hurricanes. NBC’s Mariana Atencio reports from Highway 17 near Bolivia, North Carolina. » Subscribe to MSNBC: http://on.msnbc.com/SubscribeTomsnbc About: MSNBC is the premier destination for in-depth analysis…