Tag: mountain

AirTalk’s weekly political roundup covers the headlines you might’ve missed this weekend and previews the political stories to watch for in the week to come. What we are learning/have learned from the Trump-Putin summit in Helsinki Follow to Friday’s indictment of 12 Russian military officers in 2016 election meddling Recap of president’s visit to U.K., comments on Theresa May’s handling of Brexit as well as digs at NATO, future of U.S.-U.K. relations and likelihood of a post-Brexit trade deal What we learned from the Peter Strzok hearing and impact of cable news & camera presence on those kind of hearings Party strategies for Kavanaugh confirmation and what we might actually learn from the hearing Kevin de Leon gets California Democratic Party endorsement — what does this mean for him and for Sen. Feinstein? And what does this portend for progressives like de Leon and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez in New York? With guest host Libby Denkmann Guests: Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist and founder and chief executive officer of Rodriguez Strategies. He is also a former senior Obama advisor in 2008; he tweets @RodStrategies Sean T. Walsh, Republican political analyst and partner at Wilson Walsh Consulting in San Francisco; he is a former adviser to California Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a former White House staffer for Presidents Reagan and H.W. Bush

One of the negotiating positions agreed at Chequers (May wins cabinet agreement for soft Brexit plan, 7 July) is that the UK will “maintain a common rulebook for all goods” but the British parliament could choose not to continue harmonisation, ie it could choose to throw away the rulebook. This may allow different factions in the cabinet to interpret the negotiating document as they please, but it puts the negotiators on both sides of the Channel at a disadvantage. How are they going to make sense of the cabinet’s position? SP Chakravarty Bangor, Gwynedd • It’s time your leader writers, columnists and metropolitan readers woke up to the fact that the arch Brexiter has already won the argument. In brief, only the UK parliament, answerable directly to the UK electorate, should make our laws and only the UK courts should enact those laws. It will take some time and Theresa May’s proposals are a reasonable start. Laurence Williamson Newlyn, Cornwall • Assuming it will be confirmed that the Electoral Commission has found irregularities in the spending return filed by the official leave campaign for the EU referendum (Report, 5 July) and that this campaign failed to comply with electoral law, further doubts will inevitably arise as to the legitimacy of the result. We have no domestic remedy for this approach in UK law but, given the evidence of breaches of electoral law by both the main leave campaigns, the mandate for Brexit is seriously undermined. By the current proposal, that border would only be frictionless for goods but not for people. There will have to be border control to keep some people out of Northern Ireland and if that is the case then the border is no longer frictionless.

There are just two subjects that the papers are interested in today: the World Cup game between England and Sweden and Theresa May winning support for her Brexit deal at the Chequers summit on Friday. Most of the newspapers agree that the Brexit agreement is a victory for May. The Guardian splashes with the headline: “May wins cabinet agreement for soft Brexit plan” and reports that the prime minister managed to sign up “her fractious cabinet” to a “controversial plan to match EU standards on food and goods”, but that this had not gone down well with Tory Brexiters. (@claremargetson) Tomorrow’s Guardian front page #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/2gc8Zbryba July 6, 2018 The headline on the strongly pro-Brexit Daily Telegraph is: “Cabinet signs up to May’s Brexit deal” and they report: “Theresa May won her battle with Eurosceptic ministers on Friday night as she announced the cabinet has signed up to a Brexit deal that keeps Britain tied to EU rules and regulations indefinitely.” The headline on the FT Weekend is “May wins backing for ‘soft’ Brexit after facing down cabinet rebels” and the i weekend is even more stark with “May takes back control”. (@hendopolis) I WEEKEND: May takes back control #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/KppG3nJdMS July 6, 2018 (@hendopolis) DAILY TELEGRAPH: Cabinet signs up to May’s Brexit deal #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/cJrJl5cCHl July 6, 2018 The Daily Mail is less than impressed with the deal that has been reached, calling it “an uneasy agreement on a 12-point ‘compromise’, which could see Britain tied to some EU rules forever”. (@hendopolis) DAILY MAIL Soft Brexit threat to May #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/dIOqFqdcQj July 6, 2018 The Times is interested in how the deal will affect Boris Johnson, who led a group of Tory rebels who were calling for a tougher line on Brexit, and whom they claim will be sacked “if he rebels again”. Their headline is: “Johnson in firing line as PM claims Brexit victory”. (@hendopolis) THE TIMES: Johnson in firing line as PM claims Brexit victory #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/H4avZ0w7F7 July 6, 2018 The Daily Express is full of cheer at the news saying “Cabinet agree 12-point Brexit plan AND there’s more good news ... Trump ready to offer UK zero tariff trade deal”, based on comments from the US ambassador to the UK, Robert “Woody” Johnson, that zero tariffs could be on the table as the US president seeks to get a “quick deal” on trans-Atlantic trade. (@hendopolis) EXPRESS: Trump ready to offer UK zero tariff deal #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/Kq6M3G1Rdi July 6, 2018 The Mirror doesn’t have Brexit on the front page, instead dedicating the full page to Harry Kane and the rest of the English football side, with the headline: “Captain Fantastic: My band of brothers”, though the paper does dedicate page 11 to the Brexit discussions held at “May’s pad”, as they call Chequers, saying the PM had succeeded in uniting the Tories, and leading with the “dramatic retreat” by Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and David Davis from threats they would quit over the Brexit deal. (@hendopolis) MIRROR: My band of Brothers #england #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/F4UOUs65is July 6, 2018

A delegation of US lawmakers has met top Russian officials and lawmakers to discuss ushering in a “new day” in relations ahead of a key summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin later this month. US Senator Richard Shelby spoke first for the eight-person delegation, including seven senators and a congresswoman, during meetings on Tuesday at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Russia’s Federation Council and the Duma. Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin to hold summit in July Read more It was the first time US lawmakers had visited Moscow as a delegation since 2013, before the annexation of Crimea, Russia’s intervention in Syria’s civil war – and meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections. Participants in the talks at the Duma confirmed they discussed interference in the US elections and the annexation of Crimea, but declined to go into details of the talks. The US Congress last year passed new Russia sanctions that also severely limited Trump’s authority to lift them, effectively putting the legislature in the driver’s seat for new sanctions policy. “It looked like full attendance,” Shelby said of the Duma, which has been accused of being a rubber stamp parliament. Sometimes we need more of that in the US Senate and the US House.” UK nervous over unpredictable Trump's summit with Putin Read more Also in the delegation were senators John Hoevan, John Thune, Jerry Moran, Steve Daines, and Kay Granger from the House of Representatives. All are Republicans. The meetings came several weeks before Putin and Trump are set to meet in Helsinki for their first official summit. “I’ll talk to him about everything,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

United States President Donald Trump said on Saturday that his upcoming summit with Kim Jong Un was a "one-time shot" for the North Korean leader. A new poll shows Trump is heading into the historic meeting with support from a wide swath of Americans, but also that expectations are low enough the president has room to claim victory in all but the most disastrous outcomes. Just more than a third of Americans, a plurality, believe Trump will make progress on “some issues” but not on the thorny problem of denuclearization, according to the poll. Kim to White House? Even before the meeting with Kim got underway, Trump’s campaign touted the progress that led to the talks. In announcing the president’s appearance at a rally in Minnesota later this month, a campaign official said Monday that Trump is prepared to speak with voters there about his “historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,” along with other issues. Talk of a blue wave this year that would give Democrats control of Congress has been thrown into question by a strong economy as well as a small, but steady increase in Trump’s approval since its nadir last year. I believe they view the president’s bold action as restoring America’s role of leading from the front,” said John Brabender, a GOP political consultant. Critics have questioned the message it sends that the president has softened his rhetoric on North Korea ahead of the summit with Kim while sharpening public spats over trade with allies such as the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Trump’s moves on trade have driven a wedge between the White House and some farm state Republicans, whose constituents could take the heaviest hit in a full-blown trade war.

Donald Trump on Saturday said his summit with Kim Jong-un in Singapore would be a “one-time shot”. You know, the way they say you know if you’re going to like somebody in the first five seconds, you ever hear that one? I think very quickly I’ll know whether or not something good is going to happen.” Trump spoke as he prepared to depart for Singapore and the first meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting US president. The two leaders’ relationship began with a long period of mutual threats and abuse but a surprise and rapid diplomatic thaw has endured despite Trump’s abrupt cancellation of the summit late last month. He added: “This is a leader that’s really an unknown personality, people don’t know much about him. There’s a good chance it won’t work out. “And by the way, we have worked very well with their people, they have many people now in Shanghai, our people have been – in Singapore – our people have been working very, very well with the representatives of North Korea and I think we’re going to come out fine.” Asked about suggestions that even granting a meeting to Kim meant conceding valuable ground, he said: “Only the fake news says that. Donald Trump at G7: 'US is not a piggy bank to be robbed' Read more “I think it would be an asset to have Russia back in,” Trump told reporters on Saturday. “I think it would be good for the world, I think it would be good for Russia, I think it would be good for the United States, I think it would be good for all of the countries in the G7.” Trump blamed Barack Obama for not doing enough to counter Russian aggression in Ukraine, stating: “Obama can say all he wants but he allowed Russia to take Crimea. “I would say the level of relationship is a 10,” he said, claiming “we have a great relationship” with the leaders of countries including Germany, France and Canada.

The figure is projected to be $5.7 trillion by 2026, though as Friedman predicted, when the money is available, we always spend more -- much more. If you leave out China, Japan and Germany, today America spends more money on health care than all the other nations on Earth spend on everything, as Hunt Lawrence and Dan Flynn have been saying in their thoughtful analysis of American health care. As government makes available money to pay our health care bills, we spend the money, for it costs us very little, only time spent with the quacks. America is facing much more than a health care crisis. We believe the tax cuts will pay for themselves, but what can be resorted to to solve our health care crisis? Earlier this year, Amazon -- CEO Jeff Bezos' tool for destroying such venerable institutions as Borders and Toys R Us -- announced a partnership with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway to provide health care at a more reasonable cost to their collective 1.2 million employees. In his announcement of the partnership, Bezos declared, "Hard as it might be, reducing healthcare's burden on the economy while improving outcomes for employees and their families would be worth the effort." Conventional approaches to the federal deficit rely on taxes. What Amazon plans to do on a small scale with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway it can do with the wider audience that it already has, Amazon Prime. And what could Amazon deliver to these customers?

Alaska lawmakers reportedly declined President Trump’s offer to change the name of North America's largest mountain from Denali back to Mount McKinley. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) recalled during a speech at the Alaska Federation of Natives’ annual conference that Trump offered to reverse the Obama-era order changing the name during a meeting in March with Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Alaska Dispatch News reported. "He looked at me and said, 'I heard that the big mountain in Alaska also had – also its name was changed by executive action,” Sullivan said of Trump. “Do you want us to reverse that?'" Sullivan said that he and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) “jumped over the desk, we said, ‘No! Don't want to reverse that,’” according to the Alaska Dispatch News. Sullivan said Trump was amiable to the senators’ insistence, saying "all right, we won't do that." Former President Barack Obama changed the name in an executive order in 2015, honoring the mountain’s native Athabascan name. During the early months of Trump’s presidential campaign, he promised to reverse Obama's order and change the mountain's name back to McKinley. At the time, Trump called Obama's order an “insult” to Ohio, where former President William McKinley was born.