Author: Sunfire

RT

While most other western leaders fiddle and seethe, Donald Trump powers ahead as bully-in-chief. A genuine new world order is the only way to stop him.

Trump’s impulsive decisions, such as his refusal to endorse the G7 declaration agreed upon in Quebec, are not just expressions of his personal quirks. Instead, they are reactions to the end of an era in the global economic system, reactions which are sustained by an incorrect understanding of what is happening. However, Trump’s misguided vision is nonetheless based on the correct insight that the existing global system no longer works.  Continue reading “Slavoj Žižek: EU must create a new world order to stop Donald Trump”

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KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (AP) — Former President George H.W. Bush is celebrating his 94th birthday in Maine. Bush is relaxing at his home in Kennebunkport on Tuesday, eight days after being released from a hospital where he was treated for low blood pressure.  Continue reading “Former President George H.W. Bush celebrates 94th birthday”

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — The U.S. government agency that oversees immigration applications is launching an office that will focus on identifying Americans who are suspected of cheating to get their citizenship and seek to strip them of it.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director L. Francis Cissna told The Associated Press in an interview that his agency is hiring several dozen lawyers and immigration officers to review cases of immigrants who were ordered deported and are suspected of using fake identities to later get green cards and citizenship through naturalization.  Continue reading “US launches bid to find citizenship cheaters”

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ATLANTA (AP) — A U.S. Supreme Court ruling has cleared the way for states to take a tougher approach to maintaining their voter rolls, but will they? Ohio plans to resume its process for removing inactive voters after it was affirmed in Monday’s 5-4 ruling. It takes a particularly aggressive approach that appears to be an outlier among states.

Few appear eager to follow. “Our law has been on the books. It hasn’t changed, and it isn’t changing,” said Oklahoma Election Board spokesman Bryan Dean. At issue is when a state begins the process to notify and ultimately remove people from the rolls after a period of non-voting. In most states with similar laws, that process begins after voters miss two or more federal elections.  Continue reading “Effects of Supreme Court voter roll decision appear limited”

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SINGAPORE (AP) — Latest on a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump in Singapore (all times local): 10:30 a.m. France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian (le dree-AHN) says he will be the first one to applaud U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un if they reach a deal on nuclear weapons disarmament of the Korean Peninsula.

Le Drian says that “everything that has to do with disarmament is positive.” The French foreign minister met Monday with his Swedish counterpart Margot Wallstrom in Stockholm. Le Drian cautions “we have been enthusiastic before and it has led to failures.”  Continue reading “The Latest: French diplomat calls US-NKorea talks ‘positive’”

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It is “only a matter of time” until a commercial aircraft is hacked, the Department of Homeland Security and other US government agencies have warned. Most planes lack cybersecurity protections to prevent such a hack.

Motherboard obtained internal DHS documents through a Freedom of Information Act request which detail vulnerabilities with commercial aircraft and risk assessments. A number of the documents are still being “withheld pursuant to exemption” of the FOIA.  Continue reading “‘Catastrophic disaster’: Aircraft hack only matter of time, US agencies warn”

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ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Ilhan Omar escaped her war-torn homeland of Somalia as a child and grew up in a Kenyan refugee camp before immigrating to the United States as a preteen. She learned English by watching American television.

Years later, she became the nation’s first and only Somali-American lawmaker when she won a seat in the Minnesota House. Now she’s aiming for another spot in history: the first Somali-American member of Congress.   Continue reading “Nation’s 1st Somali-American lawmaker eyes seat in Congress”

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DETROIT (AP) — The head of the Girl Scouts says that while the organization is disappointed that the Boy Scouts have decided to accept girls it is focused on helping “parents understand the benefits of Girl Scouts.”

“At Girl Scouts, we’re going to stay completely focused on girls. The ‘girl’ is going to stay in Girl Scouting,” Sylvia Acevedo, the CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “We were disappointed that an organization that we had partnered with for 100 years decided to accept girls, but you know what? Our focus is on what we do really well.”   Continue reading “CEO says she’s devoted to keeping the ‘Girl’ in Girl Scouts”

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TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — The Trump administration’s tough talk on immigration did not deter Telma Ramirez from making the trip from El Salvador to seek asylum in the United States. She arrived at the border in Tijuana with her 5-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter only to find a crush of other immigrant asylum-seekers already in line ahead of them.

The 27-year-old mother had been checking in at the Mexican entrance to the border crossing to see if civilian volunteers were close to calling their numbers, reminiscent of a host station at a crowded restaurant. Finally, on the 20th day, Ramirez made it to the front of the line to come across the border.   Continue reading “US asylum seekers wait their turn on Mexican border”

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India will proceed with the purchase of Russia’s S-400 surface-to-air missile units despite possible US sanctions, the country’s defense minister has confirmed, citing a “time tested” relationship between Delhi and Moscow.

“In all our engagements with the US, we have clearly explained how India and Russia’s defense cooperation has been going on for a long time and that it is a time tested relationship. We have mentioned that CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act) cannot impact the India-Russia defense cooperation,” Nirmala Sitharaman said at a press conference.   Continue reading “India to proceed with purchase of Russian S-400 units despite possible US sanctions”

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The beginning of the end for the first California judge recalled since 1932 began almost exactly two years ago, when Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky sentenced a former Stanford swimmer convicted of sexual assault to six months in jail instead of a long prison term.

A statement from the victim captured the national spotlight, recounting the ordeal of the investigation and trial, where she was cross-examined about her drinking habits and sexual experience. “You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today,” she said in a statement read in court before the June 2016 sentencing of Brock Turner.  Continue reading “Judge who sentenced swimmer recalled amid #MeToo movement”

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is complaining about media reports questioning the first lady’s recent absence from public view. Trump says the press has been “so unfair, and vicious.” Trump tweeted Wednesday that during Melania Trump’s recovery from a medical procedure: “they reported everything from near death, to facelift, to left the W.H. (and me) for N.Y. or Virginia, to abuse.”  Continue reading “Trump decries ‘fake’ reporting on Melania, says she’s well”

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The billionaire Koch brothers are launching a campaign against President Donald Trump’s tariffs and trade policies, denouncing them as bad for business.

Industrialists Charles and David Koch will spread their message through Koch network group’s Freedom Partners, Americans for Prosperity, and the LIBRE Initiative, they announced on Monday. The campaign will use ads, activists, lobbying and policy analysts, “all intended to transform the way Washington and the rest of the country consider and value trade with other nations.”  Continue reading “Koch brothers join #Resistance, launch campaign against Trump tariffs”

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Tech legend Steve Wozniak says he is attracted to the “purity” of the idea that people around the world could one day share a single currency, despite being separated by national borders.

He echoed Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who recently said that he believes bitcoin will become the single currency worldwide.   Continue reading “Apple founder Steve Wozniak hopes bitcoin will become a single global currency”

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — A hunch from a retired detective helped lead police to a man suspected of shooting six people to death in the Phoenix area, some of whom were connected to his divorce, authorities said after the assailant killed himself with officers closing in.

A round-the-clock investigation that began late last week led police Monday to an extended-stay hotel in suburban Scottsdale where 56-year-old Dwight Lamon Jones was staying. As officers approached, they heard gunfire and found his body.   Continue reading “Retired policeman’s hunch leads to suspect in 6 killings”

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DENVER (AP) — Colorado’s governor on Monday vetoed a bill to allow marijuana retailers to set up “tasting rooms,” dashing hopes that the state would be the first to adopt a system letting consumers use marijuana in public spaces.

Gov. John Hickenlooper has objected to similar bills in the past, arguing it could prompt a federal crackdown. He stayed quiet on the issue during the legislative session this year but wasn’t satisfied with the scaled-back proposal. In a letter explaining the veto, Hickelooper wrote that the bill could have resulted in more impaired drivers on Colorado’s roads and other public health risks.  Continue reading “Colorado governor vetoes marijuana ‘tasting rooms’ proposal”

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law stipulating implementation of counter-sanctions against the US and its allies.

The legislation is to be applied to any state or person for “hostile actions” against Russia. It allows Russian authorities to cut international cooperation with foreign states, and to impose import and export restrictions among other countermeasures. Trade embargos will not extended to certain goods, however, that are imported by Russian citizens for personal use.   Continue reading “Putin signs law on countermeasures against US & its allies”