“Rouhani is one of the architects of the national security state [in Iran]. He’s got so much blood on his hands, he’ll never be able to wash it off,” proclaimed Reuel Gerecht, a senior FDD fellow who focuses on Iran, during an event Friday titled “The Iran Protests: Implications for the Islamic Republic and Beyond.” He went on to say that President Rouhani and the ruling Iranian regime as a whole are incapable of employing moderate policies.

“The protests are still continuing despite the regime’s best efforts to say that they’ve been crushed.” To the dismay of Iran’s leadership, US President Donald Trump has come out in support of the anti-establishment protesters in Iran, which has officially been designated a leading state-sponsor of terrorism by the American government.

One example of a loophole cited by Harris: “Low-calorie” beverages are exempt, which leaves the Kraft Heinz Company free to advertise the 30-calorie Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters, even though it has added sugars and artificial sweeteners, and despite its “tropical” flavor, no fruit. McDonald’s can advertise Happy Meals because the Chicken McNuggets, fries, and burgers are served alongside apple slices and milk.

The industry’s "healthy" criteria require that products limit levels of some nutrients (like sodium) and include other nutritious ones (such as iron). But this system, Harris pointed out, creates the sometimes false appearance that a snack is healthy overall. “If it has added vitamin C, then it counts as a positive, which is what happens with Popsicles and fruit snacks,” Harris said. But most children in the US are not deficient in vitamin C.

Roughly 20% of school-aged children in the US are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The factors behind obesity are complex, but among them are foods high in added sugars and fat.

Haaretz newspaper reported that Netanyahu’s request stemmed from concerns that prisons may become overcrowded. “The infiltrators have a simple choice — to cooperate with us and leave voluntarily, along a respectable, humanitarian and legal path — or we will have to use the other tools available to us, also according to the law. I hope they will choose to cooperate with us,” Netanyahu said.

“Every country must maintain its borders, and protecting the borders from illegal infiltration is both a right and a basic duty of a sovereign state,” he added.

Migration and Refugee Crisis:

The migration issue could become one of the most serious bones of contention between German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU/CSU alliance and Martin Schulz's SPD.

The CSU, the Bavarian sister party of Angela Merkel's governing CDU party, has long been known for its tough stance on immigration: not only have its members repeatedly criticized Merkel for her open door migration policy, they were also the ones who pushed through an annual cap on the number of refugees entering the country.

European Integration:

Although both parties support the idea of deeper EU integration, they have different opinions on how far it should go.

The leader of the Social Democrats, Martin Schulz, seeks to transform the European Union into the so-called "United States of Europe" with a common constitution.

The ambitious integration project reflects the idea of a "Multi-speed Europe", which was proposed by French President Emmanuel Macron.

Health Care and Social Benefits:

Difficulties during the talks may arise when it comes to the differing health care visions of the SPD and the CSU.

The Social Democrats want to overhaul the German health insurance system, and create a so called "citizen's insurance," which will be common for all the country's residents.

Military Expenditure:

Another point of disagreement between the parties is the amount Germany spends on defense and the extent to which the country should focus on the military.

During summer of 2017, SPD leader Martin Schulz claimed that "the CDU does not see any problem in spending 20 to 30 billion euros per year on armaments and cutting social benefits instead." The SPD rejected the idea, demanding more attention to social aspects.

Political Crisis:

Commenting on the current political situation in the country, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said that "we are now facing a situation that has never happened before in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany, that is for almost 70 years."

If the parties want to form a new grand coalition, they will somehow have to find a consensus on all of these issues. Otherwise, the failure of the talks might lead to snap elections in the best case scenario, or to political turmoil within the country in the worst.

But with success far from guaranteed, there are a range of other possible scenarios. After her conservatives bled support to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the September 24 national election, Merkel saw her authority undermined two months later by the collapse of three-way coalition talks with the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens.

GRAND COALITION OF CONSERVATIVES, SPD

The most likely outcome, given that the two camps have ruled together for eight of the 12 years Merkel has been chancellor and broadly agree on foreign and security policy. However, with both blocs struggling to stem a fall in support, it is by no means a done deal.

MINORITY GOVERNMENT UNDER MERKEL

This would be a post-war first for a country that craves political stability - a result of the fragmentation in the years that preceded the rise of Hitler’s Nazi party. Nevertheless, some Social Democrats prefer this option, which would allow them to oppose Merkel’s policies and force her to seek parliamentary majorities on individual laws. It would also be likely to hasten the end of her political career.

NEW ELECTIONS

Some conservatives, including Merkel, have said they would prefer new elections to a minority government. This scenario would also throw Merkel’s future into doubt. Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who would have to get involved if no coalition deal was agreed, has made clear he wants to avoid new elections if possible.

But instead, many western nations have been eagerly importing large numbers of young males from hotbeds of Islamic terror.  As a result, levels of crime are absolutely exploding.  Just check out the latest crime numbers from the city of London… For example, gun crime in London is up 15 percent, homicides are up 25 percent, including an explosion in youth homicide of 70 percent, robbery is up by more than a third.

Among the most terrifying crimes in London are acid attacks, which have soared exponentially since 2014. There were 431 such attacks recorded in 2016 and police report they have become the tactic of first resort for some gangs. Acid attacks also seem to be correlated to the large Muslim population in some areas of the city.

Have we gone completely and utterly insane? We are trying to convince ourselves that radical terrorists that are committed to achieving world domination by violent means are actually solid citizens and will openly embrace us as friends if we will just treat them with kindness.

Meanwhile, the reality of the matter is that we are witnessing rape after rape and terror attack after terror attack.

According to The Guardian’s analysis, in almost 94 per cent of districts that went to the polls in Europe this year, the centre-left lost out to far-left, right-wing, and populist movements. “Atomised in France, all but wiped out in the Netherlands, humiliated in Germany, Europe’s mainstream centre-left is in full retreat.

“Even in its one-time stronghold of Scandinavia, social democracy is now struggling,” wrote Jon Henley in the UK’s most leftwing mainstream paper this Friday. The paper’s analysis reveals how populist, right-wing groups have largely benefited from the centre-left’s downfall. According to the Tony Blair Institute for Change, “Europe’s political landscape is undergoing the biggest transformation since the end of the Cold War.”

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang responded Wednesday to a Chinese-language question on the report with two words – in English. “Fake news,” Geng was quoted as saying in the official transcript of Wednesday’s regular press breifing. Next question, please.

The “top secret” document published in the report was purported to be from “a person who once had ties to the Chinese intelligence and security communities,” whatever that means, but the author also said he could not independently verify the document.

The question we posed yesterday is whether conservative media’s reporting of the document as newsworthy will pique Trump’s interest, regardless of its veracity. If the report was true, it makes Trump look like he was played like a fiddle, so he might be careful not to draw attention.

We might also see if the US president buys the “fake news” line — which he uses exclusively to lambast hostile liberal media — when it is used against conservative media supportive of his administration.