Merkel Meets Trump, the Defender Versus the Disrupter
USA - Near the end of his meticulously formal, utterly impersonal news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Trump finally sought a sliver of common ground with his guest: They both, he said, had been wiretapped by former President Barack Obama.
Ms Merkel did a barely perceptible double take, busying herself by shuffling her notes. She smiled thinly and said nothing, as if she had resolved not to get drawn into Mr Trump’s political dramas.
It was like that throughout Mr Trump’s first meeting with Ms Merkel on Friday, an awkward encounter that was the most closely watched of his young presidency and took on an outsize symbolism: the great disrupter confronts the last defender of the liberal world order.
Worlds apart in style and policy, Mr Trump and Ms Merkel made a show of working together, as they stood side by side in the East Room of the White House. But they could not disguise the gulf that separates them on trade, immigration and a host of other thorny issues.
US President says 'immigration is a privilege not a right'
USA - Donald Trump left Angela Merkel looking awkward again at their joint press conference in the White House when he insisted immigration should be seen as an honour - and not a "right". Mr Trump said as far as he is concerned, the safety of US citizens will always "come first" before helping those from abroad.
His stance appears to be miles apart from that of the Chancellor, who famously insisted Germany would provide a home for displaced people from war torn Syria. Ms Merkel appeared visibly uncomfortable with the remark.
The moment was not the only tense part of the joint press conference in Washington. Angela Merkel and Mr Trump were asked to shake hands ahead of the conference - but neither moved - in an awkward first meeting. Despite sitting in chairs next to one another, not one leader made the move to pose for the standard welcoming snapshot.
German tactic to divide Britain
EUROPE - Scotland has established an investment center in Berlin, thereby reinforcing its economic ties to the EU and causing - with German support - new tension in Great Britain. According to critics, in its intended secession from the United Kingdom, for which it must establish economic security, the Scottish government is relying on German help.
In fact, to increase the pressure on London to achieve the "softest" Brexit possible, Berlin and Germany's regional governments are going out of their way to strengthen relations with Edinburgh. This is considered essential to German interests. Government advisors in Berlin are recommending using Ireland for obtaining influence in the negotiations concerning the borders between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland. In the event of a "hard" Brexit, this border would be a particularly sensitive point.
Berlin is also using EU foreigners, residing in the United Kingdom, as an additional bargaining chip. Chancellor Angela Merkel has refused to have their rights of residence clarified beforehand. Berlin's tactic to foment contradictions in the United Kingdom is risky, because, in essence, for economic and military reasons, Germany is dependent on constructive Brexit regulations.
Google launches new effort to flag upsetting or offensive content in search
USA - Using data from human "quality raters," Google hopes to teach its algorithms how to better spot offensive and often factually incorrect information. Google is undertaking a new effort to better identify content that is potentially upsetting or offensive to searchers. It hopes this will prevent such content from crowding out factual, accurate and trustworthy information in the top search results. “We’re explicitly avoiding the term ‘fake news,’ because we think it is too vague,” said Paul Haahr, one of Google’s senior engineers who is involved with search quality. “Demonstrably inaccurate information, however, we want to target.”
China: ‘firm response’ if Japan interferes in South China Sea
CHINA - China pledged to have a “firm response” if Japan further fans regional tensions and “threatens China’s sovereignty and security.” The statement comes after a Reuters report that Japan will send its largest warship to the disputed South China Sea. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press briefing on Thursday that based on its own interests, Japan has recently been compromising stability in the South China Sea, “causing strong dissatisfaction and opposition from the Chinese people.” “If Japan persists in taking wrong actions, and even considers military interventions that threaten China’s sovereignty and security… then China will inevitably take firm responsive measures,” she said.
China’s First Overseas Military Base Nearing Completion
USA - The US has increasing security concerns about China’s first overseas military base close to the hub of operations for US Africa Command in Djibouti, a US commander told Congress Thursday. Marine General Thomas Waldhauser, commander of AfriCom, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he expected the Chinese base on the Horn of Africa to be operational later this summer. Without getting specific, Waldhauser said he recently met with Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh “and expressed our concerns about some of the things that are important to us about what the Chinese should not do at that location.” The Chinese base would be about four miles from the US base at Camp Lemonnier, one of the Pentagon’s largest and most important foreign military installations.
Trump’s First War?
USA - This may be the closest that we have been to war with North Korea since the original Korean War ended in 1953. The North Koreans are feverishly working to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles that could strike the US mainland, and meanwhile Donald Trump has not moved from his position that North Korea will simply not be allowed to have ICBMs.
If North Korea does not blink, it means that we are literally counting down the days until we go to war. Unfortunately, North Korean leaders appear to literally be insane and they have shown absolutely no signs of backing off. In 2016, North Korea tested two nuclear bombs and test-fired 24 missiles, and so far this year they have test-fired five ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.
It is absolutely unthinkable that we would allow the North Koreans to develop ICBMs that could deliver nuclear payloads to US cities. But it is almost as unthinkable for us to go to war with North Korea.
A Clash Between the ‘Cross and the Crescent’
TURKEY - In addition to his customary invective against European governments for refusing to allow his ministers to rally Turkish expatriates behind him, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the EU’s new ban on headscarves in the workplace would launch “a struggle between the cross and the crescent.” “Where is the liberty of religion? They have commenced a struggle between the cross and crescent. There is no other explanation than this. I am saying this clearly: Europe is heading toward the days just before World War II,” said Erdogan, as rendered by Hurriyet Daily News. In a tirade on Wednesday, Erdogan said the “spirit of fascism is roaming the streets of Europe,” comparing the treatment of Muslims to how the Nazis treated Jews.
Also speaking on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu predicted that “holy wars” would soon begin in Europe.
Congress Launches ‘Full George Soros Investigation’
USA - Infamous globalist George Soros’s shady funding of radical leftists around the world may have finally caught up with him, as Congress announce a “full investigation” of his affairs, starting with his attempt to install leftist regimes in Eastern Europe with the help of US taxpayer’s money.
The investigation was launched after it was revealed George Soros used millions of dollars in US taxpayer’s money, granted to his Open Society Foundation by former president Barack Obama, in order to prop up leftist causes and foment change in foreign countries. The money was supposed to be used in a “non-biased, non-partisan” way – and when the Open Society Foundation failed to convince Congress that this law was respected, the investigation was launched.
The news of the Congressional investigation comes as anti-Soros demonstrations continue sweeping across Europe, with the Stop Operation Soros movement gaining popular support in nations concerned Soros is at the forefront of attempts to destroy their traditional culture. CBN News report: Billionaire George Soros has long been accused of meddling in European politics, and now American lawmakers are demanding answers over reports United States tax dollars are going to help fund some of his liberal causes in the small, conservative country of Macedonia.
Seven congressmen want to know why the US Ambassador to Macedonia Jess Baily, appointed by Barack Obama, chose Soros’ Open Society Foundation as the main implementer of US Agency for International Development (USAID) projects in that country.
Muslim threat: Europe headed for 'religion wars'
EUROPE - Anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders may have fallen short in this week's election in the Netherlands, but his views were shared by all the Dutch parties and are pushing Europe towards "wars of religion", Turkey's foreign minister said on Thursday.
Centre-right Prime Minister Mark Rutte fended off the Wilders challenge in a victory hailed across Europe by governments facing a rising wave of nationalism. The reaction in Ankara was less sanguine. Turkey has been locked in a deepening row with the Netherlands after the Dutch barred Turkish ministers from holding rallies among overseas Turks.
"There is no difference between the mindsets of Geert Wilders and social democrats in the Netherlands. They all have the same mindset… That mindset is taking Europe to the cliff. Soon wars of religion may and will start in Europe."
Small drone 'shot with Patriot missile'
USA - A Patriot missile - usually priced at about $3 million (£2.5 million) - was used to shoot down a small quadcopter drone, according to a US general. The strike was made by a US ally, General David Perkins told a military symposium. "That quadcopter that cost 200 bucks from Amazon.com did not stand a chance against a Patriot," he said. Patriots are radar-targeted weapons more commonly used to shoot down enemy aircraft and ballistic missiles. However, General Perkins suggested deploying large surface-to-air missiles as a defence was probably not economically wise. The missiles themselves travel at five times the speed of sound, whereas a quadcopter drone typically has a top speed of 50mph (80km/h).
States introduce bills to teach evolution as debatable theory
USA - Texas is the eighth state this year to introduce legislation that would protect teachers who present science, including evolution, as a debatable theory. Critics contend these bills are a way to open the door to religion in the classroom. The Lone Star State joins Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Oklahoma and South Dakota as states that have proposed so-called academic freedom or “teach the controversy” bills, which allow public school teachers to include “opposing points of view or beliefs” when teaching scientific topics like global warming, evolution and the origins of life. The Supreme Court banned the teaching of creationism in science classes in a 1987 decision, ruling that teaching that a supreme being created humankind endorses religion.
The Biggest Test Of Donald Trump’s Presidency Begins…
USA - On Wednesday, the temporary suspension of the debt ceiling ended, and so now the federal government is not going to be able to go into any more debt until the debt ceiling is raised. For the moment, the Trump administration can implement “emergency measures” to stay under the debt limit, but it won’t be too long before we get to a major crisis point because the federal government is quickly running out of cash.
Already, the US Treasury has less cash on hand than Apple or Google, and that cash balance is going to keep on dropping until the debt ceiling is finally lifted. This represents the biggest political test for the Trump presidency so far, and if we get down the road a couple of months and nothing gets done, this debt ceiling crisis could spark the kind of financial crisis that I describe in my novel entitled “The Beginning Of The End“.
You may remember that the debt ceiling became a major issue a couple of times during the Obama years. Barack Obama pushed things right to the brink a couple of times, but he was savvy enough politically to never let things go over the edge. Now it is Trump’s turn, and somehow he has got to find a way to get the debt ceiling raised without making extremely deep compromises that would gut the rest of his agenda.
And he had better get to work on this quickly, because time is running out and the clock is ticking…
Lab-grown chicken on the menu for the first time
USA - If you find yourself torn between cravings and ethical concerns every time you tuck into a chicken nugget, there might soon be a way you can have your meat and eat it too. Memphis Meats has just served up chicken and duck meat cultivated in a lab from poultry cells, meaning no animals were harmed in the making of the meal.
Along with the ethical issues of animal cruelty that surround a carnivorous diet, feeding, breeding and keeping livestock for food has an enormous environmental impact. The animals burp more greenhouse gases into the air than all modes of human transport, and require large swathes of land to be cleared, not to mention all the food, water, and care they need. Studies show that growing meat in a lab setting could go a long way towards solving those problems.
"It is thrilling to introduce the first chicken and duck that didn't require raising animals," says Uma Valeti, CEO of Memphis Meats. "This is a historic moment for the clean meat movement. Chicken and duck are at the center of the table in so many cultures around the world, but the way conventional poultry is raised creates huge problems for the environment, animal welfare, and human health. It is also inefficient. We aim to produce meat in a better way, so that it is delicious, affordable and sustainable."
Paul Nuttall tears into Eurocrats determined to 'DESTROY nation states'
EUROPE - Paul Nuttall has launched a scathing attack on the European Union, branding it a “political monster” ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome. Thousands are preparing to take to the streets of the Italian capital on March 25 to celebrate 60 years of the development which laid the foundations for the fundamentals of the bloc.
The date runs close to Theresa May’s deadline for triggering Article 50, with some Eurocrats fearing Britain will stoke tensions by beginning official divorce talks on the major EU anniversary. Speaking in the European Parliament on Wednesday, the Ukip leader shamed Europhiles for celebrating the occasion while “the Treaty of Rome burns”.
He said: “It was a noble and grand plan put together by men and women, who’d witnessed the holocaust, who had witnessed the horrors of war. But they were men and women of their time, it is a treaty of its time. What began as a noble economic plan has morphed into a political monster egged on by successive Eurocrats who are hungry for ever more power and determined to destroy the nation state.”
Mr Nuttall blasted the idea, as he added: “What continues to amaze me is that you never learn, you talk about an existential crisis but you say what is needed is even more EU. You are fiddling while the Treaty of Rome burns… I urge caution when you celebrate next week because Brexit could trigger a floodgate whereby other countries leave that same treaty you are celebrating next week.”
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The views expressed in this section are not our own, unless specifically stated, but are provided to highlight what may prove to be prophetically relevant material appearing in the media.
